Have you ever been burnt out?

Of course! We all have…Unfortunately I see far too many leaders in the church and leaders elsewhere becoming burnt out. Burn out reduces our effectiveness as leaders and can suffocate our passion in what we are doing.

So my questions are, as leaders:

1) When do you tend to become burnt out?

what season of life is it for you?

2) What are some of the warning signs towards burn out?

what habits or tendencies can creep in to cause burnout?

3)And lastly, What are some ways in which you avoid burnout?

how did you bounce back? how do you now protect yourself?

I’m working on an e-book on this topic and would love to hear your answers…

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 {emphasis mine}

I’m sure we have all read and heard this verse before. We know that God wants to transform us by the renewing of our minds…what does that mean? Why do we need to change the way we think? How does that tie into us become new people?

1) How you think affects everything.

Our thoughts tie into everything. How we view God, ourselves, and others. How we process information, circumstance, joy, and pain. Our thinking shape our worldview and perspective and on the flip side our worldview and perspective shape our thinking as well.

I think that’s why this verse is important. God starts by saying, “don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world…” If we aren’t proactively filling our minds with godly things, and letting His Word shape our views of things, then we will naturally copy the behaviors and customs of this world.

2) You need develop convictions

Filling you mind with godly truths and principles is vital. By the time you are in your 20s you generally know what type of music you like, what you are good at or not good at, what types of foods you like/dislike, how to live on your own and buy food for yourself (generally (wink)). But how much conviction do we hold for Biblical principles?

Without knowing what you believe in, you are susceptible to being told what you should believe, and that can lead to you conforming to the “customs of this world”. I believe God is helping us out by telling us what we need to be filling our minds with in order to stay on track.

People without convictions will give up when things get tough. People without convictions will be followers and not leaders. People without convictions will become the status quo, the ordinary. People without convictions will allow their circumstances to control how they should feel, think, and act.

3) Check every thought

Renewing your mind may seem that an abstract thing to do, but really I think it’s as simple as checking your thoughts and feelings with what Scripture says. When you feel beat up, weak, and weary, you can go to Scripture and know:

• That the joy of the Lord is your strength.
• That you can find rest for your weary soul.
• That you can cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you.

What every situation or circumstance you are in, just check it with what you know is true in the Scripture. Then believe it is true in your life. I believe that is how we can renew our minds and become new people.

Remember when you have convictions, you aren’t at the mercy of your circumstances, you can tell the mountain to move and watch it move.

These are 3 simple rules, yet they are profound.

Life requires actions. Sometimes we encounter situations where we aren’t sure which path to take. The decision can be paralyzing…ever been there? You sit there and have no idea what decision to make. Unfortunately, this inaction will not help. Sooner or later you will have to act. You will have to choose.

It is easier to not go after what we truly want. What we want may be difficult to get. It may mean that we fail a few times in order to get it. But the pain of failing to get what we want will be a lot worse than the pain of getting what we want. Why don’t we always try to get what we desire?

Fear.

Fear will paralyze us. Fear will make us not do things we’ve always wanted to. Fear will tell us it is better to stand still where we are and not move forward. Fear will not allow us to grow where we need/want to.

The truth is though is that fear is a fake. Fear is smoke and mirrors. Fear is a little man behind a curtain with a microphone and a light to look/sound bigger and scarier than he is.

• Fear will stop us for finding healing.
• Fear will tell you not to ask for a promotion.
• Fear will tell you not to make that phone call you’ve needed to make.
• Fear will tell you that you are not good enough, strong enough, or pretty enough.
• Fear will keep you where you are and stop your growth and potential.

Go after what you want.

Don’t be afraid to ask, the worst they can say is no.

Strive to move forward always. There is no sense in looking back, what has happened has happened and does you no good to dwell there. Focus on your future and making it the best it can be.

{photo via some tumblr}

We are what we repeatedly do; excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. —Aristotle

I believe there is some truth to that statement. The truth is to be really really good at something, you are going to have to do it a lot. Repetition ensures consistency. We don’t tend to call people excellent after just one event do we? Ever heard someone utter the term “beginner’s luck”? We need to repeat in order to be seen as excellent.

Whatever you do or want to do, in order to be the best, you have to be able to replicate excellence. Don’t settle for making excellence a one time thing. Make it a habit. Let your work do the talking and prove to people the quality and consistency of your work.

Excellence will take hard work. It will take dedication, sacrifice, and guts. You can’t just settle for status quo and expect to be excellent. Push the envelope, think outside the box.

A big part of consistently creating excellent work is using the resources around you to help you stay at you best. This is not an exhaustive list but can include:

1. Using tools like Evernote to capture, record, store, and share all your creative ideas.
2. Making sure you are refueling your passion and not getting burned out.
3. Finding creatives communities to be around and collaborate with. (You can not do it yourself.)
4. Make sure you are doing a few, if not, all of these HERE.

Remember excellence is a choice. Natural talent will only get you so far. Let’s be people of excellence, where our work unmistakably screams excellence!

“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places.”  Unknown

Getting to where you want to go is not easy. It will take effort, risks, sacrifice. It’s tempting in the moments where you seem to be hitting road blocks at every turn to give up. It’s easier to just settle. I’m tempted all the time while pursuing my goals to just say, “this is good enough” and pull over and let that be as far as I get.

“…and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith…” Hebrew 12

The road from where we are to where we want to be can be a hard one. Sometimes it can even seem like it’s not worth it…but it is. Remember that someone has pioneered the way for us. Jesus. Keeping our eyes fixed on him in the toughest of circumstances, knowing our strength comes from him, will be the difference between finishing the race or just stopping short and settling for second rate.

Whatever your dreams or goals are right now, do not back down. Do not give up. Press on. Persevere. Thomas Edison said it best when he said, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Our perspective can be a game changer. Stay focused and stay positive…it can make all the difference.

What are your goals right now and what is making it hard for you to reach them?

“A pioneer does not just make a way. He becomes the way.” Paul Gibbs

I talk a lot about finding your vision and pursuing what it is that you are called to do. Usually that will end up putting you in some form of leadership. In leadership there will be certain costs. Some good and some bad. Not all costs will be the same, and some will be unique to you and your situation.

What are the costs of leadership for you?

There are certain questions you have to ask yourself:

• Will I do what it takes to be best at what I want to do?
• Am I ok if I don’t get the credit for an accomplishment?
• Am I ok if someone else takes the ball and runs with it and is successful?
• Am I willing to give up power or authority in order to accomplish the goal?

I think there are certain traps that leaders tend to fall into. One of them is the thought that if you don’t do every part of the process,  it won’t get done correctly or effectively. At some point the vision needs to be spread to others, we have to learn to trust and delegate to others. We hold on so tight to our idea and vision because we know that we are “making a way” and making a difference.

But you don’t just make a way…you become the way.

You will need others to accomplish your goals. This will require you to release your vision to others and let them use their gifts and talents and enhance what you have been given. Sometimes you are just meant to be the avenue in which something is accomplished. You may not have a direct hand in the process but you need to be a willing vessel.

Being a leader requires asking yourself the tough questions upfront:

• What are the costs of doing what you need to do?
• Are you ok with not being in the spotlight and getting the credit?
• Are you ok with failing? Is that an option?
• Will you accept those costs?

What are the costs of leadership for you?

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” —Gandhi

Too often we hesitate. We wait. We won’t be the first to jump in. We want someone else to take that first step and then we jump…the problem is, that requires little faith and little trust. To be the first, to be original, to be innovative, and to follow your calling requires boldness, a pioneering spirit, faith and trust.

“It seems to me though that nobody wants to be the pioneer. Too  many would rather wait for someone else to develop a proven program or structure that they can adopt. We travel far and wide to the latest conferences, hoping to find a surefire way to increase our organizations or church’s growth. We want someone else to face the risks and take the chances for us. It is safer. It is more secure. It is more financially stable.” Paul Gibbs [The Line and The Dot]

I think God knew that blind faith and trust would be difficult to us. Thankfully He basically says that if you have the absolute smallest amount of faith, you can move mountains (Matt 17:20). That should be all that we need to get us going. That should be the push that we need. The tipping point. Our fuel.

It’s time to be pioneers. It’s time to stop waiting for others to go before you. You have been called and He has laid out your path before you. Now it’s time to step out and go for it. Pioneer.

Be the change you want to see.

What is it that you need to step out in faith in and pioneer?

What makes you feel strong? What empowers you? What activity gives you energy?

What is it that makes the time fly by? What brings you joy?

Chances are, the answer to those questions are what your strengths are.

Pursue them. Cultivate them. Shape your life around them. God designed you the way He did for a reason and when we pursue those strengths, we are fulfilling God’s desire and design for our lives.

Our culture seems so focused on improving our weaknesses. If you are lacking in a certain area, we are so quick to try to fix it, or we are feel shame that we are not as good as someone else. We’ll attend workshops, special classes, and seminars to try to help improve our weaknesses. But what if we gave the same focus to improving our strengths? What if instead of changing how we are wired, we learned what our strengths are and put our energy and focus into them?

When you become wrapped up in wishing you were someone who you are not, it can hinder you from becoming the best version of yourself.

What if instead of becoming mediocre at a bunch of things, we focused and developed our strengths and were the best at one thing?!

“Each of us has certain strengths. We were born with them, they will always be our strengths, and we delight in them…Trying to improve our weaknesses is like trying to teach a rabbit to swim or a snail to race, God’s design for work is best when it goes from strength to strength.” ~Marcus Buckingham

We were not all created the same way. We will have unique talent and abilities.

Try not to settle for being mediocre at many things to call yourself “well-rounded”; pursue your strengths. Be the best you you can possibly be. Develop your strengths, pursue them, incorporate them into your daily routine, and live out God’s plan for your life!

It takes one person to change the world, but that one person can not do it alone. He will need a team.

Where ever you are, you did not get there by yourself…you had help. We are fooling ourselves if we think that we are the only ones playing a part in our own lives. We aren’t. We all effect each other and so in order to do something great, you will need help.

Michael Jordan said, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

Sure, we can have personal accomplishments by ourselves but the truly big impacts on life require more than just your talent. Our talent isn’t complete or whole, it’s specific and focused. We are usually good a few things but  not all things. We have weaknesses and in order to be successful at what you want to do, you need other people to round out those weaknesses.

John Maxwell adds, “What’s the best want to handle your weaknesses? Partner with other who have strengths in those areas. If you want to do something really big, then do it as part of a team.”

Just remember that you got to where you are today, not by yourself, but by the people around you. And know that if you want to accomplish something truly great, you will need other people in your life to succeed in those goals. Do not be afraid to ask for help or include others.

You can not do it alone.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much…” ~ Luke 16:10a

It is very easy to feel insignificant in a culture that pours so much focus and praise into our so-called “celebrities” and celebrity jobs (even though most often, they tend to be the most broken and poor role-models) It’s easy to feel forgotten when your title doesn’t include president, CEO, PhD, director, manager, etc. in it. But honestly, it doesn’t matter.

God doesn’t care about your job title, or if you even have a job. But he does care, however, about the activities of our hearts and our faithfulness in what he asks us to do.

Many of you may know that I have a vision to start a worship ministry called The Well. But many of you may not know that I was given that vision in 2007. Now 4 years may not seem like a long time to some of you, but when you feel called to do something, and it’s the very thing you are most passionate about, 4 years is half an eternity!

My point is, is that we all probably have something that we are working towards or waiting for. It could be a finding a fulfilling  job, waiting for a family member to turn back to the Lord, buying a home, finding a spouse, or even starting a worship ministry. Most often the time in-between will feel like forever, the time in-between will be hard, draining, and will test our endurance, patience, and our faith; but I believe the reward far outweighs the costs. Sometimes we aren’t ready when we think we are. Our timing is not God’s timing. The valley is never a fun place to be in, but that is where we grow. Sometimes it takes time for our roots to grow deep. A tree’s root can grow 1.5 to 3 times the size of its canopy! This helps the tree become unshakable. Maybe God is letting your roots grow and mature first so you can become unshakable in what He wants to accomplish with you.

Continue to be faithful in the small things. What you do matters! God has a purpose and a reason as to why you are where you are. Don’t give up. The flip side to being trusted with little, is being trusted with much! I need to be reminded to continue to do what I know I should do, and not get discouraged but trust in God’s timing for what He wants to accomplish in me. I know the small will be big one day soon.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” ~Matt. 25:21