Impact

A life well lived can be summed up in one sentence. Abraham Lincoln isn’t known for all of his failures (often grossly exaggerated but present nonetheless)–his failed businesses, battling depression and unsuccessful attempts at a few other political offices. He’s known for abolishing slavery and reuniting the United States of America. One sentence about a man who changed the world. His decisions were unpopular with a hefty chunk of his constituents, but we look back on him as one of the greatest presidents (and men) our country has ever been graced with. Bill Gates decided to change his sentence from one about putting a computer on the desk of everyone in America to one about charity and being a voice for generosity. He used his skills and his platform to pursue what he deemed was a more important goal. He decided to rewrite his sentence. There’s a long list of people living with unrelenting, singularly-focused visions for their lives and their hopes for others. ...

When I was leading a Bible Study for leaders in our movement at Ohio University, I wanted to spend time affirming the guys in my group and helping them encourage one another. Just before we started our Bible Study, I scrapped our plan for that evening and the Encouragement Hot Seat_ _was born. Here’s how it works. Everyone sits in a circle, and we randomly start with one member of the group. It’s great if the group leader (or the one who has arranged for the The Seat_ _to happen) selects a person to start with and then sets the tone for the time. Say we start with Charlie. I, as the leader, spend 20-60 seconds or so telling Charlie what I admire about him, appreciate about him, and how I have seen him growing and developing. Each other person in the circle takes their turn sharing about what they see in Charlie until everyone in the group has spent time encouraging him. Then we move on to another person and the process repeats. None of this has to have a clear flow or direction–just let people start speaking as they feel led. People will naturally know when it’s their turn to encourage. The Encouragement Hot Seat has become one of my favorite activities for uplifting a team or group (especially in winter months). It’s incredibly simple, and I love it for four huge reasons. ...

Reading books is helpful, but remembering and putting into practice what you’ve learned are equally important. There’s no sense in learning something but not applying it (especially true when it comes to the Bible, see Luke 11:28). I’ve struggled for a long time to figure out the best way to track things I’ve read and store the life-changing pieces of text to reference later and continue to apply. I love what John Piper says about sentences. What I have learned from about twenty-years of serious reading is this:It is sentences that change my life, not books. What changes my life is some new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma, and these usually come concentrated in a sentence or two. I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the 1% of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don’t begrudge the 99%. Well-written sentences that deliver a thought in a new way can change the trajectory of your life. Here’s my process of maximizing a book’s impact, making sure I remember (and apply) the 1% of the book that was most significant (and any percent beyond that is just gravy). ...