Character

 

Character

Our world is quick to praise people and accomplishments. Athletes are praised. Accomplished executives are praised. Leaders are praised. We praise talent, and there is nothing wrong with that. But what about character? Is it overlooked? Does it receive the same amount of attention and praise? I suggest not. Consider…

In a world quick to praise talent, don’t forget to honor character.

Choose your Me…

Have you seen the Zillow commercial with the woman looking to buy a home talking to the multiple versions of herself?  It ran frequently during the Olympics. The ad is named “Susan’s” and you can see the company name in the background, Susan & Susan. What a great depiction of the voices we all have in our heads.  Susan has her negative me and her stressed me.  She also has a helpful me and a spontaneous me, along with gullible, anti-social, paranoid and stressed versions of herself?

Most of the versions of Susan depicted in the ad are negative characteristics.  That is so realistic! The negative voices in my head always outnumber the positive ones.  Why is that? In the commercial, all the versions of the Susan’s are seated at a large conference table.  Why do we let negative me and lazy me even have seats at the table? Unfortunately, it is hard not to.  We seem to gravitate to the negative version of ourselves.  Our goal should be to fill the table with all the positive me’s!  There are plenty to choose from, positive me, confident me, talented me, respected me, and accomplished me.  To name a few. That is who we need to listen to.  Those are the versions of you that you want at your table.

Don’t invite negative me to your table!

How Are Your Investments Doing? (part 2)

No, I am still not referring to your stock portfolio.  This time I am talking about your investment in your community.  Where are you giving back?  What organizations are benefitting from your time and talents?  What kind of an investment are you making in the community that supports your business?  Will you leave a legacy? 

Communities and organizations do not grow without the support of good leaders.  Just like we invest in others we should invest in our community.  The greatest thing about giving back is what you learn and how you grow by doing so.  We have all heard it said, those who give back get more than they give.  It is true, that is why it is an investment.  Be involved in your community.  Support a cause you are passionate about.  Share your time and skills for a worthwhile cause.  Make your community a better place to live.

We are meant to live in community.  We are designed to support others and be supported by others.  Be intentional about investing in your community.  Trust me, you will see a return on your investment.

How are your investments doing?

Brokenness

We are all broken.  Don’t believe those who want you to think that they are perfect; no one is. We are all human…we have sins, shames, regrets and dark sides. However, we do not have to act like we are broken. Don’t let the baggage of your past weigh down your journey to future.  We just need to be aware of it, own it, and move on.  You are the only one who knows your baggage and can control how you react to it. Life is all about how we learn, grow and move forward.  Don’t let others control how you see yourself.  We are each uniquely made in God’s eyes.  Each of us has strengths, talents, beauty and personalities that overcome the brokenness.  Be broken, just know it and deal with it.  More importantly, draw your strength from your unique gifts, the strength to overcome the brokenness. 

You are broken, but truly UNIQUE AND SPECIAL!

Use Your Gifts

Recently I enjoyed a book by Tyler Perry entitled “Higher Is Waiting”.  It is an entertaining and challenging read about his faith journey and always striving to go higher.  The fact that we are all gifted in some way should not be new to any of us, but the fact that our gifts often remain hidden or unused is a great reminder.  Search out your God given talents and use them!  Consider this excerpt from the book…

I realized that we all have gifts within, but they’re too often hidden. We have gifts we have never used, even though they are within reach.  If we only knew where to look, we would find them.  These gifts are special.  They might even change our lives and help make the world a better place.

We all have gifts given to us by God. Look for yours.

– “Higher Is Waiting” by Tyler Perry

Live Music

A headline from last week…

Live Music May Help You Live Longer, Research Finds

A new study finds that music improves emotional well-being by more than 20%.

Isn’t that great news?  I really enjoy live music.  Last weekend I was blessed to experience some really talented live musicians two nights in a row.  Live music just makes me smile.  I have no musical talent, none.  But I really respect, admire and enjoy those who do. 

Music is a powerful thing.  It can bring you to tears or laughter; take you to new places or back in time; open new friendships and strengthen old ones, and it is especially powerful live and in person.  It does not have to be a big name at a large venue.  It can be a local band at a neighborhood pub. We are blessed in The Woodlands with some great music venues including the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion which attracts fabulous national headliners and Dosey Doe which is a wonderful small dinner show listening room.  There are many others as well.  Find a live music venue near you and check it out.  You will enjoy it and you never know where it will take you.