Challenge...

I have been reading a book by Og Mandino for the last few months (it is a slow, one chapter at a time kind of read) called "University Of Success". He has compiled writings from some of the most influential and key speakers/authors of the past from Dale Carnegie to Benjamin Franklin to Napoleon Hill etc.

I read a chapter this morning that has got my soul stirred once again to live a life of satisfaction and meaning. The author was Dr. Wayne W. Dyer and in the quote that killed me was this:

"Look hard at you life. Are you doing what you'd choose to be doing if you had six months to live? If not, you'd better begin doing it because, relatively speaking, that's all you have. Given the eternity of time, thirty years or six months makes no difference. Your total lifetime is a mere speck. Delaying anything simply makes no sense."

Once again, I am left with this feeling that perhaps living a life that is not fulfilling really doesn't make sense. I know that this flies in the face of what most of us have been taught to believe (i.e life is pain, nobody is truly happy, fulfillment is merely a dream, etc.)

I guess the challenge that I am issuing is this: evaluate your life. See if there just might be something that you could be doing with it that would bring ultimate pleasure and fulfillment and maybe, just maybe you should go after it despite the naysayers. Despite the risk of failure and the potential pain that disrupting your current life may bring. Perhaps we should not simply settle for what we have and what we are but instead we should be going all out after the lives of our dreams now, today.

I find myself, so often, saying "when we retire", or "when the girls get older", or "once we have more money", maybe I should stop saying those things, stop allowing myself to put off life and starting trying to figure out how to live today?

I don't know, just a thought from a man that is so awfully tired of the same old same old of life and dreaming that perhaps life could be full of fulfillment, love, adventure, happiness and true success.

No More Prospecting!

I had a great chance to get to know the CEO of Invite Systems yesterday by having lunch with him. As it turns out he has been very impressed with my sales style and abilities and is going to start supplying me with prospects/appointments that the company generates... this means no more cold calling for me!

That is very exciting for me because that is the part of the job that I like the least. I have really enjoyed doing sales presentations and meeting business owners but the initial contacting and appointment setting just kills me for some reason.

Anyway, this all very good news to me. I just have to hope that I can continue to close at a 20% or greater rate so that they keep on sending the leads my way instead of to another rep.

On top of that, if I can prove that I can close company generated leads at a 20% closing ratio for 30 days, Invite is going to open up an office in Boulder/Broomfield and give me the Sales Manager position for the HWY 36 corridor/Boulder area!

1st Invite System Sales!

I sold my first two Invite Systems marketing packages this week! It has been a struggle for me to go out everyday and give presentations that don't result in sales but actually having a couple of people say "yes" in the last few days has been very encouraging!

Learning To Be Grateful

Gratefulness, what an elusive state of being! I am trying desperately to learn to live in a constant state of gratefulness. Those of you who know me, know that this is a hard one for me as I am always trying to get more, gain more ground, achieve more, be more, have more, more, more, more! In my constant need to more and better life (not just stuff but experiences, happiness, love, adventure etc.) I loose sight of all that I have.

My life, our lives as Americans, are so full of great things and opportunities! Even the "poorest" American is "richer" than 97% of the worlds population.

I really should have nothing to complain about. Yet, everyday I find something that doesn't go just right or experience something that rubs me the wrong way and I forget that I really have it made.

It's quite amazing how easily we loose sight of how great our lives are.

Anyway, I am trying to learn to live in gratefulness. When people think about Josh Lanier, I want them to think "wow, now there is a man that is grateful".

That is not to say that I am not going to continue to strive for the things listed above. But what it does mean is that I am not going to wait until I have them to be grateful. Because the reality is that even if I never achieve what I would label "success" in this life, I am truly blessed on a fundamental spiritual level and want for nothing...

Join me and be grateful towards God for what you are and for what you have been given.

My New Job

Sorry that I have not posted anything in a long while. I have been in a crazed state of searching for a new field after being a little tired and worn out by the home improvement industry. I have thoroughly enjoyed my almost 3 year stint with Carpenter's Touch but after a long list of reasons decided to try to move on about a month ago.

I began to look for my "dream job" (or something close). I wanted a job where I would be able to interact with small business owners helping them to grow their businesses through this tough economic time. I also wanted to be able to learn and promote e-marketing techniques.

Long story short, I found an e-marketing company that was looking for a sales agent to tackle the Boulder area and sent my resume off to them realizing that it was a long shot. They ended up calling me back the next week to conduct a "phone interview" and subsequently scheduled an "in person" interview between myself and the CEO, Randy Davis.

After both interviews they ended up offering me the job with a great base pay + commission structure that I really couldn't say "no" to.

I am now an Invite Systems Sales Agent-

Friday was my first day of actual in-the-field work and I scheduled 2 sales presentations to take place this coming week... not a bad first day.

Anyway, it's exciting to be on a new path and hopefully one that I can ride for the long haul into a carrier that is both challenging and rewarding!

New Phone Number.

Hello all.

Sarah and I have new local phone numbers:

Josh's Cell: 720-278-8672
Sarah's Cell: 720-2785492

Trying Not To "Shut Down"

This has been a tough week. I am living in that place that I get to every now and then where I am so stressed out that I tend to simply shut down. I get to this point where it is hard to believe that working harder is really going to produce more results.

I keep telling myself that massive action produces massive results and that nothing is going to change in life until I get out there and make it change.

The funny thing is that I am now in a position to make twice as much money in my business if I can pull off half the results that I used to! It is almost like I have been paralyzed with the fear of success. I know that sounds stupid but I am starting to think that I may just be afraid of what I might do and become if I actually had the money and freedom that I spend so much of my life pursuing.

The reality of making $7500-10k a month is staring me in the face and I can't get motivated to go and get it... I guess that my brain prefers the hunt more that the kill and once I get the opportunity to shoot I feel that I have reached my goal and go home.

I have finally put together a deal that I would have killed for for years and I am shutting down.

Whats the deal?

The Power Of Just Being

I had a great opportunity today to have lunch with Jan Cowles, a house church "coach", and talk about the Kingdom of God. Throughout our conversation I became aware of the true power of just letting go and allowing myself to be a child of God.

Over the last couple of years I have been able to sit back, heal, get over myself and my bitterness and so many other things... All the while I was thinking that once I was done healing that I would "get back in the game". I am now coming to realize that the goal is to "be" not to "do"!

The long and the short of it is that I have been thinking that when I get healed emotionally that I would somehow change the way I am living my life... I have decided that this way of living, this just being, is the way that I am supposed to be living.

Just to be a God honoring husband, father, son, friend, business owner, Starbucks customer, etc.

Just Be.

Getting Back Into God's Word

Many of you know that over the last couple of years I have sort of put my faith on hold... well, thats not exactly right, I didn't forsake God or stop caring about serving and obeying Him, I have just been kind of gliding so to speak.

Well, these last few weeks I have been more proactive in my faith and relationship with God by reading large amounts of His word and communing with the Holy Spirit on a scriptural level more than I have in a long while.

I started out by reading James, I read it 5 times in a 5 day period of time and then I moved onto 1 Peter and have agreed to read it 8 times this week, I am on my 5th read though today and I am loving it.

When we step back and let the Holy Spirit do what He does best (convict and teach us God's Word) we can start to see the power of living life in the Kingdom of God.

One of my favorite realities to this day is seen in a very real way during the creation account in Genesis where we see that when God speaks he creates, in his breath and words are the power to create! That is amazing, I need to be reminded of the the power of Gods word on a consistent basis.

If we want to change, if we want to see God's power unleashed in our lives and the lives of the people around us we need to allow Him to speak through the scriptures.

"All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be fully equipped for every good work." - 2Tim 3:16

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart". - Heb 4:12

Too Fast.

I was talking with Dave last night (briefly) about how fast time is going by these days. I don't know why exactly but the last 2.5 years (the time we have lived in CO) time has gone by lightning fast!

I could not believe it when I started to realize that:

I will have been with Carpenter's Touch for 3 years in a few months time.
We will have lived in our apartment for 2 years soon.
2008 is half way over.
Sophia will be a year old in 2 months....

What is amazing about time is that while some things fly by in life others seem to go soooo slowly, like pulling your way out of debt, learning to serve God and letting the Holy Spirit change your character, saving, getting through rough times etc.

Why is it that tough times and struggles seem to last ten times as long as the good stuff in life?

What A Week!

I hate to whine but I figure its better to do it here than to the people that I love.

I have had a sucky week! Its like everything I put my hand to this week is cursed. I am not sure what I could be doing wrong but I just cannot seem to break the code to life this week.

All I can hope for is that this pain and suffering does not continue too much longer or I am going to go CRAZY! I have definitely been "most likely to climb a tower" for most of this week

Anyway, I'm done now -

We're Not Alone

I searched the web this morning trying to find a guy that I had heard about back when we lived in FL, Neil Cole. I found and emailed him and to my surprise he emailed back within a few minutes with some very encouraging news.

There are others out there in Denver starting what they call "organic" or "house" churches! They are actually having a training event in Silverthorn, CO next weekend and I am going to try my best to get out there to find out what these people are like and what they are all about.

I have spent a few hours today searching through their network of websites and blogs trying to discover as much about them as possible and am very excited to see how we might be able to fit into the network of established house churches out here in the Denver Metro area.

Anyway, thought that you all might like to hear that I/we are not the only freaks that see though the system.

P.S Not only did Neil email me but in few short hours I had emails from 4 others in the Denver area as well. This has been a very encouraging day.

A Very Good Week

After having lived in what feels like a barren waste land for the last few months as far as business is concerned, This last week I finally broke out!

I contracted about 50k in good business in the last week and it feels good!

I don't know what is going on in the Denver market lately but everyone in my industry has been struggling just to get by. We are having a very tough time getting people to see the value of improving their homes.

I mean, the things that I sell, like replacement windows, siding and decks are all in the top 5 value adding improvements that you can do to your home and I can't get people to make the investment for some reason. Vinyl window replacement, on average, in 2007 had a 98.5% ROI! That is huge. But at the same time people that I talk to seem to be more concerned with driving a new BMW than improving their equity position in their homes... go figure.

Anyway, it has been a good week and I think that I have finally hit on some very key marketing and sales components that just maybe my competition has missed.

I am going to keep on giving it my best efforts and just maybe one day it will all be worth the effort.

Business Sustainability

I finally met the owner of the Heidie's Brooklyn Deli down the street from my apartment.

His name is Jerry, this is his first run at restaurant franchising and he says it is not going well. No matter what he does he can't seem to get people into his place for food and drink. He has been there for 2 + years and as he says "we are trying our best to make it to 3".

He got me thinking about business sustainability. I for one am tired of waking up in the morning wondering where my next client is going to come from. I need to figure out what systems that I can create and implement that will equate to business sustainability.

That is the key to business. If a business person can land a way to sustain a flow of business without having to constantly guess where to look, that person will find success in any industry.

I am currently searching for a cost effective way to sustain business in the Exterior Remodeling Industry. And I'm very excited about a few ways of marketing that, to my knowledge, no one in this industry has ever used.

I have spent one day so far in the "beta testing" mode with this new model. It's clean, it's simple and it's sustainable! We'll see what happens.

My Brother Dave...

is a good man. I just want to say that having a friend like David is the most amazing thing in the world. We have been through thick and thin together and he continues to care about me and help through the crap in life. I only hope that my friendship with him means as much to him as it does to me and that one day I can repay him for all he has done and is doing in my life.

(Thanks for the talk last night bro)

Lamentations

I have been a royal pain in the &ss to every one that knows me for the last few weeks. I don’t really know what is wrong with me other than simple life stresses starting to ware me out. I am just so tired all of the time… I slept for 13 hours last night and I am exhausted this morning at the thought of another day and week staring me in the face.

I thought that I had all of this handled but it keeps creeping back up on me.

I feel so manic all of the time, I can start the day out sick to my stomach I am so tired, swing up to feeling that I could take on an army in the afternoon and then plummet into the depths of despair by dinner time. I have tried mixing up my diet, not drinking any alcohol, quitting coffee, exercising, not exercising… everything that I can think of.

I think that the thing that bothers me the most is that when I am on top of my game I am really on top of it. I mean, I am freaking amazing in the amount of stuff that I can get done and the people that I can motivate and the life that I can lead. I want to be that way all of the time no matter what but I can’t seem to break the code.

The People I Left Behind...

I am finally coming to a place where I think that it is time for me to make contact with the people of my past. Some I have hurt some have hurt me. Some I have let down, some have let me down. Some of them I simply left in the lurch with no real answer to why I fell of the face off the earth.

When I look back over my short life of 25 years I see that I have been really quite restless and that, I believe, is why I have done so many things that were so reckless. Most large decisions in my life to date were made a point of total and complete desperation… I had to do something.

I am trying not to run any more, I am trying not to make decisions in desperation any more. My life is becoming more and more on purpose, I still find that I am moving in a state of restlessness most days. I don’t know why exactly, but I feel restless all of the time.

Anyway, back to the point.

It is time to contact some people that have been very important to me in the past but I have lost touch with and simply say that I am sorry if I caused them any pain, regret or disappointment. I don’t need a restored relationship, all I really need and want is peace of mind knowing that I have made things as right as I can with our current circumstances.

What has been done has been done. If you are one of these people, you know who you are, please accept this blog entry as a formal “I am so sorry if I hurt you” letter from my heart to yours. Please forgive me.

If you want, you can contact me… you can email me through the “Profile” links to the right.

Business

Business is hard. Some weeks I feel like I am on top of my game and no one could stop me. Others, I function like a total looser.

I guess that is the curse that I have bought into by being in the Sales and Marketing world every day of my life... sometimes the numbers stack up in my favor and sometimes I cannot get a sale to save my life, the old numbers game.

Right now I have over 140k in outstanding bids and cannot seem to get any of them off the fence. What is the deal? Some say we are in a recession but can that stop me from working and at least trying to make sales? The Answer is no, all it really means is that I have to work harder than I should have to for less money at the end of the tunnel!

Why can't I break the code and have abundance in my life when it comes to financial success? I work harder, smarter and am more dedicated and committed than 99% of the people that I know. I have positioned myself in such a way to maximize the potential of my efforts (i.e the more leads and sales that I get the more money that I can make... the sky is truly the limit)! What is the challenge here? Am I simply cursed to spend my life in toil and un-fruitful labor? If so I wish that someone would just tell me so I can stop dreaming of the day when I can perhaps spend my life's energy pursuing something other that paying bills and maintaining a positive bank balance!

Oh well, I guess the bottom line is that I will keep working and keep trying and maybe, just maybe, it will pay off down the road.

My So-Called "Mentors"

i woke this morning thinking about all those people in my life who, over the past few years, have become more and more distant. i do not know what the challenge is really. i know that many, many people disagree with my spiritual perspectives, convictions and practices. But, what i don't understand is that despite my continued asking and pleading, none of the so called "mentors" in my life will honestly come to me and help me see the "err" of my ways.

All everyone wants to do is tell me that they think that i am wrong and that i am not in line with the God of the Bible but they refuse to come to me and actually help me see where i am wrong and what i should change!

i know that i can be abrasive and seem overly confrontational but those weaknesses should not stop those that truly love me from coming to me and helping me to serve God in truth.

i am sick and tired of hearing third and fourth hand that people i love and care about disagree passionately with my lifestyle but don't have the courage to come to me and discus the issues they have with me like an adult. (i am not a monster!)

If you are reading this and you are one of those people please, please, i am on my knees begging you to act like the follower of Christ that you claim to be and help your brother to see the way. i apologize in advance if your feelings get hurt in the interaction with me, for everything that i believe, i believe for what i think is true biblical reasoning and i am passionate about following the Lord Jesus Christ. So i may get a little uptight when we talk about our faiths because it is of paramount importance to me that we know and live by the truth.

Our Current State

A man that has lost an eye or was born blind will spend his entire life mourning his loss and cursing his fate. No man that has two functioning eyes spends his life in dismay over the fact that he doesn't have three…. This shows that we (humanity) have fallen from some higher state of perfection, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

If we, somewhere in our subconscious nature had never known perfection we would not mourn its loss or our current imperfections.