What’s Your Pretense?

I want to let you in on a little secret today. It’s one not many people know about me.

My secret? I’m not really calm and collected like those around me think I am.

Oh, no… Not at all.

We need to stop putting up fronts

Rather, my mind is a jumbled mess at times.

I’m always trying to calculate what’s going to happen next and trying to figure out how I can prevent the negative outcome I see in my head.

I struggle with understanding money and putting it into the proper buckets.

I look back on past events and beat myself up over them. The grief and guilt is crushing.

I feel like I’m failing…

And I am. And I think we all are.

Yet so very few people know that I feel this way. They look at me and see smiling Joe. They see someone who’s cool under pressure, for the most part.

5 Types Of People God Will Use To Break The Rules

God is a God of order. He’s also a God who likes to break the rules, especially with leaders.

The rules God will break aren’t His rules. They’re the rules of man.

Why God Breaks The Rules Of Man

The Bible tells us plainly why God will break the rules of man.

Man looks on the outside. This is the outward appearance, the way a person acts or looks.

God, on the other hand, likes to look on the inside. He likes to look for humble hearts, servant attitudes, ready vessels.

Not exactly the kind of people the world will look for. Yet, these people are the ones God will use to change the world.

This is why He breaks the rules. Man’s way of finding a leader is outward based. God’s way is inward based.

How Are You Masking Your Pain?

When I was a kid, I had an accident while playing on the swingset in my backyard. This swingset was one of those old, metal A-frame type of swingsets.

You don’t see many of those around these days. Probably because they could be extremely dangerous.

I was playing with Jesse and Phillip in the backyard. We’d come up with the brilliant idea of placing a piece of wood on the gymnastic style bar and then walking up it.

After I’d gotten to the top, I saw my mother pull in the driveway. Seeing her pull in scared me. I thought we’d get in trouble for doing something dangerous.

So… I jumped off of the wood and landed on the ground. But before I hit, something else happened.

My forearm caught on the screw on the top of the swingset. It ripped my arm wide-open.

Beating Back Shame With Jacob Sokol – The Answers From Leadership Podcast Episode 5

The Answers From Leadership Podcast Episode 5

Today’s guest on The Answers From Leadership Podcast is Jacob Sokol. Jacob is an amazing man doing even more amazing things.

For years, he worked for an awesome IT company. He made a nice living and enjoyed the cliche things in life.

Everything changed in 2009 when he purchased a backpack and took 5 weeks off from work to backpack throughout Europe, alone! He came back to New York City a changed man and slowly started to figure out how he would alter my life accordingly…

We can overcome shame

Show Notes:

Tell us about the paradox of life you were experiencing:

We’re told a story about what it means to be success or happy
He’d reached the pinnacle of this story with his successful IT job, car, and motorcycle… He realized that there was still something missing
There was fear of revealing that he felt he had something wrong with him
He knew he couldn’t go on the living his life in the direction it was going
He was willing to look stupid on the path to finding himself

7 Secrets Every Good Leader Knows

It’s amazing to see the multitude of bad leaders out there. You will find bad leaders at retail stores, within large non-profit organizations, and within the family unit.

We can’t seem to escape poor leadership. It’s always there.

Good leaders know these secrets

This saddens me. My heart breaks every time I hear someone talk about the leadership they’re under and how these leaders are clueless.

Do you know what I’m talking about here?

And this amazes me. Leadership requires fortitude, but this doesn’t mean you have to be an aggressive leader to lead well.

There are secrets that every good leader knows.