goals | Craig T. Owens

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16 Insightful Quotes From “Intentional Living”

November 15, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

John Maxwell’s books always contain so many great quotes from other wise men and women. Here are a few that caught my highlighter in Intentional Living.

“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.” —Soren Kierkegaard

“If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?” —T.S. Eliot

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently…. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.” —Steve Jobs

“One of the best places to start to turn your life around is by doing whatever appears on your mental ‘I should’ list.” —Jim Rohn

“You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of a referee.” —Napoleon Hill

“Most people don’t aim too high and miss. They aim too low and hit.” —Bob Moawad

“Anybody can do their best. God helps us do better than our best.” —Catherine Bramwell-Booth

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it makes some difference that you have lived and lived well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter, so that the world will be at least a little bit different for our having passed through it.” —Rabbi Harold Kushner

“People who matter most are aware that everyone else does, too.” —Malcolm Forbes

“Selfishness is the greatest challenge for a coach. Most players are more concerned with making themselves better than the team.” —John Wooden

“There is a direct relationship between your own level of self-esteem and the health of your personality. The more you like and respect yourself, the more you like and respect other people. The more you consider yourself to be a valuable and worthwhile person, the more you consider others to be valuable and worthwhile as well. The more you accept yourself just as you are, the more you accept others just as they are.” —Brian Tracy

“One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.” —Mother Teresa

“Choose the way of life. Choose the way of love. Choose the way of caring. Choose the way of hope. Choose the way of belief in tomorrow. Choose the way of trusting. Choose the way of goodness. It’s up to you.” —Leo Buscaglia

“We’re concerned with how things turn out; God seems more concerned with how we turn out.” —Philip Yancey

“Most hockey players follow the puck on the ice. I never skate to where the puck is. I skate to where it is going.” —Wayne Gretzky

John Maxwell has a lot of great quotes himself! Here is the first batch of quotes I shared from Intentional Living. And be sure to check out my review of this outstanding book.

Poetry Saturday—Mission

October 3, 2015 — Craig T. Owens

If you are dreaming of a future goal,

When, crowned with glory, men shall own your power,

Be careful that you let no struggling soul

Go by unaided in the present hour.

If you are moved to pity for the earth,

And long to aid it, do not look so high,

You pass some poor, dumb creature faint with thirst—

All life is equal in the Eternal Eye.

If you would help to make the wrong things right,

Begin at home: there lies a lifetime’s toil.

Weed your own garden fair for all men’s sight,

Before you plan to till another’s soil.

God chooses His own leaders in the world,

And from the rest He asks but willing hands.

As mighty mountains into place are hurled,

While patient tides may only shape the sands. —Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Mission

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: Ella Wheeler Wilcox, goals, kindness, leadership, mission, poem, poetry. Leave a Comment »

10 Quotes From “Inspire To Be Great”

December 10, 2014 — Craig T. Owens

The news show 60 Minutes described Zig Ziglar as “a legend in the industry—the Bill Gates, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison of enthusiasm.” Truer words were never spoken! Zig is a fabulous motivator (you can read my review of Inspire To Be Great by clicking here). Here are some of my favorite quotes from this book.

“People often tell me that motivation doesn’t last, and I tell them that bathing doesn’t either. That’s why I recommend it daily.”

“To avoid procrastination, write your schedule out the night before, including precisely when you are going to start.”

“People with integrity are more successful, because with integrity you do the right thing, and there is no guilt attached to you. With integrity, you have nothing to fear because you have nothing to hide.”

“The greatest good we can do for anyone is not to share our wealth with them, but rather to reveal their own wealth to them.”

“It’s not what you’ve got; it’s what you use that makes a difference.”

“Never say anything negative about yourself. If we don’t see ourselves as ‘fearfully and wonderfully made’ [Psalm 139:14], who will?”

“When your goals are clearly defined and intelligently set, you have, in essence, taken a major step toward programming your left brain. That frees your right brain to be its creative best.”

“Among the things you can give and still keep are: your word, a smile, and a grateful heart.”

“Failure is an event, not a person. So regardless of what happens to you along the way, you must keep on going and doing the right thing in the right way. Then the event becomes a reality of a changed life.”

“Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker.”

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: attitude, Bible, book review, brain, creativity, encourager, failure, goal setting, goals, gratitude, inspiration, integrity, learning, motivation, procrastination, quotes, success, Zig Ziglar. Leave a Comment »

The Present Of Presence

November 2, 2012 — Craig T. Owens

Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.

The words Paul writes to Timothy (his young protege) are the wise counsel of a seasoned veteran to a young pastor. These are words of wisdom that pastors should be especially attentive to, but they also apply to anyone who is in a position of leadership (like a parent, teacher, coach, or employer).

After challenging Timothy to set an example by his lifestyle, Paul adds these words—

Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:15-16)

“So that everyone may see your progress.” Quite simply: you have to be present—you have to be around people so they can see what’s going on in your life. Your presence in their lives is your present to their lives!

I need to monitor what I’m doing and why I’m doing it; what I’m teaching and how I’m teaching; what I believe and why I believe it.

I need to have goals and benchmarks. I need to make my goals—and my successes and failures in hitting my goals—known to others.

I need to be in it for the long haul. It’s awfully difficult to be an example in the present if my eyes and thoughts are always on “the next thing” down the road.

Look at the blessings—the presents—of living this way: You will save both yourself and your hearers.

Not only is my presence a present to others, but having others present in my life is a present to me! The present of presence works both ways!

Are you living so that everyone may see your progress? If not, start giving the present of your presence today!

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Posted in Pastoring, Uncategorized. Tags: 1 Timothy, apostle Paul, emotionally available, example, goal setting, goals, leadership, lifelong learner, mentor, pastoring, protege, relationships, Timothy. 2 Comments »

Goals & Strategies

August 13, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

I’m in the midst of a fascinating biography about General George S. Patton. As I wrote yesterday, I love borrowing the brains of other great men and women and adding some of their finer attributes to my life.

Years after Patton had died, his son donated his father’s books to the West Point Military Academy. It was then that a notation in Patton’s own hand was discovered on the last page of his Elements Of Strategy textbook. He wrote: “End of last lesson in Engineering. Last lesson as a Cadet, thank God.” But then on the back cover, he had also written—

Qualities of a Great General

1. Tactically aggressive (loves a fight)

2. Strength of character

3. Steadiness of purpose

4. Acceptance of responsibility

5. Energy

6. Good health and strength

George Patton

Cadet

April 29, 1909

Here’s what I love: he wrote these down years before he was ever given the command of anything! He put his goals and strategies in writing and dedicated himself wholeheartedly to achieving them. And achieve he did!

Years ago I took some time to write down a similar challenge for myself. Reading this about Patton reminded me that I haven’t reviewed my list in a while, and it was high time for me to reacquaint myself with those goals and strategies.

What about you?

Do you know where you want to go?

Do you know what it will take to get there?

Have you written down those goals and strategies?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: biography, George S. Patton, goal setting, goals, leadership, quote, strategy. 1 Comment »

4 x 4

June 25, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Have you ever heard the statement, “He’s so thick-headed you have to hit him over the head with a 4-by-4 to get his attention”? Sometimes I’m that guy.

Okay, I’m not that dense (or maybe you should check with Betsy on that), but sometimes I do need some help. Especially in the area of setting and accomplishing goals.

So Betsy and I are working on something new. We picked four goals to accomplish in the next four weeks (4 goals x 4 weeks = 4×4).

We took one verse of Scripture about the life of Jesus as our guide: And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). This one verse shows the balanced way in which Jesus grew, so we have set our four goals in these areas:

Wisdom—a mental goal
Stature—a physical goal
Favor with God—a spiritual goal
Favor with men—an emotional/social goal

Even though we’re only four days into our first week, having this 4×4 is really keeping me motivated and on task. I’ll give you an update when we’ve finished our four weeks.

Another thought that’s keeping me focused during this is what’s happening in me during the process of pursuing these 4×4 goals. Zig Ziglar said it this way, “What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.”

Do you have any big goals you’re working on? What do you do to keep yourself motivated and focused on your goals?

Posted in Uncategorized. Tags: focus, goal setting, goals, Gospel of Luke, Jesus Christ, motivation, quote, Zig Ziglar. Leave a Comment »

Diet + Exercise = Healthy Growth

May 5, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

The right diet will start you on the road to excellent health, but to keep growing in a healthy way you will need to incorporate some regular exercise too. This is true physically, spiritually, and emotionally.

If I just eat the right foods but don’t exercise, my physical metabolism will not be stoked to the proper levels. To put it another way, a good diet may lower my LDL (bad) cholesterol, but it takes exercise to raise my HDL (good) cholesterol. I need both to be healthy.

So, too, for my heart and mind. If I hear good preaching and think good thoughts (diet), but never put those words or thoughts into action (exercise), I’m not going to grow in a well-balanced, healthy way.

Here’s a couple of things I have learned for body, spirit, and mind exercise.

Set challenging but realistic goals

I don’t run without a goal. (1 Corinthians 9:26 CEV)
“You must have long-range goals to keep from being frustrated by short-term failures.” —Charles N. Noble

Exercise a little bit when you can

There’s no need to jump into lengthy workouts.
Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. (1 Timothy 4:7, The Message)
“Let him then think of God the most he can; let him accustom himself, by degrees, to this small but holy exercise; nobody perceives it, and nothing is easier than to repeat often in the day these little internal adorations.” —Brother Lawrence, in The Practice Of The Presence Of God

Make exercise a fun habit

Remember that you may not feel like exercising, but you will feel better after you exercise.
“Life goals are reached by setting annual goals. And annual goals are reached by reaching daily goals. And daily goals are reached by doing things which may be uncomfortable at first but eventually become habits. And habits are powerful things. Habits turn actions into attitudes, and attitudes into lifestyles.” —Charlene Armitage

For a healthy body, a healthy heart, and a healthy thought life, watch the diet you consume and then exercise for maximum benefit. Feel free to share any exercise tips you have learned.