Sips from the Fountain
Learning to drink from Jesus, the Fountain of Living Water, isn’t as hard as I thought, especially when you just start with sips, and those will change everything.
Sips from the Fountain
Do You Know Who’s on Your Board?
Whether we realize it or not, we all have our go-to people, people who help us navigate life’s challenges, make big and small decisions, and who color how we approach our lives. The crazy thing is… we’re almost never intentional about who those people are, even though they have so much influence in our lives. And we often listen to voices that shouldn’t have a seat a the table just because of their proximity to us, or because of long-standing relationships that may or may not be healthy.
So how do you intentionally craft the group of people who have impact in your life, while honoring those you love, but who don’t give the best advice?
Join us for a conversation that’s both insightful and practical and that could change the course of your life!
Do you ever feel like life can get too complicated and maybe even overwhelming? Yeah, me too, and it's okay. My name's Martha Gannot, and in this podcast, we're going to talk about life, love, faith, family relationships, all kinds of things, and we're going to drink from what God wants to pour into us, one small sip at a time, because when it's the fountain of living water, small sips make all the difference. Sometimes it'll be just you and me. Sometimes we'll have a friend join us. If we could have lunch together today, this is what I'd want to talk about. Well, hello everybody. It's so great to hang out with you today. I'm excited about what we're going to talk about.
Martha Gano:There's a famous quote attributed to motivational speaker and author, the late Jim Rohn, that I've heard more than once and from more than one speaker. That goes something like this we become the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Then there's the quote show me your friends and I'll show you your future. That one is by Dan Pena, a businessman worth $500 million as of 2022. So you know, I guess we could pay attention to him a little. Right? I started really thinking about this for the first time when my own kiddos began launching into adulthood and making their own decisions. It was. It was not a glorious start to the concept. It went something like this Mom so the random people at the bars downtown on Friday nights, would you put them on the board of directors of your life Capital board, capital directors? Their answer yeah, definitely not. My response right. So remember that on Friday night, when they're trying to get you to do stuff, determine right now how much power you'll hand them in your life, these random people that you don't know, who are making poor choices themselves. Basically, I was identifying that we all already have a board of directors. Actually, it's the people we call to talk through things or when we're in crisis. We ask their opinions and take their advice, or we're at least influenced by what they say. Whether we realize it or not, there are people in our worlds that are guiding our lives. You know, when an organization decides to assemble a board of directors, it's not often a good idea to haphazardly put it together, and it definitely doesn't happen like that.
Martha Gano:In successful organization, boards of directors are made up of people who have earned the right to have a voice into the organization, whether it's a business or an educational system, or a nonprofit At some level. They have a proven track record of success. They're usually deeply vested and even passionate about the organization. They definitely believe in its purpose and mission. They have the best interest of the organization at heart. So in its purpose and mission, they have the best interest of the organization at heart, so they invest time and energy into making sure that the organization is set up for success. They're willing to sacrifice, be honest and even ask hard questions and make tough or unpopular decisions if that's what's best. They can be trusted with the present and future success of the organization.
Martha Gano:My friends, if you're within the sound of my voice right now, I'm here to tell you that your life is worthy of an intentionally assembled board of directors. For some of us, the first step is going to be to accept that our lives have that much value. But last I checked, we only get one, and your life and my life they're loaded with purpose. So hear me, you are worth having a board of directors. I was listening recently to Pastor Chris Vallotton and he put his own special spin on that phrase about becoming like those we spend the most time with. Put his own special spin on that phrase about becoming like those we spend the most time with. He said that we also become the average of what the most influential people in our lives believe about us. Right, insert mind blown emoji. That was fun. It's my podcast. I can do that. In other words, we need people who believe in us to be speaking into us and our life's purpose.
Martha Gano:So let's say that we're going to make the shift from having a random board based just on whoever's closest to us to intentionally putting together our own board. Let me say this first we are not going to fire anyone from anything. All the people in your world don't even need to know that you have a board of directors, much less who is or isn't on it, or that they used to be on it and now they're not. Us who is or isn't on it, or that they used to be on it and now they're not. This is because it's totally possible to honor and hear people without listening to them and taking everything they have to say to heart. Often, I think we don't realize that we're listening to voices that we should be choosing to only hear and honor, but they should not get a seat at the table. So we're not going around firing people, we're just changing how we process their input and continuing to love them. So let's get back to forming our own board. Who gets a seat at the table? Well, it's very similar to how an organization would choose their board.
Martha Gano:These are going to be people who are more successful than I am in different areas of their lives. Have you ever heard? Never listen to people less successful than you are, unless that's where you want to end up, right? It's also made of people that I admire because of what they've accomplished and because of who they are, because they have character. It's people who are positive. You know there's always going to be negative in life and the dog we feed most is the one that will win. I want people helping me find the life and hope even in the hardest places, and helping me feed into those.
Martha Gano:I cannot afford to have negative people speaking into the deep places of my life. The older I get or maybe it actually doesn't have anything to do with it, you guys, I realized that I even have to limit how much I'm around negativity Because, yes, you can hear things without listening to them, but there's also something to how much you're marinating in an environment. Eventually it just soaks in. I used to think that I could change the negative people in my life because I'm really bubbly, and especially if I love them. But with negativity it's actually a poison for both of us. And I love those folks, but they are not in my inner circle and I even have to manage how much time I spend there in my inner circle and I even have to manage how much time I spend there. Another reason I can't afford negativity because in my opinion it's rooted in fear. Back to Chris Valentin. You should listen to him some he says and buckle up here, folks.
Martha Gano:Fear is faith in the enemy's plan for my life. Holy smokes, okay, one more time. Are you ready? Fear is faith in the enemy's plan for my life. It's believing that the enemy's plan is greater than God's plan for my life, that the enemy's ability to accomplish his purposes is greater than God's ability to accomplish his. So when I engage in fear, I am literally partnering with the enemy's plan for my life. When I heard that, I was done being the victim of fear and decided that for the rest of my life, no matter what the circumstances look like, and maybe especially when they're terrible, I want to partner with God's plan in every situation, not the enemy's.
Martha Gano:Also on my board and this is a big one, I got this from my brother-in-law, joel Are people who are willing to tell me the 10% about my life that nobody else has the courage to say out loud to me Wow, this is huge, I think, because most of us spend our lives trying to avoid that 10%. Right, but people who are hungry to become the best versions of themselves, who are humble enough to grow in the hard places that will change their destiny, to grow in the hard places that will change their destiny, those are the rare people who invite a select few very trusted friends to always say out loud that 10%. It's the hardest stuff to hear, but it's the stuff that keeps us stuck. So what does this look like, practically speaking, to intentionally form your board of directors? Well, let's talk through some possible examples, some hypothetical situations. It may be that, let's say, while you love your dad, you realize that he lives in unreasonable fear, and what that looks like for you is that he never wants you to chase your dreams. He wants you to keep the status quo, his what ifs are always worst case scenario. Well, what if you keep on loving him like you always have. But you also find people who have accomplished their big goals and you listen to their podcasts, you read those books. You watch movies about great courage. Or if you know someone who's accomplished what they wanted to in this area or who is going for their dreams, ask them to mentor you or partner with you.
Martha Gano:You may be realizing about now that your best friend is always well kind of whiny and negative. It may seem like no big deal when she's complaining about gas prices Actually, I think negativity is always a big deal, but hey, baby steps here, right but it gets more serious when it occurs to you that she trash talks. Your husband, just your husband. Whenever you have an argument with him, she never talks about the part that maybe you're bringing to the table. When you think about it, her marriage isn't in great shape. So, while you love her, what if you found a friend with a healthy marriage who's not afraid to be honest about the hard stuff and start sharing your struggles with her instead? Or maybe you have a buddy who is over the top with having to have the latest gadgets, devices, tech, vehicles, you name it, but you know he has to be in some pretty serious debt to keep up with the habit. Maybe you're realizing that when you want to make a major purchase, instead of calling your friend who leaves Dave Ramsey study groups, you call your impulsive spender friend, because you can count on him to help you justify that upgrade, whether it's a phone, a car or a house. So instead you make a conscious decision to change who you call when it comes to finance, or how about this one?
Martha Gano:Your health isn't where you wish it was and you realize that all that comfort food you grew up on is the problem. You talk to your sweet mama about it, but she loves people by cooking for them. Same mama, same, but all she knows is fried things and casseroles, and starting with dessert, because life is short. Every time you mention making changes, she talks you off the ledge and offers you a piece of pie to help you feel better Once she gets home way too young to be having serious issues from her fifth doctor's appointment that week. Maybe you keep loving her, but you find a healthy friend and ask for help. Maybe you eat mama's food when you're with her and invite me over every once in a while, but your kitchen and choices begin to change. You love her so much but you don't want to go where she is. Physically, she never has to know, unless she notices changes in you and invites you into the conversation, which is usually the only time someone is really willing to hear. Right, and you definitely never have to make her feel less than in the process.
Martha Gano:You guys, this one mindful practice will make the biggest difference in your life. It's a one degree course change that could take you to a new destiny. It could change your mental health, your physical health, your career, your relationships, your family and, hopefully, your community. I would love to hear what you think about this and what changes for you when you choose life and when you build a board of directors who choose life too. Proverbs 24, 6 says for by wise guidance you can wage war, and in an abundance of wise counselors there is victory and safety. I so hope this has been helpful.
Martha Gano:Thanks, you guys, for taking this sip with me today. Hey, you guys, thanks for hanging out with us today. I hope you got some refreshment from this sip from the fountain. If you're curious to hear more or if you like what you've heard, you can go ahead and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen to yours or follow our Instagram account Sips from the Fountain or our Facebook page by the same name. Special thanks for cover art photography to the Sarah D Harper, and I can't wait to hang out with you guys next time. Thanks so much. Love y'all, thank you.