Brave Men S2E17: Endurance, Finishing Strong

I was walking through an Old West graveyard in Colorado, and on the side of a dusty hill near abandoned mines I started walking through and saw markers and large markers some fallen over There were dozens of men and women buried there Probably some well-known some not some old some young tough settlers and pioneers from the Old West I'm sure a few scoundrels many of the graves had a scripture or description on them Have you ever thought about what you want your grave marker to say? Bill Graham's wife Ruth had this written on her gravestone. It says this End of construction. Thank you for your patience What if your gravestone simply said he finished strong? I think that sounds about right, but how does that happen? It's called endurance It's brave men with Paul Lewis Cole Wisdom and courage for the journey Welcome to brave men on Paul Cole and here with my partner in crime Brian Boyd and this is brave men Yeah, so how are you today Brian? This is a great day. It is a good day. Thanks waking up is a good thing It beats the opposite it is Yeah, yeah, no, it's I'm really it's a I mentioned this on the on a really really podcast But you know you can wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and beat yourself up But there's plenty of the people That's so good I'm actually up in Colorado today and yeah man walking through that old graveyard was really something because you wonder How are any of these people remembered? What's their family line does? You know, and what are people going to say about me? You could be 16 right now and still use that as a framework, right? What are people going to say about me someday And I think it frankly it helps me Brian and thinking about you know, I'm gonna I'm gonna push through this thing today Because it's actually going to make a difference for somebody, you know 70 years from now Yeah, I think everything makes a difference. Hey, there were a couple other ones. What's it? What's There were a couple other ones. Well quick. There was one in a I looked this up. Go ahead and in a Georgia cemetery There's a gravestone that says I told you I was sick. Oh come on That's funny And then the guy Ezekiel Akel age 102 And it says underneath it. It says the good die young Yeah, oh my gosh What's what's endurance? I don't know if that was a slam on him or what what's what's um well, you know, I think endurance For endurance being this kind of you know, I think endurance is Is staying after it. I think most men quit I I believe that because things are Internal first and then external that most men quit internally Because of external issues. Yeah, they hit obstacles they hit situations. They've tried three times to start a business Whatever it may be and they quit rather than trying to find a way through they just say in fact I think Brian there are men in jobs They're just going through the motions that they have essentially Quit even though they're still alive There's a famous saying That is I think it was Benjamin Franklin who said Most men die at 30. We just bury them at 60 Because they quit going after it. I think endurance for me is going after what it is that you were made to be while you were placed on earth So I've never see uh you're pretty tough. What is it? Oh, yeah, I'm sure it has something to do with running Well, that'll be later in the podcast Okay, what's this one? Oh, so the my wife and our son and daughter recently took a little mini break over a weekend And we decided to go get some do some exercise together as a family the four of us Yeah, and so we went to this gym there was a trainer and it was this this 30-minute little training thing a lot of stretching and stuff and Part of it was doing a plank. Do you know how to do you do planks? Yes, I don't like them So so trust me this gets around to endurance So so we do this thing in this and he says okay now we're gonna move your body here and you're gonna do this plank And for those of you a plank is you kind of have your Your toes or you're on the end of your toes and you're stretched out and you're on your elbows I guess on the front and you're like a little plank And it sounds easy, but it's incredibly hard. You have to use all your core muscles and and it reminded me of a show on betflix Called this is not the book one anyway. I apologize everyone listening called the incredible chemismit and is written by Tina Fey who's a funny comedian and And there's a line in this show where the the act the character chemismit says I learned a long time ago that a person can Standard about anything for 10 seconds that you just start in 10 seconds I've got to do is take 10 seconds at a time 10 seconds at a time Yeah, you can do the theory is you can do anything for 10 seconds. So when I was in my plank I was thinking how am I gonna get through this plank pole and I said I remembered this line You can do any anybody can do anything for 10 seconds So for me that was like a little mini endurance test like and I get through this plank And I just counted down from 10 and sure enough You can do anything for 10 seconds So you know that frankly though that is such a It's a simple illustration, but it portrays something very complex I hope because endurance because endurance is About doing the next thing you know to do gain it done then doing the next thing and You know when you talk about movies and television shows One of the great stories I love is the story of Harrison Ford And you know Harrison Ford use up Indiana Jones Star Wars Yeah, all this now check this out in 1964 he comes out to Hollywood to be an actor He's he's done stuff in Illinois and I think he was up in Milwaukee or some places that young man He comes out in 1964 hits Hollywood. I'm gonna be an actor And he did get a contract, but he every bit part that he had was somewhere in the background No speaking parts So he taught himself to be a carpenter in order to make ends meet So now he's got two children married and he's a carpenter and he's putting a door in George Lucas's house Yeah, come on And George Lucas a young filmmaker has just written American graffiti And so this is this is now from 64 when you get there. This is now eight years later And he's putting the door in and George says to him you know, and he's getting good work He does good work so he's getting jobs And Lucas says to him hey, I'll I'll put you in a movie and it was American graffiti And if anybody ever saw it, he's the guy rolls up in a Corvette And gosh, what was the girl's name Suzanne Summers? I think was the girl And so So that was it he gets his bit part and then you know what nothing He keeps doing doors now check this out. He's putting a door in In some offices again for George Lucas four years later He's just written a movie called Star Wars. I don't know if you've ever heard of it And he's just written ring the first right he's just written the first Star Wars And he's casting a guy named Christopher walkin as Han Solo Okay So they're sitting around a table and they're reading but walkin isn't there and so he goes to Harrison 40 says hey sit down and read this part of Han Solo No, I know True story He's fixing the door in a studio Has Harrison Ford sit down read the lines after two days of reading he absolutely falls in love with Harrison Ford It goes you're the guy now that was that was 13 years after he arrived in Hollywood Here's what Harrison Ford said because now he's one of the most famous actors. It's ever lived He said I wasn't the best actor to ever arrive in Hollywood I just stuck around longer than everyone else who arrived at the same time Right sure I think so often the issue that faces up For becoming what we know we should be accomplishing our dreams is just keep Going and then he didn't look at being a carpenter and fixing doors and those settings He didn't look at that as well. I've I've lost my dream He used that a job to make an income and then continued working after his dream And there are sometimes Brian that we just do what we have to do right then To get everything working for us. It might be a job at a hard work company and That's not your future But you do it because that's what you have to do You know, I uh, I actually Funny When Judy and I first got married and I knew what I you know had a Inkling and desire to get into media and marketing, which I believe eventually did In order to make ends meet Friday night. I worked as a carpenter during the week and then Friday night and Saturday I worked in a Roadside vegetable stand And I sold stuff that I had no idea What they were People would ask me well, is this go together and I go yeah, I think I think that'd be awesome These greens what about me fantastic. Oh, yeah the best But you know you did you do what you got to do I've worked as a garbage man I've thrown garbage kids Worked in a roadside, you know vegetable stand And and then we just stayed after never give never give up never give up is that is that story? I mean I I'll Excuse me. I'll tell you a quick story after 9-11 our our family my wife and I and our two kids lived in lower Manhattan And we lived about to block and a half two blocks from the World Trade Center And on 9-11 when when we went to work that day we took our kids to school that day We didn't return home for four months So imagine imagine walking out of your home in the morning to just run an errand and not coming home for four months Right literally that's that all that what happens to everybody. Yeah, Steven Mel our dear friends the Hickson same thing So we we end up It's a longer story that we have end up in a in a hotel and The company I'm working for shuts down. Wow, and now we're homeless living in a hotel. Wow Yeah, the easy thing would have been just to say oh, this is I'm done I mean, I mean that for those of you who remember that those those months and days It's like nothing this United States never well. I mean in recent history experience. Yeah But my my wife because our wives are the smart ones my wife said You know, you've got to roll a dex You've done you've had you have a career you've done really well get on the phone. Let's get going And in that hotel room I used the little computer they gave us in the hotel room and I started up my digital agency And you know here we are 20 years later and it's led to all sorts of you know really miraculous things As you built a really yeah, you built a really large agency there in in New York out of that I didn't realize it came out of that. Yeah, wow It came out of room 524 Hotel and the chronic lyrical area. Oh, why but uh, well, I've never been in a situation Paul when I've been so I know man We didn't know which way was yeah, you you for a couple of days you couldn't even use an ATM machine. I mean things were down. Yeah So how do you how do you not give up? How do you have this the the the feeling of wanting to keep going and endurance when you're in a situation that could be so That's the situation in mind, but there's people listening who have similar situations that are very important to them Well, and the fact is is that those things, you know, you talk about doing a plank, you know exercise doing 10 seconds But I think that scales I think that scales their report of our life and what Judy and I did we were we had gotten into media We had moved back to the east coast. We weren't Hartford, Connecticut We knew we weren't called to stay there, but we didn't know where to go when the station changed ownership and We're in a little apartment in a place we'd never lived before we were out of California And I turned to some I was reading through the Psalms and I turned to Psalm 46 and says God is your refuge He said he is there the Bible says he is there no matter what's happening. It says even if the oceans are roaring Essentially the skies falling Everything's going to hell God is there. He's in the middle of it And it says be still and know that I am God. Well, I took that be still As as an action point and it's exactly what you did Brian. I took that be still to mean to me Do what you know to do and I didn't know what to do because We're basically out of a job. We've got nowhere to go So I called a friend of mine. I had met in New York named John Cardoza who was producing a show called the 700 Club And John said well, you know, I got saved when I came to Christ who was I was an actor in Hollywood And there was a little FM station And there's a guy named Paul Crouch Who has who was the manager of that and he's just now starting a TV thing He says I'll I'll call him. He says because we became friends And he was starting into something called the Trinity Broadcasting Network The end of the story is we became the third employee of what is now the largest Christian network around the world And you know all I did was see I think Brian that the answer to most people's issues Is in another person and that person's usually not in their closest Friendships. It's the next level I agree and I think when we talk about it when we'll Speak of things and and not from a whining perspective, but from a Hey, I've got you. It's like you with your role of Dex if anybody knows what a role of Dex is Yeah, explain explain that is it would be your contact list Yeah, so but here you have a contact list and you start calling and Some of these people are tertiary relationships And all of a sudden one guy says yeah, we do need your help Yes, we need and and Brian maybe Sometimes it's just making the next phone call Maybe sometimes endurance is is just Getting up in the morning and do what we've talked in another podcast get up and read the word get up and get your heart right And in fact if you if somebody's between a job right now Get up as if you have a job Get up get going keep your mind alert My dad had a friend a years ago who was in transition and So on a Friday he's he's out of work on a Monday morning. He gets up. He gets his got a briefcase and got his backpack or whatever it was And his wife says what are you doing? He says I am going to keep that same intensity As if I have a job Because then when I get one I'll be ready to go Do you know hey check this out? There was you know we have so many great stories of men who have done great things But how many of them really finished well Gideon Gideon had this huge awakening. He's this young teenager tears down the altars of Bale All this stuff Gideon's army the 300 the feats 30,000 all that sort of stuff And you know amazing start becomes the leader of Israel be to have a terrible finish He he started well, but he didn't finish well in fact when he finished the day he died Israel went back after bail And just because you have a passion at the start doesn't mean you'll have a purpose at the finish So it really has to be about your purpose not just hey, I want to do this, but what's the purpose of My life. What am I about? There's another guy. I met this man Brian and I know you know I'm David Wilkerson. Oh, yeah, sure remember David Wilkerson Uh, he had the Times Square Church Cross and switchblade teen challenge I met him when I was a kid He came to he came to my eighth grade class when I was a little kid my dad brought him my dad and he became friends Very young age, but he was a pastor of a little church in Pennsylvania. Okay He sees in in a magazine called life magazine at the time. He sees the photos of these teenage gangs going to jail in New York City In fact, this particular picture he saw was in Brooklyn So in 1958 he goes to New York. It's a longer story. It's in a book called Cross and the switchblade But he just begins to preach Jesus to these kids in the streets 1963 he writes the book Cross and switchblade 50 million copies around the world Starts the church in 87, but he started something called a teen challenge center and it's it's around the world even today Here's a guy that finished well Because he didn't stop see what you do in life can become history, but what you put into motion That's your legacy Let's take a quick break and I want to mention to our audience that It's time we give away something Paul. I think that sounds good. Let's you know, we're not supposed to though, right? I think we should I think it was against the rules. I think we should let's do it's um if if you'd like to Learn more about about what we're talking about today Paul we've got a book called the seven habits you're gonna talk about this and and let's tell people Seven habits that build spiritual endurance since what we're talking about seven habits that build spiritual endurance and it's an ebook We wrote this basically there's six or seven areas seven habits that will cause you to live a life that does endure and become successful And so they could just write to us and we'll actually send them a copy for free online So right right to Paul paul at cmn.man that's Paul at cmn Christian men's network.man And we'll pick let's do pick ten we'll pick ten people And the first ten that right in we will send you a copy of this book And of course if you'd like to know more about some of the resources cmn has to offer They're all available on the resources page at cmn.man You know, I think if if one is going through some tough times and and they really do believe that the Bible was Was inspired and and written and came from God If you look to Jeremiah, you know, Jeremiah 29 11 says for I know the plans I have for you Declare's Lord plans to prosper you and not to harm you Plants to give you hope in the future So if you genuinely do believe and you are a Christ follower, you know if you go back to the Bible He says it right there. Listen, I got you. I know what's going to happen And There've been so many times in in my life and my wife's life will be sitting a situation I don't see the way out. There's no there's no way and you kind of have to ground yourself and go back to that and say no In fact, there's that that uh, you know that sand what's the one the little picture with the sand the footsteps in the sand and Yeah But but only one set of footprints. Yeah, but if you look back in your life in my life there are dozens of instances Where now that I look back, I can see God had it the whole time There's never question you know Jeremiah 29 11 the the interesting thing about that when you go to that picture and that's Jeremiah profit in old Israel the first covenant the Old Testament and he says Underwriting under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he says For I know the plans I have for you. Isn't that the way it starts? I know the plans I have for you. I know the thoughts I have for you right right and it's as if God's saying listen There's a lot of people talking about you There's a lot of people telling you what God's like. There's a lot of people telling you what you should do There's he says, but I know they don't know But guess what I know That's right. Yeah, I know the thoughts I have for you You know, there was a see the thing simple promise really hit me. Yeah, it's a simple promise But manage something to hold on to and we have to have something like that, right You know that the thing is for me when I look at it. I go, okay, where do I want what do I want? You know, I started with you know these grave markers What do I want somebody to say about me my grand I've grandchildren out old enough to have grandchildren in What do I want my grandkids to say about me years when I'm gone? How about You know, he loved me unconditionally and he finished well See Jay Robert Clinton Dr. Clinton wrote a book called the Making of a Leader in 1988. They followed it up years later They studied 1300 major leaders in the Bible and in culture Christian leaders And what they came up with surprised them they said that only 30% of the men in the Bible and the Christian leaders they studied only 30% finished strong Only 30% finished well And I look at that and I say you know, okay a hundred percent of those guys thought they would finish well But only 30% did and what it meant was some tipped over some just if you will coast it into the end of their lives didn't Really finish strong and I believe that part of what I do you're talking about the next 10 seconds Yeah, it's it's sort of like this muscles don't happen overnight You know, you go to the gym and of course the first of the year every year The gym is just pack Everybody wanted but they don't stay with it. There's no endurance and because they want results, but results are always uh The the effect of the result is the effective time effort planning stamina Emotional and spiritual muscles need the same thing So the large victories are always a result of a series of small decisions. Mm-hmm Well, now we're gonna talk about running Philippians Paul said this yeah, okay, give me the running thing It's like let me give you this. Let me give you this. Oh, yeah, go ahead. Here we go. Here we go Paul said this uh First Corinthians he said he said I disciplined my body like an athlete training it to do what it should otherwise I fear that after preaching to others I might my myself might be disqualified Philippians three he says I press on he says I haven't already obtained and he was famous by this time Done a bunch of stuff. He said but I haven't finished everything I press on to take hold of that prize for which Christ Jesus took hold of me Now running goes with that. Yeah, you did it right two things I'm not sure how this relates you can't just go out and run a marathon So in 2019 uh, I ran the three marathons that's 26.2 miles or 42 kilometers And uh each time I finish strong you don't want to you don't want to be the guy or gal walking through the finish line For some reason yeah, you summon up well, but that didn't just happen No, no, but you had been working well, and that's the other thing you can't just get out there and eat that's a that's a That's a crazy distance right and you can't just decide. I'm awake at today and run a marathon There's months of training that goes into that um So you know you you there must be something there Paul you can't you can't just uh um but but the feeling of accomplishment To cross that line and get that that little metal yeah um You know, it's it's it's it's it's an amazing feeling like I've never felt before You know, but you had a focus and the focus was to finish the race in focus when we focus our lives it brings Direction it helps you make decisions It enlarges your life gives you depth I even believe it right now a man could say or woman could say I am going to finish strong There you go, and the key is because we live in we live in a world. It's a particularly in the Western culture That's kind of run by quarterly, you know profits and you know, what's just happened this week And Jesus came this isn't really something Jesus came as the Prince of peace not the Prince of panic He was never in a panic to good word I mean the disciples were because they were just learning the rhythms of his life Now I think there's times that we have to just stop and say I'm going to make it through this I'm gonna go. I'm gonna stop right now. Get to a place of peace If you will center my life I'm gonna read Something in Psalms to give me courage something in Proverbs. Give me wisdom Oh or frankly for that matter. I'm gonna get on the phone and call Sean my buddy And have him pray for me There you go. I mean right at that point just That's why brotherhood is so important because finishing well never happens alone But it but it has to do with purpose and focus isn't about trying harder focuses never about greater intensity It's about greater intentionality And we talk a little bit about that in the seven habits of build spiritual endurance The free ebook that somebody can get Right now the first ten but focus focus when you thought about finishing Brian. Let me ask you something When you were halfway through that And you're in your body saying you know you idiot stop What was it that kept you going? It's honestly I ran New York marathon in November of 2019 And when you're 2012 13 miles in There's two things that kept me going you know One is is the drive to finish and and be a finisher to complete the task of which I've trained Number two, it's the people along the side who are clapping and cheering and saying go Um, you know, here's a little here's a little runner tip for you guys who gals who run Take a little name tag put on the front of your shirt and put your name on it Because what happens is as you're running People will look your name say go Brian go and and I'm getting Because people see all throughout New York Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx They're like go Brian go and having those people cheer you on that that that kind of quasi accountability Was was incredible and then and then you know, how did that how did that flow over into your spiritual life. So there's a physical thing How did that how did that drive for endurance the desire to finish? How did that play into all of your life? Well, that's that's a that's really a tough question. I'm sure I answered that ball You know, I think it's it's the the desire to to be uh Be the best father I can be the best husband very um and um Integrity in business, you know, keeping keeping my word in business and uh treating people with respect and and There's been there's been times even the real recent future recent past where people have said there's Two days ago Someone stopped me on the road and we were running and he he said well, he you know, I I know the faith is really important to you. I can see that and I've been thinking a lot about faith in my life You know, and I'm not sure what that means, but uh, I think people see people will see that come out of you Yeah, you know James chapter one says enduring the trials of life gives you strength Hebrews 10 the writer wrote verse 35 and 36 he says don't throw away your confidence For you need endurance You need endurance to finish but our confidence is trusting God. So your Your sense of hey, I can do this Came that came out in the way of being a better father. I can do this I can finish this and First John 5 4 write this down first John chapter 5 verse 4 says this New Living translation Says every child of God defeats this evil world and we achieve this victory through Faith what you were just talking about For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world And this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith So when we talk about endurance it's this sense of God's gut this I can do this. I can go through the next 10 seconds and frankly there's some of us Right now who the next 10 seconds Could be pretty tough or the next phone call One of the things that I've practiced in my life his and talk about phone calls is I make the toughest phone call the first thing in my day I just You know, let's just get this thing done And and lower the anxiety in my life. There's enough stress without that And I think that that's that kind of fuel, you know prayer intimacy with God Do the tough thing go after it Uh, don't let fear overwhelm you go after faith the the the what defeats fears faith And that's what gives us endurance We could go on but unfortunately Our time has come to an end Paul. Sorry We want it we want to wow we want to send any the first 10 people who email Paul at cmd.man. We'll send you a A thank you and an ebook For seven habits book and we'll get that we'll get that to you For more resources. You can always go to cmd.man and There's a context us area. We would love to be helpful helpful for you in some way or another Paul it just let's just take a quick moment and pray for for our listeners and then I'll I'll close it out Father, I do thank you For my friend right now and I ask you father in the name of Jesus to to bring first Corinthians a lot that sense of internal commitment That sense that you're there. Psalm 46. We're going to walk through this James 1 endurance will build strength Father build our endurance. I pray I thank you for your grace and mercy or the anointing of your presence I thank you for Jesus I thank you for the salvation that we have and father for a friend right now who's listening And says I don't even know if that's real in my life. I pray father right now as we pray that sense of peace That sense of what Brian talked about For I know the thoughts I have for you Not for your destruction, but to give you a hope and a future We hold on to that and we will never quit in the name of Jesus a man Amen Thank you for tuning into our podcast today. Remember you can subscribe on apple podcasts google music Stitcher iHard radio spotify and wherever popular podcasts are given away for free. I would say sold Whatever you get your podcasts Yeah, wherever you get it. That's where brave men is yeah, and Please tell a friend that we'd love to hear from you So drop us a note Paul at cmn.man that goes directly to Paul Cole And we may read your feedback on the future podcast for Paul Cole. I'm Brian void. We'll see you next time You've just experienced brave man with Paul Lewis Cole Paul is president of the Christian men's network Connect with Paul at cmn.man or write to him at Paul at cmn.man