Do I Really NEED HELP?

You know what, I know that probably all of you reading this have probably felt this way once or twice and it’s this little thought that enters our head and it goes something like this:

Well, I’m good. Life’s good. My relationships are good. I have got some good friends. My workouts are pretty good.

But then we follow all this up with the question that we lie to ourselves when we answer and we say:

I’m good, BUT do I really need help?

I mean, do I really need anybody to help me? I’m doing pretty good figure it all out on my own. Do I really need help. I would like to definitively answer this question for you, for myself… for ALL OF US.

YES.

Of course you need help. We all need help and I came back around to that reminder this past week. And I was reading this simple verse out of the Bible. And it is kind of like a proverb so you don’t really have to be a fan of the Bible to really jive with what I am going to share with you.

Ecclesiastes 4:9
Two people are better off than one for they can help each other succeed.

Two are better than one. They get a better return for their work. They can help each other succeed. And I mean it is pretty simple.

It’s Better. Two is Better than one… you by yourself, sure you are awesome. You’re golden. But TWO is better. And why do we fight that? And you have heard me say Proximity is Power all the time so it can’t just be anyone for the second person.
We all need help. That’s just the simple breakdown. Who’s better? You need help. We were not created to do things in isolation and all alone. You need to tell the truth and get some help… that is something a wise friend of mine used to say all the time. Stop resisting it. My camera man and I were chatting about this earlier and he jokingly said, “if you ask for help, you are weak.” That’s a lie; it’s a lie that a lot of people choose to believe. But we have got to ask for help.
We get to help each other succeed. God wants you to succeed. I want you to succeed. The universe wants you to succeed, if you prefer that language. Success is a good thing and two is better than one. You need help and you were created to succeed and you just do it better when you have people come alongside you.

Let me tell you how I came around to this. I read that verse and then I started reflecting a little bit, so I am going to do some reminiscing about my own life. And as I looked over my life and by the time I was done, I was overflowing with gratitude because I started to see all the different seasons in my life where there was me and someone else that came alongside me. And each time they made me better, they helped me succeed, made life more enjoyable, I learned more, I laughed more. I just got better because someone was there… so I am going to give a few shout outs today to a few of the people that were on my list.

It all starts with my twin brother. I mean I was born with a built-in, “Two is better than one.” I didn’t have a choice, he came first so I am technically the baby in the family by two minutes… my brother Blaine. I wouldn’t be who I am without my twin brother. We learned to live in the reality of two being better than one and our parents reinforced that. It didn’t matter if it was competing in sports, growing spiritually, deciding what college to go to, or how to be married… one of my constants in my life has been that my brother has always been there and that we are better because there are two of us. So thanks, Blaine! You’re awesome!

I would say that my sisters have been that for me, both Laura and Kimberly. They have always been those that came alongside me. And sometimes it was me and Laura because we were the lefties in the family. It’s awesome because us lefties were the only ones that are in our “right mind.” Way to go sis! So Baline and Kimberly would pair off and Lauren and I would pair off and she just made me better. It was another one of those people that came alongside and the same thing with my sister Kimberly; in different seasons, they’d come alongside me more.

And there was another friend of mine who I ment through church camp. His name was Andy. And unfortunately he passed away after a tragic accident. He was a youth pastor and on a trip he literally gave his life to save some kids from drowning in a river. And it wasn’t that long ago. And as I was reflecting, I wrote his name down because, even though he was only a year older than me he became a spiritual mentor at a very pivotal time in my life. When I was maybe a freshman or sophomore, pre email people, he would send me letters and it was like a letter from the apostle Paul. It was deep spiritual stuff. He is the only guy that in that season of my life that I had conversations with like that. I just look back and I am so grateful to God that Andy came alongside me because he made me better.

And then there was Franco Salvatore! He is living in Costa Rica, serving people. He was my freshman college roommate. And I wrote this down as I was journaling… I needed Franco because he was more secure in who he was, he was super cool, and everybody liked Franco; believe it or not, I was still figuring out who I was and getting comfortable in my own skin at that time. And Franco came into my life and freshman year was better because of him. Still a friend to this day.

And my wife, when we got married, she came alongside me and OH MY GOODNESS. She gets all the credit for everything in my life. Now at this point, she makes me a better man, she helps me succeed at a higher level.

And I could go on for days here of people that make me better and it is sooo good. I’m good, but when someone comes alongside me and they make me better, it changes everything! Dale Hanson and Eric Sanzone made me better. Michael Garrison did and continues to make me better! My coach, Chuck Balsamo… oh, my gosh! I would not be who I am or what I am doing with the ability to serve other people without his voice in my life. He comes alongside me and makes me better and he helps me succeed.

I’m sharing this with you to prime you to do a similar exercise. I’ve got two challenges for you after you finish reading this blog. One, you need help. Tell the truth… Do you need help? Just admit it. And then, do what I did and look at your life. Look at those people in your life and you’re not looking for the big mentors persay, but look for the one person that came alongside you during seasons in your life. You may have more, you may have less but look for those people. And it could have been short seasons or long seasons. Some of them were there for a long time, I think of Jeremy Rickman, we went to college together and there was this little window of time I think I slept on a couch at his dorm or apartment. We were both in the process of graduating and getting married. And in this season, we were like, we’re going through the same things and we made each other better. Celebrate those people in your life, you may shoot them a text or connect with them via social media cause you haven’t seen them.

And then, ask yourself the question: WHo do I need to help me now? Maybe in your health, maybe in your marriage, maybe in your dating, maybe in your business, maybe in your mindset… IT COULD BE ANYTHING, but who do you need to come alongside you to make you better, to help you, to guide you in this season? Would you identify, maybe name who or what type of help you need. Set the intention and go after them. And maybe you don’t know who it is just yet… GO FIND THEM. Don’t waste time if you know who it is and contact them today!

Because if you are going to be better, succeed more, love life more and make a bigger impact, why wait? So I hope this encourages you. Yes, we all need help!! Do the work, gain the value. This is where we go out there and give our greatness to the world! Love you guys!!