Author: Kevin Spear

I am a content creator and storyteller based in Florida, where I work for OneHope. I love digital and content marketing, writing, and the occasional doodle.

Categories
holiday

Happy Hallow-Reformation Day!

A flock of birds flying from a cornfield to some trees

Happy Halloween(or Reformation Day)! Yesterday on my run, I encountered what must have been hundreds of birds. As I ran by a cornfield, I heard dozens of wings flutter and a flock took off for the safety of some trees. If it was darker, it would have been a perfectly spooky end of the day.

As I jogged along, I saw and heard more birds. They were chattering while trying to stay warm and dry. I thought about the upcoming winter. The number of birds will be dwindling soon as the cold and short food supplies will test them all.

We experience cycles of life, testing, and death all the time. The days are getting darker and colder where I live. Yet, in six months, it will be a time of rebirth and renewal. It will be a little reformation of the world around us.

Stay safe tonight! Know that no matter how dark things appear, no matter how many ghosts and ghouls come knocking, there will be brighter days ahead. Instead of being part of the dark, be part of the light. May you have a little reformation in your soul and be renewed today.

Categories
creativity

Is It Nonconformist or Not?

Quote from James Thurber: "Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?

Can somebody claim to be a nonconformist when they are doing what they feel is necessary to fit into a group of nonconformists?

I often thought of that when I took art classes, and later, worked in art departments. I loved to be creative. But it seemed to fit in, you had to have certain beliefs, dress a certain way, and behave in a certain manner. That wasn’t for me! I just wanted to create. I didn’t want to waste my creative energy on trying to fit in with this group or that.

I love Jame’s Thurber’s quote because it reminds me of that awkward feeling I had when I wasn’t quite fitting in with my art buddies, nor with my more conservative friends.

“Why do you have to be a nonconformist like everybody else?”

James Thurber

Culture ruins nonconformists. A musical band is considered a sell-out when its creativity hits the mainstream. Fashion trends are all the rage one year and totally faux pas the next. If one is wearing last year’s fashion trend, are they out of touch or are they cutting-edge nonconformists?

What is considered conformist in one group is considered shockingly out there in another. Perhaps the true gauge of who is a nonconformist is that they never quite fit in any group they are a part of. We are all unique individuals, after all.

Categories
Encouragement

A Language of Connection

Can our laguage make a difference when it comes to making a connection with others? Last year, it seemed every other phrase involved the term, “social distancing.” This article at Inc.com by Bill Murphy, Jr. had a good point about the term  and he proposed the following:

 

The less you can emphasize distance—and instead emphasize physical separation but social connection in your language—the better things might be for your employees.

Want to Be Happy? A Top Psychologist Says Stop ‘Social Distancing,’ and Do This Instead

We had to make a lot of adjustments last year. Is it possible we were affected so much by the challenging circumstances that we are unknowingly causing negative emotions to extend beyond a crisis?

Our language makes a difference when it comes to the results we want to see. Positive, encouraging language can influence outcomes. So let’s speak in a way that will do just that. We can influence the mood in a room, or even on a Zoom call by the words we speak.

Categories
motivation

Faith Involves Risk

Faith Involves Risk

We don’t like to hear that. We would like to think that all we have to do is dream something and it will come to pass. If only that were true!

  • We could imagine a million dollars and poof! It would appear
  • Everyone could pool their thoughts for a better world and it would just happen
  • A person could see the perfect path for their life and everything would just fall into place without lifting a finger

If only that were so! But faith takes action. After all, faith without works is dead. Believing something will happen is only part of the equation. We must take action by faith to bring something to pass.

Faith involves risk. Faith also involves change. If we imagine a good possibility that doesn’t yet exist, we can expect that something will have to change in order to make it happen.

It can be a tall order. But faith can make the impossible possible. Who ever said that was going to be easy?

Categories
accountability motivation

Anything Goes… Until it Doesn’t

Quote by John Maxwell: a life in which anything goes will ultimately be a life in which nothing goes well. Maxwell, John C.. Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 (Developing the Leader Series) (p. 34). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition.

“A life in which anything goes will ultimately be a life in which nothing goes well.”

Maxwell, John C. Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 (Developing the Leader Series)(p. 34). HarperCollins Leadership. Kindle Edition.

We all have at least some autonomy to do whatever we want. We can…

  • Spend work goofing off because the boss is out today
  • Eat that full bag of chips… along with an entire pizza
  • Cheat on those financials because only you know the data
  • Lie about what happen since you were the only witness

Yes, we have the freedom to do what we want. And in an anything-goes-world, there is much more beyond my imagination that any of us could do.

But sooner or later, we will suffer the consequences of bad decisions.

  • The latest employee evaluation criticizes your lack of productivity
  • You suffer a health crisis because on your eating habits
  • The auditors are demanding the data because something is definately off
  • There is evidence that proves you lied

Anything goes is a poor strategy for going forward. We all need boundaries. We are accountable for our actions. John Maxwell had this quote concerning planning our daily-to-do list. It’s a reminder to me that even the decisions that may not appear to have large consequences can come back to affect us.