Enjoy some downtime. Looking forward to the New Year!

There is an old Scottish legend, a story of two lumberjacks.  Both men were skilled woodsmen although the first was much bigger and stronger, wielding a powerful axe.   He was known far and wide for his ability to clear a forest. 

In spite of his size, the second woodsman’s fame was spreading for his skill was in his accuracy.  There was very little waste in his efforts so his customers ended up with a better product for their money. Soon the word spread that his work was even better than his larger competition! 

Upon hearing this, the larger man became concerned.  He wondered, “How could this be? I am so much bigger that I MUST be better!” He proposed that the two compete with a full day of chopping trees to see who was more productive.  The winner would be declared “The Greatest Lumberjack in Scotland.” The smaller man agreed.

The next day, the entire village showed up to cheer on the lumberjacks.  The first woodsman, strong and tough, leaped into action.  He chopped forcefully and continuously without stopping knowing that every tree he cut down brought him closer to his sought-after title. 

The second lumberjack jumped into action as well, attacking his trees with every intention of winning the illustrious title.  But unlike his larger competitor, this small man stopped every couple of hours and disappeared for a while into the woods.  Then he would return and get back to work. 

The villagers all whispered among themselves.  Surely, he could never win if he didn’t work longer and harder than his competitor.  His friends pleaded with him to increase his speed, to work harder but to no avail.  This pattern continued until the end of the day when both men heard the judge yell “Time’s up!”

The larger man stood, winded and exhausted, but proudly by his pile of trees knowing he had given his best.  Surely, he was the winner! The smaller woodsman also stood by his pile of trees though, unlike his competitor, the smaller man was still fresh, ready to continue if necessary. 

When all the trees were counted, it was announced that the second woodsman had indeed cut more trees and had won the title of “The Greatest Lumberjack in Scotland!”  

The larger man, confused and deflated, reluctantly congratulated the small lumberjack.  While he shook his hand, he asked him, “How did you beat me?  You weren’t even cutting trees half the time I was.  Where did you go and what were you doing?”

“I was sharpening my axe.”

Relationships at Work

We must carefully and strategically allocate our time among our relationships: Boundaries on how and when we invest time in work and in our personal life help to ensure that we have the proper investment in each category.  In my daily interactions with folks, I see one of the most compelling reasons for not working extremely long hours is that this unbalanced investment of time resources leaves you with insufficient time for activities like exercise, sleep, and relationships.  These things are absolutely necessary in order to boost real productivity. 

As we climb the ladder of success we eventually discover it is not a ladder at all.  We are climbing a pyramid. We get increasingly lonely… we have fewer friends… family… relationships. There isn't room at the top for several.  There's only room for one.

In a desperate attempt to climb the ladder of success many men and women will happily kick and trample on the heads of those beneath them.  Sadly, cutthroat competition is simply the way the world is. Some people fall into the trap of striving for success at any price. Others just give up and depend on the system to take care of them as they live off the labors of others. Both perspectives are way out of balance.  

In the fourth chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes we are given some powerful words of wisdom: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! 

The Pleasure of Serving

All nature yearns to serve.
The cloud serves, the wind serves and so does the burrow.

Where there is a tree to be planted, plant it yourself;
where there is an error to be corrected,
put it right yourself; where an effort is required
that everybody else shuns, make it yourself.

Be the one who removes a stone from the road,
hatred from among the hearts
and the difficulties of a problem.

There is the joy of being healthy
and that of being just; but above all,
there’s the immense joy of serving.

How sad this world would be
if everything in it were already done,
if there wasn’t a rose to be planted,
an enterprise to be started.

Do not react only to easy challenges;
it is beautiful to do what others avoid doing.

But do not make the error of believing
that only big jobs count;
there are small services that are good services,
like embellishing a table, putting books in order
or combing a child’s hair.

There is one who criticizes, another who destroys.
Be yourself the one who serves.
Serving is not limited to inferior beings.
God, who gives us the fruit and the light, serves.
He might be called: The Server.

And He has his eyes fixed on our hands
and asks us daily: Did you serve today?
Whom? A tree, a friend, your mother?

Gabriela Mistral
Chilean Poetess
Nobel Prize 1945

"Take Nothing for Granted"

"It is easy to become careless about our blessings. A favor done once is always appreciated. But a favor done multiple times can easily be taken for granted. It is then no longer a gift. It's expected, treated almost as an entitlement. So if the favor is no longer offered, we complain about its loss.

Come to think of it, we take most of our benefits for granted - our daily bread, our health, our loved ones, our nation.

How different life would be if we took nothing for granted. We would swim perpetually in a river of gratitude.

The best advice I have ever received on this subject came from William Shakespeare in Henry VI: 'Let never day nor night unhallowed pass, but still remember what the Lord hath done.' "

~Jim Jackson

"Jim's Daily Awakenings" are short daily e-mail messages from Jim Jackson. These morning messages are based on Jim's very successful radio spots heard daily on Houston's 94.5, the BUZZ. http://www.jimsdailyawakenings.com/

My thanks to Jim Jackson for sharing this message today.  I could not have found a better way to say it, so I quote him here verbatim. ~Kirk

By the end of today, 10,000 more people will have retired from work

As I think through this statistic and consider what I'm about to write, I know that by the time I'm finished writing and post this blog, another 250 people will have retired.

The unfortunate truth is... the likelihood that these retirees will run out of money: greater than 50%.

Some people are actually going to be okay, but they're afraid they're going to run out of money so they can't enjoy the retirement they could have.  They could be sharing their wealth with children, grandchildren, churches or charities near to their hearts.  They could be traveling, replacing an undependable car, or enjoying a hobby.

Many other people are not okay, but they are living like they are.  They look around them and see people living in nice homes, driving nice cars, wearing nice clothes, and they think they can afford to do that, too.  They may have a lump sum of money from their retirement plan and think that it will never run out.  They're continuing to live like they lived when they had an income.

Some are living cautiously, spending very little, but worried to death they'll run out of money and have to go back to work.  All the while, knowing in the back of their minds it will be very difficult to get someone to hire them.

If you're still working, now is the time to send money ahead to your future.  If you're not saving in your employer's retirement plan or an IRA, start now.  If you are already doing that, increase your savings.  Do something.  We all have a "status quo" bias.  We like to do what we're currently doing.  That can also be called "cognitive laziness."  If we can do nothing, that's easier.

Don't do nothing.  Do whatever it takes to get on track to build a nest egg that will be able to replace 75% of your pre-retirement income by the time you reach age 67.  That's not impossible to do, no matter what your current income.  But, it's very difficult to figure out by yourself.  Find a financial advisor you can trust and get started today.  Statistically, half of the people who make it to age 85 will not be capable of making sound financial decisions.  Do it now while you can still think straight.

The power is in your hands.  It always has been.

But I'm not so sure it always will be.

There's plenty of time, but none to waste

God will give you enough time to do what He designed you to do. If you have too much to do that you can't get it all done, then you're probably doing some things He doesn't want you to do.

"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Eph. 5:15-17

Just say "no" to average

It seems like a lot of people I talk to these days just want average stuff.  I guess that shouldn't surprise me since average is, by definition, the stuff most people want.  Average stuff is cheaper than above-average stuff.  Most people seem to prefer cheap stuff over really great stuff.

Above average stuff takes a lot more effort to create.  It also takes a little more effort to market, since most people want average stuff.  Every now and then I receive some kind of catalog in the mail that has lots of premium stuff in it.  Above average stuff.  Somehow, companies like Frontgate, Neiman-Marcus, Nordstrom, Brooks Brothers, Starbucks, Audi, and others are successful and some people hate them for it.  I think they hate them because they feel they get paid way too much compared to some people's perception of the effort they put in and the quality they represent.

So how do they keep selling this premium stuff?  It's because they stand for something.  Because if a man wants a Brooks Brothers suit, he has to go to Brooks Brothers and pay Brooks Brothers prices to get it.  Brooks Brothers would fail if they sold average suits to average people just to stay in business.  But, by turning down the average stuff and insisting on standing for something on the periphery, they profit. They've been doing it since 1818!  By challenging their customers to buy stuff that makes them just a wee bit nervous (and then having them discover that it's great), they profit.

This is kind of scary.  It's really scary to refuse to take the easier route and say no to most  of the (average) opportunities that come your way and hold out for the really remarkable opportunities.  It's scary to go out of your way to make what you do actually seem unattractive to some people.

That's why it's such a great opportunity!

Foster Collaboration...

In the belief that it raises overall performance standards, certain leaders encourage unhealthy competition and 'free-market' methods which are designed to see only the best performers survive, leaving less experienced or less capable people to struggle. Of course this can raise performance at the top level, but it's not a recipe for building strengths in depth, nor for organic growth and self-sufficiency throughout the organization.

The ability to work in partnership and collaborate with others is a behavior that should be encouraged, rewarded and leveraged.

Foster collaboration ahead of competition.

Integrity...

What we do at work is part of who we are.  We cannot compartmentalize how we conduct ourselves in the business world from how we conduct ourselves at home or at church.  To compromise in one area is to compromise our entire testimony.  The business world can be a particularly demanding atmosphere for a person who wants to live in a God-honoring way.  The corporate conditioning is purposeful and intense, and there is not always an opportunity for deviating from the corporate script.  But the call to Christians is simple: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17).  No matter what we do and no matter the level of authority that we have, everything we say and do must be for God’s glory.  If we can’t do what we are doing in a God-honoring way, we need to do something else.  

What is a Team?

A team is a group of people coming together to collaborate. This collaboration is to reach a shared goal for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.  A group of people is not necessarily a team.  A team is a group of people with a high degree of interdependence geared towards the achievement of a common goal rather than just a group for administrative convenience. 

Effective teams develop rules of conduct to help them achieve their true purpose and performance goals. Some rules to consider:

·         attendance - no interruptions to take phone calls

·         discussion - no sacred cows

·         confidentiality - personal revelations must remain among the team

·         analytic approach - facts are friendly

·         constructive confrontation - no finger pointing

I’ve learned that truly effective team members are sincerely committed to each other's personal growth and success. That commitment usually transcends the team. A true team outperforms a group and outperforms all reasonable expectations given to its individual members. That is, a team has a synergistic effect—one plus one equals three (or more!). 

Too Many Friends?

How many "friends" do you have on your social network? I just checked and I have 428.  And while that sounds like a lot, I have heard of others whose list of friends runs in the thousands.

Now, my social networking friends are people I actually know.  They are family members, people from church, business associates, high school or college classmates, and so forth.  I've had actual, human interaction with them at some point in time.

But if I was going through a tough time, I wouldn't expect all 428 friends to walk with me - and they're probably glad to hear that!  After all, while they may be interested to see a picture of my kids every now and then or see what I've been up to lately (if that!), they aren't expecting to go beyond the virtual level.  It would probably be awkward for me to ask them for help or advice.  Those are things you need from your closest, most trustworthy companions.

In Proverbs 18:24, Solomon said a person with a lot of friends could be "harmed."  He wasn't saying we should limit our acquaintances.  Instead, he was encouraging us to nurture a few tight relationships with the kind of people who are "closer than a brother."  Since the quality of our friends is way more important than the quantity, the Bible warns against gathering mere acquaintances who are likely to blow us off in time of need.  Although we may have accumulated hundreds, or even thousands, of friends in our social networking accounts, we cannot experience authentic love through online connections. 

Many of our relationships do not deserve the title of friendship because they don't go much deeper than mere acquaintance.  However, when a true friend faces a tough time, we provide support by being there and offering listening ears. 

True friendship rests in our relationships developed over time and experiences through which we can show the depth of commitments even through difficult times.

That kind of loyalty is hard to find, but it is well worth the search.

Do we truly value our relationships?

From acquaintances to friends to family to coworkers and business associates, our lives run on relationships. Even the most introverted person on the planet gets lonely sometimes. People need people. That's not by accident either. We were actually DESIGNED that way.

When you read through the book of Genesis, everything God did in the beginning was good. The first time God ever said anything was NOT good, is in the second chapter when He said it was NOT GOOD for man to be alone. It was then, after He had rested from creating the earth and everything in it, that he set about to determine a suitable companion for the first and only person. He stated that from all the GOOD things He had already created, there was none suitable. So he made woman! He made another (very different) human being with complementary attributes to the first human being. And He gave them the ability to make more human beings.

This was not an afterthought, though. God knew in advance, before He ever even started the creation of the world, that He would do it this way. We may wonder why He didn't just start out with two people in the first place. I think it's because He wants our relationships to BEGIN with HIM first.

Yes, we were made to have a relationship with our Creator first and foremost. But, we were also designed to have relationships with other people. We were never designed to go through this life on our own.

The journey of life is hard. To attempt to navigate through it without a copilot is impossible.

The latest book in the Making the Most... series

by D. Kirk Buchanan

To be published in early 2014

by

www.clairinchpress.com

www.MakingTheMost.org

Authenticity

At the core, you need to connect with your personal history and identify the key events, messages, and people that shaped who you are today. A good leader has to be many things to many people. The trick is to pull that off while remaining true to yourself. While it's easy to sniff out who's authentic and who's not, it's not so simple to recognize it in ourselves. 

Generosity pays

Traditional wisdom says business is a dog-eat-dog world, but evidence shows that the people who rise to the top may actually be the most generous.  Givers are a huge asset to the companies they work for because they make others more effective.  They have larger networks that make problem-solving faster and easier.  They take the initiative to mentor and train new hires.  They pick up the slack when others are overworked; and they foster a sense of loyalty among employees and customers.  

Let’s make it a habit to be generous.

It depends on your definition of close...

Is it possible to be too close to God? It depends on your definition of close. I can be close to someone on an elevator because it's crowded and we continue to bump shoulders. I can be so close that I have to pardon myself politely before squeezing out of the open door. That's proximity. I can be close to someone without knowing who he is. I can also be close to someone who is miles away because our lives, our heart, our stories are intimately connected. My best friend can live in another state and still be my closest friend.

If your view of closeness to God centers on a relationship of obedience and reverence, then by all means, get as close as you can. If your definition of closeness is proximity, tread lightly. He is the creator God of the universe who occupies a space and a realm we cannot begin to touch. There is a way to approach God and it is not casual or light. Through Christ, we have access to God's mighty throne of grace, but it is still a throne and should be treated as such.

Don't Take Advantage

“Do not take advantage of each other.” —Leviticus 25:17

Investing our money can be scary. The financial stakes are high, and we want to be sure the seller of those investments is not hiding something or shading the truth.  In Leviticus 25, God is talking about business. Through Moses, God instructs his people on the buying and selling of the gifts he has given them. The key, says God, is to avoid taking advantage of one another and to fear God. How we treat one another matters to God and reflects our relationship with him. We can’t love God without also considering what’s best for others.

Still, it can be easy to take one another for granted. Kids think their mom is always available to run a forgotten lunch or gym bag to school. Spouses make assumptions about who should pay the bills or have dinner ready. We expect that others will always be there to meet our needs, and we take them for granted.

Or we expect that people get what they deserve. If they won’t try harder or don’t know better, they deserve to pay a higher price or go without.

But God tells us to treat others well because of him. We may not think that others deserve our consideration or have earned our respect, but God’s love for us compels us to see others through his eyes.

Who needs a new look from you today?

Teams don’t work without teamwork.

It’s one thing to create a team, but quite another to create teamwork.  Just as it’s one thing to join a team, but quite another to perform as a team member.   It doesn’t mean everybody doing the same thing or everybody being able to do each other’s jobs.  It’s more of a collaborative way of working, where the sum is greater than the parts.  I like to say 1+1=3 (or more).  Properly managed, teamwork maximizes strengths, bringing out the best in each team member.

Givers or Takers?

Every day, we make decisions about whether to act like givers or like takers. When we act like givers, we contribute to others without seeking anything in return. We might offer assistance, share knowledge, or make valuable introductions. When we act like takers, we try to get other people to serve our own ends while carefully guarding our own expertise and time. Let's decide to be givers.

A Service Economy?

As Christians, our focus is to be on avoiding the things of the world that lead us away from a focus on God's kingdom. The disciples argued from time to time about who was the greatest. Today, we just refer to that as "keeping up with the Jones'" but it is still the same thing.

The world's perspective is do all you can do to be served by others and to get what you can to make your own life pleasurable and enjoyable. The kingdom perspective, however, is to do all you can do to serve others and to make Christ known. 

God gives us a choice. The choice is ours.

Honoring God with our Time

Part of honoring God is spending time with Him.  Can we spend time with Him without going to church? Certainly. We can pray. We can study our Bible. Can we grow in our relationship with Him without attending church?  Sort of, but not the way He intends.

You see, we were created for community.  We were never meant to go through this life on earth alone.  As you read through the account of creation in the first chapter of Genesis, you’ll find over and over that God said, “it was good.” Then, when we finally get to verse 18 of the second chapter, God says something that we often overlook.  He said something was NOT good.  You know what it was?  He said it was not good for man to be alone. 

He created us to be an interconnected community with Him at the center.  That means spending time with other believers.  That means spending time focusing our worship on Him.  That’s what church is.  It’s not a building; it’s a body of believers.  Having a building is a very nice convenience, and one we should all be thankful for.  But we shouldn't confuse the place with the purpose.  

an excerpt from 

Making the Most of Your Time on Earth

by D. Kirk Buchanan

Available at Amazon.com