When You Really Want to Make a Positive Impact

When You Really Want to Make a Positive Impact

 I want to give a word of affirmation today for the consistent use of handwritten notes. We live in a culture that values staying connected. We use text messages to remain constantly connected to other people. Technology enables us to connect with people in any part of the world. I sometimes fear that we are over connected. We have an abundance of connections, but I’m not sure we are significantly connected to anyone.

 One means of significantly connecting with people is with handwritten notes. Here are some reasons that handwritten notes are such a powerful connecting tool:

• A handwritten note requires a high degree of intentionality. It’s like you are giving the person to whom you are writing your undivided attention for a period of time.
• A handwritten note requires a commitment of your time and effort. It communicates the high value you place on your connection with that person.
• A handwritten note is personal. Its content is intended for the recipient, not for the consumption of all your social media contacts. It makes your connection seem special, and who doesn’t appreciate feeling special to someone else?
•   A handwritten note is unique in a day of endless social media interaction. It’s like finding a single beautiful rose in the massive thorn thicket of overwhelming electronic communication.

 So, when you are tempted to shoot a text or email of appreciation to a friend or colleague, try writing them a note instead. When they receive and read it, they will know just how significant they are to you.

Are You Making Progress, or Just Playing in the Dirt?

John Maxwell writes, "The secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda. If you make a few key decisions and then manage them well in your daily agenda, you will succeed...You will never change your life until you change something you do daily."

My father was a master gardener. When we moved to a new house when I was in high school, he committed a small corner of the backyard for a vegetable garden. Each year he added a little bit more space to the garden until it finally covered about half of the backyard.

His goal each year was to reap a good harvest of corn, tomatoes, squash, onions, peppers and a host of other vegetables. He was quite productive in his gardening. Beginning in late February and early March of each year, he began paying daily attention to his garden. He broke ground, tilled soil, fertilized, and mapped out where he would locate the various vegetables he wanted to produce. Finally, he would plant seeds and set out seedlings, then everyday he would hoe weeds, thin out plants, and water his garden. Finally, he would harvest his crop of vegetables, and it was usually an abundant harvest.

Dad's successful garden was not a one day event. Every day for months, he would do some work toward getting a bountiful harvest. Every day he significantly managed his firm decision to have a productive garden. Without that daily commitment toward a significant objective, he would've just been playing in the dirt.

What does your daily agenda reveal about your commitment to your personal success? Are you making progress every day toward your significant goals, or are you just playing in the dirt?

First, Find Leaders!

As many of you know, I am by professional experience a pastor. I have led small to medium sized churches across 40 years of pastoral ministry. I've built and led built both paid and volunteer staffs. I've developed and administered financial plans. I've led churches in the accomplishment of vision plans and goals. Every action I've led as a church pastor has been a growth experience in my journey, and they have equipped me well in my role now as a certified speaker, teacher, and coach.

This post is directed to pastors, and especially pastors of small to medium sized churches. If I could give you one word of advice out of my years of pastoral experience, it would be this, "First, find leaders!"  If God has given you a vision for your church, you will not be able to fulfill that vision by yourself. It will be too big for you to accomplish alone. You will need help to get it done.

I have watched many pastors across the years scramble every year to find workers for the varied aspects of the churh's ministry, but what they sorely needed were qualified and enthusiastic leaders  in these ministry areas. Pastor, first find capable people who will give enthusiastic leadership to the ministries of your church.

Everything rises and falls in your church with your leadership and that of your leadership team. Pastor, first find leaders. Now that I think about it, that's also pretty good advice for business professionals and business owners.

The Positive Power of Daily Affirmations

The Positive Power of Daily Affirmations

            As I listened to a mentoring call the other night, I was made aware again of the importance of developing and using daily affirmations. These are statements about yourself to yourself that you repeat every morning to yourself and at any other times of the day that you find helpful. I have to admit that I have failed to keep up to date with my daily affirmations, so as a result of that speaker’s encouragement, I have developed and am utilizing the following daily affirmations.

1.      I am perfectly resourced to accomplish the goals and objectives my creator enables me to imagine.

2.      My failures do not define me, they refine me. I learn from both my failures and successes, and I am continually moving forward as I apply what I am learning.

3.      Every day, I choose to be a positive person, realizing that I and I alone determine my response to my circumstances.

I realize that these affirmations have some phrasing similar to other affirmations I have read, but they do capture for me what I feel is important for me to remember every day. Not only do I repeat these affirmations on a daily basis, I also live them out every day. I believe these affirmations, and, as it was pointed out on that call, to fail to live them out would be basically an act of hypocrisy on my part.

Do you have some daily affirmations that are significant for you? If not, take some time today to formulate a few daily affirmations and start repeating them and living them. You could also pour some value into my life and others by sharing some of them in response to this post.

Don't Call a Timeout!

I see it happen again and again. An individual or a team works hard to build momentum. Every thing starts coming together, phenomenal results are experienced, momentum is totally on their side. Then it happens. They take a break, go on a well-deserved vacation, have a celebratory few days of R & R away from the office. Everything can just coast for a few days or a week. The problem is that the only direction anything can coast is down hill. All the momentum you worked so hard to build is quickly dissipated.

Let me offer a few observations:

• When you have momentum, build upon on it, don't just try to ride on it.
• When you are succeeding, start laying the foundation for the next level. What you are doing now has gotten you to where you are, but where do you want go from here?
• When momentum finally does peter out, go ahead and take a break. When you get back, things will be at about the same place as you left them.
• The tide of business and opportunity ebbs and flows. Determine the cycles of your business and life and build momentum as you have opportunity.

When momentum is working for you, don't call a timeout. You can take a break later.

Whose Help Do You Need?

John Maxwell repeatedly says, "One is too small a number for significance." I enjoy my times of solitude and reflection. I need those times to evaluate my day, focus on what I need to do tomorrow, and formulate an agenda for my next steps; but when I'm ready to take action on my thoughts and ideas, I need a team around me to move me toward the accomplishment of my most significant dreams.

Peyton Manning had a dream of winning one more Super Bowl championship ring. His team played itself through the playoffs and into Super Bowl 50. He did not have a particularly good game as a quarterback in the Super Bowl, but he didn't need a fantastic game that night. The Bronco defense held Cam Newton, the league's MVP, in check that night to produce a victory. The Denver Broncos had a dream of winning the Super Bowl, and it took a total team effort to do it. No single player could win the game.

In almost every significant endeavor, it is the work of team of people that gets the job done. A head coach needs a staff of competent assistant coaches to put a solid team on the field. A quarterback requires the protection of a good offensive line in order to complete a significant number of passes. Even the best players in the sports world need a room full of team members, coaches, and trainers to produce a successful, winning organization.

Let me ask you a question, "Whose help do you need to accomplish your significant dreams?" If you don't need anyone's help, I doubt your dream is as significant as you think.

Remember this, "One is too small a number for significance."

How Important Is Your Dream?

How important is your dream to you? Wilbur and Orville Wright had a dream of building and flying a heavier than air machine. Scores of other inventors had the same dream, yet what set the Wright brothers apart was what they were willing to do on a daily basis to realize their dream of flying.

Here is what they did on a daily basis to realize their dream of flying:

·         They devoured the aviation literature of the day.

·         They exhaustively studied the flight of birds.

·         They built a kite model of their design and studied its flight.

·         They developed a wind machine to study the effects of wind on the wings of their design.

·      They flew their design first as a glider.

·       Finally, they designed and mounted an engine on the plane and successfully flew it at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

·       They experimented with the plane and learned how to fly greater distances and at greater altitudes.

·        They improved their design enabling the plane to be piloted with turns and other maneuvers.

·         They trained others to pilot their design.

·         They effectively marketed their invention and aggressively protected their patents and copyrights.

The dream of flying is what motivated the Wright brothers, but it was their personal work ethic that drove them to devote a portion of every day to making their dream a reality.

Again, how important your dream is to you?  What you are willing to do today to make it a reality?