Morning Briefings

The American tradition of ‘trick-or-treating’ probably dates back to the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called ’soul cakes’ in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives.

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History.com

I discovered that people are not really afraid of dying; they’re afraid of not having lived, not ever having deeply considered their life’s higher purpose, and not ever having stepped into that purpose and at least tried to make a difference in the world.

– Joseph Jaworski
Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership

Leaders are tempted to be ‘lone rangers.’ Why do leaders need to consider having partners? According to Ecclesiastes 4:9-10: Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble.

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TouchPoints for Leaders

To me, people are elevators. Either you get in with them and they take you up or they take you down. I needed to be with people who take me up.

– Director Alejandro Monteverde on his production partners
Bella

A Different Take on Health Care: A Trip to Lourdes. A 1985 accident left Marcel Roeg brain-damaged and blind. Since then he has spent most of his time harboring a dream to visit the famous place [of healing]. Last month, he actually made the trip to Lourdes–thanks to his insurance company, VGZ.

– John W. Miller, The Wall Street Journal, October 23, 2007

Success–which I define as doing reasonably well at your chosen career–has huge demands on those who attain it, particularly in our hyper-competitive culture where conditions can change virtually overnight. The combination of marriage, family and career can be consuming. By the time most of us approach our fourth decade, anything that promises relief gets our attention.

– Bob Buford
Stuck in Halftime

The things you learn in maturity aren’t simple things. You learn not to engage in self-destructive behavior or burn up energy in anxiety. You discover how to manage your tensions. You learn that self-pity and resentment are among the most toxic of drugs. You find that the world loves talent but pays off on character.

– John Gardner
from a 1993 speech

So many people tell you to ‘follow your dreams’–from commencement speakers to executive coaches–that it is easy to get the impression you aren’t. But there is scant evidence that people aren’t doing pretty much what they want. According to a Gallup Poll, 90% of Americans are at least somewhat satisfied with their jobs and 75% say they’re satisfied with their pay. Two-thirds would take the same job again ‘without hesitation.’

– Jared Sandberg
The Wall Street Journal, October 16, 2007

I’m just doing one guy’s part. I have no agenda. I just want it to be the best Church it can be. That’s not my call as to what it is. I’m not a bishop, thank God. I am not a priest or seminarian. The indication of whether it’s the best it can be for people is what it gives to their lives. Whether people can be church or not, even when they’re not in that building on Sunday, but in the world.

– Rocco Palmo
The Rocco Report

Citizens who seek to build organizations that solve social problems on a large scale need more than freedom; they also need money. There must be surplus wealth in the economy to finance their efforts.

– David Bornstein
How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas

On a particularly difficult day a nurse prayed: ‘O God, where are you? Why don’t you send help?’ ‘I did,’ God replied, ‘I sent you. And as long as it takes, I will be with you whenever and wherever you honor human life.’

– Fr. James Krings
Living Faith

Presence is a noun, not a verb; it is a state of being, not doing. True presence, or ‘being with’ another person carries with it a silent power–to bear witness to a passage, to help carry an emotional burden, or to begin a healing process.

– Debbie Hall from
This I Believe

If you work things right, by the time you are sixty you will be in the middle of a Second Half career, looking for yet another opportunity to serve God and your fellowman.

– Bob Buford
Stuck in Halftime

Being in power is like being a lady. If you have to remind people that you are, you aren’t.

– Margaret Thatcher

Jesus repeats Martha’s name with deep affection as he chides her. She will have remembered the message; stop fussing. Because she learned the lesson, it is Martha, not Mary, who has a place in the calendar of saints (on July 29). It is sometimes the things we are told in public reproof that touch us deepest and bring us close to God.

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Sacred Space

Everyone has a religion. We all have some sort of beliefs about the cause, nature and purpose of the universe. Our religion is simply our map, our paradigm, our beliefs that answer the difficult existential questions.

– James C. Hunter
The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership

Those who live in close proximity to their basic values are apt to agonize over choices that other people, drifting over the surface of their lives, might never even see as problems. Sound values raise tough choices; and tough choices are never easy.

– Rushworth M. Kidder
How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living

How Faith-Based Networking Can Aid Job Searchers: “If you’re searching for work, consider reaching out to fellow congregants, spiritual leaders and others in your religious circle. These folks are often eager to help like-minded believers.”

– The Wall Street Journal, October 2, 2007

Work only with the receptive. After Jesus chose the twelve men who would help him start a movement that continues to this day, he sent them on a mission. He didn’t give them much of a plan or any financing. If a village wasn’t receptive to what they were trying to do, they were to ’shake the dust off your feet’ and move on to the next village.

– Bob Buford
Stuck in Halftime

When we are in desperate shape, we put in an emergency call to God saying, ‘Put the fire out.’ I call that ‘Fire House’ spirituality. In the call, we usually forget to mention that we ourselves started the fire.

– Reverend James O’Leary
I Think I Am Happier Than I Think I Am

When we commit our work to the Lord–when we acknowledge Him as the real boss to whom we ultimately report–our perspective on what we’re doing, and why we’re doing it changes dramatically, as does our potential for success.

– Michael A. Zigarelli
Management by Proverbs

People who don’t really believe in the future do not shape the future. Men and women of vitality have always been prepared to bet their futures, even their lives, on ventures of unknown outcome. If they had all looked before they leaped, we would still be crouched in caves sketching animal pictures on the wall.

– John Gardner
from a 1993 speech

All callings are, ultimately, spiritual in nature. Each one of us has unique potential–distinct, God-given gifts–with which to serve the world.

– Richard J. Leider and David A. Shapiro
Whistle While You Work: Heeding Your Life’s Calling