Trumpets and drum roll, please! This month the Monday Memo turns 12 years old! From humble beginnings in 2001, the Memo has gone on to impact thousands of lives and inspire many to purposeful living. On this special occasion, please allow me to muse and reflect on these last 12 years.
WHY?
I started the Monday Memo because I was launching a website and wanted something that would 'drive' people to the site, something that would cause people to remember that the site existed. I read the author Seth Godin, who still impacts my life and work, and he talked about permission marketing, through which you created something of value that people gave you permission to send. While speaking at a conference in Ohio, I asked how many would like to receive something like the Monday Memo and eight people signed up. The rest is history. If anything, the Memo has become the main attraction and the website a sideshow, supporting the audience I reach through the Memo. Who would have thought?
When I first started, I didn't know what I would write or how people would respond. I never thought that I would be writing 12 years later and it has been a faith step to sit down every Sunday night for 12 years, sometimes not knowing what I would write. Yet when I would start, something would always come and I am grateful to the Lord for His help in creating and maintaining this project. In 12 years, I think I only missed writing the Memo about 25 times.
WHY NOT?
Every year at this time, I reflect on whether or not to continue the Memo. The readership is not as large as it once was, for when I started the Memo, there were very few other regular email offerings. Today there are a myriad and I would like to think I encouraged some of them to start. Yet 6,000 people still receive every week and I get feedback regularly that the Memo still inspires and mentors many people. Also, I have used the Memo to create awareness of my work in Kenya and many people have contributed to the needs there, which is a source of great joy for me and those we help.
So why not continue the Memo for another year?
In honor of this special event, I am attaching a gift - a document containing the 12 best Memos from the last 12 years. These Memos got the most feedback and actually a few of them appeared more than once as reprints. I hope you enjoy them again as much as I did writing and now compiling and editing them.
And of course, I want to challenge you to do what's in your heart to do. The Memo was in my heart, I wrote and God blessed. If He did it for me, He can do it for you. But He can't work with what you don't produce. So go for it and, as you do, celebrate with me God's goodness in your life over the last 12 years. Have a great week and Happy Anniversary, Monday Memo!
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THE PACIFIC INSTITUTE: I am going to host my annual
seminar TPI here in PIttsburgh on March 14 and 15 and then again on
April 25 and 26. What is TPI? The training offered is the best I have
ever encountered and has made me better and more effective at everything
I do. The cost is $400, so it represents an investment in yourself, but
it will pay dividends for the rest of your life! If you are
interested, write and I will send you more information.
KENYA: You can read my latest updates from Kenya that include a thank you from some widows (pictured right) and a list of needs from a children's' ministry. Please read and then give as the Lord leads, either through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you (and the children thank you, too).
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