Check-In

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to join a showing of John C. Maxwell's Live2Lead conference which was recorded in October 2022. Dr. Kim Moore (www.kimdmoore.com) was our host for the day. She was a great facilitator and brought the presentation to life in the room with her interactions. She had us talk to different people at the end of each speech to talk through our responses. That's so helpful, because we tend to get in a comfortable spot in a room and miss opportunities for diversity in our quest for knowledge.

Lately, I have been deep in thought regarding my purpose. As a perfectionist, I overthink literally everything. I overthink my thinking. Exhausting doesn't effectively describe it. This morning when I came to my desk, there was an unopened package from an unknown person. Inside the package was Ann Voskamps book One Thousand Gifts. The tagline on the book is "A dare to live fully right where you are." I already have this book, but I haven't ready it. The very question of what I should be doing with my life is a regular one that rolls around in my mind . I'm always afraid I'm doing the wrong thing or basically I should be doing something else. I'm not sure overall what I should be doing, but I definitely believe I should be reading this book and pronto! I have always believed we should be living fully where we are.

I'm going to try to process notes I took at yesterday's 7 hour conference in this post. I'm not sure how organized this will be, but my hope is I will be able to pull from it to share with others and use as a guide to energize me as I move forward in my quest.

Pause: I started reading One Thousand Gifts. If ever there was the most simple of answers to all of my questions, this is the one. In 2 Kings 20 in the Bible, God granted King Hezekiah and extra 15 years of life. Three years later, Manasseh was born. Upon his death, his son Manasseh became king. Under Manasseh's rule, the kingdom fell into more sin and darkness. He led the Israelites into so much evil. If King Hezehiah would have died when God originally planned, Manasseh would not have been born. The moral of the story is when we groan and complain about our situation,

"maybe you don't want to change the story's because you don't know what a different ending holds."

One Thousand Gifts

Honestly, I could stop there, but I heard so many good words yesterday and I just have to get them in this blog!

John C. Maxwell talked about the first four laws in his new book The 16 Laws of Communication. The books comes out in March 2023 and it will be one I read. I have such a passion for communication. Preparation is the first law. You can not deliver what you have not developed. You have to figure out what your big message. What means the most to you?

The next law is about connecting. Communicators know it's all about others. If you want to connect with people, you have to get over yourself. Pride has no place here. Be intentional in seeking to understand the world. Your connecting channel is common ground. We want to make the stories relatable. People can't put themselves in the stories if it's all about you.

Good communicators lead from their strengths and use it often. Work on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Find your strength zones. The fourth law is the law of the thermostat. This is a great concept. Learn to control the room. Connect with your audience in real time to intuitively adjust to meet them where they are.

Every person has a change the world speech inside them. John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Dr. Eric Thomas gave us several profound thoughts. On our influence, he says we each can live a life of leadership, because we talk. We each need to find the thing that we can do that no one else can.

When you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe, you will. Eric Thomas

Some people in this generation don't know the old school leaders you know. Share what you know from the old leaders. Find the oldest leader you can and figure out who they began to follow. Duplicate what you learn.

I can. I will. I must.

Doris Kearns Goodwin is the wife of Ricard N. Goodwin, speechwriter and aid to John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. She expressed her five daily habits.

Read

Think

File

Ask Questions

Write

Consistency compounds. John C. Maxwell

Patrick Lencioni talked about his book and the concepts The 6 Types of Working Genius. We need to build our teams with people who embody the different types of working genius. One of the companies in attendance at the conference, CardioCommandInc., actively tests and chooses new hires to fill these spots. This is also a way to organize teams. I thought that was a great way to be sure all aspects of the work are addressed.

John C. Maxwell finished the day for us. We talked about the potential question. How far can I go? If we maximize our awareness, strengths, and choices, we are limitless. No one reaches their potential by working on their weaknesses. Capitalize on other people's experience. Find mentors. A mentor doesn't have to be rigidly scheduled. We can prepare ourselves with questions for when you get the chance to meet someone.

Preparation gets you out of the people pile. Nothing happens until you take action. Give up to go up.Everything you want, but your don't have is outside your comfort zone. John C. Maxwell, your friend

Those last quotes from John are a great reminder to stand out from the crowd. Don't slip into the background like Homer Simpson backing up into the bushes in the GIF. The cost of growth is your current station. You have to get out of your comfort zone to reach the good things.