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
Leadership motivation

Are You Still a Great Leader?

smiling adult businessman at table with gadgets holding presentation
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

COVID-19 has changed business in monumental ways, including the traits of effective leadership. The other day, I read an article on Inc.com entitled, If You Don’t Make These 5 Changes, You’re Not a Great Leader Anymore by Bill Murphy, Jr. He followed a study that tracked emergent leaders. It found that today’s effective leaders take actionable forms of leadership are more likely to be seen as great leaders.

The findings in the article state that there are five necessary qualities to be an effective leader in today’s climate:

  1. Monitor More
  2. More Feedback
  3. Coordinating Teamwork
  4. More Altruism
  5. Recognizing a New Paradigm

What I got out of the article is that effective leaders change with the times. Much of office leadership today is done virtually. A good leader observes what continues to work and experiments with the factors that no longer serve him or her.

People change, technology changes and situations change. The leader that acknowledges this and changes as well will continue to make great strides. Leadership takes responsibility and changes with the times.

What are you changing today to keep your leadership effective?

Categories
motivation

Is Your Soul for Sale?

What have you sold your soul to today?

  • Is it media?
    • Your favorite news source?
    • Social Media?
    • Music
  • Gossip?
    • Celebrity gossip?
    • Workplace gossip?
  • The promise of quick relief through a chemical?
    • Legal?
    • Illegal
    • Prescribed?

Mark Batterson’s quote struck a nerve with me:

Quote by Mark Batterson: "Not many people sell their souls to the devil, but many of us sell our souls to the culture."

We sell our souls daily. What are you selling it to? Make sure it is a wise investment.

Categories
writing

Writing to Discover What You Believe

Quote by Gustave Flaubert: "The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe."

This quote by Gustave Flaubert has resonated with me.  Writing for discovery has been a great way for me to consider what I believe and what I should act on. But it wasn’t always that way.

My Writing History

I know it doesn’t come easy for everyone. There was a time I didn’t think it came easy for me. I fell into writing some time ago. If you would have asked me when I was a teenager, I would have stated I was an artist and writing was a necessary evil.

It may be because of some less-than-enthusiastic English teachers in high school. Perhaps it was because I thought that writing was for scholars and I just wanted to communicate. I wanted to get a message out. I thought the best way for me was to do it visually. Then some time in college, the words got in the way. Or maybe, they became the way.

I majored in Graphic Design. Between my sophomore and junior years, I considered switching my major to Journalism or English. My advisor warned me it would take another year of school. Of course, he was an artist and may have had ulterior motives. Even so, I stuck with Graphic Design and made a good career of it. Today, I am a Graphics Manager and still enjoy my work.

Morning Pages

Yet, I keep going back to writing. It is the way I process things. My life and mornings changed when I read The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. I began to write morning pages. They became my way to keep focused while I prayed. It is a habit I’m so glad I took up a few years ago.

At first, I thought it would be impossible to write three longhand pages for very long. But habits, practice, and persistence have a way of making the seemingly impossible a part of everyday life. I wrote a post in 2012 that explains why this practice is beneficial for me.

Writing for Discovery Today

Today, writing continues to be the way I discover what I believe and how I think about a topic. Tim Ferris called writing thought crystallized. That has been so true for me. How many thoughts go through our minds on a daily basis? How many great thoughts have disappeared throughout time because the thinker didn’t write them down? I don’t know if any of my thoughts can be called “great,” but if they are useful to me, shouldn’t I write them down so that I can review them and act on them? Shouldn’t you?

Categories
family

Vacations: Annoyances and True Tragedies

Cartoon about two teen girls and vacation

Vacations usually take some amount of planning. But this year has caused plans to be taken to a whole new level. Before this year, health considerations were not at the front of everyone’s checklist. Now, everyone must consider the following:

  • Is the destination in a hot spot?
  • Will it be in a crowded area?
  • What does the state government say about quarantining when you return?
  • What’s the local mask policy?
  • Should we just chuck it all and binge watch some more cat videos?

The Book of Job and Vacations

When I first posted this cartoon, the biggest problems with vacations centered around teen angst and whether there was enough wifi for everyone. Now we are more concerned about the supply of hand sanitizer and masks.

The Book of Job reminds me that things could always be worse. Yes, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. If it hasn’t directly affected you yet, give thanks for that. If your teens are merely annoying you and are healthy and sassy, give thanks for that.

Just this week, I received word that a friend was in an auto accident and his teen daughter was killed. I can’t comprehend the pain and loss that this dear man is feeling. Suddenly, the decision about whether to wear a mask in public or determine how much distance is enough social distancing feels trivial.

There are people suffering much worse. If all we have today are a few annoyances, give thanks for it.

Cartoon about two teen girls and vacation
Categories
motivation

This is all Temporary

Cartoon of a boy doing his homework and a mom. The boy says, "I wouldn't have to do my homework if you'd just let me flee the state."

The other day, I read an Inc.com article entitled, 3 Phrases That Stop Anxious Thoughts. Let’s face it. If you keep up with the news at all, you’ll have some anxious thoughts! The first phrase stood out to me.

“This is temporary: This doesn’t just apply to the current pandemic and resulting economic turmoil — it’s true in nearly every anxiety-provoking situation.”

— Hilary Jacobs Hendel

We tend to forget this because the present dominates our thoughts and actions. But the longer we live, the more we realize how true this is.

Seven-Year-old Philosopher

I remember a school bus trip I had when I was seven-years-old. It was a dreary winter morning in Indiana. In January, it feels like clouds will never go away. I remember thinking, “Will I ever get out of second grade? Will I ever go anywhere outside my hometown?”

I smile when I think of that little second grader. The thought of growing up, going to college, meeting a lovely Ohio lady, marrying her, and having two great kids seemed impossible to him. It was just as likely to him that he would grow wings and fly. Homework was my biggest problem.

Yet to that little boy, his present reality seemed so overwhelming. He couldn’t see beyond his present situation. He had no concept that all of what he was experiencing was temporary.

Today is Temporary

There are plenty of reasons to have anxiety today. There is the COVID-19 pandemic, racial tensions, and political polarization. Ironically, you may be reading this in the future and those issues aren’t at the forefront of the news cycle. Who knows what we’ll be discussing in the future! But whatever it is, whatever personal situation you are facing, it’s only temporary.

  • None of us can predict the future
  • What’s important today may be old news tomorrow
  • It’s just as likely things will be better for you tomorrow instead of the same or worse

There will always be a part of us that longs for the good old days of the past. For someone, today will be the good old days in twenty years. So if you are struggling today. Hold on and be patient. This is all temporary!