Doug Smith @DougSmithLive

I’ve grown more through the hard times in my life than I have through the easy times: •Losing a mom and mother in law at a young age. •Overcoming a background that was sending me very far down the wrong path. •Growing into the man I needed to become to marry Laura. •Having challenging bosses. •Having a family member lose a battle to addiction. •Going through two seasons of burnout where I wasn’t sure if I’d recover. •Figuring out how to get healthy when the cards were stacked against me. While I’d never want to go through those seasons again, I recognize that: The hard times shaped who I am today. The hard times have shown me that I can do hard things. The hard times have shown me that I can overcome anything if I just perservere. The hard times have created a warrior in me who is prepared for battles when they come. I don’t wish hard times on anyone, but, we often need to go through hard times to forge us into the men and women we have the potential of becoming. Don’t get overwhelmed by hard times. Learn to see them as opportunities to become strong. Don’t hold your kids back from hard times. They need them for their development just as much as you do. Embrace the hard. We all need to get stronger. 💪

Sometimes, we need to be told that we’re not that good. Bill Belichick was recently asked why he never said very many encouraging things about his team and players to the press. His response was interesting. He said: “We won almost all of our games. We were favored to win all of our games. Everywhere our players would go, all they would hear is how good they are. I needed them to remember that they weren’t that good and they could always get better.” I love that. When you’re constantly surrounded by affirmation and encouragement, we can be tempted to think that we are better than we really are. We all need voices in our lives that remind us that we may be good, but we’re not that good. There are always ways for us to get better. But if we never have friends, coaches, bosses, and spouses who tell us what we need to hear rather than what we want to hear, we’re in danger. We can fall into pride, start to think we don’t have to work as hard, and start to coast through life. We need to be consistently challenged to get better in every area of our lives. Is it hard to grow even after we’re “good”? Yep. Will it be worth it? Every time. Who do you have in your life that can tell you’re not that good?

Who are you investing in? Whose life is better as a result of you? When we get to the end of our journey, our greatest joy will be seeing the people we invested in thriving and knowing we played a role in helping them along the way. Make sure you’re not just building stuff along the way. Make sure you’re building the most precious thing on earth: people.

All, who choose to be, are capable of saintliness. I just finished Theo of Golden last night. What a book!📕 It was a great reminder that there is endless beauty and potential within us and in each person that we meet. It often takes the intentionality of others to help us see it and to draw it out. If we’ll slow down, pay attention, and truly notice others, we’ll see endless opportunities to make their lives better. Also, if you don’t feel you’re capable of saintliness because of who you are, where you’ve been, and what you’ve done, you are wrong. You have beauty and potential for greatness within you. Your yesterday doesn’t have to define tomorrow. Make the decision to start living the life you were intended to live today. Did you read Theo of Golden? What did you learn?

You have no idea what the ripple effect of chasing what’s in your heart will make. Last night, we celebrated my heroes, Larry and Kim Bettencourt, for leading 25 years of JAC Camp. 25 years. Countless hours of sacrifice. Hundreds of volunteers. Thousands of teenager lives transformed. What impacted the most: They didn’t have to do this. It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t convenient. It didn’t make money. But only when we get to Heaven will we know the true impact of their obedience to what God put in their hearts. I was one of those kids who came to camp in 2003. If I don’t show up there, I’m not here today. Thank you, Larry and Kim, for changing the world one teenager at a time. Well done. If you have something in your heart to do, do it, regardless of the cost. It will be worth it.

Are you alone? I was having a conversation with a friend yesterday, and he said he’s been meeting with so many people, men in particular, who do not have ANY community around them. Nobody they can go through life with. Nobody whom they can confide in. Nobody they could call when they’re going through the toughest moments of their life. We both noted that we’ve grown so accustom to having great friends around us that we take it for granted and assume everyone has this. So my question is: Am I describing you? If you can’t name your closest friends that you’re consistently doing life with, you need to make some changes. Great friendships don’t happen automatically. They must be intentionally pursued and fought for. When you find it, you won’t know how you lived without it. How do you find it? Start bringing your friends together once a month to connect. Start a group chat and encourage and challenge one another. Lead with vulnerability and authenticity, both of which breed trust. Pray for each other. Show up for each other. Cheer each other on. Regardless of how “busy” you are, you were never intended to do life alone. So stop doing life alone. Today.

Today was a great day! I had the honor of speaking to the guys at JAC Camp. I attended JAC Camp in 2003 and it was the turning point in my life. I spoke on being Fathered by God. After I spoke, several young men came up to me in tears talking about their family situations. It broke my heart. We live in a world that is in desperate need of great fathers and mothers. Too many children have a horrible model of what family looks like. The way out of their adversity is having someone show them a different model. Could you be that someone? Choose to be a good model for the next generation. Find the kids who need help (I was one of those kids)… Mentor them. Coach them. Love them. Let them do life with you. Be a mother or father figure to them… or a big brother or sister. I can’t think of a better use of your time than impacting the next generation for good. Get after it!

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Epic! @Paul_Skenes

@sheetz This is epic!

Some seasons of life are hard. Endure them. Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in my life came through enduring the hardest seasons and circumstances: •Staying somewhere I knew I should stay when I wanted to go. •Having to move on to something new when I’d prefer to stay with what’s familiar. •Working for hard bosses that I didn’t enjoy. •Dealing with the humiliation of failing. •Losing loved ones. •Going through two seasons of burnout that impacted my mental health significantly. •Getting feedback that I didn’t want to hear, but needed to. I’ve learned that the question isn’t: Will you go through hard seasons? The question is: How will you respond in hard seasons? You’re either going to endure, persevere, learn the lessons, and get on the other side… Or… You’ll get stuck, become bitter, not learn the lessons, and never get to the other side. The choice is yours. If you’re going through a hard season, keep enduring, learn what you need to, and persevere. It may not seem like it, but you will get to the other side of this and you’ll be better for it!

@JeshuaTLauka Would you recommend?

If you’re looking for a great summer read, look no further. Theo of Golden is fantastic and inspiring. “The best portion of a good person’s life is the little nameless, undeterred acts of kindness and love.”

What other great fiction books like this are there?

Had two opportunities this week to speak to next genration leaders. There isn’t anything I enjoy more. Every day I wake up, all I think about is who I can add value to and how to do it. Whether it’s: Speaking at a large company, a conference, a church, or a rotary… Helping lead the work we do at Light of Life… Sharing what I’m learning on social media… Having coffee with a leader… Praying with someone… Showing up for someone going through a tough time… Sending encouraging notes or audio messages… Recording a podcast… Hosting families at our house… When you get your focus off yourself and set your intentions on adding value to people, you have no idea the impact your life can have. And you have no idea how fun and fulfilling living to make the lives of others better is. Who can you add value to today? How will you do it? Thanks again for letting me add value to your leaders, Noah Mackie, John Mackie, and Colleen Wilson!

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Last week, we got to attend @CitygateTweets annual Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The conference is for Rescue Missions across the world to come together, share best practices and learn from one another. We are all deeply committed to transforming the lives of our unhoused neighbors. I always come home from the conference: •Fired up and even more committed to the important work that we do. •Filled up with ideas and strategies to help make our organization better. •Closer to our team members that attended the event. We always make memories that we’ll never forget. •Refreshed. As leaders it’s so important to take time from working in your organization to working on your organization. I’m so grateful for opportunities to go to conferences like this. Thank you, Tom De Vries, for your leadership and to your team for pulling off another great conference. Our Missions, our city, and our nation are better as a result.

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Stop living small stories. Ephesians 4:1 says: I beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called. God has a calling and a plan for your life to be a part of the biggest story ever told. And yet, so many people choose to live their own small stories with their lives. You’re living a small story if: •Your life is more about you than others. •You’re chasing money, things, or status. •You aren’t consulting God on what you should do with your life. •You’re making choices to live a life beneath what you were intended for. Living in big stories entails: •Living for others. •Knowing your purpose in life. •Growing to your maximum potential. •Chasing God’s plans and purposes. I beg you to stop living small stories when you were intended for big stories.

One of the items on my bucket list is to visit all of the Presidential Libraries. This week, I got to cross of Gerald Ford’s. I love learning about leaders. How did they become who they were? How did they lead under pressure? What is their legacy? One of my key lessons from President Ford’s life is the power that step parents can have in a child’s life. Gerald Ford’s real name was Leslie Lynch King Jr. Shortly after he was born, his mother fled an abusive relationship. She ended up meeting Gerald’s step father, Gerald Ford, who raised Gerald as his own. He changed his name legally when he was 22. What if Gerald Sr. wouldn’t have raised Gerald as if he were his own son? Would he have ever become President? Doubtful. You don’t have to be a step mom or dad to make a difference in the lives of young people who are in the middle of adverse corcumstances. Look for young men and women to whom you can be a mentor, model, father or mother to. Who knows… you could be investing in the future President of the United States.

You are a gift. But… are people getting the gift of you? A few years ago, my watch died when I was at a retreat with my team. Later, several of our team members said, “It was so nice when your watch died because we finally had your undivided attention.” That was a wake up call to be present. My only question for you today is: When people are with you, are they getting the full gift of you? Or are they getting: •Distracted you. Notifications. Looking all around. Day dreaming. •Performance you. Trying to impress them. •Stressed out you. So much going on you can’t be present. Have you been around people like this? What’s that like? The greatest gift you can give someone when you’re with them is all of you. Do you know people who are always fully present with you? What’s that like? Totally different experience, isn’t it? One of the greatest gifts we get on this planet is the opportunity to be with one another daily. To enjoy the unique gifts and personalities that God put into each person. Let’s cherish the people we are with today and also allow them to experience the gift that we are when we are fully present.

Who sees something in you long before you see it? Last night, I reconnected with a former CEO of a Mission in Florida who met me early on in my journey at Light of Life. She said, “Do you remember what I told you the first time I met you?” I didn’t. She said, “I told you that you have “it”. That you’re going to do great things with your life… well look at you now. I knew and know you have it in you.” This picture was taken at the Light of Life Gala in 2010, a few months before I started working there. I started off as the Volunteer Coordinator (definitely not my calling or gifting!) and had no clue what my future had in store. I was having an identity crisis and really didn’t see myself having a bright future. I certainly didn’t see me being where I am today. But, I had so many great leaders in my life who encouraged me in the same way this CEO did. They gave me a vision of being something more in the future. They gave me confidence that I had what it takes. They reminded me that if I would grow and be faithful with what’s given to me, that one day, it would all pay off. For that, I’m forever grateful. Now I’m looking to encourage the next generation the way the generation before me encouraged me. Be a leader who sees and calls out greatness in people. You never know who you’re pouring into! Go encourage someone today!

Life is complicated. The type of complication you’ll experience is dependent on the decisions you make. Sin complicates your life in a way it shouldn’t be complicated: •Living a secretive lifestyle. •The negative consequences of poor decisions. •Broken families and relationship’s. •Destructive lifestyles. God’s blessings complicate your life in a way it should be complicated: •Growing our character. •Raising great children. •Fulfilling our purpose. •Having a great marriage. •Family legacies that last generations. Is your life complicated in the way it should be? Or has it become complicated in the way it shouldn’t be? Choose your complicated. Hint: One choice is infinitely better than the other.