All in Leadership
A “quick temper” is one of my biggest struggles. I like it speedy, convenient and easy. Studies show that the time people are willing to wait in line has gone from four minutes to…twenty seconds!
I recently saw a bombed out home in Syria that was rebuilt by generosity and given back over to a widow and her children. The thrill of seeing this devastated, war-ravaged family dancing for joy was an amazing experience.
Why is it that when it is time to give to others we usually think, “Oh, brother…” instead of “Oh, boy!”?
Have you ever gotten all revved up to make a change, charged forward, and hit a major wall? Most people stop right there. How do you survive the FIRST WALL?
Let’s face it: people are way too serious right now. The weight of the world is dampening the bravest spirit. Sometimes, laughing is the last thing you think of.
I was on the inside seat of an airplane recently. It’s my least favorite place. On top of that, I tried in vain to pull my sweater off. I felt trapped, really trapped, in a “tight place.”
Are you in a tight place financially, emotionally, or relationally?
Do you ever wake up in the morning and feel like, “Today, I will bring my “B” or “C" game. Yesterday was great but today will only be average”?
NOT THIS YEAR.
This is not an original statement with me. However, it has shaped my life greatly.
As you start into a new year, have you discovered the “why” behind all of your goals, planning, and purposes?
This subtle, simple shift can mean the difference between total life change and miserable failure.
TRUST is affecting everything in your life: your leadership, marriage, business, parenting, and legacy.
Everybody leads something: their family, their children, their business, their community their church…or themselves.
Paul spoke about “faithful leaders.” He listed their 5 greatest qualities to his spiritual son, Timothy (2 Tim. 2).
People are quitting too easily. They quit a difficult marriage. They quit a job. They quit a hard task. Anyone can start and have a “honeymoon” but it takes a certain mentality to stay and finish the job.
I love the Message translation of 2 Cor. 4:1—“…don’t throw up your hands and walk off the job because you run into occasional hard times.”
The suicide of an apparently successful, talented, and influential 30-year-old pastor near Los Angeles this week has stunned American Christian leadership.
David faced unthinkable pressure. He wrote his deepest psalms while living under intense pressure and anxiety.
This week a bridge suddenly collapsed in Genoa, Italy. That’s not supposed to happen. Bridges don’t collapse.
Leaders are not supposed to collapse, either.
We have all seen The Ten Commandments where Charlton Heston smashes the stone tablets on the rock. Some would think, “Now THAT’S leadership!" but actually, the Bible says that Moses was very meek.
Evidently, Moses’ powerful leadership persona was fueled by some inward spiritual “engine.”
Money. It’s not supposed to be hard. It is, however, without knowledge. A zillion books have been written about it, but one small story and three little principles explain it all.
It’s about a desperate widow…
Growth is first internal, then external.
Whatever your job, your business, your ministry, or your finances, you can grow beyond it this year. Change is inevitable, growth is optional. Wouldn’t it feel good to CRUSH that invisible barrier you haven’t been able to penetrate?
Jeff Bezos (CEO of Amazon) just went over $100 billion in net worth this week. That is more than the individual GDP of 146 out of 211 countries!
That’s ridiculous prosperity.
Jesus said deception would be rampant in the final days of this age. That deception will culminate in the “Beast” (the Antichrist) and the “False Prophet.”
Everyone wants to be a great leader. They try every book, conference, and seminar. They pump themselves full of motivation. They read and listen to the latest leadership strategy.
All good. The missing ingredient of all of the above? “Self-awareness.”
Why are people making more, owning more, and interacting more…and enjoying it less?
Solomon had everything: intelligence, pleasure, productivity, possessions, and long life. In spite of that, he said, “I hated life!” Really?
Do you ever wonder how the wheels of power turn? How a person with millions of people looking to them for leadership manages his life, his time, and his priorities?
I had six wonderful years holding a weekly Bible study for Louisiana Governor Mike Foster and his top staff. He didn’t know it, but while I was teaching him the Bible, he was teaching me excellent leadership!
