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Leadership Nuggets

Give the Bible the First and Last Word in Your Life

Posted on March 5, 2013 Leave a Comment

by Rick Warren

“If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine.” (John 8:31 NASB, 1978 edition)

In order to build your life on the Bible, it must become the authoritative standard for your life. It must become the compass you rely on for direction, the counsel you listen to for making wise decisions, and the benchmark you use for evaluating everything.

The Bible must always have the first and last word in your life.

Many of our troubles occur because we base our choices on unreliable authorities: culture (“Everyone is doing it”), tradition (“We’ve always done it”), reason (“It seemed logical”), or emotion (“It just felt right”). Yet, what we need is a perfect standard that will never lead us in the wrong direction. Only God’s Word meets that need: “Every word of God is flawless” (Proverbs 30:5a NIV).

The most important decision you can make today is to settle this issue of what will be the ultimate authority for your life. Decide that regardless of culture, tradition, reason, or emotion, you choose the Bible as your final authority. When making decisions, determine to first ask, “What does the Bible say?” Resolve that when God says to do something, you will trust God’s Word and do it whether or not it makes sense or you feel like doing it.

Posted in: Blog, Leadership Nuggets | Tagged: Authority, Bible, Daily, Devotional, Final, give, hope, rick, warren, Word

God Blesses His Plan, Not Yours

Posted on February 21, 2013 Leave a Comment

by Rick Warren

“From now on, every generation will call me blessed! For he, the Mighty One, is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him.” (Luke 1:48b-50 NLT)

Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew that faith and obedience are the keys to God’s blessing, so she chose to go with God’s destiny for her life.

Now, as a pastor, I want God to bless your life. I want him to bless you spiritually. I want him to bless you financially. I want him to bless your career and family and relationships and health. But if you have a plan for your life — I’ll tell you — you’re on your own.

God is not going to bless your plan. God did not put you on Earth to live for yourself. He put you on Earth for something much bigger than that. And when you go with his plan for your life, he will bless it.

Mary could sing about God’s plan for her life because she was excited about it. Even though it would cause problems, people would misunderstand her, and she would be accused of wrongdoing, Mary trusted God. She knew God would bless her and that even generations to come would remember what God did through her.

Guess what? The same thing is true of your life, too. What you do with your life will be remembered not just on Earth but also in eternity forever and ever. How you serve and love others according to God’s will for your life will leave a legacy on Earth and in eternity: “My Father will honor anyone who serves me” (John 12:26 NCV).

Could Mary have said “no” to God’s destiny for her life? Yes. God never forces you to go with his plan, because he wants you to choose to love him. That’s why he gave you free will instead of making you a puppet. That’s why the vast majority of people miss God’s destiny. They choose to go their own way instead of saying, like Mary, “Whatever you want to do with me, I’m your servant. I accept your destiny for my life.”

Posted in: Blog, Leadership Nuggets | Tagged: Blesses, God, his, not, Plan, rick, warren, Yours

Dr. Benjamin Carson Speech at National Prayer Breakfast February 7, 2013

Posted on February 14, 2013 Leave a Comment

We need more of this!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83IiLN_EaF4&w=560&h=315]

Posted in: Blog, Leadership Nuggets | Tagged: at, Benjamin, Breakfast, Carson, Dr., February, National, prayer, Speech

STOP CORRECTING PEOPLE!

Posted on February 6, 2013 Leave a Comment

By Tim Marks

Henry Ford wisely said, “Don’t find fault.  Find a remedy.”  Why do people feel the need to point out other people’s mistakes?  Well, it could be they genuinely want the other person to improve.  It could be that they want to help.  Or it could be that they are trying to knock the other person down a few pegs to themselves feel powerful in comparison.  WikiHow.com shares, “Criticism is futile, because it puts a person on the defensive and causes him to justify himself.  Criticism is dangerous, because it wounds a person’s pride and arouses resentment.  Criticism is vain, because in judging others, we regard ourselves as more righteous than they.”

For some people, their self-esteem and identity is tied to “being right” and “being knowledgeable”.  They feel that they are a worthwhile person if they are correct, and more importantly, if other people know it.  If you derive your self-esteem from being right… why? Why is that your source of self-esteem?  Do you feel embarrassed being wrong or making a mistake?  Does that seem rational to you?  Surely you must realize that you can’t be right all of the time.  You only need to be right 51% of the time and you would make a billion dollars on the stock market this year!  If someone was right all the time, they’d have easily developed the cure for cancer, brought peace to the Middle East, and found a solution to world hunger.  Since these haven’t been accomplished, you may want to lower your estimation of yourself being “all knowing” a notch, Scooter.  Again, only one man ever was, and no one ever will be again.  Compulsively correcting people is purely an ego game, and as SpiritualPub.com shares, “One day, you will come to an understanding that in a pretentious game of gratifying your ego, you have auctioned the inner beauty of your soul.”

I have a family member whom I love very much who is, and has always been, right about everything (in their eyes).  It’s a sad condition because it holds him back from learning.  Why would someone bother learning when they think they already know everything?  It might be true we have some expertise in a certain area, but imagine the vast ocean of knowledge we don’t have!  Also, is it possible that our suggestion is correct, but someone else’s idea might also have merit?  There might be two different solutions to the same problem.  2+2 equals 4, but so does 1+3.  And even if we are correct, remember that no one wants to hear about it if we come across as an arrogant know-it-all!  (No one… except you!)

The world is filled with people who will tell you what you do wrong.  Your friends, family and colleagues are constantly told by everyone around them what they do wrong!  Even if your heart is genuinely in a good place and you want to help the other person by correcting them, may I suggest you reconsider?  As Dale Carnegie wrote, “When we are wrong, we may admit it to ourselves.  And if we are handled gently and tactfully, we may admit it to others and even take pride in our frankness and broad-mindedness.  But not if someone else is trying to ram the unpalatable fact down our esophagus.”

My mentor, bestselling author Orrin Woodward, has taught me if someone is about to make a tiny mistake, to consider letting them know gently.  Please don’t come across as a know-it-all.  You may want to say, “I could be wrong, but have you considered this?  Perhaps there is another way of looking at this problem.”  Or, “This is only my opinion, and I certainly am not an expert, but what about this option?”  Using language like that leaves a back door for their ego to remain intact.  Throw a little uncertainty into your language in order to gently introduce a suggestion.  You may also try getting their permission to offer a suggestion.  Perhaps something like, “Bob, if I noticed something I felt could really help you, do I have your permission to offer a little tip?”  By getting their permission first, they are probably more open to hearing what you have to say.  I learned from my mentor it matters less to the other person whether you are right; it matters if their ego and feelings are intact.

Finally, stop yourself and ask, “Who am I to criticize this other man?”  Consider all the mistakes you have made throughout your life.  It can be pretty easy to feel self-righteous when considering our strengths to another, but what about our flaws compared to their flaws?  In John 8:9 Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”  I know all of my flaws. Who am I to judge another man?  At this point, you may be wondering, “He, wait a minute… is Tim judging me or trying to tear me down?” or “Is Tim trying to teach me people skills?”  Actually, I’m trying to show you we all make these common mistakes and we all have value that we and others may not yet see.

Now, naysayers will point out avoiding correcting people doesn’t count for landing airplanes, brain surgery or running a nuclear power plant.  Of course there are times when you point out a mistake!  If your spouse is driving the car and about to run a red light or crash into someone, don’t AVOID pointing it out in order to dogmatically follow this principle.  Use discretion.  However, the three extreme examples I just gave are situations where a person is in mortal danger.  99.9% of the time we AREN’T in mortal danger, so the exception won’t apply most of the time!  You still need to avoid criticism most of the time!

Fortunately, the LIFE business shares information to help even a blunt choleric like myself to soften his edges, develop some empathy, and share mentorship and advice from a place of serving rather than correcting.  To quote from one of our recent books in the LIFEsubscription series, Bringing Out the Best in People, author Alan Loy McGinnis said, “Good managers and good teachers, on the other hand, do not waste much time doing postmortems on the failures of their people.  Instead they look for strengths that others have overlooked and ways to encourage the gifts in their group.”  If you want to become a better leader, I’d encourage you to bite your tongue when you feel you are about to criticize, and instead, point out what someone has done correctly.

Posted in: Blog, Leadership Nuggets | Tagged: correcting, excellence, For, intentionally, Life, living, marks, people, Purpose, stop, tim, traced, with

RESOLVED! 13 Resolutions for Life

Posted on December 11, 2012 Leave a Comment

 

These are original with Benjamin Franklin who wrote these and ingrained them in his life at age 14. Amazing how the Gospel had such a huge impact on our country’s leadership.

These are some powerful resolutions! What great leaders we had-will we step up to the plate and stop complaining about our country’s leader and take the resolutions to heart and focus on improving in our own life? The right president won’t make much difference at all-if we want real change-I need to start with MYSELF and apply these resolutions. Will you join me? We will change ourselves, which in turn will change our families, which in turn will change our community, which in turn will change our country and just maybe-we”ll change the world!

1. Resolved: I resolve to discover my God-given purpose. I know that when my potential, passions, and profits intersect, my purpose is revealed.
2. Resolved: I resolve to choose character over reputation anytime they conflict. I know that my character is who I am and my reputation is only what others say that I am.
3. Resolved: I resolve to have an attitude of gratitude. I know that by listening to my Positive Voice and turning down my Negative Voice that I will own a positive attitude.
4. Resolved: I resolve to align my conscious (ant) with my subconscious (elephant) mind towards my vision. I know that ending the civil war between them is crucial for all achievement.
5. Resolved: I resolve to develop and implement a game plan in each area of my life. I know that planning and doing are essential parts of the success process.
6. Resolved: I resolve to keep score in the game of life. I know that the scoreboard forces me to check and confront the results, making the needed adjustments in order to win.
7. Resolved: I resolve to develop the art and science of friendship. I know that everyone needs a true friend to lighten the load when life gets heavy.
8. Resolved: I resolve to develop financial intelligence. I know that my wealth is compounded when incomes are higher than expenses over time.
9. Resolved: I resolve to develop the art and science of leadership. I know that everything rises and falls based upon the leadership culture created within my community.
10. Resolved: I resolve to develop the art and science of conflict resolution. I know that relationship bombs and unresolved conflict destroy a community’s unity and growth.
11. Resolved: I resolve to develop systems thinking. I know that by viewing life as interconnected patterns rather than isolated events I improve my leverage.
12. Resolved: I resolve to develop Adversity Quotient. I know that AQ leads to perseverance in overcoming obstacles and setbacks.
13. Resolved: I resolve to leave a legacy by fulfilling my purpose and vision through living the 13 Resolutions. I know that by reversing the current of decline, I provide an example for the next-generation of leaders.

Posted in: Blog, Leadership Nuggets | Tagged: 13, Benjamin, For, Franklin, Life, Orin, resolutions, Woodward
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