“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming.”

– John Wooden

Over the last 5 months, I had the three lowest and the two highest income months of my entire professional life. And I have no idea where March will fall on that spectrum. Join me on my roller coaster of fear and hope.

For the record, I’m mostly interested in the hope side of this ride.

Starting a new business has been tough.

It’s been up, and it’s been down. [You can catch up on the journey by reading my two major posts on launching my law firm: Going Over the Handlebars and Everything is Falling Apart.]

One of the things we all face regularly is fear. Fear of failure. Fear of dying. Fear of your new law firm tanking and taking your family with it. (OK. Maybe that is just my fear.)

There is plenty to be afraid of. Just last month, Chapman University published America’s Top Fears in 2015.

But faith is greater than fear.

I had the pleasure of going to the Global Leadership Summit this year. And it was very inspirational. I wanted to share my notes with you.

I hope you enjoy them. I hope they inspire you, too.

Well, I launched over the handlebars (see my previous post), and it felt like I landed face first and was headed to the hospital.

Ready to Launch

As the first major push of my new law firm, I set out to host online live trainings (“webinars”) to assist conservative churches and ministries establish appropriate statements, policies, and procedures to respond to the new legal landscape regarding same-sex marriage.

I had my webinar software set up. I had my PowerPoint drafted. I had a new HD computer camera and an expensive mic.

And I couldn’t move.

If you have known me for any length of time, you know that I live for adventure. I love traveling, dreaming big, and experiencing new people, food, and places. This includes my periodic adventures on my mountain bike.

On Monday this week, I headed out on my bike for exercise and adventure. On that trip, I found a grass-covered hole and ended up going over the handlebars. I’m fine, no hospital visit this time. But I do have a few bruises.

Over the Handlebars.

It made me think about the other “over the handlebar” moments Elizabeth, the family, and I have encountered over the last decade. And more than that, how those are the moments that define who I am, have produced the best fruit, and brought me to life. It’s scary to go head-long at life and worry if you might go over the handlebars, but I don’t want it any other way.

When we first looked at adopting from Africa, we figured out we couldn’t do it. But we did it anyway. We went over the handlebars. A couple times. But Moriah is ours because we set out on the adventure.

When we decided to adopt again, we figured out we shouldn’t do it. But we did it anyway. We went over the handlebars, but God showed up too many times to count, including an Indian man handing us $15,300 in hundred dollar bills on our front porch in Uganda. Let me tell you that story sometime. And Stella and Justus are here because we went for it.

My Next Adventure.

So here is the next adventure:

No beating around the bush. Here is the line: "I would love to hear more of your story and get your take on success." Done. Now go use it. Pick up the phone. Send the email, direct message, text, whatever. Stop reading, and do it. ... This is not my line. My legal...

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