It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
LEADERSHIP QUOTES
We're exploring some great quotes that will help us in our lives and leadership. If you'd like to share your favorite with me, please post on the comments section of the Blog. You can read these past posts HERE.
The format for this season is the following:
#1) LEADERSHIP QUOTE: I'm going to share a quote with you. I'd like to encourage you to think about it, respond to it, process it. You can stop here, or go to Section 2.
#2) A LITTLE BIT DEEPER: I'm going to share a couple of thoughts that come to my mind when I think about the quote. Just a short reaction from me. You can stop here, or go to Section 3.
#3) DEEPER STILL: I'm going to share something I've found from someone else: A quote, some tips, a challenge, a thought....
#4) RUSS' LIST: I'll continue to share some links, ideas, books or products that I think some of you might benefit from.
Russ
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
“Passions are developed, not just discovered." Adam Grant
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
I spent some time this past week working through my goals and plans for the coming year, and spent some time looking deeply into the mirror at some of the things that motivate me to do the things that I do.
I think I would call these things PASSIONS.
When I do a LifePlan with a client, I define passions as "the things I delight in doing".
These words from Adam Grant hit me last week as I looked at some of the things "I delight in doing" that need to continue to be developed. My passions aren't stagnant, but they are things that I need to continue to grow, and one of the goals of my time away was to structure time in my schedule to spend more time in these areas.
Angela Duckworth, author of the book: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance says:
"It takes time and experience and encouragement to be able to say, one day, 'I have a calling'.... Have patience. As long as you're moving in the right direction, you're on your way." She's talking about passion.
Answer this question: What do you delight in doing? How can you grow and develop those things in your life? How can you spend more time in those areas instead of the things that drain you? It starts with defining what these things are.
DEEPER STILL:
Sometimes we don't know what our passions are.
One of the ways I help leaders to discover this is a process of starting with your STRENGTHS (Strengthfinders 2.0 is a great tool for this), and then from there, discover areas of your life where your strengths connect with your heart.
If I were ask you, "Why do you get out of bed every morning?" how would you answer that? I know, some of you get up because you have to go to the bathroom, but what is it that you look forward to during the day, during the week?
A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to do some training with a group of leaders on the island of Tonga in the South Pacific. This was a virtual training for me, but they spent 4 days together in community. I found that through the week, as I prepared, as I prayed, as I anticipated this time with these leaders, it filled me up! The call went well, but when I was done, I wanted to do more teaching, more training, more encouragement, more community. When people are equipped and connected I am in my sweet spot. This is definitely one of the things "I delight in."
What about YOU? Don't be content to simply identify and define your passions... Find a way to live there, a way to continually develop them and a way to share that with others. You will be filled up!
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
I found a worship album this week that I hadn't listened to in a long time. It was so refreshing to listen to this album again by one of my favorites: Third Day Offerings It's not Christmas Music, but it is about the main character!
Angela Duckworths book: Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
One of my favorite authors is Marcus Buckingham. His work on STRENGTHS is really aligned with the conversation around passion. His book, Now, Discover Your Strengths with Donald Clifton is a classic, and I'm anticipating his new book in 2022, Love + Work
Don Clifton's Strengthfinder 2.0 book includes a code for the online assessment that will define your top 5 strengths. This is a great tool that will help you in the process of discovery!
I began watching the documentary on Disney+ from The Beatles, GET BACK. I haven't finished it yet, but it's really intriguing to watch their creative process. I'm really enjoying this behind the scenes look with a great band!