Author: Mark Joseph

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What Would You Attempt if You Knew You Couldn’t Fail?

I have a plaque on my desk that reads, “What would you attempt if you knew you couldn’t fail?” Think about that question. Pause and ponder it in your mind, “What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?”

  • How would your life be different? (I know mine would be)
  • What would you try?
  • What would you be?
  • How would the world be different if everyone lived this way?

If your biggest fear is failure (like most), it only makes sense that you would try more things and do them differently if “you knew you couldn’t fail”. You would exhibit more courage. You may possibly think differently about what direction you would go in. You wouldn’t be so nervous when trying a new endeavor.

Why You Really Can’t Fail

As you’ve read in my blogs, God made you with special gifts and talents, putting you on this earth for a specific purpose. He loves you unconditionally and wants the very best for you. God made you for Greatness.

Although the above is absolutely true, it doesn’t mean that you’re born perfected in your gifts, talents, and purpose. It’s all of your life experiences, each and every one, successes and failures, that help you hone those things.

And all of it happens for a reason, according to God’s grand plan, for you individually and as a part of all of humanity.

To believe these things, and I do, is to believe that you can’t fail, but only learn and advance. For it is because of those successes and failures that you grow into the person that God intends you to be, the person as such who will live a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment….given all the above.

You Can Do Something About It

In last week’s blog, I detailed how you discern your gifts, talents, and purpose. Now, TRY, RISK, DARE, and DO all that you feel called to. Those who truly love you, those closest to you, will never leave you. They’ll always love you for your “who”, not your “do”. And God our Father never sees you as a failure, nor does His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins, dare I say our faults and our failings.

Again, TRY, RISK, DARE, and DO. It’s all part of God’s grand plan for your life….the same God who loves you unconditionally, made you perfectly, and wants you to be happy.

What are you waiting for? Go do it and master your Greatness!!!

How do you feel about the above? Please share your thoughts with me at [email protected].

May God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Why Bad Things Happen….Remembering 9/11

If you’re like me, you know exactly where you were and what you were doing on 9/11, when the jetliners hit the twin towers, flight 93 went down over Shanksville, PA, and the fourth jet crashed into the Pentagon, combined killing over 3,000, in the largest terrorist attack on US soil, in history.

I was sitting in a conference room in Wheeling, WV, with Brian Joseph (no relation), CEO of a manufacturer my company was doing business with. It was incredible and unbelievable seeing it all unfold on TV from Brian’s conference room.9/11 not only changed the country and the world, but millions of individual lives as well.

Why Bad Things Happen

The question is often asked…why do bad things happen? An additional question asked is…why does God allow bad things to happen?

I’m not a Scripture scholar nor a theologian, so my answer has much more to do with my personal experience than the teachings of the Church. That said, my very specific lived experience would indicate that God allows bad things to happen to bring us closer to Him. Without question, minus the personal tragedies I suffered through, I would not be on this faith journey today.

Maybe you’ve experienced “conversion” and like me are on your own faith journey. If so, when good things happen, you thank God in gratitude. If not, it’s likely that you don’t go to God in the good times…you believe you have everything handled on your own. But in bad times, in desperate times, many, many of us go to God, pleading for His help. From what I understand, that’s what happened on 9/11. For weeks afterwards, Churches were full and confession lines very long.

What Bad Things Happened to Me

To know my story is to know that I lost my family as I knew it, I lost my business, and I lost a lot of money. I refer to them as the three 2×4’s that came across the back of my head. Being a control freak and having lost control, I had a“conversion” experience that changed my life forever. Praise God!!!

My wife and I kid around, saying that it would be nice to not have experienced all the things, specifically the tragedies, that we do in our lives. The fact is that it is every single circumstance that makes us who we are, the good and the bad. I thank God for EVERYTHING that’s taken place in my life, including the tragedies, because I know I would not be who I am without each and every one of them.

Attitude of Gratitude

I choose to live in a place of Gratitude, believing that everything happens for a reason, as part of God’s grand plan. There are no accidents, mistakes, or coincidences. We may not know the reason on this side of Heaven, but I’m convinced thatthere’s always a reason for the things that occur in our lives. For me, it was to bring me closer to God.

Although 9/11 was an incredibly tragic event for our country and the world, it’s my suspicion (and experience) that it brought a lot of people closer to God.

Please feel free to comment to me at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

Mark Joseph

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Weekly Blog

Finding Your Greatness

Many of us have good jobs, good marriages and/or relationships, and healthy kids. Others may have never found their thing professionally. Marriage and relationships can be tough. Good health isn’t a given, including for our kids.

Regardless of which fits you best from above, we often feel that there’s something missing, something that would take us from “OK” to “great”. Something that would take us from being overwhelmed to fulfilled, from significant pace to peace.

My experience would indicate…that something is finding your greatness. There is no feeling in the world like it, nor is there any other way to find true peace, joy, and fulfillment.

 

So how do you do it? 

Here’s the thing. God made you with very specific gifts and talents. He wired you a specific way. You know what those things are because they’re the things you enjoy employing. They are also the things that you do very well. You excel when utilizing your God given gifts and talents. In addition, when doing them time flies. You gain energy from doing them. They are not a chore, but something you look forward to.

Another indication of your “greatness” is your desires. What are those things you like to do? What are the things you desire to do? What are you drawn towards? What excites and energizes you?

The opposites are also good indicators. If you aren’t good at something and don’t enjoy it, it’s not where your talents lie.

Where your talents and desires intersect is where your greatness is.

One More Step

Finding your greatness alone isn’t going to lead you to a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment. One more step is required in the process, that is discerning God’s will. Where is God calling you? What is he calling you to do?

God made you for a specific purpose, according to His grand plan, individually and as part of all of humanity. God’s plan for all of us is to love. You just need to figure out who/what/how you are to apply that love.

 

Finding Your Greatness…..Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment

So the answer to finding your greatness is to discern (prayerfully determine) your gifts, along with your God given purpose (which is to love). In other words, use your gifts to love and serve others. Those others can be family, friends, coworkers, people at Church, in the community, and especially those in need.

Do the above and you’ll not only find your Greatness, but the Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment.

As always, feel free to reach out to me with comments or questions at [email protected].

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

 

Mark Joseph

 

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Weekly Blog

What If You Knew the Truth

What if you knew the truth….how would it change your life? 

Did you ever think to yourself, “if I could only do this” or “if I could only do that”? Or how about, “if I were only better at….” You believe that if you were better at something or had a different skill set, your life would be better. 

In addition to the above, you think, “if I could only have ‘X’, I would be happy”. If truthful, most often you’re thinking of ‘X’ as prominence, possessions, or pleasure. 

We’re constantly searching for and trying to do all of the things that we think are going to make us happy. 

What I Thought Would Make Me Happy

The above was true for me for the longest time. It was all about the prominence, possessions, and pleasure. Those were the things that I thought were going to make me happy. Those were the things that were going to prove to other people my success, my place in this world…which would contribute to my happiness. 

I worked endless hours. I pushed and pushed and pushed related to my career. And I bought a bunch of really nice, cool stuff. 

Guess what…none of it made me happy. 

Then I Learned the Truth

Then I learned the truth…something that changed my life forever. Did you know that…

  • You have a God who loves you unconditionally
  • Who gave His only begotten Son to die a torturous death for your sins
  • Who (Jesus) rose from the dead so you can live in His glory
  • God conceived of you thousands of years ago
  • He made you in His image and likeness, individually and as part of all of humanity
  • God made you with special gifts and talents
  • He made you with a specific purpose
  • He wants you to be happy and fulfilled
  • God made you for Greatness!!!

All of the above is true. And here’s what else is true…the only way we’re ever going to be happy is to understand our identity as a child of God, use our God given talents, fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives, and abiding in His will. That’s it…the ONLY way.  

It’s true, it’s Scriptural, as referenced below: 

  • Jeremiah 1:5 – “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you went forth from the womb, I sanctified you. And I made you a prophet to the nations.”
  • Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
  • John 10:10 – I have come so that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.

God loves you more than you’ll ever know, no matter what you’ve ever done. He made you a specific way and knows what is best for you. Embrace this truth and live a life of Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment. 

As always, please get to me with questions or comments at [email protected]. 

God Bless you on your Path to Peace, Joy, and Fulfillment!!!

 

Mark Joseph