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Good morning!

Two years ago this week I had one of my worst travel days ever. y flight got delayed for an hour. Then two. Then four.... And in the end - we departed the airport nine hours after the originally scheduled time.

There was lots to complain about that day, but it actually turned into one of the most encouraging days I’ve ever had. And the reverberations of what happened that day continue to impact my life to this day.

FROM WORST TO BEST

Why did one of my worst days turn into one of my best days?

Because I made the choice to make the most of the worst.

And that choice was made up of our four key actions - what I’ll call the CLIP Framework going forward.

CLIP stands for Choose - Look - Invite - Persist and it’s applicable in any circumstance, especially those that are some of the worst of our lives. Here’s how it played out for me two years ago.

First of all, I didn’t get too worked up by our delay. Of course I was annoyed, but I knew we would get there eventually. There was nothing I could do to speed up the process in this situation. However, I did have a choice about how I responded to the circumstances out of my control. The options I had were to either focus on all the ways the day was not going to plan OR choose to make the most of it. The starting point of making the most of the worst - is to choose to make the most of the worst.

Second, I did something I don’t naturally do… walked up to a total stranger and introduced myself. I tend to be more introverted in public settings, so this wasn’t normal. But making the most of the circumstances required - or rather, offered the chance for me to do something different. That meant I had to look for an opportunity to do something out of the norm.

I should note - this person wasn’t a total stranger to me. He was best-selling author and one of the best speakers in the world, Jon Gordon. But I was a stranger to him - so going up to him pushed me out of my comfort zone. Choosing to make the most of the situation gave me the nudge to look for an opportunity.

Here comes the third part that dramatically changed both Jon and I’s days from one of the worst to one we’ll never forget. To do so I had to invite Jon to join me on the journey. Sounds weird, right? Not exactly. I had seen Jon’s name on the attendee list for the gathering I was going to so I invited him to ride in my car when we (eventually) got there.

Invitation to go on the day’s journey together was a huge step that transformed our day. But it wasn’t the last step. Going together gives us more resilience when we are encountering difficult circumstances. This is critical because choosing to make the most of the worst days is not actually a one time choice. It’s that choice on repeat.

As Jon and I got push notification after push notification letting us know another delay was happening, we had to persist in choosing to make the most of the worst. Instead of going home and cancelling our trips, we sat down for lunch. We broke bread and spurred one another on, shared our life stories, and most importantly - we spent a lot of time offering encouraging words. The wisdom Jon imparted on me that day has had incredible impact on my life. But that was only possible because we kept choosing to make the most of whatever came our way.

This is not a humble brag about my ability to not get frustrated when adversity comes, but this experience two years ago this week reminds me how I want to operate in the midst of the rough days, weeks, months, years.

IF IT'S WORTHY

During our lunch two years ago, Jon shared a line that has stuck with me about Worthy Wins.

“If it’s worthy, it’s worth it.”

So simple and so true.

The choice to make the most of the worst has changed my life. It has been completely worth it. I’ve seen it that play out in simple ways like flight delays and in the biggest, most challenging moments of my life - like when I was in sixth grade and my mom passed away. Or when my Dad passed away after a freak accident in 2020.

The best, most meaningful stories aren’t going to be without adversity. They are going to be great because of the response to adversity. The stories that move us and inspire us are marked by the choice to make the best of the worst. If living a great story is worthy, then it will require embracing and fighting through the challenges that come.

But without the choice, we never know how good the story can become.

HOW TO USE THE CLIP FRAMEWORK

A lot has happened in these last two years since that first meeting with Jon in the airport, but one completely unexpected result of that encounter was that Jon ultimately wrote the foreword for my book and has become a friend.

Again - talk about something amazing coming out of the worst. All set in motion by a choice that morning.

The CLIP Framework is an easy way to pursue that in any aspect of your life and I see the fingerprints of Biblical wisdom all over it!

CHOOSE to make the most of the worst (Philippians 4:8 is an invitation to focus on the good in all situations!)

LOOK for opportunity to do something out of the norm (We see examples of this in Matthew 5:44 as Jesus invited his followers to love their enemies - definitely not something normal!)

INVITE someone else to join you on the journey (Ecclesiastes 4 is the epitomy of this wisdom - two are better than one because if one falls, the other can help them up!)

PERSIST in choosing to make the most of the worst. (Galatians 6:9 urges us to not grow weary in doing good!)

The CLIP Framework is a simple way to take something that is frustrating and disappointing, and seek the best in the midst.

I hope it’s an encouragement to you regardless of how good - or how challenging -life is right now.

May you choose to make the most of wherever this finds you.

Rooting for you.

JO

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MY BOOK

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