10 Vital Habits for Success

Life's seemingly small acts can end up being life's greatest contributions. Especially, when  practiced over a lifetime and combined with a number of other seemingly small acts.  This is true on a personal level, as well as a collective level.

I came up with the following list several years ago to remind me of practices that, while they may seem rather small and insignificant in and of themselves, if carried out over a course of a lifetime would lead to a life of integrity and success. Vincent Van Gogh said, "Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together." 


Integrity is one of those attributes we don't hear much about.  I'm not even going to try to define it, but we all know when we meet a person with integrity.  The world is desperately  in need of people with integrity not only to provide leadership, but to be role models.

So here are 10 habits that if practiced over time would lead to a life of integrity.  Obviously, the list is not exhaustive and I'm sure you could come up with your own set of vital habits.

 Set goals for yourself, even little ones, and then reach them.
       This is being honest with yourself.
If you see something wrong, be a positive part of the solution.
      This is creative problem solving
If you want something to happen, make it happen.
      This is being proactive
Cultivate a genuine interest in others.
     This is being other-centered.
Go the extra mile instead of getting by with the littlest amount of time, energy and resources.
      This is excellence
Be generous and give freely.
     This is love
Always thank others if they have given to you in any way, no matter how small.
      This is gratitude.
Affirm others as you see them stepping out in new areas and taking on new challenges.
      This is encouragement that empowers.
Plan and organize yourself to keep scheduled appointments and commitments.
      This is being reliable.
Be on time.
      This is recognizing that the small stuff matters.

"A life lived with integrity, even if it lacks the trappings of fame and fortune, is a shining star in whose light others may follow in the years to come."  (Denis Waitley, author and speaker)

  

Dream On, Mama!

I am one who does better when I have a clear dream that I'm working towards.  I wilt when I lose sight of something more. I think that's true of all of us, though.  It's easy to get caught up in the routines of life, the tasks at hand, all of the things that demand our time and attention in the here and now, and simply lose touch of the dreams we carry  on our hearts. It takes a pretty high level of intentionality to stay in touch with those dreams and even more deliberate work to keep moving towards them.  There is probably no greater and more important work that I can do daily but to stay in touch with the dreams and visions that God has placed in my heart, carefully listening for next steps, and acting on what I know to do.

My daughter, who was 9 at the time, told me once to "Dream On, Mama!"  She meant it not in a cynical way, but in the purest sense. She's wired a bit like me; she has big ideas and big dreams for her life.  This struck me as encouraging because not only did it affirm my sense of dreaming and believing for more, but it reminded me of how much those around us need us to keep dreaming.  I think our culture has a way of neutering our dreams.  If we're not careful, we can unconsciously begin to opt for status quo and we can easily trade in our God-Given Dreams for the American Dream. Our families, friends, communities and the world need me, and you,  to be fully alive in our dreams and visions. Not only do we make a difference in the lives of others as we pursue our God given dreams, hopefully we are reflecting a piece of God's heart to the world around us.

Today, may our souls awaken to not only the God given dreams on our hearts, but to the things that we haven't yet dreamed of.

Dreams Do Come True

Our recent trip to Europe was just that; a dream come true.  I've wanted to take the family to Europe for a very long time and at times it just seemed like it would never happen.  Yet, I kept hoping and believing that the desire was planted in my heart for a reason. I realize a trip to Europe might not  appear to be a world changer kind of dream, but you never know what God might do yet.  Time will tell on that one.  Plus, I think that God's love towards us might be just motivation enough for God... you know, fulfilling a dream simply as a way of saying, "I love you!".

The dreams, hopes and visions that we carry in our hearts are sacred, yet often elusive.  Why is it that some dreams do seem to "come true", and others don't?  As I've considered this for my own life, some of the things that I thought were hopes and dreams really didn't stand the test of time.  With time, they faded and if it weren't for my old journals to remind me, I wouldn't even remember many of them.  But there are hopes and dreams I've carried in my heart for a long time, that have stood the test of time and seasons, that have either come true, or I believe still will. At times I'm more aware of those dreams than others, but they are always there, in the recesses of my heart, reminding me that there is more ahead.  And I believe that it matters because I believe God planted those hopes and dreams in my heart.  

I believe God gives all of us hopes and dreams.... ideas and thoughts and passions that he places uniquely in our hearts because  they are key to what God wants to do in us and through us to impact the world around us. Dreams are important.  They are part of our destiny and design.  And therefore I think its worth spending the time to figure out what our dreams really are. For me, its been helpful to look back over the years to see which dreams have always been there, albeit at times under the surface and barely cognizant to me, those dreams that continue to rise to the surface of my spirit. I know that if those dreams are to be realized, it will take work, risk, sacrifice and a whole lot of only what God can do.  I always think that if there's any chance of my dreams being realized AND making a difference in the world, then I'm pretty dependent on God to lead  and guide me in that direction.  I figure since it's God who puts the dreams in our heart in the first place, he might even be invested in seeing those dreams realized in and through us!  That's re-assuring to me and keeps me hoping and believing.

Today, may each of us move more fully towards those hopes and dreams that lie within our hearts.

 “All holy desires grow by delay; and if they diminish by the delay, then they were never holy desires.” (St. Gregory)

Leave Deeply Missed, part 2

Dad and Mom with my daughter

I was thinking about people that I personally know who model this principle to me of leaving deeply missed (see yesterday's post).  One of the people who came to mind is my own dad.

Dad had a rough start in life which led to some serious orneriness as he became a school aged boy (I didn't let him tell my own boys the stories until they became old enough to know better than to emulate their much admired Grandpa!).  Often in trouble at his little country school, the teacher's were unable to see the raw potential in him.  In seventh grade, he went to see the school guidance counselor about his future. The guidance counselor told Dad that he would never amount to much of anything and that the best he could probably do would be to become a mechanic. Hard to comprehend, but true.  That interaction, while hurtful to the core, became a motivation to prove everyone wrong.

Dad went on in life willing to work hard for every penny he earned.  He started out by delivering eggs. He was the best egg delivery man there ever was, I'm sure. Eventually he landed a job in a small but growing tool and die company.  There, he began to see possibilities for his life that he had never seen before (see my earlier post, "You Can't Be What You Can't See"). As Dad, because of his integrity, strong work ethic and good inter-personal skills, began to move up the ladder in this organization he began to catch a vision of one day not only being an employee but of being a business owner himself.

Eventually the opportunity presented itself and Dad, with Mom by his side in it all,  started his own business. Dad would often get up at 3 AM to be at work before any of the other employees.  He'd plan and organize the day, the work, and his strategy for growing the business.Everything Dad did came out of his passion for the business and his passion for people..  His guiding principles became:

• Always go the extra mile; don't just meet people's expectations, exceed them
• Do for others what I would want them to do for me; reward generously those employees who work hard and give their best
• Follow through and do what I say I will do; if I said a product would be delivered in 1 week, then it will be delivered in a week at all costs
• Always be honest; no BS'ing anyone, if I don't know the answer just admit it.
• Care about people for who they are; don't just care about them because they keep the business going.
• Be generous; the business is blessed to be a blessing so no hoarding allowed

Dad worked hard and gave it his best. He was able to retire early, having built a very successful business that impacted not only the business world, but the lives of his employees, customers, and those who benefited from Mom and Dad's generosity.  Dad sold the business to someone he knew who would take good care of it.  The day he walked out of the doors of the business he and Mom had built for the last time, he left a hole so big that no one could possibly begin to fill it.  This many years later, people still talk about how much they miss Dad running the business. He left deeply missed.

Thanks, Dad and Mom, for your incredible example of giving whatever you did your very best!  I am blessed to have been in the front row as I have watched you live out your exceptional values and principles.  

Leave Deeply Missed

This morning I happened to catch the last part of the Today show, just in time to see the farewell for  Meredith Vieira on her last day with the show.  It was very moving and inspiring for me.  Clearly,  she was well loved by many.  The kind, honoring and loving words spoken of and to her indicated a deep appreciation for who she is and what she brought to the show.  Behind the scenes, she worked hard, was committed, showed up every day (at 2:30 AM no less!)  fully present and ready to engage, and to bring all that she was to the table, so to speak.  She gave it her best and she gave all she could for the 5 years she was there.

It's a great reminder that whatever sphere we are given in life, give it the best. Whether that sphere is a family, a job, a calling, a place to volunteer- it doesn't really matter- just show up fully alive, present and ready to give our all.  Most of us won't achieve celebrity status in the spheres we serve, but we can, at the end of the day, know that we lived and loved in a way that deeply touched and impacted the lives of those around us.  And hopefully when we leave for the last time, it will be evident that we lived, loved and served in such a way that we will  be deeply missed.

You Can't Be What You Can't See

As they say, "Seeing is believing" but  the reverse is true as well, "Believing is Seeing".  We will never become someone, or do something,  that we first can't see or imagine being or doing.  Sometimes I hear people say, about their success or achievement, "I never could have imagined that I would be here!".  Perhaps, but somewhere along the way the path that led to "here" became clear one step at a time in that person's imagination, or their mind's eye. They began to imagine and see the next step and believed that it could be achieved.  That's why I think that one of the most important things we can go after in life is seeing the possibilities...  imagining what could be, what should be.

I recently heard a true story told of a Palestinian Christian, an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian Muslim deciding to get to know one another.  Over the course of meeting for 2 years and learning to appreciate each other in a new way, they began to dream and imagine what it would look like for the three of them to live peacefully together.  As a result, they are starting an intentional community with one another so that others around them can see that it is possible for people who have historically been at enmity with one another to live together peacefully.  Right now, no one in the region can "see" it because it's not been done before.  As the three men peacefully live alongside one another, those around them begin to see the possibilities and imagine a new reality for the first time.

Today, may we each go after seeing the greatest possibilities that lie before us, believing that its possible and in time seeing a new reality.

"If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, I know I can achieve it." 

 Rev. Jesse Jackson

An Extraordinary Life

"Why be regular when you can be extraordinary?"   I saw this quote in a magazine last week and it got me thinking.  I always like quotes that challenge me to dream bigger, live life large and to go beyond the ordinary.  But what got me thinking is, "What does that really mean, to live extraordinary?  What does that look like for my life?"

Whenever I'm trying to wrestle big ideas to the ground, I have to start with right now.  So, I began to think, "What does it look like for me today to live an extraordinary life?"  After alot of processing, this is what I came up with (spoiler:  its pretty basic):

An extraordinary life is most likely lived out fully immersed in God's story.  There is no greater epic narrative than  that of God bringing about the restoration of all of creation.  I have a part in that, a missional impulse within me, that is key to this epic Biblical narrative.  Today I will have opportunities to engage that.

Secondly, an extraordinary life is found in living out my unique, God given identity and purpose.  Everyone's part in the Bibilical narrative will look different depending on who God has made that person to be.  Tapping into the essence of who I am every day and living that out wholeheartedly is an important (and not easy) part of living an extraordinary life.

Society would tell us that living an extraordinary life means being the best and brightest, making the most money, achieving the most fame and recognition.  I would say that chasing those goals is living a pretty regular life.  But to be extraordinary is to wholeheartedly and authentically live out my unique design and purpose on this earth within the context of God's story.   Today that is my goal.

Movement

We just got back from a week at the beach.  One of the things I love most about the beach is that there's so much movement... waves rolling onto the shore, the clouds overhead drifting by, the sand shifting in the wind, seagulls diving into the water for food... if you've been to the beach you know what I'm talking about.

I believe human beings are drawn to things that move.  Movement speaks to something deep in my soul that I think we all long for.  Movement reminds me that we're on a journey, that our lives are not meant to be stagnant and inanimate.  Movement is meant to be part of life.

When God was leading the Isrealites out of captivity, he led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.  When the pillar moved, they moved.  When God called Abraham, he told him to move out of the place he was and move towards somewhere that God would show him.  Jesus himself moved from place to place.  These examples all speak of physical movement, but the physical is often an incarnation of spiritual realities.  God is always on the move bringing about the restoration of his creation.  One of the biggest moves of all times was the move that Jesus made from being with the Father in heaven to being a human on the earth.  Ultimately this move was about the restoration of a broken, sinful humanity to God.  Movement is the catalyst for change, and growth and new beginnings; God's purposes coming alive in and through us.

Without movement, there would literally be stagnation and death.  This is true in the physical sense and this is true in the spiritual sense.  Movement is necessary to life at every level.

God is on the move today. Knowing this fills me with hope because God doesn't move alone.  He invites me, he invites you, to move with him as He fulfills his purposes on the Earth.

You Were Made for More

Someone recently said this to me and immediately my spirit was stirred.  Few things stir me, encourage me or inspire me like that statement.

Even in my most alive, fully-engaged-in God's-story seasons, I would have to be honest and admit that even while I could say, "This is what I was made for", there remained in the back of my mind and deep in my spirit a sense of "Yes, but you were made for more than this."  Sometimes that voice speaks louder than at other times, but it has consistently been there.  Always calling me on, always stirring me to believe for more, to lay hold of more, to be willing to do whatever God would ask because ultimately it is God who leads to the "more". (John 15).

One of the questions that I try to reflect on regularly is, "What does it look like today for me to step  into the "more" that God is inviting me into?"

Jesus said, "I have come to give you life and to give it more abundantly."  Jesus also said we have an enemy who is continually trying to find ways to rob us of the "more" we're designed for.  I sense that at times... the battle to continue to believe for more and to walk into it as God leads the way.

It seems to me, then, that this longing for more is a God-given longing that is put in our hearts.  Maybe in part its to help us avoid becoming complacent and settling and simply giving up and being content with life as it comes our way.  Maybe God places that longing in our hearts because as followers of Jesus, we are daily being transformed into more.  I was made for more than what I see right now.  You were made for more than what you see right now.  Plunge yourself into God's life and allow him to lead you to the "more" that he has for you.