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Difference Between Good & Great Leading

I shared this w/ one of our leadership teams at GJFA the other day, and thought I'd share it w/ you. Some of it was copied, some is mine. Use it if you like.

The Difference Between Good and Great Leading-

 Great leaders are shaped and formed in the trenches while most good leaders are born good leaders.

The difference between the 2 is a very thin and fluxuating line.

Great leaders are shaped out of 4 experiences: call, style, skill set, and context in which you see yourself. – when a leader’s call, style and skill set fit the context, the stage is set for a great leader. Opposite, sometimes the stage is set for this, but we never make the transition from good to great.  Nothing bad w/ being a good leader, but if you want to make the transition, whether in church ministry or in the work field- .  Let’s discuss the diff-

Great leaders challenge the prevailing rules about how to conduct ministry, while good leaders work w/ the cards that are dealt. Great leaders are never content w/ the status quo, they always have a holy discontent w/ the way things are. They know that man-made rules are made to be broken because there is always a better way.

Attitude- Today’s attitude gives me possibilities-

·      My attitude when I begin a task affects the outcome more than anything else.

·      My attitude towards others often determines their attitude towards me.

·      My attitude, not my achievements, give me happiness.- Money will not give you happiness and debt will make you unhappy.

·      My attitude- good or bad- is contagious.

Great leaders intuitively read the signs of the times while good leaders struggle to make sense out of the moment.  One of the reasons good leaders never achieve greatness is because they’re to busy, preoccupied, making stuff out of nothing, doing things that don’t mean much to the big picture. They don’t take time or sit still long enough to hear. So they fail to see what God is trying to accomplish.

Today’s priorities give me focus.

·      Time is our most precious commodity.

·      We cannot manage time, we only manage priorities.

·      We cannot change time, only our priorities.

·      Priorities help us to choose wisely.

Most great leaders are constantly recreating their leadership to fit the times, while most good leaders tend to rely on past performance. Well it worked back at so and so, it worked 10 years ago, 5 years ago isn’t even acceptable. It’s much harder for a person to remain a great leader in times like today w/ such exponential change in every aspect of life and leadership.

Today’s health gives tomorrow’s strength-

·      Lasting leaders recognize their body is a vehicle that carries them to their mission.

·      Proper diet and exercise provide the energy to lead well over the long haul.

·      Your physical health will impact your spiritual stamina and perspective.

Great leaders see no limits of what God can do thru them. They rely on God for the impossible, while most good leaders try to calculate what is possible. Great leaders know that the only way to know the limit of possibility is by pushing it to the impossible. Great leaders know that we don’t need God for the possible, we find God in what is thought impossible. If it’s possible, possibly we are doing it on our own.

Great leaders are willing to ‘ready, fire, aim’ while good leaders always want to have everything in place before they fire. Great leaders are always laying it on the line, stepping out where most people fear to go.

Your commitment will be tested everyday, that’s just how it is, BUT, Staying committed helps you overcome many of life’s obstacles.

Great leaders are passionately focused on a few things and flexible on everything else, while good leaders try to wrap their hearts and minds around too many things.

Great leaders empower others; good leaders delegate ministry to others.  Good leaders are always trying to accomplish more.

Delegate: a person acting on behalf of another

Empower: to give official power to or legal authority.

Today’s family gives me stability

Families are often lost- spent as the price for successful ministries & businesses- make time for your spouse and kids-

If the part of your home that you lead is not ‘in order’ you cannot expect to lead others.

Success is having those closet to me, love and respect me the most.- You can not come in here, lead others and then go home and act an entire different way.

Pray w/ your spouses. Just heard today 65% men & 55% women  upto age 40 commit adultery. They didn’t plan on it, sin crept in…. I challenge you, what’s on your TV? Desperate housewives, sex in the city, shows that glamorize adultery and immorality? 

Leadership isn’t about getting people to do what you want them to do; great leadership is about helping people achieve what God created them to be.

The difference between successful and unsuccessful people is how they think. What do you think about? God is the source of great ideas!!

If you are in are part of this ministry and it is a huge burden, maybe this is not what God called you to be involved in. Find a spot where you are happy and like doing what you do and where you get the most fulfillment; that’s where you are supposed to be.

Great leaders are like scouts and coaches than player. They’re constantly looking for talented, passionate leaders who have the potential to be great, while most good leaders are focused on the fullfilment of a particular ministry.

If you want to be great, empower people to reach their potential.

Great leaders surround themselves w/ good leaders, while good leaders surround themselves w/ people of lesser skills.

This shows extreme insecurities. Afraid someone is going to take your job or think you cant do it. This is where we need to show and exude confidence, not to be mixed w/ arrogant or cockiness.

Some leaders spend to much time focused on problem people or needy people and overlook the other 99% .  Sure, these people need help, but the leader doesn’t have to run around and help and clean all the messes, empower others to help others.

Today relationships give me fulfillment.

·      You’ll enjoy life more if you enjoy people.

·      You’ll get further in life if people enjoy you.

·      Most people can trace their success and failures to relationships in their life.

Great leaders are made by how they create or respond to the context in which they find themselves. Buckle up and get yourself in a context where you can become all that God has made you to be. If you’re not in the right context, find the one that fits you. Don’t settle for ‘whatever’. 

Time is short, most the time we only have one shot at this.

www.ryancook.net

 

 

Pooping 2.0

Yes, you read the title correctly.

I stumbled across through a couple friends of mine. They are both highly knowledgeable about fitness and beyond. 

The first one is Adrian Robles, an old high school friend I graduated the same year w/ but went to different school. His blogsite is http://adriancpt1.blogspot.com stop by and check it out sometime. 

The other guy I snagged this video from is Sean Croxton, his website is http://undergroundwellness.com/blog Underground Wellness takes a holistic, functional approach to rebuilding health from the ground up. 

How well are you pooping? As Sean Croxton of Underground Wellness says, "Long-term digestive dysfunction is a tremendous stress on the body, causing poor nutrient absorption, autointoxication, immune system compromise, and adrenal burnout." 

This video is funny but full of tidbits of info on pooping- Here's a video of Sean in action giving you the "low down" on 'Poopin' 2.0- Enjoy

www.ryancook.net

Guard Your Marriage

Recently I have been hearing a lot about divorce, adultery, cheating, immorality and so on.  All over TV and billboards you sex being glamorized. Just today, a friend of mine came and talk about this messy subject of affairs and adultery that he was in the middle of.

Look at this heart wrenching, staggering stat- 65% of men and 55% of women will commit adultery by age 40. That is so sad!

I heard a message the other day about this subject and want to hit some points and add some of my own to it.

5 Ways to wreck your marriage-

Neglect your marriage

Start w/ yourself and your body

Give majority of energy to something else besides your marriage

No relational intimacy- no sex- if so, by all means, make it boring and as predictable as you possibly can

Enjoy common interests & form an emotional bond w/ someone else besides your spouse

Projects at work, co-ed sports, training at the gym

Try to relate to them and tell them things about your spouse you don’t like

Anticipate your time together w/ another

Extra cologne/perfume, make excuses to leave the house

Flirt w/ others

Email, FB and text them

Make sure you delete all communication between you 2 so spouse doesn’t find out

Leave notes, touch, joke w/ one another

Make excuses and rationalize your actions

Lie and deceive your spouse

By all means, God wants you to be happy!

Now that I have your attention, lets talk about this subject!

People never intend to commit adultery, it happens subtly.

Do whatever it takes to radically reduce and remove the risks.

God’s line w/ adultery isn’t just the act of, we think “well, we are friends, we haven’t crossed the sex line yet” but God’s line starts w/ our eyes, heart and mind. Check out Matt 5:28.

Guard your heart, eyes and mind.

Listen, if you kept a video log w/ all your interactions w/ other people through out the day, whether same or opposite sex and showed it to your spouse, would you be proud of how you behaved?

If emails, FB, and texts were fair game and you didn’t delete them, would you be able to say you treated others w/ integrity and not be ashamed of what they saw? Or would you say YIKES, I wouldn’t want them to see how I gave this other person so much attention, or when I got w/ m buddies/girlfriends, how we talked about others of the opposite sex.

5 ways to help your relationship w/ your spouse-

Keep a growing relationship w/ Christ. When you neglect your relationship w/ Christ, things go downhill.

Never be alone w the wrong people. Who ever that may be, same or opposite sex. What’s the appearance seem to be?

Never talk badly about your marriage w/ the wrong people. Find another married couple to talk to

Surround yourself w/ strong marriages

Avoid all inappropriate place and situations. Ex old flames looking you up on fb or texting- don’t let it happen. Don’t put yourself or your spouse in that situation

·      Avoid ALL appearance of evil.

If you have a job that puts you in bad situations, then quit. It’s easier to find another job than another father or mother to your children. True-life example- I have a buddy that got a job. I mentioned my concerns, he started anyways. The first day of training he went home, talked to his wife about it, listened to his wife’s views, went back and quit the job. He didn’t want to be put in any situation that could possibly lead to something else. Was he weak? HECK NO, he was avoiding the situation, guarding himself, and heeding the advice of his wife. Smart man and I respect him for that move!

Do what it takes to invest in your own marriage. When the grass looks greener on the other side, it’s time to water your own yard!

Your marriage takes work. After going on 18 years, I think Renee and I’s marriage is stronger now than it’s ever been. Why? Because we have been working on it for a while. It just doesn’t happen. We have open talks about things and situations in our lives.

• When we don’t work at it we fail.

4 ways to help our marriage

1. Get transparent- open up and share your feelings and heart
2. Get alone w/ each other- no kids or friends
3. Get spiritual- Best thing that happened w/ Renee and I, we learned to pray together
4. Get help- if you need help, find it

Adultery can cause devastation and a huge mess. Visualize telling your kids you cant live w/ them anymore. The respect they would lose for you. Telling your spouse who has sacrificed everything for you that you want to be w/ someone else. A person can destroy in 15 minutes what has taken a lifetime to achieve.

When we are unfaithful, God is always faithful.

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