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“Do big things.” I heard that the other day from a man who claims his goal in life is just that, to “do big things” and to help and encourage other people to “do big things”. I’m inspired by that idea, aren’t you? Don’t you think he’s on to something?

What does it mean, though, to do big things? To me it is the difference between doing the menial and the meaningful. But does that mean the menial things are not important? Of course not! We all need to clean our houses, for example, or do the laundry, mow the lawn, change the oil in our cars, and wash the dishes. Performing such chores is essential for living an orderly and productive life. The question is, what is the context in which we do those things? Remember the story about the two brick layers? When asked what they were doing, the first simply responded that he was laying bricks. But the other gave a different answer. “I’m building a cathedral,” he replied. The first viewed his work as menial, but the other saw it as meaningful.

Sometimes I’m the first bricklayer, and other times I’m the second. I’m the first bricklayer when I simply go through the motions, completing the tasks alright, but with little thought that it is connected with anything meaningful. I even convince myself that I’ve put in a full day’s work, when in fact all I’ve really done is fill up a day. Other times, though, I attack my work with the same conviction of the second bricklayer, in the belief that whatever I am doing is part of something much bigger.

Doing big things requires the best of our human abilities, our deepest intellect, being innovative and creative, willing to take risks, to experiment with things that sometimes fail causing us to start all over. It also demands the menial, the small tasks, the grunt work, and the mundane.

“Do big things,” the man said. I’m inspired to make that a goal in my life as he has. But I also believe the opportunity to do big things is right in front of us, every day – as long as we are like the second bricklayer who sees his work as meaningful; for when our work is meaningful we are in fact doing “big things”.

Several years ago when we adopted Cowgirl, our beloved blue heeler, she was already fourteen months old, an adult dog. We had no idea about her past life except for some reason she ended up in the pound. She was a sweet dog, though, friendly and playful – if anything a little too playful – but we loved her spirit, still do. At the time we owned a small ranch in West Texas and some cattle. A few days after acquiring Cowgirl we went out to check on things and took her along. The moment we let her out of the pickup she darted straight toward the cows scattering them like a covey of quail. We didn’t know what to think, perhaps she was a little crazy, would run away and we’d never see her again. In a few minutes, though, the most amazing thing happened. Here she came with our little herd of cattle all bunched together moving obediently toward our pickup. Whether or not Cowgirl had any prior experience herding cattle we have no idea. What we do know is that in that moment she was clear about who she is and her purpose in life. Or as the late Stephen Covey might have said, she had found her voice.

Finding our voice, it is one of the most important things we all must do in order to become effective in our life and work. It is one of the very first things I do with new coaching clients is work with them in discovering their own voice, to clearly understand who they are, their unique personality characteristics, their behavioral preferences, and their purpose and passions. In their classic book on leadership, The Leadership Challenge, professors Kouzes and Posner are very clear about this. “The first step,” they say, “a leader must take along the path to becoming an exemplary leader is inward. It’s a step toward discovering personal values and belief. Leaders must find their voice. They must discover a set of principles that guide decisions and actions. They must find a way to express a leadership philosophy in their own words and not in someone else’s.”

I love my dog, and one of the things I love about her is that she clearly understands who she is. She’s never pretended to be anything but a dog. And the amazing thing is that those cows sensed and respected that about her. That’s what made her effective at herding. People are the same way. People follow leaders who are clear about who they are, who have found their voice. Have you found yours?

“The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone.’” – Genesis 2:18

“For without friends,” Aristotle once said, “no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods.” In his writings known as the “Nicomachean Ethics” Aristotle identifies three kinds of friendship, the first based on the pleasure of another’s company, or “friendships of pleasure”. The second has to do with usefulness in association, or “friendships of utility”. And the third is about mutual admiration, what he refers to as “friendships in virtue”. All are essential to the good life, according to his writings, and the best sorts of friends will not only admire each other’s excellence, but take pleasure in each other’s company and find their association of mutual advantage. (Sources: William J. Bennett’s The Book of Virtues and Wikipedia)

I am self-employed and work alone. It has been my life’s dream to do this, to do my own thing, be my own boss. It is a glorious way to live to be given the opportunity to make a living doing what one loves to do, where work does not feel like work. I love it more than anything I can ever imagine. But I must warn that in some ways working solo is a dangerous endeavor. More than once I have learned of its hazards the hard way; for as with any occupation certain support functions are required in order that the primary purpose be pursued, not all of which are fun nor am I particularly good at them. Example: a couple of months ago I received notice from a government agency that I had failed to file a certain form. It was not intentional, of course, simply an oversight – ignorance more precisely. It took at least a day in total to resolve the matter, time taken away from my primary purpose which I found most aggravating. Such administrative distractions are more common than I care to mention.

I am learning, however, to surround myself more and more with trusted friends and colleagues who help me in supporting my best efforts. Even though I remain self-employed and work alone, I cannot do it by myself. I need a team. I need colleagues within my profession from whom I have much to learn. I need others who are good at the things I am not. And I need the company of family and friends who give me pleasure. As the Lord God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.” True for me, how about you?

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” – Matthew 22:37-39

When I first met Brenda it was in a small group at a Bible study I had joined. In the course of our small group’s first get-to-know-each-other discussion Brenda revealed that when she was a child her father had played baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Immediately someone else in the group popped off with, “So, was your daddy famous?” With that a soft, tender smile appeared on her face. “He was to me,” she replied sweetly, almost in a whisper. (Her father was Charlie Neal if you want to look him up.)

I can’t imagine a more revealing description about her daddy’s character than Brenda’s response, can you? He was “famous” in her eyes, you see, far beyond being a great athlete and a loving father; to her he was an extraordinary human being. But what is it that makes an extraordinary human being? I have observed three things. First of all extraordinary people seem to have a purpose in life, a purpose much larger than themselves. Second, they know themselves well, their gifts, talents, and strengths, as well as their weaknesses and how to compensate for them. In other words, they know who they are as well as who they are not. Finally, they have a keen understanding of others and a deep compassion and concern for their fellow human beings.

Scripture provides a clear formula for an extraordinary life and the ideal model we should strive for. First is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind. That should be our ultimate purpose in life. Second is “like it”, to love our neighbor as ourselves. This requires that we must first understand and respect ourselves, not in an egocentric way, but so we are able to develop and use our unique gifts and talents to their highest potential. Then we can understand other people in the same way we understand ourselves and begin to model God’s love in the way we treat our neighbors. It is a perfect model we are given. Look around and you’ll see these characteristics in all extraordinary human beings – parents, teachers, leaders, all sorts of great people. It’s what makes them extraordinary. It’s what made Brenda’s daddy “famous” in her eyes.

“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

When I began writing these weekly missives eight years ago my inspiration then – as it continues to be now – is based on this verse about abundant life. What constitutes an abundant life and how must one live in order to attain it? That has been my central theme from the beginning. What I have discovered as I’ve wrestled with this issue in my own writings is there is no clear way to describe exactly what abundant life is. It is not something for which there is a particular formula, even though there are certain necessary ingredients as mentioned in the following paragraph. But abundant life is not easily defined or described, only experienced, and the only way I know to help others understand what that might be like for them is by relating stories about others who seem to have attained it. I must also emphasize that economic and social status are irrelevant towards one’s living an abundant life. It is so much deeper and richer than any of that.

As for the ingredients I love the way William J. Bennett organized the wonderful collection of great classic moral stories he compiled in his bestselling book several years ago called The Book of Virtues. Bennett categorized them this way: self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, and faith. While each of us may need to find our own formula, I do believe if it includes these basic ingredients we’ll be on your way to having life, and having it abundantly.

I would like to share one other insight I have discovered these past eight years, again through my own writings and your responses, and that is the importance of wisdom. Wisdom, I’ve come to believe, is the force – the inspiration – for living a virtuous life, thus an abundant life. Without it we are simply “chasing after the wind” as the writer of Ecclesiastes describes. But why do we not talk more than we do about wisdom in leadership and life? What exactly is wisdom anyway, and how do we gain it? The Psalmist states it this way, that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10). . . . . So I plant that seed and leave it with you to ponder as we close out 2012, but expect more on the subject in 2013. In the meantime God’s blessings, have a wonderful Christmas and a safe, healthy new year.