One of my favorite things to do after a staff meeting is to join the team at one of the many Orange Leaf locations in Lexington. There is nothing that helps the team come together like healthy yogurt smothered in Snickers, Oreo's, candy sprinkles and hot fudge! In fact, the amazing toppings selection just increased to include crushed waffle cones. Get this, yogurt not in a waffle cone, but a waffle cone in yogurt! I would love to be on the team coming up with these idea's. Can you imagine a low fat chocolate yogurt over pieces of funnel cake and covered in Captain Crunch Peanut Butter cereal, with peanut butter drizzle?
The truth is 90% of the time I opt for the fat free, sugar free yogurt with fresh strawberries and granola. Take my word for it, guilt free and great stuff at the same time. Orange Leaf captures the best of so many worlds in my mind: great atmosphere, great staff and a great dessert with many healthy options. They do a few things that make the experience extra special, but one thing very well; they have great yogurt!
At the center of every great company, team or church is a group of people committed to being great at what they do and they know what that thing is. If you are football team with a great offensive unit, then you play to your strength, offense. If you are a tire company then you become the best at making and marketing quality tires. If you are a church leadership team, then know what God is calling you to be in your city or community and give yourselves to it.
Extra toppings are good, but they are just that, extras. Focus on being great at the main thing and treat everything else as extras. This applies to our family life, careers and churches. Spending some time at the toppings bar is fun, but when I go to Orange Leaf, it's all about the yogurt! The people at Orange Leaf get it and it's obvious when you stand in line at checkout.
We need to get an Orange Leaf attitude when it comes to life and purpose to keep the main things the main things in life. When we do, life is much more simple and the journey is much more sweet than we could ever imagine! I think I will drop by and grab some yogurt on the way home.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Under And Over Principle
I am currently learning the need in my life for better boundaries, guidelines and an intense approach to personal discipline. Great intentions do not equal great performance or success. In fact, great intentions never usually make it to the phase of application, which is the real key to change in the first place.
The real enemy toward our advancing from a life of great intentions to a life of great success and fulfillment is over commitment. The old adage of being a mile wide and an inch deep describes too many of our lives. Doing a lot of things but not doing a lot of things well. This leads to a deep sense of frustration and eventually a lack of desire in life, a place we call burnout.
Though bad habits are hard go break, they can be broken. One of the most intentional things you will ever do is address the issue of over commitment and a life spinning out of control. A good first step is the "Under and Over Principle." A simple shift in the way you commit and what you commit to. Try this, the next time you are about to make a promise or commit to something, under promise and over deliver.
Can you imagine the diminished level of stress in your life if you apply this strategy? Simply be careful when you choose to make a commitment and be sure to over deliver when you do commit or make a promise. Get the job done earlier, go the extra mile on the project, bring five idea's to the meeting instead of the required three. Strategic things like arriving ten minutes early, staying ten minutes late and helping when everyone else is eager to leave. Leave a trail at the end of the day of a job well done by the Under and Over Principle.
You can do this and you will be better for it. You will have an opportunity within the next twenty four hours, under promise and over deliver!
The real enemy toward our advancing from a life of great intentions to a life of great success and fulfillment is over commitment. The old adage of being a mile wide and an inch deep describes too many of our lives. Doing a lot of things but not doing a lot of things well. This leads to a deep sense of frustration and eventually a lack of desire in life, a place we call burnout.
Though bad habits are hard go break, they can be broken. One of the most intentional things you will ever do is address the issue of over commitment and a life spinning out of control. A good first step is the "Under and Over Principle." A simple shift in the way you commit and what you commit to. Try this, the next time you are about to make a promise or commit to something, under promise and over deliver.
Can you imagine the diminished level of stress in your life if you apply this strategy? Simply be careful when you choose to make a commitment and be sure to over deliver when you do commit or make a promise. Get the job done earlier, go the extra mile on the project, bring five idea's to the meeting instead of the required three. Strategic things like arriving ten minutes early, staying ten minutes late and helping when everyone else is eager to leave. Leave a trail at the end of the day of a job well done by the Under and Over Principle.
You can do this and you will be better for it. You will have an opportunity within the next twenty four hours, under promise and over deliver!
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