Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Plannng and it's importance

Pray, Plan and Prioritize...then delegate.

But don't get hung up on planning...the LORD can intervene at any moment and you can change direction! Keep your ears open!

"You already know the ultimate destination of your journey: your entrance into heaven. So keep your focus on the path just before you, leaving outcomes up to Me" Nov 19th Devotion from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young.

A few notes on "Planning" from the book of Proverbs:

"For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD, and he examines all his paths." Proverbs 5:21

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." Proverbs 16:3

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

"The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty." Proverbs 21:5

"Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth." Proverbs 27:1

We have to remember that these are observations...reality, not promises from the Bible. Our actions have consequences.


So, be sure to pray before making plans...and continue to pray!
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My TWEETS _________________________________


Finished a good book recently: WHO  by Geoff Smart and Randy Street.

"The most important decisions that business people make are not what decisions but who decisions." -Jim Collins, Author of Good To Great.

That also goes for non profit organizations!
 Good book: Good to Great in the Social Sector. by Jim Collins

WHO
WHAT
HOW

It's relatively easy to figure out What to do and also How to do something.

Maybe a more important decision is WHY we do what we do.
What are our motives? Have we sought the LORD on what we plan to do?

Then the rest becomes easy.

A good book for figuring that out is " Start With Why by Simon Sinek.

If you don't know WHY, You can't know HOW.

"All great leaders have clarity of WHY; an undying belief in a purpose or cause bigger than themselves. It's not Bill Gates's passion for computers that inspires us, it's his undying optimism that even the most complicated problems can be solved. He believes we can find ways to remove obstacles to ensure that everyone can live and worked to their greatest potential. It is his optimism to which we are drawn." P. 134



“If the leader of the organization can’t clearly articulate WHY the organization exists in terms beyond its products or services, then how does he expect the employees to know WHY to come to work?”
Simon Sinek, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action

Let me know your thoughts!
Have a great day!

Is Jesus the only way to Heaven?

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Friday, March 6, 2020

System for making Decisions: : Corona Virus

Whatever your most pressing decision is: Here is a good system for evaluating risk!


 Best/Worst Analysis  
B/WA Formula
 Notes taken from the book by Ben Carson,
 TAKE THE RISK: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk.
I would summarize one of the most important insights I took from the book as “How to make decisions without leaving God out of the equation!
Risk Analysis Process

You can print this and use as a template for decision making.

Questions to ask when making a decision:
What is the best thing that can happen if I do this?
What is the worst thing that can happen if I do this?
What is the best thing that can happen if I don’t do it?
What is the worst thing that can happen if I don’t do it?

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The rest of this post are My comments on his 4 questions.

Ask these questions in light of the following:
Outcomes may change over time because of changing conditions!
Who?
What?
Where?
When?
How?
Why?
Answering these familiar queries in the context of the four basic Best/Worst Analysis questions will sharpen the focus and refine the accuracy of any risk analysis process
WHERE
Where are you going? (Your goals)
Where are you now? (Your skills, your abilities, your thinking, and your attitudes)
Where will you start? (Your preparation)
WHEN
Often the timing of a Best/Worst Analysis affects our conclusion.
Always do a B/WA again whenever you think something has changed significantly: a year later, at a different point in life, or maybe after pondering some of these who, what, when,  how, and why considerations. Times change. So do circumstances. Sometimes those changes will affect your Best/Worst Analysis, modifying your thinking-maybe even reversing your decision.
HOW
You don’t have to address who, what, where, when, how, and why in any particular order.  They may need to be viewed simultaneously because they sometimes complement each other or need to be combined.
Sometimes answering one of the (how or?) conclusions may change your risk-analysis equation entirely.
WHY
It is impossible to do an effective B/WA without considering why. You need to examine, and often re examine, your reasoning in light of your motives, which involve your personal values.  Your values must be weighed carefully against you’re analyses and conclusions. 
Some Truths About RISK
1.                  Everything is Risky
2.                  The more we know, the more we worry.
3.                  A Lot of Risks Aren’t Worth the Worry.
4.                  We Can’t Eliminate All Risk
5.                  Minimizing Risk Is Often the Best We Can Do.
6.                  Each of Us Has to Decide What the Acceptable Risks Are
7.                  Not All Risks Are Bad
8.                  We Are All Going to Die of Something Eventually
 
Risk Number One-Thinking in New Ways

Risk Number Two-Weighing the Alternatives

Risk Number Three-Making Your Own Decision

Even when the Best/Worse Analysis doesn’t result in a particularly positive outcome, you are unlikely to have a worse outcome because you did the analysis, and what a B/WA does guarantee is that you consider the various possibilities in a reasonable, logical manner before making any uncertain or risky decision. That has to improve the odds that you come up with a happy solution-or at least with a reasonable and defensible course of action that will minimize the risk of regrets.
Need to weigh risks in light of my beliefs and my values. My obligations to others should be greater than any obligations to myself.

Since I believe God’s guidance and provision has brought me to this point, I should ask Him to open the doors He wants me to walk through and to give me wisdom in how to proceed.

Importance of using my talents and not allow minor interferences to derail my mission if life.
Creativity requires risk, so does exploration and innovation. Anyone who thinks outside the box is taking a risk.

In doing this risk analysis, one needs to consider the implications of any decision, not just for one’s self but for other people. How will my decision impact others?

Taking Us Out of the Middle
Once we manage to remove our egos from the equation, many of the most commonplace and unsettling personal risks we face in life become a lot less personal and no longer seem to be much of a risk after all.  That discovery frees us up to better concentrate on dealing with the real risks presented by truly important issues.

A few added thoughts: "Destiny is not a mystery. For better or worse, your destiny is the result of your daily decisions and defining decisions."  Mark Batterson. The Circle Maker.

"Along with daily decisions, there are defining decisions. We only make a few defining decisions in life, and then we spend the rest of our lives managing them." Mark Batterson. The Circle Maker. 
Something to pray about!


My Tweets for the day 

 

Important decision to make! 

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Sunday afternoon. What's next?

Maybe if we are believers...and attended church this weekend...we may be contemplating the message we  heard. How important is that to us? 

Any connection to the other 6 days of our week?  

Soon it will be Monday morning...and some of us are off to work or are we?

Someone once said that if we are doing what we are passionate about...it's not work!

Sunday and Monday...any connection?

Our work: How important is it to us?


Who are we really working for?

Are we worshiping our work and working at our worship? 

Are we finding joy and peace in our everyday work?

Is this talk about finding peace confusing? 

How to find peace with God!