How I lost 85 lbs & went from an XXL to an M!

When Allison and I got married, I weighed a solid 300 lbs. And it wasn't fun... or pretty. My back hurt constantly, I got winded every time I stood up, I had sleep apnea... oh, and I hated the way I looked. I ate when I felt bad, and I felt bad when I ate. It really was a vicious cycle.

Like most people, I felt like I had tried everything. I had done fad diets, getting rid of all my junk food, switching to diet soda, stopping eating anything that's white, and a bunch of other stuff. But it seemed like no matter what I did, I just couldn't lose the weight.

Then one day, I gave up on diets, and it was the best thing I've ever done for myself.

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2 Fool Proof Ways To Stellar Creativity For Creativity-Challenged Leaders

Easter is over, and now it's time to take a quick breath before you begin planning for Christmas; which is fine because all you have to do is come up with something super memorable, or relevant, or whatever it is your church values. But one way or another, it's your responsibility to make it awesome.

Photo courtesy of Ramnath Bhat at Flickr.com

 Easy right? maybe not. If you're anything like me, the pressure of having to make everything awesome can make feel crushing. From time to time, I find myself sitting at my desk, staring at a blank page, with a dumb gaping stare. I feel filled with fear and doubt about whether or not I'll be able to come up with anything worth while. But here's the problem with that. My fear and doubt don't show very much trust in God.

When I give into insecurity about my creative abilities, I'm also doubting that God has done a good job at guiding my life. It's like I'm indirectly saying God, you screwed up. You could have selected a better profession for me, or given me a different set of spiritual gifts. But that's a bad way of looking at my life, obviously. It keeps me from seeing the blessings of who He made me to be.

The truth is, God didn't give me a highly advanced sense of creativity. And it's also true that my job, like yours, requires a high level of creativity. But my job description never says anything about me needing to be the creative person on my team. And I'm guessing yours doesn't either.

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My Infinite Mirror Lifehack

Do you remember the first time you stood in between two adjacent mirrors?

When I was a kid, the bathroom in my house had a medicine cabinet hanging by the mirror. That old medicine cabinet also had a mirror on it's door. At night before bed, I would climb up on the bathroom counter and open the medicine cabinet door as wide as I could, until there was barely any space between the bathroom mirror and the mirrored cabinet door.

Photo courtesy of Damianos Chonakis at Flickr.com

Then I'd stick my face between the mirrors and look back and forth at the infinite reflections of myself that streamed of in both directions. I loved to imagine that they went on forever. I'd imagine I could see into the past and the future all at the same time.

How cool would it be if you could do that? See your past and your future all at the same time, that is. You'd be able to learn from the accidents of your past, and avoid the pot holes of your future. Your decisions would be well informed, and you'd have easy access to wisdom beyond your years. Obviously, it wouldn't make you perfect. Only Jesus can do that. But it'd be just about the most effective way for you to discover more potential in your life and leadership.

The good news is, there is a way to do that. And it's really easy. This is where you're thinking Okay, here comes the sales pitch. {Deep Sigh} Time to go back to checking my email. But the truth is, you don't need to buy anything. You likely have everything you need already.

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