You have heard people opine about what they think the secret (s) to success are, but I want to tell you what I believe the secret to failure is.

The secret to failure in my humble opinion is trying to please everybody. It’s a recipe for failure because I don’t care how great your leadership skills are, you never make everyone happy with your decisions. There will always be the naysayers, the complainers, the argumentative group, the disenfranchised, the ones that always seem put-out, angry, disgruntled and the ones that simply live to create strife. They are everywhere and, in every organization, and unfortunately in many families.

At the end of the day, all you can do is make the best decisions you think are correct and just try as hard as you can to anticipate conflict, but still do what you think is right. It’s great when our national leaders do the hard thing and make the hard decisions knowing full well that there will be a push back.

There are some people that no matter what you do, they will talk badly about you. We have a few leaders today that could come out and find a cure for cancer and people would still talk bad about them. At first that concerns you but after the 10^th time they counteract you and talk bad about you, they simply lose all their credibility. That in a nutshell is what is happening to many of our national leaders today. At some point you know you will never make the other side happy; you simply quit trying and that unfortunately is also what is happening across American today.

Mathew 5:9 says, ‘blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” There is a big difference between peacemakers and peacekeepers. Peacemakers are the ones that make the long-term hard decisions that may seem wrong for the moment but over time will be proven to be the right decision. They are the peacemakers that hopefully will be followed by peacekeepers. It’s the makers that do the hard work hoping that the keepers will continue the peace.

So, the secret to failure in my albeit humble opinion, is to try to please everybody all the time. You have to take a stand every now and then and then when you have done all you can do to stand (Ephesians 6;13), you stand, therefore. KT

My granddaughter (3^rd one) was almost named Shelby but in the end, she was named Eleanor. If you have every seen the movie “Gone in 60 Seconds,” you know what the name Eleanor means. It’s synonymous with Shelby. Needless to say, I have a granddaughter named after my car. You got to love the Lord for things like this.

I got the ole Shelby out the other day and blew the soot out and almost got stopped by a cop, which would have almost certainly led to a brief tour of the inside of the Forsyth County jail.

When the bible refers to “grid up your loins” it could have meant driving a Shelby. Ha. Anyhoo, I pulled the ole girl out and turned off the traction control which was designed for weenies and had it in first gear going about 30 when I decided to see what it would do. I poked it at 30 and she barked the tires like a hound dog, then I caught secod and she howled again and again in third gear. What a car, but that wasn’t what almost got me caught.

On down the road there is an old church where cops sometimes will sit under the shade tree. As I got near the old church, in from of me was a lady in a minivan going about half the speed limit. I kicked the Shelby down in second gear and blew by her so fast she couldn’t process what had just happened. The problem was,,, on the other side of the minivan was a cop car sitting under the shade at the ole church.

My Shelby is super charged, not turbo charged, super charged, and when it kicks in, it lets out this loud whine that sounds like a jet. Well,,,, as I blew past the lady in the minivan, I caught a glimpse of a cop car in my peripheral vison and was like, “oh no” until I saw the cop standing outside the car with his back turned away talking on a cell phone. Don’t laugh, but the dude heard me go by and almost hurt himself when he whipped his head around. There wasn’t anything he could do except watch me. ha

So, since the road past the church is the only road leading back to my house, when I got close to the ole church, I was the perfect citizen driving under the speed limit! KT

Fear is often like a Halloween decoration—loud, intimidating, and designed to make you stop in your tracks. Most of the things we fear in life are “all boo and no bite.” Fear magnifies problems, creates doubt, and convinces us that obstacles are bigger than they really are.

The enemy uses fear to keep us focused on what could go wrong instead of what God can do. Yet Scripture repeatedly tells us, “Fear not,” because God is with us. The same God who parted the Red Sea, defeated giants, and raised Christ from the grave is the God who walks beside us today. When we choose faith over fear, we begin to see that many of the things that once terrified us never had the power we imagined they possessed.

As believers, we are called to walk in victory and boldness, not because life is free from challenges, but because God is greater than every challenge we face. Boldness comes from knowing who goes before us and who stands beside us.

When fear whispers, “You can’t,” faith declares, “God can.” The obstacles in front of you may look intimidating, but appearances can be deceiving. Many of life’s fears are all boo and no bite when placed beside the power and promises of God.

Instead of shrinking back, step forward with confidence, knowing that the God who called you is faithful, and the God who leads you has never lost a battle. Read the last part of that sentence again “and the God who leads you has never lost a battle.” KT

The same God who feels so close when you are standing on the mountaintop is the very same God who is only a breath away when you find yourself in the valley.

I don’t know about you, but life seems to contain far more valley experiences than mountaintop moments. Yet perhaps that is part of the message: wherever you are, God is there.

One of the most powerful stories in Scripture is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. There is enough truth in that single parable to study for a lifetime, but one phrase has always stood out to me. The Bible tells us that the father saw his lost son “while he was still a long way off” and ran to embrace him.

To me, the significance of “a long way off” is profound. It means there is no place in life so distant that God cannot see you. There is no valley so deep, no mistake so great, and no darkness so overwhelming that God loses sight of you. He is always watching, always waiting, and always ready to welcome you home.

If you find yourself in a valley today, this truth can change your life. Sometimes the valleys of life seem surrounded by mountains too high to climb. The challenges feel overwhelming, and the path forward is difficult to see. But the God of the universe sees you exactly where you are. He knows your circumstances, your struggles, and your fears.

The same God who walks with you on the mountaintop is standing with you in the valley. If you will turn toward Him, He will guide your steps, strengthen your heart, and lead you through whatever mountain stands before you.

The God of the mountaintop is also the God of the valley.

Every now and then, someone invents something, launches a company, records a song, or creates an idea that seems to propel them overnight to fame and success. It happens — but it is rare.

The vast majority of success stories are built differently. They had to take the stairs and grind it out one step at a time. The reason is simple: with every step forward, you learn something today that you did not know yesterday. Growth, wisdom, experience, and resilience are earned gradually.

Abraham Lincoln lost eight public elections before ultimately winning the presidency.

Colonel Sanders developed his famous recipe in his 50s and faced more than 1,000 rejections before opening the first KFC at age 62.

Truett Cathy opened the first Dwarf House at 25 but did not launch the first Chick-fil-A until he was 46.

Ronald Reagan lost two presidential nomination bids before eventually becoming president at nearly 70 years old.

James Patterson had his first book rejected 31 times before a publisher finally took a chance on an unknown writer. Today, he has published more than 200 books and sold over 425 million copies worldwide.

John Grisham faced rejection from 28 publishers before a small publishing house decided to take a chance on him.

Norman Vincent Peale was 95 years old when he wrote his final book and continued speaking vigorously well into his 90s.

And lest we forget, Warren Buffett was 32 when he started Berkshire Hathaway and only recently retired at 95.

The list could go on and on, but my fingers are getting tired. Ha.

The point is this: many people today want to take the elevator to where they believe they should be. In reality, however, the stairs are usually the only way to get there. KT