How Do You Use Your Lightning-Fast Mind?

In the 90s, as the Associate Director of Communications at the University of Manitoba, I received this Inuit stone carving in appreciation for the “innovative idea” I had for an intra-campus courier service. Of course, we’ll have great ideas for witty inventions and innovations if we actually use these “lightning fast minds” that were made in the image of our Great Innovator and Creator. Just think about the brilliant minds of Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos in this generation and how they took the limits and restrictions off their minds and CREATED.

I like to think that I used my “innovative” thoughts similarly to those brilliant minds who did something that met a need. Oh, that we would put our thoughts to good use to meet needs and create solutions to problems instead of negative thoughts and actions that think “No way can that be done!” “That’s a dumb idea!” “It will cost too much!” “It will take too long!” We can put these God-given brains and minds to good use if we realize the potential that lies inside us. St. Paul told us how to use our “thinkers”. Philippians 4:8 “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK about these things.”

Imagine a world where we thought only about “these things”. It would be a world that creativity flowed even beyond where we are today. It would be a world where we honored God with our thoughts and then the words and actions of that honor would produce world changers and history makers.

These thoughts regarding being a creator and thinker were spawned from an article I read yesterday about a new, creative idea of a young adult librarian from the Riverside branch of the New York Public Library. Her idea became reality last month when the library began to offer neckties, bow ties, handbags and briefcases intended for people with limited resources who are heading for job interviews, auditions or any other events for which they need to dress up.

Michelle Lee came up with the concept while teaching a free class at the library about job seeking and résumé making. She told the high school students: “You want to look professional. You shouldn’t be bringing a backpack to a job interview." She was surprised by their reaction. “For a lot of them, it was eye-opening because they never thought about it. One of the students said he didn’t have anything like that. The other kids said ‘I don’t have nice things.’” She realized the students needed more than a résumé class. She said, “It got me thinking if the library could help,” she said. (My thought: She used her "thinker")

She felt that she already had the teens' attention because many of them use the library as a hangout spot after school, often doing homework on computers, or borrowing laptops. So she drafted a proposal for the ties and handbags and submitted it to the library’s Innovation Project, a program that allows library staffers to suggest ideas and solutions to problems they come across, with a budget of about $3,000 or less each. After a submission period, the staff voted Lee’s project a winner. With funding from the Charles H. Revson Foundation, which sponsors the Innovation Project, she bought 12 handbags and briefcases new from Amazon -- priced between $40 and $120 -- and the ties and pocket squares were donated, including by an employee at Bloomingdale’s.

Lee said she thinks the lending program will be useful because many teens and adults use the library to work on résumés or apply for jobs. The library already refers patrons who need business attire to organizations that lend clothes. She figured that allowing people to check out ties and bags would fill a need.
Library patrons with less than $15 in fines are eligible to borrow the ties and bags for a three-week span.

What a great example of using her “thinker” for good!! What if we only allowed creativity and ideas and good thinking to come into and out of our minds? Just imagine a home where the wife and mom used her mind to create “systems” that caused her home to function better. Just a imagine a secretary that offered her mind to come up with solutions for the supply room or filing system. Just imagine freeing up our minds of the useless trash, negative thinking to open the door of our minds to be “thinkers” of possibilities!

The Power of Adversity

I’m taking a little “Nana” moment to celebrate my grandson’s winning 1st Place in his Original Oratory Speech at the NCFCA National Championships this weekend. Out of 1000s of students from 45 states, competing in 65 preliminary tournaments, 500 students made it to Nationals. Payton's win is truly a tribute to his diligence, hard work, and relentless attitude. The win comes with scholarships offered and afforded him the opportunity to deliver the speech after the competition to over 1,500 people. I was blessed to be able to watch it LIVE, thanks to technology! I am always a proud Nana of my grandchildren, and this just added another notch on my “pride and joy” belt. Beyond the pride, however, was the speech he gave that truly described his own story of overcoming adversity and helping others to realize that adversity can be a friend to those who recognize God’s way of building our character and our ability to overcome and come out as a conqueror.

“The Power of Adversity” was the topic of this speech. In it, Payton talked about the tension and adversity that we encounter and the more we experience, the better the trajectory of the potential of success in our future. He used the analogy of his Toys R Us bow and suction-cup arrow, as a child, which did well to kill his “refrigerator bad guy”, but it paled in comparison to the real bow and arrow that his dad bought him, set the tension to Payton’s ability and he soon learned this arrow could fly three times further because of that tension.

He went on to point out world changers and history makers like Thomas Edison whose teachers said he was too stupid to learn anything. And, Abraham Lincoln who failed in business, marriage, politics and suffered the loss of his two sons before becoming the President of the United States. Every adversity these leaders experienced increased their patience, their knowledge and their ability to create history. Payton quoted Walt Disney “All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me. You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”

Payton went into his own story of adversity. In the same year: his Papa died from cancer, his dog died, and he was being bullied at school. He said, as he pointed out his thin body, “I’m not the most athletic kid but I sure wanted to play football and fit in with the other guys.” Instead of helping him, they bullied him and the abuse only got worse and the verbal hatred got louder. The words spoken over him replayed like a broken record in his mind – “too skinny, you’ll never amount to anything, you’ll never be good at anything”. With many hilarious, self-deprecating moments throughout his speech, his message was clear: "When adversity comes, like the storm that came up while Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat, let it be that storm that takes you to the other side”.

Payton’s speech resonated with me too. We all have defining moments that either make or break us. Whatever those moments are, God will use them for our good. Our destiny and purpose are wrapped up in each and every adversity that comes our way. It's that "stuff" that causes the aha moments -- those moments that seemed like the worst of worst times but were actually the turbo boost to propel us to where we were meant to be. The times of adversity either make us stronger and cause us to have the "warrior mentality" or we succumb to the pressure and throw in the towel and have the "pull-the-blanket-over-the-head mentality". One makes us stronger and leads to success and the other causes us to quit and leads to failure stories. They're either stories that said "I pushed through to victory" or "I gave up and quit. IF ONLY....I had persisted." From Abraham Lincoln to Thomas Edison to Payton Wallace, great leaders and achievers push themselves beyond the point of failure and take a step back to re-evaluate why they started the journey in the first place. Even when their body or mind told them to quit, they dug deep and pushed through the adversity.

My parting paragraph is Payton’s final words from his speech. I pray these words to speak to your heart:

“I don’t know what you’re going through today. Maybe you’re facing financial adversity, a broken relationship, or even if you’re just like me….you look in the mirror and you feel inferior and worthless. Jesus is in the back of the boat with you. He has a way of using every adversity and every difficulty to propel you to the other side of your breakthrough. Now, personally, I’ve grown to fight greater enemies than my refrigerator and I know that God uses every adversity in my life to prepare me and propel me to become a leader worth following. The same is true for each and every one of you. Adversity is not your enemy. Tension is not your foe. Instead, embrace it. Peace isn’t the absence of adversity. Peace is the confidence in knowing that all things – even the seemingly worst things -- work together for good when you put your faith and trust in God.”

Be the Change

It's second nature to focus on everything that's wrong with others or what's wrong in politics or what's wrong with our places of business or churches or what's wrong in our nation. But, what about doing a "check up from our neck up" -- a self analysis about some of the areas we might just not have it altogether? If we did, then maybe some course corrections are called for that would result in us being the influencer for CHANGE that impacts our world in a positive way. That sounds like a lofty ambition. Me? Impact this world? After all, I'm just a Mom or I'm just a carpenter, or I'm just a housekeeper, or I'm just an artist.

When we think of world changers, we come up with the likes of Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, President Ronald Reagan, Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa of Calcutta), Mahatma Gandhi? They most certainly were world changers. But, let's give credit where credit is due. What about all you Moms & Dads who influence their kids everyday for greatness by your own examples of compassionate, caring, loving and giving leaders? What about you volunteers who tirelessly impact hungry, needy and loveless individuals as you give your time, talent and treasure at charitable organizations? What about those of you who daily touch people's lives just by your smile, a gentle touch or hug? And, what about you grandparents who never cease to pray for their family?

What about YOU and ME? What if we were willing to be the difference maker in someone who needs that extra word of encouragement and hope -- to not give up....TODAY!

Seems like a tall order to be a world changer....but when we consider the affect we can make on at least one person's life, we will most certainly be their WORLD changer!

World Changer in the Making

Day 29 of my Photo Inspirations
I'm back in Texas for a few days, and I love this sign posted on my grandson's bedroom door.     I am so proud of the declaration that Payton makes over his life.  And I don't have a doubt in my mind that he will be a world changer -- making a positive difference in his world. 

What if this was a sign we looked at everyday on our mirror, or in our car, or on our desk at work?  A sign that says we are a "world changer in the making".   Sure, it says "in the making" -- it's a daily discipline and a daily commitment to being intentional about becoming a world changer. Wouldn't that be the factor we'd consider when making a right or wrong decision, conveying positive or negative attitudes, displaying a heart of gratitude or ingratitude, whether to reach out and help someone or not, believing that in the middle of every challenge or difficulty is an opportunity? 

We are God’s chosen means of bringing light to the world.  We were created with everything we need to be world-changers.   And we can be willing instruments in the hands of our amazing God to positively make a difference in our world.   It’s about doing what we’re called to do. It's about doing what we can do right where we are.  What we do with our lives matters.
 
So go ahead -- copy this photo and put it where you and your kids can see it.  We can ALL be "world changers in the making".