The Strategic Living Podcast with Brian Holmes

Not too long ago I noticed my computer was slowing down a bit. In fact, simple clicks on commands were causing this little spinning beach ball (a.k.a. “the wheel of death” to show up on my screen, and things were at a stand still! After a while, it dawned on me that something was amiss. Upon investigation, I determined that my computer’s hard drive was at 99% capacity, and because of this, my machine was struggling to process all I needed it to do. Solution? – Make ROOM! That's what I did. It took me investing a good bit of time, but I cleaned off my hard drive, deleted tons of files, transferred others to storage, and even defragged my hard drive. You may say, what does this have to do with anything? It has EVERYTHING to do with you and me. In order for new, beneficial things to be added to us, and for those things to function efficiently, we must make room for them. In this episode, I’m talking about Making Room for the Magnificent.

Every aspect of life is governed by principles.  Money Health Success Prosperity Relationships While there are various dynamics in play with all of these, for the most part, if you follow basic, time-tested principles, each of these areas will manifest in a very positive way. Whatever the category, the reality is that, in most cases, we know what to do in order to succeed and prosper. The million dollar question is ... WHY DON'T WE DO IT? That is what I intend to explore with you in this episode!

Socrates once said … “The unexamined life is not worth living.” He also expounded on the idea that if one is to be successful in life, he/she must, as he put it … “Know Thyself.” Few ever take the time to really understand how they are put together. For several weeks we have been discussing the value of stepping back, disconnecting, and re-evaluating your life’s focus and work. For me this has already been a very valuable exercise. In this episode, I want to talk to you about The Process of Self-Identification. How do we really laser in on WHO we are, WHY we are here, and WHAT our Unique Ability really is to the world?

In our last session we talked about the very real need we all have (at times) to rest, pause, reflect, and reset our focus. It is so easy to get caught up in performing to everyone’s expectations, keeping up appearances, or just doing what we’ve always done. I am personally taking time this month to go deep; to take an assessment; to re-discover my ‘zone of genius’ and reset my focus for the journey ahead. A part of this process for me has led me to ASK some important questions. Before I share those with you, let me say that unless you are willing to ask the HARD questions, and mine for the deep answers to those questions, you will likely be stuck living an unfulfilled life and making a much lesser impact than you are capable of making. In this session, I want to share with you 5 Questions I Am Pondering, and why answering them is so important.

It’s a brand new year, and we have SO MUCH to look forward to. If you are like most people, you are constantly being bombarded with external forces vying for your attention and focus. It is so difficult to stay on point with those things that are truly important. In fact, we can be so BUSY or DISTRACTED that we totally lose focus on the very reason we exist … to serve, to lead, and to make a difference. Sometimes you just have to push PAUSE, let the dust clear, and examine your heart regarding what is important. There is a very real need to rest, pause, reflect, and reset our focus. In this episode, I share that I am embarking on such a project ... to clear the board, take inventory, and examine my own heart. I am spending the entire month of January (and maybe more) to do just that. I am spending this time to truly evaluate who I am, why I am here, and how I can most effectively make a difference in my world. Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing some of the key things I am pondering and evaluating. For now, let me share with you "My Personal 30-Day Reboot".

From the Holmes family to you and yours, may your Christmas be filled with joy and laughter, and your new year blessed beyond your wildest dreams. Much love to you and yours.

We began last week talking about the 4 quadrants or pillars of Leadership. Personal leadership Family leadership Community and civic leadership Vocational leadership or influence In this episode, we look at the importance and power of community involvement, and how your JOB/CAREER positions you for significant influence in the marketplace. What does it look like for a man, for a woman, for a young person to be engaged in impacting the culture around them? What does it mean to exercise leadership and influence in culture, government, neighborhoods, and the business arena? Let's explore this together.

Leadership IS influence … and influence is everything. Mine and your ability to impact the world around us is directly proportional to the effectiveness of our leadership. Leadership, however, is not a linear thing. There are angles and insights and yes, BLIND SPOTS! What we need is a 360° Leadership Approach. That’s what we are talking about in this session; "The 4 Pillars of Personal Leadership".

This session represents the first in a new series on Leadership and Strategic Influence. My intention is to challenge you to accept the challenge to LEAD your generation. You see, I want you to know that the life you are currently living is NOT all you can have. The circumstances taking place in your personal world, and the world around you are the result of someone’s leadership … maybe not your own. Someone has determined that this is where you should be, and because we are all people pleasers in one way or another, we tend to GO ALONG to GET ALONG. Well I am here today to say that is not going to cut it. It is my desire today to shake you up, and call you out. In this NEW series, we’re going to look at LEADERSHIP, Influence, and Why the World Needs YOU!

Relationships are dynamic, and we've established in our last session that some relationships are not meant to go with you to your next level. In fact, when dealing with relationships, we must understand the season we are in, and where each relationship fits in the overall plan of God for our lives. Here are some questions we will look at in this episode: How do we navigate changes in relationships? Are all relationships meant to last for a lifetime? What do you do when a relationship is TESTED? What do you do when a relationship’s season has come to an end How do we steward the transitions in relationships from one level to another. Today, we look at the inevitable testing and change that WILL come to every relationship, and how you can steward it in a way that produces a positive and Godly result.

From our hearts, we wish each of you a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving week. My prayer for you is that you experience great joy, peace, laughter, and fellowship as you spend time with family and friends this holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving from the Holmes family to yours!

Outside of relationship with God, there is nothing more vital to our success and happiness than having healthy, life-giving, relationships in our lives. There are many kinds of relationships in life: Family Mentors, Teachers, Spiritual Leaders Friends and Peers Workplace Relationships Casual Acquaintances All of these categories play a part in our ability to become, be, perform, and make the impact we are designed to make. A great mentor and friend shared with me that there are only need two things to succeed in life ... Relationships and Resources. He went on to say if you have to choose only one, choose relationships.  You can have all the money in the world, and have no meaningful relationships, then you are BROKE. You can have access to all kinds of resources, but if there is not a group of people that you can exchange life with, you will ultimately be unfulfilled. In this series, we’re looking at RELATIONSHIPS and how they literally determine your rise or fall.

Jim Rohn told us that … “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” Think about that. You will never rise higher; accomplish more; have a greater impact than the average of the company you keep.  In reality, your life will rise or fall to the level of your associations/relationships. Proverbs 13:20 says “He that walks with wise men will be wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm, (or destruction).” On today's episode, we begin a new series on "The Power and Importance of Relationships". We launch this new series by talking about the Law of Associations.

Today, we complete our series on The 4 Cornerstones for Strategic Living. So far we’ve looked at Personal Healing, Personal Discovery, and Personal Development. By now I imagine you see the importance of approaching your life strategically and intentionally Now it’s time to get you … Off of the sidelines and into the game of life! In this session, I want to talk to you about deployment. This is the stage in the strategic living process where you are ACTIVATED and become fully ENGAGED in the greater purpose for which you were created. This is a vital part of this building process. Why? Because it is possible to have clarity, plans, and adequate preparedness in place, and yet NEVER PULL THE TRIGGER! So many live their entire life learning, growing, planning, and even scheduling their BIG move, yet go to their graves never having taken real action on their dreams and desires. Let's dig into this today, and discover what it takes to be activated and deployed!

This episode is the 3rd in our series on The 4 Cornerstones for Strategic Living. So far we’ve looked at Personal Healing and Personal Discovery, and we’ve discovered that EACH cornerstone plays a vital role in the process of building one’s life. In this episode, I share with you one of my favorite cornerstones ... Personal Development. There is no personal growth without the intentional process of training, learning, and development. Just ask any athlete, thought leader, singer, or artist. You cannot "get better" without discipline and practice. If you don't "get better", you cannot compete at the highest levels in life. If you don't compete at the highest levels, it is likely you will never reach your maximum potential, and make you greatest impact. If you study the most successful people in the world, you will find they all have one thing in common; they all are committed to Personal Development. In this episode, we are talking about this vital key … "The Pursuit of Excellence Through A Lifestyle of Learning"