Cpt. Smiley and USA Basketball

The May/June New Man should be hitting subscribers right around now. We've got some killer stories in this issue, particularly our look at Nate Larkin's revolutionary Sampson Society, a different kind of men's group that is making a huge impact on everyone it touches.

We've also got a fantastic story on Captain Scott Smiley, a Christian soldier who was wounded in Iraq and had to fight to keep his faith and his place in the army. Today he tells his story to military men and civilians around the country. He even got to speak to USA Basketball last summer.

We found a video on Greensickle.com showing Smiley and his meeting with the US basketball team. Check it out if you want to see a truly moving video (or if you just want to see Dwyane Wayde and Mike D'Antoni tear up.) Just click here and then go to their link that says "Here's the video."

If you're not a subscriber but are interested in New Man, click here for a free issue.

Success Nuggets by Coach Tommy Newberry

Hey guys,

Starting today we will be posting short articles and devotionals from some of the leaders of the men's movement. This article is the first in a series called, "Success Nuggets," by Coach Tommy Newberry. Newberry is a popular writer and speaker on the topics of entrepreneurial effectiveness and marketplace integrity.

The Power of Focus

The key to high performance is plain and simple…FOCUS!

Well–meaning individuals routinely bury their potential when they busy themselves in lots of frenetic activity, most of which does not lead directly to the accomplishment of a worthwhile and written goal. To stay super-focused, be aware of these fundamentals:

1. Always think in terms of results. Never start a week without knowing the precise results that must be achieved.

2. Clarify in writing the high-return activities that qualify for your participation. These are the most necessary things that lead directly to important results. These are the activities that must be done during business hours (usually) by you and no one else. Try to schedule other necessary, but non-crucial tasks to before or after work hours. If you can, schedule a Prep Day, designated for clearing clutter and taking care of low-payback activity.

3. Identify your temptations (low-return habit patterns) in writing and post them where you can seem them constantly. If you don’t know what yours are, ask someone that works or lives with you. Trust me, they know. Write down any activity that you have previously gravitated toward or may gravitate toward in the future that won’t produce important results.

4. Gauge how well you sleep each evening. No pillow is quite as soft as the pillow of peace of mind. When you know you’ve invested your time wisely in results-producing activity (not stuff), you’re subconscious allows you to sleep soundly. On the other hand, a night of anxious tossing and turning is frequently a plea from your subconscious to get your act together and do what you know you should be doing in the first place.

5. Throughout each day, repeatedly ask yourself, what is this activity leading me to?” Never accept the first answer without a degree of skepticism. This is part of coaching yourself to your “A-Game.” Ask again, what is this activity leading me to and could there be something more valuable that I should really be doing instead?” Imagine each 15 minutes of your day is overseen and reviewed by your personal board of directors. Would they be satisfied with how you have invested your time to this point in the day? In the week?

6. Watch out for the three “Focus Killers" during work hours:

• Distractions & Interruptions-personal business, personal e-mails at work, personal phone calls at work, errands during work hours. Too many accept these as normal.
• Procrastination- Postponing high payback activity in favor of low or medium activity. Procrastination is always rationalized to make us feel better.
• Fatigue- Typically a last ditch effort by your subconscious to keep your “performance ceiling” set at the current level and lead you to procrastinate. Ever notice how tired you get when faced with an important but unappealing task?

Tommy Newberry is Head Coach of the 1% Club and author of Success is not an Accident www.1percentclub.com

Praise the Lord and Pass the Moose Meatballs

We all know that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. For years, churches have relied on the promise of food to raise attendance at events. But Spotswood Baptist is taking it to the next level. The Fredericksburg, Va., church is now hosting wild-game banquets as a way to draw men into the community.

For all of you too lazy to click on the link, basically this thing involves lots of men (I'm assuming they have camo hats with those gold hooks on the bills) sharing hunting stories and practicing their turkey calls while feasting on a variety of exotic dishes, including venison stew, raccoon sloppy Joes and sweet-and-sour moose meatballs.

But amidst all this rustic masculine splendor, the men share testimonies, prayer and hear a message. The associate pastor says they are simply trying to meet men right where they are. Amen to that!

New Man salutes you, Spotswood Baptist. While us city folk may not understand the appeal of a side of bear ribs, we definitely understand the appeal of creating an environment for men to feel a sense of community at church.

Now all we need to do is figure out how to apply this to city churches. A tie-swapping party anyone?

The Camo Bible

You know the feeling. It's a glorious Saturday morning, you're sitting outside enjoying the beauty and majesty of God's creation, and you get the urge to open up the Bible and read a few psalms. But then the rifle in your hands reminds you that you're 15 feet in the air draped in camo and smelling of deer urine, and that your bright orange metallic Bible is probably going to ward off every deer in the county.

What's a godly hunter to do?

For those avid outdoorsmen who wish to enjoy the hunt without sacrificing their time with the Lord, we present to you the Camo Bible. This beauty is sure to fool any deer dumb enough to interrupt your devotional time. It's also great for looking cool at your next men's retreat.

New Man's favorite design, the Mossy Oak, includes notes, maps a concordance and red Jesus words. It's currently out of stock due to popular demand, but we're sure the true hunters out there will find it somewhere.