I wish I could tell you it’s all good, but the heart of the matter is that there’s struggle, pain, loneliness, and defeat in every single one of us. It’s dirty, and the deeper you get, the darker it becomes. But that darkness could be your ticket to freedom.
Go with me for a minute:
The more you know someone, the more you trust them. The more you trust, the more you share. You’ll reach a point that you share your dark things. You know, the ones you hide the best. The darker it gets, the more forgiveness you need to conquer it. The more forgiveness you receive, the more you are able to build back up.
Forgiveness is the only ticket out of darkness. We don’t build community because it’s already perfect; we build because we struggle, fight, lose, forgive, and rebuild together. We are designed in a way that our weaknesses become our strengths.
Go deeper. Go darker. And show forgiveness like you’ve been shown. That’s a real way to live.
Live and Breathe Your Work
Seems like the people that are great at what they do live and breathe their work. Great performers, writers, musicians, celebrities, start-up business gurus, accountants, pastors, chefs, dentists, bankers, teachers - they all love what they do. You see it in their art. You see it in the glow of their faces. What they do is not what they do; it’s a part of them.
At what point does your work shift from work to part of you? The start.
If you don’t live and breathe your work from the start, you never will. I’m not suggesting what you love will give you warm fuzzies every time you do it. But there is an itch that your passions give you. A curiosity. That unexplainably experience convinces you that doing what you love isn’t as risky as people tell you it is.
If you’re afraid to live and breathe your passions (like me), you’re playing it safe.
Maybe the riskiest thing you can do is be safe; maybe the safest thing you can do is be risky. (Godin)
You may see a white shirt, but I see a workshirt. My dad’s dad, Papa, wore them just about every day. As a retired Methodist pastor, he spent most of his time in the yard. His shirt symbolized that there’s work to do, every day.
Even on Sundays.
Let’s do the work that makes people come to life today.
6 Must Ask Questions for Artists
Questions like these have real value - much more in the wrestling with the questions, less in the actual answer. If you never answer these questions, that’s okay. But if you never ask them, you’re selling yourself short.
1. Is anybody listening to what I make? Why/why not? 2. Do I spend more time practicing or promoting what I do? 3. Am I doing this for money or for fulfillment? Is this about me or something bigger? 4. Am I still growing? Am I still hungry to learn? 5. Am I breaking new ground with my work? 6. How can I do what I do better?
There are so many things that I love about this video.
The Cure to Your Bad Day
Ever had a bad day? Of course you have - you’re human.
Ever questioned what made it bad? Of course you have. And it was probably something or someone else’s fault, wasn’t it?
Or was it?
I’ll tell you why my day was bad.
1. I didn’t encourage or help anyone.
2. I selfishly didn’t think about anything except myself and my problems.
3. I took more than I gave.
If you can’t control what’s affecting your attitude, it’s not worth your attention. Good thing is, most bad days ARE in under out control. They ARE NOT absolute. They CAN change. A lens of hope and love will never be able to focus on the negative. Our contentment is all in our viewpoint.
Now go make today a good one.
seeing how it’s made makes it that much enjoyable to listen to.
Routines are schedules; groove is a flow. Routines are predictable; groove leaves room to create. Routines breeds complacency; groove breeds growth.
If the goal is to be efficient, you’re asking for a routine. If the goal is to have effective impact with your productivity, you’re searching for a groove. Here are some essentials ingredients to help you create yours : structure, no distractions, and time.
Structure – Probably not your first thought, but having a game plan is crucial to your groove’s effectiveness. I’m not suggesting a play-by-play breakdown – just a short list of things you want to devote your time towards. When you find yourself in a groove, you’ll plow through some serious work. Placing priority on your workload ensures you chew through the right stuff.
No distractions – Groove is not a stop-and-go process. It’s impossible to turn a “groove switch” on and off because turning it on and off defeats the purpose of getting into a groove. Placing ourselves in busy places, overchecking email, answering your phone - we suffer from more self-inflicted distractions than we think. Find your zone, find some elements that encourage your groove (music, quiet space, light or dark) and get after it.
Time – Because groove cannot function in a stop-and-go format, it needs room to take shape. Think of a groove like airplane taking off for flight. You need time to check your parts, load your passengers, and then take-off. We don’t mind the time all of this takes because the flight itself gets us where we want to go faster than any other option. Don’t just make time for the pre-flight procedures. Give yourself time to fly.
We’re not all blessed with equal amounts of these ingredients – and that’s okay. Your groove doesn’t need to work for me; it needs to work for you.
Break your routine. Find your groove.
The Everyday
Offering something for a very brief time period creates urgency. Black Friday sale. 3 day annual conference. That addictive peach cobbler your grandmother only makes at Easter. Missing out isn’t the end of the world, but you know your next chance won’t come any time soon.
On the other end of the spectrum is the every day. Dinner with your family. The 8-hour work grind. The daily scripture reading that you don’t feel too bad skipping out on because there are 29 more chances this month. We can feel good about making 80% of these events – but does that mean they are less important?
Absolutely not. Because it hurts more to miss out on a limited opportunity, we falsely attach more value to it. One-time opportunities have value, yes, but so does the every day. You can walk a lot further than you can run — and while our bodies are built for both, time teaches us more about the things that really matter.
