I am gone fishing this week! In Blog 005, The Bridge I wrote about an experience last summer as my family and I were leaving our favorite vacation spot, Saint George Island, Florida. Well…we are back here this week! I spent some time revisiting that post on Friday as we prepared for vacation. It was a good reminder of the emotions I felt as we left the island last summer. My hopes are that it will make me more intentional with my time this week with those who matter the most to me.
To let you into my brain a little, I have an Evernote file of more than one hundred topics to write about that have come to me over the last year. What tends to happen though, is an idea comes to me the week of. That idea usually takes precedent. It comes to me in the form of a one or two word title. Throughout the week I will jot down notes, quotes and etc. to incorporate into the post. Finally, I spend three or four hours late Sunday evening writing the final post.
I write these with the hopes of inspiring community leaders to use their influence to better others and the world they live in, but here is a little secret. I write these to hold myself accountable. I never want to be seen as a hypocrite. If I suggest you should lead in a certain way, I should do so as well. That means a lot to me.
I really wanted to write on the topic that came to me this week, but as I re-read The Bridge, it reminded me that my time with my family is precious and so I am minimizing the time I would normally put into crafting this post. From here, I selected five excerpts that I have been reflecting on the first two days of vacation. If you have young kids and you are on spring break this week as well, I would challenge you to skip the rest and go back and read The Bridge in full.
Give Yourself Space
I enjoy surf fishing while I am at the beach. I am out there at the crack of dawn. Just me, the sunrise, my fishing poles, crashing waves, and hopefully some fish! I can decompress while the rest my family sleeps in. It gives me space. Here is an excerpt from post 012, Paw Paw, “Community leaders better others in the world they live in. That role can be exhaustive at times. Good community leaders work hard to put their families and the people they serve first. As the leader, you come last. We all need space. I know I do. I reenergize in space, have clarity in space, and am more creative in space. Give yourself space.”
Time is Precious
Excerpt from The Bridge, “We hear this all the time…time is precious. Time is the one thing we cannot make more of. You cannot slow it down. It will not stop. The sands of the hourglass continue to fall no matter how hard we try to fight it.”
Create Experiences
Excerpt from The Bridge, “We all need to do better here. I know I do. The gaming systems, the toys, the bicycles, they do not last. Experiences last. The memories made for our children on this vacation will outlast me and my time here on earth. The bike rides, the fish caught, the kites flown, the seafood eaten, the sandcastles built, and that sunset. Personally, I have never regretted going on any vacation, any last-minute weekend getaway, any camping trip, or any ballgame. I regret single every single one we did not take. Create experiences.”
Spend Time With Those That Will Cry At The Reading Of Your Last Will And Testament
Excerpt from blog 013 Will and Testament, “As genuine and authentic community leaders, we will likely have many cry at our funerals. The student who you redirected their life through education, the player that you kept on the straight and narrow so they could play college ball, the employee you developed that went on to pursue his/her dreams as an entrepreneur, or that lost student in your youth group that you led to his/her faith. I could go on and on. You name the scenario in your story.
As community leaders, we are in the business of bettering others in the world we live in, but the most important world you live in is home. That is your family. The ones that will cry when your last will and testament is read. Spend quality time with them.”
The Epilogue Is More Important Than The Story
Excerpt from Will and Testament, “At the end of most books there is what is called and epilogue. A quick Google search produces this result for epilogue, “a section…at the end of a book…that serves as a comment on or a conclusion to what has happened.” In the world of books, authors write their own epilogues. In life, the people you impact will write yours. Give them plenty of good material to work with and sources to cite!”
My family will be the greatest contributor to my epilogue. I want to make it count this week! Hope each of you had an incredible Easter Weekend! See you next week!
Ordinary to Extraordinary Intersection
Where do you create space? Do you understand how precious time really is? What are you doing to spend time with those that will cry at the reading of your last will and testament? What experiences are you creating for your family? How will your epilogue read?