Category Archives: Leadership

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Three Questions to Climb Your Dream Ladder

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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.

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How the SI Swimsuit Edition Made Me Wiser

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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.<

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Slaying the DRAGONS of Your Dreams (Part 2)

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Welcome to Part 2 of “Slaying the DRAGONS of Your Dreams”. In Part I, we learned about the adversarial nature of the DRAGONS and how they conspire to thwart the purpose and design of your life. The DRAGONS are experts of camouflage, disguising themselves prudence and pragmatism. The reality, however, is that the DRAGONS are liars. Even when they tell you facts, it is not the truth. The DRAGONS’ intention is to throw you off of your path of influence. The good news, however, is that the DRAGONS do not have the last word. You have a choice to listen to their litany of self-limiting beliefs or to tap into a transcendent truth. That truth is that you were built for the KINGDOM.

Many of us, especially those of us of the Christian faith, speak of the kingdom. But, to what exactly does it refer? It is the Kingdom of God. Think of it this way. God created you for a purpose. That purpose is different for each of us. But, ultimately, we all share a common one: to advance the Kingdom of God. We do that by listening and following the directions that God gives us to authentically connect with Him and with other people.

The systems of our world are not predicated on the Kingdom mindset. Our world systems are primarily built upon the DRAGONS’ philosophy of self-centered idolatry.

The Kingdom mindset espouses “we”. The DRAGONS focus on “me”.

The Kingdom mindset encourages giving. The DRAGONS speak of taking.

The Kingdom mindset enlists servants. The DRAGONS draft dictators.

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Slaying the DRAGONS of Your Dreams (Part I)

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Take a stroll down the self-help section of any bookstore and you will find plenty of books to help you think and dream bigger. These books (many quite excellent, others not so much) will challenge you to find your purpose—the reason you were born. These titles resonate with us because deep within most of us have that yearning for significance.  We want to feel that our life counts. We long for that sense of belonging and meaning. If you’re like me, you dream of the day when you can spend more time pursuing your passions. To be human is to search for the answers to bring those dreams to fruition. There is only one problem. It is called “the DRAGONS”.

I do agree that there is within each one of us a higher calling or a transcendent purpose. God created that yearning within you. Your purpose is that intersection where God’s will, your personal joy, and your service to people intersect. In an ideal world, it is your destiny.

So, why is it that so many people (most in fact) never reach that lofty perch?

The reason is that there is an adversary to your destiny. In the Bible (1 Peter 5:8), we are told that this enemy’s objective is your destruction. We are given the admonition to “be alert and of sober mind” in order to resist this onslaught.

There are many names for this “adversary”. Christian tradition calls him “Satan” or “the Devil”. Steven Pressfield in his bestselling book, the War of Art calls it “the Resistance”. I have coined another term to capture this insidious foe. I call it “the DRAGONS”.

The DRAGONS primary objective is to keep you from your own pursuit of influence. It is easy to think of the enemy as some mystical force that is difficult to qualify or pinpoint. it is also easy to think of the enemy of our dreams as some external aggressor that impinges upon our aspirations.

I like to think of it as “the DRAGONS” because it helps me understand that the enemy’s power tends to impact us more internally than externally. The enemy does this not by hurling a single stone at us. Rather, the adversary of your dreams uses a full onslaught of siege warfare to derail you from your ordained path. The DRAGONS represent a seven-part collective that is intent on your destruction. That is the tough news.

The good news, however, is that because the DRAGONS’ strategy centers on a foundation of lies, when you embrace the truth you ultimately hold the power over them. In other words, you decide how much destruction, if any, the DRAGONS unleash. In the presence of each of the DRAGONS, there is an alternate reality (which happens to be the truth). That is the great news.

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LYH44: The Forrest Gump Guide to Authenticity

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Show Agenda

  • Featured Presentation: The Forrest Gump Guide to Authenticity
  • Daring Greatly – Dr. Brene Brown [affiliate link]
  • Leader Eat Last – Simon Sinek [affiliate link]
  • The War of Art – Steven Pressfield [affiliate link]

Featured Presentation

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

I love movies. In fact, movie watching has been a favorite hobby of mine for many years. In a true testament to how fast time flies, I recently realized that one of my favorite movies, Forrest Gump, celebrated its twentieth anniversary just this past year (2014).

What made Forrest Gump the blockbuster that was the top grossing film in North America that year and still ranks in iMDB as the 13th best movie of all time?

The Face of Authenticity

There are many reasons for its success including excellent actors, a creative story, and several really signature sound bytes that still carry a punch even twenty years later.

But, I believe there is one other factor that propelled Forrest Gump into the record books and cemented its place in American movie lore. 

That reason is authenticity.

  • Authenticity is what makes you uniquely you.
  • Authenticity is what allows you to wield influence in places inaccessible to everyone else.
  • Authenticity is a magnetic force that draws people towards you.

The Face of the Resistance

Your creativity, the very reason that God placed you here, is crumbling under the weight of doubt, regret, apathy, and guilt. Steven Pressfield in his book, The War of Art calls it “the Resistance”. In the Holy Bible, Saint Peter calls it “the Adversary”. It, in fact, goes by many names.

This Adversary is dark, evil, and intent on destroying your unique influence by accomplishing one single goal—making you a copycat.

  • The copycat feels accepted because he does what everyone else does and sounds like everyone else sounds.
  • The copycat doesn’t get targeted for criticism because he chooses to run with the pack rather than stand out.
  • The copycat feels comfortable because he stays in his zone, his comfort zone where he is safe.

The problem, of course, is that the copycat is a fraud. God did not make any copycat. Not one. Copycats are human derivations.

What is your favorite line from Forrest Gump? What connections do you see between the movie and your own call?

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.