Redefining Failure

I am leveraging Rick Warren’s Daily Hope blog for this beautiful perspective on redefining failure. It inspired me.

“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” Proverbs 29:25 (NIV)

Satan’s favorite tool to diminish your faith is the fear of failure. But you cannot serve God and be constantly worried about what other people think. You have to move forward. Proverbs 29:25 says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” (NIV)

So how do you get rid of the fear of failure?

One way is to redefine failure. What is failure? Failure is not failing to reach your goal. Failure is not having a goal. Failure is not failing to hit your target. Failure is not having a target. Failure is not falling down. Failure is refusing to get back up. You’re never a failure until you quit. So if you’re attempting something for the glory of God, that’s a good thing. Failure is not trying and not accomplishing anything. Failure is failing to try.

Another way to get rid of the fear of failure is to never compare yourself to anybody else. You’re always going to find somebody who’s doing a better job, and you get discouraged. And, you’re always going to find somebody who’s not doing as good a job as you are, and you become full of pride. Both of them will mess up your life. Discouragement and pride will keep you from serving God’s purpose for your life.

The Bible says in Galatians 6:4, “Each of you must examine your own actions. Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others.” (GW)

Did you notice that the Bible says there is a legitimate pride? There’s a good kind of pride and there’s a bad kind of pride. The bad kind of pride is comparing: “I’m better than so and so!” The good kind of pride is, “God, I’m proud of what you’re doing in my family, my business, my life, my walk of faith.” That’s the good kind of pride.

God hasn’t called me to be the best business owner / coach / trainer / facilitator / leader in the world. God has called me to be the best business owner / coach / trainer / facilitator / leader I can possibly be given the gifts, talents, and experiences he gave me. When you get to Heaven, God isn’t going to say, “Why weren’t you more like so and so?” He’s going to say, “Why weren’t you who I made you to be?”

Let go of your fear of failure, because anything you’re attempting for God in faith is a good thing, regardless of the results.

On the Reality of our Physicality

1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? ... So use every part of your body to give glory back to God..."  Where does physical health meet spiritual strength? Here’s the skinny!

In biblical times, I’m not sure if there was much room for physical atrophy or poor diet. You had to walk everywhere, work the land, and the only fast food around was when you accidentally inhaled a fly. The Bible doesn’t offer a great deal on the topic other than at the fall of man, our bodies began to deteriorate, that we should take care of our temples, and gluttony kills possibility and life… all wise to note.

Today in our fast-paced, fast food world of minimal physical activity, it’s not just prudent, but a responsibility to evaluate how our physical condition affects our spiritual capacity to serve God and others. There’s an old saying that “the world goes to the energetic,” and although not entirely true, I began to wonder what all the spiritual gifts, talents and callings fueled by limited physical energy were doing, how little they were doing, and frankly if they were doing anything at all. I thought about how all these abilities God could use for His glory were immobilized by mental lethargy, limited stamina and a tired commitment. Standing to lose a few pounds myself forced me to consider how much those in my life were missing while I droned around in a food coma much of the time. My wife, family, employees, clients, friends and ministry partners were all experiencing a groggy, inconsistent, moody, semi-alert, half-committed “me.” I was a mess. So I changed my diet, dropped 25 lbs and am grateful I took the steps… as are others, especially my wife. If we really took to heart the call that God has on our life and truly considered the needs of those around us, we would be serious about what we put into our body and how we treat it. For when God calls, “go ye therefore,” He wants us in great spiritual condition, and He wants us to have the physical strength for the journey ahead and go far if He calls for that.

Another part of health/spirituality stewardship shows up in duration of life. It is estimated that those who ignore their health shave between 5-25 years off their life. It’s a little known fact that on average, Christians hit the peak of their spiritual maturity and effectiveness between 58 and 62. For those with health issues it means when Kingdom impacting maturity is nearing maximum potential, death or debilitating disease may be just around the corner. It’s no stretch to say that for Christians who gamble with an unhealthy lifestyle, 10 years of high-impact Kingdom opportunities are taken away because of addictions to unhealthy food and sedentary lifestyles. Add to that the incapacitating effects of premature illness and the burden multiplies, not just with us and those we serve; we pull others out of their game as well, as they must sideline their vision to care for our dwindling health. This is not a health epidemic; it is a clandestine pandemic of self-centeredness, gluttony, complacency and resignation. Tough words yes, but to couch them (pardon the pun) would be a disservice. Honestly, I would be regretful if I didn’t address it with the forthrightness the subject deserves. Lives depend on it, relationships depend on it… as does our service to God!

The Big Question: Am I stewarding over my health for maximum Kingdom impact, blessing and fullness of life or am I living in physical deficiency and coping with it by calling it normal?

Just One View from the Convene Leadership Summit 2015

  I’ve spent a few days in Southern California with a bunch of really smart people...a few hundred Christian CEO’s from places near and far. It was a wonderful combination of deep spirituality, world class humor, inspiring business performance, and unique perspectives.

Here’s gems I pulled away from just 5 of the sessions - so hard to choose just 5...

1. “(On earth)...there are only two things that are eternal: God’s Word and man’s soul”. He showed his passion for both by letting us know that the Bible museum is the real deal, scheduled to open in late 2017. - Steve Green - President, Hobby Lobby

2. One way to share the Gospel in a corporate setting “Speak in scripture, but don’ t quote chapter and verse”. Also challenged us to Dare To Serve - Cheryl Bachelder - CEO, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

3. Remain mission true by 1) Believing the Gospel matters, 2) Believing that drift happens, 3) Differentiating the mission from the means, and 4) Hiring for heart and head - Peter Greer, President and CEO of Hope International

4. "You can’t be anywhere but where you are right now” - Chris McCluskey, President, Professional Christian Coaching Institute

5. “We should have calloused hands and a soft heart...not the other way around” - Johnnie Moore, Chief of Staff / VP, LightWorkers Media

And one for fun…from the stage to a guy in the audience that had said he was a hunter...

“You’re a dove hunter? Really? Good thing you weren’t around during Jesus’ time...when the Spirit came like a dove…” Comedian Nazareth

Sage Innovation: Apple Watches, Tesla Batteries, and Roast Pig

  I so loved Charles Lamb’s A Dissertation upon Roast Pig (ref. 1) that I once commissioned a never-performed operetta based on it. I still have the lyrics somewhere. The essence of this great tale is that of a pyromanic son of a swineherd in ancient China named Bo-bo who invented pork BBQ by unintentionally burning down his father Ho-ti's hut with a litter of pigs inside. The overwhelming aroma of roasted pork overcame both his fear of being punished as well as his father’s intention to punish him. They feasted on this newfound delicacy and promptly built another hut so they could burn it down and have roast pig again.

The villagers around them observed that every time new pigs were born, Ho-ti’s hut burned down. Watching and catching them in this act of intentional destruction, they arrested and transported them to Peking to stand trial. The judge sampled the still warm pork and promptly pronounced them innocent. He rushed home to burn his house with pigs inside in order to enjoy such delicacy. Soon homes were burning all over China, only to be rebuilt and then torched again so that roasted pork could be enjoyed.

The housing industry boomed until there was little timber to be found. Insurance companies went bankrupt. Pork producers enjoyed great success initially but couldn’t meet demand. An economic crisis loomed over the high societal costs of this BBQ craze. Finally, an innovative sage introduced the disruptive technology of a spit over a much smaller fire. Sanity and stability returned. The cost to participate steeply declined.

With such great affection for this story, I couldn’t help but think of it when reading Tesla’s recent announcement of a deeper move into localized and distributed power (ref. 2). The technology behind their car batteries can interface with solar panels mounted on household rooftops, creating a renewable and storable energy supply—in Tesla batteries, of course.

The idea holds great appeal. However, purchasing and installing the technology does not yet create savings for most consumers. It is just too expensive at the current, experimental and early adopter scale. Without major utilities embracing the distribution of this equipment to the individual consumer instead of building and maintaining large power plants built on fossil fuel consumption, the costs remain too high for the average person to unhook utility wires. A lot of economic wobbliness looms until sagely innovators find a way.

Let’s bring the Apple watch into this muse. With the announcement that approximately $83 (US) in parts is being sold for $349-$10,000, depending on the type one purchases, there will be a lot of room for innovation and disruptive technology to bring down the price, and without long delay. However, the market for wearable technology is finicky and not well-defined. Best Buy and other merchandisers are changing their displays almost daily as new and updated products are being rolled out. A lot of resources will be wasted (invested?) by manufacturers, merchandisers and consumers until this market stabilizes. It wasn’t that long ago that PCs and then Laptops, office suite software and large screen television went through similar convulsions until price stabilized and the product became ubiquitous. Apple might make a lot of money initially in wearable technology, but it is far from certain that they are a lock on being the dominant player forever.

Someone, somewhere is going to innovate, drive the price down and improve the way the world works. Resources will be wasted while figuring it out. Fortunes will be made and lost. The sage innovator does not participate just to make money. They do it to reduce suffering and heighten hope, doing it in such a way as to sustain their enterprise next year too.

If anybody holds a commitment to sage innovation, it is the Christ follower called to a business vocation.

Ref. 1. in The Essays of Elia, New York:  The F.M. Lupton Publishing Co, 1823, pp. 193-202.

Ref. 2. Wall Street Journal, 2-3 May 2015, p. B1

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Mark L. Vincent, PhD, CCNL is a Convene Chair and CEO of Design Group International, an organizational development company providing wise guidance for enterprise, nonprofits, and ministry organizations. Out of a life spent building an enterprise and dealing with a prolonged health battle, Mark and his wife Lorie pared and honed and answered the question, “if there is just one thing to which you could give your life, what would it be?” The answer for Mark is to love leaders as they claim their life vocation as stewards of enterprise.

What's In Your Pocket Right Now?

What’s in your pocket right now? Do you know what they found in Abraham Lincoln’s pockets on the night of April 14, 1865, the night he was assassinated? Here’s some of the list. A country boy’s pen knife, a marble, two pair of spectacles, one tied together with string, a sleeve button that had come off, a Confederate five-dollar bill, and 8 newspaper clippings, one of the only ones of its day that were complimentary of him, saying that history would someday call him a great President. I wonder if the pocket knife was to fix his glasses or was it that Mr. Lincoln enjoyed doing things with his hands since leadership is at times rather ethereal. I like the playful nature of his having a marble, or maybe he rolled it around in his hand as he thought about weighty decisions of the war. Those of us in leadership take ourselves too seriously some days. I wonder if Abe was too busy to fix his broken glasses or maybe he wasn’t too worried about them at all?!

My favorite thing to think about however is the articles he carried with him in his jacket pocket that fateful night at the Ford Theater. They talked about how history would see him as a great leader.  Do you wonder about your leadership at times? I do about mine! I’m fascinated that one of the world’s great leaders, Abraham Lincoln, appeared somewhat unsure about how he might be doing. I wonder what his thoughts were as he walked the halls of power. I wonder how certain he was of all his decisions. I wonder if he doubted his skill set as a leader.

The Library of Congress rare book and special collections division chief Mark Dimunation notes that the eight newspaper clippings Lincoln carried were “largely positive portrayals of his leadership”, yet he stressed that they were “less proof of a president's ego than of a man who needed reassurance. It was a very tough re-election for Lincoln. The war had worn him down... The articles would have been very affirming to him."

By the way, what do you do to appropriately believe in your leadership? Here’s one of the ways President Lincoln handled his thoughts. He made this statement to General Dan Sickles, a participant in the battle of Gettysburg: "Well, I will tell you how it was. In the pinch of the campaign up there (at Gettysburg) when everybody seemed panic stricken and nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the gravity of our affairs, I went to my room one day and locked the door and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed to Him mightily for victory at Gettysburg.... And after that, I don't know how it was, and I cannot explain it, but soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul. The feeling came that God had taken the whole business into His own hands and that things would go right at Gettysburg …." [July 5, 1863].

My former boss, the President of Biola University has an antique “prayer kneeler” in his office; it’s a padded bench of sorts where he invites God in on his leadership. Since the power of God comes through prayer, maybe we all should consider having one in our offices too.

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Greg Leith is the CEO of Convene. He was born in Canada and lived in all four corners of North America. His career spans over 35 years of senior leadership roles in corporate, non-profit and academic sectors. Recently, he served as Director of Strategic Alliances for 13 years at Biola University in California.