I'm beginning a 30 day #fallbackintoshape2017 challenge today. My goals: workout for 15 mins 6 days per week and read 15 pages (5+ scripture, 10 inspirational) every day. I am going to work on being intentional with these goals and improve my focus on being positive by reading, posting and rehearsing one affirmation daily. Excited to start this journey!

Today's goal: Alma 23-25, Extraordinary by Cornell Thomas Ch 5-7, Workout: blogilates saddlebags

Today's scriptural account is a battle between the Lamanites and people of God who call themselves Anti-Nephi-Lehis. The people of God decide that they would rather bury their weapons of war "that they might be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day...that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren...(Alma 24:15). Furthermore, "rather than shed the blood of their brethren they would give up their own lives; and rather than take away from a brother they would give unto him; and rather than spend their days in idleness they would labor abundantly with their hands" (Alma 24:18). What a beautiful way to protest - with love. With their own lives. To be righteous, we often have to make uncomfortable and seemingly crazy sacrifices at times. This story is so amazing because it doesn't end there. The Lamanites watch as these men refuse to fight, laying down and praising God and dying instead. Their hearts begin to swell in them and many of these Lamanites lay down their own swords and join the men of God. What an incredible scene! I wish I could have been there to see it.

Passion + Purpose = Power is Cornell Thomas's formula for success. He reminds me how strong the mind is. He calls it the "strongest muscle" (Extraordinary 26). He reminds me that the biggest battles we have when chasing our goals and dreams are not other people - they are internal, against ourselves. The struggle of fear and doubt pit us good self vs. bad self, or the self that really wants to go for it no matter what, expecting road blocks and planning on hurtling over them when they come up vs. the self that tells us how much easier it'll be to quit - or, worse, brings something else to mind that we're so distracted we forgot where we were going in the first place.

That's why it's imperative to be intentional, specific and keep our goals simple. Thanks for that advice, John Maxwell. I just started his 15 Laws of Growth lass and I'm in love (with the class).

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If you've never read the Book of Mormon, there's a lot of great battle stories and, contrastingly, a peace that comes in reading that I've never found anywhere else. 

If you haven't read or heard anything by Cornell Thomas, do yourself a favor and find him because he is an awesome human being.

If you don't know who John Maxwell is, RUN and find a class or seminar of his to sign up for. The man has a way of keeping really huge and life-changing ideas simple enough to understand and even simpler to execute. He's a leadership genius.

Affirmation of the day, courtesy of Louise Hay in The Power Is Within You (LOVE that woman):
"I am constantly increasing my understanding. I am teachable. Every day I open my awareness a little more to the Divine Wisdom within me. I am glad to be alive and so grateful for the good that has come to me. Life, to me is an education. Every day I open my mind and heart and discover new insights, new people, new viewpoints, ad new ways to understand what's happening around and within me. The more I understand the more the world expands. My new mental skills are really helping me feel more at ease with all the changes in the incredible school of life here on Planet Earth."

Thanks for reading my friends.