Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

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Paper Airplane By Michael McMillan

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I'm blessed to have some really cool colleagues and Michael is one of them. This video below speaks for itself so I've given Michael space to be my guest blogger for the On-Purpose Minute.



For a couple of decades I, too, have shared the "Man on the Moon" vision that President Kennedy shared. For On-Purpose fans, I'll add one thing Michael excluded from Kennedy's statement. The President not only said we would put a man on the moon, he also said we would return him safely. The President placed a value on life above technological progress. Life is meaningful.

 

Do You Want The On-Purpose Person For Free?

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Download The On-Purpose Person for free in Kindle: go to http://www.oppkindle.com. Starting today through April 28, you can get the unabridged book for nothing. Don't have a Kindle device? No problem, use the link above to download free Kindle reader software for your Mac, PC, phone, or iPad!

Once you have your own free Kindle edition, please share the message of being on-purpose with others on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or other social media and email lists. Thanks for helping the planet to be on-purpose!

TOPP Kindle Free Days
 

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Soul searching begins with sole searching.

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“Who am I?” is one of the most profound questions you will ever seek to answer. Much of our identity is erroneously formed by others’ opinions of us and shaped by experiences that reinforce and refine our sense of self.

Yet, the true answer to the question is found from above and within. It takes quiet time and solitude. Oddly, being contemplative is harder than it looks—I’m so programmed to equate action with productivity that rest feels like I’m playing hooky from life.

Being alone is not the same as solitude. When I’m alone I can fill the emptiness with television, email, web surfing, reading, or any number of business related activities ill-intended to avoid confronting the real me.

Soul searching is a time of resting in God’s presence, listening for His voice, and seeking His will. Jesus taught that the Kingdom of God is within and we are to seek it first. Yet, most of us pursue fame and fortune “out there in the real world.” Eventually, even precious Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz discovered, “There’s no place like home.”

And when my sole searching leads me to my soul, indeed I have found the kingdom of God. I’m home where God intends me instead of where the world might like me to be.

Plant a smile on your face and enjoy a garden of grins in return.

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I like to walk around with a big grin on my face. That’s easier said than done when you have lips like mine. Have you seen my lips? Take a look at my picture above, look closely….do you see lips?  I’m lip challenged… lip impaired… lipless. All the skin for my lips must have moved north to my nose. I do have a, shall we say, distinctive nose. With my lips all on the inside of my mouth, walking around with a big grin is work for this face.

But it’s worth it!

Here’s where that grin grows into fun. I’ll be walking and grinning down a crowded downtown street or in an airport. Some people avoid making eye contact for fear I’m some kind of stalker I guess. Others are obliviously lost in their thoughts. But here’s the on-purpose payoff. A lot of people smile back. And some even say, “Hi!” For the price of a smile, I get to enjoy the bounty from the garden of grins I plant as I walk.

Try it and see how it is to be on-purpose.

What Kind Of Business Owner Are You?

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Business owners are anyone with a job to do. 

In The On-Purpose Business Person I write about the Think Inc! mindset and the importance of taking on responsibility. Blame is the easily spread dung of cowards. They avoid consequences, but will revel in results.

To assume responsibility for leading one’s life and work is a heroic effort. To put oneself on the line along with the ensuing consequences (good or bad) takes guts. If you’ll simply get started with assuming responsibilities, you’ll be amazed at how it feeds your confidence and fuels your growth. Rarely will you blow it. Always will you learn from it. The more you attempt, improve, and succeed, then the more opportunity and increasing responsibility will come your way.

Hopefully, you have an executive coach or mentor who helps you sort and think through your responses and lessons when you miss. Also, the person can give you perspective when you hit the mark and help you raise the bar of the possible next.

One of the most important roles of a business owner is to set and create a culture or an environment. How well are you doing with those around you? We can be slack about it or intentional. We can encourage the taking of responsibility or we can crush it. The same holds true at home. It reflects an approach to life, marriage, rearing children, or volunteering for a committee at a not-for-profit.

As a result of this On-Purpose Business Minute, please challenge yourself to truly reflect on this important aspect of leading by taking responsibility for yourself, your actions, and your choices.

Just what kind of business owner are you?

 



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The present problems you face may be the face you present.

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The CEO of a company in Houston, TX engaged me to do an On-Purpose program at her headquarters. Fifteen executives gathered around the conference room table.

The COO was a woman named Barb. Early in the program she caught my eye. She had this look! My interpretation of “the look” was a mix of anger and confusion. What had I done to deserve this wrath? It was disturbing my concentration.

As a presenter I tend to home in on certain people as barometers of the group to see if I’m connecting. Barb had grabbed my attention. Could I win her over in the early minutes of a program that was scheduled to go all morning?

After 30 minutes of “the look” from her… I couldn’t take it any longer. I gingerly confronted Barb. I asked, “Have I said something that offended you?” 

“No, I’m loving this on-purpose stuff!”

“Oh!” I was perplexed. “The way you were looking at me I thought you were upset with me.”

She laughed and her beauty truly showed. “This” and she pointed to her face while giving me the look “is my thinking face.”

A gasp erupted in the room from 14 other people and me. In that moment, we had all gleaned the same insight. The only problem was Barb had been working there for three years with these people. They all thought she was upset with them, too, but for years.

Barb now explains to people she meets that she has a “thinking face.” You can only imagine what a difference this has made in Barb’s life.

The present problems you face may be the face you present. Do you or someone you know have a “thinking face” that may be keeping you from being on-purpose?

Bishop Greg Brewer Installed in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida

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Yesterday, I witnessed for the second time in my life the consecration of a bishop in the Episcopal Church. The Rev. Gregory O. Brewer was installed as the Fourth Bishop of Central Florida.  In addition to greeting Bishop Brewer, I also had the pleasure of hugging retiring Bishop John W. Howell and his predecessor, Bishop William H. Folwell.  Three out of four ain't bad!  Bishop Gray died a number of years agos so no hugs there!

One of the most remarkable traditions and moments in the ceremony is captured in my photo – the consecration.  In the center of the photo on stage and what looks like a cake frosted with red, white, and gold are bishops from across the US encirling, laying on hands, and praying over then Rev. Brewer. 

Rev. Greg Brewer Consecration
This is the moment!  Here is Apostolic Succession in action or commonly referred to as the laying on of hands and prayer.  

Many people wonder what is consecration of a bishop?  A minimum of three Bishops are required to ordain an Episcopal Bishop.  Apostolic Succession may be compared to a family tree where the laying on of hands and prayer are traced "genealogically" through the generations to Jesus laying hands on Peter.   In the Episcopal Church their is an unbroken chain thanks to Bishop Seabury of Scotland. 

I'm personally excited about Bishop Brewer's ministry returning to my home diocese.  Bishop Howe offered a strong orthodoxy and voice in the midst of turbulent times in the Episcopal Church.  Few men are such stalwarts of the faith and so gifted as a preacher and teacher. Bishop Brewer brings a pastor's heart, a keen intellect, and welcoming arms to an orthodoxy in risk of being lost.  Something is brewing in Central Florida with Brewer.  

Below are comments he made on Jan. 21, 2012 at the Annual Convention of the Diocese of Central Florida. Listen to his vision casting message about Compassionate Charimatic Character.  Here is a rich example of a leader setting a course for a vision to be developed in anticipation of being on-purpose [my term].

Bishop Brewer, may your ministry be blessed.  I look forward to your spiritual authority and leadership.



 

 

 

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Videos That Inspire: Leadership, Business, & Entrpreneurship On-Purpose

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Welcome to KevinWMcCarthy.com!  Dig around my site for brief video answers to pressing questions on life, personal leadership, business strategy and management, entrepreneurship, and more.

Subscribe for free using the button to the right. On Tuesdays you will receive The On-Purpose Minute and on Thursdays The On-Purpose Business Minute.  I hope you'll enjoy these nearly 200 original motivational clips or minutes I've put together.

Post comments, ask questions, and explore your possibilities… on-purpose.  Welcome!

Kevin W. McCarthy

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