Ask For What You Need
As I sit here writing this I just got back from a live Tony Robbins 4-day full immersion event that they call Unleash The Power Within (UPW). Jenna and I left our kids for 6 days to go to West Palm Beach Florida for this amazing experience.
One of the things that I love about listening to Tony Robbins is that we think a lot of the same way.
He is a FIRM believer in the creator. God was mentioned numerous times throughout the day. Every day of the event. Tony talks about how everything happens FOR you, not TO you. He is also an extremely successful businessperson. He currently owns stakes in more than 120 companies and those companies make more than 8 billion annually.
But what I really like about Tony is that he is genuine.
He really cares about people and wants to help them.
One of the principles that he teaches to help people accomplish their goals is to envision them as if they are already accomplished.
We went through this exercise with him several times during this amazing experience.
You might be thinking, Dan, how does this relate to the verse for today?
I’m getting there I promise. Just stick with me for a bit longer.
As I went through this process I did one extra thing. I prayed for God to guide my future vision to be what he wants for me. I asked him, not to show me my future, but to help me align with his values and vision for my future.
What I say really surprised me in a couple of different ways.
The first was that most people THINK that you have to be poor to be happy. We have given ourselves a belief that if you have financial success you can’t be close to God.
But I was shown something completely different.
True wealth. (but that’s for another devotional)
Second, he showed me that it was a good thing to be considered an influencer. As long as you did it with God in your heart.
Don’t get me wrong there are lots of influencers out there who aren’t doing it for God, they are doing it to see themselves on camera or to get likes. But if you do it for God then you are doing it for the right reasons.
The third thing that he showed me was when you ask for what you want and NEED he will always provide.
The last thing that I’m going to talk about is that it is ok to want nice things in this life. As long as you don’t lust after them.
Here is what I mean by lusting after them. To me, lusting is kind of like wanting it so bad that you would do immoral things to get it. You do ANYTHING even if it compromises your morals to get what you want.
Don’t get me wrong, God wants us to be dedicated to getting what we want in this life. I need us to work hard for them and not be afraid to get out and there and get it done.
But he NEVER wants us to compromise our morals. That is where most people go wrong when chasing their dreams. They take the phrase Do WHATEVER it takes to get what you want a little too literally.
So they lie, cheat, and steal to get everything they want.
That is not what God wants. In fact, he wants the exact opposite.
I also think that a lot of people don’t get what they ask for because they don’t do what needs to be done to get what they want and need.
You see God wants us to have everything we ever dreamed of in this life, but he never said that he would hand it to us on a silver platter.
HECK NO!!!
The one thing that I have realized, especially more lately, is that when I work for something I struggle to attain one of the things that I really want, then I appreciate it so much more after I accomplish it.
It means more to me if I struggle to get it. and God knows that we appreciate it more.
Now is the time to get out there and start chasing your dreams.
Take Action
Today I would like to walk you through the same exercise that Jenna and I went through at UPW.
Close your eyes (after you get done reading this, lol)
Say a quick prayer for God to guide your thoughts and vision.
Now imagine your future.
Make it clear. So clear that you could literally step into the vision.
What do you see, who is there, where are you?
All right with your eyes closed, step into that vision.
Smell the air, what do you smell? Bend down and touch the ground, what do you feel?
Thank your creator for giving you this amazing opportunity.
Now step out of the vision and look at it as though it were a picture in your scrapbook. It is now a memory that you look back on because you have already accomplished it.
Now close that scrapbook and put it back on the shelf.
Open your eyes.
Now write down what you need to do to make the vision possible. Remember to start with small steps because once you have momentum it will be much easier to take bigger steps.
Prayer
Lord, today we come to you with a full heart. We are so grateful for everything that you have given to us. The experiences, the people you have introduced us to. The food you give us fuels our passions. The music allows others to create that inspires.
God, you are amazing, and you do NOT give yourself enough credit for what you do for us daily. You gave us the breath of life, and all too often forget that you are the creator of everything good in this world. Today God we pray that you help us to create a plan to help us get to the vision you just gave us.
Help us to find some small actionable items that we can start with TODAY to move us closer to our dreams. God today we thank you for everything you have ever given us and everything you will ever give us.
We ask all these things in your precious Son’s name.
Amen.
A Little More
Today I would really like to go out on a limb and share my vision with you that I had the last time I did this exercise.
But!
Before I do it, I need you to promise me one thing.
Please don’t judge me by my vision. I am a HUGE thinker and dreamer. And I KNOW in my heart that that scares some people.
But!
In order to overcome the fear of being rejected because of the hugeness of the way I think I really need to share this with you.
When I look into the future this is what I see.
Jenna and I are standing next to our private Jet along with our family. All of our kids are there along with their families. Our kids are trying to stop their kids (our grandkids) from fighting with each other. Just like we used to do with our kids. Lol
Our companies are growing stronger than we could have ever imagined. We have key players in each company that help us to keep them on the right path. Each of the leaders are grounded in God and have a very strong sense of right and wrong.
In other words, our morals align with each other.
Each year we have a business get-together on our private island for all of the leaders with all of our companies. We team up for a few days at the resort and enjoy every moment of growth that happens.
While we work our butts off every day, we have found a way to enjoy every second that we have on this earth.
We have key charities that we have found that we can support, and we give back more than most companies have ever thought about giving back. Because we know that true success starts by giving back. That is where we find the most joy in our lives when we give.
Recently we took a group of youth on a leadership tour around the world on our jet.
We take others with us on mission trips multiple times a year. We load everyone up on our jet and go serve others.
Our whole life is about serving others. To make their lives easier.
God is a major part of our lives. While we might not make it to church every week, we do a great job at keeping the church in our lives. God is great and we know that all of this is possible through him as long as we work toward it.
We have touched the lives of over 10 million people through our businesses, nonprofits, and other ways God has given us to touch others lives.
We are truly wealthy.
Thank you for taking a few moments to let me share this with you.
It was harder than I thought it would be to push the publish button, but I am forever grateful that I did.
Have a GREAT day!!!