Teh Chad

Friends are very important, as is your family. Many people have different pictures of what family looks like. My own parents divorced many years ago. Out of that, I’ve gained several good people in my life in the form of step-family.

A couple of years ago, I got the feeling that God was getting ready to begin cleaning out my life. He was to begin with the people that fostered bad habits. Over the course of 2011, EVERY SINGLE ONE of the buddies that I used to party with moved away. It was a bit tough as these were some of my best friends.

God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy. – PSALM 68:6

One of my goals for 2012 is to simply spend more time with good people. It’s not to the point of ALWAYS saying yes when the opportunity arises, but I’m making it a priority. The verse was one that I received from a gal who sends out daily verses – Kendra Todd – and it was a nice reminder that He will consistently be placing me around people that I NEED (and that need me too.)

I had the privilege of teaching a truly amazing hobby for about 8 years. Rock climbing!

People have this “fear” of falling. Hah! Justified or not, it can keep them from enjoying this sport.

Now, I love climbing and I don’t see that changing. However, what I love more is watching someone face that fear. The harder the fight, the more rewarding it is to see it. This is also why I enjoyed teaching teenagers more than adults. Adults are programmed to hide their emotions. Kids wear their heart on their sleeve.

Say we have an adult and a kid. Both are working with their best friends of roughly the same age and size. Both face the same fear, but each faces it in a different way.

The adult will hear what you tell them. “Keep your hips into the wall.” “Use your feet.” And then… “Trust the rope and your belayer.” They will use their head and force themselves to do what you tell them to do.

Kids on the other hand…! Kids are not afraid to show you that they are unhappy. After gripping the rock or wall holds, their arms and legs build up with lactic acid. Their appendages then proceed to shake and eventually fail. They freak out and cry and holler and scream even though they aren’t moving! (And their belay partner, usually their best friend, has the rope.)

The thing is, they all must overcome this fear. Let’s make this a little more personal for a second. Step back.

Think of your friends. Who do you trust? I mean really. Who do you REALLY trust? If you’re anything like me, that list is not very long if it’s even a list at all. In who’s hands would you entrust your life?

Once past that, who in their right mind would answer yes to hang off of a wall with you and trust you with their life?

Going back to our teaching situation to finish… Adults often hide their emotion while kids will make you their hero in a second!

One of my favorite times in the class is when the first few climbers are coming down. They have faced their fear! When they touch down, their face is a MILE WIDE! It is fantastic.

So get out and do it! You’ll feel amazing when you get over your fear!

Yet another person has setup the auto-thank-you-for-the-follow and now-here-are-some-things-that-I’m-shoving-down-your-throat-so-that-you-will-give-me-money. This is one of the best examples I can give of a #FAIL.

If you want to run a great social media platform, remember that it begins with people talking to each other. It’s about saying “Hi! How was your weekend?” and being a real person.

“People don’t care what you have to say until they know how much you care.” So guess what! If you’re just a self-centered narcissist, you’re probably in the wrong area. However, if you really do care about people and you love getting to know them, social media will come naturally and you will probably be pretty successful.