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Comment and let me know what you think of the orange.

Oof. It’s amazing the momentum you lose by not creating content for a week. Things don’t flow as naturally, but I think it’s going to be a lot like riding a bike.

I had a blast on the mainland but it’s super good to be home too.

A friend recently reached out to me and said a friend of hers was considering YWAM and had some questions. So I’ve decided to answer some of those questions and more here.

I wrote this up fairly quickly and have not edited it, so if you see something that needs editing please comment and let me know.

This is also not an official YWAM statement, it’s just an opinion of a guy who’s been in and out of YWAM over the past 15 years.

What is YWAM?

YWAM stands for Youth With A Mission. You can go to their main website here. www.ywam.org

I explain YWAM as an international, interdenominational Christian missions organization.

We are in over 180 countries.

And each training location is decentralized, meaning each location runs autonomously from one other from a leadership standpoint.

How Do I Get Involved?

The first main step to doing anything with YWAM is to complete a DTS. (Discipleship Training School.)

What’s a DTS?

A DTS is a 5–6 month training school. You will do 3 months of lecture in one location. And then do a 2–3 month cross cultural outreach.

Some of the topics during your lecture phase are: The character and nature of God, Hearing the voice of God, the Father Heart of God, Spiritual Warfare, Prayer and Intercession, Bible Overview, Christian Worldview, Relationships.

Your lecture topics and outreach location will vary based on where you choose to do your DTS.

Community Living?

Uh, what? Haha. We’re not a hippie commune. But if you are single and will be attending a DTS you will be sharing a room with other students. This is part of their live learn philosophy. You might learn more about relationships and conflict resolution by living in community with others than you get out of lecture that day.

Students and some staff also have work duties. Which means cooking, cleaning, yard work and maintenance at most bases will be handled by the staff and students.

Some YWAM locations are new and have awesome facilities, and some… eh, not so much.

What Does Outreach Look Like?

Outreach is a blast. If you’ve never travelled overseas, you’ll see first hand God’s love for the nations and the people He created. You’ll see sights, and smell smells you’ve never experienced before. You’ll eat amazing food, and with a smile to your hosts, eat less than amazing food. You might get sick and get to know a squatty potty real well. And in all of this you will learn to trust God on a new level.

Your outreach location and itinerary will vary based on where you choose to do your DTS but it will most likely expose you to a variety of ministry opportunities. Service projects, children’s ministry, street evangelism, preaching in churches, skits, dance, dramas.

What Has Been Your Experience With YWAM?

I completed my DTS at YWAM Nashville in 2003. I went to a closed country in Asia for outreach. Jess also did her DTS at YWAM Nashville in 2007, and went to Cambodia and Thailand on her outreach.

I’ve been to a few different YWAM bases for various things.

I did a school of worship in 2004 with YWAM Denver. I helped with a Summer Music and Worship Seminar at YWAM Latvia. I did a school of photography at YWAM Kona in 2008, Jess and I did the School of Biblical Studies 1 at YWAM Kona in 2008, I staffed a school of photography in 2009 at YWAM Kona. We’ve led an outreach to a ministry of YWAM in the Philippines. And we volunteered with the School of Biblical studies at YWAM Honolulu and I served on base staff as well and Jess recently restarted the Biblical Core Course here.

Since YWAM locations (sometimes called bases) are all decentralized in leadership, each base is different in how it is run and it’s operating culture. This will also vary greatly on who the leader is at the time. Some bases have had the same leader for a while, whereas some are more transitional.

What’s The Average Age Range?

YWAM stands for YOUTH with a mission. So I would anecdotally say the targeted age range is 18–25. I did my DTS when I was fresh out of high school and turned 19 during my lecture phase. And Jess completed her DTS after she finished her undergrad. So she was 23. And we just had a couple who recently retired be a part of the Fall DTS here. We have a couple living at the YWAM base here serving in accounting and maintenance who are in their 70’s.

Would Your Recommend YWAM?

Absolutely. We have really found that this is our tribe. Jess is currently a full time volunteer (meaning YWAM doesn’t pay her, YWAM doesn’t pay anyone, its completely a volunteer organization) leading two 3 month Biblical Core Courses a year where students read through the whole entire Bible in 3 months and learn inductive study tools to study certain books and interpret the Bible in it’s original context.

Why Do You Recommend YWAM?

I recently came to the conclusion that YWAM is our tribe. That doesn’t mean it’s going to be yours.

Is YWAM perfect? No, no organization with humans is. But I love being surrounded by a group of people who are motivated and have given their lives to advancing the gospel. You show up to a DTS knowing that there is going to be an international outreach, where you will step out of your comfort zone and share the good news of Jesus with people. So the type of person that is attracted to YWAM already has a heart for others and is willing to go DO something about it. And has set apart a season of 6 months of their lives to truly focus on Jesus.

I recently had breakfast in North Carolina with a former YWAMer and we were talking about the amazing teaching you get during a DTS lecture phase. And because it’s so intense and compact, you get to go deeper on topics than your normal Sunday sermon. Plus they cover topics that were completely new to me as an 18 year old who grew up in church. I never knew that God had a character, and nature that could be known and that He still speaks to His children and I could actually hear His voice.

If there are 15 hours of lecture per week that’s 180 hours of lecture over the course of your lecture phase. That’s the equivalent of 540 twenty minute Sunday sermons. That’s literally 10+ years of sermons. This doesn’t even include weekly worship and intercession times, local outreach, or any of the time you spend overseas where you’re also connecting with God in different ways.

YWAM also values a live, learn teaching style. Which means after the week of teaching on the character and nature of God they might do an exercise where they give you time and space to process that teaching and figure out what lies you believe about God’s character and give you time and space to deal with that.

What Can I Do After MY DTS?

After completing your DTS if you want to stay with YWAM you can do any of their secondary schools or join staff anywhere in the world serving in a variety of ways. Various bases have different requirements for coming on staff, so you may be required to complete a secondary school or a specific secondary school to come on staff. Again, YWAM is a completely volunteer organization so you will not be getting paid for any of this, you will have to raise your own financial support and find donors to partner with you in ministry.

What Is YWAM’s Doctrine?

YWAM is an interdenominational organization so it doesn’t have a specific doctrine. It exists to know God and make God known. It’s an organization that majors on the majors and minors on the minors. Something I so appreciate about YWAM is that it will bring in speakers from various backgrounds who during the course of your lecture phase may contradict one another, which gives you time to wrestle with God about what you believe. (This also proves that we’re not a cult, which I’ll get to next.)

Is YWAM A Cult?

Nope. But if you look online you can find some disgruntled people who have had bad experiences and say it is. In fact if you search the YWAM base I am currently at and include the word cult you can find a website that is dedicated to exposing this location as a cult. The problem with that is this person had a bad experience over 20 years ago, none of those leaders are here anymore, and multiple people have reached out to him to try and reconcile.

Cults are controlling and discourage you leaving. We’ve come and gone from various YWAM bases.

Cults brainwash you into their way of thinking. YWAM is decentralized which means each YWAM location will have it’s own culture and expression. YWAM does have some core values which each location upholds because these are are the values that make the organization what it is, but if you look at them they are very broad and not specific.

YWAM also brings in a variety of speakers from the outside. Some of them are YWAMers and some of them are not, some are local pastors, or Biblical scholars. And at times the speakers will contradict one another. Meaning, YWAM is not trying to brainwash anyone.

Is YWAM Charismatic or Pentecostal?

Again, YWAM is decentralized. So each location will have it’s own culture. I’m sure some of the YWAM bases lean more towards being “Spirit Filled” than others.

All of these words are so loaded, and I don’t know what charismatic, pentecostal, and spirit filled means to you. Are you asking if people flop on the ground and speak in tongues? Or are you asking if people raise their hands during worship?

One of YWAM’s foundational values is that God still speaks today and we can hear His voice. I’m not sure if that counts as charismatic. Honestly when I first got into YWAM the concept of hearing God’s voice was unfamiliar, I had never been taught that in church, but it’s completely changed my life. We serve a God who is ALIVE and loves us. That He reveals Himself as a Father. What good Father would not speak to His children?

One of the first weeks during your DTS lecture phase will most likely be something on the character and nature of God. You will be taught that If what you are hearing, sensing, seeing from God doesn’t line up with His character and nature which we see revealed from the Bible then it probably isn’t God and you should seek wise counsel.

Who Is This Loren Cunningham?

Loren Cunningham is the founder of YWAM. He started YWAM in the 1960’s after seeing a vision of waves of young people crashing on the shores of every nation.

He’s a cool guy, I got to sit down with him for a couple hours the summer of 2017. After we talked he drove us around the YWAM Kona campus and showed us plans for expansion on campus. Loren is a visionary and I love that he’s still dreaming about expanding and planting seeds for things that may not even be planted during his lifetime.

The cool thing is people may or may not know who he is. The organization isn’t about Loren, it’s about Jesus.

Closing Thoughts

Is YWAM right for you? I don’t know. In famous YWAM fashion I would ask you to pray about it and see what God says. Let Him lead you. His plan is best for our lives.

The only other thought I have is I would encourage you to do your training in your first language so you get the most out of it. You can go do your school anywhere in the world, but I think thats my one recommendation.

Where should you choose to do your DTS? That too is something you should pray about 

Was this helpful? Did I miss something? Questions? Comments? Spelling or grammar errors? Comment and let me know.

The gifts God has given us require a level of persistence to grow and grace to deliver.

I don’t think I ever really sat and thought about the concept of stewarding my gift through intentional growth.

We can both grow our gift in value and we can grow in our delivery.

Think about how the natural gifts you’ve given have matured as you’ve matured.  They’ve become more thoughtful, maybe increased in monetary value, required some sacrifice and effort.  No longer are we giving child like gifts of crayon scribbles on construction paper.  At the time those gifts were appropriate, and precious.  If we were to give a similar gift now, it might be a little strange.

Imagine if you had an amazing gift wrapped box and instead of smiling and gently handing it to a person, you were having a tantrum and threw the package at them.  The gift giving experience might taint the gift a bit.

I don’t much like speaking in allegory and figurative language, my brain doesn’t naturally work that way.  I value efficiency, don’t tell me a long story if you can just give me the bullet points.  But I’m realizing that having a variety of ways to deliver is an important skill.  To be able to read a room and deliver in a way that best suits them instead of being a bull in a china shop and making everyone adapt to my prefered style.

This is part of my process of maturing and growing in delivery.

You know what is so painful?  When our gift is not recognized or valued.

When the thing we’ve stewarded in our heart is not accepted.

When our gift is outright rejected.

The devil wants nothing more than for you to hide your gift and put it on a shelf and never touch it again.

Some people can’t recognize a good gift.  They have no finesse, or taste.

Or if we’re being real here, their gift has been rejected and they’ve allowed bitterness to creep into their heart and the adage rings true:  Hurt people, hurt people.

And we have zero control over that.

We can lead and create cultures to value peoples gifts, but it’s impossible to make someone value something that they don’t value.

All we have control over is ourselves.

Is our gift appropriate?  Have I truly stewarded this gift well?  Have I intentioned to invest in these gifts and make them grow? Or am I showing up and throwing scribbles on construction paper at people and wishing they would say something nice about it?

Are you cultivating a good experience around the gift giving?

If we’re a jerk every other second except the time to bring our gift then I don’t think that gift is going to be accepted well.

The gift is better when the experience of the giving is better.

And are you willing to face rejection of your well stewarded gift?

I wonder if we’ve stopped stewarding our gifts well because we’ve been rejected.  And the harder we worked, the more time we put in, the more delicate details we fussed over, the more hurtful the rejection.

So next time in self preservation, we don’t put the work in, and we deliver it defensively.

And those results are a self fulfilling prophecy.  And reaffirms the lie, “what I do doesn’t matter, and no one cares.”

But the truth is, the gift you do have does matter, and part of the delivery is doing the hard work of communicating the gifts VALUE.

Sometimes “convincing” people requires persistence, resilience and skill.  It requires vulnerability and bold communication.

Whoever receives a prophet as a prophet, receives the prophets reward.

I think what this verse is saying is that when you accept someones gift, you get their best work.  When you want, and respect, and honor what they are giving, you create an atmosphere for them to show up and give their best.

But we cannot wait for perfect atmospheres.  We have to see the value of the gift and steward it well no matter the circumstances.  We have to choose to intentionally grow our gifts even in the face of rejection and we have to deliver it strategically.  Ready to persevere through people not getting it the first or second or millionth time.  Going back to the drawing board, being confident of the gifts value because we know who gave it, and ask for His wisdom on how to deliver it.

We have to stay connected to the gift giver and ask Him for feedback on why our delivery didn’t work.  We have to be open to correction that maybe we haven’t stewarded our gifts well and grown our gifts.

But He is no stranger to rejected gifts.  God has given the PERFECT gift of Jesus and has still been rejected.  A gift of such great value that is still seen as unimportant by so many.

Get with the gift giver and remember the why of the gift.  The gift is ours to steward, not to own, not to get glory from.  The gift is His.  And the purpose of those gifts is to shine the light of who He is in the earth.

The gift you’re stewarding is needed.  Past rejections are only making your gift better.  But it only gets delivered better if you choose to come out of hiding and grow.

Take a deep breath.  Stand up.  Brush yourself off.  Get your bearings.  Grab the Father’s hand.  Help create a culture where gifts are honored.  Mature in your gift.  Be excellent in your delivery.  And let’s go.

Do you schedule a time to assess how your previous week went? What worked, what didn’t? What to improve on this week and what to celebrate?

Are you aware of some disciplines you let get a little sloppy last week or maybe this weekend and need to recommit to this week?

Can you figure out what the circumstances were that caused you to live less than optimal? This isn’t a time to be self condemning, it’s a time to be intentional about what worked and what didn’t, and then ask why. And then make a new plan of attack this week based on the information for the last.

The subtle slip into hardness of heart.

I’ve noticed recently, whenever I’m getting salty it’s because I feel entitled to something that I’m not getting.

How do we deal with the disappointment of not getting what we think we deserve?

Do we have legitimate needs? Did we communicate those needs to others or are we assuming other people will know what we need without us telling them?

Or are we simply disappointed because things did not go the way we envisioned and thought they should have.

Entitlement is rooted in lack. Whereas thankfulness is readily acknowledging what we already have.

I don’t always have control over what I lack, but I can always be thankful for what I have.

What role does resilience play in keeping our heart malleable.

I was listening to Grit yesterday while I was cleaning on the west side. Some phrases that stood out are: learned helplessness, fixed mindset and growth mindset.

A fixed mindset says this is how things are there will be no change. “This is my lot in life.”

Whereas a growth mindset is focused on learning and growing, taking ownership, reassessing and moving forward.

Bitterness is rooted in a fixed mindset. We give into the hopelessness that this present circumstance is how it will always be.

A growth mindset looks at these disappointments as learning experiences. How can I grow so that I can have different results next time.

A growth mindset is optimistic, and knows that hard work is required. It enjoys pushing through hardship. It’s adaptable and won’t let less than ideal circumstances alter the output.

Grit and a growth mindset says I will work in less than ideal circumstances to completion of the task no matter how many iterations it takes.

Failure is just one of the many steps to success.

Do you have a fixed or growth mindset?

Resilient is one of our 5 Baker words.

a : capable of withstanding shock without permanent deformation or rupture
b : tending to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

Every morning when Jess is done feeding our son, I make her breakfast and I take him so she can eat. We do a quick diaper change, and get some skin on skin time. We sing a worship song, we pray, and then we go over the Baker values.

Picking some words for our family values has been fun. I’ll write a full blog soon on my morning routine with him, and one on our Baker values.

One of those words is resilience. It’s something I included because I’ve seen my parents truly model this word in their lives.

So I tell my son, every morning: “Bakers are resilient. When the world might knock us down, we get back up every time.”

What’s a recent blow that’s been dealt to you? What’s that recent shock? Some of you guys are going through huge ordeals right now. And some of you are going through other set backs that feel big. Sometimes we have an easier time dealing with the bigger blows than the myriad of little things.

Our most recent shock has been a big change to our schedule.

Is this a huge deal, no. But it is an adjustment. I’ve learned that it’s okay for me to feel what I feel. And feeling guilty for how I feel is a waste of emotional energy. When this happened it FELT like a big deal to Jess and I. But it’s what I do about that feeling that matters.

What’s your gut response when you face that shock? My inner child wants to throw a tantrum and take my ball and go home. I want to quit. I want to destroy all the forward progress I’ve been working hard at and go hid under my covers. That’s my gut. I obviously don’t give in to that desire.

So here’s my 10 step resilient process:

1. Breathe.
Take some deep breaths. Oxygen is good.

2. Zoom out. 
Zooming out helps me realize this is just for a season, a short season and we can readjust. This is also a great time to get thankful for ALL the things outside of the issue you’re facing that are amazing.

3. Take responsibility. 
How could I have avoided or prevented this? Where did I drop the ball?

4. Learn. 
What lessons can I learn for the future so this type of thing doesn’t happen again?

5. Brainstorm. 
Is there is any good alternatives, any angle I’m missing, is there a better solution than what has been offered.

6. Dream. 
If I had unlimited resources how would I solve this problem. If you come up with a solution in this stage then you’ve found your ideal. Plan a way to get there.

7. Peace. 
Make peace with the new reality. If there is no viable option or other solution and I’ve exhausted every idea on how I could change things, then it’s time to accept our new reality.

8. Plan. 
Come up with a plan to make this new reality amazing. Prioritize how I can make the best of this situation.

9. Action. 
Take massive action in implementing this new plan well and making the most of it.

10. Attitude. 
Choose to have a great attitude about the new reality. Because sulking doesn’t make things better.

What would you add? Comment and let us know.

I feel best when I have momentum, when I’m making forward progress.

Many a days have been wasted with no forward movement. And those days I do not feel good.

So why do some days seem more productive than others? Why do some days flow with momentum the whole day through? Why do I feel amazing somedays but not everyday?

There are a few things I’ve identified so far:

Clear Priorities

A Plan

Being Organized

I want to talk about being organized. Our schedule is up in the air right now. The organization Jess is a full time volunteer for previously designated some child care for our son. But today our nanny is headed back to Norway and we haven’t been told if we will get a replacement or not. So since I have the more flexible schedule I’m planning to hang out with our son during Jess’ work hours.

I’m learning to keep momentum going you have to quickly adapt to changes. Is this ideal? No. We might get told today (hoping!) that they are moving some people around, but that might not happen either.

So I can either sit and stew on it and feel like it’s my “right” to have child care provided for us (which it’s not) or I can come up with a plan on how to adapt to this situation. Interesting how entitlement always leads to bitterness.

So yesterday even though I got things done that were much needed, multiple loads of laundry, some grocery shopping, cleaning. I felt like most of my day was a waste. I didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel like my day had momentum.

I did a lot of things that needed to be done, but I didn’t get to do some of the other things that I thought were valuable. And a big part of that was my own fault. I hit snooze on my alarm and didn’t wake up until late. Meaning I chose to be victim to the chaos of the day, instead of getting out ahead of it. I can’t blame anyone but me for that one.

So last night I went to the office. I’m learning the value of focused uninterrupted work. I turned off my chat apps and anything else that could ding at me, or alert me. And I opened up a google sheet and mapped out my week schedule with the new changes.

I also specifically clarified some of the things that would happen during some of the chunks of time. I’ve got a big chunk of time to hang out with my son here. What would be a good use of that time? How can I plan that time so it’s best for both of us? A walk with @hikarlthegreat will be a good use of that time.

I’ve got a chunk of work time set out here. What are my priorities when it comes to work? What are the specific things I need to be working on this week?

Seeing this on a google sheet mapped out helps me be organized. It’s planning. So that when I get to the next phase in my day I already know what I’m doing. I don’t have to make any decisions. I’ve already mapped out my priorities for that time.

Being organized helps you readily see your plan and priorities. It helps keep momentum going. Knowing the purpose of each phase of your day and the specific details of what will make that a great phase is good to see on paper. That way you know how to win.

Another way organization helps me with momentum is if I’m organized I know WHAT I need (physical things) to make that phase of the day successful. Have I mise en place those things so I can easily roll into the next phase or am I having to constantly interrupt myself to go get something, or find something I need?

The other thing about organization which I’m still working on is visual clutter. When there are a million things around that aren’t in their place my brain processes that as stress. Things I need to be doing which is a subconscious or sometimes even conscious distraction.

I’m learning! Learning what you need to do, and actually doing it are two separate steps. But I’m making forward progress.

Hope feels amazing.

How many of us are hopeful?

My IDEAL Morning Routine

There is a common denominator among high achieving people.

A morning routine.

Mornings are rough for me. I’d say I am a morning person, but when that alarm goes off I am certainly not sunshine and butterflies.

Mornings are a literal battle for me. When I wake up my mind is already saying unhelpful things to me.

“Just go back to bed, what you do doesn’t matter and no one cares.”

I’m also an introvert.

Which means I NEED uninterrupted time.

Living in community, having a smart phone and a young child means I do not have a surplus of uninterrupted time. The only mostly guaranteed quiet and uninterrupted time…?

4:00am

So here’s my ideal morning routine. I stress ideal because I rarely get to all of these things each morning.

4:00am —

Alarm goes off, start praying in tongues.

Call me crazy (or a closet charismatic) but this is something recent I’ve implemented. I’m not awake enough to pray something intelligent, and I know I need God’s help to battle the things that are trying to keep me in bed all day.

I’m underselling this battle guys, it’s real. Like real real.

Bathroom go to the bathroom, weigh myself, record my weight,

Water Kettle hit start on the water kettle.

Hydrate Chug at least 20oz of water from my water bottle

Kettlebells. Either squats or deadlifts.

A simple 2 sets of 7 reps with a kettlebell.

Just enough for me right now to get some blood flowing and not enough for me not to want to do it.

Well… honestly, most mornings I still don’t want to do it.

I’ve learned I have to set realistic goals. I know deep down inside when setting a goal if I’ll actually do it or not. My above goal is do-able.

Why are deadlifts easier than squats?

Worship. Spend some time in worship.

This looks like throwing on spotify and most mornings going to the Kim Walker album and listening to one of her songs and a spontaneous song from her first album, the blue one. Here is my song. This helps me transform and renew my mind, and get my affections on where they belong.

Coffee. Pour the coffee grounds I ground the night before from the grinder into the french press and pour the hot water over them and stir with a knife.

Rinse the knife and place it in the sink. I should probably clean the knife completely and put it back.

Morning pages. This is where I just open up text edit and write stream of consciousness.

Whatever is on my mind is what I write, I just let it flow from my thoughts through my fingers.

I then delete this entirely each morning. That way I’m not writing with an audience in mind, I’m just getting stuff out of my head. I haven’t decided if this is actually beneficial or not.

Scripture. Proverbs is my go to. Practical wisdom.

Whatever day of the month it is I’ll read that corresponding chapter. I’ll pick one verse that sticks out to me, write it down, and tweet it later.

Reading. I listen to a LOT of books throughout my week. Consuming audio content is the easiest way for me to learn. Sitting down and actually reading takes work. My mind wanders as I read and it’s hard to focus and retain what I’m reading.

Most of the books that I want to actually be reading that aren’t on audio aren’t light books.

Currently I’m reading a book on the 7 churches of Revelation and taking notes for when I will teach a week lecture on Revelation in June.

One day a week I’ll read a chapter in Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley for discussion with the Pastors from my church.

Here’s a list of books that I wish there were audio versions of. (I’ll write this soon)

Coffee’s ready by now. Pour myself a cup. 3/4 full in a 12oz mason jar. I used to have a blue mug that I used every morning, I intentionally went to the mason jars because they are glass, but where’d that mug go?

Create content. From there I will think of an idea I want to post on IG. Maybe it will stem from my morning pages. Maybe it will be something that I’ve been thinking about.

I’ll open up a stock photo website and pick a relevant photo. I’ll download it and drag it into canva and create the graphic. Then I’ll open text edit again and expound on the topic. I’ll post the photo with my writing, it will push to our facebook page. I’ll pull some hashtags from my notes on my iphone and like the post and then comment the hashtags.

Then I go look at it on our facebook page. I’ll reshare it to my personal facebook page. Then copy and paste that into our personal blog at www.jimjessbaker.com and also onto medium and share it from medium to twitter.

One piece of content is being repurposed and shared on 7 different platforms.

Church Devotional. I write a small devotional and send it to some people in my congregation. I try to include personal things about me so my church gets a glimpse into our personal lives as well.

After I send this I put it into my devotional folder in my church e-mail incase I ever want to repurpose this content some day too. Maybe one day I’ll put a 365 day devo journal 😉

Make Jess Breakfast. Usually by this time Jess is up with our son feeding him. So I will go in his room and say good morning to them both and pour Jess a cup of coffee and ask her if she wants breakfast. Some type of meat and eggs with cheese.

7:30am — Take The Dog For A Family Walk

Get some blood flowing, get some sunshine, let the dog do his thing, and connect with the family before the day starts.

Which of these are most often to get skipped?

Probably the three that would benefit me the most.

Kettlebells, Scripture and Reading.

Why do those most often get skipped?

Because they require the most work.

Why is getting up this early beneficial?

Because by the time the rest of my family is up I’ve done the most important personal things of my day. And I’m awake, caffeinated and functioning. I feel good because I already have some wins on my side and am creating momentum. I don’t feel like I’m starting my day behind. I feel like I’m starting my day ahead. As other people are starting their day I’ve already got a lot accomplished, it’s a jump start.

What are some hindrances? Not having a solid plan. Having to make decisions. Every decision is a potential fall off point. It gets you out of the routine and into thinking. And every time you think about what to do next, instead of moving to the next thing you’re looking for an exit. Which is usually endless scrolling on social media.

The number one key though for a successful morning routine? Having a solid evening routine. I’ll write on that soon.

Oh yeah, for me to get up at 4am consistently. I shoot for being in bed with the lights off at 8:30pm.

What are some of your essentials for your morning routine?

aCOMMENT WITH YOUR TOP 3 BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS FOR GROWTH!

How many books have you read this year?

Do you have a book that you go back and read every year?

Grant Cardone says in his book 10x, the average CEO reads 60 books a year from. That’s an average of 5 books a month.

A friend recently said they were envious of how much time I can give to reading.

I should have told them they were welcome to drive all over the island and clean construction offices with me

Ron Smith wrote a book called Read To Lead where he outlines the reading habits of successful people. And I think it was from him where I first heard the statement “leaders read and readers lead.”

I just read something from @JamesClear (I think thats who it was…) who wrote Atomic Habits say something along the lines of we should always be reading because who we are is basically a synthesis of what we’ve been reading.

Dang it I hate when all I can come up with is Hungry Hungry Caterpillar.

I’ve been thinking about habits. And success. And how success sometimes feels like a dirty word. Is success a worldly word? Is success in opposition to our Christian values? I don’t think it is, but somewhere buried deep in my subconscious is a guilt about the word success.

I’ve also been thinking about how we sometimes bemoan the fact that we aren’t like other successful people but we weren’t willing to put the work in either. We somehow feel entitled to other peoples success and journey without the work.

I’d say the top 2 things successful people do is get up early and have a solid morning routine and read, a lot.

I need to think of another word for success. Because success does seem to be all tied to monetary and worldly wealth. Success brings to mind an image of a man in a grey suit standing in front of his sports car in front of his mansion.

High achieving? That doesn’t work either.

Intentional about growth. There it is. I like that.

Why do I want to grow? So I can be successful. 😉 Nah, just kidding.

I want to grow because I want to steward my life well. I want to live in the fullness that God created me for. I don’t want to limit what He wants to do with my life. And I want to set an example for my son.

I want to grow because staying stuck and meandering is boring. Average hasn’t helped me much.

I want to grow because I’ve got shortcomings that need to be worked through for my best benefit and the benefit of those around me.

Choose to grow.

Pick up a book from someone who has figured out some things in their lives that you want to figure out and glean from their knowledge.

What books have helped you take giant leaps and bounds?