Big Is The New Small

One of my favorite conferences is this conference that happens right outside of Dallas, Texas.  The conference is called the RightNow Conference and it’s put on by a great organization.  The conference is November 11th & 12th, 2010 at Irving Bible Church.  There will also be a small-groups only gathering on November 10th.

The focus of this years conference is “Leading Beyond Our Walls.”  In an age where consumerism and culture compete with the aims of the church, it is important to ground ourselves in a Biblical view of leadership.  will help transform the self-focused leadership to outward focused leadership.

There are tons of great main-stage and breakout speakers including Max Lucado, Erwin McManus, Anne Jackson, Tony Evans, Amena Brown and others.  I will also be speaking at one of the breakout sessions.

I am giving away 5 pairs of tickets.  I think it’s always great to win tickets in pairs, because it allows you to tag someone along with you, car pool or whatever.  If you win one of the pairs and can only go by yourself or don’t have anyone to give the other ticket to, let me know and we will throw it back in the pool to give away.

Winning is as easy as 1-2-3:

• 1. Leave a comment below stating that you would like to win a pair of tickets.
• 2. Re-Tweet this tweet: Win FREE Tickets To The RightNow Conf. Featuring: Erwin McManus, Max Lucado, Anne Jackson… http://bit.ly/9IAtCR  #RN10
• 3. Check back at midnight tonight to see if you won.

I will randomly choose a couple of Names with the help of random.org, from those who complete steps   1-2-3 by 11:59 pm central time today 10/30/10.  Good luck and share this info. with your friends.

Leadership is an art and it’s an art that anyone can learn.  The harsh reality is just because someone learns an art form doesn’t mean they will be good or effective at that particular craft.

Think about all of the painters, musicians, communicators, or artists of any sort; although they have learned an art very few get through the threshold of simply being an artist, to being an effective artist.  That same statement is true for The Art Of Leadership. There are many leaders who never become effective leaders.

Becoming effective is about creating the desired results and then some.

Here are 6 Steps To Become An Effective Leader:

Have you seen any of these steps carried out?  Share your thoughts on these steps or what it means to be an Effective Leader!

Most of you have heard of John Wayne, however I’m willing to bet that most of you have never hear of another gun slinger by the name of Ron Wayne.  Ron Wayne isn’t actually a gun slinger, he’s was one of the original Apple Computer Slingers.  Ron Wayne was one of the original Co-founders of Apple.

Ron Wayne along with Steve Jobs “Jobs” and Steve Wozniak “Woz” were the original Apple Founding Trifecta. Wayne is actually responsible for designing the company’s original logo.  The Apple Logo has evolved into what we have come to know as the forbidden fruit that looks like Adam or Eve took a bight out of.  Wayne also wrote the original Apple manual and drew up this start-up company’s partnership agreement.

Wayne set himself up for financial success and the original agreement gave him a 10 percent ownership stake in Apple, a position that would be worth $22 billion dollars today if Wayne had held onto it. Instead of holding onto it, Wayne dropped it like it was hot. Ooops, Bad Move!

According to Mercury News, Wayne was afraid that Jobs’ wild spending and Woz’s life of bling before bling was bling would cause Apple to flop.  Wayne decided to step down from his role of being the “mature one” in the bunch.  Wayne took a bite out of the Apple and left the company after only 11 days.  Wayne was a little more worried than Jobs or Woz because he was the only one of the three founders with assets that creditors could seize, he sold back his shares for $800.  Let me repeat that last line…  Wayne sold his shares for $800.

Nowadays you can find Wayne in his ranch style home selling stamps, rare coins and gold to offset his Social Security check.  Wayne is not too much on computers and has never owned an Apple computer, an iPhone or any Apple product.  As a matter of fact when Wayne recently bought his first desktop, it was a Dell. Bitter Irony! It’s been 10 years since he last heard from Jobs.

Sometimes we just have to have the inner strength to stick things out.  I bet there were some moments when the Facebook and Twitter Founders said “I’m Out!”  Instead of saying I’m out, try saying “I’m Gonna Stick It Out!” dream BIG. think BIGGER.

How Many People Bail Before Their Breakthrough?

Check out the CNN video below to hear the story straight from the guy who folded way too quickly!

This Is What Twitter Can Do (All In 140 Characters):

Connect, network, influence, find info, teach, build a tribe, develop, rai$e, prov. instant access, entertain, minister, simplify & inspire

Share your thoughts on this list of things Twitter can do.

Add your own list (In 140 Characters Or Less)

Should Christian Celebrate Halloween?

This is one of those questions that seems to pop up every year in the month of October.  I could write pages and pages of information to support arguments on both sides.

There are many schools of thought and these schools have their own set of scripture to make their case.

Is there a right or wrong answer? Maybe!

Those against say:

• It’s Evil Witchcraft and Sorcery
• It’s Of The World
• Pagan
• It’s Celebration Of Occult
• There’s Needles and Razor Blades in The Candy (That was in my day)

Those for it say:

• It’s A Harmless Celebration For The Kids
• We Don’t Celebrate The Evil and Dark Side Of Haloween
• Pagan Meanings Associated With Halloween Have Dissipated
• Decorating Is Fun and Pumpkins Are Cool
• The Candy Is Good

No matter how much discussion we have, the bottom line is Christian perspectives on the observance of Halloween are strongly divided. Some believers feel complete freedom to observe the holiday, others run and hide from it. (no pun intended)

So what do you think?  Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

Disclaimer: In the spirit of full disclosure, my family participates in Halloween from “The Candy Is Good” perspective.

God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours.

This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet.  Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life.

God’s Word is an indispensable weapon.

Ephesians 6:20 MSG

I was reading through Ephesians in the Message Version and this spoke to me. Sometimes The Message version just tells it like it is.  Remember God is strong and HE wants you strong.

~LIVE STRONG

I have been kinda busy today.  As a matter of fact I just got home with enough time to talk to my boys about their evening football practices.  I had a little time earlier with them and my wife LaKendria before they left for practice.  Now it’s time for them to go to sleep and time for me to go spend some time with my beautiful wife.

I just sent out this tweet: Been kinda busy, I need a quick blogpost idea. Any thoughts? I had several great suggestions from my Twitter friends; however this one from @pronagger caught my attention.  “Been kinda busy, I need a quick blogpost idea. Any thoughts? <yes, write what you just said above for the post.>”

That tweet reminded me that being too busy is not always a bad thing.  It could be worse, we could be doing absolutely nothing.  Don’t get me wrong we have to take time to rest, relax and focus on the things that matter.  We just need to be mindful that Busy is not always bad.

I remember reading through this Spanish Proverb: The busy man is troubled with one devil; the idle man by a thousand. As a former Prison Warden, I can attest to the fact that there is some truth to that Spanish Proverb. I have hundreds of idle mind inmate stories to confirm it.

It’s wonderful what we can do if we’re always doing. ~George Washington

Don’t Complain About Being Too Busy!

Although there are thousands of leadership books and leadership gurus, leadership isn’t something you can simply read about… you have to do it.  It’s not rocket science, it’s a simple science.

Leadership is just like swimming — you can’t just read about swimming, you have to get in the water, kick your feet and stroke your arms.  Leadership is the exact same way, you have to get in the leadership waters, kick your feet and stroke your arms.

Leadership Is Simple and boils down to these Simple Things:

• Believe In Yourself
• Believe In Others
• Point The Direction
• Provide An Environment For Growth
• Inspire and Motivate Others
• Move People From Here To There
• dream BIG. think BIGGER.

Often times managers make leadership more difficult than it has to be. Leadership is about influence and relationships.  Leadership Is Simple.

Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu says it this way, “When the effective leader is finished with his work, the people say it happened naturally.” Simply put, it was simple.

Is leadership that simple?  Share your thoughts and experiences with leadership being made more difficult than it had to be.

11 Signs You’re Addicted To Twitter

• 1. Before you clicked on this post, you thought in the back of your mind — “I wonder if I’m addicted to Twitter.”
• 2. You are guilty of TWD — Twitter While Driving.
• 3. When you wake up in the morning the first thing you do is check your Twitter account.
• 4. While browsing through Twitter someone close to you asks what you are doing and you respond, “Nothing!
• 5. If you had a choice between radio, newspaper, television or Twitter — you would choose Twitter hands down.
• 6. You will argue Twitter over Facebook as though your name is @Ev.
• 7. The Fail Whale causes moderate to severe anxiety.
• 8. You have your Twitter name appearing on something other than your Twitter account.
• 9. You refer to other people by their Twitter name instead of their real name.
• 10. Those closest to you say that you’re addicted to Twitter.
• 11. You write a blogpost about being addicted to Twitter.
• Bonus: You own the domain with the word Twitter inside of it. Uhh Unfortunately, I own Twitteraholic.com  If you have any good ideas for it, let me know!

Share some other signs that you’re addicted to Twitter.

Whether we want to admit it or not, everyone of us has this innate desire to want to be known.  We all want someone to know us, acknowledge us and realize that we exist.  Even the most introverted of introverts wants to be known by someone.  That someone can be a spouse, boss, friend, large groups of people, online friends, peers, neighbors etc.  “Hey, can’t you see me… I’m over here!”

The need to be known is not about popularity or fame, but rather the human desire of connection and acknowledgement.  If we can agree that we have this desire to be known, let’s take it a step further to the realization that what we are known for is much more important than The Need To Be Known.

Imagine how different our family, lives and the world would be if we focused on what we were known for instead of our need to be known.  How will people remember us? What do people think of us?  What are we known for?

Yes we need to be known, but that’s not as important as what we are known for.

Share your thoughts!