I got a new computer and I’m testing a new feature option for a blog writer. Let’s see if it works!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Book 1: The Power of WHO!
The Power of WHO! by Bob Beaudine
I had the opportunity to hear Bob speak at a luncheon hosted by Leadership Tyler in August of this year. He talked about a way to be a steward of your relationships that was really a paradigm shift for me. I realized that many of my relationships tend to center around common interests such as work, church, or hobbies. The thing that challenged me about what Bob had to say was that I should be approaching my relationships with the question, "how can I serve you?" rather than "what do we enjoy doing together?"
I had the opportunity to hear Bob speak at a luncheon hosted by Leadership Tyler in August of this year. He talked about a way to be a steward of your relationships that was really a paradigm shift for me. I realized that many of my relationships tend to center around common interests such as work, church, or hobbies. The thing that challenged me about what Bob had to say was that I should be approaching my relationships with the question, "how can I serve you?" rather than "what do we enjoy doing together?"Although the book's underlying premise is "You already know everyone you need to know to get anything you need in life" what I walked away with is not using your friends to get what you want. It's more about helping your friends get what they want and from the overflow of that, they will help you in return.
Bob talks about 'Your WHO world' in terms of a few different levels. The Inner Circle follows Jesus' discipleship of 12-3-1. That's 12 that you are really close with, 3 that you have a special relationship with, and 1 that is your best friend. Outside of your inner circle will be the rest of your WHO. Bob defines WHO as:
Using a principle that Bob refers to 100/40. First you identify 100 'Who' in your life that meet the description above, then identify the 40 'What' in your life you've always wanted. Pursue your WHO and find out what their WHAT is, and help them get there!
The last thing I really walked away with was the idea of having a personal board of directors. These are people who know and love you and will speak wisdom into your life when you need direction or help considering a decision. The reason Beaudine recommends a Personal Board of Directors is:
Bob talks about 'Your WHO world' in terms of a few different levels. The Inner Circle follows Jesus' discipleship of 12-3-1. That's 12 that you are really close with, 3 that you have a special relationship with, and 1 that is your best friend. Outside of your inner circle will be the rest of your WHO. Bob defines WHO as:
... a “community of friends” that’s been built over many years with love and unconditional giving. These are friends who genuinely care about you and share your core values. This particular network of friends, if asked, will actually come to your aid. They want you to succeed. They want you to achieve your goals.While we all have goals in life, Bob explains that WHO comes before WHAT. Relationships are really what life is all about. Jesus said, "Love God... and love your neighbor". While these WHO relationships will be the catalyst, it's important to know what you want because "you can never get what you cannot see."
Using a principle that Bob refers to 100/40. First you identify 100 'Who' in your life that meet the description above, then identify the 40 'What' in your life you've always wanted. Pursue your WHO and find out what their WHAT is, and help them get there!
The last thing I really walked away with was the idea of having a personal board of directors. These are people who know and love you and will speak wisdom into your life when you need direction or help considering a decision. The reason Beaudine recommends a Personal Board of Directors is:
There are many more paths that lead to failure than there are that lead to success. I’ve come to believe one of the very best strategies you can implement to achieve maximum protection is to create your own “Personal Board of Directors.I would highly recommend The Power of WHO! to anyone.
I Might Be Crazy, Part 2
So on top of all that reading I mentioned in my last post, I also have some pretty ambitious physical goals.
I posted about my goal to qualify for the Ironman World Championships a while back and I've been working toward that end. In fact, I am going to Panama City, FL next week to register for the 2011 race. I tried to register for the 2010 race last year online but the race was sold out within an hour of registration opening online. So I did some homework and here is what I found. Participants in the current year's race can register on race day. Registration opens to others on-site Sunday morning, and online registration opens at noon. So I'll be there the morning after the race, credit card in hand (I would pay with cash, but plastic is all they'll take).
A good friend of mine, Matt Hamilton, got into triathlons a while back and has caught the bug. He is registered for Ironman Texas in May 2011 so he's been a good training buddy. Until...
The best I can guess is that I'm overweight and much older than I used to be. Two months ago, I had a few nagging injuries that just kept getting worse, so right now I'm in the middle of a six week running break. I can still swim without any problems (if I'll just go to the pool), but I've been hesitant to get on the bike because I don't want to aggravate a back injury I've been nursing. All that to say, I am still working toward qualifying for Kona, it just probably won't happen at the 2011 race.
So where am I going to get the time to train 5-10 hrs a week early on and upwards of 15-20 later, plus reading 10-15 hrs a week? That's a great question! I'll let you know! Right now, it's getting up early, not watching as much TV, and disciplining myself to get my work done at the job in a set amount of hours. I'm realizing that I have extra time that could come from all the time I spend on Facebook and Twitter, but I'll save that for later :)
I posted about my goal to qualify for the Ironman World Championships a while back and I've been working toward that end. In fact, I am going to Panama City, FL next week to register for the 2011 race. I tried to register for the 2010 race last year online but the race was sold out within an hour of registration opening online. So I did some homework and here is what I found. Participants in the current year's race can register on race day. Registration opens to others on-site Sunday morning, and online registration opens at noon. So I'll be there the morning after the race, credit card in hand (I would pay with cash, but plastic is all they'll take).
A good friend of mine, Matt Hamilton, got into triathlons a while back and has caught the bug. He is registered for Ironman Texas in May 2011 so he's been a good training buddy. Until...
The best I can guess is that I'm overweight and much older than I used to be. Two months ago, I had a few nagging injuries that just kept getting worse, so right now I'm in the middle of a six week running break. I can still swim without any problems (if I'll just go to the pool), but I've been hesitant to get on the bike because I don't want to aggravate a back injury I've been nursing. All that to say, I am still working toward qualifying for Kona, it just probably won't happen at the 2011 race.
So where am I going to get the time to train 5-10 hrs a week early on and upwards of 15-20 later, plus reading 10-15 hrs a week? That's a great question! I'll let you know! Right now, it's getting up early, not watching as much TV, and disciplining myself to get my work done at the job in a set amount of hours. I'm realizing that I have extra time that could come from all the time I spend on Facebook and Twitter, but I'll save that for later :)
I Might Be Crazy, Part 1
52 Books in 52 Weeks
I had this crazy idea about a month ago: I have all these books on my bookshelf that I've purchased because I thought they would be a good read or they were recommended to me, but for one reason or another I never have read them. Although this allowed me to use one of my favorite office quotes when someone would ask me if I've read a particular book, "Read it? I OWN it. But no, I haven't read it." -Michael Scott, the books weren't doing anyone any good sitting on the shelf. So ambitiously, I'm setting out to read all of them and a few more by the end of September 2011.
After I committed to reading a book a week, it also got me thinking that I've always wanted to read through the Bible in a year, but have never had the discipline to get it done. So, I decided that accomplishing that goal was at least as important as reading all these other books. This makes for quite a bit of reading each day.
But you know what, it's amazing how much time I "found" when I reclaimed my mornings and cut back on how much TV I watch in the evenings. I get up at 5:00 am most days (yes, coffee has become a much bigger part of my life) to read for a couple of hours before I have to get ready for work, and I try not to turn on the TV when I get home from work because I've found once it's on, it's really difficult to turn off. The first book I read was called "You've Got WHO!" by Bob Beaudine, and he inspired me in my quest to reclaim my time when he said:
I had this crazy idea about a month ago: I have all these books on my bookshelf that I've purchased because I thought they would be a good read or they were recommended to me, but for one reason or another I never have read them. Although this allowed me to use one of my favorite office quotes when someone would ask me if I've read a particular book, "Read it? I OWN it. But no, I haven't read it." -Michael Scott, the books weren't doing anyone any good sitting on the shelf. So ambitiously, I'm setting out to read all of them and a few more by the end of September 2011.After I committed to reading a book a week, it also got me thinking that I've always wanted to read through the Bible in a year, but have never had the discipline to get it done. So, I decided that accomplishing that goal was at least as important as reading all these other books. This makes for quite a bit of reading each day.
But you know what, it's amazing how much time I "found" when I reclaimed my mornings and cut back on how much TV I watch in the evenings. I get up at 5:00 am most days (yes, coffee has become a much bigger part of my life) to read for a couple of hours before I have to get ready for work, and I try not to turn on the TV when I get home from work because I've found once it's on, it's really difficult to turn off. The first book I read was called "You've Got WHO!" by Bob Beaudine, and he inspired me in my quest to reclaim my time when he said:
I believe that working to pay the bills is one of the most common causes in forgetting your dream. So many people are just too tired at the end of the day to work on or even think about their dream. Too bad. Turn off the damn TV! The TV will suck your dream right into the black hole of oblivion. Refuse to veg—unless, of course, your dream is to become a vegetable.I'll talk more about what I learned from Bob in my post about You've Got WHO! In the mean time, I'll keep on reading and I'll keep you updated about what I'm learning as I go.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Four Days, Five Guys
The first 14 verses are very pretty abstract, but explain so much about God, Jesus, and what His coming does for us.
Jesus is "the Word". He was with God, God was with Him, and at the same time Jesus was God.
I heard a guy preach this past week about verse 5. It says, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." I love this verse because at times in my life when things are crazy, difficult, and not making sense, it's in the darkness that the light shines. God is in the character building business, and he often uses the dark times to do his work.
My bible has a note about verse 12: "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" At issue: acceptance If you've never faced extreme rejection in your life, you may not grasp just how powerful this verse is. For those who struggle with feeling accepted by others, the idea that Jesus reveives anyone who comes to him - without first making demands on the person or trying to change them - is mind boggling. Not to mention extremely appealing.
There is so much more in these first 14 verses, so please give me your thoughts!
DAY 1 - John is testifying about the coming Jesus as the messiah. The 'church leaders' are wanting to know who John 'thinks' he is, so they ask. John's answer is great: "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, "make straight the way for the Lord." "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
DAY 2 - John spots Jesus and identifies him as the messiah.
DAY 3 - John spots him again, and two of John's followers leave John and follow Jesus, Andrew and someone else (it doesn't way right now who it is, but I'll try to figure it out). Andrew's brother, Peter, was taking care of the fishing business, and Andrew went to find him to tell him about Jesus.
DAY 4 - Jesus leaves for Galilee and calls Philip to follow him. Philip was from the same town as Andrew and Peter. Philip told Nathanael about Jesus, and Nathanael followed Jesus too. That brings the group to 5. "Mystery man," Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael.
Next: Party time!
Jesus is "the Word". He was with God, God was with Him, and at the same time Jesus was God.
I heard a guy preach this past week about verse 5. It says, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." I love this verse because at times in my life when things are crazy, difficult, and not making sense, it's in the darkness that the light shines. God is in the character building business, and he often uses the dark times to do his work.
My bible has a note about verse 12: "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" At issue: acceptance If you've never faced extreme rejection in your life, you may not grasp just how powerful this verse is. For those who struggle with feeling accepted by others, the idea that Jesus reveives anyone who comes to him - without first making demands on the person or trying to change them - is mind boggling. Not to mention extremely appealing.
There is so much more in these first 14 verses, so please give me your thoughts!
DAY 1 - John is testifying about the coming Jesus as the messiah. The 'church leaders' are wanting to know who John 'thinks' he is, so they ask. John's answer is great: "I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, "make straight the way for the Lord." "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie."
DAY 2 - John spots Jesus and identifies him as the messiah.
DAY 3 - John spots him again, and two of John's followers leave John and follow Jesus, Andrew and someone else (it doesn't way right now who it is, but I'll try to figure it out). Andrew's brother, Peter, was taking care of the fishing business, and Andrew went to find him to tell him about Jesus.
DAY 4 - Jesus leaves for Galilee and calls Philip to follow him. Philip was from the same town as Andrew and Peter. Philip told Nathanael about Jesus, and Nathanael followed Jesus too. That brings the group to 5. "Mystery man," Andrew, Peter, Philip, and Nathanael.
Next: Party time!
A walk through the Book of John
I decided to read through the book of John and I wanted to share some thoughts along the way. Please feel free to leave your thoughts as well. My Bible has some introductory information about the Book of John, and I'm going to include it here.
Author: John, the apostle, the son of Zebedee and the brother of James (not James the brother of Jesus)
Audience: John probably wrote with Gentile (non-Jewish) readers in mind, particularly those influenced by the Greek philosophies prevalent at the time
Date: Probably AD 85-90
Setting: Scholars have traditionally assumed that John's eyewitness account was the last Gospel written, sometime before John was exciled to the island of Patmos.
Key Verse: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:31
Central Theme: John's Gospel is not just a record of Jesus' life; it is a powerful argument that Jesus is the heaven-sent Son of God and the only way to have eternal life. Believe and be saved!
Author: John, the apostle, the son of Zebedee and the brother of James (not James the brother of Jesus)
Audience: John probably wrote with Gentile (non-Jewish) readers in mind, particularly those influenced by the Greek philosophies prevalent at the time
Date: Probably AD 85-90
Setting: Scholars have traditionally assumed that John's eyewitness account was the last Gospel written, sometime before John was exciled to the island of Patmos.
Key Verse: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:31
Central Theme: John's Gospel is not just a record of Jesus' life; it is a powerful argument that Jesus is the heaven-sent Son of God and the only way to have eternal life. Believe and be saved!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Wow, so it's been a year...
That's pretty pathetic. Let's see what I can catch you up on that may have happened in the last year.
In D
ecember 2008, I went back to Orlando for the CCCA National Convention. Not near as exciting since I had just been to Disney a few months before. But the conference was great and I really learned a lot.
At the same time, along with a classmate, Brant, I competed in a by-invitation-only,
globally competitive business strategy simulation. It was really intense, but it was an awesome opportunity to practically apply many of the concepts we had been learning in the MBA program. And the awesome thing is that our team won! I could tell more, but I'll save the intense nerdiness for a future post.
In March, Erin and I joined a big group from her side of the family for a cruise. It was my first, and I'm sold! We set sail out of Galveston, and stopped in Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel.
In April, I graduated from LeTourneau University with an MBA specializing in
Finance. Going back to school was a big decision, but with it completed I'm so glad that I did, and I'm so thankful to my bride for her patience and support during those two years!
The summer was super busy as usual. We had a fantastic summer at camp, mostly due to an awesome group of summer staffer. My sister Jennifer came and spent the whole summer with Erin and I. We had a lot of fun. One of the highlights was a trip to see a Texas Rangers baseball game. Erin and I also moved back to camp for the summer for RV livin', part 2. Always an adventure.
A couple of months ago, I discovered Twitter. Just what I needed, another source of
information to check on a regular basis.
I've also been reading quite a few books these past couple of months. I give the interns at camp books to read as part of the development/discipleship element of the program, and I decided to reread those books and have managed to fit in quite a few others. I think I'll post some reviews on those books in the coming days.
In D
ecember 2008, I went back to Orlando for the CCCA National Convention. Not near as exciting since I had just been to Disney a few months before. But the conference was great and I really learned a lot.At the same time, along with a classmate, Brant, I competed in a by-invitation-only,
globally competitive business strategy simulation. It was really intense, but it was an awesome opportunity to practically apply many of the concepts we had been learning in the MBA program. And the awesome thing is that our team won! I could tell more, but I'll save the intense nerdiness for a future post.
In March, Erin and I joined a big group from her side of the family for a cruise. It was my first, and I'm sold! We set sail out of Galveston, and stopped in Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel.In April, I graduated from LeTourneau University with an MBA specializing in
Finance. Going back to school was a big decision, but with it completed I'm so glad that I did, and I'm so thankful to my bride for her patience and support during those two years!
The summer was super busy as usual. We had a fantastic summer at camp, mostly due to an awesome group of summer staffer. My sister Jennifer came and spent the whole summer with Erin and I. We had a lot of fun. One of the highlights was a trip to see a Texas Rangers baseball game. Erin and I also moved back to camp for the summer for RV livin', part 2. Always an adventure.A couple of months ago, I discovered Twitter. Just what I needed, another source of
information to check on a regular basis.I've also been reading quite a few books these past couple of months. I give the interns at camp books to read as part of the development/discipleship element of the program, and I decided to reread those books and have managed to fit in quite a few others. I think I'll post some reviews on those books in the coming days.
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