Leaders must model what they request.

Now the word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. (Jonah 1:1-3a)

Where are you running – toward or away from God?

Who among us hasn’t heard God telling us to do something we really didn’t want to do? Sometimes it’s easy to convince ourselves that we know better than God what needs to be done.

Jonah was a godly prophet, yet when God commanded him to preach repentance to the Ninevites, Jonah ran in the opposite direction. As he ran, he went nowhere but down – down to the seashore, down into the bottom of the ship, down to the water, and down into the belly of the fish. Jonah learned what can happen to the man or woman who is called to lead but how shrinks from that role of leadership.

One can only imagine the wretched conditions inside the creature God had prepared to temporarily house Jonah. But was it any worse than the situations into which we put ourselves when we run from God. Eventually the Lord will bring us to a place where we have little choice but to stop, listen, and obey.

But why wait for such an unpleasant place?

Leaders may not always understand why God wants them to do certain things, but He doesn’t ask us to depend on our own understanding or logic. Rather, he calls us to walk in obedience to His instruction. Don’t make it necessary for God to introduce you to the inside of a fish.

Note: Most of today’s message above comes from the Maxwell Leadership Bible.

Prayer Power
Heavenly Father, I’m ready to do things Your way. Make it clear what You want me to do and bless me with the will and courage to obey. Thank You. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Blessing of the Day
“Abiding in the Vine” (Part II) – Bishop Lemuel F. Thuston [YouTube video]

Blessings to choose to run toward God!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough.” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

“Eventually the Lord will bring us to a place where we have little choice but to stop, listen, and obey.” – Dr. John Maxwell

When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD; And my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple. (Jonah 2:7)

What is God telling you to do?
How are you responding?

Yesterday, Matt Gregory (my pastor) preached a powerful message at Soul Purpose Church about The Growth Choice. This message came from Pastor Rick Warren’s teaching in an 8 week series we are doing called “Life’s Healing Choices” based on the 8 beatitudes.

Matt shared 7 keys on “how to continue growing.” I was convicted by the very first one – “Fix a daily time with God.” Despite the fact that I teach over and over about the importance of good habits and a godly daily routine, I’ve allowed my daily routine to become anything but routine. Oh I’ve had my good excuses for why this has happened, but in the end they are all excuses.

Before going to bed last night at 8:20 pm, I purposed in my mind that I would get up at 5:00 am, read my Bible for 30 minutes, journal for 30 minutes (including prayer), exercise for 30 minutes, take Maui (our 4 month old puppy) for a walk, and then go to the IHOP (formerly International House of Pancakes, but now International House of Prayer) at 7:00 am for breakfast, fellowship, and prayer with Pastor Jeff Light and anyone else who choose to come.

Maui woke my up barking around 9:30 pm and again at 10:30 pm because another dog was barking outside. She woke me up again around 3:30 am and I let her outside to pee. I then went back to sleep. When my PDA alarm went off at 5:00 am, I still felt tired and reset it for 5:30 am. However, God was going to have none of that and Maui kept wining until I got up for good.

After feeding Maui and letting her outside, I went to our family room to read my Maxwell Leadership Bible. I just happened to open to page 1084 and the very first thing I read jumped out at me and hit me between the eyes like a ton of bricks, “Eventually the Lord will bring us to a place where we have little choice but to stop, listen, and obey.”

After reading some of Dr. John Maxwell’s commentary and part of the book of Jonah, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the messages from Jonah are what I am to write about this week for Your Daily Blessing. I then read 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) and repented to God for not showing more love to those closest to me.

Prayer Power
Most gracious and merciful heavenly Father, I’ve gotten off track with my daily routine and some good habits I thought were firmly established. Gradually over time they have slipped away. Please forgive me. Thank You for you patience and mercy. I confess that I need your help getting back to some of the basics that I teach. Help me to set aside three times each day to pray like Daniel did. I love you. In Jesus name, Amen.

Blessings to choose to grow!

Blessing of the Day
“Abiding in the Vine” (Part I) – Bishop Lemuel F. Thuston

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

TEAM DESTINY

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough.” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

Welcome to Day #10 of your “30 Days To Breakthrough” journey.

For the past two days we discussed the importance to BE Outstanding and SIMPLIFY. Today our topic is Live on PURPOSE!

QUOTE
“Purpose powers passion!” – John G. Miller

LESSON
One of the things that kept me going through significant trials over the past few years is knowing my life purpose.

To live on purpose, you must know your purpose.

If you haven’t already done so, I suggest you write out your life purpose statement and then read that frequently. Keep it short. It doesn’t have to be perfect or final. It just needs to be. Over time you will refine that.

If the ladder isn’t leaning against the right wall, it doesn’t matter how fast you climb it.

Besides knowing your life purpose, it’s important to live each day, week, month, and year on purpose. Having written goals helps you do that.

What would you do if you knew you had one month to live?

In the Spring of 2009 I read a book called “One Month To Live” by Kerry and Chris Shook. That had a profound impact on me. I particularly liked this Day 1 assignment:

As quickly as possible, without thinking too hard or too long, make a list of five things you’d change about your life if you knew you only had a month to live. Choose at least one to begin changing today, right now.

Give that a try and see what happens. This “30 Days To Breakthrough” is fruit of my doing that.

QUESTION (write down what comes to your heart)
Lord, what one thing do you recommend I change about my life this month?

LINK of the Day
One Month To Live – Kerry and Chris Snook’s online resource

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank You for the precious gift of life. Help me to know and live the purpose you created me for. Teach me to live each day with a sense of urgency, as if I had only one month to live. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Blessings to live on purpose!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

TEAM DESTINY

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

Welcome to Day #9 of your “30 Days To Breakthrough” journey.

Yesterday we discussed the importance to BE Outstanding. Today we discuss the importance to SIMPLIFY.

QUOTE
“Less is more!” – Mac Anderson, founder of Simple Truths

LESSON
The longer I live and the more I experience, the more I become convinced of the importance in simplifying my life.

Instead of us owning our possessions, they can easily end up owning us or at least consuming much of our time.

Our basic needs are food, clothing, and shelter. Everything else is gravy.

Have you ever heard the expression, “The harder I work the further behind I get.” I’ve been on that path far too many times.

If you really want to be a godly steward with your talent, your must let go and let God.

STOP trying to run the universe. Enjoy each day. Take care of yourself. Honor God with the firstfruits of your talent and He’ll take care of the rest.

According to Bernadette Doyle, “The fastest way to have everything is to focus on one thing.”

What will be that ONE THING for you?

Incidentally, I was first referred to Bernadette by Kevin Nations on June 29, 2009 in his email titled “There’s a BIG DIFFERENCE between those who SOAR and those who STRUGGLE.”

The next day, June 30, I listened to Bernadette’s teleseminar titled “How to Do What You Love, When You Want, Wherever You Want, With Whoever You Want, and Make The Money You Want.”

I have come to discover Bernadette is someone worth listening to. She’s a great teacher and definitely knows what she is talking about when it comes to more leads, more clients, and more sales.

Bernadette’s business has tripled for 3 consecutive years, allowing her to generates more than $1 million in sales annually working out of her home just 3 days per week. She made this choice to work part-time out of her home to be able to spend lots of quality time with her two little children.

That kind of flexible lifestyle where one can give generously to others is very appealing to me. I’ll bet it’s appealing to you too.

Always remember there is tremendous POWER in focus. White light can be focused through a prism to create a laser beam that can cut through steel.

For me, focusing on completing and improving these daily messages for 30 Days To Breakthrough will play a very important part in my eternal legacy.

QUESTION (write down what comes to your heart)
Lord, what simple things can I do to SIMPLIFY my life?
What is the ONE THING you want me to FOCUS on?

LINK of the Day
Simple Truths by Mac Anderson

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, teach me what it really means to seek Your Kingdom and Your righteousness first each day. Help me to SIMPLIFY my life and trust more in You to accomplish Your purposes through me. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Blessings to SIMPLIFY and FOCUS on ONE THING!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

P.S. I encourage you to help your friends SIMPLIFY their lives too by referring them to
www.30-days-to-breakthrough.com

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

Welcome to Day #8 of your “30 Days To Breakthrough” journey.

Yesterday we completed the 7 day series about Stewarding Your Time.

Today we begin a new 7 day series about Stewarding Your Talent.

Here is a summary of what we will cover in the next 7 days:

Day 8 – BE Outstanding!
Day 9 – SIMPLIFY
Day 10 – Live On PURPOSE
Day 11 – Think BIG And Act Small
Day 12 – SHARE Your Blessing
Day 13 – Join A MASTERMIND TEAM
Day 14 – LEVERAGE What You Have

QUOTE
“People fire organizations!” – John G. Miller

LESSON
Have you ever been fired before by any of your clients? I have. And it’s not fun. As I reflect back on previous business failures, I recognize a common thread – I failed to BE Outstanding!

On February 4, 2010, my son Robbie and I had the privilege of hosting a webinar with John G. Miller titled “Outstanding! 47 Ways to Make Your Organization Exceptional.”

John is a world leader in teaching about personal accountability and has written 3 books about that subject, including:

1) “QBQ! The Question Behind The Question”

2) “Flipping The Switch: Five Keys to Success at Work and in
Life”

3) “Outstanding! 47 Ways to Make Your Organization
Exceptional”

When you learn to BE Outstanding, you will draw the market to you rather than pushing it away.

The principles in John’s book Outstanding! apply to each of us because we all have the opportunity to be outstanding in our own spheres of influence. One person can make a difference. You can make a difference.

Think of how this world would be transformed if each one of us embraced and practiced the mindset of personal accountability as John Miller presents in his books and demonstrates in his own life!

Let’s do as the great apostle Paul commands in Colossians 3:23, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.”

QUESTION (write down what comes to your heart)
Lord, what action step can I take this week to BE outstanding?

LINK of the Day
Discover How to BE “Outstanding! 47 Ways To Make Your Organization Exceptional” – recorded webinar VIDEO

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for the talents you have blessed me with. Teach me to BE Outstanding in what I do at home, at work, and elsewhere. May my attitude toward people be pleasing to you. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Blessings to BE Outstanding!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

TEAM DESTINY

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

Welcome to Day #7 of your “30 Days To Breakthrough” journey.

Today is the last day of the 7 days series about Stewarding Your Time. Tomorrow we begin our second 7-day series about Stewarding Your Talent.

Here is a summary of what we covered this week:

Day 1 – Redeeming The Time
Day 2 – Slowing down
Day 3 – The importance of HABITS
Day 4 – PRIORITIES
Day 5 – Clear written GOALS
Day 6 – Benefits of keeping a journal
Day 7 – Leaving a rich legacy through journaling

Before we move on to today’s topic, I’d like you to write down the most important life lesson you learned this week.

QUOTE
“Keeping a journal is one of the three treasures to leave behind for the next generation.” – Jim Rohn

LESSON
On Monday January 4, 2010, I received an email titled “Jim Rohn Newsletter – Keeping a Journal.” As an avid journaler, that title caught my attention. But what Jim wrote in that message really hit home.

Jim Rohn, known as “America’s Foremost Business Philosopher,” wrote “If you’re serious about becoming a wealthy, powerful, sophisticated, healthy, influential, cultured, and unique individual, keep a journal. Don’t trust your memory. When you listen to something valuable, write it down. When you come across something important, write it down.”

He went on to say that keeping a journal is one of the three treasures to leave behind for the next generation. The other two are your pictures and your library – books, CD’s etc that taught you, that instructed you, that helped you defend your ideals. It helped you develop a philosophy. It helped you become wealthy, powerful, healthy, sophisticated and unique.

QUESTION (write down what comes to your heart)
Lord, how will journaling help me be leave a great legacy?

LINK (to valuable resource)
Keeping a Journal is One of the Three Treasures to Leave Behind

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, journaling is the key for people to unlock their dreams. Remove the veil for those who read this message to understand and take hold of this revelation. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Blessings to leaving a rich legacy through journaling!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

TEAM DESTINY

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

Welcome to Day #6 of your “30 Days To Breakthrough” journey.

Yesterday, we shared about the importance of clear, written goals to succeeding on a big scale. If you missed that lesson, please go back and catch up. Do it NOW!

Today we’ll discuss benefits of keeping a journal. Today’s Link of the Day is a great resource to inspire you.

QUOTE
When the “WHY” gets big enough, the “HOW” will work itself out.

LESSON
As you journey through life with God, recording your adventure in a journal is a great help.

Journaling is simply a way of recording your journey with God. It helps you to pay more attention to God and is a way of way of learning to hear and respond to Him. By keeping a record you can see what God’s been doing, how far you’ve come, and where you’re going.

Keeping a journal will help you to see how God is working in your life.

QUESTION (write down what comes to your heart)
Lord, what can I do to help ensure that I journal every day?
How much time should I set aside to journal each day?
What time of the day should I journal?
And who is to hold me accountable?

LINK of the Day
Twelve Great Reasons To Journal

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we praise You as the greatest journaler of all time. Thank You for Your gift of the Bible. Help me to set aside the time each and every day to write down answers to the daily questions. Speak to me through the meditations of my heart. In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Blessings to record your journey with God every day!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

TEAM DESTINY

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

Welcome to Day #5 of your “30 Days To Breakthrough” journey.

Today’s topic is clear written GOALS. While most people know there is value in writing down their goals. only about 3% of people actually do it. Amazing.

Before we get started with today’s lesson, let me ask you, “How are your sticky notes working to remind you to read these emails and to write your answers to the questions each day?”

QUOTE
Failure to plan is a plan to fail.
Few people plan to fail, but most fail to plan.

LESSON
Brian Tracy, a motivational speaker, says “What does it take to succeed on a big scale? A tremendous God-given talent? Inherited wealth? A decade of postgraduate education? Connections? Fortunately, for most of us, what it takes is something very simple and accessible: clear, written goals.” A study of Harvard graduates found that after two years, the 3 percent who had written goals achieved more financially than the other 97 percent combined!”

Extrapolating from this, only 3 percent of people set written goals and those who do earn on average more than 30x as much as those who don’t.

In today’s Link of the Day, you can see my top annual goals for 2010. This will be helpful for you in setting your own goals.

QUESTION (write down what comes to your heart)
Lord, what are reasonable goals for me to set and achieve in 30 days, 3 months, and one year from now as a result of this E-course?

LINK of the Day
Annual goals for Dr. Randy Peck

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, we praise You as the Master with the master plan. I confess that I need your help to plan much better. I want more focus and clarity in my life. Will you be my Master Coach? In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.

Blessings to set clear written goals to be a good steward with your TIME!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

TEAM DESTINY

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

Welcome to Day #4 of your “30 Days To Breakthrough” journey.

In the past three days, we talked about redeeming your time, slowing down, and the importance of good habits.

Now we’re ready to talk about PRIORITIES.

By now, you should have written down your answers to the questions for Days 1-3. If you haven’t completed this yet, please set aside a block of time in the next 24 hours to catch up. Remember, you must do your part to experience breakthroughs.

I want to remind you of the importance of setting aside 15 minutes each day to read these emails and write out your answers to the questions.

QUOTE
Love is spelled T.I.M.E. — Pastor Rick Warren

LESSON
When you ask Christians what their top priorities are, many say “God, family, church, and work” in that order. But if you look at how many of those people spend their time and money, that just isn’t true.

I started my life with so many blessings – loving parents, a peaceful home, good health, a great career, and a beautiful wife and children. Yet I nearly lost everything I valued when a bad storm came because the foundation of my life was built on sand, not on the solid rock of Jesus Christ. I realize that it’s only by the grace and mercy of Almighty God that I still have anything and can do anything of lasting value.

Let me be blunt with you. If you don’t have time to read (or listen to) the Bible and pray at least 30 minutes per day your priorities are likely out of order.

If you don’t fit the big rocks into your jar of life first, either they won’t fit in or when they go in they will make a big mess.

QUESTION (write down what comes to your heart)
Lord, how much quiet time do you want me to spend with you each day praying and reading the Bible?

LINK of the Day
The Big Rocks

PRAYER
Lord, I praise You as the God who loves me unconditionally and wants me to show My love for you with how I prioritize my time. Help me to put you first in all areas of my life. Jesus, may You be the foundation, my rock, upon which I build everything. Thank You, Amen.

Blessings to establish a godly order of priorities in real terms!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

TEAM DESTINY

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!

Welcome to Day #3 of your “30 Days To Breakthrough” journey.

In the past two days, you learned about the importance of redeeming your time and slowing down. I can’t emphasize the latter point strongly enough. Until you make a conscious decision to slow down and reflect where you are going, you will remain on the proverbial hamster wheel, running and running and essentially going nowhere.

Before sharing the quote, lesson, question, link, and prayer for today, let me ask you, “How are you doing with your commitment to read these emails each day and then to write down your answer to the questions?”

If you’re struggling with this, who can how you accountable?

QUOTE
The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine!

LESSON
Today, we focus on the importance of HABITS. It’s been said that good habits are the key to all success and that successful people do daily what unsuccessful people do occasionally.

The only way you’ll form long-lasting habits is by applying the Power of Less. Focus on one habit at a time, one month at a time, so that you’ll be able to focus all your energy on creating that one habit.

It’s been said, beware of your thoughts because they become your words. Beware of your words because they become your actions. Beware of your actions because they become your habits. Beware of your habits because they become your character. Beware of your character because that becomes your destiny.

Your habits ultimately shape your character and your destiny. And journaling is a great tool to help eliminate bad habits and replace them with good ones.

Rest, Reflection, and Revelation form the tri-cord of LEVERAGE. And leverage equals speed. If you want to accomplish much more, then spend more time resting and reflecting.

Journaling is one of the best disciplines to help you slow down and reflect. Life’s a marathon, not a hundred yard dash.

QUESTION (write down what comes to your heart)
Lord, what simple daily habit can I establish that will bear much eternal fruit?

LINK of the Day
The Power of Less: Changing Behavior

PRAYER
Lord, thank you for the precious gift of each day of life. Help me to establish a godly daily routine that honors you and helps me to make wise choices with how I steward my time. Keep me off the path that leads to nowhere. I need your help. I want your help. In Jesus name, Amen.

Blessings to choose one simple daily habit to focus on each month of this year!

R. Joseph Peck, M.D.
“Blessed to be a blessing”
THE CONNECTOR and The Journaling Guy

TEAM DESTINY

P.S. Sign up TODAY for my free E-course ““30 Days To Breakthrough” God wants to transform your life NOW!

P.S.S. Spiritual Journaling will transform your life!

UNCOMMON Journaling is the key
to unlock YOUR dreams!