To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Honor

Family: Your first team

Family connections run deep.

No matter what your family looks like or how dysfunctional they may be, family creates a bond like no other.

Family sees us at our worst and our best: tears of joy and pain. It’s raw, but a good raw.

Family is vulnerability.

They have seen the real us and vice versa, and they stick around regardless of whether they like what they see.

Even if we step away or create a distance, we are drawn back because, well, family is family.

Like many of you, over the years I went to extended family reunions as a child and thought it was fun, but totally missed the meaning. I watched my boys and was surprised that they seem to realize and honor the depth of family at a young age, and valued its importance.

That has me thinking: We all could use a reminder to really invest in this area. It’s easy to put family on the back burner unless, like children, they need us for survival. Family will be there and we know it.

For that very reason, we should make a concentrated effort to invest and honor them every chance we get. Say thank you, show appreciation, lift them up… We do this in the work place and we do it with our friends, but do we tell our favorite uncle that he really means a lot to us? What about telling him that his service to our country brings you so much pride and gratitude? I don’t do this enough.

Let’s pay attention and make some investments in those who are our greatest cheerleaders. Who’s with me?

(Rewind: This is a revamped post from 2017, because it rings true now and always.)

Today is a great day to SPREAD JOY

While I love January and the fresh start this month offers, it also happens to be a bit too cold and dreary. Like, the kind of cold and dreary where your shoulders are hunched over and your face is pummeled with cold wind, snow or freezing rain.

It’s also the month many of us get the latest virus that steals a few days – or a week – of our productivity. Yuck!

Now that we’re halfway through the month, I hope you are feeling the great energy and hum of life and business. I sure am. Whether you’re in the community, school or work place, there’s something about an extra dose of energy as everyone embarks on their goals with refreshed boldness. So special.

Right about now, we need to remember that to truly serve well (ourselves and others), we need to take designated time to honor others. I call this “spreading joy.” I have shared this before but it’s helpful to share again and again.

My practice was to do this at least once a week, putting it in my calendar to make sure I didn’t miss this opportunity. I would then send out a reminder to our company leaders and ask them to do the same. Imagine the power if everyone took time out of their week to go spread joy. We had a goal for each of us to do this for at least three people. It could be a hand-written note, a call or, best yet, a meet-and-greet. Heck, even a text with an authentic “thank you” goes a long way.

I hope that you will come up with your own personal strategy for SPREADING JOY. If you can, start now. Stop what you are doing and reach out to three people who you really appreciate! It will make your day – and theirs!

An accelerating world continued: INVENTING OUR LIVES

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I hope you are good with my continued focus this week on maximizing our summer (especially for the younger generations) by understanding and hopefully creating an action plan to go “deeper” in your knowledge of how our world is ACCELERATING.

Of course the quote above would stop me in my tracks. Grab the highlighter and send texts simultaneously to the kids… We have to get in the mindset of INVENTION. I would say even my generation needs to grasp this sooner rather than later. It’s not too late… in fact, it’s RIGHT ON TIME.

Here’s the thing: you need a plan to succeed. If you have younger folks in your life, even if you don’t wish to “jump in,” you need to do it for them.

To truly understand the driving forces and and help them design that “plan.” By the way, the “plan” will be short lived, because for this generation, the pace of change is so fast that they will have to recreate (INVENT) themselves via learning multiple times in their lives.

“Like everything else in the age of accelerations, securing and holding a job requires DYNAMIC STABILITY – you need to keep pedaling all the time,” says Friedman. “Within the next decade the digital divide will disappear (meaning literally everyone in the world will have access to the internet and cloud, i.e. a WORLD OF EDUCATION AT THEIR FINGER TIPS…). And when that happens, only one divide will matter, says Marina Gorbis, executive director of the Institute for the Future, and that is, ‘MOTIVATIONAL DIVIDE.'”

So there you have it. The future pretty much belongs to those that will JUMP IN and take ADVANTAGE of the world that is literally available to them. What a great OPPORTUNITY WE ALL HAVE TO embrace the CHANGES. Sure, days at the pool, throwing rocks in the pond, and hangin’ with your besties are still critical. I’ll always be one that says we learn so much from the people we surround our selves with. However, this is a world that Mr. Friedman helped open my eyes to over the last few days. I hope this helps IGNITE some of you to begin to go further in understanding and truly make this SUMMER COUNT for you and your families and friends.  Let’s all get to INVENTING… and let’s make it FUN.

Memorial Day 2017 – a day of honor

Memorial Day is about honor.

As we kick off this week, focused on honoring those that have served our country and lost their lives in that service, I pray that we will all consider the impact this sacrifice has had on our lives. In America, we experience freedom of every possible type. This has come at a price. It will personally be a great joy to lift up to God my many thanks for this gift. My gift in return will be to not only live a life of excellence, but to inspire others to do the same.

Let’s make this week all about HONOR. One of my favorite discussion topics, because we need to keep it front and center.

Have an amazing long weekend to those who will experience that – I pray that you will be refreshed and in spirit of taking time to honor those God has placed in our paths.

I want to also take a moment to recognize not only those who have left us through their service to our country, but to all who have gone ahead of us-  We are who we are because of your impact on our lives and this weekend we also honor you.

(Rewind – this post is from 2016)

Simple Thoughts Sunday: A day of honor… Heck, let’s make it a lifetime

Happy Mothers Day to all of the moms, mums, mamas, mommas, and to all of those who have filled this important role in someone’s life!

I am blessed to still have my mother and to also have had many step in at times in my life to take on some “mom duties.” It truly takes a village! Today I salute and honor all of these ladies.

Today is about honor. I am reminded of this Bible verse that reminds us that we are to be in the business of honoring at all times. My prayer is that this week you will make a short list of those that you need to honor, then go out at do it. That little bit of extra intention will surely brighten their life and yours.

I’m all about brightened days and loving and serving well. Have the best of weeks. As always, I’m cheering you on.