Mistakes, hurts, and abuses often cause us to hide, not allowing anyone to see who we really are. In these moments it’s difficult to envision anything outside the walls of our pain. So we lock ourselves into this stagnant life where nothing greater is ever possible. We don’t become less flawed through healing, but we…
The Missing Link in Your Message
Each day you are presenting ideas and messages to the people around you. Sometimes you’re trying to persuade, other times you’re helping others understand, and most of the time you’re presenting a point of view for an upcoming decision. While not all your presentations are from a stage with a microphone, you are constantly presenting…
Is a Boring Story Worth Telling?
Donald Miller says that a story is about a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. He said this in his book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. The context for this is that he was making a movie about his life, but his actual life had to be altered so…
Creativity for the Masses (A Conversation with Blaine Hogan)
Today’s post is an ongoing conversation I’ve been having with Blaine Hogan. Blaine is an actor, writer, and also the Creative Director at Willow Creek in Chicago. His book was instrumental in giving me the courage to write mine (more info about that at the bottom of this post). We spent time talking about developing…
Leaders Must Do Two Things Well
Every year another book on leadership climbs the best seller charts. And believe it or not, the basic idea of great leadership in their book is no different than nearly every other book on leadership written. Leaders figure out the problem and find a solution. And really, leaders must only do these two things well:…
A Marriage Problem
Since my marriage began six years ago I’ve had a number of friends lose theirs. Some by choice. Others were told that the marriage was over by their now former spouse with the help of family law lawyers. After the first three friends I stopped counting. It broke my heart and I didn’t like telling…