The Monday Memo from John Stanko

567: Intertwined

I am in Kenya, feeling rested after taking a week off from the Monday Memo, but eager to get back to writing it! I added many new people this week during my leadership sessions, so if this is your first Monday Memo, karibu! (that's Swahili for welcome). I am not ready to announce another topic for the coming weeks, but do have some thoughts to share with you from the past week.

1998

I first came to Kenya in 1998 at the invitation of an American pastor who has been here forever. I came with no idea that I would be coming back so often.  People ask me all the time, "How many times have you been here?"  I honestly have to answer, "I really don't know!" Saturday during a seminar, I was thinking how my life has become connected to the people here.  I came, impacted some folks, who told others about me, who heard me the next time I came, who registered to receive the Monday Memo, who shared the Memo with a friend, who then came to my next seminar, and that brought me to be in Karen on Saturday teaching a seminar some 14 years later.  Pretty amazing stuff, don't you think?

What if I had never come?  What if I did not come this visit?  What would have been lost?  What would never have happened?

There is no way to answer those hypothetical questions. The good news is that I came and kept coming, and God, sometimes to my surprise, used my presence to impart something to those who heard me.  And of course, I have received so much more than I have ever given, so the benefit has been mutual.  Now it is in my blood and I cannot stop coming.

INTERTWINED

So now my life is intertwined with the people here. It makes me think of what Paul wrote to the Romans 1:11-12: "I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith."  You may think when you do not do something that is in your heart that no harm was done.  But what opportunities were lost?  What lives did you fail to impact that you could have?  What benefit did you forfeit because you talked yourself out of the power or influence you can have when you act on your heart inclinations?

I thank God I am here in Africa and Kenya. I am never quite sure how I got here, except that the Lord opened the door and I walked through. I hope He keeps opening the door, but if He doesn't, I am intertwined with the people.  I am confident they will keep reading and they will keep walking out what they learned, hopefully thanking God that He brought us all together.

I urge you this week to stop underestimating the power of your obedience.  I also urge you to stop acting like what is in you is a devilish trap, to induce you to take action only to be smacked down or turned away by the Lord. Your life is waiting to be intertwined with others. Go out this week, find who they are and let the knitting together begin.  Have a great, purposeful week.

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ATTENTION KENYA:  i will lead a Seven Steps of a PurposeQuest seminar this Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm at NPC Valley Road.  You MUST register before the event and only 100 will be granted entrance. You must email info@royalandrich.com to register.  There are no exceptions so write today!

ATTENTION KENYA:  I am tentatively scheduled to be interviewed this coming Wednesday and Friday at 10 AM on EZ-FM here in Nairobi.  Please tune in and support the show!

 

566: Steve Jobs

I leave today for Kenya, and I think I will take a week off from the Monday Memo next week. This week, however, I want to finish up our discussion of creativity.  I just finished Walter Isaacson's book, Steve Jobs, so I am a bit fired up this week about creativity. Let's see what I learned from Isaacson's authorized version of Jobs' life and work.

There was great debate after Jobs' passing as to whether or not the man knew the Lord.  From what I read, it doesn't seem like he did, but I will leave that in God's hands. Jobs was certainly impacted by Zen Buddhism and a host of other spiritual influences apart from Christianity, but no one can deny that he almost singlehandedly changed the world by expressing his creativity.  While not a technology man, Jobs was a design and systems guy who was nothing short of brilliant in what he did, whether fashioning an iPad or crafting Apple, his beloved company.

But Jobs by all accounts, including his own, was a difficult man, sometimes mean and demeaning. He had no tolerance for fools and, in his estimation, most people were fools.  What can we learn from this man while not emulating his style, but certainly emulating his passion?  Here are some things to think about:

1. You may be so afraid to offend or challenge others that you keep your ideas and thoughts carefully locked inside. The world then loses the best of what you have because you are afraid to speak and act.
2. Sometimes you are more afraid of success than failure.  You don't try to have your first success because you are not sure you can sustain it.
3. You can take for granted what you see and what you can do. You may think everyone sees what is so obvious to you, but often then don't.  When you think like that, you don't say or do much.  You don't make things happen, you watch things happen.
4. You may be afraid of mistakes and therefore you choose to do no thing rather then do the wrong thing.

Steve Jobs did not allow any of these things to hinder him and he changed the world.  I maintain that you and I, in partnership with God's Spirit, should be equally as creative as Jobs, while not necessarily playing to a world audience.

What is keeping you back from being creative and expressing your creativity?  I hope this series has helped you identify some of those things.  The objective, however, is not just that you know what it is but that you know so you can overcome your obstacles to run the creative race. I am personally challenged by Jobs' example, for if he did that for the glory of technology, what can or should I do for the glory of God?  I pray you will join me in asking and answering the same question, and that together we can impact our world with the greatness of the image of God that still resides in you and me.  Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

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KENYA TODAY!:  I am off to Kenya today. If you would like to schedule a one-on-one or attend a seminar, please write and let me know.

LIBRARY UPDATE: You can read the last library update here before I am over in Kenya and able to send you the updates myself. 

565: ABBA

I was in the UK a few years ago, packing late at night (or early in the morning) to head home.  I had the television on, and a documentary was showing about the music group ABBA. I was casually listening but it caught my attention when they talked about how hard they worked to create their music when they were at their peak. Since then, I have seen the musical Mama Mia, which incorporates ABBA's diverse music into a show about a confused young girl about to get married, and after that I became even more intrigued with ABBA's work.

The documentary is now on YouTube and it makes for interesting viewing, even if it is 89 minutes long!  If you can't watch it all, pick it up at about the nine minute mark through about minute twelve. This is not a post to promote ABBA's music, but I do want to commend their approach to creativity, for their approach was one of disciplined, hard work. In other words, their creative success was no fluke. They had the talent, but they worked their talent hard, taxing it to produce what it was intended to do.

I write every day.  Then I write the Monday Memo once a week.  I produce a new Bible study one every two weeks and I write one book every year.  Those projects happen because I sit down to do the work, but I am always preparing, taking notes and perfecting my craft.  I teach new classes regularly (I have three university classes to teach this fall that I have never taught before) and I read and listen to books every day.

If you want to write, paint, sculpt, teach, or start a business or ministry, then you will need to do what I do, what ABBA did.  You will ned to work and apply yourself.

Now you don't have to do this, for when you force yourself, you will find all kinds of reasons not to create.  You must want to do this, so you can face and conquer your fears. You will need to deal with the apathy or ambivalence of those around and even close to you. None of my books are considered "best sellers," but I will keep writing to perfect my skills.  Maybe one day, God will honor me with that kind of success.  If not, I will keep writing - maybe it will happen after I'm gone. Maybe it will never happen.

As we wrap up this series next week, I hope you are encouraged to embrace and express your creativity in new, fresh ways. This will not just happen without your concerted, focused effort.  If I can help you in any way, please let me know.  Now get busy about the work you were created to create. Have a great week!

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KENYA UPDATE:  You can read the latest update from Pastor Peter concerning the library project here, along with some new pictures.  Then please donate by the time I depart next Monday for Kenya either through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.

KENYA TRAININGS:  I will be doing several special workshops while I am in Kenya, which include:

1. Training to become certified in the DISC profiling system.
2. A Purpose Profiling Seminar to help you understand your purpose, gifts and strengths.
3. A Turn Your Dream Into A Reality Seminar to help you take your creativity and make it a reality.
4. The Investment in Excellence seminar from The Pacific Institute.
5. The PX2 Youth Seminar from The Pacific Institute.

Please write for more information to learn how you can be a part of these exciting training opportunities.

NEW BOOK!:  My latest book, The Price of Leadership, arrived last Friday.  This is a rewrite and revision of my original leadership book entitled, So Many Leaders, So Little Leadership. You can order your copy here.