WEBVTT 00:00:08.359 --> 00:00:11.140 What's going on, Pursuers? Welcome to The Pursuit 00:00:11.140 --> 00:00:14.339 of Calling, the podcast that provides you with 00:00:14.339 --> 00:00:17.260 the strategies and tools needed to successfully 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:20.820 discover and pursue your calling. Whether it's 00:00:20.820 --> 00:00:23.239 through inspiring stories, thought -provoking 00:00:23.239 --> 00:00:26.160 interviews, or quick, insightful episodes on 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.559 personal growth and development, we've got you 00:00:28.559 --> 00:00:32.359 covered. I'm your host, Thomas Carney. Enjoy 00:00:32.359 --> 00:00:41.429 the episode. Some mornings the pain is loud. 00:00:42.409 --> 00:00:47.409 Today is one of those mornings. And I hit record 00:00:47.409 --> 00:00:52.509 anyway. My muscular dystonia today is rearing 00:00:52.509 --> 00:00:55.390 its head a little bit more than it does in some 00:00:55.390 --> 00:00:58.850 other days. After my shower and I sat down to 00:00:58.850 --> 00:01:00.869 start writing notes out for this episode, I was 00:01:00.869 --> 00:01:07.140 just in an immense amount of pain. I... But I 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:09.159 decided to do this anyway. I didn't really know 00:01:09.159 --> 00:01:11.060 what I was even going to write about. And I decided 00:01:11.060 --> 00:01:14.799 that this is what I was going to be talking about 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:19.959 today. How do you endure in hard circumstances, 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:25.180 especially when life sucks? Like when it sucks 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:33.200 the most. And this isn't just for people going 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:38.010 through pain necessarily. But it's for everyone 00:01:38.010 --> 00:01:40.390 that's going through a hard season. Everybody 00:01:40.390 --> 00:01:43.510 that is in a part of their life where you're 00:01:43.510 --> 00:01:49.969 like, why is this happening to me? Talking about 00:01:49.969 --> 00:01:54.310 your pain isn't a weakness, by the way. Talking 00:01:54.310 --> 00:01:56.870 about when life is hard with a friend isn't weakness. 00:01:56.989 --> 00:02:01.290 It's actually courage. You know, recently I... 00:02:02.120 --> 00:02:05.920 I got to have a conversation with this man who 00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:08.060 I believe is going to be a new mentor in my life. 00:02:08.620 --> 00:02:11.680 His name is Rob Oliver. And if you're watching 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:14.219 this on YouTube, I have his book right here. 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:20.300 It's called Still Walking. And Rob is a he's 00:02:20.300 --> 00:02:23.319 a quadriplegic. And this book is his testimony 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:32.659 around that and how his life. from being a fully 00:02:32.659 --> 00:02:37.080 able -bodied 20 -something -year -old to then 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:40.620 not being really able to do anything on his own. 00:02:43.300 --> 00:02:46.659 One of my favorite parts of the book is on page 00:02:46.659 --> 00:02:50.439 33. It's the only page I have marked in it. And 00:02:50.439 --> 00:02:53.860 it's when he was talking with his girlfriend 00:02:53.860 --> 00:02:59.599 at the time, his now wife, about... How he didn't 00:02:59.599 --> 00:03:02.020 want to be a burden to her. And that he was just 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:05.500 like, hey, I want you to live your life to the 00:03:05.500 --> 00:03:08.639 fullest. And if you're not going to be able to 00:03:08.639 --> 00:03:14.039 do that with me, you can go ahead. This is between 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:16.099 you and me. Don't worry about what anybody else 00:03:16.099 --> 00:03:21.159 thinks. They don't know. And she stuck with him. 00:03:21.879 --> 00:03:25.039 She stayed there. And they're married. And they're 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:27.360 still married. I think he's in his 50s or 60s 00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:34.599 now. I didn't ask. And I was introduced to him 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:41.199 by Pastor Ed, who is the lead pastor at Amplified 00:03:41.199 --> 00:03:43.740 Church. And I was talking to him about how my 00:03:43.740 --> 00:03:49.979 condition was just really taking a toll. And 00:03:49.979 --> 00:03:52.120 I can't imagine a better person that I could 00:03:52.120 --> 00:03:55.419 have talked to. Somebody that knows. truly what 00:03:55.419 --> 00:03:58.419 it's like to live every day in a situation that 00:03:58.419 --> 00:04:02.740 sucks. But then he keeps his faith and endures 00:04:02.740 --> 00:04:12.819 his condition to pursue his calling anyway. And 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:16.560 for me, I can talk to him now, I can talk to 00:04:16.560 --> 00:04:19.079 Ed, but then I can also talk to my friend Andrew 00:04:19.079 --> 00:04:22.000 Regato, who I'm pretty sure I talk about everything 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:25.500 with, especially when life is hard. He'll pray 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:29.300 for me. He'll build me up. And I always leave 00:04:29.300 --> 00:04:31.600 the conversations with him better than whenever 00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:37.360 I entered them. Sometimes we need to borrow strength. 00:04:38.180 --> 00:04:41.360 And we have to remember that we don't have to 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:46.920 go through life alone. I do apologize. I mean, 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:49.160 I guess I shouldn't, but I apologize if you're 00:04:49.160 --> 00:04:51.800 not a Christian right now because there are some 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:59.160 scriptures I love. to lean on whenever I, or 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:02.360 I love to remember whenever I'm going through, 00:05:02.459 --> 00:05:06.699 especially through for me, physical pain. The 00:05:06.699 --> 00:05:10.459 first one is James chapter one, verses two to 00:05:10.459 --> 00:05:14.439 four. And I wish I already had it turned to in 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:16.300 my Bible, but I'm going to turn to it right now. 00:05:20.939 --> 00:05:24.600 It's after James, right? Yeah. Or after Hebrews. 00:05:26.180 --> 00:05:33.420 Okay. So James 1, verses 2 to 4. Consider it 00:05:33.420 --> 00:05:36.199 pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:39.579 face trials of many kinds, because you know that 00:05:39.579 --> 00:05:42.040 the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 00:05:42.839 --> 00:05:45.800 Let perseverance finish its work so that you 00:05:45.800 --> 00:05:49.980 may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:59.620 Just let that sit. Just let that sit. Let perseverance 00:05:59.620 --> 00:06:03.180 finish its work so that you may be mature and 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:10.259 complete, not lacking anything. Let endurance 00:06:10.259 --> 00:06:14.600 do its work, guys. Continue to pursue your calling 00:06:14.600 --> 00:06:18.399 regardless of your circumstances. Endure the 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:27.240 pain. The next one is 2 Corinthians 12, verse 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:42.240 9. But he said to me, My grace is sufficient 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.920 for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. 00:06:58.850 --> 00:07:03.430 We all have weaknesses. Mine might be more obvious 00:07:03.430 --> 00:07:07.069 because they're external. At least more obvious 00:07:07.069 --> 00:07:09.389 to me. But we all have mental weaknesses. We 00:07:09.389 --> 00:07:11.790 also have physical weaknesses. And where we are 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:16.279 weak, Christ is strong. The light shines the 00:07:16.279 --> 00:07:20.899 brightest in darkness. My condition isn't a result 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:24.959 of something God did, but he shines the brightest 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:29.199 through me because of it. Not the brightest in 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:33.860 comparison to other people, but in other aspects 00:07:33.860 --> 00:07:36.699 of my life, I believe he shines the brightest 00:07:36.699 --> 00:07:44.660 through me as a result of my condition. Not comparing 00:07:44.660 --> 00:07:47.040 myself to others, but I believe he shines brighter 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:51.480 through me now than he did before because, I 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:54.040 don't know, it's just more obvious. It's more 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:56.800 the darkness of pain, the darkness of struggle, 00:07:56.899 --> 00:08:01.740 the need to endure every day. I can only attribute 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:13.870 that to God. And the presence of God, even just 00:08:13.870 --> 00:08:19.829 knowing that, acknowledging the pain, enduring 00:08:19.829 --> 00:08:22.930 it, doesn't remove the pain, obviously, but it 00:08:22.930 --> 00:08:26.550 does reframe it. You know, I'm reading a book 00:08:26.550 --> 00:08:28.949 right now by Ed Milet. It's called The Power 00:08:28.949 --> 00:08:31.329 of One More. I just recently read a chapter about 00:08:31.329 --> 00:08:35.289 standards and he talks about how you should have 00:08:35.289 --> 00:08:38.409 higher standards for yourself than you have for 00:08:38.409 --> 00:08:41.769 anybody else. And I know... I don't think he 00:08:41.769 --> 00:08:43.309 wrote this in the book, but I know that means 00:08:43.309 --> 00:08:46.110 even in hard circumstances, have a higher standard 00:08:46.110 --> 00:08:51.429 for yourself. Personally, I don't want to be 00:08:51.429 --> 00:08:55.850 understood. I don't know, that might sound a 00:08:55.850 --> 00:09:00.250 little weird, but I want my actions, because 00:09:00.250 --> 00:09:02.269 this is what he says in the book, your actions 00:09:02.269 --> 00:09:04.889 display your standards to everybody around you. 00:09:05.509 --> 00:09:08.129 And it's your actions that influence other people. 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:10.899 John Maxwell says, Leadership is influence and 00:09:10.899 --> 00:09:15.200 everybody has influence. You are leading people 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:17.600 through your actions and your actions display 00:09:17.600 --> 00:09:28.399 your standards. If your actions aren't producing 00:09:28.399 --> 00:09:34.720 good fruit, that means the standards that are 00:09:34.720 --> 00:09:40.730 producing your actions are also... It means your 00:09:40.730 --> 00:09:48.590 standards just aren't good. And so whenever you're 00:09:48.590 --> 00:09:50.830 going through life, even in hard times, personally, 00:09:50.929 --> 00:09:54.789 I want my standards to be higher than the person 00:09:54.789 --> 00:09:58.350 next to me because I'm my own worst critic. I'm 00:09:58.350 --> 00:10:01.590 my own harshest critic. I'm going to push myself 00:10:01.590 --> 00:10:04.690 harder than I push anybody else because I know 00:10:04.690 --> 00:10:07.690 where I fall short more than I know where Angie 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:10.750 falls short or where I know you fall short. I 00:10:10.750 --> 00:10:13.470 know where I fall short. So I know the standards. 00:10:13.570 --> 00:10:17.490 I know the standards that I need to improve on. 00:10:17.529 --> 00:10:19.710 And I knew, I know the standards that I need 00:10:19.710 --> 00:10:23.850 to one up the power of one more, one more standard, 00:10:23.970 --> 00:10:27.690 one more level up. So continuously building your 00:10:27.690 --> 00:10:33.090 standards also then turns into a sturdy character. 00:10:35.340 --> 00:10:43.059 My calling isn't to, my calling, don't know why 00:10:43.059 --> 00:10:46.019 I said isn't, but my calling is to provide people 00:10:46.019 --> 00:10:50.620 with the tools needed to successfully discover 00:10:50.620 --> 00:10:53.399 and pursue their God -given calling. First, it's 00:10:53.399 --> 00:10:55.519 to prepare people for their calling, it's to 00:10:55.519 --> 00:10:57.679 help them discover it, and then it's to pursue 00:10:57.679 --> 00:11:03.299 it, and to do that well. I can't just do that 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:05.700 by my words. I have to do that through my actions. 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.840 That means my standards need to produce the actions 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:15.279 that produce the results that helps other people 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:21.559 pursue their calling. What is your calling? Do 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:27.419 your standards Produce the actions that produce 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:38.440 the fruit of what your calling is for. I think 00:11:38.440 --> 00:11:40.480 a great way, this is just coming to me now, but 00:11:40.480 --> 00:11:43.440 a great way, once you have your calling, once 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:48.399 you feel like you understand what it is, reverse 00:11:48.399 --> 00:11:52.519 engineer it. Notice how I was going forward up 00:11:52.519 --> 00:11:58.279 the ladder. from standards to actions to the 00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:01.940 fruit which displays, that should display your 00:12:01.940 --> 00:12:06.139 calling, what is your calling? And then what 00:12:06.139 --> 00:12:10.799 actions can you be doing to pursue that well? 00:12:11.019 --> 00:12:14.279 And then what standards do you need to set up 00:12:14.279 --> 00:12:18.740 in order for those actions to become a reality? 00:12:22.509 --> 00:12:24.809 So that's my challenge for you this week. My 00:12:24.809 --> 00:12:30.929 challenge to you is to write down at least one. 00:12:30.990 --> 00:12:33.870 I'm going to say five because he says power of 00:12:33.870 --> 00:12:37.809 one more. So we're going to go four more. What 00:12:37.809 --> 00:12:44.149 are your five standards that you need to one 00:12:44.149 --> 00:12:50.730 up in order to produce the actions that produce 00:12:50.730 --> 00:12:58.269 the fruit? that represent your calling well, 00:12:58.409 --> 00:13:01.330 that help you, that shows that you are pursuing 00:13:01.330 --> 00:13:03.529 your calling well. You're not doing it for anybody. 00:13:04.389 --> 00:13:07.070 Well, you're doing it for everybody that you're 00:13:07.070 --> 00:13:10.629 meant to serve. But you're not setting these, 00:13:10.750 --> 00:13:14.149 so whenever you're setting these standards, you're 00:13:14.149 --> 00:13:16.730 setting the standard for the action, the action 00:13:16.730 --> 00:13:19.429 is for the fruit, and the fruit is for the people. 00:13:28.280 --> 00:13:30.039 Just letting you sit with that for a second. 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:36.820 How do you want to influence people? What fruit 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:40.840 do you want to give them? What actions are going 00:13:40.840 --> 00:13:43.360 to produce that fruit? And what standards are 00:13:43.360 --> 00:13:49.840 going to produce those actions? Just reflect 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:54.149 on that. Where do you need to raise your standards 00:13:54.149 --> 00:14:01.129 even when life is hard? So guys, if this is something 00:14:01.129 --> 00:14:03.049 you're interested in, if this is something you're 00:14:03.049 --> 00:14:05.789 actually now you're like, man, I want to dive 00:14:05.789 --> 00:14:08.610 into this deeper. I want to add value to your 00:14:08.610 --> 00:14:12.250 life by offering you a free coaching session. 00:14:12.429 --> 00:14:14.909 It's actually one of three free coaching sessions. 00:14:15.450 --> 00:14:17.070 This is going to be a link in the show notes 00:14:17.070 --> 00:14:21.269 where you can schedule that. And guys. I just 00:14:21.269 --> 00:14:23.629 want to serve. This is free. I don't even ask 00:14:23.629 --> 00:14:26.950 for your credit card. Or debit card, because 00:14:26.950 --> 00:14:31.009 I prefer debit cards. Anyway, I digress. But 00:14:31.009 --> 00:14:33.090 okay, go ahead and click the link in the show 00:14:33.090 --> 00:14:36.309 notes so you can sign up for that now. And guys, 00:14:36.389 --> 00:14:38.970 I pray that you got something out of this episode. 00:14:40.289 --> 00:14:43.769 Because this is one that honestly went way better 00:14:43.769 --> 00:14:46.830 than I thought it could ever go. So I give all 00:14:46.830 --> 00:14:49.049 the glory to God for that. But I just pray that 00:14:49.049 --> 00:14:51.990 you, Lord God, I pray that the people in this 00:14:51.990 --> 00:14:54.129 episode, the people that listen to this episode, 00:14:54.210 --> 00:14:57.870 God, that they are lifted up. God, that they 00:14:57.870 --> 00:14:59.950 raise their standards, pursue the calling that 00:14:59.950 --> 00:15:03.190 you put on their lives, Jesus. That they can 00:15:03.190 --> 00:15:04.889 serve the people that they've been called to 00:15:04.889 --> 00:15:10.509 serve well. Guys, thank you for listening to 00:15:10.509 --> 00:15:13.210 this episode. Share it out with everybody because 00:15:13.210 --> 00:15:16.370 I know this is going to change somebody's life. 00:15:16.450 --> 00:15:21.230 I know that. So go ahead and share this with 00:15:21.230 --> 00:15:23.809 all of your friends, all of your family. Share 00:15:23.809 --> 00:15:27.289 it on social media because, guys, what I'm talking 00:15:27.289 --> 00:15:30.889 about today, this is what pursuing your calling 00:15:30.889 --> 00:15:35.629 is. Share it out on social media. Give this podcast 00:15:35.629 --> 00:15:38.740 a five -star review. And guys, keep pursuing 00:15:38.740 --> 00:15:40.940 your calling well. I'll see you next time.