When I was single, I lived with a couple of my best friends from high school. I was working on a project on the computer upstairs and Blake and Jon wanted to know if I was going to go with them to the church for soccer night (we played indoor every Tuesday and Thursday night). Both of them yelled out my name from downstairs to which they got no reply. Then each of them attempted to come upstairs and ask if I was going. As they each came up, I knew in the back of my mind that they were in the room with me and wanted something, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying because I had pre-set my mind to think that anything outside of what I was doing at the time was less important.

Ten minutes later I came downstairs to 2 bewildered friends. They wanted to know why I was mad at them. I had no recollection that they had been to my room or even tried to get my attention. It was funny at the time but sometimes it can be a real problem.

I’m sure I may be an extreme case but I also believe there are many out there that can sympathize with me to some extent. The point is, we need to train our brain to be able to listen. Other people’s ideas are essential to our progression and to the sparking and fueling of our own ideas. The 787 Dreamliner would have never been a reality if the Wright Brothers had not had the idea of “wing warping.” Wing warping is a method of arching the wingtips slightly to control the aircraft’s rolling motion and balance and was the key idea that finally got an aircraft to take flight.

Listening is not merely hearing. I could hear my friends talking to me but I wasn’t listening so nothing registered. People can tell when we are listening and when we are not. When we do, they feel needed and important which makes them trust us more and want to help us when we need them. This is important for employer/employee relationships as well as any relationship.

Humility is another important trait that goes hand in hand with listening. To truly listen and esteem someone else’s views as being of worth is an act of humility. It’s virtually impossible to learn and grow without humility. Pride has a damning effect on our ability to increase in knowledge. Thus, listening is vital to our success as husbands and wives, friends, and as businessmen or women.

Who can you take the time to listen to today that you may have blown off in the past? I promise you’ll notice a difference in your day.

The post Listen to Me first appeared on Joe Mangum.

When I am amongst other people all the time, my mind isn’t free to create, reflect, or even simply rest. I find I need just a few minutes each day completely to myself where I can let my mind ponder on something wholesome.

The time I usually choose to do this is in the morning just after my wife has gone to work and before I start my work day. I take a few minutes to read a motivating or informational book and then I sit in my office chair and just be still. I think about what I just read. I think about my relationships with others. I think about my business and how I can improve in each of these areas.

It is during these times that I often find the topic for the blog post that I am going to write  for the day. It’s how I came up with the idea for this post :). I’ve discovered that after I make the time to do this, my whole day goes better. I’m ready for the tasks and challenges that lie ahead of me during the day and I’m more at peace with myself which makes me more effective in everything I do.

I know this isn’t the way everyone should use to spark creativity and add peace and confidence to your life. Whether you are an introvert, extrovert, or anything in between, your circumstances may vary. So what do you do to give you that added energy and reflection on what’s important?

What do you do with your alone time?

The post Alone Time first appeared on Joe Mangum.

In 2002, I was entering my senior year of high school. At pole vaulting camp over the summer, I met Justin Smith from Peoria. This guy was an athlete in every way shape and form. 6’3”, built, chiseled, fast as lightening, and could run you into the ground in the mile. He was the #2 dec-athlete in the entire Southwest. However, for Justin, #2 was not in his vocabulary.

We were roommates at camp and each night we would lie in our bunk beds before going to sleep and just talk. We talked about everything, life, sports, girls, careers, religion, and anything else that goes across a 17 year old’s mind. One night, as we were talking, he told me a story of when he was in kindergarten that helped me put “success” in a new light.

His teacher told the class to write down on a piece of paper what they wanted to “be” when they grew up. Everyone wrote down their dreams of either becoming an astronaut, a pilot, a fireman, a lawyer etc. The teacher then read through the answers each student had put. When she got to Justin’s, she came over to him and said, “Justin, you didn’t finish yours. You said that you wanted to be “The best.” Well, what do you want to be the best at?” Justin calmly answered, “I don’t know… just the best.” He’s lived by that motto his entire life. He told me that no matter what challenge or obstacle he faces, he challenges himself to be the very best he can be in overcoming it.

Since that night, I’ve thought back often on the story and what it means to me to be “the best.” Being the best means we try our hardest at everything we believe to be right and we try our hardest to block out anything we believe to be wrong in our lives. I didn’t realize it then, but being the best really has nothing to do with your position in life compared to another’s. It does, however, have everything to do with what you’ve managed to accomplish with what you’ve been dealt.

If, at the end of each, you can look at yourself and say, “I’ve done all I could today to be who I know I should be… me” then that is what matters. At the beginning of this year, I hope we can all make a renewed effort to be the best. If we will, I can see the year of #1 being “the best” year ever!

The post The #1 Year first appeared on Joe Mangum.

It’s easy to pass over this verse positioning it simply as a “matter of fact” or historic reference. However, I think it goes a little deeper than this. To me it shows that “fulfilling the commandments of God” was everything that Alma lived for. It’s what got him up in the morning and it’s what got him through the day.

No matter what our passion is, I believe it’s vital to our success and happiness in life to “LIVE” for something as Alma did. What is that driving force that gets you out of bed everyday? It has been said that true convictions rule the world. Someone who is driven towards an end will move further along and accomplish more good in life than someone with a “pay check to pay check” attitude.

Be careful in deciding what drives you, but make sure you have something that does. If you don’t, it’s never too late to find it. So tell me, what do you live for?

The post What Do You Live For? first appeared on Joe Mangum.

If everything that Christmas is based on is about giving, why do we also RECEIVE so much during this time as well? The other day one of my friends asked if he could borrow my truck to haul a couch. I said that’s fine and he came by to pick up the keys. I told him to leave the truck in the driveway when he got finished and to place the key under the doormat.

When I woke up in the morning, I was happy to see my truck parked in the driveway just as it had been the day before. I was more than happy just to find that nothing bad had happened. However, I wasn’t done receiving yet. When I got in my truck to go to work, I turned it on and noticed the fuel needle was all the way to the top… past the full line, more than was in it before it left the drive way the day before.

The point here is that giving is a principle. Though it may seem like an oxymoron, to give means that soon you will receive. It ALWAYS works this way. In business, in families, in relationships, in life, to give is to receive. The best part about giving and not expecting the return, however, is the always pleasant surprise… like Christmas morning.

The post Giving NOT to Receive… and Receiving first appeared on Joe Mangum.

I believe the same concept is true for many decisions that we face in life. Whether these decisions be personal, business related, or spiritually related, there is something inside us that tells us to act when we are faced with an option that “sounds familiar.”

Sometimes we get burned by following intuition. Sometimes we succeed emphatically. Whichever the case, by following your intuition, you can come off confident in your purpose.

The post A Familiar Ring first appeared on Joe Mangum.