Oil in Your Spiritual Lamp?

This week, Mother Teresa’s words, “In order to keep the lamp burning, you have to keep putting oil in it,” have caused me to evaluate several areas of my life.  From the emotional, to the physical, and the intellectual, I have sought to “check my oil level.”

But no evaluation of my life feels complete without giving some thought to my spiritual lamp.

Jesus once said, “Let your light shine in such a way that they might see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

Regardless of what you believe, I assume you want to make a difference in the lives of others or you wouldn’t be reading this blog, every day, on how to become a better leader.

One of the earliest leaders was a man named St. Augustine.  In one of his most famous writings, a book called Confessions, in just the third sentence into the book he writes, “Lord, you have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee.”

Some people referred to this line of thinking as the ‘God-shaped vacuum.’  In other words, there is an emptiness in every one of us that only God can fill.

As for me, I believe that is true.  Left to myself, I am not worth following.  Guilty, sinful, and empty.  But if I am living my life the way Jesus lived His, then I can be filled with His presence in my life and can actually be a leader with a positive impact.  A leader that is letting His light shine.

That is my goal.  After all, who wants to be empty?

While the purpose of this blog is not primarily spiritual, I would not be true to my faith if I did not encourage all leaders to fill their spiritual lamp first.

Integrity, and for that matter influence too, is impossible unless one is truly integrated (complete, whole) in relation to his or her Maker.

I hope your lamp is full of oil and His light is shining through you.

 

i2i,

Randy

 

Comments?

 

Reeves

Last night I had dinner with my wife and kids at a local pizza place.  While waiting on our order and catching up on the day's events, up walked one of my wife's fifth grade students along with his father.

The kid is one of my favorites.  An eleven year old, all boy, named Reeves.

Turns out Reeves had to miss recess yesterday.  Actually, he didn't have to.  He chose to.

Seems Mrs. i2i busted the class for talking in the hallway when they were clearly told to shush.

When it came time for recess, the kids were faced with a choice.  Those who had talked had to sit on a small brick wall for the entire twenty minutes.  Those who had not talked were free to play.

Rather than point out who should be punished, my wife decided to throw out a character test.  "You know if you talked or not.  If you did, I need you on the wall.  You know who you are.  I am leaving you on the honor system."

Ouch.  Don't you just hate it when the teacher does that.

My man Reeves chose to sit on the wall along with a few of his honest friends.  Talk about fifth grade self leadership.

The truth is, leadership is lot like my wife's class.  Every day is filled with character tests.  And most of the time we find ourselves on the honor system.

Whenever we exercise self leadership, we move closer to integrity.  Whenever we don't, we move toward pain and frustration.

We all make mistakes.  Reeves did, just like I do each day.  But character is not merely exposed through our mistakes.  It is also forged by how we respond to them.

I suspect Reeves will think twice about talking in the hallway next time.  And you can be certain that doing what is right will be easier for him, because he has already chosen to take the high road.

By the way, Reeves was smiling at supper last night.

Why?  Because he had a clear conscience.  That is what goes with a strong character.

If there are areas in your life where you are failing the character test, maybe it is time to follow Reeve's lead and 'sit yourself on the wall.'

I will leave you on the honor system.

 

i2i,

Randy

 

Comments?

 

What's that Smell?

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to smell yourself?  On Saturday, I was reminded of this fact.

It happened several miles into my race when I was passed by some guy from Oregon.  Let’s just say, he was ripe.

It occurred to me that bad leaders are usually the last to smell themselves.  And we all know that it “stinks” to be down wind from a bad leader.

I have to admit, there are times when I am the last one to recognize my flaws.  The truth is, my weaknesses bother others a lot more than they bother me.

The only way to stay “fragrant” as a leader is to keep pursuing integrity and to ruthlessly work on your self-leadership.

If there are places in your leadership where you have been taking shortcuts, it is time to come clean.

And if you are in doubt, maybe it is time to ask those who are following you?  You know, the one’s who are holding their noses.

 

i2i,

Randy

 

Why do you think bad leaders are usually the last to know?

Soul Time

repost from 6.25.10

If you only have time for one thing each week, make it “Soul Time.”  Soul time is what anchors you to your values.  For a leader who focuses on integrity, there has to be an anchor.

For me that anchor is my relationship with God.  I believe that every one of us has a Maker and that He designed us to live in relationship with Him.  Years ago, I came to the realization that I needed His presence in my life and I haven’t been the same since.

Augustine once said of the relationship between man and God, “The heart is restless until it rests in Thee.”  I believe he nailed it.

Are you restless in your leadership?  If so, chances are you haven’t been giving attention to your relationship with God and the matters of your soul.

How does a leader focus on soul stuff?  Easy.  First, read the Book.  Good leaders don’t hesitate to learn from helpful resources.  From the latest leadership book, the Wall-Street Journal, or a relevant podcast, leaders are always looking for an edge.  However, many leaders miss the most important Book of all.  The Bible.

If you are looking for answers for your life and leadership, why not start with Scripture?  The Bible is the best selling book of all time for a reason.  It is the Creator’s Book.  An instruction manual for how every area of your life is supposed to work.

It is full of wisdom on every topic imaginable.  Relationships, finances, marriage, parenting, partnerships, work, management, ethics, and even leadership fill its pages.

When is the last time you drank from its well of wisdom?  A daily dose of Scripture will keep your soul on the path of integrity.

A second way to cultivate your soul is to put yourself in a weekly worship environment.  If you want to cultivate your relationship with God, make a choice to show up in God’s house each week.  Too many leaders view the weekend as an escape from all the responsibilities of work, often even neglecting worship and the opportunity to re-calibrate their lives for the coming week.

Don’t give in to that temptation.  Put yourself and your family in an environment every week where you can worship God and hear His Word taught.  Then make a commitment to treat others the way God treats you.  It will make you a better leader.

Reviewing the week:  Work time is when you unleash your passion and talent.  Family time is when you invest in your most important followers.  Play time is when you remember to take yourself less seriously.  Trail time is when you focus on your fitness.

But soul time is the most important time.  For it is the time that will truly determine whether you will have integrity and whether your influence will be worth following.

i2i,

Randy

Comments?

Reflex Leadership

I have a long way to go to become the leader I desire to be.  You too can probably think of several places where your leadership doesn't measure up to its full potential.

If only leadership could become a reflex.

In John Maxwell’s book on the laws of leadership, there is a chapter entitled "The Law of Process."  In the chapter you will find the old boxing saying: "Champions don't become champions in the ring, they are merely recognized there." It illustrates the point that becoming a great leader is an ongoing process of paying the price day after day.

Maxwell goes on to tell the story of former boxing great, heavyweight champ Joe Frazier.  Frazier once said, "You can map out a fight plan or a life plan.  But when the action starts, you're down to your reflexes.  That's where your road work shows.  If you cheated on that in the dark of the morning, you're getting found out now under the bright lights."

Has your preparation been exposed lately?  Are you paying the price to grow your integrity in the dark of the morning?  Are you reading anything to help develop your leadership gift?  Are you discussing leadership with anyone else?

There are no short cuts to greatness and you will never regret doing the right thing!

Like boxing, if this leadership thing is to ever become a reflex, we must be willing to pay the price on a daily basis.

The question I have been asking myself lately is, "Have I been paying the price when it comes to pursuing leadership development?" How about you?  If you have been given the leadership gift then you must develop it and use it to the fullest.

I hope you will do some evaluating today and ask yourself if your leadership is a reflex or is it still underdeveloped.  If the latter is true of you it is time to get to work “in the dark of the morning.”

i2i,

Randy

Don’t Forget

In his book, “How the Mighty Fall,” Jim Collins references the Anna Karenina Principle.  The principle comes from Leo Tolstoy’s book Anna Karenina which begins: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Collins makes the point from the quote that there are more ways to fall than there are to become great.  The next couple of days we will look at both sides of this idea.

First, there are many ways to fall.  Let me suggest four.

1 - Forget what got you here.  There are certain disciplines and practices that helped you to achieve the success you have.  Taking your eye off of those things will eventually bring you down.  Those who are ruthless in their discipline are the ones who remain successful.  If you find yourself struggling, maybe now would be a good time to go back to doing what you used to do when you were in a growth mode.

2 - Forget where you are going.  Why are you in business?  What is your mission?  Those are questions that need to be asked often.  They should shape your decision making, resources, and your alignment as an organization.  If you stop focusing on why you exist, you are headed for a fall.

3 - Forget who helped you along the way.  All leaders need to remember that many people have invested to help them get to where they are.  Be grateful and make sure you express your thanks to the appropriate people.

4 - Forget who you are trying to help.  Just as someone invested in you, you should in turn invest in someone else.  The point of your leadership is not to create a better life for yourself, rather to leverage your influence to bless others.  The happiest people I know are more others focused than they are self centered.

Tomorrow we will look at what it takes to be great.

i2i,

Randy

Soul Time

If you only have time for one thing each week, make it “Soul Time.”  Soul time is what anchors you to your values.  For a leader who focuses on integrity, there has to be an anchor.

For me that anchor is my relationship with God.  I believe that every one of us has a Maker and that He designed us to live in relationship with Him.  Years ago, I came to the realization that I needed His presence in my life and I haven’t been the same since.

Augustine once said of the relationship between man and God, “The heart is restless until it rests in Thee.”  I believe he nailed it.

Are you restless in your leadership?  If so, chances are you haven’t been giving attention to your relationship with God and the matters of your soul.

How does a leader focus on soul stuff?  Easy.  First, read the Book.  Good leaders don’t hesitate to learn from helpful resources.  From the latest leadership book, the Wall-Street Journal, or a relevant podcast, leaders are always looking for an edge.  However, many leaders miss the most important Book of all.  The Bible.

If you are looking for answers for your life and leadership, why not start with Scripture?  The Bible is the best selling book of all time for a reason.  It is the Creator’s Book.  An instruction manual for how every area of your life is supposed to work.

It is full of wisdom on every topic imaginable.  Relationships, finances, marriage, parenting, partnerships, work, management, ethics, and even leadership fill its pages.

When is the last time you drank from its well of wisdom?  A daily dose of Scripture will keep your soul on the path of integrity.

A second way to cultivate your soul is to put yourself in a weekly worship environment.  If you want to cultivate your relationship with God, make a choice to show up in God’s house each week.  Too many leaders view the weekend as an escape from all the responsibilities of work, often even neglecting worship and the opportunity to re-calibrate their lives for the coming week.

Don’t give in to that temptation.  Put yourself and your family in an environment every week where you can worship God and hear His Word taught.  Then make a commitment to treat others the way God treats you.  It will make you a better leader.

Reviewing the week:  Work time is when you unleash your passion and talent.  Family time is when you invest in your most important followers.  Play time is when you remember to take yourself less seriously.  Trail time is when you focus on your fitness.

But soul time is the most important time.  For it is the time that will truly determine whether you will have integrity and whether your influence will be worth following.

i2i,

Randy

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