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To live a life that is fundamentally different from those around me, raise the bar…unless I want to live the way those around me do.  I spoke to someone the other day who continually raises the bar at work.  He stocks shelves at a major company and regularly goes above and beyond the call of duty.  His aisles are always stocked neatly and high (so much so that on the days he is off no one else needs to maintain his aisles).  His experience at his company is fundamentally different from his co-workers who barely get by (he gets raises, he has good relationships with the bosses, he enjoys his job).

What if I raised the bar in various areas of my life – my relationships for example.  Not doing just enough to maintain a relationship but actively seeking ways to build them and strengthen them (both the relationship and the person I’m in relationship with)?  What if I raised the bar in my finances or health?  How specifically would that fundamentally change my life?

Just something I’m thinking and want to change my mindset on (all triggered by a post from one of my favorite bloggers, Seth Godin).

Related articles

• Bar gymnastics (sethgodin.typepad.com)

Seth’s Blog – Seth Godin is a best selling author of a ton of books.  I do not know if he is a Christian or not, but he often stirs me to focus and think on what really matters.  Some recent posts I’ve really appreciated include What’s High School For, What’s the Point of Popular, and Hard Work vs Long Work.

Michael Hyatt’s Blog- Michael Hyatt is the Chairman of Thomas Nelson Publishers.  I’ve benefited from reading his thoughts on leadership and writing (especially online).  He gives very practical insights on the topics he writes on.  Recent posts I’ve liked include, The Most Important Question You Will Ever Be Asked as a Leader and Find Your Passion In Three Steps.

HBR (Harvard Business Review) Management Tip of the Day – I like the format of this “blog”.  They give a 30 second summary of a longer article (even those may take 5-10 minutes to read max) on some aspect of management.  Very good insights.  I often end up clicking through to the longer article, but even when I don’t, the 30 second summary is useful in and of itself.

Tim Elmore On Leading the Next Generation – I’ve really appreciated the insights Tim provides with regards to the thinking of the next generation of leaders (Gen iY he calls them).  He also provides helpful ways to engage with and equip them to take on the world they will face.  I would highly encourage parents, business leaders, church leaders, and anyone else who works with Gen iY (mid-20′s and younger) to read this blog regularly.  Some great recent blogs include Time Your Messages and 2 Types of Leaders.

Other blogs worth a look :

• tonymorganlive.com – Has helped give me insights especially with regards to church leadership
• Leading Blog – A general Christian leadership blog.  I like it because it exposes me to a wide variety of leaders and resources.

Do you regularly read any blogs?  Which have you found most helpful to you personally?

Since then, I’ve discovered and have regularly (about 2 weeks now) used a site called 280daily.  This site also sends e-mail reminders on a daily basis.  Unlike Oh Life, though, you must log into the site (by clicking a link) to make an entry.  It will also show you the previous day’s entry, the previous week’s entry, and a random entry from the past.  This program works better for me simply because it limits my entries to 280 characters max.  In essence, it takes down the mental barrier that you have to write a lot to make an entry.  It also takes away the barrier of needing to read a lot when looking at previous journal entries. Your entries are also completely searchable and can be easily exported.

Do you journal or use an online journal?

I’m excited about the “stuff” but I sometimes wonder what it all means, how is this changing us, where will all these advancements take us?  What do you think?

Finished Reading:

• Becoming A Coaching Leader – Daniel Harkavy (second time read, very worthwhile read for anyone leading others.  Still needing to work on incorporating what I’m reading into my life.)
• Forgotten God – Francis Chan (Don’t you think the lives of those in whom the Holy Spirit dwells should look radically different than everyone else?)
• Sun Stand Still – Steven Furtick (Great book on God given vision and prayer and how the two intersect)
• Permission to Speak Freely – Anne Jackson (Bought it and finished reading it in less than 24 hours, I don’t know if I agree with all the theology, but it is a thought provoking book)

Still Reading:

• The Bible  (reading again) – God
• Celebration of Discipline (reading again) – Richard Foster
• The Me I Want To Be – John Ortberg
• Corp Values – Zell Miller

Started Reading:

• Crazy Love – Francis Chan

Want to Read (bought the books but haven’t cracked them open yet):

• Mindset – Carol Dweck
• Know Doubt – John Ortberg
• Primal – Mark Batterson

What does it mean that three books I’ve read in the last two months are written by authors who are about 15 years younger than me (David Platt, Steven Furtick, Anne Jackson)?

Hele-On bus rider robbed in Kona Wednesday

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In December I put out a list of books I was then reading (reading being defined as opening the book at least once during the month).  Here’s my current reading list as well as some of the books I’ve finished.

Books Read (since December 2010):

• Radical – David Platt (awesome book, my review here under books516)
• Getting Things Done – David Allen (okay I admit, I read some chapters and reviewed my previous highlights in others)
• First, Break All The Rules – Marcus Buckingham, Curt Coffman (review coming)
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C.S. Lewis (the movie was so disappointing after reading this first)
• If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat (audio book version) – John Ortberg
• Outliers (audio book version) – Malcom Gladwell

Books I’m Still Reading

• The Bible  (reading again) – God
• Becoming A Coaching Leader (reading again) – Daniel Harkavy
• Celebration of Discipline (reading again) – Richard Foster
• The Me I Want To Be – John Ortberg
• Forgotten God – Francis Chan

New Books I’ve Started:

• Corps Values – Zell Miller

Have you read any good books lately?

One of my take aways from the simulcast was the difference between a hope and a wish.  Dr. Cloud said, “The best predictor of the future is the past, unless something changes.” Hope has an objective reason to believe for change, a wish has none. Hope can identify a new energy source (e.g. a new leader or perhaps an outside consultant) and a new template (e.g. a different plan, new information, new skills, a new program).

I want change this year.  Some of the books I’m reading (like Radical) are providing a new energy source, new input.  The question is, “Will I settle for tweaks or will I do a major overhaul on how I live my life, on how I spend my time?”

This book is wrecking my life.  I love comfort.  I love security.  I love the way the world (even the American church world) defines success…and I want to experience it.  I don’t want to do anything too radical, too extreme.  I don’t mind talking about radical and extreme, I just don’t want to be in the middle of it.

But at the end of my life, what is Jesus going to say?  “Well done, good and faithful servant.  You played it safe.  You didn’t rock the boat.  Everyone liked you.  That’s terrific!”

I finished this book just yesterday.  The book is not yet finished with me.  Neither is God.  Get the book.  Read it.  Let it wreck your life.