Tremendous Tracey
The Contentment Journal
How often do we interrupt the counting of our blessings with a critical arrow? Our bellies are full, and yet we bellyache. Even when our cups runneth over, however, we mourn like they are running out. We thank God for our daily bread, yet the next words out of our mouth bemoan tomorrow's anticipated scarcity.
Thanks to the Heroes, We Can Be Heroes
So, while every Veteran values hearing those words, "Thank you for your service," what we long to see and hear is, "Thanks to you, I can and will be a hero too.” After all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and we didn't put our lives on the line to watch our great nation fall into chaos. Unity and respect for our flag and Constitution is the responsibility of all, both in and out of uniform.
When Your Vision is Opaque
We talk a lot about purpose. In the world of personal development, all roads lead back to definitiveness of purpose. We need to continue to hone that purpose because specialists make more money than general practitioners. We need to get crystal clear on who we are going after in our mission or ministry marketplace. After all, this is 2020, so we should be seeing with double clarity! Read more...
Reach versus Reciprocity
This blog is for those of us who have sought out these groups yet failed to form a quality professional partnership. We have been taken by the transactors and not blessed by the transformers. Yet we instinctively know that great people beget great people, and we need to be in groups of individuals who have gone where we want to go. Like in love, we may get burned or have our hearts broken, yet we keep trying to find that one particular person who brings out the best version of us til death do us part. Too often, a "reach" feels more like a request for money in exchange for a good or service. How many times do we get the automatic sales pitch on LinkedIn or Facebook after connecting with someone! That’s not cross-pollinating; that self-promotion. Read more...
In the Woke or In the Wake?
Did my father and I agree on everything? Absolutely not. He grew up in a different time, with varying experiences of life, and we did disagree on many topics. However, the life force of DNA is that you keep the original strand yet unlock other variations that stay true to the core. On the core principles of life, our value congruence was inextricably linked... Read more
Couldn’t We All Use Some Therapy
Everyone should be in therapy. It’s good for the body, mind, and soul. It helps unpack baggage and enables us to deconstruct the mysteries that vex us in life. In The Three Therapies of Life, Charlie “Tremendous” Jones shares practical and applicable ways to heal yourself so you can continue to impact others and change lives. I uncovered this material from a DVD I found. It was recorded back in the ’90s when my father was in his heyday (which was technically every day). In this message, he spoke to an audience of fellow speakers and presenters at the National Speakers Association (NSA). His words rang truer to my ears and heart than they ever had before. I guess I needed some “Tremendous” therapy. Read more...
Make a Decision; Make It Yours; Die By It
A tremendous life is built on tremendous decisions. These life decisions have an integrative effect; the choices we make open or close the doors to other opportunities and future possibilities. So we need to make these cornerstone decisions well to build as solid a foundation as possible. We need to make these critical decisions the right way. My father said, “Decision making is a fact of life, just like breathing. That’s what decision making really is.” The key to making the right decisions in life is to make a decision, make it yours, and die by it. Getting these decisions right doesn't necessarily make life more manageable, but it does make it more real, and that's what it's all about. Read more...
The Anointed Call of Leadership
We are thrilled to release our 32nd Life-Changing Classic - the first one to feature a female leader! A peasant girl, an agent of God, a heroine of France, and a canonized saint, Joan of Arc possessed seven virtues that enabled her to make history. She was a humble citizen turned military leader who took no title other than the Maid, rising up at a time of great social and political upheaval. This foundation was poured by the God-given anointing of leadership and cemented through history and circumstances. Read more...
Flatten Your Own Curve(s)
We are entering week seven of our shelter in place and I have been watching to see when certain pieces of data would begin coming in. When the pandemic hit, it wasn’t the complete wipe (no pun intended) out of toilet paper in the stores that freaked me out, but rather an article I read stating Hostess Twinkies and Ding Dongs were in short demand due to panic buying. My critical thinking, health conscience, and sugar-free mind knew immediately this was a terrible marker for mankind... Read more
The Three Lanes of Life
Every day we decide which lane we are going to traverse on the highway of our lives. Get by, get ahead, or get eternal? I'll be the first to admit that I have spent time in each lane. As I have matured in resources and knowledge, I have spent less and less time getting by and more time getting ahead. It was only in the past few years that I understood the highest form of existing is to ‘get eternal’. The events of the past few weeks have brought that timeless truth back to the forefront in a spectacular fashion... Read More
Social Distancing, NOT Mental Distancing
When an emergency disrupts our daily routine, we must keep our heads in the game. A crisis is chaotic, confusing, and complicated. In today's global and interconnected world, it is not a question of if an emergency will occur, but when. I recently published research on the effects of an organizational crisis. An event came from out of the left field and threw the two merging organizations into distress. Although the coronavirus pandemic we are experiencing is different in context, there are many similarities of what we can do as leaders and followers to turn confusion into confidence... Read More
It's Not Rude to Be Shrewd
My father, the late, great, book evangelist Charlie "Tremendous" Jones declared the more books he gave away, the richer he became. It seems like quite the paradox in today's cutthroat world of take or be taken. Was my father a sucker? Absolutely not. He was embodied by a great word we tend to look upon with disdain; he was shrewd... read more
The I Don't Care Bear
There seems to be an emergence of another one of the clan, the I Don’t Care Bear. I have often said that in order for change to happen there needs to be two essentials present: the belief in the value of what you are trying to do and a reasonable expectation of success. In order for these two precursors to line up so you can catapult toward change...
Discipleship - New Release
I recently had my dissertation published titled Perceptions Of Leader Effectiveness In An Organizational Crisis: A Case Study Of Follower Self-Efficacy and it contains a great deal of research on followers. You see, leadership is impossible without devoted followers. No matter how adept or gifted the leader, how compelling the vision, or how sure success, without devotees, your strategic plan will never grow legs and move into action.
The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
For some of you, 2019 was the best year of your life; for others, you're ready to crawl out of the worst year of your life. And for others, 2019 was a combination of both. There's a great song titled, Bittersweet Symphony, which refers to the ups and downs of life. The Bible verifies this symphony as significant times in life in Ecclesiastes 3:4—a time to cry and a time to laugh; a time to grieve and a time to dance.
