The ULTIMATE Resource

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" Hebrews 11:1 NJKV

I am delving deeper in my Tony Robbins program and was very excited to move on The Ultimate Resource volume.  Resources is very appropriate topic for me right now since I spend a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to forge a path to success with access to limited resources, seeking out existing resources or people with resources and thinking of ways to create resources.  I was very intrigued to find out what Tony Robbins had dubbed the ULTIMATE RESOURCE and very surprised to hear him say faith.  Not time, talent, connections or wealth, but FAITH???? That's exactly the message I needed to hear because I had forgotten how far faith has taken me.  I had become so wrapped up in connections, skills, education and professional experience that I neglected that faith is what big dreams are built on.

The Bible's definition of faith is best I've read and it's also simplistic enough to relate to the smallest things in life that we take for granted to the awe-inspiring dreams that motivate us to do the impossible.  Faith is essentially believing in something that is not yet visible and this applies to much more than just God.  A person could have faith they have the potential to be a CEO, when they only middle management experience.  Or a young senator of Illinois could have faith that he could be president of The United States.  Some may think faith is completely illogical and even comical and it is.  But that's what makes it such an inspiration when we act on it.  Faith is what made me go get a passport when I didn't even have a destination.  Faith is what made me apply to an MBA program with a foreign language requirement when I only spoke English.  Faith is what made me investment money in Mandarin lessons for the same MBA program when my GMAT score didn't even measure up.  I saw myself in France, Brazil and China before there was an inkling of evidence that this could become a reality.  I was walking blindly into a future that only existed in my imagination, but that I believed would come to fruition.  

People have faith in things everyday without realizing it.  Why would people wait at bus stop when there is no bus in sight and the only proof that you have that it will be there at a certain time is a schedule?  Because it was there the previous day.  Their faith is reinforced by a previous experience.  Some might say that's not faith, but nothing is guaranteed in this world from one day to the next and just because something happened yesterday doesn't mean it will happen again.  Now how do you have faith in something that has no precedence?  That's when faith is tougher to manage, has more fulfilling rewards and more disappointing consequences.  Faith isn't always rewarded the way we envision.  Faith also teaches us hard lessons.  I have only given positive examples of faith, but I have more examples of disappointment than success.  Faith doesn't just reward; it teaches, refines and sharpens us for a later time and a better destination.

Resources can come and go very quickly in this world.  Market fluctuations can jeopardize a person's wealth, relationships dissolve, time is finite, but faith can exist in any circumstance.  If a person has nothing expect a vision, there is a chance to make it a reality when everything else indicates that it's an impossibility.  "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see." Hebrews 11:1 MSG 

Think about this verse and think about the quality of a life without faith.       What's your vision? What do you have faith in?  

Below are a few points I took away from the Tony Robbins audio program I'm listening to.  Hope you find something that resonates with you and your life.

• Faith is what you turn to when you have reached the limits of your abilities, efforts and options
• Tragedy is only tragedy if we do nothing with it. 
• Find the lesson and purpose
• A lack of faith keeps us in positions that we have outgrown
• A lack of faith makes us think we are being punished when things go wrong instead of looking at the spiritual lessons
• Faith allows you to see opportunities in hard times
• Either focus on the present and think it will be your future or create your future and activate your faith to make it a reality
• Faith and fear are both imaginations unleashed
• We need philosophy and strategy to be successful
• • you need to know what you are doing and the purpose in what you're doing
  • success without purpose is empty
• First quality of leadership is faith
• • Lee Iacoca took existing resources and turned Chrysler into a leading automaker
  • He had faith in the company
  • Step into the future first