Coming soon!

I have been debating about what this blog will look like moving forward and I plan to revamp it into a video blog of sorts. I recently launched a new YouTube Channel that is linked on my new homepage at www.GregTroxell.com. On the channel will be a few different shows. I am currently developing one focused on leadership and then there will be another focused on ministry issues. The plan right now is to post the videos here as well. I may still write a few blogs here and there but most of them will be video.

Let me know how you like the new concept once it is in effect. Right now the only show I have up is My Road to WrestleMania which is really geared at readers of my Sports and Entertainment blog. Feel free to check it out at www.GregTroxell.com.

Also on my new homepage you can connect with me through Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Check it out when you get a chance.

I Am a Hypocrite

Yes I am a hypocrite and you probably are as well.

At my son’s school they have a program called AR (accelerated reading) where the kids read books, log onto the computer, and take a test. As they pass these tests they get AR points. It is a cool system. There is a huge list of books that are eligible which makes it even better. For every test my son completes he gets two G-Dollars at home, G-Dollars are our incentive program. So we strongly encourage (make him) read books on a regular basis so he can achieve high levels on his AR ranking.

We all know reading is good but here is my issue and where I become a hypocrite. While I am ‘strongly encouraging’ him to read guess what I am doing? Yep watching tv or surfing the net. Not a good example. See I want my son to do something but the example I am setting ain’t all that great.

This got me thinking about other things we make our kids do that we stop doing as adults. Your know things like…
* read books
* study
* play outside
* not watch too much tv
* go to church
* be nice to others
* be respectful to others
* don’t get smart with their parents

Yeah I dont like the list either cause I am GUILTY as charged.

When was the last time you read a book? Did you do it where your kids could see you? I am starting to make an effort to read at the same time I ask Greg 2.0 and Ashley to read. Trying to set an example.

Study / homework may sound like something we no longer need to do but I beg to differ. We should always educate ourselves. Think about it we say to our kids to study and do well in school for a better future but then we don’t continue to educate ourselves for a better future. It doesn’t matter your age you can still learn and improve your future. I am not saying you have to go to school but you can read certain things, attend seminars, watch webinars, read blogs, etc.

Play outside is another one. When was the last time you went outside and and played? Yeah been a while for me too. It could beg a walk, a run (I ain’t running), tossing the football, shoot baskets, etc. We know it is good to get fresh air which is why we want our kids outside, which is why the NFL has a program called Play 60. Yet we as adults have determined that we can sit inside…why?

I know so many people that send their kids to church because they think it is right but they keep their butts at home. If your think it is good for them then it is good for you too. Yeah it may be hard to do at first but give it a chance cause it may not only enhance their lives but turn yours around as well.

Being respectful to others when we aren’t. Hey husbands when was the last time you got smart with your wife or spoke to her in a way that you know was wrong? Wouldn’t you totally flip out if you son talked to his mom that way? Yeah I have been seriously guilty there too.

This blog is a hard one to read cause I AM SO GUILTY of these things.

I am trying now to set a better example for my kids. I am not asking them to do anything I wouldn’t do. When I ask them to read, I read. When I say no more tv, I turn it off of me as well. When Greg 2.0 is doing homework I sit there and work on things too or try to help him study. When I get upset about how he talks to his mom I look at me and think about how I have spoken to her.

Yes I am a hypocrite but I am getting better. I am trying. The key is to be aware and pay attention to the examples we set. Too often their short comings are really our short comings.

What is Your Reality?

Last week many of us were returning to work after several days off for Christmas and New Years. Several of my friends updated their Facebook statuses about going back to work by referring to it as “back to reality”.

I saw these posts as a negative on the reality that stood in front of them. The reality they were speaking of were their jobs, careers, and school. It got me thinking about the fact that we create our own reality.

Yes we do. We create it by the choices we make. We are all at places in our lives due to those choices. Yeah it sucks sometimes but it is still the truth.

Think about it. The job you have, who accepted that job?

The friends you have, you made them your friends?

The marriage you have, who made it the way that it is?

The place you live, who moved there?

The attitude you have each day, who is responsible?

The weight you are at, who ate all those pies, cakes, and pizza?

Yeah that mirror is hard sometimes. The reflection is the hardest thing to accept.

Ultimately we choose our actions and more importantly we choose our reactions. We can choose each day what kind of attitude we will have. Our attitudes start to shape our everyday. As we shape that day we will influence others around us. That will lead to some stepping away from you and others will gravitate to you. Your surroundings will adjust.

You reality will start to shift.

If you don’t like your reality then I challenge you to adjust it.

If you don’t like your job change it. Now I know that may not be easy and may take time but it took time to get to where you are now at your job anyway. You can start taking steps today to improve your job situation. You can read books, go back to school, listen to educational or motivational recordings, read blogs, etc. You can look on Monster or Career Builder and apply for jobs. You have to first take steps to adjust your reality.

If you don’t like you friends, change them too. While this maybe hard it actually starts with you. You must first start to choose to change your attitude. Figure out what you want to be. Do you want to be a positive person? If so start choosing positive thoughts. Look at the positive side of things instead of talking about people. As you do this people will leave your life automatically while others come into your life. All of a sudden your circle of friends has changed.

If you have a relationship that is, shall we say challenged, then concentrate on your reactions to things. Don’t focus on your friend, family member, or spouse instead focus on you. Study how you react to things and then calmly discuss these situations with the other party. You will be shocked at what happens. Now this is really hard….I struggle with it all the time but the results are so much more positive then when I would blow up before.

I think you get the drift here. Your reality is what YOU make of it. It ain’t easy. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes risk. However the payoff is ridiculously high.

Go for it. Take it one day at a time. Choose how you react to things. Choose the positive path. Choose to make your reality everything you want it to be.

If you don’t like where you are today….change it.

Talent vs Desire

Recently I listened to several quotes from Will Smith (yes the Fresh Prince) about why he feels he is succesful.  The things that jumped out at me was the part where he plainly said he was never the best rapper but he would work he butt off until things were right. Then he stated he is not the best actor out there and doesn’t have the talent of many others but he would ”out work their asses any day of the week”.  So clearly here is one of the greatest entertainers of our time saying he ain’t the greatest by nature but has worked hard to get where he is.

There are many other example,es of people working crazy hard to get where they want to be while others rely on their talents alone.  Look at recent comments by Jerry Rice the former NFL wide receiver, who was known as one of the hardest working players of all time. He said Randy Moss was one of the most talented players to ever play the game but he did not have the desire nor the work effort to be the greatest.  Wow!

So is desire greater than talent? I say yes. Clearly!

Throughout my over 20 years in leadership I have seen many people have the talent to do whatever they decide too.  I have seen future team leads, managers, leaders, directors, vice presidents, and chairpersons that never achieved crap.  They stayed put for years all due to a lack of desire. 

I have personally tapped people as the ‘next big thing’ only to see them fizzle out. It is sad and frustrating to witness people with so much potential just waste it.  I have seen too many people just waste opportunity.  Instead of listening, they know the answers.  Instead of paying attention to the job at hand they sit around and socialize. Instead of reading books as suggested, they watch tv.  As time goes by they just fade away into the landscape of the office to never fulfill their abilities.

On the flip side I have seen people that test horribly, start out very slowly, and have no natural talent become great.  I have seen people take every piece of advice and apply it. Read every book they can and figure out how they can use the new learnings. I love seeing people ask questions about what they are learning or observing. I have seen these people bust it at the office and outside the office to succeed. It is a great feeling to see others to make it, to overachieve, to go beyond their natural talents.

I ask you this…
* Do you have talents that are being wasted?
* Are you living to your full potential?
* Are you reading books to enhance yourself or are you watching Jersey Shore?
* Are you asking questions or are you downing those that do?
* Do you know who John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, Jim Collins, Anthony Robbins and Seth Godin are or are you more familiar with the Kardashians?
* Are you more interested in Beyonce’s baby or are you more interested in you and your family?

Desire will always outweigh talent. Talent can only get you so far. Sure you can be successful on talent alone but those that have desire will be successful for the long term. Deion Sandefs nice admitted the first few years of his career he could get by on talent alone but knew that he needed to outwork others to continue to be better and to be the best.

I challenge you to out work, out hustle, out desire everyone else. Can you do it? Yes you can but it is 100% up to YOU!!!

Messy

Love is messy. Sometimes we have to get dirty to show our love. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do. Sometimes we allow things to happen we don’t want to happen to show our love.

Recently while out shopping for a gift my daughter got sick. Now when I say got sick I don’t mean she was in the stroller and spit up. I am talking full on projectile vomit on me. The first one was a test to see how I would react. I reacted by holding her close to me and telling her it was ok. My next statement was to tell her to get it all out. She took that advice and allowed it to flow all over herself and me. It was fine. We left the store went to the bathroom to get cleaned up. While in the bathroom we cleaned up the best we could then went home.

As I reflect back on this I smile. Why? Because I reacted how I should react, with love for my daughter no matter what people were saying or seeing. See as we went to the bathroom we had to walk through the mall all vomit covered. I didn’t care what people were thinking as I could see their faces, all I cared about was my little daughter and comforting her.

As we walk through life we love people, things, places, etc. Sometimes we have to allow it to get messy. When it gets messy is when that love is truly tested. Too often we worry about what others think or say even though they have ZERO bearing on the relationship. Now don’t get it twisted to think it is fun to be messy but once it is cleaned up that love becomes stronger.

Next time your love is tested clean it up and watch that love become stronger than ever because sometimes love is just plain ole messy.

a new VISION – Part Two

continued from Part One

…as I prayed and listened to what God had to say I must admit I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it.  While I was good with Project X and On the 5 I wasn’t sure I was prepared to hear what he was saying.  But bottom line what he said was yes you need to rock this Thursday thing but that the coffee shop idea was too small.  That the Bible study thing wasn’t where He wanted me.  And most of all the kids needed to be a priority.  The ending result He said “Greg I want you to plant a church, a full blown church but I want you to meet during the week.”

Yep He said start a church.  A church that is a bit different.  One that meets during the week and not on Sunday.  One that has a true heart and focus on the kids.  So I sat down with Melissa, my wife, and told her what I was feeling.  She confirmed by saying “well let’s do it”.

So here we are going down the path of planting a church.  We have no clue as to what we are doing but God placed this on us and He will guide us down the correct path.

We are committed to creating an awesome kids environment and teaching them is our main priority.  I mean the adults are great but the kids are not just our future but our present.

You may ask “why Thursday?” to which I respond “why NOT Thursday?“.    One of our driving factors for a Thursday is to enable families to spend their weekends together.  See we believe that your number one ministry is your family and if family ain’t right nothing is right.  So we give you the ENTIRE weekend to spend with your family.

Another reason is we strongly believe in a sabbath or a day of rest.  With our schedules these days a day of rest is extremely hard to obtain.  So here is a Sunday that you can spend without the pressures of getting up and going to church.  Now don’t get me wrong I have no issues with people going to church on Sunday but I also don’t have issues with people going to church on any day.

So with that said our church will be called Vision Church and we are looking at the Bogan Park Community Center as our home.  We plan to be very involved in the community and Bogan Park gives us so much opportunity to do just that. Not to mention that Bogan Park is awesome and not too far from the Mall of Georgia.

Our official launch date has not been finalized but we are looking at August 2011, stay tuned as we make more announcements in the coming weeks about what we are doing and where we are going.

You can learn more by visiting our official website at www.VisionChurch.tv

If you are interested in joining our launch team, email us at info@visionchurch.tv

I can’t wait to share more of the VISION with you…

 

a new VISION – Part One

In May of this year I launch Project X an outreach effort geared toward the action sports community.  I wrote a blog about how and why it started earlier this year (CLICK HERE TO READ).  As I was working on Project X, I was also given the vision for Project X – On The 5.

On The 5  was to be a bible study on Thursday nights.  More of a sermon discussion type lesson. I wrote a blog about that too (CLICK HERE TO READ).  I had several people ready to attend the Thursday night study then on June 15 the coffee shop owner shut down the shop to handle some personal things.   The official kick off night was to be June 17, 2010. So with two days before the launch we put everything on hold.  The weird thing was that it did not stress me as I knew I was not in control.

So I prayed to about what to do and as audibly as I have ever heard God he said “you know you are supposed to do this”.  Well then I knew I had to do it.  However he also said that a coffee shop was not the right place and He asked “what about the kids?”.

Now if you read the On The 5 blog you will see that we were working on a childcare solution.  My wife had really pressed into me about the kids.  Now here is God doing the same thing.  The vision He was placing on me was beginning to have a strong push for the kids.  So a solution was needed; we needed a location with an area for the kids.  Not just an area for the kids to play but an area for the kids to learn.

So what to do?  I did what every good Christian would do, I prayed about it.  God answered and he said…

(part two tomorrow)

 

Game Day Experience

I am a huge college football fan.  I love my Georgia Bulldogs and really enjoy the game day experience.  I like so many others get to the game early, hang out in the parking lot while burgers, brats, and more cook on the grill.  During that time we build relationships that start off with one thing in common, Bulldog football.

Then we head to Sanford Stadium to experience the game.  Here are over 90,000 fans packed in to witness the game.  The production of the game is seamless.  The players run onto the field on queue, the band plays, and the ball is kicked off right on time.  After about three or four hours the game concludes.  Some fans happy others not so much, yet over 90,000 fans go home having experienced an awesome event (at least it is awesome when we win which ain’t exactly often this year).

After the game several thousand fans tune into  the post game Dawg Talk radio show.  Even less fans call in to voice their opinion of the game.  Yet the fans that do tune into the post game show are taking their experience deeper.  The next day fans can listen to the Bulldawg Brunch that breaks down the game the day before in more depth.  They talk about specific plays, how things could have been better, and what to look forward too.

During the next week some fans listen to 680 the Fan or 790 the Zone to talk more football.  Others read websites such as Rivals.com to learn about what high school recruit maybe the next UGA star.  There are forums to read, newspapers, magazines, and blogs dedicated to college football to further enhance the knowledge of that Saturday afternoon game day experience.

Then comes the next Saturday and the next game.  People gather together again to talk football and experience yet another game.  The knowledge of each fan varies.  Some know everything there is to know from every player, coach, recruit, family member, and even the major of each student athlete.  Others do good to know what time the game starts.  That knowledge varies based solely on what that fan does outside of game day.

Isn’t that like church?  So many of us show up for the worship experience and go home.  We don’t tune in during the week to further enhance our knowledge.  We just show up on ‘game day’ and enjoy the show.  What would happen of we did dig in a little bit?  What if we read blogs, watched other sermons, studied the bible with a group, dug in deeper during the week?  I would bet that if we pursued the knowledge during the week our game day experience would be so much more enjoyable.

 

First Outreach Effort

This past Saturday was our first outreach effort with Project X.  It was pretty cool.  My son and I went to Durhamtown Off Road Park to hand out bottles of water to the various motocross riders.  That evening they were having thier Spring Jam that was to include a freestyle show, live music, and lawnmower races.  Since we got there early we went around the parking lot handing out water.  People were very appreciative.  It was just cool.  It was actually even cooler to see my six year old being passionate about serving water.  He was going to everyone he saw, amazing stuff.

So after handing out several bottles we decided to go to the lawnmower races which were pretty entertaining.  Lawnmowers that are able to go over 90 mph is amazing.  Well right as we started to head down to the freestyle show it started to sprinkle, then rain, then BOOO YA storming.

Needless to say we had to leave as they had to cancel the show.  It didn’t matter because we were able to serve a few people throughout the day.

While we didn’t reach as many as we wanted we got a taste of the joy that simply handing someone a bottle of water on a hot day can bring.

Project X is just starting and I can’t wait to see where it goes.  If you want to volunteer with us later this month or would even like us to come to your event hit us up at www.projectxlive.com

Project X – On The 5

Yesterday I posted about the outreach I am doing through Project X, today I tell you about another step in this journey, On The 5.

Over the past year or so I had kicked around the idea of leading a Bible study group but nothing had come to fruition.  Then an opportunity arose with my home church but there were shall we say ‘logistical challenges’ so that was dropped.  Then recently the urge was placed on me again to lead something but not just a traditional Bible study.

Instead it was to lead a series based discussion group that was Bible based but put out there in a straight up, no nonsense, real world, non-apologetic, bold, and fearless way.  One that raises and discusses issues that most churches shy away from.  One that is not afraid to not only take the message to the edge but will jump over the edge in faith.

So with some serious prayer ‘On The 5‘ has been born, well not really born yet but it is on the way.  You may wonder why is it called ‘On The 5‘ and that reason is we will meet on the fifth day of the week, Thursdays.  We are looking at launching ‘On The 5‘ in mid to late June at Brew Awakenings located at 2815 Buford Drive –  Buford, GA 30519 with a start time of 7:15pm.

I am currently looking at options for kid care but right now I do not have that solidified but stay tuned cuz I WILL find a solution.

I am excited and nervous about this new venture.  I am not sure what God has in store for ‘On The 5‘ but I know it will be an adventure.

So if you are ready to dig into God’s word in a new way.  If you are ready to discuss all kinds of topics that most churches shy away from.  If you are ready to get bold in your faith. If you are ready to leave religion at the door. Then come on out to ‘Project X – On The 5‘ and get ready to become FEARLESS!!!

Go to the website and hit the contact us page to get on our mailing list or stay connected with what is going on with Project X on our Facebook page.