John Harrell's Blog, page 95

Leaders

For many years, I have written and spoken on leadership. There are a lot of characteristics that make up a good leader, but today I will only focus on one: compassion.

A compassionate leader thinks about the people he or she leads. That type of leader recognizes that an organization will only be as good as the people, and that people need to know they are important, they are valued. And a compassionate leader must be authentic. People can see through bullshit a mile away!

If you are in a leadership role, I encourage you to lead with compassion. You will get the most out of your people by leading this way, and you’ll have greater personal job satisfaction…

Talk To Me

We have conversations with ourselves every waking moment. What is the quality of our conversations?

It’s important to be truthful with ourselves, but remember to be kind. Hold yourself accountable, but don’t berate yourself. Make an attempt to better yourself, and it’s okay if you fall short. Try again. And again. And again. Keep trying…

Escape

There used to be a television commercial for a brand of bubble bath. The slogan was, “Calgon, take me away.” The idea was that the bubble bath would take the bather away from life’s problems, if even for a short while. Ah, if only life was so simple.

People use other methods to escape: alcohol, drugs, pornography and other deviances to numb their pain. When the time away ends, the pain remains. Even plastic surgery is used to try to fix something internal, and oftentimes nothing is broken on the outside. The patient just believes there is.

Face life head on. Work on yourself to heal what hurts. No matter your method of escape, you cannot run away from who you are…

Happiness

Are you happy, really happy? Maybe you’re just slugging your way through life, acting like everything is okay when it’s not.

Everyone goes through dark periods in their lives. No one escapes them. But the difficulties of life don’t last. Strong people last.

Seek fulfillment, not happiness. Fulfillment keeps us going, even when we aren’t happy…

Conflict

We live in an imperfect world, so conflicts are inevitable. They don’t have to ruin relationships, though.

Many times conflicts arise and arguments ensue because of miscommunication. One person says something and a counterparty hears something different. Or perhaps they believe it’s about them.

When conflicts arise, and they will, talk them out. If you owe someone an apology, give it without making excuses. Solid relationships can withstand conflict…

Excellence

Achieving excellence is caused by consistently doing our very best. No one gets there quickly. To achieve excellence requires time, hard work and commitment.

Average work doesn’t cut it. Strive for excellence…

Scarcity or Generosity

What are your thoughts on the title of today’s entry? Whatever your answer is will reveal an insight to your mindset.

If you have a scarcity mindset, you will be inclined to hold onto your possessions tightly. The fear of not having enough or even being enough will cloud your thoughts.

A mindset of generosity knows that sharing what you have will always leave you feeling fulfilled. You give without worry.

Remember this universal law: when we give, we get…

Gods

What do you make gods out of? For some people, it’s money and prestige. For others, their fears become their god.

Anything we spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on could become our god. Fear and worry dominate some people’s lives, but the Bible tells us 365 times not to worry, once for every day of the year. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Pay attention to what you think about, where your attention lies. There is your god…

Image

How would people describe you, based upon your social profile? Oftentimes we have two personalities, public and private.

Being authentic requires us to show the world who we are, not who we want others to believe us to be. We were created by God as individual masterpieces, always original and never copied. Be proud of who you are, flaws and all.

Aligning your public image with your private persona requires you to be brave. But remember, you are only trying to impress an audience of one, our Creator…

In The Dark

Charity should come from the heart. God has said repeatedly that He wants our hearts over everything else. And only the Spirit can soften the heart of mankind.

Our giving is between us and God. It’s not to be flaunted or posted to get “likes” on social media. There are times I am okay with other people sharing their giving with their followers. Perhaps their generosity inspires others to give. And that’s a good thing…