No Matter How You Slice it, Gratitude Still Matters

As Thanksgiving is upon us, we all know that Nov. 25 is a great day to consider our blessings.  The problem is the other 364 days of the year.

We just don't thank others enough for the work they do.  Sadly, this includes God.  After all, He doesn't take a personal day or call in sick like the rest of us.

So what are you thankful for this year?  It may be a person, a place or a thing.  The key is to name your thankfulness and share it with others.

I'll go first-

I'm especially thankful for my beautiful wife and our healthy, fun and occasionally mischievous children.  For our imperfect home and a long commute.  For our church which has grounded us in Christ for the past few years.  For my job which stretches me beyond measure.  For my renewed interest in prayerfulness.  For productivity and the ways it profoundly changes our lives.  For this blog.  For good friends.  For good books that change the way I think and behave.  For my amazing parents and the values they instilled in me decades ago.  For my brothers who are two of the best men I know.  For my other band of brothers- my friends who I turn to for support.  For the present moment.

How about you?

*photo by Darwin Bell

A Tribute to my Dad on his Birthday

I've read that more couples are getting married this weekend due to the dating of 10/10/10.  In our house, we're honoring my dad for who he is and for the life that he has led as Oct. 10 marks his birthday.

My dad, Alfred, is one of nine children, born into a hard-working family in Maine.  The St. Pierre children worked on the family farm and studied by day in a one room school house.  Speaking more French than English, the children learned that life is difficult but manageable.  To get ahead, you have to trust in God and work hard.

So that's what my dad did as he headed off to join the Army.  Later, he met Camille, a bright woman who grew up outside of Boston from an Italian family.  "At least she speaks French," my dad's family would later say of the woman who would become mother to me and my two older brothers.  Their marriage has endured to this day and they enjoy good health and the blessings of a life of deep faith.

My dad has taught me so much over the years.  It wasn't so much that he worked hard (although clearly he did) but that he got into deep rhythms of work such that great results followed.  When he would come home from work, I would meet him in the garage and then follow him around the house as he transitioned from work-mode to home. Rarely did he bring the stress of work home with him.

My dad practices a unique blend of being stubborn with being able to adapt.  When PC's became widely used, he embraced them even though it took some time to adjust.  Recently, he's pursued a passion for photography that allows him and my mom to capture the memories of their travels on DVD.  He's learned technology after technology, often producing DVD's for others  in need.  He's figured out how to give a gift to someone else that is a product of his labor and not just something you can purchase at a store.

As I've studied time management and grown The Daily Saint blog over the years, I realize that my own father could probably write a book of his own.  Before Zen Habits, 37Signals, and LifeHacker came along, my dad was doing one thing at a time, putting first things first and doing right by his family.

As a Christian leader, I'm trying to adopt my dad's other unique ability- to be able to stop on a dime and change personal habits.  I can remember the year that he started walking each day at lunchtime.  It was as if a switch had been activated and then he never looked back. Or the year that he began attending daily Mass.  To this day, he and my mom worship God each morning at the altar of their local parish.

The point is this- inspiration can strike at any time and one better not betray a prompting of God.  Go with the inspiration and trust that the habit will then build momentum and positive results.  That's truly a living definition of the spirituality of work.

So Dad, here's to you on your birthday.  Know that I'm saying an extra prayer of thanks for you on your special day.

*Photo by marika.laurel

Inside the U.S. Bishops Labor Day Statement: Hope Amidst Hard Times

Raise your hand if you know someone who is out of work.

It seems like this year is hitting my hard as I have several friends and family members who are still looking for work.  Each is dedicated, bright and hard working.  They have simply found themselves in the middle of a wicked economic downturn.

As Christians, it's hard to know just how we ought to respond to either those who are unemployed or the way in which the government is trying to steady the ship.  The US Bishops may be of help in this situation.

Each year the US Bishops issue a statement on Labor Day weekend.  Their goal is simple: apply Catholic principles to the challenges of the day.  This year's statement, "A New Social Contract for Today's New Things" was issued by Bishop Murphy of Rockville Centre as he is the chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development.

I'd like to break down the document in a format that is simple and hopefully, easy to apply to whatever situation you may find yourself in this Labor Day weekend.

Introduction

  • "This year has been difficult for many workers."

  • The Bishops explain that, at the current rate of small US economic growth, it would take nearly seven years to reclaim the jobs that were present prior to the economic collapse.

  • The need has never been greater for a new 'social contract', linking workers with new opportunities for productivity.


Catholic Social Teaching

  • Here the Bishops discuss the Church's tradition of teaching on matters of work.

  • Citing the 1891 breakthrough Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII, the Bishops speak of how Leo responded to the pressing needs of workers in his time.  Today's Pope through his bishops is trying to do the same.

  • Central to the Church's response to unemployment and exploitation today is the centrality of the worker.  The worker has dignity, plain and simple.


Work, Workers and the Economy

  • "Work is good for every person."

  • "Work is that aspect of life that allows us to care for ourselves and those we love and to contribute to the wider society."

  • In the political context, the Bishops explain that, for an unemployed person, work is THE most important issue.  Not health care.  Not even social issues.  It's work that puts food on the table.  Just ask someone who is out of work.


Conclusion

  • "We find ourselves at a crucial moment in economic life.  Workers need to have a real voice and effective protections in economic life."

  • Finally, the Bishops remind all readers that work allows people to be co-creators with God.  When we are without work, we don't share as fully in God's power to work within us and thus within society.


It's my hope that we'll each thank God for whatever employment we have.  Even if your job isn't perfect (whose is?), be grateful and find a way to make it better.  For those who are still looking for work, pray for them and put your creative powers to work on their behalf.  Is there someone in your network that could help them?

To read the complete text, click here.

*Photo by Robert Couse-Baker

Who's Watching Your Lead?

Great leaders are a little bit crazy.  There is always something about them that looks odd.  Mother Theresa spent hours in prayer each day.  Martin Luther was obsessed with his own salvation.  Steve Jobs is so secretive about product development that Apple's success now depends on it.

Leadership is often marked by these odd traits, often only observed behind the scenes.  But to those who work closely with leaders, the quirks and foibles are evident on an almost daily basis. They become "normal" and the organization either works around them or through them.

In short, someone is always watching your lead.

As a school leader, I'm aware of this fact and yet try not to think about it too often.  The cult of personality is not something that would help my organization and would do terrible things to my ego!

My family comes first and provides the ultimate grounding for how I see my work.  The root of the word "humility" is humis or earth.  In other words, a humble person is well-grounded.  Their leadership first sets an example for others.

My daughter reminded me of this principle when I came home to find that she had completed a project for school.  When I asked her how she did it, she shrugged and said, "I just figured it out Dad."  Here's what she did, with no guidance at all from me or her mother:

  • Took a digital photo of herself on an iPhone

  • Synced the iPhone with our home computer and transferred the photo

  • Found the photo in iPhoto

  • Plugged in the printer cable and proceeded to print out her picture

  • Cut out the picture to be included in a poster for school


Not bad for a 9 year old who is bored out of her mind in the late shadows of summer!  I realized that she must have seen me do this same project many times.  (ok minus the poster part)  It was her chance to show Dad her stuff.  And show she did.

Who's watching your lead?  Is a family member observing your good example?  Are your colleagues at work witnessing virtue unfold?

The key of course is to trust in God for the grace to live well.  The follow through is all yours.

*Photo by UND-CFC-USFK

Focus and Detachment: Getting the Right Things Done

"Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God." -- Jim Elliot

You are plugged in.  Your cell phone is with you nearly all of the time.

You are media savvy.  You have access to music, video and the Web nearly all of the time.

You are productive.  You capture ideas when they arise and put them in placeholders.

You are relational.  Your family and friends matter to you.

Put all of these together and you have an opportunity to do great things.  Or, an opportunity to be distracted.  I don't mean distracted for 5 minutes when you should be working on a project.  I mean the kind of distraction that creeps into a life and leads it off course.

I was walking in my neighborhood last night with my kids.  As a productive guy, I had my cell phone in my pocket as a capture tool.  Inspiration can strike at any time.  We were enjoying the muggy New Jersey night air and a moment flashed in front of my eyes- I had a choice.

I could be the dad whose kid is riding in the neighborhood, having fun while he was chatting on his cell phone and missing the action.  Or, I could be the dad who practices what the ancients call "detachment" and focus instead on my kids.

Thankfully, in that given moment, I chose the latter.  I wish I could say I make that choice all of the time but I don't.  A work in progress.  At these times, we need the spiritual principle of detachment more than ever.

What is detachment? A good article can be found here.

As Marcellino D'Ambrosio puts it, "Detachment does not mean that you shouldn’t enjoy your secular pursuits and approach them with energy and enthusiasm.  It just means that your daily activity must be placed on the altar, offered up to God as a living sacrifice."

In other words, put first things first.  God, family, work, friendship, worship, generosity, and compassion.  Your list is probably similar.

It's not always about getting more things done.  It's about the right kinds of things.
*photo by nathaninsandiego

The Power of a Good Apology

2010 has been like an episode of Men Behaving Badly.  Famous men doing terrible things.  Each time, we wait for an apology and then wage our bets to see if words can make up for bad behavior.


  • Now ousted-CEO Tony Hayward of BP had this to say before Congress in June, referring to the explosion and subsequent sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig, "They never should have happened -- and I am deeply sorry that they did...My sadness has   only grown as the disaster continues."



  • We could too-easily reference Tiger Woods' famous apology to his wife and family for a pattern of infidelity.  The press conference included friends and family at his side but not his wife or children.


In each case, lives have been ruined and moments of self-centered behavior have led to untold pain.  We feel like rubber-neckers who are driving by accidents on the freeway.  I've even found myself asking, "Don't they realize the pain they're causing?"  Apparently not.

Here are some observations about the power of a good apology:

  1. To apologize is to be human. No one is above or exempt from saying they're sorry.  I recently neglected an important anniversary in the lives of two people I love very much.  No excuses could be made and a deep and enduring apology ensued.  I felt awful.

  2. To go beyond it, own it. This involves deep introspection and you have to reach a point where you look in the mirror and admit that at least part of the problem is, well, you.  Own it and move on.  Accept full responsibility- it's the only way.

  3. Follow up with concrete actions. A personal note, flowers, gifts, and more are all good starts but it will take much more to amend a wrong committed against someone else.  This could take weeks or even years.


Through all of this, the wise perspective of Stephen Covey still holds true,

"Remember the emotional bank account—similar to a bank account, you can make deposits or withdrawals from each of your family relationships. Make a conscious effort to make meaningful deposits in your relationships. When you make a withdrawal, apologize and correct the mistake."

As you go through your week, starting each day with some devotional time, focus on being fully present where you are.  This is truly "practicing the presence of God" and will ultimately lead to a more fulfilling and honest life.

*Photo by Dave Keeshan