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.”

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.

There are so many things that I do one way, and one way only. Why? I dunno, I guess the honest answer is…that’s the way I’ve always seen it done, and I don’t ask any questions. I just conform to it. Now, for some things, we’ve figured out a way that’s just better…and we shouldn’t mess with it…like the new guy at Starbucks yesterday that made my Strawberry Banana Vivano by putting in the milk first before the strawberries. And according to the Brew Master that was observing his creation, the order of the ingredients affects the taste and the color…whodathought?

I think the biggest reason that we conform is because we like predictability. It’s safe. It requires no new learning skills. The outcome has been tested. And, it’s what everyone expects.

In my opinion, predictability is overrated, except when you’re on an airplane.

There are some things that I want to be predictable. There are some things that God clearly commands us to conform to. But for everything else, we’re handed a blank sheet of paper! Over the years, history has added lines on the paper that we are expected to color inside. For those that dare to color outside the lines, a new found passion is unleashed!

Conformity produces predictability, Creativity unleashes passion.

Our creative God created us in His creative image. When we shortchange our creativity, we shortcircuit our passion.

This video is a great example of conformity vs. creativity.

What are your thoughts on creativity?

There is a little asterisk beside everything that you say and do. And below that is an unwritten phrase that says, “Whatever you say or do is subject to criticism.” You can’t escape criticism. Trust me, if you are a leader you are being criticized. And even if you are not hearing the criticism, someone else is. By nature, criticism leads to protection. Protection leads to defense. Growth rarely comes out of a defensive posture.

How you handle criticism today molds you into who you will be tomorrow.

Since criticism is inevitable, we might as well embrace it and use it to our advantage. Here are some thoughts on how to handle criticism to your advantage.

• Strip away the emotion from the criticism. This is hard to do since most criticism is saturated in emotion. But listen for what is being said underneath the emotions.
• Instead of trying to protect your motives or reputation, try to see the criticism from the eyes of the criticizer.
• Ask them to elaborate on anything that is not specific. Ask them for examples.
• Mine for the meat, but spit out the bones. There will often be both in the criticism. No need to respond to the bones, just spit em’ out. If you’re not sure if it’s meat or a bone, ask a few close friends to confirm it for you before you dismiss it as a bone.
• If there is legitimacy to the criticism, work through the following questions…

Is there a relationship that needs to be repaired?

Is there a principle that needs to be learned?

Is there a practice that needs to be changed

Is there a sin that needs to be repented of?

• Thank the person for helping you grow as a leader. They just gave you a gift.

How do you handle criticism?

Everybody has an opinion. If you ask people their opinion, they will gladly give it to you. If you don’t ask people for their opinion, they will gladly give it to you unsolicited. Opinions and advice are often handed out like free candy at a parade.

It’s easy to give advice when you don’t have to bear the risk, take the fall, or when your butt is not on the line. You are the keeper of your own vision, not anyone else.

Receiving advice is like eating hard shell crabs…there is more trash than meat at the end of the meal. Keep the meat, but make sure to throw everything else away fast. Remember, seafood spoils quickly, and so does your vision if you don’t protect it!

It’s easy to throw away advice that seems way off, but what about the advice that seems to make sense? I’m talking about the kind of advice that causes you to question the vision that God gave you. The advice that Moses received was endless and mostly unsolicited. He had to sort through the junk like this…

In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.  The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death. Exodus 16:2-3

In order to find the meat in advice like this that he received from his father-in-law Jethro…

Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Exodus 18:19-21

Remember…YOU are the keeper of YOUR vision. God entrusted YOU with the vision, don’t allow others to hi-jack it!

When have you made the mistake of listening to bad advice?

What is your process for looking for meat and throwing away the shells?

Please comment.