The Every Day Leader: Tis the Season

The pile of graduation announcements sat on the counter, along with one for a baby shower and a wedding.  It is definitely the season once again.

The season of endings and new beginnings.

The season of change for many.

Two of those announcements are for my kids, one graduation and one baby shower.  This week I watched my son walked across the stage of his high school graduation, along with my parents in their eighties and my grandkids next to me in the bleachers.

It is a season of change for our family.

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I was reminded of how things sneak up and are gone before you realize it.  The days that can seem so very long are somehow gone in a flash.  It seems we blink and…..

our kids have grown up,

our body begins to age.

our parents have aged.

we have lost the windows we thought would always be there.

Everyday leaders know that time is fleeting.  So we intentionally choose to make our moments matter. 

We choose. 

Every day leaders know we must be intentional.  We choose to make the most of the time we are given knowing as we invest  we are making a difference in the  lives of those around us.

MMDC+moments+tht+matter

The Every Day Leader: The Clacking of Time

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Somehow we always seem to think that time will never end…that it will keep on going and we have forever days.

When in fact, time has a definite beginning and ending.  We often take time for granted. We try to squeeze as much as we can into it or out of it. Other times we just waste precious moments – but we somehow always  believe that we always have more just up ahead.

But do we? 

None of us knows our tomorrow and what it will bring. 

We often hear and we even know deep down that we should embrace every moment.  We know that each moment will never come again, we cannot get it back once it is gone.

Yet, it just doesn’t seem to sink in.

Every day leaders know that each moment matters.  We know that each moment we have is a gift that cannot be squandered or foolishly wasted.  As kids the days seem to last forever, as adults they fly by each one getting faster than the other. Just ask any mother who has grown children.

The years are short, but the days are long. The moments disappear.  As much as we would like to think it is true, our time doesn’t go on forever. 

Every day leaders long to make the most of every moment that has been given to them.  They know that we each have limited days and the clacking of time passes all to quickly.

Every day leaders celebrate each moment making the most of each one of them to make a difference in the lives of others. They invest in those around them, seeking to leave a legacy far greater than themselves.

They invest not only in actions, time, words, but even in writing, knowing that through their encouragement to the next generation they are helping them succeed to do far greater things than they did.

Let us be Every Day Leaders who impart wisdom to those younger than us. Let us be intentional to mentor, guide, and encourage those that want our attention and time that we can mold them into the leaders that God intended them to be. Time indeed has an end and one day we will depart this earth but may our legacy live on in those we mentored.

The Every Day Leader: Living Like There is NO Tomorrow

I wanna live like there’s no tomorrow
Love like I’m on borrowed time
It’s good to be alive,,,,,

I won’t take it for granted
I won’t waste another second….

(excerpt from Jason Gray’s “It’s good to be alive”)

I wonder how many times we have heard the phrase “make this day count”…most of us know it.  We may have even tried to apply it to our lives as best as we can – as we navigate through our busy days.

We have such good intentions to live like there is no tomorrow.  To love like we are on borrowed time.  To know it is good to be alive.

All to often we let life get in the way and our words just become lyrics on a page.

We get caught up in the business of the day.  The urgent.  The deadlines.  There are schedules.  There are clients and customers.  There are meetings.  And there are chores. 

But the hard facts remain, we will never live this day again. 

Each day is a gift that has been given to us. 

I long to make every second count.  I don’t want to waste another minute on something that doesn’t matter.

We are all leaders that have the opportunity to live like there is no tomorrow.  To love like we are on borrowed time.  To celebrate the moments of each day. 

We are given a gift each day. What will you do with yours?

Start today.  The past ended a second ago.  Each day is a gift, the new beginning of a brand new day.

Everyday leaders intentional choose how they spend their time. Making a difference on a live of another.

The Every Day Leader: The hardest word to say

We have all heard it.  We don’t want to disappoint.  We think we have more time than we do.  We have many things we want to be a part of, yet, at some point if we don’t learn it, it will have devastating effects on our lives

Two little letters, but a HUGE impact…

There are many times we may even have the “N”  just about to roll off of our tongue, yet in the moment when someone asks, we can’t seem to get the single word out.

As every day leaders there are many things for us to be a part of that are all good things.  We may want to help a coworker, employee, volunteer or even a friend.  We may sit on the board of a very good non-profit.  We want to do our very best on the projects or assignments set before us.  The list goes on.  Perhaps deep down, we have a check in our spirit knowing this is not a wise decision.

I know.  I find myself in this place more times than I care to admit.  Sometimes it is because I don’t want to disappoint, I want control of the finished project,  or maybe it is because I  think it is a good way to spend my time.  Perhaps I may even think I can learn from it and be better.  Yet, when I am not willing to say no there are consequences…..I may miss the opportunity to spend my time doing something that is a better use of my time.

Time is one of our most precious resources that no matter what – we  all have the same amount of hours, minutes and seconds in every day.  It is not something we can buy or ever get back.  When I am intentional to think about these concepts, I am more apt to say no.

The bottom line is that every moment matters.   Each moment is a moment for something that we choose.   A moment we will never get back. 

How about you?  Are you intentional to choose how you spend your time?  If we really stop to think what is really important in our lives, we may find it easier to say no – even to the good things, so that we can have something even better.

Every day leaders, choosing to spend our time in such a way that we make a difference; willing to say no, for the opportunity to say YES.