I have heard so many good talks on leadership and have read so many great blog posts on leadership and so have you. The question is do you remember where you saw it, read it, or heard it? If you’re like me, often times the only thing I remember was that it was good. So good I wish I would’ve captured it, but didn’t. I’ve learned to do a better job of organizing my personal development and capturing the nuggets so that I don’t lose it. I’m generally not an organized person, so I’m still refining how I organize, but here are a few ways that help this ADD – fly by the seat of his pants – mistake maker organize his thoughts on the fly.

1. My Moleskine. I write thoughts, blurbs, comments down while they are fresh on my mind. I often will interrupt a conversation in order to write something down. Thoughts that I write down today have the potential to become…a future sermon series, a new idea, or a spiritual breakthrough. By writing them down and reviewing them periodically. I give room for a thought to turn into an action.
2. My Resource Email Address. This is a separate email address that I set up that I use solely to store articles, website addresses, and anything else that I may want to access later. If I read a great blog post, I’ll use the share button to email the article to my resource email address. If there is no share button(shame on you if you have a blog and don’t use one)I’ll copy and paste the article in an email and mail it to my resource email address. It’s a way for me to organize and catalog information that I may want to process more or not forget.
3. My iPhone Notes App. There is a simple App on the iPhone that allows you to type a note an email it. If I’m somewhere and I don’t have my Moleskine, I’ll write a note and email it to my resource email address.

How do you capture thoughts on the fly?

Like you, there have been times in my career in the business world as well as in ministry where I have experienced periods of great momentum. I felt like an unstoppable freight train whipping around the corners and holding on for dear life. There have been other times where I felt like I was trying to push a freight train up a hill in the middle of a desert. Sometimes, it’s easy to identify the “lack of” or “abundance of” momentum. Other times, we can’t quite put our finger on it. Or, we’d rather not try to figure it out because we have our suspicions that we are the problem or at least a big part of it.

Dave Ramsey defines his Momentum Theorem as, “focused Intensity over time, multiplied by God, creates unstoppable Momentum.”

If Dave’s theorem is true (and I believe it is), then there are several things that could be the cause of No-Mo-mentum or Slo-Mo-mentum. Interestingly enough, I happened to be thinking about the Momentum Theorem and vision while I was cleaning glass the other day with my 4 year old daughter. Here are the lessons I learned from a spray bottle and a 4 year old.

1.   Stream the vision instead of spray the vision – The “Spray” feature on the Windex bottle works best for coating a lot of glass with a little bit of glass cleaner. When it comes to vision, we want to turn the nozzle to “stream”. Focused intensity means we stream as much vision as we can into a smaller area.

2.   Apply liberally - My 4 year old daughter understands this principle when she helps me clean the glass. There is never enough glass cleaner in my daughter’s mind. She sprays and sprays and sprays until the window sill is covered in blue liquid. When it comes to our vision, there is never enough. we need to spray and spray and spray until we have flooded the area and we are standing in the vision.

3.   Don’t dilute – With window cleaner, dilution is important. Without the proper dilution in the bottle, a cloudy residue will appear on the glass as the sun shines through. When it comes to creating momentum, residue is a good thing. We want our vision to be so heavily concentrated that it leaves a residue on lives when they come in contact with it.

4.   Allow Daddy to refill your bottle - When my daughter sprays the entire bottle of window cleaner on the window, she brings me the empty bottle and asks me to fill it up for her. When your bottle is empty, allow your Heavenly father to fill it up. He is the supplier. He never runs short on supply. He knows exactly what you need, when you need it.

My vision and your vision is weak and accomplishes nothing apart from God. God’s vision is strong and changes everything.

Here is my Momentum Theorem as learned from a spray bottle and a 4 year old. “Streaming undiluted vision in large quantities over time with God filling up the spray bottle, creates unstoppable momentum.”

The natural response when being attacked is to defend. We don’t have to learn how to defend, we automatically do it. It’s comes standard in all human makes and models. When we know we’re in the wrong, we feel the need to defend ourselves by trying  to justify our actions. When we know we’re in the right, we feel the need to defend our reputation. We somehow have been taught that if we don’t defend ourselves we are admitting that we are in the wrong, that our silence is somehow an admission of our guilt.

Jesus certainly had every reason to defend himself in front of the inquisition and insurrection he was facing. He could have defended his actions and possibly avoided some of the beatings that he faced. But he remained silent. Choosing instead to trust his heavenly Father for the outcome.

Occasionally, defending ourselves might be the wise thing to do. Many times it’s wise to keep our mouth shut. Defending requires discernment as well as listening to the Holy Spirit. When should we defend ourselves and when should we remain silent? I think the answer is hidden in our motivation. If our desire is to elevate ourselves in a situation, it’s best to remain silent. If the situation elevates God and could potentially lead someone closer to God, it might be wise to defend your actions and explain why you did what you did.

Recently, I was in a situation where I could have easily defended my actions and was tempted to. I felt God telling me, “you don’t have to defend yourself, I got this one Mike.” I just made the conversation about listening and seeking to understand the other person. Sometimes, the other person isn’t looking for your defense, they are just looking to throw stones at you. By the way, you know a person is just wanting to throw stones when it is a one-sided conversation and there is not one question trying to understand your point of view. Proverbs 23:9 says this, “Don’t bother talking sense to fools; they’ll only poke fun at your words.(MSG)”

There is great freedom in not defending. There is freedom in allowing God to be in control and trusting him for the outcome. The next time you find yourself in a situation where you are tempted to defend yourself. Ask the question…will this elevate me or elevate God? Extend grace and trust your heavenly Father. He’s perfectly capable of handling it on his own.

_

_

This video got me thinking…As followers of Christ, we need to play hard until the whistle blows. God holds the whistle and no one else. We play to please Him. When we stop playing before the whistle blows, we risk one of two things.

1) We risk celebrating a false win. Or…

2) We risk giving up just short of a win.

Anytime we celebrate the win before the whistle blows, we are celebrating a false win. Our spiritual enemy loves to deceive us into celebrating a false win. If he can get us to celebrate early, we let go of the ball and take our eyes off of the goal. He tries to steal our victory. When the enemy tempts you to celebrate, keep going until the whistle blows.

From a different perspective, there are times when we are tempted to quit…to give up. When everything looks bleak. While everyone else is celebrating a false win. You be the brave one. Risk looking foolish. Pick up the ball and run!  The game is not over. It’s not over until you hear the whistle blow.

No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:14-15

If a movie was made about your life today, what kind of movie would it be? Would it make it to the box office or would there be like one copy of it somewhere on the bottom shelf at Blockbuster? Would the movie be full of twists and turns, risks and triumphs, or would it be humdrum, boring, and safe? Would your life story cause people to stand up and take notice or fall asleep in the theater? Donald Miller was faced with this same question. After writing a best-selling book, he found himself in a funk that had him depressed, lonely, and unmotivated to even get out of bed. After two movie producers approached him about basing a movie on his life story, he is confronted with the reality that his life’s narrative is dull and lackluster. Faced with this reality, he sets out to edit his life story and turn it into a story that is filled with beauty, meaning, and passion. Be prepared to walk with Don through a raw, messy, and intimate journey of his life transformation.

I read a lot of books that are ok. I read a few books that are good. Even fewer that are very good. And every few years I find a book that I can’t get out of my head. It stays with you. It forces you to change. Not in a pushy way, but in an incredibly challenging way.  A Million Miles In A Thousand Years is a “once in a few years” kinda book. It just might be the book that will push you to do something with that dream that has been laying dorment inside of you for years and years. Run, don’t walk to the book store to buy this book. Better yet, just click this link to order it. You won’t be dissappointed…trust me.