It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
Greetings to you!
Each week I send out a short leadership blog that's called "Tuesday at 2:00pm". The purpose of this is simply to provide a brief thought on leadership that you can read and think about in just a few minutes. I send it out every week at 2:00pm (PST) and encourage you to make an appointment with yourself to pause and think about the thing I'm writing about.
Russ...
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
"Be a builder, not a destroyer” Unknown
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
This is our final quote on the theme of ENCOURAGEMENT this month. I hope you've been challenged by some of these quotes and thoughts.
Today to finish, I'm digging deep into the vault.
I have no idea if anyone said this, but it comes from a talk I've given hundreds of times using a hammer as an illustration. I saw someone do this at a camp years ago, and then I took the idea and put my own spin on it, but it's the power of a practical illustration that stuck with me all these years.
The image is of a normal hammer that has 2 sides to it:
The HEAD is used to build things.
The CLAW is used to destroy things.
See the image?
Two sides to the same tool, used for completely different things.
When I ask you the question, "Are you a BUILDER or are you a DESTROYER, just think about what side of the hammer you use more of.
Take this illustration, teach it, remember it, model it, live it.
"So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (MSG)
DEEPER STILL:
When I have done this illustration, I often talk about an experience I had when my first child got a puppy. As any good dad would do, I decided to build a dog house for the puppy (I've since learned to purchase one, steal one, borrow one, anything but build one!).
I spent days building this blue dog house that would match our home, and I was sure the dog would love this.
After days of work building, the dog house looked horrible, the dog wanted nothing to do with It, and we didn't want our kids to get hurt, so we decided that we didn't need a dog house after all.
What took me days and days to build took just a couple of swings of my hammer, and the claw just tore it apart, and we were free of the blue dog house.
The illustration was so real to me:
Building takes work, takes time, takes effort.
Destroying often happens quickly, often without much effort, and the results can be devastating.
I want to be a BUILDER, not a DESTROYER of people around me. What about you?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
This is a classic on encouragement: Encouraging One Another from Gene Getz. Timeless!
Our friend Tim wrote this book: Stay. Wild. You'll love it and be challenged in so many ways to find focus in the midst of disruption! Tim is the Founder & Director of Harbor Ministries.
Ray & Sam shared this game with us and it's a lot of fun. Check out PRIORITIES. Just a fun way to learn about others around you!
OK, if you've never had Ecuadorian Ceviche de Camarón, you are missing out. Check out this recipe from Laylita! It's really good!