Don't confuse motion with progress.

I had lunch with a friend the other day and we were sharing with each other the new endeavors we were working on. After describing his project, the different ideas he was thinking through and the next step he was planning on taking he made this self reflective comment: I try to never confuse motion with progress so I want to be sure my next step will be one that will move me forward.

This is great advice. How often we get busy responding to the onslaught of requests we receive and consumed by the tyranny of the urgent only to realize at the end of the day we have accomplished very little other than moving a lot of paper around (or in today's world answering a lot of emails, text messages, etc...). We should take a hard look at our to-do lists to make sure our next step is going to move our cause forward and not just make us look busy.

I'm a book reviewer!

Who would have ever thought I would be a book reviewer (I assure you none of my English teachers).

About a month ago Thomas Nelson launched a campaign to enlist 10,000 book review bloggers and yours truly signed up. It is a really fascinating program that intrigues me on many levels including marketing, community building, leadership, media and new business models. You can learn more about the book review blogger project here.

As I read the books I select to review I will be blessing (or cursing) you with at least 200 words of my thoughts right here at On My Way Home. My very first review of the Marcus Buckingham book 'The Truth About You' in the next couple of days.

Thankful or Grateful

Grateful Thanksgiving to you. Today I will share with you the words of someone else who I am extremely thankful and grateful for. You can visit Deb Millard's blogs at www.caringbridge.com/visit/connorscott99 or connorscott99.blogspot.com.

"We wish each of our friends and family a, well that's tough...a "happy" Thanksgiving? The adjective to pick is the difficulty. So many families we know are struggling right now with severe illness. Some are presently in the hospital today trying to cope . Two years ago that is exactly where we were. In the PICU with Connor on Thanksgiving Day. Last year was our first Thanksgiving without him. This year is our Second...

One family we love has to cope with the one year anniversary of their son's death TODAY. Yes, on Thanksgiving. Imagine...

Many families are missing their children today. Holidays are extremely difficult for so many. Much of the time the word "happy" just doesn't fit. I think those of us who have children in heaven become extremely thankful for what we did have, and are so amazingly grateful for the hope we have of seeing our kids again.

Those of us who are dealing with serious illness right now? We live one day at a time... Sometimes we just have to live one moment to the next. Things are just too precarious. We are so incredidly thankful that our children are here with us. We have a gratefulness that most other families can't imagine.

Thanksgiving for families of children with these types of needs, well it has a totally different meaning. I wouldn't necessarily use the term "happy". I guess I'd use the term "grateful".

So I guess we wish you a "Grateful Thanksgiving!" We hope you remember those good times with a thankful heart, and embrace those moments you have now with gratefulness. We pray you can look toward the future with hopefulness through the pain. We pray God's grace on each one of you.

Thanksgiving was not one of Connor's favorite holidays. He could not eat the food. But, he did love coming up with all the things he was thankful for. He would always say God... Mama, Papa, Caseygirl. His Grandparents... His Cousins and his Friends. Of course the BUCKEYES! He even said Mr. Sun!

Us? We are so incredibly thankful to God for giving us an amazing 8 1/2 years with this spunky, beautiful little boy who completely changed our lives! We are forever different and totally blessed! What are you thankful for today?"

Give the Gift of Hope

Instead of fretting over what to get for that 'person who has everything' on your list, this holiday season give the gift of hope by making a donation to Connor's House in their honor.

For a suggested donation of $25 (of course you can donate as much as you want) Connor's House will send a personalized holiday card recognizing your gift. Information about how to participate can be found on the Connor's House home page under the title "Give the Gift of Hope this Holiday Season". We'd be thrilled if you joined us in supporting children with complex health care needs this Holiday Season!

Connor's House Mission

The mission of Connor's House is to support children with complex health care needs, together with their families, by creating a community of support helping them to embrace each day and live life to its fullest.

Learn more about what Connor's House will be doing and to become part of the Connor's House community! Visit us at www.connorshouse.org

Honest Feedback

I really like to get positive feedback about my work. But more important than getting positive feedback is getting honest feedback. We are all prone to falling in love with our own creations and losing our ability to evaluate them objectively.

Those individuals in your circles willing to give you honest feedback in an encouraging and constructive manner are priceless. Thanks to all of you who are doing that for us as we continue to develop the Connor’s House model.

The election. What have you learned?

The election is over and what I find more interesting than the outcome is what we can learn from the process. I think Barack Obama won (congratulations) because he changed the rules of the game:

1. The first thing he asked for was not money, it was involvement. He asked people to join a movement and once they were part of the movement their money followed.
2. He made people believe that they could make a difference. His campaign was more about ‘we’ than ‘I’.
3. He lowered the bar of entry into the political process. He asked for small amounts of money (but did not turn away large donations) and the majority of his events were open to the general public vs. an invite only list (i.e. Grant Park vs. The Arizona Biltmore).
4. He focused on hope and not fear.
5. He adapted better to a fast changing environment.

Are you willing to change the rules in the world you work in or serve in? How can you apply these lessons to your current situation or that new idea you are working on?

Fall in love with your mission

To be successful over the long haul you need to fall in love with your mission and not your programs. A program is nothing more than a means to achieve your mission. A program that is effective today may not be effective tomorrow. To often we fall in love with what we have created and will not change it even when it has become ineffective at achieving the mission. The point at which we refuse to recognize and accept that our programs are no longer achieving their goals and take on the hard work of change is when the organization begins to become irrelevant to its target market.