Wasted Movement

The boys basketball team that I coach had practice the other night. I had them doing some one-on-one drills and one of my players was determined to show me how well he could dribble the basketball. The player guarding him and I both watched for a minute as he stood and dribbled the ball between his legs, behind his back, and with his eyes closed. After he finished, the young man guarding him simply stole the ball. And thus, we explored a very important lesson in the game of basketball and in life. No matter how fancy movement looks, if it does not take you anywhere, it is pointless.

Think about this concept from a daily work perspective. When I first went to work at my current job, it took me a while to figure out the daily priorities and responsibilities that came with the territory. The employee training me simply told me that they changed from day-to-day. For a normally goal-oriented person like me, this answer was unsatisfactory.

I tried that approach for a few days. It worked just fine as long as there was not much going on. But it was not long before I spent almost two full days answering my email and talking on the phone. My boss came by and asked me how my work was going and I realized something. I had worked hard for two days and had nothing to show for them except an organized inbox and no messages on my phone. So I began to do some productivity research.

As I mentioned previously, I have always been a goal-oriented individual. I consistently perform my best when I have something to reach towards. In fact, I would contend that everyone is goal-oriented to some extent. People are motivated to different extents by different goals (some positive and some negative) but everyone is goal-driven on some level.

I began by looking at my specific job and what exactly I had began working there to do. That help me prioritize my time. That responsibility turned itself into daily goals and what I feel is a nicely organized to-do list. Come to my office, and I can take you back several months and show you what I did each day of each month and how I added value to my company. Now my movement is forward instead of wasted motion.

It is very easy to think that any movement is better than no movement. I would agree...barely. Without a clear direction, results do not happen. I am sure it would be fun to take 22 guys and a leather ball and give them permission to hit each other. It sounds like a caveman's game, if you ask me. The game becomes much more interesting when you add parameters in which to operate and goals towards which to go. I realize that some of you would still contend that football is a caveman's game but you get the point. Wasted movement is almost as bad as no movement at all. This is where goal-setting and enthusiasm go hand-in-hand.

Unfortunately, in our society today, people scoff at enthusiasm. The new guy who comes in to the office excited about what he is doing is laughed at because everyone knows real life doesn't work that way. My mom received a fortune cookie once that said, "If you catch on fire with enthusiasm, people will come from miles around to watch you burn."

This fortune was sad, but true. But when you have daily goals to accomplish and you know the direction that you will be moving in is actually helpful to your company, it makes work that much easier. When you have a goal to run towards, sports are much more interesting. Seriously, what good is a race without a finish line? I would encourage you to find daily goals to accomplish and have fun crossing them off of your list. Plan your day by the clock and, for that matter, have a plan in the first place. Your enthusiasm will have a great channel through which to flow and you will be a greater professional as a result. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Amo cuando suenar en espanol.

I love when I dream in Spanish.

Recently, I learned that our church co-sponsors a missionary in Little Rock, Arkansas. He spends his time ministering to the Hispanic community there and also pastors a small church. Learning this reminded me just how much I enjoy learning/knowing/speaking Spanish.

Known around the world as a romantic language, Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world. It is for this reason that, beginning in elementary school, my mom required that my siblings and I take Spanish lessons. I have to say, they bored me quite frequently in the beginning. In the group we were taking with, I was definitely the slow learner. I still remember listening to everyone else being able to recite Bible verses and phrases and me having to stand awkwardly not being able to remember them. 

But as with many things, Spanish became easier the older I became. Mentally, I was able to comprehend more and developed a memory for the language. But when I reached high school, things got even more interesting. See, my siblings and I had always taken Spanish from any independent tutor willing to teach it to us. It just so happened that at this point, the teacher was a Spanish pastor. 

He was a very tough teacher, for sure. He definitely did not believe in letting us just slide by with an acceptable answer. I really enjoyed his class and felt very challenged. But there is always something uncomfortable about speaking a foreign language. He actually asked that I preach to his church someday. Regretfully, I declined. That is one decision I can honestly say that I wish I would have made differently. The fears are still the same, but I believe I would have developed much more as a communicator as a result. 

Fortunately for me, this missionary our church sponsors may give me another chance to fulfill that desire. But (believe it or not) the purpose of this post is not to lament about my high school Spanish, or to tell you how excited I am to be learning more about the language. That is not what this blog is about. My purpose is to encourage you to pick up a foreign language.

The excuse that I hear more than anything else is age. There are many people who believe that age is an issue when it comes to physical fitness, learning, and a slough of other things. I personally think that age doesn't matter as long as you don't. Do you die when you get old? Sure. But I don't think things get more difficult, necessarily. I think you just have to find different ways to do them. Maybe you can't cram all night for a test the next day anymore. But rest assured, there is another way to learn the material, even if it is a slower process. You have to work hard and find what is most profitable for you. 

With that little rant out of the way. Let's explore some reasons for learning a new language:

1. Convenience

I don't know how much you travel, but think about how beneficial it would be (especially internationally) if you could literally travel English-free. You would no longer need an interpreter. A friend of mine in college spoke Spanish fluently. When he wanted to go to a Spanish-speaking country, whether for a mission trip or just as a vacation, he did not have to give it a second thought. The convenience of being able to communicate with so many people across the globe is incomparable.

2. Mental Sharpness

Let me be the first to tell you, learning a new language is hard. Reading, writing, and speaking are all literally foreign. The task of learning fluency in another language forces your brain to work twice as hard, especially in the beginning stages. You do not start off being able to dream in a foreign language. You hear a phrase, translate, think of your response, translate again, and then speak. It is a very exhausting process. But it keeps your brain working and makes you mentally stronger, as a result. Before I completely divert you from learning a foreign language, let me mention the most important reason.

3. Gospel

Jesus told His disciples (and us as believers) to go into all the world and make disciples of every nation. That command does not just end with your native tongue. I will not go so far as to say that God commands us to take on a second language because I do not believe that is the case. However, I don't think there is any arguing against the fact that you can much more effectively carry out this command when you can communicate with more people. Learning a foreign language allows you to do just that.

I hope to write an entire post in Spanish soon. Do me a favor and plug it into Google translate and read it anyway. I am looking forward both to preaching and writing in a second language because I think I will be a better professional as a result. Do yourself a favor and try something new. Pick a language, immerse yourself in its culture and learn. You will be a better individual and a more effective Christian as a result. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Leaving A Legacy

When I was in high school, I attended a communication conference down in South Louisiana. The theme at the conference was about leaving a legacy. The staff was motivational, fun, and challenging and attempted to persuade the large group of students that you have one life to live and that you needed to leave a legacy.

I can honestly say that I left from the conference fairly motivated. What was my legacy going to be? What sort of action steps could I take upon arriving home that would help me to leave a legacy. That is a thought that still crosses my mind occasionally. What will people remember about me when I'm gone?

It did not take long for me to become incredibly depressed with myself. I found out rather quickly that my daily tasks were not going to give anyone anything to remember me by. In retrospect, I guess I could have taken up shipbuilding or architecture to leave a lasting monument but the time for that decision has long passed. I do not blame the conference or its creative team for this. I think the root cause of my depression was an improper view of leaving a legacy.

It is my contention that people should not be concerned with leaving a legacy in the first place. But instead, we should all focus on the type of legacy we will be leaving. Fact is, we will all leave a legacy of some sort for others to see. That influence that lingers at our passing will motivate those who see it for the better, or for the worse.

Primarily, we need to understand that we will all leave a legacy. Take a second to think about anyone who has ever looked up to you. Remind yourself of kids that have admired you, adults that adored you, and friends that enjoyed your company. Each and every person that you come into contact with over the course of your life has an impression of you. For some, that is a fairly short impression that was buried deep into their mental filing cabinet shortly after meeting you. I know that is a harsh realization for anyone, but it's the truth. The likelihood that the famous person you met a while back does not remember very much about you.

But there are others who know a great deal about you. There are people today who watch the way you act, the way you dress, and the way you treat others. That is why it is so incredibly vital that you conduct yourself like a professional. You're leaving impressions of yourself on people every day. Unfortunately, many of those impressions will be made without an acknowledgement or any verbal cue on your part. Think about how many judgments you make of people that you see walking in the shopping center or the grocery store. People you don't even know are automatically labeled in your brain positively or negatively until they, themselves, get the chance to change that label.

Understand that this is not meant to criticize or belittle anyone reading. My purpose was simply to put the way that many human beings view the world into perspective. That is why it is fairly insignificant to focus on leaving a legacy in the first place. You're going to leave one, whether you like it or not. What is important, is that you focus on building yourself as an individual of great character. This greatly increases your chances of leaving a legacy that means something positive instead of something detrimental. Keep in mind, people watch you all the time. What they think is out of your control. But how you behave is under no one's control but your own. So until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Enlightening

Saturday mornings are usually very relaxed around my house. I spend time with my wife, eat some good food, and get the fun work around the house done. But the past few Saturdays have not been like that.

I have spent the past several weeks coaching 5th-6th grade boys' basketball in our church league. Does it sound like a lot of fun? Not to everyone. But for me, it has been a complete blast. I never really realized how much I would actually enjoy teaching kids the game (and the winning is not all that bad either).

The way that our church conducts the league is in a very spiritual manner. We have a mid-practice devotion led by the coaches and have someone give a half-time devotion at every game. I have been very privileged to lead a couple of these devotions and this Saturday, I will be doing the same.

Now, you have to know, I have watched just about every basketball movie that has ever been made (including the documentaries). I love everything about the game. But, for some reason, when I think of coaching, the only movie that consistently springs to my mind is "Coach Carter". Samuel L. Jackson definitely plays the hard-nosed basketball coach roll quite well. At the beginning of his first practice, coach Carter asks the players what their biggest fear is. It takes almost half of the movie before a player answers that question. He stands up from his desk on the gym floor, (you'll just have to see the movie), and says this quote.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us...there's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do...it's not just in some of us; it's in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Marianne Williamson

That was a very long way to introduce what I will be sharing in the devotion at half-time of one of the games. I really like the way that the quote is worded. But honestly, I think Jesus said it better in Matthew 5 when he pointed out: 

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." - Jesus

When Jesus said this, he was preaching one of the most famous sermons in the entire Bible: The Sermon on the Mount. Jesus and Marianne Williamson both agreed that we should be light to the world around us. However, they had vastly different reasons for doing so.

Marianne Williamson was a peace activist. She actually spent her life trying to liberate others. Shining as a light was part of her freedom philosophy because by being who she was, she actually did free others.

On the other hand, Jesus was not commanding his followers to shine for the sake of shining or to liberate others. Jesus told us to shine because in doing so, we point others to the Liberator. The difference is in who you know. Marianne's followers could have experienced freedom. But they would never be truly free because they did not actually know the one who made them free. Marianne's followers knew the activist, Jesus' followers knew the One who created the activist and freedom in the first place. 

Suffice it to say, we were all meant to shine like children do. You were not created to hide your light under a basket. You were created to illuminate the darkness of the world around you. You were created to show Christ's love through your actions and your overall conduct. So live as a child of light, and please the Lord rather than men. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Untapped Potential (Part 3B): How to Reach Your Potential

So I know it seems like this series is never going to end. There have definitely been several points that it could have. I also considered, at the beginning, combining all of this into one long post. But for the sake of your eyes and my fingers, I decided it would be better suited as a set. This is the conclusion of the matter.

We have discovered that everyone has potential. However, far too many people leave it there and waste abilities, talents, and greatness. Additionally, everyone was created by God for greatness. You would not be alive today if He did not have an incredible purpose in mind for you. I do not want you coming away from this post thinking that He needs help getting your gifts out of you. But it is important to realize that the harder you work to reach your full potential, you will learn more and increase your effectiveness as a professional. We also went in to several practical ways you can tap into your hidden potential. This final post addresses the last two ways to reach your potential.

4. Care for Others

"You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." - Zig Ziglar

I had to give some space to Mr. Ziglar because this philosophy is so incredibly true. In his book, "See You At The Top," Ziglar points out the benefit of helping and caring for others. It not only improves the way that you feel about yourself, it will also help you in your journey to the top. If you constantly step on people to get to where you are going, ultimately, by sheer weight of numbers, they will drag you back down. But if you help others along the way, when you get to the top, you will be there right along with everyone that you personally helped to get there as well.

The reason this is so important in reaching your full potential is that it stretches you as an individual. Being kind and helpful to other people is, more often than not, the more difficult path to take. It is very easy for us to "Look out for number one." But it is crucial to tapping into your potential because it adds motivation for hard work.

Think about this example. You have a yard full of leaves at your house that all need to be raked up. This is a chore that you do not particularly enjoy and you keep finding excuses to avoid it. But when the little old lady across the street asks for your assistance in raking her yard, all of a sudden your desire to avoid the chore dissipates because you are helping someone else. You also feel more energized the entire time because you are spending yourself by investing in kindness toward others.

5. Stay Spiritually Fed

This tip is one that is impossible for me to stress to a worthy extent. People who only look out for their physical, emotional, and mental well-being will never be as effective as those who include spiritual well-being in the list. It has always amazed me how people who believe in something can constantly reach deep down and come up with the drive necessary to complete the task at hand.

My advice is this: spend time with God each and every day. Get involved in a local church. Pray often. These things seem silly at times but they are invaluable when trying to reach your potential and better yourself. Having people behind you who support you and care about your spiritual well-being is one of the greatest things anyone could ever have. Everyone should have a church they can call home that will challenge them and keep them accountable spiritually.

Many people do not realize that when you put your spiritual life first, everything else will fall into place. When you care for your spirit, you will also care for your body and mind. Seek the kingdom of God first and everything else will be added unto you.

As I stated previously, I have had a lot of fun from this series. I have learned a lot about myself and examined my own life to find what I need to do differently. Reaching your potential is definitely a growing process. Enjoy the journey. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Untapped Potential (Part 3A): How to Reach Your Potential

"Be and not seem." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

This week/series has been very enjoyable for me to dwell on and to put into words. It has truly been a challenge in verbalization and in self-examination. I have not only worked to make information easy to read, find, and understand, but I have also worked to apply the potential mentality to my own life. I can honestly say that I have learned a lot. To conclude, I want to give you 5 practical ways that will put you well on the way to reaching your full potential. This post will deal with 3 of them.

Disclaimer: Do not think that by taking these steps every once in a while that you will reach your full potential. These steps are all daily battles and resolutions and must be worked on constantly. If you do not put in the effort, you will not see the results. That is the difference between "being" and "seeming". 

Step 1: Time management

The reason that most people do not reach their full potential is simply because they are too busy. Many of us work really hard and don't really get anything done or accomplished except for tiring ourselves out. Picture a treadmill.

This concept sounds incredibly backwards because only someone very foolish would work without getting anything done, right? Wrong. We get so lost in busywork that we often spend full work days actually working, but not being productive. Getting more done in less time is a great way to get closer to reaching your potential.

One simple way to manage your time better is by using a to-do list. I normally would never have preached a particular method of productivity until I actually tried this one. I don't think I will ever stop. I make my list the day beforehand so I can come into my office with my day planned out. It takes the stress off of the morning time, makes me a better steward of my employer's time, and keeps me from wasting my own time. Research time management and figure out what works best for you. I may be addressing this topic specifically in the near future.

Step 2: Monitor your brain

Being able to effectively control what goes into your brain is one of God's great gifts to man. God made your mind to be molded. He also enabled you to decide what goes in.

One thing that must be pointed out is this: Garbage in; garbage out. If you fill your brain with positive, challenging experiences, it will grow accordingly. If you fill your head with mindless negativity, you will reap that harvest as well. Decide now that you are not going to allow negativity to find its way into your head. The result will be an increased output and a better individual.

Step 3: Love yourself

I realize that this sounds completely conceited but hear me out on this one. Jesus told his followers that the second-greatest commandment of all was to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Here's the kicker. If you don't love yourself, you can't love your neighbor in the same way.

Being able to look at yourself as a developing professional will allow you to actually become one. But until you can look at yourself in the mirror and admit that you deserve to be great, you will always settle for mediocrity.

I would love to go into greater detail on each of these reasons, but that may dissuade future posts. I would be very interested to hear about other reasons you come up with. Ultimately, it's important to remember that your potential is up to you. These tips are ones that I have found to be useful but take them for what they are: My advice. Look forward to the next two practical ways in my next post. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Untapped Potential (Part 2): Created for Greatness

I think it only fair to warn you in the beginning. If you don't like Bible verses, spiritualistic thoughts, or reference to a Creator, skip this post. But I challenge you to read it, anyway. Have an open mind and remember that your spiritual well-being is just important to your professional life as your mental, physical, or emotional well-begin. That being said, read on and be encouraged that you were, indeed, created for greatness.

God created you to be amazing. Just think about that for a second. He put you on this earth to shine like a light so that people would glorify Him. There are many people who lead mediocre lives because they don't feel like they should have to live up to anyone. Is it possible to spit in the face of God any more than that? I want to spend this post looking at a couple of reminders that will change the way we see ourselves, our lives, and ultimately, our potential.

First, remember that God created you as a unique and wonderful individual. We humans have a knack for being in awe of creation. Think about the most beautiful beach, sunrise, or landscape you have ever seen. Remember how it took your breath away? Me too. The funny thing is that, while our eyes are naturally drawn to other attractive humans, we tend to ignore the beautiful body that God placed us in to begin with. Keep our key verse in mind:

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." - Psalm 139:14

I do not pretend to be a master linguist, but trust me when I say that the Hebrew word for "I" literally means, "'I', myself, an individual." God told the prophet Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you." Jesus said that a sparrow does not fall to the ground without God's notice, and you are infinitely more valuable to Him than the sparrows. He gave you every tool that you need to be successful. 

Our second reminder is that you were created with a clear purpose in mind. If you read a little farther into what God told Jeremiah in the first chapter of the book, He said, "Before you were born, I set you apart." Let's travel to the New Testament to see just what that purpose looks like. 

"And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Whom He forknew, He also predestined to be conformed into the image of His Son so that He may be called, 'The Firstborn among many brethren." - Romans 8:28-29

Your ultimate purpose is to look more like His Son every day. Even if you're reading this with a skeptical mind and a heart that does not really believe any of the Bible quoted in this post, Jesus is one of the best leadership examples you could ever be given. The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 that you are here on earth to work for the Lord and not for men. He says that many people just go from task to task without any sincerity. But those who lack sincerity, lack discipline as well. Both of these are essential to becoming a more effective professional and in reaching your full potential.

It is my hope and prayer that you will take these reminders to heart. If you are still a skeptic and got through that post, I salute you. Please do not go throughout life thinking that you can be made for greatness apart from God. Honestly, everyone fails. The most ambitious, the most talented, and the wealthiest will all stumble and fall at some point in their lives. They will abandon you and trample you on their way to the top. But the Bible says that there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is the one and only Son of God.

Our next and final post in this series will deal with some practical steps to reaching your full potential. I felt it was really important to get this part out in the open first. Hopefully you will continue to read and learn as we move forward in life and in reaching our potential. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Untapped Potential (Part 1): An Introduction

"It is not what you have, but what you use that makes the difference." - Zig Ziglar

When I first told my wife that I was planning to write on untapped potential, she laughed and pointed out that it was one of my biggest pet peeves. I realize that I sound much older when I complain about wasted potential, but my wife also says that my love for oatmeal and Sudoku do that just the same. But this post is not going to be complaints from me because another of my pet peeves is when people use the internet for that and force others to share in their misfortune. No, this post is primarily focused on the potential in you and how to release it.

If you're reading this and are a bit more well advanced in years, don't write me off just yet. The idea here is that everyone has untapped potential inside of them. Many people have made a very successful life by tapping in to their potential, but have now become satisfied and do not want to move forward. Others are constantly searching and looking for what is next for their personal growth. If that is you, welcome, and thank you for reading. Still others have little ambition and don't feel the need to move forward at all. That's perfectly fine. Just keep reading and we will see if we can't change that. First and foremost, I believe we need to establish that you do, indeed, have potential in the first place.

Think about the example of a light switch. When someone walks into a room and flips on the light, we rarely give the action a second thought. But the process of electricity is really neat when you think about it. The actual brightness of the light is not stored anywhere. But the ability to release the brightness is stored in the switch and in connecting the circuit. Without the flipping of the switch, there is no light.

In the same way, you may not feel very important, useful, or like you matter at all to the world. I cannot stress enough that this does not mean that you have no potential or hope for the future. What it means is that you have not yet actually released your potential. In a later post, we will be exploring how to release your potential. 

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." - Psalm 139:14

This will be our springboard as we launch further in to this discussion. Until you have internalized these words and can look yourself in the mirror and say them while looking yourself in the eye, this series will not be of any use to you. You absolutely must know that God loves you, and you should love you just the same. We will get more in to this aspect of potential in our next post.

As stated in the title, this is an introduction. I have decided to make this subject in to a series because it is simply too important to let you get lost in a post that is too lengthy. Instead, this will be broken up in to several segments that pertain to greatness, success, and how to reach your potential. I am looking forward to this process and discussion and I am grateful that you will be joining me. Let's learn something and reach our potential together. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Due Diligence

"Quality only counts when you care enough to do your best." - Dad

"Due diligence" is a term that our office throws around quite frequently. See, my professional life is nestled in the gentle arms of the industrial field. Safety and quality of production are two very important aspects of our daily work. Due diligence refers to giving a task the work that it deserves. The result is a higher quality of work and a safer atmosphere.

I feel like many professionals today tend to emphasize efficiency. They post numerous articles and blogs about how to get more done in less time. The result is having more hours added to the end of your day. I am all in favor of productivity and of working as efficiently as possible. I love going into work with my to-do list already out and the amount of time each task will take. It is truly fun for me to scratch through a completed task with my trusty red pen and move on to the next one. However, I also believe that sacrificing quality for the sake of speed is taking very poor ownership of your job.

Think about the food industry. There have been hundreds of inventions that make food preparation much quicker. The microwave oven, the toaster, and the electric mixer are all perfect examples. But when my wife and I go out to eat at a steakhouse, I am paying for my steak to be cooked a certain (not in a microwave) way. The chef could prepare my steak much more quickly with a microwave but it would sacrifice the quality of the meal for which I am paying. As I am writing and thinking about this, there are several steakhouses springing to mind that need a microwave search-and-destroy in their kitchens. 

Another example is in athletics and sports. One of my favorite quotes is from the renowned basketball coach of the University of California in Los Angeles, John Wooden. 

"Be quick, but don't hurry." - John Wooden 

This was a coaching philosophy that Wooden preached to his players. He demanded excellence and the highest efficiency level possible. However, he also knew that when athletes get in a hurry, they can quickly lose focus and ultimately sacrifice the competition as a result. Strength under control is what due diligence is really about.

Focus on the quality of your work while still maintaining efficiency. This is a really tough balance to find and one that takes a significant amount of experimentation to find. But the quality of your work shows your employer, your coworkers, and everyone who sees it that you take honest pride in what you do. That is the mark of a true professional. Just be quick about it. Don't let anyone out-hustle you because you will end up picking up only what they leave behind. Balancing quality with speed is a tough job, to be sure. But I'm very confident you and I are up to accept that challenge and become more effective professionals in the process. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

Core Value vs. Priority

Today I went through a training with my company that focused on my specific professional area. I can honestly say that it was one of the greatest professional training sessions I have ever had. Most of the time, during corporate training, employees bring things to work on, relax and kill some hours, or just sit there bored. I can't speak for my co-workers, but I genuinely enjoyed it because of the underlying premise and purpose of the training.

The central idea was one of a plate. The trainer used the analogy of a plate to explain the difference between a core value and a priority. He explained that we all prioritize every day. This was a bit obvious to me so, at this point, I was still waiting for it to get good. He continued with the observation that our priorities are constantly changing. It is incredibly easy for a priority to be pushed off of the plate.

Make it as simple as Thanksgiving dinner. I tend to decide what I want before I ever fix my plate because, for some reason, people think that it is acceptable to put the food out a half-hour before anyone is allowed to eat. Bitterness aside, I look at the food and decide how much room I have in my stomach and on my plate. Something at the beginning of the line may look really appetizing. But in order to have room on my plate, I have to prioritize and leave it off in order to have room for the sweet potatoes down the line.

We do the same things in our professional lives. Anyone who gets any kind of fulfillment in work does not do the same tasks every day. The dynamic atmosphere of my position is why I enjoy it so much. I set out to accomplish different tasks on different days depending on urgency, timeliness, and my schedule.

The trainer did an excellent job of displaying the difference in a priority and a core value. Priorities can fall or be pushed off of the plate, a core value is the plate itself. Core values are what you cling to when things are not going your way. They are such an inherent part of how you live that they cannot simply be pushed aside because something else was more important.

Take family as an example. When family is a core value, it is not compromised. A man who keeps family as a core value is one who does not let work, hobbies, or anything else get in the way of spending time with those he cherishes most. Don't get me wrong, family is a priority on many plates. But when the rubber meets the road, it is often pushed off the plate by "bigger" priorities. Please don't read this as a slap in the face if you are someone whose job takes you away from your family. This is merely an example to point out the distinction of a core value.

My challenge in my personal, family, and professional life is to have those core values. My company tends to create good, professional guidelines for the culture that it hopes to create. My family and personal core values are up to me. I get a good amount of help with family because I have another person's core values and priorities to consider: my wife. She is the most wonderful thing in the world to me and I am very blessed that family is a core value of her's. Have things that you don't compromise on. An unwavering faith will move mountains in your spiritual life. Sticking to a good, clean diet will make you into a healthier individual. Committing to laughter and fun will make you a more pleasant individual to whom others are drawn. Have principles. Without them, you will fall for whatever comes your way. If you don't have a plate, you can't enjoy any of the food. It's bad manners to take it straight from the serving dish. Until next time, stay classy.

-Andrew

The Soul of Wit

"Brevity is the soul of wit." - Shakespeare 

I could not agree more with the statement above. Shorter things are always more humorous. My wife is a perfect example. But seriously, I believe brevity is an essential part of etiquette and wit alike.

Think about every conversation or meeting. you have had over the course of the past couple of days. Now think about how many of those were lengthy and tedious because of the amount of words spoken. A true gentleman never uses two words when one will do. 

As it pertains to wit, keep in mind that Shakespeare lived in a day when rhetoric was still considered an art. A speaker could gather a crowd simply by waxing eloquently about a topic. Speech was considered a fine, high-class art. Today, speaking and how you conduct yourself is incredibly important. There will always be people who demonstrate why they should not be allowed to speak every time they open their mouth. Salesmen are particularly distinguished from one another by how well they present to prospects. 

Think about this example. A speaker has decided to inject some humor into an otherwise boring and dull speech. The speaker spends a great amount of time setting up the hypothetical situation that the audience can relate to. He then leads them to a fantastic punch line that gets everyone laughing. But when he tries to get back to his topic, he cannot remember where he left off and half of his crowd is still thinking about his hilarious story. Many of us have been the audience in this example. Wit is a phenomenal tool for getting a point across and relieving the stress of speaking. But when not coupled with brevity, it becomes simply another obstacle that speakers must overcome. 

A vital concept of brevity is that it is not just the art of being brief. I could write, "The dog runs," as an entire blog post. It would be very brief but would not actually give you anything to take home. That is what Shakespeare was really trying to get across, that meaning is added best when it is conveyed with brevity. I know this post is a bit shorter than normal; but maybe that was on purpose. Until next time, stay classy. 

-Andrew