One Thing

  

Let's make this easy. Make it your goal to do “one thing” different in 2024. Pick one thing that is important for you to change, or improve. Then develop a “one thing” plan to make that change not only happen but stick.

We all know the annual resolutions regarding health and fitness, work goals or personal habit improvements. If we try to fix all of these at one time, we can be overwhelmed. I don’t know about you, but I have a long list of challenges in those areas. I don’t need 15 goals. I need one goal to focus on. One that I can work on in 45-60 days and then I can pick another one.

Pick one thing…

·        Do less of something (Quantify it)

·        Do more of something (Quantify it)

·        Stop something (Specifically how)

·        Create something (Specifically how)

·        Accomplish something (Specifically how)

What is your one thing?

Who am I?

 

I lost my dad way too early,

Who am I to doubt it was part of God’s plan?

 

His mother lived to age 98, why couldn’t he?

Who am I to question God’s timing?

 

He loved my mom and all of us so dearly,

Who am I to ask God why we don’t have him anymore?

 

He was married for 50 years, had nine grandchildren and a great grandchild,

Who am I to not thank God for the time we did have?

 

He had wood to carve, golf to play and trips to take,

Who am I to ask God why not?

 

He was kind, loved and respected,

Who am I to ask God why him?

 

For his disease there were no more options,

Who am I to ask God why no cure?

 

There were things I had not done or said,

Who am I to ask God for more time with him?

 

I never heard a bad word spoken towards him,

Who am I to ask God why not someone else?

 

He deserved so much more,

Who am I to question that God knows what he truly deserved?

 

I lost my dad far too soon,

Who am I to question God’s plan?

 

 

Barry D. Blanton

In loving memory of Don Blanton

January 6, 1935 – June 23, 2007

 

This MMM was originally written in 2007.  I will repeat it as long as I write MMM’s on a Monday near the anniversary of the passing of my father.

Mother's Day

 

If you did not talk to your mother on Mother’s Day, do it today.

If you have not recently told your mother that you love her, tell her.

If you have not seen your mother recently, plan a trip.

If you need to reconcile with your mother, do it.

If your mother is not in your life or no longer alive, love someone like a mother.

If you need to forgive your mother, do it.

If you need to ask your mother for forgiveness, ask.

If you are a mother, bless you.

 

In loving memory of Barbara Ward Taylor (1940 -2008) - My mother-in-law lost her battle with lung cancer just one week before Mother’s Day.  She was a loving mother, wife, grandparent, friend and family member.  She had a wonderful zest for life and a love for people. 

Leadership

 

Many people can lead in times of stability. It is times of crisis where things change. True leaders emerge during challenging times. The status quo is not demanding on leaders. Pressure situations are demanding.

In times of trouble, people don’t follow a plan, they follow a leader.

Think about it…

Who am I?

I lost my dad way too early,

Who am I to doubt it was part of God’s plan?

 

His mother lived to age 98, why couldn’t he?

Who am I to question God’s timing?

 

He loved my mom and all of us so dearly,

Who am I to ask God why we don’t have him anymore?

 

He was married for 50 years, had nine grandchildren and a great grandchild,

Who am I to not thank God for the time we did have?

 

He had wood to carve, golf to play and trips to take,

Who am I to ask God why not?

 

He was kind, loved and respected,

Who am I to ask God why him?

 

For his disease there were no more options,

Who am I to ask God why no cure?

 

There were things I had not done or said,

Who am I to ask God for more time with him?

 

I never heard a bad word spoken towards him,

Who am I to ask God why not someone else?

 

He deserved so much more,

Who am I to question that God knows what he truly deserved?

 

I lost my dad far too soon,

Who am I to question God’s plan?

 

 

Barry D. Blanton

In loving memory of Don Blanton

January 6, 1935 – June 23, 2007

 

This MMM was originally issued fifteen years ago.  I will repeat it as long as I write MMM’s on a Monday near the anniversary of the passing of my father.

Adversity

 

Any discussion of adversity is not complete without addressing the faith opportunity that adversity presents.  The only appropriate response to the challenges of life is a faithful reliance on God.  Adversity is part of God’s plan for us and the “Why” is usually something we do not understand.  Suffering is often a part of life.  Obviously, the degree of suffering may vary, but we do suffer, and that too is a part of God’s plan.  A true dependence upon God should be our focus when facing adversity, suffering and pain.  God’s blessing will see us through, and we will be stronger and wiser because of the experience.

When we suffer, we can easily get bogged down with the “why” question.  Why is this happening?  But we may never know the why.  God has not promised to tell us the why.  We can ask Him but He may not tell us.  He is more concerned with our future than our past, with our response to the suffering rather than the cause of our suffering.

Jeff Wells

Pastor, WoodsEdge Community Church

 

Intentionally

Do you live intentionally?  Do you act with intention?  Do you plan your day with intentionality?  Often, I find myself just allowing the day to come to me.  My business discussions may have a hopeful direction, but maybe not an intended goal.  Conversations with family are not always the teaching moments they should be or result in firm decisions.  I know people who are very intentional about what they do.  Those that are good at being intentional are thoughtful and purposeful about every action they take and every decision they make.  Intentionality is powerful.  It increases our influence as leaders.  It leads to greater productivity.  It can lead to a healthy lifestyle and better personal habits.  Be intentional.  Influence what happens to you and around you.

 What are you intentionally going to accomplish this week?

Who am I?

I lost my dad way too early,

Who am I to doubt it was part of God’s plan?

 

His mother lived to age 98, why couldn’t he?

Who am I to question God’s timing?

 

He loved my mom and all of us so dearly,

Who am I to ask God why we don’t have him anymore?

 

He was married for 50 years, had nine grandchildren and a great grandchild,

Who am I to not thank God for the time we did have?

 

He had wood to carve, golf to play and trips to take,

Who am I to ask God why not?

 

He was kind, loved and respected,

Who am I to ask God why him?

 

For his disease there were no more options,

Who am I to ask God why no cure?

 

There were things I had not done or said,

Who am I to ask God for more time with him?

 

I never heard a bad word spoken towards him,

Who am I to ask God why not someone else?

 

He deserved so much more,

Who am I to question that God knows what he truly deserved?

 

I lost my dad far too soon,

Who am I to question God’s plan?

  

Barry D. Blanton

In loving memory of Don Blanton

January 6, 1935 – June 23, 2007

 

This MMM was originally issued 07.02.07.  I will repeat it as long as I write MMM’s on a Monday near the anniversary of the passing of my father.

The Lost Art of Listening

If you have been around the MMM for very long, you know my passion for listening. It is likely the most discussed topic in this blog. Stephen Covey talks about how we only listen for the sake of being heard.  We really don’t listen at all, because we are too busy planning what we are going to say next.  Listening is a lost art.  It requires effort.  Unfortunately, we do not have the time or temperament to put in the effort these days.

Addressing the political and racial divides facing this country requires work.  We must take the time to understand one another, to listen to varying viewpoints and different opinions. Listening requires understanding, it does not mean we have to change our opinion. It feels like we are afraid that if we take the time to listen, and truly understand, that we will be forced to change our mind about something.  Understanding does not require agreement, but it does require listening.

It is too easy to hide behind the keyboard on social media or hop on the latest wave of hysteria without taking the time to listen and learn. Listening is a powerful tool.  It makes you a better person, it helps you broaden your perspective. More importantly is the feeling it gives to the one speaking.  There is nothing more powerful you can do than to listen genuinely and intently to another human.  We all want to be heard.  Take some time to be the one doing the listening, not just the one talking. 

God gave us two ears and one mouth.  We should use them in that ratio.  Listen….

Action!

Action is the difference between an idea and results.  No idea, thought, concept or plan goes anywhere without action.  Lots of people have great ideas; few people take the required action steps to turn ideas into results.  You know how the director of a film or TV show calls out “Action” as the filming begins?  That is the step that takes a script from something on paper to a finished product, a result that we can see.  Good ideas constantly cross our minds and enter our thoughts.  We think of ways to improve things at work, how to change things with our kids, how we might make a difference in the lives of people around us.  As ideas alone they accomplish nothing.  As ideas combined with action, they create results.  The greatest of ideas goes nowhere until an action step is taken.  Make an idea turn into results.  Take action today!

Procrastination

Procrastination is a problem for me. Just as the people that work for me.   I am not near as productive as I should be.  There are always good excuses to put things off.  Sound familiar? I feel a little bit like I am writing this MMM directly to myself!  There are two specific things I need to remind myself in order to become more productive…

Stop planning, start doing!

I am a great planner. There are a lot of plans in my head, notes in my desk, and lists on my computer.  I have regular work projects that need completion. There are books to write and businesses to start.  Planning is important but at some point, you have to just do it.  Plan appropriately, but don’t let the planning become the work.  More importantly, don’t let planning be your excuse for procrastination.

Don’t be a perfectionist!

Chasing perfection causes me to take longer to complete tasks.  It just takes more time to be perfect and it is almost never required.  This is actually a bigger challenge for those of us that are self-employed.  We don’t have others to impose deadlines and demand completion despite imperfections.  Just know that it always takes longer to be perfect and the payoff for that perfection seldom offsets the time it takes.

Listening

Listening is a favorite topic of the MMM.  People can listen at a rate of 600 words per minute, but they can only talk only at 100 to 150 words per minute.  As a result listeners are easily distracted, they can process more information than a person speaking to them can deliver.  The challenge is to use the extra time, the extra processing capacity, to listen more productively.  Unfortunately, most people start planning what they are going to say next instead of listening to the speaker’s concluding words.  Ironically, the last sentence, which usually contains the meat or most important point, is totally missed by most listeners.  Think about it, how often are you planning a response and not listening to someone speaking to you?

Slow down and listen...

Optimist/Pessimist

I would not describe myself as a wild eyed optimist.  Some might think of me as more of as a bit of a pessimist.  At least that is what my kids and some of my more entrepreneurial employers have told me.  I like to consider myself more of a realist.  I like to know all the possible outcomes and understand all of my options.  I like to have backup plans in place.  I like to understand the downside risk in situations.  Maybe those things do make me pessimistic, I don’t know.  I do know that the ability to see opportunities in the face of challenges is a virtue.  In times like these it is a virtue we should all strive to possess.  While realism is a good thing in troubling times, it takes optimism and hope to get through such times.  There are opportunities out there, even in these difficult times!  

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity;

an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty

--Sir Winston Churchill

Your Trajectory?

What is the current trajectory of your life?  Where is your life headed?  If you stay on your current trajectory, where will you end up?  This is a critical question.  Often, we sit idly by and let life take us in certain directions without attempting to influence that direction.  We also do not always think about the long term direction of our current trajectory.  It is important that we look at where we are as well as where we are headed. 

What you do today has significant impact on your future.  We have the ability to influence the trajectory of our lives.  Certainly some aspects of life are outside of our control, but the parts we can control have the ability to take us in the wrong direction if we sit back allow that to happen.  Do not think that you have no influence on the trajectory of your life. You do.  Do not sit back and let life happen to you.  God has a plan for you and wants to see you pursue that plan.  To do so you likely need to be proactive in determining the course of your life.  Check your current trajectory and tweak it as needed…

Who am I?

I am a week late in posting this MMM this year…  

Who am I?

I lost my dad way too early,

Who am I to doubt it was part of God’s plan?

His mother lived to age 98, why couldn’t he?

Who am I to question God’s timing?

He loved my mom and all of us so dearly,

Who am I to ask God why we don’t have him anymore?

He was married for 50 years, had nine grandchildren and a great grandchild,

Who am I to not thank God for the time we did have?

He had wood to carve, golf to play and trips to take,

Who am I to ask God why not?

He was kind, loved and respected,

Who am I to ask God why him?

For his disease there were no more options,

Who am I to ask God why no cure?

There were things I had not done or said,

Who am I to ask God for more time with him?

I never heard a bad word spoken towards him,

Who am I to ask God why not someone else?

He deserved so much more,

Who am I to question that God knows what he truly deserved?

I lost my dad far too soon,

Who am I to question God’s plan?

Barry D. Blanton

In loving memory of Don Blanton

January 6, 1935 – June 23, 2007