Tag Archives: Martin Luther King Jr.

Are you being silent with your gifts?

February 28, 2022 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

My devotional study verse for this morning aligns well with today’s quote. If one is going to serve, you cannot ignore your gifts. You cannot overlook the opportunity to lean in and give your talents away. 

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4:10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

You can’t choose to be silent about things that matter because when you do, you are being selfish with the gifts and talents given to you. After all, why did you receive them if not to make a difference in the lives of others?

Movement is what matters the most…

January 17, 2022 By in Leadership Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes the progress towards goals comes easy, and it feels effortless and smooth, almost “magical.” But then there are those days where every step is a struggle and a grind. Success is built on the days where you grind it out. Those are the days when real progress happens because those could quickly become the days you give up and walk out on your dreams.  

Even when it’s hard, keep moving because that is when the movement matters the most.  

Are you rowing with, or against others?

January 16, 2022 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

​“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It is incredible how much of our precious time and energy focus on differences instead of aligning on similarities and commonalities. 

Once we recognize that we are all in this life together and that our dreams for life are more similar than different, we can get a lot more done.  Grab an oar and row, time to move the boat forward…

What is your most important next step?

March 24, 2021 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I am continually amazed at how things work out for good when you step forward, serve others, and put your energy towards positive things. Taking the step of embracing a servant’s heart and putting your actions ahead of your words are two of the most important thing one can ever do in life.  

Living in this manner is what helps build the staircase…  

Is making a difference to one person today too much to ask?

January 18, 2021 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“We are not makers of history. We are made by history.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

Who are you? How has the person you have evolved to become been framed and formed by your history and the history of those around you?  

We are all reflections of those who have touched our lives. Therefore we must learn and grow based on those touches.   

Then we must give back and become an influence on someone else downstream. We don’t attempt to create history so much as we strive to serve and leave the world better than we found it.  

If every person tried to do this one time per day, imagine the impact.  

How has your history uniquely and specially prepared you to positively impact one person’s life today?  Just one person.  Is that too much to ask?

The first step is done in faith…

November 6, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase; just take the first step.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Sometimes it is best not to see the whole staircase that lies in front of us. The number of stairs or the steepness of the climb might intimidate us into not starting at all.  

The most powerful thing we will ever do is seize the opportunity to take that first step in faith, trusting that it is taking the action that truly matters.  

What important decision lies before you? Have faith, take the step, trust your choice.

Give it your all…

April 9, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

This has long been one of my favorite, and most convicting, quotes. Every time I feel like mailing it in and doing “just good enough” I can immediately hold myself accountable by remembering this quote. I have to believe that Reverend King had one of these two verses from scripture in mind when he penned this quote.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:23-24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How amazing would this world be if everyone embraced their calling, and everything that they did, with this degree of purpose and passion?


Right + Sacrifice = Victory

January 21, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

“For when people get caught up with that which is right and they are willing to sacrifice for it, there is no stopping point short of victory.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

This quote really raises a number of questions that I want to think through. What exactly is “right?” What is it that you are willing to sacrifice for? Is it your principles? Perhaps your values? Maybe its family? Just how far are you willing to go achieve victory?

It seems clear to me that once you know the answers to these questions and have a well defined definition of what victory is, you have by design said that there is no stopping point. Do you have that clear vision of what is right in your mind? Without that how will you ever keep going when the challenges inevitably raise up? How can you ever muscle through if you don’t have a clearly defined “right?”

It doesn’t have to be something that changes the world the way that Dr. King’s did, it can be enough to simply change your world, and the world of those that love you…

Properly gauge your disappointments…

September 26, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

When you look back at life what are your greatest disappointments? At the time did you recognize them as disappointments or is it only through the lens of time that you recognize them as regrets?

I find that there are many times I am disappointed by something that happens within daily life, but when I take a moment to pause and think about what is truly important I realize that whatever minor setback or disappointment I am dealing with at the moment isn’t all that important. In a month, a year or five years, it won’t even matter… What will matter is focusing on what is truly important.

Do you know what is truly important? Do you have a clear definition of what WILL MATTER in a month, a year or five years? Are those things clearly defined and serving as a compass in your life? What is the anchor for your hope?

This quote reminds me of this verse from Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians. “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Regardless of your religious beliefs, do you have a clearly defined compass for your hope? Are you using that compass to properly gauge your daily disappointments?

What are you doing for others?

December 14, 2018 By in Leadership Tags: , Leave a comment

“Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

What are you doing for others today?  In the next hour?  Right now?  

Sometimes in today’s world it can feel like life’s most urgent question is: “what are you doing for yourself?”  It is easy to get caught in a spiral of me me me because that is what society seems to be all about.  Especially with social media, etc.  

I do think it is important to answer this question in the proper tense. ‘What am I doing’ versus ‘what have I done?’  It feels that answering in the past tense is looking for praise or a pat on the back.  Focusing on doing for others keeps it future oriented and not about ourselves.  

Perhaps it is worth creating a mechanism and intentionally reflecting on the answer to this question?  Just once a day or once a week for 10-15 minutes?  

Actions speak louder than words…

September 23, 2018 By in Leadership, Ownership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

There are so many ways that one can take and interpret this quote.  Today I read this as being aware of the importance of knowing that even when you don’t say something, your behaviors might reflect what it is that you are thinking.  You are responsible for those behaviors in the same vein as if you had spoken the words.

The key difference here is that when you speak the words you can invite dialogue about the meaning behind them.  When people are left to interpret behaviors there is no dialogue unless you have created a place where that kind of conversation is safe and encouraged.

It is far easier to reconcile the words you have spoken than it is the behaviors you have demonstrated.  Words have specific meaning, and while misunderstanding is very common, at least there is a platform to create a conversation and come to a common understanding.  Not so with your actions, those are interpreted through the filters by which others see the world and dialogue and understanding is not nearly as easy to come by.

So what does all this mean?  Recognize the importance of your actions and know that even if those actions line up with the words that you have in you mind, that no one else is hearing those words.  They will interpret them through the lens through which they view the world.  You are as responsible for those actions, and how they are interpreted,  as the words you speak…

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dusty

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