tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40943956704806158292024-03-13T21:29:11.477-05:00morgancafe blogmorgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comBlogger349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-15709115490146666642018-07-05T18:18:00.000-05:002018-07-05T18:22:12.461-05:00Lead Worship Like Rudy Sarzo Plays Bass (5 Things Worship Leaders Can Learn from a Bass Legend)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So when I heard <a href="http://www.theguesswho.com/band/" target="_blank">The Guess Who</a> (<em>American Woman, No Time, These Eyes</em>) were performing at Kokomo IN's Haynes Apperson Festival, I googled to see who the lineup was for a band whose heyday was the '60-70's.<br />
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The drummer (Garry Peterson) is an original member, but, what?? <em>Rudy Sarzo's</em> playing bass?!<br />
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You're saying to yourself, if you're not a musician or an '80's music maven, "Rudy <em>who</em>?"<br />
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Rudy Sarzo is one of THE rock/heavy metal bassists of this era. He's played with Ozzie, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Dio, to name a few. He's been in more <em>huge, monster</em> MTV videos than most musicians, played to packed-out stadiums, been on plenty of musician magazine covers. He's a big deal.<br />
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I'd known about him since back in the '80s but had never seen him play live (uh, heavy metal isn't exactly my cup of musical tea). <br />
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So Sandra and I settled in for the Foster Park free concert and from the first note to the last, I could not stop watching this guy!<br />
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He played every note like it was the only one that mattered. His body language, facial expressions, musicianship was <em>super-dialed-in</em> the whole time! <br />
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And I'm thinking,<br />
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"This is a free gig in Kokomo IN. The crowd is ok--they're not like on-their-feet into it or anything. It's <em>sweltering</em> out here. But this guy--this guy is going for it like it's a sold out stadium show!" <br />
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I did not catch this guy coasting <em>for a second</em> during their entire show!<br />
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As I kept replaying their concert in my mind, it made me start to think about worship leaders and musicians. I mean Rudy Sarzo was killing a clinic on the whole "<a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=audience%20of%20one" target="_blank">audience of One</a>" concept!<br />
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So for my friends who take the stage every weekend in a church, whether you're the worship leader, back-up singer, bass, guitar, drummer or keyboard player, here are five tips inspired by Rudy Sarzo:<br />
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<h3>
Play/Sing Every Note with Everything You've Got</h3>
Don't pace yourself. Be in the moment every moment. When you're on stage <em>someone</em> is looking at <em>you</em> every second. So every moment is an opportunity to inspire and point someone to Jesus. Because Sarzo plays that way, in musician speak, we call that <em>being a pro</em>. Being a pro translates into being <em>disciplined</em>. Working hard every day, every gig, every song, every note. In church speak, we call this <em>living for Jesus</em>.<br />
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<h3>
Dress for the Times and the Gig</h3>
Sarzo has been around since the '80s and was playing with a band famous decades ago, but he looked like it was 2018 and like he was at a rock gig <em>now</em>. Clothes matter. If you're not dressed for the times, the place and the style of music you're presenting, <em>you will distract people</em>.<br />
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Clothes and fashion are not a deal until you're out-of-step with them. There will always be people in your audience who are fashion-conscious, and to those people, fashion-misses, make them think about your wardrobe instead of what you want them to focus on. Clothes matter. If clothes and fashion aren't your deal, find a friend who can help you.<br />
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Or here's a scary idea. Approach someone in your church who consistently has a good sense of today's fashion and ask them what they think of what you wear. Told you it was scary ;-)<br />
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<h3>
Be Expressive</h3>
We all love the old joke: <br />
"Are you happy?"<br />
"Yes."<br />
"Then tell your face!" ;-)<br />
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It doesn't make sense to sing about joy with serious angst on your face. And it doesn't make sense to sing about hard times with a Cheshire Cat grin on your puss. When I was watching Sarzo last week he ran the gamut of emotions throughout the gig. He didn't just have <em>a</em> "bass face," he had a variety of emotions just like the songs and like the complex human being that he is.<br />
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Odds are you probably don't know what you look like when you're performing. Ask a friend to record you on your phone the next time you perform and then watch it. One of the best disciplines for me as a communicator has been watching all of my talks that I can. There's almost always a void between what I intended and how I actually came across.<br />
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<h3>
Know When to Focus on Others on Stage</h3>
When the light shined on others in the band, Rudy was looking at or moving towards them. That's a pro move. That told us as the audience to do the same. Know where the focus is and help point the audience in that direction by your body language. Simple and effective.<br />
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<h3>
Have Other Interests</h3>
So Rudy Sarzo is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Off-Rails-Aboard-Crazy-Blizzard/dp/1537437461" target="_blank">an author</a>, a <a href="https://www.spreaker.com/show/rudy-sarzo-the-dash-podcast" target="_blank">podcaster</a> and takes a serious interest in <a href="https://twitter.com/rudysarzo/status/630532568237121536" target="_blank">animal rights</a>. It's such a healthy discipline to have a variety of interests or hobbies. They are a way for us to refuel, to jettison our worship thoughts for a while as we allow ourselves (our mind, body, soul) to engage with other things.<br />
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I think of it in the same way that athletes never work their same muscles all the time. Working other muscles is healthy--so work your non-worship muscles. Worship is amazing; if you're reading this, you were probably made to help lead others in it. But God put other things in you too. What are they? Don't know? Go exploring!<br />
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Thanks, Rudy Sarzo, for the inspiration!<br />
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Peace ;-)morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-31382817871337319902018-06-23T18:04:00.003-05:002018-06-23T18:05:01.568-05:00Key West Eats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is by no means anything close to an exhaustive review of Key West cuisine. This is simply our experience in June 2018. <br />
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My wife Sandra and I are foodies from way back. We met in the restaurant industry as managers in the 90's and we own and operate Main Street Café in Kokomo IN.<br />
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Every meal with us is like a real time restaurant review from aesthetics, branding, wait staff, presentation etc. Don't worry--we aren't snobby--we have fun with it. Here's where we stopped in Key West:<br />
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<h3>
Islamorada Fish Co.</h3>
If you're driving through the Keys vs flying into Key West, do yourself a favor and hit up Islamorada Fish Co to get your seafood juices flowing. It's right on the water, the view and the food are top-notch. And one of the first things you'll notice at more successful restaurants in the Keys is that the live entertainment (usually a guy with a guitar and a mic) are better than you're expecting.<br />
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Like every place we went to: best to hit it at it's off-peak hours to avoid waiting.<br />
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<h3>
Salute! (sa-loo-TAY)</h3>
This is on the opposite side of Key West from Mallory Square so you won't watch the sun set, but the view is still amazing. (And by the way, Key West is small--going from one side to the other is no big deal.) <br />
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Below is my Seared Ahi Tuna Salad, which was wonderful. (Funny how Fl oranges make a salad better and not just a garnish.) Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their meal. <br />
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By the way, we ordered Key Lime Pie at every evening meal and kept a scorecard. This was fine, but not in our top two--still worth ordering though ;-)<br />
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<h3>
Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville</h3>
This was my biggest surprise because I'm usually not a "chain" guy on vacation, but my brother-in-law, Mitch, is a huge Buffet fan, so it was one of our first stops. Let me just say, we LOVED IT!<br />
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It did not feel like a chain at all from décor, wait staff and food. Everything was delightful from cocktail to Key Lime Pie--probably the best pie of the trip! (Close runner-up: Key Lime Pie Bakery close to Mallory Square.)<br />
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<h3>
Blue Heaven</h3>
Their breakfast specialty is their Lobster Benedict...amazing! Like so many restaurants in Key West, the dining room is virtually a back yard with tarps or sails overhead, or trees, to create a nice shaded paradise.<br />
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<h3>
The White Tarpon</h3>
Thanks to a tip from a local we met, this is a great spot to take a break from the usual high dinner prices and enjoy their happy hour specials. From 4-7 their beers are discounted and they have great low-priced, yet great $5 appetizers, which we made a meal of ;-) Their Key Lime Martini (below) was yummy.<br />
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This is right on the water not far from Mallory Square, the place where everyone converges to watch the sunset.<br />
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TIP: if you park in the lot right next to it--if you're out in under 2 hours, they'll validate and give your parking fee back! <br />
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(Parking is a thing in Key West: virtually no street parking. You have to find these little parking lots and pay--they're automated. We definitely spent some money on parking that week!<br />
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<h3>
Eaton Street Seafood Market</h3>
This is one of the few places that actually has a few parking spaces in front of it. It's both a fish market and restaurant, so if you want to pick up some seafood and grill yourself, this is the place.<br />
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They're known for Stone Crab and Lobster Roll. The dipping sauce for the crab was amazing as was the Stone Crab. Sandra and I were surprised that we both thought the Lobster Roll was the winner, though. <br />
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<h3>
Hogfish Bar and Grill</h3>
Another tip from a local: as you drive in to this (it's technically on Stock Island, just next door to Key West) you think it looks a bit sketchy, but relax--this place is amazing! We ate more seafood here than anywhere--we wolfed it down so fast, no pics! It's right on the water and is cozy and very "Key Westy" ;-) So good!<br />
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<h3>
Sloppy Joe's</h3>
So you kinda have to go here, right? The place Hemingway made famous (or better yet, we made famous in his absence). <br />
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The fish tacos were legit and some good friends of ours swear by the Greek Salad. Honestly, we didn't stay long. Even in the middle of the afternoon it was packed and the drinks seemed "modest." But you have to stop in Sloppy Joe's, right? It's cool, historic and has good live music.<br />
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<h3>
Captain Tony's</h3>
So this is the oldest bar in Key West and it's late owner, Tony Terraciano is a Key West legend. We went because Mitch and I were not going to go to Key West without "<em>Going down to Captain Tony's to get out of the heat...</em>" (lyric: Last Mango in Paradise -J Buffet)<br />
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<h3>
Croissants DeFrance</h3>
I ordered best! Yes, that's my plate: smoked salmon, scrambled eggs on a croissant. Their potatoes are amazing. Yes, you read that right. I've never raved about a breakfast potato before--they're amazing. This place has an enchanting setting. They also have a take-out bakery next door.<br />
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<h3>
Amigos</h3>
This is the view from Amigos. Directly across the street (not pictured) is Captain Tony's. They have some amazing Cuban Coffee at a ridiculous price.<br />
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<h3>
Onlywood Pizzeria Trotteria</h3>
One night we just wanted to stay in and eat pizza. So Sandra "yelped" us to this place to pick it up. Amazing wood fired pizza! <br />
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I would say this place is known more for their sit down experience and it looked like an amazing place to dine. It's a bit hard to find: you have to walk down a sidewalk mid-block (too narrow to be an alley) to get to it. And man, do I have respect for the guys working the wood-fired oven with no air-conditioning!<br />
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(Few places are air-conditioned in Key West. Dress light and go with the flow.)<br />
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<h3>
Mattheesson's</h3>
So you have to try the Key Lime Pie on-a-stick, right? This place dunks an entire piece of pie in chocolate and freezes it--what?! So many cool and sweet treats made on the premises. Take a break, get something cool--it's hot in Key West ;-)<br />
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<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-31620999251939938762017-11-02T11:49:00.002-05:002017-11-02T12:30:42.044-05:00The Thing No One is Talking AboutWe all know something is wrong in our country. The list is probably long, in fact. Where to start?<br />
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I've heard the phrase "Christian Nation" my whole life. In recent months it seems I've heard it more, often in the context of doing things in the name of "protecting our Christian Nation."<br />
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Often these attempts to protect are done in less than polite ways. Often absent are Christian hallmarks like love, respect, inclusivity, building relational bridges, putting others first and the like.<br />
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And the heart of the faith that Jesus died for is grace. That's not a cultural term, so allow me to define it.<br />
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Grace is relational things like: offering people what they don't deserve, the absence of judgment, no-strings-attached forgiveness, seeking to understand and above all else, love.<br />
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But those grace descriptors are not the images in our headlines. We are not offering these things to Kaepernick, kneelers, owners, Trump supporters, Trump detractors, Trump himself, protesters of all kinds.<br />
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Here's what's going on:<br />
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We're functioning as if patriotism, politics and the Way of Jesus (Christianity) are interlocking puzzle pieces--all on equal footing. In fact, in many cases, we're elevating our patriotism and politics above the Way of Jesus.<br />
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By example, when we hate, wish ill, disparage Kaepernick because of his behavior, we elevate patriotism over the Way of Jesus. We say in essence, <br />
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"<em>It's ok if I take a pass on loving my neighbor (</em><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark+12%3A28-31&version=NLT" target="_blank"><em>the greatest commandment</em></a><em>) when he/she doesn't honor our flag the way I think they should."</em><br />
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Whenever we put Jesus on the same level or below things like politics and patriotism--guess what? We're not behaving as a Christian Nation. We're not following Jesus.<br />
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The essence of identifying one's self with Jesus (eg "<em>I'm a Christian, we're a Christian Nation, etc</em>.") hinges on the fact that you've made one thing the most important Thing in your life: Jesus.<br />
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Not politics.<br />
Not patriotism.<br />
Not your spouse.<br />
Not your kid(s).<br />
Not your boy/girl friend.<br />
Not your dog.<br />
Not your desire for safety.<br />
Not your desire for comfort.<br />
Not your desire for a world that fits your paradigm.<br />
Not your desire for a cell phone company that's both amazing & affordable ;-)<br />
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If you self identify as a Christian, a follower of Jesus, this is what that looks like:<br />
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(<em>Yes, I know. These drawings are amazing--Banksy is so jealous)</em></div>
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The good news is that as a Christ follower, you can still love things like politics and patriotism; there's just one catch:<br />
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If you can't love in the midst of whatever you're doing or thinking, even if what you're doing is amazing, God says you're just a <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+cor+13&version=MSG" target="_blank">noisy, annoying, rusty gate</a>.<br />
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I'll be candid. I hated it when Kaepernick started the kneeling thing. My dad fought in Europe in the late part of WWII. He made sure we always stood whenever the color guard appeared in a parade. We flew the flag at our house then and we do now.<br />
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But when I started seeing us as a country turn on this QB. When I heard the person in highest office calling on NFL owners to fire players and we all jeered along. When we as a country were hoping for, calling for, misfortune for people because of their beliefs.<br />
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It hit me: that's not the response of a Christian Nation. <br />
That's neither the response of grace nor love.<br />
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That's the response of a legalistic patriotic nation, where Jesus doesn't rule -- He's just one of the puzzle pieces.<br />
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Whenever we elevate <em>anything</em> in our life over Jesus, we are saying, <br />
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"<em>Jesus, you are not the leader of my life. I love you. I appreciate you saving me. But, you're not the most important thing in my life. How I feel about this issue or this person or these people, or this cause--this is more important than You are in my life right now</em>."<br />
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"Ok Morgan--can I put Jesus first in my life and still not like Kaepernick or whoever kneeling?"<br />
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Yes. As long as you can love the kneeler. If you can't, you don't have a kneeling problem, you have a <em>you</em> problem. <br />
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For me, I go after issues like this in prayer:<br />
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"<em>God, I love our country but I love You, more. I don't like what Kaepernick is doing and I'm pulled toward anger to him. Help me die to myself in this, Lord, and help me love him. Right now, Lord, I want to pray for him, for his best, for his career, for his family..."</em><br />
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(Lifehack: I've found it hard to dislike or wish ill for someone when I'm praying to God on their behalf.)<br />
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And again, here's the cool part:<br />
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You can be liberal, moderate, conservative, a-political; you can love guns, hate guns, love, loathe or be indifferent about patriotism, have opinions on God-knows-what.<br />
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But it all has to be subjected to Jesus and His ways. <br />
Jesus <em>first</em>. <br />
Jesus <em>above </em>all else. <br />
Jesus <em>isn't</em> a puzzle piece. <br />
Jesus is the umbrella <em>over all</em> the puzzle pieces in your life.<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-23744701814386261742017-10-06T12:37:00.000-05:002017-10-06T12:38:58.634-05:00Life After a Smoking Ban<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are all susceptible to a silly myth:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><b>Things will always stay the same</b>.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We see this in moments when:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our spouse does something unpredictable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our child makes a jarring decision.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Someone gets elected we never thought would.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A beloved business closes-up.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gas prices shoot up. Again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or when a city like Kokomo, that’s always had a healthy number of blue-collar smokers, passes a smoking ban.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I’m writing this specifically with the local bar owners in mind. But, let me refer to them as they really are: entrepreneurs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every business owner is an entrepreneur, a person risking the comfort of working for someone else in exchange for being his or her own “man.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And so here’s the reality for every entrepreneur:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">THE MARKET ALWAYS CHANGES.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If there ever was a mantra to put on a plaque in your office, this may be it. It’s the one constant for every business owner. You may be lucky and your segment of the market hasn’t changed in years or even decades, but change is always coming. It’s just a matter of when.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Minimum wage goes up. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Utility costs spike. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Gas prices skyrocket. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Big banks make hideous decisions that result in a recession. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A huge chain comes to town. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Road construction pulls into your neighborhood and stays way too long. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Your competitors start manufacturing where labor’s cheaper. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Electric cars start becoming viable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">People become more health-conscious. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sin, sugar taxes become law. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or a smoking ban becomes the new reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The market always changes</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Maybe it’s someone’s fault. Maybe there were people driving it. But that doesn’t really matter. It happened. The market changed, just like it has for business owners before you. And so at this point, you have one of two options:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Get out or figure it out</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Get out because you don’t like the new reality. You don’t like how the market has changed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or figure it out; how can you change your strategy—how can you change how you do what you do to be successful in this new reality?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The worst thing you can do when the market changes, is complain about it. Play the victim card. Blame it on someone or some group of people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It’s not helpful. And the more you fight it and just complain to your friends and Facebook, the more you buy in to the myth: <i>Things will always stay the same</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Getting Personal</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Right now, if you’re one of the little neighborhood bars that’s being affected by the smoking ban, you’re probably saying to yourself,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">“<i>Yeah, easy for you to say, mister; try living in my shoes. It’s not that easy</i>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You’re right. It’s not that easy. It rarely is. When the market changes and affects our business, it’s almost always gut check time, a time to see what we’re made of. A time to see if we’re really ready to make some tough, hard and even risky decisions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I changed to pronouns in that last paragraph like <i>we</i> and <i>our</i> because I have been there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the market changes, it does feel personal and it has been some of the hardest seasons of my careers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At one point I was the local store manager of a regional fast food chain when a substantial national minimum wage hike became law. The kind of wage hike that seriously jeopardized profitability, since the restaurant business always runs on thin margins. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It wasn’t fun categorizing the employees into “<i>who you could lose</i>” and “<i>who you need to keep</i>” because there weren’t enough raises to go around. It was personal. It wasn’t fun. I didn’t want to do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And in recent years there was the great recession. I am part of a senior leadership team of a large local church. The recession affected the market. Greatly. Staff salaries was one of our biggest line items.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Congregants suddenly had less money, some lost jobs. Those people represented the church’s income. Therefore, because of reduced cash flow, our operating budget was in trouble. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Complaining about the recession, the market, would have been useless and fruitless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We had to make drastic staffing decisions. We had to re-envision how we could get things done. We had to deliver the same high standards “product,” even though we had less money to do it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We got creative. We basically changed our paradigm of how our church would function. We wrestled with gut-wrenching decisions. We took pay cuts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And we realized these changes probably weren’t just for a season; this was the new reality for how our church (and churches in general) would function going forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It wasn’t fun. It was hard. It affected employees’ lives. Let me re-phrase: it affected <i>me and my friends’ lives</i>. But we had two options: get out or figure it out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Today, our church is functioning healthily in ways it hadn’t in the past. And our “product” never suffered in the process.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>“That’s cool, but I own a bar that’s now non-smoking.”</i></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Recently, a good friend gave me a stern encouragement by way of a social media post, “<i>Ok, all you non-smokers who said you’d now support these bars, where are you?</i>” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even though I was never on record for saying that, I was indeed for the ban and felt my friend’s chiding. So I’ve been to T<a href="http://elbowroomkokomo.com/" target="_blank">he Elbow Room</a> twice in recent weeks. (<i>And heading there as soon as I post this</i>.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">First of all, the place was incredibly clean, the food was good, made-to-order and ridiculously affordable. In short, this is what I saw: <b><i>opportunity</i></b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Elbow Room is a half mile, a handful of blocks, 2-3 minutes from <i>hundreds</i> of downtown Mon-Fri consumers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The opportunity is to target that downtown consumer market who <i>never before would’ve considered the Elbow Room as a lunchtime option</i>. My hunch is they have the opportunity to do more Mon-Fri lunch business than they’ve ever done before. Opportunity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Time to Reassess</span></o:p></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What it took to start your business was entrepreneurial spirit: showing people that you could indeed, do it. Sometimes after a while, we unintentionally swap out our entrepreneurial hat for a maintenance hat. We’re just managing, just maintaining; we've stopped gaining ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When the market shifts, it can awaken the entrepreneurial spirit that got you in the game in the first place; it can re-envision you. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Or it can be a wake-up call that it’s time to get out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And guess what: it’s ok to transition out of your business. Life is made up of seasons. Seasons of raising children. Seasons of running a business. No business lasts forever. (<a href="https://www.oddee.com/item_99566.aspx" target="_blank"><i>Ok, so these are close</i></a>.) Businesses have seasons too. If you’re not up to figuring out how to readjust to the ever-changing market, that’s ok.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Parting shot</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you’re struggling as a business owner, I am sorry. My wife and I own Main Street Cafe and it hasn’t been easy nor without struggle and sacrifice. Buy my wife, Sandra, a drink in your bar and she’ll be glad to commiserate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But, I wrote this with you in mind because <i>I want you to be encouraged</i>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If this is still your season to own a bar, there are ways to re-envision it and go after new ways of doing what you do. Kokomo is full of successful business people who are happy to give advice, share best practices and help you figure it out. <i>One of the best assets of Kokomo is its great people who love to help each other succeed</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So if you’re bitter, consider trading your bitterness for optimism and the willingness to seek help. Because if you keep doing what you’re doing, you will keep getting what you’re getting (<i><a href="https://www.stephencovey.com/" target="_blank">Stephen Covey</a></i>). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And remember those prophetic words from the late Sonny Bono, “<i><a href="https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/sonnycher/thebeatgoeson.html" target="_blank">The beat goes on</a></i>.” And you can too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Peace and profits, my friend!</span></div>
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morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-46152747557094820602017-09-26T10:14:00.003-05:002017-09-26T10:14:47.575-05:00Jesus is Offensive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aU3qHCFf45A/Wcpq13yltkI/AAAAAAAACPA/fJdVhJFSmR0PoEzmQ-1rcka3K1sW_19BgCLcBGAs/s1600/shock%2Bface.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aU3qHCFf45A/Wcpq13yltkI/AAAAAAAACPA/fJdVhJFSmR0PoEzmQ-1rcka3K1sW_19BgCLcBGAs/s400/shock%2Bface.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">So, a lot of people who profess Christianity are behaving in ways where we're elevating our politics and patriotism over the way of Jesus. So if you'd say you're a Christian, this is for you. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you wouldn't call yourself one, I'd hope that maybe, some of the values below would seem attractive to you. If on the whole, we haven't modeled them for you in the culture, I'm so sorry. This little post is my small attempt to help us do better. If you click on the links it will take you to some specific Bible verses. Peace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who want to marginalize others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+10%3A34-35&version=NLT" target="_blank">Acts 10:34-35</a>, <a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A43-48&version=NLT" target="_blank">Matthew 5:43-48</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who want to divide people into groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+3%3A28&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Galatians 3:28</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who don’t want to care for the poor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+25%3A35-40&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 25:35-40</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who just want to acquire more stuff for themselves.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A19-21&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 6:19-21</span><o:p></o:p></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who dislike people who don’t share their values.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A43-48&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 5:43-48</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who don’t value diversity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+3%3A28&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Galatians 3:28</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who can’t value people in the other political party.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A43-48&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 5:43-48</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who put walls above bridges.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+9%3A19-23&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1 Corinthians 9:19-23</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who want to speak their mind more than they want to listen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A19&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">James 1:19</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who think God loves the US more than other nations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+11%3A51-52&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">John 11:51-52</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who don’t want to help people they dislike.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5%3A43-48&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Matthew 5:43-48</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to people who think that writing their convictions on social media is enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1%3A19-25&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">James 1:19-25</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jesus is offensive to any of us when we elevate anything in our life over Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+1%3A15-23&version=NLT" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Colossians 1:15-23</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div style="height: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">x</span></div>
morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-79100256450521341102017-05-28T13:49:00.003-05:002017-05-28T13:49:31.706-05:00The 500 and Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bcvPSPEFV-0/WSsaqZ6M4vI/AAAAAAAACOw/yKNpb9NYuuIEYtl3IrBG3OZWsS6Noo3pACLcB/s1600/1976%2Bpace%2Bcar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bcvPSPEFV-0/WSsaqZ6M4vI/AAAAAAAACOw/yKNpb9NYuuIEYtl3IrBG3OZWsS6Noo3pACLcB/s400/1976%2Bpace%2Bcar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">5.28.17</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Memorial Weekend Sunday<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I live an hour from Indianapolis. That means since as long
as I can remember, I’ve listened to the Indy 500 on the radio. When I was
young, it was WIBC AM radio. Now it’s a Bluetooth speaker that looks something
like a lime green grenade via my cell phone and WIBC online.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We’re currently under caution that followed an extensive red
due to a crash featuring Scott Dixon among others.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve just enjoyed some grilled brats, hotdogs, some quac and
a delightful Spanish-influenced salad. And I’ve just cracked my third lo-cal
longneck.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m on the front porch, a cool breeze lingering; Sandra is
catering and Alyssa & Slater are inside finally delving into <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Godfather</i>. That leaves me alone.
With my thoughts. And the 500.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">No one gets excited like the radio crew at the Indy 500.
They’re yelling. It’s exciting. And also, as anyone knows who’s seen the
Greatest Spectacle live, it’s flippin’ loud!</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rossi still in the lead,
now to turn four!!</i>”</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m at the 500 but I’m also in the world of 500’s past. I
can’t help but think of my parents cranking it up on our hi-fi in the living
room on Washington St circa 1972. Even then it was the television era, but not
on Memorial Day Sunday. We all dialed it in and listened to the radio much like
(I can only imagine) people did before the 1950s ushered in the TV.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And so my mind is in the past now. I don’t remember my
parents grilling, seemingly like every Hoosier feels obliged to do during the
race. But the soundtrack in our house on that day in the ‘70s was never
anything but the race.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Then later, just out of high school, I was never too far
away from my friend, Eric Foust and if you were close to Eric, that meant you
were close to his incredible parent, Jack & Carmen. Both of them are now
passed, but their memories remain.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The race is back under green and those AM radio-sounding DJs
are yelling at us through every corner. And if I close my eyes, I’m in Jack
& Carmen’s backyard. </span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carmen always cooked up a storm (she was the kind of grandma
everyone would long for) and Jack would man the grill. Oh, and there was always
ample amounts of ice cold cans of domestic beer either in an icy cooler or the
garage fridge.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carmen would be keeping score: Who’s out, who’s leading,
what’s happening. And even though I’d never call Carmen a race fan any other
weekend of the year, she seemed so sincerely concerned.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even though they lived in the middle of the city, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">THEY GO THREE WIDE INTO THE TURN!!</i>”</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Even though they lived in the middle of the city, their
garage was in essence, a barn. The huge door facing the house, slid open. Some
years we stood inside the garage watching the drizzle enjoy food and brew. Other
years, we were in hiding from the sun. But the food was always inside under
cute little bug screen food covers. And Carmen always delivered.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The best thing about the race at Jack & Carmen’s was
that you felt loved just for being there. Carmen & Jack had a way of making
you feel so welcomed. They did everything short of thanking you for eating
their food and drinking their beer.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I wonder how many 20-somethings would want to have had their
own hang-out; they’d want to create their own thing, apart from their parents.
But Jack & Carmen’s was always the best picture of two generations doing
life together. They loved us and we knew it. We felt it. And we liked it.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What a great word for me know, as I creep up in age. If more
than anything, my kids and their friends knew that I loved them. More than my
so-called wisdom or experience, these younger people crave my love. Love trumps
everything and love paves the way for anything else I could ever hope to pass
along.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Simon Pagenaud comes
into pit road!</i>”</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I love the Indy 500 and I suspect I always will, for the backdrop
of one’s youth is always sacred. And people like Jack & Carmen and the crew
I ran with then, Eric, George & Lisa and so many others, are part of a
golden time.</span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now back to the race.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-12287292231160320752017-05-07T16:36:00.001-05:002017-05-07T16:42:16.108-05:00The Sky Isn't Falling (Thoughts on Retail Closings in America)Sears recently closed in Kokomo. So did MC Sports. JC Penney has announced more store closings in recent days. And now the negative chatter about America's retail economy escalates. According to who you've overheard or whose posts you've read, "<i>The sky is falling.</i>"<br />
<br />
For the record, when stores close, it isn't always the economy's fault.<br />
<br />
Take Sears for instance. They've been Sears (or Sears & Roebuck) since 1893! They were the original one-stop shop for everything, including: mail order houses, tombstones, minibikes, live chickens, clothing, tools and about anything you can name that we use in and around a home.<br />
<br />
If the economy is guilty of killing Sears then the accomplice is Sears itself. You see, the culture keeps changing; it's a moving target. And business models that don't figure out how to adapt to the economy, I suppose, succumb to it.<br />
<br />
Sears' business model of being the <i>place for everything</i> hardly fits into a culture that goes to Lowes/HomeDepot for tools, (insert clothing store of your choice) for clothes, Best Buy for appliances and to a Carnival for shoes.<br />
<br />
A while back I noticed old-timers saying, "<i>Craftsman tools ain't what they used to be</i>." And at the same time I noticed Lowes lifetime warranty on their Kobalt Tools. At that point, I knew the jig was up for Sears. When you're no longer the industry standard in a market you <i>owne</i>d, you're in trouble.<br />
<br />
The economy didn't kill Sears. Sears closed because it failed to remain attractive to the market.<br />
<br />
And MC Sports...When they rolled into town, was I the only one who wondered why we needed two 10,000+ sq ft sporting goods retailers in Kokomo? Sometimes the economy is fine, but we cut the pie into too many pieces. Sometimes, two big dogs is one too many.<br />
<br />
And you'd better sit down: Malls. Are. Dying.<br />
<br />
2006 was the last time an indoor shopping mall was built in America. Do you know why? Culture changes and the economy goes along for the ride.<br />
<br />
In the 1960s the culture shifted. People started to move away from the center of towns, toward the periphery and to the suburbs. Downtown businesses across America started slowly closing up. Why?<br />
<br />
Because they could drive to this super-cool new mall, have boat-loads of parking and shop at scads of stores all under one roof! No more trying to find street parking downtown and feeding the parking meter. No more getting wet, chilled or sweaty going from store to store. The mall was the answer. And it was cool.<br />
<br />
And the mall will have had a 60+ year run in America, which is pretty amazing! But people are tired of the mall, which is normal, because the culture naturally and seemingly autonomously, seeks change. And this change has been slowly happening--it's just starting to become painfully obvious.<br />
<br />
Pardon my cheesy metaphor: Change often comes from deep below the surface of the water, slowly ascending, often taking years. But then one day, it breaches the surface and we're all aghast, "<i>My word, where did <b>this</b> come from?</i>" Change comes slowly over time, yet there comes a moment when we actually see it.<br />
<br />
Have you been to Clay Terrace? They basically built a "mall" that looks like what? A downtown!<br />
<br />
Guess where millennials are seeking to live in record numbers: downtown. They're migrating from the burbs to the center of the city. And cities like Kokomo are trying to lure businesses downtown because <i>that's the latest cultural trend</i>.<br />
<br />
"<i>But Morgan, we'll never have enough businesses downtown to satisfy everyone's demands!</i>"<br />
<br />
Since you and I are buying so much of everything-we-need online these days, a downtown doesn't need every kind of store to be a great downtown. Because we don't buy everything from brick and mortar stores any more, a downtown needs some cool shops, a great coffee shop, some cool restaurants--it needs cool spaces that people can connect in. And the reason the spaces need to be cool is because the culture has always liked what's cool. And the downtown needs housing, which isn't available at the mall that people are tiring of trekking to.<br />
<br />
The sky isn't falling; the culture is changing. And as culture changes, how retail looks and functions will change along with it. Sometimes a closing is a sign of change. It's a sign that there are new paradigms afoot and new ways of doing things. When we look back at these moments, we call this progress. In real time, it can feel more like growing pains.<br />
<br />
One last word to my friends who are in the last half of their life: When we become tired of change, we become old. When we want things to stay just the way they are, we become grumpy, because things are always changing. Young people love and welcome change--the same way that we did. As mentors and elders, we best serve younger people when we help navigate change rather than complain about it.<br />
<br />
Peace, my friends.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
(editor's note: <i>To those who have lost jobs as stores have closed, my heart goes out to you, and I hope you are able to find gainful employment. As I wrote about business and cultural change, I never wanted you to feel slighted or disrespected. The American worker is the backbone of so much that is great in America. All my respect and best wishes to you</i>.)<br />
<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-57976778198994636262017-04-22T11:01:00.002-05:002017-04-22T11:13:57.536-05:00How not to be "That Guy/Girl" in a Coffee Shop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E9yFA4-jWrU/WPtvqV2LLlI/AAAAAAAACOg/DRtu4Er3CKM0UvRZ6b-1LqjOef0oHNCSwCLcB/s1600/cell%2Bphone%2Betiquette2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E9yFA4-jWrU/WPtvqV2LLlI/AAAAAAAACOg/DRtu4Er3CKM0UvRZ6b-1LqjOef0oHNCSwCLcB/s400/cell%2Bphone%2Betiquette2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<i>DISCLAIMER: I own a <a href="http://mainstcafe.org/" target="_blank">coffee shop</a>, but way before that, I used to hang out in Starbucks. Much of this is about what I've observed from good, well-intentioned people. This isn't written to hand-slap, just to help.</i><br />
<br />
We're very much in the age of public meetings: business meeting, non-profit meetings, personal meetings--we're Americans and we meet ;-)<br />
<br />
We meet in coffee shops and places like Panera more than ever before. And honestly, I love to meet in these kinds of places. It's good to get out, have food and drink options and run into people you know. But...<br />
<br />
There are times when we're not doing this as well as we could. So as a patron and as a <a href="http://mainstcafe.org/" target="_blank">bistro owner</a>, here are some well-intentioned tips:<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<ul>
<li>Buy Something</li>
</ul>
</h3>
Everyone who's in a seat in a business should have something purchased at that business. This is a pure and simple respect move. The owner (<i>corporate or mom & pop</i>) put that seat there specifically with the intent of generating revenue so that (<i>most people miss this</i>) that seat can <i>continue</i> to be there.<br />
Oh, and don't bring a drink into Panera from Starbucks because you like their frappucino better; it's disrespectful. And it's not like you need to buy a bunch of stuff you don't want. There have been times when I simply ordered a drink I wasn't really in the mood for. Why? Think of it as the most inexpensive rent you'll ever pay for a nice meeting space.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<ul>
<li>It's a Cell Phone Not a Yell Phone</li>
</ul>
</h3>
I get it. Sometimes we have to speak up when that call comes in. But, here's your script:<br />
"<i>Maude, please hold on just a second while I step outside</i>."<br />
<br />
When we speak up to take our business call, we turn the whole restaurant into our office and that's not cool. I've lost my religion so many times when I was startled in Starbucks by,<br />
"<i>OK, GREAT FRANK. THAT BURGHDORF DEAL IS KEY FOR US. GIVE ME THE LATEST RUNDOWN!</i>"<br />
I wanted to run his phone down his throat ;-) Again, this is a pure and simple respect move -- respecting others in a shared space.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
<ul>
<li>Know When to Say Goodbye</li>
</ul>
</h3>
Every eatery has peak business times, typically lunch and dinner. These are the times when the proprietor counts on filling and turning tables. This is usually when they generate 80% (or more) of their sales for the day. When you start to notice seats filling up, it's time to move on. Or...order lunch like a normal person and take a break.<br />
As a coffee shop owner we welcome and love to have people hanging out individually or having meetings in our off-peak times, seriously--we love people hanging out--just not when it's lunch time when every seat counts. Have I mentioned this is all pure and simple a respect move?<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3>
We Love to Have People Hang Out ;-)<ul>
</ul>
</h3>
<br />
Again, places like our <a href="http://mainstcafe.org/" target="_blank">Main Street Cafe</a> love, love, love having people hang out and meet in our place--it's part of our design and we love people! And the places I've mentioned in this post probably feel the same. On behalf of bistros everywhere, we just ask and remind you to be like Aretha: R-e-s-p-e-c-t ;-)<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-81559482060358529092017-03-12T18:46:00.001-05:002017-03-12T18:46:32.560-05:00The Absence of this Word is Eroding our Culture<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fd49pdSVRqw/WMXbniwC13I/AAAAAAAACOM/hN9ZZFBIm2IIMk3lb_b_aa73CW1xou1NgCLcB/s1600/bulbs%2Bgrowing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fd49pdSVRqw/WMXbniwC13I/AAAAAAAACOM/hN9ZZFBIm2IIMk3lb_b_aa73CW1xou1NgCLcB/s400/bulbs%2Bgrowing.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ll never forget the first time I saw a bumper sticker on a
car that read <i>bitch</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<i>What?! Why would that woman…?! She put that on her own car?!</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I couldn’t understand why a woman would take a colossal slur
and turn it into a trophy. And just so we’re clear, the only people who think
the term <i>bitch</i> is positive are other women with the same bumper sticker. I’ll
show you:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Hey, why don’t you come over tonight? I’m grilling and I’ve
got some new micro brews and a couple women from my office will be there;
they’re real bitches.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“Uh, no. No thanks, I think I’ll pass.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Something started happening a few years ago. We started
settling. We masked it in proclaiming that we’re tired of being politically
correct. But somewhere along the way, instead of seeing opportunities to grow, instead
of working on our temper and social skills, we decided to camp out on our
less-than-positive traits and even proudly proclaimed them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And it’s easy to see why: It’s easier to put a bitch sticker
on one’s car than it is to learn how to turn a mean-spirited, volatile temper
into something kinder and more respectful of others.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And bump stickers like <i>My
kid beat up your honor student</i> are funny, but it’s easier to make excuses
or defend our child than it is to walk with them through the quagmire of wise
decisions, humility, work ethic, respect and the like.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I was growing up through my teens and early twenties, I
was so cocky, so full of myself, trying to compensate for an upbringing that
wasn’t up to my snuff. I was full of pride and full of me, at the expense of
you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And somehow, mysteriously or spiritually or both, I began to
see my arrogance as the character flaw that it was. And so I aspired to be a person
who was more humble than arrogant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The truth is, it would have been easier to put a <i>Cocky SOB</i> bumper sticker on my car. It
would have been easier to settle into a lesser version of myself. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Listen, it’s always harder to aspire than it is to settle.
(And for the record, it’s not like I’m arrogance-free at this point. It’s still
an aspiration.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m concerned that we are much less of an ASPIRE culture and
much more of a Popeye culture: “<i>I am what
I am</i>!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The word ASPIRE is desperately missing from our culture</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">History has been forged by people who aspired for better and
many of those people shaped our lives. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We don’t know any of the Popeye people
by name. People who settled didn’t move themselves or anyone else forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But history is full of people who aspired. Our lives reap
the benefit of people who aspired:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.history.com/topics/saint-joan-of-arc" target="_blank">Joan of Arc</a>, even though an illiterate peasant girl, aspired
to make a difference beyond her station in life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beethoven aspired to compose music even through the
challenge of deafness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Nelson Mandela aspired to be a lawyer amid the South African
apartheid system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rosa Parks aspired to do something as simple and profound as
sit in the white part of a bus in the racial segregation of the deep south.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">People pushing, grinding, aspiring for better, is what has
made people and countries great.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And please get this: this happens at the micro level—this
happens when arrogant guys like me aspire for something better. It happens when
you decide to not be a Popeye person, “<i>Well, I am what I am!</i>”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It happens when women take the energy and strength of their
bitchiness and channel it into civility and lead and influence in ways that move things forward instead of just tearing people down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So many times our character flaw is just the bad expression
of a positive trait. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My positive trait is that I can take a hill, take people
with me and help them grow in the process. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The same fire that fuels that, is
the same fire that can make me arrogant and pushy on a bad day or when I’m
tired.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, what about you?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In what area, in what way do you need to aspire to something
more or something better?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greatness happens when you and I aspire to be the best with
whatever was given to us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All of us have been given a toolbox of heredity, abilities,
personality, natural wirings and physical capacity. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Given what you have and what’s going on in your neck of the
world, what do you need to aspire to?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A marriage gets better, when I aspire for more and I get
better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A family gets better when a member aspires to bring more
healthy interaction to the table.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A city gets better every time a person aspires to figure out
how they can make even a small difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And a country gets better every time one of us aspires to maximize
whatever’s been given to us in our toolbox.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, tell me: What are your aspirations?</span><o:p></o:p></div>
morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-89607914597284234932016-10-19T16:15:00.002-05:002016-10-19T16:15:04.771-05:00Why the Third Party isn't Taken Seriously<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AOBqmTE3zfU/WAffpogUnoI/AAAAAAAACNo/mm0ihXyKELsbtzIRl_mWT9EfhJ1J31ibACLcB/s1600/3%2Bkids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AOBqmTE3zfU/WAffpogUnoI/AAAAAAAACNo/mm0ihXyKELsbtzIRl_mWT9EfhJ1J31ibACLcB/s320/3%2Bkids.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Why aren’t Libertarians, aka the Third Party, taken seriously during presidential elections? In large part, it’s because <em>they</em> haven’t taken it seriously.<br />
<br />
Exhibit A:<br />
<br />
First, in early Sept of this year, Libertarian presidential candidate, Gary Johnson, didn’t know that Aleppo, Syria was the epicenter of one of the biggest refugee crises in the world. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOT_BoGpCn4" target="_blank">Watch video.</a><br />
<br />
Secondly, a few weeks later, he couldn’t name the leader of a foreign country that he respects. He actually said, somewhat dejectedly, <br />
<br />
“<em>I guess I’m having an Aleppo moment</em>…” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXFb0eSYjEA" target="_blank">Watch video</a>.<br />
<br />
You may not think this is a big deal because perhaps you would fail one or both of these questions, or you assume he was just caught off guard. But in both cases, he was being interviewed on television—a situation in which any serious candidate would and should be well prepared to answer questions both domestic or international in scope.<br />
<br />
In these two examples, Johnson gave us a narrative of a candidate who didn’t seriously expect to answer real questions during a very real presidential election cycle.<br />
<br />
Exhibit B:<br />
<br />
The Third Party shows up once every four years on the national stage and expects to be taken seriously.<br />
<br />
They are like some strange insect that only surfaces every four years. On off election years, we never see them in the public spotlight nor do we hear of their off election year accomplishments. They seem to be about dialogue more so than action. They appear to have no three-year strategy for ramping into an election.<br />
<br />
Let me put this in perspective: If I wanted to break into auto racing and I told you I was going to head to the Indy 500 in May hoping to qualify—hoping to be taken seriously, you’d call me crazy.<br />
<br />
You’d call me crazy because there’s no part of life that works that way. Be it sports, academia, business, the arts, etc.—everyone works their way to the top.<br />
<br />
Everyone who’s at the pinnacle of what they do can tell you the story of how they started somewhere, then worked up to the next level and so on and so on. This is common sense; this is how life works. No one gets to the top by touting theories (<em>well ok, maybe philosophers</em>); we get there through bona fide experiences and successes.<br />
<br />
If the Third Party were serious, they’d intentionally work at being successful at lower levels, generating a string of successful mayors, successful congressmen and the like.<br />
<br />
If they would show they can win and be successful on smaller stages, to the point that people took note and to the point where Libertarians could earn public respect based on resume versus aspirations— then the Third Party would greatly increase the chances of being taken seriously at the presidential level.<br />
<br />
And now back to my metaphor: <br />
<br />
If I show up at the Indy 500 next May with some fresh new revolutionary ideas about open wheel racing—without having won any races, I’d never be taken seriously--nor should I. And so it is for a Third Party candidate on the biggest political stage in our country.<br />
<br />
By the way, I'm very open to a third party, I've just yet to see it be compelling.<br />
<br />
See you at the race track ;-)<br /><br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-69353881902714462762016-06-29T13:50:00.001-05:002016-06-29T13:59:48.554-05:00Six Reasons Why Democrats & Republicans Should Hate Each Other<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BuYqytBaWfU/V3QL23HbMmI/AAAAAAAACNE/rEvgTpCF4yYSA0EQOM-QYFomU0gVOjE1ACLcB/s1600/standoff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BuYqytBaWfU/V3QL23HbMmI/AAAAAAAACNE/rEvgTpCF4yYSA0EQOM-QYFomU0gVOjE1ACLcB/s400/standoff.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<b>1. Sorry, but there aren't any reasons</b> why Dems & Repubs should hate each other. Instead, how about some fresh ways to interact with the current culture.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Compromise required.</b><br />
Hating each other comes from an unrealistic expectation that our side should win or get whatever we want. That's not the way the system was designed nor the way it is supposed to work.<br />
<br />
The two-party system is about compromise. You give some. I give some. It's like recess on the playground when you were in elementary school: share, trade, give in, now you go first.<br />
<br />
The idea that "we're not going to compromise" is an idea that's directly responsible for why people are so fed-up with government right now. So you can keep on sticking to your immovable principles that only further moves all of us into the unhappiness zone, or you can be open to compromise<br />
<br />
<b>3. For atheists.</b><br />
Please stopping acting as if there is a moral truth that everyone can naturally agree upon. If there's no god, no higher power, then I'm not sure where one gets the idea there's a common sense of right & wrong running through humans.<br />
<br />
Nature demonstrates that if one is hungry, eat the next edible creature or thing regardless if it's a mommy-something nursing-baby somethings or endangered.<br />
<br />
So if there's no moral truth that we can all cling to, let's be ready to compromise and agree to disagree.<br />
<br />
<b>4. For People of Faith.</b><br />
Be nice. Politics isn't an excuse to treat people rudely or disrespectfully. Your God/god hasn't endorsed a political party. So if your faith is a real thing for you, be that first and a dem/repub second.<br />
<br />
Let all your words and actions reflect the God/god you've entrusted your life to. Love and humility are fairly standard in the faith game, so give yourself allowance to not be right all the time, and love your enemy enough to cut him/her some slack. Again, be nice.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Realize that you are the media.</b><br />
Ever notice that Sean Hannity and Rachel Madow aren't the ones whipping you into a lather when you're on Facebook? They aren't sharing their posts with you; it's your friends, it's you.<br />
<br />
Did you also notice that the preponderance of "news articles" that you share that tell people how horrible Hillary/Donald is aren't bona fide news sources?<br />
<br />
They look like NBC or CNN but look closer at the web address; it's probably a website that's hugely political, far from impartial, will have the kind of articles you love and will be a source you haven't heard of before.<br />
<br />
So please know that we are whipping us into a frenzy. Sure, MSNBC and Fox News are helping, but it's you and me and all of our friends who have the social media power. Sharing kitten pictures would probably help our great divide more than any political article.<br />
<br />
<b>6. Run a New Play</b><br />
Aren't you tired of the great divide? Aren't you tired of being mad at the other side? Aren't you tired of how it's been politically for far too long? You and I can stop being part of the hate at any time.<br />
<br />
I didn't say you had to agree. Just try not hating the other side. Just so you know, hating the other side takes a toll on your insides. Try getting to know some people from the other side; get to know their stories. Do what politicians are doing a poor job of lately: value and befriend people despite their political views.<br />
<br />
If you don't like how it is, choose to be how you wish it were and it very well may come to be.morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-28736897862524710152016-03-13T16:16:00.000-05:002016-03-13T16:53:58.824-05:00Bathrooms and Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1bQzB5IiJkE/VuXD3-dktxI/AAAAAAAACM0/eSyAa6NHoUw57NPpn2HuLvsreETlWG7EQ/s1600/schizophreniacropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1bQzB5IiJkE/VuXD3-dktxI/AAAAAAAACM0/eSyAa6NHoUw57NPpn2HuLvsreETlWG7EQ/s400/schizophreniacropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
So in Kokomo there's a heck-of-a hullabaloo about the flood of lewd crime that will ensue in public restrooms if a <a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=kokomo%20lgbt%20ordinance" target="_blank">LGBT ordinance</a> passes.<br />
<br />
Christian people are seriously freaked out about this. What I've mostly heard is they're ok with the LGBT community having their rights protected, they're just not ready for the crime spree of public restroom unspeakablness that they say will surely follow.<br />
<br />
This is my personal response to that supposition.<br />
<br />
I don't know about you, but from the time I was a little kid, we always heard that public restrooms were sketchy. Statistically, whether they were or not, we took care and were cautious. For instance, my brother and I were instructed to go together if we had to go to the restroom in a public park.<br />
<br />
(For the record, growing up I never had a scary incident in a public restroom, nor did any of my friends or acquaintances.)<br />
<br />
Much later, as a dad raising a family, my wife and I always escorted our kids into public restrooms, stood in front of their stall--you know, all that good protective parenting stuff. We did this in the mall, in town, out of town, wherever.<br />
<br />
So my question is, if they pass that LGBT thing, would my behavior in a public restroom as a parent be any different now? No. I'd run the same play. My kids would be as safe as before.<br />
<br />
Isn't that true for all of us? Do any of us send our kids into public restrooms alone now? No.<br />
<br />
Here's where I'm at: I live in a world that has sketchy people in it. Sketchy people doing sketchy things includes <i>all</i> kinds of people. It's life. It's not a new phenomenon. Sketchy goes back to the beginning of time.<br />
<br />
So do you know what I do? Every day I try to be careful and observant. When I'm in a parking lot, a restaurant, anywhere there are people, I pay attention. Why? Sketchy people exist. And do you know where the sketchy people are? Potentially, everywhere.<br />
<br />
That's right. Sketchy people are everywhere, <i>but we keep doing life</i>.<br />
<br />
It doesn't keep us from driving our cars even though sketchy people might drink too much and crash into nice people like us.<br />
<br />
It doesn't keep us from going to the mall, even though sketchy people might try to make off with your wallet or purse.<br />
<br />
It doesn't keep us from going to the bank even though sketchy people occasionally show up there with a gun to hold it up.<br />
<br />
Do you know why we risk sketchy things happening to us?<br />
<br />
Because there's way more nice people than sketchy people. We watch the news and know things like car accidents, purse-snatchings and bank robberies are rare occurrences and they aren't worth us obsessing over.<br />
<br />
I'd guess right about now, someone reading this has pulled up a story about some guy who's done something bad in a restroom and that person's now feeling victorious.<br />
<br />
If that's so, let's have a contest: you pull up all the bathroom crimes you can and I'll pull up all the people killed in America yesterday by drunk drivers.<br />
<br />
In light of the grim statistics, I bet that doesn't keep you or me from driving tomorrow. (By the way that was 27.5 people a day in 2013.) My point is, let's not make bathroom crime a spree when it's far from it.<br />
<br />
(By the way, if you Google "<a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=crime+in+public+restrooms" target="_blank">Crime in public restrooms</a>" you won't get stories and statistics from credible news sources like CNN, Fox, etc, you'll get websites that <i>look like</i> news pages that are really propaganda either for or against this issue. Be leery of stats and stories on websites you've never heard of.)<br />
<br />
As a pastor I am aware that our world isn't safe. Since we left the garden, it hasn't been. At some point, either at a national, state or local level, the LGBT community will be protected from discrimination, it seems inevitable. Whenever that happens, we need not fear taking our chances in the public restrooms, our cars, the malls, parking lots...everywhere. Since we left the garden, we're all risk-takers.<br />
<br />
"<i>For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline</i>." 2 Timothy 1:7<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-91600052092755442382016-01-27T10:03:00.003-06:002016-01-27T14:10:35.866-06:00Why You Can't Hate Brady or Manning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3bSf1l_Y8s/VqjgUBywPYI/AAAAAAAACMg/RvEd15zREYk/s1600/manning%2Bbrady.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Z3bSf1l_Y8s/VqjgUBywPYI/AAAAAAAACMg/RvEd15zREYk/s400/manning%2Bbrady.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(This piece inspired by my friend, Sam, and his disdain for people spilling "hate-er-ade" all over his boy, Tom Brady.)</span><br />
<br />
Just days after these two went at in their fifth AFC Championship game, my friends are all aflame in the social media-verse with the "I hate #18; I hate #12" <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/folderol" target="_blank">folderol</a>.<br />
<br />
The truth is the greatness of each is forever tied to the other. And yes, they're both truly great and will both be touted and esteemed way beyond their time.<br />
<br />
Nearly every historic figure we know by name, had an adversary--someone to fight against.<br />
<br />
We wouldn't know the Hatfields without the _________ (you said McCoys, right?)<br />
<br />
There was Larry Bird and ____________ (you said Magic Johnson).<br />
<br />
There was Staubach vs _____________ (Bradshaw. You're getting good at this).<br />
<br />
Ali and _________ (Frazier).<br />
<br />
Chris Everett and ___________ (Martina Navratilova).<br />
<br />
Nadal and _________ (Federer.)<br />
<br />
Washington vs the British. Reagan vs communism. Palmer vs Nicklaus, Coke vs Pepsi, Gates vs Jobs, Ford vs GM. You get the idea.<br />
<br />
If you're a Brady/Manning fan you have to be thankful for the other guy! Imagine for the last thirteen or so years if there was just ONE of these phenoms in the AFC: BORING!<br />
<br />
Every great person needs other great people to bring out their best. Left to just ourselves and our goals, apart from an opponent, we don't do so hot.<br />
<br />
This is true of individuals, companies and countries. In terms of the latter, consider that when we had a common enemy (USSR), we appeared less divisive as a country. Since the USSR disbanded, one could argue that America's enemy is itself, other Americans.<br />
<br />
When did America most recently rally? During the recession. It was US vs recession and it brought out our best. Automobile companies that were arguably a little complacent, got serious, knuckled down, got innovative, paid off government loans and got stronger than before. Every segment of the public and private sector have been working on how to do it better and more efficiently.<br />
<br />
Why? Because we had to. We had an adversary called the recession.<br />
<br />
When it comes to humans, we're at our best when there's an adversary, So if you love Tom Brady, then thank God for Peyton Manning. And if you love Peyton Manning, then thank God for Tom Brady.<br />
<br />
Manning and Brady are friends, rivals and men who know that they've kept each other on their toes all these years. I cannot fathom the inordinate amount of respect they have for each other.<br />
<br />
So, don't be hatin'. Adversaries and adversity bring out our best.<br />
<br />
Thank you, Peyton.<br />
Thank you, Tom.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-52150369329568087152015-06-27T12:57:00.000-05:002015-06-27T13:09:59.977-05:00How to Open a Restaurant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yOJMv1UtKfA/VY7ORxj57HI/AAAAAAAACMA/zqKwJoTiT1A/s1600/opening%2Bsoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yOJMv1UtKfA/VY7ORxj57HI/AAAAAAAACMA/zqKwJoTiT1A/s400/opening%2Bsoon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<i>Sandra and Morgan Young opened <a href="http://mainstcafe.org/" target="_blank">Main Street Cafe</a> in November 2012. They've previously logged many years in restaurant management for national chains. They believe opening a restaurant isn't rocket science, but is rooted in basic foundational principals. This is their attempt to help others open well.</i><br />
<br />
<h3>
The Worst Reason to Open a Restaurant</h3>
"I love to cook!" or "I'm a foodie; I love food!" These are really bad places to start. If you love to cook, get someone to pay you for cooking. If you're a foodie and love food, be a food blogger, a secret shopper, or give advice to local restaurants. Similarly, if someone said, "I love Indy Cars," and next told you they were going to start a race team, well--yes, you'd laugh all over them.<br />
<br />
<h3>
So What's a Good Reason, Then?</h3>
You love the intersection of food and people. A restaurant isn't a food business. It's not a people business; it's <i>both</i>. Oh, and you have to have some tolerance for the risks and tensions of owning your business, because at its core, it is a <i>business</i>. Food + people + business = good recipe for starting a restaurant. The person who said, "Do what you love and you'll never work a day of your life," was probably not a restaurateur ;-)<br />
<br />
<h3>
Bring Great Food</h3>
We live in a day and age where OK food won't cut it. There are too many chains that serve good food every day. Mediocre food will not get people out of their home and into your new restaurant. Well, it will the first time, but success is found in repeat visits. Your friends all think your food is amazing. I'd suggest finding some people that know food and don't know you; see what they have to say about your food. It takes <i>consistently great food</i> to make a restaurant go.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Own Customer Service</h3>
This is the primary secret weapon that a small start-up restaurant has that most chains don't. If you aren't great at this, your employees won't be either. More is caught than taught; they'll do as you.<br />
<br />
There may be no bigger oxymoron in business right now than <i>customer service</i>. At Main Street Cafe we talk about this as <i>part of our culture</i>, not something we do. It's our <i>ethos</i>, not a script. If you don't naturally love people enough to make a difference in their lives when they come in your new restaurant, you may not survive.<br />
<br />
Again, people can get great food anywhere these days, and all the chains have advertising budgets that you can't compete with. Treating people amazingly costs the same amount of money as it does to pay your employees to not care about your customers. Creating a culture of great customer service costs you nothing and could be the difference in your success or failure.<br />
<br />
This is where the "fun" in owning your own business comes from. It's up to you to create the culture your employees and <i>you</i> want to come to every day. Only you can own and drive this part of your business.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"Treating people amazingly costs the same amount of money as it does to pay your employees to not care about your customers." </b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<h3>
You Need Other Great People</h3>
You're amazing, right? Well, you can't do it all and can't be everywhere. And as you'll soon find out, getting this amazing restaurant off the ground is exhausting. If you hire people on their ability to fog a mirror, this won't be much fun. You have to be <i>determined to hire good people</i>. Who's a good person? Someone who likes the culture you're trying to create.<br />
<br />
Sometimes we hire people with restaurant experience. Often we hire people with great personalities whom we can teach restaurant skills. If a person can't smile through a ten-minute interview, I guarantee they won't smile fifteen minutes into their shift either.<br />
<br />
Don't think good people won't work for restaurant wages. People are happy to come to work in a place that's happy to come to ;-) It's not all about money. Hire well. Train well. Respect them. Laugh with them. Show them how to have fun and love your customers. They'll then enjoy coming to work.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>"If a person can't smile through a ten-minute interview, I guarantee they won't smile fifteen minutes into their shift either." </b></i><br />
<i><b><br /></b></i></div>
<h3>
Do Your Homework</h3>
Does your area want to buy what you're passionate about? It's not all about passion. It's about passion + the right market. Know your market because it's the context for everything you'll do in your new restaurant. At <a href="http://mainstcafe.org/" target="_blank">Main Street Cafe,</a> our menu is unique yet familiar. Why? Central IN isn't the place to fill a menu with things people haven't heard of.<br />
<br />
Have you worked in a restaurant? I hope you've managed one. There are processes and systems for running a restaurant. It's not at all like hosting your successful large dinner parties. It's like running a four ring circus: kitchen, guests, employees, inventory, etc., all at the same time.<br />
<br />
Have you talked to people who've opened successful restaurants in your city and transitioned them into lasting success? Get to know them. Learn from them. It's also good to have people you can talk to when it's tough, people who "get it."<br />
<br />
Have you done a business plan? Do you know what one is? Most of the people on <a href="http://www.cnbcprime.com/shark-tank" target="_blank">Shark Tank</a> who can't answer questions well, don't really know what their business plan is. If you think it's a document you're making just because the bank needs it for the loan, you're missing a huge piece of your potential success.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Don't Get in Too Deep Too Fast</h3>
For years, Sandra and I watched Mehrdad and Chef Cynthia at <a href="http://www.pastarrific.net/home" target="_blank">Pastariffic </a>slowly grow their business, slowly add on. When we launched our restaurant, we were nervous, but the worse case scenario was we knew we could close up and still pay off our modest loans.<br />
Don't bet the farm if this is your first foray into owning and running a restaurant.<br />
<br />
Don't count on making money for a while. People who start taking salaries initially are often paying themselves with borrowed money, very unwise. I've talked with a lot of entrepreneurs and not taking a salary for a year or more is a common tale. If you have to make money on day one, maybe opening up a restaurant isn't for you, yet. (When and how you get paid should be part of your business plan, by the way.)<br />
<br />
<h3>
Learn, Respond, Adapt--be Flexible</h3>
As well as you understand your business plan, this isn't an exact science. Be ready to make changes. Be ready to admit that some things you thought would be hits, aren't. Leaders are learners so running a new restaurant is a huge learning experience. Be open to it. Have someone you can trust you bounce ideas off of and people who will tell you the truth.<br />
<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-21461427045601247882015-04-24T16:41:00.001-05:002015-04-24T16:57:50.681-05:004 Reasons Why We Dislike Good Leaders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QwS8NPKKrwo/VTqvIROzCFI/AAAAAAAACLY/zwW1CDSpb_A/s1600/4%2Bleaders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QwS8NPKKrwo/VTqvIROzCFI/AAAAAAAACLY/zwW1CDSpb_A/s1600/4%2Bleaders.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
We don't typically like good leaders, not in real time anyway. Maybe we like them after the facts, after they've accomplished good things. And maybe we like them because we didn't have to work too closely with them.<br />
<br />
The four guys in the picture stirred it up pretty good. Three of them got shot for it. Good leaders aren't all famous people on Wikipedia. They're pastors, mayors, business women. You probably know some. And you don't like them, here's why:<br />
<br />
<h3>
1. They disrupt the status quo.</h3>
What we like is the familiar; we like things the way they are. We like comfortable. Leaders are wired for change, for progress.<br />
<br />
We want progress too, but we're weird. I'll show you: We all like better roads, fewer stops and easier driving. We just hate construction. We even hate roundabouts--just because we didn't grow up with them.<br />
<br />
Leaders understand that to go from here to there, there are growing pains, and they choose discomfort in lieu of our comfort. And we don't like that.<br />
<br />
<h3>
2. They rarely do the obvious.</h3>
What we like is common sense. We'd prefer that people in charge would do things the way that we would. But leaders are wired with uncommon sense.<br />
<br />
When leaders do what we would do, we feel validated; we feel smart. When they run a play that's less conventional, that we never would've thought of, we feel dumb, or simply think they're an idiot. If you want common sense leadership that won't change things much and will help you stay comfortable, get a manager. Leaders have uncommon sense, it's what makes them a leader. We just don't like their unpredictability.<br />
<br />
<h3>
3. They're more focused on the future than making us happy.</h3>
When we dislike a leader, it's usually because she's messing with our current situation. But leaders are focused on the long play while we're focused on the short game.<br />
<br />
Great leaders are pushing for a future that's better than today. That often means we have to make some sacrifices now to get to a better tomorrow.<br />
<br />
For instance, when a local leader tries to build up the heart of a city and make it attractive so that people will want to stay or move into your community, the goal is a future tax base that's bigger than it is now. And that might involve funds being allocated today in such a way that's irritating to you. Good leaders are usually more focused on making our children happy than us happy, and we don't like that.<br />
<br />
<h3>
4. They see things we can't.</h3>
Part of this is vision. They envision a future that's outside of the box and better than we can realistically imagine. The fact that we can't see their idea of the future or don't believe we can achieve their vision, makes it easy for us to dislike them.<br />
<br />
The other part is they actually see things we can't: inner-workings, strategy meetings, detailed reports, financial summaries etc. They're typically up to their eyeballs in data by the time we're hearing about their latest crazy idea. While we're up to our eyeballs in social media speculation and all the "wise" counsel of our friends that have no data, just endless common sense opinions.<br />
<br />
When we think everything has a simple solution, we're making uninformed opinions about the leaders who have all the informed data.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Wrap up.</h3>
Now, look back at the picture at the top of this post. Read the main points again. It makes sense, doesn't it? Now...picture a leader you don't like because of what he/she is doing. These same four things could very well be at work in that situation too.<br />
<br />
Peace, my friends ;-)<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-66371995534621575512015-01-24T15:20:00.001-06:002015-01-24T15:50:40.265-06:003 Reasons Why We Like to See People Fail in Kokomo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uXNhpq75fCI/VMP_zuG2PuI/AAAAAAAACKc/tdcgh1TTwHo/s1600/Photo%2BJan%2B24%2C%2B2%2B24%2B21%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uXNhpq75fCI/VMP_zuG2PuI/AAAAAAAACKc/tdcgh1TTwHo/s1600/Photo%2BJan%2B24%2C%2B2%2B24%2B21%2BPM.jpg" height="242" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Downtown Baseball Complex in progress</div>
<br />
Lately there are local stories of a downtown business or two ready to close up, and of course there's the ongoing challenge of the new baseball stadium. In both of these, people are both happy and sad, which got me to wonder, "<i>Why would we ever want people in our community to fail?</i>"<br />
<br />
We don't typically outright say that we want people to fail, but we think it. I have. It's not something I'm proud of, rather it's something I've noticed that I want to change. For me, the reason I haven't been sad to hear of a business closing is:<br />
<br />
<h3>
1. Pride</h3>
<br />
Pride is about being right. "<i>See, I told you they wouldn't make it</i>." "<i>What did I tell you? That mayor is a jerk; see, this proves it!</i>"<br />
<br />
When I get a twisted sense of happiness over being right in regard to real people's failures, that's a problem. That's unattractive.<br />
<br />
(Just to be clear, pride in terms of one's country, child etc is perfectly fine and good. I'm talking here about being prideful, which means thinking you're more important or better than other people.)<br />
<br />
What's a healthy response to people's failures? Sadness. Considering that these real people and their real employees no longer have money coming in or worse, debt they can't repay. It's considering that if the stadium doesn't get done, it will reflect poorly on all of us--even those saying, "<i>I told you so!</i>"<br />
<br />
In situations of failure, the past rarely if ever matters. What matters is now, everyone involved, and the future. And by the way, the opposite of pride is humility or perhaps compassion even. Pride is always about us. The truth is we've never seen someone focused on himself and said, "<i>I want to be like him!" </i>We're repelled by pride while the people we're most drawn to are focused on others.<br />
<br />
The best life is one focused on others, not on our self. So the next time I feel myself saying, "<i>See, I was right</i>," over someone's failure. I'm going to realize that reveling in being right, is wrong.<br />
<br />
<h3>
2. Politics</h3>
<br />
I appreciate politics. It's responsible for all the good things we take for granted. If you don't understand that statement, travel to any third world country. And for the record, I've never voted a straight ticket and I have great friends on both sides of the aisle.<br />
<br />
But where politics goes awry is when being a __________ is more important than being a Kokomoan or a Hoosier or an American.<br />
<br />
When an administration is up against a challenge and half the people stand by and watch, or worse, fan the flames, this elevates the party over the city, state, or country. It also entices us to cross over into bad character when we enjoy seeing someone fail.<br />
<br />
I know everyone's not into God, but there are a lot of proclaiming Christians in the political arena. So when we as Christians enjoy watching people fail, verses being part of the solution, we're fighting against people for whom Christ died.<br />
<br />
I know that's a little heavy, but the truth about our community is it's heavily Christian.<br />
<br />
I love all the things politics gets done. I loathe the division it creates because mankind is always at it's best when it's unified, when we're together.<br />
<br />
<i>"The reason why the world lacks unity, and lies broken and in heaps, is because man is disunited with himself."</i> -Ralph Waldo Emerson<br />
<br />
<i>"Our flag is not just one of many political points of view. Rather, the flag is symbol of our national (and local) unity."</i> -Adrian Cronauer<br />
<br />
<i>"A house divided cannot stand."</i> -Abe Lincoln paraphrasing Mark 3:25<br />
<br />
When politics baits me to jump in and have a view of elected officials that's less kind than Jesus would have me be, I back away from politics so that I can embrace and be <i>for</i> people--all people, even those I didn't vote for.<br />
<br />
<h3>
3. We're not the people our parents hoped we'd be</h3>
<br />
Sometimes we're just not nice, and the only difference between now and when we were 10 is that there's no wise voice to grab us and say, "<i>Stop it! Treat others like you'd like to be treated!</i>"<br />
<br />
Think about it: you are so much better of a person than to enjoy seeing people fail. Businesses are people. Governments are people. As soon as we fail to see that, we've unknowingly dehumanized life making it easier for us to be mean spirited.<br />
<br />
One thing is true: people will fail. Businesses and governments will fail. How we respond to these events, internally in our minds, or externally in social media and in our actions, defines the people that we will be.<br />
<br />
Every day in every response, we define our character. I write this because what I want for you and me is be better people. More humble, less prideful, more compassionate and perhaps even at times, part of the solution.<br />
<br />
Peace.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-13978238946975800832014-12-06T14:02:00.001-06:002014-12-06T14:03:52.810-06:00Advent (The Arrival wk 1)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://vimeo.com/113288890" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NULEPbrZOPA/VINfWJvBDRI/AAAAAAAACKI/zg06DoG4uWk/s1600/me%2Bspeak%2Bimage.jpg" height="257" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>click the image to watch this talk at Oakbrook Church from 11.30.14</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://morgancafe.homestead.com/Advent_web_vers.pdf" target="_blank">Click here for a free PDF</a> manuscript of my talk at <a href="http://oakbrookchurch.com/" target="_blank">Oakbrook</a>.<br />
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<br /></div>
morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-15786579822563009362014-10-20T11:03:00.000-05:002014-10-20T11:04:04.175-05:00Permission Slip wk 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://vimeo.com/109450757" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XXnyqkWvLcI/VEUxOVNfP_I/AAAAAAAACJ4/zOiu5dNVsr4/s1600/morg%2Bvido%2Bimage.jpg" height="217" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>click the image to watch the video</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
This is Your Permission Slip wk 1: God at the Gate</h3>
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<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">
For a free PDF manuscript <a href="http://morgancafe.homestead.com/permission_slip_web.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>.</h4>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://oakbrookchurch.com/">OakbrookChurch.com</a></div>
morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-44342439771055605762014-06-26T14:09:00.000-05:002014-06-27T07:48:10.035-05:0010 Reasons to Take Yourself to the Summit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lSD2xEcpG2U/U6xw0BmYHzI/AAAAAAAACJk/F-JP8COj07c/s1600/summit+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lSD2xEcpG2U/U6xw0BmYHzI/AAAAAAAACJk/F-JP8COj07c/s1600/summit+image.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
1. We need to be inspired</h3>
None of us are overflowing with events or situations that are inspiring
us--inspiring us that God can do great things, in and around our lives. <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/">The Summit</a> is an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csQlhCaS5Q4#t=60"><i>inspiration injection</i></a>.<br />
<br />
<h3>
2. It's in Kokomo</h3>
Something amazing and life-altering is happening in <a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?q=oakbrook+church+kokomo+in&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF-8&ei=kQ7kUcnqO-nsyQGzxoDoDQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAg">our back yard</a>. Take advantage of something God has brought so conveniently close.<br />
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<h3>
3. You haven't been to camp since you were a kid</h3>
Every summer we send our kids to camps to get better: science, sports, cheer, church camps etc. It's time we invested in <i>us</i> getting better. These <b>2</b> days will help us be better with the other <b>363</b>. I learned about "early and late adopters" that I wrote about in <a href="http://morgancafe.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-real-reason-everyone-doesnt.html">this post</a> at the Summit.<br />
<br />
<h3>
4. God shows up</h3>
He just does. He uses this environment in a unique and faithful way. How
many environments can we walk into, knowing that the Spirit will be
palpable at some point? This is one of them. And if you're not into God, but into leadership, the God stuff won't be freaky, I promise.<br />
<br />
<h3>
5. It's World Class</h3>
In a world where we over-sell everything, the people and content here
are truly some of the world's best. Every year the faculty is a <i>best of</i> list from diverse fields around the globe.<a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speakers_rsp.asp"> Check out this year's faculty.</a><br />
<br />
<h3>
6. People are depending on you</h3>
Whether we're a housewife to a leader of a large company, people are
depending on us: family, co-workers, neighbors, congregants, fellow
citizens. We are all tied together and when you and I attend the Summit,
we get a little bit better and that positively impacts the people
around us.<br />
<br />
<h3>
7. Life takes it out of us</h3>
Every day is challenging. Often we're grinding it out. We're so busy cutting down trees we never stop to <a href="https://www.stephencovey.com/7habits/7habits-habit7.php">sharpen the saw (<i>S. Covey</i>)</a>.
The Summit puts something special into us. As challenging as life is,
we need opportunities like the Summit to re-sharpen us for a world that
can dull us down.<br />
<br />
<h3>
8. One thing will change your life</h3>
We never know what or how, but without fail, there's always <i>one profound thing</i>
that marks us when we take in the Summit. Something happens that
instills a profound change, either in paradigm or actual transformation.<br />
<br />
<h3>
9. It's a ridiculous bargain</h3>
For the people of Oakbrook to pay this small fee in return for this huge
faculty and world class event is, well, ridiculous. Instead of buying
dinner at a decent restaurant for the family, register for the Summit. How much money do you spend in a year to make yourself better? Spend a little, reap a lot. It's normally $249, but for Oakbrook and our Partner Churches, it's a phenomenal bargain. If you attend these churches, click on the appropriate link:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://oakbrookchurch.com/summit/">Oakbrook Church </a></li>
<li><a href="http://ecrossroads.org/index.php/connect/info-directory/item/global-leadership-summit?category_id=45">Crossroads Community Church</a> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.kokomonaz.org/Kokomo_First_Nazarene/Events.html">Kokomo First Church of the Nazarene</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.revolutioncc.org/#!__global-leadership-sign-up">Revolution Community Church, Logansport</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.collegewes.com/summit">College Wesleyan Church, Marion</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.wabashfriends.org/2014-global-leadership-summit.html">Wabash Friends, Wabash</a><br />
</li>
</ul>
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
10. Pat Lencioni</h3>
No one dispenses exceptional content with unique humor and delivery like <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speaker_Patrick_Lencioni_rsp.asp">Pat Lencioni</a> (Len-CHO-knee). You will love him.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>August 14-15, Thurs-Fri 9:30-5:30</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/speakers_rsp.asp"><b>Summit Faculty</b></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/"><b>Checkout the Summit Website</b></a><span id="goog_828967982"></span><span id="goog_828967983"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/events/leadership/vidhub_rsp.asp"><b>Watch some Summit Videos</b></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Special pricing for Oakbrook attenders ends midnight July 15)</div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<i>Why do Oakbrook attenders get special pricing?</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Good question. It's because hosting this event costs the host financially and in lots of volunteer and staff man hours. It takes a lot to pull off an event of this caliber so the <a href="http://www.willowcreek.com/index.asp">Willowcreek Association</a> compensates the host church in appreciation of all that goes into hosting.<b><br /></b></div>
morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-31099231870522002392014-06-23T15:35:00.002-05:002014-06-23T16:01:01.682-05:00The Worst Thing You Can Say...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oyS5AJiLzGI/U6iIeOgPbeI/AAAAAAAACJU/HJuUrSx_vJA/s1600/i+like+job+not.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oyS5AJiLzGI/U6iIeOgPbeI/AAAAAAAACJU/HJuUrSx_vJA/s1600/i+like+job+not.jpg" height="270" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
When I'm at a business and I'm greeted by an employee and I ask, "<i>How are you?</i>" The worst thing I hear back is:<br />
<br />
"<i><b>I'll be doing great when I'm off in about 20 minutes."</b></i><br />
<br />
This feels almost as ubiquitous as the checkout question, "<i>Did you find everything ok?</i>" (Sorry, blog within a blog here.) I made it to the checkout with the item; is this the best question you have?<br />
<br />
Sorry, back to the topic ;-) "<i>I'll be doing great when I'm off in about _____ minutes" </i>communicates so much in that tiny sentence. It says:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>I've forgotten you're a customer by the way I'm treating you like a fellow employee.</li>
<li>Whatever I'm doing here is far from what I like to do.</li>
<li>I don't really respect what I do for a living even though I chose this job.</li>
<li>I'm foolishly brazen. I didn't even look over my shoulder before I said it.</li>
<li>I'm apparently not good at talking with customers. </li>
<li>I'm putting up with whatever you might ask of me until I get to do something interesting. </li>
</ul>
<br />
So here's the tension: I write this and get it off my chest. You read it and nod along, "<i>Morgan, you're so right</i>!"<br />
<br />
But now, I have to do something the next time this happens. Why? If I don't, I'm just a crabby old guy with a blog. Seriously, the easiest thing to do is make commentary on life; take pot shots.<br />
<br />
So now I have to find a way to turn the tide, because most of the people I'm talking about don't read my blog. And I'll have to be nice when I say something. I never got rebuked by an old dude with an air of superiority and thought, "That was cool."<br />
<br />
Here's my game plan: (E. = employee. MY = me)<br />
<br />
E: "<i>I'll be doing fine when I get off in 10 minutes.</i>"<br />
<br />
MY: <i>"Do you mind if I share something with you?</i>"<br />
<br />
(Start by asking permission. When offering something that might be hard to hear, I always ask permission. And before I ask, I check my motivation: am I trying to make a point or trying to help? Unless I'm honestly trying to help, I should shut up. Making a point is selfish; trying to help is humility.)<br />
<br />
E: (cautiously) "<i>Uh, sure</i>."<br />
<br />
MY: (Sincerely) "<i>When you said that just now, about doing better when you get off--you probably never thought how that sounds on this side of it, but it sounds like you don't want to be here and then don't really want to wait on me.</i>"<br />
<br />
E: "<i>Oh hey, sir, I didn't mean to...</i>" <br />
<br />
MY: "<i>Hey it's ok--I know a lot of people say that. I said something because I'm just a guy trying to help. </i>(smiling) <i>Now where are the routers?</i>"<br />
<br />
During and after that exchange, if I'm not seriously nice to the employee I've totally screwed this up. If I come off in my actions, like I really care, then maybe my words have a chance. <br />
<br />
I'm guessing when this happens he or she will tell all the people on the shift and maybe people on the other shifts the rest of the week. The story might get told like I was a douche; that's ok. The story will get told and maybe some amount of positive change will come about.<br />
<br />
All I know is it takes all of us to get better. If all I do is make observations that never turn into helpful interactions, then what good am I really?<br />
<br />
Who knows, you may even take a stab at this the next time some well-meaning employee let's you know they'll be going great in a few more minutes ;-)<br />
<br />
Peace.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-43545916330747026802014-06-19T10:59:00.001-05:002014-06-19T11:09:08.238-05:00There is One Thing I Dislike about Downtown<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JwTE9CWzjUI/U6L1hvx2QwI/AAAAAAAACJE/RxQFqBzU1zY/s1600/get_along_shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JwTE9CWzjUI/U6L1hvx2QwI/AAAAAAAACJE/RxQFqBzU1zY/s1600/get_along_shirt.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
So after 20 months into owning and operating the Main Street Cafe, there is one thing I don't like about downtown Kokomo: the factions.<br />
<br />
<i>"This group doesn't like that group." </i><br />
<i>"This guy doesn't like that guy." </i><br />
<i>"She was mean to me so I don't like her."</i><br />
<br />
Right now some of you are saying to yourself, "<i>Dear, dear Morgan. You are so naive. This is how communities are. This is how life is</i>."<br />
<br />
If you believe that, you're part of the problem.<br />
<br />
If you've resigned yourself to that reality, you're contributing to that paradigm. I'm not writing this with the direct intent of cheesing people off; I'm writing this because I want our city to live up to it's potential. And part of living <i>up</i> to a potential involves putting <i>down</i> childish or immature ways.<br />
<br />
Sandra and I are friends of people like Scott Pitcher, Greg Goodnight, and Paul Wyman. (<i>Slow down: this isn't a piece defending or elevating these men--stay with me. I hate articles that are so vague you really can't follow along. So I use these guys here because they have thick skin and you'll better be able to follow along. And just because I mentioned those men, please don't think that this is about them. This is about a broader issue involving more people than I even know</i>.)<br />
<br />
And just to be clear, we are good friends with people who do <i>not</i> like these guys. As Sandra says of herself, "I'm Switzerland." ;-) These guys are local lightning rods: people tend to love 'em or hate 'em. And again, people love or hate <i>way more people</i> in our downtown community than just these guys.<br />
<br />
When I hear the banter of, "<i>He doesn't like me</i>," or, "<i>She treated me poorly</i>." I go right back to an elementary school playground. Why? Because that's the level of this kind of behavior.<br />
<br />
"<i>Sally doesn't like me so I'm NOT talking to her and her friends; I'm just talking to my friends</i>. (Crossed arms into pout.)"<br />
<br />
We think because we're grownups and wear suits and business dresses that these conversations with our side about so-n-so in the ______ department is mature and normal. It's not. It's the kind of behavior we scold our children for if we observe it in them. We coach our kids:<br />
<br />
"<i>Billy, seek first to understand</i>."<br />
"<i>Don't be as bad as the other guy</i>."<br />
"<i>Take the high road</i>."<br />
"<i>Why don't you talk to him about it</i>."<br />
<br />
Here's the thing: I'm not writing this because we have a little discord, a little difference of opinion between (<i>for example</i>) city and county, republicans and democrats. We've wrongly taken the lead of national figures who openly do not like other national figures. And where it used to be that we didn't like their policy or agenda, now we don't like <i>them</i>. And that's wrong.<br />
<br />
And why does this matter? It matters because the fabric of a community is not policy. The fabric of a community isn't the side that gets its way the most. The fabric of a community isn't new buildings. <i><b>The fabric of a community is relationship</b></i>.<br />
<br />
So I write this because when I see us unknowingly tear at the fabric of our community via the kinds of conversations we'd chastise our children for, I want to call us to something higher, something better, something more emblematic of our potential as a community.<br />
<br />
What we don't realize is this petty personal factionalism that we've created, becomes readily apparent to people who are new to our community; they quickly sniff it out. And it's not attractive.<br />
<br />
And the truth is, how we choose to get along today will be part of our legacy to young people who will someday be Kokomo's most influential people. They will do as we do.<br />
<br />
<h3>
This can change easily--one interaction at a time:</h3>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Stop talking negatively about specific people behind their backs</b>. You are a person of influence. People follow your lead. Lead well in how you talk about others.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Walk away when other people start talking negatively about someone</b>. Or if you're bold enough, ask them to stop in a polite humble way. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>If you know you're on the outs with someone</b> (regardless of how or why) <b>ask for a meeting</b>. It can start this simply, "<i>I don't want it to be the way it's been...</i>" Or, "<i>I'm sorry</i>." Or, "<i>I don't understand why...can you help me understand?</i>" Don't be concerned if they'll reciprocate; you do the right thing and see what happens.</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li>If you're a person of faith try this: <b>pray for the person you don't like</b>. It's really hard to pray for someone and hate them. Trust me, I know. Been there, prayed that ;-)</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Find something to appreciate in someone you don't like</b>. I've yet to meet a person who has no redeeming qualities--the question is, are we willing to look for them. </li>
</ul>
<br />
Here's another nugget to chew on. Let's say you have a deep dislike for someone in our community. The truth is it just rusts <i>your</i> soul and furrows <i>your</i> brow. The recipient of your dislike sleeps fine.<br />
<br />
We don't have to be everyone's best friend. But the fabric of our community is stitched together through relationships. And the holes in the fabric of our community are ripped by discord, animosity, and misunderstanding.<br />
<br />
As I land this post, know that I've written it for you. Not for them. You cannot control them. You can only control you. Don't share this with "<i>someone who really needs to read this</i>" until you first do a reflective self-exam.<br />
<br />
A community reaches its potential when you and I do everything we can to bring our best to each and every relational interaction. You and I are the fabric of this community. Change isn't a thing; it's a person. It's you and me, everyday.<br />
<br />
Peace. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-71131659988799627882014-06-18T15:10:00.004-05:002014-06-18T15:41:22.523-05:00What if Kokomo Intentionally Raised Up Young Entrepreneurs?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://kokomoceo.com/"><img alt="kokomoceo.com" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BsL9G3oN9uM/U6Hn0n-0E6I/AAAAAAAACI0/LZUL1l854Jo/s1600/ceo+logo-kokomo.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
What if instead of teaching a class about business, we immersed students in a business culture? What if that "class" never even met in a school, but always met in local businesses? What if the teacher didn't lecture about business principles but instead, facilitated an on-going relationship between the students and local business people?<br />
<br />
What if the class had a weekly diet of business people coming to talk to the class? What if the class weekly toured local businesses led by the men and women who ran them? What if each student had their own personal mentor from the local business community? And what if each student had to start his/her own business?<br />
<br />
What if this is actually coming to Kokomo for the 2014-15 school year?<br />
<br />
It is. <a href="http://kokomoceo.com/">Kokomo CEO</a> is for juniors and seniors of the nine area high schools. It will meet the first two periods of each school day. It operates under the <a href="http://www.kokomoschools.com/kokomoareacc">Kokomo Area Career Center</a>, but doesn't meet there; CEO meets in businesses.<br />
<br />
In recent months I've seen <a href="http://www.effinghamceo.com/">students in other states</a> that have been
through this class. They rave about it. They site it as integral to
their growth, maturation and outlook on life. And they admit that they
are different for having gone through the CEO experience. <br />
<br />
I've been chosen as the facilitator (teacher) and I am excited, honored, humbled and appropriately nervous. When I was 15 I started on my first entrepreneurial adventure: I convinced Gerald Moser that I was responsible enough and talented enough to run my own drum studio in his downtown building. I've been working in Kokomo ever since and in 2012 Sandra and I started the award-winning <a href="http://mainstcafe.org/">Main Street Cafe</a>. <br />
<br />
As part of the business community I have high aspirations for Kokomo and for young people. I love what our city is becoming and I love the potential inside this next generation. Connecting these potential packed students with great local business people should prove to be quite a ride!<br />
<br />
My 16 years as a pastor at <a href="http://oakbrookchurch.com/#about">Oakbrook Church</a> is not to be cast aside or marginalized. My position with Kokomo CEO is a part time contract, so I plan to continue to be integral at Oakbrook, just with fewer hours per week.<br />
<br />
(<i>The 2014-15 Kokomo CEO class is now full. For juniors and seniors in the 1015-16 school year, look for opportunities to <a href="http://kokomoceo.wordpress.com/application-process/">apply this upcoming school year</a>.</i>)<br />
<br />
<h3>
Ways business people can be involved:</h3>
1. <b>Guide a tour.</b> Invite us in to tour your facility and we can see what it's like to take risks, manage opportunities and learn from outcomes.<br />
<br />
2. <b>Speak to our class.</b> Share your story, successes, failures, learnings, best practices etc.<br />
<br />
3. <b>Mentor a student.</b> Offer to make time available to one student as he/she may need throughout the school year.<br />
<br />
4. <b>Support Kokomo CEO financially.</b> Kokomo CEO is <a href="http://kokomoceo.wordpress.com/investors/">funded by local businesses</a>. <br />
<br />
Email me if you're interested in partnering with us or have questions: morgan@oakbrookchurch.com<br />
<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Caveats:</h3>
1. I don't have any hand in which students get into CEO. It's a <a href="http://kokomoceo.wordpress.com/application-process/">blind process </a>conducted by our <a href="http://kokomoceo.wordpress.com/board-members/">board</a>.<br />
<br />
2. I won't hit you up for money. I'm the facilitator: I'll share with you, cast vision, update you on CEO activities and needs. But the <a href="http://kokomoceo.wordpress.com/board-members/">board</a> handles the <a href="http://kokomoceo.wordpress.com/investors/">fund raising</a>.<br />
<br />
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<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-19509360254001795442014-06-03T09:35:00.000-05:002014-06-03T10:14:31.024-05:00The Real Reason Everyone Doesn't Immediately Like the New Stadium or KipCor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0FQbMWIFpKc/U43NCqyrztI/AAAAAAAACIc/WDbpIBFQfRQ/s1600/BB+stadium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0FQbMWIFpKc/U43NCqyrztI/AAAAAAAACIc/WDbpIBFQfRQ/s1600/BB+stadium.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vh2iYRb8fB4/U43NEqHiZLI/AAAAAAAACIk/EFHr05-v150/s1600/kipcor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vh2iYRb8fB4/U43NEqHiZLI/AAAAAAAACIk/EFHr05-v150/s1600/kipcor.jpg" height="300" width="400" /> </a></div>
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In recent months a lot of changes have hit the scene in downtown Kokomo. Being that Sandra and I are owners of downtown's <a href="http://mainstcafe.org/">Main Street Cafe</a>, I am more in-tune to the local chatter than ever before. </div>
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We noticed (wasn't actually hard to notice) that there were vocal detractors to <a href="http://kipcor.com/pages/current-projects.php">KipCor's buying of local properties</a> and just recently, the newly proposed <a href="http://www.indystar.com/story/money/2014/05/12/kokomo-build-million-baseball-stadium/8999289/">baseball stadium</a>. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Jeff Broughton is <a href="http://kipcor.com/">KipCor's</a> president and CEO. They started work here during the tail end of 2013. In my observation, he's not just a man flying in, talking to renovation crews and flying out. He's clearly making work of getting to know people and getting to know Kokomo. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As Sandra and I have talked with Jeff these past few months, he doesn't come across as an outsider; he interacts more like a neighbor than a developer. He comes across like someone who's looking to find a home.</div>
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<br /></div>
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A question I've been asked many times, "Is this Broughton guy for real?" I reply, "You can't fake drywall." </div>
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<br /></div>
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His crews are doing real renovations to great old buildings that have been idly sitting and going to waste. I don't know his past any more than I know most other local business people's past. I know what I see evidenced in his work and his relational interactions. And what I see appears to be real, as real as any other born and bread Kokomoan business person I know.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
As to the new sports facility, I've heard the squawks, "Do we really need to build a 9 million dollar baseball stadium?" The quick answer is no. We don't <i>need</i> that. Likewise we don't need murals in our community, flowers along our streets, or smooth roads. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I think the thing that every city <i>needs</i> to do is much the same thing each individual longs to do: <i>reach its potential</i>. Therefore investing money in hopes of contributing to the greater good of our city is indeed a need.</div>
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The thing I love about leaders and entrepreneurs is that they see the need or usefulness before everyone else does. Most of us wouldn't have voted to do all the bump-outs, new stop signs etc downtown. But almost all of us love and take pride in our downtown that looks better than it has in decades--maybe ever.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
All of us drove past the <a href="http://kipcor.com/pages/current-projects/firestone-plaza.php">Firestone Building </a>and the <a href="http://kipcor.com/pages/current-projects/panhandle-alley.php">train station section of Buckeye</a> and never thought of doing anything to improve those areas. Almost all of us are now enjoying seeing these old beauties coming back to life.</div>
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<br /></div>
<h3 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
There is this theory called the Diffusion of Innovations.</h3>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1WrylPmXzo/U43MNlziovI/AAAAAAAACIY/Na0QSXSub3M/s1600/Diffusion_of_ideas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B1WrylPmXzo/U43MNlziovI/AAAAAAAACIY/Na0QSXSub3M/s1600/Diffusion_of_ideas.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On the graph, 2.5% of us are innovators (leaders, entrepreneurs, developers etc). 13.5% of us are early adopters. That means that only 13.5% of us can get on board with a vision based just on a plan or talking about it.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In my humble opinion, this is why a lot of people in Kokomo roll their eyes about renovating old buildings downtown or building a new stadium. Also factor in that Kokomoans are more on the conservative side; most of us are not exactly known as risk takers ;-)</div>
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As you look at the graph, think of the rising curve representing actual construction of a stadium or actual renovation of a building that's been dilapidated your whole life. The more the project comes together and takes actual shape, the more people will start to see and believe in the vision.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I've seen this with Jeff Broughton and KipCor. In the winter, when it was mostly <i>talk</i> about the vision, I heard a lot of skeptical chatter. Now, after months of renovations, people are driving by the Firestone Building and Buckeye street. They're seeing the vision and now the chatter is rapidly trending positively.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Why? Because we're now into the <i>early majority</i> phase (see chart) which represents 34% of us (add to that the 15% who were already in).</div>
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<br /></div>
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The late majority (34%) will wait to see if businesses actually inhabit these renovated spaces. Laggards (16%) will wait to see if the businesses that come in, will survive.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So although there are always a couple people that try to make things hard for a KipCor or a new stadium, the truth is most of us simply can't see the vision until it starts taking shape.</div>
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<h3 class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So what does all this mean?</h3>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
1. If you're an early adopter be patient with everyone else. Try to help them see it, but don't get irritated if they can't. And the fact that you can see it, perhaps indicates that you're a leader or entrepreneur and the reason you <i>are</i>, is because everyone else <i>isn't</i>. I say often to colleagues, "That's <i>why</i> we're leaders."</div>
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2. If you're not an early adopter, be patient. Don't judge a vision by its cover. A lot of great inventions sounded insane. "Really, in the 1960s we're going to the moon? I can give you 100 things we need to do first that are better uses of our time and money." </div>
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3. Even though Kokomo has its share of mid to late adopters, <i>we are a very loyal people</i>. We get behind things and people we believe in even if we weren't the first on board with the plan. </div>
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One last thought: Everything that KipCor will try won't work. There's a chance the stadium won't get done or done on time. But as Americans, don't we celebrate people who take a run at things? We certainly don't revere people who thought of all the practical reasons not to take a risk. There are no pictures, statues or records of people who played it safe.</div>
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Greatness as a country and for us as individuals rides on a little risk. I personally appreciate local people who are crazy enough to say, "What if?" Aren't you?</div>
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-Morgan Young</div>
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Associate Pastor at <a href="http://oakbrookchurch.com/#about">Oakbrook Church</a></div>
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Facilitator of Kokomo Area Career Center's new <a href="http://kokomoceo.com/">CEO Entrepreneurship program</a></div>
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Co-owner <a href="http://mainstcafe.org/">Main Street Cafe</a></div>
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morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-2473304576648242772014-05-23T13:15:00.001-05:002014-05-23T13:30:26.397-05:00I Have a Friend Who...(#2 in a series)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TsxQzsYrWlw/U3-DfDVLN9I/AAAAAAAACIE/c5mhtvfjyp0/s1600/bad+news.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TsxQzsYrWlw/U3-DfDVLN9I/AAAAAAAACIE/c5mhtvfjyp0/s1600/bad+news.jpg" height="235" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I have a friend who's been diagnosed with cancer.<br />
<br />
Actually, I currently have three. Lot's of hope for one, less for the other two. I'm not an expert on friend's with life-threatening diseases, but the freshness of my friend Mike's passing still lingers. I got closer to him in his last three years. Cancer got him. <br />
<br />
I liken being a friend of someone with a terminal disease to being with a friend on a plane. It's second engine has seized. You're going down together. It's a matter of time til impact, yet I'll walk away from the crash physically unscathed. We'll ride this plane down together.<br />
<br />
The more life we live, the more death will come close. No one teaches us how to deal with it. I hope this may help.<br />
<br />
<h3>
1. Stay connected with them</h3>
Often when life gets uncomfortable we tend to shy away. "<i>I just don't know what to do or say; I feel awkward</i>."<br />
<br />
Get over your awkwardness. It's not about you. It's about your friend. Your uncomfortableness is nothing compared to the weight your friend is carrying. So keep calling. Keep texting. Keep stopping by. Nothing worse than facing mortality and wondering where your friends are.<br />
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<h3>
2. When you don't know, ask</h3>
When people are sick, it's hard to know:<br />
a. If they want company<br />
b. If they feel too bad for company <br />
c. If they want to talk about their condition<br />
d. If they want to talk about anything but their condition.<br />
<br />
So if you don't know, just straight up ask them. They'll tell you. Some of you are great relational discerners, but if you're not sure, ask.<br />
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3. Ask the spouse</h3>
Not all sick people are great about sharing important information. We often like to hide things when we're sick (i.e. especially MEN). Spouses always know what's going on. Don't be afraid to check the story with the spouse. "<i>He says he's doing great, is that real or is he just trying to keep me from worrying?</i>" <br />
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4. Be there for the spouse too</h3>
This is so important. In these situations spouses go through more than I can convey. Call <i>them</i>. Stop in just to see <i>them</i>. Ask what you can do to help <i>them</i>. Their needs can seem mundane, but with all they're juggling, helping with a meal or picking up kids can be huge. At one point, people simply providing clean pillow cases was life-giving to Lynne when Mike was sick.<br />
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5. Shut up</h3>
When you visit people, don't feel like you have to have the right words. For God's sake don't throw cliche Scripture verses or phrases at them like, "I'm sure God has a reason for this." Just don't.<br />
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Tell them you care. Tell them you're praying (if you are). But don't feel like your words are what they really need today. What they need is your presence, your love, your willingness to be there for them and their family. The fact that you made time to come and hang out speaks volumes. Don't screw it up by trying to make them feel like this horrible thing is somehow alright. <br />
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That said, they may want to hear about how you're doing. Some stories from your life may be a nice reprieve from their circumstances. Again, if you're not sure if you need to talk or just be there, ask.<br />
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6. Pray</h3>
I pray for healing until the plane makes impact or until the situation is such that it would be a blessing for all involved if God would take him/her. I also pray for relief from pain, strength for them and the spouse, peace, their relationship with God and anything that makes sense to pray for. I often ask, "<i><b>How</b> can I pray for you?</i>" In addition to all things you and I can do, the family needs ministered to by the Holy Spirit in powerful ways. This is how we can help that to happen.<br />
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7. Choose faith</h3>
These can be sad days. The Bible is full of rough times, but through it all God is there, working, being God, loving, redeeming, forgiving. Your friend and their family need you to stand strong for them. That means trusting God will be God in and through times such as these. Faith isn't magical; it's a choice. You may have to choose it many times as the plane goes down, and in the aftermath.<br />
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If I can help you, let me know; I've been there. Peace.<br />
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<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4094395670480615829.post-43000761177530845082014-05-08T16:07:00.003-05:002014-05-08T16:10:24.456-05:00I have a friend who...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have a new friend who doesn't work so that she won't take a job from someone who needs it. (<i>Did that statement throw you a little? It did me when I heard it, because I'd never heard it before</i>.) As she discretely and humbly says, her husband generates enough money for their family.<br />
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She's bright, educated, relationally intelligent, personable and I have no doubt could procure a well-paying job and add to a local company. But she has a broad view of things. A broad view of our community that's lead her to make a selfless decision that's benefited someone in our community whom she and we will never know.<br />
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So what does she do? She volunteers her valuable time to local organizations that can benefit from skills they could otherwise never afford to retain. (<i>Further details withheld to protect her anonymity</i>.) <br />
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I love this. We so often equate usefulness with a salary and yet my friend's pro bono reputation precedes her. She gets things done. She makes an impact. She's a difference-maker. And the recipient of her efforts? Us. The community. The greater good. And I'm assuming, her soul, her sense of well-being. And probably the same sense of satisfaction we all derive from giving great effort in exchange for a paycheck.<br />
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So I don't expect you to read this and quit your job. But how about more appropriately, what are <i>we</i> doing for our community? What are we doing that's not about me and mine getting better, but for the greater good?<br />
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Tough question, but worthy to wrestle with.<br />
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Peace.<br />
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<br />morgan younghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00156150303596246975noreply@blogger.com