Psalm 16:7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. The hidden man of the heart decides most actions. Among the mental health solutions most recommended for depression, anxiety, PTSD, and both process and substance addictions is a regimen named CBT. CBT stands for Cognitive (Thinking) Behavior Therapy. Address your thoughts and your actions will follow. Follow with your actions. You are what you think. You become that on which you mull and meditate. Your actions come from the inner man, the heart, the soul, the mind, the will, and the emotions. Character Guides Profit The product of business is profit. Profit is a good thing unless it is the only thing. Why do I want to profit? Have I built a character base to guide my gain? Two good friends come to mind. Both are wealthy. Both focus all gain/profit on expanding the kingdom. Yes, they live fulfilled lives, but not over spending lives. The amounts they give to kingdom works and benevolence is outstanding as a percentage of profits. Another, “Christian”, friend spends his profits on himself. He travels extensively and posts all over Facebook of his travels and love for family. His gain is his gain. He shares some of the wealth, but his focus that he shares is himself first and God when convenient. The first two friends fulfill this proverb of the seventh verse. First, they bless the Lord not just with words, but action. They recognize that God gave them wisdom and access to wealth. In gratefulness, they give back and bless Him and His work. Second, they are extremely prayerful men. They take everything to heart. They are persistent disciples of Christ and run their businesses with compassion and Christian disciplines. Their hearts (mind, will, and emotions) are guided even when they sleep and especially in hard times (night seasons). They do not become a different person under pressure because their heart is secured to His heart. Character Guides People The product of a community organization is people. Whether you are the Salvation Army or a church or the local women’s shelter, you are focused on people. You need finances, but that is not your product. The same questions apply. Why do I want to touch people? Have I built a character base to guide community gain? A conversation with the mayor of a community we reach revealed his heart. We spent hours discussing how to develop the hearts of the people in the community alongside all the economic growth and infrastructure changes. Discussions with other community leaders takes the same direction, but not all. Some want to tear down old houses to “clean out the rats” or “take away places for crime”. Others want to tear down old houses to deliver kinder, gentler neighborhoods and encourage growth. There is a difference of heart. Character Comes in the Night Struggles reveal the deep meditations of the heart. Profits will be challenged. Our people touch will be challenged. At those moments, we go back to character built in other moments to make our decisions. Character is built by quieting our fears with faith. Character is built by quickening our faith in the face of risk. Character is built by quickness to turn to God when nothing seems solid. Character is built by quietly meditating on His wisdom in His Word when all is well and our thoughts are clear. Character is built in the inner man to be exposed by the outer man of actions. A few years ago, my wife and I had major decisions to make concerning our future contributions to profit and people. For days, we locked ourselves in prayer. Intense hours were spent reading scriptures and prayerfully considering our future lives. Each option in front of us had risks and gains. Today as I look back, the choice was made from a life of handling risks and gains in God’s grace not just the few days of prayer. Our impact is many fold what it had been. Our finances are nowhere near where they were, but our people impact is exploded. Deep character is built in the night. Phil , thethinkdirector
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In my cup collection is one of annual cups for AFPRESS, a concept company extension of a larger insurance corporation. The cup and the year were titled Breaking Barriers. Other executives mocked us openly. The venture was not popular because it challenged the norm, it threatened mediocrity. And of course, because it worked. A small group of staff written off as failures went on to grow from falling to $4.5mm worth of retail digital print publishing in a falling industry. Indeed, they broke many barriers of customer service, production, quality, and quantity. Barriers mostly are mental impositions created by small vision. They can be broken.
Oh, the reason I wrote this article? I've been working with some pastors on getting that plateau busting in motion. As part of that, I put together a quick starter that takes about 30 minutes MINISTRY METRIC MATRIX OF GROWTH. The MMM is FREEEE. I like pastors. I like local churches. Throughout my menagerie room are similar cups and momentos. Consider the "Year of The Plan" for C.R. Anthony corporation where we shocked the courts and pulled a company out of chapter 11 bankruptcy in 18 months and became profitable and lithe. That was a fun set of barriers to break. Then there is the "Best Place to Work in IT" award from ComputerWorld, where our director team led in outstanding recognition. A great memory was leading alongside others in a pastoral team to see a plateued non-profit move from 1500 membership to 5500 membership and move from being 99% white to completely multi-cultural where no one racial heritage was 51%. That non-profit/church breakthrough took 3 years. In fact most breakthroughs in which I've participated took about 3 years. Whether it was retail, insurance, non-profit, or healthcare, the breakthroughs have a pattern. My fourth major book, STUMBLING INTO MIRACLES outlines personal progressions involved in those breakthroughs. It will take you to see many individual barrier breakthroughs that we see today in SOLUM working with folks struggling through the I've HAAAAD It! Hopelessness, anger, addiction, abuse, anxiety, and depression are horried barriers. Developing a systematic workshop to apply to those has been a great and fulfilling journey. It isn't a book, but a personnally mentored workshop. But then the other three, TIME TO LEAD (community and culture), BY GRACE (churches) , and MANAGE WELL (corporate departments and entrepreneurial efforts) all have similar themes. Breaking barriers is not easy, but it has some commonalities in personal life and business and community endeavors. And if you are a person of prayer TRANSFORMER'S PRAYER is a good quick place to start. So, why write so much about barrier breaking transformation? Why help others? Why take on giants instead of just living mundane? Because it can be done and you can do it. We are working on a huge barrier now that we have broken in one place and want to extend to many. It only took a few years to break the barrier, but now we are looking to break nationwide. SOLUM is the flagship of that breakthrough. Are you ready for the commonalities? No matter the industry or endeavor, I've found a few.
Keep your eye peeled as we break through national barriers. Better than that, break through your own. If you'd like, I'd be happy to do a one-one coaching session with you for personal barrier breaking. I'm not free. But I'm good. No brag. Just fact. Oh, the reason I wrote this article? I've been working with some pastors on getting that plateau busting in motion. As part of that, I put together a quick starter that takes about 30 minutes MINISTRY METRIC MATRIX OF GROWTH. The MMM is FREEEE. I like pastors. I like local churches. Phil Larson, thethinkdirector [email protected] 405.494.0637 Schedule a 30 minute FREEEEE breakthrough interview. |
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