David Rische

A year ago I painstakingly planned the “perfect” vacation to Disney World and Universal Studios for Spring Break. This ended up being one of my most popular blog posts that many people commented they could completely relate to. Here’s a recap of my story:

Are you a “Planner”, or do you like to “Fly by the seat of your pants”? I’m a total Planner. Thus, the inspiration for this blog. I had extensively planned for about 8 months an Orlando Spring Break vacation for my daughter’s senior trip. We had never been there as a family – so I read endless books, conducted extensive interviews and interrogations with those that had been past visitors, and combed the Internet for anything related to this magical place. This was going to be the greatest family trip we (or anyone else in history) had ever taken. This time, I was going to do everything right. No room for error. Pure joy. Every activity would be on a precise schedule – just like Robert Deniro’s character in Meet the Parents.

The trip got off to a rough start when I noticed a sharp discomfort in my lower back around 5:30 am at DFW Airport. Thought it was a cramp, nerves, or some other nuance that would go away. We boarded the flight, and those uncomfortable airplane seats were even more uncomfortable. Three hours later, I was writhing in pain – I literally started crawling on the floor of the terminal at the Orlando airport. Was this “The Big One” like Fred Sanford used to say? Was one of my major organs giving out? Appendix bursting? We found a saint of a cab driver that sped us to a close and quality ER. About 5 hours later, I had passed my first kidney stone! Okay, this wasn’t in the plans. However, the medical staff patched me up – and I was screaming in exhilaration as we rode The Everest Expedition Roller Coaster that evening. Slight “blip” in the plans, but we would hit the next few days with a vengeance. Universal Studios and Harry Potter World were tomorrow.

In spite of getting up at the crack of dawn, it seemed as though tens of thousands of other people had that same idea. As the lines allowed, we rode every ride we could between the two Universal Parks (some marketing genius out there conceived the idea of splitting up the Harry Potter World into two worlds – I would love to say it was for the benefit of the consumers, but it was so they can double their moolah intake). We were exhausted, but tomorrow was The Magic Kingdom – and I was determined to see my plans to fruition.

Our hotel was about 20 minutes away from The Magic Kingdom. They offered a “free shuttle” that left at 7 am and dropped everyone off at Epcot (which I was informed is the central hub for all Disney park transportation). Thought we’d save a few bucks and not use a taxi or Uber. Sounded perfect – The Kingdom opens at 8, leave at 7, arrive between 7:30-7:45, scan our tickets, and we would be in! Everyone had advised us to get there right as the park opens, and you can experience at least 3 major rides before the crowd hits. That advice combined with 3 Fastpasses – I envisioned myself joyfully singing, “Yo-ho, Yo-ho, a Pirate’s Life for Me!” We had the potential of enjoying 6 major rides before the clock struck noon – boom!

The trend of the majority of my plans not going as I had hoped once again began to rear its ugly head. I first became suspicious when our “shuttle” was a giant charter bus. “Wow, that’s nice of them to provide such a big bus for one hotel,” I thought in my ever increasingly fatigued, naive, and delusional mind. Even though we are not Orlando residents, after about 10 minutes we noticed, “Hey, this isn’t the route to the park.” The bus, oh excuse me – the “shuttle” literally made 7 stops at other hotels before Epcot. The driver dropped us off around 8:15 am in an empty parking lot the size of the poppy field in The Wizard of Oz. It took about a 10-minute walk to get to the Monorail. Phew, finally made it. Oh, but wait – you have to get off this Monorail and transfer to another one. Stood in line for about 15 minutes. Rumors circulated throughout the tense crowd that there was a delay.  We waited about 15 more minutes to get on a ferry headed for Disney World. 20 more minutes on the boat ride – and we finally arrived at the entrance around 9:15 am. We soon discovered that half of humanity had already beaten us to the ride (and food) lines – realizing it’s not really such a Small World After All. As the day unfolded, I soon began to fully immerse myself in the spirit of the dwarf Grumpy – along with some of his lesser-known brothers: Pushy, Pouty, and Rudey.

A few days after we returned home – I had some quality time to reflect. I then realized that one of the most important events of our trip was that crummy shuttle ride. That experience served as a great reminder of what it is like to walk with God. So many unplanned stops along the way that test my patience. Not having control over situations and just having to go with the flow. Disappointment. People getting on my nerves. Me getting on people’s nerves. Unexpected barriers and delays that get in the way of me reaching my envisioned destination.  Which leads to the question we can ask in every situation: Is my envisioned destination His envisioned destination?

Plus, I had so much to be thankful for. We were able to save up for the trip instead of charging everything. I could have been stuck in that ER for days, or possibly have had to have surgery, or it could have been “The Big One”. The family had several spontaneous moments of belly busting laughter. A ticket snafu that “entitled” us to 3 any time any ride Fastpasses at Disney Hollywood Studios. And finally, embracing every second of having lunch in Epcot Italy knowing that my daughter is only a few months away from going to college.

This trip was a continual reminder that I want comfort, control, and predictability. God offers wild, uncomfortable uncertainty – covered with many promises that He will be with us every step of the way. May your journey find you somewhere between the happy medium of planning and pants flying.

Dave 🙂

https://www.amazon.com/author/davidrische

P.S. If you or anyone you know plans to interview in the near future – please check out my new book on Amazon called:  Top of the Class Teacher Interviews: 55 Strategies to Maximize Preparation and Supercharge Your Confidence. Although designed to help teacher candidates through the mental and physical preparation of the overwhelming process of an interview – it can be beneficial for anyone looking to improve their interview skills. This is the second weekend it has been featured as Amazon’s #1 New Seller in the Education Research category. Click here for instant access: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1974560686/ref

Thanks!!!

Research conducted by entrepreneur Chandler Bolt discovered that approximately 81% of people would sincerely like to write a book – but don’t. Eight out of ten – that’s a fairly large amount. So if you are one of those eight – the good news is that it is easier than ever to self-publish your own book – for free!

Sure, you’re saying, “What could I write a book about?”

Anything and everything!!!!

You could write about a particular subject you’re passionate about. Maybe you’ve uncovered some amazing family history using Ancestry.com? Is there a creative work of fiction or a children’s story that has been brewing in your brain? How about all of those family recipes that are written on sticky notes or scraps of paper? Your job or life experiences from an insider’s perspective. A book of hope for others sharing a major obstacle you’ve overcome. A bonus manual to sell in the back of the room after you give a speech. The possibilities are endless. Does this help get the wheels in your mind spinning?

A short stroll down memory lane concerning the world of publishing. Before the explosion of online sales, the historical route was to create a manuscript you felt was worthy of being sold in bookstores. Next, you would then submit the manuscript and a proposal to publishers hoping that against all odds they would sign you on to a deal. I can recall at least 4 people I know that were blessed to be able to go that route.

Fast forward to the publishing world of 2018. Here is the sobering truth. Less than 5% of all submissions get a deal from publishing companies. If you do – they take over a portion of your creative content, potentially give you 2%-10% of the net profit of each book sold, and you are still responsible for marketing your work. Unless your last name is Grisham or Rowlett – it is tough to join this exclusive club and stay in it.

Going back to my point in the first paragraph – now is the best time in history to self-publish your book! Amazon accounts for 70% of all book sales (which saddens me since Barnes & Noble is my favorite store). Amazon owns Createspace, one of the largest self-publishing companies (you can Google for others). The great thing about Createspace – you can do the entire process for free (they offer paid services, but you are not required to use them). They print on demand – so if you sell 3 copies or 30,000 copies, it doesn’t cost you a dime. They ship directly from their warehouses, so the middleman and your packaging and shipping costs are eliminated. Your book can be as short or as long as you’d like. Research conducted by Leadership Expert Michael Hyatt reveals that books less than 100 pages have the greatest likelihood of being read from cover to cover.

Yeah, but what about . . . . ?

1. “I’m waiting for just the right time.”  That would be today – it is never the right time.
2. “I don’t have enough hours in the day.” Nobody does – you have to create small blocks of time.
3. “It’s too much work.”  True, but not if you break it down into a 10-minute commitment every day. You more than likely will bounce back and forth between a love/hate relationship with your manuscript.
4. “But I want it to be perfect.” As author Sean Wes says, “When creating something original – get past the perfection mindset, or it will never be good enough and you’ll end up not doing it because you’re overwhelmed. Shoot for a 90% standard – that takes so much of the pressure off.”
5. “Okay, I did it. But all I see are the flaws and mistakes.” Chandler Bolt proudly declares, “Your crappy, self-published book is far better than someone else’s ‘perfect’ book that is an unpublished manuscript sitting in a desk drawer or in a computer file.”
6. “I don’t know how to use the technology involved in self-publishing.” Perfect! Createspace walks you through one step at a time and offers text and video supports.

Do you know why I’m so familiar with these “What about excuses”? Because I’ve used every one of them on my own journey multiple times. I had notes and a rough draft of my book Five Prayers That Can Change History sitting in a box for about 3 years. I didn’t want to face rejection from publishing companies – so I eventually put in the work and self-published it.

And now . . . . it is currently rocking the Amazon Best Seller Charts at #2,236,996 (seriously, but it’s out there)! 🙂

However, a college student shared how she had a copy of Five Prayers That Can Change History and decided to read the first chapter one night. She ended up staying up all night reading it cover to cover, highlighting sections that spoke to her, and writing her own anecdotal notes in the margins.

That is why I write. You can too.

Here’s the deal. If you write a book between now and February 28, 2019. And you are blessed with a publishing deal or decide to self-publish – I promise to purchase a copy. Even if the topic is something like Five Tips For a Healthy Pregnancy (I’ll give it as a gift). There – you already have one preorder from a paying customer. Email me at david.rische@gmail.com when it happens.

Your book can be a lasting legacy. It may impact one person, or it may impact over one hundred thousand. Enough said!

Dave 🙂

https://www.amazon.com/author/davidrische

P.S. Since we’re on the subject of books – my third one will be available on Amazon February 17th! It is called Top of the Class Teacher Interviews: 55 Strategies to Maximize Preparation and Supercharge Your Confidence. It is designed to help teacher candidates through the mental and physical preparation of the overwhelming process of an interview, especially for the first time. Besides personal insights, I used over two dozen reference sources from the world of education and business. So maybe someone looking to reenter the workforce or at potentially switching jobs would also find it beneficial. I’ve been working feverishly on this one since July – so I’m anxious to finally get it out there!

Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus. Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. The Book of Acts talks about Him ascending into Heaven. Various portions of the Bible talk about Him returning to claim His people who have repented of their sins and put their faith in Him. So even with the focus of the holiday season is on His arrival – our natural curiosities question when will He return? Today? Next week? In one hundred years? Even though Jesus’ return is a separate event, many have linked “the end of the world” with it.

I still remember back in the 80’s borrowing a book from a friend called “88 Reasons Why The Lord Will Return in 1988”. I don’t think He came back then, maybe the author needed the 89th reason?  We had the Y2K scare in 2000 – not much became of that. Maybe Y3K will be the big one? A lot of attention was focused on 2012 being the end of the world due to the ancient Mayan calendar. In fact,  I bought a very persuasive book that had convincing scientific theory and facts behind it. Anyway, as far as I know, it didn’t happen in 2012. Switch the numbers, and possibly 2021 could be the year? And finally, I didn’t read the story – but I remember a headline in late September of 2017 claiming numerologists had determined the world was going to end that weekend. If memory serves, I think we had a brief thunderstorm – but the world definitely didn’t end. So when will it end?

As mentioned earlier, the Bible shows that Jesus returning and “the end of the world” are two different events. First, regarding His return:

But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (Mark 13: 32)

So that pretty much sums up trying to predict the exact date when He is going to come back. His Father knows and will reveal that information in His timing. Second, without going too deep – many believe that the Bible teaches the Earth isn’t going to be wiped out, blown up, or destroyed. In fact, the opposite is true – it is going to be restored, and Heaven is going to come down to Earth. Eden will once again be as God originally intending it to be. Think of the ending in Beauty and the Beast to get a visual. I strongly recommend the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn if you want an amazing, scripture backed perspective regarding what the future holds. Check out these verses:

And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”  (Revelation 21: 5) (Notice all things new, not all new things – my words.)

“Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne . . . ” (Matthew 19: 28)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away . . . And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,  (Revelation 21: 1, 2)

So what do we do in the meantime besides speculate dates and write books about when He will return? Oops – forgot that He said no one knows the date. If you have time, read the entire chapter of Mark 13 as Jesus is directly telling His disciples what to look for. Toward the end, He speaks a universal message to all of us that has an overriding theme in five verses (Mark 13: 33-37):

• Take heed (which means “watch out!”) . . . (v. 33)
• . . . keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come (v. 33)
• . . . to stay on the alert (v. 34)
• Therefore be on the alert – for you do not know when the master of the house is coming (v. 35)
• And just in case we’ve missed His point – “What I say to you I say to all, ‘Be on the alert!'” (v. 37)

What does being on the alert look like for us? What steps and choices can we take today so we will be ready whether He returns today, next week, or in one hundred years?

He closes the last book of the Bible with a message of hope and anticipation:

Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me . . .  (Revelation 22:12)

Blessings,

Dave 🙂

Let’s be honest. When you heard about the recent $738 million Powerball – you started fantasizing how you would spend all of that money when you won (I did). Mansions, exotic travel, dining with celebrities, purchasing your own island in The Carribean . . . the possibilities are endless. Oh yes, almost forgot – we all usually add in, “I’d also give a lot of it away . . . ”

The news reported that with taxes, the lump sum payment would only be about $350 million. We could all probably still make it – however, it would require budgeting somewhere between $25-$50 million a year. I’m still confused how I hope to win it when I don’t buy the tickets???

If not the lottery, then maybe that oil lease I signed 5 years ago will finally produce “black gold” that could lead to some Beverly Hillbillies action on our land. We’ve been waiting patiently, checking the mailbox every other day. I guess it would help if they actually had some type of drilling operation going on near our home.

Maybe I just need to go ahead and give my bank account number to that Arabian Prince who keeps emailing me saying he has too much money, and all he needs is access to my account in order to share in my portion of his inheritance. I still can’t believe he is that kind and generous to offer me millions – and we haven’t even met!

Let’s face it. Winning it all initially sounds great. However, we all know the truth. Something deep inside of us thrives on hard work, perseverance, and the satisfaction of a job well done. The pride from finishing painting the interior of your home without having to hire someone. Laying down a couple of pallets of sod by yourself (or with a reluctant teenager). Working overtime to pay off that dreadful credit card or college loan. Finally getting that degree or certification you have sacrificed years to obtain. Several months ago I saw this quote by Natalia Wiechowski on LinkedIn and absolutely loved it:

“I am not lucky, not blessed, not talented. Ask my family and closest friends! When others “chilled”, I worked. When others partied, I studied. When others went on a holiday, I learned. If you want the life of your dreams, stop believing that only a small amount of “gifted” people deserve the very best in life. That is a lie to keep you unhappy, mediocre, and small. Start working relentlessly toward your targets instead. No lame excuses. Daily actions, please.” 

Wow, she doesn’t hold back any punches. Solid advice. Let me know how it goes as you pursue your targets. Author Jon Gordon (and I) firmly believe “your best days are ahead of you and not behind you!”

“Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men.”  (Proverbs 22:29)

Blessings,

Dave 🙂

P.S. Please check out the new “Learning” section at http://www.davidrische.com. It features links to articles on Teaching Strategies, Continous Improvement, and Leadership – plus other stuff that doesn’t fit into neat and tidy categories 🙂

“It’s the ‘hard’ that makes it great. Otherwise, everybody would be doing it.”  Tom Hanks

Even though it is summer, do you feel like “I can’t keep up”? By keeping up I’m referring to:  the latest crisis in the news, current events, social media postings, Netflix recommendations, stacks of unread books, bursting email inboxes, text messages, etc., etc., etc. When I read this newsletter paragraph from an organization called Ransomed Heart, I can completely relate:

First, a friend shared with me how much he was enjoying a podcast by a thoughtful NPR commentator, and the nuggets of insight were impressive. A few hours later a different friend mentioned how much they were getting out of another podcast. I thought to myself, I’d better subscribe to those; they sound really good and I feel like I’m not keeping up with the trends. That afternoon, Stasi said something about some world news event she had just read about, and I thought, Wow – I am not keeping up on global happenings. I’d better do more of that, too. During a meeting the next day, someone makes a reference to a well-known ministry when everyone else at the table nods like they knew the story, and I’m wondering, Wow – I have no idea what is going on in the church world; I need to keep up. Meanwhile during the same meeting everyone was checking their cell phones for messages, updates, and news . . .  The cumulative effect of all this – and I am describing a fairly benign and ordinary week – was to have a large part of me feeling woefully ill-informed, and grossly out of touch with all sorts of important matters. Shame was not far behind, followed by the scrambling we do to “get back on top of things.”

Sound familiar? Deep inside – I think we all know the truth. We can’t get caught up! If we embrace that concept, some of the pressure starts to subside. What is a true priority to us starts to clarify. Here are 4 ways to enhance your journey toward inner peace:

1. Mornings (or evenings if you’re a night owl) – Whatever time fits you, as long as you have a margin of space when things quiet down, and you can be alone. Reflect on the good and bad of the day. Count your blessings and be thankful. Think, calm down, pray. Try sitting still. Read. Veg watching a classic movie.
2. Making Memories – Be the one who takes the initiative for doing something. Schedule that overdue visit with someone at Starbucks. Pull out a board game or puzzle for family or friends. Try a new vacation spot. Stay in a nice hotel for an evening. If money is tight – go on a bike trek. Explore the library or a museum. My son recently shared one of his favorite childhood memories was fishing at Bear Creek. All I can remember were tangled lines, turtles getting our hooks in their mouths, and my impatience and frustration at not catching anything but maybe once or twice during all those years. Funny how kids see things clearer than we do. It wasn’t about the fish, it was about the time.
3. Mental – choosing a positive attitude in spite of circumstances. Author Jon Gordon talks about how when we get hit unexpectedly with a challenge, we basically have a quarter of a second to choose positive instead of negative thoughts. It’s tough, but try it. At first, the positive sounds a little hokey or “pie in the skyish”. But the longer you engage in the practice, the positive thoughts start to become more authentic – and creative solutions start unveiling themselves. You will actually begin to feel better emotionally and mentally – and look at your situation with hope and possibilities instead of gloom and doom.
4. Miles (okay, being outdoors – I struggled to find an “M” word for it) – Texas summers make this tough, but every now and then we get a cloud cover or a rainstorm to cool things off. C.S. Lewis believed that if you were physically capable – every person should take a walk everyday. Walking, hiking, biking, going to the park, sports, gardening, swimming, BBQ, washing the car or dogs, fixing stuff – anything that gives you an excuse to get outside.

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46: 10) We could all use a little more of being still. . . .

Please comment below – what is your favorite way of pursuing inner peace?

Blessings,

Dave 🙂

A heart-felt thanks to those selfless individuals that gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving in our armed forces. We honor you this past Memorial Day weekend, and the other 364 days of the year.

Back in November of 2015, I wrote a blog about life insights from The Navy Seals. According to statistical feedback – it has been one of my most read blogs. Somehow a connection was forged on how ordinary people like you and I could take on the habits of legendary warriors like the Navy Seals. There is so much information out there, I wanted to share more. In case you missed it, here were the three key points that were highlighted last time:

• SEALs are incredibly punctual
• SEALs push their bodies and minds to the extreme 
• SEALs carefully select what words they use

Here are three more insights for our reflection:

• SEALs use the basics of deep breathing to calm down and focus on their mission – Whether in training or on the battlefield, Navy Seals have to be at their sharpest mentally at all times. The majority of the time they are physically and emotionally exhausted. Mark Divine, author of The Way of the Seal discusses deep breathing during several portions of his book. When under stress, afraid, or surprised – we enter into fight or flight mode – and that includes not breathing properly. He states, “Before you can take control of you mind, you must first calm it down. The fastest way to calm your mind, along with your body, is through slow and controlled deep breathing . . . This settling practice helps reduce mental chatter, prevents your mind from wandering, and is generally a great boost to your self-control efforts. It will also rebalance your nervous system and reduce harmful physiological effects associated with fear and stress.” (pg. 34-35)
• You and I – Try it now. Take in a deep breath with your nose and mouth, fill your lungs with air, and slowly exhale through your mouth for 5 seconds. Do it at least two more times and you should feel better. This is a great skill to quickly use before a tough conversation, an interview, a presentation, speaking up when we are normally silent, when we feel anger coming on, when we’re lost, stuck in traffic, late for an appointment, even helping our kids de-escalate from a tantrum – basically when we are anxious or stressed about anything. Calming our breathing down puts us in the right mental state to think clearly, pray for guidance, complete our task,  and look for solutions instead of dwelling on the problem. It is a quick fix to immediately feel better and reoriented.
• SEALs break things down into the smallest increments  – They refer to it as “simplifying the battlefield.” It means eliminating distractions. Devine states: “When we eliminate distractions, we can better see the simple, elegant solutions and remain front-sight focused on the right way forward. Even elite teams can get distracted and veer toward the complex.” (pg.46-47) He talks about a training exercise potential recruits must pass to progress in his Seal Leadership Program. They take the normal push up position, and then have to maintain that position for 45 minutes. The majority fail the test the first time after about 5 minutes. Those that eventually pass the test have discovered the secret: you have to break the 45 minutes down into seconds – completely having your mind and body in that present moment, second by second, then minute by minute.and believing that you are far more capable of doing beyond what you envision your limitations are.
•  You and I – Wow, distractions – where do I start? Just like the SEALs do, in small parts. Maybe developing the discipline of turning off our electronic devices for a set amount of time every day? Possibly moving into a different room to work on a project that requires concentration, or a school assignment. Setting a timer and giving laser-like focus to the task at hand until the set time is up. Perhaps being okay with unopened email. Increasing our face time with family and friends – and decreasing our virtual time with them. What about the 45 minute push-up example? What is overwhelming to us now that we need to break into small, manageable parts? Extreme example – I recently had the unpleasant adventure of flying from Dallas to Orlando while passing a kidney stone. I would not recommend you trying this at home. The first response was panic because I didn’t know what was wrong. Was a major organ giving out? Had I been bitten by a Brown Recluse Spider? Anyway, I started with short, deep breaths to try to calm my mind and body down. During those excruciating 3 hours – I also attempted to fill my mind with prayer, Bible passages, counting in my head from 1 – 100 while clearly visualizing each number, and positive mental images of puppies running joyfully through endless meadows. Though the pain remained, those practices helped provide a buffer until I could get medical attention.
• SEALs put others needs above their own – The selflessness they display while defending our country. A job description that features the willingness to lay down their lives for a team member or someone in distress. How many disasters have they prevented that we don’t know about? Writer Jason King describes how he embraced this principle while attempting to pass the “surf torture challenge” portion of a SEAL Leadership Training. Imagine lying on the beach sand in sunny California listening to the waves gently crash into the shore. Sounds great doesn’t it? This exercise is slightly different. You still get to lay on the beach, but you are backwards – your head is closest to the water. You have locked both arms with the person next to you forming a giant human chain. And it isn’t a warm, sunny day – it is dreadfully cold water and air. You can hear the ocean rumbling and waves breaking but without seeing, you’re never sure when they will next wash over you or for how long.Here are snippets from King’s experience:

  From behind us, we could hear the 4-foot waves crashing in from the Pacific. The trouble was, we could never seem to get connected with the cadence of when they were going to next wash over our faces, filling our eyes, ears, throats and noses with sand, stones and seawater.

  The not knowing is part of how this “evolution” (Navy SEAL-speak for a really challenging exercise) gets the cheery name of “surf torture.” You don’t know when you’re next going to feel like you’re drowning. The task at hand is to manage your fear.

  So here’s what I learned and, actually, here’s how I learned it:

  While all of this is happening, something is washing over your mind as well: fear. Fear that you may be drowning. After all, our minds have a very ancient job to do, bestowed upon them by instinct: watch out for threats to our existence. It is natural then that during surf torture, your mind may start to wander and do its thing; running through various disaster scenarios, convinced that death could be rolling in with the next wave.

  Want to know the secret behind how to get through this evolution?

  Stop thinking about yourself and keep your eyes on the team.

  You see, if you get trapped in your own experience surf torture is absolutely just that: torture. It’s designed to be a psychological test even more than a physical one: You constantly feel like you could be drowning. With every wave, you feel like you’re going to get dragged out to sea. With every minute that ticks by, you get colder and have more trouble getting your breath and keeping your faculties. Your fight or flight instincts are pinging all over the inside of your brain, looking for an escape hatch.

  The secret to getting through it all is to get fierce about protecting the people around you. You use all your physical strength to anchor your teammates against the rip tide so that the team doesn’t wash out into deeper water. You hold them tighter so that they can be warmer. You try to make them laugh, get them to sing or just do anything to get everyone’s mind off the fact that they are experiencing a gnarly challenge and many of them are scared . . . “

  So, that’s how you survive surf torture . . . (Beyond Personal Development: What I Learned From The Navy Seal Surf Torture, Huffington Post Online, 12/2015)

• You and I – This principle speaks for itself. Where do we need to start focusing on others instead of ourselves – home, work, church, the community? Will we be on the alert for that person who crosses our path needing a word of encouragement, a laugh, or help with something they are too embarrassed to ask about? Where is fear holding us back? The late Zig Ziglar was known for his great quote of: “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”

” . . . But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant.” (Matthew 20:26 NLT)

I hope this helps. There are plenty more principles out there – so look for part 3 sometime in the distant future 🙂

Blessings,

David Rische 🙂