Human nature clue: Everyone wants to feel important. This need to feel valued and appreciated is built into our system. It's why kids on the playground don't want to be the last one picked to play a game of pick-up basketball. Or - even worse - not picked at all. Ultimately, it's not about the missed opportunity to showcase our basketball skills. It's about not being wanted. It's about feeling overlooked and unimportant. As we grow older, we might even develop unhealthy ways of compensating for our perceived lack of importance. Bullying Bragging Giving inappropriate intimacy New cars New wife or husband Bigger house Another new wife or husband Workaholism Chemical addiction Sexual addiction Another new car Sarcasm Belittling others Sadly, many people are shiny on the outside and hollow inside. As a leader, spouse, parent, or friend ... how do we recognize a person's God-given need to feel important…
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When we lose something and can't find it, we generally replace it with something new. We live in a throw-away society. But how does God handle lost things? Or, more importantly, how does he handle lost people? Who have lost their way or lost hope? Thankfully … he doesn’t throw us away. Nor does he replace us with something new. Instead, he offers us the chance to be made new.Watch more videos at the Mountainview YouTube channel. Looking for a Speaking Coach? The most successful people are not always the smartest people. But they have one thing in common: they communicate well. I'd love to help you become a better communicator. Click here. Professor at Warner University church planter with Stadia former former president, Church Planters of the Rockies helped start 2 for-profit tech companies Need a Speaker or Presenter? Interested in having me speak for your church, conference, or…
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I've been accused of reading too many books written by dead people. Obviously, they wrote their books while alive - but that might have been centuries ago. As you read good books from across the ages, you begin to realize that human nature has remained relatively unchanged. Our basic needs, desires, fears, hopes, and ambitions are just that - basic. They are hard-wired into what it means to be human. How we express and fulfill those needs, desires, fears, hopes, and ambitions have changed ... and they haven't changed. We still need social interaction and want to feel loved. We have an internal desire to grow and develop. If Martin Luther had lived in the 21st Century, he might have nailed his 95 theses to a virtual wall on Facebook. But he would have nailed them somewhere. Which brings me to Aristotle, a fellow whose writings are even older than…
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In 2018, Uber released their annual Lost and Found Index of things left behind in their cars. Not surprisingly, the most common items were phones, wallets, and keys. They also found a flat-screen TV, a love letter from a boyfriend in jail, someone's tax returns, and a cat carrier. There was no word on whether the cat carrier was empty. While finding a love letter from an imprisoned boyfriend might be unusual and surprising, what isn't surprising is when Uber identified the most likely time period when someone might lose something: Between 10 pm and 2 am. When I was in high school, my father used to tell me, "Nothing good happens after midnight." In our modern American culture, when we lose something and can't find it, we generally replace it with something new. In fact, we might not even look all that hard to find it. We've been called…
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While we live in a world of splinters and contradictions, we are hard-wired for connections. Literally. Our brains are designed to make connections, find patterns, and are troubled by dissonance. This is why understanding the power of nonverbal communication is vital. Our words say, "I'm happy" but our face tells a different story. I tell my wife, "I'm not upset" but my eyebrows are narrowed and I'm squinting at her through beady eyes! These mixed signals create red flags within our brains. This is why the most effective leaders, communicators, parents, and presenters are actively engaged in developing better self-awareness. For me to have good self-awareness, I must understand two things: Who I am How I appear to others Simply doing introspection isn't enough. It's important - even necessary. But knowing yourself better is only half of the equation. Let's say through introspection I discover that my tone of voice…
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