The Rancher's Gift E-Book

Dennis Worden

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 107

Beschreibung

We are not promised more than today. Thus we need to live our legacy now, with focus and integrity. Ryan Westcott is ready to step into the family business, armed with a fresh MBA degree from a prestigious business school. Yet his father has other ideas. He feels Ryan needs more education—but not the kind one gets from a school. Ryan is sent to his uncle's Montana ranch to learn, in short, how to be a man. While Ryan helps his uncle build a barn, he learns life lessons about health, work, finances, education, selfessness, humility, and most important of all, love. Ryan meets the richest man in the county, only to find riches are not always counted in dollars and cents. And then there is Kayla, the pretty country lass who awakens deep feelings in Ryan he never knew he had, and challenges him to live a life of true purpose. Along the trail, Ryan meets one more person, one who will upend all else and change his life forever. There is more to life than just what we see in our limited view. Come travel the "Big Sky" country with Ryan, and find the purposeful life that awaits you.  Bonus: Also included is The Rancher's Guide to Living Life on Purpose to help you reflect and discover your purpose in living.

Leseprobe

The Rancher’s Gift is a fascinating and compelling tale that is sure to show you a new pathway to deeper meaning and purpose in your life. Don’t miss out on this compelling message.

—Les Parrott, PhD, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Good Fight

Our minds are wired for good storytelling, and Dennis Worden and Jeff Dunn are great storytellers! But beyond just being drawn into this terrific narrative, you will find the principles for life and purpose are spilling out of this book. You’ll love it, and you’ll be so glad you read it!

—Clay Scroggins, lead pastor, North Point Community Church

The Rancher’s Gift will take your imagination on a wonderfully engaging journey, causing you to pause and reflect on life’s biggest questions along the way. If there was ever a book that was worth the time it took to read, this is it.

—Dr. Todd Cartmell, child psychologist and author of 8 Simple Tools for Raising Great Kids

Heartwarming, inspirational, and real-world, The Rancher’s Gift provides powerful principles for pursuing and achieving a successful life with purpose.

—Lt. Col. Waldo Waldman, author of the national bestseller Never Fly Solo

A must read, you’ll find The Rancher’s Gift to be a powerful parable full of reminders and revelations that are life changing as you apply its truths.

—Julie Gorman, a John Maxwell certified coach, author, and speaker

Dennis and Jeff do a masterful job of weaving the life of a rancher with powerful illustrations and application into God’s timeless truth.

—Boyd Bailey, author of Wisdom Hunters devotionals and founder of Wisdom Hunters, Inc.

The Rancher’s Gift is very compelling. Couldn’t wait to turn the page and learn something more!

—Jennifer Du Plessis, principal and CEO, Kinetic Spark Consulting

If you want to live ON PURPOSE, read The Rancher’s Gift! This powerful modern-day parable by Dennis Worden and Jeff Dunn can change your life.

—Tim Enochs, executive coach and New York Times bestselling author of On the Clock

Inspiring and heartwarming, The Rancher’s Gift is filled with timeless truths and serves to remind us of the transformative power of relationships.

—Dr. Randy Ross, founder & chief enthusiasm officer of Remarkable! and author of Remarkable!

Intricate and beautifully written, this is a captivating book about the journey of uncovering purpose and maximizing potential.

—Dr. N. Cindy Trimm, international conference speaker, former senator, and bestselling author

No matter your age, The Rancher’s Gift will leave you fully equipped for success, true fulfillment, and living a life on purpose.

—Dr. Sam Chand, author, speaker, leadership architect, and change strategist

This amazing story will make you realize what is most important in life. It isn’t the cash, the cars, or the house. A father’s love will reach deep within your heart as he gives his son the greatest gift he can give—the gift of tough love. The Rancher’s Gift brings us a wonderful story of life balance, love, loss, and courage.

—Laurie Calzada, entrepreneur, TV host, author, and international speaker

Dennis and Jeff have a strong commitment to family, integrity, and investing in the next generation. This book, The Rancher’s Gift, takes a refreshing look, through the mentoring of The Rancher, at living on purpose.

—Stan Reiff Sr., CPA, CGMA, professional practice leader, consultant, CapinCrouse LLP

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

TheRANCHER’S GIFT

A Modern-Day Parable of Living a Life on Purpose

Copyright © 2018 Dennis Worden & Jeff Dunn

ISBN 978-1-4245-5648-9 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-4245-5649-6 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail [email protected].

Cover by Chris Garborg at garborgdesign.com

Interior by Katherine Lloyd at theDESKonline.com

Printed in China

18 19 20 21 22 5 4 3 2 1

Dedicated to all the “ranchers”

who have been examples of what it means

to live a life on purpose.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

The Rancher’s Guide to Living Life on Purpose

About the Authors

Start Living a Life on Purpose

1

The first time Ryan Westcott heard the term big sky, he thought it was just some advertising cliché meant to lure unsuspecting visitors to the barren lands of Montana. He had been here only once before when he was fourteen years old, coming with his mother to visit her brother James, a rancher who was too busy, or so it seemed, to travel to see his sister in Pennsylvania. That is, until he had to come for Ryan’s mother’s funeral two years later. Even then, the rancher only stayed two days, and barely ten words passed between Ryan and his uncle.

That was ten years ago. Ryan wondered if he would notice the big sky this time. When he came here before, Ryan was expecting to see cowboys wearing six-shooters at their hips and having gunfights in the center of the street. He was disappointed to learn that neither his uncle nor his cousin wore gun belts, and they drove a four-wheeler more than they rode horses. “It’s faster to get where I need to go,” said Uncle James when asked why he didn’t ride his horse out to repair a fence gate. “Got too much to do to waste any time.”

Apparently, wasting time to James Royale included attending Ryan’s college graduation, though he did get a nice gift that he figured Aunt Helena had picked out.

And then a card, signed by Aunt Helena for their whole family, when he received his MBA two years later. Ryan was proud of that degree—it was earned at Wharton, after all—and a number of doors had opened for him because of that. But the only door he wanted to walk through was the business his dad had built and was offering to him, if …

That is where our story begins.

“The sizzle might be in new technology,” his dad had said so many times, “but the steak is in the way business has been conducted for thousands of years—by moving one thing from here to there.” Ryan’s father had started with three trucks and two drivers when Ryan was in diapers; he now moved more freight in the Midwest than all but two other companies. When Ryan was an undergraduate at Penn State, his father branched out into wholesale fuel supply and delivery. It was this part of the business that he had promised to Ryan, and for which Ryan had spent the last two years at Wharton working hard to prepare to take his place in what he figured would be his life’s work.

Then, a week after receiving his MBA diploma, the floor dropped out from under him. Ryan had already begun to move his stuff into an office his dad had cleaned out for him and was actually hanging his diploma when his father knocked on the open door and came in. “Want some dinner?” asked Peter John Westcott, better known as PJ. “Stop what you’re doing and let’s go eat.”

Ryan and his dad were seated in the back of a small Italian bistro, a place Ryan knew well. It was his mom and dad’s favorite restaurant for the few times they could get away by themselves. PJ had not been here since his wife had passed away, and Ryan was surprised his dad chose this place tonight. He was even more shocked by what his father had to say in between their salads and the main dish.

“I’m not going to let you come to work for us, Ryan,” said PJ. “At least, not yet.”

Ryan looked at his dad, wondering if he was pulling his leg. Yet he knew that look on his dad’s face, and there was no humor in it.

“What do you mean? I thought we had agreed … you told me … what do you mean?”

PJ looked at his empty salad plate, took a sip of his wine, and said, “You’re not ready. Or maybe a better way to put it is that I haven’t made you ready.”

Ryan sat in stunned silence. His first thought was of the Wall Street job he had turned down the month before, the six-figure salary with the very real potential to make it seven figures in a matter of time. He had aimed all along to come into the family business—his dad had all but promised it would be his one day—and now … and now?

“I want to tell you something, son,” said PJ. He paused as the server delivered their next course. “I thought I was a good husband and father. I built a successful business, was making a lot of money. I could afford to buy you and your mother nice things. But …” He let the word hang in the air. “Remember the summer you and your mother went to Europe? I think it was between your sophomore and junior years of high school, wasn’t it?”

“Between freshman and sophomore years, dad,” Ryan said.

“Okay. But you remember the trip? You and Mom spent two weeks in Europe, and by all accounts had a great time. Where was I? Why wasn’t I with you?”

Ryan remembered the trip as if it were yesterday. His mother had just received the news from her doctor that the cancer she thought was in remission had recurred. She wanted a family trip before she began chemo treatments. PJ said he was too busy to take off two weeks, so Ryan went alone with his mother as they visited Italy, France, Spain, and England.

“She pretended she wasn’t upset, said she understood.” Ryan saw tears running down his dad’s cheeks. Once Ryan and his mother had returned, the doctors told her the cancer had spread too much for chemo to do much good. She had two rounds of it before she died in the fall of Ryan’s sophomore year of high school.

“I was—am—a good businessman, Ryan. But I wasn’t—and still am not—a good father. I could hand you this business, a multi-million-dollar business that is built for growth for many years to come, and I have no doubt you would run it and run it well. I could do that right now, but I’m not going to.”

Ryan looked up from his plate with anger and confusion in his eyes. “And why aren’t you going to do what you said you would do?”

“Ryan, if I do that, I am sentencing you to a life where you will think everything comes easily and naturally to you. You will not be a good father, just as I wasn’t a good father to you.”

“What do you mean?” asked Ryan, a spark of anger rising up in him. “I never said you were a bad father.”

“No? Then how many of your baseball games did I ever attend?”

“Dad, I didn’t play baseball.”

“Exactly. Nor did you play football or soccer. You made the freshman basketball team, but then you quit because you said you didn’t like it. You said you didn’t like all that practice just to sit on the bench. We had a hoop in our backyard. How many times did I take you out to shoot? Go on, tell me.”

Ryan picked at his lasagna with his fork. He remembered when he and his dad had put up the basketball hoop in their backyard. They were halfway through a game of one-on-one, playing to ten, when his dad got a call. “I’ll be right back,” he had said. Ryan could not think of one more time they played any game together again. That half-finished basketball contest lay before him now, making him feel sick. He pushed away his plate.

“I never encouraged you to play sports, Ryan, partly because I had never played them much myself, partly because I didn’t want to see you fail, but mostly because of the time commitment. I would need to help you practice, go to your games, and all of that would take time away from my business. So I let you stay inside and watch TV and play video games. Your mom argued that with me, but I didn’t listen. I had my own world I was living in.”

“What does that have to do with me going to work in the job you promised to me? You promised it to me, Dad. I’ve turned away other offers so I could work here, with you.”