You are not special. Sorry. Well… okay… everyone is special. But the harsh reality is that, once beyond the compulsory school age, no one cares about all your specialness. Okay… so your friends and family will care. But, if you run your own business, your customer does not care how hard it was for you to do whatever it was they hired you to do. They only care whether or not you did what you were supposed to do in the time you were supposed to do it in, and whether you did it well or not. Your em...
Oct 29, 2021•59 sec
At last, we come to the end of this collection of thoughts regarding using the agile project management system to organize and optimize your life. Truthfully, we diluted the full power of agile in this series and bent some of its principles a bit. But, it is an approach—a vocabulary in the least that, if utilized indeed can lead to better living. Beginning with coming to understand our purpose… our why-behind-all-other-whys… we can divide our life up into some number of major projects. Some of t...
Sep 30, 2021•56 sec
So, does using agile project management to organize your life really work? It can! A student approached early last week and showed me a list of all of his assignments for all of his classes. "Do you think this is a good idea?" he asked. I replied, "Absolutely! You have made a list of all the things you need to do. Now, just organize them from most urgent to least. Put things due today at the top and then order them in the order they need to be done." Later in the week, I asked how it was going. ...
Sep 29, 2021•58 sec
To manage our lives using an agile approach, we need to extend the concept of the sprint to include both once-and-done items related to the aspects of our lives we have defined as projects and also to routine task we do daily or weekly. Things like answering emails are tasks—sprints, if you will—that need to be done on a regular basis. To keep our progress on everything going, we need to fit the routine sprints into the day with and around the project-based sprints. For instance, you may need to...
Sep 24, 2021•58 sec
If we view life as a collection of projects, and if we decide to organize them within the agile project management system, then we end up with a list of sprints all connected to the various projects. To keep everything moving, you can begin each day with a "scrum" meeting… with yourself. You can look into the mirror and think about all you need to do each morning as you start your day. What is necessary for getting ready for work? You'll need to think about what's coming up at work, then as you ...
Sep 22, 2021•59 sec
With your life viewed as a collection of projects, and as you begin developing the sprints—the specific todos necessary to complete the project, you will sometimes start a sprint and realize there is some other sprint that needs to be added to the list. Beginning one sprint will sometimes show you other sprints that need to be done. Suppose you are planning a camping trip (a project), and one of your sprints is to get food. Starting that process will reveal that you need coolers and containers f...
Sep 20, 2021•49 sec
If we view life as a collection of projects, and if we decide to organize them within the agile project management system, then we need sprints! A sprint is a specific task that is part of a project. It is a must-do that, when done, can be "checked off" and which leads to the next sprint on the list. In our life, every project can be split up into a sprint list. For instance, the on-going project of managing a household might include grocery shopping. In a more long-term project, a sprint might ...
Sep 19, 2021•59 sec
Applying the agile project management approach to organizing our lives assumes that life is a collection of projects all taking place at the same time. For instance, at any given time, you might be attending to family, career, education, and… say reception, too… all at once. And, at any give moment, an emergency might pop up, and that would become an urgent project, all in on its own. With so many things all happening, some strategy needs to be in place so that we can move through life from wher...
Sep 19, 2021•58 sec
When considering what aspects of your life might fit into an agile approach, the conclusion will be… a lot. Anything with a specific, defined outcome fits. A family trip. A new course of study. Remodeling your house or even just a room. Day-to-day aspects of work… All that the "thing" needs is to be a multi-step process leading to some definable outcome.
Sep 16, 2021•50 sec
If we think of our lives as a continuous series of projects, one leading to the next and that one to the next, and if we apply the ideas of agile project management, we begin by establishing a vision and scope for each project. Given that the project we are attempting fits in with our life mission, then we are ready to set a scope for that project. The scope of a project needs to establish a clear definition of what is to be done. What, specifically, would it look like to finish the project? Sco...
Aug 02, 2021•59 sec
According to the agile project management system, it is necessary to begin by setting the vision and scope of the project. Applying this to living a happy and fulfilled life is easy. What is the vision of your life? What is your purpose? What, exactly, are you trying to accomplish? What is your life mission? Pastor Craig Strickland, in Memphis, Tennessee occasionally would caution people regarding climbing the ladder of success too hastily. "Sometimes," he would say, "people spend their whole li...
Aug 02, 2021•58 sec
Whereas "agile" was an approach originally applied to developing software, it is, from time to time, being adapted to other uses. The "Agile Life" series that will follow this preview will look at the processes used in agile and apply them to living life better. So, this is not going to be a series teaching you how to use agile. What it is going to be is a look at the steps in the agile process as they could apply to living better. For instance, in agile, you begin with a project definition—a sc...
Jul 29, 2021•58 sec
Suppose we looked at life as a project. And what if we decided to manage our life using the "agile" approach? An agile approach—to follow the industry usage, I should just say—agile is a technique of managing a process where the focus is on specific, incremental steps where each step plays a specific and necessary part in reaching the larger goal. (I probably just infuriated the agile experts with this gross generalization!) What if we looked at life that way? What if we managed our life using a...
Jul 29, 2021•42 sec
Change happens for many reasons. Sometimes, it is the result of a decision. Sometimes it is forced upon you by circumstances you cannot control. Often, the upheaval caused by change is very challenging. Sometimes, change leaves you feeling overwhelmed, confused, and unclear about what to do first. Chances are you have some big-picture idea of what normal will eventually become. But getting from where you are to where you see things going can be difficult. But you can persevere. Just take things ...
Jul 29, 2021•55 sec
A guy spends six hours every Saturday morning working in his yard. And a half hour or more each workday when he gets home. What seems obvious? His yard is a priority. Hopefully, it's also something he likes… You can tell what is important to people in various ways. One is that how they spend their time. The things that are highest priorities will be done first. Lessor priorities next. Lowest priorities will come last, if they ever get done at all. Given more than one option, the chosen actions r...
Apr 27, 2021•58 sec
People sometimes say things with which nobody around them agrees. But, the silence of those hearing the remark fails to convey their beliefs. Just because no one protests or complains does not mean they agree with you. People who disagree might just be keeping quiet because they think a reply is pointless. They think the speaker is, frankly, not worth the trouble to engage in discussion. They think the speaker is hard-headed. Stubborn. Closed-minded. Silence is NOT a measure of agreement!
Apr 23, 2021•51 sec
What is the joyful approach to life? It is being content in the knowledge that everything you did in a day was done in alignment with your mission, with your purpose—a purpose growing out of your deepest beliefs, out of your why behind all other whys. Whereas happiness is a response to things that happen, to things outside you, peace and contentment comes from acknowledging that, on a given day, you did your best to live in accordance to your mission. Peace and contentment come from within. And ...
Mar 15, 2021•3 min
In recent posts across social media, I've put forth the claim that trying to be happy is to chase a moving target; better to live contently in the assurance that each day has been spent pursuing your life purpose and mission. And further, I've claimed that your purpose and mission grow out of your why behind all other whys—your deepest beliefs as to the purpose and meaning of life. Whereas I describe my own mission for life as creating the circumstances wherein people can become the best version...
Mar 09, 2021•59 sec
So, what about that why behind all other whys? Where does that come from? If it is so important, it ought to be pretty readily understandable. For many, many people, there would be some basic belief. The primal why, for many, would be how they understood their place in creation in relationship to the creator. So it is for me. My personal life mission is this: create the circumstances wherein people can become the best versions of themselves. This comes from my why behind all other whys: It is th...
Feb 19, 2021•2 min
Why do you do what you do? Hopefully, it is because you have come to understand your purpose in life. Your personal life mission. But, where did that come from? Let's look at an example… A young man at a gas station sees someone coming out the door he just opened to go in. He holds it open and waits. Why? Because he believes it was a nice thing to do. Why? Because he believes people are inherently valuable and worthy of respect. Why? Because he believes… We could keep drilling down, deeper and d...
Feb 19, 2021•2 min
A joyful approach to life means knowing who you are and what you are trying to do. It relies on understanding your purpose… on having come to understand your life mission. Guided by your purpose, the joyful approach means to check everything you do against what you ought to be doing… not ought to in light of other people's expectations, but in view of your own purpose. Coming to have that purpose is not simple, and will be addressed later. When, at the end of each day, you check all you did agai...
Feb 11, 2021•1 min
Happiness is an emotional response. It is a pleasurable reaction when things meet or exceed our expectations. But… so often, we have no control over the external events to which we are reacting. Reacting. Happiness is a reaction to… If we are always chasing happiness, we are often chasing things we are powerless to control. There is a better way. Instead of basing how you feel on outcomes, base how you feel on intentions. Adopt a joyful approach to each and every day. What does that mean? Starti...
Feb 10, 2021•2 min
Earlier, I made a claim that happiness is not the goal. That we should stop trying to be happy. So, if not happiness, then what? What you strive for needs to be something from within you. Something that drives you forward rather than something that is a reaction to things around you. Happiness is an emotion that results from the thoughts you have about things that happen. It results from events turning out in a way that exceeds our expectations. But often, when that happens, our expectations shi...
Feb 09, 2021•1 min
Stop trying to be happy. Happiness is not the goal. Happiness is an emotional response to how you think about things that happen outside you. Happiness is a reaction to external events. When what happens exceeds your expectations, then you feel happy. For a moment. Then, you look at all that could be improved and move the bar of your expectations. Happiness is fleeting and shifting. Furthermore, in many, if not most, cases, you have very little control of the external events you are watching, ho...
Feb 08, 2021•56 sec
I wish I could think of a way to make people change into what they wanted to be. I can't. I can't change people. No one can change someone else. The best I can do is point people toward a system or a process… toward tips and techniques that are proven to be useful in helping people reach their goals. But, it is up to others… up to you to make the change. No one can decide (in a way that actually leads to a satisfactory outcome) for someone else what the change should be. You need to decide what ...
Feb 05, 2021•45 sec
The Declaration of Independence was singed August 2, 1776. But THAT was only the beginning of the revolution which has gone on for over two centuries. The founders of the United States built into the election system the means for a perpetual refreshing of government. Voters can unite to remove unwanted leaders from office. Voters can unite to place whomever they wish in the seats of government. Every leader is bound by the constitutions, bylaws, and articles of government that grants them the ve...
Jan 26, 2021•1 min
Back, earlier this year, I said that society would react to the COVID19 pandemic in a way that would make it a historical event on the scale of the Industrial Revolution or the Great Depression. I am afraid I was right. Just last night, I read an article stating that some of the leading tech giants were giving up their real estate in Silicon Valley and moving elsewhere. That they were going to extend the working-from-home model, even beyond the pandemic. The end of the 20th Century was riff with...
Dec 14, 2020•59 sec
There is a disease in our society. No, I'm not talking about COVID. I'm talking about the proclivity to find excuses instead of solutions. It is pervasive in the culture of now, this early 21st Century first-world way of doing things. Here's the thing. There comes a time when people have to step up and face the problems without expecting the problem adapt to their limitations and weaknesses. There comes a time when WE have to change how WE do things in order to overcome the problem. (Maybe I am ...
Nov 19, 2020•56 sec
Getting everything done on time… is hard. Sometimes. People who tend to not get things done also tend to have a zillion reasons why. They frequently spend big chunks of time explaining all the reasons (excuses) for not fulfilling their responsibilities. Why? Just do it. Stop looking for excuses for why you didn't do things and start looking for solutions to get them done.
Nov 17, 2020•17 sec
Oh, you had enough time. You had the same about of time as you always have had. You had the same about of time as everyone else. You just used your time to do different things. Instead of doing whatever it is that "you didn't have enough time" to do, you used your time on other things. Maybe you have priorities, and something that was of highest importance demanded you use your time there. The thing you didn't do might have been less important. But many times, it is the thing that is unpleasant,...
Oct 21, 2020•54 sec
