Next Actions--The Way Out!

I was reminded (by my friend Al--thanks Al!) of something that I believe is very important: NEXT ACTIONS.  What is a "next action," you might ask?  Well, in a nutshell, it's the next step you need to take toward completing a project.  A project has several steps.  If we don't break the project into those steps, and determine the next action, the project can get stalled.

I stalled on church planting.  In the "waiting" for God to sell our house, I stopped planning out the next actions for planting.  Last week that changed.  I wrote out what I needed to accomplish--some goals--and put some next actions to them.  My personal challenge was to accomplish at least one next action every week.  The amazing thing that happened was that I knocked out a bunch of them in one week!

I have to give credit to David Allen for his awesome book Getting Things Done.  Now if I can just continue to apply it!


Have you stalled on any projects lately?  What do you do to stay motivated, stay on task, and get things done?

The Principle of the Path

I've been soaking up Andy Stanley leader-ship podcasts on my way home from work. (Like I said, he's my new favorite!) On the last one I listened to, he talked about the Principle of the Path. Never before have I heard a principle that was so simple, yet so profound, and made me have one of those "AHA!" moments.

The principle is this:

Direction--not intention--determines your destination.

It seems like there are so many people who look back on their lives and think, "How in the world did I end up here??!" Failed relationships, loads of debt, poor health, moral crisis. The fact is that, despite their best intentions, they traveled down the wrong road, and kept going!

OK, to make it personal, I've wanted to be healthier for a while (lose some weight, gain muscle, and develop good eating habits). But the truth is, I find myself going over to McD's lately for mochas. That's the road I am choosing to travel, but it's not getting me to my destination. On the other hand, I've seen lately how the renewed vision and ever-increasing reality of our move has helped me to be more purposeful about taking steps to prepare for the church plant. I am listening to podcasts, reading books, learning from other leaders, blogging :) and getting our house out on the market. Instead of just great intentions, Shanygne and I are moving down the path that will get is to our destination.

There are so many applications to this principle that I feel a sermon series coming on!! :)

What roads are you taking to get to a destination? What roads are you taking that are not getting you to your destination?

Picture from www.sxc.hu, submitted by K_Alex.