Live Intentionally

Last week two friends of mine, Molly and Joseph Bail, along with their son Elijah headed over to Nakuru, Kenya to build an children’s home for kids who have been orphaned by AIDS.

They have been planning for this for years.  They visited Kenya several times, developed a strong relationship with the pastor of a local Kenyan church, and worked tirelessly to raise money for the home and their living expenses. 

This is the epitomy of living intentionally.  So, I just wanted to give a big “Way to go!” to Molly and Joe. 

The St. Pete Times published a story about them Friday, and you can also visit their website to read more.

I love the outdoors and I love to learn, plus OurChurch.Com is doing a Photo Month focus right now, so I’ve decided to take up photography.   I was already considering the Canon Rebel XT and a 75-300 mm telephoto lens, and then Circuit City decided to offer a $150 discount if you buy the two together this week.  So, I bought my first entry-level digital SLR camera.  I’m sooooo excited!

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You’ve probably been heard many times that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  What you eat first thing in the morning helps to determine whether you’ll have the strength and energy and focus you need for morning and thus sets the tone for the day.

The same is true for your mind.  What you put into your mind during the first half hour of each day helps determine where your focus will be for the day, if you have any focus at all.

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As I mentioned yesterday, I recently read StrengthsFinder 2.0 by Tom Rath and did the online strengths assessment.  After completing the online assessment a Strengths Discovery and Action-Planning Guide was emailed to me listing my top 5 strengths.  It said my top 5 strengths are:

Analytical
Relator
Learner
Responsibility
Focus

I think that’s accurate for the most part, but I’m a bit skeptical that relator and responsibility are that high.  (BTW, being a skeptic and demanding strong rational evidence is one of the characteristics of Analyticals.)    Additionally, I’m surprised that developer and activator are not in my top 5.  I’m always taking the initiative to start things as well as looking for opportunities to teach, write, and mentor people to become the best they can be.

If you’ve done the StrengthsFinder assessment, what are your top 5 strengths?  Do you think they’re accurate?

The premise of the book Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath and the strengths movement in general, is that people will be much more productive and much happier if they focus on doing what they naturally do well and developing those strengths, rather than focusing on trying to get better in areas where they’re weak.  The book includes a facinating breakdown of 34 “strength themes” and access to an online assessment tool that will help the reader discover their strengths.

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We’ve all heard the saying “it’s better to give than to receive.”  Well, a research team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found that to be true.  The study found that people who spent money on others were happier than those who spent money on themselves.

Money buys happiness — if you spend on someone else

Today is Jennifer’s and my 10th wedding anniversary.  In some ways it’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years.  In other ways, some things seem so long ago.  Jennifer is an avid scrap booker and enjoys reliving memories.  So, starting 2 weeks ago we’ve been looking back - each day on a different year - looking at photo albums, watching old home videos, and trying to do one thing each day that was reminiscent of that year.

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Happy St. Patrick’s Day everyone!

For most people St. Patrick’s Day if celebrated at all is simply the next holiday to decorate for after Valentine’s Day, or an excuse to break out the green clothing and drink some green beer.  All in good fun I suppose.

I’ve had a few green beers myself over the years.  Since I went to college at Valparaiso (Indiana), I had the opportunity to go to a couple St. Patrick’s Day parades in Chicago where they dye the Chicago River green. 

But do you know who the real Saint Patrick was?

If not, here’s your chance to learn something new today.  Take a few minutes to read about him.  He was a pretty interesting guy and an important person in Irish history.  And at the very least give you a good conversation starter when you’re admiring co-workers’ St. Patrick’s Day buttons.

• Saint Patrick - history.com
• Saint Patrick - wikipedia.com
• Saint Patrick - JoyfulHeart.com

I tend to be a very determined person.  I believe that often the difference between success and failure is the successful person just gets up one more time than he fails.  One of my my mottos is “refuse to lose.” 

John Maxwell makes some insightful points about quitting in the latest Leadership Wired newsletter:

“You may have heard the saying, ‘Quitters never win, and winners never quit.’ Nothing could be further from the truth! Leaders are strategic quitters.”

I think he’s right.  Sometimes we continue to do things we know aren’t working because we’re afraid of risk.  We’re afraid that if we quit the job we hate we won’t find a better job.  We continue doing things that are ineffective because we don’t want to rock the boat.  There are people who like things the way they are and will be impacted if we make a change.  

In the article he cites 3 valid reasons to quit:

• You quit something you don’t do well to start something you do well.
• You quit something you’re not passionate about to do something that fills you with passion.
• You quit something that’s doesn’t make a difference to do something that does.

It’s been almost 2 months since I last blogged.  What have I been up to?  Recovering from an overly busy phase of life.  Now that I’m reenergized and ready to take the Live Intentionally blog to the next level, one of the things that’s been on my mind is what is the right level of activity to have in one’s life?  One the one hand a boring, listless, unchallenging life lacks meaning and fulfillment.  On the other hand trying to do too much can lead to a rushed, stressed out, overly tired life that lacks reflection and fulfillment as well.

So, where’s the balance?  How do live at a challenging but sustainable pace of life?  I think these are questions a lot of people struggle with.

If you have any thoughts on the topic or know of some good books or other resources.  Post them here.  I’m considering doing an extended series on busyness.