Going Old School

in an attempt to find a "cool" video to share with my students this week, i came across this video. at the time, it was one of the greatest rock/hip-hop songs since Aerosmith & RunDMC did "walk this way" (which is still the #1 in my opinion).

i'm thinking i'll just use this video this week...

Measurable & Objective

i haven't written in a few months & if you've been following me on twitter or on my facebook, you know we made a big move from Phoenix to Chicago. i'll write more about that at some point.

for the past few days i have been thinking about goals. here is the big question i've been wrestling with:

how do you set measurable & objective goals in a subjective situation?

so here's the deal: i work with people in beginning, building, & nurturing (couldn't come up with another "b" word) relationships. relationships are not objective - they are fluid. so how do you measure something that seems to eb & flow at different paces & levels?

inspired by a friend

i received an email today from an old friend that rocked my world. he shared with me some incredible things that he has faced & overcome. i was reminded of what the apostle paul wrote to some christians that were living in rome at the time & facing life & death every day.

Romans 5:3-5
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

i don't look forward to the problems or trials but i do look forward to being the man that God is wanting me to become. having just come through a very difficult 4 months of my own, this friend helped to reminded me that i can be a better man, a better husband, a better dad, a better leader.

just a thought: Part 2

for a leader to earn influence, he/she must invest quality time.

so what is the quality of time that you are investing? the big challenge is to know what your goals are to begin with. once you have established your goals, you can then start to plan out the steps or benchmarks that need to be accomplished in reaching the goals. it's the day-to-day tasks that need to be done. they need to be done with excellence, teamwork, & with integrity.

so here's the deal: are you investing in excellence? teamwork? through integrity?

just a thought...

i've had some thoughts rolling around in my head today & i thought i would jot them down. i may expand on some ideas or side notes later.

i believe that every one of us has leadership potential built into us it's just a matter of whether we tap into that God-given ability. whether you are a student, front office worker, middle management, or the ceo, leadership can be exercised in our lives.

here's a the bottom line idea. the more time you invest the more trust you earn. as trust is earned influence is gained. and if you have ever read any book or attended any seminar on leadership you have learned that influence is leadership.

so here's the deal: are you investing in your future leadership through accomplishing today's tasks?

Phoenix Frost Day

so it seems like the entire nation has been hit with bad weather. peducah, ky, has been slammed with ice. upstate new york dumped on with snow. maine is looking to measure their snowfall in feet. it's even hit hard here in phoenix. when my wife left for work this morning she had FROST on her windshield! how come memphis calls off school for the day due to unusual snow but Phoenix doesn't because of frost?! we deserve a day off too!

lesson learned

this past weekend i was in austin, tx, visiting my brother. it was a lot of fun getting to see the sights of austin & all the fun things that you can do there. (side note: when ever traveling outside of phoenix, az, in january - bring more clothes than just t-shirts & hoodies!)

on sunday, there was a whole group of us that went out to eat after church at the magnolia cafe for some good grub. one of my brother's friends asked what i did followed by "what denomination?" i answered & was then asked what the Assemblies of God was like. i said that each church has it's on style and flavor... that's when everything went wrong.

i proceeded to say that our churches are not all the same... "unlike the Episcopals." i really wish i could go back to that conversation & taken that statement out. well the lady sitting behind me at the next booth evidently was listening in to our conversation & jumped in to tell us about her church. what was cool was she obviously loved her church & it sounded like they were doing some really neat things. the part that wasn't cool was me trying to rank denominations.

not cool. not cool at all.