Rampant, subtle dishonesty ruled my life for many years. My business was booming although it stressed me out, my social media feed showed the smiles instead of the meltdowns, my marriage appeared pure despite the fact that it wasn’t and my conversations delivered what I thought people wanted to hear instead of what was true. With the best intentions I ever-so-gently positioned my life to seem better than it was. It was a vicious cycle that robbed me of authenticity and […]
This week, we celebrated the passing of a man known affectionately as “America’s pastor”. Billy Graham was one of the most prominent figures of this generation, and I would argue that he bridged the gap between religion, politics and popular culture better than anyone in history. But there are others who would disagree. In fact, a scathing article ran in Rolling Stone calling him a “shameless sycophant” and credited him with “transforming evangelical Christianity into a patriotic corporate entity”. Opinions […]
Happy Valentine’s Ash Wednesday… For those of you who chose to give up sugar for Lent this year, I’m afraid you didn’t plan ahead. Look at the bright side, you could smear dark chocolate on your forehead and totally get away with it. For those of you who don’t really celebrate either tradition, I’m with you. I’m Lent free for thirty-five of my thirty-six years. I would be a perfect thirty-six for thirty-six but I dated a Catholic girl in […]
One of the most powerful things about the Christmas story is that it reminds us that God isn’t fair. For years I overlooked the lineage of Jesus. In haste to meet the baby in the manger, I skipped over the long list of too-difficult-to-pronouce names and jumped right to the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But in doing so, I missed an integral part of the story. Matthew’s account of Jesus’s genealogy, includes an incredible description that, I have never […]
A couple of years ago, I was sitting on an airplane striking up a conversation with the guy beside me. Come to find out, one of his college buddies was a childhood friend of mine. As we continued to chat, he asked where I was headed and I shared that I was going to give a talk to a business group. When he asked what I was speaking about, I mentioned my book. My overview included words like, perspective and […]
You’re in the middle of the ocean. You’re the only person on the boat. And, the boat is sinking. This is my greatest fear—complete isolation in the middle of the ocean. Yet I have purposefully been visualizing this fear. While some may see it as unnecessary or unproductive to emotionally assume your greatest fear, I have found it empowering. By placing myself in this scenario and choosing to feel the emotion, it has helped me realize that I […]
There are certain people that we immortalize because we can’t imagine a world in which they don’t exist. These are the rare few who have blessed our lives with such abundance that they’ve imprinted themselves into our existence. They are part of our story. That’s how I felt about Ida Jean Mayhew. And I know I’m not alone. It was just too hard to imagine the day when her warm smile and charm wouldn’t welcome me when I walked through […]
We get busy in life. Matt reminds us of why we dedicate ourselves to something other than ourselves.
- Robert Wagnon, CEO, Republic State Mortgage
