LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"A Community is a group of people who agree to grow together." Simon Sinek

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some quotes and ideas around the theme of COMMUNITY. This is a topic I've been thinking a lot about lately, and as I explored some thoughts on it I drove me deeper. To see past themes and blog posts, visit my website HERE.

I'm going to finish the series on Community today, and Sinek's quote just sums it up so well.

I love that he defines Community as a group of people who AGREE to grow together. That word is really important.

We all belong to different Communities, but it's when we AGREE to being a part, that we go to a different level...

• Agreeing means that we want to be there, want to be a part

• Agreeing means that we'll make an effort and contribute in some way

• Agreeing means that we're looking for something deeper

• Agreeing means that we're willing to work at it

• Agreeing means that we're willing to make ourselves vulnerable

• Agreeing means that we are IN

I believe that many of us are involved in Community, but we haven't AGREED to bring all that we can to facilitate growth and life to others.

I just spent 4 days with a Community of Leaders at the Leader Mundial Global Summit.

This year, 67 Leaders and Coaches, from 15 different countries and over 40 different organizations AGREED to come together to grow together.

What happened was difficult to measure:

• We grew as we worshipped together & prayed for one another

• We grew as we learned from each other and shared our stories

• We grew as we laughed and cried together

• We grew as we encouraged and celebrated each other

• We grew as we listened to each other

• We grew as we played together and just spent time together

It was a time of DEEP COMMUNITY that resulted in SERIOUS GROWTH!

What Community have you AGREED to engage in, resulting in growth?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Alone, we can do so little; Together, we can do so much." Helen Keller

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some quotes and ideas around the theme of COMMUNITY. This is a topic I've been thinking a lot about lately, and as I explored some thoughts on it I drove me deeper. To see past themes and blog posts, visit my website HERE.

I've shared this quote from Helen Keller before. It's a powerful truth that we need to be reminded of over and over again.

This doesn't mean that we can't do anything on our own. The idea is that in comparison with the potential that might come from a Community, what we accomplish by ourselves is "little".

Sometimes we have to do it alone. We start things. We build things. An idea or dream begins in us and we have to start someplace.

Doing things by yourself is a critical part of every organizations growth, but at some point there needs to be a transition...

• Others are brought into the vision

• People gather around you to support, encourage and engage

• As momentum builds, people buy into the growing purpose and plan

A Community is born, and then it's not just you anymore.

There are others who care about what's happening, who want to help, who want to play an active role, who want to bring value.

I recently shared with a leader that no one will ever care about their vision and organization as much as they do. He was the founder, the leader, the initiator, the pioneer.

They may not be able to care at the same level, but they care, and they bring incredible value, power and energy.

Who is rallying around you and your vision to help you accomplish all that God has placed in your heart?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"The need for connection and community is primal, as fundamental as the need for air, water, and food." Dean Ornish

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some quotes and ideas around the theme of COMMUNITY. This is a topic I've been thinking a lot about lately, and as I explored some thoughts on it I drove me deeper. To see past themes and blog posts, visit my website HERE.

This is a powerful quote from Dr. Dean Ornish. As we talk about the importance of Community, these words just resonate.

Ornish also said this:

"Group is about connection, not correction. We do not need to be fixed. We need to feel loved."

We all long to belong to something. A place where we feel safe. A place where we feel valued. A place where we're missed if we don't show up. A place where we're accepted for who we are.

This is a fundamental need in each of our lives.

However we've also seen the unhealthy side of Community: jealousy, bitterness, competition, fake flattery, posing, hiding out, disengaged connection and emotional restraint.

I don't have a need for that kind of Community, even though there is plenty of opportunity to be a part of that.

Do you have real Community? Is it meeting your fundamental needs?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Community is the fruit of our capacity to make the interests of others more important than our own." Henri J.M. Nouwen

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month I want to explore some quotes and ideas around the theme of COMMUNITY. This is a topic I've been thinking a lot about lately, and as I explored some thoughts on it I drove me deeper. To see past themes and blog posts, visit my website HERE.

The quote above from Henri Nouwen is just worded so well. I love that idea, "Community is the fruit of our capacity...", the idea that Community is so sweet, so wonderful, so important, when we approach from an unselfish perspective.

I don't know about you, but there are Communities that I'm connected with that I often approach for what I can get out of them as opposed to what I can contribute. Sometimes it's my church, sometimes it's with friends and sometimes it's with an organization I'm serving, but I've learned that it's really easy to allow my own personal needs and interests to become my "agenda", and this is wrong.

I need to approach each of these Communities from a different perspective, a perspective of what are the interests of others, and how can I make sure that people are being heard and their needs are being addressed.

If I'm only looking out for myself, I often don't have the ability to even think about what is going on with others in my Community.

Super simple: If I want any community that I'm a part of to be the best, I need to be a person who is thinking of others and modeling that behavior for everyone.

I wish I wasn't so selfish!

Think of 3 ways you can place others needs above your own in one of the Communities you're a part of.

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love." Brené Brown

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's February and this is the last quote focused on SELF-CARE. You can read this month's posts HERE.

This quote from Brené Brown just hit me this week.

It might be because of all the chaos going on in the world around us.

It might be because of peoples brokenness and the ongoing struggle to just survive some tough circumstances.

Whatever it is, Browns quote here just hit me.

Often, I do the opposite. I'm my biggest critic, and I often whine, beat myself up, push myself and ooze negativity all around me when I fail, when I don't accomplish a goal, when I struggle, when I don't perform, when I fail again. I just rip into myself.

Fortunately, in full disclosure, I'm also able to turn that around and recover. I don't stay there long, and once I recognize what's going on, I'm able to adjust and climb out of the abyss.

I know that for many, you get stuck and have a really hard time getting out.

As we close a month of just talking about different aspects of self-care, I want to encourage you to do what Brené Brown prompts us to do:

"Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love."

Change your tone, give yourself grace, and don't be your constant and loudest critic!

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"We need to do a better job of putting ourselves "He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed." Albert Einstein

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's February and this month I'm going to share some quotes that talk about SELF CARE. You can read this month's posts HERE.

This quote from Einstein hit me the other day. He's talking about our ability to "wonder" at the world, even alluding to the "mystery" that's around us.

However the word that sticks out to me is the word PAUSE.

Pause defined can be this:

"a temporary stop in action or speech; interrupt action or speech briefly"

When was the last time you paused for something

This past weekend, Gina and I were on a walk in our neighborhood and the sky was stunning. We walked and talked about how beautiful it was then we just stopped to look at it. Of course I tried to capture a picture of it which didn't do it justice, but what a sight!

This past weekend, Gina and I were on a walk in our neighborhood and the sky was stunning. We walked and talked about how beautiful it was then we just stopped to look at it. Of course I tried to capture a picture of it which didn't do it justice, but what a sight!

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"We need to do a better job of putting ourselves higher on our own 'to do' list." Michelle Obama

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's February and this month I'm going to share some quotes that talk about SELF CARE. You can read this month's posts HERE.

I am constantly chasing my list.

For me, I've learned that there are times that I need to just GET THINGS DONE and the best way to do that is to make a list. I don't live by a list every day, but when I need help in managing the chaos and driving my focus, a list really helps.

I've also learned that when I get into "list mode", often the most pressing things are moved to the top and the most variable things, or the less pressing things are moved to the bottom.

I've also learned that the bottom my list is often very negotiable, while the top of my list is non-negotiable.

Do you get the picture?

We all manage lists differently. Some of you only put things on your list that you need to do... the negotiable items don't even make the list.

All of that aside, Obama's quote here is a simple reminder to each of us in the area of self care that we need to keep putting ourselves ON THE LIST!

• Don't Continue To Compromise Your Needs!

• Don't Put Others First All of the Time: Take Care of Yourself.

• Sometimes, You Need to Fill Your Tank.

• Out of our Health, We Serve and Love Better!

  This morning, I started the day "making my list" and scheduling the day. It's a full day, a good day, and one I'm looking forward to. Then, I got a note from my son about heading to the gym, right in the middle of my already scheduled day. I had to make a choice: Work my list or Mess up my list in an effort to make myself better and stronger by paying attention to myself.

Many times, I keep working my list.

Today, I went to the gym.

Move yourself up your list! Learn to take care of yourself, you'll last longer and make a bigger impact.

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

"No one will take care of you if you don't take care of yourself." Alicia Keys

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

It's February and this month I'm going to share some quotes that talk about SELF CARE. You can read last months quotes on FOCUS HERE.

I recently saw that Alicia Keys won a "Global Impact Award" at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, and while I was looking up what that award was,I found this quote from her above.

I'm not sure why these words jumped out at me, but I want to spend the month looking a little deeper into this idea of "SELF CARE" and see if we can learn some things.

While the quote is kind of basic, the idea that our self care being up to us is something we need to be reminded of.

I recently heard a pastor preach out of John 6, and while he was focusing on the storms in life in vs. 16 - 21, I scanned the verse prior to that story, and it simply says this in vs. 15:

"Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself."

Jesus he just fed over 5000 people. People were clamoring to be around him. His disciples were in awe of all that he was doing and saying.

Yet, in the midst of all of this, "Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself."

Jesus had the ability to stop in the midst of a lot of activity and sometimes chaos, and he found time to be alone. Sometimes it was to pray, sometimes it was to rest and sometimes it was simply to get away.

He knew what he needed and he made it happen.

Did you notice the word AGAIN? Jesus made this a habit.

Do you know how to take care of yourself? What does that look like?