Alright, this is my last post from my book Inspired Every Day. (At least for a little while!)Want to know a key reason many people are not inspired? It’s because they are bored. Somehow, someway, we have worked to remove all risk from our lives. We want our lives to be secure. To be stable. To be safe. And oftentimes, secure, stable, and safe is boring.

On a recent trip to Africa, I had the opportunity to do one of my favorite things in the world—go on a safari. Our group was amazed. We were excited to see such beautiful and powerful animals up close. As the time approached to leave and head to the airport, we finally came upon a group of adult and baby elephants. Unfortunately, we were running late, so we didn’t have time to linger.

After pausing for a few minutes, the Jeep charged ahead a little more quickly than usual, and the elephants responded. One of them began to charge our vehicle, so our driver hit the brakes. The elephant stopped but stood ready, his blazing eyes fixed on the Jeep. As I watched the elephant poised and ready to charge my side of the vehicle, I applied a death grip to my seat. My heart raced. I held my breath. When it seemed the elephant had calmed down, we slowly drove away from the present (equally terrifying and exciting) danger.

At the risk of sounding like a spoiled brat, I have to be honest: After this type of experience, it’s hard for me to enjoy the zoo. It’s not the same as seeing an animal in its natural habitat. The element of risk creates a feeling I don’t experience at the zoo on the other side of the metal bars that stand between me and the elephants.

As I’ve reflected on this experience, it makes me ask: Have organizations done to individuals what zoos do to animals? Have the structures we put in place removed too much of who we truly are?

We take away most of the risk with the goal of creating a safer space, but in the process, we suppress our uniqueness, our individuality, and our gifts.

Too many businesses make people leave their personality at the door.

Too many offices create a culture that rewards routine over innovation.

Too many schools force their students to give up creativity to color inside the lines.

Too many colleges mandate a curriculum of checklists instead of a training ground for the real world.

Too many churches reduce the King’s monumental purpose and high calling to just attending once in a while.

‍Don’t sacrifice what makes you special for what makes you comfortable. Like animals in a zoo, we’ve forfeited what makes us wild and unique, and we walk willingly into a cage of predictability and security.

Don’t sacrifice what makes you special for what makes you comfortable.

Here’s my challenge to you today: Don’t give in to a pattern of stability and forfeit the future you were created to pursue. If you embrace the risk of pursuing your purpose—facing problems with like-minded partners—you’ll be inspired to do far more good for the world than you ever imagined.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to stay inspired and how to inspire others, click the link below and purchase a copy of my new book!

PURCHASE INSPIRED EVERY DAY

On this day in 1776, our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence, so it’s the day we, as Americans, celebrate our freedom. There are few things I love more than cookouts, fireworks, and celebrating the freedom we have in the USA.

Typically, this blog is dedicated to leadership lessons, life principles, and best practices for business. So today we are going to celebrate Independence Day by reflecting on a few foundational principles we can learn from the leaders who have shaped America.

‍1. Clear Vision:

‍“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18a).

Everyone needs vision—a goal, a destination, and an end they are working toward. We are motivated and moved by vision to act, but if our vision isn’t concrete, we’ll struggle to know the way to get there. Former presidential speechwriter James Humes said,

“To be concrete, use sensory language.”

President Kennedy famously projected this kind of vision for our country. He didn’t say, “We want to advance space exploration for scientific progress.” Instead, he said, “Our goal is to put a man on the moon.” This concrete image of a man on the moon is easier to get excited about than simply the concept of space exploration.

Kennedy led our country through the space race by giving scientists, engineers, astronauts, and everyday citizens a goal to rally behind, work toward, and celebrate!

A few years back we chronicled stories of remarkable people for our leadership program with Chick-fil-A. One video was based around President Kennedy’s ability to clearly articulate vision. Check it out here:

2. Core Values:

‍Strong leaders have strong core values.

Martin Luther King Jr. believed that all men are created equal, so he dedicated his life to fighting the horrors of racism and segregation. He led out of a desire to meet the needs of others, and all of his words, decisions, and actions as a Civil Rights leader were for the good of others. We call this servant leadership.

Servant leaders focus on leading by acting in the best interest of others.

King embodied the values of a servant leader by using his unique gifts and passion to serve his own generation and all of us who would come after him.

‍3. Compelling Communication:

‍Compelling communication moves people to action.

President Reagan defined success clearly, and he communicated in a way that people understood exactly what he wanted. On June 12, 1987, he gave a speech at the Brandenburg Gate and boldly declared, “Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” He knew that the only way to reestablish peace and prosperity in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was for the Berlin Wall to fall. In today’s environment, many would feel outraged by this kind of declaration and even consider it disrespectful. However, Reagan’s clarity and courage were refreshing. There was no mistaking President Reagan’s goal, and both Americans and the world responded to his leadership.

Like the JFK story, as a part of the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy, I had the privilege to visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. We captured this story of the power of Reagan’s communication.

Today, I hope you have the opportunity to rest, to spend time with family, and to celebrate our freedom. Let’s take these lessons from the past and apply them to the present to help create an even brighter future for America.

Here’s an example: When I was in college, I was involved in UGA HEROs—an organization dedicated to helping children affected by HIV/AIDS. I loved being a part of this work, but we were a smaller charity on campus.

The two largest organizations (both in amount raised and people involved) were Dance Marathon, raising money for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and Relay for Life, raising money for research for the American Cancer Society. UGA HEROs was well known because the organization was founded by UGA graduates and supported by big names like Coach Vince Dooley and then Head Coach Mark Richt. In my senior year, we had a new group leading the way, and we were determined to change this narrative.

The previous year, we were third out of third in fundraising, raising $75,000 in one year. By comparison, Dance Marathon raised $302,000 and Relay for Life had raised north of $200,000. Fueled by some healthy competition, we decided to aim big. After all, there is less competition for bigger goals, right? We set our goal at $303,000. (A little disclaimer here: we didn’t want any other charity to do poorly. We just wanted to leverage their fundraising number as motivation for our cause and our kids.

I remember when I shared our audacious goal with our faculty advisor, she thought I was crazy. She asked why we couldn’t set a more realistic goal? Why not a 10% or 20% increase? And here is how this principle plays out:

[highlight]when you set an incremental goal, all of your strategies revolve around MORE.[/highlight]

If we sign up a few more volunteers.If we will make some more calls.If we will work a little harder.

And if we do some more, we are likely to achieve more.

BUT, if we set a goal that’s 400% more than we had ever raised before, more just wasn’t going to cut it. When you jump to a much bigger goal, you have to totally rethink and reimagine your approach.

You have to be willing to build something totally outside of your current system if you want to reach an audacious goal.

I fundamentally believe that it’s easier to grow exponentially than incrementally. That doesn’t mean you’ll always succeed, but big goals force you to think and act differently. It requires you to grow and change in ways that you never have before.

Going for big goals is scary because it feels like you’re risking what you currently have for something that may or may not work out.

However, the upside, if you succeed, is so much fun. In case you were wondering, we achieved our big goal. UGA HEROs raised $306,000 dollars. For that year, we were the largest charity on a campus of more than 30,000 students. Here’s my question for you: What area of your life needs a big goal?

Find an ambition that’s big enough to force you out of your comfort zone. Set the goal. And go!

But today, I want to examine this topic through a different lens. I’m going to unpack the critical role that communication plays in culture building.

If culture is the key to organization resilience, then communication is its lifeblood.

A solid culture helps an organization persevere when times are tough, but the method by which you build a culture is communication. To build and foster a robust culture in your organization, here are four communication strategies:

1. Create a common language.

‍When your team is reading the same book, listening to the same podcast, or participating in the same training, they are developing a common language around what they are learning. They are processing the same words and the same ideas in the same framework. This allows them to communicate more effectively and connect what they have learned to their work. This happens in sports all the time. When Mark Richt was the head football coach at the University of Georgia, he was famous for saying, “Finish the drill!” While it was birthed out of a mentality to fully finish each component (or drill) during practice, it became a phrase that reminded people to not quit or take a shortcut. When we have a common language, it’s easier for team members to be aligned and communicate effectively.

2. Be clear.

‍Being clear is about simplicity, and it’s also about directness. Brene Brown says that being clear is kind, and being unclear is unkind. Avoiding tough conversations leads to confusion and disunity. However, being clear with feedback and expectations, even when it’s difficult, eliminates confusion.

3. Be compelling.

‍Too many leaders miss this one. When people are bored, they stop paying attention. When they stop paying attention, they stop listening. And if someone doesn’t hear what you’re saying, how in the world will they be inspired to act?  If you need help bringing your communication to life, watch or listen to speakers you admire. What about them engages you? Try applying their methods to your own unique voice (or use their messages that align with your values). Invest energy and effort into making communication compelling.

4. Be consistent.

‍Be consistent with what you are communicating and how you are communicating it. If clarity is about helping people understand, consistency is about reinforcing to drive behavior change. There’s an old saying that “vision leaks.” In other words, people need to be reminded, and reminded often.

If you want to improve your culture, improve your communication.

If you focus on these four strategies, you will lay a firm foundation for a resilient and vibrant culture.

My friend John Coleman and his wife Jackie encourage their kids with this phrase. For those of you who know Alexander Hamilton’s story from the hit musical or just from a love of history, you’ll understand what this means. For the rest of you, let me explain.

Alexander Hamilton was one of our founding fathers who is best known for being the first Secretary of the Treasury and for co-authoring The Federalist papers, defending the then proposed Constitution. Aaron Burr was a political peer of Hamilton’s who served as a senator and eventually as vice president. The two had a rivalry from the start. Burr accused Hamilton of being too loud about his opinions as a young revolutionary, and Hamilton accused Burr of not having strong values or principles. Burr seemed to change his political views to what would put him in the best position of power. In the presidential election of 1800, though Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed greatly politically, he gave his deciding vote to Jefferson over Burr because he believed Jefferson had principles and Burr had none.

To be clear, I don’t agree with everything that Hamilton believed. But, I admire his willingness to stand up for his convictions. How can we be the type of people who are willing to stand up for what’s right? This is what our world, culture, and places of business need most.

We need to stand up when other people are sitting down.

Sadly, our society right now encourages and rewards people for being quiet and just going along. We’re encouraged to validate other peoples’ beliefs and values, even if they are in opposition to our own. Have you ever thought about the meaning of the prefix “en”? En means to put into. What about the prefix “dis”? You guessed it: It means to pull out of.

Encourage means to put courage into someone, and discourage means to take their courage away. Because society puts courage into the people sitting down, we are going to be tempted to keep sitting! Those of us with strong values need to be counter-cultural to this. If we just go along, we are simply being reactive, allowing things to happen to us. We need to be people who initiate and make things better.

Leadership is a word that is thrown around and used so often, but true leaders are those willing to take a stand.

The world desperately needs leaders with strong values who have courage. I hope you’ll commit to being the kind of leader who boldly stands up for what you believe in.

Until recently, I had never considered what the parts of the word “compassion” actually mean together. Let me play English teacher for a few minutes.

When the movie The Passion of the Christ was released, I thought it was strange to use the word “passion” in a movie focused on Christ’s crucifixion, but I soon discovered that, in the context of this movie, passion is another word for suffering.

The prefix com means together. When you combine these two, together and suffering, compassion is a willingness to suffer with another person. It’s the perfect synonym for empathy. It doesn’t just mean that you feel sorry for a person, but that you are ready to enter into suffering with them.

Compassion is a willingness to suffer with another person.

At the start of this blog, I said compassion means we are willing to be disturbed, and I still believe that’s true. But I think you could take it one step further. Compassion is looking someone who is suffering in the eyes and saying, “Please disturb me. Your pain is my pain. Let me bear this burden with you.” This is the kind of compassion our world needs now more than ever.

So what does this look like practically?

Compassion will disturb your life in three areas: your schedule, your wallet, and your emotions.

Compassion disturbs your schedule.

True compassion interrupts your routine, your calendar, and your comfort zone. It’s stopping to help the person pulled over on the side of the road, even though you have somewhere to be. It’s engaging the person who needs to talk for a few minutes, even though you’re late to your next meeting. I’m not saying this is feasible or practical all the time, but compassion will definitely disturb your schedule.

Compassion disturbs your wallet.

Being compassionate means getting involved financially. Sometimes, it requires giving real dollars. It could be giving money away that you had been saving for your next vacation or shifting your budget to intentionally give to a specific person or cause. But other times, compassion is simply doing something less “valuable” with your time (in the business world, we call this opportunity cost).

Compassion disturbs your emotions.

Have you ever heard someone say, “You’ve been cursed with a good heart”? The idea is that because you care, you do more and give more than the average person. Compassion is being willing to have a broken heart; it’s being willing to have your emotional state disturbed to comfort and encourage another person. We have a new ministry at our church called the Stephen Ministry that is dedicated to this kind of compassion. Members of our church can be trained to be Stephen Ministers who meet with individuals to listen, care, encourage, and support them. This is compassion in action. Our world is divided, and people are hurting. Today, I encourage you to choose compassion over comfort and have a willingness to be disturbed.

Not only is the company I co-founded called ADDO—the Latin word for inspire—but I also released a book about it this year called Inspired Every Day. I believe that inspiration leads individuals and teams to pursue and accomplish meaningful work that changes the world. Not everyone agrees with me . . .  even some people I deeply respect!

These individuals would tell me it’s not inspiration that moves people but knowledge. In their eyes, equipping people with knowledge is the best way to move them to action. The more you know, the better you’ll do; right? Wrong. News flash:

An individual can believe something is true and not care a lick about it.

You can believe that a certain animal species is endangered, but not care enough to do something about it.

You can believe that smoking leads to lung cancer, but still enjoy it so much that you keep smoking anyway.

You can believe that eating healthy is good for you, but not care enough to clean up your diet.

You can believe that having a purpose is important, but not care enough to consider how your work connects to one.

Knowledge matters. Learning helps you grow and is the first step toward care. But learning on its own doesn’t move people to action. In fact, it is very possible to increase my knowledge and not change my actions. Knowledge alone isn’t enough.

‍Inspiration matters because it moves someone from belief to care.

Said another way, when someone is inspired, they will care enough to act.

Whenever I’m speaking to a group, I always want to consider three things: the head, the heart, and the hands. The head is the knowledge piece. What do I want the hearer to leave this message knowing? The heart is what I’d call the inspiration piece. How should this message move their heart and shape what they care about? The hands piece is the action. In light of this truth, how should they respond?

This might sound a little silly, but people are not robots. We are whole individuals. Our minds, our hearts, and our actions are all connected in a way that gives us the ability to do meaningful work. I believe that inspiration is the linchpin that holds these parts together.

My advice to you today is to get inspired! Simply acquiring more knowledge will do little to grow you as a leader, teammate, spouse, and friend. But being inspired to do these things will help you apply your knowledge in a way that could change your life.

It’s a compelling mission. It’s others-focused, and it makes sense because of our name—ADDO is the Latin word for inspire. But it serves as a poor marketing tool for a customer who is trying to figure out what we actually do.

Over the years, we have tried multiple approaches to adequately articulate what we do. In the past, we’ve talked a lot about leadership and how we are a “leadership consultancy.” More recently, we have talked a lot about learning, emphasizing how we create tools that help educate leaders and their teams. I don’t think we’ve nailed the messaging yet, and we’ll always work to make it better. Here’s the tension we have to live in: becoming increasingly clear about how we articulate our methods without falling in love with those methods.

Let me explain it this way: The world is constantly evolving, so our methods will likely have to change again down the road. We need to be sharp in our communication, but we can’t allow that clarity to make us rigid in our approaches. Our methods are a means to help us reach a goal that is unchanging.

When you fall more in love with your methods than your mission, you will become extinct.

For those of you who are millennials and older, you’ll remember how Netflix started. When they first came on the scene, their main competitor was Blockbuster—the movie rental store. Netflix’s method was different. You would place an order for a DVD, and Netflix would mail it to your house. When you were finished watching, you would mail it back. It was a simple method to work toward their mission: to entertain the world. But as we now know, they weren’t in love with their methods. They saw a greater opportunity to entertain the world as a streaming platform and dove into this method head first.

On the flip side, Blockbuster was in love with its method and dedicated to remaining a storefront in communities all over the United States. In fact, in Netflix’s early days, Blockbuster had a chance to buy the company for $50 million. At the time, Blockbuster laughed their offer out of the room. They thought mailing DVDs was a silly fad that wouldn’t amount to much, but they didn’t take into account Netflix’s mission and dedication to adapting in a changing world. As of last year, Netflix was worth over $19 billion. As I said earlier, when you fall more in love with your methods than your mission, you will become extinct.

Here’s my challenge to you (and to me) today, be flexible about methods and immovable about mission. We lose when we become more passionate about the method than the mission.

Be flexible about methods and immovable about mission.

Think of it this way. Your purpose is your destination, and your methods are the way you will reach the destination. So far, the journey has been all on the road, so the car you’ve been driving is working fine. But thousands of miles down the road, you hit a raging river right in the middle of your path. There is not a bridge in sight, but there is a boat on the edge of the river. You wouldn’t drive your car into the river to get across. You’d hop in the boat! Methods are tools to get you where you need to go.

Whether it's leadership or learning, or something entirely different, I’m grateful to be a part of a team at ADDO that will employ any method to its fullest extent to accomplish the mission. We are married to our mission and will choose to date the methods.

When I’m looking for advice for graduates, I often think about the lives of some of the most successful people and what this season of their lives looked like. But this year, I noticed that when you go back and look at the most famous person of all time—Jesus—we know very little about his life from ages 12–30. In the entirety of Scripture, there is only one sentence that covers this period of time. It says, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Even though this short verse is all we have about these 18 years of his life, it still provides a great blueprint for graduates (or any individual) desiring to grow in their present season of life. The word “increased” indicates an intentional growth. For Jesus, this growth was not just automatic; it was intentional. This word in the original language is the same word used for a person on the frontlines of a battlefield, clearing the path for the men behind him. This is strenuous activity, not just passing development.

Growth should not happen by default but by design.

This one sentence said he increased (grew) in 4 ways: wisdom (intellectually), stature (physically), in favor with God (spiritually) and with man (relationally). Whether a recent grad or senior adult, we should all focus on growing in these four areas.

1. Intellectually:

Luke 2:52 says that Jesus grew in wisdom during these years. Wisdom and intellectual growth are valuable, and this takes committed time and effort. It pays to have knowledge. I love the story where Henry Ford asked electrical genius Charlie Steinmetz to build the generators for his famed automobile factory. One day the generators gave out, and the repairmen on hand couldn’t determine what was wrong. So Ford called Steinmetz, who tinkered with the machines for a few hours to get them up and running again. Weeks later, Ford got a bill for $10,000 from Steinmetz. Astonished, the car maker asked why the bill was so high. Steinmetz replied with an itemized bill: “For tinkering with the generators, $10. For knowing where to tinker, $9,990.” Steinmetz knew his knowledge was valuable.

2. Physically:

Jesus increased in stature. This is his physical growth, and it seems like a minor detail until you consider that the verse says he increased in stature intentionally.

Taking care of your body matters at any age, and it can impact every area of your life. Sadly, most of us are more motivated by our physical appearance than our overall health. But I want to encourage you (and myself!) to eat healthy and exercise, so that our bodies will increase in strength to do the good work laid before us each day—in the office, in our homes, and in our communities.

3. Spiritually:

There is a lot that could be unpacked, but it can be boiled down to say that we should be intentional about our spiritual growth. As a Christian, I believe this happens through a commitment to a local church, personal Bible reading, prayer, and deep relationships with other believers. That may look different for you, but spiritual growth is part of holistic development.

4. Relationally:

Jesus also grew in favor with man. He had flourishing relationships with individuals in his life.

As a part of a commencement address, former First Lady Barbara Bush said the following to a group of graduating college students: “As important as your obligations as a doctor, lawyer, or business leader will be, you are a human being first, and those human connections – with spouses, with children, with friends – are the most important investments you will ever make. At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend, or a parent . . . Our success as a society depends not on what happens in the White House but on what happens inside your house.”

How are you growing in each of these areas?

It’s just as important for a retiree as it is for a recent graduate:

Work to increase intellectually, physically, spiritually, and relationally.

The more you grow, the more you’ll experience the joys of each unique season of life.