To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Growth mindset

“Make a dent in the universe”

(Photo Creds: We Heart It…Thanks to everyone who posted amazing eclipse photos!  So much fun!)

I couldn’t let this historical moment go by and not mention the idea above. When the universe shows us how intricate and truly cool it is, I think we should pay attention.

I believe that we all have a role to play in this one world and life of ours and although we can feel pretty small when set against the vastness of the world and it’s many needs and opportunities, we can indeed make our “dent.” Steve’s quote was in regard to entrepreneurs, but I would challenge you that we are all to make our “dent.”

So, as you wrap up your week and the final days of August, the challenge is that we all consider if we are making the “dent” that we want to. If not, why not? What steps can we take to move toward that goal?

I hope that you will think both BIG and small. We need BIG thinking to address some of our current challenges and small steps will get us there!

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Peace & Joy

(Photo Creds: Canva)

I loved this quote from from a book I read this week. I mean, who wants their problems to take over their mind and their peace?

The book continued: “While God calls us out of complacency, his peace allows us to CHOOSE contentment with our place in the world.” – Chrystal Evans Hurst

One of my life mottos has been that we must CHOOSE. Every day and often more than once a day, will we choose peace, joy, etc. in the situations and conversations we experience? We do have a CHOICE, and I happen to LOVE THAT. Imagine if we didn’t?

She said it another way…

“Know Spirit? Know peace.
No Spirit? No peace.”

I believe that has been true in my life. When I stray away from my disciplined life of reading scripture, attending regular church services, hanging out with other believers, I find myself farther away from peace. It’s funny how when we drift from what we know aligns best with our values and soul, that we almost immediately get signs that prod us back to where our focus should be. If you are familiar with scripture there is a terrific verse in Galatians 5:22-23:

“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

Essentially, God provides for us “deep, abounding joy that is not dependent on our circumstances” (Hurst) if we stay close to him. I hope that this week you will CHOOSE PEACE AND JOY.

Great conversations: A template for 1-on-1 talks

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

(I want to note that if you don’t happen to have kids, the ideas in this post could pretty much be used in any conversation with someone you care about… I hope you find it helpful!)

As a mom, I am always mindful of ways to be better in that role. As the boys get older, I find this more challenging. I want to be someone they can always trust to listen to their heart (without judgement), but someone who they know will also spur them along toward God’s gifting in their lives.  This can be done through encouragement, brainstorming the “possibilities” together and even rebuke and course-correction.

I’d have to say I’m not so good at the latter. I find it challenging given the different personality types knowing just how to approach certain topics, while honoring how they think and digest information. I long for the spirit of a great teacher or coach who knows just how to train and get the best out of their students.

Every summer of the boys’ younger years we went to an amazing family camp, Pine Cove in Tyler, Texas. Beyond the family excitement part, the best part for me was getting great training on parenting and leadership in the home. The parents had an opportunity to hear world-class speakers who spent a portion of each day speaking into us and giving us ideas on how to grow as a parent. I have found that since we aged out of camp, so to speak, a couple of years ago that it has been helpful for me to sit down for a week in the summer and maintain this focus, which is where this blog was birthed.

Through reading, scripture and conversation, I made this list of  questions or conversation starters that could be used as a template for these 1-on-1 discussions.

The idea here is to focus on soul questions:

  • How are you?
  • What are you seeing? Are you on the path you want to be on?
  • What do you think life is teaching you right now?
  • What are you learning?
  • Where do you want to travel? What do you have planned that is “fun” and filling of the soul?
  • What are you reading?
  • What are you living for?
  • What gets in the way?
  • How can I best help/encourage/inspire/support you?

This I hope gives you a list to start from. I’d love to hear what others you have!

This sucks… The reason why we need to call out bad days

Okay let’s be honest today. Some moments, some days – and it seems some months – just aren’t what we “had in mind.”

You know the internal narrative… “I didn’t sign up for this (fill in the blank…) life, relationship, job, health condition, weather, home repair, increased rent,” you name it. We all know it’s inevitable to have these moments, so I just thought we should call it out and and consider what we can do with moments like this.

If we are in the business of creating a life of excellence, of serving others and ourselves well, we must acknowledge, learn and move on.

As I approach 50 years, I would say all three are important and all three are a state of mind. We truly need to claim the rainy day that dampened the party and also the “all out” chaos moments. We then make a decision about whether we’re going to allow those times to own us or if we are going to just smile and realize life is giving us a gift. A gift of reserving our energy, a gift of a lesson, a gift of grace under pressure.

As you go through your week, I hope that you will realize it’s all part of getting to the point of true joy. We mix the good and the bad and the great and the “this plain sucks,” and then miraculously it weaves into this beautiful life that we have been given to bless others and create an amazing world.

The winding roads of life – take in the beauty

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I thought today would be a good day to let my readers know that I launched my own health care advisory group.

It’s an exciting time and one that I know God is leading me through. Boy, when I left KCIM, which as of now will go down as the best career experience of my life, I had no idea that Humana would only be a stop on the road. God has interesting ways in which he guides us through life, to learn and to connect with great people and of course, to challenge. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn the health insurance side of the business and to have a met some brilliant people that are transforming our communities across America.

Here are a few of my insights from the experience as I look toward my next adventure…

  1. Beauty can be found everywhere. There is beauty even in life’s side roads that find you wondering why in the world you may have arrived there. Literally, if you SET YOUR MIND to find the BEAUTY (the good, the positive, the inspiring….) it is INDEED THERE, and often front and center.
  2. Once again, God reminded me that He is leading and I am to follow. Those ideas about life that we have of where, how and what we will be doing at any given stage of our lives… Those are open to change at anytime. If you truly follow his lead, I believe he will use the right people and places and the right time and situations to bring you right to where you are intended to be to achieve your highest purpose. Again it is up to us to CHOOSE TO LISTEN to those promptings and be obedient to following.
  3. Finally, STAY EXPECTANT. I am truly excited about this adventure. I have learned so much over my career, and the opportunity to pull it all together and build a business around those pieces is exciting. It may be a little scary, but I choose not to look at it in that way. As the last few months have offered clarity, I am reminded that the right people are placed on the path at just the right time, and that if we step forward and reach out and do our best work, that there will be honor found in the process.

So whether your path today is straight or winding, I hope you will great BEAUTY all around.

Top books for the first part of 2017!

Whew! The first four months of 2017 have been a whirlwind and I can’t believe I’ve had time to read at all frankly.

Thankfully I love to read and find that I learn the most about living well and about leadership from some great authors and teachers. As many of you know, I like to share some of those top “reads” along the way. The picture is ALMOST all of them. There were two I gave to others to read (Seven Mile Miracle by Steven Furtick and The Women of Easter by Liz Curtis Higgs). There are also a couple that I bought multiple copies of to gift to others (Own It and The School of Greatness)… They were that good.

Please let me know if you read something I need to grab! Summer is coming soon and hopefully there will be time to take on something new and different. (I usually read one or two fiction books per year and summer is a good time for getting lost in a great story.)

Here are a few of my favorites:

  • All Tim Ferriss books: Tools of Titans, The 4-hour Chef, The 4-Hour body… As you might notice in the picture, his books are the big ones at the bottom. Frankly, he has a lot of great content. But better yet, he knows that content draws individuals in differently and that the ideas aren’t necessarily for everyone. He points this out off of the top and encourages the reader to find the areas that are valuable for them. One of my favorite quotes from the book: “Asking the right dumb questions is often the smartest thing you can do.”  – Alex Blumberg.The encouragement to ask the question everyone wants to ask, but it seems to basic, is called out by one of America’s great entrepreneurs.
  • Own It, Sallie Krawcheck… As mentioned above, I bought multiple copies of this. It may at first seem like a book for just women, but honestly if I were a male leader I’d put it at the top of my list. It’s really just solid advice and offers some great stories to drive them home. The primary message is about finding your purpose in your work. I thought this part was great on the topic of assessing risk as a leader: “When I was running Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch, I made sure that I assessed risk every day. When I was in meetings, I would ask again and again, “What’s the ‘everybody knows ‘ risks? What’s the risk we’re not seeing because we are too to it?”Whether you are a parent, a new grad, a physician or anything else, this is what I call key learnings… We must get really good at this.
  • The School of Greatness, Lewis Howes… If you are a motivation junky go grab this now. If you need to learn some basics on what will help drive you to success, go grab this now. And if you want to diversify your thinking with a contemporary leader who I have no doubt will eventually compete with the Zig Ziglars of my time, then grab this now.Lewis is a good one to follow on Instagram as well, @lewishowes. He was briefly a professional athlete and while sidelined from his dreams, he has not let that defeat him, but rather accelerate his potential. Here’s a part I thought you might like: “GROUNDING: Before I do pretty much anything in life, I like to have what I can a “grounding” moment. I originally experienced this process in sports. Before every game, the coach would prepare us for the battle ahead by getting our thoughts together and putting us in the right frame of mind. I call it getting grounded. This is where I commit myself to my vision, get connected to who I am, and focus on what I’m intending to create in that moment.”

    Good, huh?

  • GRIT, Angela Duckworth… Such a terrific book. This should be on everyone’s required reading before they launch into college. Angela Duckworth is a “pioneering psychologist” who helps crack the code for outstanding achievement by a focus on passion and persistence, aka “GRIT.” A fun excerpt:”There’s an old Japanese saying:  Fall seven, rise eight.  If I were ever to get a tattoo, I’d get these four simple words indelibly inked. GRIT depends on different kinds of hope. It rests on the expectation that our own efforts can improve our future. ‘I have a feeling tomorrow will be better’ is different that ‘I resolve to make tomorrow better.’ The hope that GRITTY people have has nothing to do with luck and everything to do with getting up again.
  • Unshakeable, Tony Robbins with Peter Mallory… (A Kansas City boy!) This is a book that requires ACTION on our part. If you have been following social media, you may know that Tony Robbins – a well-known motivational speaker – is on a campaign to make America smarter and richer. This is his second book in recent years on the topic, and in this one he partners with Peter Mallouk, Creative Planning, who helps us with the topics of risk, fees and in general how to maximize our retirement and savings. There are a lot of good actionable steps that you will want to use… This will give you a good idea:Whether you are a business owner or an employee, you can see how your company’s 401K plan stacks up by using his free online Fee Checker tool. It will analyze your plan and calculate within seconds how much you’re being charged in fees.

The others were terrific as well, but I like to keep those posts short and this one already exceeds my norm. Again, I’d love to hear what you have been reading!

 

Simple thoughts Sunday: Spiritual nutrition

(Photo Creds: We Heart it)

I love this topic and idea of “spiritual nutrition.”

We seem to have a world flooded with information on physical nutrition, health, etc. You could argue that if your spiritual life isn’t in great shape, you will be overwhelmed with the pushes and pulls of life, thus negating your good work in eating right and exercising!

A good friend of mine and I were talking about how we go about getting “fed” spiritually. As a mom of “aspiring” adult young men, this is a very important topic for me. Heck, it’s important to me for the folks I am friends with and mentor. I so badly want them to know AND practice staying close to God in daily prayer and scripture reading. Of course, this could be through devotionals and could easily be via videos, etc., on their phones, but I want it to be the core part of their lives, a deal breaker in relationships and an overall “must have.” I learned the hard way that the only way to really “hear” from God and know his direction for my life is to stay close to his word.  Once I understood this, it was like I knew where he wanted me and how to fulfill my purpose. I’m not sure I really “got” this until much later in life, so to help others grasp this earlier would be a game changer.

I would love to hear from you all today on just how you do get “spiritually fed.” Also, how do you embark on a conversation about this with those you care deeply about? It’s a personal question. One that many people I feel don’t know how to answer. If you have any insights, great ideas, effective ways to approach the subject, please let us all know. Here’s to an AMAZING FIRST WEEK OF MAY!

MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL!

Simple thoughts Sunday: Stay the course

(Photo Creds: We Heart It…quote from Brian Houston, Hillsong, Live Love Lead book)

I am often asked how I navigate life… You know, make life-changing decisions, dodge bullets, celebrate the good AND the bad.

I think it’s my age, as I recall being a decade (or three) younger trying to figure out this puzzle.  My answer today is always based on the insight in the quote on the photo. I have only been able to be successful in anything from raising my boys to growing in my career to caring deeply and giving generously to our community through the gift of God’s word.

To be honest, even though I’ve had a strong faith since I was I girl, I was well into my 30s before I was able to get past the first few chapters of the New Testament.

As far as the Old Testament, I quickly lost interest after the creation story. It just seemed too overwhelming and perhaps a bit boring and even unrelatable. Wow was I naive! The word of God is not only NOT BORING, but it is funny at times, and pours out advice for a life well-lived. It seems like every day, at least one of the scriptures in my reading (I follow the one-year Bible reading plan), I am confronted with something that seems to be timely to what I am going through. It is incredible how the world aligns and speaks so clearly through His word.

I always wanted that “proverbial billboard” to show up on my way to work and shout out my next round of advice… a vision… a message that validated where I thought I was supposed to go or not go. The amazing reality is it was right in my nightstand… waiting to be opened.

I encourage each of you if you don’t regularly read the Bible, to give it another chance. I had to get the new living translation (NLT) version because I needed the commentary at the bottom to understand much of the Old Testament, but it is probably my favorite now. I don’t know about you, but I could use God’s direction pretty much in every area of my life. It is amazing what you will find when you simply open the pages.

Have an amazing week! Two weeks until Easter… Hope is rising.

Cultivate… something that brings joy

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I love the idea of community gardens. If you aren’t familiar, community gardens are managed by a collective group of people, generally to meet a need in a community. That might be an area that doesn’t have access (financially or otherwise) to fresh produce, but also teaching. No matter the reason, it is a positive initiative that brings great value to our communities… and improves health and happiness.

Our church is doing a sermon series right now on the idea of “cultivate.” This has me thinking about areas in my life where cultivation is needed.

Cultivate has a double meaning, one being to prepare and use land for crops or gardening. We do this by tilling, plowing, fertilizing, mulching, watering, weeding, etc. It is HARD work as anyone who has run a garden knows. The second meaning, according to Google, is to “acquire or develop” a quality, sentiment or skill.

The two definitions are connected, as it is my thought that anything that is developed requires a level of passion and good ole’ fashion work.

I wrote down the word “joy” in my program on Sunday. I’m not sure if that was an example given, or if I felt that was the immediate area I could use some FOCUS on. JOY is so important. I am usually an evangelist for SPREADING JOY in our world, and feel like we all need to consciously keep that top of mind.  The momentum that comes from a “joy campaign” can be incredible.

While you may have an area of your life that you want to “cultivate,” I am hopeful some of you will join me in generating some JOY in our homes, neighborhoods and workplaces! What can you do today to ELEVATE AND CULTIVATE JOY?

What if … Today I ….

(Photo Creds: We Heart it)

If you are in the workplace and have anything to do with marketing, you might follow Seth Godin.

He has daily, short blogs that offer up simple ideas on pushing you to the next level in creativity. His recent post caught my attention, and my mind took it another direction. His title, “Three simple and difficult steps” offered this:

  1. Get Smarter. Hurry. (Technology and life is moving fast)
  2. Solve interesting problems.
  3. Care. More.

His thinking was that most people do one of these, but what would happen if you became the type of person and does all three? You might add leverage and value and ultimately choices to your life.

I thought it was good, but here’s where my mind went with it…

What if today we set a goal to acccomplish something that really impacted our life/world? What if today was the day that we did not operate our daily routine, but instead choose to take a new route to work, craft a personal mission statement outlining what we’d love to do right now, and set forth a plan to make it so?

One day can be so impactful, yet we often let our days become routine and settle in. I like settling in, but I LOVE feeling energized and like I’m really doing something important. That one is much better! How about you?

What can you do today to UP YOUR LEVERAGE? To get smarter, or change paths or to just be a part of a nicer and better world?  My guess is that we can ALL DO SOMETHING.