Celebrating the 4th in Nevis again
When the world started to open up for travel in 2021, we jumped at the chance to head down to the Caribbean and our favorite stop from the twenty years of exploring was St. Kitts and Nevis. We found our home away from home almost three years ago after our de-contamination stop at the Four Seasons that September. We love the chance to get away, decompress and enjoy our new friends in the Islands.
We will celebrate the 4th at the Yachtsman again this year. It may become a tradition for years to come.
We discover new things every time we visit the Island. During this trip we were already able to visit the waterfalls on the other side of the Island and bathe in the natural spring water. There are some new restaurants that have just opened down here as well that we plan on visiting. Maybe we will discover a new place we enjoy almost as much as Sunshines, Mangos, or Golden Rock. Sydney had a chance to enjoy her new boogie board yesterday. The waves were larger than normal from the aftermath of the Hurricane that passed about 300 miles west of the Island.
These are just a few of the many things that we have done as a family that I would never have imagined 20 years ago. They have all come about from setting goals and working hard to achieve those goals. We would never have bought a place in the Islands unless we took time to set goals and imagine the possibilities as a family. We get to enjoy our little piece of paradise due to the freedoms we still enjoy in America and the opportunities afforded to those who dream big and consistently raise their standards.
#11 Raise Your Standards to Create Your Life’s Masterpiece
Part of raising our standards is cutting out what you do not want in your life. When Michaelangelo started sculpting the statue of David, he had just finished La Madonna della Pieta that still stands in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The marble for David had been set aside for years by the Duomo in Florence and Michaelangelo was commissioned after he had proven himself with this latest work. When he looked at the marble, his thought was to cut away all that did not belong and release the angel that was within.
Michaelangelo stated, “I created a vision of David in my mind and simply carved away everything that was not David. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free”. Much like the master sculptor cut away all the rough edges that were not the masterpiece of David, we can allow God to work within us to cut away all that does not belong in our lives. He gives us free will to choose what we will allow, but he also gives us the means to operate within His will to cut out those things in our lives which hold us back and keep us from achieving His purpose for our lives.
We can do all things through Him. Nothing is impossible with God on our side. If there is something that you have had trouble cutting out of your life, turn to Him and He will provide the answer. With Faith we can accomplish things many think impossible. Faith builds on itself, we just have to take action. The results we reap help provide more faith to allow for more potential, more action and bigger results. We just have to keep the flywheel building to our earthly and eternal rewards.
We’ve all raised our standards in the past and cut out the things that hurt us. It may be sweets, processed foods, blaming others, a victim mentality, toxic or manipulative acquaintances, staying up late, video games, or complaining. These things do not help us.
We want to work to cut these out and replace these things with more empowering thoughts and habits of eating healthy foods, taking responsibility, being grateful, empowering others, setting a good sleep schedule, reading uplifting material and surrounding ourselves with coaches and mentors to help us grow.
We may want to get out of debt and be more frugal. It’s the little things that we do not catch that drive up debt. Nothing is worse than buying things we don’t need with money we don’t have, going into debt to impress fake people that we do not even like.
Think in terms of Abundance
Some people like to play the victim and think in terms of “OR”. You can have this reward OR this reward. You can have this friend OR this friend. You can have a good work life OR a good home life. You can have someone as a client OR as a friend. You can be a good mother OR a good wife.
Why not think in terms of “AND”. I am a good spouse, a good parent AND a successful business owner. I am healthy AND enjoy work AND enjoy my family AND enjoy worshiping God AND experience life in abundance.
Bezos on Work / Life Harmony
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos when he describes work / life harmony talks about a circle where family can cause issues at work and vice versa. It can also mean someone brings 100% to being all they can be for God, 100% to their spouse, their family, their health, their passions, their work and everything else. Why settle for less than 100% in any area of your life. Do those things which give you energy and cut out those things that bring you down.
Steve Jobs Focused on Quality
Not only do we want to cut out those things which do not belong, we want to add in those things which empower us and help us build to what is best for our lives and for the lives of others. When Michaelangelo created the statue of David, his goal was not to mass produce thousands of statues, he wanted to create “ONE” masterpiece. Are you focusing on quantity, or are you focusing on quality and producing masterpieces for God? Focus on producing something that can stand the test of time in this world and in eternity.
When producing new products for Apple, Steve Jobs was extremely focused on quality. Jobs wanted to create something simple, something easy to use and something high quality. Are we focused on abundance, creating something high quality which will last, and making everyone’s lives better, or are we focused on doing more without thought to the impact or the quality of what we are producing?
We only have a limited time on this earth to affect change, to make a dent in the universe and impact the world for good. The older we become the more we recognize this. Steve Jobs said, “remembering that I was going to die was, the best way to avoid the trap of thinking I had something to lose.”
#12 Be Persistent
Remember you always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. You fail to get a hit 100% of the time if you don’t swing. You miss 100% of the sales when you don’t ask for the order.
Reggie Jackson struck out 2600 times in his career, the most in the history of baseball, but you don’t hear about the strikeouts, people remember the home runs.
Thomas Edison conducted over 10,000 failed experiments. He said, “I have not failed, I have found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Failed experiments provide lessons for the future.
Steve Jobs Turned His Life Around
Jobs was fired from Apple computer not long after turning 30. He had to start over. He bought into Pixar, founded Next which later was acquired by Apple and enabled him to take over as CEO of a failing Apple Computer. And the rest is history with the invention of the ipod, itunes, iphone and the ipad.
Steve Jobs was able to take an inventory of his life, what had worked and did not work. He redefined himself after getting fired from Apple. He says that it was the best thing that could have ever happened to him. “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”
You may have encountered a setback. What are you going to learn from your experience? It could be that this is setting you up, like Jobs, to enter one of the most productive and creative periods of your life as well.
Be Resilient. Have Faith. Reassess where you are. Redesign your next several steps. Seek Gods will for your life and wait for His calling.
AND THEN – Take Massive Action toward achieving God’s Will and Purpose in Your Life.
For more on Steve Job’s Grit, Making a Comeback and Creating your Life’s Masterpiece click the video above.
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