Merely Talking
Oct 20, 2010 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
“In all hard work there is profit,
but merely talking about it only brings poverty.”
Proverbs 14:23 (NET)
“Merely talking about it.”
Solomon could have been talking about Twitter or Facebook status updates. In fact, his verse would easily fit in the 140 characters of a Tweet.
Do we spend more time talking about the stuff we have to do / the stuff we are doing / the stuff we just did than we spend actually doing the stuff? I know that is my natural propensity. In January, I made a resolution not to check email, Twitter, or Facebook in the mornings (with the exception of quick “Happy Birthdays”). Over the year, my commitment to this has waned and I not only start my day with these little addictions, but I keep coming back to them all day long.
Today I am starting over.
I found a great tool I am hoping will help. It’s called “Self Control” and it’s not just a fruit of the spirit, it’s a piece of software. I have been testing it for the last couple days and I really like it. It blocks certain websites for a set period of time, allowing you access to the rest of the web. I like this because I had been using a software called Freedom that blocked the entire internet. That hosed me up because I use the web for too many other things, especially when I am doing message prep.
So as of today, I plan on doing a quick blog post in the mornings, throwing out some birthday cheer, and then shutting down Facebook, email, and Twitter until after lunch. I figured I’d “Apply my Team” (that’s you) to this particular area of sin. The added advantage is by posting this out there, I now have a couple thousand people who can keep me accountable.
Tags: facebook, personal, productivity, social media, twitter, work
Mentors and Heroes
Oct 18, 2010 Uncategorized Hodge Podge
I remember having lunch with an older guy when I was in college. I didn’t know him very well, but his commitment to Jesus was evident. At the end of our lunch, I asked him if he would mentor me. To my shock, he said, “no.” I was floored. I mean, who wouldn’t want to mentor someone? Of course, in my youthful naivete, I assumed this guy was just making excuses when he said he didn’t have the time. I felt burned.
It’s taken 20 years, but I can now identify with that guy because now I am him. I get asked all the time to mentor younger guys and I can’t say yes to everyone…I just don’t have the time. So I have to do the same thing he did–try to graciously say “no.” It still burns.
Perhaps that’s why I was so struck by this post from Seth Godin. Here’s a snippet:
Mentors provide bespoke guidance. They take a personal interest in you. It’s customized, rare and expensive.
Heroes live their lives in public, broadcasting their model to anyone who cares to look.
The internet has created a long tail of heroes. There are tens of thousands of musicians, artists, entrepreneurs, social leaders, politicians (okay, maybe not thousands of these), coders and colleagues to find and emulate…
Like a custom made suit, a mentor is a fine thing to have if you can find or afford it. But for the rest of us, heroes will have to do.
I have had both in my life. I have had men who have mentored me for a season (it could be over the course of one lunch or 300 consecutive meetings). I have also had heroes I could watch from afar.
I encourage you to find a mentor if you can. But whether or not you can, I encourage you to find heroes: men and women from whom you can learn from afar. You may never meet them face to face, they may never know your name, but they can have a profound impact on your life as you watch and learn.
Tags: hero, leadership, mentorship, productivity
Reverse Engineering Your Life
Jun 7, 2010 Book Reviews
A few weeks ago at LEAD, I spoke on Reverse Engineering Your Life. In other words, live your life with intentionality, moving toward a goal set way in the future.
Here’s the video for those of you who missed it. You may want to download the notes to follow along with: click here to get them.
If you want to download the video to watch later, click here.
If you want to download the audio to listen to later, click here.
During the session, I referenced several books that will really help you with this idea. Here they are:
John Ortberg – The Life You’ve Always Wanted
Rick Warren – Purpose Driven Life (I haven’t actually read this one, but I referenced Warren’s SHAPE deal in my message).
Dale Burke – How to Lead and Still Have a Life
Bruce Miller – Your Life in Rhythm
Tags: productivity
