What happens in Vegas….I’ll take home with me this time….
The Bible tells us in 1st John that “greater is He (The Lord) that is in me
than he (the enemy) that is in the world”
Nowhere in my life has this been more prevalent than during my first business trip in several years; to Las Vegas. Yes; that’s right; 3 weeks out of rehab for many addictions; but mostly for gambling; I went to Vegas for a Mastermind Summit for top producers in my field. It was a great trip, and I truly felt more empowered and centered than I ever have on a business trip. In the past; it was time to let it all out; take it to the edge, never really sure what I was trying to prove; just testing the limits. But this time I was very calm, focused, and NOT distracted by the usual suspects that dance in the devil’s playground; something I’m quite familiar with from day’s past.
It’s almost like I was “outside” myself; looking in to see what I would do. There I was, at the scene of the crime where I made an enormous amount of poor choices; calmly working, engaging in business relationships, and just enjoying my time with my colleagues from our firm. God has made an amazing transformation in my life; and as The Word so clearly indicates when you turn your attention to Him; my mind has really been renewed. My heart has been renewed as well; and for me at least; God was the only force powerful enough for me to turn from my evil ways. I was NOT ONCE drawn to the poker table, NOT ONCE lured by sexual addiction, and NOT ONCE did I have the desire to drink heavily or participate in anything impure. With that said, I completely enjoyed myself, ran into many old colleagues from the business, and was able to secure some great new contacts through our participation in the events. It was like I had a Guardian Angel on my shoulder; a far cry from the HUGE ANVIL I used to carry around; knowing what I was doing was flat out wrong. For the first time in my adult life; I was NOT lured by the enemy to misbehave. But it wasn’t due to a lack of trying on his part. The serpent was lurking around every corner; and would manifest himself through people, things, and a series of crafty mechanisms designed to entrap me. After all; he knows me well this dude who lingers below; but he met his match this time; empowered by The Holy Spirit casting an impenetrable hedge of protection over me. What a wonderful feeling; I felt like I was actually in control; and the longer this feeling lasts; the more it feels right for me. What a blessing.
Many of you reading this note can perhaps relate; after all; the enemy rules this world. Some of you might be saying: “well, that sounds a little dramatic.” Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean that it is not true. I’ve never been one who was afraid to voice my opinion about things; but in the past; my dialog was centered on wide angle thinking and wide open views about things. But if I’m honest; that was never the real me; that was just part of the character that I created so everyone would like me. God has blessed me with incredible gifts to communicate, to write, and to have some influence with others in this life. But in the past I choose to use these gifts in a self-serving way; trying to “act” like someone I wasn’t. I know some of you can relate. The problem is that the longer you do these things, the more difficult it becomes to break the chains; to break the habits. They become part of who you are to yourself and to others; and if you’re not careful; 20 years go by!!!
Another interesting Vegas moment for me was the key note presentation by Tony Robbins. Let me tell you; this guy truly knows his craft. What a professional motivator; I’m sure many of you know what I mean. However, his entire presentation moved in slow motion for me; almost like I was a new person; remembering my old person; witnessing the dichotomy of how something like this was affecting me in a totally different manner than it would have in the past.
In the past; I would EAT this stuff up; be totally motivated and energized by what I heard; and would go out and try and implement and PERFORM at a higher level than I did before. In fact, I had a “Tony Robbins” mentality most of my career; and much of it was useful and lead to some of the great success that I experienced. But participating in the event looking through this new lens was quite another experience altogether. I still enjoyed and participated in the hoop-la; but my greater sense told me that the message was actually OFF THE MARK!! Like many self-help gurus (I should know; I used to profess I was one of them); the focal point of the message is that YOU can do anything; if YOU just set your mind to it. That YOU can increase YOUR energy level and step up YOUR game to new levels. This will make ALL the difference in YOUR life; if YOU would just realize that YOU hold the keys; and YOU hold the power in YOUR hand. With all due respect to Tony Robbins (he’s is really good); I just don’t believe that anymore. Can you improve by empowering yourself with these tools? Absolutely. But to suggest that YOU hold the keys to everything in your life from an achievement perspective; that’s just an incredible amount of pressure to put on someone. The fact it; we need our power to come from a different source; not from ourselves; but from God. These other ways may work for a short time; or even a longer period of time for a few people. But for the majority of us; the success gained by these mechanisms is fleeting; and at some point and time; the gas tank will be empty. As I looked across the room during his presentation; I was saddened by the fact that 85% of the folks in that auditorium would NOT be able to implement what Tony was teaching. For me anyway; my vision was so crystal clear on this matter; I was at least able to draw upon the positives that could help me advance in a few aspects in my current business; but not really in my life. This is new thinking for me; and the energy I felt from God while I was participating was as empowering a feeling as I’ve ever had. Cool stuff.
Lastly, it occurred to me that the humility I live with today is what carried me through this trip. The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth; so my sense is that the smaller I get; the bigger my heart will grow. I was reminded of a New Year’s Eve celebration we had at the Ministry last year. We had a ceremony, shared communion together, and we were all tasked to come up with a special word that would carry us through and lead us into better lives as well as an improved relationship with Jesus Christ. Certainly, humility (and my old EGO) is my snare or the thorn in my side like Paul tells us about in Acts. It’s my constant reminder of my old life; and being in Las Vegas really brought this home for me.
This is why I want to take what happened in Vegas home; nothing to be ashamed of this time. This time I can be proud that I’m on the right path. Have I arrived? No, definitely not; my journey is just beginning; just like many of you. But the strength I feel through HUMILITY and focus on The Lord is something that will never leave me; because I know that He will NEVER leave me.
Nowhere in my life has this been more prevalent than during my first business trip in several years; to Las Vegas. Yes; that’s right; 3 weeks out of rehab for many addictions; but mostly for gambling; I went to Vegas for a Mastermind Summit for top producers in my field. It was a great trip, and I truly felt more empowered and centered than I ever have on a business trip. In the past; it was time to let it all out; take it to the edge, never really sure what I was trying to prove; just testing the limits. But this time I was very calm, focused, and NOT distracted by the usual suspects that dance in the devil’s playground; something I’m quite familiar with from day’s past.
It’s almost like I was “outside” myself; looking in to see what I would do. There I was, at the scene of the crime where I made an enormous amount of poor choices; calmly working, engaging in business relationships, and just enjoying my time with my colleagues from our firm. God has made an amazing transformation in my life; and as The Word so clearly indicates when you turn your attention to Him; my mind has really been renewed. My heart has been renewed as well; and for me at least; God was the only force powerful enough for me to turn from my evil ways. I was NOT ONCE drawn to the poker table, NOT ONCE lured by sexual addiction, and NOT ONCE did I have the desire to drink heavily or participate in anything impure. With that said, I completely enjoyed myself, ran into many old colleagues from the business, and was able to secure some great new contacts through our participation in the events. It was like I had a Guardian Angel on my shoulder; a far cry from the HUGE ANVIL I used to carry around; knowing what I was doing was flat out wrong. For the first time in my adult life; I was NOT lured by the enemy to misbehave. But it wasn’t due to a lack of trying on his part. The serpent was lurking around every corner; and would manifest himself through people, things, and a series of crafty mechanisms designed to entrap me. After all; he knows me well this dude who lingers below; but he met his match this time; empowered by The Holy Spirit casting an impenetrable hedge of protection over me. What a wonderful feeling; I felt like I was actually in control; and the longer this feeling lasts; the more it feels right for me. What a blessing.
Many of you reading this note can perhaps relate; after all; the enemy rules this world. Some of you might be saying: “well, that sounds a little dramatic.” Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean that it is not true. I’ve never been one who was afraid to voice my opinion about things; but in the past; my dialog was centered on wide angle thinking and wide open views about things. But if I’m honest; that was never the real me; that was just part of the character that I created so everyone would like me. God has blessed me with incredible gifts to communicate, to write, and to have some influence with others in this life. But in the past I choose to use these gifts in a self-serving way; trying to “act” like someone I wasn’t. I know some of you can relate. The problem is that the longer you do these things, the more difficult it becomes to break the chains; to break the habits. They become part of who you are to yourself and to others; and if you’re not careful; 20 years go by!!!
Another interesting Vegas moment for me was the key note presentation by Tony Robbins. Let me tell you; this guy truly knows his craft. What a professional motivator; I’m sure many of you know what I mean. However, his entire presentation moved in slow motion for me; almost like I was a new person; remembering my old person; witnessing the dichotomy of how something like this was affecting me in a totally different manner than it would have in the past.
In the past; I would EAT this stuff up; be totally motivated and energized by what I heard; and would go out and try and implement and PERFORM at a higher level than I did before. In fact, I had a “Tony Robbins” mentality most of my career; and much of it was useful and lead to some of the great success that I experienced. But participating in the event looking through this new lens was quite another experience altogether. I still enjoyed and participated in the hoop-la; but my greater sense told me that the message was actually OFF THE MARK!! Like many self-help gurus (I should know; I used to profess I was one of them); the focal point of the message is that YOU can do anything; if YOU just set your mind to it. That YOU can increase YOUR energy level and step up YOUR game to new levels. This will make ALL the difference in YOUR life; if YOU would just realize that YOU hold the keys; and YOU hold the power in YOUR hand. With all due respect to Tony Robbins (he’s is really good); I just don’t believe that anymore. Can you improve by empowering yourself with these tools? Absolutely. But to suggest that YOU hold the keys to everything in your life from an achievement perspective; that’s just an incredible amount of pressure to put on someone. The fact it; we need our power to come from a different source; not from ourselves; but from God. These other ways may work for a short time; or even a longer period of time for a few people. But for the majority of us; the success gained by these mechanisms is fleeting; and at some point and time; the gas tank will be empty. As I looked across the room during his presentation; I was saddened by the fact that 85% of the folks in that auditorium would NOT be able to implement what Tony was teaching. For me anyway; my vision was so crystal clear on this matter; I was at least able to draw upon the positives that could help me advance in a few aspects in my current business; but not really in my life. This is new thinking for me; and the energy I felt from God while I was participating was as empowering a feeling as I’ve ever had. Cool stuff.
Lastly, it occurred to me that the humility I live with today is what carried me through this trip. The Bible says that the meek shall inherit the earth; so my sense is that the smaller I get; the bigger my heart will grow. I was reminded of a New Year’s Eve celebration we had at the Ministry last year. We had a ceremony, shared communion together, and we were all tasked to come up with a special word that would carry us through and lead us into better lives as well as an improved relationship with Jesus Christ. Certainly, humility (and my old EGO) is my snare or the thorn in my side like Paul tells us about in Acts. It’s my constant reminder of my old life; and being in Las Vegas really brought this home for me.
This is why I want to take what happened in Vegas home; nothing to be ashamed of this time. This time I can be proud that I’m on the right path. Have I arrived? No, definitely not; my journey is just beginning; just like many of you. But the strength I feel through HUMILITY and focus on The Lord is something that will never leave me; because I know that He will NEVER leave me.
God Bless you all. Tony
I really enjoyed reading this Tony! You have a very inspiring testimony. -Amanda Wrinkle
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