Intro by Chaney Larson
Story by Amy Outhier Maynard
If you follow rodeo, there’s no doubt that you’ve heard the last name, Outhier. Madison Outhier has been one of the biggest names in the sport over the past few years with her dominance in the breakaway competition. She continues to be a leader in and out of the arena, and is an amazing example for young girls as the event continues to gain wide acceptance and exposure like never before.
Madison’s winning spirit and leadership abilities comes from her upbringing and runs deep in her family. Her proud Aunt, Amy Outhier Maynard, is no stranger to the rodeo world as well. Amy has always been an incredible rodeo athlete. Her rodeo accolades include 2x Central Plains Region Goat Tying Champion, 3x Qualifier to the CNFR, and 2x IFYR Goat Tying Champion.
These days, Amy continues to hustle and grind daily as a momma to two adorable boys, Max and Major. Her husband, Zac, is the head football coach in Elk City, OK, and as for her professional career, Amy is the Program Coordinator at Southwestern Oklahoma State University for the Bachelor of Science in Health Information Management program.
Through her knowledge, positive attitude, work ethic, and genuine kindness, Amy Outhier Maynard is a special soul.
Here is a message from my friend, Amy!
– Chaney Larsen
Growing up, my family had unspoken core values. We were raised to prioritize what matters most, treat others with respect, do things to our best ability, and so on. Over the years, I appreciate those values more and more as I am raising a family of my own.
Now more than ever, I believe it is important to clearly define your family’s core values. To clearly understand them, it is important to write them down and discuss them as a family. As parents and guardians of our children, it is our responsibility to begin that discussion with our kids that will create a foundation that will set the course of their life. It is nothing new, but our world is volatile and ever changing. If we do not set the narrative for our children, the world will do it for us.
Put simply, core values are what matter most to you. They are the navigational compass that you live your life by. They influence the decisions you make, your response to other people, as well as your goals. They provide direction for your daily behavior and are the foundation that will ultimately determine your success.
Your core values influence every aspect of your life. They affect your circle of influence and determine how you handle life’s challenges. By creating a foundation to live your life by, you set your children up to be secure in themselves, in you, and the purpose laid on their heart.
After you establish your family’s core values, you can begin to align everything with those values. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is where learning is caught and not taught. As moms and parents, the work begins with us first.
A practical way we use our family core values is to use them to discipline our children. For example, one of our core values is having a positive attitude. If one of my children is moping around or complaining, I simply say, “The Maynard family has a positive attitude regardless of our situation. We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control how we react.” Another one of our core values is respecting others. If one of my boys disrespects his brother, he is not allowed to play with his friends until he can learn to respect his brother first.
Our rodeo family is a rare group of individuals that already operate out of solid core values. I just want to encourage you to discuss them with your family and physically write them down. It is like setting the GPS on your phone. Once you write them down, the navigation becomes clear. It helps to create clarity and focus, communicate what is most important, influence behavior, and elevate effective leadership. Like never before, our children need us to step up our leadership and show them how to build a house on the ROCK.
Do you know your core values?
Can you list them in order of priority?
Does your life reflect the values you have listed, in the order listed?
If you would like to dive deeper into this subject, I highly suggest reading Your Divine Fingerprint by Keith Craft.
God Bless and Journey On
