Show #411: Creating peace to withstand stress and chaos

Show #411: Creating peace to withstand stress and chaos

Life and the world is filled with stress and chaos. We can’t change that. But we can equip ourselves to deal with it, and a foundational necessity is having a place of peace and renewal. Our home. Our closest relationships. How do we go about creating this? In her book, Creating a Haven of Peace, Joanne F. Miller guides us through the key ingredients needed to have a home of peace and relationships of love. At the end, is there anything we want more? And, as Zig would say, this is the source of our power that will lead to our ultimate legacy. Thanks so Qualaroo and Blue Apron for their support of this show.

Hi, everyone, this is Kevin and this is Ziglar’s True Performance Show, episode 411. A primary platform of Zig Ziglar’s relational success, he said, “You can't truly be considered successful in your business life if your home life is in shambles.”

So my question to you today is…would you describe your home, the place you return to after a long day’s work…would you describe it as a “Haven of Peace?” Is it joyful, peaceful, inspiring? Are the relationships deep and meaningful and rich?

If there is room for improvement, what would help? And how do you go about doing it? How do you deal with obstacles and challenges in your way?

In today’s show I bring you Joanne F. Miller, and we are discussing her new book, Haven of Peace.

*****Go to Joannefmiller.com and click on the banner for “Create a sense of peace” and get a beautiful poster on using the five senses for creating a haven of peace. Free.*****

Here is an overview of the premise. Joanne writes: “I learned at a very young age that a home full of anger, divorce, and disrespect was not the way I wanted to begin my marriage, so at age 19 I drew a line in the sand and declared I would change my family tree. But that took determination and intentional living. I had a lot to learn, and I eagerly sought out resources to head me in the right direction.

“Creating a Haven of Peace doesn’t take a lot of money. It doesn’t take a beautiful new home or all the stuff we think we need in order to be happy. You can begin building a peaceful and loving environment immediately by following the principles and insights I lay out in the chapters in this book. Creating the proper ambience, practicing being kind rather than right, and maintaining the proper hierarchy in the family are only a few of the many ways to loving and lasting relationships.

“Distraction and disconnect, chaos and busyness, disappointment and frustration are realities that cover our days like a blanket of smog. Intentionally wiping the cares of the world from our shoes at the front gate and stepping into a sanctuary where love is unconditional, peace is the norm, and laughter is abundant, can make life a grand adventure in spite of what is happening in the world at large.”

So, who is Joanne Miller? Here’s something interesting. On Ziglar’s True Performance Show, we’ve interviewed Dave Ramsey, Michael Hyatt, and Dan Miller. Joanne is close, longtime friends with Dave’s wife Sharon, Michael’s wife Gail, and…she is Dan’s wife. They run the 48 Days empire together. She has been his raving fan, speaker at their live events, and an integral piece to the success of their thriving 48 Days community. She is an accomplished artist, speaker, blogger, and author of five children’s books and co-author of Be Your Finest Art. She finds the best fodder for her writing is right in frontn of her— being the active mother of three grown children and grandmother to 16 very creative and adventure-seeking grandchildren.

And, yes, she is my mother. Interestingly, we get many rave reviews, in iTunes and elsewhere, regarding the show. We recently had a review left on Stitcher that was less than…stellar. It literally referenced me, and I quote, “pimping my family.” Well, here I am, at it again. Zig Ziglar was well known for his nepotism. If you don’t know that word, the definition is, “the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or friends.”

His son Tom has been CEO of Ziglar for many years. His daughter Cindy runs customer service. His daughter Julie is a speaker and presenter. Very few people who work with Ziglar were brought in from the outside. They were friends and family first. Including me…it was from a personal friendship with Tom that I came to be a part of the Ziglar family.

So, I’m guilty as charged. I just happen to have a family of speakers, presenters, authors, and influencers.

Before I bring you this interview, I want to tell you about a new supporter of Ziglar’s True Performance Show…

OK, then, folks, here is our interview with…Joanne F. Miller.

Joannefmiller.com/haven

SHOW NOTES – These are the questions asked of Joanne; listen to the show for her answers!

What do you see as the biggest threat to having a Haven of Peace?

You don’t say “pursuing a peaceful life overall.” But having a Haven of Peace to come back to, in order to recharge, renew…and be strengthened to go out into the world to engage.

You talk about rewriting one’s story to bring out the positives and the benefits. Classic positive thinking. You rewrote your own story, where, instead of neglect, abuse, and hardship, you found unique experiences, some privileges, strength, and enhanced understanding. Yet, back then, as a child and youth, you experienced pain. You can’t pretend that pain didn’t happen, and I know you are not saying to block it out. But help us reconcile this.

>> Go to Joannefmiller.com and click on the banner for “Create a sense of peace” and get a beautiful poster on using the five senses for creating a haven of peace. Free.

Marriage and family are a primary focus of the book and your message. If someone is in an unhealthy marriage or relationship, is it possible to progress toward creating a Haven of Peace until this is rectified?

In the vein of appreciation and respect, you say, “Never miss an opportunity to celebrate.” But your book doesn’t give much focus to celebrating events, holidays, or even achievements, so much as celebrating people!

Art and expressions of art are primary parts of your life and the focus of your first book, Be Your Finest Art. For instance, I think we’d all agree that anything done well involves art. It’s not rocket science to list the qualities of a good speaker and presenter. One can get onstage and follow the points by rote and do a very good, textbook job. But to really do it well and with excellence involves art. Zig Ziglar trained to become an artist at speaking and presenting. So, while there are bullet point ingredients and truths to creating a Haven of Peace, what is the art of it?

Joanne, if you were plopped into the home of an average American family where…maybe nothing was acutely wrong or bad, all is basically “fine,” but the normal, cultural busyness, chaos, disconnectedness and isolation exists and there is little true peace, joy, and intimacy, where would you start? Give us five primary actions to take.