Tag Archives: #leadership

#inspiration, #spirituality

Rules Rules Rules

We are a society who has been told to “play by the rules.” Rules can sometimes be subjective, open to interpretation.

Games have rules. In football, you are allowed four plays to advance the ball ten yards. If you make it to the end zone you are awarded six points. There are many other rules, but you get my point. Teams have been caught cheating, breaking the rules to try and tilt the game in their favor. There are stiff penalties for cheating, and hopefully those who cheat get caught.

One of the best rules is called the golden rule. The golden rule says to treat others in the same way you want to be treated. Wouldn’t it be great if everyone followed it?

Remember the golden rule as you go through your life. Remember it even more when you encounter difficult people…

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#inspiration

Tax Day

On April 15th, Americans file their income taxes for the previous year. Or they have the option of extending the deadline to October 15th. Either way we pay.

I’m happy to pay taxes to support our military and keep our border secure. Our tax dollars should be used to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, along with our veterans. These are legitimate expenses.

But Congress wastes tremendous amounts of money. They appropriated $3.5 million dollars for parade balloons in Michigan, and they sent $10 million to Pakistan for “gender studies.” Seriously.

Michigan can fund their own balloons and Pakistan can fund their gender studies without our money. It is our money. Government doesn’t produce revenue.

If you agree these are wasteful practices, write your Congressional Representatives. If they hear from enough people and believe they might not get reelected, then their behavior will change…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Power

Power. Everyone wants power, or do they? Perhaps they are seeking control and their perception is that power and control go hand in hand. They don’t.

First, let’s talk about control. The only thing we can control is our attitude. I can’t control what you think about me, and I can’t control whether you like me or not. Attitude is key to everything. It gets us through hell and keeps us going when things are tough.

Power comes from ceding power. That’s right. When we give up our quest to be powerful we actually gain power. Meekness is the best definition for gaining power. Meekness means strength under control. Doesn’t that sound a lot like power?

What we give, we get. And that includes power…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Useful Metaphors

Some things are said so often we can start to believe they are real. I call them “useful metaphors”

“Separation of church and state” is one of those metaphors. Nowhere in any of our founding documents will you find those words written. Yet, there are people who would swear in court that they are there. They are not.

“Follow your heart” is another one. It sounds nice, and it even has a spiritual ring to it. The Bible tells us that we should guard our hearts. The heart is deceitful. We should pursue our dreams, which might be a better way of saying follow your heart.

A true useful metaphor isn’t really a metaphor at all. That one says, “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is…”

Stay mindful…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Church

Church is kinda weird. Every week a group of strangers get together, sing, put money in a basket that goes who knows where, listen to someone speak, sing a little more and go home. And people do this voluntarily!

When life gets tough, when the shit hits the fan many people seek refuge in a church. This tells me they believe in a deity, and they believe he can do something about their situation. They are right on both counts, but the solution might not be what they want. Whatever it is, it is good.

Church should be a genuine, welcoming place. A desperate drug addict should feel as welcome as a guy in a suit. If there is a hierarchy of acceptance, I’m not sure God would go for that.

I encourage you to find a church home that allows a lot of margin for the sinful. And remember, that’s all of us…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Greatness

Our world is full of superstars. Athletes, celebrities and public figures catch our attention daily. People revere them. But I ask you, what is greatness and how do you achieve it?

Let’s consider the life of Jesus. He was born a baby. Infants must rely on others to care for them. When Jesus became an adult, he performed countless miracles, but not a single one benefited himself. He redeemed and restored the forgotten, the oppressed and the sick. Jesus did most of his work quietly, not seeking attention. Word spread, even without the aid of the internet, and his popularity grew. Yet, Jesus never made it about himself. His life was focused on glorifying God. That’s it. Through this, Jesus started something that’s affected billions of people for over 2,000 years.

Greatness, true greatness is achieved through service to others along with humility.

Do you want to be great? Follow the example of Jesus…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Timing

Timing is everything! This includes being on time as well. If you take an airplane to a different city, the airline typically leaves on time, with or without me.

God’s timing is perfect. I know the Bible tells us this, but it is evidenced everywhere in our lives. Look back on your life. Reflect and you will see.

When the 2001 terrorist attack happened, President Bush had the right experiences in his life to prepare him to lead us through that new and scary world. During the financial meltdown of 2008, the world’s leading expert on the depression was leading The Federal Reserve.

Every experience you have in life is preparing you for something else. This includes your bad experiences.

Trust the timing…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Unnatural

Worry is unnatural and unnecessary. When you take a moment to consider it, we weren’t born knowing how to worry. We learned how. Let’s dive a little deeper.

Perhaps we were raised by parents who worried. For certain, our world will give us much to worry about when you consider everything going on around us. But let’s change the word “worry” to concern. Being concerned rather than worried changes the narrative. Speaking of narratives, the media preys on people’s emotions such as worry. “You must stay tuned or you might miss something.” You will miss nothing. Tune out.

Replace your worries with childlike curiosity. Are you concerned about your health? Read scientific applications for better health. Do you want to be a better parent? Read credible resources about parenting and talk to people who have raised solid children. Do you see what I mean?

You aren’t going to miss a thing by turning off the news. So, don’t worry about it!

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Different On Purpose

The same way of doing things might work for a while, but to grow you must evolve. Situations change, as do people. Don’t fall into the limiting trap that says “we’ve always done it this way.”

Be on the lookout for new opportunities. Think and be different on purpose. Look at every situation through multiple lenses. Then be open to taking a chance to be different.

Life itself is full of risks. Nothing great ever happened by playing it safe…

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#inspiration, #spirituality

Seen or Unseen

Everyone wants to be seen, heard and understood. It’s universal, yet many are afraid to let their guard down and show themselves.

Musicians have written about this conundrum for years. The Goo Goo Dolls, one of my favorite bands, wrote this chorus in their song, “Iris:”

“And I don’t want the world to see me
‘Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am.”

I believe people stay guarded because they believe if someone saw them for who they are, they wouldn’t be liked. A hard truth is, not everyone is going to like us. And that’s okay. When you are trying to make a positive impact in the world, you’re gonna rub some people the wrong way. And that’s okay.

I encourage you to continue showing the world who you are, spreading goodness and light along the way. If you piss a few people off doing that, it’s okay…

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