My 10 Big Rocks for Life

There are fundamental tenets to life I've landed on at this point in my life. When I feel stressed or off course, I come back to these truths. As I look in our world, it's clear that others have other principles they seem to have chosen. I'm curious, what are yours? Have you identified them? Except for #1, these are not in any particular order:

1. There is a God. Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be, and the Bible is inerrant in its truths. Once I believe this, it changes everything.

2. It's not about here. Here meaning the 70-80 years on average we get to live. Once I believe #1, I believe I'm going to live forever. 70-80 years here vs. eternal is nothing, zip, 0.

3. Four Friends... Do the people I surround myself with help me in these 10 Big Rocks for Life or guide me off course? Do they encourage me? Do they challenge me? Who I surround myself with matters. My wife is my best friend and makes me a better man.

4. Lifetime Learner... I want to grow and learn. The more I can learn the more I can embrace change, lead well, and fulfill my God-given purpose. What's the alternative? Rely on my high school Algebra class to get me by? Part of who we become is what we read, who we're learning from, and what we listen to. I need to choose wisely.

5. My best days are ahead of me. Looking in the rear view mirror of life doesn't seem to help anyone. There's always the next mountain to climb with the new knowledge of experience. My 21 year old body is not needed.

6. Excellence- If you're going to do it, do it well. It's easy for me to get spread thin which leads to "winging it" or giving something my leftovers. That's normal. Excellence? Not so normal.

7. Self awareness. The more I know myself, the more I can do something about it. To stick my head in the sand about my own weaknesses, fears, or bad habits just hurts me. Therapists rock. Good, trustworthy friends that will give me candid feedback are helpful. I need to be a student of me.

8. It's not about money. The love of money simply makes me less effective, more selfish to hold onto it, more fearful to lose it, and is a false foundation. Retirement is not in my vocabulary. I want to be a contributing, used up sponge when I die.

9. Control what I can control. Obsessing about things outside my control just frustrate me, get me spinning, and I don't get anything done. I need to learn to be content with the place I'm at today and be responsible for what I've been given to this point in my life.

10. Maximize others because it's about others. Helping other people find Hope, purpose, and Big Rocks in their lives energizes me. We were all meant for more and to be part of God's story. How can I serve others whether in the workplace, in my home, or in my community?

Could there be one or two rocks missing? Sure. Do I have days where I fail to focus on the big rocks and make mistakes? Absolutely. Can I get up tomorrow and try again? In Sarah Palin's words..."You betcha..."

What principles will you live your life by in the next 5 years? 10, 20 years?

Watching Greatness

I absolutely love this picture. My daughter Emmi watching Tiger Woods walking up a fairway at the Buick Open in Michigan a week ago...

We had the opportunity to watch Tiger do what Tiger does.... when leading going into the 4th round, he is an amazing 35-1 only losing one time when in the lead on the final day (I believe when he was 20). He didn't disappoint, crowd was going crazy, and it will be a day I'll never forget.

What happens to you when you watch greatness?

It seems people respond one of two ways.... "I want to be like that... I want to be great at SOMETHING..." inspired to keep falling forward to find it...

Or.... people shut down... "There's no way I could ever do that... I'm just not that smart, talented, athletic...."

What triggers in my mind is about another great Person that walked down fairways... A sick woman did everything she could do to touch Him, Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Greatness, and people ripped off roofs to help a friend get to Him. Jesus is Greatness.

What happens when you think of Greatness?

We were all made for more. For a purpose. God has a good, pleasing, perfect will for our lives...

Do you have drivers in your life that encourage you to your purpose or are you focused on the wedges that get in the way?

We Can Learn From Old People

Last weekend, I had a great opportunity to go on a Boyz Weekend Road Trip to a Tigers/Sox game and the Baseball Hall of Fame for the Induction Ceremony of the greatest player of all time, Jim Rice. OK, I'm biased.

The best part of the trip however was the chance to spend a weekend with three generations of Meyer's, most importantly, my Dad (pictured here named after Mel Ott).

On the way home, we had a chance to talk about what his legacy is, what matters, what he's learned... We all have a lot we can learn from the "experienced"...

• Have a Foundation. My Dad has always been a strong, Bible-believing Christ follower. It's made decisions in his life easier as he's had a consistent guide of Truth. He's quite possibly the most faithful person I know.
• Be Different. My Dad is an odd bird and he owns it (whether he knows it or not)... and it's good. God didn't use a cookie cutter when he created us, quit trying to be like someone else's crumbs.
• Be Rich in the Things Money Can't Buy. I've only heard this 1,232,413 times in my life from my Dad but it's true. He doesn't have much money but he's got a warehouse full of relationships and purpose that is priceless. Choose people over possessions.
• Retire and Expire. "Father" is still preaching and serving a church part time at age 72...his purpose isn't done, he is tracking to be "all used up" until the day he's called home...
• Finish what you Start. Married almost 50 years, he's modeled commitment to his bride. (He did have it pretty easy though marrying the greatest woman in his generation). Whether marriage or sports teams, he's always modeled and taught to stick it out.
• You can live a lifetime and never know who Madonna is. Yes, it's true, I don't think he knows. Along with Lost, Hannah Montana, and 93% of the other top cultural people or shows that exist today. You don't have to know what's up to make a difference...maybe we can spend less time trying to keep up.

My Dad has left his Mark... I hope to extend his lessons to future generations... And quite possibly, his greatest days are still ahead. He's a great man that I love.

"Missed your Exit?"

Normally you don't know when this sign will come up in our life.

Years may seem to go by and we wonder when it's going to come along.

We live with regret for the times we've ignored it.

Wisdom tells us we can't take every one.

For many, they fear it and make up excuses to easily dismiss it.

Sometimes it seems absurb on the surface but really would stretch us.

The more we say "no" to it, the easier it is to miss it.

Normal is rationalizing a reason why we shouldn't act on a new opportunity at hand and to live with regrets later in life. If you've got nothing better going on in life and you're simply growing old... Don't miss your next exit.

.

To My Alcoholic Friend

Dear Friend:

I am tired of seeing people trying to help you only to hear you say "No one cares".

I feel like I'm attached to the back of a runaway train, I need to let go.

I can't continue to work harder than you.

You lie to me, your family, your friends, and then wonder why no one respects you.

The drama you bring makes it "all about you".... it's a selfish choice.

We find a bottle in your vehicle and you act like someone else put it there.

I see the destruction you're leaving around you, the hearts you're breaking, yet you're oblivious.

You say that life would be better for everyone if you weren't around... are you kidding me?

On my own strength, I have no other ideas, energy, or words that can make you change.

I can't help you.

But I do know this.

Your best years can be ahead of you.

You can turn your feet the other direction and take steps to life, purpose, and respect.

You are loved. By me, your family, and your friends.

When your turn and take steps, people will be by your side. I will be by your side.

You can leave a legacy that will count, your life can influence scores of people around you.

Your past can be forgiven.

You matter to God.

He can help you.

I leave you in His hands... I'm praying for you...



Mark

Focus: A Great Differentiator

To see Mt. Rushmore in a magazine is one thing, to go there and see it in person is amazing, but to focus in with binoculars (as my son Easton is doing here) gives one a whole new appreciation of the detail that went into sculpting this monument. It took Gutzon & his son Lincoln Borglum 14 years and 400 workers to complete this work of art.

In our workplaces, ministries, and even small day to day encounters, the ability and power of focus can be a maximizing, life-changing differentiator.

Most of us fall into rock-skipping. We're busy, trying to consume only what we absolutely have to, and are sprinting an inch deep and a mile wide at work and in life. We've all heard "focus", but what can that really look like?

• At work.... The nature of my job is to be an inch deep and a mile wide as Operations Manager...however, our initiatives won't get done without focus. Bill Hybels talked about having a "6 initiatives in 6 weeks" approach to your critical items. I find this very helpful to be able to say "no" to important things but will simply have to wait. Here are my current "6" that are my focus to April 15th at Pinnacle as an example:
  Web strategy with blog- initial steps to build a contributing writer team for future blog
  Video research for online snippets for training and solutions for clients
  Bootcamp- 2 week training curriculum developed for new sales executives/employees
  Chief Technology Officer strategy as more companies are looking to outsource IT
  Marketing plan rolling with client experience focus
  Existing Customer process defined
• Freakanomics is a good read about focus. It shows how much common knowledge we all believe to be true is actually false when someone takes the time to dig into the data/details. (Like, is it more dangerous to have a gun in your home or have a swimming pool?) Real information is power, it takes focus to find real information.... Focus= Power
• Every day interactions. When we take time to stop and focus on a person (maybe at the grocery store or with a neighbor), we can make a real impact rather than having a relationship of news/sports/weather. Rob Wegner delivered a great message on this available here for $4 http://www.wiredchurches.com/s.nl/it.A/id.2717/.f His statement: Small intervention + Focus= BIG IMPACT Small intervention + No Focus= Little or no impact.
• I get overwhelmed with the amount of information available to me. I can't read all the blogs, books, or attend enough conferences to keep up. I find myself "wishing" I knew more about scores of subjects. I'm learning..."it's OK not to know it all, take a deep breath, pick my target, and focus on something to be an expert in..." Having great people around you with their expertise' will fill in your gaps of information.
• Ever been to a Cirque du Soleil show? You'll see what crazy, amazing ability can come from focusing on one talent. To see how fast and how many bowling pins two people can fire off at each other without dropping a single pin was staggering. I admire their focus to a single craft.

The people around me that are changing the world are focused on specialties. They are not spread thin, Jeopardy wanna-be-winner, know-it-alls. They are satisfied with being great at tackling a single problem/challenge, in a single area, for a single company/organization at time. They know what they can and cannot do. The employees I see that make a real impact have the ability to focus and be a real expert in their field...they do not skim the surface. Great Mom's and Dad's are taking time to focus with their kids in small interventions.

Are you focused or are you just trying to keep up?

The Yellow Box: Focused Relationships

About 3 weeks ago I connected with a good friend from high school that I had not spoken to for over 19 years through Facebook. As a matter of fact, I had not communicated with anyone from my high school for over seven years. Because I didn't care? No. I think for a lot of reasons… I moved, pace of life, new friends enter the scene, and suddenly it's 19 years later. But as I look at the relationships around me and through the years, here are some observations:

• There are a few hundred people I would like to stay in contact with, grab lunch, play golf you name it- I genuinely love these people.... however, I have to settle to celebrate what they do from a distance.
• For example, some of my neighbors within 800 yards of my house I would like to get to know better. Yet it only comes in small drips.
• People we "do life with" tend to change and drift from year to year.
• I can only seem to get depth in 6-10 relationships at any given point in my life.

The Yellow Box (above) represents my purpose in life, my passion, and what I was created to do.

Relationships and people matter. I can spend some quality time with scores of people and it's all good. But something special in relationships happen when they enter the yellow box. It's not about news, sports, and weather- it's living life on purpose. It's not living a life entertained and growing old, it's climbing a mountain of mission and locking arms with people. What does this look like in your life? Do you know who's in your yellow box right now? Are you spending too much time outside the box? Or, are you still determining what your yellow box is?

Merry Christmas family and friends. I love doing life with you!

Wisdom from Warren Buffet

"A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful."- Warren Buffet

Lesson: Observe what the masses are doing and consider an authentic distinction to do exactly the opposite.

How many times have you been part of a meeting talking about what the competition is doing and the reaction is to adopt a "we do that also" strategy?

• While the masses dread Monday at work, find a way to love it.
• When no one wants to deal with a particular client, be the one to ask for that account.
• While everyone is looking for fuel efficient vehicles, look for a ridiculously low priced SUV
• If everyone's cutting their lawns with vertical lines, go horizontal...or better yet, put in astro-turf
• When people are panicked about the economy, have peace knowing our God will provide
• When all insurance agents send out calendars with mug-shots of themselves to their clients, send all your clients $5 Starbucks cards and offer to meet them for coffee
• When one candidate for President is for a $700 Billion bailout, be the candidate against it with a confident, thoughtful plan B

It's time to go launch a mortgage company. Thanks for the reminder Mr. Buffet.

"Looking out for #1"

When our economy is imploding, stock market tumbles 2400 points, jobless claims are up, and I'm not excited about the vision of either of our two candidates for president.... every part of me is looking to be safe, conservative, pull-back, and create financial contingency plans.

Is that what we're called to do? As both Kem and I are employed and haven't had our circumstances change, scores of people around us are hurting with job loss and dire choices.

If we have an extra couple hundred bucks a month right now- do we put it in savings for our own security or do we try to help some people in need?

I'm simply struck by my natural instinct to look out for #1.

Yet... I get this "sense" that we should share our last piece of pie every month with someone else... What are we called to do? What are you doing in these turbulent times?

"Do What You Fear"

This picture was from Thursday of this week at the Innovate Conference at Granger Community Church. When I'm in a drama, here are my typical emotions and thoughts that come in my head:

• When I have an upcoming drama, it's a feeling of pressure, anxiety, and "I'll feel a lot better when I get this over with..."
• I obsess about practice. I practice facial expressions in the mirror, I'm doing my lines in the car on the way to work, at lunch, home from work, before I go to bed, and any other white space of opportunity to run them...
• The day of the drama, I don't like talking to people much... Whatever I can do to maintain some sort of concentration, I try to do it...
• The moments before the drama backstage, I'm praying to God that I don't bomb my lines and trying to tell myself to have fun and actually enjoy it... all the while my heart rate is escalating, and I'm experiencing shortness of breath as I'm creeping into character...
• While actually delivering the lines, I often have other thoughts in my head that have nothing to do with the drama at all- "Huh, I wonder if the Cowboys have the early or late game today?" That's a scary reality when standing in front of 1000 people...
• I'm afraid of blowing my lines, letting down my team, letting down my church, how I would look, being bad, doing it for the wrong reasons...and on and on...
• Until the final drama is done... I'm usually not having much fun, each service is a small win.

So why do I put myself through the misery? One reason among many is that it forces me to do something I fear. I once read, "Do what you fear and you control fear"- I believe that was Tom Hopkins in "The Art of Selling"...

I've really reflected a lot on my fears and how they limit and/or derail me in pursing the purposes God has put me here to carry out. There is a direct correlation to our leadership capacity and our ability to deal with fear in our lives.

Here are some of mine that I deal with:

• I will over-analyze a decision to avoid a fear of making the wrong decision.
• I will not speak my opinion in a meeting, conference call, or conversation for fear of looking dumb or worrying about what others may think.
• I fear being wrong, sounding wrong, looking wrong, and will do what I can to avoid it.
• I won't introduce myself to strangers for fear of what they may think.

There are so many more... In my past, I've blown my lines and it was awful. But greatness in this life will not come without screwing up, tough struggle, and the perseverance to keep on keeping on... How do you deal with your fears? Are you able to look inward and know what they are? If we can free ourselves from our anchor's of fear, what might God do through us?

"The Intervention- Kem Meyer Goes Dark"

If you haven't heard already- my wife Kem turns 40 tomorrow so we launched a birthday "weekend" experience that kicked off Friday, Aug 29th- "the party continues" details are here on Kem's blog which was.... oh yeah... HIJACKED!

The first thing we did when she wasn't looking was grab her phone out of her purse, threw her purse in our car (which was already packed) and left town without it! There's something you should know... Kem is "nomophobic"- addicted to Twitter, her phone, keeping up with peeps, A.D.D., and "navigating" through this has been a real intervention... :)

Here are new things and favorite comments from the weekend so far:

• "Hey, you took my fun..uh... I mean phone!" .... nice Freudian...
  
• I asked, "Do you trust me?".... She responded... "Quite a bit"... (What's that supposed to mean, quite a bit? :)
  
• She reiterated.... "You know I specifically asked that I not be surprised..."- Ruh-roe... that might be a problem.... :) (We've since been counseling while on the adventure of how surprises are fun for other people too, the kids... I'm trying to spin this the best I can... any ideas?


• "I can handle being without my phone but I just need to understand WHY"... hmm...well let's see... I can't tell you your blog has been hijacked and the whole world knows what the plan is.... but... uh... how about back to... "Do you trust me?"... (I've been trying to pull on her emotional cords...)


• Another line I've tried with minimal success..."By taking you out of your normal environment, you get to learn things about yourself that you may not otherwise know.."

I'm sure we'll have more to come.... special thanks to Mandy and Melisa (@melisajohnson in Twitter) for keeping the world up-to-date on the weekend activities and blog heist! Let the fun continue!

"The Jesus Mobile"

As I'm "in between" vehicles right now, we've been fortunate to be able to have 3 vehicles with 4 drivers in one neighborhood to get by thanks to my in-laws....

Today I'm sporting a Honda Civic from my parents appropriately called "The Jesus Mobile"- (See Pic). This had become a trademark with my parents- growing up we had a Ford escort called "T.J.M" as it was adorned with a PTL bumper sticker and others... I feel like I'm 16 again...

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law's Tracker had a bright orange "Exotic Feline Rescue Center" bumper sticker on it.... I wondered what thoughts go through one's mind watching a dude getting out of a vehicle like that... As a bonus, that also comes with a nice, leopard print shoulder strap- I just hope people got past the word "Exotic"....

All that being said... I'm thankful for the faith I was brought up in, the family (on both sides) I get to do life with, and my trip down memory lane in "The Jesus Mobile" today...

Hopefully my new ride will be provided for in the next few weeks- until then, I'm off to the revival!

Viral Priorities- April 13th, 2008 GCC

Notes from Granger Community Church this weekend, you can watch it here beginning tomorrow the 14th...

Favorite Quote: "If you have a dream or mission that can be done without friends, your church, and without God- your dream is too small.... it's paltry."- Mark Beeson

The Challenge:

• Text, Hosea 4:1-10 v.9 "You can't tell the people from the priests, the priests from the people..." Currently in the church of America, statistically there is little difference in the how Christians look vs. those who aren't... divorce rates are similar, money management, promiscuity... Where have our priorities gone? Have we lost vision of what is means to "give our lives to Christ" and settled for having our faith be part of a list of a bunch of other things we also are? Who would seek "deprivation" (No pastor, no church, no friends, no Bible) in their walk/mission with Christ?

Questions to Ask Ourselves... how important is:

• VISION: A picture of what could be and should be... Prov. 29:18 Where there is no vision the people will perish... If I'm different, what does that look like to others?


• KNOWLEDGE: Clarity on mission strategy and parameters... What are steps I need to take to be a person that loves others and communicates hope? What do I need to learn?


• COMMUNITY: Do I have true friends in my life to help me in my focus, valleys, and direction? Ecc. 4:9-12 Two are better than one... a cord of three strands is not quickly broken...


• TEAMMATES: Dependable people who depend on me. Am I dependable? When I serve in a ministry or organization, am I giving leftovers? Is it the first thing that comes off the calendar if I'm tired? Am I a great volunteer? Who is depending on me? If the answer is no one... I need some teammates... I need to engage...
  
• REMINDERS: Tell me again, what are we doing? Much of being part of a church is simply to remind us of stuff we already know... It's the exception to hear something brand new, paridigm shifting, or transformational... most are reminders that help us keep a vision of who we are are where we want to go...

(And by the way, that spells VKCTR for those who love acronyms)

• Technology now gives the mesage of Christ "viral" potential, a video on You Tube can be seen by hundreds of thousands in a matter of a few days...


• "If this isn't a church and/or pastor where you can find your mission and press in to what God has for you, you should leave and find one where you can."

Personal Takaways and Mind Drifts:

• I want people to see Christ in me through my actions, not my words.


• I love vision, yet sometimes the needs in our world are so overwhelming it becomes paralyzing for me. Where do I begin? Is what I do even making a difference or is it like shooting a forest fire with a squirt gun? That's why I need teammates, friends, and my church... to help me keep on keeping on....


• Focus is important... I see a lot of people with big visions and big ideas... they create a little stir... and then they're on to three other visions... I can get spread too thin and try to wrap my time around too much.... Focus is important. I need to be dependable and work or volunteer with excellence to make a real impact and be on mission.


• They showed "The Truth" video for the second time at GCC, it reminds me that great art has the opportunity to be viral. The product and excellence matters. Seen over 700,000 times on You Tube..

"Everyone Needs an Editor"

Daily I'm reminded we all need editors...

• We are better communicators when we let someone else review what we write (emails included)
  
• We are better speakers when someone is allowed to give input on points that didn't make sense, the overuse of hand motions, or the fact the light is glowing off our bald head...
  
• We are better teammates when we ask for input, feedback, and ideas for improvement when relating to others, our management style, or how we ran a meeting...


• We live more on purpose when we allow others to see how we actually spend our time, energy, and money vs. the vision we have for our lives and what we "say" our priorities are....
  
• We can better see "blind spots" in our faith if we allow others to speak into our lives and engage in some sort of accountability....

We all need editors. The problem is I like me. I'm enamored with me. I think my ideas are darn good. I don't like being wrong. Why? I'm right. My problem is me... I need to get over me. So, I grit my teeth, I try to listen, I try to listen to others and helpful critiques because it's good for me and sometimes I have to keep telling myself that.

If I live and do with only me to see, my life and results will be half of what they could be....

So in that vain, this surprised me... this was a new one... this picture was taken from one of my editors (my wife Kem) while I was working from home at our kitchen table... I was not mad or stressed... I'm sure I was lost in my email and pushing projects and agendas.... so this is my "normal" look..... Would you want to approach this guy if he was working in his office? Does he look like he's loving what he does? Does he look fun? What a grump.

So consider me edited... I'm going to try and smile more. I don't want to scare people.

BIG TAKAWAY: Get your own paparazzi... seeing random photos of yourself may be good for personal editing...

So how about it? Got Edit?

"A Few Good Men"- New Spring April 6, 2008

Had a chance to sit through a service for the first time at New Spring in Anderson, SC with Tony Morgan... Their current series was "The Man Series: Sex, Money, & Power"- It's great to see their thriving ministry, a big vision, and a team that knows how to have fun!

From the weekend, they had a guest speaker "Will", a former Clemson football player and current sports broadcaster in their area- Here are my takaways:

• He spoke from II Samuel 6, God still looked at David as a man after His own heart despite all his screw-ups.... murder, adultery, blatently disobeying God.... it should give us all hope for the grace we have in God.


• What is happening to real "Men" in our society? All around it seems Dad's are abandoning kids, husbands are leaving or unfaithful to wives, and male leadership within the church seems to run very "thin"- I want to lock arms with other men in my circles to step-up... who's in?


• Pride and Fear are two of the biggest entanglers for men. I want to run the show. I want my ideas to be chosen. I think I can do things better. I think I'm better. I think I deserve respect. I can fear taking big steps of faith and try to find a "logical" reason why I shouldn't do something. Overanalyzing can mask as fear. Making a joke out of something can mask as fear. I can relate...


• When I screw up... I need to accept responsibility...I need to apologize, seek forgiveness, get out of God's way for His plan in my life, and passionately try to do the next right thing.


• Respect is "earned", not "owed"... I need to work harder to earn people's respect...


• They played a cool, original song on what he learned from his Dad and what he wants to pass on.... It challenged me in my relationship with Easton and my role in his life...

I don't know about you, but I see "broken" people all over the place in my family, friends, neighbors, and church... I want to be God's man to be part of the solution... Let's keep falling forward together.....

Making Good Decisions & God's Will

I've been listening to Andy Stanley's podcast on discovering God's will for our lives- it's extremely practical and great stuff. This is a conversation I run into with many of my peeps and regularly have with myself (yes, I talk to me).... I'm passing it along to several of my friends...

Here are a few quick nuggets from one of his talks:

Who do you ask for help in making decisions?

• Someone with nothing to lose. Many of your friends worry more about losing your friendship rather than shooting it straight to you. Talk to someone with nothing to lose.


• Someone who is where you want to be some day. Who do you know that is farther down the path from you spiritually, financially, in the marriage, etc.?


• Whenever possible, try to get input from more than one person.


• Consider getting feedback from people you know AND people you don't know


• Go into the conversation with your "radar" up for God to speak to you through these people...

What questions to ask when meeting with these people:

• Are any of these choices I'm considering outside the bounds of scripture?


• What do you think the wise thing to do is?
  
• What would you do if you were me?

Big Flag: If you find yourself "avoiding" people because you don't want to hear what you know they'll probably say- this should be a big "flag"...

Neat leadership quote: "Great leadership is not about making decisions on your own, it's about owning the decision once it's been made."

Can you get Excited?

I woke up this morning, walked into the kitchen, and found Emmi and Easton (9 and 7 years old) genuinely jazzed about the fact they had a chance to win a trip to "LA"... They were packing these Jell-O's into their lunches. They had anticipation...excitement... they were jumping up and down... Me? (First thought.... Easton said we're going to "LA"... that's funny... he said "LA"... second thought... "You're not going to win... the odds are ridiculous".... (luckily I only thought it)... third thought.... "Marketers.... how dare they try to dupe my kids... maybe I should use this as a 'teaching' moment on the capitalistic bombardment they need prepare themselves for in life"... again, thankfully I said nothing... I smiled and said, "That's cool! Maybe you'll win!" Then I was informed that I made the cut of who the four people that would go to LA if we won... thanks Easton...

It has changed my day- I went to the gym thinking- why don't I get that excitement like when I was a kid? I spend a lot of thought time in trying to be prepared for worst-case scenarios (especially at work/management), I've been let down in the past, I've had failures.. - I think it's programmed me to be without "spikes" on the excitement chart in my life. (My Finnish heritage may have a little to do with it as well...) Thanks to Emmi and Easton this morning... they helped re-program my day to decide to be excited and live today with anticipation.... How about you?
My wife can get excited... this is Kem in an elevator at the Indiana Pacer's game two days ago... I'm thinking about buying a mascot outfit... (by the way, pay no attention to the creepy, Matrix-like reflection of the dude in the mirror)... he's actually a nice guy...
Here's me excited.... I know... take it easy... contain yourself....

My Action Items- Life Refocused...

Below are my notes from whiteboard, feet pointing exercise today- most of this would simply be long and irrelevant to you, however, maybe the bold categories would be helpful in your process and intentional living.... a few things:

• In doing this in past, I've tried to completely dump my boat and change too much... For me I've found it better to have clear, bite-sized chunks to work on- little changes in multiple categories...


• My productivity and energy drops in a hurry after 12 hours in a day- I need to allow for downtime (usually 8-10 PM on weekdays) and chunks on the weekends...


• It's helped me to work to create "overlap" in my purposes.. for instance, I try to combine exercise or golf with spending time with my kids or friends- I may write dramas related to workplace issues and attach to this blog, etc...


• I live in Microsoft Outlook, I am going to take this list and put it as a "free" calendar item that will pop-up once a week- I can keep my goals in front of me and stay on target. Additionally, I'll be scheduling one on one breakfasts with the kids in a monthly rotation...


• Because I'm flawed and things happen- not everything works the way I would like, but this gets me much closer to my snapshot of purpose at this point in my life..

How about you? What has help you focus on purpose and priorities?

White Board Life Plan Notes February 17, 2008

Faith/God:
Need to find a mentor, not sure who at this point- maybe to meet monthly?
Bible reading/Journal

ACTION ITEM: Overlap time with RL to include Bible study and discussion 4 AM's per week
Need to be in relationship with a mentor again- who ???

Kem:
Schedule and plan our monthly date nights

ACTION ITEM: Put in my weekly Outlook Life Goal reminders and view to make sure this is on schedule

Kids:
Schedule one on one time
Kid’s sports activity planning- Easton baseball?
One on one breakfast time

ACTION ITEM: Rotate Emmi and Easton every other month for a one-on-one breakfast before school- Erin every other month at Wings Put in OUTLOOK Life Goal view

Work/Pinnacle
Coming up General Management/Operations

ACTION ITEMS: Intentional discussions with CS on eventual role and maintaining alignment to overall company goals and plan

Begin meeting monthly with Admin to build relationship and more overlap

Continue with Help Desk launch and oversite-

Work/STACKED (side business I try to do as little as possible in)

Streamline inventory management
Need production help
JM- more management?
DB's role?

ACTION ITEMS:
Find someone who can handle weekly production 5-20 hours per week
Either sell or simplify- must continue to be contained-
Move more management responsibility to JM


Volunteering/Ministries
Drama
Blog writing/video?
BHAG: Eventually be part in writing/creating a movie

ACTION ITEM:
Incorporate short videos into blog- add value, stretch drama experience
Create white space and think time for potential movie ideas- review with potential collaborators- there has to be a valid purpose and “why” we would do it- need a story..

Money Management
Missing $500 Building Pmt- complete by 4-15-08
Continue to save for new vehicle Goal $5,000 by 7-1-08

ACTION ITEM:
Continue with current saving plan- all unexpected/bonus income to these goals


Time Wasters:

STACKED general labor, need to watch time- this is not in my core purpose

What Am I Going to Do that’s New/Forced Change/Learning?

ACTION ITEM:
Learn basic video creation/editing- minimal quality (You Tube-ish) for now- Set-up meeting with Jeff Petersen for initial discussion - Produce first videos by 4-1-08 Tie into blog..

What I Enjoy:
Golf
Business/leadership topics/reading
Reading/learning
Drama/writing

What are my talents?
Organizational/Business Management
Big Picture View/Visionary
Drama
Numbers
Writing?


Who’s On My Board/Should Be?
Kem - Wife
JH (need to get back in rotation)
Future Spiritual Mentor
CS- Work- professional
Add 1-2 people

ACTION ITEM: Get in contact with JH for lunch- catch-up and discuss


Look for other potential maximers to overlap with-

Other People in my life right now:
(Insert Your List here)

Out of Balance
Time with RL- needs to be “redeemed” and overlap created
Workout/sleep still pushing
I feel like I run out of energy/time in a day…

Other Notes/Thoughts:
Overly idealistic is a “pull”- get a big list of wants but can water-down effectiveness
12 productive hours a day
Overlapping purposes/leverage your purpose
More transparent life- less duality- blog & board?

My Feb 17th 2008 Whiteboard

STEP 1: Get all my thoughts out organized by category on Whiteboard...... (this is from today)

Action Steps in Red.....

Step 2: Create a Word Doc with content from the whiteboard, a little cleaner copy. I saved this on my computer in it's own "Life Whiteboard" folder... I want to be able to track where I was, where I went, and where I hope to go.... I put this in my Leadership folder on the blog- this is part of my "self-leadership".

Step 3: Create action steps, plan, and goal dates..... Because the board is a little rough- I'll post my categories and action items soon....

Which Way Are Your Feet Pointed???

For those who go to Granger Community Church, we've heard again and again.... and again... to the point of rolling our eyes, and again... "which way are your feet pointed? If you take steps a particular direction, you'll eventually end up over there..." I love Mark Beeson, he's one of the top three leaders in my life.

Today I'm going through a process when I try to "point my feet"- I pray and I evaluate these questions in relation to God, my wife (Kem), children (Erin, Emmi, Easton), my career/work, my time and money, relationships, and my volunteer ministries:

• Where do I feel out-of-balance right now? Am I spending more time on some activity or relationship that needs to change?


• What are my gifts and talents? Am I using them? Could I be doing more with them? Am I using them effectively and thoughtfully?


• How are my big three relationships right now? God, wife (Kem), and children (Erin, Emmi, Easton)? Am I prioritizing them well? What should I change?


• Last week, last month... what time was wasted? If I could replace a few hours a week with a different activity? What would/should it be?


• What's coming up that I need to prepare for?


• Financially, am I making good decisions with giving, saving, investing, and spending? What goals do we have and how are we doing? (Am I being a good manager?)
  
• Health- am I exercising and eating responsibly? Do I need to make any adjustments in my schedule to get the the gym more consistently? Am I getting enough sleep/rest?


• Drama- How can I improve my skills? What are other ways I can be using this gift?


• If I had a board of directors for my life? Who would be on it? Who isn't on it now that should be? Am I getting the input, accountability, and feedback I need to best be on purpose?


• Do I have relationships outside of the "church bubble"? Who are they? Am I being purposeful in those friendships?


• Am I passing time with my kids or am I being intentional with them? What do I need to adjust?
  
• Is my faith growing or going backwards? What changes do I need to make?

I am going to be putting these on my whiteboard at home as I press through this today- From this I can write down my specific goals and begin rescheduling my time and reallocating my money. Typically I do this every six months or so with "tweaks" along the way... what questions would you add?

Pointing our feet is important. What's your plan? Do you write it down? Do you have people in your life you share it with?