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Showing posts from December, 2017

Set A Goal - Then Aim Higher

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I've started setting a reading goal each year, to motivate me to pick away at the stacks of books I want to read. My goal for 2017 was 18 books either about business and leadership or walking out my Christian Faith better. I'm not sure I'll get another one done for the year so here are the final results: When I look back through the titles I read I can recall nuggets I pulled from each and how they altered something in me, helping to continually mold me, hopefully into a better person. It gets me excited for 2018 and some of the titles I have lined up. Most people I talk to say they aren't readers, they don't have the time or other reasons that I don't buy. If you read 10 pages a day you can make it through 300 pages in a month, that is the vast majority of books you would probably pick up. That will take you between 10-20 minutes a day (depending on font and page size). Spend less time in front of a screen and pick up a book instead. If you aren't su...

Being Blessed By A Flat Tire

We had a little bit of an adventure this past Christmas weekend. We are on the way to see my mom, driving on the interstate when my rear tire basically completely shreds. I spend an hour an a half going to buy myself a Christmas present of 4 new tires, not what I was expecting. While that is usually the type of thing that most people, myself included, would be very annoyed by I was surprised how aware I was of the many blessings I saw in the situation: Having a tire blow out while going 70 mph could be a very dangerous thing. I never felt like we were in any danger, I was easily able to keep it under control and get to a safe location. It happened right before an exit ramp so I was able to pull off and change the tire without having to worry about vehicles screaming by me. The exit was the road that is the back way to my mom's house so I was able to drive slower on the spare tire and arrived in about 15 minutes.  It happened on December 23rd, so it wasn't on a day when mo...

What I Learned From The Mountain Climber

I have never in my life gone surfing or rock climbing. The real rock climbing that is, not the kind with the plastic walls and the harness with the person assigned to ensure you don't fall. I don't think I ever will either, too many other interests to do in my life. So I really had no draw to read Let My People Go Surfing ,  but for some reason a book I had won years ago was the one that I happened to pick up off my shelf and was very quickly drawn in by. It is the story of Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. It takes you through the history of the company and how it established its values. The second part of the book expounds on the philosophies that Yvon keeps as the focus of his life and what his business stands for. If you are in business there are obvious examples that you can take out for yourself, help to guide you on developing your own philosophies to guide you. But the really intriguing part for me is how it has made me rethink how I shop and how I'm going...

A Bump In The Road

Every day we have challenges that get thrown our way. A project that is due that doesn't go according to plan. Pieces you have no control over not going the way you need them to. People not doing the things you need them to. How you react to these situations will determine a lot about your life. The bumps will always come. What you can control is how you react to them in the moment. Learn from them and prepare better for next time. Is every bump along the way a challenge for you? Or is every bump an opportunity to learn and get better? It is often your attitude that determines what happens next.

The Time You Give To Other People

To me it is the ultimate sign of respect. I believe that you can learn a lot about what people think of you based on the time they give you. Take some time and reflect on the time you give people you work with and are friends with. Do you show up late to their meetings? Do you cut off conversations? Do you decline a meeting at the last minute because something better came up? Do you have lunch with only certain people?  Do you look around and generally not pay attention when others are talking? (Checking your email while they are talking is not paying attention. I don't care how good at multi-tasking you think you are.) Are you unable to recap what a person is explaining and figure out how it is relevant to you? Of course everyone has their own responsibilities and their own task list which are the most important items to them. But at work it is rare to be able to get anything done without help from others. When someone asks you a question or is looking for feedback they...

Live To Forgive

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I recently had the opportunity to read the soon to be released book Live to Forgive: Moving Forward When Those We Love Hurt Us  by Jason Romano . I have to admit that when I was first given the opportunity I came up with lots of reasons not to volunteer. When I realized the real reason I didn't want to read it was because I was trying to hide the unforgiveness in my heart I knew it was God's way of ensuring that I did read it. I'm willing to bet that if you stopped to think about yourself, there is at least one person that comes to mind that has hurt you and you just can't bring yourself to forgive. If you thought of a person then this book is for you. "Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive." - C.S. Lewis Live to Forgive is Jason's personal story about his life and ultimate forgiveness of his alcoholic father. He winds us through an emotional tale that is very easy to relate to. Yes you may not have had a re...

What Our Basic Needs Become

Air, food, water and shelter. We all know the essentials we need to survive. If you remember learning about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs you know that after the basic physical and safety needs are met you move into belonging, love and respect needs. We are so blessed to live in a world where the basic needs of life are almost guaranteed that this sense of belonging can be critical because it can be the thing that people most need. For the people in your life that you care about, do they have that sense of belonging? If you aren't sure, here are some ways to help a person feel a greater sense of belonging: Respect - Show the person admiration for what they do. Trust them, believe in them. Support - Nothing makes a person feel better then knowing that someone has their back. That they will stand up for them and help them out when they need it. Forgiveness - People make mistakes and they can cause hurts without realizing it. Forgive and move forward. Kindness - Finding the lit...

What Is Your Biggest Obstacle?

There are plenty of obstacles and challenges that come our way in life. Obstacles that prevent us from achieving our goals, our hopes and our dreams. The worst obstacles are the ones that we put on ourselves because those are most likely the ones that stop us from achieving something great. Are you sick or do you not feel well? Are you injured or are you hurt? Are you exhausted or are you tired? Are you starving or are you hungry? One of the items in each comparison needs to be resolved before you can move on. The other is noticeable but it isn't a barrier to accomplishing what you want. Too often we put limits on ourselves, we tell ourselves that we can't do something when we have all the capabilities in the world to do far greater than we allow ourselves to think. You are destined for great things, allow yourself to believe it.