I’ve heard people say, “Where is my ministry?” or “I don’t understand why God doesn’t use me more.” Many people try to build a platform to minister from and become frustrated. Maybe they’re missing it. Let me explain.
This is simply a perspective moment.
In The Journey Training we talk about seeing a different perspective of your situation. You may have a blind spot that is keeping you stuck.
Matthew 25:23 says, “You have been faithful with few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” Are you meant to pastor a church? Maybe. Where do you start? You start exactly where you are; you simply take a step and, in turn, take responsibility.
I needed to pay a house payment and had no work. I was worried. I thought, “How will I make this payment?” Then and idea came to me. People had often asked me if I trained people. I guess when you lose 239 pounds and keep it off, other people want that, too. I decided to begin a bootcamp here in town. I called it “Simply Lose It”, which is the name of a health program I am releasing this year on QVC. Twelve people signed up, and I was able to make that payment! In turn, I had a responsibility – to those twelve people.
Simply Lose it is in its fourth session, and I see something happening. I am caring for people; helping them progress physically, and also spiritually. I speak encouragement to them! I am seeing them succeed. Let me share a message from one of my participants just two weeks in: “Thanks for sharing the talk at the end; I cannot express my appreciation enough for you doing this bootcamp. You have changed my life probably more than you will ever know. I will never go back to the fat, lazy, unhappy person I was just a few weeks ago. THANK YOU SO MUCH!”
You see, God has given me my Bootcamp, and the people in it. I have changed my perspective to see it is a ministry. Not a church. Not a lucrative business. (YET!) But God has entrusted me with a few dozen very special people, and I will be as faithful to them as I can.
Maybe you need to change your perspective and see that your ministry is exactly where you are.
It’s where you work, where you play, in your home, and it’s the next person you meet. If you are “faithful with few things,” you’ll end up stepping into many. You’ll find the answer to “Where is my ministry?” And you won’t be trying so hard to build that platform. It will just kind of build itself!
Simply Lose It Bootcamp is run by Danny Cahill.
- When: Monday – Thursday & Saturday (Generally 5 weekly sessions)
- Cost: $99 per month for up to 3 weekly sessions, or $119 for unlimited
- Where: Fitness Together 97th & Riverside, Fitness Together Downtown Tulsa, Outside at several different Broken Arrow, Tulsa, and Bixby parks.
- Info: Email Danny@TheDannyCahill.com
“You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” ~ Zig Ziglar
I’ve learned by traveling the world as a motivational speaker that you have to know where you’re going before you can get there. When I left for The Biggest Loser in 2009, I knew two things: God gave me this opportunity, and it was my responsibility to act on it.
180 pounds was my destination – quite a long road from 430 pounds! But if I never set the destination, how I would I ever get there? There are two things you must know to navigate to your destination: Where you are and where you are going. The first step is to acknowledge where you are. If you don’t know where you are, how can you know where you want to go? You cannot heal or change what you don’t acknowledge. The second step is defining where you want to be. These destinations could be health, finance, relationship, career, any number of things. Only when you know where you are and where you are going can you then “map” a road to success. In my case, once I knew where I was going, and I had less than 7 months to get there, so I had to devise a plan for success.
Plan For Success in Health
I learned that 3,500 calories equaled a pound. I made a goal of losing of 1½ pounds per day – a 5,250 calorie deficit. If I ate 2,000 calories, I would need to burn 7,250 calories per day to reach my goal. This gave me a mark to hit – a target! Some days I would fail, some days I would succeed, and other days I would exceed the mark. The show’s nutritionist Cheryl Forberg and Trainer Jillian Michaels taught me what to eat, and Bob Harper and Jillian taught me how to burn calories – SWEAT! Then I hit GO on my GPS.
Plan For Success in Finances
This principle has helped me in areas other than losing weight. Finances are also an important area in which to plan for success. When you are in debt it can seem overwhelming. The reason I know this is because at one time Darci and I owed $62,700 of unsecured debt. Darci and I paid off that debt in just a few years – WITH A PLAN! On my YouTube channel you can see the video of Darci and me seen on Joyce Meyer describing our journey. It took a plan and self discipline to get there.
In marriage, it is wise to counsel with your fiancé and learn each other’s goals BEFORE saying I do! Then you can know where you both presently are and where you both want to go – and you can agree on plan for success in your marriage.
In whatever area you are looking to change – health, finances, marriage, parenting, any area – you must devise a plan. I urge you to find wisdom from good people who can help you such as your pastor, a counselor, or a trusted friend or support group. Those who have gone through The Journey Training have buddies and small groups to help when they need encouragement or ideas. Then you can follow a plan to focus on the future you want, not the future you just might happen upon! As Benjamin Franklin said, “If you fail to plan you are planning to fail.”
When I was growing up, I made a decision to change my life, to live for God and try to live as a Christian did. I started watching who I hung around with, and what I let influence my life. When I was in my mid 20s I started playing paintball. There is something thrilling about running around in the forest with guys shooting at you! This was something I did on a regular basis, and eventually I wanted to play tournaments. I wanted to win, so I joined a team that was really, really good.
Why Did I Say That?
But on this team, my teammates and I did not hold the same values. I started to notice over time that the words I chose to use were more and more colorful. I was not using them because I was mad and it was an “accident.” I was using them because they were convenient and familiar. I used these words because the people around me used them. I never once stopped to ask myself, “Why did I say that?” My wife noticed this growing habit as well. She told me once, “In the heat of battle you seem to be cussing a lot.”
Eventually, my wife’s words convicted me and I apologized to her. I then had to make the tough decision to find a new team that better reflected my beliefs and character. This new team did not win as many games, but it was far better for my both my character and my soul.
If you ever find yourself asking “Why did I say that?”, take a look at the people you spend time with. If so, it may be time for you to make some changes as well.
By the way, my new team and I eventually got better, and actually ended up beating my original team.
The other day I was at the soccer field waiting for my daughter’s game to begin. The teams were still warming up, so I decided to sit in my car for a few minutes to eat my lunch out of the sun. While I ate, I saw another team of 5 year old girls practicing on another field. It was really funny to watch. Wherever the ball went, every player on the field chased it back and forth like an entire school of fish following some bait.
Then I saw something amazing. One of the girls ran to kick the ball, but she missed it completely and fell on her knees. She sat their stunned for a moment and then began to cry. One of the girls from the other team that was nearby stopped to help her up and gave her a hug. Then another girl from the other team did the same thing. It was absolutely adorable. Without realizing it, these girls understood the importance of “sharing the win.”
This little drama made me think about the “games” we play in life. How often do we win, dominating the opposition, and then just walk away, never thinking of the other team. These little girls understood something we seem to have forgotten…
One of the organizations I invest time in is called Thrive15.com. I did an interview for them where I talked about the law of reciprocity. When I pour myself into other people’s lives, they do the same for me when I need it. I have found that creating win-win situations for people almost always circles back around to me at some point and they end up creating the same for me later.
I started thinking about how often we play a game in life where it could be a win win scenario, but we just “win” and then walk away with only the victory on our mind. Is it possible that there is even a bigger “win” to be had that would make a more lasting impact if we would learn the power of “sharing the win?”
I believe so.
I believe that enlarging our vision to include others can greatly increase what we accomplish each day. What if we decided ahead of time that sharing the win would be our goal whenever possible? The difference it makes not only in the situation, but also in other people can change far more in the world than if we chose to focus solely on ourselves.
I don’t think that everyone deserves a trophy for everything. That’s not always productive. However, is there a time during your day that you AND someone else can BOTH win? With a little effort and attention, I bet you can make it happen.
What can you do today that will help someone else experience a win? I challenge you to start “sharing the win!”
Do you find it hard to trust people? Or maybe you even find it hard to trust yourself. Trust comes with practice – and it is a choice. Many people I’ve asked have told me, “I don’t trust someone unless I know them. It must be earned.” Is that the truth?
We trust every day of our lives. We trust people we don’t even know to stay on the opposite side of that double-yellow line separating traffic. We trust the food handlers in a restaurant when we order a meal. We trust a chair when we sit in it. And we trust a pilot to fly us in an airplane.
The following is a definition of trust from dictionary.com:
TRUST | confident expectation of something; hope.
Let’s explore this further.
A benefit of trust is relationship.
Without it, we miss out on one of the most fruitful things in life – relationships. Friendship, dating, marriage, and family all begin with trust. And if you choose not to trust someone, you can never experience the pleasure of these relationships to a deeper extent.
Another benefit of trust is freedom.
Do you try to do everything yourself? You may be missing out on opportunities by spending all of your time doing what you could trust others to do for you. Hey – this is biblical! In Exodus 18:13-27, Moses was trying to hear all of the disputes of the people himself. His father-in-law told him, “This is not good! You’re going to wear yourself out, and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle by yourself.” He told Moses to find elders who he could trust to settle the minor disputes among the people, leaving only the larger disputes for him. Do you need some freedom by appointing some of your too-heavy workload to some others? Yea, I know – it takes trust!
Possibly the biggest benefit of trust is realizing your dreams.
The Bible says “Hope deferred makes a heart grow weak.” When you lose your hope, your dreams become too far away to achieve. The first person you must trust when it comes to your dreams is you. You stand on a threshold. Behind you is the past, the threshold is where you are, and beyond the threshold is where you want to be – your hopes and dreams. The first step to achieving them is taking a leap of faith – on you.
One thing we teach at The Journey Training is that your hopes, goals, and dreams are possible. The first thing it takes is trust – trusting in others, and trusting in yourself. Can you get hurt? Of course you can. But you can also travel farther with trust than by going it alone. Can you fail? Yes. But with each failure you gain the wisdom and confidence to fail better next time – and you will eventually succeed.
Begin to trust and relationship, goals, and dreams will be a little closer to you. And who knows? You just might get exactly what you want!
