It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." *Mahatma Ghandi
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
We're continuing to explore MOTIVATION this month by looking at some quotes and simply drawing some personal application.
*While this quote is often attributed to Ghandi, there is no reliable record of him saying this, however it aligns deeply with his writings and posture.
Last week I shared some thoughts around motivation and I shared a story of when I had been motivated by others to climb a mountain, and then I pondered the idea of motivation that comes from Jesus' invitation to simple "come to Him". You can read that HERE if you missed it.
This quote is something that I think about often.
Years ago, I can't even remember how long ago, Gina gave me a small metal paper weight with this quote inscribed in it. She gave it to me when I had finished my graduate studies, and it was simply an encouragement to me to invest my life in bringing change to the world.
I look at it often. I think about those words often, and this thought has been a constant reminder to me of impact and purpose.
Gandhi affected change in many ways that impacted the world, specifically through the lens of civil rights and freedom. His posture of nonviolence was a model to many. This post from Britannica shares more about his story.
I was searching for what motivated Gandhi, and read these words:
"Personal humiliation and injustice gave him the spark, a syncretic religious and philosophical framework gave him the method, and a vision of dignified self-rule gave him the goal."
Pretty powerful to articulate motivation like that.
So what about ME? What about YOU?
Do I believe that people will understand my motivation because I have a cute little metal weight on my desk, or can they see my true motivation in my actions, in my choices, in my words, in my life?
That's a powerful question, and it might be a convicting one, a celebrating one or a confusing one.... which one is it for you?
Last week we talked about motivation that comes from others.
Today I want you to think about that motivation that comes from yourself.
If you were to put a "motivation statement" on a paperweight, and you saw it everyday, what would it say?
DEEPER STILL:
OK, let me take you back to 1989. I was a youth pastor in Los Angeles, Gina was 7 1/2 months pregnant with our first child, and a couple of students from my youth group bought us tickets to see a Michael Jackson concert at the Sports Arena, his Bad Tour. Gina bowed out because of fear of the noise for our baby, but I went because I knew it would be a once in a lifetime experience. (Sorry Gina!)
The concert was amazing, the lights, the sound, the musicians, the energy. It was truly epic.
Then Michael stepped out to sing a song I hadn't heard before called "Man in the Mirror". I remember the moment and in a way it's been constantly on my mind.
He sang...."I'm starting with the man in the mirror. I'm asking him to change his ways. And no message could have been any clearer, if you wanna make the world a better place take a look at yourself and then make a change."
That song became an anthem for me, and I'm sure I leveraged it with my youth group for a while. Here's a guy on one of the biggest platforms in the world and he's challenging people to "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Jackson didn't write this song, but he sang it to the world and it inspired people to action, it motivated me.
My journey has been all over the place, but I do have a deep motivation that comes from a conviction that I was put on this world to make a difference. I believe Jesus commands that of me, and I've spent my life trying and failing to live up to that call.
The journey I've been on over the past 40+ years has taken me around the world, it's brought me into relationship with some of the most incredible people on the planet, it's opened my eyes to true poverty and hope and I've had the joy of being in a number of deep, impactful Communities that have continued to give me opportunity to "Be The Change..."
For me, the deepest motivation is that desire that has been placed in my heart from God to DO SOMETHING.
Years ago, I was in a transition out of a job I loved, into the unknown. I honestly didn't know what I was going to do, so I wrote a statement down that became a part of my life purpose:
"I want to position leaders and organizations for greater Kingdom impact."
This became my motivation, and everything I built and focused on since that time has rallied around this challenge.
This is what motivates me, what drives me, and yes, what gets me out of bed in the morning.
What Motivates You and Why?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
I finished the book, Theo of Golden. One of my favorite all-time books and one that I'll write about soon! Please read it.
Here are some of the organizations I've been blessed to be a part of over the years... Youth World - El Refugio - Extreme Response - Leader Mundial - The Barnabas Group and there are countless others that we've cheered on, come alongside and celebrated along the way.
This past week we partnered with NOVO to do a prayer workshop here in Orange County. I love the posture of this organization to provide resources to help build and support the Kingdom of God!
If you're in Orange County on the 24th, and you'd like to experience The Barnabas Group here, send me a note and I'll let you know if we have space! We are looking for people who want to join others to impact God's Kingdom by helping non-profit leaders!