Category: Productivity

Greetings from Amsterdam, where 120 digital strategists, entrepreneurs, bloggers, film makers, graphics designers, UX/UI folks, and coders begin meetings tonight for our final Indigitous event for this season. I’ve just come from Addis, Ethiopia, where a similar event produced a dozen projects in two days.

One of these projects, the GodTools Update, reworked a classic tool, the digital version of The Four Spiritual Laws. This app clearly explains the message of Jesus Christ – how to know God and begin a personal relationship with him. A group of coders and translators had done prework over the past few weeks to expand the languages from two (English and Estonian) to 15. The app is available now in iTunes and Google Play app stores. Download it now.

The languages:

+ Albanian
+ Amharic (Ethiopia)
+ Chinese
+ Czech
+ English
+ Korean
+ Lithuanian
+ Northern Sotho
+ Polish
+ Russian
+ Spanish
+ Tagalog
+ Thai
+ Turkish
+ Ukranian

+ French should be available in the next week.

Help spread the word. Download it now. Then tweet this:

The best news in the world is now available in 15 languages, download GodTools now http://godtoolsapp.com/ 

Thanks!

As a leader you probably find yourself attending many meetings, conferences, retreats, and networking events. These external connections serve a crucial function in your role as a spokesperson — and learner — on behalf of your organization.

Sometimes I find myself in a season of back-to-back events that reflect commitments I have made to speak, sponsor, or support others in their leadership efforts. It’s tempting to go through the motions: to step out of the meeting to find a quiet place with an internet connection so I can jump on a conference call with people who are elsewhere, or attend to other pressing work.

Last week I was in Hong Kong. In the next two weeks I will be in Ethiopia and Amsterdam. I’ll be with an amazing group of talented creatives and digital strategists at Indigitous events.

It is quite possible to squander these opportunities to learn and grow. I want to avoid that mistake.

Today I’m in Poland at the Jesus.net Conference. The program guide contains an excellent tool, adapted from Steve Moore of MissioNexus, to help leverage events for maximum learning. I want to share these with you.

Five Questions to Maximize Your Learning Experience

1. What is the most important IDEA I need to CONSIDER?

2. What is the most important RELATIONSHIP I need to PURSUE?

3. What is the most important CONVERSATION I need to HAVE?

4. What is the most important DECISION I need to MAKE?

5. What is the most important ACTION I need to TAKE?

What tips would you add?

The longer I live and the more places I visit, the more I appreciate changes in season. This week the weather in Orlando, Florida, where I live, shifted from dark-soggy-winter-chill to warm-bright-spring. The change naturally invites me to be outdoors more, leave work a bit early, and enjoy some long bike rides.

My motivation wasn’t forced. It felt like a natural rhythm of grace.

As a leader, the longer you lead, the more you have to pay attention to the natural seasons of leadership. Introducing another new change initiative when your team has been pushing hard to meet deadlines or deliver a fantastic event can feel like you’re pushing a huge boulder up a mountain. That boulder may be a combination of physical fatigue, emotional resistance, or simply too much at too fast a pace for too long.

For years I fell under the false assumption that I could live a balanced life. Time management books promised me it was possible. Balance assumes I can keep all the plates spinning. I’m learning that seasonal rhythms – allowing some plates to fall and just remain on the ground – is actually the way God designed people and nature to work. When managed well, it feels more natural.

For the past two months I lacked motivation to post on my blog. I would begin a new post and stare at the screen but nothing would come. I’d pray and feel guilty, but the well was dry. I reflected on my lack of motivation and realized that I had just come off a heavy season of writing, editing, and publishing my book CLOSE, an intense season of travel and meetings, and 10 days of fun holiday vacation with my family. Like an athlete, I simply needed some off-season time to allow my writing muscles to fully recover. Now I’m back.

The wise teacher of Ecclesiastes 3 instructs us that “for everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven… a time to plant and a time to pluck…a time to break down, and time to build up… a time to weep and a time to laugh….”

A wise leader knows what time it is. What season are you in?