Archive for the ‘Influence’ category
November 9, 2008
One of my hero’s is Kevin Kelly. Several moths ago I had the opportunity to meet him; it was a major highlight of my life. Kevin talked about the “1,000- True Fans” in an article. Basically, a true fan is someone who is a member of the tribe and cares deeply about you and your work. A true fan is the person who will choose to tell others about you, bring a friend to hear you.
In these days of Facebook and MySpace, the concept of a “friend” is increasingly gaining a cloud of vagueness. This is not so of true friends. If an artist has 1,000 true friends, he has enough to make a good living and help some others along the way. A true friend will not wait for the paperback. They want the hardback or first edition. The major key element that true fans bring is the added intercommunication with other fans. The true fans help to fan the words of the artist into a roar.
The takeaway hear is that you cannot allow yourself to become fixated on numbers. You do, however, want to seek to make and keep fans. A few of these precious true fans can change everything. They just need you to be brave enough to be You.
Categories: Awareness, Creativity, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Leadership, Life, People
Tags: fans, friend, Kevin Kelly, true fan
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November 8, 2008
I’ve been reading a lot about Crowds. Who they are, and who they are not. The most intriguing aspect of the Crowd conversation is that nobody is discounting that the power leverage has shifted. The ball is owned by the Crowd, and the Crowd determines what the next step is.
The nagging thought that I keep getting is that if a Crowd is simply a large mass of people, the ability to direct, sell, teach, even listen to them is practically impossible. The other thing about Crowds is that they can gather in an instant, but they can also disperse just as quick.
I’ve been to a couple of meetings with “guys in the know” about the next step in church development and where religion plays a part in that development. In every instance there is a focus on the Crowd. A push to get the Crowd involved and bring the Crowd to some central event. The sad part about this is that in essence there is no difference from “marketing to a Crowd” to the old stand on the street corner with a bullhorn approach in terms of truly making a difference.
Sure you may get your church’s name in the paper, but who reads papers anymore? You may create a “buzz”, but then you fall into the same need to have a bigger buzz each time you meet. Most organizations do their best at sending loads of money out to the crowd. I suppose that is OK if your intention is to become just like most organizations – bland and interchangeable. I suppose it is OK if you just want to surf the same wave every other guru is asking people to surf.
It’s not OK if you want to be anything other than “most”. If you have any desire to be remarkable – in other words that someone would have reason to “remark” about you – you have to focus not on Crowds, but on Tribes. As Seth Godin says, “A crowd is a tribe without a leader. A crowd is a tribe without communication…Smart organizations assemble the tribe.”
Categories: Awareness, Creativity, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Leadership, Life, People
Tags: church marketing, crowd, guru, People, tribe
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November 2, 2008
We have been sold a bill of goods. We’ve grown up believing that the world we live in is static and unmoving. We have been taught that the world that was defined in our history textbook is the same as the world we actually live in. All of these ideas are false – entirely false.
Maybe the textbook writers thought the world was stable and certain, but the army of advertisers who want us to purchase “new and improved” products at an epidemic rate know that they, the ad men, need the world to be a restless unstable place. They need you to change your toothpaste, and change your detergent and change your paper towels. They need you to change these things because they need to “sell” them to you. If you only bought Crest toothpaste, were happy with Crest toothpaste and never knew any reason why you should change from Crest to Aquafresh, the print and television media would suffer. And the ad guy would lose his job.
We have been trained to love the new and stylish item more than the old proven one. Think for yourself. The only emails and YouTube videos that get sent to you are the interesting ones – the provocative ones. No one forwards a boring video or email.
Today, change is the word of the hour. Change is what we want and change is what we “need”. Old and frugal do not get the attention of people. Instead, new and different and loud gain attention. As we embrace the concept that we all are leaders and not just leaders but “needed now” leaders, we have to notice that culture today demands a leader who will dare to make a lot of noise and disrupt the status quo. People want to be a part of a movement and people want change. None of those things are stable and certain.
In the Age of Change the only thing certain is that nothing is certain!
Categories: Context, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Leadership, People
Tags: certainty, change, culture
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November 1, 2008
There are many different groups of people who meet and know each other in various ways. These groups of people can be a formal business group or just a group of people who are interested in the same kind of books or art. There are times when we, as members of some of those groups, want to make something happen or get something done. More often than not, nothing is eventually what happens. Even though we have very good intentions, the end result is that everything stays the same.
Used to be, you needed to convene a committee to make a proposal to get something done, especially in business. Now things are different. The one thing that is needed to move your group toward being a movement is a leader. And there is no reason that leader shouldn’t be you. Yeah, you heard me right, you have everything it takes to be a leader.
You have an idea of something that, if done, would change the way the future of your group looked. You will not be able to push people where you think the group should go. You have to lead them where you know they want to go. People want change. Change is far more inviting than “same”. Change has risk, which is why they need you to lead them.
Having a leader helps people go where they want to go. As a leader you get to see your group begin to move and become a movement. Take up the challenge and take your group that is probably stuck somewhere and be the leader we all need to get things going.
Categories: Awareness, Belief, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Leadership, People, Starting, Vision
Tags: groups, Leadership, movement
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October 31, 2008
Yes, I’m a Halloween baby. For years and years you’ve celebrated my birthday unknowingly. For those who didn’t know, some questions they’ve had have now been answered! Sometimes we have birthdays that are good and others that are bad, but today has been a great day for me. I woke up this morning and had dozens of birthday wishes on Facebook, then I had several people call and then topped it off by meeting at the Holton’s house for trick-or-treating and some good time together (there was also a cake and some good punch!).
So much as happened over the past year to be grateful for, that there simply isn’t enough time or space. Most of it boils down to good times with good friends and being able to be myself. For years I tried to fit into a mold that was made by other people, that was difficult and stressful. The transition to being yourself may be hard, but the “being” yourself part is an indescribably simpler way to live. My friends and I may not agree on everything (we don’t for the record), but the thing we do agree on is that we are friends. Being connected with people in an organic way seems to be the antidote for most of the stressful junk that most of us wade through each day.
When I think of people I want to hang out with or talk to I think of the people who are a part of Lifepoint. The best birthday present of all is to know that true friends are just a phone call away – in fact sometimes they have called before I did! This next year is certainly going to have some new stuff in it. There will be new economic, political and financial events, but in each of the different experiences awaiting in the following year, I know I’ve got people who care for me, and who I care for, that will be sharing in the experiences with me.
Categories: Awareness, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life, Me, People
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October 27, 2008
OK, I was a late adopter as far as Facebook is concerned, but I’m a full fledged fan now. At first the question that goes through your mind is, “how much of my life should I put out there?”; the second is, “who in the world would want to know what I’m doing?” The most interesting thing that has happened to me is that I have reconnected with people I haven’t seen in 20 years. From time to time I would catch myself saying that I should have kept up better with this person or that person, but there really wasn’t anything I could do. I didn’t know where they lived or who they married, but in a matter of days on Facebook we’ve found each other.
This phenomenon comes on the heals of my post about Seth Godin’s new book Tribes. Great book you should read, but more importantly, it gave purpose to the myriad of social networking sites on the web. For a long time I just didn’t see the point in keeping track of other people. It kind of seemed like stalking with permission. Now I see the value of having one of your tribes easily accessible.
We were made to be interactive people. We were given the craving to talk about what we are doing and listen to what others are doing. Of course there can be problems, but when a social networking site such as Facebook works smoothly, the effects can seem almost magical.
You can check out my Facebook page or send friend request here.
Categories: Context, Creativity, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life
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October 24, 2008
I just finished a new book by Seth Godin. Seth is one of my favorite authors. In just about every case, every book of his that I have purchased has been outstanding. Tribes takes the cake. This is one book you simply must at least give a glance over – I’m certain that you’ll buy it if you glance at it! You would think, at first, that the book would be about Tribes, or a “fable” about a tribe (fables are all the rage now in business writing). You may even think that perhaps Seth is interested in setting up his own tribe. You would be wrong.
Tribes is about you. Tribes is about your inner struggle to become “you”. The book incessantly makes you look at yourself and ask “Why are you not doing what you know you want to do?” Then, before you have a chance to bring up a reason, he’s already told you why the excuse you’re about to give isn’t good enough to warrant inaction.
I’ve begun reading it again and will probably read it several more times. I found myself reading a paragraph or page and then closing the book to think. Then I would read a little bit more and think some more. To say that this was a book whose timing was perfectly matched to my own individual circumstances would be an understatement. The great dividend of this book is that I would bet that I’m not the only person to have those thoughts.
If you have an idea in your mind and have found reasons not to pursue it, read Tribes and then go do it!
Categories: Books I'm Reading, Context, Goals, Influence, Leadership, Life, Starting, Vision
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October 22, 2008
There is so much excitement in my heart as I begin to think about this coming Sunday. I’ve talked to several people who call Lifepoint their home, and they are excited as well. This past Sunday a large vision was cast for a more interactive and integrated 2009. More work with the community; more work with the disenfranchised; more work with the less fortunate and more work to make the community of Middle Georgia a better place to live and make a difference.
The most glaring challenge was to come together and give $75,000 over and above the regular giving, to begin to fund the incredible endeavors of next year. So much is going on in the world and in the church that we need to be more aware than ever before of opportunities to make a difference.
More incredible than anything else is the great knowing that I have of the true impact of our actions – as we give we become a part of the fulfillment of the commandment of Jesus that we “love one another as ourselves”. In the days and months to come, the “change” we’ve heard so much about from both candidates can only truly be realized as each of us look into our heart and see where our “treasure” should be. Then we can and will see palpable change!
Categories: Awareness, Belief, giving, Influence, Lifepoint, Vision
Tags: 2009, change, opportunity, Vision
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October 20, 2008
Sunday night is a time that a group of people from Lifepoint go out to a place in Macon on Cherry Street and 3rd called the Fountain. There is obviously a Fountain there – although it doesn’t work – and it is a time and place for a meal to be given to those who otherwise would likely go to bed hungry. The most incredible thing is that the relationships that have developed are little miracles happening throughout the week.
Previously I posted about Kamara, who is a part of the gathering at the Fountain. This Sunday I was unable to make it to the Fountain and, because he’s my friend, sent word to let Kamara know why I wasn’t there and that I was thinking about him. This kind of consideration is something that I take for granted, but it had a great impact on Kamara. He was blown away that I would be concerned about what he thought and me not showing up on Sunday night. Poverty is living without friendship. When Scripture says for us to love our neighbor as ourselves, it is giving us the opportunity to enrich those around us with the gift of friendship.
This need for friendship is why sites such as Facebook and MySpace are so popular. The currency of friendship never loses value and will withstand any economic crisis. Watch this video and understand that the gift of friendship is the most valuable commodity on the planet.
[this is a repost – the video had problems]
Categories: Awareness, Belief, Context, Creativity, giving, Influence, Kingdom of God, Life, Lifepoint, People, Uncategorized, Vision
Tags: friendship, poverty, strength
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October 12, 2008
Had a remarkable opportunity to go down to the Fountain on 3rd Street in Macon. There is a relief effort going on that has focused on the Fountain area as ground zero in their attempts to help some of the homeless and disenfranchised population of downtown Macon. I met Jesse, a guy who has a quick mind and a desire to discuss the scripture; I met Kimarra a musical producer who desires to put his fingerprint on Hip Hop; I met Scotty who is simply a joy and a whole lot more. The point is that in just a few moments I created relationships that transcended economics and geography.
Several of the guys asked where I was from. When I replied Perry, they were amazed that I had traveled so far to bring food to them. This is where the church as a whole has failed. When people are surprised that we would feed them, something is wrong. I know that there will always be difficulties when we try to become a part of others activities. (ie. the Red Cross, the Salvation Army – all have strict guidelines and a menagerie of forms) The essence of Christ is to love. When we simply love people we incarnate Christ to them. In fact, when I saw Jesse, Scotty, and Kimmara, they incarnated Christ to me as well. Their love and acceptance spoke volumes as to the impact we each have on one another every day.
Even when we don’t feel like it, or are aware of it, our actions and body language transmit to others. Let us do our utmost to position ourselves to present the best display of our knowledge of Christ possible as we walk out our lives today.
Categories: Awareness, Belief, Context, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life
Tags: Christ, Fountain, homeless, Life
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christopherhildreth 