Intentional About Being Intentional

My biggest realization of late is that as leaders, we really need to be intentional. If we don’t lead intentionally, we end up playing catch up, or just succumbing to the most urgent request or the loudest voice. Living intentionally helps us be true to our call, gifting and God’s purposes.

But living intentionally often comes with its challenges. Often we want to change from living in reaction mode to living intentionally, but struggle to make this change. I read an article by Mark Driscoll once which really helped me with this change.

Driscoll argues there are 4 Ways to change your life:

1. Heart change – conviction that you want to change. This is often a deep realization that there is a better way (and probably inspired by the Holy Spirit).

2. Study – research and fact-finding for how to change your life, which includes reading the Bible and other books, watching and listening to talks, downloading podcasts, speaking with people you know and respect who have wisdom in that particular area, finding and working with a mentor etc. A great tool to help with this is a journal. Always keep a journal like this nearby to jot notes, thoughts, and convictions in.

3. Plan – ongoing, detailed, and prayerful life organization. Take the ideas in your journal and prayerfully and carefully add to and consider them.

4. Action – working your plan and making changes as life requires. Make sure you take the ideas and action points from your plan and put them on the calendar. Without being officially planned, nothing ever gets done to completion.

I find I’m often good at only one or two of these steps. I may have a heart change and do my homework but fail to make a plan and take action to change my life. I’ve seen friends who have plans and action but are religiously just doing duties because they have not experienced heart change. Others may move from heart change to action without research and a plan, they mean well but make their life (e.g., health, finances, relationships) worse.

My major realization was that I have to be intentional about all four. I know I need to take some time and be honest with myself, listing each of these steps in order from the one I’m strongest at to the one I’m weakest at. This awareness helps me maximize on my strengths while minimizing my weaknesses.

How about you? Are you living intentionally? Where is your life getting stuck and what can you do to grow where you are weak? Who do you need to talk to and learn from?

I’ve found that after understanding the above I’ve become intentional about being intentional. Try it, it works.

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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

How To Escape Escapism

Jerry Seinfeld once tweeted ‘where do forest workers go to escape from it all!?’ One of the definitions of escape is - ‘to get free of’ or ‘break away from’ something. We’ve all, at some point, felt that need to escape and just be away from it all - businesses, jobs, relationships, marriages etc. Not so?

Perhaps, however, the only thing we should escape from is escapism itself.

This may just be me, but I find my desire to escape is most heightened when I am bored, un-stimulated, imagining alternate scenario’s I think will be more fulfilling or I am literally just sick and tired. I have found that considering the following questions have helped me escape escapism:

• How energised am I?

When we are low on energy our perspective shifts into negative gear. Escapism becomes tempting. You are responsible for your own energy management - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I am amazed at how a simple bit of exercise allows me to look at my situation differently and thus approach it in new ways.

• Am I living intentionally??

What we most need to do is also what we are least likely to do. Often when we live in a reactionary way finding ourselves at the mercy of what the environment dishes out to us. With the feeling of lack of time and space, the obvious solution is escape. Wrong. The way out is to be intentional about what we most need to do daily despite whatever habitual patterns or negative cycles it might mean you have to break.

3. Am I connected to the ‘why’

If we are unsure about why we are doing what we are doing we will experience doubt. Why did you start what you did in the first place? What was your vision? In a world where it is so easy to focus on ourselves, being connected to the why helps us focus on others and how we can contribute.

In a nutshell, sometimes the only way around is through. Your context may feel like a trial. That trial could be an opportunity to develop your character as you persevere and try new ways of engaging with whatever is causing your need to escape. It may be preparing you for the next level which requires greater capacity.

All the best escaping escapism.

[Disclaimer: the following article does not mean that you should not leave your current context. Please just consider it before you do!]

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Perspective is an Interesting Concept

Over the past two days I have worked with a great group of people where the topic of perspective was spoken about at length. A bit of context: The company I am partnering has 4 values, one of which is 'PASSION'. We know that a value such as passion can't be taught. In fact we hardly speak about passion. We talk about perspective: Because (positive) perspective determines passion.

Perspective is liberating. Our thoughts and our actions (which end up as reality) are determined by our perspective. It is so easy to slip into a negative perspective. A colleague once said 'Nothing in life has meaning except the meaning that you give it'. What this means is that there is so much which wells beneath the surface when it comes to our perspectives. The more I work with it the more I see the following 3 areas in our lives either breaking perspective down or building it up.

1. Our own self talk
What we tell ourselves determined how we feel about it and what we do about it. Simple! We need to check our own 'internal language' and make sure that we are having positive conversations with ourselves.
• Right now what are you saying to yourself?
• If you had to access your internal conversations with yourself how would you describe your language?

2. Our limiting beliefs
What you have experienced in life has a huge bearing on what your perspective is at any given moment. As we experience life we develop our own lists of 'I can' and 'I can't'. So often the I cant's are simply a perceived reality which is not necessarily true. Anything that begins with an attitude of 'I can't' has already being marked with failure.
• What do you fear most? how real are those fears in reality?
• What can you do today that you would normally shy away from because of perceived beliefs? (do it and watch what happens!)

3. Lack of knowledge
I haven't saved the least for last here. This is one of the easiest to work with. Build knowledge. Lack of knowledge leads to assumption. Assumption and Perspective are enemies!
• What can you read that is relevant to your context in order to build knowledge?
• Who do you need to speak to (what questions do you need to ask) to minimize perceived assumptions that exist?

We all want to feel passionate at the end of the day. Rather than wait on the environment to make you feel that way, why not use your own influence over your own perspective and see what happens.

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Past, Present and Future

Right now where’s your headspace? Past, present or future?

Reading the most common quotes leaves you with an overwhelming sense of encouragement to live in the present. In the now! In leadership, I have come to realise that this balance of engaging with all three of those arenas is a delicate one. I have also come to realise that residing in just one is both impossible and ineffective. So where should our headspace be? When do we give time to history? When do we look ahead to where we are going? When do we engage with the present?

The complexity of this dynamic can be tricky. The beauty, however, is that it gives us the best opportunity to truly lead. Because it’s actually all about context, isn’t it? When we spend time in anyone of these three zones and at the same time completely ignore the other two we enter a danger zone. For example, if your vision yields the history irrelevant, I think you missed it.

You have a vision for what you lead. What you lead has history. What you lead has factors influencing it right now. Plus there’s vision. Enter the tension. Some of it rubs you up the wrong way. Some of it you love. BUT the fact is ‘it’ is bigger than ‘you’. Leading authentically is about engaging with ‘it’ first, then influencing that context with who ‘you’ are. ‘It’ needs you. ‘You’ serve it.

So where does this leave us? Most writings about the present refer to the natural tendency for leaders to worry about the future or dwell in past failures. That does not serve us or our teams. What we need is a different set of questions.

About the past...
• What has added value up until now that we would like to continually develop and leverage off?
• What has been ineffective or potentially damaging that we would like to shift away from?

(Basically what do we need more of and what do we need less of?!)

Let’s jump to the future...
• What could the future look like if what has been working well continues to grow?
• How does who I am & what I bring influence (serve) and enhance (add) to this?

(Basically if this thing grows and my strengths / dreams influence it as well where will we end up?!)

Then, back to the present...
• What do I need to be intentional about today?
• What distractions do I need to avoid?

(Basically how can I best make a difference with the time I have today?!)

‘You’ need to avoid becoming ‘it’ and ‘it’ cannot become ‘you’. If you lead, it means you are not alone. Communicate and ask these questions together. Listen. Learn. Feel it more than you think it. Because if you feel it, you are where you most need to be...

Present.

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Leading with Light

Matthew 5:13-16… You know this passage; it is the one where Jesus talks about us being salt and light. I love this scripture because it echoes a truth about God: He uses the unlikely to display His glory.

In this passage Jesus is speaking life to his disciples. We must understand who these men were because they were far from a qualified bunch. Jesus often got frustrated with them for their lack of understanding as they were ordinary men, with nothing major to show for themselves. In fact, in Acts 4:13, we read that Peter and John were unschooled, ordinary men. So it is these average men that Jesus is saying are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

I don’t know about you, but I can relate to these guys. Sometimes as a leader I feel very unqualified, very ordinary. I often think if Jesus wanted to use someone to change the world it would not be me!

BUT do you want to know the story of why we are here? Do you want to know why God has given you your leadership gifting?

Here is: We are on a mission from God! Others like the ordinary disciples came before us, others will come after us... But this is our time. Either we are on this mission of continuing his life light through us, through our leadership, or you have no plan and purpose at all! We are ordinary people empowered to change our world...

You and only you may be the only chance that those who you have influence over will have to see the Light that gives life.

Jesus said we are the salt of the earth. Salt brings flavour, it enriches the eating experience! So God is wanting to use us to add flavour to the lives of those we have influence over, to enrich their life experience. We can love unconditionally and serve without agenda. God has placed certain people around you by no accident, and by loving unconditionally and serving without agenda, we can add flavour to their lives.

Jesus also said we are light. He has lit the light in you, and He has placed you on a certain stand (that stand is your family, work, friends…) and HE wants that light in you to shine all around you! Where things are looking dark, you can bring God’s light into others situation through serving, loving and just being present for them. You see, the light is from God, and he is wanting to use us as vessels to shine His light, so that God may be glorified! We can show people a new way of living.

I encourage you, especially as a leader, to be open to him using you. Don’t not cover up His light, or only shine some of the time - God is wanting to use us all the time. Let’s be open to his leading us. Let’s ask him to use us always!
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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

The Slob and the Nag

I recently worked with a group of leaders within the retail industry in Johannesburg. I was again reminded of the story of the Slob and the Nag as I worked with them. As always, the model seems to challenge those who hear it.

There was once a psychologist who had a woman come to see him.

“My husband is a slob.” she exclaimed. “He gets home, sits on his lazy boy, drinks his beer and plays with his remote” she continued, visibly frustrated and hurt at the absence of a loving husband.

The psychologist approaches the husband.

“What!” he shouts, “that woman is a nag! she nag’s all the time...” he explains.

The vicious cycle is apparent. The more he slobs the more she nags. The more she nags, the more he slobs. So who must change?

The males usually say the nag and the females say the slob! They eventually settle on the answer that it is in fact both who must change.

My next questions is - ‘who must change first?’

To which we continue our debate on the role of husbands and wives in marriage...

The answer is the nag must change first.

Why?

Because she went to the psychologist in the first place. The nag is the one who is being affected most by the slob nag dynamic between her and her husband. The consequences are therefore greater for her if she does not change. She is affected by the problem.

That is sometimes the upside down nature of leadership. Often there is an issue you face which may be ‘someone else’s fault’. Your logic and your actions are that that person must change. You become the nag and they become the slob. So who must change?

How difficult is it to be the initiator of change in situations where you feel wronged? In those moments you naturally ask yourself why you should change. It simply is not fair.

You change first because you value yourself. You change first because you are affected by the problem and that has consequences for you. You change because no matter what the context you are a leader.

The nag has few choices. Take away the TV. Take away the lazy boy. Have a honest conversation... all of which may yield no results. The trick is to be creative and never stop after one go!

Be creative as you attempt to shift the cycle. But remain positive and keep your eyes on the possibilities. For yourself and for those you impact.

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Consider Yourself Rebellious?

Last year I prepared a teaching on the book of Hebrews. The author of this book is unknown, but what we do know is that is was a letter written to a group of Jewish converts to Christianity. These new Christians were fully aware of the persecution that was imminent due to their decision. Leaving Judaism meant leaving traditions which their entire society was built around, laws, synagogue commitments, prayer commitments, dietary requirements etc... They hadn’t just left a belief system, they had changed their way of life. They were persecuted.

They were rebels...

Hebrews tells us that they would endure anything from public humiliation, public beatings, jail time and confiscation of all their possessions. The temptation was to return to their old ways, to their religion (Judaism) to avoid being persecuted.

The author encourages them to continue to be confident and hold unswervingly onto their hope. He takes 13 chapters to do that in what was a committed attempt underpinned by a deep desire to keep these readers from doing a 180 degree turn. One of his points, in particular, interested me.

The author makes mention (Hebrews 3) of the time that the Israelites spent in the desert. If you remember they were enslaved by the Egyptians. Moses was the hero who went in and did the extraction! Having left Egypt their destination was a land of milk and honey promised to them by God, aptly named the promised land. To get there they had to cross the desert, know as the Sinai today and into modern day Israel. 40 years later, Moses and his entire generation who left Egypt died in the desert, having simply wandered around in circles never to enter into the promised land. Their desert life was routine. God provided food and water daily, as well as a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day to protect them. They had food, water and shelter. They were comfortable and protected. At one point Moses sends 12 spies to find out what getting into the promised land actually meant. 10 came back saying impossible! The tribes they would have to overcome were made up of monstrous men.

The desert - safe, comfortable, routine and predictable.

Journey to promised land - unknown, risky, adventurous, challenging.

They chose the former. The author of Hebrews refers to a passage of scripture found in psalm 95 where he states the Lord who refers to this time in the desert as the time of the rebellion!

They were rebels...

Two different perspectives! Society labeled the converted Jews as rebellious for leaving the traditions and comforts of Judaism and living a life of risk and potential persecution.

God frustratingly labeled the Israelites who stuck to comfort, tradition and religious mindsets rebellious. Maybe that’s why it is aptly called the Christian faith?

Consider yourself rebellious?

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Is Leadership Lonely?

Have you heard it said that leadership is lonely? I read this week a quote by ML Anderson that said “leaders are called to stand in a lonely place…”

Leadership can be lonely, but as a Christ follower, living out your call as a leader means you never lead alone. We stand with Christ by our side, having access to his love, guidance and LEADING.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you." Psalm 32:8

God is speaking…

Are we listening?

He wants to lead and guide us, he wants to speak to us. But so often we struggle to hear. Sometimes we are hoping that we would hear God’s booming voice loud and clear, telling us what to do.

But maybe we need to try things differently. Maybe God is speaking, but His voice is drowned out by all the noise around us.

1 Kings 19:11-13: "The Lord said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.' Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'"

We have winds of work and stress, earthquakes of hurry, fires that burn with the desire for instant answers and solutions. But God so often comes as a gentle whisper, and these things drown out His voice. We can so easily miss it if we don’t take a step back, remove the noise and listen for the whisper...

Have you ever taken time out in silence and solitude?

In his book Leading On Empty, Wayne Cordeiro says that there are only four ways to live your life:

1. Reaction – passively dominated by urgencies and pushy people
2. Conformity – succumbing to the fear of man and just being and doing what everyone else wants, which is not necessarily following God’s will for you personally
3. Independence – nonconforming rebellion in the name of freedom, marked by doing only what you want and ignoring godly authority over you
4. Intentionality – reverse-engineering your life and living it prayerfully and purposefully, journaling your thoughts throughout the day, and using silence and solitude to hear from God and organize your life

How are you living your life now? Where would you like to be?

Why not try do things differently from now on. Instead of wanting God to shout above the noise, why not try spend some time and turn off the noise and listen for the whisper...
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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

A New Start

There seems to be something within us that longs for a new start. Maybe this is why each year we make New Year’s resolutions. Often as leaders we hope for the opportunity to start over, try again, to do things differently.

I think we have this desire in us because it is a desire of God …

Revelation 21:5 says "And the one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!""

It speaks of the newness of what God does in our lives. Each day is new and fresh.
Another scripture which speaks about the idea that God is in the business of ‘new’ is Isaiah 43:18-19:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”

As leaders the idea of God’s newness is so important, and there are some very clear points that come out of this scripture.

Firstly, God is saying we should forget the former things and that we should not dwell on the past. Often the past haunts us, there is stuff that happened in the past that hinders us moving forward. Or maybe we experienced great things in the past and thus constantly look back at those times, instead of forward to the newness He has.

Is your past holding you back? What are these things is your life?

The promise is that the past is forgotten. God has forgotten it, now we need to as well.

Secondly, we see again the idea that God is wanting to start something NEW! He is wanting to speak to us about the newness He has for us. How often do we create space for God to talk to us about the newness He has for us? As leaders let’s make time to listen.

We also need to understand that with newness comes a new way of doing things. There is a saying that if you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got.

Jesus used an awesome analogy to explain this to his disciples, when they asked Him why he was doing things differently. His reply in Mark 2:22 says:
“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the wine would burst the wineskins, and the wine and the skins would both be lost. New wine calls for new wineskins.”

When newness comes you have to do things differently. Let’s not try put the new wine God wants to pour out into our lives into the old wineskins of how we did things before, or how we expect things to be.

To remember this, why don't you start doing something differently? Drive a new way home, start a new book, try a new hairstyle, try a different Chocolate bar. Whatever it may be, try do something differently.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?"

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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working in corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

What's In Your Hand

I dove back into the archives this week and ended up watching a TED clip by Rick Warren on purpose. Go to to view. You will remember him for authoring Purpose Driven Life. I have heard it before but again was riveted by what he was saying. One of John Maxwell’s leadership laws is the ‘law of process’. This law states that developing leadership happens through a continuous reinforcing of what has been learnt. It is small actions over time that deliver results rather than cataclysmic events! Watching this clip reminded me of commitments and insights that I had when I first saw him speak in 2006 and again how critical the ‘why’ and ‘what’ are continuously reinforced in our own lives.

Last week we reminded ourselves of a ‘deeper purpose’. This week we add a layer and look at the ‘what’. Once the ‘Why’ is clear it makes sense that we focus on ‘what’ we have to work with. Rick Warren uses the metaphor of Moses’s staff in the Bible which represented 3 core areas in his life - his Identity, his Income and his Influence. In other words the staff defined the job that he had, how he earned his money and the influence he had in that position. Rick uses the metaphor in talking about his work with NBA basketball players. The Ball represents their Identity, Income and Influence. That’s what’s in their hands.

What’s in your hand? What talents, skills, passions so you have that can impact on others?

Connecting to this ‘what’ off the foundation of a solid ‘why’ yields defining changes in your daily actions. You have been given gifts. You were not born with nothing to offer, but rather a great deal of uniqueness which the world needs to see. You being all of who you are is what makes the difference to the rest of us. Spending time on these questions helps you shift your focus away from self and onto others. Impacting on others fuels meaning and fulfillment, something all of us desire to strongly.

Take some time to answer these questions:

• What, when you do it, makes you feel powerful? Time seems to fly by, you feel energised and alive?
• What positive feedback have you been given consistently - a skill, talent, character trait etc?
• If it was not about money or time what would you most like to do with your time?
• What do you dream about doing to make a difference in the world?

Own it. Own what you have in your hands. Own it and use it!

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Finding that 'Deeper' Purpose

A while back, a friend of mine recounted a dream he had last night where I sat him down and challenged him on finding his ‘deeper purpose’. I was fascinated by his ‘nocturnal’ encounter with these words. In his dream he was unsure about what it was which meant he was not able to respond to my continual quest for clarity from him. I told him he needs to discover his deeper ‘inner vibe!’ and be connected with why he was doing what he was doing. Eventually I sent him up a hill with a journal and pen to journal what he thought this ‘deeper purpose’ could be. After a period of reflection he came up with some answers.

The person who I am referring to, in my opinion, is pretty connected to why he does what he does. In fact, I would say he has an array of questions and statements which he reminds himself off constantly. Words like purpose, vision and values form a part of his weekly speak. Yet the question in the dream challenged him. As we spent time discussing the dream I realised it challenged me too! The reason was that one word: deeper.

What is that deeper purpose for you? What is that ‘why’ that runs through your veins, is ingrained in your DNA and that connects you powerfully with how you live your life? What is it that you feel so powerfully about which runs as deep as the oceans within your soul?

The timing of this discussion was impeccable. My challenge lately is to continuously remind myself of the ‘why’ rather than to become too focused on the ‘what’ and the ‘how.’ When this ‘why’ is not clear I look back over a week and wonder how much of what I have done has been effective. The disciplines which are important to me such as times of quiet and solitude go out the window. When I focus on my ‘why’ I can clearly see which of my actions have substance and color. Those actions feel rewarding and energising rather than empty and fruitless.

The point is we both realised we would like to be able to articulate that ‘deeper purpose’ off the cuff. If we have to journal on the hillside to find it out it probably means we are not going to be able to call on it in the moment. That’s where it counts!

How many of your actions have purpose behind them?


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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Work, Life and Balance

The last few days I have been workshopping at a clients wellness day. I have been very interested to hear the challenges that people face in the area of ‘work life balance’.

My take on the term is that we need to get rid of the word balance. It seems the separation of work and life as two separate entities is what is getting us into trouble.

When work is seen as one thing and life as another it would make sense that when there is too much work and not enough life that the desire to escape work becomes very real. We end up living for 1.5 days of the week - Saturday and half of Sunday and simply getting through the necessary grind that is work Monday to Friday.

But what if we simply looked at just LIFE and decided that LIFE includes work and a bunch of other stuff?

The most important question then becomes - how do I live optimally?

A few commented that the answer to a happy work life is in fact working for yourself where your time is yours i.e. when you get to work less and have more space to surf, take time out etc. Again, when the work side is minimal and the life side is maximum. This is why books such as ‘4 hour work week’ have been a such a great success. The quest is to reduce work and increase life. Most saw the ultimate ideal as work ending and life being the only thing to enjoy.

Work is getting in the way...

At Appletree we call this preparing to live. We need to challenge this perspective and move toward living life now.

Sometimes the changes are subtle. For example one of the differences I saw was in the approach to work by those who exercise and those who don’t. Those who exercise seemed to have a notably different perspective on their work. One woman commented to me that ‘her nerves were frazzled’ before she committed to running every day. Her work has not changed but her experience of work has through her engaging intentionally with the other important areas of life!

Another chooses to get out with her friends during the week. Another chooses to grab a coffee during the day. Small things which remind us that work is part of life rather than feeling like work is consuming life!

In other words if we change the way we live our experience of work will change too.

We need to ask ourselves what we can do to live more optimally even whilst our reality includes a full time job or a difficult work season. What else needs to be included in your life and how can you be more intentional about living well given...

Life includes work and a bunch of other stuff.

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Name

“You want to go 
Where everybody knows your name, 
And they're always glad you came; 
You want to be where you can see, 
Our troubles are all the same; 
You want to be where everybody knows your name.”

Do you recognise these lyrics? Are you singing the theme song in your head?

They come from the classic theme song for the popular 90’s sitcom Cheers.

I heard the song the other day and I haven’t stopped thinking about those lyrics, I think they are extremely powerful and contain a powerful leadership gem.

There is power in someone’s name, and even more power in knowing someone’s name. One of my primary influencers and friends, Rory Dyer, has the incredible ability to remember the names of people he meets. He has influence over thousands of people, meets new people all the time but I have witnessed time and again how he remembers not only people’s names, but also their story. I have also heard over and over how this has made an impact on those people whose names he has remembered. They feel valued and appreciated, and for many it has been the reason they are part of his church.

People wanna go where their names are known. A name represents a person’s identity, their heritage and their uniqueness – it is no wonder people wanna go where these attributes of themselves are embraced, appreciated, valued and even celebrated.

The creators of Cheers really chose a perfect song for their show – it summed up what the bar was all about. A place where people could come, where they would be free to be themselves and would be welcomed by the people there.

Imagine if we created the same environment for those we lead. Imagine if those we lead always felt that we were glad they came, that they weren’t alone in the challenges that they were facing. Imagine they felt they were appreciated, valued, an integral part of the team. Imagine they didn’t have to go to a bar to feel this way.

I believe the most effective leaders are those who see the value in those they lead. Instead of manipulating people, they treat them as assets and strive to build and develop them.

They lead with clarity, distinctiveness and direction, all the while making others feel safe and valued.

If we can strive to lead like this, I believe we will create an environment like that of Cheers… Where everyone knows your name.
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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

Powerfully Unique

I was doing a workshop last week, and met a lady who through the exercise we were doing discovered that she had a very strong gift of helping others reach their potential.

What a great gift to have! Many leaders strive to be effective in this area, and would be thrilled to learn they have this skill.

Interestingly, she did not feel this way! She sat back in her chair, crossed her arms and shook her head. She did not believe it. In her mind there is no way she could have this skill. When I challenged her on this she told me she knew someone who was extremely gifted in this area, and she was nothing like them!

How often do we do this as leaders? God has placed unique gifting and talents inside of us to make a difference in peoples' lives, but so often we doubt and discard them because we compare with others.

This reminded me of the story of David. The Bible tells us that David was a man after God's own heart.

He was a shepherd boy.

But, he was also a giant killer!

We know the story. David hears about Goliath and wants to kill him for coming against the army of the Living God. We read in 1 Samuel 17 v 33-40:

33 Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."

34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
Saul said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."

38 Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them.
"I cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not used to them." So he took them off. 40 Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

David knew who God was and who God had made him to be... Powerfully unique! There was the temptation for David to conform to how other warriors had fought powerful enemies, to try copy their tactics and use their weapons. But he responded differently, he was true to himself and used what God had put in his hand.

What has God put in your hands as a leader that is powerfully unique? Are you trusting in who God has made you to be, or are you comparing to others?

Are you disqualifying yourself because of a comparison you are making with another persons giftings?

The word tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are powerfully unique. Imagine if we had to believe in and celebrate that uniqueness and lead others out of who God has made us to be?

May you gain great excitement and courage as you look at what you have in your hands and know that you can accomplish great things.

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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

Picture Life As An Appletree

One of my favorite questions is ‘Are you living for one and a half days of the week?’

So are you?!

At the tender age of 18 I wrote a metaphor for life called ‘life as an appletree!’ It has pretty much turned into a way of life for me (www.appletreelive.com), and I guess has challenged me to make sure that the answer to that question is never ‘yes...unfortunately I am.’

The trunk is life. We move up the trunk through school, careers, family, assets and retirement, until we reach the top. We know there’s more than just the ‘ordinary’, and yet we cling to our comfort zone… our thick, safe, trunks.

Then there are apples. Apples represent the realities that we wish to create for ourselves; opportunities we know are for us. However, given that they lie at the ends of thin branches, we choose not to step out into a world of risk and fear to pick them. We stay on the trunk.

No-one wants to get to the end of their lives to find themselves sitting on top of their apple tree, looking down at piles of rotten apples lying on the ground, never picked.

Over the past 10 years I have realised that society seems obsessed with the trunk yet wants to step on to the branch. We are so focussed on ‘whats next’ - when are you getting married? when are you having kids? when are you having another? So it continues! The result is we are so focussed on the trunk that we miss apples. OR maybe we want to miss them... because they scare us. As much as humanity wants to be ‘happier’ they seemingly find it very difficult to break out of habitual patterns they find themselves in from too much time on the trunk.

Picking apples is scary business ... stepping out into new realities, trying new things, doing something that scares us, broadening our minds. Those that live for more than and a half days of the week seem to have something in common - they have taken risks, they are pushing through fear and they are challenging their comfort zones. It seems to be a rush!

How many times do we hear the eulogy message?? Someone wishes they had done more, lived more?

So heres the deal. Today I challenge you to step out onto that thing branch, to pick apples and to begin a journey that will change your reality. I challenge you to find an apple, no matter how small RIGHT NOW. I challenge you to look at what comfort zones you have found yourself in and look at ways to break out of them.

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Listen for the Whisper

God desires to lead and guide us, he wants to speak to us. As leaders it is essential that we hear him so we can effectively lead others.

But so often we struggle to hear.

Maybe it is because we are hoping that we will hear God’s booming voice loud and clear, telling us what to do.

However it never seems to be like that with God. But the promise is that God is speaking, so maybe we need to try things differently. Maybe God’s voice is drowned out by all the noise around us.

This scripture tells a similar story:
1 Kings 19:11-13: "The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

We have winds of work and stress, earthquakes of hurry, fires that burn with the desire for instant answers and solutions. But God so often comes as a gentle whisper, and these things drown out His voice. We can so easily miss it if we don’t take a step back, remove the noise and listen for the whisper...

Have you ever taken time out in silence and solitude?

In his book Leading On Empty, Wayne Cordeiro says that there are only four ways to live your life:

1. Reaction – passively dominated by urgencies and pushy people.
2. Conformity – succumbing to the fear of man and just being and doing what everyone else wants, which is not necessarily following God’s will for you personally.
3. Independence – nonconforming rebellion in the name of freedom, marked by doing only what you want and ignoring godly authority over you.
4. Intentionality – reverse-engineering your life and living it prayerfully and purposefully, journaling your thoughts throughout the day, and using silence and solitude to hear from God and organize your life.

How are you living your life now? Where would you like to be?

Why not try things differently from now on. Instead of wanting God to shout above the noise, why not try spend some time, turn off the noise and listen for the whisper...
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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

Pruning Tactics

Chapter 2 of the book Necessary Endings by Dr Henry Cloud is entitled ‘Pruning: Growth Depends on getting rid of the unwanted or the superfluous.’ I found this chapter both insightful and challenging.

Dr Cloud refers to the art of growing rose bushes. The Gardener who is skilled in growing healthy rose bushes intentionally and purposefully cuts off branches and buds that fall into the following 3 categories:

Healthy buds or branches that are not the best ones;
Sick branches that are not going to get well, and;
Dead branches that are taking up space needed for the healthy ones to thrive.

Dr Cloud refers to this metaphor as a means to encourage us to look at these 3 categories of necessary endings in our own professional lives. What really struck me from the metaphor was the idea that category 1 that a rose bush has only enough resources available to it to bring a certain number of buds to bloom - not all of them!

It simply cannot bring all of them to full bloom.

In order for the bush to thrive, some of the buds have to go.

Dr Cloud says ‘the caretaker constantly examines the bush to see which buds are worthy of the plants limited fuel and support and cuts the others away... He ends their role in the life of the bush and puts an end to the bush’s having to divert resources to them... in doing so, the gardener frees those needed resources so the plant can redirect them to the buds with the greatest potential to become mature roses.’ (page 16)

We have resources which are both precious and limited. Are we treating them this way?

Where are we directing our resources?

If we had to examine them through the knowledge that our resources can only bring a limited number of ‘buds’ to bloom which areas would we put them into.

Which areas would we take our resources away from?

Dr Cloud goes onto say that without the necessary endings of these buds we simply don’t get the best roses. If we are aiming at the ‘best roses’ or the fullest potential of what we are putting our hand to, we need to examine everything else that we are putting our hand to as well.

Personally I found a few areas that probably need to be cut away so I can direct my resources into the best ‘buds’.

You?

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Yes!

There is a sign on the verge of our complex.

I hate this sign.

It says:
NO! Skateboards, trespassers, hawkers...

What a nice word to see as you enter our complex... NO!

I understand that the sign is functional, but I feel that far too often we stipulate what we can't do, or what's not allowed rather than what's possible.

Imagine the sign read:
YES! To community, fun, hospitality, peace and comfort. That's the kind of complex I want to live in!

Like our complex, most teams, companies and organizations have a "sign" - a set of rules - of how we are supposed to conduct ourselves. I believe that such rules are absolutely essential, without them there would be no structure.

But think about your team's sign.

Is there a big NO!?

Or is there a big YES!?

We seem to be so picky about the negative and this limits us from empowering those we lead to flourish in their unique styles and strengths. Our job as leaders is to develop others, to show them how to maximize their gifts and reach a common goal, but all too often the approach used is one of control.

We want to tell others how they should act, how they should work, how they should dress, when they must arrive and leave. Again, as leaders we have a huge responsibility to prevent chaos. But in essence our job is to empower, not control.

Think about the language we use in our corporate culture. Are we controlling or inspiring? Saying No or Yes? Stipulating what we can't do or what we can do?

Simon Sinek, author and speaker, has what he calls an Allowed list for his team. I found this inspirational. His list is as follows:

You are allowed to:

1.     Make the decision you think is the right decision to make

2.     Start something that needs to be started to help advance the cause

3.     Ask for help whenever you want it

4.     Help others whenever you can (even if they don’t ask for it)

5.     Take time off to do something that inspires, excites and energizes you

Everyone is expected to follow these rules and everyone is expected to hold the others accountable to them.

Imagine if leaders developed a list like this? Imagine if we developed a culture that empowers rather than controls? I think our teams would be transformed!
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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

What Must End?

Yesterday I walked into Exclusive’s and a book title immediately grabbed me - Necessary Endings by Dr Henry Cloud.

I am not sure why it did but as I picked it up and went through a few pages I begun to think about the questions this book may open up around what I am committed to right now. We naturally strive to take what we do to new levels, new phases or new seasons. We as human beings are excellent at jotting down a new idea, a new vision or screening pictures of ideals that we wish to achieve.

Newness is attractive.

But do we ever think of what of the ‘old’ must end?

Henry’s opening line is (I reckon authors must pour so much time into that opening line!)

‘Today might be the enemy of your tomorrow’

What you are doing today and how you are doing it may be robbing you of the tomorrow you desire.

Some things may need to end.

He goes onto say that endings are a natural part of the universe and challenges us to look at how we see the endings which we need to face up to. Life has seasons, phases and stages. Why then do we like everything to look and feel the same all the time in our businesses?

Growth can very often mean that we have to move on from something.

What really makes sense to me is that we may have had to do what we have needed to do to get us to this point but the success of that action does not mean the action should live into the future.

It may be time to kill it.

Given I am only on chapter 1 perhaps this blog can offer no finality on how you go about figuring out what must end and how to end it.

But perhaps, like me, you can begin to have a look at what is taking up your time right now and ask yourself the question:

If this were to end what could it potentially mean personally and professionally?

Your answer for each area / action / relationship / strategy / project may just open up a window to dealing with what needs to be dealt with in order to take yourself to the next level.

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

References

You can’t take people where you have never been before.

I heard a leader say this a few years back and that sentence still sticks with me today. It is amazing how one sentence can change the way you think, speak, lead and even live your life.

What this sentence did was provide me with a reference as to how I approach my life and leadership. It is an essential truth, if we want to continue to increase our influence and effectiveness we need to be intentional about our personal growth. We need to increase our references so we can continually take ourselves and others further.

If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you’ve always got.

That’s another one of my favourite references. It is stupidity to think that if we continue to do the same thing over and over again we will get a different result. It is thus extremely important for us to continue to build up our references so that we have unique and fresh ways to approach similar issues.

But how do we build these references? I believe the starting point in about being intentional. If we understand the importance of growing our references we will make sure it happens.

I have personally found these tools incredibly beneficial for me in growing my reverences:

Reading: You can’t beat the age old way of transferring knowledge – the written word. Books are a great way to learn new ideas and gain insight from stories. What are you reading at the moment?

Online: There are numerous websites dedicated to leadership and personal development, my firm favourite is Ted.com. If you haven’t already, go check out this inspiring resource, it will provide you with great insight.

Podcasts: Numerous authors and speakers have free podcasts where you can download free audio files of them sharing their pearls of wisdom. Get onto iTunes, search for your favourite guru and start downloading.

Conferences: There are many conferences run nationally and globally around leadership and development. When last did you attend one?

Mentors: Or how my friend Trav likes to call them, Primary Influencers. Who are you hanging out with and who is speaking perspective into your life? Having the right mentors can often be a powerful tool to build up your references.

We can only take people where we have been before. So where are you taking yourself?

Ideas

Why didn’t I think of that?

What is the one thing people say most often after they stumble across a great idea?

For instance, have you come across Groupon yet? If not have a look at what they are doing as they have been the center of attention lately. I recently came across this innovative eventing idea recently called Pecha Kucha and look forward to attending one of their events this week alongside what seems like a bunch of others according to their facebook invite. On a recent fishing trip I was awed at a very vibrant bar in the middle of nowhere which was in essence a converted shipping container.

All great ideas.

And the one thing I hear from peoples mouths when discussing these ideas is...

'It's so simple... why didn't I think of that!'

And its true isn't. None of these ideas are overly complicated! Yet we kick themselves for coming up with it in the first place...
But it's the lines that follow that interest me.

'Man, I had a similar idea!' or 'I have this idea which has been on my mind...'

It seems we don't have a shortage of ideas. It seems we have a shortage of execution on ideas. The frustration expressed in the 'why didn't I think about it' line is actually more about a lack of execution than a lack of coming up with an idea...

Its not that these great ideas are simple, its that they are now out there! And as similar as they might be to ours, the fact is someone took the risk and we didn't!

The problem seems to be something I could call 'layering'. Ideas are simple, we have established that already. But what we tend to do is layer the idea with all sorts of complications around the probability that the idea will succeed.The running of future scenarios tends to keep us away from kicking off in the first place.

Perhaps we take simple ideas and make them complicated?

Perhaps those that execute on ideas keep reminding themselves to just keep it simple?

Or perhaps they just know they would rather execute even if they were to fail than be one of those who wishes.... that they had 'thought of the idea in the first place...'

I hope we will be talking about your idea around the fire sometime soon...

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Brilliantly Humble

I was in a workshop recently where we asked the participants to pair up and tell the other person, for 1 minute, why they were such an amazing person.

The truth is there is beauty and brilliance in everyone. God was showing off when He created each and every person. It is said of us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.

But have you ever tried to tell someone else how truly amazing you are? Try it. Do you think it will be easy?

Well the guys on the course found it extremely difficult. Most lasted about 30 seconds before they started to mumble and become rather awkward. Others started to explain how amazing their partners or family were, and by default that made them a great person.

We so often struggle to see the brilliance in us, the incredible gifts we have been given.

Why is this? As we began to dive into this a little further, a common reason emerged: we have a desire to be humble and not come across arrogant. I’m sure we all agree that we would rather spend time with someone who is humble than with someone who is arrogant. What I also uncovered was that most of us have a warped idea of humility.

Humility is often perceived as thinking less of ourselves. I personally believe it has more to do with knowing who and what you were created to be and being that to your best of your ability!

Imagine if we could take a long, hard, honest look at ourselves and see the gifts and talents we have been blessed with. Imagine if we would not shrink back from exercising those gifts but using them to the best of our ability.

This would require a radical shift in the way we think. I would challenge you to try. I would challenge you to understand how amazing you are and to continue to discover what your unique giftings are.

I would then charge you to be truly humble: to live our who you really are to the best of your ability. Imagine the impact we could make if we lived from this space?

Lets do it…

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." H Thurman.
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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

The Burden

If you are a communicator, a brilliant book worth reading is Communicating for a Change by Andy Stanley. I guess you would need to determine if you are in fact a communicator before you read the book so the question you would need to ask yourself is: do I speak to other people at all during the day? If the answer is yes, then read it. 

During one of the chapters Andy refers to communicators needing to be burden bearers.  A burden, he explains, is what what shifts us away from simply conveying information to others. He says that others can tell if we are carrying a burden versus simply dispensing information. He challenges us further stating that when we communicate we need to know that one thing - the one idea, message, principle or truth that we had to deliver at all costs.  What is it that people have to know?  What do you feel compelled to share? It's beyond information... it's a burden.  A burden is what brings passion into a message enabling you to wrap up the hearers of your message and take them on a journey.

So imagine you were given a platform to speak to a crowd of people.  This will be your only opportunity, a never to be repeated experience. Imagine you arrived at the podium and had all ears on you. You've been given free reign to talk on anything you would like.

What would be the one thing you would communicate?  What would be your burden that you would share?

If, like me, you can't answer that too clearly right now then perhaps the following questions will help you clarify what it is:
What change would you most like to see in the world?
What is the most significant way to live?
Where do you believe we as human beings can make the biggest difference?
What topics are you drawn to, be it on TV or in the media?
What life experiences have stuck fast in your memory banks?
What frustrates you most about the state of the world?
What inspires you?

The idea would be to look for a common thread. What seems to stick out as you answer the questions. What could that one thing be?

I believe - that as much as our platform in this blog was imaginary - that those of us who begin to own our burdens WILL be given the platform off which to share it.

The world needs more burdens.

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

Change

Very few things in life are certain, but we can be certain of change.

The only thing that is constant is change.

Everything changes, nothing stays the same.

We can’t escape it, change is all around us and always present. No matter what stage of life you may be at, you will experience some sort of change. I’m sure if I had to ask you what sort of change you are experiencing right now, you would be able to give me at least one example of change – whether it be a change in job, a new relationship, the end of an old relationship, moving to a new city, a new boss or maybe the loss of a loved one. Change is always present.

I find it very interesting how we react to change. It is often met with negative emotions or new happiness – both of which I believe inappropriate.

Inappropriate? Well, this is why I think so:

Often change will signal the end of something - the end of an era or a chapter. With this end often comes a longing for the good old days, a desire for things to be how they used to be. As a result, we never fully embrace the change or the new chapter, but we resist and compare – which in turn leads us to be discontent.

We so often let the past rob us of the present.

Other times we may be extremely excited about change. This is often when the change signals the end of time of discontentment. Maybe a boss who has made your life miserable is moving on, or maybe you are leaving a job you hate for a new one. Maybe you are moving with the hope of greener pastures. But as we experience the new pastures we often find that it is not what we had dreamed it would be, and we in turn hope that the next change will bring us happiness. Hoping for change to bring us happiness is inappropriate because it never will.

We so often let our hope for the future rob us of the present.

Even though we will always experience change, the present is all we have. Change can cause you to look longingly back into how things were or expectantly into what is coming, but what I believe we should do when change comes along is to look purposefully into the present. What can I embrace right now that honours and remembers the past but will set me up to maximise on what is coming.

If we can move to this, we will move from reacting to change to responding with purpose.
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Don Muller has spent the last 4 years working into corporate and church leadership development and training both locally and internationally. He has a passion for and works towards seeing individuals live out their strengths and calling daily.

Upgrading the Other Way

Last week I sent out a BBM broadcast to my loyal Blackberry friends notifying them I would be leaving the community. It was time for an upgrade and Blackberry was not part of my next move! 90% of the responses assumed I now had an Iphone. Either they would be joining me soon or expressed their satisfaction in my choice.

But I am not getting an IPHONE... or any other smart phone for that matter.

But is that a smart move?

I recently wrote a blog on my experience of spending a few days without my Blackberry after it had crashed. It was a liberating experience where I enjoyed a slower pace and more space. I realised in that short amount of time that turning my phone on was almost the same as turning on the world. In an instant I was connected to clients, friends, news, information, tweets...

As much as I love everything about technology it had invaded my world and had the potential to rob me of being present and enjoying what I love the most. I had to think about what really counted and then make a decision about how to make it count!

So I got a plain and simple Nokia C5.

So far the response has been interesting. Some have given me a few months before I get over it! Some have told me its embarrassing! Even the Vodacom salesmen couldn’t believe it! Now when everyone puts their phones down on the table, mine will rest alongside its bigger more sophisticated brothers!

An eye opener had been how often I reach for my new phone and search for something to do on it - a habitual pattern! With no attractive offerings the phone seems to slowly only find my hands to make a call or read a text.

So why did I do it?

To make a statement - No.

To try and get everyone else to do the same - No.

The answer is simple. I know myself. I know what is most NB to me. And I know what I need to do in order to put myself squarely in the middle of what is most NB to me.

If it means letting go of ‘stuff’ that I enjoy then so be it.

As long as I do what I need to do to remain focussed on what really counts.

So thats my challenge (and it may not involve your phone!)

What clutter can you strip away in order to remain present & focussed on what really counts on a daily basis?

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com

The Power of Community

"It is in the shelter of each other that the people live."

This is the Irish proverb that inspired a song by a band called Jars Of Clay. The song is called the Shelter, and the lyrics have been the catalyst for me to consider the importance of community. Jars Of Clay sing:

"For those who've yet to find it
 The place is near where love is moving 
Cast off the robes you're wearing
 Set aside the names that you've been given
 May this place of rest in the fold of your journey
 Bind you to hope 
You will never walk alone 

In the shelter of each other 
We will live
 We will live (Never walk alone)

If there is any peace 
If there is any war 
We must all believe 
Our lives are not our own 
We all belong

God has given us each other
And we will never walk alone 

In the shelter of each other
 We will live."

This is powerful truth. Our lives are not our own. We were not created to do life alone, we exist and thrive in community. In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell tells about the power of community present in a small Italian immigrant town called Roseto in Pennsylvania, USA. It was noted that in Roseto, people died only from old age, there was no illness or medical conditions that was claiming lives. As this phenomenon was investigated, it was discovered that their culture was the reason – a culture of community living in community. It was an amazing discovery – the power of their community brought them health.

Without community we cant thrive. Even Hollywood knows this truth. If you have watched the blockbuster Castaway, you would have witnessed Tom Hanks slowly slip into insanity (with his friend Wilson – the volleyball) as he was isolated on a deserted island. Law enforcement also understands this truth. One of the harshest forms of punishment is solitary confinement. Isolate a man and you will destroy him.

Community causes us to thrive but isolation causes us to die.

I then began to consider the corporate world. Corporates aim to thrive, but how much community is present in the work place? Is this a place of thriving community where people use their skills and ability to impact those around them, or a place of isolation and selfish ambition? The word corporate speaks about a group of people working together, yet the truth is so often little or no community exists in any team or corporate.

As leaders, we set the tone and create the environment for community to exist. Would you say the people that you lead feel like they are living in the shelter of the others in their team?

We were created for community. I encourage you to use the gifts that you have been given to benefit others, to create the “shelter” that will cause your team to thrive!

Trading Metaphors

Recently I arrived at a coffee shop to meet with Mark van Straaten. As the lead elder at Grace family Church in Umhlanga, KZN, Mark is one of my primary influencers. I believe in the idea of having primary influencers who impact on how we live our lives.

Choose wisely but avoid not choosing at all.

Primary influencers should be people you respect. They would have characteristics you aspire toward. They will have done something significant with their lives. They have gone before you and dealt with so much of what still lies ahead of you.

A half hour conversation could, more often than not, be more relevant and applicable than whatever it is you learnt at University!

As it was on this particular day.

I arrived at a coffee shop bringing with me a mind spinning with scenarios I was facing. The challenges within those scenarios kept me in a state of tension, negatively affecting my perspective.

Soon into our meeting Mark began to reflect on the idea of trading. Through some experience and some conversations he had had, he began to explain about this tension that exists in a traders life which simply never goes away.

“That tension” he explained, “is brought on due to the fact that traders can simply NEVER take into account all of the probabilities. It’s simply impossible!”

“The 5% of traders who make a success of trading” he continued, “recognise that trading is in fact a psychological process. The great traders are the ones who do it without FEAR. They simply know that they have to and will handle whatever happens next. They act from a place of complete confidence despite the risks associated with the unknown.”

As he spoke he held up a mirror. The probabilities I lived by were causing fear and anxiety.

“Fear limits our creativity” Mark continued seemingly knowing what I was thinking, “keeps us thinking ‘in the box’ which robs us of what we most need when we face the unknown - a mind open and focussed on possibility.”

Then the clincher.

“It’s not about abandoning reason. It’s about making a decision and sticking to it!”

In a few sentences I had let go of my need to control and began to look my context through the eyes of a ‘trader’. Changing my perspective through this critical insight yielded a different experience of my challenges. The weight disappeared.

The lesson is not only in the metaphor but in who that metaphor came from.

Who shares and impacts your story?

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Travis Gale has spent the last 5 years running his own development business in South Africa’s corporate world and is currently involved in various long term partnerships with clients across a number of industries. Furthermore he has travelled to conferences internationally hunting down latest trends and insights. Having cycled around the world and survived a tsunami, his passion for crossing borders often lends itself to an interesting blend of stories and insight. He sees himself as a ‘change catalyst’ and displays strength in facilitating insight into the right spaces. Find out more at www.appletreelive.com