Today is March 20.  It's a very special day for me.    Nine years ago today, I quit my full-time job and started my own business.   I was young and clueless, but had a dream and a passion and I was going to make it work.    At the time, B-to-B auctions and trading exchanges were the hot thing.  My plan was to build a web-based software suite, get some clients and then sell the business and walk away.    I had a business plan and I wanted to raise $1M.   I was so clueless, but that desire inside of me didn't stop.  Well, I never did raise any money on my own, but I did meet some other guys and we partnered up to form a company.   My current business partner was part of that original company.  While that company doesn't exist anymore, my business partner and I are still together to this day in a new company we started.

Looking back, there have been many peaks and valleys.    Good times and bad times.    But the passion inside of me never stopped.  I remember in one valley I looked at our personal checking account and we only had $700.   I remember praying right then that God would use me and our business to bless others.  I prayed that He would help and guide me and lead me out of the valley.   Shortly after that time, we landed a few great clients and haven't looked back since.  We currently sell a software suite that helps over 40,000 business owners run and manage their business.  We are a blessing to them.

As I look back to the day that I first started out on my own, I can now see clearly that God was there orchastrating things on my behalf.   Certain things happened and I survived solely because God was in control.   I didn't really know it at the time.  I was a Christian, but I had no real personal relationship with Jesus.   I really gave my heart to Jesus about 3 years into the business.    It's when my head knowledge transferred into my heart.  In those early days, I didn't really pray about the direction or seek God's will.  However, I know He was always there.  John 15:27 says "And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning."    I know God has been with me from the beginning.  Today I constantly seek His will and direction and test everything against His Word, the Bible.

If you're struggling right now, or feel like you've lost your way, contact me.   I would love to talk to you and offer you some encouragement.

I'm still in 1 Thessalonians 5.   In this chapter, Paul has some great words that leaders can study and chew on.    Verses 16-18 say this:

1 Thes 5:16-18 -- "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Three things listed out that we should do, but three things that in the daily life routine sometimes get overlooked and brushed aside.   In the thick of a client project or when a deadline is looming it's not always easy to be joyful and I know I'm sure not giving thanks at that moment.  I'm stressed out.  Perhaps I'm praying, but sadly even that seems to get side tracked when I'm dealing with a lot of wordly pressures.  

However, when we choose to obey these three things and try to incorporate them into our daily lives, our perspective will change.  We will start to see situations and people in a new light.  I know it's a lot easier to tackle a big issue after I've prayed about it, when I'm joyful about and when I'm thankful for it.

Now, I just need to remember these things and do them everyday.   When I am able to keep the right perspective and incorporate these things into my life, things always go much smoother for me.   I can look back and see that is true.

How about you?   How are you doing on these three things?

What do you think of when you think of a weak person?   Is it a helpless person?  A lazy person?  A child?  A timid person?  I'm still chewing on 1 Thessalonians 5.   Verses 14 and 15 say this:

1 Thes 5:14-15  "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.  Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else."

I think there's a lot of text here for a leader to think about.   Many times it's easy to encourage and lift up those people that we really like, that we see beaming with potential.  However, it's another thing to lift up and encourage the person that we don't mesh with well, that may be lazy, or may be really timid.   For a leader, these are the type of people that really need our encouragement the most.   Our job as leaders is to lift them up and help them grow into all that they can be.

When I read "make sure nobody pays back wrong for wrong", I think about the idea of "an eye for an eye".   You do something wrong to me, I do something wrong back to you to get even.   However, I think in the context of this passage, this sentence is telling us to not forget about those that are weak or timid.    Let's say you're a leader on a project and you've got a lazy employee.   It would be easy to exclude that employee from key meetings, or not involve that employee in key project discussions, or even gossip about that employee to other leaders.   I think that's a "wrong".    You've been wronged by a lazy employee, but don't pay back the wrong with a wrong.   Use it as an opportunity to get at the heart of the matter and coach the employee along into a more productive person.

The possibilities are endless here.  Try today and make a more determined attempt to lead those that may not totally measure up to your idea of what a leader is.

Leaders are called to encourage other leaders. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 says:

"Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other."

I think a job of a leader is to work to try and support other leaders above them. This involves looking for ways to cooperate, saying "thank you", and telling them that you appreciate them and their work. It means maybe holding back a critical comment, if the comment wouldn't be productive.

I've been reading 1 Thessalonians 5 and there are some good verses about encouragement and things leaders can do. These are core character things that I think would help anyone become a better encourager.

Verse 11 says: "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up. Just as in fact you are doing."

Leaders are called to build up other people.  This is a core element to encouragement. Look for ways to point out to someone a quality that you appreciate or admire in him or her. Many times you'll find that an encouraging word will come at the most appropriate time and is exactly what the other person needed to hear.