To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Powerful

What “one word” sets you on fire for the best year ever?

I really love this topic. My mind runs amok with the possibilities. Where in the world does God want us to go in 2019? How do we best achieve our personal goals and purpose? How can we show up with excellence at home, in our neighborhood, as a friend, for our community and in our careers?

Now, of course I know “one word” doesn’t capture it all, but what would one thought be that galvanizes and energizes? Is there a specific area in your life that needs a specific focus? Do you need to for example cultivate your relationships? Do you need to have more days of connection and joy? Are you being called to adventure, travel or exploration?

So many ideas. Here are a few…

Discipline – This was my first “one word” from back in 2012, and it was the year I started working out on a regular basis and focusing on personal health. Total game changer.

Also… Elevate, trust, joy, stretch, acceptance, happiness, freedom, momentum, growth, unstoppable, shine, minimize, rebuild, peace, silence, brave, curious, perspective, thrive, aware, fresh, quiet, travel, adventure, journey, accelerate, game-changer, win, search, commit, dedicate, meaning, true, love…

If you choose to jump on this train, I highly recommend that you share your word with a few members of your tribe, write it down and put it front and center somewhere you see often. There are also other resources, including a website, which lets you join others across the world in the process.

In closing, I will share that selecting a word could be a challenge. Since I’ve done this a few years, I always want to give it some real thought and try to hear from God on what would be the most powerful word to help direct me. That said, my word for 2018 was “revival,” and I didn’t really understand it fully at the time, but felt it was clearly supposed to be my word.

Here is what I wrote in last year’s blog (referencing a message I had just heard at that time about “revival” being a “season of reintroduction”): “Revival is a time where God reintroduces himself, exposes you more to your next assignment, and gives you insights to conquer that next level.” As it turns out, it actually was a year of reintroduction, but in many ways not at all how I would have even began to predict or understand January 1. I think that is a fun part of this journey… sometimes what you think at the onset is not how it ends up.  

What we can count on is that 2019 will be an adventure! Have a terrific weekend everyone!  

Be fully awake to the present

Today is the opportunity we have been granted.

This month is a great time to recommit and be fully awake to what is going on around us, and be completely open to living in the moment.

Tom Peters has a thought that “Excellence is the next 5 seconds…”

I want to be excellent. I want to be IN this moment, not OUTSIDE of it.

I want to be fully aware of the lights on the tree, the anticipation from the children for the holiday festivities, the tears that are hidden behind my friends smile, the extra-tight hug that shows a friend needs a little extra support right now… all of it.

I want to be fully awake. Don’t you?

I believe that if we can get better in this area, we will be closer to being fully alive.

Who’s with me on this?

Unexpected gifts, part 1

I have had this blog topic in mind for a few weeks. It has so many story lines for me and I’m certain you too.

Today, my sweet “Cinny Girl” (aka Cinnamon Stick) earned her wings and she most definitely is the perfect “headliner” for the series.

Cinny Girl came at just the right time, nearly sixteen and half years ago. She has been everything a best friend should be… a guard dog, a companion, a ferocious champion, (even on your worst days) and always willing to join a good celebration (especially if there was food involved)!

Unexpected gifts to me are those that somehow end up in your life, and you didn’t know they were coming and/or certainly didn’t start your year with them in mind. Better yet, and more importantly, you didn’t know that you needed them.

For me, 2018 has been like a roller coaster, and not the one you find in the kid’s section. More like the wooden and rickety looking kind, where your head bounces back and forth between the bars and takes you upside down a few times just for the sake of giving you confidence that the bars in fact do keep you safely seated. In the midst of the “ride” there have been so many gifts, some obvious at first, and some that became more so later. It has always blown me away to see how God orchestrates every last detail of your life, from the people you meet and when, to the lessons that change you and move you forward, coming out of experiences you encounter. To me, that is one of the coolest parts about life… The puzzle becomes more clear and every piece is used to create a beautiful story.

I’m going to stick with this idea for at least another blog, and perhaps two more. I’d love any insights you’d like to share, or even an “unexpected gift” that has been a great part of your story. Unexpected gifts are powerful reminders that God knows what we need, despite what we have planned for ourselves or our families. And today, the unexpected gift is that we have a new guardian angel overlooking our family. I’ll take that gift all day long!

Elevating our world through the power of our words

I really like the idea of using impeccable words. I also really like the thoughts of using our words to create joy, change and a culture of love and excellence all around us.

Words give energy… they set the tone, and they have all kinds of superpowers, including healing, humiliating, and transforming our emotions.

Today’s blog is more of a thought starter…

I think the message is so important and so strong that not a lot needs to be added. Sure, there is research behind this and there are all manner of famous quotes that support the idea, but the message really lies within each of us.

As we close out our week and kick off our weekend, it may be the perfect time to do a quick personal audit of our words. Are we using them optimally (both for ourselves and others…)? Are we spreading joy and improving the atmosphere of every room we walk in? Are we leaving “power” on the table by not?

I hope you’ll join me in an all out effort to be impeccable and life giving. Our world is counting on us.

Loving the Flaws in Humanity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In case you haven’t been hit squarely with this message already this week: We are all flawed!

Isn’t it fun?

You know what? It truly is amazing that with the 330 million(ish) people walking around just this country,  we are able to not only just survive but THRIVE with all of the crazy imperfections that we all have. (For those who love stats…there are nearly 8 billion people in the world.)

As we talked about recently, learning from others through their stories can help us alleviate some of the pain in making our own mistakes.

But the truth is that if we are active and moving forward, we are going to fall from time to time, in word or deed. It seems some people are hellbent on creating drama and yet, their “drama” is likely a response to their own hurt, or flaws that may or may not be a result of their own decisions or choice.

With the elections coming up and the absolute onslaught of messaging on every form of media, we are better if we can keep front and center in our minds that each of us are a part of this “cool” world, and each of us CAN MAKE IT BETTER by embracing the flaws that we bring to the table, and those that impact us from those in our circles. I had a neighbor tell me a long time ago when I went into the health care field, to “remember that EVERYONE was someone’s baby.” That has been so useful. There is innocence and love in all people if we look for it! I’m going to look for it every chance I get. I’m also going to shut down the media outlets this week for the sheer joy of not allowing myself to get wrapped up in the drama.

Have a wonderful week. Embrace flaws every chance you get!  Ultimately they serve us best by making us better.

The crazy power we have to speak life

Super short post today.

We have this great opportunity each and every day to speak life to ourselves and to those around us. Are your words speaking hope to others? Are they building them up and creating a culture of excellence all around you? Are they always decent and fair and spoken with an intention to help and support? Are you even taking the opportunity to speak these things every chance you get?

We have this incredible power to literally change the room, to change the conversation, to be a bright light in someone’s day… and as overreaching as it may sound, to change the world.

Have an incredible weekend.

The stories we tell ourselves: The power of the subconscious mind

Our minds are powerful. There are numerous scientific studies that have proven again and again that what we think is our reality. We can even “out-age” ourselves, changing our perceptions until our bodies actually respond and begin to act younger.

One fact I found on Quora about the capacity of the mind is that the average brain can hold 2.5 million gigabytes of information, equal to over 156,000 16GB iPhones. (I don’t know about you, but I can barely keep up with the information contained in my 1 iPhone!)

My insight today wasn’t really about the facts, but the reality that I for one am realizing more and more about this power of our thinking – specifically the subconscious kind. A study published in the Journal of Psychoneuroendocrinology (yeah, that is a thing… I didn’t know either…) talked about the subconscious blocks that can actually govern our lives.

“The subconscious mind is a million times more powerful than the conscious mind and we operate 95 to 99 percent of our lives from subconscious programs. Your subconscious beliefs are working either for you or against you.”

The longer I live and the more I learn about other people and myself, I do not find this surprising.

It’s crazy how we have this amazing opportunity to actually re-craft most stories that are yet to happen. Through mindfulness activities, prayer, good counseling, etc., we can become more and more aware of what internal dialogue and patterns our subconscious mind contributes to, and begin to address them if needed. That is great news.

What thoughts continue to come up in your mind? Do you ever get a cryptic text or email message and create an entire drama on what the person did or didn’t mean? We all do this, but can  we focus on understanding why we immediately go there? That, my friends, is powerful. The power of positive thinking tells me that we can all be happier and serve with more impact if we go a bit deeper to ensure we design the thought patterns and life we want!

Your life is moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts

This little reminder may just need to soak in a bit. What exactly are your thoughts telling you right now?

Are you feeling strong and capable? Weak and unsteady? Clear and purposeful? Slightly confused and unsure on next steps? Okay, now take that a step further and into each area of your life…

In your school, career or retirement?

In your community work?

In your home life?

In your relationships?

In your finances?

In your health and well being?

In your personal growth, spiritual or otherwise?

Today, remember the power of the mind – the power of your thoughts. If you find that your thoughts aren’t headed in the direction that you’d like, than it may be time for a course correction. Take the needed time this weekend to call them out and reset your thinking. I believe there is amazing strength in making a firm decision to ensure our thoughts in are in alignment with where we want to head. We are all destined to achieve our purpose, to serve well, to make an impact.

Stumbling upward… Going beyond the easy button in the diversity conversation

I like to tackle tough conversations. I always hesitate a bit to throw it out on the blog, but I need to be more brave.

There is a literal jewel of a book that just came out recently, “How Good People Fight Bias – The Person YOU Mean to Be,” by Dolly Chugh. It’s probably the most powerful book I’ve read on the topic, taking on the ideas that stir in many of us in a fresh way. The concept of “stumbling upward” in the pages made me want to spend the rest of my days doing just that: striving to be better in all aspects of my life. In this particular topic of understanding tolerance and diversity, I am certain I can grow meaningfully.

In the book, Chugh tells the story of two well-meaning business guys, “Fitz and Zach” who brought the “Unconference” idea to Chicago. The idea of the “Unconference” is to bring together a network of people with agendas created on the spot, generating much energy and innovation. The organizers are responsible for the who, when and where of the event. These two guys, started with their own network, initially 118 people and only 14 women – most men being white. When called out on by the audience, they both were quite embarrassed. They didn’t realize that their networks, unintentionally, had become a bunch of people that looked like them. It was a true “bro-fest,” as the book refers to it. Once their awareness was made clear, they were able to correct their ways and begin developing networks that broadened their homogeneous network.

“They asked people to nominate people “more amazing than you.” One time, they asked people to nominate “women and minorities.” Another time, they asked participants to nominate people “who don’t look like you, if you usually are in the majority.” No method was perfect, but every attempt was a stumble upward.”

By 2017 their events had equal numbers of men and women and diversity was evident. Chugh introduces concepts that we all need to be aware of, including ordinary privilege, willful awareness and others. These topics are important. We all need to be more aware, like “Fitz and Zach.” What would your event look like if you hosted one? We need to understand the issues, and can do so by reading books such as this, attending events, expanding our networks and conversations. If we want to serve well for both our generation and those that follow, we should consider this a critical learning opportunity. I’m in.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: The difference between your social circle and inner circle

Happy Sunday night. So, I heard this recently and it really spoke to me.

The truth is, from our school years onward we encounter a myriad of people. Some become our closest allies and friends, and some that are better left for a different group. Here is what was powerful to me:

If they don’t believe God’s best for your life, then they don’t get to have access to speak into you or be in your inner life/circle. 

I had to stop and think if I have anyone in that category. I think I do. People I have allowed in perhaps a bit too much. Perhaps I have spent too much energy with a few of those, and not enough with those true cheerleaders that do have God’s best at the top of their minds for me, and I for them.

The final thought from this conversation was equally significant to me, and perhaps for you as well…

Draw your strength from men and women of God that are headed in the same direction (eternal) direction as you. 

I am praying your week is beyond wonderful.