Where's Your Focus?

     Each morning when you rise from bed, you make a decision about what is going to be your focus for the day. You may do this intentionally, or as I presume the majority of people will get up and their focus is basically created for them just by the sheer magnitude of their thoughts. What we think on becomes our focus, and what we focus on, becomes what we put our efforts into, and what we place our effort into becomes who we are and it also becomes our mark on the world in which we live. Why do people wake up with a dread of the day? My guess and the "focus" of today's Flat Tire Ministries Thought is that they have their minds set on the wrong priorities and for them life has no joy nor fulfillment. This morning you may be the very person this blog is intended for and you don't even realize it. You may be so caught up in the race to buy happiness that you have lost sight on what really matters, but hopefully today's message will help all of us to stop, reflect, and recreate our focus on what truly matters.
     Let's get right to the crux of the matter. In Matthew 16:26 Jesus poses this question, "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" I believe what Jesus was asking His disciples was where is your focus? What motivates you to get up and get out of bed each morning? What drives you to go to work and give it all you got on the job? At the end of the day what measuring stick do you use to validate the results of your efforts for the day? If everything we do is connected to the material world then we will always go away from the day with a lack of fulfillment. If what drives us to be successful is related to a banking account number or a title that we have been given then we will always be in want of more or another title to achieve. Enough will never be enough, and the sad part is those that are closest to you, the ones that you have the chance to make the biggest impact on will not garner the true benefit of what you have to offer them. Your lack of focus on the right stuff, creates a void in the lives of those you are intended to impact with your focus. So what do you gain if you get all the toys, but you lose the very thing that can't be bought in the process? I Timothy 6:7 says it best, "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." I think that pretty much sums it up if your focus is on the things in life that are temporary, but hold on there is hope!
     If your drive in life is directly connected to what you have instead of what you have to give, it is time to stop and redirect your focus on what really matters. I am in no way suggesting that we shouldn't be striving to provide for our families and those that count on us to do our jobs and bring home the means by which we live, yet I am saying that when that drive becomes our focus we may lose sight of what really matters and what will leave a lasting impact on those we come in contact with on a daily basis or that once in a lifetime opportunity to make a difference in someone's life. I guess what I  am really saying is we need to stop focusing on what we don't have and what we want to have, and start focusing on what we have and what we have to give to others. Here I'm not speaking to material gifts or financial donations, I'm talking about what you have to offer in the way of hope, inspiration, time, and love.
      A simple act of kindness goes a long way, a smile and a word of encouragement make a difference, and a helping hand that lifts someone up can change someone's life. We have so much, too much in most cases and we put all of our efforts into getting more. What if we put at least a small portion of that effort into giving someone else a strand of hope? What if we gave our children our time instead of a new electronic device? What if instead of trying to win the rat race, we stopped to help someone less fortunate than ourselves to finish the race? What if each morning when we got out of bed we took a moment to realize what a gift today is and how thankful we should be that we can even get out of bed, walk to the shower, go to the refrigerator for food or drink, and then make our way out to our car which will in turn take us to the job that provides us all that we need and more? And what if we extended that thought for just one more minute to think about how blessed we are to have just one more day to make a difference in this world. One more chance to make a difference in your coworker's life, a family member's outlook on their world, or maybe if you are as lucky as I am to be an educator you might stop and think about the chance you have today to change the world through the lens of a student's mind. Wow, the potential outcomes are endless, the only barrier to what you can achieve with a positive mindset focus is you.
     When you wake up in the morning instead of thinking about what you don't have or what you have to go do today, stop I mean literally stop and recreate what you will focus on today. When you want to complain about your job, family, life, or whatever it is that you are prone to complain about, stop and put things in perspective. Change your focus from a "me" centered life, to a life that has given you the opportunity to make a difference in a life, maybe a ton of lives, maybe the world! God doesn't make mistakes and He made you so remember that the next time you want to have a pity party about how bad your life is. Get up, get out, and go make a difference in your world you live in today! Once you place your focus on what really matters you will see the world you live in change for the better!
Coach Carter

Encouragement

     I have a page in my "Notes" app on my phone where I store ideas for future FTM Thoughts as they come to me so that I won't forget them down the road. Often the simplest instances provoke thoughts and ideas for inspirational encouragement. A ripple in a pool of water, a disobedient canine on a lead, an ant carrying a tremendous load, or even our flag waving in the sky have all served as thought provoking ideas for my posts. But for today's Flat Tire Ministries Thought I can't say that was the case. During my devotional time and subsequent prayers this morning, the thought of encouragement kept running across my mind, so in obedience I want to share with everyone or maybe with just one reader in particular my words of encouragement today. "Be strong, be relentless, and stay the course that has been set in front of you."
     Be strong, courage and faith don't come without making some sacrifices along the way. You will face opposition when you are doing the right thing, but you have to allow your faith to make you bold and courageous. Muscles become stronger when they are given a workout. The muscle is torn so that it can repair itself stronger and thus be capable of handling more stringent workouts in the future. Your faith is the same way. When you believe in what you are doing and you have sought guidance on what you are doing through prayer and meditation stay strong, don't give in to negative comments or opposition that is certain to confront you. Stay strong and remember as long as you don't give up, as long as you are moving forward, and as long as there is still air in your lungs you can accomplish what you want to do at this moment. Faith = Strength. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Psalm 46:1-3. Paul said it best, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31.
     It's easy to give in, it's easy to make excuses about why something isn't going to work and then just quit. I want to say this to you, don't give up stay the course, see it through, dig in, and grab a hold of something and hold on. The words of the theologian Thomas Fuller are appropriately fitting "it's always darkest just before the dawn". When I think of being relentless I always catch a glimpse of an old poster that hung in one of my teacher's classrooms. The hand drawn sketch was a picture of a bird holding a frog by it's hind leg preparing to drop the frog into it's mouth, the frog has reached out and grabbed the bird's long neck with it's free leg. The caption under the drawing read, "Don't ever give up!". Be relentless, when you think you can't you can, when others tell you it won't work, commit to your cause and show them it will and it can. There's a reason why the Little Train chugged along saying "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!" The more you believe it and the more you dedicate to it the more likely it is that you will see your efforts pay off. Isaiah 30:20 provides this promise, "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher." Help is on it's way be relentless!
       Stay the course! Columbus faced a world of opposition to his supposition that the world was round and that if you reached the horizon you wouldn't just fall off the flat world. In the face of opposition or when the struggle seems like it is too much to move forward this world tells you to just give up it's not worth the fight. I am here to tell you to push forward. The easy thing to do is give up. Anyone can do that. The tough thing to do is to stay the course. Push forward, and commit when it looks like and sounds like you should give in. Whether it is a relationship, a fight against an addiction, something at work, or a student that you just can't reach don't give up. Don't go it alone, seek help, find resources, reach out to the One that gives us strength and stay the course. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7. Paul's directive to the church in Philippi are words of encouragement  that each of us need to heed when our bodies or our minds want to give up. Stay the course, you may be at the brink of success and if you quit you'll never know it! Stay the course!
     That's all I have today. I live what I share and I believe what I share. Whether this message is for you today or not, you will or you have just been through something that you had to persevere to make it to the other side. My hope and my prayer is that in some little way the words on this page today may be of encouragement to you and that when that thought of giving up creeps into your head you will keep up the good fight and see it through. It is worth the fight! Press on and keep looking towards the light!
Coach Carter

Just a Little Faith

     Faith- "... is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1.
I enjoy listening to Contemporary Christian music and one of my favorite songs right now is the song "Even If" by  the band Mercy Me. In particular, one verse resonates strong with me:

They say it only takes a little faith
To move a mountain
Good thing
A little faith is all I have right now
But God, when You choose
To leave mountains unmovable
Give me the strength to be able to sing
It is well with my soul

Oh how I desire to build that kind of faith that believes even when things are going "bad", it is all going to work out just the way that God has it planned, and what I have to do is trust that the way it works out has to happen for what happens next to take place. 
      You see the essence of the kind of faith that is referred to in Hebrews 11:1 is that you are clinging to something that you can't see and you are trusting that things will work just as they should. We hope that things will work out the way we have them envisioned, but we place our trust in the fact that regardless of the outcome our faith tells us that everything that happens does so for a reason and we, by placing our trust in our faith, believe that the way things works out is for a much bigger reason than our understanding. We "hope" things work out a certain way and we may even pray that things work out a certain way, yet at the end of the day if we have faith our hope is not just for the outcome to be what we want, but instead our hope is that whatever happens it will impact the life of someone or possibly a group of someones. Faith thus is placing our trust in something we can't see.
     Just like the team building exercise called the "trust fall" in which a person turns their back to their team and then when given the direction to fall backwards the person falls back trusting that their teammates will be there to catch them when they fall. You can't see if your team members are behind you, but you trust that they are there and that they will not let you hit the ground. If your team members really want to test your faith they get nervously close to the ground and catch you at the last possible moment. Just a little faith allows us to trust that we won't hit the ground.
      It would be nice if everyone's faith was so strong that no one ever questioned why things happen like they do or why things don't turn out the way we want them to, but that isn't the way the world spins. In the song above the lyricist laments having only "a little faith" but in reality isn't having a little faith better than having no faith at all? How do you respond when you face a mountain in your life? Do you give up, lay down, or hang your head down and quit? When our trust is tested does it fizzle out or does it stand firm? I don't know about you, but my faith tells me to trust and have faith that whatever mountain stands in front of me I will move it when it is time to move it if it ever is time for me to move it!
     If you have no faith it is easy to give up. Purpose, trust, hope, and persistence are depleted when we have no hope. But there is also good news when we bolster our faith with trust and hope. Romans 5:1-5 tells me, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Basically, if you have a little faith it can be sufficient, but just as a muscle you want to develop has to be stretched and torn for it to grow, so does one's faith.
    Those that are grounded in faith are tested and that testing shows up in a myriad collection of ways which are unique to each of us. Just as Paul stated above in Romans 5:3 we have to be strong in our sufferings because those things that don't kill us only make us stronger to coin an old adage. If we have no faith we have nothing to hope for. We are defeated before we start, it is a learned helplessness or hopelessness in this case. If you need hope it is my prayer that you will seek hope. I have found that my hope lies in my faith that there is a bigger purpose for my life and that God has a plan for everything and it is my job to live my life to the fullest, never give up in the face of adversity, and always hold on to the hope that does not fail and does not falter. Got a little faith? That's all you need right now! 
Coach Carter

     
    

The Secret of Success

     I guess it is fairly safe to say that pretty much everyone wants to be successful in life. The definition of success varies from person to person, but I do believe I have an equation that most undoubtedly works for me and I am certain it will work for you as well. It's important to understand that there are many different definitions of what success really is, and how we actually measure success also offers a wide ranging spectrum of opinions and scale models. For me success is when you rise each day and know that what you do makes a difference and that you want to go out and make as big of a difference as possible. Then at night, when your day comes to an end, you can peacefully lay your head on your pillow and rest comfortably knowing you did all you could to make that difference in as many lives as possible. The big question is how do we do this, make a living that will support our families, and still feel like we stayed true to our plan of being successful? Well the measurement of how successful you are is something you will ultimately measure at the end of your life, but whether or not you are successful in life can be summed up by how well you accomplish four daily duties which I firmly believe make for a successful person, in your family, at your work place, on the highway, in the restaurant, and just about any other place you can think. In today's Flat Tire Ministry Thought for the Week I'd like to share my "Four Rules for Success" of what will make you successful in life.
     First rule, Treat everyone the way you would want to be treated in that same situation. We all have heard of the Golden Rule at some point in our lives and we all say that is the way that we should always treat others, but is that the way it is each day everyday in your daily walk? If we mess up we want others to forgive us and not come down on us too hard for our goof up. When someone else messes up and it impacts our life we want someone to pay the price for that mess up. We are quick to seek retribution, yet we are also quick to expect others to forgive us immediately. How about when you are driving down the road and someone cuts you off, what is reaction? Do you blow your horn and curse the person or do you keep your frustration to yourself because you know that the next time it might just be you that makes the driving faux pas and desire a little bit of grace. Give what you would hope to get if you were on the "getting" side. When we treat others the way we want others to treat us we demonstrate understanding, forgiveness, and grace.
      Second Rule, Never ask anyone to do something that you would not be ready to roll up your sleeves and do yourself. Being in any position of leadership creates the necessity of telling others what they need to do and how you want it to be done. Well if you wouldn't want to do it the way you are telling others to, or if something needs to be done and time is crunched, you should be prepared to jump in and do all you can to see the deadline is met. When you do this others will see that you understand the challenges that they face and that you are in it with them to see it through.
     Third, this one speaks to longevity. Stay calm in life's storms and have faith. I was talking with my nephew Bogi yesterday and we were talking about the fact that life is full of ups and downs, trials and triumphs, adversity and peace. I am very proud of Bo and he just keeps amazing me. He was saying he knew things would work out in life he just has to keep living it and I shared this visual image for him to remember as life happens. I told him to think about the mountains. Notice I said mountains plural. Mountains would just be a high range of plateaus if it wasn't for the dips or valleys. We get to enjoy the mountain because the valley exists which we have to climb to reach the mountain top. You may be in a valley, you may have just gotten out of a valley, or you may be stuck in a deep canyon with no view of the mountaintop in sight. Keep climbing, keep things in perspective, and don't ever lose the attitude that you will make it and things will work out the way they are supposed to work out. That's important to understand, we can't question how things turn out we just have to accept and believe that they will work out the way that they are supposed to work out. Not always easy, but always true.
     Fourth rule, Choose to be happy. Each day presents choices from the time you rise to the time you hit the bed. We have the choice to seek pity or we have the opportunity to make the most out of any situation. We choose to work hard and be fulfilled by our efforts and abilities, or we opt out and say that our work does not matter and that our life has little meaning. I don't care what anyone says you are in charge and you make the choice each day. Choose to look at the glass and be thankful for it regardless of how much water is in it. I mean if it is completely empty you still have a glass when you do run up on some water. It's your choice.
     That's my top four, there are a number of other factors that can play into your life being deemed a success, but in my mind if you hit a home run with these four any other factors will fall into place. Live each day like there is no tomorrow, give more than you get, laugh, cry, and respect everyone, the list goes on and on and there isn't any of them that can be measured by your financial portfolio or by the size of your house, or the floor on which your office sits. Life is too short to live it chasing success, success is there you just have to know how to define it!
Matthew 16: 26-27
²⁶ What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷ For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
Have an awesome Labor Day and relax!
Coach Carter

 

Drifting Along

     A fishing float bobs up and down with the ebb and flow of the water it sits waiting patiently for a fish to gulp down the bait forcing the little red and white floater underwater signaling a fish is on the line. If you sit long enough and watch careful enough that bobber doesn't just sit there it floats and drifts as the wind and waves carry it. A boat out on the ocean moves speedily along with the assistance of the motor propelling it in the direction of it's destination, yet in most bodies of water if the boat is just sitting idly in the water it will drift away slowly from it's current location. In the case of a river that change in location is obviously going to be downstream. Drifting along may appear to be a comfortable position, yet in today's FTM we'll see why drifting along isn't what we were designed to do in life.
     When I visualize a fish float sitting out on the lake I see it just bobbing up and down no sense of direction, no energy to go backward, forward, right or left, just sitting there bobbing. If we aren't careful in our own lives we may find ourselves bobbing along in life much like that little fish float does on the water. "But I'm comfortable where I am and I don't want to move out of that comfort zone in which I live" you might be saying, well bobbing in the water drifting along isn't what we were designed to do in life. We are more like the boat, we have a motor that can carry us where we need to go in life. We have the means to reach our destination instead of sitting idly around waiting on the tide or current to pull us in the direction we may or may not need to be going.
     We are all called to action in our own walk of life. We were not designed to sit around waiting on someone else to do what we should be doing and we definitely do not need to just be pushed around by the tide of popular thought at any given moment. We know right from wrong, we know what we should do, and we have a moral compass that will guide us in life if only we will listen and then put our motors in gear.
There are several warnings about drifting along in the Bible, James 1 5-8 says, If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. And Hebrews 2:1 warns that
"For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it." In each of these scriptures the warning is clear, do not just drift along. 
     Where are you in life? Are you comfortable where you are? Do you just drift along each day doing the same old thing the same old way you've been doing it for years? That may feel comfortable, but I would tell you that you are bobbing on downstream. You are floating and you were not designed to float. You were created with a purpose and you were given a motor to allow you to move along against the current, upstream, and to your destination in life. Whether it is in your family, your career, or in a place where you see the need, but haven't moved to make a difference today is the day to put your motor into gear and start moving. I don't want to be pulled along through my life by the elements that I live, I want to make a move, make a difference, and go where I am destined to go not end up where someone else tells me to be. 
      If you have lost your "motorvation" in life it's time to find it. You may be drifting, but I know where the fuel for my tank comes from and I know it is available to all that seek Him. Jeremiah 29:13 promises that, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." If you are uncertain then ask for guidance, focus, or direction it is available when we actively seek focus. You are not a floater, you were not made to sit around and wait for someone else to do what needs to be done, your life matters and you have a job to do each day that will require you to move forward and reach your life's purpose. 
     Be assured your life matters, you have a purpose each day to fulfill. You don't make a difference once upon a time and then you're off the hook, no when you fulfill one purpose God has more in store and he is waiting for you to put your boat in gear and to stop floating down the stream wherever the current pulls you along. 
Go out this week and throw it into high gear and watch what happens in the world you live!
Coach Carter

Cystal Ball

     One of the movies from my childhood that I distinctly remember is the "Wizard of Oz". It's no wonder I remember it so well it was one of the highlights of the Halloween season because before cable, satellite television, and the internet movies like the Wizard could only be seen at the mercy of the network channels. It is definitely a highlight in my memories of my childhood. One scene that resonates in my mind is the one where the wicked witch has captured Dorothy and is trying to pry away her ruby red slippers. In her evil efforts the witch draws Dorothy to her crystal ball and lets her take a glance of the worry and despair she has created with her disappearance from her family's Kansas farm. As Dorothy peers into the crystal ball she sees her aunt and uncle worrying and the farm hands all sitting around with heads hanging low. Obviously Dorothy is distraught from what she perceives as the harm she has caused with her running away from home and the whole "twisted"(pun intended) adventure.
     What would it be like if you had a crystal ball that would allow you to look forward to see what kind of impact you have made on those you come in contact with on a daily basis or possibly even just an one time encounter? You do understand that regardless of your intent you make an impact on the lives of a countless number of people and situations each and every day? Your words, your decisions, your attitude, your perspective on life has a direct impact on the lives of others that you may or may not ever meet. I don't know if many people grasp the longitude of what they do and how it impacts lives way on down the yellow brick road of life.
     That's important to understand, but couple that with the fact that your impact will occur regardless of whether it is a positive impact or unfortunately even a negative impact on someone you live with, work with, or spend any amount of time with today. I can sit and think of individuals that have had a direct impact on who I am and where I am today. Some made intentional efforts to influence me to be a better person and make a difference in the lives of others. In my educational career I always link three very special people to my life and why I became a teacher. Andy Taylor, Glen Kanipe, and Gail Rice each played a pivotal role in my opportunity to work as a volunteer wrestling coach and to the next step of going back to school and becoming what is right now a 25 year veteran educator still impacting the lives of those I have an opportunity to work with each day. Where would I be right now if not for the positive influence each of them made on my life? Not sure maybe in education maybe not??

     Well it doesn't stop there, I had a  high school wrestling coach that instilled a love of this sport and the discipline it taught me that has served me well over the course of my life. Coach Tony Rigdon taught me to never give up even when things looked too tough to face, Coach Rigdon instilled that mentality into my life through pushing me to what I thought was my limit and then encouraging me to give just a little bit more. Thank you Coach Rigdon, I haven’t gotten the opportunity to tell him in years, but I want to make sure he knows that his influence on my life changed my life!
     But what if it doesn’t even begin there? What if there was a friend of my older brother that I used to nag and tenaciously bother when I was about nine or ten years old? What if that older friend told this little, scrawny kid that really had little to no skills or stature that fit the football team or basketball team that he knew of a sport that would suit him just right. Reese Conway did just that for me. For the four or five years leading up to my high school career Reese told me that I would make a good wrestler and that size didn’t matter in wrestling. Reese taking the time to encourage me and share with me his love for a sport that I had not even seen before, other than Southeastern Championship Professional Wrestling on TV, led me to pursue wrestling when I got in high school. Thank you Reese Conway.
     You see all of those people made a difference in my life, but if Reese hadn’t planted that seed some forty plus years ago I might have never entered the field of education and I sure wouldn’t have ever coached the sport that I feel mirrors life’s struggles in so many ways for over thirty years instilling the message of never quit and never give up! What is important for you to understand as you read this blog today is this. You will make an impact on someone be it one person, ten people, or ten thousand people, you will make a difference in the world you live. The question you have got to ask yourself is “What kind of impact will I make?”
     If you could glare into that crystal ball what would you see up to this point in your life? Would your impact be one that has encouraged others, or maybe could it be because you looked for a “yes” answer when everyone else was saying “no”? Has your life provided an example of persistence and perseverance lined with grit and resiliency? Have you helped someone with no plans or desire of getting anything in return? Or is your life filled with self-satisfaction, negativity, and gloom for the future? Have you had opportunities to make a difference, but you were just too busy to sacrifice the time it would take to be that positive influence in someone else's life? You need to really stop here and reflect on what kind of investment you are making into the lives of others.
     Guess what? If you didn’t like the image you are seeing in that crystal ball it isn’t too late. You may have one life that you are supposed to impact and that opportunity may be getting ready to present itself to you as you are reading this page. You may think you aren’t skilled enough or that you have nothing to offer, but you do. It may be as simple as encouraging that skinny, aggravating kid that he can be something in life. It may be a colleague at work that needs your help or a word of encouragement, or it may be a life that you can save with your friendship or offer to help. The bottom line is that the future you will see in your crystal ball is created by you. Your words and actions will make an impact that you may never know took place, but always remember this, you will make an impact. Will it be a positive one?
If you have never heard of the Butterfly Effect I encourage you to either click on the link provided below or copy and paste it into your browser. What the heck if you have watched it and it has been awhile since you watched it I would encourage you to watch it again. The Butterfly Effect is a principle that expands on the thought behind today’s FTM. Check it out and have a great week!


https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-mozilla-001&hsimp=yhs-001&hspart=mozilla&p=the+butterfly+effect+andy+andrews+video#id=1&vid=bfa0cc9e57f3b7ef283769e846f94d14&action=click

How Far Does Your Reach Extend?

     Recently I watched the movie "Lost City of Z", which by the way was a pretty good investment of a couple of hours of entertainment time, and during the movie I was brought to attention by a quote that was shared in the movie's content. The quote went something like this, "The reach of a man should exceed his grasp". The message behind the words of the late poet and English playwright, Robert Browning,  caused me to take note and store that message for a future Flat Tire Ministry Thought of the Week. Guess what? Here we go.
     As the new work / school week begins most of us will have an area that is designated as our "work space". Yours may be a desk, an office, a classroom, building, out door space or any other type of work assignment. Still others devote and invest time into volunteering in extracurricular efforts, coaching, training, or possibly even ministering. Whatever the case may be each of us has an extent to which we reach out to help others. The gist of the quote above is to ask yourself, "In my world how far is my reach? How much effort do I expend to help others and make my world a better place to live?" It's easy to pat ourselves on the back and feel like we do all we can do to help others, yet I believe we all need to "measure" the expanse of our reach and evaluate if we could possibly do a little more to reach out of our comfort zone and make a difference in our realm of influence.
     The mental picture in my mind created by the words "the reach of a man should exceed his grasp" is of a person sitting at their desk, in their cubicle, on the job site, or even in their classroom extending out a hand as far as the constraints of the site will allow, yet never getting up and moving away from the our mental prison that prevents us from reaching out. Creating a barrier to aiding our fellow man is exactly what we must assure does not happen. The fallacy of being restrained from reaching out beyond our grasp occurs when we create barriers to going out further than we can comfortably do from our primary station in life. Just as Jesus directed the disciples to "go out and make disciples of of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit", we are also challenged to do all we can to help our families, our students and all those that are need of help in life. 
     Are you reaching beyond your grasp? Or are you glued to the constraints you have created that are keeping you from reaching out? When you evaluate your life are you stretching your mind, thinking outside the box, seeking ways to benefit those you come in contact on a daily basis? Do you believe you can find a new answer or do you accept the accepted as the rule. When I allow myself to really visualize the idea behind reaching beyond my grasp, my core belief of never giving up and never quitting is fortified and nurtured! I can make a difference, you can make a difference, each of us can make a huge impact on our own world in which we live. 
     Do not ever oversimplify your realm of influence and the impact you will make on the lives of the individuals and groups you work with and live each day. When you think you have reached out as far as you can, stretch just a little bit more. When you think you have squeezed all the juice out of the lemon in your hand, squeeze just a little tighter, and when you think you can't make a difference in a life, hold on and reach out just a little bit further than where you thought your grasp extended! You will make a difference, you are the difference! I am inspired and motivated by the work I witness being done for our children by the professional educators I work alongside each day. In whatever field of influence you work and live, never underestimate the difference you can and do make each and every day and reach just a little further!
Coach Carter