My Help Source

What Are You Doing With The Word of God?

Johannes Gutenberg (1400-1468) invented the moveable type printing press in 1454 or 1455, in Mainz, Germany. The first significant book printed on his press was the Gutenberg Bible, which is also known as the “Mazarin Bible.” 

In discussing the amazing machine he developed, Gutenberg wrote:

God suffers in the multitude of souls whom His word cannot reach. Religious truth is imprisoned in a small number of manuscript books which confine instead of spread the public treasure. Let us break the seal which seals up holy things and give wings to Truth in order that she may win every soul that comes into the world be her word no longer written at great expense by hands easily palsied, but multiplied like the wind by an untiring machine.

Yes, it is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall flow in inexhaustible streams the most abundant and most marvelous liquor that has ever flowed to relieve the thirst of man. Through it, God will spread His word; a spring of truth shall flow from it; like a new star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light hithertofore unknown to shine among men.

We've come a long way since Gutenberg's initial foray in to the printed scriptures, and his dream of making the Word of God available for the masses has been realized.

What is your enduring leadership impact?

Photo Credit: Jan Tik via Compfight

As a twenty-first century guy, it's natural that I am active on Facebook, right? Of course it's natural!

I also maintain an active presence at Twitter and even Pinterest, but it is Facebook that has allowed me to contact the largest number of people with whom I’ve worked.

As I recently engaged in a Facebook discussion involving people with whom I served in Germany over two decades ago, I was struck by the lasting impact we have on those whom we interact. The impact is even more enduring when we lead.

Goodbye Google Reader - Hello Feedly

 

Feedly Layout - Tidy, Easy-to-Navigate

Were you as surprised and bummed out as I when you heard the news that Google Reader was going the way of the buggy whip?

Google Reader had woven its way into my life and become as important as my morning coffee [almost!].

I am a professional procrastinator by nature, but decided I didn't want to wait until Google Reader goes goes dark on July 1st, so I scrambled to research alternatives.

After looking at a few RSS readers, I decided to go with feedly and I am very glad I did. Fortunately, the kind--and brilliant--geniuses at feedly saw the Google Reader thing coming and prepared to lessen the pain for people like me. They are even adding bandwidth and new servers to accommodate the Google immigrants.

Unleash your Andy Warhol

Christie's is going to auction Andy Warhol's U.S. Unemployment Rate drawing next month.

According to Christie's announcement, the drawing is expected to sell in the $20,000 to $30,000 range. Which begs the question:

Why won't my simple black-and-white drawings fetch similar rewards?

The simple answer is, of course, I'm not Andy Warhol. Hey, I could draw the same thing, but its worth in the market would be less than the paper I used...because I am not Andy Warhol.

You aren't Andy Warhol either, are you?

The Best You Can Do...

 

Costa Concordia - Aground (Photo: andrius.it)

I've heard it said.

Maybe you've said it yourself.

To be honest, I know I've said it!

"That's the best I can do."

If you're like me you know that whatever it is, it really isn't the best you can do, right?

The fact is, the best we say we can do isn't really the best we can do, is it?

What will you do better today? (I've made it simple to Tweet - Just click HERE!)

10 Propositions About Time

1. Time is a precious commodity.
2. Time can be neither bought nor sold. 
3. Time cannot be reproduced or repeated.
4. Time cannot be duplicated; every moment is unique to itself.
5. Time affects us all.
6. Once time is past, it's gone forever.
7. Worrying about wasting time or the time we've wasted is, in and of itself, a waste of time.
8. We can make the most of our time or least of our time, but we cannot make time.
   
9. Time passes, despite the presence or lack of activity.
   
10. There's no time like the present and there's no present like the time.

Are You Doing It Right, Or Merely Doing It?

I had a lot going on and didn't have time to do it myself, so I hired a locksmith to repair the front door locking hardware on our house. A few hours after that guy left--with our money!--our renter called to tell me they couldn't get into the house because the front door hardware was broken. 

I drove to the house, gathered up the necessary parts that the purported locksmith had scattered around our entryway, and fixed the thing myself. It's worked for about 18 months now, without a hitch.

In similar fashion, the "professionals" from Sears who installed our new dishwasher failed to install it properly. Oh, the water and electrical connections are fine, but they didn't attach the unit securely to prevent it from tipping when we opened the door. 

I fixed that too. With two screws...and in less than 2 minutes. 

Pitch Your Product, Service, Idea, or Self in Just 15 Seconds

Whether you know it or not, you are in an almost constant state of selling.

You don't even have to be in the sales business. In fact, you just have to be a living, breathing human being.

Don't fight this. Just accept it as fact and move on. 

Now that we've settled that, and with the selling part of you in mind, here's an excellent piece from Forbes, How to Pitch Anything in 15 Seconds, which will help you sell any product, service, idea, or even yourself with greater ease.

This piece, by Carmine Gallo, and its accompanying video will give you three very easy steps to help you build a message map that will equip you to pitch anything in just 15 seconds:

Just Don't Do Something!

Stressed Man Portrait by David Dominici (FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

You have a cluttered TO DO list, don't you?

So much to do, but no time left for the things that are really important.

For getting closer to your Creator.

For connecting with your spouse and children.

For getting lost in your own thoughts. 

For learning something new.

For pondering life's mysteries.

For creating.

Does that sound about right?

20 Ways to Build Better Fitness Environment

From Leo Babauta at Zen Habits, here are 20 small actions you can take RIGHT NOW to create a health- and wellness-friendly environment:

1. 

   Photo: Just one of the hundreds of Great Ideas at Herbivoracious
   Get rid of the snacks. Don’t keep them in your house or you’ll be more likely to eat them.
2. Don’t buy convenience food. You’re likely to eat this when you’re too tired to cook.
3. Instead, cook big batches of healthy food once a week. Have it in the fridge, ready to be heated up.
4. Take healthy snacks to work.
5. Create a healthy eating challenge with your coworkers.
6. Join Fitocracy (invite code: zenhabits) and make friends there. Log your activities.
7. Join a running club.
8. Find a workout partner.
9. Set up an appointment with your best friend to go walking or running every day.
10. Get a coach.
11. Set fitness challenges with your friends. Log them online, on Facebook or some other social site.
12. Have a chinup bar in your doorway, and do a chinup every time you walk by.
13. Join a sports team.
14. Have nuts and fruit with you when you’re on the go.
15. Make it hard to turn on the TV (put it in the closet or something).
16. Use a program like LeechBlock or Freedom to shut the Internet down at a certain time each day.
17. Have healthy potlucks with friends or family.
18. Publicly commit to posting body pics or measurements each week on your blog.
19. Make a list of healthy restaurants, or healthy meals at other restaurants, for when you feel like eating out.
20. Park farther away from things so you’ll walk more.

Click HERE to read more.

Improving your fitness is much easier when you've built the right environment. Set up your winning self-improvement settings to include the right foods, easy-to-access exercise opportunities, and like-minded fitness partners.