Feel the burn! Why?

​Dear Why Team member,

I hope this message finds you well and having enjoyed your weekend.

A Persian proverb says, “He who wants a rose must respect the thorn.”

This week we explore the importance of putting forth effort that can be painful, emotionally and/or physically. No pain, no gain, as the saying goes. So here is the message:

Feel the burn!

Why? To light the fire within.

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​Can you still feel the fire within you burning? When our lives have clear meaning and purpose, we wouldn’t just feel the fire burning, but we’d be driven by rocket fuel. When the rocket fuel is ignited by our desire to be more for ourselves and others, it pushes us to purposeful actions. Rocket Fuel serves no purpose without fire to ignite it, to explode it into purposeful action.  So can you feel the fire, even better, can you feel the rocket fuel powering your days or do you play it safe?  If so, Why?  
Are you storing up for a rainy day and creating the very rain in your life by doing so?  Where is your faith?  Do you see your value as measurable or immeasurable?

First, you have to make sure your own cup is full; as I have said before, you can’t serve from an empty cup. But when you serve others, the impact is immeasurable, it can go on and on as others pay it forward.  Is that your true measure of wealth, your impact that goes beyond your self?  
When we become overly fearful and anxious, we lose the eyes to see the possibilities, we forget the immense life we have already had, the great privilege to have lived. A prolonged self-focus can limit our impact to arm's length, providing us limited measures of wealth.  An other-focus, however, is limitless and can return dividends beyond measure. And purposeful actions towards a worthy goal may require additional effort, and may cause pain. Some goals however, are better accomplished with the help of someone who cares about you and your growth, someone that can help keep you on the right path no matter how hard or painful the task may be. There is a joy that only a good burn, for others, can access.  Those who train regularly, no doubt, have experienced what I'm talking about.  I can say with 100% certainty that I am physically where I am today because I hired a trainer.  I already have enough to keep track of in my life.  My trainer knows me, he knows how to push me, test me, he knows what I can physically accomplish better than I do.  I show up, trust and hit it as hard as I can, and certainly harder than I would, were I alone.  Oh sure, there are days I could go it alone, but it's on those days when I need him most that I need him most.

Where we enter into an accountability relationship, we find greater discipline. Where we find discipline, we find success.  And the greater the discipline, the greater the success.  In my youth, I mostly worked out for me, with limited success.  Today, after over 14 years with a trainer, and because it's important to me, I train for others, to be physically and mentally strong for others, my wife, my children, my friends, and colleagues, and for all of those audiences, my colleagues have brought together for us to serve.  We owe it to ourselves and others, to do our best, to bring our "A" game and nothing less every day as hard as it may be sometimes.

If this is your experience, I hope this message affirms and encourages you.  If not, I invite you to more fully experience a joy and abundance born from a life more committed to serving others, knowing an immeasurable wealth of purpose that can never be taken from you.

Choose the burn, light and ignite the best within you, to help light and ignite the best in others.

Make it a great week,

Steve Luckenbach