Stuff I Used This... Month! April 20, 2015

Dad gum it, I've let my schedule get the best of me again and have neglected posting on here. I will say that all the things I'm working on right now are pretty darn fun, so I'm certainly not complaining about how packed out my days have been.


I am committed to keeping these posts short and sweet, launching some tested resources out to my friends and clients. Here goes!

The Moral Bucket List by David Brooks. Sure, I read many of the op-ed columns in the NY Times, and ever so often I will reference a sentence or a thought from an article in a conversation. But rarely do I use an entire column to actually drive a conversation... That is what this column offers to you. He does a great job succinctly asking his readers to think about how the balance between success and character works, using the contrast of "résumé virtues" vs. "eulogy virtues." If you haven't read this one yet, you will be passing it along to others, or using it to prompt a deeper conversation or three. Apparently he has a book coming out on this theme soon, so stay tuned.

Letter from Birmingham Jail. I am in the midst of finishing up a capstone course that we titled "Theology of Leadership" for Religious Studies majors at Westmont College, and we are ending lectures with a class devoted to the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. One of the things we will be reading as a class will be this classic letter, which is archived at Stanford University. The link I gave to you is a facsimile of the original letter (hit "View Document"), which was very moving for me to read in that format. Sure, I read the letter in school once or twice, but it was a profound experience for me to take the time to really read it in preparation for class, especially in light of what is going on in our country of late. Reading this letter from 50 years ago is a big ol' plate of humble pie, so get ready. I shook my head reading it as I thought about Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, and all the dialogue that is bubbling up over the state of civil rights in 2015. Take some time to see where we have come from and where we still need to go. Even better, before you read this letter, read the one from eight white clergy that prompted Dr. King to respond.

Thinking of a Major Career Change? By no means does this article sum things up, but it's an intriguing continuation to that daydream that might be wandering in and out of your head at times? I made my own major career transition in 2009, and I have had some form of the conversation captured in this article multiple times with people as they struggle through their own thoughts and experiences related to work, career, fulfillment and when or not to make the big leap into the unknown.

Recent reading...
Vacation allows me to dig even deeper in to reading, one of my favorite things in life to do. No commentary here, but I would highly recommend all of these books:

• The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom
• Thomas Merton: Spiritual Direction and Formation
• The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God's Kingdom on Earth by Dallas Willard and Gary Black Jr.

Last but not least...
One of my favorite authors, Anne Lamott, posted these words on her Facebook page as she approached her 61st birthday. They are equal parts hilarious, poignant, moving, profound and crazy. Enjoy!!