LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"When you encourage others, you, in the process, are encouraged because you're making a commitment and difference in that person's life. Encouragement really does make a difference." Zig Ziglar

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I read the quote above from Zig Ziglar, and I've been thinking about the value of encouragement in our lives, and thought I'd spend some time this month camping on this theme.

This quote is not a surprise, but just a profound reminder to us of the value of encouragement. It does make a difference on all sides... when it's delivered, when it's received and when it's observed.

Everyone benefits and it can be either a simple expression or a grand gesture. It makes a difference.

I remember a moment in my own personal leadership development when I was in a leadership role in my university, my senior year of college. I can't remember the situation, but I remember feeling unsure, I remember wondering if I could do the job I had been tasked with doing, and I was thinking about how much happier I had been in my previous role, which carried much less responsibility and pressure. I was overwhelmed.

It was then that a mentor of mine pulled me aside. He actually took me out to dinner, and spent the evening "encouraging me". He listened, he asked questions, he responded, but at some point in the evening, he just looked at me and said something like this:

"Russ, you can do this job. You have the abilities, the passion and the strength to do it. Don't be afraid of it, but embrace it. People will follow you."

At least that's what I heard, and it worked!

I felt empowered and affirmed, I felt that I COULD do the job, and I think just knowing that this Guy believed in me, I was ready to go.

37 years after that conversation, I can still remember it. I remember the restaurant, I remember the conversation, and I remember how it made me feel.

That's the power of ENCOURAGEMENT!

Think of a time when you were encouraged. Where were you? What was said? How did it make your feel?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection." Mark Twain

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

Here's a final thought this month on productivity from Mark Twain. I love these simple words that should be an encouragement to all of us.

We'll never fully accomplish being productive. It's a work in progress.

The quotes I shared from Tim Ferriss, Albert Einstein and Martin Luther King Jr. are all words reminding us to keep moving towards purpose and value, and to not get bogged down in getting everything right.

That's what I need to be reminded of today: It's a process, and my hope is to keep moving towards the goal, towards fullfilling what I've been put in this world to do, and towards my calling or purpose.

January can be a month full of pressure because we spend it trying to get it all right, and when we don't, we end up just quitting: quitting on our dreams, our goals, our new ideas, rhythms... all these things.

Today, just commit to taking another step forward.

The passage from Philippians 3 reminds us of this...

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

The Message translation says it this way:

"I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: by no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward - to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back."

Today, do your best and take another step forward... Then another.

Think of the things in your life that motivate you, that pull you, that "press" you... How does God use those things to keep you moving forward?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Focus on being productive instead of busy." Tim Ferriss

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I've shared this quote in the past, but it was a really good reminder this past week for me.

My calendar is heating up, my task list is piling up, my inbox is filling up, my goals are stalling, my dreams are getting fuzzy, my discipline is waning, and I'm feeling overwhelmed and under-engaged.

And we're still in January!

I'm not sure if you can relate to this or not.

I read this past week that the second Friday in January is called "Quitters Day". This is the day that people give up on their New Years resolutions and settle into another year of unmet goals and hopes. The gyms begin to empty out and people just quit.

The quote from Ferriss was a great reminder to me to not focus on all that I need to get done and accomplish, but to focus on the things that are most important, and this is where we get lost and where we lose sight of what we're aiming for.

Today, I want to encourage you to not be overwhelmed by the lists and tasks but to be inspired by the things that actually help you move towards the direction you want to be heading into.

Don't quit! You've made it past Quitters Day.... keep going!

What's one thing you can do today to re-focus, re-align, and re-engage with your purpose?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"If you can't fly then run,

if you can't run then walk,

if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do...

keep moving forward."

Martin Luther King Jr.

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

In the U.S., we celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr. yesterday on the 15th of January. King is celebrated as a leader in the civil rights movement in the United States, and he faced many obstacles in his life but he inspired change in everything he did.

The famous quote above is a tribute to his perseverence and his focus to keep moving forward no matter what things get in your way.

Maybe as we hit the middle of January in 2024, you are seeing some things get in the way of what you want to accomplish this month or this year. The temptation to quit or to fall back is pulling on you and even though you started the New Year 2 weeks ago with a desire to do great things, today you're discouraged, you're tired and you're wanting to rewrite the script.

Read those words again, and define what it looks like for you to keep moving forward!

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." Albert Einstein

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's easy to focus on productivity and forget something that is even MORE important? Einstein mentions it here in his quote where he talks about VALUE.

Success and productivity don't mean anything unless you are pursuing something that brings "VALUE".

Recently, a friend of mine presented at a meeting and he shared this thought:

"The purpose of any business is human flourishing"

He defined flourishing as meaning "thriving or continually developing". He also connected it to a deeper purpose for those of us as followers of Jesus that we be "continually developing into the people God has created us to be".

This resonated with me. I want people to flourish, not just so they can be successful, but so they can be of "value" or of "purpose" to others and to God.

So today, instead of focusing on productivity, ask yourself the question: Am I bringing VALUE to others? Am I helping other people FLOURISH?

This month, I'd like to share a few of your "PRODUCTIVITY HACKS".

I'll share a few over this month, but if you'd like to share with others, just send me a personal email with a short description of what you have found is most helpful to you, especially at this time of year as you are beginning anew. Please also include if the idea is yours or if you picked it up from someone else. We want to give credit to where it's due. Send your PRODUCTIVITY HACK to me HERE. I look forward to hearing and learning from you.

Here's the HACK today, and it comes from my friends at TBOY and a podcast I listen to regularly. They introduced the idea (don't know if they invented it) but the word is:

PLANUARY

The idea is to take January, and spend significant time planning the rest of your year: calendar, finance, goals, trips, dreams.

When I heard this idea, I laughed because I try to do this, but I didn't have a term for it. Now I do, and you do to.

Celebrate PLANUARY by taking some time to think, pray, plan, prepare and map out the coming 11 months of 2024!

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!" Tony Robbins

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I always start the New Year with some thoughts on personal productivity, and this quote from Tony Robbins gives us a big picture to look at.

This month, I'd like to share a few of your "PRODUCTIVITY HACKS".

I'll share a few over this month, but if you'd like to share with others, just send me a personal email with a short description of what you have found is most helpful to you, especially at this time of year as you are beginning anew. Please also include if the idea is yours or if you picked it up from someone else. We want to give credit to where it's due. Send your PRODUCTIVITY HACK to me HERE. I look forward to hearing and learning from you.

Many you of know that I'm a certified coach with The Paterson Center. We offer 2 tools to clients: First is a PERSONAL LIFEPLAN and second is a STRATOP (strategic planning for an organization/company).

I'm going to share each week over the next 4 weeks a couple of the tools we use in LifePlanning and Strategic Planning that have made an impact in my personal life.

As 2024 begins, I have spent some time working through these tools over the past number of days, and it provides some clarity, direction and action steps for where I want to get to.

Please take a moment to share any of your Productivity Hacks. It doesn't matter how simple or small they are. They may be just the thing someone else is looking for!

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

Today I simply want to say to you Merry Christmas! I hope that during these days you're reminded of the incredible gift God sent each of us in his Son Jesus. This is why we celebrate!

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"What we know matters, but who we are matters more." Brené Brown

Brené Brown has done work and research on the topics of vulnerability and shame (to just name a few) for decades. Her Ted Talk on vulnerability is one of the most highly viewed videos on that platform. I've read a couple of her books and have heard her on a couple of podcasts and I've really been challenged by her.

I don't know how this note finds you today, but I know that for many of us there's a tension between "who we are" and "what we do or what we know". We are constantly trying to prove ourselves through our achievements and accomplishments and sometimes this forces us to be something that we're not.

Brené Browns simple quote from her book, Daring Greatly, was just a simple reminder that my identity, who I am, is what is most important, above all that I'm able to do and know.

How does that land with you today? This past year, have you struggled at all with your identify: who are are rather than what you do?

As we come to the end of this calendar year, it's a great time to do some personal assessment. I'll share more about that below.