Archive for April, 2009
Any dream worth considering is worth evaluating (and Tweeting?)
Posted by: | CommentsToday’s post is an excerpt from my book, Put Your Dream to the Test: 10 Questions that Will Help You See It and Seize It
Know the Answers Before You Take the Test
When you were a kid in school, do you remember a teacher doing a review before a test and saying something like, “Pay attention now because this is going to be on the test”? I do. The encouraging teachers who wanted to see their students succeed said things like that all the time. They wanted us to be prepared so that we could do well. They put us to the test, but they set us up for success.
My desire is to be like one of those encouraging teachers to you. I want to prepare you to put your dream to the test so that you can actually achieve it. How? I believe that if you know the right questions to ask yourself, and if you can answer these questions in an affirmative way, you will have an excellent chance of being able to achieve your dreams. The more questions you can answer positively, the greater the likelihood of success! That’s the reason I wrote this book.
The Right and Wrong Picture of a Dream
I’ve studied successful people for almost forty years. I’ve known hundreds of high-profile people who achieved big dreams. And I’ve achieved a few dreams of my own. What I’ve discovered is that a lot of people have misconceptions about dreams. Take a look at many of the things that people pursue and call dreams in their lives:
- Day Dreams – Distractions from Current Work
- Pie-in-the-Sky Dreams – Wild Ideas with No Strategy or Basis in Reality
- Bad Dreams – Worries that Breed Fear and Paralysis
- Idealistic Dreams – The Way the World Would Be If You Were in Charge
- Vicarious Dreams – Dreams Lived Through Others
- Romantic Dreams – Belief that Some Person Will Make You Happy
- Career Dreams – Belief that Career Success Will Make You Happy
- Destination Dreams – Belief that a Position, Title, or Award Will Make You Happy
- Material Dreams – Belief that Wealth or Possessions Will Make You Happy
- Seasonal Dreams – A Short Term Target You Try to Reach
If these aren’t good dreams-valid ones worthy of a person’s life-then what are? Here is my definition of a dream that can be put to the test and pass: a dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will, and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it.
A genuine dream is a picture and blueprint of a person’s purpose and potential. Or as my friend Sharon Hull says, “A dream is the seed of possibility planted in the soul of a human being, which calls him to pursue a unique path to the realization of his purpose.”
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Any other definitions of a dream that inspire you? If you’re on Twitter, I’ve started a hashtag (sort of like a themed conversation) labeled this way: #dreamtest.
There I’m sharing some of my favorite quotes and concepts from Put Your Dream to the Test
Twitter even allows you to track all mentions of a hashtag. Friends who are more tech-minded than I am say that you can follow hashtag conversations by tweeting follow #_____. Example, follow #dreamtest will put all tweets with that hashtag into your twitterstream.
Twitterstream? Hashtag? Tweet? If all this talk about Twitter sounds like a foreign language to you, read on:
It’s easy to sign up on Twitter. Once you create an account, you can follow me here: @johncmaxwell.
For more about Hashtags, read this helpful article on TwiTip.
All Hashtags are compiled and listed on Hashtag.org.
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Remember, I’m a Twitter newbie too.
In fact, without my blog administrator, I would be clueless. She recommends the blog TwiTip by Darren Rowse if you want to really “get it.”
Crises call for critical choices
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With the economy in its current state, it seems like every time we turn around, a new crisis appears. Bank failures, home foreclosures, business ventures reluctantly abandoned. In times like these, good leadership is especially critical.
I recently addressed this in a session for the Maximum Impact program, which will be available in October. One of the things I talked about was decision-making during a crisis. Here are the top five types of tough choices good leaders make during tough times:
1. Courageous decisions. What must be done?
Crises usually prompt an organization to narrow its focus. Leaders have to make those calls. That requires courage when others have a lot invested in what will be eliminated. A leader has to be willing to stand up to all competing agendas and do what must be done.
2. Priority decisions. What must be done first?
The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto once said, “If you’re Noah, and your ark is about to sink, look for the elephants first, because you can throw over a bunch of cats and dogs and squirrels and everything else that is just a small animal – and your ark will keep sinking. But if you can find one elephant to get overboard, you’re in much better shape.”
If you’re a leader, identify your elephants.
3. Change decisions. What must be done differently?
Even ideas that would have worked well a month earlier may be useless in an emergency. Leaders know when it’s time to make a change. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: When the horse is dead, DISMOUNT.
4. Creative decisions. What are my options?
You probably know how this saying ends:
“If I always do what I’ve always done….” That’s right: “. . . I always get what I’ve always gotten.”
When the old methods aren’t working to solve the crisis, they need to be questioned. Think outside of the box. Get every option out on the table. A good leader will be open-minded and explore all options on the spectrum between “change nothing” and “change everything.” The right choice usually lies somewhere in the middle.
5. Support decisions. Who can help me?
Leaders are responsible for having the right people on the team and making sure they are in the right places. In their book, The Wisdom of Teams, Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith write,
Team leaders genuinely believe that they do not have all the answers-so they do not insist on providing them. They believe they do not need to make all key decisions-so they do not do so. They believe they cannot succeed without the combined contributions of all the other members of the team to a common end-so they avoid any action that might constrain inputs or intimidate anyone on the team. Ego is not their predominant concern.
Leaders are not MADE in a crisis. Leaders are REVEALED in a crisis. It’s easy to steer a ship in calm waters. Only the turbulence of a storm shows a captain’s true skill.
If your organization is facing a storm, take the wheel and make the decisions that only a leader can make.
Where am I this week?
Posted by: | CommentsThis week I’m enjoying time with extended family for Easter. The kids and grandbabies are here, and we’re having a wonderful time making memories.
But here are a couple places you can find me both online and in person in the near future:
I spoke about a very famous dreamer at the Crystal Cathedral recently.
Two of the four messages I taught at are live on The Hour of Power.
For free, you can watch on streaming video or read transcripts. Also check your local TV listings for the next two episodes.
In south Florida this weekend? I’ll be preaching at Christ Fellowship Church for Easter Services.
Saturday evening: Royal Palm Campus, 5 and 7 pm.
Sunday morning: Stuart Campus, 8 am, 10 am and 12 pm
Click here for directions to all campuses. (Note: Different service times for Easter.)
Want to discuss my new book with others online?
The folks at Crystal Cathedral have started a book club with Put Your Dream to the Test as its first selection. Join the discussion here.
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Have a wonderful week and a meaningful Easter celebration.
File under F for Filing
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A few posts ago, I described how I jump-start my creativity with quotes and articles from others. I wrote that whenever I need to prepare a new book, lesson, article, or sermon, the first thing I do is pull all of my files on the topic. I’ve spoken and written about this a lot. But I always get a follow-up question:
How do I CREATE the files?
Just the other day, Paul Peterson (@paulpeterson) sent me this Tweet:
“Could you write a blog post in which you share your system for filing what you read for future purposes? Thanks a ton!”
For Paul, and you if you’ve been wondering, here is how I’ve been collecting quotes and articles for over 30 years:
Where I file:
I have two main systems for filing away the quotes and materials I collect: index cards and lateral files.
Index cards are filed alphabetically in card boxes. They contain quotes, written or taped to the front and back, with sources included whenever I know them. As soon as a card on a topic fills up, I just start a new card. I have hundreds of quotes for some subjects, and just a few for others. For example, I have quite a few cards for “delegation,” and not quite as many for “management.”
Lateral files are stuffed with folders in hanging files, arranged alphabetically by subject. Each subject folder contains larger pieces, like magazine or newspaper articles. If a manila folder gets too full, I just start another one which I file behind it.
Trivia Question: How many 5×8 cards (front and back) do you think I’ve filed in the course of 30+ years? **look for answer later in the article
Important note: I get asked all the time for the list of topics I use. Here’s my answer: My list doesn’t matter. Don’t create a list of topics and try to fill them. Instead, create your topics as you find material that you want to file. You know what you speak or write about, and this will give you a personalized filing system that’s easy for you to search through and use.
How I read:
Books: I mark them up as I read. I put brackets around sentences and paragraphs that contain ideas, quotes and illustrations that stand out. In the margin next to each I write the subject under which I want it filed. Then for each item, I turn to the inside of the front cover and write down the page number and subject. I do this throughout the book. Really good books will end up with dozens of passages listed inside the front cover.
Articles: I cut or tear the entire article out, writing the subject and source at the top. (I staple multiple pages together.)
How my staff files for me:
(Because you know I delegated this task as soon as I had someone to delegate it to.)
Quotes: With a marked-up book, a staff member uses the list at the front of the book to find the passages I want to collect. They make copies of all of those pages. Then they cut each passage to size, attach it to a 5×8 index card under the appropriate subject, and write in the source. After so many years of collecting, at least one card probably exists for almost every subject I want to file. If not, my staffer just creates one.
**I have approximately 4,000 individual cards filed away.
Articles: These are filed in their entirety in manila folders under the subject noted. My office contains hundreds of article files in multiple lateral file cabinets.
Using my files.
These are the files I draw from. Whatever I’m writing, my first step is always to pull all the files and cards on that subject and have them on my desk beside my legal pad, scissors and scotch tape. (I also carry these supplies in my briefcase at all times.)
My one nod to technology in my office is a copier. On it I make duplicates of any quote I want to use, since I don’t want to cut up my cards. (I still have all of my original cards, going back 30+ years.)
I start writing on my legal pad. Then whenever I want to use a quote or article, I cut out the passage from the photocopy and tape it right into my outline (writing in the source). If it’s from a card, I mark the original card to indicate the audience I’m using it for. That way I can avoid delivering the same illustrations to the same group of people.
Share your tips!
I hope this is helpful to you. I’m sure some of you might have systems that are even better than mine. You might even use [shudder] your computer!
Please share with us in the comments: What would you add? How do you structure your files? If you do it on computer, what programs do you use? Let’s help each other improve.
