Big Is The New Small

I’m a connector, and I love connecting people to people and people to opportunities.  What I mean by that is that I love connecting like-minded people to other like-minded people.  I also love connecting great people to mutually great opportunities.

I feel that we’re made to connect, as we are connecting beings.  Even introverts have a desire to connect with people; they just appreciate their time, space and alone time.

It’s important to be a connector of people, as these connections help the world go around.  Some people-connections lead to great job opportunities for others.  Other people-connections lead to college students choosing this university or that university.  Then you have those connections that lead to meaningful relationships that eventually turn into a marriage.

Some of the most meaningful people-connections are those connections that lead to people far from God visiting a friend’s church, or hearing a friend witness. Those connections ultimately lead to an intimate connection with Jesus and a life that’s forever transformed.

No matter how you slice it, connections matter — Be a connector.

Do You Think Being A People Connector Is Important?  Share your thoughts and experiences?

Belief in people is of paramount importance as it relates to the success that they will have.  As a matter of fact, believing in others is the fuel that propels them down the road to success.

What should you do when those around you don’t believe in you?  

You should find a different group of people to surround yourself with.  If the people that don’t believe in you are friends and family, limit your interactions with them, tell them they’re wrong and more importantly prove them wrong.

“Some are destined to succeed, some are determined to succeed.” ~H.H. Swami

You tend to become who those closest and most important to you think you will become. Choose those that are most important and closest to you wisely.

Share your thoughts and experiences with both sides of this coin.

Dessert is defined as: A sweet course, treat or dish; served after the main course.

As I was thinking about the holiday season and all of the desserts so many of us are going to consume; I was reminded of how dessert applies to our lives.  It’s the sweet course or treat after life’s main courses. e.g.

• Main Course- Attending College  Dessert-  Obtaining Degree.
• Main Course- Becoming A Leader  Dessert- Lessons Learned/Taught & Leaders Developed
• Main Course- Tithe and give generously  Dessert- The floodgates of blessings
• Main Course- Struggles of life, darkness, insecurity, sin…  Dessert-  Truth, life, grace and forgiveness through Christ.

It’s essential for us to always be mindful and thankful that even though the “main courses in life” may not always taste great or be our favorite dish, there is always opportunity for dessert. Remember you also have the freedom of choice as it pertains to what you consume, nonetheless always be thankful.  “We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” ~Harry Ironside

Don’t sweat the small stuff and don’t be stressed; instead take stressed and flip it backwards.

The Desserts of Life.

For those that still may not understand the title of this post…  spell stressed backwards.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Life is about Moments & Memories.  The things you do in today’s moments will be tomorrow’s memories.  It’s important that we embrace every single moment, understanding it’s true potential for lasting memories.  If you talk to anyone that has lost someone they loved, they will always talk about the Moments & Memories that they had with that person.  The same thing is true for the parents that look back and remember when their children were toddlers and next thing you know they are graduating from high school.

All of our moments are precious gifts from God.  Take some time today to look at your moments at work, with your kids, your friends and your spouse differently.  Realize that those special moments are special gifts that will produce special memories.  Think about your child’s 1st step, piano recital, gymnastics meet, when they made a decision to follow Christ, football games, basketball games, open house at school, trick or treating, college graduation, their wedding day and the list goes on and on.

No matter what you do, do it from the perspective of asking these two questions:  Are the things that I’m doing in today’s moments creating the right memories for tomorrow?  Am I finding the God moments even in the little things?

Below are a couple of videos from this past Saturday of my 8yo son Jayden running the ball, one is a little swing pass and the other is a trap.  I love coaching this group of boys and they have come a long way this season, as a matter of fact this past Saturday was the semi-finals and our 26-25 victory put us in the Championship Game this weekend.  Such great Moments & Memories.

After we win the Championship Game this coming weekend (prophetically speaking), I get the opportunity to drive 2.5 hours to officiate a wedding of a great couple with a really bright future.

“If you long for the perfect moment, the perfect moment will pass you by.”

Great Moments & Great Memories.

Share your thoughts on Moments & Memories.  You can also share your thoughts on my son’s two plays in the above videos.

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 riding a bike — you can’t just read about riding a bike, you have to get on the bike, have someone help steady you, or maybe use training wheels, try to keep your balance and start pedaling. At first you will be a little wobbly and you may even crash a few times.

If you learn from your mistakes and stay after it, you will definitely get better. Although you may become a proficient bike rider, you must be mindful of the fact that there are plenty of new bike tricks to learn and different levels of bikes to ride.

Leadership is the exact same way, you have to get on the leadership bike, have someone help you get started, start pedaling, crash a few times, learn from your mistakes and continue to grow. Next thing you know, you will move from JoeToPro.

Leadership Is as Simple as Riding a Bike 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 people make leadership more difficult than it has to be. Leadership is about trust, influence and relationships. Leadership Is Like Riding A Bike, 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.

It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle. ~Ernest Hemingway

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

I am making an announcement about the new Season for The Williams’ Family.  Before I announce what that season is and where we are going, let me rewind almost 8 months ago.  I actually made the “Big Announcement #2″ that I was going to be transitioning out of my role at LifeChurch.tv into a new season of ministry for my family.

Fast forward 8 months and I have started a consulting company Nxt Level Solutions LLC.  The short and skinny of what we do is help organizations with both external and internal growth. We do this by helping with Leadership Development, Strategy, Diversity Consulting and New Media. In a short amount of time, God has blessed us with an amazing group of organizations and individuals to work with.  We are growing and at the same time helping others go farther faster. On top of this, more entrepreneurial adventures are around the corner and I’ve been blessed to continue sharing the message of Church Diversity around the country.

As far as the new season for the Williams’ family, we are going to be (give me another paragraph).   I have received many texts, DM’s & calls about what the new season is; let me explain a little further. When we made the decision to start a new season for our family 8 months ago, one of the goals was for us to continue to grow as a family.  As we prayed about what that would look like, LaKendria and I set one of our primary goals as her being able to stay home.  Years ago we thought this would have been important when our boys were young; however we are finding that it’s important really important at their current stage.

So the New Season For The Williams’ Family is not about us going to a new place physically, but rather LaKendria is going to be staying home.  Yep straight up Betty Crocker, Soccer Mom, Family Coordinator, Supporter, Teammate, Mother, Partner, Wife & making us a better family SAHM.  She put her notice in this week and her last day will be sometime in November.

This wasn’t simply a goal for us, but a step of faith and an act of listening to God’s Whispers. God is oh so many steps ahead of us, we are happy to follow his lead.  Ecclesiastes 3:1 NCV say’s it this way, “There is a time for everything, and everything on earth has its special season.”  I’m really looking forward to this special season.

What new seasons does God have for you and your family?   He’s whispering, are you listening?

The term “agree to disagree” or “agreeing to disagree” is a phrase in referring to the resolution of a conflict (usually a debate or quarrel) in which all parties tolerate but do not accept the opposing position or positions.

Agreeing to disagree generally occurs when all sides recognize that further conflict would be unnecessary, ineffective, undesirable or simply doesn’t make sense. Both parties may remain on amicable terms while continuing to disagree about the unresolved issues.

This now popular phrase first appeared in print in 1770 when, at the death of George Whitefield, John Wesley wrote a memorial sermon which acknowledged, but downplayed, the two men’s doctrinal differences. Wesley wrote and said it this way:

“There are many doctrines of a less essential nature… In these we may think and let think; we may ‘agree to disagree.’ But, meantime, let us hold fast the essentials…”

Often times we use the term “agree to disagree” as a somewhat of cop-out for saying, “I don’t agree, but I’m going to say that I agree to disagree so that I can move on because my opinion is right and you’re wrong.” It really is okay to “agree to disagree” and if we take a play out of Wesley’s nearly 250 year old sermon; let’s simply make sure that we hold fast to the essentials and the things that we agree on.  Unfortunately Pastors and Christians can be some of the worst, even with limited knowledge and perspective of the “other side.”

Maybe the phrase should be, “agree to agree.” Let’s agree to sometimes disagree, but more importantly let’s not forget the things that we agree on. The next argument, political perspective, denominational nuance or ridiculous decision that you find yourself on the other side of — Don’t just make the decision to “agree to disagree,” take it a step further and “agree to agree.”

Share your thoughts and perspective on “agreeing to disagree.” Do people really “agree to disagree?” What are your thoughts on “agreeing to agree?”

There is good amount of research out there that claims that Facebook is the cause affairs and divorce. According to the online research, divorces have been on the rise since social media sites like Facebook have become increasingly popular, research claims.

These social connection sites are being utilized more and more by unhappy individuals to seek out and have an affair and cheat on their partner. Facebook is being cited in almost 1 out of 5 online divorce petitions lawyers have claimed.

My personal thoughts are that facebook and social sites don’t cause affairs and divorces.  It’s the people using the sites that create the positive or negative affects of the sites based upon their behavior.  I think making Facebook the problem takes the responsibility out of the hands of the real culprit, those allowing Facebook to lead to sin.

Don’t get me wrong I’m not naive to think that Facebook isn’t a tool for adulteress behavior.  As a matter of fact I’ve had many people in my office that have used this tool for inappropriate behavior, resulting in devastation to their marriage.

The bottom line is Facebook and other online social sites are neutral.  These sites don’t cause anything, they are simply a tool.  Just like a gun doesn’t cause murders, the inappropriate use of the gun causes murders.  If the gun is used properly it’s a tool that saves lives, puts food on the table and used for sporting.  The same is true for Facebook, as it has many more positives than negatives.

Facebook Does Not Cause Affairs and Divorce… People Do!

Below are 7 methods to help married couples create positive barriers into their online presence:

• Universal passwords for e-mail and social media account log-ins
• Joint online accounts with joint photos
• Encourage utilization and sharing of one another’s account
• No Ex Policy (Ex boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands, wives, acquaintances… can’t be on your friends list)
• Ask the question, “Would my spouse be okay with this message, email or post?”
• Openness and honesty (Know your struggles)
• Delete your account

There are many different ways to minimize the risk and not allow a hint of inappropriate behavior to step into your marriage.  Guard your hearts or they will end up like the image in this post. {bro ken}

Share your thoughts experiences on whether or not Facebook causes affairs and divorce. What methods have you used that have proven to be effective?

My wife and I had the opportunity to teach a Prep For Marriage class this weekend.  We get the opportunity to do this about once a quarter and it’s always a great time to help couples begin the conversation, understand the importance of communication and most importantly learning to put God first in their relationship.

One of the exercises that we always do, is separate the couples by gender and engage in them in a conversation.  Their assignment is simple for the ladies: Come up with a Top 10 List of the Top 10 Things All Men Need To Know About Women and then for the men: Come up up with a Top 10 list of the Top 10 Things All Women Need To Know About Men.  Today I’m going to share the Top 10 List The Guys Came up with.  I will share the  Ladies’ List tomorrow. 

Top 10 Things All Women Need To Know About Men:

1. We enjoy sports and need time to watch our sports.
2. We are not mind readers, say what’s really on your mind.
3. We need our time alone: guys night out, man cave…
4. We need and desire sex.
5. We want to be the leader and the protector… let us lead.
6. When we say nothing is wrong, “Nothing is wrong” nothing means nothing!
7. We don’t like shopping/looking with you… we like in-and-out shopping.
8. We want to be respected and appreciated.
9. We don’t remember many dates, maybe even special dates.
10. We don’t like chick flix.

Share your thoughts on this list and add any additional things Women Need To Know About Men.