People across North America are searching for guidance and wisdom as they navigate the adventures and adversities of their lives.  Where there is a demand, a product or service springs into the market to fill the gap.  In response to this demand, the “life coaching” industry has exploded in success and is literally red-hot right now.  Many people employ the use of “life coaches” and many people, both because they see this demand and because they enjoying learning and sharing wisdom, have opted to become “life coaches”.   And therein lies the problem!

To be a “life coach” in the popular sense of today, you require only a credit card with a few hundred bucks available, a free weekend to attend a training conference, and someone with the hutzpah to take your money with a straight face and award you a certificate (perhaps printed from their home computer} that reads, “Certified Life Coach”.  Voila!  The newly minted “Life Coach” is in business, free to hang out their shingle, slap the term “Certified Life Coach” on their business card and website, and they too are ready to dispense the wisdom they learned over the weekend and collect the money.  The “life coach” could be a broke kid living in his mom’s basement on Friday, and Monday morning he is “Certified”.  Does something seem wrong with this picture to you?  Would you trust a doctor, or a lawyer, or a dentist, with the same level of training, to guide you through important issues?  Likely not.

In the LIFE Business, we also have a designation titled “LIFE Coach”.  Despite the similarity in how these titles sound, there is an ocean of difference between them.  To be a “LIFE Coach” in the LIFE business, you need to have earned your stripes through many months and years of in-the-trenches leadership, mentoring many hundreds or thousands of top performers along the way in every area of life, reading hundreds of leadership and personal development books and listening to thousands of CDs, and reach very measurable criteria of business success, in order to be titled “LIFE Coach”.  You have personally mastered and successfully coached business leaders of all levels and backgrounds in all areas of LIFE, including Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness, Freedom , Following, Friendship and Fun.  You have modeled the way for the people you coach by first having achieved massive success in every area of life.  If you don’t first hold yourself accountable to mastering those eight F’s and achieving success in each, it’s unlikely you will develop many hundreds of people that actively seek your wisdom and business counsel.  In the LIFE Business, that’s exactly what a LIFE coach has done!

So, here are the Seven Traits of a “LIFE Coach”:

#1:  A “LIFE Coach” realizes where they are.

I love the quote, “No matter where I go, there I am!”  We must certainly recognize our strengths, but there is a time where we need to take a hard look at where we are weak.  We can’t escape our weaknesses by denying them.  We need to recognize that maybe we got to where we each are in life because we keep following our own counsel.  A leader once said, “If you don’t like your results, STOP taking your own advice.”  That’s a tough pill to swallow, but a necessary one.  How would you rate yourself, on a scale of 1-10, in Character?  In Tasks?  In Relationships?  Read “Personality Plus” to learn your personality style.  Read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” in order to master basic people skills.  Read and devour books and CDs.  And as you do, seek not only to learn, but to apply.  Ask yourself, “What three things have I learned from my mentor that I have applied, that I can track the result?”  You may be terrible with people… for now!  You may be disorganized… for now!  You may be shy and scared to talk to people…. For now!  

Remember: You never deny a diagnosis; but you do deny the negative verdict that may go with it.

#2: A Life Coach realizes where they want to go and they see it.

A LIFE Coach visualizes the end goal in vivid detail.  They believe so strongly they can accomplish their goals that their subconscious thinks it has already happened.  The people who move on in LIFE immerse themselves in their dream, rather than wallow in doubt.   If you are struggling to get results in your business, I would ask, “Are you merely working your business, or are you chasing your dream?  How much time are you spending dream building versus trying to figure out why it isn’t working for you?”  Amp up your hunger level!  Someone who is hungry is a fierce competitor and ends up doing the work necessary to succeed.  To prime the pump though, there will be days where your confidence wavers.  Do the work and your belief will grow!  Hope is putting faith to work when doubting would be easier.  Doubting is the easiest thing to do… it’s like snoozing in a warm bed in the morning.  It’s tough to shake off doubt because it is so comfortable.  It takes massive guts, hope and vision to jump out of bed and face your fears.  LIFE Coaches are just visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear.  Whatever circumstance you face and the excuse you make to yourself, one of the LIFE Coach’s have faced a bigger obstacle and chose not to be defeated by the excuse.  “Reasons” why you believe you can’t do something are just excuses that someone hungrier chose to overcome.  I’ve seen so many people break through so many mental barriers that I’ve come to realize the only real barrier is the barriers we build in our own heads!

I think of Dan Hawkins as a model example of someone who had tons of doubt and fear when he got started.  He was a socially shy auto mechanic who was scared to talk to people.  His hunger was so great that he forced himself to learn, change and grow.  His hunger was the wrecking ball that smashed through his mental barriers.  If Dan can do it, so can you!

Jim Martin is another guy who overcame his circumstances.  He saw himself winning.  He had massive hunger to win.  He listened to 9 audios a day and became “Martinized.”  {He is the only guy on the Team with a verb named after him.)  Jim could have made excuses about his education, he work schedule, or the daily pressures he faced.  But instead he chose to use them as rocket fuel to propel him to victory.  I have some guys at the Turbo 50, Turbo 100 or even RT level who only grew at 10% one cycle.  And I have a Triple 100 who grew 72% in the same two months!!! How?!?  Because this guy BELIEVED he was going to win.  His kicked his own butt off the couch and got it done!  To be successful, you must SEE where you are going and BELIEVE it!

#3: A LIFE Coach takes action NOW.

Tony Robbins says, “Never leave the scene of a decision without taking immediate, massive action.”  The best way to go LIFE Coach is to start NOW!  If you want bigger, faster, better results, then the words “later”, “tomorrow”, “Soon”, or “eventually” need to be erased from your vocabulary.  “One of these days” is none of these days. It will never come. One of these days is none of these days.  Here’s what I hear from folks who ARE NOT moving on:

“Yeah, I’ll probably get to that. I’ll talk to Will Mucker down the road. I’m gonna talk to him and to Jim Wasakai, his buddy. I was going to contact him and Glenn Tucket there. My buddies from down home, I want to talk to them. Probably next week, though.  Yeah, next week. I have the ballgame going on and the golf tournament.  Of course, the wife has to work tomorrow and I’ll have to be watching the kids. After that I’ll probably call these guys.  One of these days I’ll get ‘er going. It looks like a good program you fellows got going there. I’d like to get involved with that.”

On and on and on and on. Next year they are still saying the same thing.  All worthwhile men have good thoughts, good ideas and good intentions, but precious few ever translate those into action. Make today your masterpiece.  Autograph your work today with excellence.  Play this game as if you were an Olympic Athlete chasing the Gold Medal.  Play it that hard.  You may have a hard time visualizing yourself as a LIFE Coach, but could you visualize playing your very hardest for one day?  If you want to see a great example of guys fighting hard to win, I’d recommend the movie Miracle, about the 1980 American Olympic Hockey Team.

Take action NOW.  Orrin Woodward, when he thinks about something he needs to accomplish, he says to himself, “Do it now.”  That helps him overcome procrastination.  I would recommend another great book available through the LIFE business titled Eat That Frog! by Brian Tracy.  It’s a great little book on overcoming procrastination and learning to take action.

That’s it for now… stayed tuned for Part II of: The 7 Traits of a LIFE Coach!

God bless, Tim

Hey gang, here is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Confidence of a Champion, available through the LIFE business.  I hope you enjoy it!  God bless, Tim.

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Confidence is a high level of belief or certainty in someone or something.  For example, I am confident the sun will rise tomorrow.  I am also confident the staircase will support my weight.  When thinking of my doctor, I am confident in his ability to prescribe appropriate treatments.

Self-confidence is simply belief in yourself.  It is the belief that you can handle a certain situation or task.  For example, I am a “confident driver” because I have certainty and belief in my ability to handle myself behind the wheel.  Social confidence means I am unafraid to walk into a room and shake hands with strangers.  Professional confidence means I feel capable to do my job well.  Confidence impacts the way you carry yourself in the world, in your interactions with people, and in the actions that you do or don’t take. Your level of confidence is based upon your personal mixture of three ingredients: self-esteem, self-image, and self-worth.  While these terms tend to get used interchangeably, there are subtle yet important differences between them.  Let’s discuss each of those ingredients in detail:

• Self-esteem is how much we like ourselves
• Self-image is how we view ourselves
• Self-worth is how much value we see in ourselves

Self-Esteem.  Positive self-esteem is a feeling that we like and accept ourselves.  The opposite of self-esteem is self-loathing.  Glenn R. Schiraldi, author of 10 Simple Solutions for Building Self-Esteem, writes that self-esteem “is a realistic, appreciative opinion of oneself.  Realistic means we are dealing in the truth, being accurately and honestly aware of our strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between.  Appreciative, however, means we have overall good feelings about the person we see.”

In his book Honoring The Self, author Nathaniel Branden describes how different levels of self-esteem might affect us.  He writes, “A person who does not feel competent in the performance of some particular task, such as flying an airplane, designing a computer program, or operating a business, does not necessarily suffer from poor self-esteem.  But a physically healthy person who feels fundamentally inadequate to the normal challenges of life, such as earning a living, certainly does.  A person who feels undeserving of some particular award or honor, such as the Nobel Prize or universal adulation for having dashed off a fairly simple love song, again does not necessarily lack good self-esteem.  But a person who feels undeserving of happiness, who feels unworthy of any joy or reward in life, surely has a self-esteem deficiency.”  In order to have confidence, we must like ourselves.

Self-Image.  This is the way you view yourself.  Brian Tracy says, “The person we believe ourselves to be will always act in a manner consistent with our self-image.”  Self-image is connected to our self-esteem, but they are a little different.  For example, let’s suppose you are very tall.  If you have a positive self-image, you might say to yourself, “Because I am tall, I command attention and have an advantage playing basketball.”  Your self-esteem then says, “I like myself for being tall.” Or the opposite might occur.  If you have a negative self-image, you might say to yourself, “Because I am tall, I’m gangly, my head scrapes the roof and I stick out in a crowd.”  Your self-esteem then says, “I don’t like myself for being tall.”  Maxwell Maltz, author of Psycho-Cybernetics, says “The “self-image” sets the boundaries of individual accomplishment.  It defines what you can and cannot do.  Expand the self-image and you expand the “area of the possible”.  The development of an adequate, realistic self-image will seem to imbue the individual with new capabilities, new talents and literally turn failure into success.” To have a healthy self-image, you need to view yourself in a positive way.

Self-worth.  This is the recognition of our fundamental value and worth.  I read once, “If you really put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.”  Low self-worth says, “I don’t matter.  If I were to vanish, no one would notice or care.  I’m worthless.”  Obviously, these are the tragic words we would hear from someone very depressed or, in the worst possible cases, even suicidal.  If you have these thoughts, I would strongly recommend that you reach out to your pastor, a counselor, your spouse or a trusted friend.  You are being lied to by the evil one.  A high level of self-worth says, “I do matter.  The world is a better place because I was born.  My life is making an important difference to those around me.  I am doing, and will continue to do, great things with my life.  I am a valuable person.”

Often, people with low feelings of self-worth will think they are flawed or deficient in some way.  They might have made a mistake which they think is unforgivable.  They might have gone through terrible circumstances and view themselves as “damaged goods”.  I want you to know that everyone has value, no matter what flaws we think we have.   Consider the following story from Orrin Woodward’s book, RESOLVED:

This is an old Chinese story about an elderly woman who had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which she carried across her neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water.

At the end of the long walks from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For two full years this went on daily, with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman one day by the stream. “I am ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house.”

The old woman smiled and said, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”

Each one of us has unique flaws and imperfections. It is only by accepting these cracks and flaws that we each have, will we be able to move forward in life. And this is what makes our lives very interesting and rewarding.

One of the things that I really enjoy about being involved with the great people in the LIFE business is that we ask questions; we challenge each other, and we seek to find the truth.  A few years ago, I was at Orrin Woodward’s house celebrating the Easter holiday as we usually do, (as our families get together on Easter), and Orrin and I got to talking about how many people think Easter is about the Easter bunny and chocolate eggs.  While we knew that was wrong, we didn’t know the origins of the Easter egg or the Easter bunny.  We started doing a little research and below, you will see an article that explains that the origins of the eggs are from Pagan holiday practices.

I recently returned home from a tour in my bus for a week, doing some meetings and seeing some family.  From time to time we would end up in a store somewhere and I would drop by the card aisle where they sell Hallmark cards, etc.  It’s always amazing to me right now how many of the cards are about the Easter bunny, talking about having a happy Easter, but not mentioning God or the resurrection of Jesus.  Some of the labels of the card sections actually say, “Religious: Easter”.  I shake my head at that, because… what else is there other that Religious: Easter?!?  Easter is about the resurrection of the risen Christ!  It’s about He who came to save the sinners of the world.  Many churchgoers only step foot inside a church twice a year: Christmas, and Easter.

Let me say this plainly: Easter is NOT about the Easter bunny or Easter eggs.  It is about the risen savior, Christ.

I would encourage you to read the following passage from the ESV Bible, John, chapter 20:

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The Resurrection

20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’1 head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,2 “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, z‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

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Enjoy the following article on the Pagan history behind the origin of Easter eggs and the Easter bunny, and God bless you and your loved ones on this Easter weekend.

Tim

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Easter : History and Traditions

Goddess Ostara
History of Easter Eggs
History of the Easter Bunny
Goddess Ishtar and the First Resurrection

Easter History : Christian and Pagan Traditions Interwoven

The history of Easter reveals rich associations between the Christian faith and the seemingly unrelated practices of the early pagan religions. Easter history and traditions that we practice today evolved from pagan symbols, from the ancient goddess Ishtar to Easter eggs and the Easter bunny.

Easter, perhaps the most important of the Christian holidays, celebrates the Christ’s resurrection from the dead following his death on Good Friday. . . a rebirth that is commemorated around the vernal equinox, historically a time of pagan celebration that coincides with the arrival of spring and symbolizes the arrival of light and the awakening of life around us.

Ostara, Goddess of Spring and the Dawn (Oestre / Eastre)

Easter is named for a Saxon goddess who was known by the names of Oestre or Eastre, and in Germany by the name of Ostara. She is a goddess of the dawn and the spring, and her name derives from words for dawn, the shining light arising from the east. Our words for the “female hormone” estrogen derives from her name.

Ostara was, of course, a fertility goddess. Bringing in the end of winter, with the days brighter and growing longer after the vernal equinox, Ostara had a passion for new life. Her presence was felt in the flowering of plants and the birth of babies, both animal and human. The rabbit (well known for its propensity for rapid reproduction) was her sacred animal.

Easter eggs and the Easter Bunny both featured in the spring festivals of Ostara, which were initially held during the feasts of the goddess Ishtar | Inanna. Eggs are an obvious symbol of fertility, and the newborn chicks an adorable representation of new growth. Brightly colored eggs, chicks, and bunnies were all used at festival time to express appreciation for Ostara’s gift of abundance.

History of Easter Eggs and Easter Candy

The history of Easter Eggs as a symbol of new life should come as no surprise. The notion that the Earth itself was hatched from an egg was once widespread and appears in creation stories ranging from Asian to Ireland.

Eggs, in ancient times in Northern Europe, were a potent symbol of fertility and often used in rituals to guarantee a woman’s ability to bear children. To this day rural “grannywomen” (lay midwives/healers in the Appalachian mountains) still use eggs to predict, with uncanny accuracy, the sex of an unborn child by watching the rotation of an egg as it is suspended by a string over the abdomen of a pregnant woman.

Dyed eggs are given as gifts in many cultures. Decorated eggs bring with them a wish for the prosperity of the abundance during the coming year.

Folklore suggests that Easter egg hunts arose in Europe during “the Burning Times”, when the rise of Christianity led to the shunning (and persecution) of the followers of the “Old Religion”. Instead of giving the eggs as gifts the adults made a game of hiding them, gathering the children together and encouraging them to find the eggs.

Some believe that the authorities seeking to find the “heathens” would follow or bribe the children to reveal where they found the eggs so that the property owner could be brought to justice.

Green Eggs . . . and Ham???

The meat that is traditionally associated with Easter is ham. Though some might argue that ham is served at Easter since it is a “Christian” meat, (prohibited for others by the religious laws of Judaism and Islam) the origin probably lies in the early practices of the pagans of Northern Europe.

Having slaughtered and preserved the meat of their agricultural animals during the Blood Moon celebrations the previous autumn so they would have food throughout the winter months, they would celebrate the occasion by using up the last of the remaining cured meats.

In anticipation that the arrival of spring with its emerging plants and wildlife would provide them with fresh food in abundance, it was customary for many pagans to begin fasting at the time of the vernal equinox, clearing the “poisons” (and excess weight) produced by the heavier winter meals that had been stored in their bodies over the winter. Some have suggested that the purpose of this fasting may have been to create a sought-after state of “altered consciousness” in time for the spring festivals. One cannot but wonder if this practice of fasting might have been a forerunner of “giving up” foods during the Lenten season.

Chocolate Easter bunnies and eggs, marshmallow chicks in pastel colors, and candy of all sorts, most of which are given out as personalized gifts during Easter . . . these have pagan origins as well! To understand their association with religion we need to examine the meaning of food as a symbol.

The ancient belief that, by eating something we take on its characteristics formed the basis for the earliest “blessings” before meals (a way to honor the life that had been sacrificed so that we as humans could enjoy life) and, presumably, for the more recent Christian sacrament of communion as well.

Shaping candy Easter eggs and bunnies to celebrate the spring festival was, simply put, a way to celebrate the symbols of the goddess and the season, while laying claim to their strengths (vitality, growth, and fertility) for ourselves.

The Goddess Ostara and the Easter Bunny

Feeling guilty about arriving late one spring, the Goddess Ostara saved the life of a poor bird whose wings had been frozen by the snow. She made him her pet or, as some versions have it, her lover. Filled with compassion for him since he could no longer fly (in some versions, it was because she wished to amuse a group of young children), Ostara turned him into a snow hare and gave him the gift of being able to run with incredible speed so he could protect himself from hunters.

In remembrance of his earlier form as a bird, she also gave him the ability to lay eggs (in all the colors of the rainbow, no less), but only on one day out of each year.

Eventually the hare managed to anger the goddess Ostara, and she cast him into the skies where he would remain as the constellation Lepus (The Hare) forever positioned under the feet of the constellation Orion (the Hunter). He was allowed to return to earth once each year, but only to give away his eggs to the children attending the Ostara festivals that were held each spring. The tradition of theEaster Bunny had begun.

The Hare was sacred in many ancient traditions and was associated with the moon goddesses and the various deities of the hunt. In ancient times eating the Hare was prohibited except at Beltane (Celts) and the festival of Ostara (Anglo-Saxons), when a ritual hare-hunt would take place.

In many cultures rabbits, like eggs, were considered to be potent remedies for fertility problems. The ancient philosopher-physician Pliny the Elder prescribed rabbit meat as a cure for female sterility, and in some cultures the genitals of a hare were carried to avert barrenness.

Medieval Christians considered the hare to bring bad fortune, saying witches changed into rabbits in order to suck the cows dry. It was claimed that a witch could only be killed by a silver crucifix or a bullet when she appeared as a hare.

Given their “mad” leaping and boxing displays during mating season as well as their ability to produce up to 42 offspring each spring, it is understandable that they came to represent lust, sexuality, and excess in general. Medieval Christians considered the hare to be an evil omen, believing that witches changed into rabbits in order to suck the cows dry. It was claimed that a witch could only be killed by a silver crucifix or a bullet when she appeared as a hare.

In later Christian tradition the white Hare, when depicted at the Virgin Mary’s feet, represents triumph over lust or the flesh. The rabbit’s vigilance and speed came to represent the need to flee from sin and temptation and a reminder of the swift passage of life.

And, finally, there is a sweet Christian legend about a young rabbit who, for three days, waited anxiously for his friend, Jesus, to return to the Garden of Gethsemane, not knowing what had become of him. Early on Easter morning, Jesus returned to His favorite garden and was welcomed the little rabbit. That evening when the disciples came into the garden to pray, still unaware of the resurrection, they found a clump of beautiful larkspurs, each blossom bearing the image of a rabbit in its center as a remembrance of the little creature’s hope and faith.

 Ishtar, Goddess of Love, and the First Resurrection (also known as Inanna)

Ishtar, goddess of romance, procreation, and war in ancient Babylon, was also worshipped as the Sumerian goddess Inanna. One of the great goddesses, or “mother goddesses”, the stories of her descent to the Underworld and the resurrection that follows are contained in the oldest writings that have ever been discovered. . . the Babylonian creation myth Enuma Elish and the story of Gilgamesh. Scholars believed that they were based on the oral mythology of the region and were recorded about 2,100 B.C.E.

The most famous of the myths of Ishtar tell of her descent into the realm of the dead to rescue her young lover, Tammuz, a Vegetation god forced to live half the year in the Underworld. Ishtar approached the gates of the Underworld, which was ruled by her twin sister Eresh-kigel, the goddess of death and infertility. She was refused admission.

Similar to the Greek myths of Demeter and Persephone that came later, during Ishtar’s absence the earth grew barren since all acts of procreation ceased while she was away. Ishtar screamed and ranted that she would break down the gates and release all of the dead to overwhelm the world and compete with the living for the remaining food unless she was allowed to enter and plead her case with her twin.

Needless to say, she won admission. But the guard, following standard protocol, refused to let her pass through the first gate unless she removed her crown. At the next gate, she had to remove her earrings, then her necklace at the next, removing her garments and proud finery until she stood humbled and naked after passing through the seventh (and last) gate.

In one version, she was held captive and died but was brought back to life when her servant sprinkled her with the “water of life”. In the more widely known version of the myth, Ishtar’s request was granted and she regained all of her attire and possessions as she slowly re-emerged through the gates of darkness.

Upon her return, Tammuz and the earth returned to life. Annual celebrations of this “Day of Joy”, were held each year around the time of the vernal equinox. These celebrations became the forerunners of the Ostara festivals that welcomed Oestre and the arrival of spring.

A section on the Goddess Inanna (the Sumerian version of the Goddess Ishtar), her myths and symbols, is included with the myths of the goddesses at this website.

Easter eggs, the Easter Bunny, the dawn that arrives with resurrection of life, and the celebration of spring all serve to remind us of the cycle of rebirth and the need for renewal in our lives. In the history of Easter, Christian and pagan traditions are gracefully interwoven

One of the things I love about the LIFE Business and the co-founders is we deal in reality; we deal in numbers, facts, and statistics.  Oh, how I wish our government would do the same.  Enjoy this video!

God bless, Tim.

Team, here is a fantatic blog post from Orrin Woodward.  If you can focus on a PDCA process in your business, you can create the LIFE you’ve always wanted!

God bless, Tim

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Yesterday, I confirmed again the value of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Adjust) process explained in my RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions for LIFE book. Actually, it started two weeks ago Sunday when our family and friends have our afternoon basketball game. In that game, my team lost both games and we did so because of my poor performance. I was hitting the front of the rim with my shot and when I attempted to change strategies and drive to the hole, my knee kept hyperextending. These aren’t excuses as we certainly earned our losses, but I confronted the reality of the situation to make some adjustments for the following Sunday (yesterday).

Hey gang, I thought you might enjoy a sneak preview of some of what you’ll find in my upcoming book, The Confidence of a Champion, to be released through the LIFE business.  The following section discusses the difference between comparing and competing and how it can affect your confidence.  I hope you enjoy it!

God bless, Tim

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Comparing and competing are very similar in that they involve spending a lot of time thinking about how you stack up against another guy. But in the case of comparison, that’s all there is. Comparison tends to devolve into either self-flattery (“Look at how great I am because I’m better than Bob,”) or self-pity (“Look at how terrible I am because I’m worse than Bob.”)  Both of these responses involve sitting around and staying the same as you are now. You are either patting your own back or kicking your own butt. Competition goes one critical step further than comparison: you not only think about the other guy, your reflection drives you to take action. Comparison merely says, “I hope the other guy isn’t very good so I can seem better.” Competition says, “I hope the other guy brings his A-game so it forces me to become better.” Comparison says, “Look at where I AM.” Competition says, “Look at where I am GOING.”

Wallowing in comparison will simply beat down our attitude and our activity; we risk feeling discouraged and might stop sharing our talents with the world.  We each have our God-given talents, but we don’t need to search very long to find someone who is better than us at a particular talent.  For example, I regularly speak in front of business audiences of hundreds and thousands of people.  In one sense, you might say I am an accomplished professional speaker.  But I am no Zig Ziglar (who went to be with the Lord in November of 2012).  He was, in my opinion, the best motivational speaker of all time.  He was the Michael Jordan of speaking.  But he had a very unique style.  I should not try to emulate his style because, unless I was born in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and lived in Texas I couldn’t do justice to his deep southern drawl.  There will always be someone who is better than us at something.  God created Zig to be Zig and He created me to be me.  Don’t try to copy people; be your own unique version of excellence.  Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Insist on yourself. Never imitate.”  Don’t blindly copy someone else.  You are an individual.

Competition helps us strive for greater heights and break through limiting beliefs.  If someone else is a champion, it can show us what is possible for us if we apply the same dedication to mastery that the other guy invested.  If we can find someone who has conquered a Goliath which we are facing, it can inspire us to believe that we could also succeed.   Looking at other people’s success should inspire and motivate you.  Maybe I’m just hard-wired that way I can look past how their amazing performance trounced mine.  It’s a delicate balance; on one hand, you are okay that they are winning; on the other hand, it needs to bug you enough for you to take action.

Perhaps in the past we might have looked at someone else’s amazing performance and felt we needed to make excuses for why we aren’t competing at their level.  We fire up the “excuse making machine” and say things like, “They must have better genetics, etc.”  Maybe that’s true.  And maybe they also had to overcome a brutally abusive childhood.  For everyone who believes the path to success was easy for a champion, I’ll show you a Michael Jordan who got cut from his high school basketball team.   If you catch yourself making excuses, you’ve got to “pattern interrupt” (more on that later.)  You’ve got to reframe the event in your mind and say instead, “If they overcame those terrible obstacles, I’m going to have a much easier road to success.”

Without proper success thinking, some people look at others at their best and their confidence spirals downward.  This depends a lot on how you view your fellow man.  You must remember when you see a champion that he has undoubtedly worked harder than others for years.  Recognize if someone is farther along the journey than you.  If they have been practicing golf for twenty years and you’ve been practicing for twenty days, that’s an unfair comparison.  Also, don’t compare the date you both started; compare how many hours of practice you’ve engaged in since then, and the quality of that practice.  Maybe you and a buddy have both had a golf membership for ten years.  If your friend has been practicing three hours a day, seven days a week for ten years, that’s 10,000 hours of mastery.  If you only play one game a month, you just aren’t going to be playing at the same level.  You can’t expect to be great without paying the same dues.  If I am willing to do what champions did I can be a gold medalist in my sport, my marriage or my business.  So get fired up when you see someone performing at a higher level!  Rather than wallowing in comparison, a competitive spirit will drive you to improve, as you realize that you can follow the same principles of practice over time.

For thirteen years now, I’ve been building communities and one of the things that I see quite often is people lack confidence and belief in themselves. In the LIFE business and the world at large, there are a lot of great books out there that teach many different aspects of confidence and self-esteem.  In my new book, Confidence of a Champion, my goal was to create one book that brought together the best strategies to help you identify why you might have low self-confidence and self-esteem, and how to get on the path towards fixing it.  Read what bestselling author Chris Brady has to say about it!

God bless, Tim

FOREWORD by Chris Brady

There are many books that are entertaining, while others are informative.  Still others are profound, and some stir the reader to action.  Once in a while a book comes along that accomplishes all of these in one whack.  The book you are holding in your hands does just that.

Tim Marks is a most delightful author, mostly because his writing, like his life, is a straightforward adventure.  In our many years of friendship, I have been privileged to see Tim from a vantage point that allowed insight into his real character.  I’ve seen him under attack, in pain, hurt, and exhausted.  I have also seen him win huge victories, achieve stellar recognitions, and hit difficult goals.  Through either extreme, Tim has remained the same admirable person.  His consistency is certainly one of his most dominant traits, along with the penchant for action that throbbed throughout his first best selling book, Voyage of a Viking.  In addition to consistency and an action-orientation, Tim also is very honest about personal limitations and weaknesses that many people would more naturally mask or cover up.  Because of this, Tim’s writings come directly from the heart with no trimmings or dressing.  What results is a “what you see is what you get” style that resonates with readers of all backgrounds.  Candor, it seems, is a most attractive quality in a writer.

There are lots of books on self-improvement, personal development, and success and achievement. Upon reading through much of the genre, some of the material can begin to seem repetitive, and at times, even a little shallow.  Confidence of a Champion is radically different.  This is true partly because books on the internal mental game of confidence are rare, if not downright nonexistent.   But it is also true because such a book could not be written by anyone except someone like Tim Marks, who not only strongly experienced each of the pangs of low self-esteem confessed in these pages, but also grew confident to the point where he later felt secure enough in sharing them honestly and openly.  Further, and more uniquely, Tim Marks teaches from a position of significant success, a position that required the overcoming of a lack of confidence to a degree most people never even approach.  The extreme between the “before and after” Tim Marks is one of his most instructive devices.

One additional unique quality of this book that bears mentioning is its disarming humor.  Often surprising and abrupt but always on point, Tim’s self-deprecation is as attractive as it is witty.  Again, this comes from Tim’s total refusal to pose as anything except himself.  This, too, is an object lesson that supports the overall aim of the book.  If Tim can grow comfortable enough to poke such fun at himself and the silly situations that surround us in life, perhaps others can grow to that level as well.

If you are a person who has ever suffered from a lack of self-confidence (and really, who among us hasn’t?), or would simply like to grow more confident, then this book is for you.  It delves into the very core of confidence itself, and expostulates some of the most credible theories to explain it.  But far from being a theoretical book full of musings, Confidence of a Champion is nothing if not practical.  Applications, tips, and recommendations for growing one’s confidence are scattered throughout.  So turn the page and begin a learning adventure that just may turn out to be the most important step you’ll take all year.  No matter who you are, you will get something special out of this book.  Of that, I am confident!

Sincerely,

Chris Brady

NY Times best selling author,

Founder of LIFE

I was going to do a long post about the meaning of Christmas and how it become commercialized etc… Before I could do this my 13 year old baby girl Mya summed it up very well in this poem she wrote.

Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

“The Meaning of Christmas”

Oh joy it’s Christmas again!
Oh boy what will I get?
But that’s not the meaning of Christmas is it?
No no! Christmas is Christ’s birth, He was born to save the earth!
Now now, don’t you see?

The meaning of Christmas is not a tree, or Santa Claus, or dolls that you
enjoy.
No! No! It’s about a Holy Boy,
Who was born in a manger
And to the world He was a stranger!
Now please remember what I’ve told you,
And keep it in your mind!
~Mya Marks~

Hey gang!  Here is an interview I did with Orrin Woodward, best-selling author and co-founder of LIFE, and Tony Cannuli, co-host on the Home Business Radio Network Leadership Factory.  Enjoy!

God bless, Tim