by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
(The 8th Habit, “Blending Voices—Searching for the Third Alternative,”Chapter 10)
One of the most profound concepts in The 8th Habit by Stephen Covey is what he calls finding the Third Alternative. That is combining ideas to create an idea that is better than any one person’s idea. It is getting a consensus from the group that they will work toward building solutions, bigger than any one person. This manifests a distinctive synergy, transformational Third Alternative.
To get there, Covey discusses the following skills that must be in place and functioning in a healthy way in a group.
“Communication is without a doubt the most important skill in life…” This includes reading, writing , speaking and listening. Most of our communication time is listening. Covey notes that no more than 5% of us have had more than two weeks of formal training in how to listen.
Listening has five levels… ignoring, pretend listening (patronizing), selective listening, attentive listening…. But the ideal level is empathic listening… that is listening within the other’s frame of reference.
Perception skills are critical for effective emphatic listening. He outlines four important things to learn about communication through the perception experience.
1. We have to be sincerely open… the foundation for arriving at third alternative solutions.
2. Take into consideration others’ life experiences and allow time to explain “why” they see it that way and what has led to it.
3. There isn’t just one way to interpret something. Each vision needs shared and merged.
4. Most communication breakdowns are products of semantics…how people define words from their experience.
One good listening rule is to use the Indian Talking Stick. It is an artfully carved about 5 feet high stick that Indian chief’s used in discussions. The only one who could speak was the one holding the Talking Stick. And the Talking Stick was not passed on until the person speaking felt understood by everyone else. You explained back to a person what he said until the person with the Talking Stick felt you understand him. When that person was satisfied that you understood him, you were given the Talking Stick. And then, you could take your turn and share your ideas, while holding the Talking Stick.
Over 90% of all communication problems are caused by differences in semantics or perception. What I think you are saying may not be what you mean, based on my experiences in contrast to yours. No one knows the experiences that have brought you to the conclusions you have, unless you explain them. For true understanding this must be sorted out.
According to Covey, to reach third alternatives, ideas better than the combination of each person’s ideas, these two rules apply.
1.Would you be willing to search for a solution that is better than what either one of us have proposed?
2. Would you agree to a simple ground rule: No one can make his or her point until they have restated the other person’s point to his or her satisfaction?
This forces discussion into a group synergy that kindles harmony and ground-breaking ideas higher than any one person of the group. This is a very powerful concept that pushes groups, or any discussion by any number people, to higher resolve and outcomes with exceptional impact.
http://www.stephencovey.com/8thHabit/8thhabit.html
The power of Blending voices was acknowledged at Babel, in the Bible. The people of ancient times wanted to build a tower that reached up to the heavens. And God said because they are one people, one language, “nothing will be impossible for them.” God made man to have great power when united as one voice.
If they worked together as one, all the power of God's created universe was at their disposal and everything they set out to do would be done. God’s Spirit built this system of Spirit in His human creation. Their motives were self-centered, void of respect to God, their creator. So God scrambled their language so they would not be one voice and have unconquerable power.
In Malachi, its says those who feared, respectfully honored, the Lord spoke to each other and God responded to what they were talking about.
To the Corinthians, the Apostle said, “we have the mind of Christ.”
"We" as one unit, have the mind of Christ. As one mind, we are transfigured into the Mind of Jesus Spirit, the Ultimate, Unmatchable Spirit.
Jesus emphatically requested of God that we be One.
"That they be One, just as We are One. I in Them and You in Me, that they may be perfected into One." If all of Jesus Spirit is in "Us" and all of the Spirit of God is in Jesus, we then walk with a huge armory of Power. All of God's world creating Spirit is with us.This is what makes this principle so powerful.
When we are one, we have the mind of Jesus and His Spirit is with us... works on our behalf because it is His mind governing thoughts, directing widespread, prevailing actions. When as One Voice, we come together, taking all we say and blending it with others, we blend into the Mind of Jesus in what we discuss. While on the human level, one voice brings power as noted in Babel.
We see on the Spiritual level even greater Power, which yields unexplainable results by being One voice.
In Jesus Spirit, which is all of God's Spirit, and we as One are all of what Jesus is. This principle brings us astounding possibilities.
Paul the Apostle cautioned, exhorted believers that they avoid, at all costs, being divided over minor issues. As one mind, one voice, you are a complete benefactor of Jesus Spirit. Divided minds, voices kills power potential. The dividing spirits of jealously, bitterness, envy, self-centeredness, pouting just kills Power.
Unifying voices brings us the Very Mind of Jesus Glorified in Heaven. All Powers of Heaven are enacted. So when we meet, if we all share what Spirit is impressing on us, and we synergize all these thoughts, we raise ourselves to the level of Heavenly Power, Jesus Power. We form the mind of Christ. We function then in the Third Heaven. Here all is made, changed, created, wars won, Angels dispatched on our behalf, power manifested in our lives.
Paul the Apostle visited the Third Heaven and He was never the same after that. He saw the arena of Spirit where God, angels and all Spiritual Dynasty existed. (see 2 Corinthians 12)
This is the most gigantic principle in the Scriptures and for us to use in Becoming One in Mind and One in Spirit. By recognizing others’ ideas as God inspired and merging them into One, to a Higher level, into a Third Heaven, the Highest realm of the universe of unmatched Spiritual Force is dispatched.
Blending into God's Voice, and being one in Voice in all your encounters manifests Miraculous Powers.
In all relationships, business and others we can see life transforming power at work. In Spirit of Love, Kindness, Humility and Forgiveness... God's Spirit is thrust into motion in matters we discuss.
Blend to One Voice In Spirit.
The Super-Natural is released with vibrant, vigorous force.
Note: emanna.com Archives, March 15, 2006
http://steward.emanna.com/calendar.cfm
(References: Genesis 11; Malachi 3; 1 Corinthians 1, 2; John 17)
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Friday, March 10, 2006
Blink: Knowing without Knowing...a Core Spiritual Gift
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Blink: the Power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell, writer for the New York Times, is about our abilities in rapid cognition. In just a few seconds we draw conclusions about everyday happenings using a unique ability of our unconscious mind. Since its release Jan. 2005, Blink has stayed on top of business book selling lists.
We all have an internal computer with an adaptive unconscious to quietly process a lot of data quickly… in a “blink” of the eye. Called rapid cognition, a knowing without knowing, we all make snap judgments within limited time and information… and in most cases with a great amount of accuracy.
“The adaptive unconscious does an excellent job sizing up the world warning people of danger, setting goals and initiating action in a sophisticated and efficient manner.”
Blink sets out to prove that “decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately.”
There are instances though that may betray us. Why? How can we train ourselves to be good at snap responses.? When should we trust our immediate instincts? Our unconscious processing system is very powerful with potential to create practical skills in rapid cognition. According to Gladwell, this power of knowing happens in the first 2 seconds. It is not a gift for a fortunate few, but an ability we can all cultivate for ourselves.
He lists many case studies to verify his book’s premise.
In war games, it is impractical to take time to analyze rationally when the enemy is pursing you. By the time you complete a calm rational analysis the enemy may have over taken you.
In an experiment several military strategist went up against some New York stock traders… who live a fast-paced rapid cognition decision making lifestyle. With their rapid cognition experience they actually defeated the war specialist in the first war game. In this case rapid knowledge outperformed shrewd analysis.
Although in the second war game, the military learned from the traders, applied the skill of rapid cognition along with their experience skills came back to take the next game.
There are times when wrong snap decisions are made. We call this prejudice.
To overcome prejudice in thinking, it takes retraining and taking in new experiences different from the past to implant new information in the unconscious mind. Like learning to play basketball, to develop rapid cognition requires training, rules, and rehearsal.
Then in real world scenarios we can respond with more refined skill. It gives a case for continued learning and perfecting abilities prior to impelling needs that trigger the rapid cognition process.
For more on Blink note Glidewell’s web link.
http://gladwell.com/blink/index.html
"Knowing:" A Core Spiritual Gift
The apostle Paul in the Bible said he wished we all would prophesy… to predict, reveal things from Divine origin.
Prophecy is much like Blink…to know without knowing. Prophecy works in connection with the universal mind of God, Spirit that is connected to all things.
“The Spirit searches all things” (1 Corinthians 2:10)
and Jesus said that the Spirit would tell us things that are to come. (John 16:13) He promised that we would have His Spirit in us, connected directly to God for living in all the potential of the Spirit.
That is the Spirit that created everything from the beginning, knows all things and orchestrates all things. Our mind works much like an internet Search engine… it searches all parts of stored data in the brain in micro-seconds, in response to everything… as Galdwell points out. The Spirit, since Jesus, was sent to do the same… but this connection is with the whole universe. Spirit knows what people think, their plans and can give us direction related to everything… based on its Infinite Connections.
It is the most powerful attribute of those living in Jesus Spirit, but its visible demonstration of existence is mysteriously not seen around too much. Why? I wonder the same thing. Why? Are we selling ourselves short on what we have available to us. Our society generally does not seem to recognize the possibilities here. Galdwell is on to something in Blink. This leads us to an even higher level… the Spirit Level.
When looking at the New York Times recently, I saw the top 3 books in the “How-to" category were written by Spiritual representatives. The #1 and #3 books by pastors (The Purpose Driven Life and Your Best Life Now). The #2 book was by a psychic-medium (If You Could See What I See). What intrigued me about all this is the interest in “foretelling” the future and the source most are looking into seems to be the psychic world. I will say though that seeing into the future is not an exclusive capability of psychic-mediums.
In the Bible, many prophets are prominent. Here’s a few:
Jeremiah, the prophet, said, quoting the Spirit of God,
“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will
tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
(Jeremiah 33:3, NASB)
Jesus, the Prophet and Teacher, said, "But when He,
the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;
for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears,
He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and
will disclose it to you.”
(John 16: 13,14, NASB)
Paul, Prophet and Apostle, said, “That your faith would not rest
on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit;
for the Spirit searches all things,
even the depths of God.
(1 Corinthians 2: 5, 10, NASB)
We serve a kingdom of Power as Paul says… it’s not about words, knowledge, clever strategies of our minds to do clever things. It is about pure Power.
(see 1 Corinthians 2 and 3).
It’s about Action, Not Talk. Spirit produces above human results… Super Natural results… beyond our ability to really understand exactly how it happens.
Above all, all this is part of us.
The Same Spirit that spoke to Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul IS in Us.
We are all made to prophesy… to see from Spirit what is to come and share with each other. It is ours to cultivate. As Gladwell discovered from "knowing" skills, developing Spiritual knowing requires the same…
belief in them,
training for them,
rules about them
and rehearsal … practice, practice, practice.
Jesus reminded us that it is according to our faith these things happen. Spirit works, when we let it and stay in stride with it. The Supernatural is with us, we have the ability to “know without knowing.” This is an unsung, under-rated, under-used, under-explored powerful dynamic available to us.
As Gladwell gave insight to potential of our mind’s abilities, I say the same of our Spiritual abilities. “It’s not a gift for the fortunate few,
it’s an ability WE ALL CAN cultivate.”
In Spirit, WE ALL have Predictive Intelligence.
This prophetic gift of “knowing without knowing,” advanced rapid cognition or what I call sensing, has worked a lot for me. When considering leading business books in the past, sometimes a new book would seem to jump out at me. Interestingly, more than half of these have ended up on the top ten of business book lists. It’s my rapid cognition skill. I, do though, spend a lot of time reading biz articles and books. So, like Gladwell observed, you build this skill.
More than this is, I know you can learn prophetic skills. I have focused a lot in this area. Through time you become more finely tuned in sensing when the Spirit is prompting, talking to you. The Scriptures very clearly implicate that we all have this potential in Spirit.
“Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets
about what is going to happen.”
(Jeremiah 33:3, NLT)
Think on the impact this would have on our everyday lives, within our business ventures… daily decision-making and problem solving, creating new products and services, advancing into new markets, satisfying real customer interests…. “Spirit Searches all things” and gives you the best course of action.
Predictive Intelligence is a Spiritual Service at our disposal.
Geffry Fields writes more on this on his blog Jesus is Us… “Predictive Intelligence... a Spiritual Arsenal”. Here’s the link:
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/07/predictive-intelligence-spiritual.html
John, Prophet and Apostle, heard the Spirit say to him:
“Come up here
and I will show you what will happen." (Revelation 4:1,2)
In Spirit, he saw….
In Spirit, you will See what is to come…
4spirit@gmail.com
Blink: the Power of thinking without thinking by Malcolm Gladwell, writer for the New York Times, is about our abilities in rapid cognition. In just a few seconds we draw conclusions about everyday happenings using a unique ability of our unconscious mind. Since its release Jan. 2005, Blink has stayed on top of business book selling lists.
We all have an internal computer with an adaptive unconscious to quietly process a lot of data quickly… in a “blink” of the eye. Called rapid cognition, a knowing without knowing, we all make snap judgments within limited time and information… and in most cases with a great amount of accuracy.
“The adaptive unconscious does an excellent job sizing up the world warning people of danger, setting goals and initiating action in a sophisticated and efficient manner.”
Blink sets out to prove that “decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately.”
There are instances though that may betray us. Why? How can we train ourselves to be good at snap responses.? When should we trust our immediate instincts? Our unconscious processing system is very powerful with potential to create practical skills in rapid cognition. According to Gladwell, this power of knowing happens in the first 2 seconds. It is not a gift for a fortunate few, but an ability we can all cultivate for ourselves.
He lists many case studies to verify his book’s premise.
In war games, it is impractical to take time to analyze rationally when the enemy is pursing you. By the time you complete a calm rational analysis the enemy may have over taken you.
In an experiment several military strategist went up against some New York stock traders… who live a fast-paced rapid cognition decision making lifestyle. With their rapid cognition experience they actually defeated the war specialist in the first war game. In this case rapid knowledge outperformed shrewd analysis.
Although in the second war game, the military learned from the traders, applied the skill of rapid cognition along with their experience skills came back to take the next game.
There are times when wrong snap decisions are made. We call this prejudice.
To overcome prejudice in thinking, it takes retraining and taking in new experiences different from the past to implant new information in the unconscious mind. Like learning to play basketball, to develop rapid cognition requires training, rules, and rehearsal.
Then in real world scenarios we can respond with more refined skill. It gives a case for continued learning and perfecting abilities prior to impelling needs that trigger the rapid cognition process.
For more on Blink note Glidewell’s web link.
http://gladwell.com/blink/index.html
"Knowing:" A Core Spiritual Gift
The apostle Paul in the Bible said he wished we all would prophesy… to predict, reveal things from Divine origin.
Prophecy is much like Blink…to know without knowing. Prophecy works in connection with the universal mind of God, Spirit that is connected to all things.
“The Spirit searches all things” (1 Corinthians 2:10)
and Jesus said that the Spirit would tell us things that are to come. (John 16:13) He promised that we would have His Spirit in us, connected directly to God for living in all the potential of the Spirit.
That is the Spirit that created everything from the beginning, knows all things and orchestrates all things. Our mind works much like an internet Search engine… it searches all parts of stored data in the brain in micro-seconds, in response to everything… as Galdwell points out. The Spirit, since Jesus, was sent to do the same… but this connection is with the whole universe. Spirit knows what people think, their plans and can give us direction related to everything… based on its Infinite Connections.
It is the most powerful attribute of those living in Jesus Spirit, but its visible demonstration of existence is mysteriously not seen around too much. Why? I wonder the same thing. Why? Are we selling ourselves short on what we have available to us. Our society generally does not seem to recognize the possibilities here. Galdwell is on to something in Blink. This leads us to an even higher level… the Spirit Level.
When looking at the New York Times recently, I saw the top 3 books in the “How-to" category were written by Spiritual representatives. The #1 and #3 books by pastors (The Purpose Driven Life and Your Best Life Now). The #2 book was by a psychic-medium (If You Could See What I See). What intrigued me about all this is the interest in “foretelling” the future and the source most are looking into seems to be the psychic world. I will say though that seeing into the future is not an exclusive capability of psychic-mediums.
In the Bible, many prophets are prominent. Here’s a few:
Jeremiah, the prophet, said, quoting the Spirit of God,
“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will
tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
(Jeremiah 33:3, NASB)
Jesus, the Prophet and Teacher, said, "But when He,
the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;
for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears,
He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and
will disclose it to you.”
(John 16: 13,14, NASB)
Paul, Prophet and Apostle, said, “That your faith would not rest
on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.
For to us God revealed them through the Spirit;
for the Spirit searches all things,
even the depths of God.
(1 Corinthians 2: 5, 10, NASB)
We serve a kingdom of Power as Paul says… it’s not about words, knowledge, clever strategies of our minds to do clever things. It is about pure Power.
(see 1 Corinthians 2 and 3).
It’s about Action, Not Talk. Spirit produces above human results… Super Natural results… beyond our ability to really understand exactly how it happens.
Above all, all this is part of us.
The Same Spirit that spoke to Jeremiah, Jesus, Paul IS in Us.
We are all made to prophesy… to see from Spirit what is to come and share with each other. It is ours to cultivate. As Gladwell discovered from "knowing" skills, developing Spiritual knowing requires the same…
belief in them,
training for them,
rules about them
and rehearsal … practice, practice, practice.
Jesus reminded us that it is according to our faith these things happen. Spirit works, when we let it and stay in stride with it. The Supernatural is with us, we have the ability to “know without knowing.” This is an unsung, under-rated, under-used, under-explored powerful dynamic available to us.
As Gladwell gave insight to potential of our mind’s abilities, I say the same of our Spiritual abilities. “It’s not a gift for the fortunate few,
it’s an ability WE ALL CAN cultivate.”
In Spirit, WE ALL have Predictive Intelligence.
This prophetic gift of “knowing without knowing,” advanced rapid cognition or what I call sensing, has worked a lot for me. When considering leading business books in the past, sometimes a new book would seem to jump out at me. Interestingly, more than half of these have ended up on the top ten of business book lists. It’s my rapid cognition skill. I, do though, spend a lot of time reading biz articles and books. So, like Gladwell observed, you build this skill.
More than this is, I know you can learn prophetic skills. I have focused a lot in this area. Through time you become more finely tuned in sensing when the Spirit is prompting, talking to you. The Scriptures very clearly implicate that we all have this potential in Spirit.
“Ask me and I will tell you some remarkable secrets
about what is going to happen.”
(Jeremiah 33:3, NLT)
Think on the impact this would have on our everyday lives, within our business ventures… daily decision-making and problem solving, creating new products and services, advancing into new markets, satisfying real customer interests…. “Spirit Searches all things” and gives you the best course of action.
Predictive Intelligence is a Spiritual Service at our disposal.
Geffry Fields writes more on this on his blog Jesus is Us… “Predictive Intelligence... a Spiritual Arsenal”. Here’s the link:
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/07/predictive-intelligence-spiritual.html
John, Prophet and Apostle, heard the Spirit say to him:
“Come up here
and I will show you what will happen." (Revelation 4:1,2)
In Spirit, he saw….
In Spirit, you will See what is to come…
Friday, March 03, 2006
From Dysfunctional... to Fabulous Power Nuclei
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Our whole world is contaminated with dysfunctional relationships. Families have marriage divorce rates over 50 %, unwed families abound with single parent homes, individuality and looking out for #1 are hero-ized.
No wonder, with all this, it has fostered a dysfunctional worm that is cocooning in the marketplace, businesses and organizations everywhere.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni, deals with how to remove this relational virus while making your business, organization a functional family unit. You can melt down the dysfunctional factors which plague a business to become remarkably functional. This book has stayed on top of the business bestseller lists since its publication. It is fast becoming the “go to” book for business team building… of any size…. from partners to managers and teams they serve.
In a nutshell, here are the five dysfunctions that infect groups:
1. Absence of Trust
"Unwillingness to be vulnerable... not being genuinely open/honest make it impossible to build a foundation for trust."
2. Fear of Conflict
"Without trust there cannot be unfiltered, passionate debate”... fear of conflict creates "veiled discussions and guarded comments."
3. Lack of Commitment
When honest opinions are not aired, genuine buy-in doesn't really happen. Commitment is superficial and political.
4. Avoidance of Accountability
When there is genuine commitment, team members hold each other accountable to "behaviors that seem counter productive to the team."
5. Inattention to Results
Without accountability "team members put their individual needs" ahead of the team's goals.
When there is lack of trust, people don’t share the good and bad about themselves in an honest way. This creates a fear of conflict because the individual in a group feels he may not be accepted for who he is, so an atmosphere of artificial harmony is prevalent. This progresses to a lack of commitment manifesting as each person’s “honest” opinions, ideas are not heard. This then promotes ambiguity and making oneself deliberately vague so one can re-maneuver opinions and protect himself from authentic accountability. An avoidance of accountability grows out of this.
The disease spreads festering low standards. Consequently, an inattention to results surfaces as people become focused on self-survival, personal agendas to preserve status and build ego gratification. Instead of real contribution they fall back to a “Looking out for # 1” mentality and in attitude. Most of what is done then is skewed for self-interest and not for the well-being of the project.
Lencioni takes the reader through storytelling episodes that role play how dysfunction can be resolved by team members sharing history of their lives, personality profiling for understanding, acceptance of ideas, standing up for each other (versus “brown nosing” the boss so to be his shining star), and cultivating a team unit that “keeps each other" accountable.
A great book that would be a superb resource as a group retreat study to create greatness as a highly functional, productive team.
Spiritual dynamics are hidden all throughout
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.
Lencioni's website (http://www.tablegroup.com/)
Jesus said there are two great commandments:
love God with all your heart, Soul and mind.
And to love your neighbor as yourself.
(Matthew 22:37)
When love prevails, we know God accepts us as we are and chooses not to “remember” our faults. ” (Hebrews 10:17)
He prefers to accelerate our gifts.
As one in Spirit with others, we have a connection to others as if we are One person, in Spirit... making us the “same” in Spirit. So we naturally treat others as we would treat ourselves.
With God’s love we actually consider others more important than ourselves.
Knowing our "One" connection in Spirit,
we then love others AS ourselves.
Look at the process in the New Testament for building Oneness... Group Unity.
1. Share our weaknesses with each other.
When we share shortcomings, there is a natural tendency for others to build us up. (James 5:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9)
2. Avoid dwelling on others’ faults and shortcomings.
Pray for others so God can heal, help them as we desire to overcome our own shortcomings. (Colossians 3:13)
3. Do not say things that put others down,
but instead continually encourage and inspire others.
When we reaffirm others' abilities they become what we tell them. (This is a powerful group dynamic.) We build group synergy when we practice this in a group. (Hebrews 10:24)
4. Forgive each other and stay committed to each other.
When we love others as ourselves, we see ourselves tied to each other as One (One in Spirit). We support each other’s interests and a group’s interests. (Ephesians 4:32)
5. We use our talents to complement others and contribute our best to the whole project when love, Spirit, and kindness prevail. (Romans 12)
(In Spirit, we are literally part of each other… others are part of us…
we are One.)
The three themes for creating a powerful group, which Spirit can manifest itself beyond our own abilities, are…
humility,
forgiveness,
and giving of what we have for the benefit of others.
(see Colossians 3:5-15)
As an “US,” we manifest power beyond what "one person" can do.
Spiritual math is greater than human math. 1 + 1 = a factor of 10, 100, or 1000. Unity in Spirit enhances our connection to Jesus Spirit. Incredible Universally-connecting power is dispersed. (Matthew 18:19-20)
The secret to true spiritual Power:
Love, interact with, dwell in the Spirit of God, with all your soul, mind, heart.
As your love relationship in Jesus Spirit expands, this Spirit in you attracts, magnetically draws others to you.
As your Spirit becomes One in the Very Spirit of God, your relationships with others automatically deepen, One in Spirit.…the unlimited Universally-expansive Spirit Power joins you.
With this power at our disposal, we can expect phenomenal results, advanced results not common to the-best-of-man’s efforts. Beyond the natural… to be Super Natural.
The Super Natural can be ours now naturally, when Universal Spirit Power ties Us into Spirit with each other.
With just two or three in agreement, same mind, heart and soul,
wrapped into the same heart, mind, soul of God’s World-Creating Spirit,
ALL things are Indeed possible.
Out of this Heart-of-Jesus Spirit world dreams are created;
within this Spirit Extraordinary outcomes are birthed from all things we set our hearts, minds, souls and hands to.
All the Power that Jesus displayed on earth
is released to Us…
when We team in Spirit.
4spirit@gmail.com
Our whole world is contaminated with dysfunctional relationships. Families have marriage divorce rates over 50 %, unwed families abound with single parent homes, individuality and looking out for #1 are hero-ized.
No wonder, with all this, it has fostered a dysfunctional worm that is cocooning in the marketplace, businesses and organizations everywhere.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, by Patrick Lencioni, deals with how to remove this relational virus while making your business, organization a functional family unit. You can melt down the dysfunctional factors which plague a business to become remarkably functional. This book has stayed on top of the business bestseller lists since its publication. It is fast becoming the “go to” book for business team building… of any size…. from partners to managers and teams they serve.
In a nutshell, here are the five dysfunctions that infect groups:
1. Absence of Trust
"Unwillingness to be vulnerable... not being genuinely open/honest make it impossible to build a foundation for trust."
2. Fear of Conflict
"Without trust there cannot be unfiltered, passionate debate”... fear of conflict creates "veiled discussions and guarded comments."
3. Lack of Commitment
When honest opinions are not aired, genuine buy-in doesn't really happen. Commitment is superficial and political.
4. Avoidance of Accountability
When there is genuine commitment, team members hold each other accountable to "behaviors that seem counter productive to the team."
5. Inattention to Results
Without accountability "team members put their individual needs" ahead of the team's goals.
When there is lack of trust, people don’t share the good and bad about themselves in an honest way. This creates a fear of conflict because the individual in a group feels he may not be accepted for who he is, so an atmosphere of artificial harmony is prevalent. This progresses to a lack of commitment manifesting as each person’s “honest” opinions, ideas are not heard. This then promotes ambiguity and making oneself deliberately vague so one can re-maneuver opinions and protect himself from authentic accountability. An avoidance of accountability grows out of this.
The disease spreads festering low standards. Consequently, an inattention to results surfaces as people become focused on self-survival, personal agendas to preserve status and build ego gratification. Instead of real contribution they fall back to a “Looking out for # 1” mentality and in attitude. Most of what is done then is skewed for self-interest and not for the well-being of the project.
Lencioni takes the reader through storytelling episodes that role play how dysfunction can be resolved by team members sharing history of their lives, personality profiling for understanding, acceptance of ideas, standing up for each other (versus “brown nosing” the boss so to be his shining star), and cultivating a team unit that “keeps each other" accountable.
A great book that would be a superb resource as a group retreat study to create greatness as a highly functional, productive team.
Spiritual dynamics are hidden all throughout
The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.
Lencioni's website (http://www.tablegroup.com/)
Jesus said there are two great commandments:
love God with all your heart, Soul and mind.
And to love your neighbor as yourself.
(Matthew 22:37)
When love prevails, we know God accepts us as we are and chooses not to “remember” our faults. ” (Hebrews 10:17)
He prefers to accelerate our gifts.
As one in Spirit with others, we have a connection to others as if we are One person, in Spirit... making us the “same” in Spirit. So we naturally treat others as we would treat ourselves.
With God’s love we actually consider others more important than ourselves.
Knowing our "One" connection in Spirit,
we then love others AS ourselves.
Look at the process in the New Testament for building Oneness... Group Unity.
1. Share our weaknesses with each other.
When we share shortcomings, there is a natural tendency for others to build us up. (James 5:16, 2 Corinthians 12:9)
2. Avoid dwelling on others’ faults and shortcomings.
Pray for others so God can heal, help them as we desire to overcome our own shortcomings. (Colossians 3:13)
3. Do not say things that put others down,
but instead continually encourage and inspire others.
When we reaffirm others' abilities they become what we tell them. (This is a powerful group dynamic.) We build group synergy when we practice this in a group. (Hebrews 10:24)
4. Forgive each other and stay committed to each other.
When we love others as ourselves, we see ourselves tied to each other as One (One in Spirit). We support each other’s interests and a group’s interests. (Ephesians 4:32)
5. We use our talents to complement others and contribute our best to the whole project when love, Spirit, and kindness prevail. (Romans 12)
(In Spirit, we are literally part of each other… others are part of us…
we are One.)
The three themes for creating a powerful group, which Spirit can manifest itself beyond our own abilities, are…
humility,
forgiveness,
and giving of what we have for the benefit of others.
(see Colossians 3:5-15)
As an “US,” we manifest power beyond what "one person" can do.
Spiritual math is greater than human math. 1 + 1 = a factor of 10, 100, or 1000. Unity in Spirit enhances our connection to Jesus Spirit. Incredible Universally-connecting power is dispersed. (Matthew 18:19-20)
The secret to true spiritual Power:
Love, interact with, dwell in the Spirit of God, with all your soul, mind, heart.
As your love relationship in Jesus Spirit expands, this Spirit in you attracts, magnetically draws others to you.
As your Spirit becomes One in the Very Spirit of God, your relationships with others automatically deepen, One in Spirit.…the unlimited Universally-expansive Spirit Power joins you.
With this power at our disposal, we can expect phenomenal results, advanced results not common to the-best-of-man’s efforts. Beyond the natural… to be Super Natural.
The Super Natural can be ours now naturally, when Universal Spirit Power ties Us into Spirit with each other.
With just two or three in agreement, same mind, heart and soul,
wrapped into the same heart, mind, soul of God’s World-Creating Spirit,
ALL things are Indeed possible.
Out of this Heart-of-Jesus Spirit world dreams are created;
within this Spirit Extraordinary outcomes are birthed from all things we set our hearts, minds, souls and hands to.
All the Power that Jesus displayed on earth
is released to Us…
when We team in Spirit.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Lead Like Jesus
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Lead Like Jesus is Ken Blanchard’s latest management book.
This surpasses popular management thought today. It is a radical, transformational theme that will revolutionize any business or group.
It’s theme line “Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of all Time” makes a bold claim. And in all things considered, it is a very appropriate claim. Jesus had to be the greatest leadership Role model. He is the one connected to the Spirit of the Universe which created everything, and still recreates… through you.
According to Blanchard, Lead Like Jesus involves the alignment of 4 leadership domains:
Heart (our motivation): our first choice in leading is whether we are motivated by self-interest or for the benefit of those we are leading.
Head: examines your beliefs and theories about leading and motivating people.
Hands: others see where your heart and head is when your motivations and beliefs affect your actions. You become a performance coach, setting clear goals, observing performance, praising progress and redirection of appropriate behavior.
Habits: how you review your daily commitment as leader to serve rather than be served.
Blanchard goes on to state that “the term leader is mentioned only 6 times in the King James Version of the Bible, while the term servant is mentioned more than 900 times.” So as a leader we cultivate The Heart of a Servant. Which leads to two questions we most ask ourselves: Am I a servant leader? Or am I a self-serving leader?
This reflects your heart's EGO.
Am I Edging God Out;
or am I Exalting God Only?
When we edge God out, we reflect pride and self-promotion in our actions. This is motivated by fear and protecting self. Pride creates separation from God and others, making comparisons and distorting truth.
Exalting God Only shows a Jesus Spirit of Humility and Spirit of confidence which leads through forgiveness and grace… forgiving to the same level God has forgiven you.
To lead like Jesus, we must become like Jesus.
How can we “Become” like Jesus?
In college, I studied drama. When portraying a character, we learned what is called the art of characterization... this is learning how to become the very person we are portraying. The characterization process is very extensive. The goal is to “become” the person you represent as an actor.
To do this effectively, it takes time to learn everything you can about the person. Where he/she came from, how he grew up, what influenced him in life, family, economic history, education, how he handled this, way of thinking, emotional style and make up.... It is learning the very inner existence of the person and programming yourself so you literally “become” that person.
The goal is to know the person so well, live in your mind as that person lived and to actually be that person. When you can reach this level of characterization, the person is presented “as real” through you. One of the arts of living artfully in Jesus Spirit is to do the same with Jesus' life.
How do we effectively make our mind consistent with Jesus Spirit...?
It takes the pondering and living out, as if we are Jesus.
Read the events of Jesus life, as if you were studying Him to portray Him in life. It is an exercise in retraining the mind.
“Be transformed by renewing your mind to the mind of Jesus.” (Romans 12:2)
This is what it takes to live like Jesus. We need to reach this level of being thoroughly familiar with Him. That in all we do it is naturally Jesus.
Try this some day. Read several sections of Jesus' life, role play in your mind/imagination as if you are Jesus, being Jesus, and go out that day and everything you do, pretend you are Jesus in all your interactions. This includes your thinking, your way of talking to people, what you talk about, how you respond and the attitude (thoughts) you carry throughout the day.
Do this for a week... each day reflect on your day, and how each action and decision represents the character of Jesus. Then review it for a week on how you did. What was different; what did you learn; how did you feel?
Go back and study Jesus for a week and then do it another week. This is a life-changing way to line up our mental and thought life with the Jesus Spirit that is trying to line up within you. Like the actor, portray Jesus. But you must “be” Jesus to be real.
Study the life of Jesus with this goal in mind.... to be Jesus.
To be Jesus’ thoughts, manner, ideology, understanding why He did what He did. Beyond that remember what Jesus said, “I will be in you, live in you.”
The Spirit of Jesus lives in you. Allow His Spirit to dominate you, guide and direct all you do. In prayer, like in characterization meditation, reprogram yourself to be the person of Jesus. The Spirit helps us when in prayer. Use prayer as your preparation time to be resurrected into Jesus and Jesus Spirit totally immersed into you. Through Spirit, you have “the mind of Christ.”
(I Corinthians 2:16)
His Spirit implants His Laws in your mind, and in your hearts. (Jeremiah 31:33)
This goes beyond the "what would Jesus do" slogan we hear.
This goes into “Being Jesus.”
His Spirit rebirths “Jesus” in you; old patterns die. His Spirit takes over.
You will “Be” like Him.
You allow all of Him to “Be” in you.
Then in all things you will respond naturally, as Jesus.
Be Jesus....and in Jesus Spirit you are.
4spirit@gmail.com
Lead Like Jesus is Ken Blanchard’s latest management book.
This surpasses popular management thought today. It is a radical, transformational theme that will revolutionize any business or group.
It’s theme line “Lessons from the Greatest Leadership Role Model of all Time” makes a bold claim. And in all things considered, it is a very appropriate claim. Jesus had to be the greatest leadership Role model. He is the one connected to the Spirit of the Universe which created everything, and still recreates… through you.
According to Blanchard, Lead Like Jesus involves the alignment of 4 leadership domains:
Heart (our motivation): our first choice in leading is whether we are motivated by self-interest or for the benefit of those we are leading.
Head: examines your beliefs and theories about leading and motivating people.
Hands: others see where your heart and head is when your motivations and beliefs affect your actions. You become a performance coach, setting clear goals, observing performance, praising progress and redirection of appropriate behavior.
Habits: how you review your daily commitment as leader to serve rather than be served.
Blanchard goes on to state that “the term leader is mentioned only 6 times in the King James Version of the Bible, while the term servant is mentioned more than 900 times.” So as a leader we cultivate The Heart of a Servant. Which leads to two questions we most ask ourselves: Am I a servant leader? Or am I a self-serving leader?
This reflects your heart's EGO.
Am I Edging God Out;
or am I Exalting God Only?
When we edge God out, we reflect pride and self-promotion in our actions. This is motivated by fear and protecting self. Pride creates separation from God and others, making comparisons and distorting truth.
Exalting God Only shows a Jesus Spirit of Humility and Spirit of confidence which leads through forgiveness and grace… forgiving to the same level God has forgiven you.
To lead like Jesus, we must become like Jesus.
How can we “Become” like Jesus?
In college, I studied drama. When portraying a character, we learned what is called the art of characterization... this is learning how to become the very person we are portraying. The characterization process is very extensive. The goal is to “become” the person you represent as an actor.
To do this effectively, it takes time to learn everything you can about the person. Where he/she came from, how he grew up, what influenced him in life, family, economic history, education, how he handled this, way of thinking, emotional style and make up.... It is learning the very inner existence of the person and programming yourself so you literally “become” that person.
The goal is to know the person so well, live in your mind as that person lived and to actually be that person. When you can reach this level of characterization, the person is presented “as real” through you. One of the arts of living artfully in Jesus Spirit is to do the same with Jesus' life.
How do we effectively make our mind consistent with Jesus Spirit...?
It takes the pondering and living out, as if we are Jesus.
Read the events of Jesus life, as if you were studying Him to portray Him in life. It is an exercise in retraining the mind.
“Be transformed by renewing your mind to the mind of Jesus.” (Romans 12:2)
This is what it takes to live like Jesus. We need to reach this level of being thoroughly familiar with Him. That in all we do it is naturally Jesus.
Try this some day. Read several sections of Jesus' life, role play in your mind/imagination as if you are Jesus, being Jesus, and go out that day and everything you do, pretend you are Jesus in all your interactions. This includes your thinking, your way of talking to people, what you talk about, how you respond and the attitude (thoughts) you carry throughout the day.
Do this for a week... each day reflect on your day, and how each action and decision represents the character of Jesus. Then review it for a week on how you did. What was different; what did you learn; how did you feel?
Go back and study Jesus for a week and then do it another week. This is a life-changing way to line up our mental and thought life with the Jesus Spirit that is trying to line up within you. Like the actor, portray Jesus. But you must “be” Jesus to be real.
Study the life of Jesus with this goal in mind.... to be Jesus.
To be Jesus’ thoughts, manner, ideology, understanding why He did what He did. Beyond that remember what Jesus said, “I will be in you, live in you.”
The Spirit of Jesus lives in you. Allow His Spirit to dominate you, guide and direct all you do. In prayer, like in characterization meditation, reprogram yourself to be the person of Jesus. The Spirit helps us when in prayer. Use prayer as your preparation time to be resurrected into Jesus and Jesus Spirit totally immersed into you. Through Spirit, you have “the mind of Christ.”
(I Corinthians 2:16)
His Spirit implants His Laws in your mind, and in your hearts. (Jeremiah 31:33)
This goes beyond the "what would Jesus do" slogan we hear.
This goes into “Being Jesus.”
His Spirit rebirths “Jesus” in you; old patterns die. His Spirit takes over.
You will “Be” like Him.
You allow all of Him to “Be” in you.
Then in all things you will respond naturally, as Jesus.
Be Jesus....and in Jesus Spirit you are.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Today Matters... Make Today Count
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
John Maxwell attributes Today Matters’ Daily Dozen as having the most impact on his own effectiveness… making it possible for him to author his many popular books on leadership. He publishes a new book about every year and his latest is … The 360 Degree Leader :developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization.
His theme in Today Matters is “you will never change your life until you change something you do daily."
”When we focus on “preparing” versus “repairing,” we can live very productive lifestyles. “Preparing more” produces fewer “repairing conditions” we all sometimes must deal with. The fewer the repairing activities means the more we can invest in creating what is important. Then results increase… compounding in nature.
Today Matters is a life transforming concept because of its balance and focus on doing something each day on what is important to us.
Brian Tracy, another prominent personal development expert, has said that if we do just one thing daily on something important to us, we will be amazed at what we accomplish. (Note: Time Power)
http://www.briantracy.com/
In Today Matters, John Maxwell shares a 12-point daily plan to follow… the Daily Dozen.
Making the Daily Dozen work for you.
He suggests you rank yourself on the twelve… 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
Then take the top two areas and improve them. His philosophy is that we improve more in our strengths then trying to improve our weaknesses. So give most attention to strengths.
Of the top half, include # 6 to improve as well.
To make sure you are objective ask a friend who knows you and see if they agree with your ranking order.
He has written a chapter on each area… it would serve a person well to read the related chapter and then spend concentrated time on his/her top two and #6 ranking of the Daily Dozen.
In 60 days, repeat the above process for the second half of your Daily Dozen ranking (that would be a focus on 7, 8, 12)… and then go back to 3, 4, 5... and finally 9,10,11. These 12 areas Maxwell testifies are the secret to his personal record of long-term productivity and the growth of Maximum Impact.
http://maximumimpact.com/
The Maxwell Daily Dozen
(rank 1 to 12, from your strongest on…)
Attitude. Choose and display the right attitude daily.
Priorities. Determine and act on important priorities daily.
Health. Know and follow healthy guidelines daily.
Family. Communicate with and care for family daily.
Thinking. Practice and develop thinking skills daily.
Commitment. Make and keep proper commitments daily.
Finances. Earn and properly manage finances daily.
Faith. Deepen and live out faith daily.
Relationships. Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily.
Generosity. Plan for and model generosity daily.
Values. Embrace and practice good values daily.
Growth. Desire and experience improvements daily.
A person could easily spend a month on each of the above and define what that is for them. Maxwell has additional helps on doing this at Today Matters' website:
www.todaymatters.com
The point is by having a daily focus on areas we see as most important to our lives, and doing one productive move-ahead activity in each area, we will have a highly productive life. Doing this exercise has served him well for constantly advancing his career. Plus, along with this will be more joy, happiness and a sense of fulfillment in our lives. In that we are accomplishing something very important to us.
“Doing” is what matters…
Doing it “every day” is what matters…
Today matters!
As you go through Maxwell’s Daily Dozen answer these questions for each:
What do I really want in this part of my life?
Why is this important to me?…
your reasons are compelling, reflect God’s reasons for giving you life, your God-given gifts, your mission for life?
Do what God wants in light of His Grand Plan for the universe and your role in it. Think in these terms. Then each day will matter.
Take time to reflect and hear His Voice… His Voice is many times the ideas that come to mind that inspire you, give a rise to your spirit as you think on it.
His Voice is exciting… it will excite you.
The Scriptures proclaim… Today is the day of salvation! (Hebrews 4)
Today is the day God has called us to serve him and His interests. Enter His rest, His inner life. There He speaks to us. And tells us great things He has in store for the day.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great remarkable things you do not even know about yet.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will have its own share of problems and concerns, but instead focus on today.
(Matthew 6:34)
Do what you can do today
and what you do today is enough.
In Spirit, Jesus will take care of the rest. His Spirit will encircle all areas of concern and keep working them out for us… He speaks to us constantly in all the micro-seconds of our existence. He is a micro-second active Spirit that works aggressively all the time on our behalf.
He voice is tirelessly speaking to us… Listen!
"Today … listen to his voice.
The voice of God’s Spirit is full of living power.” (Heb. 4:8, 12)
Listen to His Voice through His Spirit which coaxes you through your thoughts as you are in His rest. Be calm and rest before Him… Listen!
His voice has Supremacy over the Universe. It is a powerful voice that changes things, and gives you insight on what to do “today.” Each day adds up and grows for you. His voice is forceful, moving the material, transforming hearts of those around you.
The battle is won when He Speaks, do what it prompts to do daily, and at each reckoning moment. It may come quietly, but it is dynamic in action producing great results. “And He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern” each day. (Matt. 6:33, NLT)
Respond to His voice. Follow its nudgings.
Small actions will produce distinctive effects.
His Voice is powerful and all earth moves when It speaks.
Today matters and listen to His voice today.
It will astound you what you will see.
So rest in His Spirit, Listen, Do, and See what happens.
Day by day it adds up.
Today matters… make today count.
4spirit@gmail.com
John Maxwell attributes Today Matters’ Daily Dozen as having the most impact on his own effectiveness… making it possible for him to author his many popular books on leadership. He publishes a new book about every year and his latest is … The 360 Degree Leader :developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization.
His theme in Today Matters is “you will never change your life until you change something you do daily."
”When we focus on “preparing” versus “repairing,” we can live very productive lifestyles. “Preparing more” produces fewer “repairing conditions” we all sometimes must deal with. The fewer the repairing activities means the more we can invest in creating what is important. Then results increase… compounding in nature.
Today Matters is a life transforming concept because of its balance and focus on doing something each day on what is important to us.
Brian Tracy, another prominent personal development expert, has said that if we do just one thing daily on something important to us, we will be amazed at what we accomplish. (Note: Time Power)
http://www.briantracy.com/
In Today Matters, John Maxwell shares a 12-point daily plan to follow… the Daily Dozen.
Making the Daily Dozen work for you.
He suggests you rank yourself on the twelve… 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
Then take the top two areas and improve them. His philosophy is that we improve more in our strengths then trying to improve our weaknesses. So give most attention to strengths.
Of the top half, include # 6 to improve as well.
To make sure you are objective ask a friend who knows you and see if they agree with your ranking order.
He has written a chapter on each area… it would serve a person well to read the related chapter and then spend concentrated time on his/her top two and #6 ranking of the Daily Dozen.
In 60 days, repeat the above process for the second half of your Daily Dozen ranking (that would be a focus on 7, 8, 12)… and then go back to 3, 4, 5... and finally 9,10,11. These 12 areas Maxwell testifies are the secret to his personal record of long-term productivity and the growth of Maximum Impact.
http://maximumimpact.com/
The Maxwell Daily Dozen
(rank 1 to 12, from your strongest on…)
Attitude. Choose and display the right attitude daily.
Priorities. Determine and act on important priorities daily.
Health. Know and follow healthy guidelines daily.
Family. Communicate with and care for family daily.
Thinking. Practice and develop thinking skills daily.
Commitment. Make and keep proper commitments daily.
Finances. Earn and properly manage finances daily.
Faith. Deepen and live out faith daily.
Relationships. Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily.
Generosity. Plan for and model generosity daily.
Values. Embrace and practice good values daily.
Growth. Desire and experience improvements daily.
A person could easily spend a month on each of the above and define what that is for them. Maxwell has additional helps on doing this at Today Matters' website:
www.todaymatters.com
The point is by having a daily focus on areas we see as most important to our lives, and doing one productive move-ahead activity in each area, we will have a highly productive life. Doing this exercise has served him well for constantly advancing his career. Plus, along with this will be more joy, happiness and a sense of fulfillment in our lives. In that we are accomplishing something very important to us.
“Doing” is what matters…
Doing it “every day” is what matters…
Today matters!
As you go through Maxwell’s Daily Dozen answer these questions for each:
What do I really want in this part of my life?
Why is this important to me?…
your reasons are compelling, reflect God’s reasons for giving you life, your God-given gifts, your mission for life?
Do what God wants in light of His Grand Plan for the universe and your role in it. Think in these terms. Then each day will matter.
Take time to reflect and hear His Voice… His Voice is many times the ideas that come to mind that inspire you, give a rise to your spirit as you think on it.
His Voice is exciting… it will excite you.
The Scriptures proclaim… Today is the day of salvation! (Hebrews 4)
Today is the day God has called us to serve him and His interests. Enter His rest, His inner life. There He speaks to us. And tells us great things He has in store for the day.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great remarkable things you do not even know about yet.” (Jeremiah 33:3)
Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will have its own share of problems and concerns, but instead focus on today.
(Matthew 6:34)
Do what you can do today
and what you do today is enough.
In Spirit, Jesus will take care of the rest. His Spirit will encircle all areas of concern and keep working them out for us… He speaks to us constantly in all the micro-seconds of our existence. He is a micro-second active Spirit that works aggressively all the time on our behalf.
He voice is tirelessly speaking to us… Listen!
"Today … listen to his voice.
The voice of God’s Spirit is full of living power.” (Heb. 4:8, 12)
Listen to His Voice through His Spirit which coaxes you through your thoughts as you are in His rest. Be calm and rest before Him… Listen!
His voice has Supremacy over the Universe. It is a powerful voice that changes things, and gives you insight on what to do “today.” Each day adds up and grows for you. His voice is forceful, moving the material, transforming hearts of those around you.
The battle is won when He Speaks, do what it prompts to do daily, and at each reckoning moment. It may come quietly, but it is dynamic in action producing great results. “And He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern” each day. (Matt. 6:33, NLT)
Respond to His voice. Follow its nudgings.
Small actions will produce distinctive effects.
His Voice is powerful and all earth moves when It speaks.
Today matters and listen to His voice today.
It will astound you what you will see.
So rest in His Spirit, Listen, Do, and See what happens.
Day by day it adds up.
Today matters… make today count.
Friday, February 03, 2006
Freakonomics...delightfully Divine Surprises
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
What is so fascinating about this business book is that so many are fascinated with it. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the HiddenSide of Everything has been at the top of best selling book lists for weeks. Author Steven D. Levitt (co-authored with Stephen J. Dubner) has taken economics to an intriguing application. Using economic principles in an unusual way, he found correlations between things that logically may not seem to relate at all.
It is how we look at things that makes a difference and Levitt and taken us down a road to look at things in a curious way. He uses mystery, surprise and intrigue to get his points across… (sounds like a trailer to a movie theme). He says, “tools of economics can be applied to subjects that are more interesting,” i.e., modern life’s way to use incentives, conventional wisdom is often wrong, experts tend to use information to their own advantage.
The book does not carry a central theme throughout but rather a random exploration of a variety of interesting stuff. The authors have given themselves permission to explore any “freakish curiosities” that captured their interests… thus the title "Freakonomics."
Some of the random discovers are...8 glasses of water a day don’t do anything for your health, most crack dealers live with their moms. When researching a crack gang in Chicago, it was found they run “crack” businesses, much like a corporate hierarchy would… big pay at the top and little pay for the foot soldiers. McDonald’s and the crack business have a lot in common. Addictive qualities of the crack business are similar to what draws grandma’s and grandchild to McDonald's every day.
So why would any one want to read this. I wondered the same thing. Out of curiosity I started reading it. It turned out to be fascinating and with a lot of surprises. They take a different look at common events that redirects our perspective on what is going on around us. I found their website to be equally interesting. If you aren’t into books, you will find some of their interesting stuff here:
http://www.freakonomics.com/
We are so fascinated by the mysterious, peculiar, unusual, unexpected. But in these unique views come new answers to things. We would benefit to look at things differently, find new answers…. and many may surprise us.
Jesus delighted in surprises.
Geffry Fields talks about this in his blog, Jesus Is Us, June 25, 2005 " Mystery of Spirit... Supernatural delights in surprises":
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/06/mystery-of-spirit-supernatural.html
The Spirit is faithful to give us answers, but in unusual ways. The Jesus Spirit comes to us many times in a surprising way.
“We don’t need to know how,
but that He will.”
In the midst of a storm, He came to the one’s He loved, but they thought He was a ghost. (Matthew 14:25-27)
Jesus, after His death, came back to talk with two of His followers along the road (Luke 24:16-17). They weren’t expecting Him there. They didn't even recognize Him although they were looking for Him. He came to them in a way that caught them by surprise.
He entered a room where the door was locked and appeared to His followers again after everyone thought He was dead and gone. Even with the doors locked and presumed inaccessible, Jesus come to those hiding in fear for their lives. (John 20:19)
(Even when we lock Him out, He still finds a way to show up!)
Jesus Spirit continues to do that. He comes to us when we least expect it and in mysterious and unusual ways.
No matter what is going on, look for Jesus to answer your heart’s desires but remember, He may show up in unexpected ways.
He delights to surprise us.
Again, you don’t need to know how He will answer a request you have, solve a problem you have, accomplish an ambitious goal you have, but you just need to know that He will.
Look for Jesus Spirit to appear “unexpectedly” in your life.
So the next time someone throws mud in your face, take another look at what just happened. It may be God’s element of a surprise for you. Jesus put mud in a guy’s eyes so he could see. (John 9:6)
Jesus appears through uncommon circumstances, the unbecoming,
the not-so-prestigious.
Some may say this is freaky, but don’t overlook the unusual as God’s answer for you . If we don’t look at things differently, we may miss the answer He has staring right at us. Look at the common, what is right there, and see where God has His surprise, your answer, veiled right before you.
Be open to His Spiritual creativity, have faith in little things, the peculiar, unexpected… it may be Jesus trying to appear to you in person.
Be delighted, He is coming, Right Now!, to surprise you.
Jesus will come when least expected,
so ALWAYS be expecting Him.
Look for Him in the unusual.
“Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in strange and mysterious ways.”
(Isaiah 45:15, NLT)
4spirit@gmail.com
What is so fascinating about this business book is that so many are fascinated with it. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the HiddenSide of Everything has been at the top of best selling book lists for weeks. Author Steven D. Levitt (co-authored with Stephen J. Dubner) has taken economics to an intriguing application. Using economic principles in an unusual way, he found correlations between things that logically may not seem to relate at all.
It is how we look at things that makes a difference and Levitt and taken us down a road to look at things in a curious way. He uses mystery, surprise and intrigue to get his points across… (sounds like a trailer to a movie theme). He says, “tools of economics can be applied to subjects that are more interesting,” i.e., modern life’s way to use incentives, conventional wisdom is often wrong, experts tend to use information to their own advantage.
The book does not carry a central theme throughout but rather a random exploration of a variety of interesting stuff. The authors have given themselves permission to explore any “freakish curiosities” that captured their interests… thus the title "Freakonomics."
Some of the random discovers are...8 glasses of water a day don’t do anything for your health, most crack dealers live with their moms. When researching a crack gang in Chicago, it was found they run “crack” businesses, much like a corporate hierarchy would… big pay at the top and little pay for the foot soldiers. McDonald’s and the crack business have a lot in common. Addictive qualities of the crack business are similar to what draws grandma’s and grandchild to McDonald's every day.
So why would any one want to read this. I wondered the same thing. Out of curiosity I started reading it. It turned out to be fascinating and with a lot of surprises. They take a different look at common events that redirects our perspective on what is going on around us. I found their website to be equally interesting. If you aren’t into books, you will find some of their interesting stuff here:
http://www.freakonomics.com/
We are so fascinated by the mysterious, peculiar, unusual, unexpected. But in these unique views come new answers to things. We would benefit to look at things differently, find new answers…. and many may surprise us.
Jesus delighted in surprises.
Geffry Fields talks about this in his blog, Jesus Is Us, June 25, 2005 " Mystery of Spirit... Supernatural delights in surprises":
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/06/mystery-of-spirit-supernatural.html
The Spirit is faithful to give us answers, but in unusual ways. The Jesus Spirit comes to us many times in a surprising way.
“We don’t need to know how,
but that He will.”
In the midst of a storm, He came to the one’s He loved, but they thought He was a ghost. (Matthew 14:25-27)
Jesus, after His death, came back to talk with two of His followers along the road (Luke 24:16-17). They weren’t expecting Him there. They didn't even recognize Him although they were looking for Him. He came to them in a way that caught them by surprise.
He entered a room where the door was locked and appeared to His followers again after everyone thought He was dead and gone. Even with the doors locked and presumed inaccessible, Jesus come to those hiding in fear for their lives. (John 20:19)
(Even when we lock Him out, He still finds a way to show up!)
Jesus Spirit continues to do that. He comes to us when we least expect it and in mysterious and unusual ways.
No matter what is going on, look for Jesus to answer your heart’s desires but remember, He may show up in unexpected ways.
He delights to surprise us.
Again, you don’t need to know how He will answer a request you have, solve a problem you have, accomplish an ambitious goal you have, but you just need to know that He will.
Look for Jesus Spirit to appear “unexpectedly” in your life.
So the next time someone throws mud in your face, take another look at what just happened. It may be God’s element of a surprise for you. Jesus put mud in a guy’s eyes so he could see. (John 9:6)
Jesus appears through uncommon circumstances, the unbecoming,
the not-so-prestigious.
Some may say this is freaky, but don’t overlook the unusual as God’s answer for you . If we don’t look at things differently, we may miss the answer He has staring right at us. Look at the common, what is right there, and see where God has His surprise, your answer, veiled right before you.
Be open to His Spiritual creativity, have faith in little things, the peculiar, unexpected… it may be Jesus trying to appear to you in person.
Be delighted, He is coming, Right Now!, to surprise you.
Jesus will come when least expected,
so ALWAYS be expecting Him.
Look for Him in the unusual.
“Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in strange and mysterious ways.”
(Isaiah 45:15, NLT)
Friday, January 27, 2006
Master Business Disciplines
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Michael Gerber identifies 7 business disciplines that when we master them we will have a "world class business." Business is about doing the right things and doing them well.
It is a discipline, a focus, a passion, a commitment. In The E-Myth Mastery, these 7 disciplines are explained with free "worksheets" you can download from
http://www.emythmastery.com/
to help you make them part of your business.
The foundation is the entrepreneur spirit which needs nurtured and kept alive in you. Discover the entrepreneur in you and re-energize your vision, with perpetual passion through a powerful purpose.
Here are the Seven Disciplines for building a business with a few highlights from each one.
1. The enterprise leader. Your plan must be heart-centered as well as head centered. Start with what is most important to you. Create a plan that accommodates change, a living document with room to expand and grow.
2. The marketing leader. Marketing starts with your customer. So know your customer. Learn and understand how your customers think , especially "unconscious" patterns, and make decisions. Create a unique selling position.
3. The financial leader. What is your philosophy of money? This determines how you spend it. Movement of cash is very important in a business and create systems that keep it flowing. Know how money comes into your business and how it goes out... create strategically timed systems of cash in, cash going out.
4. The management leader. Create an environment where people can expand with you and that you all can flex with change. Integrate your vision with their visions and become one thing. Build structures, processes and systems for ease of work, communication flow. Train and provide tools so everyone can do their jobs as well as possible.
5. The fulfillment leader. Remember it is One Thing... everything affects everything else. Integrate all systems. Identify and make clear the processes for all areas. Expand technology and automated systems in your production, delivery, and customer service processes.
6. The lead conversion leader. It's about relationships. Selling is not selling; it is relationship building. Gerber's model is.... engage with your prospective customer, repeat emotional message of "your" promise, determine customer's needs, provide a solution, offer the product. Your existing customer base is the best for building long-term steady revenue with solid relationships.
7. The lead generation leader. As the owner, CEO make a list of 15 lead generation ideas, have each of all your people do the same, meet and discuss them. Then select possible media, content, process to complete. Determine the extensiveness of the reach, the content, costs and effectiveness.
The E-Myth Mastery is designed to take a small business to world class status... to be a thriving, continuously expanding enterprise. It is very comprehensive and a business could easily spend 3-6 months restructuring his business. (By the way, this is what I do; I help business owners facilitate restructuring but going one step beyond world class... to be Powered by the Spirit of the Universe.)
What is most important is the discipline aspect of all this? It will make a business run like a well engineered vehicle. But there is more.
When a business adds ingredients of Spirit it will soar beyond World Class. It will be High-Powered in a Realm of its own. Spirit Power is universe creating Power. As business people, we may over-look this power that is available to us.
Jesus said to focus on the invisible and the power of it. He lived out many examples while here on earth to prove we are made to function Super-Naturally...above world class... Spirit-powered, God-level creating class. All the powers of Jesus on earth have been released for us to use as well. It is most evident when All of Jesus Believers function as One group.
This is where the power is.
It requires personal discipline to have the Jesus-level of Spirit power in our lives. Just two people in a business venture, totally committed to Jesus Spirit and each disciplined in their Spiritual lives, can manifest the same level of power Jesus demonstrated while on earth. If within an organization, just two share the purposes of the Kingdom of Heaven, this power is at their disposal… it’s a matter of choosing to use it. It's a matter of being disciplined in our lives to build it within us.
Jesus Promised it.
God promised it when He said...
No one can defeat or overcome My purposes( Isaiah 14:24).
Building a world class company requires Discipline. When we live in Spirit, daily disciplining our lives to ingredients of Spirit, we will exhibit all the Power of Jesus in our lives. We are negligent to our potential if we think we can see Real Spiritual Power in our lives without daily practicing the disciplines of living in Spirit.
The Discipline requires constant focus in Inspired Scriptures, uninterrupted periods of meditation, dwelling in the Spirit, concentrating on Things of Spirit in and around us.
Jesus went off often alone to pray...to spend time in the Spirit of God... extended times. There He heard from God. He was empowered by Spirit.
What followed these encounters in Spirit?
He healed many, spoke convincingly, walked in Power.
We can do it too, when we DO the same.
Be Disciplined in Spirit. Integrate mind, soul, body as one
(in His Spirit).
and comb relationships with others as One Thing
(in Spirit with each other).
This is where the power is!
Jesus said... "the gate is narrow and few enter through it." (Matt: 7:14.NLT)
“The door to heaven is narrow. Work hard to get in.” (Luke 13:24, NLT)
It is about discipline in Spirit, just like discipline in world class business.
Universe-creating power has a creating power above what world systems are capable.
The Power of Spirit becomes evident…releasing through our lives.
Spirit vision becomes a visible reality. Visions become Realities.
Spirit is Reality... if we go there.
So go There. And Power of Spirit goes with you!
"First I predicted your deliverance; I declared what I would do, and then I did it--I saved you. No foreign god has ever done this before. You are witnesses that I am the only God," says the LORD. "From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions." (Isaiah 43:12-13, NLT)
4spirit@gmail.com
Michael Gerber identifies 7 business disciplines that when we master them we will have a "world class business." Business is about doing the right things and doing them well.
It is a discipline, a focus, a passion, a commitment. In The E-Myth Mastery, these 7 disciplines are explained with free "worksheets" you can download from
http://www.emythmastery.com/
to help you make them part of your business.
The foundation is the entrepreneur spirit which needs nurtured and kept alive in you. Discover the entrepreneur in you and re-energize your vision, with perpetual passion through a powerful purpose.
Here are the Seven Disciplines for building a business with a few highlights from each one.
1. The enterprise leader. Your plan must be heart-centered as well as head centered. Start with what is most important to you. Create a plan that accommodates change, a living document with room to expand and grow.
2. The marketing leader. Marketing starts with your customer. So know your customer. Learn and understand how your customers think , especially "unconscious" patterns, and make decisions. Create a unique selling position.
3. The financial leader. What is your philosophy of money? This determines how you spend it. Movement of cash is very important in a business and create systems that keep it flowing. Know how money comes into your business and how it goes out... create strategically timed systems of cash in, cash going out.
4. The management leader. Create an environment where people can expand with you and that you all can flex with change. Integrate your vision with their visions and become one thing. Build structures, processes and systems for ease of work, communication flow. Train and provide tools so everyone can do their jobs as well as possible.
5. The fulfillment leader. Remember it is One Thing... everything affects everything else. Integrate all systems. Identify and make clear the processes for all areas. Expand technology and automated systems in your production, delivery, and customer service processes.
6. The lead conversion leader. It's about relationships. Selling is not selling; it is relationship building. Gerber's model is.... engage with your prospective customer, repeat emotional message of "your" promise, determine customer's needs, provide a solution, offer the product. Your existing customer base is the best for building long-term steady revenue with solid relationships.
7. The lead generation leader. As the owner, CEO make a list of 15 lead generation ideas, have each of all your people do the same, meet and discuss them. Then select possible media, content, process to complete. Determine the extensiveness of the reach, the content, costs and effectiveness.
The E-Myth Mastery is designed to take a small business to world class status... to be a thriving, continuously expanding enterprise. It is very comprehensive and a business could easily spend 3-6 months restructuring his business. (By the way, this is what I do; I help business owners facilitate restructuring but going one step beyond world class... to be Powered by the Spirit of the Universe.)
What is most important is the discipline aspect of all this? It will make a business run like a well engineered vehicle. But there is more.
When a business adds ingredients of Spirit it will soar beyond World Class. It will be High-Powered in a Realm of its own. Spirit Power is universe creating Power. As business people, we may over-look this power that is available to us.
Jesus said to focus on the invisible and the power of it. He lived out many examples while here on earth to prove we are made to function Super-Naturally...above world class... Spirit-powered, God-level creating class. All the powers of Jesus on earth have been released for us to use as well. It is most evident when All of Jesus Believers function as One group.
This is where the power is.
It requires personal discipline to have the Jesus-level of Spirit power in our lives. Just two people in a business venture, totally committed to Jesus Spirit and each disciplined in their Spiritual lives, can manifest the same level of power Jesus demonstrated while on earth. If within an organization, just two share the purposes of the Kingdom of Heaven, this power is at their disposal… it’s a matter of choosing to use it. It's a matter of being disciplined in our lives to build it within us.
Jesus Promised it.
God promised it when He said...
No one can defeat or overcome My purposes( Isaiah 14:24).
Building a world class company requires Discipline. When we live in Spirit, daily disciplining our lives to ingredients of Spirit, we will exhibit all the Power of Jesus in our lives. We are negligent to our potential if we think we can see Real Spiritual Power in our lives without daily practicing the disciplines of living in Spirit.
The Discipline requires constant focus in Inspired Scriptures, uninterrupted periods of meditation, dwelling in the Spirit, concentrating on Things of Spirit in and around us.
Jesus went off often alone to pray...to spend time in the Spirit of God... extended times. There He heard from God. He was empowered by Spirit.
What followed these encounters in Spirit?
He healed many, spoke convincingly, walked in Power.
We can do it too, when we DO the same.
Be Disciplined in Spirit. Integrate mind, soul, body as one
(in His Spirit).
and comb relationships with others as One Thing
(in Spirit with each other).
This is where the power is!
Jesus said... "the gate is narrow and few enter through it." (Matt: 7:14.NLT)
“The door to heaven is narrow. Work hard to get in.” (Luke 13:24, NLT)
It is about discipline in Spirit, just like discipline in world class business.
Universe-creating power has a creating power above what world systems are capable.
The Power of Spirit becomes evident…releasing through our lives.
Spirit vision becomes a visible reality. Visions become Realities.
Spirit is Reality... if we go there.
So go There. And Power of Spirit goes with you!
"First I predicted your deliverance; I declared what I would do, and then I did it--I saved you. No foreign god has ever done this before. You are witnesses that I am the only God," says the LORD. "From eternity to eternity I am God. No one can oppose what I do. No one can reverse my actions." (Isaiah 43:12-13, NLT)
Friday, January 20, 2006
Biz Mastery System
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
The E-Myth Mastery by Michael E. Gerber is a comprehensive business development system. Gerber extensively expands his Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company. He has compiled an inspirational and thorough business guiding system from over his 4 decades of working in the real world with small business owners and entrepreneurs.
To be an entrepreneur is the power to create... creation is something done "through" you, says Gerber. Like music you learn to play through practice.... it is through the process you create music. Business is about mastering the business process... then you have the power of creation.
The E-myth is that entrepreneurs are the select few born with this quality. This is a myth according to Gerber. Entrepreneurs are not born into it, they develop into it. Being an entrepreneur is about skill development, mastering the skills of the entrepreneur in business.
Most people go into business with a technical or professional ability. To be effective though, a business person must learn and master the entrepreneur skill, the business skill. Most work "in" the business, whereas the key to building the business is to work "on" the business.
The technician goes to work “in” his business.
The entrepreneur goes to work “on” his business.
It takes "uncommon" skill to develop a business. Purpose must be established from one's vision which is fueled by the passion that emerges from the vision.
Passion drives everything....Passion of the soul, passion of the mind.
It's a growing into "being" while becoming more proficient in "doing." Then the business skill must be understood. This takes time to learn the business skill set. And as Gerber puts it,
you must practice, practice, practice.
Everyday a person must practice these skill areas.
This is the key... practice, practice, practice.
The vision must constantly be revisited.
The purpose refined, the passion fueled.
This drives the skill development.
Gerber goes on to outline the 7 disciplines essential for building a world class business: the enterprise leader, marketing leader, financial leader, management leader, client fulfillment, lead conversion, and lead generation leader. The E-Myth Mastery is very thorough and in-depth resource for small business development. For more note:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060723181/002-3579956-0934469?v=glance&n=283155
Practice, Practice, Practice.
There is great potency in Spirit that enlarges skills.
God wants us to pursue Him... relentlessly.
His Spirit.... His righteousness.
Not your ways of what you think are right,
but His ways that are Right.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
As the Olympian practices early morning, into the evening, when we show the same relentless diligence in pursing Spirit (cultivating Spirit in us), God's Righteousness will envelope us. It will extend out beyond us... like a vapor that moves from its origin out to engulf, as a fragrance, everything surrounding us .
His vapor, fragrance, His Spirit moves you and saturates everyone.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Study, meditate, pray, have intimate Spiritual intercourse in the Heavenlies... in the deep recesses of your soul.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Spend uninterrupted time totally saturated in Spirit, the Essence, and Strongholds of the Depths of God's Spirit. There He speaks; there He gives Divine intelligence, Spiritual intelligence that no mind can configure. There Divine strategy emerges.
Practice, Practice, Practice
In the depth of His Spirit, you become united to His arsenal of Spirit.
Power emerges.
Go with Spirit.
His Spirit Goes out like a Power Vapor and saturates all around it.
Spirit transforms,
creates,
brings victory to all who float with it.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Soaking in His Inner Place totally immersed with your whole being in Him. In this inner sanctuary, your battles are fought, and won!
To get there, be there, live within your life, you must
...practice, practice, practice...
in Spiritually-inspired Scripture, in meditation, in prayer, in intercessions, in contemplating, in worship of the Lord the Most-Powerful God...who continues to create, recreate and transform.
This Spiritual skill, the Superior skill, can be developed too... when you
Practice, Practice, Practice.
All the Power of the Creator of the Universe will be part of you as the Spirit creates through you, recreates and transforms the world around you.
“Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that there is a God. And that He rewards those who sincerely (relentlessly) seek Him. “(Heb. 11:5, NLT)
Jesus said,
Ask... Ask... Ask...
Knock... Knock... Knock...
Seek... Seek... Seek
The power of Spirit will continually go before you.
Knowing this, advance confidently and boldly.
4spirit@gmail.com
The E-Myth Mastery by Michael E. Gerber is a comprehensive business development system. Gerber extensively expands his Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company. He has compiled an inspirational and thorough business guiding system from over his 4 decades of working in the real world with small business owners and entrepreneurs.
To be an entrepreneur is the power to create... creation is something done "through" you, says Gerber. Like music you learn to play through practice.... it is through the process you create music. Business is about mastering the business process... then you have the power of creation.
The E-myth is that entrepreneurs are the select few born with this quality. This is a myth according to Gerber. Entrepreneurs are not born into it, they develop into it. Being an entrepreneur is about skill development, mastering the skills of the entrepreneur in business.
Most people go into business with a technical or professional ability. To be effective though, a business person must learn and master the entrepreneur skill, the business skill. Most work "in" the business, whereas the key to building the business is to work "on" the business.
The technician goes to work “in” his business.
The entrepreneur goes to work “on” his business.
It takes "uncommon" skill to develop a business. Purpose must be established from one's vision which is fueled by the passion that emerges from the vision.
Passion drives everything....Passion of the soul, passion of the mind.
It's a growing into "being" while becoming more proficient in "doing." Then the business skill must be understood. This takes time to learn the business skill set. And as Gerber puts it,
you must practice, practice, practice.
Everyday a person must practice these skill areas.
This is the key... practice, practice, practice.
The vision must constantly be revisited.
The purpose refined, the passion fueled.
This drives the skill development.
Gerber goes on to outline the 7 disciplines essential for building a world class business: the enterprise leader, marketing leader, financial leader, management leader, client fulfillment, lead conversion, and lead generation leader. The E-Myth Mastery is very thorough and in-depth resource for small business development. For more note:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060723181/002-3579956-0934469?v=glance&n=283155
Practice, Practice, Practice.
There is great potency in Spirit that enlarges skills.
God wants us to pursue Him... relentlessly.
His Spirit.... His righteousness.
Not your ways of what you think are right,
but His ways that are Right.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
As the Olympian practices early morning, into the evening, when we show the same relentless diligence in pursing Spirit (cultivating Spirit in us), God's Righteousness will envelope us. It will extend out beyond us... like a vapor that moves from its origin out to engulf, as a fragrance, everything surrounding us .
His vapor, fragrance, His Spirit moves you and saturates everyone.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Study, meditate, pray, have intimate Spiritual intercourse in the Heavenlies... in the deep recesses of your soul.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Spend uninterrupted time totally saturated in Spirit, the Essence, and Strongholds of the Depths of God's Spirit. There He speaks; there He gives Divine intelligence, Spiritual intelligence that no mind can configure. There Divine strategy emerges.
Practice, Practice, Practice
In the depth of His Spirit, you become united to His arsenal of Spirit.
Power emerges.
Go with Spirit.
His Spirit Goes out like a Power Vapor and saturates all around it.
Spirit transforms,
creates,
brings victory to all who float with it.
Practice, Practice, Practice.
Soaking in His Inner Place totally immersed with your whole being in Him. In this inner sanctuary, your battles are fought, and won!
To get there, be there, live within your life, you must
...practice, practice, practice...
in Spiritually-inspired Scripture, in meditation, in prayer, in intercessions, in contemplating, in worship of the Lord the Most-Powerful God...who continues to create, recreate and transform.
This Spiritual skill, the Superior skill, can be developed too... when you
Practice, Practice, Practice.
All the Power of the Creator of the Universe will be part of you as the Spirit creates through you, recreates and transforms the world around you.
“Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that there is a God. And that He rewards those who sincerely (relentlessly) seek Him. “(Heb. 11:5, NLT)
Jesus said,
Ask... Ask... Ask...
Knock... Knock... Knock...
Seek... Seek... Seek
The power of Spirit will continually go before you.
Knowing this, advance confidently and boldly.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Spiritual Wealth Building
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker has been a best seller on three major business book lists. I was curious as to why. So I took time to read his book. He has some insightful observations.
Eker, who was not at first financially successful, found the biggest reason people fail in business and efforts to make money is based on how they think. We make financial decisions based on what we have learned at a very young age... from parents, teachers, those we hung around with. Most attitudes are self defeating.
We need to change our "poor" thinking thought patterns to "rich" thinking thought patterns. Make a conscious effort to remove old, subconsciously imbedded, poor-minded preconditioned thoughts. Replace them with wealth building thought patterns… create a rich-minded "money blueprint.”
It is the “way” millionaires think which leads them to wealth.
He outlined a formula... T > F > A = results. Our Thinking creates Feelings, from these feelings we take Actions which yield Results. The origin from this is from how we have programmed our mind.
Our past has conditioned it to automatically think a certain way. So to make this work we need to “Program” millionaire thought patterns into our brain. Then adjust the formula to P > T > F > A = wealth results.
Eker went on to identify 17 wealth files that we need to have filed away in our brain. We must, through deliberate mental reprogramming, imprint these files into our subconscious.
For more on this, note:
http://www.millionairemind.com/
Man seeks wealth of the world.
But Jesus said the secret formula is to pursue the principles of His Kingdom first and all these things will be added. He also said it is what is in the heart that defiles the man. Eker points out having the right attitude toward others relates a great deal with how well we do in wealth building. Riches within itself is not bad, but what matters is what we do with them.
Jesus also exhorted us to control our thought life, and how we think of others is what will come back to us. Spirit enhances the "program, thoughts, feelings, action to results" formula. First meditate on The Principles of Spirit in the Bible day and night (Joshua 1)... program your mind into Spirit.
Seek Divine insight, or Spiritual Intelligence, for what you are to do. As God told Joshua, seek direction from Divine Insight first and God's very Spirit went ahead of him. He first had to find out what the Spirit of God's strategy was. Victory was already won when going into battle… following a specific Spiritually-produced plan.
The thoughts (strategies) for the battle reflect Spirit Intelligence which then leads to a Passionate sense of pending victory. This leads to courageous action which gets unprecedented results.
So the Spirit-led formula would be:
Reprogram thinking with Spirit-based thinking.
Seek Spiritual Insight, Intelligence.
Find Divine Purpose.
When we move with Spiritual purpose, perpetual Passion is produced.
Actions are confident and powerful.
the Results are outstanding...
because with a Spirit-inspired formula Super-Natural results are accomplished.
The Apostle said to renew your mind and be transformed by the Power of the Spirit overriding the thoughts we learned through life experiences… which are of a lower level. When operating from a higher level the Most High God, we can expect great victory in our lives.
Riches of a higher level are the riches of the Kingdom of Heaven. Build wealth within the Kingdom of Heaven first, and all these other areas will fall into place.
Think constantly on these things:
“Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8, NLT)
Make this declaration each day recognizing the very Power that goes before you.
“Because the Very Power of Jesus Spirit works in me, the Spirit accomplishes more than I can even think of or hope is even possible.”
(Ephesians 3:20)
4spirit@gmail.com
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker has been a best seller on three major business book lists. I was curious as to why. So I took time to read his book. He has some insightful observations.
Eker, who was not at first financially successful, found the biggest reason people fail in business and efforts to make money is based on how they think. We make financial decisions based on what we have learned at a very young age... from parents, teachers, those we hung around with. Most attitudes are self defeating.
We need to change our "poor" thinking thought patterns to "rich" thinking thought patterns. Make a conscious effort to remove old, subconsciously imbedded, poor-minded preconditioned thoughts. Replace them with wealth building thought patterns… create a rich-minded "money blueprint.”
It is the “way” millionaires think which leads them to wealth.
He outlined a formula... T > F > A = results. Our Thinking creates Feelings, from these feelings we take Actions which yield Results. The origin from this is from how we have programmed our mind.
Our past has conditioned it to automatically think a certain way. So to make this work we need to “Program” millionaire thought patterns into our brain. Then adjust the formula to P > T > F > A = wealth results.
Eker went on to identify 17 wealth files that we need to have filed away in our brain. We must, through deliberate mental reprogramming, imprint these files into our subconscious.
For more on this, note:
http://www.millionairemind.com/
Man seeks wealth of the world.
But Jesus said the secret formula is to pursue the principles of His Kingdom first and all these things will be added. He also said it is what is in the heart that defiles the man. Eker points out having the right attitude toward others relates a great deal with how well we do in wealth building. Riches within itself is not bad, but what matters is what we do with them.
Jesus also exhorted us to control our thought life, and how we think of others is what will come back to us. Spirit enhances the "program, thoughts, feelings, action to results" formula. First meditate on The Principles of Spirit in the Bible day and night (Joshua 1)... program your mind into Spirit.
Seek Divine insight, or Spiritual Intelligence, for what you are to do. As God told Joshua, seek direction from Divine Insight first and God's very Spirit went ahead of him. He first had to find out what the Spirit of God's strategy was. Victory was already won when going into battle… following a specific Spiritually-produced plan.
The thoughts (strategies) for the battle reflect Spirit Intelligence which then leads to a Passionate sense of pending victory. This leads to courageous action which gets unprecedented results.
So the Spirit-led formula would be:
Reprogram thinking with Spirit-based thinking.
Seek Spiritual Insight, Intelligence.
Find Divine Purpose.
When we move with Spiritual purpose, perpetual Passion is produced.
Actions are confident and powerful.
the Results are outstanding...
because with a Spirit-inspired formula Super-Natural results are accomplished.
The Apostle said to renew your mind and be transformed by the Power of the Spirit overriding the thoughts we learned through life experiences… which are of a lower level. When operating from a higher level the Most High God, we can expect great victory in our lives.
Riches of a higher level are the riches of the Kingdom of Heaven. Build wealth within the Kingdom of Heaven first, and all these other areas will fall into place.
Think constantly on these things:
“Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8, NLT)
Make this declaration each day recognizing the very Power that goes before you.
“Because the Very Power of Jesus Spirit works in me, the Spirit accomplishes more than I can even think of or hope is even possible.”
(Ephesians 3:20)
Friday, January 06, 2006
Spirit Savvy Tipping Point
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
The Tipping Point has been around for a while and has remained a top selling business book. In the "Afterward" of Gladwell's new reprint is this statement...
"On playing fields and battlegrounds, challenges that would be daunting and impossible, if faced alone, are now suddenly possibly... when tackled in a close-knit group."
This reminded me of what Dr. Ashcroft always emphasized the key to spiritual power, of Supernatural proportions, is accomplished through strong, bonded relationships of people with a common mission or purpose. Spiritual power is released when small groups of people form tight-knit groups. Power is directly linked to the quality of the love relationship between people, not necessarily the number involved.
With increased numbers, it is many times more difficult to create close-knit relationships. This is the significance of Matt. 18:18 (where two or three agree, what you agree on will happen.)
Malcom Gladwell went on to say, "What now is obvious, but not at the time when I wrote the Tipping Point, we are about to enter the age of the word of mouth. With all the wizardry and limitedless access to information of the new economy will lead us to rely more and more on very primitive kinds of social contact."
The Tipping Point identifies key people traits that move any effort, business or mission to its tipping point. They include the connector, the mavens, and the salesman.
He defined the "tipping point" as when something somewhat unnoticed becomes contagious and reaches a critical mass or epidemic levels of advance. He cites three characteristics of Tipping Points…
Contagious,
the fact that little causes have big effects,
and change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment.
Tipping point is the name to this dramatic moment... When change, a phase, craze rushes through a market like the winds of an approaching torrential storm.
In our culture we have seen this with male earrings, shaved heads, tattoos... a few have them and then overnight everyone has them. In technology, email, cell phones, palm pilots have done that. Blogs, blackberries, laptops are now hitting a tipping point... the majority is moving in quickly and most everyone has one.
According to Gladwell, power erupts when the connectors, mavens, and salespeople collaborate on a common objective.
He defined each.
Connectors: know a lot of different people and love to connect them.
Mavens: learn new things, accumulate knowledge and tell others.
Salesmen: are skilled at persuading others who are not yet convinced.
For more on the Tipping Point note Gladwell's website,
http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/
and an independent outline:
http://radio.weblogs.com/0107127/stories/2003/01/01/tippingPointNetVersion.html
Jesus had a tipping point. He spent 30 years relatively unknown. Created a team of 12 and in three years incited a "Spiritually" contagious, epic phenomenon that moved rapidly across the earth and never stopped.
The select and tightly-knit few, which he gave priority attention in His last year of his life, exploded into a massive move…
Revolutionizing Spirituality within a hostile culture.
Like what Gladwell observed, Jesus chose... the connector, James; John, a maven; and Peter the salesman.
James connected those of need with those who could help them.
John became the expert spokesman of Jesus’ love.
Peter's first speech persuaded thousands to adopt Jesus' ways.
These were Jesus' inner circle. He nurtured, loved and molded them to be an influential core of Spiritual warriors.
One lesson from this is...
the secret to utilizing Spiritual Power in your business or biz network is to find the connectors, mavens and salesmen and create a tight- knit team among them. Create unbreakable love and committed relationships within and among your teams.
When love prevails, overwhelming victories are common.
(Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. Romans 8:37, NLT)
Your business will be a power-house entity when love permeates every fiber of its existence, people and processes.
(David’s throne will be established by love. Isaiah 16:5, NLT)
Jesus did a “one-up” on everyone.
In one spectacular moment, He sent the very Spirit of God back to earth, after He left, to live in us as a whole group. Whenever two or more believers engage in a Spiritual Purpose The Actual Presence of God’s Spirit goes with that enterprise. We have the Spirit of Jesus in Us, with Us, working on our behalf for God’s Purpose.
(“Don’t you realize Jesus lives in you, Col. 1:27)
The Spirit of Jesus has had its Tipping Point.
The Spirit of God rests, waits to blossom, in everyone’s soul.
Everyone has IT!
Will you use It, and connect in Spirit love with others?
You will then see the manifestation of power in your efforts above and beyond what commonly accepted biz principles can do. You will then create a Spirit-Powered Tipping Point, an unstoppable tidal wave of Super-Natural proportions.
Where two or more team up,
melted together by sacrificial love for each other,
What was once impossible,
Will now be possible for you!
Note JesusIsUs.blogspot.com by Geffry Fields for more on the power of unity of Spirit, especially the July, 2005 archive titles of July 1, Nucleus of Spiritual Power Rediscovered; July 9, Magnitude of Being One...
4spirit@gmail.com
The Tipping Point has been around for a while and has remained a top selling business book. In the "Afterward" of Gladwell's new reprint is this statement...
"On playing fields and battlegrounds, challenges that would be daunting and impossible, if faced alone, are now suddenly possibly... when tackled in a close-knit group."
This reminded me of what Dr. Ashcroft always emphasized the key to spiritual power, of Supernatural proportions, is accomplished through strong, bonded relationships of people with a common mission or purpose. Spiritual power is released when small groups of people form tight-knit groups. Power is directly linked to the quality of the love relationship between people, not necessarily the number involved.
With increased numbers, it is many times more difficult to create close-knit relationships. This is the significance of Matt. 18:18 (where two or three agree, what you agree on will happen.)
Malcom Gladwell went on to say, "What now is obvious, but not at the time when I wrote the Tipping Point, we are about to enter the age of the word of mouth. With all the wizardry and limitedless access to information of the new economy will lead us to rely more and more on very primitive kinds of social contact."
The Tipping Point identifies key people traits that move any effort, business or mission to its tipping point. They include the connector, the mavens, and the salesman.
He defined the "tipping point" as when something somewhat unnoticed becomes contagious and reaches a critical mass or epidemic levels of advance. He cites three characteristics of Tipping Points…
Contagious,
the fact that little causes have big effects,
and change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment.
Tipping point is the name to this dramatic moment... When change, a phase, craze rushes through a market like the winds of an approaching torrential storm.
In our culture we have seen this with male earrings, shaved heads, tattoos... a few have them and then overnight everyone has them. In technology, email, cell phones, palm pilots have done that. Blogs, blackberries, laptops are now hitting a tipping point... the majority is moving in quickly and most everyone has one.
According to Gladwell, power erupts when the connectors, mavens, and salespeople collaborate on a common objective.
He defined each.
Connectors: know a lot of different people and love to connect them.
Mavens: learn new things, accumulate knowledge and tell others.
Salesmen: are skilled at persuading others who are not yet convinced.
For more on the Tipping Point note Gladwell's website,
http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/
and an independent outline:
http://radio.weblogs.com/0107127/stories/2003/01/01/tippingPointNetVersion.html
Jesus had a tipping point. He spent 30 years relatively unknown. Created a team of 12 and in three years incited a "Spiritually" contagious, epic phenomenon that moved rapidly across the earth and never stopped.
The select and tightly-knit few, which he gave priority attention in His last year of his life, exploded into a massive move…
Revolutionizing Spirituality within a hostile culture.
Like what Gladwell observed, Jesus chose... the connector, James; John, a maven; and Peter the salesman.
James connected those of need with those who could help them.
John became the expert spokesman of Jesus’ love.
Peter's first speech persuaded thousands to adopt Jesus' ways.
These were Jesus' inner circle. He nurtured, loved and molded them to be an influential core of Spiritual warriors.
One lesson from this is...
the secret to utilizing Spiritual Power in your business or biz network is to find the connectors, mavens and salesmen and create a tight- knit team among them. Create unbreakable love and committed relationships within and among your teams.
When love prevails, overwhelming victories are common.
(Overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. Romans 8:37, NLT)
Your business will be a power-house entity when love permeates every fiber of its existence, people and processes.
(David’s throne will be established by love. Isaiah 16:5, NLT)
Jesus did a “one-up” on everyone.
In one spectacular moment, He sent the very Spirit of God back to earth, after He left, to live in us as a whole group. Whenever two or more believers engage in a Spiritual Purpose The Actual Presence of God’s Spirit goes with that enterprise. We have the Spirit of Jesus in Us, with Us, working on our behalf for God’s Purpose.
(“Don’t you realize Jesus lives in you, Col. 1:27)
The Spirit of Jesus has had its Tipping Point.
The Spirit of God rests, waits to blossom, in everyone’s soul.
Everyone has IT!
Will you use It, and connect in Spirit love with others?
You will then see the manifestation of power in your efforts above and beyond what commonly accepted biz principles can do. You will then create a Spirit-Powered Tipping Point, an unstoppable tidal wave of Super-Natural proportions.
Where two or more team up,
melted together by sacrificial love for each other,
What was once impossible,
Will now be possible for you!
Note JesusIsUs.blogspot.com by Geffry Fields for more on the power of unity of Spirit, especially the July, 2005 archive titles of July 1, Nucleus of Spiritual Power Rediscovered; July 9, Magnitude of Being One...
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