If you follow this blog, then you may remember that a couple weeks ago we wrote a story together. You can read how it started HERE, but basically different commenters each added a line to continue the story. Today I’m providing the completed story. It’s “different”, but reading it shows me how different our minds work. I began the first sentence, but never would I have imagined taking the story in the direction it went.
Here is our story:
Black Friday…the day after Thanksgiving when retailers hope their financial books go from red to black…when they are completely profitable for the year…isn’t what it used to be…
I was in retail for years…I loved the excitement of this time of year…especially after I was in management. Seeing people with their Christmas anticipation and the stores being full gave me energy…even as an Introvert. I love growth, busyness, and energy, so Black Friday became one of my favorite days of the year.
Fast forward almost 20 years and Black Friday isn’t what it used to be. My youngest son Nate Twittered that he had participated in his first Black Friday event. He was finished and in bed by 6 AM. In my retail days, that’s about the time I was going to work to prepare the store to open. Because of the changes in Black Friday, and because I’m no longer paid to do so, I have participated in the day in years. (Any other former or current retail folks out there?)
So, let’s have some fun discussing Black Friday today…
Perhaps this has happened to you…
You read a Tweet…you hear a message…you read a book, blog post or article…it gives you an idea, encourages you, prompts you to want to take action on the idea…
If you are like me, that thought can soon become lost in a sea of other thoughts and ideas and, as great as it may have seemed at the time, the idea never becomes reality in your life. Weeks, months, or even years later you may even hear the same idea again and remember that you never did anything with it the first time…
I often am asked: How do you capture great ideas and make them useful in your life?
Here’s a simple system I use…there’s nothing extremely genius about this, but for me it had to become a habit to be successful. Others will have better systems, but this is what I do:
What’s your opinion?
Since 9/11traveling has become much more difficult and time consuming. Our government has assumed new responsibilities as we travel. I am thankful for the diligence of people involved in keeping us safe. Their work should never be taken for granted.
The most active story on my radar this week, however, has been that of the new TSA restrictions on travel.
Part of being a good leader is not taking opportunities even though you can. Sometimes letting your staff do something you could do, maybe even would like to do, is a better for the entire team.
When we launched our church eleven couples took a risk on a dream we felt God was leading us to pursue. We empowered this core team to do things the way they felt best doing them, as long as they were achieving the vision we knew God was calling us to achieve. We encouraged them to explore new ideas, become experts in their field of interest, and then released them to dream and build. It became part of our DNA and we are still allowing people to explore new opportunities.
For example,
My family used to play this game on long car rides. I’ve tried it on my Facebook page. I thought I’d try it here on my blog. Let’s write a masterpiece story together for this week’s Friday discussion.
Here’s how this works:
I love a good bad idea…don’t you?
The truth is…in a healthy organization…there are no bad ideas…at least not in the organizational sense.
Here’s what I mean…
If you have a smart phone, you never have to leave home again without your Bible!
I love what the team at LifeChurch.tv has done to encourage Bible reading through their work with YouVersion. Our church uses the live version each Sunday (sign up HERE) and it has started to catch on with people. YouVersion continues to improve their offerings for churches. Consider these additions:
Often it’s one revision…a second look…one additional opinion…that takes an idea or a project from “Okay†to noteworthy.
It happens for me when writing a sermon. If I take the time to finish, then sit on it 24 hours, then go back for one more critical look the message is always better than it was before.
Don’t rush excellence. There’s a balance between stalling too long and rushing through a decision.
Which do you lean towards…rushing through a project or stalling too long?
Recently I attended the Story Conference in Chicago. It was a two day conference for the creative-minded packed full of the best ideas available to communicate our story to the world. It was a well-planned and scripted time and Ben Arment, the conference founder, is to be commended for the event.
The greatest moment for me, however, happened…
