On this week’s episode, I give some advice to a family with two boys gifted in different ways, and I give suggestions on how the parents can help guide them to the right career paths. My wife says I have been gifted with being able to remember every single thing I’ve ever seen or heard, and I do have one very odd gift that I will display on occasion. I can listen to someone and repeat almost instantly what they are saying with some of the inflections and barely miss a beat. My teachers used to s...
Nov 01, 2014•22 min
On this week’s episode, we have Patsy Clairmont back in the studio to talk about her new book Twirl , and share some personal stories. A lot of people have ideas but it’s rare the people can actually pull them off. Patsy brings people into her home who need to do something creative in their lives. It’s a planned way of getting in touch with the stories that have been sitting inside you for years. Patsy’s battle against agoraphobia: I was an agoraphobic by the time I hit my early twenties and beg...
Oct 25, 2014•20 min
On this week’s episode, we have Crystal Paine, “THE Money Saving Mom,” in our studio to answer a few questions about how her business has grown into what it is today. How did this all get started? My husband and I committed to stay out of debt while he went to law school. We were literally living on beans and rice, but we started finding ways to stretch our dollars because we had to. I was a new mom and started blogging about frugal topics, and there was a lot of interest from outside people. Ho...
Oct 18, 2014•28 min
On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on finding role models when none are present in your life. If you’re having a hard time finding role models, then you’re already on the right track because you’ve identified the need to seek out others. How do you find somebody to be mentored by? Get biographies and read about people. You will learn from their great decisions and mistakes. Compare and contrast what you’re reading with what you’re seeing around you. I urge you to take notes on ...
Oct 11, 2014•16 min
On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about the characteristics of a successful coach. I speak and write but I also have a couple of clients, including football teams. My criteria for taking on a client: I’ve got to like them. I have to be convinced that their belief level is at a point where they can accomplish great things. Their ability to process information and shift on the fly is also important. People can only achieve to the level that they really believe. To me, the charac...
Oct 04, 2014•25 min
On this week’s episode, we have very special guest Patsy Clairmont in the studio to talk about her life and have some laughs. I was on tour with Patsy for three years while touring with Women of Faith. If I kept a list of my favorite speakers, I don’t know if it would be her or Zig Ziglar at the top. I can honesty say, professionally, watching her speak was the best experience I’ve ever had. Listen in to hear Patsy talk about the small group workshop in her home, and tell stories about finding c...
Sep 27, 2014•25 min
On this week’s episode, I respond to a listener question about discussing the topic of depression and suicide prevention. This week’s topic comes from a father who lost his daughter to suicide in a nationally televised story. I know it must be one of the hardest things in the world when somebody you love so deeply makes a decision to do this. I heard in your letter that she left behind two boys, 3 & 7. Navigating this for them is going to be tough. As they get older, they will need your pres...
Sep 20, 2014•18 min
On this week’s episode, I talk about a very unusual summer event that occurs a few times a year on the shore of Mobile Bay. Something very unique happened earlier this week while at a book signing in Fairhope, Alabama. There is a 15-mile stretch on the eastern shore of Mobile Bay. In the late summer on a still night between two and five in the morning, fish pile up on the shore for several hundred yards. I’m talking thousands. Flounder, Whiting, Mullet, Shrimp, and more. This is only one place i...
Sep 13, 2014•18 min
On this week’s episode, I address a listener question on the distinction between coaching and mentoring. The question we received is, “What are the differences between coaching and mentoring, and does the distinction really matter?” I think the distinction does matter, at least financially. Mentoring is less in your face, and it’s a little more guidance oriented. When a specific relationship is outlined and you have a detailed goal, you are getting into the coaching area. I’ve been mentored by p...
Sep 06, 2014•17 min
On this week’s episode, I address a listener question about my perspective on finding peace when dealing with death. This topic was on my mind when I was writing The Noticer Returns. When I wrote this book, I wanted to have Jones deal with several things that people have a hard time with. I wanted to handle this subject with sensitivity, but in a way that answers questions and gives people real comfort. Listen in as I answer this question by reading a full chapter from The Noticer Returns. Get y...
Aug 30, 2014•28 min
On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on how to turn big powerful thoughts into smaller, concise statements so they can be clearly communicated to others. Before getting into that, we have a quick announcement. There are not a whole whole lot of opportunities for ticketed events to hear me speak. Crossroads Church in Oklahoma City is holding the 2014 Leadership Conference with Jon Acuff, Dr. Mark Rutland, and myself on September 26th, 2014. We’ve all heard the statements: Average ...
Aug 23, 2014•19 min
On this week’s episode, I share my perspective on how to talk to your kids when they are being to hard on themselves and falling apart. As parents, it is crucial that we are vulnerable about our pasts. Some kids need to know another person has experienced the same problems as they have. Obviously we’ve forgotten what being 12 feels like, but we can try to imagine how things are going on in their minds. My son, Adam, is very sensitive and tends to think about things that might not bother his olde...
Aug 16, 2014•24 min
On this week’s episode, I respond to a question about reading biographies to children and my thoughts on fiction. I would read biographies to the boys when they were younger and paraphrase to make it more age-appropriate. With biographies you can foster an interest in history and good lessons. Non-Fiction will inform and teach, and I believe it is important to be able to explain why a certain thing will work. I find it weird when people have a sort of snobbery toward fiction. When you read ficti...
Aug 09, 2014•25 min
On this week’s episode, I discuss a popular listener question: “What should you provide for your kids, and what should they have to work for?” Some parents have a cut and dry answer for that, but I don’t. My answer changes depending on what’s going on. It’s according to how they are behaving. If I sense a spirit of gratefulness, then there are more things that I will handle for them. A lot of the time it’s not even things they are aware of. The one thing that can truly stop it in a heartbeat is ...
Aug 02, 2014•28 min
On this week’s episode, I respond to a listener question about handshake etiquette for girls. I don’t think there is a “right” or “wrong,” but I do think there is a “best.” There are a couple of schools of thought here: One is the old-school “debutant” school of thought: Women go to college to find a husband. Everything a woman does should be geared toward a wife and homemaker. I don’t know if there is anything more important than that, but there are definitely other things that may be equally i...
Jul 26, 2014•19 min
On this week’s episode, I talk about my special new book, The Perfect Moment , and the peculiar story of how it came to be published: It all started while I was throwing football with one of my boys. That led to a magical conversation, and it became a story for our friends. I wrote it down, and then it became a story I would tell on stage. We turned it into a free downloadable eBook and then finally Simple Truths said that they would like to publish it in hardcover. (more in the video) The book ...
Jul 19, 2014•13 min
Before getting into our discussion, I wanted to give a shout-out to my friend Wes Hampton. He and his family were over this past 4th of July weekend and we had a lot of fun grilling and watching the kids play. Wes also has a Kamado Joe (plus his own cookbook), so we had a great cooking discussion. Find Wes on Facebook or head over to WesHampton.com, and you can find his recipes there. This week’s topic comes from a pastor who sometimes works with victims of sexual abuse, and what “accepting resp...
Jul 12, 2014•24 min
On this week’s episode, I address the question of how to balance contentment and the things you want in life. There are several things I want to do and want to have. Before anything “goes up on our refrigerator,” so to speak, I see if it fits my criteria… Does this line up with my mission in life? Would it make my mission more vibrant and successful? Can this thing be a tool to help people? We are very joyful whether we get to do something or not. There is an understanding that we don’t need cer...
Jul 05, 2014•15 min
On this week’s episode, I talk about the benefits of gardening with your family and answer a listener question on divided families. We have a little garden of eight blackberry bushes that we planted three years ago. The first year we got a few blackberries. The second year we got a lot of blackberries. This year we couldn’t pick them all at one time. This is a great thing parents can do with their kids. Get a couple of plants, take your kids in the backyard, dig a hole, pour some potting soil in...
Jun 28, 2014•23 min
On this week’s episode, I share my thoughts on a listener question about generational advancement. Reversing generational curses or trends is a huge thing to me, and I’ve spent a great deal of time searching for answers on this topic. The most important thing I’ve learned on this search comes from studying many other families. I’ve studied families that have been affected by negative generational things. I’ve studied families that have had huge generational success. For people to want to change,...
Jun 21, 2014•17 min
On this week’s episode, I’m sharing a story I wrote about my dad. It’s not really a short story since all of it is true. It has been pieced together from things I remember, and stories I have heard from others who knew him. I wanted my boys to have a description of their grandfather in the event that I am not able to give the oral history. My father had a different method of parenting. He was kind of nut. Not a professional nut like I am, but still a nut. This story takes you though some of the ...
Jun 14, 2014•14 min
On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on what it really takes to have a successful marriage. Occasionally you hear people say, “We don’t have any problems. We don’t fight ever.” Anytime I hear that, I always think that somebody is being fooled. I don’t know how two people can exist and not have to work some things out. If you have ever been involved in a long-term friendship, there have been moments that you could have walked away from the friend and never done anything with them ...
Jun 07, 2014•28 min
On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on thinking and how it inspires action. Most people believe that their choices determine where they are. In a way they do, but you can’t really control your choices any more than you can control the flip of a coin. Unless you have a process in place for guiding your choices, at best you can hope to make 50% of your choices right. Thinking determines the choices we make, choices determine actions, and actions determine our reputation. Are there...
May 31, 2014•23 min
On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on which three words I would use to describe myself. One of them would definitely be searching. In the second decision –“I will seek wisdom”– I thought for a number of years that the most important word was wisdom. The most important word is seek . I’ve become so much more aware of searching because I’ve finally figured out that there is a lot more to the things that I thought I knew. Even if you are an expert in a field, there are always more...
May 24, 2014•32 min
On this week’s episode, I address a listener question on displacing negative thoughts. You can’t leave your mind blank. When we don’t choose what goes in our minds, our minds fill up with things that point our thoughts in other directions. These directions may affect our choices in ways we would really rather not choose. How many times have we said to ourselves, “what was I thinking?” Think about this…. If I was to sing, “Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale…” You would immediately think, ...
May 17, 2014•16 min
On this week’s episode, we honor our mothers with an episode not just for Mother’s Day. A couple of weeks ago the boys found a vine hanging down from a tree. I can remember telling Polly, “They’re fine.” I didn’t say, “You’ll be fine.” Adam was yelling, “It’s perfectly safe!” So as Polly is swinging, the vine cracks and mama fell from the sky. What a great mom these boys have. As crazy as that was…what a great memory. I say this to friends of mine whose mothers pass away: First, I ask how old th...
May 10, 2014•24 min
On this week’s episode I discuss why your family needs a mission statement and how my family created ours. I’ve never seen a successful company that didn’t have a mission statement. I found out that a friend of mine, Sandy Stimpson, has a family mission statement for his family. He suggested that we make our own. Polly, the boys, and I sat down and decided… What is important? Where do we want to go? What is the best? What result are we after? How do we act? Over the course of several weeks we fo...
May 03, 2014•25 min
On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question about the hardest thing in my life and what I worry about the most. I think frustration is one of the hardest things in my life. First, I don’t want to come across sounding ungrateful or jealous. I see celebrities on YouTube with millions if not billions of views and I ask, what are they offering that will change your family for the better? Some of my friends like Wes Hampton or Sugarcane Jane are great musicians with a positive message. So ho...
Apr 26, 2014•31 min
On this week’s episode, I answer a listener question on self-sabotage and the most important quality in people. We’ve talked on several other episodes about how the way you think is the foundation for everything. The things we listen to, watch, and read totally affect what we believe. I have come to the conclusion that people cannot achieve beyond what they really believe. Out of the organizations and companies that I speak for, athletes usually have the hardest time believing this. We test this...
Apr 19, 2014•25 min
On this week's episode, I talk about the first steps Polly and I took when we found out we were going to be parents. I never expected to do anything like this, but I think this is the most important thing I’ve ever done. 15 years ago when Polly sat me down and said “we are going to have a baby,” I was excited…and then broke out in a cold sweat. I really dug into parenting right from the beginning. I wanted to give my wife and I more certainty for this life we were about to guide. I believe you c...
Apr 12, 2014•29 min
