Some thoughts on the song "Don't Wait" by Addison Road

I came across this song and really liked it. The message is very relevant talking about how important it is to take action according to our beliefs. After all we are finite creatures and even though our lives seem to stretch forever, they are actually quite short. If we are fortunate we might live up to 80 or 90 years old which is really insignificant relative to the length of human history.

An extract of the lyrics is the following:

We're not indestructible

Our lives are unpredictable

It can turn on a dime

So now is the time

Don't wait (...)

Gotta live today

Today

Very important that we all spend time pondering about the following questions:

1. Does the way I live my life reflect the fact that I'm finite?
2. Do I put my beliefs into practical action? Or do I mainly just talk and pretend?
3. What has to happen in my life that I can one day look back at it and say "It was really worth it"?

What are your answers to these questions?

Some thoughts on the book "The Da Vinci Code"

I read the book a few months ago and it showed me again how important it is to think critically and not just take everything as fact which comes to us nicely packaged.

This is not only true for the very obvious case of advertising which we are inundated with today, but also for books which we read.

Right at the start, the DaVinci code makes the claim to be based on historically accurate background information. One of the main pieces of information which the book is based on is the existence of the Priory of Sion, a secret organisation which has existed for several centuries.

However, if you dome some serious research into that topic you will find that this claim is totally made up. Without the Priory of Sion being a real organisation as claimed by Dan Brown, the author, the book loses its backbone. It is an exciting fiction novel but its not more than that.

It appears obvious that the author had a strong incentive to claim his fiction as actual fact to increase the sales of the book.

What other examples can you think of where similar things happen? And what can you do to make sure you are not fooled?

Movie "A Letter to Dad"

A while ago I watched the movie "A Letter to Dad": www.alettertodad.com

It's a very touching story about a man who reflects on his relationship with his dad and after many episodes decides to write a letter to him. It helped me to do the same in my life which was a significant step for me towards healing and greater freedom.

Even if your relationship with your dad was mostly fine, you might discover some very interesting things by writing such a letter anyway.

It's amazing what we can discover if we deliberately set aside some regular quiet time in our lives. Writing a letter to your earthly dad is just one of many examples.

What you want is not necessarily good for you...

Nowadays, many people love to talk about their vision, dreams and goals. In general, I think this is a very good thing in particular if it really changes lives to the positive.

However, we need to make sure that our goals are indeed beneficial as things we desire might actually turn out to harm us. In particular, the media world which surrounds us creates a broad range of desires in us. Many of these seems exciting and give us temporary high but we need more and more of them. But no matter of how much we get, we always feel empty again.

I really liked what Donald Miller wrote in Blue Like Jazz: "I think the things we want most in life, the things we think will set us free, are not the things we need (...) the tricky thing about life is, really, that the things we want most will kill us."

What about your life? Do the things you build your life on, give you the fulfilment and satisfaction you truly desire?

If not, you might be looking in the wrong place...

Apply useful principles of the Toyota Production System to your life

Those of you familiar with the Toyota Production System will know that it is commonly used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of production processes in particular by eliminating waste and improve those parts that are absolutely vital to the core business.

I think that some of the tools and principles used are also very helpful when we look at our own life.

Typically, processes or activities can fall into one of the following three categories:

(1) Value-add: These are things that are crucial. Transferred onto your life, these are the things that directly contribute to your purpose in life. If you are a follower of Jesus, an example might be to contribute to the Great Commission by evangelising. The goal is to improve the effectiveness of Value-add in your life.

(2) Necessary Non-value-add: These are things that do not directly contribute to your purpose in life but that are necessary supporting activities. In your life examples include sleeping and brushing your teeth. The goal is to make necessary non-value-add as efficient as possible.

(3) Non-necessary non-value-add ("waste"): These are things that do not directly contribute to your purpose in life but which are also not supporting activities. In your life this might be excessive time spend watching TV. The goal is to stop spending time on waste.

Can you think of examples in your life where you can apply these principles? I have found them tremendously helpful in focusing on what truly matters.

I am looking forward to reading your comments.

What you believe is shown in what you do...

At the end of the day it does not matter what you say. Your actions are what counts.

Unfortunately, there are way too many people today that say that they care about others or a particular problem. However, they never do anything about it. Their actions show that they do not really care.

And what about you?

Are there any areas in your life where your actions do not match what you think or say is important to you?

What are some practical things you can do this week to change this?

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Often the most effective and useful things are (almost) for free in life...

Some examples includes:

• Drink at least 3 liters of filtered pure water per day
• Get at least 7-8 sleep every day
• Do at least one thing to get out of your comfort zone every day
• Pray multiple times a day to refocus on what is truly important

My personal experience is that building these and other new habits, creative massive positive change in your life.

Unlike what most companies try to make you believe nowadays, you do NOT have to spend a lot of money to significantly improve the quality of your life.

Can you think of other similar examples?