I've been reading Anne Lammott's fantastic book Bird by Bird. It is a lovely collective of writing advice and some wonderfully crafted writing. Her take on school lunches is an especially delightful read. Early in the book, she shares one of my favorite gems. "Good writing," Anne Lammott said, "is about telling the truth."
This is a blog–which is an exercise in writing, although not necessarily one in good writing. It is an exercise that like many of us is either going well or poorly depending on the day. It has ebbs and flows, good days and bad days, helpful insights and thoughts that fall flat. Which is to say the one true thing that all writing is without question: human.
I usually fail to take a step back and acknowledge the humanity inherent in this transaction. I view it as words on a page and turn it into a transaction rather than the conversation it has the potential to be.
Writers carve away at every memory, emotion, and idea. They work to express them with clarity in hopes that at least one other living soul connects with and draws value from their effort. Few things are so intimate.
How could it be anything else?
How could we expect writing to share all the virtues of mankind, and yet remain void of our flaws?
In truth, we can't expect such things of writing because we can't expect such things from ourselves.
Faults, inconsistencies, and missteps fill this blog, as they fill my life. Strong at times, and crawling or disappearing altogether at others. Such is the humanity we all comprise.
This blog is climbing out of a dark period at present. New content hasn't hit the page in several months. I've missed stopping in to visit with you about the new things I'm learning and old lessons I'm learning again.
I won't make promises about returning with a renewed vigor or commitment to talk at a given frequency. I'll say the only true thing I can think to say:
Nice to see you again. It's been far too long. I am excited to be visiting with you again and look forward to seeing where our conversation goes from here.
Thanksgiving 2018
Lincoln’s 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation*
“It is the duty of nations, as well as of men, to owe their dependence upon the overruling power of God. It is the duty of nations as well as of men to owe their dependence upon the over-ruling power of God. To confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that with genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon. And to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures, and proven by all history that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord. We know that by His divine law, nations like individuals are subject to punishments and chastisements in this world. May we not justify fear that the awful calamity of Civil War, which now desolates the land, may be a punishment inflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people.
We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven. We have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined in the deceitfulness of our hearts that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace too proud to pray to the God that made us.*
It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people.
I do, therefore, invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea, and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our benevolent Father who dwelleth in the heavens."
The first two paragraphs of the quote are from Abraham Lincoln's "Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day," March 30, 1863. The rest quoted here is from Lincoln's October 1863 Thanksgiving proclamation.
Abandoning Balance
Achieving balance in your life sounds great. The way it’s talked about, you’d think that if you could perfectly balance your time you’d experience peace like never before. I’m no different. I envision a life where I get everything done, make everyone happy and never feel stressed or hurried because I’ve got this time management thing down. And just like you, I’m never going to get there. It’s just like the stories I read to my son each night, a fantasy that will never come true. A perfectly balanced schedule is impossible.
Abandon balance as a goal. It’s not going to help either of us get more done.
One glance at the pages of any history book tells the story in full. They're filled with story after story of meaningful lives rarely characterized by balance. Look carefully and you’ll see men and women who tackled the challenges before them with passion. They didn’t expend their energy trying to balance forty different things, instead, they gave their all to each part of their life.
What are the things you’re passionate about? You wife? The kids? A project you’re working on? A side hustle you’re building? What would it look like if you allowed your passions to drive you instead of the mythical creature called balance?
I’ll confess, I don’t have all the answers. This is still a new concept for me, and I’m working to understand it more fully. What I want to share with you today, however, are a few things I’ve learned through this process.
- You have to decide how you’ll spend your time before other people do it for you.
- Time management is life management.
- Every time you want to make progress, you’re met with some form of resistance.
- Balance is a bad pursuit - it doesn’t feel like an advance, it feels like a retreat.
- People who accomplish significant things aren’t balanced people, they’re passionate people.
- The passion you bring to your work, brings glory to God regardless of what you do.
- You have the same amount of time as every other person in history.
- Not all hours feel equal. Energy levels wax and wane throughout the day.
- Do what you’re best at when you’re at your best.
- Schedules are a good thing.
I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking the answer to getting more done, is working harder. It’s my default setting. Whenever I meet resistance, I put my head down and push harder. It rarely if ever ends well. Burnout and breakdown are usually its side effects. Hard work isn’t a bad thing, but it can’t be all you have. You’ve got to plug into passion.
How would it transform your life to pursue everything you do with passion?
Let’s stop playing defense by pursuing balance and go on offense by engaging in every area of our life with passion. I’m still learning how to do this, but love the shift in mindset it brings. Going on offense is so much more fun than sitting back and playing defense.
Close Enough
“Lots of people put in serious work for a while in pursuit of their goals,” Ben Bergeron said, “and eventually get to a place where they’re comfortable. They may not have achieved all their long-term goals, but they have achieved a good 90 percent, and they feel that they’ve checked all the boxes and are doing well enough to be satisfied.”
The people Ben Bergeron speaks of work hard. They get up and get after it day in and day out.
The problem comes when they start seeing results. Just as growth is the number one killer of small business, results are the number one reason folks quit on their goals.
They get “close enough” to their achievement and settle because the last little bit comes at the greatest cost. The first 80 to 90 percent is easy to work. Keep showing up and putting in the work and you’ll get most of the way there.
It’s that last 15 to 20 percent that requires grit and perseverance. The ability to stick with it and keep putting in the work when results have slowed and it doesn’t feel like you’re taking ground.
True excellence is hanging in there and grinding through that last couple percentage points towards your goal. It is an unsatisfaction with anything less than your absolute best.
You’re about to walk into a new week. It would be easy to settle this week and not push for that last little bit of growth.
But you’re not interested in easy. That’s not why you’re here. You want excellence and are willing to stay the course, even when that voice in your ear whispers that you’ve come far enough.
Six Impactful Books I Read in 2017
Reading actual books is one of the habits found among the successful. Because reading and thinking go hand in hand.
Reading is key to becoming the very best version of yourself. It fills your mind and shapes your character like nothing else can.
Too many sit on the couch, and binge on Netflix, rather than turn off the glass box and get after it instead.
“The man who does not read good books,” Mark Twain said, “has no advantage over the man who cannot read them.”
I don’t want these words to characterize my life and I know you don’t either. For that reason, I’d love nothing more than to share the books that impacted me most this year with you here.
What follows are those books that challenged my mind, and encouraged my heart most. Books that helped me grow, learn and develop more and more into the man I’d like to be.
Extreme Ownership by Jocko Wilink and Leif Babin - It’s easy to say a book changed your life. You hear it all the time and may have even uttered it once or twice yourself. It is almost never the truth, but when that rare occasion comes it is worth taking note. I did that by sharing 21 Things I Learned From Reading Extreme Ownership earlier this year.
Chasing Excellence by Ben Bergeron - “The mindset of a champion,” Bergeron says, “is not some innate character trait that you have or don’t have based on DNA, fate or sheer dumb luck.” This book is about building character and embracing the process that’ll get you to the top. It is an approach you can deploy in every area of your life. One that will transform you if you let it.
Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon - “Art,” Pablo Picasso said, “is theft.” These words form the theses for Austin Kleon’s classic flip book on the creative’s journey. Everything the artist creates is a mash-up of everything they’ve experienced. In short, “there is nothing new under the sun.” This small book is about answering the questions every creative asks themselves. In finding a path forward you'll soon realize you have all the permission you need to do great things.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and His Confrontation with the World by D.A. Carson - Our community group is walking through the Gospel of Matthew. We are taking our time and working through the text a verse at a time. The chief aim is to move beyond “quiet times” and have God’s Word change us. D.A. Carson’s work on Matthew 5-10 has been a tremendous help in digging deeper.
The Story of Reality by Greg Koukl - Every worldview is an attempt to make sense of the world. Yet, not every worldview deals with the way the world actually is. In The Story of Reality, Greg Koukl sets forth how Christianity answers fundamental questions about life, death, evil and why we are here. He provides a concise and winsome encapsulation of the Christian worldview. One that I trust you'll find a helpful and compelling companion on your journey to find and know the truth.
Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney - “Ours is an undisciplined age.” V. Raymond Edman said, “The old disciplines are breaking down…Above all, the discipline of divine grace is derided as legalism or is entirely unknown to a generation that is largely illiterate in the Scriptures. We need the rugged strength of Christian character that can come only from discipline.” Penned atop page one of Donald Whitney’s modern classic are the above words. They serve as far more than a primer to the Spiritual Disciplines, but a call to modern man. A call to something bigger, deeper, and greater. A call away from the entangling enticements of our day and back to the life and character that are only achieved through discipline.
Honorable Mention
The Way of the Writer by Charles Johnson
Church History in Plain Language by Bruce Shelley
Romans 1-7 For You and Romans 8-16 For You by Timothy Keller