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.

I know, it sounds like the language of a circus barker, "Come see the Flying Zucchini Brothers as they defy gravity." However, I am talking about much more than entertaining circus talk. "Defying gravity," is a terrific description of the way effective leadership teams learn to operate.

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?

In a culture where habitual drivenness is the water we swim in, there is an invisible pull to say yes to more. However, impact is directly related to focus and focus is about doing fewer things not more. Impact is not the result of doing a lot more.

We all joke about it, but there is part of us that still believes, "he who dies with the most toys wins." We are seduced by the illusion that the legacy of our lives will be measured by the cumulative value of the stuff we create-acquire-build-plan-say-do. What if the true legacy of our lives is something completely different?

On those unique days when snowstorms overwhelm the city and life comes to a halt, the unplanned respite from work and regular ritual does something powerful for your soul and your relationships. A sabbath should be just like that.