Live Generously

As you saw in my last post, I’ve been reflecting quite a bit on the idea of motivation lately, namely the importance of staying motivated.  I’ve been working through the book Learning to Lead for my Org. Leadership class at Fuller, and towards the end of it I came across two terrific quotes that relate, in a sort of roundabout way, to the idea of motivation.  One is from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a letter from the Birmingham jail, and the other is from CSU-Northridge then-president Dr. Blenda Wilson’s Inaugural Address in 1993.

“I am coming to feel taht the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of good will.  We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic works and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people.  We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability.  It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation.  We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King’s quote struck me because I believe it is so easy to simply point out the bad while failing to contest for the good.  The corruption and moral depravity of our world is evident everywhere we look, from our president who refuses to outlaw waterboarding to a New York governor who has sadly shown himself to be a hypocrite, we needn’t look far to find poster children for the unfortunate state of our world.  The reality is, however, that good does not come from criticizing the bad, but as Dr. King said, it comes from the “tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God.”  It’s easy to throw rocks and point fingers…harnessing the motivation to take responsibility and seek to move the world forward is much more difficult.

Dr. Wilson’s quote below is interesting to me simply because of the language that she uses as the president of a secular university:

“In all we do, we must affirm an unyielding moral vision–that the next generation is entitled to participate fully in reinventing and benefiting from the American future.  If we believe in ourselves, we will find and create a vital and paricipatory community in which every student, faculty, and staff member is valued and respected, in which we recognize that we share common values as educated and ethical human beings, and in which the bonds of community are stronger than the habits of cultural ignorance.  That is our fervent goals.

“If we believe in ourselves, we will create the kind of learning environment and campus community that will prepare our graduates for a lifetime of learning, ethical conduct, global sensitivity, and service.  Those institutions that will succeed in achieving a 21-century version of academic excellence will be those institutions that believe–in their students, in their communities, in themselves–and as a consequence of that belief, will take risks and design radically new approaches to embracing the imperative of change.“

I had never heard of Dr. Wilson before reading this quote, nor do I know anything else about her.  But what she articulates is a compelling moral vision worth following, and it is a vision that can be implemented, in perhaps a nuanced way, in settings far beyond a university.

Sorry I haven’t been posting much lately.  There has been a lot going on since I got back from my trip, and I suspect that has prevented me from thinking too deeply about things to write about.  I did want to post briefly about a message that I watched at the staff retreat I went on a few weeks ago that has had a profound effect on me.  It was given my Bill Hybels at the 2007 Willow Creek Leadership Summit, and it was on the topic of motivation.  Specifically, Hybels dealt with the how leaders can motivate themselves when they are the ones who are responsible for motivating others.  This is a significant obstacle of leadership, as it is easy to lose a step or two when you don’t have anyone spurring you on.  I am fortunate in that while I am a leader to many, I also have several superiors within my organization to whom I report that are fantastic about providing me with encouragement and motivation.  That being said, I, like everyone else, still struggle with feeling drained and unmotivated from time to time.  In the course of his message, Hybels listed ten of his personal keys to staying motivated.  They were terrific, and I should say that this message was by far the best I’ve ever heard Hybels preach.  His ten keys were (with my personal comments in italics):

1. Stay clear on calling from God- I find for myself that my moments of apathy sneak in when I allow myself to drift from the understanding that God has called me into ministry and he has called me to the specific position that I am currently in.  I believe that anyone, in any profession, can fight apathy by remembering that they are uniquely called by God for the task they are doing.

2. Leverage spiritual gifts- This is huge.  It is crucial that leaders understand what their spiritual gifts are and structure their schedules accordingly.  My top two spiritual gifts are knowledge and teaching, so I am intentional about allotting large portions of my schedule to study, sermon preparation, and meetings with individuals where I can engage in meaningful conversation.  I am particularly weak when it comes to administration, so I try to delegate administrative tasks as best I can because a) I stink at them and b) Seven24 and Overdrive suffer when I am the chief administrator.

3. Make sure players on teams are inspiring people- As a sub-point to this he said, “get people around you that give you a positive emotional jolt.” It is crucial that people in leadership are intentional about getting positive people are them.  At Seven24, I am very intentional about making sure people are serving in areas where they are passionate. My primary reason for this is to care for that specific individual, but a secondary reason is that people are more positive when they are passionate, and positive people make for a positive environment.  Bottom line, I want people around me who I like and who are positive thinkers.

4. Read the right books- He specifically suggested biographies of inspiring people.  I devoured biographies when I was a kid, but don’t read them as much anymore.  It would probably be worthwhile to look at the biographies of people ranging from Lincoln and FDR to Charles Spurgeon, A.W. Tozer, and others. I am, however, very selective in the books I read, remembering what USC president Steven Sample said at the Leadership Summit in 2004, that with every book you read you are rejecting thousands of others.

5. Rub shoulders with exceptionally inspiring people- Do you have people in your life that inspire you?  Two people that inspire me most are my college friends James and Ben (his bio is in the BFG section).  These guys both live inspiring lives and think inspiring thoughts, and being around them motivates and inspires me like few other things can.  I love being with those guys first and foremost because they are my friends, but also because they are role models.

6. Participate in inspiring events- We all need inspiring events to break us out of the doldrums every once in a while.  I’m not entirely sure what these are for me, but I know that there are certain events that fire me up in a way that is good for the soul (how’s that for vague?)

7. Pay attention to physical disciplines- He claimed that studies have shown up to a 20% energy gain in those who are physically active.  I’ve fallen into a pattern of relative slothfulness in that regard lately, and starting with the Grand Canyon I’m trying to resurrect that for the sake of my energy level and overall health.  It’s easy to completely disconnect physical condition with motivation, but there is in fact a strong link.

8. Pay attention to working environment- Here is one that I have completely ignored.  By virtually any human standard, my working environment is a mess, and it is completely my fault.  To be honest, I haven’t done much to change this since hearing the message, but it’s at least on my radar as something I ought to address.  There is something to be said for walking into a well-organized office that perhaps contains decorations that encourage motivation.  This is something I need to work on.  What is your work environment like?  Does it effect your productivity?

9. Have inspiring recreation outside of work- This one, in my opinion, relates closely to the physical discipline point.  I’m coming to realize the importance of recreation to my productivity at work, and it became especially evident to me while I was at the Grand Canyon.  My soul simply needs recreational time outdoors, and there is something about that time that inspires and motivates me.  I’m fortunate enough to have a job that I love to the point that I rarely call it ‘work’, but nonetheless I need to be disciplined about creating space for recreation (is that an oxymoron?) outside of work.

10. Practicing daily spiritual disciplines- This one I know to be true from personal experience.  When my daily spiritual disciplines go in the tank, so does my motivation level and effectiveness in ministry (go figure).  On the flip side, when my relationship with God is healthy I’m extremely motivated.  One discipline that he spoke of was what he called “saturation reflection”.  Saturation reflection consists of reading a particular passage of Scripture every day for a substantial length of time (for him it was one year). Hearing him talk about that put me over the top, as I’d been considering implementing something like that into my devotional life for some time.  I have thus been reading Colossians 3:1-17 every day for the past two weeks in an effort to have the concepts from that passage really sink in to the point where they deeply impact my life.  I have no set time frame that I’m going to continue for, but I certainly plan on reading the chapter daily, in addition to my regular Bible reading, for at least six months.  So far, it has been an absolutely amazing experience, and I highly recommend it.  Meditating deeply on that passage has not only enriched my life, but it has also deepened my passion for Bible study in general.

So those were his ten points, and needless to say I think they are good ones.  We live in the midst of a pretty apathetic world, and I suspect that Southern California is one of the more apathetic places in the country. Preaching and practicing motivation is especially crucial in college ministry I am finding, as for many these are truly ‘make or break’ years where students are deciding if they are going to strive for God’s best for them or just settle for the status quo. I found Hybels’ tips to be most helpful, and I look forward to my continued attempts to implement more of them into my daily life. Did any of Hybels’ ten tips stick out to you?  What do you do to help stay motivated?  Is motivation ever a problem for you?