Humor – particularly the ability to laugh at one’s own faults, foibles and circumstances – combined with determination is a powerful combination. I found this TED Talk amazing because comedian, actor, writer, philanthropist, and advocate Maysoon Zayid is just that: this unstoppable force of humor and determination. I won’t say much more, because I don’t want to spoil your fun. But I can almost guarantee that you will enjoy — and inspired by — her 14 minutes of candor, humor, and unquenchable spirit. Note: If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click the title at the top of the post to watch the...

Ask most people if they think they are creative, and they will likely drop their eyes, if not their heads, and answer – often very quickly – “No.” Somewhere along the line, we have decided – or probably were taught – that creativity requires some measure of genius, the ability to see something no one has ever seen, to do something completely novel, to develop an original idea or invention. Framed that way, it’s highly understandable that most of us feel like we don’t measure up. But what if creativity is far less the solitary pursuit of the inspired genius and more an attentive regard for the ideas and contributions of...

One of the attributes that I think is woefully undervalued in leadership is the capacity to be surprised. That may, I know, sound like an odd capacity to lift up and perhaps seems like a rather mundane thing on which to focus. After all, aren’t all of us regularly surprised by all kinds of things all of the time? Yes…and no. Do things regularly happen that we didn’t expect? Sure. And do we venture into experiences that we’d not had before and are therefore surprised. Absolutely. But that’s not quite the kind of surprise I’m talking about. What I really mean is the willingness to have our expectations defied, even overturned. To...

My teacher and mentor Timothy Wengert started a blog not too long ago that offers weekly meditations on the Psalms. Except these aren’t just meditations. In 2001, Tim and his wife Barbara discovered that Barb had terminal cancer. Throughout that year and the next, before Barb died in May of 2001, they would read a Psalm together each night. And each morning the next day, Tim would send an email to their daughter Emily, who was away at college, with the Psalm and his reflections. Now Tim is posting those reflections on his blog once a week in relation to the Sunday reading of the Psalm in the lectionary. Which is what makes these...