Category Archive: Church Scattered

Everyone Is Looking For Security and Significance

Posted by on January 1, 2016

The two major things that all people are searching for in life are security and significance.  Security is the understanding that I am unconditionally loved and significance means that my life has value and meaning.

Most of the time we are searching for both of these needs in all of the wrong places.  We try to find unconditional love in human relationships that all inevitably fail us to some degree and cause pain.

Then we look to our career, church and children to give us the meaning and validation in life that we so desperately need.   Here again although all of these are quote good things and can give us some degree of significance they to in the end leave us wanting more.

All human relationships are important and being successful in every area of our lives should be our goal.  However, the major truth here we are missing is that we can never look to other people or things to give us what only God can provide.

When our relationship with God is first and His mission for our life is the ultimate measure of our success then all other relationships and endeavors play a secondary role and become complimentary and not primary.

Then when the pain, failure and rejection come in this life they can always be measured against the grace and peace that only God can give.  The assurance that He will never leave us and nothing can separate us from His love gives us the courage to risk living life to the fullest.

In the end He is enough.

How Much Is Enough?

Posted by on December 23, 2015

The one incredibly good thing about a down cycle is that it always forces us to separate what is important in life from what is not.

This is a very opportune time for you to be incredibly honest with yourself and ask the hard question How Much Is Enough?   What do I really need to be fulfilled and content in my life?  Take some time on this and make sure you cover every area of your life, personal, family, career, friends, faith and community.

For most of us as Americans we have never had to answer this question before.  We have been told the sky is the limit and if you work hard enough you can accomplish anything you want.

I am in no way condoning anything less than your personal best in every area of your life.  However, I am bringing into question a consumer driven philosophy of life that is more concerned with quantity of things than quality of relationships.

For too many of us we have been living out the script that someone else has written for us.  It could be a parent, peers, corporate culture or society in general.  Now is the time to write our own script that includes our own definition of success in life.

Contentment and gratitude are two incredibly important core values in life.  If you do not know the answer to How Much Is Enough, then I am afraid you will never truly experience them.

Why You Should Give Yourself A Year End Review

Posted by on December 21, 2015

It’s a big mistake to just start thinking about all the changes you want to make and the goals you want to set for next year.  What makes planning for 2016 relevant is a thorough review of 2015.  This is the perfect time of the year to evaluate and Stephanie Vozza has a great post:

“It is very important to set periodic career goals, otherwise what are you striving for?” she asks. “Setting goals requires a baseline, and a year-end review is a perfect mechanism to track progress, review your accomplishments, challenges, opportunities, and events from the prior year.”

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Your Ultimate Guide To Saying No

Posted by on December 18, 2015

What separates great leaders from average ones is the ability to know what is really important from that which is not.  This is not easy because there are many good things to do out there just not that many great ones.  This Fast Company post by Micheal Grothaus is worth the read:

“When was the last time you said “no” to someone you knew? I bet you really have to think about that. I know I did. In the past week, I’ve said “no” to exactly two people–that’s out of all the requests from my friends, family, business partner, agent, editors, and clients. On the other hand, this week I’ve said “yes” over 50 times to those same people. ”

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7 Everyday Gifts For Your Family

Posted by on December 9, 2015

I am a horrible gift giver.  I guess I have to admit that I don’t know what people really want and even if I did, I still don’t nail it.  This time of the year makes me very nervous.  However, there are some gifts that are needed all during the year and Mark Merrill has a great list:

“Putting time and effort into choosing just the right present for someone is a great way of demonstrating how much they mean to you. However, Christmas, anniversaries, and birthdays come only once a year, and you don’t have to wait 12 months to give them something meaningful.  Here are seven gifts to give your spouse, your children, and others close to you every single day. ”

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Great Leaders Know They're Not Perfect

Posted by on December 7, 2015

Every day we are all asking ourselves the question How am I doing?   The place you go for the answer will determine your success.  Many of us set the bar too high and therefore live with a sense of ongoing failure.  Ron Carlucci in the HBR shares some great insight:

“It’s not unusual for executives enter a new job with deep-seated feelings of being an impostor. Our research studying thousands of leaders rising into bigger jobs revealed 69% feel underprepared for roles they assume. Forty-five percent had minimal understanding of the challenges they would face, and 76% said their organizations were not helpful in getting them ready. ”

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How To Have Difficult Conversations

Posted by on December 4, 2015

This one took years to learn the hard way and I still routinely blow it to this day.  It is not enough to be right, you also have to say the right thing, the right way and last but not least at the right time.  If not the message is never heard by the way the messenger delivered it.  Mark Merrill has a great post:

“No matter how nice you are, no matter how nice the people around you are, there will be times when you need to have a difficult conversation. Occasional tough talks are just a part of life.  Maybe you have to talk with your spouse about a concern you have over something in your marriage.”

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Why It Doesn't Take A Non-Profit Career To Make A Difference

Posted by on November 24, 2015

This subject is clearly a passion of my leadership journey.  I hate the segmentation that puts one category of people in the difference makers and everyone else into the profit makers.  You can clearly make a profit and still make a difference.  The secular and the sacred can work together.  Lindsey McGregor hits the nail on this issue and its worth the read:

“For those of us who aren’t doctors or busy building apps that change how people live, it often feels like we can only leave our mark through charity or volunteering. The work we do on a daily basis might not seem to do much “good” or have a real purpose beyond the company’s own financial goals.”

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5 Habits Of Truly Disruptive Leaders

Posted by on November 11, 2015

Stability of the process was an extremely valued outcome in the 1980’s when I started my corporate career.  The idea of disruption was clearly perceived as a threat to be avoided at all cost.  With todays changing global marketplace that is a luxury we no longer have.  Fast Company challenges the status quo again:

On its face, leadership’s goals don’t seem to line up with dictionary definitions of disruption. Here’s Merriam-Webster‘s:

disrupt: (verb dis·rupt \dis-ˈrəpt\) to cause (something) to be unable to continue in the normal way; to interrupt the normal progress or activity of (something)

Surely leaders should do the reverse, providing a steady hand on the tiller and guiding their teams to consistent and predictable victories—right? That’s been the formula for organizational success for decades, at any rate.

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The 5 "T" That Will Tell Your Story

Posted by on October 28, 2015

I have often heard that no one call really preach your funeral, you have already done it.  All they can do is to tell the stories from others perspective about what you valued during your life.  I have never heard one person say they wish they had spent more time at work but rather valued relationships.  Mark Merrill has some great insight:

“Have you done any work on your obituary, recently? I’m talking about working on things that matter now. You see, the way you live today will determine what your family will write about and talk about after you have died.

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