POST IT QUOTES THOUGHTS AND NOTES

Recent Quotes that I have found that I write on Post It notes around the office:

“We fail when we get distracted by the tasks we don’t have that guts to quit” – Seth Godin

“ Quit or be exceptional. Average is for Losers.” – Seth Godin

“Average feels safe, but it’s not. It’s Invisible.” – Seth Godin

“If at first your idea does not sound absurd, there is no hope for it.” – Albert Einstein

“Your best EXTRA job is MORE of the SAME.” – Dave Ramsey

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts” – Marcus Aurelius Antonius

Are you doing the most productive thing possible right now? – MANY

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle

Accentuate the essential, ignore the obvious. – Vincent Van Gogh

The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas – Linus Pauling

Creativity is blocked by our falling in with other peoples plans for us – Julia Cameron

COLOR

WHITE. A Blank Page or Canvas.

The Challenge: To bring order to the whole…

Thru Design…

Composition…

Balance…and

Harmony

• from “Sunday in the Park with George” by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

I had that thought on my mind today as I was thinking about life.

I also remembered when I was programming a radio station. I had a mentor who came in and he talked about the radio station being the canvas – and as a programmer, you have control of the color, the paint, the feel, design of the listeners’ experience.

All done by music scheduling (the rotations of how many times a song plays), the day parting (some songs only play at night – or midday – or morning), promotions on the station (giveaways and events), and personalities (the air talent).

What are the colors I like?
How can this concept be taken even further into real life?
What is my “Color” or colors??
IS EVERYTHING I CREATE A MASTERPIECE?
How many layers of color are there in my life? In My work?

POTENTIAL

So, I have been thinking about POTENTIAL Lately.

I think my friends at work might start getting annoyed by it.

THOUGHT 1. I'm 31. I work for a guy who is turning 60. I look at his life and say - WOW! God has used him AMAZINGLY in his work and ministry.

He just recently hired back the man, and friend, he started on his journey with. They now are working together again, and having a blast.

THOUGHT 2. I am helping another friend launch a new 'JESUS MUSIC' show call Full Circle - that focuses on music that kick started the Contemporary Christian Music Scene, back in the 60's, 70's and early 80's.

I have started to think about the outpouring of God in the Jesus Movement. Lots of people were drawn back to God, and have had incredible ministries and lives because of this outpouring. Also, directly and indirectly, I have been blessed by the movement - Being a Vineyard guy.

Which leads to THOUGHT 3

POTENTIAL. Me and my friends. What are we going to be doing in 30 years that will inspire and leave a legacy to generations to come?

What are going to be doing that we love - that makes a difference for good and changes lives?

How much fun are we going to have getting to that point?

What does God have for Us, Me, New Friends, New Connections, New Possiblities, New Dreams and Visions that we can reach out for?

Sweet.

Fun Stuff

It's been a while since I posted last, and here's some stuff
that I have been checking into recently that I am enjoying…

:: A Leap Across a Chasm - The blog of Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin ::

999 Ideas

accidentalcreative

Killer Innovations

The new Servant Evangelism E-zine (from Steve Sjogren and Charlie Wear):
http://www.serve-others.com/index.cfm

A friend of mine has a new show on WWTN …called Empowering Your Health – Sundays from 9 to 11p

Verse of the Week: Luke 12:31

I have yet to see Ricky Bobby, but its on my list!

Out with the old, and a Lyric from the King

My favorite button I used to wear when I was a PD for a top 40 station in Savannah GA
(WOO HOO Give a shout to my peeps in SAV-TOWN)…was this:

BUT WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT THIS WAY (with the big red “Ghostbusters circle and slash” right thru it.)

The mentality in the building was ‘hey we can’t break the mold, this is always how it has been’.

But the deal was, I was hired because the old way STUNK.

TO HIGH HEAVEN.

Unfortunately, the person who always said to me “we’ve always done it this way” was the youngest on the staff – I think he was just trying to get over the fact that someone new was calling the shots.

Or not. Maybe he just didn’t want to change.

Maybe he was in love with the old boss. (not literally – just figuratively)

On a related note – AT LEAST IN MY MIND….

<Do I have a BIAS TOWARD ACTION?>

This is a question raised – once again by reading TOM PETERS stuff.

Man he makes me think. Thinking. Good.

“The King” had it right:

A little less conversation, a little more action please
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me
A little more bite and a little less bark
A little less fight and a little more spark....

2 More Questions...

After some reading this week, I have come up with two more questions to ask myself on the journey...


How Can I Make Something Happen?

Am I being RECKLESS, but not being THOUGHTLESS?

(gathered from Reading Some Tom Peters work)

Questions to ask late at night or early in the morning

Here are some questions that I am beginning to ask myself…

Gathered from various sources…to improve my outlook on life and the potential of my life…

• Are you doing the best you can possibly do?

• Are you doing better work today than you were yesterday?

• If your relationship with God better today than yesterday?

• Are you bettering yourself (Spiritually, Physically, Mentally)?

• How are you using the 168 hours God has given you this week?

• What is your legacy that you are going to leave TODAY?

• How can I have more ________________ in my life? (fill in the blank)

Do you have questions you ask that make you think about bettering yourself and your world?

Quotes on HOW WE SHOULD THINK

We become what we think about – Heard from Earl Nightengale’s “the Strangest Secret”

Act as if it’s impossible for you to fail – Dorothea Brande

Ultimate Freedom is man’s right to choose his attitude – Viktor Frankl



Pablo Picasso felt that the urge to create would conquer any attempts to suppress it, that even if locked in a prison he would still be an artist, “even if I had to paint my pictures with my wet tongue on the dusty floor of my cell,” he said.

Bridges and Thumbnails

Reading The Pursuit Of Wow! by Tom Peters. An older book, but still some great thoughts.

One of his points is:
“Build bridges with friends, instead of burning them with enemies.

Forget your enemies. Work around them. Work instead on developing friends, turning people who agree with you (a little bit or a lot) into passionate advocates and adherents.”

It made me think of my cousin who was working on the roof of his house. He slammed the hammer down on his thumb. Thumbnail – Popped off. (gross) Blood and thumbnail on the ground. Purple thumb. That’s what I remember.

It made no difference though. Swollen and busted up thumb, he still had to finish the roof. 4 fingers were fine. 1 that was busted. Yet, he still had to complete the project.

This example is not quite related to the point above – but in a way it is. How easy is it to let one sore thumb totally screw up the project you are working on. What if there is one sore thumb in your organization?

Are we going to let that one sore thumb torpedo the project? Or are we going to gather the four fingers (plus the other five on the other hand) that can still do the job and get it done?

Hmm. Maybe it’s completely two different points. But still. It made me think.

Thinking is good.

OBSERVATION OF SERVICE 1

A fast moving storm blew thru our city on Sunday afternoon. Straightline winds knocked down one of the trees that line our back yard. That would have been fine and dandy, if our cars had not been under the tree. Go Figure.

Our next door neighbor offered to grab his chainsaw and cut the tree off our cars. We weren't sure if we needed to leave them there for the insurace guy to see or not. Yet, they still needed to cut some limbs off, because they woudn't be albe to get into their driveway if we just left it there. He started cutting, and we started dragging some limbs.

Out of no where, (well, I am sure they came from somewhere) these two folks from down the road - not anyone we had had a conversation with, showed up and just started helping to move the limbs out of the way. We didn't cut the whole tree apart, just enough to get thru to the neighbors drive.

They were walking the neighborhood after the storm, and were glad to help.

Then they just walked on.

Outward Focused: Stories about the day I died

Steve Sjogren: Session 2 Notes on "The Day I Died"

Steve has a new book arriving early next year talking about the day that he actually died. ON the operating table, his heart completely stopped, and was dead for 7 minutes.

During that time, he had an encounter with God.

Steve explaings it as abook that will more than likely 'piss Christians off'! The book is actually not intended for a Christian audience, but for the Not yet Christians - as a tool to lead them to a better understanding of who God is.

There were many things that God spoke to Steve that day, and I can't do justice to the whole encounter ( you'll have to buy the book!), but he did give two specifics of things God wanted him to change. He did say that he was rebuked,and knew he had to change, yet felt encouraged and loved by a Holy God.

A couple things he heard that day:

1. Stop moving like a rabbit. Move like a turtle.

As a church planter, Steve was working over 100 hours a week. Several lunches a day, several meetings a day. God clearly told him to slow down. The Rabbit life doesn't pay off in the end. He lives that out since that day, and in his next church planting experience, hopes to continue a more turtle pace. Slow And Steady!

2. What are the names of your kids friends?

God spoke to him about getting to know his kids friends. During that time, they would be over at the house, but Steve never took the time to get to know them, to love on them, and be a good father figure, and Godly influence in their lives.

From his experience that day, Steve wanted to encourage people that there should be no fear in death. Many have fears of death, and from his 7 minutes (which to him felt like much longer) he knew he was in the presence of a loving God who cared for him.

After his experience, he spent many hours finding our what went wrong, what doctors did and didn't do. He has gained much wisdom about the experience. He encouraged all the men at the conference to take care of themselves, and be wise about their helathcare, adn ask many questions. Live with the Wisdom of Solomon!

Steve said he read a chapter of Proverbs a day for the past thirty years and Prays that "God would let him live out that wisdom is his life".


Steve Sjogren is the founding Pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Cincinnati, and loves servant evangelism.

More :Outward Focused: HERE

Email Dumbs Us Down

I was reading Fast Company and I came across “Be heard above the Electronic Din”.

Point 4 is:

Live By the Blacberry, Die By It
If you're spending more than five minutes on an email, make it a phone call. Then follow up with a tactical email. A recent study shows that constantly checking email, voice mail, and so on temporarily lowers your IQ more than smoking marijuana does. "Email makes you dumb," Nelson says. If you want to be productive, it helps to eliminate constant distractions.

Do blogs make us dumb as well?

I know people who spend lots of time reading blogs!

What to do with the Golden Years!?

This has been on my mind a lot lately…

I saw MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY on Letterman not too long ago, and he was talking about having an RV and riding around the country in it at least once a year.

He mentioned a story about having internet and satellite tv, sitting in the painted desert watching a game and grilling ribeyes right outside.

Dave said the same thing I feel…

“man,does that sound romantic…I must be getting old.”

It’s been on my mind a ton.

I took a trip last week to the state of Arkansas with work, and I was really noticing the beauty of our country. There is a lot of it between Nashville and Ft. Smith.

That’s all. I must be getting old.

Any time anyone mentions a place that might be cool to visit, that image pops up in my head about traveling to see it in an RV.

A little Redneck?

A little old?

I guess.

High Touch

Brand Autopsy is running a series about Starbucks and how their brand became what is it today.

High Touch trumps High Tech. It’s a great thing to remember as I continue to do ministry.

Doug Fields Says the same thing in Your First Two years in Youth Ministry.

90% of youth ministry is relationships. The kids won’t remember my best message. They’ll remember that I loved them and hung out with them, and was a good example for them.

Starbucks tried to go high tech, and the audience response was negative. The personal element was lost when the customer was able to order without talking to a barista.

Is the personal element lost when we go too high tech in Youth ministry? I am sure God uses High Tech. I just don’t want to get lost in the glitz and glam.

I know about smoke and mirrors – I am in radio!!

Do we do High Tech because the pressure is there to try and impress?
Are we High Tech to ‘keep up with the Jones’? (the Jones’ being the big church down the street)

I actually like High Tech. I like a good performance, and a good message. I believe in Creativity with presentation, not in interpretation, of the Word.

There does have to be a balance. Right?
Because people desire High Touch.

Whisper

Cool post on Fast Company’s blog a couple days back that I just found about finding your vision, your passion.

It suggests an exercise to help find what is whispering to you – from a Christian perspective – what is the still small voice of God saying to you?

1. What whisper do you hear?

2. Put it on paper - I recommend doing this even if you think you know it already - it forces you to articulate it more clearly.

3. Recognize that this is your sweet spot - the place where you'll find more creativity and success than anywhere else.

4. When the time is right, follow it. Slowly at first if you have to.

5. Revisit this whisper at least once a year as it can change and grow as you begin to listen to it.

Question: How have you woven your whisper into your life?

Gonna think about it, and write it out - maybe even here on the good ol' blog!

Friday fun

from Question of the Day:

Danger

If you could experience something considered very dangerous with your safety guaranteed, what would you want to experience?

Here's my answer

I actually did get to skydive with the Golden Knights one time - as a publicity stunt - I would do that again with those guys - but by myself - it would have to be bungee jumping off one of those extremely high and unsafe looking bridges where it looks like you could either be swept away in the river below or plaster yourself on the rocks! - But that wouldn't happen this time, because my safety is guaranteed, right?

Share Winning Stories

From Mark Batterson’s blog:

Here's one practical tip

We start every staff meeting by sharing wins.

The "old school" word is "testimony." Sharing wins gets us focused on the positive things God is doing. It has become part of our culture. It sets the tone for everything we do!If you're pastoring, put "wins" at the top of every meeting agenda. It's positive reinforcement.

You need to celebrate what you want to see more of.

It doesn't matter whether it's a boardroom, classroom, or locker room, sharing wins is one small step/one giant leap towards creating a positive environment. Sharing wins can revolutionize a church culture, family culture, or work environment.

Cool thought – and it is a thought that is echoed in the book I am reading – The Leadership Challenge ( good read – not a tough read – but I am really taking my time with it, making notes, underlining and highlighting to re-read again!)

…telling stories forces you to pay close attention to what your constituents are doing. Telling stories about others give you the chance to reinforce that “everyone is a leader.” Hearing or reading a story about similar people (people they can identify with) is also the most effective type of role model for stimulating an audience to learn how to take such actions themselves. (p.100)

Post it Note Thoughts and Quotes

I write a lot of Post It Notes. I have different thoughts around the office and car, and I thought I would write a couple out. (Just in case I lose them or something like that)

• Loving Selectively is worldly; giving it freely is miraculous – Don Miller

• Every Sinner has a future! Every Saint has a past! – Dawson McAllister

• We should have faith in a person – not faith in a predetermined outcome

• Come as you are. You’ll be loved. – Cincinnati Vineyard slogan

• Those who hear not the music oft perceive the dancer as mad

• We should always be Growing and Going toward God

• What kind of leader are you going 2 be? One that Looses or Binds the Holy Spirit? – Steve Robbins

• Deepen Your Message – Dawson McAllister

• Look for the creativity of God in Life and in Scripture

Rob Bell in Dallas Morning News

There is a great article/interview with Rob Bell in the Dallas Morning News. I was reading Scott Hodge, who happened upon it thru Jordon Cooper.
Here’s a quote from the article:
In the Scriptures, belief works in tandem with action. Our actions are reflective of our beliefs, but our beliefs drive our actions. So what I'm interested in reclaiming is the importance of these two together.
Sometimes faith becomes all about what people believe, and how you act doesn't really matter. But in the Scriptures, how you act very much matters. Like it says, what does God require of you but to love justice and mercy and to walk humbly? Those are all actions.
Velvet Elvis is on my list to read before the end of the year!

Top Five Questioning songs

From Music Memoirs :Top Five Questioning Songs

Here’s what I have come up with (off the top of my head):

‘Who are you?’ The Who
‘Who makes the rules?’ Steven Curtis Chapman
‘Do you believe in love?’ Huey Lewis and the News
‘I wonder what would happen to this World?’ Harry Chapin
‘Why Georgia?’ John Mayer

What about your five questioning songs?