Uncommon people with a Common Goal...... Excellence! SCORRE Conference Center

1.  They were just a few of the amazing group of diverse students who attended our SCORRE speaking conference last week.

2.  They were people who have a never ending thirst for excellence.

3.  They were people who realized that tomorrow never comes so they take action today.

4.  They were people that were willing to make an investment in their God given talent.

5.  They were people that are now better equipped to positively impact the lives of others.

Nothing boring about SCORRE

As a result of these common qualities, every one of these uncommon people will be more focused and powerful in their speaking and in every aspect of their life.   Mike Hyatt and I were astounded by the commitment of this group and we are more dedicated than ever to share the benefits of the SCORRE conference with you.

Now it’s your turn!

Please read this Guest post I did for Michael Hyatt  Then take advantage of the limited time discount he has offered his readers.  Then Register today and join Me and Mike and more than 100 uncommon people in Vail Colorado this fall.  Registration is limited and the conference will fill quickly, so consider taking a step of excellence that will change your life forever.

What makes you uncommon?  What motivates you to keep learning?

Exceptional people who seek excellence as communicators.

We finished another SCORRE Conference this week at the beautiful Winshape Retreat center in Rome, Georgia, and it was amazing!

If you followed along on Twitter or Facebook, you may have seen status updates from some of our students and coaches. Here’s a quick run-down of quotes from those who attended.

A few comments from a diverse audience including a plumber, authors, professional speakers, ministry professionals and CEOs.  Check out these comments. 

• “Once you learn the SCORRE speaking method, you can’t unlearn it.” —Michael Hyatt
• “Speaker wannabes: Truly, verily you should make it a priority to come to the SCORRE Conference. Transformational!”
• “Thank you… Ken Davis and Michael Hyatt for inspiring amazing people to resolve to connect here at the SCORRE Conference! Phenomenal!” —Justin Foster
• “Even as a professional speaker, [the SCORRE Conference] is challenging me to work on my skills, my message, my craft… They are challenging me, stretching me and making me think differently.” —Carrie Wilkerson
• “Loving SCORRE. Thank you for the sharing, challenging and educating.” —Paul Evans
• “I love that I am being stretched to improve as a communicator…” —Chuck Carringer
• “Nerve-wracking? Yep. Invigorating? Definitely. Helpful? I can’t wait for the rest of the week and seeing how some of these principles can be applied to what I do for our church on Sunday mornings.” —Chris Vacher
• “Great sessions, full access to the staff and validation of my speaking gift. Worth the money!” —Kelly Combs
• “Incredible time at the SCORRE conference! I learned so much and met some amazing people. I’m changed as a communicator forever.” —Holly Worley
• “It brings me such joy to be around people who take the gift of public speaking seriously. I love coaching [at SCORRE]. It’s a true honor.” —Ryan Daffron

Laughing and learning!

If you’ve been waiting to attend one of our events, we hope you’ll find a way to get here this year! Our fall SCORRE conference in Vail is filing quickly. Find out you can be a part of our life changing SCORRE conference here. For alumni and past attendees:

How did the our workshop change the way you approached public speaking and communication?

Or

Share in the comments or tell me about your desire to communicate more clearly.

This is NOT the real meaning of the "D" word!

We live in a society that despises the D word.  I received some of the harshest critique I ever received  on a post where I used the D word.  So what is this nasty word?

It’s the word Discipline!

If the mention of the word made you shudder in disgust, then for your own sake may I suggest you take a few  steps to the right and look at the word from a different perspective. Knowing what the word really means and how to use it can change your life.  Too often the word discipline and punishment are used interchangeably and therein lies part of the problem.  When we hear the “D” word, we can see the finger being stabbed in our face, feel the switch being applied to the seat of knowledge or smell our own breath as we stand at time out in some remote corner of a room.

Punishment and Discipline are not the same word!

Punishment Mortifies
Discipline Motivates

Punishment is being controlled
Discipline is being in control

Punishment is based on fear
Discipline is based on trust

Punishment is time out
Discipline is time put in.

Discipline is practice
Punishment is penalty

Look what the book of Proverbs say’s about discipline.

• A fool despises wisdom and discipline

• Do not despise the Lord’s discipline do not resent his rebuke

• He who hates correction will die

• Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,  but he who hates correction is stupid.

• The corrections of discipline are the way to life.

The earliest understanding of discipline was not about punishment but about instruction, study and order.

I love this from Webster’s Dictionary.  Discipline is:

“..training that corrects, molds or perfects the mental faculties or moral character.”  And who hasn’t watched a professional athlete or musician without wondering about the discipline that brought them to such a place of excellence.

Webster also defines discipline as:

a:   control gained by enforcing obedience or order
b:   orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior

And my favorite:

c:   self control

Although punishment is sometimes used to enforce discipline, distaste for punishment should never allow us to  banish the word discipline to the land of the “D” word.  If we want to accomplish anything worthy in life, discipline will be part of the process.

In my book Fully Alive I confess that my weight loss and regaining my physical and spiritual health were a result of grace and discipline.  My ability to make a living speaking and teaching is a greatly a result of discipline.

So what do you do with the “D” word.  

1. Say it!  Out loud!  Right now! See that wasn’t so bad!

2. Embrace it!

3. Practice it!

4. Enjoy the benefits that come from living a disciplined life.

What do you think?  

Tyler and me! Empty cave in the background.

An empty cave!

It’s Monday as I write this post.  The future is filled with many personal and corporate challenges, but as I prepare to face tomorrow I am overwhelmed with a sense of hope and celebration.  Why?  Last week we explored a cave with my grandchildren.  Centuries of erosion have left a big beautiful room carved in the rock.  It is also scary, cold and without light.  Tyler my grandson walked with me into the cave.  His eyes were so big I thought he might develop night vision on the spot and he held my hand with a vise-like grip as we eased our way deep into the darkness. More than once he wondered out loud if there was anything in the cave, monsters, wolves, bears?   Once we were back outside he embraced me and thanked me for showing him the EMPTY cave.  No monsters, no demons, no wolves.  EMPTY.

I want Tyler to know that the empty cave is one of the reasons to celebrate life.  That cave is not unlike the tomb where Jesus was buried.  Oh how scary and nightmarish our life would be without the knowledge that He is risen!  What great hope there is in the fact that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to help us face tomorrow.  I want my life to demonstrate that there is no fear of the CAVE!  It is empty.

The power of love!

There are occasions when I live my life as though I have no power.  There are times when the challenges of life cast scary shadows on the walls of the cave and I retreat in fear or give in to some temptation. Yet, His love never fails.  I don’t understand it!  But I believe it. And in believing I find hope for tomorrow.  He lives and He loves me no matter what.  How can I not celebrate today and look forward to tomorrow.

There is not a material possession that could outweigh the value of those tiny arms around my neck.  There isn’t a lottery ticket or earthly pleasure that makes my spirit soar higher than the words “I love you.” whispered in my ear.  And I find that in these days of my life, it is loving other people and showing them the empty cave and the power of God’s love that drives me.  My career, my possessions, my health and talents are only tools to help me share with my family, my friends, and the people I meet something of greater value; the love of God that has been poured out on me.

So a wide eyed little boy, the unrestrained love expressed by six little bread snappers, an empty cave and the power of love drive me to live fully alive on this Monday and I couldn’t keep it to myself.

What is it that brings you hope for tomorrow and makes you celebrate life?

Stay Committed

After fighting the flu and respiratory illness for several weeks, I made a re-commitment to continue to live fully alive.  Now that I have recovered  I am convinced that the physical, mental and spiritual strength I have worked so hard to develop was invaluable helping fight the virus that plagued me. I will not sit on the sidelines. I don’t want to lose sight of the goal that has driven my life since my first memories. I’ve asked my friends to hold me to my promise that no matter what my circumstances I will keep running until I break the tape that separates this world from the next. One of those friends gave me a coin I carry with me. The coin is imprinted with the words, “Be encouraged. Finish well.”

Live with Gusto

In 1981, the beautiful film On Golden Pond was made starring Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn. The movie followed this older, deeply-in-love couple as they spent what could have been one of their final summers on Golden Pond. I enjoyed the movie, but I wished there had been more life in it. All the hugging and kissing and conversation was great, but I wanted to see a water fight. I wanted to see Henry throw Katharine off the end of the dock.  Maybe a canoe race or a rock-skipping contest, something that showed that these people were still in gear.

I know! I know! Their love sustained them. I value that. But oh how I wish the last scene had been filmed right after the pond froze over. I can see the sunset as it cast its red glow onto the ice. I wanted to see those two skating as fast as they could, clumsily holding hands, barely keeping their balance as the sound of their laughter and skate blades echoed across the ice. I wanted to see them fall and slide spinning across the frozen surface with squeals of delight, then fade to black.

Be Bold

As you skate onto Golden Pond, don’t do it timidly.

Laugh whenever you can
Throw someone off the dock
Find a cause bigger than yourself
Pray for the impossible
Dust off that Schwinn
Get to know someone with a piercing
Spread the good news of God’s love with boldness
Don’t show anyone your scars
Nap, but not while driving
Stay curious
Learn something new
Paint
Dance
Live

At 65, I identify with what Robert Wickman  said,  “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming—-Wow…What a Ride!”

How would you describe your life journey to this point?   What do you want it to be?