Be Inspired

By Justin Gardner

BE INSPIRED is the follow-up book to Small Change Big Change, the exceptionally popular financial education book by Justin Gardner. This inspiring book explores the fascinating leadership and life journey that Justin has been on since finding God. Homeless at just 14 years old, Justin lived a criminal life until the age of 22, when he miraculously became a Christian. Justin was in debt, was discouraged, was without discipline and had a destructive thought-life.

Justin is now a senior minister, author and public speaker, and he has broken free from living a debt-driven life to finding financial freedom and becoming a leader that inspires and mentors other leaders in many different walks of life.

BE INSPIRED contains the principles and the disciplines that Justin has learnt and applied from great millionaires, business leaders, church leaders and world champions in his leadership development over the last 19 years. These lessons have opened amazing doors of opportunity and blessing in his life of leadership, and in the lives of many others.

BE INSPIRED is a book for everyone that is looking to grow in their leadership and influence. If you are a student, business person, leader, speaker, mum or dad desiring to do more and change some things for the better, then BE INSPIRED will give you the practical leadership tools and encouragement that you can use in your daily life. It will also help encourage you through the tough times. BE INSPIRED is designed to help you shift some things so that you can line up with living the inspiring life that God designed for you to live before He ever laid the foundations of the world.

“Pastor Justin Gardner's book is full of information and inspiration that will prepare you for a full life. When things go wrong, I recommend that you start turning the pages and re-read it again, and you will be a shouting optimist within an hour. It comes with my full recommendation.”

Dr Peter J. Daniels,
Founder of the World Centre of Entrepreneur Studies Foundation

• Language: English
• Publisher: Justin Gardner
• Release date: Sep 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781310077975

Justin Gardner

Justin Gardner did not have a happy childhood. Abuse, violence and rejection led to a life doing and selling drugs as early as 12. By 14, he was out of school and out of home and was living a life of crime on the streets of Melbourne. In fact, some of the people that he grew up with are characters portrayed in the Underbelly TV series. At the age of 22, Justin was not only suicidal, but found himself heading down the path towards murder. He realised that the destructive life he had been living for so many years was only headed towards death, and he called out to Jesus to save him, who has since turned his mess into a message. Today Justin is the senior pastor of Destiny Centre Christian Church in Hoppers Crossing, Victoria. Destiny Centre has a heart to help people and under Justin's leadership it is has established 3 children's homes and a school over in Kenya, and a drug and alcohol rehab in Hoppers Crossing. Justin is also an accomplished author and has currently had three books published. 'CrimeSon' is his incredible life story, 'Small Change Big Change' is about the financial principles he has learnt over his life and how they can help other people and 'Be Inspired' is full of practical leadership tools and encouragement that he has learnt from millionaires, business leaders and world champions. Justin has an insatiable love for God's word. His passion to see people grasp and apply God's principles and promises clearly comes through in his razor-sharp yet humorous speaking ability. Justin's focus never fades from his two-fold mission to see “the lost found and the found crowned”. He loves to help people become all that God created them to be and for them to live an abundant life that will bless and impact other people's lives. Justin travels nationally and internationally, preaching to build and inspire people and sharing his miraculous story to thousands of people from many different walks of life, from youth to the elderly, parents to prisoners and from murderers to millionaires. Justin loves to laugh, loves fast cars, steaks and shopping and he trains kickboxing to stay fit. Justin has been happily married to his wife Kim since 1999 and has two sons Davis and Oskar whom he adores.

Book preview

illustration

Some years ago I wrote my first book, Crimeson, the story of my life. It wasn’t a great life. I was involved in crime and drugs at an early age, ending up out of school and homeless at 14. I lived a criminal life until the age of 22 when I ended up suicidal and wanting to commit murder.

In the midst of extremely dark times of depression and torment a miracle happened. God found me and reached out to me with his grace and love in my seemingly hopeless situation. I surrendered my life to him and he picked me up. He cleaned me up, restored me and made me a minister of the gospel.

Two years after Crimeson I released my second book, Small Change, Big Change, a book about my financial journey from poverty on the streets to financial freedom, and how the financial principles I followed can help people on their own financial journey. The reason I wrote these two books was so that my sons would know my story and the principles that I live by when they grew up.

My motivation for writing the book you find in your hands right now comes from the same place. This book is for my two sons, Davis and Oskar. I want them to know the leadership principles and wisdom I have learnt and applied, and which, over many years, have brought much blessing into both my life and the lives of many other people.

Many of the things that have blessed my life since becoming a Christian are simple things that I never learned. In fact, I had never even heard of most of them, growing up as a kid in the western suburbs of Melbourne. Our family had many financial struggles that stemmed from my father’s alcohol problem and gambling addiction and I can’t remember anyone teaching me any kind of leadership principles (or encouraging me at all for that matter).

In the 19 years since I became a Christian, I have been on a journey which has broken old mindsets; mindsets that never worked for me. I have gained a passion and drive to replace my bad habits with good ones. I have been challenged to break off poverty, lack and a dishonouring spirit that still affected my life from past generations. I want to leave a legacy of blessing and wisdom to my family; a legacy that will affect future generations in a positive way.

My journey has taken me to many fascinating places and I have met many fascinating people along the way. They have helped to shape and guide me into living a blessed life that blesses other people’s lives. I had dinner with a successful and wealthy man many years ago named Peter J Daniels. But he hadn’t always been that way. In his thirties, this man had broken free from an undisciplined life of dysfunction, discouragement, excuses and debt to become one of the best platform speakers in the world. He is a very successful businessman, with business ventures in many different countries.

As we ate in a small Italian restaurant I fired questions at him like a machine gun. His replies were just as fast as my questions and the wealth of knowledge he carried blew my mind. Then he said something that broke a mindset in me forever.

Most people are looking for a helping hand; someone to help them and change things for them, he said. But I’ve found in life that the best helping hand you will ever find is the hand at the end of your own sleeve.

The moment I heard it, it dawned on me that my life is my responsibility. How things turn out is no one else’s fault but my own. And I realised that nothing that people have or haven’t done for me in the past should determine why I can’t do something great in my life—something that will bless my family, my church and other people in my world. Starting right now!

I saw that I couldn’t move forward while looking back in the rear view mirror of the past. I knew that I had to take full responsibility for my life and my actions and never again blame anyone for how things turned out.

Over the past 19 years I have spent a lot of money on my brain. I’ve met with, and asked many questions of, many people including leaders, small business owners, those that have made wealth and then lost it, retired people, property developers and millionaires. I have even had the privilege of getting to know a billionaire, from whom I drew much wisdom and inspiration that has helped me immensely over the years. As a result my net worth and self-worth have both increased and I live a life that looks to inspire others.

I want to encourage you and inspire you as you read this book. Face your giants; your wrong decisions and your current circumstances and face the circle you are standing in. I want to give you the tools you need to start thinking differently, choosing differently and, ultimately, living differently.

If you are brave enough to keep reading this book I will pre-warn you. It may be an emotional roller coaster ride for some and a hard pill to swallow at times for others. Over the years I have ridden many emotional rollercoasters and swallowed many hard pills in my own leadership journey but because I made a decision in my heart to stay committed to it no matter what (no exceptions and no Plan B) I came out the other side with a sense of victory and a life that will never be the same again.

If you are ready for change then your first step in the right direction is to make a commitment to yourself to finish reading this book, no matter how long it takes you. I believe you will be bigger for it. If you gain one change, one new idea or one new inspirational plan for your personal life then my work is done.

As you read on, be prepared to roll with the punches and challenges that will be thrown at you as I share with you the keys that I have used over the years to unlock much blessing and break many mindsets in my life. My hope is that you will be inspired as you read the stories of how God did amazing miracles for me and my family as we took up the challenge to put God first in our life and as we obeyed the challenges he gave us, even in the times that it seemed impossible. I hope that the stories and principles that I have learned from great leaders and champions over the years that have inspired me will also inspire you.

Be inspired.

illustrationillustration

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. – John Quincy Adams

It was just a regular, monthly leadership meeting. The group of eight was gathered in our board room at church, sitting around a long table, note pads out in front. There was an excited buzz in the air, even though most people had already put in a full day at work. We started out talking about leadership and how it affected each one of us. Just regular training type stuff.

But then, suddenly, I stopped the meeting. In my heart I had an overwhelming feeling of passion that I needed to share with my team. I stood up and walked over to the white board anchored to the wall. In squeaky green pen I wrote this question on the board: Why are you leading people?

Why? I asked my group. Why are you leading people?

The leaders fired back answers one after the other and I wrote them down quickly on the whiteboard. And then I looked at them.

The answers were all heartfelt and warm. They were sincere and came out of hearts that wanted to do good. Honestly, I agreed with them all. However, there was something similar about all of them. Every answer my team gave, which I scribbled up on the whiteboard, lent towards maintenance of people or pastoral care. Now, pastoral care of people’s lives is a wonderful gift. It’s a service very much needed. But all of those reasons were not from the same fire that was burning in my soul.

I turned to my leaders and I looked them in the eye. The atmosphere had become serious and emotional. I am leading people to change, I said. I want to be a catalyst for change on the inside of people’s hearts. I want that transformation to lead to positive changes outside of their lives. I want to create a thirst inside people to do more and be more.

I took a breath and went on. I am leading people to inspire them. Inspiration means that I must light fires inside people’s souls that will grow even bigger and burn even brighter when adversity and challenges king hit their lives. Inspiration can light fires inside people that not even the devil and all his henchmen in hell can put out. The power of inspiration drives me forward, punching holes in the darkness until it bleeds light that shines on a new path for people to follow – a path that leads them to better experiences and a greater value of life.

My leaders agreed with me. By the end of the night we all had made a fresh commitment to take everything we did as leaders to another level. We were going to set a great example for others to follow in life.

True success in life is not measured by how much money or achievements you make, but by how much of a difference you make in the lives of others.

Where are the heroes in today’s world? Where are the men and woman who will sacrifice, push through pain and flee temptation for the good of others? Where are the ones who can stand tall, shining with integrity before our young people as role models, instead of taking short cuts down pleasure lane for their own self gain?

Today people have traded their heroes for celebrities. We have not honoured attributes like courage, character, integrity, honesty and generosity in our world. Instead we have been blinded by ‘bling’ and stage lights. Our children are attracted to the shine of celebrities like moths are to a flame, with tragic consequences. Many celebrities today are nothing more than talented and attractive people who are famous for being well known. They are not known because they have dedicated their life to change other people’s lives or the world that we live in. Our kids’ role models are in the entertainment business.

Of course, many celebrities do good things for charities. They should be encouraged to keep up the good work. I honour the gift of a great singer, dancer or actor who pays the price to sharpen their gift and present an amazing performance. But we must not lift them up to hero status or, even worse, lift them up to be worshipped. Today the celebrities that our children look up to and want to be like are in and out of rehab, in and out of jail, marriages and psychiatrists’ offices, and in and out of the media spotlight for doing disturbing and destructive things. Are these really the best examples for our children and future leaders to be following?

Why have we stopped believing in heroes in today’s world? Why have we instead settled for the glitter, smoke and mirrors of celebrity worship? I’m convinced that one of the reasons is because people have forgotten the God who has created them, with a plan and a purpose to play out throughout their lifetime that will change people’s lives.

Where are the heroes of our generation? I believe God has created them. He has sent them into this generation for this time to make an impact. Many of them, however, are living unfulfilled and ineffective lives, completely unaware of who they are and what they are here for. Yes, they are here. They are sitting in our churches, in our government offices, sporting clubs, schools, homeless shelters, jails and, yes, even on movie sets in Hollywood. It’s just that they don’t know it. These God-made and God-sent heroes have been engineered for success. They’ve been called to impact the world around them. But many of them have sold out. They’ve exchanged their destinies for pleasure and power. They’ve fallen asleep behind the wheel of life and have gotten lost.

Today’s heroes all once had a vision. It burned deep within their hearts as children. They knew without a shadow of a doubt that when they grew up they were going to change something in this world for the better. They were going to live to be kind and do good and they were excited about the future. Many dreamed about becoming firemen and women, policemen and women or army men and women. Some wanted to be secret agents on undercover missions. Others knew they would be doctors and nurses. They dreamed of stopping ‘the baddies’ and protecting ‘the goodies’.

What was behind these childhood visions? Simply this. It was the call of God that echoed deep in their hearts at a young age. The call of God to save those who were in trouble or heal those who were hurt or help those in need of help. The call of God to change people’s worlds.

Today, the God-sent heroes have fallen asleep. It is time for them to awaken, to open their eyes to the God-given vision and purpose that is before them and to pay the price for the good of mankind.

Vision is the art of seeing things that are not yet visible. – Jonathan Swift

I wrote this book to re-tap the deep wells of vision in people’s souls. These are wells that have been coved over, blocked up and forgotten about through the madness of living a life with themselves and their own needs and wants as their number one priority.

I wrote this book to relight the fires of passion and purpose in the hearts of people who have lost their way and who have forgotten that God still has a plan for them. He has not changed his mind about them becoming a hero for somebody.

I am believing that as you read this book you will be tuned into God’s leading. I believe that your vision will be restored. Today many of us have forgotten to seek after our vision. Instead we have become desperate souls who strive after provision and pleasure as a means to fulfilment, only to end up empty and disillusioned. But the truth is that vision always comes before provision. If you will seek after vision then provision will seek after you and fulfilment can be a living reality in your daily life.

When God puts a dream on your heart, He places provision in your path. – Victoria Osteen

If we don’t get back to what we once dreamed of as children and actually find what it is we are supposed to be doing in this world to help other people, then we will have nothing to impart into the hearts of our children. Our life’s efforts and striving for selfish gain, comfort and pleasure will be forgotten about quicker than one of today’s chart-topping hit songs. We need to be the heroes God calls us to be for our families, our churches and our communities, choosing the hard way over the easy way in obedience to his call. In doing so we will lay unmovable stones in the souls of our kids as a memorial, reminding them of how awesome God is. We need to remind them how faithful he has been to us as we have chosen to live in the faith zone, attempting the impossible as God’s heroes on a mission to save, help and protect people’s lives and eternities, leaving the world a better place.

There will never be another now. I will make the most of today. There will never be another me. I will make the most of myself. – Robert H Schuller

Look how far many of us have fallen from pursuing the dreams we once carried in our hearts as kids. Today it is common for people to work most of their lives in jobs that they don’t like and that don’t fulfil them. Too many people exchange a portion of their life every week that they can never get back for a pay cheque from a job that they hate. Let me tell you this loudly: This is not the life that God has planned for you. To wake up every day and go to a job that you don’t like, exchanging 40, 50 or even 60 hours of your life for an amount of money (that in many people’s cases never seems to be enough anyway) is a terrible way to spend the precious gift called life that you have been entrusted with. This doesn’t have to be the case. There are greater experiences, greater levels of fulfilment, challenge and adventure, and greater amounts of money and purpose that can be accessed by you. However, there are some things that must change if you are to get what you want and to get to work in a job or business that you love.

The first thing that must change is you. Within change lie the seeds of happiness and prosperity, but change requires that we must be willing to let go of what we know, and reach out, ready to embrace what we don’t know.

If you will take the time to change ‘you’ then things will start to change around you. Change is going to happen no matter what you do. Time and gravity will take care of that fact, that’s for sure. But you don’t have to wait for time and gravity to change you. You can command change of yourself. You are the master of your own soul. You can choose what goes in and out of your mind and mouth. You have the power to think differently and to choose differently and if you will use the power of choice in a positive way then you will start to feel differently. Think differently, act differently and see differently, and opportunities will become your new best friend.

People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves, they have the first secret of success. – Norman Vincent Peale

Preparation is king when it comes to change. Some people don’t see the point in preparing for greatness but it is a terrible thing to miss an opportunity that comes along that you are not prepared for. Much better to do the hard work of preparing when you don’t have an opportunity. I decided many years ago that I would never stand before people unprepared. I have learnt through experience that when you are well prepared you are confident. You may still feel nervous but you are confident because you have prepared for the challenge you are about to face. I constantly sharpen my gifts and expand my thinking so that I am always ready to act, speak and take on any challenge or opportunity that arises in my life. I have learnt to master my soul. A person with no self-control, no discipline, and no healthy routines will have their inner potential locked up, lying dormant and ineffective. People’s potential is released through preparation.

He that has no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls. (Proverbs 25:28)

Around five years ago I handpicked a group of people from my church and gave them the opportunity to join me in a growth experiment. The people were from different walks of life.