Signs you're in trouble...

Beware of the dog…

I saw this sign while out inviting people to our church with some of our teen boys. I’m only semi-afraid of dogs. They need to be big fanged dogs for me to truly get that tingly feeling of soon-I’m-going-to-be-mauled-and-die. Mostly, I don’t even notice the signs, except for this one…

Security Notice...

I saw this sign a while back and then I looked at the building. It had at least 6 or 7 of this same sign posted at each door and along the main outside walls.

My immediate reaction?

Where are the cameras?

Did they have a camera at each door? On each corner of the building? On a pole?

I looked around and didn’t see a single camera, anywhere.

What’s the message?

Rub-a-dub-dub thanks for the grub. Yeah God…surely there's more...

The title of this post was the meal prayer prior to a business lunch with a group of about 50 business professionals that I attended.

The man that was scheduled to pray is not religious and not a Christian, per his own introduction prior to his prayer.

His intent was to accomplish the task he was asked to do and to be humorous, so I think, since I can’t judge his motives completely.

I’m not offended, hurt or angered, but I’m disappointed, not in him, but in the overall direction of our country to make God a casual being with causal references.

Should this be the case in our society?

3 more lessons from Lego…

Lego is more than just a store experience, like I wrote about here. It’s a lifestyle impactor. 

I know that sounds a bit odd, but look at some things that I have learned from these little blocks…

Leading by intimidation...

I once had a boss that couldn't lead. 

He would try, but he just wasn’t cut out for it.

No one respected him.

He would try harder, but he would fail worse.

He decided to lead by intimidation…

Lego Learning - 3 lessons from the store

I have recently been to a Lego store several times…not always for my youngest son. I noticed some important things, as I was in the store, that most stores ignore. All stores want customers. All stores want success and growth. All stores want to be profitable.

Lego has it right…even its name - Lego comes from Danish words “leg godt” which means “play well.”

So here’s what I learned…

Happy Anniversary…to me...

Today is one year since I started blogging…

I’m amazed that I’ve kept this up, and amazed at how much I’ve enjoyed writing, and posted many different thoughts.

I’m also thankful to you that have read and commented over the year and the encouragement that many of you have given to me.

I’m now at a crossroads...you know, the point at which you decide which direction is the right direction and what’s the best use of your time, energy and influence. 

Should I keep blogging?

Should I say toodaloo?

What is the direction to go?

Am I actually helping people?

Is my blog influencing others?

Do I focus on another form of expression or help?

Does quitting make me a failure?

Is blogging a lifelong commitment?

What’s cool about this, is that we all have choices in life and we all come to crossroads.

Maybe about a job?

Maybe about ministry?

Maybe about a friend?

Who knows what crossroad you are dealing with right now, but I know we all come to them.

My simple thoughts are all to do with the concept of failure.

Make your choice. If it’s wrong, learn from it and make another choice. If that one’s wrong, make a new choice. Just keep doing something...doing nothing is a failure that can never help anyone else...

Milestones…

I love milestones.

Some people don’t like them, but I think they’re cool.

Milestones are targets that you've hit.

Who doesn’t want to hit a target that they put in front of them?

They create memories

We all love to remember the time when…

We enjoy recounting what it took to get where we are.

They are completed goals

Setting a goal is one thing, reaching it is another, altogether!

When you reach the summit, it’s an amazing feeling.

They give us new lines to cross

You got to this milestone, now what?

Set a new goal…

Lessons Learned: Milestones are a positive.

Thoughts: What milestone have you reached?

#failalot

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3-D…

I saw this poster the other day, and it made me think…

Intimidation and Inspiration…

I once had a boss that couldn't lead.

He would try, but he just wasn’t cut out for it.

No one respected him.

He would try harder, but he would fail worse, not better.

He decided to lead by intimidation…

Tourist Tuesday...#7

Enjoy today's post from Michael Hyatt...

5 Things...

Men working…

These signs are mostly a joke - I don’t believe them.

This is what should be happening - we should be working.

Too often we sit still, lazily focused on our hobbies, and other interests. 

Guilty as charged.

Sometimes, I should be working, but I’m easily distracted by shiny objects.

But this sign is thought provoking…

First - do we work?

Our society is filled wit people that don’t like to work hard or, even work at all. It’s incredible to me how often I see people, in a job, doing nothing. Don’t get me wrong - I’m by no means the perfect worker, but I make effort at what I should be doing and try to fulfill the responsibilities assigned to me, by my job, ministry or my wife (you know the honey do lists that all men have). 

It’s not easy to work hard, and in reality, we don’t have the kind of hard work that we did in years gone by. The work we have is not the work of 100 years ago, 50 years ago, or even 20 years ago. Technology has simplified our work and drawn us all into desk work, more than physical work. You can still work hard at that type of work, but I think that it may have made us a little lazier than previous generations. I’m including me in that.

We have to fight the desire to be lazy. We have to focus on diligence, and that’s hard sometimes.

Second - are we acting like men?

I don’t have all the answers for how a man should be, act, look, etc. I do know that we, as men, should be appropriate, thoughtful, kind, hard working, leaders, good fathers, good husbands, and treat others with common courtesy and respect.

Too often, our society represents men in the wrong light and we gain a reputation for being something we shouldn't be. 

We have to be what God wants us to be, as men. 

Third - do we see the signs of work?

If we look around, do we see work going on, or do we just see the sign that says work is going on. I believe that work should be actually happening, not just a sign only. How do we show more than just the signs of work?

• Production - if something is produced, then it took work to have it happen.
• Collaboration - if we communicate with and delegate, then there must actually be work to do.
• Movement - if we see things changing, from the starting point, then something’s moving forward.

Lessons Learned: Work is more than a sign on the street.

Thoughts: Have you worked today?

#failalot

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Thoughtful Thursday...#4

Today's quote is a little comical, but it's an important lesson...

"As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it." 

Buddy Hackett

On the surface, this should create a smile, but this quote reminds me of leadership and how our society has struggled with following leaders. I see it in teenagers all the time. They often buck up against authority and make choices that are harmful to them, both short term and long term. 

It also made me think of me... 

Do I choose the right option when a leader gives me a choice?

Do I chose right over wrong?

Do I listen to the authorities in my life?

Lessons Learned: Sometimes a funny quote can be thought provoking.

Thoughts: What do you think?

#failalot

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Tourist Tuesday...#4

Work - it's hard, especially when you're coming off of a holiday, but it's important and here's a good post to remind us about it...

Daily in the Word - September 3rd...

Make your work day a good one...

#failalot

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Finding a way…

One child wanted the ball…

Determination is not seen as much as it used to be. It seems that most people settle for the “status quo” and don’t go beyond the plan.

Determination is not easy, but it’s necessary for success in any role you have in life, especially the ones that impact lives - BTW - what roles do we have that don’t impact lives?

I think you get the point - we impact in all we do, therefore we should be determined in all we do.

How can we be determined?

We should have a plan.

Not everyone is organized, and not everyone is a planner, but I’ve never met anyone that’s seen success that didn’t have a plan. Having no target, goal or structure will always succeed in failure. 

Can you imagine an athlete that haphazardly went through their day without a routine to train for their event? Wouldn't a sprinter want to practice their starts, finishes and strides? Wouldn't a business owner have a structure of how they wanted to grow and manage their business? 

You would expect an athlete and a business owner to have a plan, but how about you?

Why wouldn't you have a plan for your family, for your position, for your ministry, for your hobbies?  Why not? Don’t you want to have success? 

As a personal example, I teach a Junior High boys Sunday school class. When I started, I had some ideas for how I wanted to run the class and structure, but as I got into it more, I developed a two year strategy so I didn’t miss opportunities to impact. I know what lessons I’m going to teach and how many weeks each lesson should take. I have some flexibility, but a plan allows me to succeed.

We should follow our plan.

So follow your plan. Why have a plan that you don’t follow? What good is a plan that you don’t use? Wouldn't a plan that you used be a great way to improve what you’re doing now? Maybe your original plan needs tweaking - you can’t know that, if you aren’t following it.

The child that wanted the ball had a plan, and he followed it...

Use your plan!

We should trust the Lord.

This should really be first, because you can’t put a good plan together without the Lord having directed you. We often set plans, but if we do that alone, we just failed before we started. God has to direct, not only in personal plans, but in every (I mean every) aspect of your life. Too many people (sometimes, me included) get a plan for life together and don’t include God, when we should actually be seeking Him before we ever punch that first keystroke in our plan.

By setting our own plans, we show that we really don’t trust the Lord.

Once God gives you the plan, He expects you to be determined, by His strength, to move forward with the plan. 

Lessons Learned: I need to double check that my plans are the Lord’s plans.

Thoughts: Are you finding a way?

#failalot

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Thoughtful Thursday #3…

A great place to think...

Today is a quote. It’s well known and many have attributed it to Abraham Lincoln - I’ll let the debate go on about that - it’s a good quote, so I don’t really care who said it, other than given credit appropriately.

Here it is…

Tuesday Tourist #3...

A little air issue...

I read this one day last week, and was reminded of the importance of problems in life.

The post is from Michael Hyatt - he's a consistently good blogger...

Problems...

#failalot

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Puddles and big splashes…

The folks in this picture likely didn’t expect to have such a deep puddle to deal with, but they made it through, and it was cool for me to watch them roll within the deep waters.

You could look at several things from this picture…

Sled running and the Blvd…

The other day, I stopped in a parking lot to make a phone call (my car is often my cubicle, so parking lots make for good offices). As I was making a call, I looked over and saw this guy running with a weighted sled behind him. When I looked a little closer, I realized there were four guys and they were all doing different exercises. 

One was using a fairly large medicine ball.

One was using a kettle weight.

One was doing pushups and other non-weight exercises.

And of course there was the sled.

The odd thing to me was…

Lead is a 4 letter word…#5

Continuing with the 4 letter lead series today. Four letter words are not always negative and they can be a great help to you, if you allow them to be.

(I will not have these up everyday, but every couple or few days - they're a little longer and I know your time is valuable.)

Let me remind you it takes WORK (a dreadful four letter word) to get to where you want to be in life.

Keep moving forward towards your goals and don’t let the challenges distract you.

If you missed the first two words, you can see them here - LOST, SEEK, HELP, STEP...

Todays word is TEAM - T.E.A.M…