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! It is in the air; can you feel it?! College football season starts this weekend! I absolutely love this time of year!
I want to share what has been on my heart and then hopefully put a couple of tools in your toolbox this week…
How are you doing, Friend? What does your morning look like? Are you being intentional with what you are allowing into your heart, mind, and spirit? Is it positive? What does the fruit of your life look like? Are you thriving or surviving? How about those closest to you? Are they full of life, pursuing the greatness that is within them, secure in knowing that they are loved unconditionally by you?
So often these messages focus on what our influence will be in the life of another, however we know that what the mouth speaks is an overflow of what is in the heart. Garbage in, garbage out. We also know that what is in the well is always going to come up in the bucket. We can want to have great faith all we want, however if we are not filling our buckets – heart, mind, and spirit – with things that build our faith, we can want it all we want and we are not going to have it. It is the law of sowing and reaping; we will reap what we sow.
I want to encourage you this morning to really think about your daily routine. It is the things that we consistently do that will determine the lives we live. We cannot ignore our spiritual, mental, emotional, or physical health and expect to be healthy. We cannot leave these things to chance or what we feel like on any given day. We must determine in our hearts and minds the things that we will do each and every day that will help us grow and become all that we were created to become. And what challenging, difficult moments come? Oh, we lean into those! Those are building strength so we can face, and conquer, greater challenges.
Please Friend, you, the people you have in your life, and the purpose of your life is far too valuable to not be intentional and positive. No, it will not be easy, however it will absolutely be worth it!
I now want to put a couple of tools in your toolbox by sharing excerpts from two different books I am currently reading. My hope is that you will learn something and, more importantly, have a desire to dig deeper into these topics.
The first set of excerpts I am going to share come from The Complete 101 Collection: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell. I am going to share from Chapter 8, How Can I Serve and Lead People At The Same Time? in the section titled, Relationships 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know.
“You’ve got to love your people more than your position.”
“Servanthood is not about position or skill. It’s about attitude.”
“Just as you can sense when a worker doesn’t want to help people, you can just as easily detect whether someone has a servant’s heart. And the truth is that the best leaders desire to serve others, not themselves.”
A true servant leader:
1. Puts Others Ahead Of His Own Agenda
“It means intentionally being aware of other people’s needs, available to help them, and able to accept their desires as important.”
2. Possess The Confidence To Serve
“The real heart of servanthood is security.”
“How we treat others is really a reflection of how we think about ourselves.”
“Only secure leaders give power to others. It’s also true that only secure people exhibit servanthood.”
3. Initiates Service To Others
“But you can really see the heart of someone who initiates service to others. Great leaders see the need, seize the opportunity, and serve without expecting anything in return.”
4. Is Not Position-Conscious
“If anything, being the leader gave him a greater sense of obligation to serve.”
5. Serves Out Of Love
“In the end, the extent of your influence and the quality of your relationships depend on the depth of your concern for others.”
To improve your servanthood, do the following:
· Perform small acts.
“Find ways today to do small things that show others you care.
· Learn to walk slowly through the crowd.
“The next time you attend a function with a number of clients, colleagues, or employees, make it your goal to connect with others by circulating among them and talking to people.”
· Move into action.
“If an attitude of servanthood is conspicuously absent from your life, the best way to change it is to start serving. Begin serving with your body, and your heart will eventually catch up.”
“It is true that those who would be great must be like the least and the servant of all.”
“If you want to be successful on the highest level, be willing to serve on the lowest.”
The second set of excerpts I want to share come from the book Think This, Not That: 12 Mindshifts to Breakthrough Limiting Beliefs and Become Who You Were Born to Be by Dr. Josh Axe. I am going to share from Mindshift 8: Bust Vices By Building Virtues in a section titled, The Greatest Level of Character.
“I define virtue as excellence used for the greatest good.”
“Virtue is knowing good, doing good, and moving others toward good.”
The Seven Virtues
WISDOM (honesty, awareness, seeking truth, principled thinking, creativity)
JUSTICE (integrity, fairness, honor, responsibility, leadership)
SELF-CONTROL (self-discipline, patience, humility, forgiveness, work ethic)
COURAGE (perseverance, confidence, action despite fear and consequences)
FAITH (spiritual devotion, commitment, trust in God, obedience)
HOPE (joy, gratitude, positive outlook, awe, curiosity)
LOVE (kindness, self-sacrifice, compassion, generosity, charity)
“Virtues do not operate independently of each other; rather they complement one another and work synergistically.”
“Consider the symbiosis of love and truth (wisdom).”
“Truth without love can be harsh.”
“Likewise, love without truth often does little to add value or growth.”
“If you want to make your life a masterpiece, you must be virtuous. It is the only way to create a life of beauty that inspires, that is meaningful, and that moves the world forward in a positive direction.”
“THINK THIS: Virtues lead you to your personal true north, the best version of yourself.
NOT THAT: Virtues are outdated and boring.”
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, please cherish your precious family, and please stay well!
Kev
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