Most churches have passive banners from the 1980′s of Jesus on their walls. We have this quote by Roosevelt on a giant 4 x 3 metre banner I designed:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Here’s the challenge:
1. Take this weekend to firstly rest and refreshen. Enjoy your loved ones, meet new people, go for a drive – whatever it is. Be sure you something that helps you get a bit of perspective. Mine is a drive in the country.
2. Then get out paper and pen, and write down the deepest things in your heart that you aren’t moving towards like you know you should do.
3. Pick one and write down the very next action, with a due date.
4. Surround yourself with comrades that are also in the arena, for accountability and encouragement. You’ll need them both.
5. Do it. And don’t listen to a single word from any detractors. (If you need to get over failure, read this from Olivier Blanchard.)
Your Leading Thoughts
- What is it?
In a world where everything happens fast, everything is speed as in sped dial, speed reading, etc. we have to find a moment to slow down and think about what it really is that we came to do, what is it that inspires us to keep moving and what is the direction that we should be moving. Finding the motives that come from the heart may not be easy (specially when we have a busy life) but doing a simple challenge like this one certainly can help!
It's needed isn't it.What are you in the arena with at the moment?Scott
I am trying constantly to be more aware of what is my role in the world, I think it is easy sometimes to fall into a routine regardless of what we do. Since I love technology, I know that it moves and it moves fast and at the same time I recognize there are generations that in a way are being left out. And while these days its very easy to have a website, blog or a facebook account, some people are still trying to figure out if they should do left, right or double click on the links. Although I don't do this all the time, I feel in the arena when I take the time to explain to people the basics of certain technologies and it is wonderful to see how they have their “aha” moments and they feel some relief knowing that it is not that hard (after all) to catch up with the speedy world of technology.-Armando