“If you know, YOU KNOW..” This man’s words just rocked me to the very core. What an amazing testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no denying his conviction. He knows, and it shows. Thank you for your amazing words Brother Kevin G. Brown. #GeneralConference
The man on the right is Russell M. Nelson, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The man on the left is Pastor Mark Driscoll, an influential Evangelical pastor.
Last week, both used their platforms.
One to heal. One to harm.
Let’s compare:
When you ask God for guidance about decisions in your life—including some important decisions—He may not give you a detailed answer.
The truth is that sometimes it doesn’t matter to the Lord what you decide as long as you stay within the fundamental covenants and principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
There are times when God has a specific path He wants you to follow. There are also times when He will warn you against certain choices because of dangers you can’t foresee. But then there are times when a question has multiple “right” answers, and you can find joy in any of them as long as you live by God’s eternal truths.
You may not see it until much later, but you will look back and know that the Lord never abandoned you, even when He let you make some decisions for yourself. You will see that the dots do connect.
All of the billboards in Times Square were shut off and then lit up with the true meaning of Christmas:
The birth of Jesus Christ
The mainstream media censored this! Let's make it go VIRAL!
In a world where live music is often over produced, I loved that on the world’s biggest stage, some of the biggest icons like Usher and Keys risked it all and performed the vocals raw. It honestly made me tear up. Makes me more hopeful for the future of performance art.
At the end of every year, I conduct a Personal Annual Review.
It's a transformative exercise that everyone should try.
7 simple questions that may change your life:
(bookmark this + download the PDF template)
1. What did I change my mind on this year?
Finding the truth is more important than being right.
In fact, the most successful people legitimately enjoy being wrong. They embrace new information as “software updates" to their brain.
My Personal Annual Review starts here:
What "software updates" did I have this year?
If you can't think of anything, that's a bad thing.
2. What created energy this year?
I have a framework I call the Energy Calendar:
The idea is that you reflect on your calendar from a day or week and color code the events according to whether they created energy (green), drained energy (red), or were neutral (yellow).
The Energy Calendar is a great, visual way to course correct on a weekly/monthly basis if there are specific activities that are highly positive or negative for your energy.
Examine this on a macro annual scale:
Review your calendars from the year. What activities, people, or projects consistently CREATED energy in my life? Write them down.
Did I spend ample time on the Energy Creators or did they get neglected?
Goal: Spend more time on these in 2024!
3. What drained energy this year?
Continue your macro scale calendar examination, but with a focus on the negatives:
Review your calendars from the year. What activities, people, or projects consistently DRAINED energy from my life? Write them down.
Did I allow the Energy Drainers to persist or did I cut them in real time?
Goal: Spend less time on these in 2024.
4. Who were the boat anchors in my life?
Boat anchors are people that hold you back from your potential. They literally create a "drag" on your life.
Boat anchors are people who will:
• Belittle your accomplishments.
• Laugh at your ambition.
• Tell you to be more realistic.
• Harm the quality of your environment.
Identify who they are.
Goal: Minimize or eliminate the energy you give them in 2024.
5. What did I not do because of fear?
“We suffer more in imagination than in reality.” - Seneca
We have to get closer to our fears in order to fight back against them.
Fear distorts reality—this forces you to confront and reflect on it.
Deconstruct the fears that held you back:
• What was the downside of taking action?
• What was the upside from taking action?
Goal: Get closer to your fears in 2024.
6. What were my greatest hits and worst misses?
Your natural bias skews how you see your year:
• The optimist sees all hits.
• The pessimist sees all misses.
Take a balanced view. Write them all down.
Reflect on why the hits hit and the misses missed.
7. What did I learn this year?
“When you stop learning you start dying." - Albert Einstein
It's easy to lose sight of growth in the trenches—zoom out to reclaim perspective.
Take your time on this one. Reflect on the other questions from the exercise.
Write down what you've learned.
***
The Personal Annual Review is a life changing exercise.
Experience + Reflection = Growth
Download a beautiful (and free!) Personal Annual Review template to conduct your own here: https://t.co/PhTlBGvBrk
We are saddened to announce that President M. Russell Ballard, Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has died. After a recent brief hospital stay, he returned to his home where he attended to duties as he was able to before passing away at approximately 11:15 p.m. on Sunday, November 12, 2023, surrounded by loved ones. He was 95.
https://t.co/GKzdnQXCw8