44 Things I have Learned the Hard Way
Welcome Back!
Alex encouraged me to post a list I came up with as I was reflecting on 44. These are not the only lessons I have learned in life, but these stand out as ones I learned through the school of hard knocks. Hopefully they will prove helpful to the MRC community, to other communities of faith, within the home, at work, in the neighborhood, etc. You might have to get a bit creative to apply them to your context. I will post the 11 at a time. Let me know what ones you find helpful, have learned, were also hard to learn, etc. Send me your comments. Here are the first 11:
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1. Authority diminishes with use; influence increases with use.
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2. Choose your battles carefully; ask yourself, “Is this issue central to my vision?�
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3. Thirty percent of a senior leader’s job is conflict resolution [make your peace with the fact that as the senior leader you are a judge].
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4. The conventional wisdom is not always right.
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5. Sheep bite.
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6. We spend too much time plotting to do great things; instead we should do small things done with great love in order to change the world.
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7. Protect your spouse form the ‘goofy’ things of ministry/job, but still recognize she/he must be your soul-mate.
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8. Whatever good will and favor you have earned with people through acts of service, usually evaporates immediately when you cross them on something they consider important.
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9. The results of an act of ministry often has nothing to do with the expenditure of time; you can spend an enormous amount of time in ministry that bears no fruit, and then do or say something in passing that changes someone’s life.
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10. You cannot go it alone; you need a support system made up of people you trust and to whom you are willing to be accountable.
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11. “The way things are� is a human invention; if you can vision it differently, it is �reinventable.�