Well, if you have been following me long, you know that I have already started reading Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. In fact, I just finished it over the weekend. Let me tell you, this is a great book! I typically do not finish a book unless it is a good one, but Essentialism is so good, it is going on my Reread List. This means, I plan to read it over and over throughout my life on a semi-regular basis. I see why Michael Hyatt added it to his Top 10 Favorite Books of All Time. So why did I title this post “Starting Essentialism?”…
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One Reason Everyone Needs a Coach
Recently I was talking with a small business owner friend of mine about coaching. He gets Executive Coaching and has really benefitted from it. The same day I attended (online) #AccelerateGiving where Andy Stanley spoke. As always, I loved what Andy had to say and took a lot of notes. I was particularly fascinated by what he said about coaching. He said, “Every leader should have a coach.” This was not a big surprise, as this was the point of the conference, to get ministry leaders into fundraising coaching. He then added the following, which has stuck with me. “You can be better than everyone in your industry without a coach.…
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Measuring Productivity…Not!
I was sitting down to write a post on productivity. I have a list of books I want to eventually do reviews on. One on the list is Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. This is a biography, not a nonfiction productivity book. I got to thinking. Is it productive to read biographies or even fiction books for that matter? Part of me thinks not. I struggle to see the direct correlation such reading has to productivity. However, just because I can’t measure, or find it hard to measure, the productivity of certain activities, this does not make them unproductive. Creativity is a product of such reading, which is not easily measured.…
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Henry B. Eyring Quote
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Soak It In: Experiencing Death and Life
When you have experienced the death of a loved one, you learn to appreciate those who are still alive. You are never ready to lose someone you love. It always catches you off guard, even when you are “expecting” it. The fog surrounding you as you prepare for this persons departure, prevents you from truly being ready to never again make another memory with them. So you must soak it in. The time with the ones still here. You soak it in. The laughs, the cries, the good and the bad. You soak it in. Smiles, words of encouragement, a loving touch. You soak it in. A special time of…
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I Don’t Believe in Tradeoffs. I’m Wrong.
Right now I’m reading Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. Join in with me if you aren’t already. I read through the section on trade-offs. The idea is that with each decision one makes, you are making a choice. If you say “yes” to something or someone, you are saying “no” to several others. I have written on this before (Say No & Say No Today). I have to admit, I have been living the life of a non-Essentialist. I believe I can do it all. I can say yes to everyone and do everything. As a result, I have what one friend calls “Vision A.D.D.” I…
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Danny Wuerffel from Desire Street Ministries
At #AccelerateGiving hosted by Ministry Ventures, Danny Wuerffel, Executive Director of Desire Street Ministries in New Orleans, was one of the speakers. I really enjoyed what he had to say. Here are my six takeaways from him: 1) The Bible and the Poor – Danny shared how consistent the Bible tells of God’s heart for the poor. It’s true! 2) Administration and Fundraising – He said that a lot of ministries (nonprofits) struggle from an administrative and fundraising side. He says you must invest in these. 3) Ministry – He said that “Fundraising/Development is not fundraising. It’s ministry.” I have found this to be true as well. I have many…
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Winning from a Loss
“You learn more when you lose a football game than when you win.” – Danny Wuerffel We all lose at some point. Whether in a sport, at work or in our family, we experience setbacks, hangups and even failure. The important thing is to learn from these moments. The next time you frustrated from a “loss,” take the time to write down 5 things: 1) What do I need to own as my responsibility? (This may be one thing or several.) 2) What could I do differently next time? (Ideas) 3) Who do I need to talk to? (The goal here is to own my responsibility and/or for accountability purposes for next…
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Danny Wuerffel Quote
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Leadercast 2015
On May 8th, I’ll be going to Leadercast, a one day leadership event. I’ll be going to a Simulcast location here in Atlanta, but there are hundreds of Simulcast locations around the country. I missed Leadercast last year, but can still point to some key decisions I made as a result of Leadercast 2013. I wrote two blog posts from the event, Mouthwash is Everything to Him and Necessary Endings. Some of the amazing speakers at Leadercast 2015 include Malala Yousafzai, Seth Godin, Peyton Manning and Andy Stanley, among others. Get more information on the Leadercast website and follow them on Twitter. I hope to see you there!