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“If you are going to grow, you have to be intentional” – Curt Kampmeier

If you really desire to make a difference…

• Wishing things to change wouldn’t make them change
• Hoping for improvements will not bring them
• Dreaming wouldn’t provide all the answers needed
• Vision wouldn’t be enough to bring transformation to me or others
• Only by managing my thinking and shifting my thoughts from desire to deeds would I be able to bring about positive change. I need to go from wanting to doing!

Consider these seven benefits of Intentional Living….

1.Intentional Living prompts us to ask, ‘What is significant in my life?’

• Successful people are good in these four areas: Relationships, Equipping, Attitude, and Leadership.

• Living intentionally will cause you to start asking questions and begin to prioritize what is important and not what is urgent. You begin to ask Can I make a difference? Whom should I help? How can I help? What can I do to add value to others?
• An unintentional life accepts everything and does nothing. An intentional life embraces only the things that will add value to the mission of significance.

2. Intentional Living motivates us to take immediate action in areas of significance.

• When you make this shift in your spirit and mind you no longer see a need and ask why doesn’t someone to do something? versus I must do something.
• “DO IT NOW” should be the mantra of every person who decides to start living intentionally.

3. Intentional Living challenges us to find creative ways to achieve significance

Note these comparative statements ….

• Intentional living always has an idea – Unintentional living always has an excuse
• Intentional living fixes the situation – Unintentional living fixes the blame
• Intentional living makes it happen – Unintentional living wonders what happened
• Intentional living says, ‘Here’s something I can do’ – Unintentional living says, ‘Why doesn’t somebody else do something’

4. Intentional Living energizes us to give our best effort to so significant acts

• Most people do not aim to high and miss, they aim to low and hit it!
• Being unintentional is failing to take aim in life. Unintentional people wander through life without focus.

5. Intentional living unleashes the power of significance within us

• “If you first help others get what they want they help you get what you want” – Zig Ziglar
• The Bible states that we are to prefer others before ourselves. Scripture had it right long before the leadership guru’s of the day. It is in helping others that you realize that your needs are being met.

6. Intentional living inspires us to make every day count

• John Wooden, famous Hall of Fame College Coach stated, as a leader of my team, it was my responsibility to get the most out of my players. As a coach I would ask myself everyday ‘How can I make my team better?’
• How many of us ask that question of those we are leading daily. I am afraid we must confess that our agenda and schedules rule what is important without ever understanding what is significant.

7. Intentional living encourages us to finish well

• August 13 2012 was an important day for a man that turned 60. He asked the question for six months – “How can I finish well?” Here is what he wrote…
• I want to finish well therefore I will…Be bigger on the inside than on the outside because character matters
• I will follow the golden rule because people matter
• I will value humility above all virtues because perspective matters
• I will travel the high road of life because attitude matters
• I will teach only what I believe because passion matters
• I will make every day my masterpiece because today matters
• I will live God with all of my being because God matters
• I will finish well because faithfulness matters

Who was this man? – John Maxwell

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Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!