Think About It

          Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left an indelible stamp on my generation (and quite possibly several generations to come).   As a galvanizing force for many of the civil rights movements of the mid-20 th Century he became a recognizable face in the United States.   Yet, the thing for which Dr. King will be best remembered is his “voice”.   No, I do not mean his speaking voice – which was unique in and of itself – but the words he spoke from his heart and soul.             If you search for quotes by Mr. King you will find hundreds of them without trying very hard (and the subject matter will be as broad as his influence).   Throughout my lifetime I have heard many of Mr. King’s quotes, but I came across one the other day that I hadn’t seen, “Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being...

          Is social media a good thing or a bad thing?   I guess it depends who you ask – or many even more confusing – it may depend on when you ask someone.   Most of us have a love/hate relationship with social media ... we love to bash it as being the bane of modern existence, but we would hate to have to live without in our own lives.   Maybe the answer is that if we could keep an unfettered access to our accounts (while limiting what others post) life would be good.           The issue isn’t would we be better off without social media – the question is what are we going to do with it now that it is so firmly embedded in our culture?   Folks, we can fuss and complain all we want about it, but social media isn’t going away anytime soon!             So, how do we make the most out of this modern staple?   Here are a...

          There is a word that is pretty common – but not necessarily accepted.  Most of us understand the concept of purity, but have we ever really thought much about it?  While I personally think terms such as “unsullied” describe the intent I wonder if modern society lost it as a part of our vocabulary?            The idea of something being pure has it roots in being clean.  The concept can be applied to physical things such as water or soap, but the most important aspect of purity comes in the form of spiritual and moral lifestyles.  Being pure is being influenced by worldliness.  It is living free from corrupt desires while being innocent and true.  It is about being blameless and free from guilt.           While it is important to understand the concept of purity, it is even more important to incorporate it into our spiritual ...

          Have you ever found yourself just flat worn out ... and then been asked to do just one more thing?   Sometimes it seems like there is no end to what we are asked to do – or is there?   I have often found myself brooding about this, but upon closer inspection I realized that I was the one who put myself in that predicament.   It wasn’t necessarily that other people weren’t holding up their end of the bargain – the truth is that I wasn’t allowing them to do so.   It wasn’t that others weren’t wanting to do something, the issue was that I wasn’t allowing them to do so.   So, how can we take some of the strain off of ourselves and spread the responsibilities?   Here are a few suggestions: 1.   Give others permission to do things .   Micromanagers are continually overworked because they won’t delegate.   When we give people the ability to make decisions and undertake actions, we do a favor...

One of the things I find fascinating about aging is seeing how modern circumstances seem to be a replay of past events.   Current political adversaries are often the ones we have found ourselves with odds with in the past.   Social issues such as homelessness, poverty, injustice and equality run deep into the past.   Hate and prejudice aren’t new, they are often reboots of conflicts that have existed for centuries.   The reason I bring this up is to hold out hope that our world is not nearly hopeless as we might think.   Sometimes it seems like things are spiraling toward an abysmal end, but the truth of the matter is that we have been here before.   Sure, life may appear to be off-kilter – and we can do better –   but let’s not give into the naysayers who echo Chicken Little’s credo that the sky is falling!   Looking back in reflection can do a couple of things for us:   First, it can cause us to review history and see what can be learn...

          I am about to make a statement that will come across as incredibly over simplistic, but – if you hang in there with me – it might prompt some thought.  Ready? Here goes.  The future is something that hasn’t happened yet.  (I told you it was simple.)  While it is almost laughable in its simplicity, it also has a deeper side to it.  You see, since the future hasn’t happened, we have the option of how we will deal with it.  We can fear it and be pessimistic about what might happen or we can embrace it and live lives in optimistic hope.  Now, having established the factual basis for our statement, here is the real question – why are so many of us living in fear?  Since we are the ones who have the choice, why are we so willing to expect the worst?           I realize there are some people who don’t have a clue what we are discussing, but there are m...

          One of the most important aspects of leadership is accountability.   If we are going to help people become the best they can be, we must be willing to take on the responsibility of helping them live up to their potential and promises.   Over the last several years, leaders have accepted the difficult (but valuable) role of answerability.           Now, having said that, there is something else that is an important part of leadership – celebration.   Just as we need to help people be accountable for their choices, we also need to praise them for the ones they get correct.   Accountability is more than disciplining people for their failures, it is lauding them when they do well.   Whether it is an employer who gives a bonus, a mentor who publicly praises, a parent who gives their child a smile and hug or a teacher who prominently displays a perfect assignment on...