Just before Jesus commanded Lazarus to rise, he thanked God for always hearing him. In one of his final prayers, he thanked God for giving him Peter, John, James, Mary, Martha and the rest of his staff. Jesus had a thankful heart.
Gratitude is a key element of leadership because gratitude means an open heart, a listening heart, a fairth-filled heart. How could anyone be a leader without faith and gratitude in a Higher Power or have a better future built on better ways?
One of the most breathtaking sights in San Diego is sunset on the beach. As the sun sinks slowly into the horizon, hundreds of seagulls stand and turn quietly to bid farewell. Pelicans fly by in perfect formation, skimming just the top of the waves in their sunset salute. On the bridge across from the beach, thousands of birds line up on the electrical wires, all sitting and facing the sun, saying good-bye to the day. Perhaps they are also silently praying "Thank you, God for knowing and caring when even one of us falls. Thank you, God, for declaring that even the sparrows shall be fed."
Jesus said, "Thank you."
QUESTIONS
Do you say thank you before you ask for something from God, from your boss, from your staff?
Do you realize that having a grateful heart my keep you from needing a transplanted one?
Jesus, CEO Lauri Beth Jones
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
He Believed in Himself
Jesus was one of the most confident beings who ever lived. He envisioned himself as a vital opening for the people. He called himself The Gate....The Door. He believed his role was also to nurture others. He called himself The Vine...The Shepherd. He said he came to light the way. In other words, he believed in himself down to his very toes.
Belief in oneself is a crucial quality of leadership, because "a house divided against itself cannot stand." A leaders who fluctuates back and forth sends a very wavery signal. Like a soprano who can shatter glass by finding that high note and holding it, a leader who can hold that high note, without wavering, can shatter walls. Jesus had no ambivalence about who he was or what he was supposed to do.
I once attended a seminar where the leader asked, "How many of you believe in yourself 100 percent?" Two people raised their hands. As the leader went down the percentage scale, more and more people raised their hands. The majority of the people in the room believed in themselves 75 percent of the time. The leader then asked, "Why are you afraid to go that extra 25 percent" What do you think would happen?"
The group leaders asked, "Do you realize that power is assumed, not granted?" I questioned this at first, but then I thought about the times when someone in a group setting took it over, whether he or she had the authority to do so or not. How do people get tapped for leadership positions even when they are not looking for them? Probably because they emanate self-confidence. They have power over themselves, and people pick up on that energy.
Perhaps we think 100 percent belief equals arrogance. Arrogance, however, is lack of self confidence, not self belief. Jesus was never arrogant or cocky to anyone. Event when he was bound and thrown before the Sanhedrin for trial, he was not arrogant. Neither did he deny his own power.
My father, an action oriented person, was never known for his love of poetry. However, I'll never forget the day he sat down with me to plan my college career. He said, "Lauri, I learned only one poem in school that stuck with me. Here it is: 'I bargained with life for a penny, only to learn, dismayed, that any wage I would have asked of life, life would have paid.'" He looked me straight in the eye and said, "Go for what you want. You can do anything you set your mind to."
What do you think the world would be like if people believed in themselves 100 percent? How much damage is done in this country and in the world every day because of humanity's low self esteem?
Home many times have people said:
The list goes on and on. If only we believed in ourselves, the world would be a better place.
Jesus said he came from heaven and he was going back to heaven. He came to teach us what heaven was like and how to bring it about on earth and, more important, in ourselves.
Jesus believed in himself 100 percent.
QUESTIONS
How much do you believe in yourself?
What would it take for you to believe in yourself down to your very toes?
Reprint from Laurie Beth Jones in Jesus, CEO
Belief in oneself is a crucial quality of leadership, because "a house divided against itself cannot stand." A leaders who fluctuates back and forth sends a very wavery signal. Like a soprano who can shatter glass by finding that high note and holding it, a leader who can hold that high note, without wavering, can shatter walls. Jesus had no ambivalence about who he was or what he was supposed to do.
I once attended a seminar where the leader asked, "How many of you believe in yourself 100 percent?" Two people raised their hands. As the leader went down the percentage scale, more and more people raised their hands. The majority of the people in the room believed in themselves 75 percent of the time. The leader then asked, "Why are you afraid to go that extra 25 percent" What do you think would happen?"
The group leaders asked, "Do you realize that power is assumed, not granted?" I questioned this at first, but then I thought about the times when someone in a group setting took it over, whether he or she had the authority to do so or not. How do people get tapped for leadership positions even when they are not looking for them? Probably because they emanate self-confidence. They have power over themselves, and people pick up on that energy.
Perhaps we think 100 percent belief equals arrogance. Arrogance, however, is lack of self confidence, not self belief. Jesus was never arrogant or cocky to anyone. Event when he was bound and thrown before the Sanhedrin for trial, he was not arrogant. Neither did he deny his own power.
My father, an action oriented person, was never known for his love of poetry. However, I'll never forget the day he sat down with me to plan my college career. He said, "Lauri, I learned only one poem in school that stuck with me. Here it is: 'I bargained with life for a penny, only to learn, dismayed, that any wage I would have asked of life, life would have paid.'" He looked me straight in the eye and said, "Go for what you want. You can do anything you set your mind to."
What do you think the world would be like if people believed in themselves 100 percent? How much damage is done in this country and in the world every day because of humanity's low self esteem?
Home many times have people said:
- "I don't think I have any real power, so I'm going to get a gun and show that guy who's really boss."
- "I can't really change my life, so I'd better escape it. Give me drugs."
- "I'll never amount to much, so I might as well drown my sorrows. Make it a double."
- "I'm afraid that you'll take my power aways, so here's a fist, a knife or karate chop."
The list goes on and on. If only we believed in ourselves, the world would be a better place.
Jesus said he came from heaven and he was going back to heaven. He came to teach us what heaven was like and how to bring it about on earth and, more important, in ourselves.
Jesus believed in himself 100 percent.
QUESTIONS
How much do you believe in yourself?
What would it take for you to believe in yourself down to your very toes?
Reprint from Laurie Beth Jones in Jesus, CEO
Saturday, July 23, 2011
He Did Not Kick the Donkey
The Old Testament tells a story about the prophet Balaam. He was on a misguided mission to curse someone when his donkey suddenly stopped on the road. No matter how hard the prophet kicked her, she would not budge. Without the donkey, Balaam could not carry out his deed. He proceeded to beat the donkey severely, apparently practicing the management style of ruling through fear and intimidation. Finally, the donkey cried out, "Why are you beating me? Haven't I served you faithfully all these years?" An angel spoke to Balaam and said, "You fool, quit beating her. Even she could see I was standing here. Your donkey just saved your life, for if you had carried out this mission you would have been killed. In fact, I would have killed you and let the donkey live." The angel then left, and I can just imagine Balaam kissing the donkey all the way back to the stable.
There is a fine line between knowing when opposition is God trying to show you another way or when it is just a test of courage. If the passively opposing forces cause you to use violence to get them to move, you probably are not on God's path. If you do everything you possibly can to get something to happen, and it doesn't, then an angel must be on the road somewhere, so don't beat the donkey. Take a little time out, smell the flowers, and re-think your route... and your mission.
When the Roman guards came to arrest Jesus, Peter sprang to his defense and prepared to engage in massive violence. He actually did cut off one of the guard's ear. Here was a chance for Jesus to escape, but he knew that the Roman guard was part of the plan. He did not kick the Roman "donkey." He knew it was time.
Bernie Siegel, M.S., shocks his cancer patients when he asks them, "Why did you need this illness?" He claims our bodies break down to give us a message...and many times it is a message we have been ignoring. According to Dr. Siegal, while nobody wants to be ill, many patients say that cancer was the best thing that ever happened to them. They learned to appreciate life and to express their feeling to their loved ones. They were able to pick up the paintbrush they previously had been too busy to hold. Even illness can be a blessing.
Flat tires that keep us from catching a plane...missed appointments that cause a project's delay...bankers who tell us no...all of these can be donkeys that are keeping us from endangering ourselves in ways we cannot see.
Many times when you feel farthest from the truth, you are very close to it. And when you think are on top of the world, you could be sitting in a vary dangerous place.
When the donkey you are riding suddenly refused to move, don't kick it. Get off and look for the angel standing in the road. That donkey might be saving your life! (They weren't given big ears for nothing).
Jesus did not kick the donkey.
QUESTION
Which circumstances in your life remind you most of the balking donkey?
When has a "balking donkey" actually protected you?
Reprint from Lauri Beth Jones
There is a fine line between knowing when opposition is God trying to show you another way or when it is just a test of courage. If the passively opposing forces cause you to use violence to get them to move, you probably are not on God's path. If you do everything you possibly can to get something to happen, and it doesn't, then an angel must be on the road somewhere, so don't beat the donkey. Take a little time out, smell the flowers, and re-think your route... and your mission.
When the Roman guards came to arrest Jesus, Peter sprang to his defense and prepared to engage in massive violence. He actually did cut off one of the guard's ear. Here was a chance for Jesus to escape, but he knew that the Roman guard was part of the plan. He did not kick the Roman "donkey." He knew it was time.
Bernie Siegel, M.S., shocks his cancer patients when he asks them, "Why did you need this illness?" He claims our bodies break down to give us a message...and many times it is a message we have been ignoring. According to Dr. Siegal, while nobody wants to be ill, many patients say that cancer was the best thing that ever happened to them. They learned to appreciate life and to express their feeling to their loved ones. They were able to pick up the paintbrush they previously had been too busy to hold. Even illness can be a blessing.
Flat tires that keep us from catching a plane...missed appointments that cause a project's delay...bankers who tell us no...all of these can be donkeys that are keeping us from endangering ourselves in ways we cannot see.
Many times when you feel farthest from the truth, you are very close to it. And when you think are on top of the world, you could be sitting in a vary dangerous place.
When the donkey you are riding suddenly refused to move, don't kick it. Get off and look for the angel standing in the road. That donkey might be saving your life! (They weren't given big ears for nothing).
Jesus did not kick the donkey.
QUESTION
Which circumstances in your life remind you most of the balking donkey?
When has a "balking donkey" actually protected you?
Reprint from Lauri Beth Jones
Thursday, September 9, 2010
He Was Keenly Aware of His Resources
Jesus has an astonishing ability to create what he needed from something that was already there. He took what was at hand and used his command of energy and the universal principles - the same ones he said were available to us - and then created what he needed.
A Bible story that many of us might identify with is that of the staff member who tells Jesus that the group is in trouble because they have not paid their taxes yet. Jesus casually tells him to go down to the sea, and there he will find a fish with a coin in its mouth. "Use that to pay the tax," he said.
Another time Jesus told his staff to go to a certain location where they would find a donkey. He instructed them to tell the people that the master needed it and to bring the donkey to him. Yet another time he made one loaf of bread feed thousands.
Perhaps part of Jesus creative ability came from his deep understanding of the physics of faith and from his keen awareness of the resources that he did have. Jesus himself did not just appear in a cloud of cosmic dust. He came into the world through the body of a believing human being - Mary. God, too is aware of his resources.
I often ask my clients to make a list of their resources and I remind them that money is the least important one. It takes people some time to appreciate that their greatest resources are often the people they know. Joe Girard, in his book The Greatest Salesman of All Time, claims that he pictures the number 250 engraved on each person he meets. He says each person knows at least 250 other people he needs to know - people who could become his friend and customers, too.
It is important to take the time to know your people. Situations will come up where their many skills or talents or friends or relatives will prove invaluable. If you think of your pocketbook as your only resource, you constantly will be thumbing through the Yellow Pages instead of relying on someone you know. And contra wise, they know YOU...and your opportunity to return the favor will present itself!
A young physician started his practice, hoping to market his sports medicine skills. He spent thousands of dollars advertising in newspaper week after week with very little result. One day as he was bemoaning his lack of business to his receptionist, she casually said, "My husband is president of a local jogging club. Why don't you do a seminar for them next week?" That was just what he was looking for: one human being, close at hand, with the resources he needed. Soon his practice was filled with people who knew someone whom he knew.
Jesus was keenly aware of his resources!
1. How aware are you of your resources?
2. How many of your staff members "250 contacts" do you know?
3. How frequently do you undate and review all the resources in your Rolodex?
Look around at the resources God has placed at your fingertips!
Scott Carley
(Jesus, CEO- Laurie Beth Jones)
A Bible story that many of us might identify with is that of the staff member who tells Jesus that the group is in trouble because they have not paid their taxes yet. Jesus casually tells him to go down to the sea, and there he will find a fish with a coin in its mouth. "Use that to pay the tax," he said.
Another time Jesus told his staff to go to a certain location where they would find a donkey. He instructed them to tell the people that the master needed it and to bring the donkey to him. Yet another time he made one loaf of bread feed thousands.
Perhaps part of Jesus creative ability came from his deep understanding of the physics of faith and from his keen awareness of the resources that he did have. Jesus himself did not just appear in a cloud of cosmic dust. He came into the world through the body of a believing human being - Mary. God, too is aware of his resources.
I often ask my clients to make a list of their resources and I remind them that money is the least important one. It takes people some time to appreciate that their greatest resources are often the people they know. Joe Girard, in his book The Greatest Salesman of All Time, claims that he pictures the number 250 engraved on each person he meets. He says each person knows at least 250 other people he needs to know - people who could become his friend and customers, too.
It is important to take the time to know your people. Situations will come up where their many skills or talents or friends or relatives will prove invaluable. If you think of your pocketbook as your only resource, you constantly will be thumbing through the Yellow Pages instead of relying on someone you know. And contra wise, they know YOU...and your opportunity to return the favor will present itself!
A young physician started his practice, hoping to market his sports medicine skills. He spent thousands of dollars advertising in newspaper week after week with very little result. One day as he was bemoaning his lack of business to his receptionist, she casually said, "My husband is president of a local jogging club. Why don't you do a seminar for them next week?" That was just what he was looking for: one human being, close at hand, with the resources he needed. Soon his practice was filled with people who knew someone whom he knew.
Jesus was keenly aware of his resources!
1. How aware are you of your resources?
2. How many of your staff members "250 contacts" do you know?
3. How frequently do you undate and review all the resources in your Rolodex?
Look around at the resources God has placed at your fingertips!
Scott Carley
(Jesus, CEO- Laurie Beth Jones)
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
How Willing Are You To Look Foolish?
What do each of these characters have in common?
Can you imagine a group of bankers sitting around a table when a young earnest man looks them in the eyes and says, "I'm going to build a billion-dollar empire based on a mouse, a fairy and seven dwarfs. Will you help me?" He would have been laughed out of the building. This earnest man, as you probably surmised, was Walt Disney. How, however, the bulk of the current Disney teams activity consist of distributing and managing the ideas and characters created by this silly cartoonist.
Ron Grover, in his book The Disney Touch, tells the story of Roy Disney. Roy was Walt's more fiscally minded brother, who was always trying to put the brakes on Walt's foolishness. After Disneyland was built, Roy lovingly to Walt that they did not need any more new ideas. In fact, Roy forbade Walt from spending any more money on the creation of new ideas!
With his own money, Walt formed a team of engineers who secretly met a night in a warehouse on the Disney lot. The crew developed the concept of EPCOT Center. Walt was a man who kept on thinking "foolishly."
Grover also relates how Michael Eisner, credited as half of the genius team that guided Disney to incredible profits, was almost not hired! One of the major stockholders described him as a young man who "mostly liked to take the blocks he had and just rearrange them." To this, a higher-ranking member of the board replied, "This is exactly the kind of leader we need. Hire him and find ten more like him."
Walt Disney went bankrupt in his first business endeavor. Thomas Edison has thousands of failures before he got the light bulb right. Benjamin Franklin, the fool on the roof flying a kite in a rainstorm, retired as on of the country's first millionaires.
Jesus was willing to look foolish. And this was the key to his success. Coming into town on a donkey, having to fish to pay your taxes, and forgetting to bring wine did not seem like the ingredients for success. Crying like a rejected lover, passing out invitations to a feast that largely go unanswered, having to stand on front porches and knock hardly sounds like a job description for a king.
Omega leaders cannot be afraid to look foolish. We must keep to the plan that we vaguely sense but that only God can see.
He was willing to look foolish.
Are you willing to look foolish as a leader?
List ten leaders who at one time of another looked foolish to the world.
Jesus, CEO
- A deluded engineer
- A magician
- A waiter
- A nudist
- A beggar
- A lunatic
- A harem girl
- An improper woman
- A blasphemer
- Noah - designed and built an ark in the middle of a desert
- Moses - turned water into blood
- Nehemiah - was a cupbearer to a king
- Isaiah - went naked for three years
- Elijah - has to ask a widow for food
- King David - acted insane to escape his captors
- Queen Esther - made her way to the top of the King's list
- Mary - conceived a child before marriage
- Jesus - claimed to be equal with God
Can you imagine a group of bankers sitting around a table when a young earnest man looks them in the eyes and says, "I'm going to build a billion-dollar empire based on a mouse, a fairy and seven dwarfs. Will you help me?" He would have been laughed out of the building. This earnest man, as you probably surmised, was Walt Disney. How, however, the bulk of the current Disney teams activity consist of distributing and managing the ideas and characters created by this silly cartoonist.
Ron Grover, in his book The Disney Touch, tells the story of Roy Disney. Roy was Walt's more fiscally minded brother, who was always trying to put the brakes on Walt's foolishness. After Disneyland was built, Roy lovingly to Walt that they did not need any more new ideas. In fact, Roy forbade Walt from spending any more money on the creation of new ideas!
With his own money, Walt formed a team of engineers who secretly met a night in a warehouse on the Disney lot. The crew developed the concept of EPCOT Center. Walt was a man who kept on thinking "foolishly."
Grover also relates how Michael Eisner, credited as half of the genius team that guided Disney to incredible profits, was almost not hired! One of the major stockholders described him as a young man who "mostly liked to take the blocks he had and just rearrange them." To this, a higher-ranking member of the board replied, "This is exactly the kind of leader we need. Hire him and find ten more like him."
Walt Disney went bankrupt in his first business endeavor. Thomas Edison has thousands of failures before he got the light bulb right. Benjamin Franklin, the fool on the roof flying a kite in a rainstorm, retired as on of the country's first millionaires.
Jesus was willing to look foolish. And this was the key to his success. Coming into town on a donkey, having to fish to pay your taxes, and forgetting to bring wine did not seem like the ingredients for success. Crying like a rejected lover, passing out invitations to a feast that largely go unanswered, having to stand on front porches and knock hardly sounds like a job description for a king.
Omega leaders cannot be afraid to look foolish. We must keep to the plan that we vaguely sense but that only God can see.
He was willing to look foolish.
Are you willing to look foolish as a leader?
List ten leaders who at one time of another looked foolish to the world.
Jesus, CEO
Friday, February 26, 2010
What Would A Miracle Look Like?
Feeling desperate and out of choices is a place almost everyone has visited. Being pitted against hard deadlines or quotas can really take you to the edge of your resources. How many times have your looked up to heaven and said, "God.. I need a miracle?"
I have! Ok.. more than once or twice or... well, you get the picture!
But I can remember one occasion as though it were yesterday.
I looked up from a project and said, "God I need a MIRACLE!" I was at the end of my line. And almost the next second I heard him speak back and say, "If I gave you one, what would it look like?" OUCH! It was a chastisement. It was like he was telling me NOT to use that request line unless I was serious about what I wanted!
Jesus did miracles. He did them a lot. And on occasion he would ask, "What would you have the Son of Man do for you?" He wanted an answer! He wanted THEM to think it through and identify the result they were looking to receive!
Another writer of the epistles said, "You have not because you ask not, or because you ask amiss.? Amiss. Get it. A-miss. You didn't aim. You were not specific. You missed!
Is the message saying that he wants us to aim our request;
So order your miracle. You're not waiting on God; He is waiting on you!
I have! Ok.. more than once or twice or... well, you get the picture!
But I can remember one occasion as though it were yesterday.
I looked up from a project and said, "God I need a MIRACLE!" I was at the end of my line. And almost the next second I heard him speak back and say, "If I gave you one, what would it look like?" OUCH! It was a chastisement. It was like he was telling me NOT to use that request line unless I was serious about what I wanted!
Jesus did miracles. He did them a lot. And on occasion he would ask, "What would you have the Son of Man do for you?" He wanted an answer! He wanted THEM to think it through and identify the result they were looking to receive!
Another writer of the epistles said, "You have not because you ask not, or because you ask amiss.? Amiss. Get it. A-miss. You didn't aim. You were not specific. You missed!
Is the message saying that he wants us to aim our request;
- Do you need a miracle of more clients who pay monthly?
- Do you need a miracle of qualified staff who have skills in particular?
- Do you need cash-flow relief?
- Do you need a quick decision from an prospect?
- Do you need a change of attitude from a superior?
So order your miracle. You're not waiting on God; He is waiting on you!
Friday, February 19, 2010
He Stuck to His Mission
Jesus knew his mission statement, and did not deviate from it. He declared that his mission was, in essence, to teach people about a better way of life... now and in eternity. He saw himself as a teacher and a healer.
An ancient adage says, "If you want to defeat them, distract them." In the wilderness Jesus was given several "business opportunities" that did not relate to his mission.
Each of these opportunities was related to talents that Jesus had, and used, in some form or another during his tenure. But he resisted them because they did not fit his mission statement.
Pause for a moment and consider the things Jesus did not do. Here is someone endowed with limitless power from on high. He could have done literally anything. Yet he did not build a temple or a synagogue. He did not write or distribute books. He did not even heal all the sick people in the world. He did not go down to the graveyards and raise everyone from the dead. He did not build shopping malls. His mission was very specific.
Jesus stuck to his mission.
QUESTIONS
1. What is your mission or primary responsibility? Can you define it in one or two sentences?
2. Do feelings stir inside you that suggest you might contribute to a better way of life for others?
3. Can you list opportunities currently in your path the might really be distractions? What are they?
(Adapted from Jesus, CEO by Laura Beth Jones)
An ancient adage says, "If you want to defeat them, distract them." In the wilderness Jesus was given several "business opportunities" that did not relate to his mission.
Each of these opportunities was related to talents that Jesus had, and used, in some form or another during his tenure. But he resisted them because they did not fit his mission statement.
Pause for a moment and consider the things Jesus did not do. Here is someone endowed with limitless power from on high. He could have done literally anything. Yet he did not build a temple or a synagogue. He did not write or distribute books. He did not even heal all the sick people in the world. He did not go down to the graveyards and raise everyone from the dead. He did not build shopping malls. His mission was very specific.
Jesus stuck to his mission.
QUESTIONS
1. What is your mission or primary responsibility? Can you define it in one or two sentences?
2. Do feelings stir inside you that suggest you might contribute to a better way of life for others?
3. Can you list opportunities currently in your path the might really be distractions? What are they?
(Adapted from Jesus, CEO by Laura Beth Jones)
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