“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou
"In my country, we go to prison first, and then become president." -Nelson Mandela
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein
"98% of genius is knowing WHAT is important." -Albert Einstein
By society's standards, I have been very good, and I have been very bad. I remember times when I was judgmental, or intolerant. I remember being inspired by more mature male mentors who accepted me, and demonstrated that they believed in me. They showed me that they truly believed that I was a better person, and really knew that I was a better man than I had behaved. So strongly, they took risks for me.
I have learned, and I firmly believe: If you are a leader of others, your first responsibility is to care. About what? ----everything. ---everyone.
The person is always more valuable than the circumstance.
Love is powerful.
Never place great emotional investment in talk about future action on the part of someone you want to believe in. If I invest my emotion in someone, it is their actions that I value. When it comes to my emotions: show me AND tell me.
If you think someone's amazing: TELL THEM. If you love someone: TELL THEM. It doesn't matter if they already know. What matters is that you told them. If you value someone: TELL THEM. I strive to understand and appreciate the spiritual value of our words.
I see people every day who mitigate, assist, and intervene in the actions of the unreasonable, and troubled people of society. I am sorely disappointed when someone treats another human being as if they are a better person, or above them, simply because the person they are interacting with is being rude and unreasonable.
When people show anger, especially to strangers, and behave unreasonably: there is always always always pain involved. We bury our pain deep inside of us because we believe we need to be something that society has defined us to be. We medicate that pain in many ways: drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality, theft, violence, angry words. These are all things that create the illusion of control. When people display these behaviors, they are crying out to show themselves that they have power over their pain. They fail to understand that the only power over their pain is Jesus Christ. When they give their pain to Him, they are free from it. When the pain is gone, there is no longer a need to medicate it; and we overcome. Teach others to stop living for the world, and to start living for God. Teach them to live for all that He has CREATED us to be. Learn to do that by action and attitude, ---not simply words alone. The light of the world lives in us.
I am inspired by people who understand and genuinely care for people. People who have unique insight into the hearts and minds of others, not because they have some talent or gift; but because they have bothered to care enough to develop a skill set via experience. I am inspired by people who know how to use the spiritual muscle that is our hearts.
People who, despite their own struggles, mange to be an encourager for others.
People who walk the talk.
We live in a polluted society that values greed and social status. I live and work in an environment that is the benchmark for greed. You can't fake spiritual weightlifting. When someone does it in the darkest of settings, the light of Christ shines brighter than ever.
The greatest blessing we can ever hope to receive is the opportunity to be a blessing to others.
