MaxiMeyer.com

As we grow old, finish school, float through life, raise families, work jobs, grow older, and eventually set our sights on ending our brief 70-100 years on this planet, it seems there are some pretty significant questions we all should ask:

• How in the world did we get here…. really?  In a galaxy of a 100 billion stars in a universe with a 100 billion galaxies, it’s just ridiculous and crazy to comprehend…
• Is there a God?  If the answer to this is no, then really, why bother asking any other questions- life is short, any meaning  is simply made-up, and we’ll all be gone soon enough.
• If there is a God, who or what is He/She/It?  I don’t understand how there can be multiple, conflicting Truths- there are clear contradictions in the various world religions… It doesn’t make sense to me that Truth would be a buffet of our personal choice.
• If there is a God, does God care about the way I live?  It seems if there is a God- God’s in charge and I should determine if there is a way I’m to live with this free will I’ve been given…  If God cares, I’d hate to get that wrong…
• What happens to me when I die?  Certainly this would be rooted in my answers to the other questions ranging from a heap of dust or particles to reincarnated into someone or something else to heaven or hell.
• If there is a heaven, how do I get there?  Really, if I die and have an opportunity to be in a place of eternal perfection and bliss, I’d be crazy not to put all my eggs in that basket.  Hmmm… 100 years here or forever in a blow-my-mind-away eternity.  That’s a no-brainer.

The way we answer these questions sets a significant trajectory for our lives (including ignoring these questions).  It impacts the way we’ll raise our kids, view work, marriage, our purpose, deal with stress, perspective on death, grudges, and more… What other questions would you put on the list?

I wanted predictability in my life.  If I do my part and do “good things”, God will do His part and my life will be blessed right?  My business will thrive, my family will be healthy, and I’ll live a long prosperous life.. right?  A + B should = C and good things should happen to good people.

So God, what’s the deal?  Have you ever been frustrated with the lack of success in your life?  Here is the Maximizers session from September 9th:

On the heels of my previous post of what churches could learn from business, is there really anything that businesses could learn from churches?  I’ll preface it with this, churches don’t have the patent on morality but I would argue that the foundation of values rests on Faith (and studies show well over 90% of people in the US believe there is a God).  From Faith comes beliefs and expections that enter the marketplace… I’ll also leave out my personal belief (in Christ) and keep it generic as large segments of our world are still seeking Truth… so what are they?

• Your leadership matters.  As a owner, leader, or manager of people, you are positioned to make a huge impact and influence scores of people within your organization, your clients, and community.  The stakes are higher than you can imagine and go beyond a P & L statement or balance sheet.  Though you may not hear it at the water cooler, don’t be mistaken, people are watching you and may be forever influenced by your actions (and you may never know).  Lead well! “For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required.” — Luke 12:48
• People matter.  They are more than a number or a task.  Every person at your organization has a story… They’re going home to a marriage in trouble, or issues of health in their families, or kids that have made awful decisions.  It’s easy to say “don’t bring your troubles at home to work” but the reality is we don’t live in buckets or compartments.  Be willing the manage the tension of the bottom line and the realities of what your employees may be dealing with in their lives.
• Life is not about money.  Yes we need to be profitable and be great managers of our financials, but in the end- what really matters?  I once heard a business leader say, “he who dies with the most toys wins…”  Uh, when you die you die and your toys ain’t coming with you.  Money isn’t the biggest motivator for your employees either… Check out here and here for a few other references about what does… one being Purpose…  I Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
• Create Purpose Beyond Gidgets.  So if it’s not about money, what are you creating at your business?  Why do you exist?  What corner of the world are you really changing as a team?  Are you giving your entire organization the opportunity to experience a deeper purpose beyond punching a clock and collecting a paycheck?  If the leaders of industry could take their strategic, management, marketing, communication gifts and apply them to give back to their community… our world would change.The purpose of your organization should be bigger than any individual at your business including any owner, shareholder, or executive.
• You’re not in control.  Sure, you like to make projections, have retirement plans, and “most” of the time you may feel like you’re in control of your own destiny.  That reality just isn’t so.  You don’t control the economy, the next war, your health, the next terrorist attack, or unexpected shift in consumer trends.  It’s doesn’t mean we stop planning but it’s a perspective to keep in check.  (Think of the stories of those who took their own life thinking they had it all figured out when their fortunes were lost…)  Proverbs 27:1 ” Boast not of tomorrow, for you don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
• Be authentic.  We live in a culture where it seems true integrity is the exception and not the rule.  Who is the man or woman behind the curtain?  What are your motives?  Do you really have the best interest in mind for your clients and employees?  Luke 16:10 – “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”

Honestly, if I’m going to clean toilets for an organization, it’s going to be one that has a reason for existing and adds value (all things being equal…).  What would you add?

After two days of mind-bending thinking on the church, the negative perception of society about the church (accordingly to USA Today, only 18% trust organized religion and attendance continues to dwindle year after year), the AND Conference at Granger Community Church has helped bring more focus to the future we need to look to:

• Clearly, I am part of the 40% that finds church as positive. It has had a huge impact on my life, I love “the church” (my marriage, my perspective, knowledge of the teachings of Jesus, and finding my purpose)- However, this doesn’t fly for 60% of the population that sees “the church” as out-of-touch, corrupt, or irrelevant and this number is growing. 
• Churches and their 4-walls will continue to have an amazing impact in our world.  There will be millions of people that will appreciate the traditions, the culture, and the steps they will continue to take in their relationship with Christ.
• Churches need to release the idea that people need to come to their buildings to “go to church” and that there are incredible things happening outside “the box” (the four walls of church) where people are “being the church”.  This will be uneasy, scary, a loss of control, and many will resist.  I believe the greatest movement of God in our lifetime is going to happen outside the 4-walls, outside of any denomination, outside of any one strategy, and outside of our egos.  After all, it’s not about us, it’s about Jesus.
• The concept of giving or tithing (Old Testament Biblical principle of giving 10% of our income) is going to continue to shift more to outside of “the box”.  People will actually give more because they will be giving to their God-given mission and purpose.  Many churches will still have the trust of people to manage the strategy and how to best impact their community (as they should… many churches are incredible managers of the funds that are given with well organized strategies, leaders with integrity, and missions that align with scores of individuals). 
• What is church?  That is fluid.  It will be structures and “what has been” complimenting and supporting the unstructured, multi-cultural, doing great things to change communities and bring Hope across the globe.  It will look like whatever people can imagine it to be.  Rules will be resisted.  Our “church” will be centered around our God-given purpose which could exist within an organized brick and mortar church or outside of it.  (Even this post is swinging all over in the use of the word “church”…    )
• Technology is going to continue to play a huge role in these next months and years.  People and organizations have the opportunity to be “visible” to the global community.  Local, on-the-front lines, based-on-relationships mission will be most effective, however technology will leverage training, create ease of funding, ease of volunteering, and help facilitate collaboration like we’ve never seen before…  Great results will be shared virally as lives and communities are changed.
• This isn’t new.  12 people modeled this a long time ago…  As Alan Hirsch remarked, “Jesus and religion don’t mix, and there’s a lot of religion going on out there…”  It’s time to get back to the basics.

Where’s your church?  Probably right where you are and who you are.  The culture you’re in, the people you know, and the thing that makes your heart beat fast is where God can and will use you now.  So can I really call that church? Yes.  But isn’t church a building?  Yes.  Is it a small group?  Yes.  Helping kids with after school tutoring?  Yes.  Is it OK if I don’t call it church?  Yes. 

Being a critic and finding holes?  Easy.  Saying yes?  Much harder.

• I tweet
• I golf
• I father
• I work
• I lead
• I read
• I exercise
• I Facebook
• I study
• I love
• I meet
• I play
• I volunteer
• I husband
• I eat
• I hire
• I watch
• I attend
• I write
• I live

with intentionality.

Two words.  Growing Old?  On Purpose?  We choose.

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.

There is no God.

I can do whatever I want, take what I want, whenever I want.. it’s all about here.

Crud, there are other people that can do what they want also.

Now I have to be creative, manipulate, and lure to get what I want.

The winners of this game are those who can entertain, attract, out-earn and outsmart.

It’s survival of the fittest. And once you’re on top, you’ll do whatever is needed to stay there.

Those who lose try to pacify their life by paying the winners to entertain them.

The losers go through this short life with temporary bursts of experiences and vices to get by.

The losers are “duped” into thinking they could get on top, that hope keeps them in the game.

All the players hold on desperately to this life, and death is tragic.

That is, if life is all about here and this world.

Then enters God.

Suddenly the prospect that life is not about here but for some life with God changes everything.

Athiests rise up to challenge the existence of God.

The winners mock the idea of God.

All resist any suggestion that they may be wrong. They have “the right” to do as they please!

Kill, destroy, mock, belittle any talk of God… whatever it takes to keep our game intact.

It’s all OK if your God idea is in your own personal box, but keep it out of our game.

The Choice. God Says:

The last will be first and the first will be last.

That life on earth is short and you won’t take your treasures with you.

That death is not something to be feared… we are eternal beings.

The game you play on Earth will leave you empty.

In fact, I’ve dumped that game on it’s head. It’s rigged, can’t you tell?

I’ll take care of the bad guys, don’t worry about it.

I have a plan to give you purpose and meaning for every day you’re there on Earth.

I know you better than you know you. I’d like to help.

It’s a question worth pursing. We’re living in our choice right now. A life as if there’s no God or there is a God. It changes everything.

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?