Category Archives: Humility

New Opportunities…

12 Friday Jan 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Heart, Humility, Inspiration, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Opportunity, Passion, Servant

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“We cannot control the when of opportunity, we only control what we do with it.” – J. Clay Norton

 

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“Oh, I wish I could go back and…”

I have made that statement many times in the past. You know what, I cannot go back and neither can you. We can only learn and put ourselves in a position to do better when a new time comes. Believe it or not, most times, it will come back around again.

I am not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions. Our pastor, Dr. Greg Belser stated once in a sermon that “… if something was important to do, then go ahead and do it.”

I believe this is pretty solid advice. We live in a world of instant gratification. We want a lot of stuff now, so why is it typical for each of us to wait to do something for others or for ourselves?

So, why does a new year matter? I can only answer for me. Maybe you can have a thought or two on this as well. A new year matters because it allows for opportunities that should never wait.

  • An opportunity to understand even more that it is not about me.
  • An opportunity to appreciate the little things that make someone happy.
  • An opportunity to be kind-hearted and serve.
  • An opportunity to care and value others.
  • An opportunity to just do the right thing.
  • An opportunity to…

The above list can go on and on. Most importantly, we must understand that each of these can and should add quality to your life. If you want them, why not put them into practice? Why wait? Your opportunity to do any of this is waiting for you.

 

Also, wanted to say thank you to everyone who subscribes to the blog and to those who read it via email. Your support is very appreciated. To those that follow on Twitter, thanks as well.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.

 

 

In The Fullness Of Time…

22 Friday Dec 2017

Posted by in Christmas, Heroes, Humility, Inspiration, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Power, Purpose, Sacrifice, Servant, Unity

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I hope each of you have a Merry Christmas.  Enjoy the time you have for yourself and your family.  Above all else, remember the gift of God, that came in the fullness of time.

“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son…” – Galatians 4:4 ESV

 

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 In the fullness of time… God, in His rich mercy and love,

reached down to do the one thing we could not do.

It was at this time, planned before time,

that God chose for Jesus to come and humble Himself

to save mankind.

To leave the throne of Heaven,

the glory of His righteousness.

To come to this world, created by Him,

to save us from our frailty.

The Incarnate who can relate, know our hearts;

to save us from our world of death and offer us eternity.

Lowly shepherds heard this Good News.

Their hearts were stirred to belief,

that they went and bowed at The New Born’s feet.

This same news, we hear too.

Angels we have heard on high;

the sound of their voices still cry…

Peace on earth and goodwill to man…

A Redeemer we needed, and still do.

God, in His Majesty, provided a Savior, born for you!

In the fullness of time… Christ was born.

Merry Christmas!

 

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2017 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.

 

 

 

Thanksgiving in Three Words

17 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Family, Freedom, Giving, Gratitude, Humility, Leader, Leadership, Servant

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“What if today, we were just grateful for everything?” – Charlie Brown

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Have you ever considered what “makes” Thanksgiving work? Not the “works” of turkey and dressing and the other fixings, but the “works” of our thoughts and why we are thankful. I am sure we have many ideas as to why we are thankful, and you can probably start the sentence off with “I am thankful because…”

If you are on twitter, you might follow @goodreads. It is a site for book lovers. Often, it will tweet out, “Describe the book you are currently reading in three words.” I find this interesting because I catch myself asking this with a lot of my general activities. Simple questions like this sometimes provide the most thought.

So, my statement for you today and next week is, “Describe your thoughts on Thanksgiving in three words.”

It would be interesting to know what each of you would say. I am very sure that there would be an overwhelming amount of the same words from person to person. The idea here is not to limit our thinking, but to be intentional about our thinking.

My three words for describing my thoughts on Thanksgiving are:

Authentic
I once heard someone say, “You can never separate who you are with what you say you believe in.” One reason I admire the Pilgrims is that they were a group that held firm to their beliefs of who they were. May we unapologetically do the same.

Generosity
Another saying I once heard was, “Your level of generosity is not determined by how much you give, but by how much you hold onto.” How often do we give of ourselves? While giving is not a natural born characteristic, we can learn how to give of ourselves and be generous. It takes time and most of all, effort.

Gratitude
Everyone has something to be thankful for, and only you know what those things are. Allow your gratitude to be intentional. Let it show as a helping example for others but not in a boastful manner.

This Thanksgiving, as you celebrate, take time to consider the statement, “Describe your thoughts on Thanksgiving in three words.” You might even decide to have this as a topic for conversation with friends and family at the table.

But most of all, make sure you take time to give thanks. By doing so, we bow before the Lord in our humility. Thankful that He is willing to save our souls as we look forward to an inheritance of eternal life which He has promised.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Remember… THINKLEADERSHIP

©2017 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.

 

 

​Who Can Lead?

22 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by in Clarity, Heart, Humility, Inspiration, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Servant, Understanding

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“Do you think we choose to be born? Or are we fitted to the times we are born into?” Daniel Day-Lewis, playing Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s movie “Lincoln,” asked this question.

How often have we heard the question asked, “Are leaders born or made?” Which one is correct? Better yet, why does it even matter? Either way, great leadership at all levels is in great demand.  What society needs is great leadership and they want to know, “Who Can Lead?”

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Everywhere we look there is a new leadership “fad.” Do this and don’t do this leadership… It would seem there is a deficiency in general leadership ability among “leaders.”  And you know what… that is more than likely the correct assumption. (Note: Leadership is not about your position or title. Please change this mindset if you believe this to be true. Change it for the good of others and yourself. As I have stated before, these “leaders” only lead the minds. They never lead the hearts.)

Leadership gets complicated. Leadership depends on where and what the situation is and it is not the same across the board for everyone. Just because this leadership “theory” worked in or at one place and time does not mean it will work at another. There are too many variables… But, understand this… It is the challenges that determine a leader, not if they were born or made. Leaders who overcome challenges do so through personal experience and knowledge of situations. They observe others or learn from their own past situations. Great leaders develop a mental portfolio of what has and has not worked in their past and they make use of it.

Our opinion of what great leadership is and what it should look like differs from what others think. Leadership is not a fine-tuned set of ideas and beliefs. When we start to believe we can “box” leadership up and “sell it,” leadership starts to be vague and less effective.  Now, this is not to say that we cannot learn from new ideas, but… At the end of all, leadership is relative. What might be true for you is not necessarily true for me.

It is not a question of if you were born or made as a leader. The question is, can you lead?

So… Who can lead?

Anyone…

Actually, you can… Just decide to.

All you need is a servant-heart, humility, an open-mind, and an opportunity. We cannot control the “when” but we can control what we do with the “when.”

 

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2017 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.