Leadership

My 2012 Word

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Christie Love

Every year I choose a single word to focus on for the upcoming year.  I then make a poster that I hang in my office that contains three things:

1. The Word

2. A commitment sentence

3. A bible verse for the year.

I blogged about this last year and shared with you that my word was “Passion”.  I also wrote a devotional about this routine in the recently released LeadHer Challenge devotional.  Here is a short video of me reading this devotional

This year I thought long and hard about my word for this year…. I made a list of things that I have coming up this year and prayed over it to find the one word that would keep me focused this year.  We have some HUGE things coming up this year: starting to home school one of my children for the first time, growing LeadHer, releasing my first fiction book, launching new programs and resources for women, and helping my family meet some important goals and deal with some hard challenges.

As I was driving down the highway talking about all that we have coming up this next year while trying to settle on a focus word with my husband it hit me and I had him look up the definition on his phone.  It was perfect.

My word for this year is ABIDE.  It is defined as: to remain; continue; stay: to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting: to wait for; await.

My commitment sentence for this year reads: ” I will abide in the Lord this year and use obstacles as stepping stones not stumbling blocks.”

The verse that I will be focusing on this year is: Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John 15:4 NKJV

I am focusing on Abiding in the Lord in 2012… standing firm in my callings and commitments in the face of challenges. 

What is your focus word for 2012?

Categories: Inspirational, Leadership | 3 Comments

Another Fresh Start of Sorts…

Posted on December 4, 2011 by Christie Love

I am still here…

I know that the once regular updates on my blog have slowed for sometime until they recently stopped all together but assure you I am still here.

God has been working on me in some very interesting ways recently and it has required me to pull back to try to gain a new and clearer perspective on many of the balls that I am constantly working to keep up in the air.

As many of you know, time management is a passion of mine.  The reason is because it is my lifeline in this crazy schedule that my family and I call our lives.  We have grown accustomed to the fast pace life and learned many tricks along the way to help us.

So I have been using the last several weeks to do what I can all “Time Management Evaluation”.  I have been refining my schedule, tweaking our routines, and praying over our priorities to make sure that they all line up with God’s call for my life and for our family.  (If you have never done one… I highly suggest it but be prepared for it to ROCK your world).

The one area where I have struggled to find peace has been here within this small cyber home I have built for myself via this blog.  I have questioned it’s purpose, it’s impact, and it’s voice more times than I care to admit to you here.  I have prayed for wisdom and direction… which is why the blog has remained silent until now.

Today I felt as though God provided both wisdom and direction but also a new sense of purpose for my little corner of cyberspace.  Things are going to start to look and sound a little different around here now… (so consider yourself warned).  I wanted to give you a clear idea of what you can expect when you visit the Love’s Note Site from now on…

  • Bible based truth… no matter what it is in my life I will always come back to the word of God as the foundation for any and every stand or story.
  • Less of the “Expert” voice on Leadership, Time Management, and Faith… I will be sharing more of those “polished” thoughts on our LeadHer blog including my Monday Motivation Posts.
  • This is going to become a cozier place, where I can kick off my heels, leave my makeup off, and not be afraid to show up in sweats. I am going to be sharing with you some of my thoughts on the holiday season as I prepare to take you on a more intimate look at the journey that God has me and my family on in 2012.  I am sure that we will be covering topics like: marriage, step families, Aspergers, Parenting, Time Management, Guilt, Goals, Budgeting, and many more REAL LIFE topics that we deal with everyday in our house.

There are many things in my life, many journeys that God has led me down that I want to be more open in sharing with you in hopes that you will hear and see the voice of God in your own life through them.  You will notice some changes to the layout, links, and look of the blog as we remodel a bit to make it feel a little more homey… so bear with us.

I have no idea what the next year will be bringing for us but I know that by following along you will learn the lessons that I do and some of my personal tips and tricks for keeping a sense of humor and purpose through the chaos…

I want to thank each of you who stop by and visit regularly and tell you that I am looking forward to another fresh start of sorts with you as I share more openly and transparently what life looks like when you place your family, finances, future, and feelings in the hands of God.

I can’t promise to post everyday but I will make it a high priority to share with you at least a couple times each week.  This is my story, my journey, and I invite you to travel it with me.

Here we go….

Categories: Inspirational, Leadership, Miscellany, Parenting, Social Media, Time Management | 1 Comment

Monday Motivation: The Elephant and the Rope

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Christie Love

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

Author Unknown



Categories: Inspirational, Leadership | Leave a comment

Leaders vs. Managers

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Christie Love

A popular debate within leadership circles is: What is the difference between Leaders and Managers?

I am currently reading Mark Sanborn’s Book:  You don’t need a Title to be a Leader.   In the book he discusses the differences between Leaders and Managers.  I liked his thoughts enough to organize them into a chart and share them with you.

Managers

Leaders

Managers have employees

Leaders win followers

Managers react to change

Leaders create change

Managers have good ideas

Leaders implement them

Managers communicate

Leaders persuade

Managers direct groups

Leaders create teams

Managers try to be heroes

Leaders make heroes out of everyone around them.

Managers take credit

Leaders take responsibility

Managers exercise power over people

Leaders exercise power with people

I would add a few of my own contrasts to this already strong list:

  • Managers are focused on their own advancement while Leaders are focused on the advancement of others.
  • Managers focus on problems Leaders search for solutions.
  • Managers see obstacles while Leaders see opportunities.
  • Managers desire to make those around them better while a Leader recognizes that they become better through the people that are around them.
  • Managers focus on the rules and regulations while Leaders focus on renovations and reinventing the way that things are done.
  • Managers are filling a role… Leaders are fueled by a mindset.
I believe the distinction for me between the two is a manager is focused on the role they are filling while a leader is focused on the difference they are making.  Every manager is a leader… as long as they approach their tasks with the right attitude and focus.
I would love to hear your thoughts… what do you think are other differences between leaders and managers?
Categories: Leadership | 2 Comments

A Worldwide Illustration in Missing the Point

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Christie Love

This week I watched and listened to the strong reactions of many people to Facebook’s “New Look” and features.

The majority of comments were not positive and the outrage that it caused among users was palpable enough to make motivate NBC Nightly News to air a story of everyone’s negative reactions on Thursday, September 22nd, 2011.  It seemed everywhere that you went online you could not avoid the hoards of negative comments like these below about what Facebook had rolled out this week.

I don’t like change.  

Leave it alone!  

I don’t want to learn how to reuse this site over and over.  

If it’s not broke why keep changing it? 

In fact, the changes in Facebook were one of the most Goggled topics all week according to TrendsBuzz.com.

As I looked at this list from the website that tracks the most searched for phrases on a variety of search platforms I could not help but have a VERY different reaction to all the discussion about Facebook this week… one that I quietly pondered and prayed over before sharing with you here.

I realize that what I am about to share with you may step on a few toes or force all of us… including myself to reflect on some truths that we may be less than proud about; however, I believe that they are critical for us to confront.

What does it say about us as a culture… about us as believers that we gave more energy, attention, and time this week to complaining about the new layout of a FREE social media platform than we did about any of these things that happened this week?

  • The hundreds of thousands of  children under the age of five who died this week in developing nations because of lack of clean drinking water or enough food.
  •  The many women and children that were sold and traded in human trafficking rings around the world.
  • The hundreds of hurting teens that attempted suicide or self harmed this week because they struggle to cope with the problems around them.
  • The many women who were violated or abused this week.
  • The number of people that died this week without a personal relationship with Jesus…

Why is it that you seldom hear the kind of of public outrage about these life altering issues through social and mainstream media as we do about simple layout changes to the world’s most popular network?  Why is it that we turn a blind eye to social injustice all around us because it makes us uncomfortable but yet we SCREAM in protest when we feel our social outlet was altered unjustifiably?

Consider for a moment that our character is not only measured by what we do but what we do not do.   By what we react to and what we choose to ignore.

I for one look forward to the new timeline feature that Facebook is rolling out… I urge each of you (and myself) to instead of getting angry at the change to your profile layout to take this challenge. Take time to scroll back through the posts that sum up our opinions, reactions, and stories and honestly answer this question… Do they reflect a heart broken for a lost and dying world  or do they reflect someone who has gotten lost in a society of people so bogged down by tiny insignificance of life… that we are missing the bigger picture.

This week I took note on this lesson in perspective… I hope it challenges you to take note too.

Categories: Inspirational, Leadership, Social Media | 7 Comments

Emotionally Exhausted Leaders

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Christie Love

As a Leader, in order to make the deepest possible impact, it is crucial that you are invested.  You must not only invest of your time and resources, but also your emotions.  Leaders, it is important for you connect  not only to the cause that you are championing but also the people that are on the journey with you.

A successful leader takes the time to build deep, meaningful connections which help strengthen the loyalty and unity among team members. However these connections can also can cause a leader to suffer from emotional overload because of the empathy they feel for the wide range of emotions that our people experience daily.

When a team member is hurting we hurt with them.  When a co-worker is celebrating we celebrate with them.  When a person in our life makes a difference we take time to appreciate them.  When a friend is troubled we are there for them to offer support and love.  It is not uncommon for a leader to regularly experience wide ranges in emotions day after day.  This type of inconsistency can be draining physically, mentally, and emotionally.  When you add to the equation the emotions that the leader is feeling in their own personal life and situations… the load can become exhausting.

How can a leader protect themselves from becoming drained emotionally?  Jesus set the greatest example of this for us in Mark 1:35 “ While it was still night, way before dawn, he got up and went out to a secluded spot and prayed.”

When you are carrying the emotional loads of multiple people always keep in mind that your job is not carry those load around with you daily… no, you are only meant to deposit them where they belong, at the foot of the cross.  Protect yourself from becoming exhausted emotionally by starting each sitting at the feet of Jesus to:
  • Listen for wisdom and direction
  • Read his word to soak in his truth and teachings
  • Lift up the hurts and heartaches of others
  • Draw from his strength for the events and emotions that you will encounter this day
  • Praise him and Thank him for trading you his energy for your emotional baggage

However, our emotions are one of Satan’s largest playgrounds so even with strong prayer support  it is still important for emotionally invested leaders to be aware of the symptoms of emotional exhaustion:

  • Physical symptoms: headaches, trouble sleeping, loss of appetite, feeling drained of energy.
  • Emotional symptoms: loss of motivation, feeling defeated, developing a cynical outlook, a feeling of failure or shortcomings.
  • Spiritual symptoms: apathy towards situations, lack of passion or purpose, increased worry and anxiety.
When you begin to see these signs within yourself it is vital that as a Leader you take steps to protect yourself and your emotional health.
  • Seek out a mentor or accountability partner immediately to intercede on your behalf with you.
  • Take time away from the emotions that are draining you to rest and recharge yourself.
  • Spend quite time with God.
  • Listen to worship music.
  • Saturate yourself in the truth of God’s word.
  • Get active- the chemicals in your body that help regulate emotions are effected by your physical activity level.
  • Have an outlet for yourself, it could be a hobby or activity that you enjoy and find relaxing.
Emotions are an important part of a Leader’s ability to be effective and impactful.  Successful are the leaders that learn to balance the emotional burden of their team.  In order to balance our emotions and feelings we must be diligent that they are  prayed over, protected, and processed daily to prevent overload.   The emotional health of a leader is important because an organization cannot be built on a foundation of fleeting feelings- it must be grounded in truth and purpose.


Categories: Inspirational, Leadership | Leave a comment

Discipline Determines Distance

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Christie Love

The 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt once said, ““With self-discipline most anything is possible.”

The question has been asked to me more times than I can count on my fingers and toes combined and each time I hear it I pause for a moment and consider the reason.  “How is that you seem to accomplish more in one day than most people do in a week?”  To me it never feels like I am accomplishing an amazing amount of activity each day… in fact I often end the day disappointed that I did not accomplish more.  I always struggle when they look at me as if they are honestly expecting an answer of some kind.

I spoke once to a group of moms on working from home and a young woman came up to me and asked this question and she stared at me as if I was about to impart some type of deep, life changing wisdom to her… I hesitation to speak because I did not want to disappoint her with my very simple and plain answer… “I am just very disciplined in my routine each day. “

“Oh.” she said with a tone of the disappointment I expected. “I am not very good at routines and staying disciplined in following them.” She said.  I spoke without really thinking when I said, “Discipline determines distance just remember that.”  I still remember the light that flashed in her eyes as she heard that.  I pray that it touched her as deeply as it did me that day. Since that conversation I have often used that phrase with others who have asked me the keys I have found to balance and productivity.

I truly believe that being disciplined is what allows me to do what I do.  It is that discipline that often propels me out of bed early to spend time with God when my body is screaming for an extra hour of sleep.  It is discipline that energizes me to stay up late making sure that all of my emails are addressed or assigned at the end of each day.  Discipline helps me to transition between tasks and not get distracted.

It then should not surprise you that one of my favorite bible verses is Proverbs 8:33 in the Message Translation “ Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don’t squander your precious life.”  We are only given one life and one chance to leave God’s fingerprint on the world around us. If we are lazy and waste time then our impact is lessened and we are not wisely investing God’s gift to us of this day.

Motivational guru, Zig Ziglar, once said, “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.”  When I read this quote I often think of it reference to my walk with Christ:  Character got me out of bed and into the world, Commitment moved me to act in the lives of others, and discipline enables me to follow through on his commandments and his plans for my life… not my own.

If you are struggling with the question… how can I do more or be more productive?  I suggest starting by praying for God to define your priorities, help you develop your discipline, and ask that he fills you with his energy and not your own.  When that becomes the authentic prayer of your heart… you will be amazed at what more God is able to do in you and then through you.

Categories: Inspirational, Leadership, Time Management | Leave a comment

Beware of Careless Words (Video)

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Christie Love

This week my video is about something that we are guilty of… speaking without thinking.

Watch this video to find out why it is crucial for Leaders to avoid careless words.

 

Categories: Leadership | 3 Comments

Attitude is Everything!

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Christie Love

 

 

 

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?”

Jerry replied, ”Each morning I wake up and say to myself: Jerry you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Everytime someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.”

“Yeah, right, it’s not that easy,” I protested.

“Yes it is,” Jerry said. “Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to the situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood.”

“The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live life.”

I reflected on what Jerry said.

Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, “If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?” I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

“The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door,” Jerry replied. “Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live.”

“Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?” I asked.

Jerry continued, “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared…

“In their eyes, I read, ‘He’s a dead man.’ I knew I needed to take action.”

“What did you do?” I asked. ”Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me,” said Jerry. “She asked if I was allergic to anything. ‘Yes,’ I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ‘Bullets!’ Over their laughter, I told them, ‘I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.’ “

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

 

Story by J. Espinosa of San Rafael, Argentina

 

Categories: Leadership | 2 Comments

The 5 P’s of Leadership (Video)

Posted on August 19, 2011 by Christie Love

This week in my Friday Video I share the 5 P’s of Leadership.  These are five elements that are essential for leaders to develop in order to be effective.

I hope that you will enjoy this video and pass it along to someone else who you think will benefit from it!

Categories: Leadership, Time Management | Leave a comment

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