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:
"I would encourage you to set really high goals. Set goals that, when you set them, you think they're impossible. But then every day you can work towards them, and anything is possible, so keep working hard and follow your dreams." Katie Ledecky, USA Swimmer
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
I've been captivated by the Olympics this past week, and just enjoy the competition, the global stage and the strength of so many athletes. This month, I'm just going to share some quotes from some of the Olympic athletes that I find inspiring.
I'll start with this from Katie Ledecky, one of the worlds most decorated Olympians. Watching her swim is impressive, so when you hear her talk about "impossible goals", you know that she has set her sights high and is achieving those goals.
I often wonder why the goals I set don't see to be very impossible. They are often very safe, very real, and often pretty boring.
We've been taught to define goals as SMART Goals:
SPECIFIC: clear outcomes
MEASURABLE: quantifiable
ACHIEVABLE: realistic
RELEVANT: aligned with my reality
TIME-BOUND: deadline
For a goal to be a "real" goal, it has to be a SMART goal.
Does having SMART Goals limit us to what is truly possible?
I wonder if Ledecky, when she won her first gold medal at the age of 15 in London, had declared this as one of her SMART Goals?
Are your goals "too possible"? Are they not stretching you at all?
DEEPER STILL:
There are 2 leaders I've been working with over the past few years who each set out to do something BIG. They started with a simple idea, then it turned into something bigger and bigger, and then it was so big that it seemed impossible, but they each kept moving forward.
Sitting on the sidelines, it was just joy to see these leaders and their teams stretch out of their comfort zones and "dream the impossible" as the quote refers to.
It's also been an amazing journey to see each of them achieve their goals, and to see momentum around their projects and their vision
But...
What makes these 2 goals impossible is that it was impossible for them to do it on their own. They had the right people around them, they had done the hard work to cast the vision, and then God moved people to respond and engage in ways that only God can do.
While their goals were huge for them, they were nothing to God. He helped them meet their goals in miraculous ways that can only be attributed to God's Handiwork.
What goals do you have currently that are too big for you, but not too big for God? Have you invited Him into that dream?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
The Ultimate Guide to S.M.A.R.T. Goals Forbes Article by Kimberlee Leonard.
I watched this 6-Part series on world champion sprinters in anticipation of the Olympics. I enjoyed getting to know some of the competitors through this series. Sprint on Netflix
Here's a great article entitled: 100 Impossible Things... God Did by Dan Flynn. Let it just remind you of who God is.
Here in Orange County California, we're getting ready for our next Barnabas Summit late in August. If you'd like to learn more about The Barnabas Group, send me a note HERE.