The Warrior Mentality

We all have defining moments that either make or break us.  Whichever they are -- God will use them for our good.  Our destiny and purpose is wrapped up in each and every one of them.  It's that "stuff" that causes the aha moments -- those moments that seemed like the worst of worst times, but were actually the turbo boost to propel us to where we were meant to be. Most of the time, those defining moments come as adversity.
The times of adversity either make us stronger and cause us to have the "warrior mentality" or we succomb to the pressure and throw in the towel and have the "pull-the-blanket-over-the-head mentality".  One makes us stronger and leads to success and the other causes us to quit and leads to failure stories.   They're either stories that said "I pushed through to victory" or "I gave up and quit.  IF ONLY....I had persisted."    From Abraham Lincoln to Steve Jobs to Michael Jordan, great leaders and achievers push themselves beyond the point of failure and take a step back to re-evaluate why they started the journey in the first place.  Even when their body or mind tells them to quit, they dig deep and push through the adversity.

That's what our annual Unstoppable Summit is all about.  This weekend, once again (8 years in a row), incredible, die-hard leaders from all over the country have come together to re-evaluate, re-focus, re-ignite, re-enforce and re-mind ourselves that we are warriors who are on a daily mission to accomplish everything God assigns us to -- all for the purpose of making the difference in people's lives.    I loved it yesterday morning when we were talking about the "warrior mentality" of strength, courage and determination.  Warriors don't fear combat -- in
fact, it causes them to rise to the challenge.  They are on the front line with their trusted comrades and strongly value both courage AND loyalty.  Warriors are distinctly solid and physical, ready for action.   Today, Staci brought out a sword that had been given to her by her pastor because he said he saw her as a warrior.  She asked Anthony Abron​ to demonstrate his warrior voice.  In his big, booming, boisterous, strong and authoritative voice he belted out his interpretation of a warrior's offensive, protective, determined cry.....AND, it shook the house.  That cry/yell would certainly cause the enemy to run in terror.  And, isn't that what our attitude toward the enemy should be?  Not a wimpy, woe-is-me, pitiful attitude and cry, but one that causes the enemy to flee.

Almost as if on queue, a knock came to Larry & Staci's front door, it was Pastor Keith Craft (their pastor and,(by the way -- a complete surprise to all of us).  He wanted to show us his Team Strike Force's new meanest, baddest, AWESOME F650 truck.   "Now that's a WARRIOR'S machine!" Team Strike Force was founded by Pastor Keith Craft 28 years ago -- with the purpose of conducting school assemblies to motivate and encourage students with doing what's right.  They are Christian bodybuilders who wow crowds with their feats of strength.     That's "Warrior Mentality".  Being tenacious, committed, passionate about doing the right thing and helping young people become warriors who do the right thing too.  

Isn't that the warrior mentality we all should have when it comes to standing up for what's right and doing what's right -- to take all life with passion and purpose and dig in deep to declare war on ANY and EVERYTHING that tries to stop God's assignments?

Never, Never, Never QUIT

Have you been part of a project or had a great idea and someone said, "It can't be done"? Or with a group that despite the odds against them, they're "just doing it"?

Milton HERSHEY failed in his first two attempts to set up a candy business.

H.J. HEINZ set up a company that produced horseradish. It went bankrupt.

Steve Jobs got fired from APPLE, the company he founded. Only to return a few years later to turn it into one of the most successful companies ever.

During WW II Sir Winston Churchill led his country during its darkest hours. The British people leaned on him, drew strength from him, because his will and determination were like iron. He said time and time again, "Never quit!"

We all may start out flying high with ambition, determination, and enthusiasm. But, often we get tired and wonder if what we dreamed will come to pass. It's then that we should remember those who reached success because of their relentless ability to set their faces like flint toward their goal. It's time for us to follow their lead to declare our "Never Quit" attitude, regardless of the opposition... regardless of the circumstances... regardless of how we might feel... WE NEVER QUIT.

Yes, there are times when we must stop and reassess... we may need to take a detour....we may need to make course corrections... we may need to discover that missing key component...we may need to pick ourselves up from having fallen FLAT on our faces! I've been there all those times -- and one promise I made to myself, was to never allow anyone or any circumstance to steal from me this one determination: I WILL NEVER QUIT! In fact, QUIT, is not a part of my DNA -- it's not in my hard drive -- it's not in my vocabulary! How about you?