To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Grit

Leave every conversation with energy

Being an energy GIVER versus an energy TAKER is a goal that we should have.

When people interact with you, be it on the phone (yes an actual call), via text or in a meeting, do they leave noticing that they have more energy than when the communication began? Another way to say it, is do they feel better… more inspired, excited or hopeful?

This isn’t the kind of energy a cheerleader brings – although that is great energy. This is the kind that LIFTS the atmosphere. The kind that heightens your awareness of life itself and how we can accomplish and achieve so much more together. No matter if it is holding someone’s pain with them, challenging them to level up in a specific area, or encouraging them to develop a plan to achieve their personal goals… this ENERGY brings the mood of the room up a notch.

We all need energy transfusions. We all need to be more aware of how we “leave a conversation.” Are we elevating the ENERGY, or can we do better? I for one, can always do better by being more aware of even the most simple transactions…

I hope you’ll join me in raising the POSITIVE ENERGY in our world! We certainly need it!

Let’s dive right in (to the new year!)

(Rewind! This post is adapted from January 2018.)

I couldn’t resist the picture! I believe we need sunshine and as for winter… I’m praying it’s beauty is deep and it is only here for a bit longer!

Most of you have likely spent time reflecting on 2018,  putting thought into what you’d like to accomplish in 2019.  I have spent some time already, but intend to spend today taking a deep dive into this myself.  This effort always makes me feel like I have a working plan to put in motion.  I have found that it is completely true that writing down your thoughts and goals is a key part of achieving them.  To me, diving in is the only option. Taking action not only feels good, but it drives us forward.

What areas do you need to take action on? So many of your ‘one words‘ were so good and inspiring. How do you plan to make that happen? What does peace look like when it’s played out?  More time alone to reflect? … A deeper prayer life?  Time set aside time each morning?… What does joy look like? More time with friends? Family? Pets… or doing what fills your soul? …  What does release look like? How do I even do that? What do I need to let go of to optimize my life? How much of an impact can I make?….

My 2019 word, WISDOM, brings me to ask myself what areas I need wisdom in? (All is what came to mind.) Who do I need to have in my circle to optimize my life? And on…  (Oh and by the way, I started the Daniel Fast, so no social media for me over the next 21 days! I’ll still share my blog posts, but I won’t be mindlessly scrolling.What a great place for me to start!)

As you dive in, please know that you have a tribe of people supporting, encouraging and praying for you! I truly believe we can all accomplish whatever it is that helps us be our best. Of course that means, serving well – as in, really well!

Shifting our expectations can be a blessing in disguise

Rewind! This post is a throwback to December 2015.

Today I wanted to touch on the idea of shifting expectations. As we consider living out a life of excellence, we have some options. We have the power to make a simple shift in the way we see a situation in order to move forward in a positive direction.

I wanted to point something out here: Many people associate this concept with settling – big difference. Settling has a negative connotation and makes us feel like we lost somehow. Instead, consider that you’re making a healthy decision for yourself and everyone around you, and move forward! That is excellence.

My hope for this week (let’s take it one day at a time) is that you will shift along with me as our expectations overwhelm us. In this moment, choose to focus on joy. Not the rush, the hustle, nor the chaos, but on the beauty created in the moments that fill our lives.

A Day of Honor – Veteran’s Day 2018

Today is always one of my favorite days of the year. I don’t think anything captures the heart of America like Veteran’s Day.

The men and women who have served, their families, and the communities that circle around to honor them, all give me pause and the inevitable lump in your throat response. One of the most powerful scriptures says that “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)

Today, we honor your great sacrifice, your willingness to immerse yourself and your families in what truly is the greatest display of love.

Our country has been built on the backs of men and women who have served with honor. There is no doubt in my mind that this required pushing through fear and all manner of stress as they faced the unknown. That level of commitment and honor for America is why we are all in a free democracy today, in what I believe is and always will be the greatest country in the world. My heart is overflowing with gratitude. I hope that we will all let this day live on day after day as we strive to serve well with love for our country.

So, you thought you had a bad day

I don’t know when I have ever laughed so hard as when my friend sent me this…  She actually sent it after she shared the details with me about a horrific day she had. It involved all manner of crazy, including disagreements with several people, a tantrum with a family member (possibly the kind you may be married to…), the dogs getting out, dropping the groceries, etc. It ended at the end of a long day with sitting on the toilet before bed, and it literally shattering with water spraying all over the house… NOW, THAT IS A BAD DAY!

Have you ever felt like it couldn’t get any worse? Let this short story be a reminder that it could. Sometimes we have to literally just laugh at the pure out crazy. I know this time of year can make us all feel nuts. I mean, weren’t we just sitting with our toes in the sand a week ago? All of a sudden – and in a whirlwind – we have a million responsibilities, commitments and people counting on us. It can cause a fuse to blow, internally and externally.

Today and this week, make a decision to take a deep breath and try to smile through the chaos. Listen to some music or watch your favorite comedy to lighten the mood. Let’s not let crazy get the best of us!

The Radical, Strategic Mind

Happy almost weekend! As we wrap up the week, I’m mindful that with school pretty much back in session, those of us in the work place are also gearing up for a strong end of the year play.

To me, this season is sort of like January where we rise to the occasion and develop tactical strategies on how to achieve our professional goals. Come to think of it, we do this for our lives in general as well. It’s the ideal time to assess our wins so far for the year, and those areas where we haven’t hit the stride mark yet. The great news for all of us of course is we have more than a quarter of the year left — that’s plenty of time to regain perspective, strength and eventually hit the ball out of the park so to speak.

So what is a radical, strategic mind to you? For me, it’s getting out of the norm in thinking and allowing ourselves to be truly creative… to paint outside the lines. It is a fundamental difference in how we view whatever challenge is in front of us. Radical minds are those that are the voices of social and political change advocates, and those that often make the greatest impact.

The end of summer is a great time to fire up the mind. In theory, we had time to rest a bit and soak up some sunshine, and our minds and bodies should be prepared for a higher level of energy. My personal game plan is to identify a few key areas — for me, likely career and relationships — to focus on for the year-end wrap up.

Asking the right questions is critical right now:

How can I maximize my time to ensure I achieve my goals?

What areas can I “cut” or reduce so I can make more time for what is important?

What are the “must haves” that I have?

Who are the people I need to connect with?

What projects must get off of the ground? Are there some that I can move to next year? Why do they matter? Who can help me achieve these? 

What is a different approach that may be better?

Those are some of mine. How about you?

Have a wonderful weekend!

How do you win the war?

What a great question. I mean, who really wants to go to war anyway? The truth is that we all go to battle many days of our lives. The battles on the ground to bring value to our workplace, to our community and to our families.

I did a little research on a well-known, French military leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, who led several campaigns. Here is my absolute favorite quote I could find about him (for the record, I believe that this behavior is the absolute reason he won most battles…):

“Bonaparte would generally rise up sweaty, dirty and covered in gunpowder.”

Here’s what I love: He was in the mud with his team. He wasn’t hiding in an office or in a meeting. He was there, shirt sleeves rolled up, in the mix. That’s huge in my experience.

“He also made an effort to remember his soldiers’ names and visited their campfires before battle, chatting with them about home and expressing confidence that they would triumph over the enemy.”

Here’s what I love: Goodness, why is this so hard for some leaders? We have to know the people around us – their names for sure and hopefully something important to them (their family, their pets, their hobby, their experiences). In addition to the whole “know their names” behavior, he expressed confidence in his team. Every single person I know needs encouragement and needs to know that their leader believes in them. EVERY SINGLE PERSON.

In Bonaparte’s army, soldiers that came from humble backgrounds could rise through the ranks to be leaders, as Bonaparte himself had done. (Taken from Francesca Gino’s ‘Rebel Talent’)

Here’s what I love: The background here is that in that time, only the elite were able to be promoted. Not on Bonaparte’s team… Politics were not in his playbook, but rewarding grit was. That, in my opinion, is spot-on good leadership!

So for today, let’s win the battles with a lot of love and a focus on service and honor to the people within our ranks. Let us be like Bonaparte and work alongside our teams for the best results. That, my friends, is true service!

The ripple effect of our actions – or our inactions – are enormous

Now here’s a statement I could probably just leave as is and not opine further. It’s something for us all to think about and it certainly hit a nerve with me.

Most of us hear the word “ripple” and think of positive change… Things we do to “pay it forward,” and that have a lasting impact. I love that idea the most. It’s healing and somehow magical to think how we can all make a such a difference in our world. For that part, keep dreaming it and keep doing it! We need all of the positive ripples we can get.

For the last part, well, how often do we really think about our inaction? What are we not doing that is leaving a lasting impact? I don’t know, but here’s what came to mind…

  • Am I not telling my team how awesome they are enough?
  • Am I not doing enough?
  • Have I not done my part to create a neighborhood that’s caring and fun, and that embraces the spirit of what a neighborhood should be?
  • Have I not showcased to the next generation how to foster and build community?
  • Have I not stopped lately to pick up a piece of trash in my walking path? How does passing by that effect the world and that of our grandchildren and their children?

Hopefully you can track the train of thought here. It was definitely a stop-and-think statement, and I hope it does the same for you. Have such a wonderful week and let’s all go for the positive ripples and take action!

What if, today I…

(Rewind! This is a timely and relevant rewind post from 2017 to help get your mind in the right space as we top off the week!)

If you are in the workplace and have anything to do with marketing, you might follow Seth Godin.

He has daily, short blogs that offer up simple ideas on pushing you to the next level in creativity. His recent post caught my attention, and my mind took it another direction. His title, “Three simple and difficult steps” offered this:

  1. Get Smarter. Hurry. (Technology and life is moving fast)
  2. Solve interesting problems.
  3. Care. More.

His thinking was that most people do one of these, but what would happen if you became the type of person and does all three? You might add leverage and value and ultimately choices to your life.

I thought it was good, but here’s where my mind went with it…

What if today we set a goal to accomplish something that really impacted our life/world? What if today was the day that we did not operate our daily routine, but instead choose to take a new route to work, craft a personal mission statement outlining what we’d love to do right now, and set forth a plan to make it so?

One day can be so impactful, yet we often let our days become routine and settle in. I like settling in, but I LOVE feeling energized and like I’m really doing something important. That one is much better! How about you?

What can you do today to UP YOUR LEVERAGE? To get smarter, or change paths or to just be a part of a nicer and better world? My guess is that we can ALL DO SOMETHING.

Celebrate big this month: Congratulations, graduates!

I am a huge sucker for good commencement speeches. My sister was telling me about Will Ferrell’s graduation address to USC and, of course, that has to be an instant classic. We all need more humor and I am confident that most USC grads were beside themselves with excitement at the notion of Mr. Ferrell joining their celebration!

Although I’m sure that was terrific, I prefer the graduation speeches that are a bit more poignant. A bit more hit you right in your spirit, lump in the throat, type advice and inspiration. Something I can sink my teeth into.

I really love this quote from J.K. Rowling. It speaks to us no matter our age or degrees are – or perhaps are not. I sit firmly in the camp that we are all gifted with everything we need to CHANGE THE WORLD. IMAGINING the POWER that this idea has is something to really think about. What if God has already given me everything I need to make the impact I am supposed to make? To CREATE A LASTING LEGACY? To truly change our world for the better in my lifetime?

I hope today you will think of the POWER YOU HAVE. To join the thousands of graduates worldwide and just IMAGINE the possibilities… no matter your age. I am betting that we can add some significance to this day if we all do so.

(Most of today’s blog is a repeat from last year. It is also dedicated to my son Sam (the reason for spartan, of course), who graduates this weekend from Michigan State University. We all stand with you as you celebrate a key moment in your life. It is pure joy to be your mom. Surely, the greatest gift from God has been you and your brothers. We all love you! Celebrate and then go out and imagine, create and impact our world!)