christopherhildreth

Awareness

Posted March 24, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Awareness, Books I'm Reading

Several years ago I read a book by John Eldridge called, Wake the Dead. It was probably one of the most transformational books I have ever read. The key to its effect was a quote on the cover and repeated in the book itself. It was a quote by Saint Ireneas which stated that “the glory of God is man fully aware.” I could not get that quote out of my mind and soul.

The essence of the words continued to revolve around inside me as I sought out what it meant to be “fully aware”. I can’t say that I know even now what it truly means to be “fully aware”, but I do know that the journey toward the zenith of that quote has brought me into contact to many ideas and concepts that I would have probably shunned before. In many other religious practices the idea of awareness is central.

Too often we live according to a mechanistic attitude based only on what has been done by and to us and correlated with what we desire to do or dread will be done in the future. I can only remember the past and hope for the future. Awareness can only be known in the current present I am living. To truly notice life as we pass through it is to glean wonder and awe from each moment, and in the gleaning really live.

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Jung

Posted March 23, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Belief, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life

“What you resist, persists.” That was spoken by Carl Jung, one of my favorite people. I know some would question, but I really do enjoy reading about Jung and the perception he had on life and the formation of our inner person.

This quote resounds with me. When we focus our attention on negative things, we find ourselves surrounded by more of the same. When we strive and put forth all our effort in one direction against one idea or issue, it seems that the idea or issue grows in magnitude right before our eyes.

Have you wanted to start eating healthy, and as soon as you make “the commitment” every fast food chain suddenly comes out with brand new sandwiches? You finally decide you need to start saving money, and as quick as you deposit the first bit into your savings, the greatest sale is announced. Do you find yourself asking – “What gives?”

Instead of focusing our interest on the negative, put the positive in front of your eyes and center on those things.

It has been said that energy flows where attention goes. If you want the negatives to have energy and momentum in your life – put those things in front of you, but if you want the positive actions and issues in your life to grow and become energized – put the spotlight on them and see what happens.

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“Love”

Posted March 22, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Belief, Context, Cultural Ideas, Life

In the church world, it is easy to continually ruminate over the ins and outs of dogma and theory. We can find ourselves questioning this and that, but never asking what are perhaps the better questions. Tons of paper has been used to print volumes of commentaries on Scripture. Men have made their lives work a quest to finish a complete observation and interpretation of what they think the authors meant.

I was listening to Dennis Miller yesterday, and he quoted Bill Hicks as saying, “Never trust a man who begins his sentence by saying,’I think what Jesus was saying here was…’ ” I thought that was right on. Even though I’ve spent a great amount of time reading and a lot of money purchasing those same commentaries, the ultimate point of decision must lie with me.

When I read scripture – at least currently – I keep coming back to the place where the Pharisees ask Jesus which commandment is the greatest. Jesus had a wealth of both oral and written tradition to choose from. I still find myself feeling a little amazed that he comes back with “love”, as in “love your neighbor as yourself”. He says that we should love God, but He makes a point to identify loving each other as paramount.

Over the past few months I have parked here often and pondered over the little word “love”. So much is contained in those four letters. To be a people who follow the teachings of Jesus – whatever else we differ on, we cannot differ on the issue of love.

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Barbizon Lighting, Penelope and Customer Service

Posted March 21, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Context, Creativity, Influence, Leadership

Frequently, I have the pleasure of ordering stage lighting products from Barbizon Lighting. They have many offices, but I go to the one in Atlanta since it is relatively close. Over the past few years I have come to know a particular sales person who deserves credit and admiration. Her name is Penelope and she is the personification of the perfect salesperson.

I say this because first, have you ever wanted to proclaim the wonderment of a salesperson? Probably not. It is precisely because we encounter too often sub-par salespeople that those who embrace their gift rise to the surface. Don’t get me wrong, the complete sales force of Barbizon Lighting in Atlanta are wonders to work with. Penelope rises to the surface because she makes me wish I had more money to buy things with. I really want her to sell me more stuff.

She has found her niche and she owns it. Too many times we vocalize about people who didn’t do this or that – I wanted to give honor where honor was due to a person who definitely deserves it.

Kudos to you, Penelope! I can’t wait to buy more lights!

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Georgia loss

Posted March 20, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Life, Me

So I’m no NCAA analyst. I was motivated by heart to pull for Georgia, and they almost got it – but almost doesn’t win games. After the first 5 from Xavier it was all Georgia until the second half and the Xavier surge. Georgia had been 14-4 when leading at the half.

They maintained a slim lead, but fouls and free throws got the best of them. I have to say that it was a great game – had me clinching my hands and uttering loud noises. 14 seeds are scary sometimes and I think that Xavier went into this game thinking it would go a lot easier than it did. Onward to the next bracketology issues….who knows maybe Baylor could win it all.

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Georgia vs Xavier

Posted March 20, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Life, Me

Up front, just to let you know, this is a self-indulgent post. I love March Madness and the Georgia Bulldogs are what that madness is all about.

Alright, just a few minutes until NCAA Basketball. Georgia upset the apple cart Sunday with their amazing comeback by beating Arkansas 66-57 in the championship game. “From last to first in four days” one of the signs said. That win earned Georgia its first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2002. Well, today the Dawgs take on Xavier.

Dennis Felton should go into this game feeling a little more secure in his job as coach following the SEC championship victory Sunday. I’m not going to try to put this game in the proper perspective – you can’t do that if you’re rooting for a team; especially an underdog team who isn’t supposed to be where they are.

I pick Georgia to win this game today by at least 8, probably 10. It’ll be close, but by the time the game is over, I think you’ll have seen a refreshed, refocused Georgia team on their way to the Sweet 16.

Another game I’m interested in is Baylor vs. Purdue. I’d love to see Baylor beat Purdue, but I think Baylor may lose by 4.

GO DAWGS!

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Michael Collins and St. Patrick

Posted March 17, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Belief, Context, Life

I just watched a movie entitled, Michael Collins. I have to admit that I did not know who this guy was – I knew about Tom Collins, but not Michael. I had to jot a little down in honor of our Irish brothers and sisters.

This movie was great. Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn and Julia Roberts and lots of blowing up bombed buildings. Aside from those noteworthy items, the story is really amazing. Afterward, you can’t help but have an overwhelming “aha” at the events that occurred just a few years ago in a very modern country.

Toward the end, you also appreciate the place that sheer luck has played in the course of human history. With the Irish Republic down to mere weeks before they have to give up, the greatest Empire of the time bows a knee and offers them freedom. Certainly it would be many more years before both parties agreed on the form of that freedom and the nation who enjoyed it, but that first step was undoubtedly given a divine boost.

It gives us hope that even today, seemingly insurmountable odds can be turned on their heels and amazing outcomes become the result.

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How to be a Great Leader

Posted March 15, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Cultural Ideas, Goals, Influence, Leadership, Strengths

I couldn’t resist that title. There are probably a hundred books with at least that concept in the title. Most of them I’ve read, but here is a fact I thought timely.

Next week we will start a new series called, FAQ. We will look at the relevance of having 100% of the information for making decisions. Truth is even if you waited around for a very long time you would never have 100% of the information about anything.

In the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, Michael Harvey wrote that curiosity is a trait that “stimulates learning and concurrently, increases the effectiveness of decision making and quality management in the global marketplace.” It seems that leaders with a bend toward the curious succeed at problem solving by “filling in the gaps between what one knows and what one wishes to know.”

This is where the joy and mystery live. Between what we know and seek to know is where we tend to find ourselves most often anyway. The ability to fill this gap with real life and following our intuition/spirit, I believe is the cornerstone to a well-lived life.

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Checklist

Posted March 14, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Context, Creativity, Cultural Ideas, Influence, Life

This may seem like a mundane word, but it provides access to some amazing and interesting bits of food for thought. The biggest point to make is that to avoid blind spots institute checklists.

Hospitals use checklists to save lives every time they insert an IV line. Checklists give people the best way to do things – a clear cut “right way”.

In any business we do certain things over and over. Through the passage of time a certain amount of overconfidence can cause us to do things without thinking – think of the rate of auto accidents near to home; a route we take over and over and soon do as second nature.

Even when we do institute an actual checklist in situations we have to be wary of checklist creep. We have to discipline ourselves not to short change a working system.

To be candid, when we use checklists we make fewer mistakes. We all have things we do over and over again. Take these things and put them in checklist form. This is the one sure fire way to eliminate at least some of the blind spots we all share.

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Life In Context

Posted March 13, 2008 by Chris
Categories: Context, Influence, Life

We often find we have a lot of people giving a lot of options as to how our life should be lived. Many do this because they are convinced that they “have our best interest” at heart, or that they have a better perspective of our life from “outside”.

I will be the first to say that having input from trusted people is a must in our lives, especially when you are in a position of leadership and given influence. That being said, these people are not random – they are chosen because of their knowledge of you as a person and leader. They have the ability to sift through personality to character.

We all have different personalities. I’ve worked with people who were very meticulous in their approach, but I’ve also worked for guys who were anything but hands-on. Those are personality differences. Anger issues and control problems are something entirely different.

I’ve been chewed out during a service on the platform and maintained a smile, but it was a point of evaluating that there existed a character issue that would not be solved by simple discussion. I’ve also asked that communication about service information be handled better – this is a personality issue, and was solved quickly and painlessly; the former situation resulted in my leaving a place of employment.

In every position and situation, self honesty is the most important thing to keep front and center. You are living your life and ultimately it will be you who literally lives with the results of your decisions. Input from others is great and necessary, but that input cannot run your life and make decisions for you. Weigh your choices and go with what you know is right for you at that time. Only then can you weather criticism and praise and come through either with confidence and a level head – both of which seem to become more rare the further up the leadership pipeline you go.

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