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00:01:24.000His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA.
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00:02:00.000So the premise of the book is that instead of all these broken New Year's resolutions where you can just kind of get lost in the details, you find one word.
00:02:15.000And we've seen, you know, it's been 22 years of this now for me, my co-authors, Dan Britton and John Gordon, another tremendous author who's written prolifically.
00:02:25.00022 years ago, we started this process because a friend of ours challenged us to, you know, throw out the New Year's resolutions.
00:02:31.000And he said, hey, what's your word for the year?
00:02:33.000And we were like, I don't even know what you mean by that.
00:02:37.000But at the time, we were doing the New Year's resolution thing.
00:02:40.000You know, we would come up with our list and we would literally have 40 or 50 things.
00:02:44.000Dan and I are competitive athletes, former athletes, still competing.
00:02:49.000And we would create a game plan for the year.
00:02:51.000And what we discovered was we had a lot of frustration, a lot of failure like everybody else.
00:02:55.000Within 30 days, we forgot most of our goals.
00:02:58.000Within 90, the whole concept of resolutions was gone.
00:03:01.000And he said, hey, let's narrow this to one word and see if the life change that we experience is better than New Year's Resolutions.
00:03:09.000And we had tremendous results now for 22 years.
00:03:13.000So if I'm not mistaken, your thesis is it's more about being than doing.
00:03:33.000Well, I mean, I think your first comment about, you know, focusing on being, you know, a lot of times the New Year's resolutions is really a list of to-dos, you know, and one word is more about who we're going to become rather than what we're going to get done.
00:03:45.000And so if you focus on internal change, it always results in external activity and success in many ways.
00:03:53.000We just figured, hey, let's look at the six dimensions of life: mental, physical, emotional, relational, spiritual, and even financial.
00:04:00.000And let's see if by focusing on one single word for the year, that we can have tremendous life change.
00:04:05.000It's all about life change, becoming the person that you're made to be.
00:05:32.000What are some of those things that are preventing me from being my very best?
00:05:35.000And we'll ask that question: if there was one word that we could focus on this year that would bring the greatest positive life change internally, inside out, what would it be?
00:05:44.000So, you know, you look at a year like this and you're reflecting back on some challenges that we probably faced.
00:05:49.000You know, I also think that 2020 was a year of tremendous opportunity.
00:05:54.000You know, there's a lot of good, but we would focus in on what are the things that are going to, if they changed, would bring the greatest positive change to our lives.
00:06:03.000And so looking inward and then looking up.
00:06:09.000When we wrote the book, we really wanted it to be a big net, wide audience.
00:06:13.000We didn't want to just write for people who were necessarily strong or deep in their faith, but we wanted to create a guideline that said, hey, we're men of faith.
00:06:25.000And we do believe that the Creator has made us with great purpose.
00:06:28.000He's created us to do good work, so to speak.
00:06:32.000And so when we look up, it's really that step of saying, God, if you were to do one thing in me this year, that would have the greatest positive impact on others and on the world around us.
00:07:21.000So it's look in, look up, and look out.
00:07:23.000And look out is where you tell your inner circle of friends the word that you've selected.
00:07:28.000You tell them why that became the word for the year.
00:07:31.000And then they hold you accountable and they ask you questions throughout the year.
00:07:34.000But, you know, some of the greatest stories are when we're working with teams or we're working with businesses and they'll create their own word for the year.
00:07:43.000And then at their staff meetings, you know, once a month, they'll come in and say, hey, how's it going?
00:07:47.000And everyone at that table will share their word and share stories about how it's bringing life change.
00:07:52.000And so it's obviously more than just a word.
00:07:54.000It's a course correction or a true north.
00:07:57.000So what's the process that you should go to find that word, though, in November or December?
00:08:02.000Let's pretend it's today because we're in February.
00:08:04.000And right now, New Year's resolutions have already been shattered.
00:08:07.000It's actually a perfect month to be doing this podcast.
00:09:24.000And I think once your focus narrows to the challenges that you're facing, one word gives you an opportunity to lift your head up, lift your eyes up, and create a positive, optimistic picture for the future.
00:09:36.000So if there is a word that could get you out of some of the anxiety and stress and depression in many ways, if there was a word that could lift you out of that, that by focusing on that and then creating a positive expectation, what's going to happen in my life?
00:09:51.000For example, a couple years ago, my word was unstoppable.
00:10:09.000And what I discovered was, you know, I had limiting beliefs.
00:10:12.000I had things that I would think on that were sabotaging me from having the success that I wanted.
00:10:17.000I had relationships that were challenging, that I really wanted to have breakthrough.
00:10:23.000And unstoppable was a constant reminder that to turn the hardest relationships into the healthiest relationships, to take the negative doom loop that I might have in my head of doubts or discouragement and turn it around into something that overcomes challenges.
00:10:39.000Physically, what are the roadblocks in my life?
00:10:41.000So if there's young people out there or old people out there that are struggling, that feel stuck, this is the perfect process to discover that word, lift your head out of your problems, consider the capability of what God might do in your life this year and might do through you, and then create a positive expectation for that life change.
00:11:01.000You know, hey, what could happen this year that really turns things around, helps me overcome my circumstances, overcome the challenges that I'm facing?
00:11:34.000The word can be also a word of accountability, right?
00:11:37.000So, can you use an example of maybe a word that you used in the last 21 years where the word was able to keep you within the boundaries of either good behavior or doing the right thing?
00:12:15.000Without getting too personal, why did you choose detox?
00:12:17.000You know, I discovered at that time that I was making decisions that were, or I was influenced by voices, influenced by other relationships that were toxic, that were not life-giving, that were not helpful to the conversation.
00:12:35.000And that year became a year where I really distanced myself from some friends that were unproductive, made some different decisions physically regarding my physical health and even spiritually, you know, just making sure to connect to truth, to connect to the things of like whatever's good and right and pure and hopeful and optimistic and full of life.
00:12:58.000I had to detox from some of that negative spiritual talk and really fill myself with that supernatural power.
00:13:06.000So it was a year of, you know, I had to explain it a lot.
00:13:14.000Now, I didn't have any substance abuse problems, but at the same time, I had thought problems and I had some toxic material that needed to go.
00:13:22.000And so you found throughout the years that the words almost are able to roll one into the other.
00:13:28.000But the word actually tells you more about the previous year than the future year.
00:14:01.000And what I learned was I had to be able to say no so that the quality of my yes improved, so that the things that I actually committed to meant something.
00:14:10.000And so that I could focus on those things and, you know, be better in those areas.
00:14:14.000So by simplifying, I eliminated a lot of garbage that was probably good, but it was, you know, you've heard this statement, good is the enemy of great.
00:14:23.000You know, there's a lot of things that you can be doing and be relatively successful.
00:14:27.000But when you pair away some of the good things to get to the really good things, the great things, and you simplify, you've got space in order to really stay on mission, I think, more than ever.
00:14:37.000And so the word doesn't have to be just a noun.
00:14:43.000It could be a verb, like detox is, you know, to detox.
00:14:47.000And so, which obviously didn't, as you mentioned, do a substance, but just something in particular.
00:14:53.000And with young people in general, have you found that when they find this one word, it keeps them focused?
00:14:58.000Because these longer meandering journals and resolutions, you can kind of get just lost in the middle of it.
00:15:03.000Nevertheless, you know, we did a, we rolled this out in school districts all around the country.
00:15:07.000And one of my favorite stories is of a Midlothian elementary school in Texas, great state of Texas.
00:15:14.000And we rolled it out and they allowed all of the kids to, when they selected their words, they took the ceiling tiles out of the ceiling.
00:15:20.000They let the kids paint their word on the ceiling tile and then put them back in the ceiling.
00:15:24.000So all year long, literally, these kids would have a reminder, a visual reminder of their word for the year.
00:15:31.000And then the teachers would bring it into the classroom.
00:15:34.000So, you know, and that's a story of fourth graders, you know, and then we've got high school students who are dealing with some real issues who want to step into a future that's purposeful and meaningful.
00:16:29.000You know, I had an opportunity in the last couple of years to trace our lineage back to the American Revolutionary War, which has been cool.
00:16:36.000And I know you have an interesting history as well.
00:16:38.000Yeah, I'm the son of the American Revolution.
00:17:19.000And I think that's been something that is part of my focus is how do I get to the place where I don't worry about being injured, you know, along the way?
00:17:27.000I have the freedom physically to do the things I love to do.
00:17:30.000And freedom from sin, it's a great word.
00:18:02.000Instead, walk in freedom and walk in the power that God has given you.
00:18:06.000Can you talk about how the new secular orthodoxy defines freedom differently?
00:18:10.000The way they define freedom is the freedom to put substances in your body without responsibility when in reality, a biblical freedom is a freedom where you have, you're set free of the sin when you're in, no person in sin can actually be free.
00:18:24.000Can you talk about a biblical definition of freedom versus a secular definition of freedom?
00:18:29.000Yeah, before placing faith in God or faith in Christ, you know, we really don't have the choice that we think we do.
00:18:35.000We think we're operating in freedom, you know.
00:18:37.000But once you place your faith in Christ and you realize that freedom then is freedom to make choices that honor God, you know, it's not freedom to do whatever you want anymore or to indulge your sinful nature, if you will.
00:18:49.000But instead, you have the freedom and the power within you to overcome that and to make decisions that are good for you, that are a blessing to others and glorify God.
00:18:57.000And I think that's the name of the game, right?
00:18:59.000That's why we're set free, so that we can live a righteous life and so that we can make a difference for other people.
00:19:06.000And many young people are told the opposite.
00:19:08.000They say the more you will pursue whatever secular, quasi-hedonistic, nihilistic objective, the more you'll find content or satisfaction.
00:19:51.000But then when God gets involved and you have a right perspective on freedom and you place your faith in Christ, all of a sudden you experience real freedom.
00:20:27.000Which one really sticks out to you as the one that was the most pivotal?
00:20:30.000Where you were in a moment where you're like, this word really either saved me from something or got me to the next level or was a breakthrough.
00:21:12.000And I'll never forget, I remember telling them, hey, when we come in, if I pulled the doctors aside and said, hey, when we come in, could you spend the first two or three minutes giving us some hope?
00:21:20.000Just breathe some life into this thing.
00:21:23.000They thought it was crazy, but then they realized the power of belief.
00:21:26.000And I remember heading into 2009, Eva Lise chose the word believe.
00:21:31.000And because we were, you know, we were kind of in that place where we had to trust God no matter what.
00:21:37.000We knew that nothing was impossible for God, that even these long odds that she was facing were not insurmountable.
00:21:44.000So that word became a rallying cry for us.
00:21:46.000And it was for nothing is impossible for those who believe.
00:21:50.000And then out of that now, she's 12 years cancer free now.
00:21:55.000And at the same time, she created an organization, a cancer foundation called Believe Big.
00:22:00.000So the word for the year, the focus for the year was believing that God could do the impossible, trusting him for her healing, which happened.
00:22:09.000And then out of that, we wanted to turn that adversity into an advantage.
00:22:12.000You know, that's kind of one of our core principles.
00:22:14.000How do we take adversity and turn it into an advantage and a blessing for others?
00:22:18.000So then the organization Believe Big was birthed.
00:22:21.000And now we've had an opportunity to influence literally thousands of people around the world on their journey to beat cancer.
00:24:27.000So can you add some clarity that the intention behind the word must be pursuing truth or pursuing what is right?
00:24:33.000A lot of times, you know, people will say, well, it seems kind of selfish that I'm focusing on a word that's going to bring life change just for me.
00:24:39.000And we always say that, you know, the life change that you experience always has to be a blessing to others.
00:24:45.000So even if I think of the term success, which is a great word, and many people are not even going to be there because we want to be successful, right?
00:24:52.000But, you know, there's a difference between success and fulfillment.
00:24:56.000You know, I can be wildly successful in the pursuit of something, but unless it has greater meaning, unless it has the ability to bless or bring other people up, it's really going to, relatively speaking, be a hollow word.
00:25:08.000So we always want to begin with the end in mind that the change that comes to me is always meant for the blessing and benefit of others.
00:25:15.000And I think that's one of the things and one of the reasons why it works so well.
00:25:19.000And you pray over it and it's hopefully incorporated with biblical values.
00:25:24.000Because as you say, if it becomes part of your DNA for that one year, then you never know where it might just all of a sudden a moment might come.
00:25:37.000And so we'll add spiritual verses to it.
00:25:41.000We'll add verses from the Bible to it.
00:25:43.000And even now in my journal, so we recommend journaling, put the word in the front, put some verses to it, maybe put a statement to it that can help you remember it throughout the year.
00:25:52.000But I have nine or 10 verses from the Bible about freedom.
00:25:55.000And they're all relatively different aspects of freedom that I think can help me along the way.
00:26:02.000So the book is one word that will change your life.
00:26:37.000If God leads you to a handful of words, you can't go wrong picking one of those words and journey with it for the year.
00:26:43.000So we send people to our website at getoneword.com, and there's lots of resources there that can help people discover their word as well.
00:26:51.000And to keep it very narrow and focused in this chaotic world.
00:26:55.000Anything else about the book that you wanted to dive into that we maybe didn't get a chance to do that?
00:26:59.000I think that the biggest thing, and I've said it a couple of times here today, is that this lifts your eyes off your circumstances, gets you focused in a positive direction, and you should believe that great things are going to happen.
00:27:12.000Doesn't mean that adversity is not going to come.
00:27:17.000We're likely to go through challenges.
00:27:19.000But that word might be just the thing that you need to overcome those challenges.
00:27:23.000It might be something like a word like peace.
00:27:26.000It might be a different type of attribute, but expect great things to happen, expect positive life change to happen, and really make a difference for others.
00:27:35.000And you focus on what is good, yes, that will follow.
00:27:39.000So it is one word that will change your life.