Christmas Every Day

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day on this beautiful, rainy, day in my home state, Arizona! It is such a blessing to be with family and friends that are so dear...we should cherish them each and every day! :)

This week I want to encourage, and hopefully challenge, each one of us. On Christmas I shared a quote I have shared before. In fact, something is telling me I have probably mentioned this in a Happy Friday before. Regardless, it is worth sharing over and over and over and over....

"My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" ~ Bob Hope

Beautiful, and true, isn't it?! The reality is we don't, and shouldn't, wait. We could experience the warm, fuzzy feelings of Christmas each and every day if only we would take the time to genuinely love others. Think about it Friends; what if you spent as much time thinking every day about your loved one's and friends as you did preparing for Christmas? What if instead of doing this only once a year, we did it every singly day for a year? You think our relationships would be better? You think you and I would be more fulfilled? There is no doubt, if only...

What does love look like? Does it have to be a spectacular necklace, ring, toy, gadget, [fill in the blank with whatever you want], etc.? No, these things are simply symbols that we took the time to think about another and - this is a really big AND - it is not an excuse or "pass" to not genuinely love others the other 364 days a year. And yet, sadly, many ignore those they profess to love and then hope that the shiny [whatever you want it to be] will make up for it. And we wonder why this world is filled with hurting, broken people.

Love is taking the time to call, text or send an email. Love is a smile. Love is letting someone else go before you. Love is serving others with your time, talent and/or treasure. Love is quite simply, anything we do for another with a pure-heart, expecting nothing in return. Any time we lighten anothers load, that is love. Any time we help another, that is love. Any time we let another know they matter, that is love. 

Love is a choice, not a feeling. This is where so many of us go wrong. If we don't "feel" a certain way, we don't love. But that, by definition, is conditional love. This is not the love I am talking about and I am highly certain it is not the type of love Mr. Hope was talking about. To love another is value, cherish and adore them for who they are, where they are. It has nothing to do with you, the circumstances, our feelings, etc. It is simply an intentional decision to love another...

So why is this so hard for so many of us? Fritz Chery wrote an article titled, Loving Others, on July 3, 2018 which is posted at biblereasons.com. Here is an excerpt that I think captures a lot of this beautifully.

"Love is not love if the heart is not in it. We are to love without hypocrisy. Genuine love should lead us to humble ourselves and serve others. Love should lead us to talk to others. Loving others will lead to making sacrifices. Love should compel us to sacrifice time to genuinely get to know others.
Love should compel us to talk to the guy at church standing by himself. Love should compel us to include others in our conversation. Love should compel us to give more. To sum it up, even though love is not action, love will result in actions because a genuine loving heart compels us."

So, Merry Christmas! This is a beautiful day to love others! And I have a hunch that tomorrow will be as well! Let's call it the Christmas Every Day Challenge...the challenge to simply love others each and every day.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families!

Kev

Perfectly Imperfect

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! Only 5 more days until Christmas and I can't wait! :)

The purpose of this Happy Friday is to offer a few minutes of encouragement. Please, grab a cup of coffee and lets visit for a moment...

A few days ago I was watching a Hallmark move - of course I was, it is Christmas!!! :) The whole point/problem was that a lady wanted her man to be perfect, textbook perfect in fact. Of course he failed miserably at being perfect however he was doing quite well at being him. Sound familiar?! As much as folks like to ridicule Hallmark movies, they got this one right. Most, if not all, of us strive to be perfect and though we fail miserably in our own efforts, we hold others to this impossibly ridiculous standard. This leads to lives of brokenness, sorrow, shame, guilt, worry, etc., and shattered relationships everywhere.

This morning I want to encourage all of us to embrace, and actually appreciate, perfect imperfections. And this is a two-way go!
1. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, created on purpose for a great purpose, lacking nothing! Please note, nowhere was the word "perfect" used. You are not perfect - sorry if I am the first one to tell you! :) - and neither am I or anyone else! In fact, you and I are not called to be perfect, we are created to fulfill the purpose for which we are called. And you want me to really freak you out?!?! It is often through our imperfections and brokenness that our purpose is found and that we are given the greatest platforms to positively influence this world. Let that sink in for a moment...

Look Friends, you are stinkin' awesome! Please quit holding yourself to a standard to which you can never meet and, in fact, where never expected to meet. What you and I are called to do is become the best we are capable of becoming...period! Just as we all have disabilities - the lack of ability to do some things - we also have great abilities. We have great passions. We have great hopes and goals and dreams! Please take whatever abilities you have, stop fighting for your disabilities, and fully become all that you are capable of becoming. While it might not be "perfect", it is perfectly you! And that is what this world so desperately needs - pure-hearted, authentic people who simply give the very best they have to each and every day. 

2. And just as you are fearfully and wonderfully made, created on purpose for a great purpose, lacking nothing, so is everyone else! Please read that again. No, they are not perfect. No, they don't have the same abilities, passions, hopes, goals and/or dreams as you. They don't necessarily have the same values, morals, ethics or manners as you. It is not your or my place to judge them, to tell them who or what they should be, what they should do, etc. Not one place in the Bible am I told to judge them....over and over again, I am told to love them. How come we work so hard at perfectly judging but we are not concerned at all about perfectly loving?!?!

At this time of year when we gather with family and friends, let's focus on simply loving each and every person before us, where they are, for who they are, without any expectations. Please stop trying to hold others to ridiculous standards and simply come alongside them and enjoy the journey. If we would simply have pure, authentic relationships, we will find that we have, in fact, found perfection.

I want to share a few quotes/scriptures to wrap up this Happy Friday.

"I'm note here to be small, to compare, to judge (myself or you), to fit in or to be perfect. I'm here to grow, to learn, to love, to be human." - Sue Fitzmaurice

"Circumstances don't define you. They shape you. You're molded to make a difference. Let your light shine bright, even through the cracks." - Julie Barbera

"Don't criticize, and then you won't be criticized. For others will treat you as you treat them. And why worry about the speck in the eye of a brother when you have a board in your own? Should you say, 'Friend, let me help you get that speck out of your eye,' when you can't even see because of the board in your own? Hypocrite! First get rid of the board. Then you can see to help your brother." - Matthew 7: 1 - 5

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;" - Psalm 139: 14

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29: 11

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself." There is no commandment greater than these." - Mark 12: 30 - 31

What if we really lived out Mark 12: 30-31? What if we simply gave everything we had to loving God and loving the people He places in our lives? What if we drop all the facades and charades and simply love? It strikes me as sickeningly funny that so many want to be experts and tell others how they should look, behave, live, etc., many who profess to be Christians. How about the last sentence, the one that says, 'there is no greater commandment than these'? Please Dear Friends, love you for who you are and love others for who they are. That would be absolutely perfect!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend, a very Merry Christmas and please, cherish your precious families.

Kev

Learning & Growing

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having had a great weekend and that your battery is recharged for what will surely be a great week!

Wow, what a week it was!!! My week started last Sunday at mid-day with out-of-state travel for work, included working every night, some nights past 10 p.m., and concluded last night with work. To say I am behind is an understatement however my spirit feels convicted to still write a Happy Friday. With this, I want to share several thoughts/ideas that have struck me as profound over the last few weeks, share them with you and let you apply them to your life - or not! :) - however you wish.

I want to start off by sharing a brief testimony. I had shared a quote on social media earlier this week that said, "Everyone wants to be successful until they see what it actually takes." With the quote is a picture of the feet of a ballerina. One foot looks beautiful, covered in a ballet slipper. The other foot has callouses, bloody blisters and bandages on it. A person commented, "Success shouldn't come with pain." It caused me to pause. Every success I have ever experienced in life has come with some measure of pain. It was painful, and required sacrifice, to study for hours to get the grades I wanted to get in college. Any athlete will tell you that training involves a large amount of pain. As I look back over my career, there is a lot of pain involved. Success does not come easy and often requires mental, emotional and/or physical pain. It is not easy accomplishing great things and that, perhaps, is why many people don't. Success requires growth, growth requires us to stretch and stretching - physically, mentally and/or emotionally - is painful. So while I think I understand the heart behind the comment, this has not been my experience with success. 

Now I simply want to share several quotes, thoughts and ideas with you.

"Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned, it comes only from influence, and that cannot be mandated. It must be earned." - Unknown

"Make every day count.
Make every hour count.
Make every minute count.
And don't stop until you have exercised your full potential, realizing your impossible dreams and fulfilling your destiny to become the person that you, and only you, are capable of being." - Unknown

"The important thing is to be able to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." - Charles Du Bos

"Leadership is an OPPORTUNITY: Benefit from it
LEADERSHIP  is a CHALLENGE: Meet it
LEADERSHIP is a DUTY: Complete it
LEADERSHIP is love: Encourage it" - Lolly Daskal

"9 WAYS TO BECOME BETTER THAN YOU WERE YESTERDAY:
1. Be optimistic
2. Focus on the upside
3. Take ownership
4. Be open
5. Forgive yourself
6. Do what's right
7. Be respectful
8. Love yourself
9. Lead a healthy life
Repeat..." - Rick Jordan

"5 Ways to be a Positive Communicator today:
1. Shout praise, whisper criticism
2. Encourage others
3. Smile more
4. Don't complain
5. Welcome feedback" - Jon Gordon

"The best leaders don't establish goals or performance measures to hold people accountable. The best leaders build cohesive, engaging teams. We are accountable to people, not goals." - Jason McNeal

"When you succeed, be generous
When you fail, be compassionate
When you win, be humble
When you are scared, be thoughtful
When you are beaten, be modest" - Lolly Daskal

"Remember you can't change your past. But you can create your future. Don't get stuck in thinking about what you could have and should have done. Think about what you can and will do and start taking action today!" - Jon Gordon

"Don't be afraid to step out and do something different. As a matter of fact, if you're not doing things differently from a career standpoint, you're probably going backwards." - Jeremy McClain

"Your struggles are not meant to stop you, they are meant to CHANGE you. Once you realize things happen for YOU, your challenges in life begin to make more sense." - Brad Lea

"3 Truths About Leadership:
1. Leadership isn't about gaining power. It's about empowering others.
2. Great leaders succeed because they bring out the greatness in others.
3. You don't have to be great to serve but you have to serve to be a great leader."- Jon Gordon

"The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves." - Ray Kroc

"Never complain about something you're not willing to change." - Inky Johnson

"When things are going bad, guard against discouragement and lack of faith.
When things are going well, guard against pride and self reliance." - Matt Brown

"Not every thought needs to be shared. Not every opinion should be aired. If we truly want to be thought leaders, we must lead our own thoughts first." - Lysa Terkeurst

"Today...
BE there for someone else
BE an encouragement
BE a source of hope
BE a listening ear
BE present
BE humble
BE a light
BE kind
Despite the distractions of life...BE!" - Todd Gongwer

"If you're alive and breathing you can still become everything God has created you to be." - Helena Plumber

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful week and please cherish your precious families.

Kev

400

Happy Friday Friends!

I hope and trust this post finds you all having a great day as a glorious new day begins to dawn in my Sweet Home Alabama! This one right here, this day, it is going to be a great one!

This is the 400th blog I have written. It is amazing to me how quickly time passes. I have written this blog during some of the greatest storms of life and during some of the highest mountain top moments. Doors have been opened to share with others in more than 10 different countries...it simply amazes me! :)

On this historic day - for me anyways! :) - I want to take a moment and go back to the root and then share a few thoughts/ideas.

"Happy Friday" is another tool I use to share a bigger concept. The concept, "What Will Your Influence Be...", is all about the influence you and I will have in the lives of every other person we have in our lives - whether for a moment or a lifetime. I believe, and science supports, you and I will influence every single person we cross paths with on a daily basis. This is not in question. The only question  that each one of us must answer daily is, "What Will Your Influence Be...?" Will we be intentional or will we leave it to the whims of our feelings and emotions - which, by the way, can't be trusted? Will our influence be positive or will it be negative? Will we speak life or death? Will be be stepping stones to success or will we be stumbling blocks? While you and I are completely free to choose whatever we want, we are not free from the consequences of those choices. Yes Dear Friends, the words we speak and the things we do, even our countenance, impacts the lives of every person we encounter on a daily basis. You and I are pretty big deals, aren't we?! :) Yes, YOU matter! And no, you don't get to choose when you influence...you always are. It is not only on your good days...it is on all your days! Oh Sweet Friends, I pray - fervently! - that we would all use our influence wisely.

For those of you searching for the science, John C. Maxwell in one of his books sites research that found that the most introverted person will influence more than 10,000 people in their lifetimes. A year or so ago I found new research that found that the "average" person will influence more than 80,000 people in their lifetimes. Still question whether or not you matter? And now, let me blow your mind a little bit... 10,000 or 80,000 are pretty big numbers, aren't they? Well, what about the fact of the 10,000 or 80,000 that are influenced by the 1 you influenced! (Explosion sound) You see, our influence truly knows no bounds! When you are influencing 1, you are actually influencing the 10 - 80,000 behind that one. You and I, through our daily words and actions, have the potential to impact millions - sorry, too lazy to do all the math this morning!!! :) Hey, at least I got up early to write this!!! :)

I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the "other" part of "What Will Your Influence Be...?" It is actually the most important part. It is the part that fills our hearts and minds and informs the spirit. What are the things that you and I are pouring into our hearts and minds every day? Just as we influence others through our words and actions, we influence our own minds and hearts by the things we are pouring into, or allowing to be poured in, every day. I have shared this quote several times while writing all these blogs however it is worth sharing again, and to remind ourselves of over and over again. 

"What's in the well, always comes up in the bucket." - Ken Whitten

We all want to be great when our greatness is required however things don't just happen because we want them to happen. We all "want" all kinds of things. It is the things that we intentionally DO that determines what will happen next. It is impossible to pour negativity into our hearts and minds every day and expect positivity to flow from us. Please think about it, and very thoughtfully consider, the things you will read, listen to, watch, etc.

I also want to share a few thoughts with you as I reflect on this beautiful journey I am on.
1. Please never doubt the impact, or influence, of your belief in another person. There are 3 people in particular - Megan, Deb and Joyce - whose unwavering belief in me, and words of encouragement, got "Happy Friday" going and whose repeated affirmations over the years have kept me going. I have no idea what they saw/see, however I am so very grateful they did. I am reminded of the quote that is attributed to several different people - Just know it wasn't me who said it! :) - "Treat a man as he is, and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he could be, and he will become what he should be." Yes, your words and belief in another has a profound impact. To Megan, Deb & Joyce - from the bottom of my heart, and the deepest recesses of my soul, thank you! Look what WE have done! :) I love each one of you dearly and I am so very blessed to be on this life journey with you.

2. I don't know what the burden is that God has placed on your heart, I just know He burdens each one of us so we use whatever talents, gifts and abilities we have to love, care for and serve others. Whatever your burden, please fulfill it. Whether your gift is to write, sing, create something or something completely different...please pursue it. Don't worry about the outcome, I can testify with a pure heart that God will take care of that. You just shine your light and let Him worry about the rest. The answer resides in your heart. Find it and then exhaust the days of your life fulfilling it. I promise you, you will not regret it.

3. Well, there was a #3 however I can't remember what it was right now! :) Perhaps it will come back to me and I will share it during one of the next 400! :)

Hey! As I was proofing this, #3 came to me. "Happy Friday" actually started during a "storm" of life. It was a dark time for me however my heart was bursting to share thoughts, ideas, etc. with the simple, pure-hearted intent, of encouraging, empowering and equipping others to become all they are capable of becoming. As I have often reflected back on that time, I am aware/reminded that God's message is going to get out, He is going to use us, no matter the situation or circumstance. Man, that speaks deeply to my heart! I am inspired as I type these words. You see, Sweet Friends, I didn't know or understand it then, but God was literally using every situation/circumstance to fulfill the greater purpose He had. Would I have chosen that path? Nope, too big of a coward! :) Grateful He did? Without question! Please just remember, as long as their is air in our lungs, it isn't over. And that nothing can stop the plans of God. I don't know if that speaks to your heart or not...it certainly speaks to mine!

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is ever anything I can do for you or your family. I will always help you any way I can. You can reach me at kevin@whatwillyourinfluencebe.com.

Have a great day, a wonderful weekend and please cherish your precious families.

Kev