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ARE YOU A LEADER?

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The simple answer is yes. We are all leaders in our own spheres. Leadership happens in the home, at work, with kids, at the car wash, at Costco, on the freeway, you name it, leadership is required in every aspect of your day. You are probably disqualifying yourself as you read this. Well… I’m not a leader like this person or all I do is this or that. Stop it!

There are 2 types of leaders, good leaders and bad leaders. A good leader is able to pull something out of a person that others never thought possible. A good leader sees value in others and does not seek recognition in the process. A good leader is a person that is willing to speak hard truths to someone who is humble enough to hear it.

A good leader goes out ahead of those they are leading and looks for landmines. A good leader does what they are asking you to do. A good leader takes ownership of the mistakes of those they are leading. A good leader never blames others. A good leader is always learning. A good leader is a hard worker. A good leader is persistent. A good leader elevates those around them. A good leader is accountable to their purpose. A good leader reproduces other good leaders.

A bad leader does the exact opposite of all those listed above.

You are a leader. You may not be a perfect leader but if you listen, humble yourself and acknowledge that you are held to a higher standard than others, you will grow into a leader that you would want to follow.

Lead,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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IT’S GO TIME!

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Procrastination is one of the worst and hardest habits to shake. As a kid, procrastination was an easy way to escape homework for a few hours to make room for something far more fun. As we enter our teen years, delaying action was typically in the form of job applications, summer school or any mundane yet required activity. As an adult, these seemingly harmless synonyms can be replaced with one word- postponement.

Meaningless late 5th grade homework assignments have turned into postponing your dreams. Grown-ups are great with manipulating language to make us feel better about our appetite for inaction. In October of every year we boldly proclaim, I’m going to wait until the new year to break or start a habit. What is that? We would never let our kids get away with this sort of self-destructive postponement.

Intentionally delaying a decision can be strategic but not acting on a decision once made creates anxiety and leads to low self-esteem.  We were made with a mind that gives us the opportunity to dream and decide what we want to be when we grow up. That same mind is powerful and understands the work associated with those dreams. Often times the raging debate going on in our head resembles the bloviating commentators on every major news network. The reality is that you have 2 or 3 things that you really want to accomplish. Not only do you want to do them, but you can do them. The only thing stopping you is the hard work and self-discipline required between here and there.

As you Chief Encouragement Officer, I would like you to remember who you are. You have accomplished much but there is more to be had. You have dreams and goals that are balled up in the desk of your mind. Reach in there and pull them out one by one. It’s been said that all good ideas devolve into hard work. This is true but the hard work between us and our dreams is what we were made for.

Oh the places you’ll go,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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TREE OF LIFE

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Ancient wisdom tells us that Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is like a tree of life. We are 59 days from 2021 and this year has made many of us feel heartsick. We have hoped for health and prosperity yet many of our neighbors and fellow citizens have experienced the opposite.

We are on the precipice of a new chapter in our history. This chapter will be new for you personally and for our nation historically. As I write this, I feel hope bubbling up once again. The hope that I have is not based on change but rather on the fact that the things that matter have remained.

The past 9 months have helped us realize the need for personal connection in the midst of the “I” revolution. iPhone, iPad, I this and I that. The hope that has ultimately been differed is the one that yearns for deep human connection. Zoom rooms have been a real gift during this time but they fall far short of the family rooms our souls most deeply require.

The most difficult part of differed hope is anticipating if it will be met. The moment when heart sickness is met with hope and fulfillment is usually when we let go.  Letting go takes intentionality. When we let go, we often find ourselves sitting under a tree of life with our family and friends.

Stay Rooted,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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TO DO LIST

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Did you ever notice that your to-do list is all about you? When is the last time you made a to-list that involved other people? It sounds strange but the discipline of writing down a list of ways you are going to bless somebody is quite refreshing. Even more exhilarating is to cross off the list as your week goes by. Here are a few ideas:

-Buy a cup of coffee for the person in line behind you

-Compliment a stranger

-Write down what you are grateful for

-Hold the door for somebody

-Leave a big tip

-Call someone you have been meaning to

-Say thank you

-Listen with all of your might

-Don’t have an agenda when meeting with somebody

-Turn your phone off when you are with people

-Give blood

-Drop off clothes at Goodwill

-Bring a friend dinner

-Have grace for those closest to you

-Be slow to anger while driving

-Count your blessings

-Smile

-Call your Mom

-Be nice

-Offer to pick up groceries for a neighbor

As you Chief Encouragement Officer, I want to offer you a bit of respite from yourself. Thinking about others is one thing, doing things for others is quite another. Let’s go out this week with a mission to make somebody else’s life better!

It’s not about you,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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PTGO

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Post Traumatic Growth Opportunity. This phrase came to my mind when listening to a recent Simon Sinek podcast discussing how people respond to challenges. We face trauma in various ways throughout our days and weeks. When these dramatic events occur, we get to decide whether these events will serve us or damage us down the road. Quite astonishing when we say it like that. Situation arises, goes sideways, we choose which bucket to place it in- future building or future baggage.

I began my journey towards optimism 12 years ago. The catalyst was desperation. When you are starting a business, any negative thoughts have to be immediately wrapped up and thrown out the window. Why? Because negative thoughts lead to negative actions and negative actions lead to negative results. Plus, being positive costs the same as being negative. So why not flip the script and say this is going to be great.

With a PTGO mindset, almost anything life throws at you feels like an opportunity to learn. We need to recategorize difficult times from failure to data collection. I have been collecting data my whole life and that data is now protecting me from potholes down the road. The smartest PTGO mind setters hang around with folks that have already blown out a few tires and are eager to share their data points with you.

As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I would like to challenge the readers this week to do something nice for a stranger. This simple act of benevolence will set your week off on the right trajectory. One thing is for sure when we think less about ourselves and more about others, life seems to add up.

Pick your bucket wisely,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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CONTROL FREAK

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We are 10 months into a year that will forever change the nation, the world and your life. The next 10 months will be different. That’s just it, every day is different. We can’t hold onto things of the past and effectively move into the future. It would be like holding onto the bumpers of 2 cars slowing pulling the opposite direction. Here is my advice, let go of both bumpers and simply give yourself the opportunity to enjoy today.

Control is at the center of most of our stress. We are stressed about the outcome of the election. What if your candidate loses? What if this happens, what if that happens? What will the economy do? What will the world look like for my kids? All of these concerns are to not be taken lightly but they are to be held loosely. If you are honest with yourself, you will admit that the greatest things that have ever happened to you were outside of your control.

We often have great things happen to us that were unplanned and totally undeserved. Instead of continuing to walk and enjoy what we received we put that blessing into a chokehold by managing the fun right out it. STOP IT. Attempting to control the outcome of every situation is exhausting and counterproductive. Not only does it not work but it makes being around you miserable. Here are a few tips for intentionally releasing control:

-Admit that you are not any good at control once you have it.

-Write down all the good events in your life that came outside of your planning

-Be quick to be generous

-Ask someone you trust to remind you when you are beginning to micromanage

-Get over yourself

In order to get over yourself entirely, you must accurately see yourself. This tall task cannot be done on an island and requires a community of good friends. As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I challenge you to take inventory of your stress and see how much of it is related to control. You may want to ask yourself this tough question if 2020 hasn’t beaten the control freak out of me, what will?

CHILL OUT,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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ICEBERG AHEAD

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What happens to you when you identify an obstacle in your passageway. For most people, the vulnerability light bulb on the dashboard in their head goes off which is immediately followed by an attempt to change direction. This change in direction is intended to save us from sure disaster and give us the opportunity to steer the ship back to its original course. Needless to say, we make a double effort to make these changes smooth, subtle, and hardly noticeable to those traveling with us.  

Recently, I was riding shotgun with my 15-year-old daughter as she works to accumulate enough hours to become a valid driver. We were driving down a reasonably trafficked road in a suburb near our house in Southern California. She elected to change lanes which at the time felt like we were avoiding a deer. The sudden change in direction reminded me that often in life we are required to pivot rather than turn on our blinker, check the mirrors and comfortably float to the neighboring lane.

Pivoting requires a fixed point. Think of a protractor, half of your body must be anchored and the other half agile. We create plans for all sorts of stuff: Study plans, exercise plans, college plans, retirement plans, vacation plans, financial plans, business plans, 3-year plans, 5-year plans, and finally plans to make more plans. Don’t get me wrong, plans are good. I believe planning is a way for us to place value on our daily sojourn. While plans are good, they are oftentimes impossible to execute as predetermined. A great plan should always include plenty of room for pivoting.

Pivoting almost always pushes us towards the events in life that are most memorable.

Pivoting requires three things:

Be anchored in who you are. Without an anchor, you will become part of somebody else’s plan.

Know where you are going. This is a life direction that is broad and exciting.

Be confident saying that you have no idea how you are going to get where you want to go.   Get comfortable in a world of uncertainty.

Enjoy the Sudden Changes,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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GOT PURPOSE?

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Life is pretty simple. It becomes more complex as we age but for the most part, we just want to be happy. Happiness is a fickle emotion that is impossible to bottle up or buy. Disneyland has apparently cornered the market as the happiest place on earth. Unfortunately, this bastion of happiness has been closed down for 6 months. This makes me wonder where the second happiest place on earth has been all these years and why are they not touting their new number 1 status?

Happiness has been and always will be ruthlessly unpredictable and undeniably disloyal. Happiness is a puzzle and it is made up of several pieces. Here are a few:

– Be difficult to offend

– Discover a place of belonging (Big Piece)

– Find fulfillment regardless of the task

– Dedicate your life to helping others

– Understand your purpose (Biggest Piece)

These are a few of the corner pieces that are crucial for assembling the happiness puzzle. Most people want to skip the first four and discover their life calling listening to a podcast. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The Declaration of Independence calls it a pursuit of happiness because that’s what it is – a pursuit.

As your Chief Encouragement Officer, I would urge you to survey your puzzle. What pieces are on the board but in the wrong place? What pieces are missing? At the end of the day, happiness and joy are knowing that your activity and production are what you do not who you are. Answering life’s great questions is always a pursuit.

Stay in the game because you will soon find out that you were born for such a time as this.

Have Fun,

Matt Davenport

C.E.O.

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