Archive for the ‘life’ Category

When Sending Email is Stupid

Sometimes sending an email is really stupid. I know, my Mom tried to teach me that calling someone or something stupid is not very nice. But, I can’t think of any better way to say it. Simply put, there are occasions when you are being stupid to send an email.

Surviving Email

A friend said to me, "Some days I feel like I spend my life clicking keys on a keyboard.” Personally, I have a love-hate relationship with email. I use it all the time. It gives me a simple way to share information, ideas, and documents. But, every time I open my mail software it feels like I am putting my lips up to a fire hose. What is a manageable way forward?

Kerry’s House of Pain

This afternoon I will willingly walk in the doors of what I have started calling, “Kerry’s House of Pain.” I know that the front of the building reads “physical therapy,” but honestly I think that is Latin-based code for "place of torture."

Lord, Teach Me to Number My Days

At 7:14 this morning, a phone call told me that a very good friend was shot and killed last night. Emotionally I’ve spent the day vacillating between shock, sorrow, anger, and indignation. There are many things I could tell you about my friend, but since you don’t know him I need to write about the personal reflections I cannot escape.

Law of the Pencil and Stone

I want to talk about having goals and plans. I think they really matter. I am not compulsive about them and don’t let them rule my life, but for me they are essential to living an intentional life. However, there are some complicating factors. How do you balance having goals with being sensitive to the ongoing leading and direction of the Spirit?

Inertia and the Boogie Man

Remember being scared of the “boogie man” as a kid. Far from the fuzzy lovable “Monsters Inc.” version, the real boogie man spooked a lot of kids. Lurking in the closet or under the bed, he was there to pounce—whatever that means. I’d like to suggest that inertia is like the boogie man. When you postpone something that needs to be done, allow the backlog of unfinished tasks to accumulate, fail to make a decision, or procrastinate the start of a new initiative, the gravity of inertia grows geometrically.

Change :: the new status quo

Picture the scene. Here I was, trying to explain the problem of a 30-year-old analog TV in a flat-screen high-def digital age to a technologically illiterate senior citizen who is almost deaf. He just doesn’t have the categories.

Our Little Black Book

Drift happens. It happens in all areas of life and it happens in marriage. Last week we celebrated our 32nd anniversary with one of the most important annual traditions in our lives. So, before you get lost on how people as young, hip, and fun as we are could be married that long, check out my blog on the tradition of our little black book at aboutLEADING.com.

The Easiest Way to Avoid Change

It is December 30th and that means we are in the red-zone for the annual “get your life together” rhetoric calling for New Year’s resolutions to fuel personal growth. But, what do you do if you don’t buy into this annual opportunity for a fresh start? What if you would rather avoid another attempt at [...]

Raising My Game

Two weeks ago the Lord spoke to me about the disciplines involved in writing for this blog and provoked me to get my act together and write more often. No, it wasn’t dramatic. No smoke or lightning, but the stomach grabbing awareness that he was trying get through to me was undeniable. From the inception of [...]

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about LEADING

  • Most people spend their lives fighting off the wind and the waves of the ocean. Leaders chart a way through them. aboutLEADING is the personal blog of Gary Mayes and a forum to discuss lessons at the intersection of life and leadership.

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  • The VISION issue of www.noredcapes.com just went live. It features articles and resources to help leaders with the challenges of vision clarification and communication.  (noREDcapes is a journal for leaders that I publish every couple months.)

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