Intersection

If I told you to do something would you do it? I hope not. Here’s why. I see so many people sitting around waiting for someone to tell them what to do. Meanwhile, others are busy working and failing. People that wait for someone to give them instructions are typically waiting for an escape goat to blame if they fail. Stop fearing the possibility of failure. Stop waiting to have someone to blame in the event of failure. Instead, go get to work. What if Martin Luther King Jr. had waited for someone to tell him he should fight for equality? The world needs fearless people to get to work now.

Please do not do this because I told you to, but because the world needs you and your work.

what would you create? I asked that question through my social channels earlier this week. The responses were wonderful, and I wanted to share my three favorites below.

A Time Machine. A Bean and Cheese Burrito. A society in which peace prevails.

Why is it that some people have the creative capacity to see a box of Legos and think… Time Machine? And why is it that others look at the same Legos and choose to follow the instructions on the box? The answer is simple. We have been taught to follow instructions, and compliance is easier than innovation.

Throw out the instructions. Look at the Legos you have been given. And imagine.

So if you were given a box of Legos what would you create?

Have you ever been at a party and someone walks in with your favorite dessert? I cannot describe the elation that I feel when someone strolls into a shindig carrying those tiny bite size sugarcoated brownies. I seriously eat the whole package.

Question: could someone have the same response if the person walked into the room without the brownies? I believe this can happen if we invest in our relationships with the intention of stirring the soul of our friends. We should desire to be so connected to one another that if you walked into a party or gathering it would be as if you walked into the room with sugar coated brownies. Lots of people aspire to be able to walk into a room and have everyone shake their hand, and many of us mistake the parade of handshakes for influence.

The true test of influence is not a tally of how many handshakes you receive, but instead how often does your very presence move people to excitement?

Great ideas are conceived in connection. Complaints are born in isolation.

It takes two people to conceive and one person to give birth. In a community we can develop an idea together, beat it up, anticipate weaknesses, and solidify strengths. We conceive a notion that will change the world. It is when we are isolated that we tend to complain about what is versus what should be. We give birth to bitter complaints and we do not have a team around us to say, “Stop complaining. Let’s come up with something to change it.”

Have the courage to invest in community so that you can participate in the conception of important ideas. Or go back to your cave and complain.

Have you ever made the mistake of writing on a dry erase board with a permanent marker? It is a horrifying moment for many teachers, coaches, or leaders. It is almost as if you ran over your pet dog with your car and did not even notice.

While it may be horrifying when done to a board what if it was done in an organization? What if you became a permanent marker in your organization? Anyone can write on a dry erase board with a dry erase marker, but it takes someone special to pull out the Sharpie.

In staff meetings do you speak up when you disagree with your boss or do you settle back to you place like a yellow dry erase marker? Do you push to make customer service a priority every day? Or will your presence be forgotten when customers leave like a napkin wipes away the dry erase board.

This year, will you choose to be a permanent marker that leaves a lasting mark? Or will you be erased?

I love this joke, “Chuck Norris’ tears can cure cancer… too bad he never cries.” I love this joke because it is funny and it makes me think. This joke is funny for two reasons 1. Because it is a joke about Chuck Norris. 2. Because there is an irony in the fact that tears cannot really do anything… like cure cancer.

What if tears could do something? What breaks your heart? When you look at the world what disturbs you to the point of tears? Human trafficking?Pornography? Genocide? Teenage pregnancy? Drug abuse? Poverty? Horrible violence like we saw this past weekend in Tucson?

I argue that your tears are worthless unless you use them to fuel your work for change. Yes, let your heart break over the injustice in our world, but fill up your tank with your tears. Then go change it.

I do not claim to know the first thing about interior design, but I consider myself to be a redecorator. You can be one as well. In fact, whenever you walk into a room you have the opportunity to do the work of a redecorator. Each room you enter is filled with people and a culture. A supermarket is filled with a culture of busyness while the culture in a bank is usually one of stressful business.

What is the culture of the room when you arrive? And what is it like when you leave? Every room is an opportunity to influence a culture, to bring community to the supermarket aisles, and peace to the bank.

Will you redecorate the rooms you enter?

There is an important distinction between a friendly person and welcoming person.

If you bump into a friendly person at the farmer’s market they will make you feel comfortable. They will ask for your name, and give you theirs. Friendly people will share with you little tid-bits about their life. Most likely, you will leave with a warm feeling, but after a few weeks of these friendly interactions you realize this simple truth… they really don’t want a relationship with you.

On the other hand, a welcoming person will bump into you at the farmer’s market and invite you into their home for dinner. They will ask for your friendship and they will give you theirs. A welcoming person will share their life with you and leave you with numerous memories. After a few years of their welcoming lifestyle you realize… you have a best friend.

I can’t stand friendly people. I don’t want them in my life. Be a welcoming person.

People always told me to color in the lines. One time I was handed a picture of a lizard and after finishing my work I was told, “that’s a nice tank Jordan but we have to color the lizard green.” I thought the lizard looked better as a tank.

People always told me not to believe in my imagination. When I got scared people would say, “Don’t worry Jordan it is just your imagination” as if an imagination is not to be trusted. The monster seemed real to me.

We wonder why our high school students and college students struggle to lead. Maybe it is because we have handed them coloring books with lines and taught them not to trust their dreams.