Category: motivation

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motivation

Listen First, Speak Last

Cartoon of boy with his mouth taped and a girl

Listen first, speak last.

Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive, page xxiii

I did not expect to find “listen first, speak last” in a book on business leadership. But there it was. Peter Drucker elevated it to a rule for executives to follow.

Listen first, speak last: Cartoon of boy with his mouth taped and a girl

This didn’t play into my stereotype of the brash, bombastic, self-assured, influential executive. Aren’t leaders supposed to be the boss and have people do their bidding? At least that was the excuse I used when I tried to reason why some are leaders and others are followers.

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motivation

Do You Volunteer For the Right Reasons?

Cartoon of a burglar who says, "I'd love to volunteer, but I only want to count the money."

It was great to see nonprofits and volunteers help ease the pain through the coronavirus pandemic. It’s safe to say most people don’t volunteer for the money like our guy in today’s cartoon. But do you volunteer for the right reasons? And does the motivation matter?

Some volunteer projects can be gross. Others have nice perks like donuts. There are projects that put a spotlight on the volunteers while others faithfully serve in the background. As this article shows, Our motivations to volunteer can be quite varied. Do these factors matter?

As long as something good is coming out of volunteering, motives may take a back seat. However, we know of stories where someone appeared to be doing something for altruistic motives and they ended up embezzling or taking advantage of someone or a group of people.

Cartoon of a burglar who says, "I'd love to volunteer, but I only want to count the money."
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motivation

Crazy Faith

Cartoon of a boy about to jump off a roof with handmade wings

The other day, my wife and I were talking with a friend about recent decisions. My wife was led to step away from a flourishing ministry to make room for the next step in her life. My wife commented on how some decisions require faith. The friend replied, “Or requires being a little crazy!” Hmm… crazy faith? That sounds about right!

I suppose any faith looks crazy to many people. After all, we live in a world that touts Seeing is believing! Yet, if everyone lived by this mantra, we would create nothing new or innovative. Without faith, there is no hope. Without hope, what’s the point of living if the present looks bleak?

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
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motivation

Caught in the Entitlement Trap

It’s way too easy to get caught in the entitlement trap. After all, we’ve worked throughout our lives. We deserve a raise or special recognition, right? We’ve always had that benefit or this perk. Why shouldn’t we keep receiving it?

But the challenge with that mode of thinking is believing we can rest on past accomplishments. We deceive ourselves into thinking what got us here should be what keeps us here. In short, we get a little lazy and stop striving to be better. It reminds me of this proverb:

“Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭13:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬
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motivation

Greed and Poverty

Cartoon of a boy and a bank teller. The boy says, "How greedy do you have to be to work here?"

Greed is not exclusive to the rich or poor. Yet, I see a connection between greed and poverty. It may not have anything to do with physical wealth.

Several months back, I read an article that stated upper-middle-class and upper-class families were hoarding wealth because they feared it could disappear at any time. Burglaries and theft occur in poorer neighborhoods because someone feels they deserve more than their neighbor and feel justified in taking it from them.

At the same time, I have felt encouraged and emboldened when a story comes out about a generous person. The story may focus on a rich individual, but also may feature a middle-class or poor person that gave out of the generosity of their heart. 

Greed is less about the pursuit of having enough and more about a scarcity mindset that makes the person feel justified in taking from another.

Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty.

Proverbs 28:22 (NLT)
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