weblogtervention

I'm not saying that the Cookie Monster is bulimic, it just seems like the second he's binging on a dozen cookies at once...they're coming right out of his mouth.  What would you call that?
 
It's about time someone stepped in and said something.  The Children's Television Network isn't going to do anything, because he's a cash cow.  His posse is full of yes men and stooges just riding in his financial slipstream.
 
This is an appeal to Burt.  Please Burt, don't listen to your partner Ernie...it's time to have a heart to heart with C.M. and let him know how we all feel.  Enough is enough.  It stops now.  Think of the children.

Keeping it real in '09

eep on truckin' is my official slogan for 2009.  Oh sure, go ahead and judge me for waiting a couple of months before making it known...but what if the slogan didn't fit?
  

Do you really want to go twelve months with a bad slogan?

  

I'd rather soak for a couple of months in my yearly slogan and then see if it fits the year.  So I'll take Steve's birthday as the occasion to mark this year's slogan.

    

At first I wasn't sure it fit.  Oh sure, it's a great one...but some people take these things so seriously.  "But Sean, you don't even drive a truck."  Oh really?
  
Really?
    
I guess you've got me there.  But still, there's something that harkens back to a 1973 ringer T-shirt that's a purposely faded red with that young fella leaning back, one thumb up...all under the banner "Keep on Truckin'"  I'd like to reclaim that expression and make it my own these next ten months.
   
I'd also like to continue my quest to bring back:
knuckle sandwich
bookin (as in - We were bookin down the street)
and...???
  
I'm sure I'm forgetting at least one more?

25 lies

1.   My grandfather invented tape
2.   I've been approached by the Rubiks people about coming up with a rectangle
3.   I only shave if it's not a full moon
4.   I've spent seventeen years in a row of knocking them dead on Broadway
5.   Neil Armstrong tills our lawn
6.   Every time he finishes the back yard he says the same thing, "That's one small lawn for the Murphys..."
7.   I've owned seven cars, but loved eight.
8.   Twice I've protested Notre Dame games and their misrepresentation of my people.
9.   I gave four dollars to the cancer walk not realizing that they were against it.
10. I have every written poem by Mr. Nipsey Russel
11. The fisherman's friend has never even given me a second glance.
12. I'd drink nothing but Diet Dr. Pepper if I didn't think he was so stuck up about his medical degree
13. I'm strongly urging the Amish to participate in American sports.  I believe it will greatly improve our chances in most of the winter sports.
14. I think the fifth dentist is just disagreeable and kind of a jerk
15. I'm working with Canada on their Canadian Army Knife
16. I get nervous whenever the pilot says, "ladies and gentlemen, please get into the crash positions"
17. I refuse to call a twelve inch measuring device a "ruler" as I don't believe it holds any real power.
18. I cry whenever I hear Bob Dylans cover of Groove is in the Heart
19. I believe 19 should be the minimum age of a paperboy
20. Burt Reynolds was vastly underrated as a college wide receiver
21. Two more votes and we'll have kickball in the 2016 Olympiad
22. Earaches are one of three signs that you might have poor social skills
23. Twice in the 1990's I was the president elect, but totally forgot to show up for work.
24. I've been told that if you're happy and you know it, there is no need to clap your hands.

quotin'

I've been reading some great quotes this morning and this one just sort of stuck with me.

“To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul’s paradox of love, scorned indeed by the too easily satisfied religionist, but justified in happy experience by the children of the burning heart.” - A.W. Tozer

I guess it's not about hoop hopping, but about relationship?

The question, "Did you go to church this week?" is probably better replaced by, "How have you come to experience God in the midst of relationship this week?"  It's a very different question and often the two have nothing to do with one another.

Is it possible that it's about experiencing the God of the Universe and not sitting in a meeting where they talk about Him?

If the two could ever come together, and I believe they can, this could be/is a powerful thing.

Remembering Larry King

Things I like less than a parade:

1.  not much

2.  saving seats

3.  seafood

4.  paper cuts

5.  machete cuts

6.  a lecture by Madonna

7.  that voice we all hear in our head to go and pinch Leonard Nimoy

8.  undercooked eggs

9.  "dance" in the title of any show
 

-At this stage of the game, I'm still surprised when I see someone with a mustache.

 
-The economic collapse officially intersected with my life on Thursday.

 
-For my money, Hong Kong Fooey is the single greatest hero this country has ever known.  And yes, I remember Ben Aflek in Pearl Harbor.

 
-If you're in a debate at my house and you find yourself seeing red, that means you're probably in the kitchen.

 
-Honestly it's just that standing behind people and only seeing the floatie things stinks...standing in front of people and feeling like you're in the way stinks...you're looking at paper mache and people waving....what's good about that?
  
-The phrase that pays today?  Don't count your quarters in here fella.
  
Good luck

Leadership V

This post leans towards Christians are currently leading.

  

What does servant leadership mean to you?
  

Is your servant leadership style a free egg roll coupon at the St. Patrick's Day party, or something that you engage in daily? (I do love coupons...and egg rolls...I'm just saying)

  

I was talking recently with a friend who has really struggled through the years with his marriage (that narrows it down) He used to go weeks or even months without really connecting with his wife, but then he'd throw a big gift her way.  He used to equate the big quarterly token with a lifestyle of caring.  It didn't measure up.  In the long run it just wasn't working...                                        

  

Daily small goes way beyond the monthly, token big gesture. 

How could you serve those you partner with today?

Leadership IV

Ever been to the party with that guy that keeps talking about how much he makes?  Or his boat?

When you talk about being the boss and mention "she works for me" or "my employees" you sound like that guy.  And before you ask, "who are you talking about young fella?"  I'm not talking about anyone, I'm talking about a number of actual comments that I've heard from a number of people over the years that always make me feel a little sad for them)

How would things change if you stopped talking about being the boss and started leading your team?  What if you talked about "our team" more often and "my team" less?

I really believe giving away ownership and creating a team philosophy goes far in allowing the entire range of gifts to flesh themselves out for the betterment of the team.  I also believe in Crystal Light because I believe in me.

Leadership isn't about arrogance or pride, it's about taking the lead and bringing people alongside you to be a part of something way better than the collective individuals.

Leadership III

Do you do - or do you model?  Is there someone alongside you learning from you...or are you just kind of doing what you do?

How are your meetings/actions/events reproducable?  If you die in a horrific clown car accident, is there someone waiting in the wings to carry forward with the vision?
         

I hear bad leaders talk about how things went downhill after they left, as if that's a good thing.  As if that's a tribute to how great they were at their jobs.  I think it is a testimony to how well they set up systems, develooped people and created a mission that was all about people.  The truth is that they didn't set up reprocible systems, develop people or create a mission that wasn't about them.

 
They would have, but there's no money in that.  You don't win awards or get applause for developing people...they do...and for some people, that's not enough.

Leadership II

Are you willing to lose a battle to train/develop someone who is not as good as you are? (think me trying to work with Fuller on his moustache growing)

Would you be willing to sit on the sidelines and have your meeting/event not go quite as well, because you're letting someone else learn while doing?

How are you developing people? 

It's easier to just hire people that someone else trained or invested in.  Is that the best way though?

I really believe that leaders lead and leaders are willing to set their ego aside and lose the occasional battle to see people grow.  How about you?

Leadership

What are the three or four things that your organization/ministry/group is about?
 

Would everyone else say the same thing?

Do the four or five people at the top of your organization/ministry/group do those things?
  -  

Do you feel like your headed toward a goal, on a mission, or working towards a unified vision...or does it feel like a bunch of different people doing their jobs and they sort of relate somehow?

    
Is it too late to right the ship? 
     
If you right a ship, would it be more accurate to say that you starboarded the ship? 
  
Can we agree that if the ship is about to hit an iceberg and Jack is handcuffed to a ladder down below, we'll just yell, "Iceberg on the right!" so that we don't have to go through the mental hoop of remembering which side starboard actually is?