Tag Archive for: leadership
Counselling Together
What is a SWOT Analysis?
What great leaders do…
Stay in the Boat
“Let’s get in the boat” I said.
However, it wasn’t quite the trip the Mission Leadership Council (MLC) members were quite expecting!
It reminded me of a talk given by Elder M. Russell Ballard some years ago entitled “Stay in the Boat and Hold On!” I highly recommend it.
In his talk Elder Ballard said, “In searching the scriptures and the words of past and current apostles and prophets, we should focus on studying, living, and loving the doctrine of Christ.”
Staying true to Jesus Christ is like staying safe in a boat.
Yesterday we did embark upon a few adventures of our own and held on!
We welcomed five new members to the MLC.
The mission home was filled to capacity. We loved having everyone here.
Counselling Together
In our council session, we spent time understanding the doctrine of Christ, discussed the Lord’s timing and completed a team building activity on balance, to strengthen our collaboration together.
In addition, we also learned about earnest fasting, searching the scriptures, supplication in prayer and looking smart in our missionary endeavours.
Oh, and lunch was delicious too. Echt lekker 😊
Working with the missionaries is not only a spiritually edifying experience, but also a lot of fun too – the pictures below testify of that!
We laughed, we cried, we talked, we listened, we played, we counselled, we prayed, we sang, and we learned lots together.
Our discussions were like the essential supplies, safety guidelines and instructions required to make our way down the river of life to our final destination.
There is nothing quite like these gatherings, frankly, they are an inspiration.
You can depend upon the missionaries.
If any one of you have fallen out of the boat, or want to get into the boat, we will do our best to find you, minister to you, and pull you safely in.
Why not join us and jump on board “Old Ship Zion” – you’ll love the journey!
Courage
Courage is the great need of our time.
Courage requires consequence.
If there is no cost, no risk or consequence, then courage is easy – and empty. In fact, as consequence rises, so does the amount of courage needed to take a stand.
The word courage is defined as “mental or moral strength to … persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.”
I believe it is in our very nature to admire those who stand against the odds and withstand danger – many great leaders come readily to mind. One who is currently rising on the world stage received a standing applause in the House of Commons this week.
However, simply stated, courage is meaningless without consequence.
Consequence
“Courage is the form of every virtue at the testing point. Pilate was merciful until it became risky.” CS Lewis.
Courage to accept the inescapable truth that greatness can never be achieved without adversity, a struggle that is prerequisite for growth.
Edmund Burke shared this.. “Adversity is a severe instructor, set over us by one who knows us better than we do ourselves, as He loves us better, too. He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This conflict with difficulty makes us acquainted with our object and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial.”
A measure of our success in life will be determined by our response to adversity and the courage that you have as you wrestle with the problems, that will strengthen your nerves and sharpen your skill, just as Burke said.
Indeed, courage is the power to let go of the familiar and face up to the unknown.
We are faced every day with situations that require courage and strength.
What courageous actions will you take today?
Unity
What lies within us….
I love quotes! They are insightful, oftentimes intriguing and on many occasions inspiring! I found one such quote a few weeks ago now and posted it on my personal Facebook page. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”
The words have rung in my ears for weeks now. I’ve searched to identify who the quote was attributed to and have found some evidence that it was possibly originated by Ralph Waldo Emerson.
An extended version appeared in the 1990’s attributed to Henry David Thoreau, who states “What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when we bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen.”
No matter who it is attributed to, it is a powerful, insightful and thought provoking statement about the power that lies within each of us, to rise above the various storms of life and succeed in whatever we choose to do with our time upon the earth.
A Pearl
As I reflected upon the quote, I was reminded of the story of a pearl. A pearl develops from an irritant that gets inside the shell of an oyster, such as a grain of sand. The oyster then produces a special substance, that surrounds the foreign matter and over several years it forms a beautiful pearl. Every oyster produces a different form of pearl and similarly I believe that every irritation within each of us, can produce different results in our own lives – all of which have the capacity, over time to become beautiful pearls. We simply have to recognise those irritants, act upon them, desire to change and watch as they emerge as powerful strengths.
I love this old parable told by J. Thomas Fyans: “There’s an ancient oriental legend that tells the story of a jeweller who had a precious pearl he wanted to sell. In order to place this pearl in the proper setting, he conceived the idea of building a special box of the finest woods to contain the pearl. He sought these woods and had them brought to him, and they were polished to a high brilliance. He then reinforced the corners of this box with elegant brass hinges and added a red velvet interior. As a final step, he scented that red velvet with perfume, then placed in that setting this precious pearl.
The pearl was then placed in the store window of the jeweller, and after a short period of time, a rich man came by. He was attracted by what he saw and sat down with the jeweller to negotiate a purchase. The jeweller soon realised that the man was negotiating for the box rather than the pearl. You see, the man was so overcome by the beauty of the exterior that he failed to see the pearl of great price”
Lesson Learned
And so it is with each of us. Lets not be deceived by the beauty that lies around us, but take a long, long, hard look at what lies within us. We all need to slow down, pause in our busy lives and take much more time to reflect upon those things that really do matter most. Self reflection and its reward of self awareness are critical elements of personal development and leadership in homes, in our communities and in our business organisations.
My invitation is to stop today! Now even! Even if its just for 5 minutes. Reflect upon those things that matter most and bring what is within you, out into the world…. today! Write them down too! You may well be truly surprised and inspired by the pearls you have been blessed with. *Henry B. Eyring stated “Someday, when you know who you really are, you will be sorry that you didn’t use your time better”.