Ep. 324 - Motivational Monday: The Path to a Fulfilling Life

"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry.  He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say:  Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well."  - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Join Rob on this Motivational Monday as he shares thoughts inspired by The Rudder of the Day...which allows us to start our day off right with an encouraging word, great quotes, Bible references, and wholesome life-enriching thoughts.  We use this as a way to springboard into this week, this month, this year, and the rest of our  lives.  Make it a great week! 

And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. - Ecclesiastes 3:13 KJV  

• Have you found an authentic application of God's best gifts to you?  
• What could you do to move closer to that perfect fit?  

Let us know in the group chat! 

"Finding God's unique gifts is the path to a fulfilling life."  - Dan Miller

~ 

Connect on social media!  

• Telegram Group Chat - https://t.me/allaroundgrowth 
• MeWe Group - https://mewe.com/join/theallaroundgrowthcommunity
• Twitter - https://twitter.com/allaroundgrowth 
• Flote - https://flote.app/allaroundgrowth 
• Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/allaroundgrowth 
• Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/allaroundgrowth 

~  

Subscribe to the All Around Growth Podcast Telegram Channel for show updates ONLY:    

• https://t.me/allaroundgrowthpodcast  

~

• Follow this link to ALL EPISODES   

~ 

• How To Leave a Rating & Review in Apple Podcast App
  • This really *does* affect the algorithm...
  • ...as of recording in April 2022 - I would invite you to do this!
  • The podcast game is changing - help us with a rating and review!

~

Have a Question or any feedback for Rob?

Send me an email at allaroundgrowth@gmail.com

~

Discussion Links:

Rudder of the Day - 48 Days Online Store
Dan Miller quotes Henry Ward Beecher in the introduction: "The first hour is the rudder of the day--the Golden Hour."   Start your day off right with an encouraging word, great quotes, Bible references, and wholesome life-enriching thoughts.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 KJV

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_02 0:15

Well, hello there, and welcome back to another episode of the All Around Growth Podcast, the show that provides insight and tools to build the life and homestead of your dreams. My name is Rob Kaiser and I am your host. Today is Monday, April 11th, 2022, and we've got a motivational Monday show to start the week off for you. The first 60 minutes of each day will set the stage for what that day will hold. Be very careful of how you start your day. In those first few minutes, you are planting the seeds for your effectiveness, influence, health, and spiritual vitality for that day. In the same way, guys, when we start off our work weeks, whether it's on a Monday, a Sunday, a Wednesday, whatever schedule you have, whatever type of job that you have, the way that we start off our work week sets the tone, much like the same way in our day, sets the tone for that week. The week sets off the tone for the month, the month for the year, and so on and so forth. And so today, because quite frankly, I need a little bit of motivational Monday, we're gonna read about finding God's unique gifts and how that is the path to a fulfilling life. And the title of today's show is called I Want to Be a Sidewalk Man. So here we go. This comes from The Rudder of the Day by Dan Miller, author of the book 48 Days to the Work and Life You Love. Let's get right into it. A recent Saturday was a beautiful day that allowed us to complete some outdoor projects. Joanne and I had purposely had our three grandchildren at home to experience the excitement of the day. A crew was working on forms for a new sidewalk before he woke up. The roofers were here by 7.30 a.m. Caleb, my six-year-old grandson, was especially fascinated by all the work being completed. The concrete truck arrived and began to dump the concrete in the prepared forms. Intrigued by the big boots and the opportunity to walk around in wet concrete, Caleb quickly informed us that he wanted to be a sidewalk man when he grows up. Although he briefly reconsidered when we were sitting on the peak of a roof talking to the roofers, he informed them as well of his intentions. Of course, one of the roofers quick one of the roofers quickly dismissed his newly formed goal and told him to make sure he gets a desk job. Finding our purpose or helping a child find theirs is an exciting process. By recognizing our one skills and abilities, two personality traits, and three values, dreams, and passions, we can see the patterns in what God has gifted us for. Quote, if a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should he should sweep st boy, let's begin that again. If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should streep sweets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well. Close quote. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Now I know the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, and this is just one more example. But I also know that if a person provides a quality skill like creative sidewalk construction, they are not likely to ever be out of work. And we see those cushy desk jobs come and go like the wind today. Caleb is growing up in a world where his daddy, uncle, and papa are all doing desk jobs. How exciting is it to watch his unique God-given talents developed? I would certainly not want to misdirect him from finding his passion and the application of that. And personally, I really do believe the world could use another great sidewalk man. We must allow each individual to find his or her authentic fit. As parents, we must embrace training up a child in the way that he or she is meant. Proverbs 22 verse 6. And before we ask ourselves a question or two for some direction for today, we've got a quote from the Bible. And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all of his labor. It is the gift of God. And our questions, my friends, have you found an authentic application of God's best gift to you? And how could you move? What could you do to move closer to that perfect fit?

SPEAKER_01 5:49

Guys, I think about this a lot. That's what this show's about. That's what this show's become, at least.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Ah, Jesus. Feeling a bit emotionally charged after reading this this morning. Yeah, have I found an authentic application of God's best gifts to me? I don't know. But as I pause and work through this process, I feel more confident that I have. I feel more confident that I have because I get more scared every time I think about it in detail. And in large part, that's why I've procrastinated a little bit. Sat down and went to the bank this weekend. I'm on track with some goals. Doing alright. Not where I could be, not where I should be. Procrastinated a little bit. And then there are times when I feel unhappy or a little stressed. And I realize that because I've procrastinated, I've postponed the ability or the opportunity for me to make some of the changes time frames that I wish to do so. And accordingly, I feel trapped. You know, I've painted myself into a corner. Got no options. That's where I'm wrong because we always have options. We make choices every day. And if we're not working to find God's unique gifts, then we're miserable. Because finding God's unique gifts is the path to a fulfilling life. Okay? Finding God's unique gifts. Even if that means that you're not in the position right now to execute upon them, you've got to do the work to find out what they are. So that when you do find yourself in the position, you can. And then lead the fulfilling life that you currently don't have right now. It's a process. This isn't something that just happens overnight. It's like dietary changes, lifestyle changes, really. You know, there is no diet. We don't just do keto, get healthy. Right? The whole the whole the whole keto is like a gateway. You know how they say marijuana is the gateway drug? And then all of a sudden you're doing all the crazy things. Yeah. It's kinda like keto. It is the gateway diet. And then all of a sudden you're doing some things like experimentation with intermittent fasting, which leads to longer fasts, extended fasts. And then you realize that maybe at the end of the day, it's not carbs that are your enemy, but it's the way that you live your life. It's the style of food that you live your life, it's the behavior patterns that you've begun to engage in because of the amount of stress that you have in your life. And all of this, the consequences or the solution oftentimes manifests itself in food. But you can change if you want to. And I can change too if I want to. You know, these questions about finding an authentic application of God's best gift, God's best gift to you. You know, this this process of finding working through my 2022 goals. All of this, right? All of this has resulted in this understanding that finding what I'm passionate about, what I'm trying to understand my purpose. It's less so about my purpose and my passion. Then I mean, that's what I thought it was all about. That's why I thought I was miserable. I was wrong. I was wrong because the mistake came from the idea that it was me misunderstanding my purpose. Me not understanding my passion. And that was the root cause of why I was so miserable. No. The reality is that I changed my perspective. I listened to others who experienced some of the results that I wanted to experience in life. People that I viewed as mentors, not necessarily for the things that they have done or the things that they have accumulated, but mentors because of the ideologies that they have, mentors because of the teams that they've built, mentors because of the legacies that they've created, and mentors because of the families that they have. Not just the families of their own, but the families of their children. People I respect. And even though I have no children of my own, these are people I want, whose values I want to live by. Because I see what it's done for them. One thing in common I've found is that these individuals have come to understand that the path to a fulfilling life is finding God's unique gifts in this life. So guys, as we close out today and begin this week, I would encourage you to think about two questions. One, have you found an authentic application of God's best gifts to you? And what could you do to move closer to that perfect fit? Think about those questions today. Utilize that as a springboard for your week. And thank you.