Keeping

the
Faith
Daily Reflections That Will Build
Strength, Serenity, and Passion in
Your Life and the Lives of Others

John W. Pozzi

332 Center Street

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Keeping the Faith: Daily Reflections That Will Build
Strength, Serenity, and Passion in Your Life and the
Lives of Others. Copyright 2014 by John W. Pozzi. All
rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
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ISBN-13 978-0-9848162-5-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2014955814
Designed and printed in the United States of America.

Contents

Introduction ..................................... i
Welcome ..........................................v
Chapter 1 ........................................ 1
Chapter 1: Reflections ...................... 5
Chapter 2 ...................................... 13
Chapter 2: Reflections .................... 17
Chapter 3 ...................................... 29
Chapter 3: Reflections .................... 33
Chapter 4 ...................................... 37
Chapter 4: Reflections .................... 39
Chapter 5 ...................................... 53
Chapter 5: Reflections .................... 57
Conclusion .................................... 69
Going Forward ............................... 71

Dedication
To my Mom and Dad, Stephanie,
Samantha, Erica, Nathan, Sis,
Dan, and all that have inspired and
believed in me all these years.

Keeping the Faith

Introduction

We have all been put on this earth by God

for a reason. Unfortunately, not a single person that has lived can truly say that they are
always doing their purpose in life. We all slip
and fall from time to time. We all have stress
and family, health, financial, or other issues
throughout our lives. It is not that we fall or
fail, though. It is how we react and respond
to the challenges that are placed in front of
each of us that matter.
Many of us work through our challenges.
We get inspired by our heroes, music, other
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John W. Pozzi

people, words (both spoken or written), and

our faith. The goal of this book is to inspire
and help you through those rough times in
your day or life. By doing that, I hope to inspire you even further to share that help with
others.
This book is the product of years of me
sharing with friends and family a daily status
update on Facebook. The daily status reflections that I provided were my thoughts,
usually inspired by something going on in
my life or the lives of friends or family. They
were also variations of or direct quotes of famous or common sayings. After providing
many of these reflections, many people told
me I should collect them into a book. So, I
did.
The reflections and concepts that are
presented here are meant to make you think.
Thats all. By thinking, you will be taking the
first step towards action.
I know that not every reflection or concept will inspire every person to action or
change. Thats why I recommend reading
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Keeping the Faith

one reflection a dayor weekand then,

well, reflecting on it. If, after reading it and
reflecting on it, you have a reaction, either
good or bad or positive or negative, then
make of it what you will: some may make you
angry; some may inspire you to take action in
your life; yet others may have no impact at all.
Heres a tip: Highlight the ones that inspire you and post them somewhere that you
can see them throughout your day. Youll see
what happens.
Also, write notes or reactions about how
each reflection makes you feel or what you
are going to do as a reaction. Write your
thoughts in this book next to the reflection
that inspired you to do so. Really use this
book. Writing your thoughts and feelings
will help you to follow through with action.
It is my firm belief that there are injustices that take place every day in this world.
You may be one of the people feeling the
injusticeor you may be one of the people
causing the injustice. Most likely, though,
you are just a person working your way
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John W. Pozzi

through life. This simple book will, beyond

making you think, hopefully inspire you to
help others. At the very least, through simple
daily actions, you will make another persons
dayand, therefore, your daybetter.
I want to make a quick note here about
religion and faith. This books title can lead
you to believe that religion and God are the
core factors of what youll find. While I do
refer to God, higher powers, and sometimes
even Jesus Christ throughout the book,
please keep in mind that the true faith that
must be found and kept is the faith in oneself. If you dont believe in yourself and dont
have the confidence to grow each day, then
you are missing out on what life has to offer
you.
So please enjoy what you discover within
the pages of this simple bookas well as what
you discover within yourself. Above all else,
remember to keep the faith, no matter what.

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Keeping the Faith

Welcome

KnoW oneself. share With others. help

others find their role in life.
Those are the three main principles that
you will find within this book. They comprise
the core of what I consider living a life of confidence, faith, passion, and strength.
Over the years, while consulting and
providing training classes for various companies, Ive often been asked how a person
can be strong and confident all the time.
I can say with complete certainty that no
one is strong and confident everyday of their
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John W. Pozzi

life. There are always days that beat a person

down or situations in life that cause a person
to lose faith.
Consider this, though: no matter what
loss, pain, or situation you are in, only you
can get yourself out of the situationand
only you can decide how and when.
Think about that for a moment or two.
Really think about it. It doesnt matter if the
loss or pain or situation is your fault or not.
It doesnt matter of someone else is to blame
or if its all on you. Whatever the case, when
youre in a situation, only you can choose to
extricate yourself. Only you can choose to
make a change or to take an action.
With that in mind, lets take a look at a reflection, one like youll find within this book.
I truly believe this reflection is one that every person can learn from and grow from. A
person of any age or situation can learn from
this quote. It is a proven fact that self-esteem
and confidence are not something that you
are born with, but rather they are skills or
traits that you develop throughout life. You
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Keeping the Faith

determine how strong and confident you

are based on how you respond to situations
throughout your life.
Take a few minutes and read this reflection. Reflect on each part. Ask yourself
if what you read describes you. If not, then
what can you do differently to improve.

When you standstand tall.

When you speakspeak with
confidence.
When you listenlisten with an open
heart and mind.
When you givegive yourself
with heart, mind, and soul.

So how do you feel about yourself?

Can you say that you do all these things
in your life each and every day?
Do you have areas to improve?
Are you saying, John, surely not everyone can be like this!
Well, if you are one of the lucky ones that
already have these core traits in their life, the
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John W. Pozzi

rest of this book will be a refresher and hopefully give you some additional motivation.
For people that need some improvement,
print and hang this reflection somewhere
that you will see it every morning before you
start your day and every night when you end
your day. Each day, evaluate the progress
that you made. As you get closer and closer
to having these core principals each day in
your life, you will notice your days getting
more fulfilling and you will be happier.
For the people that say, Come on,
John! No one lives in that world, I say try it!
Each morning, wake up, stand straight, look
in the mirror, and say, Today is my day. Im
going to do the best I can at everything I do.
Even if your job or life is not what you want
at the moment, you need to do your best each
day while you work to get to where you want
to be in life.
Lets look at each line in that reflection.
When you speak, even if you are asking a
question or asking for help, stand straight up
and speak with confidence. Its okay to ask
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Keeping the Faith

for help, so ask with confidence and speak

with a strong voice.
Each day there are chances to listen to
others. Do you ignore them? Do you only
hear what you want to hear? Do you listen
while doing other things? Open your heart
and mind to the people you are listening to.
It is amazing what you can learn from others.
As a good friend said to me: All good leaders know it is important to hear each word
spoken. Or, as was spoken in a popular
movie from a few years ago, listen rather than
wait for your turn to talk.
Each day you give a part of yourself,
whether it is at work, at home, or in your daily interaction with others. How do you give
of yourself? Do you hold back? Do you go at
life half-heartedly?
You need to give of yourself with your
whole heart, mind, and soulall the time.
You never know what interaction with a person will make a difference in their lifeor
yours. If you are not giving yourself in full,

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John W. Pozzi

it is not fair to the people you are interacting

with.
See how these reflections work?
As you progress through this book, as
you read each reflection, ask yourself questions like the ones I wrote here. Be honest
and truthful (and perhaps even fearless) with
yourself. What will happen when you do is
that you will acquire knowledge of yourself.
And, as we all know, knowledge is power.
Yes, you can changebut only you can
decide to strive for personal greatness.
Change begins when we realize the
truth. Change becomes actualized when we
begin to take action. And personal greatness
That comes not from arriving at a destination. Rather, it comes from the journey.
More precisely, it is the journey.
I hope the following pages inspire and
lead you to find all you are meant to be in life.

Keeping
the
Faith

Keeping the Faith

Chapter 1

in a recent survey, it Was determined that

roughly 90% of the worlds population believes there is a power greater than the human race on earth. It does not matter what
we call Him or Her, the fact is most people
believe that once we pass through our earthly life, there will be another life and we will
come face to face with our Creator.
With so many people believing in a
higher power, why do we have wars, hunger,
homelessness, and other worldly issues?

John W. Pozzi

Some of the problems are differences

between religions, nationalities, and ethnic
groups. We can see this in politics, from our
local levels all the way up to the world stage.
Instead of focusing on the common ground
and working to share and expand on the
agreeable areas we all share, one side or the
other holds tight to its all-or-nothing stance
and either nothing happens or it angers each
side to the point of war or abuse.
But the human race can change the outcome of the future one person at a time and
then pass it forward. If each person took one
moment to pass forward a gift or talent they
have been given, then little by little barriers
would be broken and some of the worlds issues would slowly be resolved.
What have you done to help change the
outcome of someones day or life?
Have you shared your given talents to
improve others lives?
Or just to make your life better?
Many people say they are sharing their
gifts, but if they looked inward and actually
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Keeping the Faith

did a self-check of their actions, they would

realize that while their actions may help others, the impetuses behind the actions are primarily for self-gain or recognition.
There are many examples of people that
have worked to help others throughout time.
Of course, we cant spend all our lives helping others, but all of us can provide a simple
act of kindness each day in our lives that can
change someones day. Some of these simple gestures are a simple smile, saying thank
you, sharing a hug, saying a kind word, offering an ear or providing a shoulder. These
simple gestures can take but a few seconds,
yet they can last someone an entire day.
We all need to take a few moments out
of our busy, crazy lives to share with others.
You may never know how your simple gesture will change the outcome of someones
dayor even their life. And if they pass that
kind act on, you will never know how many
people were changedand all because you
took but a few moments of your time to share
each day.
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John W. Pozzi

We will continue to think about our actions throughout this book. For now, read,
reflect, and react to the following reflections.
Remember to write notes and to really use
this book. When you read a reflection that
makes a great impression on you, write it on
a card (like an index card) and put it someplace you can see every day.
And remember that as you strive for personal greatness, it is the journey that is the
reward.

Keeping the Faith

Chapter 1:
Reflections

Reflection 1
Open your heart and mind to the
talents God has given you.
You will then be able to share
them with the world.

Reflection 2
Today
Offer more hugs and less pain.
Spread love not hatred.
Judge less and respect more.
Talk less and listen more.
Forgive and forget.
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John W. Pozzi

Reflection 3
Some of the best moments
in life are not seen or heard.
They are felt in your heart.

Reflection 4
Are you
The Hammer?
The Screw?
The Connector?
The Hub?
Or the Carpet?
in your life.

Reflection 5
The best acts of love and
kindness require no words.

Keeping the Faith

Reflection 6
Sometimes in life you just need to
lay out the truth. Sorry if you dont
like me, but I change for no one.

Reflection 7
There is no I in the words
team or loveso stop trying
to insert it into places that
requires working with others.

Reflection 8
One of the tougher lessons in
life is realizing that not everyone
will love you as much as you
love them. That is why it is so
important to love yourself first.

John W. Pozzi

Reflection 9
You may not get exactly what
you want all the time. This is
not all bad because each time
is giving you experience.

Reflection 10
We all have a passion for something
in our life. The question is not
if you have a passion, but if
that passion is helping others
or just benefiting yourself.

Reflection 11
Stop trying to be one of the
Joneses and just be you. God
made each of us as unique people
to serve a unique purpose in life
and the world. Stop worrying what
others want and focus more on what
you have to offer to the world.
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Keeping the Faith

Reflection 12
Never give up on that one thing you
cant stop thinking about in your life.

Reflection 13
The only way to truly retain love is
to share and give it away. The more
you share, the more you retain.

Reflection 14
Sometimes you truly dont know the
value of a moment in your life until
it passes and becomes a memory.

Reflection 15
Never regret your past actions. Just
realize and learn that some of that
time was lost with the wrong people
and actions. Life is a lifetime of
learning, not of blaming or shame.
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John W. Pozzi

Reflection 16
Offer a smile, a thank you, a hand
shake to all you see. You never
know how that simple act may make
someones day. Pain and joy are not
always seen by the human eye.

Reflection 17
Never cry over the people that
hurt you, just smile and say,
Thank you. Now I can find
someone better than you.

Reflection 18
Every day I remind myself it
is OK to not be perfect.

Reflection 19
Everything happens for a reason;
otherwise, it would not happen.
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Keeping the Faith

Reflection 20
What are you going to do today
to change someones life?

Reflection 21
Will you be real or fake today?
Will you share your talents, gifts, and
smile? Or will you be what others
want you to be?
The decision is yoursand only yours.
Who will you be today?

Reflection 22
Fate may determine who enters
your life, but only you can
determine how long they stay in
your heart, mind, and soul.

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John W. Pozzi

Reflection 23
Three simple words for your life:
Dont.
Give.
Up.

Reflection 24
When youre having one of those
days where you need someone
to lean on and everyone is busy,
remember that God is always there.

Reflection 25
To my friends:
My arms are always open to you;
my ears always open to listening;
my heart always open to your needs;
and know Im here in thought
and prayer every day.

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Keeping the Faith

Chapter 2

hoW did you fare With those reflections?

Did you find some way to pass it forward or
share with others?
Take a moment and find a notebook or
paper and something to write with, and take
five minutes to reflect on what action (or actions) you took because of what you read and
how you felt after taking the action.
Look at the list you wrote.
Did it make you feel better?
Did it put an extra bounce in your step
for the rest of day?
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John W. Pozzi

Close your eyes and reflect back on those

moments and think about your feelings and
the reactions of others.
Did you notice additional things throughout the day?
Did you notice other acts of kindness or
did life slow down just a little and you took in
more of the gifts and wonders of the world?
After the first experience of sharing, was
the next time easier and more natural?
The more often you share, the easier it
becomes and the more natural it feels.
No one has a perfect day every day of
their life. We all wake up on the wrong side
of the bed or have something happen in our
day that just wipes us out mentally or physically.
But how do you feel when someone helps
to improve your day? How do you feel when
someone thanks you or gives you praise?
Some people may shy away from it, but
no matter what you say, it does make you feel
good and motivates or inspires you for the
rest of the day. So why would you not want to
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Keeping the Faith

share that same feeling with others by making someone elses day?
These actions need to be developed from
within. You cannot help or love others until
you love yourself. Once you love yourself for
who you are and what you have to offer others, you can then offer it to others. Start at
home by sharing your love and gifts with the
people you live with family or roommates
or whoever it is that you share your life with.
Imagine if you shared each day at home and
then your family shared with others in their
spheres
The true test in our lives is not to share
with just people we know and care for but
with strangers and people we are not fond
of. We all have people in our lives that just
drive us crazy. These are the people that we
most need to find a way to share our gifts
with. We wont change them (and we dont
want to change them), but we want them to
know they are loved for the gifts they have to
offer. Remember that every person has gifts
to share with the world. We need to look past
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John W. Pozzi

what we dont like about certain people and

find their gift and either highlight that gift
or find a way to enjoy that gift when we encounter them. We also must be open to sharing our love and gifts with them. Again, this
could be a simple thank you, smile, or a way
of acknowledging them.
In many cases, finding a way to highlight
others gifts and love is as satisfying as sharing your own gifts. Encouragement is a two
way street: the more you encourage and motivate others, the more inspired you become.
But there is a fine line between encouraging
and trying to change someone. Remember
the person you are inspiring must first love
themself and have knowledge of their gifts.
They may not know how to share it and you
can encourage and help them share it, but
you cant force someone to be something
they are not willing to be or share.
We have reviewed how you are doing so
far and discussed the development of sharing
of oneself, so lets move on to more reflections.
16