Category Archives: Remarkable
What is Vision?
Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18 KJVS)
I began thinking about this verse and I remembered a scene at the beginning of one of my favorite movies, Seven Samurai.
Kurosawa’s 1954 classic film begins with a gang of bandits tearing through the Japanese’s countryside. They come to a stop at the top of the a hill overlooking a small, poor, insignificant village. They are about to attack the defenseless hamlet when their leader reminds them that they attacked this village last season. He tells them that they should come back when the barley harvest is in so that they could really wreak some havoc. They agree and they ride off vowing to return and destroy everything. An older man from the village had been hiding on the hill and he overhears the bandits plans and he rushes down the hill to warn the people.
The very next scene show the entire village weeping and wailing and sitting in the dirt in the center of the village. Some are crying out they they wished that they could die right now. Doom and gloom is all around. Most have given up every ounce of hope.
One young man stands up and proclaims passionately that the villagers must fight the bandits. Most of the older men shout him down telling him that his idea is ludicrous. The older men agree that the course of action must be decided by the leader of the village. Every villager stands up and marches to the old mill where the oldest and wisest man living among them resides. The old man will tell them what they must do.
After much deliberation and thought the old man agrees that they must fight these bandits off. He tells them that they must hire samurai to help protect the people. Many of the men argue with the old man’s words saying that they could never afford to hire samurai. They ask him incredulously, “What Samurai would work for barley and rice?”
The old man responds to their doubt by saying, “We will look for hungry samurai.”
That’s vision.
Without his vision, the people would perish. The old man knew that his people were in trouble. He knew their fears and he knew their limitations. They needed help and they needed a different perspective. The old man exhibited vision to see beyond excuses.
Effective vision is most often the most practical. The people were focused on what prohibited them from surviving. The old man focused on what they had and what would help them survive.
Quit whining and crying about your situation and what you think is keeping you and your people from success.
Go find you some hungry samurai and protect your village.
Micheal “The Toolboy” Felker
My dad is a great teacher, the best coach, and an awesome father.
However, when it came to projects around the house the only thing he taught me was how to hold the flashlight.
Since becoming a home owner he has come over and helped me fix a few things around the house. Some of these projects he has let me take the lead while others I’ve stood back, watched what he was doing, and, of course, held the flashlight.
Well today I bit off a bit more than I could chew on my own but I rocked it out.
Today I built a fence. By myself and sans flashlight.
Back in May, Sandy and I built a beautiful little patio in the corner of our backyard. We finished it on a Saturday and then the following Wednesday a storm picked up our fence and threw it onto our brand new oasis.
Through trial and error I have been trying to figure out how best to rebuild the fence but it has been slow going. A week after the storm my summer began in full force further preventing me from working on the fence. It has been a rough couple of months.
Without tooting my horn too much I think I did a great job on the fence today. I am beat!
I’m taking a few days off starting tomorrow. I’m headed down to Austin for the Austin City Limits Music Festival. I’ll try and update each day from the hotel.
Peace.
Catch A Fire
I have been stuck in the refugee camp Atlanta airport most of the day. I’m trying to make my way to Washington, DC. but I have had a rough go at it.
On a positive note I was able to start and finish Bill Hybels’ newest book, Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire That Ignites Personal Vision.
I am extremely tired and weary but I have to say that it was just what the Doctor ordered.
Hybels describes holy discontent as the one thing that motivates you to act. What upsets you? What injustice boils your blood? What makes you stand up and say, “Hey, I’m not going to take this anymore!!! Something has to be done and I’m doing it.”
Hybles does a great job at reminding us that it isn’t enough to be discontented on your own. We must marry the things that break our hearts to the things that break the heart of God. That where the holy comes in.
My mind is swirling right now with my holy discontents. What are they?
I smell a post series!
Remarkable
Seth Godin has made a living on encouraging businesses, churches, teams, and individuals to give people something truly Remarkable. You don’t attract new business by being as good as the other guy. You don’t make an impact on someone’s life by doing the ordinary. You can’t create a culture of winning by going through the motions. You can’t stand out by just getting by.
I believe in being Remarkable. I don’t like doing the same old same old and I tend to steer clear of organizations who do. My time and my efforts are precious commodities. If you want them you have to show me that you are at least willing to become Remarkable.
Example of the Remarkable:
There was a white box waiting for me in my office this morning. I noticed that the Catalyst logo was on one side and so I immediately tore the box wide open.
I have attended the Catalyst Conference for 4 out of the last 5 years. It has been one of the highlights of the year for me because each year it gets better and better. The conference delivers big time in content and character. I hear amazing speakers and see amazing things which in turn feeds my creativity so I can be a better leader. Since Catalyst always aims to surprise I wondered what would be in the box.
What I found inside was a brightly colored metal canister. This year’s theme is Reverb. The art work featured noise lines and loud colors and the words “effect big.” One side of the drum had instructions on how to register and another side listed the featured speakers. I was already excited about this pacakage and I hadn’t even fully opened it yet!
Inside I found a whole mess of Catalyst swag.
There were window clings and those rattle magnets.
Inside I found atomic fire balls and 8 of the World’s Longest Event Brochures.
There was also a calendar poster so I can count down the days until Catalyst begins.
On top of all this there were also a couple of other little items and an event DVD.
They could of just sent a brochure and a registration card. Instead they sent a story.
Instead of sending me what was expected they sent me something Remarkable.