To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Leadership

3 ways to love what you have

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A big thanks to my son Sam for his help with today’s post. I got hit with that ugly stomach bug I had heard about – yikes! Creativity was not at an all time high, and wanting to stick with the theme this week on ‘Bringing What you Have’ was hard. He stopped studying for finals and shared some great ideas. Here are some insights to get your mind perhaps a bit more focused to have the best holiday season ever.

  1. Recognize What you Have. Make a short list of what you have. Do you have time? Maybe a few extra hours or a student on break? Are you a baker like my friends Alyssa and Amy? A musician like my friends Mark, Becca, Kelly and Cody? Are you an extraordinary decorator like my friends Shelley and Teresa? Are you good with kids? Do you love to hang lights and work in the great outdoors (thanks, Sam!)? An extra hand to help out where needed?

    Here’s my short list:
    – Some extra time to spend with my boys serving the community when they all get home from school.
    – A friendly smile and willingness to throw in some help!
    – I wish I could say I am a baker, but alas, not in this season of my life. I can however pick up a great loaf of bread or some fun dessert at one of many great local bakeries, Sashas, Upper Crust, Three Women and an Oven, IBIS… and deliver it to someone who would love such a treat.

  2. Utilize What you Have. “Whatever we possess becomes of double value when we have the opportunity of sharing it with others.” – Jean-Nicolas Bouilly // It’s pretty easy folks- You’ll have a smile as big and precious as this little girl when you simply act! Utilize those gifts, no matter how small or big they may be! Now is the time!
  3. LOVE WHAT YOU HAVE! It’s the title of the blog and a pretty important thought! Own your gifts! Figure out ways to use them throughout the year to better our world, at work, home and in our community.

(photo creds: Pinterest: darlingcollections.com)

Crazy beautiful all around

blog_737081_2810070_1447905059Today’s a good day to stop and realize the sheer beauty of the world.

We are sitting right on the edge of winter and the shorter days give way to a great desire for comfort food and jumping in bed at 8 p.m.

But wait… in a few days, you’ll get shaken out of the stuper and thrown into the fury and fun of the holiday season. With this week’s theme of “mind the gap,” I can’t help but be somewhat alarmed and exhilarated at the very thought that there is a very short gap between these few days that rest between November 1 roughly (daylight savings time) to Thanksgiving where we give way to a different set of energy.

My thought: soak it up while you can! 

If you need to sleep, sleep! Beg, borrow or steal it if you need to. If you need a cup of great soup and some bread that reminds you of grandma’s house, then make or go get that, too. If you just want to lay under the covers all day and hide, well, try to make that happen!

I was with this amazing Uberdriver this morning and he shared that yesterday he just stayed home and enjoyed his family. He told me he got up to go to work, but was called back by his body and spirit longing to simply enjoy this day before the action gets moving at such a rate, he can’t stop. I thought that was awesome.

As a leader, I’m not advocating everyone calling in sick, although I am a big fan and supporter of flexible work schedules and an integration between work and life that is reasonable and allows us to produce our best. I am, however, advocating that you allow yourself and your staff if you are a leader to pull off of the side of the road, so to speak, and mind the gap that is this brief season.

Perhaps by doing so we will improve our health and get a sense of rejuvination which will help us build energy to have the best holiday season ever.

What Maya said: Rising through personal confrontation

blog_730460_2797471_1445912373One of greatest truths is that we have the opportunity to define our life. No matter what cards that we were dealt, we have the opportunity to choose to create our lives!

I know this first hand because I was raised in a pretty tough situation. I could have easily taken the wrong path simply because as a child I lived on the wrong path surrounded by alcoholism, abuse and poverty.

So what struck me about what Maya said in her quote I shared on Sunday’s post stands true: we must confront ourselves. 

“We have to confront ourselves. Do we like what we see in the mirror? And, according to our light, according to our understanding, according to our courage, we will have to say yea or nay-and RISE!”

Here’s what I’m thinking:

  1. Confronting ourselves through the lens of blaming others for the past is easy and lacks courage. Yes, you may have been hurt or downright pummeled. And yes, it was unfair. But that is now history. Remember the old saying that there is a reason the windshield is big and the rear-view mirror is smaller? We need to look ahead, and not behind!
  2. Truly focusing on ourselves is how we ultimately “confront” what may not be so much fun and truly begin to deal with it. (Remember that pre-decision concept…apply it here.)
  3. Once we own up to the good, the bad and the ugly, via a big dose of courage, we will actually make great progress and as a result rise.

By the way, we all read things and immediately reflect on a specific personal situation. I encourage you to read this a couple of different times, each time with a different area of your life that needs confronted…

  • How am I doing serving my work place, school or community?
  • How am I doing as a parent, friend or in my key relationships?
  • How am I doing with my health, and what’s important to me?

My hunch, is we all have an area where we need to rise! The result of rising is happiness and personal growth. In my opinion, both are worth the effort.

Recalibrate the team!

blog_727001_2792678_1444880970It’s Thursday y’all! Woohoo!

As we wrap up the thinking this week on “spreading or firing up the joy quotient,” I thought it would be good to address the fact that sometimes we can try to fire it up, and sometimes things need to be entirely reworked or recalibrated in order to get the engines burning again!

Synonyms include:

  • Adjust
  • Mid-course correction
  • Transform
  • Reshape
  • Modify
  • Amend

I happen to love all of those words, primarily because I feel like I’m always “recalibrating” something. Some recent examples:

  1. Adjusting my parenting strategy for college transitions: This adult stuff really is a trap.
  2. Modifying my daily routine: I really need and want to dive into some deep projects prior to year’s end. This required a new look at how I’m getting things done. These are both at home (remember that soup I’m supposed to make? Ha!) and at work!
  3. Putting a mid-course correction in play to ensure I’m meeting the needs of my team.

Stop, listen and amend. Guess what folks? If I get this right, I add joy to myself and other.

What do you need to recalibrate today?

Bring Your Own Guts and Heart (BYOG+H)

blog_724971_2789324_1444268845Happy Thursday everyone!

I absolutely loved watching this post game video of Clemson coach, Dabo Swinney on Saturday.

Thanks to having three boys, I have the pure pleasure of getting engaged in pretty much all major sports. ESPN and SportsCenter are household names, if you know what I mean.

One of the big games this week was Clemson hosting Notre Dame. It proved to be the game it was hyped up to be with Clemson winning 24-22.

(Side note: I am a Clemson fan after winning a $10 bet from my son Joe last year. No other particularly good reason – but I do like orange, if that counts. It is the happiest color after all!)

So, as we wrap up our ‘take on October’ theme this week, let’s look at what is so awesome about this video:

  1. Pure enthusiasm! We can give a lot, but “we can’t give guts and heart!
  2. Give kudos to the competitor! Always a classy move to give credit where credit is due.
  3. Be humble! “We ain’t always perfect.”
  4. Pride in your team! “Play by play…” didn’t give up!
  5. Always appreciated: Thanking your fans!

I hope everyone shows this video to their peers, teams, family, students, etc. It truly delivers an amazing message! Bring your own guts and heart! 

Celebrations change our perspective

blog_722549_2785436_1443487062As promised, we are sticking with the theme of celebration. Why take the time? Here are some thoughts to get your mind focused:

  1. Celebrations allow us to call out the positive in life. God knows we have enough daily challenges or nuisances to drag us down,but only if we let them!
  2. Celebrations ensure we are focusing on others! This is a pretty simple known fact. Taking the focus off of ourselves is a key to happiness.
  3. Our lives are short and it’s a shame to simply let the days go by without cherishing the wins and those we care about! Enough said.

Here are some simple ideas of who to celebrate to get your thinking started…

  • That co-worker who cracks you up or simply brightens your days: You know who you are Coretta Paige and Darci Evans, really, could you be more genuinely kind? LOVE THAT!
  • Your college roommate that you haven’t seen in 20 years and you think of them weekly: Debbie Briggs, you were the best!
  • That teacher who you can’t believe puts in the hours and passion and makes our next generation have the opportunity to THRIVE: Rebekka Wampler, you are unbelievable.
  • Your best friend’s half birthday: Lisa, yours isn’t until December, but I celebrate you everyday!  What an honor to be your sister. 
  • A friend’s child that you have developed a bond with over the years: Connor Luchtefeld, I am coming at you this week to celebrate what a terrific young man you are becoming!

I hope this post gets you thinking. I am thankful for all of my readers and I toast to each of you! Have an awesome week!

Who are your fans?

blog_722223_2784635_1443356926On Thursday night, the Kansas City Royals secured their postseason run and were crowned the Central Division Champions! GO BOYS IN BLUE!

I had so much fun watching the post-game celebration. I admit, I rarely watch TV, unless it’s a good HGTV series where they flip a $50,000 home into a $1 million buy for pennies on the dollar.

What draws me in is pretty much the same emotion If you think about it: Victory and unifying around a goal that is achieved in a big way. I love that.

So, this week I have to spend some time on that thought. Celebration and why it matters at home, at work and in our community!  I promise, like all blog posts, I’ll keep them short. Today, celebration and community, otherwise known as fans!

Ned Yost delivered a brief and terrific post-game speech Thursday, and his focus was on the fans: “You guys have been there with us every step of the way…We can’t do it without you!” You can tell he cares. He choked up and they took the camera off of him…love that!

THE KEY THOUGHT:
Focusing on others first is an essential ingredient for success. Your community of support is what lifts you up or drags you along.

They are essential to you achieving your best. Who are  your “fans”, your “tribe” or your support group?  If you feel good about that then thank them today! If you need to upgrade, you might want to develop a plan for that. It’s critical to a life of excellence!

Be so good they can’t ignore you

Aaron Rodgers (QB, Packers)
JJ Watt (DE, Texans)
Peyton Manning (QB, Broncos)
Jordy Nelson (WR, Packers)
Antonio Brown (WR, Steelers)
Odell Beckham, Jr. (WR, Giants)
JAMAAL CHARLES (RB, GO CHIEFS)
JUSTIN HOUSTON (DE, GO CHIEFS)
Kyle Williams (DT, Bills)
Dez Bryant (WR, Cowboys)
Okay, you get it- Here are 10 of the names we are hearing a lot of on Sportscenter, NFL Redzone…. My son sent me the quote and of course it’s right up my alley- I LOVE IT!

These players are SO GOOD, they can’t be ignored.  Why is that?  Here are some thoughts for today to get your mind primed for setting your days and weeks up for EXCELLENCE.

Habits of the BEST PLAYERS

  • MINDS:  Their instincts and knowledge of the game allow them to make the very best “next” decision for their team.  What can you do to learn more about your “game” to allow you to make the best decisions?
  • PASSION FOR THE GAME: Their approach to practice, game time, and off season reveal that they truly LOVE what they are doing and sacrifice for it!  They commit to ONGOING LEARNING and to TEAM WORK.. ALWAYS… NO EXCEPTIONS.
  • CONSISTENCY: Their play on the field each week proves that they simply can’t be ignored. They continue to make plays despite what the scoreboard says.  How can you be more consistent and intentional in your work, parenting, etc…?

Have a great wrap to your week!

There’s a flag on the play

blog_721067_2781775_1442891384I love football – All kinds, from powder puff, high school, college, and NFL.  I loved it before I had three boys, and I love it even more now because 2 of the 3 REALLY LOVE IT. So, this past Sunday, one of my boys and I had the opportunity to watch the Buffalo vs. New England game in Buffalo because we have a family friend that plays for the Bills.

We (the Bills) started strong on the first drive and after that, it seemed like the only response we could achieve was… “There’s a flag on the play.” — FOUL, PUSH BACK, SORRY GUYS, NO LUCK THIS TIME…   YIKES, I leaned over to tell my friend by the fourth quarter mentioning that this must be the official title of the game.

Here’s the interesting part, (In other words…Ruminating on these may help you serve with excellence better on YOUR FIELD.)  because of the circumstances we were able to ask questions later of her husband, a 10-year NFL veteran. His response was two-fold:

  1. We (the fans) don’t usually know the whole story.  Often, what looks like what caused the flag, wasn’t obvious- It was two “players” back in line that caused the person who actually got the flag to make the mistake.
  2. Players who let their emotions get the best of them, make multiple mistakes, get “ruffled” easily and thrown off of their game.

At quick review, he’s right! What caused my “flag” probably wasn’t because of the obvious.  It may have been, most likely, orchestrated via a series of behaviors, incidents, decisions, that caused the problem.  We can strive for better by taking a look at those “flags” and truly trying to learn and take note because mid-game corrections are necessary!

Finally, point #2 couldn’t be more obvious- I am going to commit this week to not get thrown off my game.  Those little things that can make you want to respond, “Hey, that’s not right, here’s what the truth is…” can often be reframed when you take some time to digest, or as we have often heard, “Never let ’em see you sweat.”  How true that is.

Have a strong week!

Labor Day. A Day to Reflect, Rest, & Be Grateful

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This is the last blog in the series this week which has featured some great words of wisdom that were shared at last Friday’s Women Who Mean Business annual celebration of new honorees.  Learning from others IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA!  There is no better day than today to share this thought:

“If you believe in yourself AND have the internet you can do just about anything you want to.”

I have to say, I laughed at first, and then quickly wrote it down/typed it into my phone. Seriously, that is SO TRUE!  You may need or want a few extras to get going, but pretty much at this point in American History, we can all CREATE GREAT WORK and MAKE A DIFFERENCE, and we can do it much faster than ever thought possible even 10 years ago.

I am so grateful for those who have come before me, and we all stand on their shoulders – Much labor, blood, and sweat has been toiled to get America where it is today- Men and women of great character and integrity who have created systems that have helped us achieve great success-

My prayer is that we will together continue FIERCELY on this journey and continue to make AMERICA ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!