End It

Slavery has many forms and names, but it’s still slavery. And it’s still wrong. Can you imagine being forced to work without pay, trapped, unable to walk away, subject to violence or the threat of violence, by another person as they control you? Own you? Isolated, yet hidden in plain sight. This is the reality for those trapped in slavery today. Slavery is illegal in every single country in the world. Yet it still exists. We must END IT Slavery has many forms and names, but it’s still slavery. And it’s still wrong. Can you imagine being forced to work without pay, trapped, unable to walk away, subject to violence or the threat of violence, by another person as they control you? Own you? Isolated, yet hidden in plain sight. This is the reality for those trapped in slavery today. Slavery is illegal in every single country in the world. Yet it still exists. We must END IT. ❌ #enditmovement

10 tips for managing your time with mindfulness

1. Overcoming the tyranny of the present. Pick up your head and look into the future.
2. Ask, “Is this really even necessary?”
3. Push your calendar reset button.
* What’s most important to get done today?
* Recognize the things that still have to be done.
* Schedule distractions to a future time.
4. Understand and set your operating schedule.
5. Schedule the most important rocks first.
6. Give yourself time for unconscious thought.
7. Set boundaries and guidelines.
8. Use yes and no strategically. Avoid a mindless yes.
9. Tame the distraction dragon.
10. Consider your impact. People are taking their cues from you.

10 Leadership Tips From The Five Levels of Leadership

1. Good leadership isn’t about advancing yourself. It’s about advancing your team.
2. Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.
3. Leadership is action, not position.
4. When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other.
5. If you have integrity with people, you develop trust. The more trust you develop, the stronger the relationship becomes. In times of difficulty, relationships are a shelter. In times of opportunity, they are a launching pad.
6. Good leaders must embrace both care and candor.
7. People buy into the leader, then the vision.
8. Bringing out the best in a person is oftern a catalyst for bringing out the best in the team.
9. Progress comes only from taking risks and making mistakes.
10. Leaders are measured by the caliber of leaders they develop, not the caliber of their own leadership.

— John C. Maxwell

Leadership Lessons from the West Wing

• Be decisive. Seek the facts, (pray), make decisions.
• Move quicker. There is much to do.
• Be authentic.
• Build your team with people you know and believe in.
• Truly care about each individual on your team.
• Expect excellence.
• Have high expectations.
• Treat your “enemies” with respect and dignity.
• Have fun!

Serve

See the Future — Leadership always begins with a picture of the future. What is your preferred view of the future? What is it you are trying to accomplish? What are you trying to achieve? You cannot create that which you cannot envision.

Engage and Develop Others — Leaders are the architects of the culture in our organizations. This opportunity comes with tremendous responsibility. The fact so many Americans are disengaged at work is not a worker issue, it is a leadership issue.

Reinvent Continuously — Progress is always preceded by change. Are you leading positive change? If not, you aren’t leading. What needs to change to move you toward your desired future? Four areas to explore: Self — Systems — Strategy — Structure.

Value Results and Relationships — Don’t be surprised if you encounter major tension on this one. All of us, or at least 95% of us, have a natural bias… we are either more results-oriented or more relationship-oriented. The best leaders VALUE both. Find ways to compensate for your bias and watch results soar.

Embody the Values — More of leadership is caught than taught. When you and I walk the talk, at least two things happen: through our actions, we communicate what is really important, and we validate or invalidate, our trustworthiness. People always watch the leader.

Just For Today

Just for today … I will choose and display the right attitudes.

Just for today … I will determine and act on important priorities.

Just for today … I will know and follow healthy guidelines.

Just for today … I will communicate with care for my family.

Just for today … I will practice and develop good thinking.

Just for today … I will earn and properly manage finances.

Just for today … I will deepen and live out my faith.

Just for today … I will initiate and invest in solid relationships.

Just for today … I will plan and model generosity.

Just for today … I will embrace and practice good values.

Just for today … I will seek and experience improvements.

Just for today … I will act on these decisions and practice these disciplines, and

Just for today … I will see the compounding results of a day lived well.

John C. Maxwell

The Days My Sons Were Born

November 25, 1984 & April 21, 1990 were days my life flashed before my eyes. Days I have often reflected on the last 29 years. This is a letter I wished I had written those years ago. I hope my sons will share this with their sons.

To see you enter the world fills my heart with joy, expectancy, and fear.

• Fear of not surviving the smell of your diapers.
• Fear of not living up to the expectations I’ve rehearsed.
• Fear of not being the best Dad in the world.

But this I know, my sons — you are going to change the world.

You will face tremendous problems yet find epic solutions.

You will stare sin in the face and say, “Christ is better.”

You will live your life to serve others and make the name of Jesus famous.

But it isn’t just what you’ll do that makes your life count. It’s your very existence that speaks of the majesty of God.

You are unique, marked, and set apart. Your tiny breaths declare God’s greatness. Your high pitched cries shout loud His sovereignty. Your precious frames pronounce the vast creativity of our God.

Joshua & Austin, I just want to say, I love you with my whole heart. You have a father who is flawed, yet filled with love for you. Though I won’t always respond perfectly, I will always be there for you.

I will listen when you want to vent.

I will watch when you need to show off.

I will be there no matter what the circumstance.

I will brag about you for the rest of my life.

And may you see in my few strengths and endless weaknesses a man who hopefully does not trust in himself, but a man who depends on Jesus with every breath.

Not a man who just talks about Jesus, but actually lives the life with a ferocious passion.

So here’s to many laughs, jokes, and good times together. Here’s to many tears, hugs, and Scriptures shared through struggle. Here’s to not just enjoying you for the wise decisions you make. Here’s to you for who you are.

You are loved just as you are. You have nothing to prove.

I love you, boys.

Dad

Put the Glass Down

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed — incapable of doing anything.”

Remember to put the glass down

10 Quotes that Should Shape Your Leadership

1. “An organization is not truly great if it can’t be great without you.” — Jim Collins
2. “Too often we argue about Christianity instead of marveling at Jesus.” — John Ortberg
3. “Don’t just delegate tasks to the next generation. If you delegate tasks, you create followers. Instead delegate authority to create leaders.” — Craig Groeschel
4. “You are the most difficult person you will ever lead.” — Bill Hybels
5. “The signature of mediocrity is not unwillingness to change. The true signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.” — Jim Collins
6. “People need to be reminded more than they need to be instructed.” — Patrick Lencioni
7. “When you are angry, you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” — William Ury
8. “When you’re in a position of authority, you need truth-tellers around you.” — Condoleezza Rice
9. “I failed him for two years because I was too chicken to have the difficult conversation.” — Bill Hybels
10. “The morale failure of a leader will challenge the integrity of others as well.” — Mario Vega

A Father’s Prayer by General Douglas MacArthur

General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) was an outstanding figure in the events during and after the Second World War. In early 1942, when leading outnumbered United States forces in the Philippines, General MacArthur prayed this prayer for his son Arthur many times during his morning devotions:

“Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clean, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.”