To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Powerful

Leading with expectancy…

This one may take a few to register… Lead what? A bit of a narrative shift is how it was presented to me: “Choose this day to NOT lead with limitation or lack.” It was in the category of fitness, but seemed to resonate across the spectrum of life. If you do a “thought check” during a workout, or even during the work day when you are facing a tough situation or challenge, you may find that your mind has shifted to your limitations. Especially when it comes to physical challenges, you might find your mind reciting over and over again that you can’t reach the next level, “after all, you are doing amazing work just showing up to run/bike/hike, etc… so take it easy on yourself…” (Sound familiar?)

I also heard this week in an entirely different situation/conversation, that we actually only perform physically at about 40 percent of what we actually could. I was shocked by that number, thinking for sure it would be closer to 70 percent. Next time you think you can’t go any further, press forward… you can achieve far more than your mind wants you to believe.

I love this artistic photographer, Meg Loeks. This photo is beautiful in so many ways, but I especially love the spirit of this little girl –– running ahead, wind in her hair, joy on her face, expectant for whatever comes ahead, and fully confident in taking on this day.

Let’s go into our days with that level of expectancy. We are stronger than we believe, we are capable, we are brave and we are designed for greatness.

Where will you put in a stake in the ground this year? This month? This moment?

A strong American idiom: “Put a stake in the ground.” As in, what is the first step you are going to make? What move are you going to make to get something started? How are you going to rally the troops? (adapted from American Idioms Daily)

As I said Sunday, I love the start of a fresh year. While one could argue that anytime is a good time to reevaluate, edit or even cast new visions, the start of a new year offers hope unlike other times to me. It’s as if we can leave what we don’t want to bring forward and somehow step out the front door freshly dressed and with the vigor needed to make great things happen for ourselves and others.

I love the visual above because it draws to mind us claiming our stake… our goal… our moment. So, what will it be?

  • You want to use your voice this year to make changes. Perhaps it’s writing, perhaps speaking… perhaps it’s in one-on-one conversations where the action is going to happen. Perhaps you want to be the one that makes sure where you live or work is full of extraordinary kindness every single day.
  • You want to finally walk or run that race? You have decided that the mental dialogue that stops you from “thinking you can do it” is not going to win this year and you are going to take a step forward toward that goal.
  • You desire to forgive that loved one that wronged you and you just haven’t been able to let it go.
  • Your hope for a FUN life, full of joy and depth (and less fear about health, money, or you name it) is going to be attacked once and for all and you are going to have more days that meet your expectations.
  • Your greatest dream would be world of true unity and that you are going to use your time, talent and gifts to help us move us all forward…

So many stakes to claim. So much that God wants for us in this life, no matter our situation. While we may walk out tomorrow morning with a cold, brisk wind confronting us, we have the ability to lay out the “must haves” for our lives. To both name them and to make them happen. I believe the world is conspiring for what is good, honorable and true. I believe that social justice is imperative and it is all of our responsibilities. I believe that we are called as humans to think bigger and to realize that we are more powerful than we could imagine if we will push ourselves a bit past the limits we have given ourselves.

Here’s to a year of putting our stake or stakes in the ground and developing action plans to make sure we make progress. Here’s to great health, wellness and more laughter than you’ve had for many years. Let’s make it count.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Abundance is…

Abundance is… Fill in the blank for yourself and for your family today. What does that look like and feel like?

Here’s the thing, I truly believe in the idea that God wants us to experience abundant life – fully in, fully giving and receiving all the love that we can handle. The scripture, “His power at work in us can do far more than we dare ask or imagine,” from Ephesians 3:20 is so strong in revealing that what we think is likely not even scratching the surface of what we can experience through the gifts He has given us. I love that.

So, back to the first question: What is it for you? Where’s a solid place to start this week? Abundance to me feels like so many things, but it starts with the people God has put in my path. It continues with nurturing those through encouragement, listening, healthy conversations, a ton of fun and a lot of just doing life together.

Abundance is in the everyday to me, whether it’s strolling through the market, watching the children giggle, or the older couples hand in hand, wondering what journey life has taken them through. Abundance is travel and admiring other cultures for their traditions and witnessing unbelievable joy in those who might not have much, and yet they have everything.

Abundance… what is it to you?

Time to set some big goals (or perhaps, just one that makes you proud)

Setting personal goals is one of the most important actions we can take. This topic reminded me that some time has gone by since I really locked in on this process for my personal life. As a matter of record, a few years ago I wrote down where I specifically wanted to travel, by year, for 5 years straight…and guess what? I actually achieved that – so I know there is indeed great truth here!

Goal-setting is so powerful that if we write them down, we are 42% more likely to achieve them, according to a Harvard Business Study. A more specific example from that research: “The 3% of graduates from their MBA program who had their goals written down, ended up earning ten times as much as the other 97% put together.” That’s POWERFUL.

So, why is this true? The difference is that this effort requires you to get them out of your head and into a place where you can set your focus and move forward toward their achievement. When you can actually visualize yourself at the counter of that restaurant you now own, or driving in that ultra-cool truck, you want it more. It becomes real. It isn’t about the competition; it becomes about creating a better experience for ourselves, and that often requires us to push to a new level of thinking and activity. Our minds can literally CREATE new paths to achievement if we can articulate what we want and begin to focus on how we might go about making those goals a reality.

The same blog that gave me the Harvard Study offered a few ideas on the “types” of goals. They are basic, but still a quite helpful construct when you decide to frame them up and put them on paper.

  1. Short Term Goals: Goals you’d like to go after in the next 5 minutes to 6 months. Of specific help, they are great as a smaller part of a larger goal. For example: I want to run a 10K but my feet often hurt. A short term goal would be to go visit a specialized running store this week and get educated on the “right” shoes for my stride. ( side-note: not sure what to do about that little fact that I hate to run…?… may be more than a short term situation!)
  2. Long term Goals: Goals you want to achieve that may take a bit of time. For example: I want to go on a 2-week trip to Greece.
  3. Lifetime Goals: The ultimate big-picture goals go here. For example, I’d like to pay for my grandchildren’s college education.

This little excerpt reminded me of the SMART goal setting process which you likely have heard before. Goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. (So, re-working the 10K goal above may look like: “As a part of my personal wellness plan, I would like to run a 10K in my city by March of 2020.”)

We have one life and we have the ability to do the unimaginable. I hope this blog encourages you to set some goals, write them down and move yourself closer to your dreams – ones you’ve held on to for years/decades, and new ones, too. I’m cheering you all on.

Stand TALL, shoulders BACK – Bringing a spirit of boldness to your week

Don’t you kind of love this image? STAND TALL, SHOULDERS BACK… TAKING A POSITION OF BRAVERY… “Owning It” Days like that are awesome. Seasons like that are something to behold. You know what? We can actually take this stance every single day. That is a personal decision.

I have often talked about this idea of making a “pre-decision.”  It’s a concept I picked up a few years back from my favorite author, Mark Batterson. Most key aspects of our lives depend on our ability to make a decision of how we want to show up. So, how do you want to show up this week?

The term “bravado” actually traces back to an old Italian adjective: bravo, meaning courageous, among other meanings. This is how I like to think of it: Courage with a touch of swagger; deciding to show up with confidence in what one brings to the table.

What are you sure of today?

What gifts, skills or personality traits do you have that energize you and make this world better? Are you a great storyteller, like my dad? Do you have that ability to light up a room immediately, like my friend Tiffany? Do you make everyone around you feel better by always offering a kind word, like my friend Gloria? Are you the hardest worker in the room? A skilled negotiator? A philanthropist always focused on bettering our community? A master gardener? Whatever you have been gifted with, put your shoulders back and own it. We need what you have to offer. Decide that this week, you are going all in with a position of boldness.

Cultivate something that brings joy

Rewind! This is an adapted post from 2017. Happy Easter weekend!

I love the idea of community gardens. If you aren’t familiar, community gardens are managed by groups of people, generally to meet a community’s needs. Sometimes that need is because the area is in a food desert and other times it’s education. No matter the reason, it is a positive initiative that brings great value, and improves health and happiness.

A few years ago, our church did a sermon series around the idea of “cultivate,” which got me thinking about areas in my life where cultivation is needed.

“Cultivate” has a double meaning. One is about preparing and using land for crops or gardening. We do this by tilling, plowing, fertilizing, mulching, watering, weeding… the type of hard work that community gardeners know all too well. The second meaning is to “acquire or develop” a quality, sentiment or skill. (Also hard work)

The two definitions are connected.

At the time, I associated the series with the word “joy”. This association struck me as an area I needed to focus on during that season of my life… to develop … cultivate if you will. I’m sure you know by now that I consider joy to be important. I feel so strongly that JOY is something we can have but that it often requires cultivating, especially during hard seasons.

You might have an area of your life that you want to cultivate, and I encourage you to pursue that. I am hopeful some of you will join me in generating some joy in our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces! What can you do today to elevate and cultivate joy? This is a terrific weekend to do just that!

How to live out honor

Honor | It’s a heavy word. A word filled with so much opportunity. A word bursting with love and meaning.

I have a friend who shared a recent conversation/argument they were having with their fiancé. The exchange was hurtful, leaving a recovery scene of fear and pain – anything but honor.

Similarly, I was in my office last week when I overheard a staff member sharing how they were hurt by another employee’s comments about them that they heard through the grapevine.

Without giving a lot of thought to our words, we create an environment that does not promote honor. How and why does this happen? I do not believe that’s anyone’s intent. It’s not like you wake up and say to yourself, “Today I am going to extend hurt instead of love… ” That doesn’t happen in the world I live in, yet the reality is our homes, car and corridors at times leave a residue of dishonor.

Today, it would be awesome to put honor back on top of our lists. I even told my young, soon-to-be-married friend that if I had to do it over, I might tattoo “honor” on my wrist before my wedding day. Beyond my marriage, the permanent reminder to show honor to the ones I love and who God has entrusted and surrounded me with seems like a great idea.

What is honor? Honor is focusing on admiration & respect in all we do. Here are some thoughts that might be helpful:

  • Compliment early and often – Esteem those deserving publicly and privately
  • Be patient – Remember that “slow to speak…” blog from Sunday?
  • Ask questions and show interest – Actually appreciate differences and opposing view points
  • Overlook mistakes and comments
  • Use the Acronym THINK in your thoughts, intentions and actions – Is it True? Helpful? Inspiring? Necessary? Kind?
  • Forgive quickly

One of my favorite coaching messages for myself and others is to “always wear the white hat,” stand above the comments you know aren’t real, but are full of emotion and a pain generally not rooted in the truth. If you like Michelle Obama, then her famous quote, “When they go low, we go high,” comes to mind.

Let’s outdo each other with HONOR this week.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: A game-changing strategy

Wow – do I ever need to remember this. Honestly, I always have, but sometimes I really need it – like when all of the “stuff” that has been in the news this week strikes.

The scripture, found in James 1, actually has a bit more to say: “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.” I’m not much of the “angry” type, but the rest of that would be a solid idea for a tattoo (insert lol). This is truly profound guidance, whether it’s in a relationship or in the workplace, or simply “cocktail party” conversation.

So, how about you? Anyone else find this timely? One thing that I’m learning is the importance of not only being slow to respond, but in asking really thoughtful questions. Asking the right questions, with the intent to learn and understand can be just the game changer you need to elevate a conversation. With a life goal of “serving well” and truly coming alongside one another to make each better, this is a must-have strategy.

Praying for you all as you enter our first full week of March. Let’s go!

What do you need right now?

This captures my attention for some reason. I don’t know if it is because of the weather, or because it seems like every other conversation I have been a part of lately points to one of the parties needing a deeper level of caring.

We all tend to go through our days, moving through our agendas and checking off our lists, but I’m not sure we spend enough time thinking about what our hearts and souls are telling us they “need” at the moment. It seems that we need to listen and be aware more of those signs we are surely getting that say we need more of something – healthier food, sleep, etc. I also think that we should challenge our colleagues, friends, family and loved ones to ask the question and really act on what they need. I call this “self preservation” – some call it self care.

Self care has multiple benefits, impacting your physical and emotional health. It’s an important topic and one I hope that you all take action toward. As Lady Gaga said at the Grammy’s last week, and I shared on Sunday, “We gotta take care of each other.” We do this best if we take care of ourselves first.

Let’s make this coming weekend a time for drawing closer to what this might mean and act accordingly.

The power of community

(Photo courtesy of the Chiefs App, #ThisisChiefsKingdom)

Most people know that I am a huge football fan. Make that a huge CHIEFS fan. I come by it, honestly, as my parents used to drive to a nearby city to catch the game when it wasn’t televised locally.

Here’s the thing: As much as I love the grit on the field, and the thrill of the game, what I really love is how the community of fans come together to support their team. I love that no matter where you are, if a fellow fan has on Chiefs gear, you want to high five them. I love that no matter where you come from, the shared love for the team brings people together from joy. It is energizing and soul filling.

The power of community is one of the greatest parts of life, if you ask me. From sports team communities to work, church, neighbors… all communities you spend time with. We have such an opportunity to lift each other up and elevate the lives of others when we are together. I love that.

I hope each of you have a great weekend – and cheer big on Sunday – and no matter what, build, honor and love on your community!