The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By: Dwight Bain LMHC The business community has an old saying, ‘ hope is not a strategy,’ in reference to wishing, hoping and dreaming for better results, without any tangible indicators for change. People can be like that as well. How many times have you said, “I hope he will change” “I hope my teacher gives me better grades this semester” “I hope my boss won’t be mad that I’m coming in late – again” “I hope traffic won’t be bad on my way to the concert” “I hope my mom will finally accept my partner as a loving person and stop complaining” Any of those sound familiar? They are all based on the flawed thinking that saying the word, “ Hope” is like saying the words, “When you wish upon a star…” it’s an unfounded wish based on personal desires, with nothing to back it up outside of your own opinion. That’s why it fails. Wrong thinking brings wrong conclusions - never results. Is there a better way? Yes. Clinical research into the br...

Brian M. Murray, MS   “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” ― Thomas A. Edison   Hope can be a powerful force. It drives the future with a sort of romanticized vision with excitement and enthusiasm. Whether it is with marriage, having children, an exciting career or a certain lifestyle, hope and dreams drive the motivation and inspiration to achieve that dream. Sometimes, however, those dreams get crushed. Reality steps in and begins to paint a bleak picture of that future and over time the anticipation begins to fade. The vision gets lost, the hope disappears, motivation wanes and life can feel stuck. It’s almost as if the color gets washed out of the dream and it loses its luster appearance and develops that sense of hopelessness. How does someone who is feeling in despair about their life bring hope back into the picture? Feeling like being in a hopeless situation does not necessarily mean they have to abandon hope itself...

By Matt W. Sandford Halloween is all about scary stuff. Sure there’s the tame stuff like superheroes and princesses, just so commercialism can make sure everyone is included. But monsters, ghosts and blood, gore, horror and death – that’s what Halloween is about. We are strangely drawn to the creepy, the weird, and the bizarre. I remember as a kid tooling around on the TV while visiting my Aunt’s for the weekend. There was always an old time horror movie on Sunday afternoons. The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Man With Two Heads, The Blob. And I remember one time coming across a scene where a can opener was beginning to attach to someone’s neck. I remember being so grossed out and not wanting to watch, but not being able to pull my eyes away. But I was wondering the other day, are these the things that really scare most people? We hold an odd fascination and curiosity for things mysterious – and death and the spiritual world are certainly that. However, it seems to me...

By Chris Hammond, MS, IMH It’s that time of the year again when the list of things to be done grows by the minute, plans are changed again and again until the last minute, and stress over finances, family, and friends is at an all time high. There is too much to do, too much to see, too many places to be, and far too many expectations to be met. The demands of work, family, friends, and even church push us to a panic frenzy to meet and exceed those demands but at what expense? When did this season, the season of joy, the season of celebration, the season of giving and the season of bonding become the season of anxiety over unmet expectations and financial pressure, the season of depression over the loss of loved ones, and the season of trampling over others to make a purchase? “Merry Christmas” is not so merry anymore. Rather than trying to put the “Merry” back into Christmas, I would propose a different type of “Mary”. Jesus refers to Mary in Luke 10:38-42 when he informs Mar...

By Chris Hammond Every once in a while God gives us the opportunity to say good-bye to a loved one before they pass away. You may have experienced moments such as this in the past or may be going through it right now. Either way, it is still difficult to endure. Nevertheless, these are rare precious moments to be treasured as gifts from God. Not everyone has the opportunity to say good-bye to a trusted friend, a close family member, a loved one, or a valued mentor. Some must deal with the shock and loss all at once, but sometimes God graciously grants us an opportunity to say goodbye. This is a gift that can be used as part of the healing process of letting the person go. In the moment, such times are difficult to endure, but in the end they are a blessing and are very often helpful in healing from the loss. In some cases we avoid saying good-bye because we don’t want to admit the end is near. We don’t know what to say in the moment we see the person or we fear that we will say the ...

As told by Dwight Bain Krystal Thomas is a champion in anyone’s book. By age 18 the 6’ 5” center had led her high school basketball team to back to back state championships with an average of 19 points/12 rebounds and named State Finals MVP both years. She had played in national tournaments like the McDonalds’s All America Game- where she led her East team to a victory, the WBCA All-America Game, (Women’s Basketball Coaches Association), the AAU Nationals and Nike Tournament of Champions. She had been named Miss Florida Basketball, the Gatorade State Player of the Year and earned USA Today, EA Sports, McDonald’s and Parade first team All-America for her high school career totaling 1,751 points, 1,357 rebounds and 268 blocks. She had won a full scholarship to play for the Lady Blue Devils of Duke University with her remarkable sports career as a teenager and she’s just getting started! This outstanding athlete is already on the fast track to the Olympics by leading her USA Under19 T...

by Tim Sanders In my line of work, finding the ultimate definition of leadership is to find the holy grail. I've heard an assortment of good definitions over the years, but during a 2008 interview with USA Today, AMEX CEO Kenneth Chenault came up with the best one I've heard so far. For his definition, he took words from a leader who experienced great success and failure -- Napoleon: "The role of a leader is to define reality and give hope ." That's a GREAT way of thinking about leadership. This simple definition gives you two clear mandates to carefully balance: Reality (the way things are) and Hope (the way things can be). By focusing on both, you are able to be candid, yet inspirational. Leaders who, like Chenault, follow this credo will hit their financial goals, and build an emotionally sustainable business along the way. Without hope, you have follower burn out and revolt. Without reality, you have idealism and no results. So the trick to leadership, then, ...

by Zig Ziglar "Without hope what good is tomorrow?" We are surrounded by people who need hope in their lives. We don't often see their need because a lack of hope is not easily communicated. People aren't prone to say, "I need hope." Nonetheless, when we listen closely, we can hear the cries of the hope-needers. Or oftentimes we can see it in their actions. For example: The student with no hope of passing won't study. Why bother? The sales person with no hope of making the sale won't make the call. What's the purpose? The couple whose marriage is in trouble won't seek counseling because (they think) it's all over anyway. The relative who hasn't spoken to you for three years won't try. What's the hope? The senior citizen who doesn't think anyone would be interested in helping him won't ask. The nurse who doesn't think anyone appreciates her wisdom won't offer it. The manager who doesn't see a chance of being...

by Jim Rohn, Master Coach While most people spend most of their lives struggling to earn a living, a much smaller number seem to have everything going their way. Instead of just earning a living, the smaller group is busily working at building and enjoying a fortune. Everything just seems to work out for them. And here sits the much larger group, wondering how life can be so unfair, so complicated and unjust. What's the major difference between the little group with so much and the larger group with so little? Despite all of the factors that affect our lives - like the kind of parents we have, the schools we attended, the part of the country we grew up in - none has as much potential power for affecting our futures as our ability to dream. Dreams are a projection of the kind of life you want to lead. Dreams can drive you. Dreams can make you skip over obstacles. When you allow your dreams to pull you, they unleash a creative force that can overpower any obstacle in your path....

by Gary Eby, Author, Coach & Motivational Speaker Lefthanded Soldiers is dedicated to all of those who have been wounded in life ... whether physically, emotionally, spiritually, or financially and yet, against all odds, have risen from the devastation to become a champion! There are few things in life that move me like seeing someone overcome adversity. I believe that there are great men and women from all walks of life, who, because of some "event’ or series of events, have pretty much given up. Somewhere between brokenness and bitterness many have laid down their proverbial swords and surrendered. They've been wounded. Lefthanded Soldiers teaches us that when we are wounded … when our "right arms" have been hurt … that we can become Lefthanded Soldiers rather than allowing our circumstances to condemn us to a life of "what-ifs." How many great leaders are no longer leading? What will our society suffer because the leadership we need is somewhere hurt...