Start all over again…

July 7, 2025

The Best of Jack’s Winning Words – Originally sent July 12, 2013. Reposts of the advice posts from the blog of the late Pastor Jack Freed.

“There are two disappointments in life. One is not getting what you want. The other is getting it.” (Oscar Wilde) Disappointments? We all have them. A job loss, a broken relationship, a health issue… I like the advice in this old song, “When my chin is on the ground, I pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.” Life is a series of learning experiences, and there comes a time when we just have to move on. 😉 Jack

 It is interesting that Jack, like most of us I suspect, focused upon the disappointment of not getting what we want, not achieving a goal or winning at a pursuit. But, what about the disappointment of actually winning, of achieving what we have been striving for? How can that be disappointing? Start all over again…

After the initial feeling of euphoria or accomplishment following the achievement of a goal or getting wat we’ve been striving for so long, there comes the letdown (disappointment) of no longer having that goal to motivate us. Many athletes experience this once that have achieved their goals as competitors. What do you do after you’ve become the best in the world at your event or become the star of a professional team in your sport?  Start all over again…

It may be hard for us to imagine, but the accumulation of yet another million dollars to a person like Elon Musk, or Warren Buffet or Bill Gates brings very little satisfaction, if any. Star athletes also have a hard time sometimes moving on after achieving the athletic levels that they trained for all their lives. We are fascinated by how people react to having achieved the goals that were driving them. Start all over again…

We occasionally see the sad stories of people whom we thought “had it all and threw it away”. Some turned to alcohol or drugs when they no longer had the motivation of striving towards their goal. We have also witnessed people like Bill Gates refocusing their lives on bigger, more altruistic goals of philanthropy, like ending world hunger or maybe eradicating a terrible disease. Start all over again…

How we react to winning and achieving our goals in life is as important (if not more so) than how we react to failures. As with failure, in success we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and start all over again. We must move on to establish new goals. Start all over again…

I think that refocusing from achieving specific and tangible goals, such as having so many dollars in the bank or achieving a specific record in some event onto the less tangible goal of just being happy is a great start. That might involve being happier with what you already have than being unhappy about things that you don’t have. Start all over again…

If you become more focused upon and cognizant of things that make you happy you will soon see that money, possessions and power over others has little to do with your own happiness. I think that you will realize that you are happiest when you have helped to bring happiness to others, when you have made a positive difference in someone else’s life. Start all over again…

Maybe you should start each day with a little prayer, not asking for more things for yourself, but by being thankful for what you already have and by asking God for the ability and opportunities to help others. At the end of the day, if you can look back and see the times when you helped someone, it was a good day and I’ll bet that you are happy about it. Start all over again…

The good news is that you may get another chance tomorrow to start all over again.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Are you stronger than your excuses?

May 7, 2025

I saw this little Zen saying on one of the word games that I play on my phone – “I am stronger than my excuses.”

That little saying resonated with me because I realized that often I am not stronger than the excuses that I come up with and that results in procrastination or paralysis. You can substitute “imagined negative outcomes” for excuses, if that makes more sense to you.

Humans are blessed with great intellectual abilities (as compared to other species) and imagination, out of which comes great ideas and inventions. But, with that ability to think and imagine also comes the liability of imagining all of the possible negative outcomes of any situation – those become the excuses for doing nothing.

One of the traits that often define some of the greatest thinkers and inventors in history is the willingness to try and fail at something and then try again and again. Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Imagine how many great inventions we would not have had if Edison had let the fear of failure stop him from trying. He was stronger than his excuses.

It is in substituting the word “fears” for the word “excuses” that the saying reaches its full potential. Excuses are just rationalizations for our inability to overcome our fears. Those fears cause us to stop and maybe never venture a step further. We may even have some understanding that as George Addair said, “Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.” Yet, many just make excuses for not moving forward and trying to get to that “other side”.

Are you stronger than your fears (excuses)? What fears have you let stop you? Are you really happy with the excuses that you’ve created? What can you do about that?

Perhaps a start to overcoming the fear that paralyzes you is found in this quote – “Fear is only as powerful as the attention you give it.” ― Glody Kikonga

Think about the news stories that you see from time to time about someone rescuing an injured driver from a burning car. Often when they are interviewed later someone will ask the hero of the story, “Weren’t you afraid of getting burned or of the car exploding?” Often the answer will be something like, “I didn’t think about it, I just saw the need and acted.” The hero didn’t stop to give those fears any attention. Action overcomes fear by pushing it aside and focusing your mind upon the tasks at hand.

man jumping off cliff

So, maybe the key to being stronger than your excuses (fears) is to jump into action, rather than sitting there thinking about all of the ways that you could fail. Once you are in motion, taking actions, you will find that your amazing mind refocuses upon problem solving, rather than excuse creation. You may initially fail, but you will learn from that failure and setting out on another try will be that much easier.

Allow yourself to try and fail and try again. You are stronger than your excuses, so let yourself do whatever it is that you have been making excuses for not doing.

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Posted by Norm Werner

So, get off your duff already…

March 26, 2025


The Best of Jack’s Winning Words – Originally sent March 27, 2012.
“Those who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of a field and hope the cow comes to them.” (Elbert Hubbard) I smiled when I read this quote. Can’t you just “see” the person on the stool? The one who makes the sale is the one who gets off of the stool. It works in the business world, at home and even in the church. By my computer is a sign: “Get tough–get off your duff.” Today is a good day to follow that advice. 😉 Jack


Every now and then you may experience a fortuitous stroke of luck and some good fortune may befall you. But, for the rest of life, and indeed for most of life, one must get off the stool and make one’s own luck through hard work and persistence. Get off your duff!


I have posted here a few times about the importance of getting started and about breaking dauntingly big jobs down into smaller tasks (steps) that can be more easily accomplished. It is easy to let what should be planning time turn into daydreaming time. Things don’t get dome just because you dream about them being done. Focus on the planning and on getting started. Get off your duff!


Sometimes you may have to go off in a completely different direction than where you are headed to accomplish some intermediary step or some prerequisite. Just be sure to keep your goal at least in the corner of your eye, so that you don’t lose track of it or get discouraged by your apparently lack of progress towards the goal. Get off your duff!


More times than we’d like to admit, we may actually start off in the wrong direction and go very far down what proves to be a blind alley. Don’t get discouraged. Learn from your mistake. Backtrack to the starting point and choose a different direction. Thomas Edison famously said about his numerous failures – “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” So, now, like Edison, you have successfully found one way that will not get you to your goal. Don’t go that way again. ” Get off your duff!


Jack posted a reminder for himself next to his computer. For him, that helped him to remember that ha was committed to writing a daily post to his Blog – Jack’s Winning Words – five days a week. There was no winning to be had if he just sat there and waited for the words of a new post to come to him. He had to get off his duff and write the post for that day. Get off your duff!


I have found it helpful to post notices to myself on the bathroom mirror where I have to look at them when I’m shaving in the morning. It may be a reminder for something that I need to get done that day or just a restating of the goal, so that I get renewed energy to work towards it that day. Whichever, it serves as a reminder to me to…Get off your duff!

I took the time to go back and look at a number of the posts that I have done over the years about tackling large or difficult tasks or pursuing lofty goals. One recurring theme that all of those posts in some way contained was the advice to take time to ask for God’s help. There is nothing more calming and reassuring in the face of daunting tasks or goals than touching base with your faith in God. Take God’s hand and he will help you …Get off your duff.

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Posted by Norm Werner

Have no regrets…

October 7, 2024

The Best of Jack’s Winning Words 10/7/24 – Originally sent March 6, 2010.

“Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” (George Halas) When I was growing up, the Chicago Bears were “my” team, and I admired George “Papa Bear” Halas. Win or lose, he could never be accused of not giving his best as a coach. His quote is more than about playing football; it’s about playing the game of life. Give it your best today. 😉 Jack

 Many times, giving something your best effort will still result in not winning. I chose to say it that way because, if you gave it your best, you did not lose; you just fell a little short of winning. If you watch sports events that involve individual competitions, such as track and field, you will often see athletes who did not win the event, but who are happy and maybe even celebrating because they may have achieved a personal best in the event. Have no regrets…

Life presents us with many opportunities (some might say challenges) and each time it does we are faced with the choice of giving it our best or just going through the motions. One almost always regrets later that they did not give the opportunity their best effort. Have no regrets…

In our personal lives many have lingering regrets about not being able to summon up the courage to ask out that person we’ve been admiring from afar. Maybe we regret having passed by the person begging for help. What would your best have been if you had not ignored that opportunity? Perhaps we held back when the call when out for volunteers to help on some project or effort that seemed hard or unglamorous. What difference to that cause would you have made, had you given it your best effort? Have no regrets…

A major difference between highly successful people and those who are not as successful in life is that the highly successful people don’t wait for opportunities to present themselves; they seek them out or create those opportunities themselves. Win or lose at those opportunities those highly successful people never regret having tried and giving it their best effort. In fact, many times they eventually win, or succeed, because they keep coming back and giving it their best shot again and again. Have no regrets…

Thomas Edison is the classic example of a successful person who did not let failures stop him. He is quoted as having said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. Edison tried to learn something from each failure. So, keep giving it your best and learn from any failures. Most of all remember George Hallis’s advice and give it your all. Have no regrets…

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Posted by Norm Werner

What do you want?

September 29, 2015

“Everything you want is on the other side of fear!” – Jack Canfield

Jack Canfield is an author and motivational speaker on the topics of personal and business development and success. Among Canfields book is the well know “Chicken Soup for the Soul” and “The Success Principles”. Like most motivational writers and speakers, Canfield focuses mainly upon helping people overcome the obstacles to success and getting the things that they want in life.

turtleMost of the advice from motivational speakers might double as half-time speeches from sports coaches. They tend to focus upon techniques like visualizing, planning, prioritizing, perseverance and being accountable, which are all good things. The fear that Canfield speaks of is usually self-inflicted and grows out of uncertainty or doubt. We tend to fear the unknown and the uncertain outcome. We have doubts about our own abilities or worth that hold us back. Motivational speakers like Canfield promote seemingly simple and logical approaches to overcoming those fears and doubts.

The message of these speakers is aimed at helping people achieve things in life, like getting ahead at work, or to get what they want in life, which is normally defined in material terms – the bigger house, the better car, the exotic vacation, and the best schools for their children. In sports it is always about winning the championship, whatever that is. It is about defining a goal in terms of achieving or acquiring.

There is a whole different cadre of speakers who focus more on what might be called the spiritual side of life. These girls huggingspeakers focus upon maintaining a balance in life between the work life and the goals and rewards of that and the interpersonal side of life – your relationships with those with whom you share your life. Sometimes, especially when one is younger, this side of things takes a back seat to the focus on accomplishments and material achievements. This focus on things other than the material often stays buried in our priorities until we have reached many of the goals that were driving us and realize that we have still not achieved the happiness that we thought would come with them. We may then start paying attention to the messages of the speakers who urge us to take time for ourselves and to spend quality time with those we love.

Sometimes, after we have achieved some level of balance in our lives, we also re-discover a faith that was also suppressed by our focus upon success and accumulating possessions. As we slow down a bit and start really thinking about the lives that we are living and what is really important to us, we may find that reconnecting to the message of faith is something that we want, maybe even something that we need. We may discovery that there is a hole in our lives, a need that no amount of things can fill and a role that none of our loved ones can play. When you come to that point in your life, I would offer a single line answer that is similar to Canfield’s. For, if as Canfield has advised; praying“Everything you want is on the other side of fear”, I would advise that-

“Everything you need is on the other side of prayer.”

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Posted by Norm Werner

Did your resolutions turn into good habits?

March 6, 2015

“Good habits, once established, are just as hard to break as bad habits.”  (Robert Fuller)

I saw a story on the local news last night that today is the watershed day for New Years Resolutions. Apparently there is evidence that if one can keep doing something for 66 days straight it will have established itself as a habit and today (Mar 6) is day 66 for happy winner2015. So, if you’ve managed to do every day whatever it is that you promised yourself that you would do for 2015; congratulations you’ve formed a new habit (hopefully a good one).

The most often reported New Year’s Resolutions seem to be about losing weight, quitting a bad habit (like smoking) or getting more exercise. Those resolutions are all tough to stick with for most people, so if you did it and stuck with any of them; good for you.  For me I was resolved to be a regular at the gym this year. I just can’t go every day, but I was on the list of the top 15 gym attendees at the Milford Anytime Fitness for the first month and just barely out off the list in February, when I took a week off for vacation. I think I have this down to a habit, but I’ll keep tracking it to make sure.

There was a story in today’s Detroit papers about a new young catcher who is expected
baseball catcherto become the backup catcher on the team this year – James McCann. James was in a pre-season game this week and let a ball that was outside and in the dirt get by him. In a real game during the season a miscue like that can cost a game and James knows it. He was upset with himself for that miss, so the next day he came to practice early and had the pitching coach line up the pitching machine so that it would fire balls at him outside and in the dirt. He had 100 balls loaded up and fired away so that he would get all of that practice to make sure that he stops balls that might get by him. In the process he was forming the good habits that catchers need of getting down and staying in front of the ball. He is hard on himself, but he doesn’t just beat himself up or get moody about it. He uses his mistakes (misses) as motivation to double-down and work harder.

How about you? Did you keep your resolutions? Have they become good habits for you? The alternatives to holding yourself accountable for your resolutions are to lower your standards or give up completely, neither is a good choice. Once you start allowing at the gymyourself to slip and finding ways to rationalize why that’s OK, you’ve stepped way out onto the slippery slope of backsliding and failure. Don’t go there. It’s not a pleasant place to live. Rather, double your resolve, but don’t beat yourself up. The first step in not giving up is to realize that it’s not too late…you can still do this (whatever “this” is). So, don’t bury your resolutions; dust them off; learn from your mistakes or failures so far; and double-down on your resolve to accomplish those goals (and that’s what they really should have been all along – goals).

Create good new habits along the way to reaching your goals. Have a great weekend catching up on those promises to yourself. As for me, I’ll be at the gym working out.

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Posted by Norm Werner