The Daily Meaning

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

In the Zone

Today's post is a weird topic, but since it's my blog, I suppose I get to do that. I've recently been thinking about the idea of being "in the zone." It's a common concept in sports. It makes me think back to Michael Jordan and some of his dominating performances over his illustrious career. Though mine weren't as infamous as his, I vividly remember being in the zone a time or two in my basketball career. Notably, a 47-point game in a JV tournament when I was a freshman in high school. It was like a switch inside me flipped, and everything around me was in slow motion. It was still me, but it was a different version. Nearly 30 years later, I still remember those feelings like it was yesterday.

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

Some Seeds Are Hard to Water

When it comes to work, ministry, and life, I often think about the idea of planting seeds. Whatever we’re doing, we have the opportunity, responsibility, and possibility to make an impact in someone’s life. This concept is the basis of my friend Gary Hoag’s book, The Sower. I highly recommend this one, by the way! When we water seeds, we never know how they will turn out. Some will sprout, while others won’t. Some will grow small, and some will grow big. But either way, they don’t sprout right when you water them…..it takes time. All we can do is diligently water, pray, water some more, and wait.

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

"But I Care!!!!"

I’m on the board of directors for multiple organizations, or as a few of my mentors call it, “too many.” For me, there’s something special about non-profit organizations. It brings together a collection of people with different skills and different experiences, each willing to donate a ton of time with absolutely zero to gain in return. There’s something pure about it, but at the same time, it’s oftentimes excruciatingly chaotic.

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

Words Are Free

I often refer to a Gallup statistic that 70% of Americans dislike or hate their job. This number is staggering, but always consistent with what I experience out in the world when I’m meeting with families. In fact, it feels rare when someone actually says, “yeah, I like my job.”

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

Controlling What We Can Control

The world is a mess right now. War, political infighting, ongoing cultural battles, a faltering economy, and inflation……just to name a few components of said mess. It’s easy to feel like crap about it. We turn on the TV, only to feel angry, defeated, and helpless. When this happens, we often turn our attention to all the things we have no control over.

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

Things Old and Things New

Two big events popped up in my world this week.

A while back, I was approached by a mid-sized company to do some contract work for them to help reimagine and recreate one of their key operational tools. I really enjoyed the project. In a lot of ways, it felt like a throwback to some of the work I did in my former career (which I left nearly 4 years ago).

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

All It Takes is One

While recently giving a talk, I couldn’t help but notice two people in the audience who were talking to each other and laughing…..for nearly my entire talk! This isn’t uncommon, unfortunately. Every audience includes people who seem disengaged at best, and disruptive at worst. It’s easy to dwell on these people, as they stick out like a sore thumb. There were times in the past when I definitely would have been consumed by them.

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

Hopping Into the Delorean

Nearly every time I start working with a new client, they make the statement, “I wish someone would have shown this to me when I was younger.” This comes out of the mouths of people in their 50s, 40s, 30s, and even late 20s. Almost without fail, people have this moment when they realize how much better their financial life or career would be had they implemented some of these ideas earlier in life. My moment came when I was 28 years old. I was still pretty young, but I had already made multiple life-altering financial mistakes. If only I could get a do-over!

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

Wanna Be Like Mike

When I was a kid, I remember watching and re-watching an epic Gatorade commercial featuring Michael Jordan. Here’, I’ll jog your memory:

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Travis Shelton Travis Shelton

Nothing is Thrown Away

Nearly four years ago, I stepped away from my 15-year career in commercial real estate. It was an awesome career, and to be honest, I miss it some days. Everyone assumes I walked away from it disillusioned and angry, but I didn’t. There is probably an alternate reality where I happily spend another 10-15 years in that role.

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