Dear friend,

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. As this year draws to a close, Ann and I kneel in awe of all God is doing around the world.

I want you to know that I am thanking God for you today. Thank you for striving to learn and grow as a servant leader. Thank you for waking up each day and eating challenges for breakfast. Thank you for persevering when the work is hard and thankless. Thank you for pressing into difficult relationships with grace and truth. Thank you for practicing what you preach and holding to your convictions when it seems like you are standing alone. Thank you for those times you have shunned the crowd and sought to please the Audience of One.

Thank you for living, loving and leading well.

Shoulder to shoulder,

Ken

Do you want to help your disciples assess where they are on their journey toward becoming a Christ-centered lifetime laborer? Click here for a simple one-page tool that has been used on campuses around the world to keep students (and staff) focused on our mission. The “Making Disciples and Launching Movements” tool is part of the STINT briefing training and has been developed and refined over the last 20 years.

I’ve submitted this resource as part of the Re-Think Blogference “Resource Drive” going on this week. Click here to learn how to add your best stuff or click here to find out what others have contributed.

Recently I was reviewing the Google Analytics report for my blog and realized that many popular posts are no longer easily visible. The nature of blogs makes it easy to bury treasure from past posts. Not that all of these are treasure, but they have generated lots of traffic. I hope that some of these topics serve you well.

Four On-Ramps To Personal Leadership Development

How To Engage Younger Leaders

Tips for a Great Sabbatical

Leadership Reading List 2010

My Ride Across Florida 2010

Humility Stinks

A Second Look At 2 Timothy 2:2

How Do We Lead Gen F?

Downloads

If you’re a blogger, how have you found ways to keep some of your best content fresh and visible?

Sometimes I’m not sure what I want to write about, or if what I write will really make a difference. During these periods I’m learning a simple lesson: Write anyway.

Anyone who has mastered a skill, a sport, an instrument, painting, speaking or writing will probably offer you the same advice: Stay at it. Research streams consistently tell us that it takes about 10,000 hours in a complex activity to become an expert. That’s roughly five years of working 40 hours per week at something. OK, inhale. Exhale. My experience shows that depending on the complexity of the task and how deeply ingrained I want it to become a habit, it will probably take three to six months to get over the hump, then another year to really feel like I know what I am doing. This has proved true for changing my diet, learning a new job, making a new exercise program a part of my life, doing doctoral level research, and leading teams.

This morning I was in a conversation with someone who wants to start blogging. I offered him the same advice I had received three years ago when I began writing www.OnLeadingWell.com. I knew I wanted to blog regularly but feared I would lose motivation. These three questions helped me focus:

1. What am I passionate about? This must be something I naturally think about, read about, live out and and discuss with friends late at night.

2. What am I knowledgeable about? I have more than a handful of blog posts in my head on this topic AND I could write about it regularly.

3. What do I want to focus on and continue to learn about, perhaps to a point of mastery? I will add value for my readers only if I provide them with ideas, inspiration and resources that they might not have the time, perspective or connections to find on their own.

The best blogs, the ones I find myself returning to over and over again, seem to share these characteristics. So, if you’re wondering what to write about, find a blank piece of paper and answer these three questions. Make some notes. Jot down random ideas. Draw a few pictures. Then put it aside for a day and come back and stare at it. You’ll find what you’re looking for.

Here are two great links on overcoming inertia when trying to write blogs (by Michael Hyatt) or books (by Matt Mikalatos).

So, what do you want to write about?

Leadership Reading List 2010

Here’s my freshly updated Leadership Reading List for 2010.

“Leaders are readers, and readers are leaders.” Prof Howie Hendricks

What are the best two books you’ve read lately? I’d love to hear from you.

Sure, Hillary climbed Everest. But how often did he do this?

How does one achieve such a blessed state? As with all great human endeavors, it begins with a compelling vision. In my case, this vision takes the form of “I want to go home every weekend seeing the bottom of my inbox. I want to savor a Sabbath rest. I want to exit that Sabbath with energy and hunger for next week’s new opportunities and not just manage what’s been going on.”

At some point we have to answer the question: What’s the difference between hovering at 500 or hovering at zero?

Answer: Nothing, really.

Kudos to:

• David Allen (Twitter: @gtdguy) and Getting Things Done for believing in me
• InboxZero.com for practical how-to’s and “mind-like-water” thinking
• Erik Butz, MySan McGowan, Jason Dencklau and Kelly Sasser, my fellow Inbox Ninjas over the past five years