Forget to Live

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.

-- Albus Dumbledore

Great Opportunity

The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.

-- John Burroughs

Something to Lose

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

-- Steve Jobs

Frigid, We Cling

On these frigid days and nights, we cling to each other's bodies, if not for the warmth we seek for our bones, then for the comfort we seek for our souls.

After nights like last night, ending at 18 degrees below zero this morning, there's been good reason to cling.

Young Men

Young men are fitter to invent than to judge; fitter for execution than for counsel; and fitter for new projects than for settled business.

-- Francis Bacon

Breathless Expectation

Naturally, we are inclined to be so mathematical and calculating that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. Certainty is the mark of the common-sense life; gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth. This is generally said with a sigh of sadness; it should rather be an expression of breathless expectation.

-- Oswald Chambers

...like an exorbitant snow that we awake to this morning!

Robert Downey Jr & Sting

Wow! Good vocals and guitar...didn't know Downey had it in him!

Humanity First

Pain often begs for your humanity first...and then often for God.

Holacracy

Only the respect of the led creates a leader.

-- Ricardo Semler

I have not read the book, Maverick, but based on this description, it is now on my list. It is an autobiography by Ricardo Semler. Here is some of how he used the concepts of holacracy at his company, Semco:

1. Treat workers like adults: Run companies on trust, rather than producing and enforcing an encyclopedia of rules. Empower employees to make decisions, and cultivate a culture of forgiveness rather than permission.
2. Share information: Share all corporate information with employees, from salaries to strategies and productivity statistics to profit margins. This transparency is a corollary of treating workers like adults.
3. Make managers accountable to their subordinates: Give the power to hire and fire managers to the employees who will live with the consequences.

Read the rest here....

Desire To Be Certain

The problem is that the overwhelming desire to be certain can eclipse the need to grow or be different, and it can limit our potential.

-- Jennifer Wilson

No Habit

No habit has any real hold on you other than the hold you have on it.

-- Gardner Hunting

7 Crippling Parenting Behaviors That Keep Children From Growing Into Leaders

7 Crippling Parenting Behaviors:

1. We don’t let our children experience risk
2. We rescue too quickly
3. We rave too easily
4. We let guilt get in the way of leading well
5. We don’t share our past mistakes
6. We mistake intelligence, giftedness and influence for maturity
7. We don’t practice what we preach

Here are some snippet-explanations for each item:

1. Kids need to fall a few times to learn it’s normal; teens likely need to break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend to appreciate the emotional maturity that lasting relationships require. If parents remove risk from children’s lives, we will likely experience high arrogance and low self-esteem in our growing leaders.

2. Sooner or later, kids get used to someone rescuing them: “If I fail or fall short, an adult will smooth things over and remove any consequences for my misconduct.” When in reality, this isn’t even remotely close to how the world works, and therefore it disables our kids from becoming competent adults.

3. Kids eventually observe that Mom and Dad are the only ones who think they’re awesome when no one else is saying it. They begin to doubt the objectivity of their parents; it feels good in the moment, but it’s not connected to reality. When we rave too easily and disregard poor behavior, children eventually learn to cheat, exaggerate and lie and to avoid difficult reality.

4. Be careful not to teach them a good grade is rewarded by a trip to the mall. If your relationship is based on material rewards, kids will experience neither intrinsic motivation nor unconditional love.

5. Kids must prepare to encounter slip-ups and face the consequences of their decisions. Share how you felt when you faced a similar experience, what drove your actions, and the resulting lessons learned. Because we’re not the only influence on our kids, we must be the best influence.

6. Just because giftedness is present in one aspect of a child’s life, don’t assume it pervades all areas. There is no magic “age of responsibility” or a proven guide as to when a child should be given specific freedoms, but a good rule of thumb is to observe other children the same age as yours.

7. As the leaders of our homes, we can start by only speaking honest words – white lies will surface and slowly erode character. Watch yourself in the little ethical choices that others might notice, because your kids will notice too. If you don’t cut corners, for example, they will know it’s not acceptable for them to either. Show your kids what it means to give selflessly and joyfully by volunteering for a service project or with a community group. Leave people and places better than you found them, and your kids will take note and do the same.

-- Tim Elmore

Why do we do this?  It is worth your while to read beyond these snippets and some of the answers here....

Enlarge

God is delighted to watch your soul enlarge.

-- Meister Eckhart

Whirled Beat - Doin' Laundry

...now that's doin' laundry!

True Acquisitions

Our true acquisitions lie only in our charities, we get only as we give.

-- William Simms

Trying To Be Happy

If only we'd stop trying to be happy we'd have a pretty good time.

-- Edith Wharton

Happiness vs Meaningfulness

While lives of meaningfulness and happiness overlap, they are distinctly different, according to Stanford research.

"Happiness was linked to being a taker rather than a giver, whereas meaningfulness went with being a giver rather than a taker," Aaker said.

A life of meaning is more deeply tied to a valued sense of self and one's purpose in the larger context of life and community.

One can find meaning in life and be unhappy at the same time.

-- Alex Banayan

Continue Reading...

Hard Work

 

There's one trait that always comes through among the successful:  hard work.

Let me list six simple things that help...:

1. Get up early: Hard workers get up early. They take time to themselves when it's quiet, they exercise before work, and they get organized before the flood of activity starts. Try getting up early and you'll be amazed what happens.
2. Focus on what matters. Each day: Research has shown that 41% of the things "busy people do" are not important, so we have to avoid or delegate things that may distract us from what we need to get done.  Ever year of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)? Instead you should practice a little JOMO - Joy of Missing Out.
3. Pay attention to detail.
4. Do more listening, less talking: Not listening is an easy mistake to make - your mind is racing, you know what you want to say or do, and you're half-listening to the person or people around you. And when I was younger I was convinced that "doing my job" was the most important thing I could focus on.  It turns out that one of the best ways to "work hard" is to build great relationships with the people around you. Much research shows that personal relationships build trust, and from trust you develop the ability to work more efficiently and speedily. So by slowing down and listening you build the type of relationships vital to getting things done.
5. Develop yourself. Learn to use the tools around you: High performers are great learners. I got to many meetings as an analyst where someone mentions a book, model, company, or technology I've never heard of. I immediately write it down and make a note to look it up later. Over the years I've learned a tremendous amount about HR, technology, leadership, and business simply by following up on all the things I hear about.
6. Practice mental toughness: This means you should get comfortable with mistakes. You're going to blow it at times. You may lose the deal, give a poor speech, or handle a situation poorly. Pick yourself up and push ahead. That's life: everyone has been through such failures.

-- Josh Bersin

Click here for the rest....

Perfection

Perfection, in a Christian sense, means becoming mature enough to give ourselves to others.

-- Kathleen Norris

Patient

Love is...patient.  First of all, love is patient.

It is patient with me and that affords me the strength to be the same in myself and towards others.

Walter Mitty

I remember reading The Secret Life of Walter Mitty when I was in high school, or at least starting to.  I may have finished it, I don't remember now -- I don't remember the ending...perhaps a little frustrated with a guy who seemed to endlessly lose focus as well as somewhat intrigued with the notion of dreaming about the way things could be.  So, when the movie came out, I felt a twinge of something...that I should see it, at the very least to remind me of the book. Quite a story!

We often settle for a life that is safe and predictable, even as we often privately nurse small forms of our passions.   And occasionally life's circumstances twist us into an opportunity to find something we've been deeply longing for with the thinking that it can be found 'out there'.  We get up or are thrown out of our comfort zone, usually by something we are attracted to or really want, and discover that the 'out there' was really 'in here' -- I didn't have to go anywhere, it was in the back-pocket of my heart the whole time.  Though resigned on the front side, we are grateful beyond words for the aliveness we come out with.

Quite a story...of us!  So, jump!

Mentally Strong People: 13 Things They Avoid

Mentally Strong People: 13 Things They Avoid

1. Waste Time Feeling Sorry for Themselves

4. Waste Energy on Things They Can’t Control

5. Worry About Pleasing Others

8. Make the Same Mistakes Over and Over

11. Fear Alone Time

13. Expect Immediate Results

-- Amy Morin

Read the rest here....

Aim of Education

Character development is the great, if not the sole, aim of education.

-- William O'Shea

The more I reflect on this, the more true it seems (not that something can become more true...), especially when education seems to have become about so many other things. But, education, institutionalized or not, really is about the development of something. Certainly information (content) is involved. But, the development of habits (disciplines) related to the content of an education society seem among the more important things that occur (or need to). Knowledge is applied in living life. Character is what shapes the use (values) of that knowledge in living.

Fall Forward

Speaking of graces, what a wonderful read / contemplation by Ann Voskamp on a new year -- looking back and moving forward:

We are all going to botch it some days. We all sometimes get the notes wrong. But the song only goes wrong — when we keep thinking back to the wrong notes.

When a piece starts to fall apart — fall forward. Fall forward into the next bar. Moving forward is what makes music.

Read the rest...you'll be glad you did.

-- Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience

Kindnesses Upon Graces

Many people don't seem to realize the many kindnesses on top of graces they have received...thinking somehow that what they have is something they should get because of their status, merits or efforts. Such people are not only sadly mistaken, but also not very attractive and often make others feel distanced and like they are unimportant or 'less than'.

I have felt this from others recently...I wonder how and where I do the same thing.

Snowflake

How fitting for one of the most frigid days in Indiana history:

A snowflake is one of God's most fragile creations,
but look what they can do when they stick together!

Man Does Not

The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, man does not.

-- Oswald Chambers

A Non-judgmental Presence

From 'A Henri Nouwen Society Blog':

To the degree that we accept that through Christ we ourselves have been reconciled with God we can be messengers of reconciliation for others. Essential to the work of reconciliation is a nonjudgmental presence. We are not sent to the world to judge, to condemn, to evaluate, to classify, or to label. When we walk around as if we have to make up our mind about people and tell them what is wrong with them and how they should change, we will only create more division. Jesus says it clearly: “Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge; … do not condemn; … forgive” (Luke 6:36-37).

When we are free from the need to judge or condemn, we can become safe places for people to meet in vulnerability and take down the walls that separate them. Being deeply rooted in the love of God, we cannot help but invite people to love one another. When people realise that we have no hidden agendas or unspoken intentions, that we are not trying to gain any profit for ourselves, and that our only desire is for peace and reconciliation, they may find the inner freedom and courage to leave their guns at the door and enter into conversation with their enemies.

In a world that constantly asks us to make up our minds about other people, a nonjudgmental presence seems nearly impossible. But it is one of the most beautiful fruits of a deep spiritual life and will be easily recognized by those who long for reconciliation.

-- Henri Nouwen

Trick Shot Titus

Increase / Decrease

He must increase, I must decrease.

I can afford to feel smaller.  This is important because it is often the opposite out of which I live - I can't afford to feel smaller.  Even though I believe in the matching statement from the book of John above...somehow, it feels like there is something specific in this for me in 2014.  I don't know what this means, what it may look like, but it feels like something for me to both be aware of and to submit to....

2014 - What Kind of a Person?

After another year gone by, what lies ahead?

 

"Do things become clearer as you grow older or do you just get better at settling for smaller answers?", asks Julie in play called 'Oblivion'.

Growing older doesn't necessarily mean your life gets narrower. It provides countless opportunities to travel, learn, meet new people and expand your horizons.  The problem is...not every person views life as an opportunity to grow and broaden their experiences.

In fact, each of us faces a choice. The world sorts us into one of two types of people. As we head into 2014, I'd like to suggest that you ask yourself which kind of person you wish to be:

One who grows clearer with age: These are the people who embrace change, who recognize that it is inevitable. They don't get shocked when their children become adults, their job morphs into something new, or the character of their community starts to transform.

One who gets better at settling for smaller answers: These people tend to fear change. These unfortunates end up living in smaller and smaller boxes. They keep jettisoning the aspects of life that scare or unsettle them.

Finish reading here....

-- Bruce Kasanoff