September 2018

Business Tips:

MENTORSHIP

Leaders have learned that people do not like dealing with uncomfortable truths of any size. Whether that truth is major (like the existence of God) or small (like miscommunication with a co-worker), people quickly suppress the truth, allowing themselves to be held blameless while the other party is held responsible for any issues. Consequently, most people never fulfill their leadership potential because they are too busy suppressing truth to learn from it.

Wonder why people see others’ faults so clearly, yet have a hard time admitting their own? It’s hard. Imagine what could change in a person’s life if one could see their own areas of needed improvement as easily as they see others’. This is a VITAL part of the leadership journey and a HUGE part of a mentor’s role. People who run around blaming everyone but themselves for their current predicaments are hopelessly self-deceived through the repeated suppression of truth. Thankfully, few people allow themselves to slide so far from truth; however, all of us veer from truth to some degree. Because of this, one key leadership assignment is to identify and address areas where untruth has seeped into one’s thinking. In other words, a problem identified is half solved.

Mentoring matters because it helps people see their blind spots and begin working on them. I have been blessed with superb mentors over the years and have read many books that have helped me. With that said, my wife Tara, who has developed the grace to address me in love, has done the best job of pointing out where I might be suffering from suppression of truth. It is my assignment, as a leader confronted with truth, to view the situation without emotion and address the facts as they are, not as I want them to be. No one is perfect at this, but with practice and courage, a person can grow and change.

I highly recommend meeting with a mentor to improve, address false truths, and realign yourself with your goals and dreams.

Neat Article: https://hbr.org/2018/01/the-best-mentors-think-like-michelangelo

Personal Tips:

GIFT OF LEARNING

“Education is a lifelong journey whose destination expands as you travel…”

Learning is a gift, even if learning is painful and if so, may be the most powerful learning experience, don’t waste your pain. Grow from it.

The desire and hunger for education is the key to real learning.

We have some choices. We can choose to stay where we are. I want to warn you, God has created a multitude of examples around us for stagnancy. Everything around us is decaying and expiring, even us. Our body, our food, things we build, and many more of the examples in creation show us that standing still – things get worse. OR you can choose to move outside of your comfort zone and increase your capacity with growth and learning. Life if much more enjoyable with the prospect of your new abilities to serve someone to make life better. Engage learning with reckless abandon, you will come out stronger and with purpose once applied.

Life Skills:

Faith, Family, Fitness, Finances, Friends, Fun, Following, Freedom; we call these the 8F’s in life.

Many of these categories can tell one where their priorities are in life by measuring the time one would spend in one of the above categories. I know we don’t have it all figured out, but we have a lot of great sources that speak into these items and we welcome your comments. Please feel free to drop us a line concerning any of them.

The Five Core Needs of Life- The SECOND need is for IDENTITY—Who am I? 

What can you do to develop identity?

Pieces of the person's actual identity include a sense of continuity, a sense of uniqueness from others, and a sense of affiliation. Identity formation leads to a number of issues of personal identity and an identity where the individual has some sort of comprehension of themselves as a discrete and separate entity. 

Identity is often described as finite and consisting of separate and distinct parts (family, cultural, personal, professional, etc.), yet according to Parker J. Palmer, it is an ever-evolving core within where our genetics (biology), culture, loved ones, those we cared for, people who have harmed us and people we have harmed, the deeds done (good and ill) to self and others, experiences lived, and choices made come together to form who we are at this moment

What does this mean?

Your identity is like a great book being written, if you are breathing, it hasn’t ended. We have all read book or watched a movie where horrendous and terrible events plague a life and its characters. You have also seen many of those stories end well. Your life is no different, TODAY, you can recreate and continue your identity. You can start to rewrite or continue your story with a new beginning  and with great vigor and effort. YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOUR IDENTITY – NOT OTHERS. You get to choose where you work and how well, who you hang out with, how you relate to your family, what you do in your free time, what you are known for.

First is security – Who can I trust?; Second, identity—Who am I? ; The third, belonging—Who wants me? ; The fourth is for purpose—Why am I alive? ; and the fifth, competence—What do I do well? 

Notable quotes: They are italicized above.

Something I want you to know:

Where most people struggle is accepting their current circumstances and moving forward by taking control of their current and future story with new information applied.