Author Archives: Cathy Berggren

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About Cathy Berggren

Entrepreneur, Nonprofit Coach, Life Coach, Executive, and Idea Shaper

The Every Day Leader: Happy Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day.  For some of us this is a great day that reminds us of the incredible love we have had from our mother.  It may also remind us of the gift of our own children. 

Yet for some, this day may bring memories of sadness due to a loss of their mother or child. It may be sadness for not having a relationship at all or even having a strained one with their child or mother.  Maybe it’s a hurt from having an estranged child.  Whatever the reason, Mother’s Day can be a day that reminds us of a heartache that is all too real and testifies to the messiness of life.

My mother gave me an amazing gift… unconditional love. The gift of having someone love you and invest in your life in a way far beyond what I could have ever imagined. I think back and I never doubted the love of my mother, no matter what, her love was there for me regardless of what I did.  She modeled before me what true love was.  It was through that example that I was able to model this  to my own children.

I have met many who never grew up with the kind of love that I had from my mother, yet God has blessed their lives by giving them this incredible gift of love by another.  A person who was willing to invest in them, love them, teach them, train them, hold them accountable, pray for them, listen to them, encourage them, spend time with them, and be there no matter what.

These individuals are our every day leaders. They have chosen to invest in the lives of another and make a difference where they can, instead of selfishly holding back.

How about you? Is there someone in your life you can invest in? Someone, who would benefit greatly by your time, guidance, and wisdom? Each day God gives us opportunities all around us to be used to make a difference. Imagine the impact you could have on just one life if you lived intentionally, willing to pour yourself into another.

Investments take time, it could be just one hour a month or an hour a week, but the rewards are eternal.  The time you take can change a life forever.  Is this not what we are put on this earth for?  God calls us to connect with others, to walk with them on their journey of life – no matter what that journey holds.

Making an investment in the life of another will come at a cost.  It will cost you to be vulnerable to another, real and authentic. It may mean having to confront in love when misunderstandings happen.  But in the end, it will be a cost well spent. You will not be disappointed.

 I challenge and encourage you today to seek out that person to invest in.  Your investment could be life changing!

I want to be that person. I want to be the one that intentionally seeks out someone to pour my life into knowing that the gain is far greater than any loss.

 

The Every Day Leader: Hijacked!

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Hello Friends,

I have a confession to make… I just hijacked my friend’s blog. I had to brag a bit about my amazing friend, Cathy, who is the really great leader that writes this blog week after week.

Holly Gerth once said the characters in life that may seem ordinary on the outside are far from it when given some time and a welcoming place, all kinds of wonderful starts flowing through them to you.

You find out how they came to be who they are.

Tonight, during a late night chat between working on projects, I learned all about how my friend grew up on a farm. I learned that life on the farm teaches you to work hard, do good, and care for family and others.

By the time we said good-bye I realized my life had changed and I had just gotten swept over by a whole lot of wonderful. Really knowing someone requires: our hearts, schedules, authenticity, vulnerability, and trust. I will be forever grateful my friend shared all of those things tonight.

Leaders and Mothers seem to have a lot in common. At times both seem to be a thankless job, at times the road seems lonely, and at times the task ahead seems insurmountable.

Today, on the dawn of Mother’s Day, I thank all of you Mom’s for giving of yourselves every day.  Know that you have the most important job of all.

I have gotten to watch my friend lead a medium size non-profit. I have also learned that she raised 4 phenomenal kids. I have had the pleasure of meeting 3 of those kids, they are AMAZING. I have seen her mother so many others: those who don’t have a mom that come her way, those who have lost their children and some who have lost their mothers.

I have seen her impact and change the lives of those around her every day. Isn’t this what leaders do? Isn’t this what mother’s do?

Today I just wanted to take a minute and say… you are doing a great job Cathy. You are an awesome Mom. You are an awesome leader. You have poured your heart into everything you do and it shows in the people you lead. You have impacted many and we will forever be changed because of it.

Your making a difference, not just in your children and grand kid’s lives, but in your staff and clients lives too. And mine. Your legacy is your heartbeat of compassion that will live on in the lives of all of those you touch daily. It is your smile that encourages the staff to press on when they felt they had no energy to go one step further. It is the stories of life on a farm that inspire faith, hard work, and hopefully homemade donuts.

You have challenged all of us to come up higher, be better, and be excellent in our service to others.

I trust you. I know that you have my back. I trust your judgement.

I believe in you. I believe you are changing lives, the community, and soon the world.

I am honored to follow your lead. So step out… take that first step… towards something new.. you are not alone.

I say thank you to those who have stayed the course, thank you to the leaders who are brave enough to have a vision, to cast that vision, and to lead with integrity that we may follow.

Thank you Cathy for doing all that and more. Thank you for being a friend that pours into others. Thank you for being a leader that I want to follow, a lover of Christ and a lover of people.

You are an AMAZING leader! A leader that leads every day with intention.

Sincerely,

The Baggage Handler

The Every Day Leader: The old typewriter

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I remember the old typewriter in the attic of the old home I grew up in.    Our home was filled with stories, memories and great things. As I grew up, I expected to write my own story, just as I used to write things out on that old typewriter.  I had grand ideas that life would be filled with all great things, just like life was like in the our old home.

As children we always think that life will  be good, that somehow hard times don’t really happen. Wasn’t the American dream  for everyone and anyone who would work for it?  To obtain this dream all one had to do was work hard, treat others right,  always do good and one would be rewarded  This was the script I knew.

Yet somehow life didn’t turn out quite like that.   There have been messy and unexpected things happen that certainly didn’t follow the script I wrote.  Instead life holds things like death, divorce, cancer, prodigal children, job loss, shattered dreams, broken promises, depression and burnout.  What do we do then?   It seems the script needs to be rewritten, so we jump in to make that happen the best way we know how.

I set out to rewrite my script to make a happier ending.  Somewhere along the way in the midst of the hard times of my life, I realized that God was doing great things in the middle of the messes.  He was showing me something different.

I learned that each day is a gift given to me. I can choose to influence others or I can choose to isolate. I can choose to love even when it hurts or I can choose to build walls because of the hurt. I can choose to use the gifts and skills God gave me to change the world or I can choose to build a life of materialism with things that I cannot take with me when I leave this earth. I can choose to make a difference in one life each day or I can choose not to invest in anyone – leaving no legacy behind me.

I choose to believe that the Lord orders my steps. That He alone is the author of my story and the ending is yet to be written. Life is like the back of a tapestry, threads going every which way entangled with one another, but at the end when you turn the tapestry over an amazing picture has been woven. The hardships of life and all those things that seem like they should NEVER be a part of the script actually shape us, build us, and develop deep character in us. Without those times we would not see life the same.  Those  experiences are powerful in our lives, even if we can’t see it at the moment.  It is all these things, the good and the bad shape us and allow us to see others in a different light. Often, our stories are the encouragement for others.

I no longer look at that old typewriter the same way. I no longer rush to rewrite my ending to the script.  Instead it serves as a reminder that life is about surrendering to the One True Author of our lives.  For it is He alone who is writing the greatest story of all and using us for His glory.

How will you live your life?

I choose this day to live a life with intention, to embrace every day, to let go of my script and pick up His.

The Every Day Leader: The Simple Leader

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Corrie Ten-Boom, A quiet, everyday person willing to do what she thought was right.  She never saw herself as a person of influence – yet she had a huge impact on the lives of many, simply by speaking from her heart. I have been fascinated since High School by the life of this every day leader, who never knew the legacy she would leave.

Corrie Ten-Boom, along with her family, hid Jews from the Nazis during the war and was later captured and ended up in the concentration camps.  Despite all she endured, she always took the high road.  She loved others, no matter what they had done to her.  She forgave.  She kept the right attitude, even during the worst of it all.  She remained thankful in all things, even in a concentration camp!

She was as simple a leader as you could get. It wasn’t about what she looked like, what she wore or even saying the right words. She understood that life and people are a gift and often that is all we have. It is our choice how we manage that gift that has been given to us.  She also knew that she could sit back and do nothing and be safe or she could jump in and do something and make a difference in the life of another.

Corrie Ten-Boom.  Simple.  Quiet.  Obedient.  Everyday Leader.  Lasting Impact on the Lives of Many.

What about you? Each of us is given a sphere of influence, what are YOU going to do with yours? Are you willing to be all that you can be and make a difference, never knowing what legacy you may leave behind?

This every day leader wants to live like that!

The Every Day Leader: Intentional Generosity

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A child does not naturally care for others around them. I recently watched my little granddaughter as she so carefully cared for her sister who wasn’t feeling well.  Even though she was only four there was something in her make up that  knew to share what she had, to love and to care for her five-year-old sister.  It wasn’t just because she had a fever. Sharing, caring and loving is something she knew and has had modeled for her.

Intentional leaders are very much the same way, somewhere along the way they paid attention to someone modeling everyday leadership before them. Somewhere along the way they capitalized on one of the greatest opportunities of another leader’s generosity to share their knowledge. If we are willing to share with others what we know, to share what we have, and to be willing to work with others our entire outlook is different.  As we intentionally model this way of life, we teach others to do the same. The term collaboration takes on a whole new meaning!  It is not about what we can get out of it, but rather what we can offer to others.

Generosity not only makes us better leaders, it makes us better people. When we selflessly give of our time, talents, and resources expecting nothing in return we change those around us and we change ourselves. And through these efforts organizations take on a more intentional way of doing things and relating to their staff, customers, and all they encounter. We gain a new perspective and understanding of doing life together.

As an Executive Director of a medium size nonprofit I have learned that my role is not to just care about my organization or even the people working for me. Without fail the times that I have intentionally shared my knowledge and collaborated with others in the community, the more my organization is helped and the people we reach. Generosity always comes back to you in greater ways than what you gave.

Take a chance, be BOLD… look beyond your own place of influence and see what happens when you live the life of an INTENTIONAL LEADER.

The Every Day Leader: The Script

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Everyone has one, though we may not talk about it, we may not acknowledge it is there, but we all know and have seen the effects of that script in our head.

Who wrote yours?

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The messages slip in almost unnoticed.

they creep…slowly…quietly…steadily…

The words come from trusted sources: unkind words spoken from a friend, the mistreatment from a spouse or loved one, and disrespect from a boss.

The words come from being out of work for months and the rejection of the job search. They come from the loss of a loved one and the rejection from a divorce.

The script plays over and over in our head, and we buy into the lies it spreads. We begin to wonder…

WHO AM I?

Do I Matter

Does My Life Count?

We question and find it hard to believe that there is a God that could really love us enough to send his son to die on a cross for us. We question if we are valued enough for His death. We think if I were the only one would He still have come to die?

We keep our wounds and continue to hurt inside, we stay disappointed, disillusioned, and continue stuffing the feelings further down – believing the script in our head must be right.

Is a $100 bill any different in value if it is crumpled?  Image

We know the value is unchanged in money whether, it came from the pocket of our jeans or from a bank drawer, and yet we refuse to see our lives or the lives of others in the same way. We think that if our lives do not look nice and or feel nice that somehow OUR value has changed.

No matter what we have experienced, no matter what we look like, no matter how we view ourselves the truth of the matter is our value is still the same and Christ would have still come and died for us.

It is time we rewrote the script in our head with the words of truth from our creator:

You are treasured

You are chosen

You Matter

You are loved

You are made in the Image of the Giver of Life

Jason Gray, a popular Christian artist, wrote a song called Remind me Who I am for those times that we struggle to remember:

When I lose My way,

And I forget my name,

Remind me who I am.

In the mirror all I see,

Is who I don’t wanna be,

Remind me who I am.

In the loneliest places,

When I can’t remember what grace is.

Tell me once again who I am to you.

Who I am to you.

Tell me must I forget who I am to you.

That I belong to you.

The Every Day Leader: The Heart of the Matter

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At the heart of who we are, the message is the same no matter where we live, the color of our skin, our backgrounds, our social standing, or our financial standing. We as humans really want to know from the rest of the world and from those around us:

Do we matter?

Does someone care about us?

This simple yet profound point was driven home to me not to long ago when I recently helped one of our clients. This gentleman comes to seek our assistance at least once a week. While it’s a struggle for him to get out of the car,  he still comes. He comes not necessarily for what we have to offer in material things, but he comes seeking the companionship, to be acknowledged, and to know that someone cares about him. I have seen the loneliness in his eyes; I know he has no family and no real friends. I have heard him wonder out loud if God has abandoned him.  He is no different from many others I have known over the years.  Does my life count?  Does anyone care?  Where is God anyway?

If as business owners, nonprofit directors, and leaders what if we intentionally made an effort to do everything with this message that people do matter?  If we truly lived and lead like this, would our lives and those around us look differently?  Would our businesses or organizations look differently?

People matter more than:

 Tasks

Processes

Life issues

The high stresses of the job

The deadlines

 

As leaders we don’t have the choice to say that I will put people first WHEN the business is successful or the organization has reached its goals.   We have to decide in the beginning that people matter, that they matter more than anything we will do in this life. When we choose to put that kind of emphasis on people and relationships we will soon see that it is in those moments that our own lives begin to take on a whole new meaning.

The little things we do today can and will leave a lasting impact…

 May we NEVER forget that EVERY MOMENT matters!

 

The Every Day Leader: Living Life Intentionally

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The innocent acts of children can teach us so many valuable lessons. I sat on the bed the other day and watched my beautiful little one and half-year old granddaughter struggle to dress herself. She insisted she could “do it herself”, no help was needed nor would she take any. I leaned back and smiled and watched her as she was so intent on accomplishing her task.

Are we any different then this precious little child as adults? Do we not still not insist on doing things ourselves and being so very independent? How often have these same thoughts run through our minds that “we don’t need anyone else?” How many times have we followed this line of thinking to the point of even shutting others out of our lives, even at the very times we need them the most? We deliberately choose to walk the long road of our journey alone instead of allowing others to come beside us and help carry the load. As I watched my granddaughter I wondered if this is really what God had in mind when He made us?

The Bible is full of references to: fellowshipping with one another, the importance of breaking bread together, the power when two or more are gathered in His name to pray, and the relief one gets to know that there is in fact someone coming along side them to help carry the burden.

Even as Christians we justify our actions of independence and act as if these very same scriptures do not apply to us.  We even take it a step further and become the king and queen of pat answers as we say we are “fine” or “all good” when asked how we are by a passerby or someone who cares and we quickly walk on or change the subject making sure that the “road closed” sign stays in place and we walk alone.

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The problem with a “road closed” sign is that life is messy and the road is often bumpy with more twists and turns then we ever wanted.  We know we desperately want someone to share the road with us but we have guarded ourselves so much that not only do we not know how to reach out; our pride often prevents the “road closed” sign from coming down.

On the flip side of this scene is the people who are so busy that they have developed tunnel vision to the hurting that are around them. They breeze through their agendas, their schedules, their to-do lists, and their day and never look up to see that there are others in this world who desperately need. They need them to be engaged, to offer a hand that helps, a listening ear, a smile, a hug, a phone call, or even a letter or card letting them know they are seen and are cared about.

It was not that long ago that we lived so very differently. Our front porches were our living rooms filled with neighbors who we knew by name. We sipped our sweet teas and lemonades and we caught up on each others day. We knew the intimate heartache of each other and we never shied away from offering a shoulder to cry on, a soothing word, a hand that helped, and we never expected anything in return.

Today we live in our perfect houses and our porches are super clean from lack of use. We drive in and out of our garages shutting the door and keeping the world at bay. We live our lives, oblivious to those around us, never even knowing who are neighbor is, their name or even who is in their family.

Being independent is not always a bad thing but when it shutouts the world, a world who desperately needs us and one that we desperately need, then it may be time we reevaluate our position and what independence really is.

Life was intended to be lived intentionally with others.To be walked side-by-side and shared with those around us, with those who care, and with those we encounter.

May we strive to live out Galatians 6:2 with all those we meet. May strive to be intentional on not shutting out those who care and love us the most.

Galatians 6:2 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ

The Every Day Leader: A life lived in an explosion of color

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Spring in the South is really an amazing thing. For most of the year we barely notice the beauty of nature because it is hidden in the background just being green and blending in to its surroundings. And then spring comes and with it an explosion of color! Vines that were unnoticed, like Wisteria, all of a sudden are the most amazing purple banners along our roads announcing to all who pass that spring is here and refreshing the soul with the sweetest scent ever put into the air.

As I gazed upon these beautiful banners while driving, I suddenly realized how much this vine is so much like people. It is so easy for us to go along in life, unnoticed, just going through the motions of every day living and yet not really living at all. This is not active participation, it’s not contributing to the world around you, it is merely existing. Existing produces emptiness inside each of us; we were created for so much more than just that.

So how do we bloom bright like the Wisteria? How do we make our lives count and live each day passionately embracing every moment and living it as if it were our last?

The first step is realizing how uniquely made you are. That you were born at a chosen time and the gifts you have to offer the world are so needed and no one can offer them but you. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14). God has formed you with his own hands, he has gifted you with talents and experiences that are so unique and He alone has ordained your footsteps.  This is our foundation.

The next step is finding our strengths and passion and using our skills, when that happens, a mundane way of life begins to change to a life of beauty shining full of color to all those we encounter. We no longer fade into the background. As we find our fit and contribute to this world, our lives become breathtaking!

May we never settle to be like the vine that goes unnoticed, just doing the motions of life. Instead may we use all that we have been given and stand out and make a difference and live a life of color!

Make your life count!

The Every Day Leader: Sparrow Leadership Principles

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Spring has finally arrived in the Great Peach State of Georgia! Oh to wake up to birds singing, there seems to be nothing better in the entire world! This is indeed a true refresher to the soul after a long winter. Some how that first month of spring seems to be the most appreciated of the season.

I recently stepped out into the black abyss, my garage, and decided to tackle a few things that were in disarray. As I swept the leaves and pine straw away, I reached up to clean the same mess from the shelves. I was wondering what those kids had been up to now?!

Just as I was about to knock the pine straw and leaves to the garage floor, I looked a bit closer at the mess, and there I saw it… this organized mess had a pattern to it. A deliberate pattern, as if each piece of the mess had been carefully placed. As I peered at it, I saw that this “mess” was no other than a little home to some new “neighbors” a family of birds had moved right in and made themselves comfortable on my garage shelf. This explained the sudden uptick in bird traffic I had seen recently coming and going in the garage.

I thought about the strategically located nest and how it was the perfect place: safe, dry, warm, out of danger, camouflaged, and yet there was just one thing wrong with this picture… they never realized they would not have access to their quaint little home all the time. How awful for their little one’s had they not been able to get to them.

As leaders, how many times have we had tunnel vision? Have we built the perfect system or service and yet failed to consider who would use it? How many times have we focused on our bottom line and forgot to value our staff that really makes things happen?

It is so easy to lose sight of the big picture; to get bogged down in the details of life and business, customers and products that we miss the reason we are doing what we are doing and why we do it.

May we as leaders always be quick to appreciate those who came along with us on the journey, quick to look beyond our surroundings and see what lies ahead, quick to protect those in our care, and always look for ways to make our “nest” stronger, more connected, and keep it out of danger. This can be done through hiring the right people, instilling an atmosphere that does not tolerate gossip, valuing employees, doing everything with integrity and excellence, and building a bridge of trust with every customer.