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What is “Shiny Object” Syndrome, and How Can We Avoid Being Tricked by it?

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By Having Clarity of Purpose and Being Intentional in Our Actions

In today’s world, where we’re flooded with information, it’s common for people to get “shiny object” syndrome. Shiny object syndrome is a disease of distraction. It is especially prevalent in highly motivated people who crave new technology and cutting-edge developments.

It’s like a dog being distracted by a squirrel.

A good example of this is Dug the dog in the movie Up. In this movie, eight-year-old Russell and Carl, a man in his seventies, end up going on an unexpected adventure that involves a makeshift airship of helium balloons and a house. When they end up landing in South Africa they encounter Dug, a talking dog.

We experience this squirrel distraction in their first meeting when Dug gets sidetracked. So that we aren’t pulled off course like Dug…

We need clarity of purpose and laser like focus.

In Matthew 4:1-11, Satan is attempting to distract Jesus with “shiny objects”.  After Jesus has gone for 40 days without anything to eat, Satan tempts Him to turn some stones into bread. Jesus tells the devil, “The Scriptures say ‘No one can live on food alone. People need the spoken word of God.’ “

Next, the devil took Jesus to the highest part of the temple in the holy city. Here the devil pulls out the angel card and says, “If you are God’s Son, jump off. The Scriptures say: ‘God will give his angels orders about you. They will catch you in their arms, and you won’t hurt your feet on the stones.’” Jesus answers with “Don’t test the Lord your God.”

Finally, Satan takes Jesus up on a high mountain and offers Jesus the world if He will bow down and worship him. This time He says, “Go away from me Satan! The Scriptures say to worship only the Lord your God.”

We need this kind of clarity and focus.

Jesus knew His purpose, and He didn’t let a squirrel (Satan) distract Him. He stayed focused on His purpose and was intentional in His actions.

Like Jesus, we are surrounded by distractions daily. There are shiny objects everywhere vying for our attention.

These shiny objects can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. It’s up to us to be clear on our God given purpose and be prepared so that the squirrels don’t distract us.

Satan is good at showing us the world and all it has to offer as a way of getting us to chase squirrels.

If he can get us to chase shiny objects, we forget that…

It’s Jesus we’re supposed to be chasing.

Not Being Awake at the Right Time, May Mean Missing Something Important

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Pulling Our Head Out of the Sand Helps Us to Stay Awake

We’ve all been so tired that we can’t stay awake one minute more. This appears to be the case for a man at Super Bowl LIV. Sporting News editor Karisa Maxwell captured footage of the sleeping man from her spot in the stands at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., during the first quarter.

The man is shown sitting in a seat with his head leaning back against a wall, legs crossed, eyes closed and mouth open. Several football fans can be seen standing up to watch the game in front of him, but he seems unconcerned with the showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs.

Granted, sleeping through the Super Bowl is not life threatening, but the average ticket price for this game was $6400. That’s a pretty expensive nap.

I would hate to pay the price for something like that and then sleep through it.

Life is like this. It has a pretty expensive ticket price and too often we sleep through it.

There was a point in my life when I was asleep and got a wakeup call.

When a scaffold plank broke and I fell, it got my attention. After the accident, I gave some serious thought to my life and how I had been just “going through the motions”. It was more like I was sleep walking than living my purpose.

We need to get actively involved in our lives and not wait to be hit upside the head. It’s much better to figure out what our purpose is before something like this happens.

We have the power to choose if we will go through life asleep or awake.

In Matthew 24:36-44, we’re told the risk if we choose to sleep through life. If we live nonchalantly with our head in the sand, one day we will wake up too late and miss the boat.

I believe that God has a plan for our lives and the time we need to accomplish our purpose. In Psalm 139:16, is says that our days have been determined before we are even born. Only God knows that number.

Finding our purpose requires us to get and stay connected to God through studying His blueprint (Bible) for our lives and talking with Him (praying) regularly. Paying attention to the needs around us and doing something about them. Taking the opportunity to share His plan with those around us through our words and actions.

Our responsibility is to wake up, find our purpose and live each of our days to the fullest.

Your life is more important than a Super Bowl…don’t sleep through it.

How Many Times Should You Try Something Before You Quit?

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Successful People Accomplish More Because They Persist Without Exception

This is an interesting question. How many times is too many…ten, fifty, a few hundred, how many?

Depending on who you ask, the answer will be different.

For example, if you ask one individual in England, how many attempts should be made at passing a driver’s text, he will tell you…157. Why? Because it took him 158 attempts to pass.

It is reported that he spent over $5,000.00 in fees to accomplish this.

This is some serious persistence.

We don’t know exactly how many times the lady went to see the judge in Jesus’ story in Luke 18:1-8. What we do know is that she wouldn’t take no for an answer seeking justice from the judge. Persistence like hers pays off.

Whatever we’re trying to do will happen if it aligns with God’s purpose and we persist.

Wanting to align my desires with God’s is one reason I include the “serenity prayer” in my daily prayer time.

God, grant me:

Serenity to accept the things I can’t change,

Courage to change the things I can,

Wisdom to know the difference.

Help me to:

Live one day at a time

Enjoy one moment at a time

Accept hardship as a pathway to peace

Take the sinful world as it is

Trust that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will

In everything Your will be done

Amen

Persistence is a choice that we can make.

It is the 7th Decision (link) in Andy Andrew’s book, The Traveler’s Gift. I think this excerpt from the book explains it as well as anything…

“I will persist without exception. I will continue despite exhaustion. I acknowledge the fact that most people quit when exhaustion sets in. I am not “most people.” I am stronger than most people. Average people accept exhaustion as a matter of course. I do not. Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I compare myself to my potential. I am not average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory.

How long must a child try to walk before he actually does so? Do I not have more strength than a child? More understanding? More desire? How long must I work to succeed before I actually do so? A child would never ask the question, for the answer does not matter. By persisting without exception, my outcome—my success—is assured. I will persist without exception. I focus on results.

To achieve the results I desire, it is not even necessary that I enjoy the process. It is only important that I continue the process with my eyes on the outcome. An athlete does not enjoy the pain of training; an athlete enjoys the results of having trained. A young falcon is pushed from the nest, afraid and tumbling from the cliff. The pain of learning to fly cannot be an enjoyable experience, but the anguish of learning to fly is quickly forgotten as the falcon soars to the heavens.

A sailor who fearfully watches stormy seas lash his vessel will always steer an unproductive course. But a wise and experienced captain keeps his eye firmly fixed upon the lighthouse. He knows that by guiding his ship directly to a specific point, the time spent in discomfort is lessened. And by keeping his eye on the light, there never exists one second of discouragement. My light, my harbor, my future is within sight!

I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith. In Jeremiah, my Creator declares, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” From this day forward, I will claim a faith in the certainty of my future. Too much of my life has been spent doubting my beliefs and believing my doubts. No more! I have faith in my future. I do not look left or right. I look forward. I can only persist.

For me, faith will always be a sounder guide than reason because reason can only go so far—faith has no limits. I will expect miracles in my life because faith produces them every day. I will believe in the future that I do not see. That is faith. And the reward of this faith is to see the future that I believed. I will continue despite exhaustion. I focus on results. I am a person of great faith.”

It is up to you to decide how many times you should try something before you quit.

Just remember that this is a decision that you can make, but I recommend that you run it by God first.

People Love Drama and Will Give it Their Full Attention

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If You Catch on Fire, People Will Watch You Burn

Why is it that when people drive by an accident along the road we want to slow down and look. What is this attraction?

Why are we so captivated by car crashes?

According to Roland Maiuro, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington, we tend to look at car accidents because “The accident provides a close encounter without yourself being directly involved being put at risk.”

In a paper on our fascination with crashes both economic and vehicular, the researchers equate driving with gambling and say the joy is greater because of the risk.

If you extrapolate this out, then, watching car crashes makes driving more exciting because we’re somehow more aware of the risk but, simultaneously, less attached to the actual consequences.

Maybe this why I like car racing?

People are looking for something to get excited about.

John Wesley said, “When you set yourself on fire, people will come and see you burn.”

When you are firmly grounded in your true passion you are on fire for life.

Life is a journey much more than it is a destination. Finding one’s passion can take years to find and often does. There are a few who find their fire early on. But there’s something to be said for the knowledge and experience you pick up along life’s path. Whether you have found your fire or are still in search of your passion, here are eight tips to keep you moving forward.

1.) Live with an open mind and open heart.
2.) The darkest hour is just before dawn.
4.) Let the bridges you burn light your way.
5.) Eagles soar alone while buzzards flock together.
6.) Always be thankful for what you have.
7.) Listen to your gut.
8.) Follow your heart.
10.) Never give up. Be patience.

God has given each of us a purpose, a fire. Whatever yours is, set yourself a blaze and let them watch you burn with passion.

As a Christian, part of our purpose is to share God’s message and look for the lost.

In Luke 15:1-10 Jesus tells a couple of stories about looking for things that are lost. One is looking for a single lost sheep. The shepherd doesn’t need to be concerned with the ninety-nine that are safe.

The other story is about a woman who has ten coins and losses one. She is looking for the single missing coin…the others are safe.

If you’re lost, look for the Shepherd and let Him find you. If not, then look for lost sheep.

Catch fire and let people see you burn. The brighter your fire burns the more people you can help find their way. Just be sure that it’s the right fire.

How Do We Know if Something is Worth the Cost…or Just a Shiny New Object?

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It Would be Nice if There Was a Clear Answer to This Question

Maybe there is, but it’s going to take some work to find it.

You may remember the “pet rock” from the mid-seventies. I didn’t understand it, but still found myself drawn to having one…however I never was a pet rock owner.

I have a better understanding of this phenomena now. There is some really good marketing out there and we can be pulled into the new shiny thing.

We are bombarded constantly with advertising and suggestions that we need this next amazing new thing, whatever it is. Maybe we do…maybe we don’t.

But we need to be clear on who we are and what we’re doing. We need to think before we act.

From an early age we’re drawn to fit in. We want that thing that the cool kids have. But why? Why do we feel attracted to be them rather than just be ourselves?

This past week in our virtual mastermind, the discussion turned to things like green screen backdrops, microphones and similar items.

As we discussed this, I couldn’t help but feel like I was back in school talking about pet rocks. Maybe it was my simple lack of understanding. Or, maybe it was a clear understanding of who I am and what works best for me.

As we discussed this topic it was clear that different people have different needs. This clarity of who we are and what our purpose is, is critical. It is the thing that guides us to make the right decisions for us and our customers.

Quality is always important. Different people see quality differently. What’s quality to one person, might be extravagance to another. What’s satisfactory to one might be junk to someone else.

You have to get clear on who you are. What is acceptable and what’s not.

I used to have a sub-contractor that would buy a new truck every year or two. I’m talking about $60,000 – $70,000. There’s nothing wrong with this if it can be afforded and it’s done for the right reasons.

After getting to know him better I realized, for him this was about impressing people. His driving purpose was to make a lot of money and show off. He’s since gone out of business.

There was nothing wrong with him buying those trucks. The problem was his why.

There’s nothing wrong with having nice expensive things. Is it a tool allowing you to better fulfill your purpose or is it to impress someone?

It might be as simple as you like nice trucks and pet rocks.

It comes down to being true to who you are. Doing things for the right reasons. This can be a hard thing to determine. If you spend the time and energy on figuring this out, before you spend money on that next shiny new object…it will pay dividends.

Figuring out who we are and what our purpose is, is not an easy thing, but it will help us know why we’re doing what we’re doing.

If you can afford it and want it…go buy that shiny new thing

Oh, by the way, did you know that you can still buy pet rocks?

How to Prevent Weariness from Being a Part of Your Life

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It Comes from Catching God’s Vision That’s Specific to You

There are multiple studies that show that people working 50 hours or more per week are at a higher health risk than those working less than 40.

What exactly constitutes work?

According to dictionary.com, work is the exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something. To be productive or operative activity.

Exerting effort to accomplish something sounds like a good thing…not like it should be a health risk.

So, the question is…is it work or something else that’s the problem?

I would argue that the problem is less about the activity and more about the purpose.

Granted, I’m not basing this on any scientific study, just personal observations.

There is no doubt that we’ve all been tired and worn out after working hard. But how does being worn out “feel”?

For me after spending a long day working in the heat framing a house and being exhausted was one of the best feelings ever. It felt really good being so tired that I could hardly move. The sense of accomplishment made the pain feel good.

Those feelings come from accomplishing what we’re put here to do.

It doesn’t matter if it’s building a house, raising a family, fishing, leading a church, or any of a thousand other things. It’s about finding out what God put us here to do and doing that thing to the fullest of our ability.

In Luke 5:1-11, Peter had been fishing all night and hadn’t caught anything. He was exhausted. Jesus told him to “row out, let his nets down to catch some fish”. Peter said, “If You tell me to, I will…” They caught so many fish the nets were tearing and they needed another boat to haul them all. I’m thinking Peter forgot all about how tired he had been before.

Peter listened and caught God’s vision specific to him.

God has a plan for each of us. When we find that purpose and live it out as directed by God, our work becomes our life. What we do becomes a blessing, not a tiresome chore.

Finding and living our God given purpose is the best way to heal a tired spirit.

Being tired is more than physical or mental. Weariness runs spirit deep. It comes from a lack faith and belief. Not knowing and following God’s plan is what makes us tired.

When NASA landed the Perseverance rover on Mars, they embedded a hidden code in the parachute. Within hours of hinting at this hidden message, it was cracked by puzzle enthusiasts.

The message was “Dare Mighty Things”. This is a credo that is often cited at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, which built and operates Perseverance.

It comes from “The Strenuous Life” a speech by Teddy Roosevelt in 1899:

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.”

Dare mighty things. This is what Jesus told Simon Peter. This is what Jesus is telling us.

This is a sure way to prevent weariness.

Monday is a Special Day…It’s My Second, Ninth Birthday

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Every Day We Get Second Chances, Don’t Wait Until You’re Smacked in the Head

That’s right…it’s my second, ninth birthday. Most people don’t get to have two birthdays a year, but I’m one of the fortunate ones.

There’s my original birthday…the day in which my mother gave birth to me. And then I have a second birthday…the one in which I got a second chance at life.

Too many people live their whole lives never finding their purpose. My second birthday helped me to find mine.

Let me explain. On December 6th, 2012, I was working, standing on a plank, approximately 8’ above the ground when it broke. Luckily, I don’t remember any of the ordeal from the time that I was measuring for a piece of wafer board until I woke up in the hospital three days later…

As I recovered from the fall, I realized this situation could have ended differently. I was still here for a reason.

God wasn’t done with me yet.

Some of us are a little slower than others and it takes a board upside the head, to get our attention.

As I was watching one of my favorite Christmas movies a few days ago I was thinking about why it is that I liked it so much…. then I realized that it was the opportunity for second chances. It was like my fall.

It’s never too late to start building a better life.

The movie, A Shoe Addict’s Christmas (Not a title that most guys would probably have on their movie list.) is about a woman, Noelle, who accidently gets locked in a department store where she works. While waiting to be rescued, a quirky woman named Charlie appears. Over the next few days Charlie, Noelle’s guardian angel, helps her rediscover the life she has been avoiding, by visiting Christmases past, present and future. (Sounds a little like another movie, doesn’t it?)

We’ve all had situations that we can look back on and wish we’d done different.

We can’t change the past, but things we do today will affect the future.

In the movie, Charlie tells Noelle a story. You’ve probably heard it (or some variation of it).

It goes like this, there was man who was out in the snow. Someone came by in a sleigh and offered him a ride. The man refused. He said, “God will take care of me”. Later as the snow continued to get deeper another man in a sleigh came by and offered to help. Once again, the man refused. “God will take care of me.” The next time a sleigh came by the snow was up to the man’s chin. For a third time the man declined the help and said, “God will take care of me”. Then the man is in Heaven and asking God why He didn’t save him. God answers, “I sent three sleighs and you ignored them all”.

Don’t ignore the sleighs that God sends.

I love Christmas movies. They offer us a perspective that too often is overlooked in real live. They are a great example of God’s love shared through people in the world.

My wife and I like Christmas movies so much that we make a long list (currently 146 and growing) and we implement a plan for watching them. (I also love making plans 😊) Besides that…there won’t be any NACAR races to watch until early February.

My friend Shep and I talked about the Christmas movie list which prompted him to compare Christmas movies with God’s love in his most recent Monday Morning Moment. (Follow this link to Shep’s post)

All of this is to say, that if you’re still alive…it’s not too late. You don’t need a second birthday to make changes in your life.

Be aware of the sleighs that God sends. Don’t wait until you’re hit in the head with a board.

No One Can Make Me Accountable but Me…So Why Aren’t I?

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Well, that is the Ten Million Dollar Question, isn’t it?

God has a way of persistently putting things in front of us until we do something about it. That thing that continually shows up everywhere we turn, or that nagging voice in our head.

Accountability is that thing currently.

Just this past week accountability came up in a several different places.

In a mastermind that I’m in, there’s a weekly accountability and for several weeks my accountability hasn’t gotten done. This is unacceptable!

Another was in a digital marketing group that I’m part of. One of the participants suggested that I spend some money on social media marketing, because when she made that financial commitment, she got her webinar done.

What about the subcontractor who installed some ceiling tile several years ago? This past week some of the tiles were starting to come loose. It had been long enough that they could have refused to do anything about it. They didn’t bat an eye…they simply came and fixed it.

Or there’s the situation with, J&J Contracting, a painting subcontractor that is working on staining and finishing nine wood doors. He had the doors stained and sprayed the clear finish with a new spray gun. After the first coat was on, he noticed there were runs. He worked to sand them out…to no avail. He could have made excuses that it was the new spray guns fault, but he didn’t. He is going to spend a sizable amount of money to buy new doors to replace them.

This is what accountability looks like.

My proposal system needs the training that goes with it prepared before it’s ready to be marketed. This project has been dragging out for far too long. This is the mastermind accountability that I referred to earlier.

Why do we let ourselves avoid doing things we know we should do?

For me there are a few different reasons, all of which are in my control to do something about.

There’s fear – being afraid that we’re going to fail, we aren’t good enough, or it might cost too much. What about busy – I don’t have time to do that, it takes too long, and I already have these other things to do. Don’t forget uncertainty – I don’t know how to do that thing; it’s going to require me learning something new.

Now I’m going to start preaching to myself.

Several years ago, I wrote about filtering my life using my core values. There are a total of twelve different ones. I’ve written about all but three…one of those is being accountable. Guess what this post is about. 😊

Ultimately, my accountability is up to me. It is a choice.

It’s easy to put others ahead of myself. This makes my proposal system less important than construction projects…or does it? The question is, how many more contractors and customers could benefit from having my proposal system to use?

Just like in last week’s post about what my time is worth, I applied that new motivation to being more accountable. I ran the numbers and determined my time is currently worth $2.23 per minute or $133.80 per hour.

Looking forward my goal in seven years is to be grossing ten figures, that’s $10,000,000.00. Let’s play with some more math –

  • 224,640 work minutes each year
  • $10,000,000.00 divided by 224640 minutes means that each minute of the workday would be worth $44.52

This is going to get scary…

  • $44.52 x 5 minutes = $222.60
  • $44.52 x 15 minutes = $667.80
  • $44.52 x 30 minutes = $1,335.60
  • $44.52 x 60 minutes = $2,671.20

I told you it was going to be scary!

What does this mean? This means, for me to reach this goal – it’s up to me to get this proposal system out into the world, and this means…to get it out there, I have to get the training ready, this means…it’s up to me!

God has given me a specific purpose.

Bridge the gap between construction companies and customers by providing:

  • Businesses with systems and training to make their companies more efficient and profitable
  • Educating customers in what to expect throughout the entire construction process

Ultimately, it comes down to this…

I’m accountable to God.

What am I going to do about it?

P.S. I got the first draft of the Building a Better Proposal Workshop intro was done yesterday.

Here are the previous core value posts –

What is Your Mission and Why Does it Matter?

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It’s the Most Important Thing to Turning Your Dreams into Reality

I’m currently going through Business Made Simple University’s online course Mission Statement Made Simple. I’ve gone through this course before but,

I don’t think you can ever be too clear about your mission.

This time I’m going through it with a mastermind friend. This gives us both the opportunity to get outside perspectives. Alternate viewpoints are a huge help to getting the mission honed to laser clarity.

A clear mission is what gives you clarity of direction and purpose. It is the filter that all your business decisions should be ran through.

A mission is a clear direction for overcoming a conflict that is causing havoc in the world.

Over the past several weeks I’ve had numerous conversations with people struggling with clarity. I know how difficult and overwhelming this uncertainty can be.

As entrepreneurs, the responsibility of having a clear mission rests on our shoulders…should we do this or should we do that? When we’re employed by someone else, we just show up and do what we’re told.

This is why in most cases there’s so much discontent of employees working in large companies…there’s no clear mission.

Without a clear mission we just wander through life with no purpose.

How do you determine what your mission is?

This seems to be the most difficult question and one in which the answer continues to be refined every day. We are all given natural abilities and things we are drawn to. For example, I have no skills or desires to be a brain surgeon, a dentist or a teacher and trust me you’re better off because I’m not.

One thing that is a determining factor if you’re fulfilling your mission is if you love what you do.

Do you look forward everyday to getting to work and have to force yourself to stop at the end of the day. Granted there are varying degrees of this based on different personalities, but if you don’t love what you do…it’s not in alignment with your purpose.

I think there is a specific core purpose that goes beyond our vocation. I think this core purpose can be put to use in different businesses or ministries.

My purpose is to help people find solutions for building their dream business, construction project and life. With this foundational purpose my mission can change over time.

I love what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else.

Whether it’s my current mission to help construction companies struggling with a lack of business knowledge and customers who don’t understand or know what to expect from the construction process. Helping both accomplish their dreams, by providing businesses with systems and training to make their companies more efficient and profitable while educating customers in what to expect throughout the entire construction process.

Or my future mission with a NASCAR team. 😊 This is me turning my dreams into reality.

The important thing is to know yourself, search your heart and be connected to your Maker. The more you do this, the clearer the picture becomes. Having a clear mission moves your dreams towards reality.

Over the next few weeks, as we go through the rest of Mission Statement Made Simple, I’ll share other aspects of having a clear mission, i.e., key characteristics needed, critical actions taken by people in alignment with the mission and how to clearly share your mission with others.

We Are All Important to the Building of God’s Kingdom

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No Matter How Small We Are in the Big Picture

Way too often we tell ourselves that we aren’t good enough or don’t have what it takes to do that thing…whatever that thing is. This perception is very good at keeping us from doing the things we’ve been designed to do.

We look around and see what everybody else is doing and from the outside it looks amazing. We have to remember that we are not designed to do what they are.

Each of us is here for our own specific purpose.

Or maybe we’ve been convinced that because we grew up in a certain place or look a certain way that we aren’t capable of doing anything great. We are too easily persuaded by these outside forces.

Some people thought Jesus wasn’t anything special. After all he was from Nazareth. In John 1:46 Nathanael said about Jesus, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

A concrete foundation is made up of sand, cement and water. All of these things are made up of very small individual pieces. A grain of sand, a particle of cement and a drop of water. Each of them by themselves is tiny and seemingly insignificant. However, without them each serving their specific purpose the skyscraper wouldn’t stand. Their role is vital to the outcome.

It takes a collection of different components to build a skyscraper, each serving their individual purpose. Each of us are like these small pieces. We are vital to the outcome.

Accept your part in supporting the kingdom.

This past weekend we had a movie marathon. And watched the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. These are some of my favorites and if you haven’t seen them, I would highly recommend it. These movies are based on the classic fantasy novels and children’s books by J.R.R. Tolkien.

In the story, the Hobbits are small little creatures. Just happy to be living their peaceful little lives…when called to do something big and out of their comfort zone. We are all called to do these kinds of things, we just have to be willing to.

Maybe fantasy isn’t your thing. But the story is a great one of good versus evil and how no matter how small and inadequate we see ourselves, if we’re willing, we can make a big difference.

Remember, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or how you look. What matters is your willingness to step out in faith and go where you’ve been called.