LYH49: Three Questions to Climb Your Dream Ladder [PODCAST]

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Featured Presentation

You can find the full blog post on this topic at haroldarnold.com/dreamladder

Your life matters. You probably already know that. At some level, most people do understand that. But, here is the problem. Most people do not understand how much their life matters. The reason that most of us do not realize the full extent to which our life matters is because we can’t see much beyond our nose. You were born to be a ladder that connects yourself and others to something transcendent. Until you do, your ladder will never be fully extended.

 

Ladders are great metaphors for life’s journey.  Just as the rungs of the ladder will take us either up or down, so is the lesson of life. Which direction are your steps taking you? You then must continually ask yourself three questions.

  • Question #1: “What is at the top of your ladder?”
  • Question #2: “On what rung are you standing?”
  • Question #3: How do I take the next step?

Your children’s climb is dependent on yours. Your spouse’s climb is intricately linked with your own. Your life is the scaffold for your family and so many others that you don’t yet know. Some of them you will never know. That’s okay. All you have to do is keep answering those three questions and then climb like your life depends on it because it does—as do the lives of all those you hold dear.

Leave me a comment and let me what you have struggled with in your own climb? How can I encourage you for that next step.

 

Shout Out Corner!

Thank you to the following people who left 5 star ratings for the podcast on iTunes.

  • SisRN
  • Ivan Penn
  • Daphne V Smith

Check out the blog post HERE to read more about this.

Please do me a huge favor and click HERE to go to iTunes and leave me a rating and review. It will only take 2 minutes of your time. And, it means so much to me. And, just for you, I’ll give you a shout out on the next show.

Three Questions to Climb Your Dream Ladder

Your life matters. You probably already know that. At some level, most people do understand that. But, here is the problem. Most people do not understand how much their life matters. The reason that most of us do not realize the full extent to which our life matters is because we can’t see much beyond our nose. That sounds harsh. But, for the average person, it is true. I’ll explain more. But, here is what I want you to take away from this assertion. It doesn’t have to be that way. You were born to be a ladder that connects yourself and others to something transcendent. Until you do, your ladder will never be fully extended.

In my garage, I have a fiberglass extension ladder. Ladders are great metaphors for life’s journey.  Just as the rungs of the ladder will take us either up or down, so is the lesson of life.

Which direction are your steps taking you? We can think of your best you or your ultimate dream as being  at the top of the ladder. We can think of your comfort zone that comes naturally to you as being the first rung on the ladder.

You then must continually ask yourself three questions.

LYH48: How the SI Swimsuit Edition Made Me Wiser [PODCAST]

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Featured Presentation

You can find the full blog post on this topic at haroldarnold.com/swimsuit

A few weeks ago, the 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition arrived in my mailbox. A beautiful, scantily lady adorned the front of the magazine.  There was definitely a part of me that wanted to open it and scan through the photos. But, there was another voice. It waited for me to answer a single question,  “What does looking mean to you?” There was my dilemma. Which voice do I heed? So, for a few seconds, I just stared at the cover. Uncertain.

Only in retrospect, however, did I realize four choices that I made in that twenty second period. And, I think these four decisions give us clues for being wise in all of life’s decisions.

Decision #1: Do I believe that there is anything inherently wrong with a guy looking at women in very revealing bikinis? My Answer: No

Decision #2: Is the Swimsuit issue really glorified and socially-acceptable pornography? My Answer: Weak No

Decision #3: Does it cast women as sex objects? My Answer: Philosophically, Yes.

Decision #4: Would I look through this magazine in my wife’s presence? My Answer: NO NO NO<

In less than 20 seconds all of this (and probably more) raced through my mind. Do I open it or not?

How the SI Swimsuit Edition Made Me Wiser

I am not a Sports Illustrated subscriber. But, a few weeks ago, the 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition arrived in my mailbox. A beautiful, scantily lady adorned the front of the magazine. Part of me wishes I could say that I immediately tossed it into the recycle bin and went on my merry way. But, that isn’t what happened. I stared at the cover for a few seconds—maybe longer. But, I wasn’t really entranced with the cover photo. No. I was in a battle in my mind. Honestly, I was torn. There was definitely a part of me that wanted to open it and scan through the photos. I wanted those sexy photos to feed that lustful part of me. But, there was another voice. It waited for me to answer a single question,  “What does looking mean to you?” There was my dilemma. Which voice do I heed? So, for a few seconds, I just stared at the cover. Uncertain.

The first Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue was produced by Sports Illustrated in 1964—the year before I was born. The picture that you see here is the cover of that year’s edition. Bikinis have come a long way since then. Or, maybe it is fairer to say that they have gone a long way in fifty years.

Ten years ago, SI’s  swimsuit issue generated $35 million dollars in advertising revenue. Not surprisingly, today it is a billion dollar enterprise. The swimsuit issue sells more than one million copies at newsstands alone. I hope you find this background information interesting.

But, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue isn’t really the point of this post—at least not mostly. This post is about me and you and how we decide what happens in a few seconds.<