“What looks like falling can largely be experienced as falling upward and onward, into a broader and deeper world, where the soul finds its fullness and lives inside the Big Picture.” - Fr. Richard Rohr
 
How are you falling upward to connect with the fullness of your Big Picture?

How would you recover from a humiliating defeat? Could you recover from such a setback?

I'm not talking about a minor mishap. I'm talking about a failure where you let your family, your friends, and even the people in your church community who raised money to help you reach your goal, down.

That is the early story of Grammy-winning vocalist, Marian Anderson, when she made her initial performance in New York City. She wasn't ready in terms of experience or maturity and was lambasted by the critics.

She went home in disgrace and wouldn't perform for over a year. However, her comeback began with five small words repeated over and over to her by her mother. 

Watch the video below and to learn what those five words were and how they roused Marian Anderson to become one of the finest contralto singers of her time.  

“One of the truest signs of maturity is the ability to disagree with someone while still remaining respectful.” - Dave Willis
 
How do you remain respectful towards someone you disagree?

“When someone disrespects you, beware of the impulse to win their respect. For disrespect is not a valuation of your worth, but a signal of their character.” - Brendon Burchard
 
How do you temper the impulse to win the respect of someone who disrespects you?

“Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.” - Raymond Joseph Teller
 
How do you go about creating magic in your life?

“A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.” - William Shakespeare
 
How do you determine if you are wise or a fool?

​Do you have enough character to put your ego in check when necessary?
 
Can you hold yourself back for the greater good of others or the mission if someone criticized you or would you lash out at the person who said something negative about you?
 
In this video, we learn what Confederate General Robert E. Lee did when another general panned his actions.
 
Would you have the integrity and confidence to do what General Lee did or would you take whatever opportunity you could to get back at your friend or colleague?
 
Having good character is easy when no one is attacking you or times are easy. Where character really comes into play is determined by how you treat people who can’t help you or can’t fight back.
 
Leave me a comment about a time in your life when you reacted to criticism the way General Lee did or make an argument about why you believe it would have been more important for General Lee to stand up to his colleague.
 

“The prophetic stream supports learning, the evolution of life toward greater consciousness, and every movement toward justice and communal well-being.” - Nahum Ward-Lev
 
How does your vision support a greater consciousness?

​What challenging and difficult things will you do today?
 
There are three zones in our life: The Comfort Zone, The Growth Zone, and The Danger Zone.
 
Most people spend their days in their Comfort Zone because…it’s comfortable.
 
The problem with the Comfort Zone is that it doesn’t allow us to grow. If we want to get better (at anything) we have to move out of our Comfort Zone and move into the Growth Zone.
 
If we don’t continually challenge ourselves, our abilities atrophy in the same way a muscle atrophies when we don’t use it.
 
The Danger Zone is a place where we have pushed ourselves to a point where we want to grow, but our efforts put us in a place where we could be injured or die.
 
Watch this short video about how being comfortable all the time, can ruin our lives.  

“You can be whatever you earn the right to be.” - Buzz Williams
 
What are you earning the right to be?

“Belief, the act of holding a set or system of values, is not the same thing as faith, even though we often use the words imprecisely and interchangeably.” - Brian McLaren
 
How do you distinguish between belief and faith?

Have you reached the pinnacle of your development?

Regardless of your age, do you believe life is dynamic? That you aren't quite finished yet? That who and what you are has unbounded potential? That's right, you are potential. Do you believe that in your soul?

Not everyone develops at the same pace. Some people know exactly what their life path will be at an early age, while many others struggle to find their purpose over several decades. 

We all have a purpose in life based on the gifts and talents we have been given, but our purposes are revealed at different times and under different circumstances. Many times people get discouraged because their purpose seems elusive.

However, as concentration camp survivor and psychiatrist, Victor Frankl said, "One should not search for an abstract meaning of life. Everyone has a specific vocation in life to carry out, a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment."

If your vocation hasn't revealed itself yet, be patient. If you keep searching, you will find the reason why you were given your unique gifts and talents.

​Please check out this short video about the importance of seeing the hidden talents in ourselves and others.