This week I had a conversation with a friend who is a small business owner.  He said, “Everyone wants me to be successful so they give me ideas, but not the space to execute those ideas.  I need ideas AND space.”  This has me thinking, where on my CALENDAR is the SPACE to work on the good ideas?  (The 4 Disciplines of Execution is a good place to begin exploring HOW to find/make space)

“If you can’t find twenty minutes to sit and think, you had better take two hours to figure out why.”

If you are going to read a book, take the time to read it well.  I read a lot.  I have not always read well.  These days I am working on reading better and getting more from each book.  This “From My Notebook” series is a step in that direction.

In a conversation with a friend this week and he used the phrase, “probable pre-conditions for failure.”  I’ve been thinking about that a lot.  It applies to so much (finances, relationships, physical, etc.).  What are those things that make it MOST LIKELY that you will fail?  Acknowledge them.  Address them.  Pursue the goal!

This week I spent time reflecting on the optimism of Christianity.   As I’m reading through the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament I’m struck by their theme of hope and redemption on the other side of destruction.  This is a consistent theme throughout all of Scripture.  Christians believe that redemption can/will occur.  It’s interesting to watch this play out during this particular season of “pandemic.”

“The Nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.” – Thucydides 

The authors of “Crucial Conversations” introduce the idea of “the Fool’s Choice”.  The fool is convinced that every/most decisions are “either/or.”  Karyn Hall says, “The Fool’s Choice is believing that you have to choose between telling the truth and keeping a friend or colleague. It’s being trapped in an either/or box” (read her article for a nice summary of the book).

So those are some of the notes from my notebook this past week.  

How about you? What ideas have you been processing?  What quotes did you “like” this week?  What conversations did you have that made your wheels spin?