Every pitcher needs a good curve ball. If you throw a fast ball every time, no matter how fast it is, the hitters will eventually catch up to it. You've got to keep the batter off balance. In a similar sense, good leaders have a good curve ball. They bring the heat, but they know how to mix it up too. Otherwise people become creatures of habit, you lose all imagination, and fall into a empty rituals.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Dance Video
In honor of my upcoming wedding I found some creative wedding dance videos...stay posted for September 12th!
Some other fun wedding dance videos:
Pretend cop pulls over real cop...
Antonio Fernandez Martinez, driving a Ford Crown Victoria with flashing lights, attempted to pull over a car in Oakland last week. The problem is, Martinez isn't a police officer. But the man he tried to pull over is. From the Associated Press:
Martinez, a convicted car thief, will have his felony probation revoked and could face a prison term."Police: Fake officer tries to stop real officer"
The officer, Jim Beere, says Martinez probably thought he'd be an easy mark to rob.
Eyeglass thief with fetish...
Jerry Lowery, 38, of Illinois was charged with stealing more than 500 pairs of eyeglasses from suburban spectacle shops. Apparently he has a fetish. rom the Associated Press:
Prosecutors said Lowery walked into three shops between April and July and said he had a gun. They say he took more than 500 pairs of high-end glasses including Prada and Gucci brands, but didn't take cash."Man with fetish charged with stealing eyeglasses"
The criminal complaint quotes Lowery as saying he "really likes to be around glasses." He told investigators he tries them on in front of a mirror and then discards them.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Great Quote...
"Generosity is not about the size of your gift, its about the size of your sacrifice."
Kick Out The Ladder...
One of my favorite poems is “The Road Less Traveled” by Robert Frost. There is this tension of taking the easy route vs. the route others don’t go on.
Innovation is often paved out of the mouth of adversity. Dreams are achieved by going down a path and letting nothing take you back.
The road to your dream or inspiration will often come from having the ladder kicked out from under you.
Are you creating an environment in your work place, school, or home that takes pushes people to a new level? That puts them in a place where only innovation can be birthed.
Are you kicking the ladder out from under yourself to go where you’ve never gone before?
If your goal is too easy to meet…then you aren’t challenging yourself.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Great New Resource...
I'm excited to announce the launch of a new project by lifechurch.tv entitled VideoTeaching.com is live!
Since I want you to experience the site, I’m not going to keep you here long, but did want to let you know a few key things:
- Your church can create an account and download high-quality teaching videos today for free.
- You’ll find messages from some amazing pastors and teachers, with more on the way in the near future.
- The site also features a Learning Center with lots of great tips and advice to help your church get the most out of VideoTeaching.com.
Social Contrasts of Teen Boys and Girls...
This is a great post from Kent Shafffer:
Boys are different than girls. As previously discussed, boys prefer a dramatically different learning environment and style than how girls prefer to learn.
The social preferences of boys and girls are also sharply contrasted according to new brain scan research from the National Institute of Mental Health. TIME summarizes the research nicely. Essentially, girls want one-on-one close friendships, and boys prefer to interact in groups.
As girls progress from early puberty to late adolescence, certain regions of their brains become more active when they face a potential social interaction. Specifically, when an older girl anticipates meeting someone new — someone she believes will be interested in her — her nucleus accumbens (which is associated with reward and motivation), hypothalamus (associated with hormone secretion), hippocampus (associated with social learning) and insula (associated with subjective feelings) all become more active. By contrast, boys in the same situation show no such increase in activity in these areas. In fact, the activity in their insula actually declines.
This research combined with our knowledge of gender learning preferences, gives insight into how we can create youth ministries that maximize both a teen’s learning and social enjoyment.
For Boys:
So when teaching boys, keep the group large but controllable (i.e., 12-24 boys) and in even numbers for team competition. Stand and move around while speaking forcefully and realistically. Allow the boys to occasionally move and keep the room at 69 degrees Fahrenheit. Use cooler colors in your environment and teaching. Play sports and competitive games, so the boys can naturally bond via social competition.
For Girls:
So when teaching girls, keep the group very small and intimate and allow for one-on-one interaction or even mentoring. Sit in a circle with the girls and speak descriptively and in a nurturing tone. Keep the room at 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Use lots of colors, particularly warmer colors, and use visual and/or tactile textures. Create a secure yet stimulating environment where they can feel comfortable in taking risks that you encourage them to take.
For Discussion:
- If you teach kids and youth, what has your experience taught you about their preferences?
Good Wisdom...
“It is a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead — and find no one there.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit.” - Harry S. Truman
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” - Howard Thurman
Time for din-din...
I have always loved creatively designed restaurants. These unique examples are so remarkable, you would go even if the food is bad! Great design and innovation makes you stand out from the sea of competition. Remember, it’s not just about the product or service but about the branding. Design rules now.
Dinner in the Sky
Dinner in the Sky is hosted at a table suspended at a height of 130 feet. It accommodates 22 people around the table with three staff members in the middle (chef, waiter, entertainer).
Restaurant in Latvia
The restaurant looks like a medicine cabinet and the food is served in flasks and operating-room’s dishes. In addition, the customers can be tied up in straight jackets.
Allowing creativity to flourish...
The creative folks at Catalyst came up with a list of ways they allow creativity to flourish during their meetings, check them out:
When it comes to creating the right kind of environment, we’ve established some “rules” (suggested behavior) for our “creative” meetings:
1. set the expectations for the meeting up front. be very clear, even if there are no rules.
2. there is no bad answer
3. “yes, and” and never “no or but”
4. respect everyone’s participation and their thoughts- no one can dominate the conversation
5. allow for movement- standing up, walking, sitting down, whatever works for people- especially those with shorter attention spans!
6. provide creative “extras”, such as toys, sports items, collectives, visual effects and other “enhancers”
7. Take mental breaks every 30-40 minutes, and physical breaks every 90 minutes
8. take VERY detailed notes. capture everything. gotta have a dedicated notetaker.
9. always allow for rabbit trails, but have a facilitator who keeps things moving.
10. Keep the fun meter above 50%. If it drops below that, stop and re-establish the fun factor.
Hopefully these are helpful as you create in your own environments…..
Monday, July 13, 2009
Baghdad Churches Face Persecution...
“At least four people were killed and 32 wounded as six Baghdad-area churches were bombed within 24 hours, officials told CNN…. Many of Iraq’s estimated 1 million Christians have fled the country after targeted attacks by extremists. In October, more than a thousand Iraqi families fled the northern city of Mosul after they were reportedly frightened by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists, who apparently ordered them to convert to Islam or face possible death.”
Praying for peace and freedom in the Middle East…
What's the worst thing that can happen?
I love what Mark Twain said, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of which, never happened."
I think it's safe to say that I've feared far more things than have actually happened in my life. What a shame.
Fear paralyzes progress. Fear keeps you in bad jobs. Fear keeps you single. Fear keeps you in the same town your whole life. Fear keeps you from following your God-given dreams.
Every morning, I have to spend at least 30 minutes praying and banishing fear from my life. It slowly creeps up on me each day and blankets me in the mornings.
What's interesting is that whenever I imagine the scenario of my worst fears coming true... it's not actually that bad. =) Honestly, it simplifies my life.
I was talking to a pastor the other day who is on his second church plant. He said that failing was a gift from God because it taught him that he didn't have all that much to fear.
Companies that are "all-in"....
Chick-fil-A, Zappos, Burton, Apple.
These companies have an incredibly devoted employee base. Staffs are committed. Their businesses are successful. They’ve become legendary. Why?
One reason: a cult-like crazy culture. They are 110% in. To those outside of the organization, it may seem a bit weird or over the top. But to the employees working for these types of organizations, it is normal. They wholeheartedly believe in what they are doing, and it permeates throughout everything they do- their culture, their identity, branding, marketing, customer service, etc.
Simply put- it is part of who they are.
Good to know....
Edinburgh psych researcher Richard Wiseman and team left a load of wallets lying around with various contents, trying to see if there was a correlation between, say, baby pictures or cards indicating charitable giving and the rate at which wallets are returned. It turns out that people in Edinburgh (and maybe everyone) have a high likelihood of returning wallets with baby pictures, but are much less likely to return the wallets of charitable givers: 
The baby photograph wallets had the highest return rate, with 88 per cent of the 40 being sent back. Next came the puppy, the family and the elderly couple, with 53 per cent, 48 and 28 respectively. At 20 per cent and 15, the charity card and control wallets had the lowest return rates.
The baby photograph wallets had the highest return rate, with 88 per cent of the 40 being sent back. Next came the puppy, the family and the elderly couple, with 53 per cent, 48 and 28 respectively. At 20 per cent and 15, the charity card and control wallets had the lowest return rates. Overall, 42 per cent of the wallets were posted back -- more than the team had anticipated. "We were amazed by the high percentage of wallets that came back," said Dr Wiseman.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Praying the calendar...
Just thought I'd share one prayer technique that has really helped me cultivate a prayer habit. I call it praying the calendar. I basically go through my calendar and pray about anything and everything. I pray for the people I have meetings with. I pray for upcoming events. For example, before the 4th of July I found myself praying for America. More specifically, another Great Awakening.
Here is what praying the calendar does for me: it gives me a sense of destiny. I feel like I walk into each day, each meeting, each experience with holy anticipation. Why? Because I've prayed about it.
Here is what praying the calendar does for me: it gives me a sense of destiny. I feel like I walk into each day, each meeting, each experience with holy anticipation. Why? Because I've prayed about it.
What is it to you?
After he was restored, Peter started speculating about the future of John. You’ll recall that John was the only apostle who stood by Jesus at the crucifixion (incidentally, he was also the one who actually referred to himself as “the disciple Jesus loved”-bold!). So I suppose Peter and the others were concerned about John getting preferential treatment and advancing past them in position based on performance.
Jesus set them straight with a response that we would do well to internalize:
“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.”
-John 21:22
When you’re tempted to compare yourself to another servant of Christ, heed the words of Jesus:
What is that to you?
If God sees fit to bless someone else with a greater measure of success than me, what is that to me? I’ve got my own race to run, and my own abilities to account for.
If someone else makes some decisions I disagree with, or if another brother stumbles and falls, what is that to me? God knows, I’ve gotten way off track in my own attempts to follow Christ.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. John 8:7
Let each servant stand or fall to his own master. Romans 14:4
Let he who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12
We wouldn’t have time to misjudge the motives of anyone else
if we were fully engaged in following Jesus ourselves.
Finding Leaders...
Gary Hamel’s “Nine Ways to Identify Natural Leaders” provides some insight into the age old question “How do you identify leaders?”
“The need to empower natural leaders isn’t an HR pipedream, it’s a competitive imperative. But before you can empower them, you have to find them. In most cases, natural leaders don’t appear on any organization chart. To hunt them down, you need to know . . .
- Whose advice is sought most often on any particular topic?
- Who responds most promptly to requests from peers?
- Whose responses are judged most helpful?
- Who is most likely to reach across organizational boundaries to aid a colleague?
- Whose opinions are most valued, internally and externally?
- Who gets the most kudos from customers?
- Who’s the most densely connected to other employees?
- Who’s generating the most buzz outside the company?
- Who consistently demonstrates real thought leadership?
- Who seems truly critical to key decisions?”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
