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I absolutely love this picture. My daughter Emmi watching Tiger Woods walking up a fairway at the Buick Open in Michigan a week ago…

We had the opportunity to watch Tiger do what Tiger does…. when leading going into the 4th round, he is an amazing 35-1 only losing one time when in the lead on the final day (I believe when he was 20). He didn’t disappoint, crowd was going crazy, and it will be a day I’ll never forget.

What happens to you when you watch greatness?

It seems people respond one of two ways…. “I want to be like that… I want to be great at SOMETHING…” inspired to keep falling forward to find it…

Or…. people shut down… “There’s no way I could ever do that… I’m just not that smart, talented, athletic….”

What triggers in my mind is about another great Person that walked down fairways… A sick woman did everything she could do to touch Him, Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Greatness, and people ripped off roofs to help a friend get to Him. Jesus is Greatness.

What happens when you think of Greatness?

We were all made for more. For a purpose. God has a good, pleasing, perfect will for our lives…

Do you have drivers in your life that encourage you to your purpose or are you focused on the wedges that get in the way?

Last weekend, I had a great opportunity to go on a Boyz Weekend Road Trip to a Tigers/Sox game and the Baseball Hall of Fame for the Induction Ceremony of the greatest player of all time, Jim Rice. OK, I’m biased.

The best part of the trip however was the chance to spend a weekend with three generations of Meyer’s, most importantly, my Dad (pictured here named after Mel Ott).

On the way home, we had a chance to talk about what his legacy is, what matters, what he’s learned… We all have a lot we can learn from the “experienced”…

• Have a Foundation. My Dad has always been a strong, Bible-believing Christ follower. It’s made decisions in his life easier as he’s had a consistent guide of Truth. He’s quite possibly the most faithful person I know.
• Be Different. My Dad is an odd bird and he owns it (whether he knows it or not)… and it’s good. God didn’t use a cookie cutter when he created us, quit trying to be like someone else’s crumbs.
• Be Rich in the Things Money Can’t Buy. I’ve only heard this 1,232,413 times in my life from my Dad but it’s true. He doesn’t have much money but he’s got a warehouse full of relationships and purpose that is priceless. Choose people over possessions.
• Retire and Expire. “Father” is still preaching and serving a church part time at age 72…his purpose isn’t done, he is tracking to be “all used up” until the day he’s called home…
• Finish what you Start. Married almost 50 years, he’s modeled commitment to his bride. (He did have it pretty easy though marrying the greatest woman in his generation). Whether marriage or sports teams, he’s always modeled and taught to stick it out.
• You can live a lifetime and never know who Madonna is. Yes, it’s true, I don’t think he knows. Along with Lost, Hannah Montana, and 93% of the other top cultural people or shows that exist today. You don’t have to know what’s up to make a difference…maybe we can spend less time trying to keep up.

My Dad has left his Mark… I hope to extend his lessons to future generations… And quite possibly, his greatest days are still ahead. He’s a great man that I love.

Dear Friend:

I am tired of seeing people trying to help you only to hear you say “No one cares”.

I feel like I’m attached to the back of a runaway train, I need to let go.

I can’t continue to work harder than you.

You lie to me, your family, your friends, and then wonder why no one respects you.

The drama you bring makes it “all about you”…. it’s a selfish choice.

We find a bottle in your vehicle and you act like someone else put it there.

I see the destruction you’re leaving around you, the hearts you’re breaking, yet you’re oblivious.

You say that life would be better for everyone if you weren’t around… are you kidding me?

On my own strength, I have no other ideas, energy, or words that can make you change.

I can’t help you.

But I do know this.

Your best years can be ahead of you.

You can turn your feet the other direction and take steps to life, purpose, and respect.

You are loved. By me, your family, and your friends.

When your turn and take steps, people will be by your side. I will be by your side.

You can leave a legacy that will count, your life can influence scores of people around you.

Your past can be forgiven.

You matter to God.

He can help you.

I leave you in His hands… I’m praying for you…

Mark

To see Mt. Rushmore in a magazine is one thing, to go there and see it in person is amazing, but to focus in with binoculars (as my son Easton is doing here) gives one a whole new appreciation of the detail that went into sculpting this monument. It took Gutzon & his son Lincoln Borglum 14 years and 400 workers to complete this work of art.

In our workplaces, ministries, and even small day to day encounters, the ability and power of focus can be a maximizing, life-changing differentiator.

Most of us fall into rock-skipping. We’re busy, trying to consume only what we absolutely have to, and are sprinting an inch deep and a mile wide at work and in life. We’ve all heard “focus”, but what can that really look like?

• At work…. The nature of my job is to be an inch deep and a mile wide as Operations Manager…however, our initiatives won’t get done without focus. Bill Hybels talked about having a “6 initiatives in 6 weeks” approach to your critical items. I find this very helpful to be able to say “no” to important things but will simply have to wait. Here are my current “6″ that are my focus to April 15th at Pinnacle as an example:
  Web strategy with blog- initial steps to build a contributing writer team for future blog
  Video research for online snippets for training and solutions for clients
  Bootcamp- 2 week training curriculum developed for new sales executives/employees
  Chief Technology Officer strategy as more companies are looking to outsource IT
  Marketing plan rolling with client experience focus
  Existing Customer process defined
• Freakanomics is a good read about focus. It shows how much common knowledge we all believe to be true is actually false when someone takes the time to dig into the data/details. (Like, is it more dangerous to have a gun in your home or have a swimming pool?) Real information is power, it takes focus to find real information…. Focus= Power
• Every day interactions. When we take time to stop and focus on a person (maybe at the grocery store or with a neighbor), we can make a real impact rather than having a relationship of news/sports/weather. Rob Wegner delivered a great message on this available here for $4 http://www.wiredchurches.com/s.nl/it.A/id.2717/.f His statement: Small intervention + Focus= BIG IMPACT Small intervention + No Focus= Little or no impact.
• I get overwhelmed with the amount of information available to me. I can’t read all the blogs, books, or attend enough conferences to keep up. I find myself “wishing” I knew more about scores of subjects. I’m learning…”it’s OK not to know it all, take a deep breath, pick my target, and focus on something to be an expert in…” Having great people around you with their expertise’ will fill in your gaps of information.
• Ever been to a Cirque du Soleil show? You’ll see what crazy, amazing ability can come from focusing on one talent. To see how fast and how many bowling pins two people can fire off at each other without dropping a single pin was staggering. I admire their focus to a single craft.

The people around me that are changing the world are focused on specialties. They are not spread thin, Jeopardy wanna-be-winner, know-it-alls. They are satisfied with being great at tackling a single problem/challenge, in a single area, for a single company/organization at time. They know what they can and cannot do. The employees I see that make a real impact have the ability to focus and be a real expert in their field…they do not skim the surface. Great Mom’s and Dad’s are taking time to focus with their kids in small interventions.

Are you focused or are you just trying to keep up?

“A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.”- Warren Buffet

Lesson: Observe what the masses are doing and consider an authentic distinction to do exactly the opposite.

How many times have you been part of a meeting talking about what the competition is doing and the reaction is to adopt a “we do that also” strategy?

• While the masses dread Monday at work, find a way to love it.
• When no one wants to deal with a particular client, be the one to ask for that account.
• While everyone is looking for fuel efficient vehicles, look for a ridiculously low priced SUV
• If everyone’s cutting their lawns with vertical lines, go horizontal…or better yet, put in astro-turf
• When people are panicked about the economy, have peace knowing our God will provide
• When all insurance agents send out calendars with mug-shots of themselves to their clients, send all your clients $5 Starbucks cards and offer to meet them for coffee
• When one candidate for President is for a $700 Billion bailout, be the candidate against it with a confident, thoughtful plan B

It’s time to go launch a mortgage company. Thanks for the reminder Mr. Buffet.

When our economy is imploding, stock market tumbles 2400 points, jobless claims are up, and I’m not excited about the vision of either of our two candidates for president…. every part of me is looking to be safe, conservative, pull-back, and create financial contingency plans.

Is that what we’re called to do? As both Kem and I are employed and haven’t had our circumstances change, scores of people around us are hurting with job loss and dire choices.

If we have an extra couple hundred bucks a month right now- do we put it in savings for our own security or do we try to help some people in need?

I’m simply struck by my natural instinct to look out for #1.

Yet… I get this “sense” that we should share our last piece of pie every month with someone else… What are we called to do? What are you doing in these turbulent times?

This picture was from Thursday of this week at the Innovate Conference at Granger Community Church. When I’m in a drama, here are my typical emotions and thoughts that come in my head:

• When I have an upcoming drama, it’s a feeling of pressure, anxiety, and “I’ll feel a lot better when I get this over with…”
• I obsess about practice. I practice facial expressions in the mirror, I’m doing my lines in the car on the way to work, at lunch, home from work, before I go to bed, and any other white space of opportunity to run them…
• The day of the drama, I don’t like talking to people much… Whatever I can do to maintain some sort of concentration, I try to do it…
• The moments before the drama backstage, I’m praying to God that I don’t bomb my lines and trying to tell myself to have fun and actually enjoy it… all the while my heart rate is escalating, and I’m experiencing shortness of breath as I’m creeping into character…
• While actually delivering the lines, I often have other thoughts in my head that have nothing to do with the drama at all- “Huh, I wonder if the Cowboys have the early or late game today?” That’s a scary reality when standing in front of 1000 people…
• I’m afraid of blowing my lines, letting down my team, letting down my church, how I would look, being bad, doing it for the wrong reasons…and on and on…
• Until the final drama is done… I’m usually not having much fun, each service is a small win.

So why do I put myself through the misery? One reason among many is that it forces me to do something I fear. I once read, “Do what you fear and you control fear“- I believe that was Tom Hopkins in “The Art of Selling”…

I’ve really reflected a lot on my fears and how they limit and/or derail me in pursing the purposes God has put me here to carry out. There is a direct correlation to our leadership capacity and our ability to deal with fear in our lives.

Here are some of mine that I deal with:

• I will over-analyze a decision to avoid a fear of making the wrong decision.
• I will not speak my opinion in a meeting, conference call, or conversation for fear of looking dumb or worrying about what others may think.
• I fear being wrong, sounding wrong, looking wrong, and will do what I can to avoid it.
• I won’t introduce myself to strangers for fear of what they may think.

There are so many more… In my past, I’ve blown my lines and it was awful. But greatness in this life will not come without screwing up, tough struggle, and the perseverance to keep on keeping on… How do you deal with your fears? Are you able to look inward and know what they are? If we can free ourselves from our anchor’s of fear, what might God do through us?