Big Is The New Small

The Christmas holiday season has officially come and gone.  The realities of that statement has many people scratching their head and asking the question.  Now What?  I think the best thing you can do after the Christmas season is over is to remember.

• Remember the heart that you had for giving.
• Remember the sense of relief after all your gifts were purchased.
• Remember how much better it felt to give than to receive.
• Remember the smiles on the children’s face as they opened their gifts.
• Remember the breaking of bread and fellowship with friends and family.
• Remember the laughing, singing, smiling and praising.
• Remember watching football, basketball and Christmas movies.
• Remember the Salvation Army Bell Ringers that brought a smile to your face.
• Remember how good you felt.
• Remember the true reason for the season: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:11

It’s The Day After Christmas…  No What?  I say remember how you felt during the special moments of the season and allow the to propel you into a successful, focused and cheerful New Year.

Do you think remembering the precious moments can help propel you into a successful New Year?

The longer I live and the more people I work alongside, the more I realize The Power Of Believing In Others.  Honestly it’s a pretty simple formula that I’ve come up with.

Recognize God Believes In You -> You Believe In Yourself -> You Believe In Others

If you want to find someone who is is beat up, failing, lost, confused, wandering…  find someone that doesn’t have someone that truly believes in them.  If you want to find the contrary, find someone that understands the above formula and has someone that truly believes in them.

Believe in someone today and tomorrow.  There are too many stories of failure that could have been alleviated if someone simply walked alongside those individuals with belief.  Not the fake, you can do it “rah rah,” but the genuine, God Believes in You, It’s Time To Believe In Yourself because success is around the corner.

There is power in believeing in others.

How have you seen this play out Good or Bad?

It always surprises me to see managers who suffocate their staff.   By suffocating their staff, I’m referring to leaders who are unwilling to let their employees out of their grips for fear of losing the employee or losing control.  These types of leaders are actually doing the exact opposite of what they are trying to do.  This tight grip and suffocating behavior will reduce performance, squash creativity and inevitably cause employees to leave.

When I was a young Warden, my mentor and boss would frequently tell me this regarding my staff members. “Scott, hold onto your team loosely, because ultimately they are not yours to hold onto.” That statement has always stuck with me!

If we hold onto our employees loosely, they feel the freedom of the open hands which ultimately increases productivity and develops more leaders.  This philosophy of encouraging your employees to “grow and go” will result in you losing some great ones from time to time.  The great thing about leading with the open-handed mentality, is the fact that those you loose will always be quickly replenished.

On the other hand, the employer who plants a suffocating scarcity seed, won’t reap a scarce harvest.  I have led several teams in which we lost key players to some higher impact roles; however every time they were replenished with some equally amazing team members without the team missing a beat.

Scarcity Mentality – Not enough good to go around vs. Abundance Mentality – There is more than enough great to go around.

If you are in an suffocating staff situation, encourage the leader to open their hands. If that doesn’t work, it may be time “to go and grow.”

Let Go! dream BIG. think BIGGER.

Share your thoughts and experiences with the suffocating approach.

Photo from twitpic from @NBA_Photos.

Monster Dunk of Kevin Durant dunking on Brendan Haywood.  Please share your caption below.  Let’s Go Thunder!

Right now I’m typing this while I’m riding down the highway in Atlanta. I’m not driving but I’m riding (blogging while driving is a better title). I’ve been so busy I had to go ahead and download the wordpress iPhone app so I could stay current with my BigIsTheNewSmall.com peeps.

I have about an hour ride to the Gwinnett Center to do a book signing and speak at the #Orange Conference. If you want details about the conference look at the advertisement over to the right.

It’s crazy how many things we can do while we’re mobile. As soon as I got off of the tram at Atlanta Airport there were 2 ladies holding up traffic in front of me as they were texting while walking.

I’m blogging while riding, the guy I just looked at in the black convertible mustang next to me is texting while driving, many of you are reading this while walking, going or doing something.

I need make time to write a blogpost titled I’m doing absolutely nothing and the body of the post to be blank.

Be Still!

Is our forever connectedness and doingness (made up word) a good thing or a bad thing?

Do you want to know what to expect from the #NewTwitter interface?  You can hear it straight from the Horses Mouth. Twitter CEO Evan Williams @Ev explains what #NewTwitter is all about.

Share your thoughts about the #NewTwitter, are you looking forward to it?

Time is such a precious resource, unfortunately often times we don’t treat it as such.  I am a huge proponent of maximizing your time.  Anyone who has ever worked for me or as a peer knows that I Can’t stand Meeting Monkey’s, because more times than not, meetings are a waste of time.

Meetings are definitely not the only thing that kills this precious resource; however in the business world it’s often at the top of the list.  Below are a few more time killers that you need to Stop.

STOP…

• worrying about what other people think.  – You can’t control it, Time Is Killing You!
• surfing the web that doesn’t have any waves. — Would you surf in the ocean if there were no waves? Don’t spend unnecessary time on the web.  The web has a purpose, make sure that purpose yields a ROI. Time Is Killing You!
• trying to be like so and so. — You were not made to be so and so, Time Is Killing You!
• being Negative Nancy and Jealous John. — Negative energy breeds negative energy, Time Is Killing You!
• settling for being normal. — It Sucks Being Normal, you were created for more, Time Is Killing You!
• focusing on the things that really don’t matter and sweatin’ the small stuff. — Evaluate your life from the standpoint of this question: “Does this really matter?” Time Is Killing You!

It’s time to view the phrase “Killing Time” from a new perspective.  Killing time is a good thing, it means you are positively directing this precious resource that we call Time.  On the other hand, if Time Is Killing You… You Are Wasting Your Time.

Are You Killing Time or is Time Killing You?  Stop Wasting Your Time!

Guest Blogger: Jason Curlee

You know that box…that six-sided structure…that structure that you and I might have been put in along the way. Well, it’s time to get out of it.

NO!!!!! It’s time to BUST OUT OF IT. It is time that you and I throw down the gloves and throw off the chains that have been kept us from going to the next level. It is time to “Bust Out Of The Box” that has kept us from being all that God has called us to be.

I remember the time I applied for a youth pastor position at the age of 33. What I was told was that I was too “old”. At that moment I let “their” box close on me.

Another time I let an organization almost kill the dream in me so that I could fit into what they wanted out of me for “their” ministry. I let their box close on me. And I almost closed the lid.

I once had the dream of planting a church ripped from me by a person who I thought was a friend…who couldn’t lead with someone else and then tried to put me in the box “he” thought I should be in.

What or who is it that has closed the box around you?

Is it your family telling you that you need to get a job other than ministry? Is it your boss telling you, you’ll always be at the bottom? Maybe it’s someone telling you, “you can’t lead”. Maybe it’s someone not believing in you. There are so many situations that could have put you in the box.

Here is how you can get out of “their” box:

1) Change the reality within the box – By that I mean change the mind-set that has put you there. Often times the box was started by others and you began to believe it. Begin to etch out a new mind-set filled with the possibilities that are out there. Truth is…there is truly nothing out there you can’t do if you put your mind to it.

2) Bust out of the box – Chart yourself a new destination…one that is alignment with the future God wants for your life.

3) Create a new box – This is the box you define. One that is not filled with the limits of others or your organization. You can be more than others see in you. You can do more than is possible. Push back the boundaries and believe in yourself…God believes in you.

Today, you have “PERMISSION” to get out of the box. Go ahead break those walls that have been constraining you and chart a new vision.

What are you going to do to get out of their box?

– @JasonCurlee blogs at JasonCurlee.com and is all about influencing and developing others to make a difference in their world. He is currently a Campus Pastor for Bay Area Fellowship in Corpus Christi, Texas.
His blogs are about creating content that ministry leaders can find practical and inspirational as well as sharing the ministry principles and experiences accumulated since 1995. It’s about being innovative, unique, and creating content that can help you make a difference.

No one wants to be called a liar, but the bottom line is that many people are just that… Big Fat Liars!  Many of you reading this post are Big Fat Liars or know someone who is a Big Fat Liar.  If you believe the lies saying you can’t, you don’t have what it takes, you will never be good enough, you can’t measure up…  you are lying to yourself.  If you are lying to yourself, You’re A Liar!

Sometimes you have to put the blinders on, earplugs in and mute the distractions of others, so you can clearly hear the inner voice churning like a train saying “I think I Can, I Think I Can… I know I Can, I know I Can.”

Stop listening to the lies and start listening to God’s whispers.

Again, if you believe the lies… You’re A Liar! Stop believing the lies, and start believing the truth… You can do all things through Christ who gives you the strength, courage and ability to get er’ done.  BELIEVE!

What do you think?  Are You A Liar?  Do You Know Some Liars?

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