READ THE TRANSCRIPT.

Life is costly in any case. But what’s the price of attaining, or losing what you most want and hope for? From Los Angeles, let’s
get clear on the price of the prize.

I’m in LA for a speech at this hotel. Meanwhile many thousands nearby have lost their homes and treasures to fire. They face long roads of challenge and change, rebuilding some semblance of normalcy. The randomness and extremes of circumstance remind us how precious and precarious life is. To attain a dream or endure a nightmare requires you pay a toll – the price of time, effort, emotion, and sizable sacrifice.

My heart goes out to those displaced, businesses and landmarks destroyed, and to this community now united in survival and recovery. They need help, hope, and marathon effort. I can’t comprehend how hard that will be.

Consider for a moment the price you’ve paid along your life’s journey: All the hardship you’ve endured. Sacrifices made for those you love or the future you envision. Money earned, spent, or squandered. Have you suffered unexpected loss?

Then there’s irretrievable time, your most precious resource, which you’ve spent on worthy efforts, learning subjects and skills, working hours on end, attempting to order and shape your life. Even time you may feel is wasted counts towards the whole.

In this one way life journey in which we all leave with nothing, perhaps the lesson to learn is this, the price is the prize. Intentional effort and sacrifice brings intrinsic rewards, meaningful relationships, and unique experiences that shape us bring us closer to each other and, I believe, to our Creator.

Whether overcoming floods, like those in Appalachia, fire here in California, or the deeply personal catastrophes of addiction, heartbreak, or despair, we learn you can’t predict or control the chaos, yet we can find meaning, contribution, and transformation through faith and by continually paying the price. In that, we gain a prize that’s yours to keep. Until next week, stay Off Balance On Purpose.