Your Attitude Determines Your Altitude – Jason Hirsch

Since I taught on Attitude last night in El Alto, Bolivia, it’s fresh on my mind, and I thought I would share some quick ideas that came out of one session. Altitude is definitely fitting considering where I’m located in the world.

Here you go…..

Your success in leadership isn’t only about your gifts, talents, intelligence, or budget – thank God huh!! More than these, it is about the attitude you possess, year in and year out.  Here is why your attitude matters in your life, and especially in your leadership, and I think it might just increase your level/altitude of your influence as well.

1. Your attitude at the beginning of a task affects its outcome.

Take responsibility for your attitude.  Philippians 2:5 tells us to share the same attitude that Christ had when He came to earth.  Christ’s attitude as He began His earthly ministry was essential, given all of the challenges He faced.  A healthy attitude helps us as we begin and continue leading people and projects.

2. Your attitude toward others often determines their attitude toward you.

Place a high value on people.  Jesus did this.  We must do this, as well, despite our opinions of people.  Romans 12:10 teaches us to be devoted to each other, and out do one another in showing honor.  The New Testament actually tells us to treat others as more important than ourselves.

3. Your attitude can give you a winner’s perspective.

Decide to change your bad attitude areas.  Proverbs 23:7 reminds us: “As a man thinks in his heart, so he is.” If we don’t change our bad attitudes, we will begin moving in the direction they lead us.  Attitudes lead to action.  One prominent doctor reminds us that each of us has a “Reticular Activating System” in our brains.  Its primary function is to cause us to move in the direction of the dominant thought of the moment.  What dominates your thought life?

4. Your attitude—not your achievements—provides you happiness.

Develop an appreciation for life.  Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.  Be grateful for little things in your life.  Read Psalm 139 several times, and rediscover the tremendous way God fashioned each person, even the smallest detail.

5. Your attitude is contagious.

Find something and someone positive in every situation.  In Philippians 4:11, Paul wrote:  “I have learned to be content in any and every situation.” He called this a secret.  Very few people discover it.  Mother Teresa was asked what requirement she had for her workers in Calcutta.  She said they must be hard workers and possess a joyful attitude, regardless of the situation.

Any additional thoughts on attitude?  I will be doing 2 more sessions on the topic, so any additional advice, could possibly be included in my sessions.

Bolivia #2 – Jason Hirsch

OK, I’m officially on my own.  Just got done wandering the streets of La Paz by myself.  Probably not the wisest choice, but heck, you only live once on this earth.  This is a fascinating city!! Very high, but fascinating!!

My co-trainer (Scott Larsen) that travels with me, headed to a desert city (Oruro).   It’s a very pagan culture, and the primary deity they worship is frogs.  I told him to pass out Kermit the Frog stuffed animals.  I know, not funny!!   We’ll meet up again Friday around noon to kick-off our La Paz Leadership Summit.

I’m doing well health wise, and drinking a ton of water & coca tea.  My head is moderate right now, and I’m preparing to kick-off a summit in El Alto, the  highest elevated city in Bolivia.  14,000 feet + to be exact.  I’m very excited!!  I’ll be speaking on “Today Can Be A Masterpiece”, as well as teaching on “Attitude, Priorities, and Health.”  Really working hard @ my intros, and closings.  I want to engage the crowds, and make each session memorable.

Last night we had dinner with our translation teams, and our mentees.  That has been the dream for the last 3 years.  Train the nationals of Bolivia, equip them, and then pass all the leadership training off to them.  It’s finally coming to fruition.  Huge! Huge! Huge, for this backwards culture.  Other countries have not been able to accomplish this model successfully, so please pray that it works, and we can help other countries/cultures embrace this leadership model.  Why does it matter?  Does leadership really matter?  Yes!  Why?  Because until Jesus comes back the church will never reach its redemptive potential.  At the bottom line the only reason Christ Followers are called to Leadership arenas that bring influence is, the redemption of mankind.  Sign me up every day of the rest of my life for that Kingdom cause.

OK, back to studying and prepping for tonight.  Stoked to coach my mentee as he trains well over 500 people.  Oh, and what’s really cool about Alvaro Ortiz (my mentee) is, he’s a dentist by profession, but a very good public speaker and influencer in La Paz.  I think I’ll have him take a look at my teeth though:)

Bolivia #1 – Jason Hirsch

I will do my best to post my travel, speaking, and life experiences @ the sites I’ll be going to.  I do ask that you pray for me, as my first conference solo, will be @ just over 14,000 feet.  If you don’t hear from me, it’s because I either am in a non-wi-fi zone, or I’m really struggling to breath & think.  I’ve been praying that literally neither will be an issue.  I love”ONLY GOD” experiences!!!

Sitting in my hotel room trying to get some rest.  Nearly impossible with someone doing repair in the room next to us.  A hammer has been pounding for the last 2 hours.  I’m getting ready to go over and do something special with that hammer!!!:)  I do thank God for a bed though!! Oh, and have you ever been to New York City?  We’re 13 stories up and if I encapsulated every sound my ears can hear right now, it would be about 82 different ones.  Just like living in paradise!!

I was picked-up yesterday @ 4:30 A.M., and flew to Miami.  Had an 8 hour lay over, so headed to Doral.  Had a nice relaxing afternoon, and the lay-over allowed Scott (the man I travel with) and me to watch the first half of the Packer vs Viking game.  Sad!! Sad!! Favre is still an amazing athlete & a champion in my eyes, but still wished he could have finished his career with the Packers.  At least any other place than, MN.

Had an overnight flight to into La Paz, Bolivia.  Took a Lunesta (a different blue bill:), but still didn’t sack out entirely.  It still helped!  Now I’m getting ready to re-write some new thoughts in my lessons, but I think we’re going to head down the local coffee shop (Alexander’s Coffee), to do it.  Bolivia doesn’t afford many luxuries, but this coffee shop is second only to that of Lat 32 in Tijuana, Mexico.

Tonight we meet with our translators, and mentee’s for dinner.   I’ll write some thoughts in future posts on what has been developing with our trainees.  Neat to watch when your plans and initiatives start coming to fruition.  Stoked!!!

Lastly for those that attended Epic on Sunday, just remember “In God’s economy, Champions are ordinary people that win, because God is with them!”  Live everyday like a Champion!!

12 Big Decisions

My first general session on Leadership that I’ll be giving in Latin America is entitled “Today Can Be A Masterpiece.”  Here’s a little snip- it from my first session.

Thought: You begin to build a better life by determining to make good decisions, but that alone is not enough.  You need to know WHAT decisions to make.  I believe there are twelve (not 11, not 13:) important areas to focus on in your life:

1. Attitude: Choose and display the right attitudes daily.

2. Priorities: Determine and act on important priorities daily.

3. Health: Know and follow healthy guidelines daily.

4. Family: Communicate with and care for my family daily.

5. Thinking: Practice and develop good thinking daily.

6. Commitment: Make and keep proper commitments daily.

7. Finances: Earn and properly manage money daily.

8. Faith: Deepen and live out my faith daily.

9. Relationships: Initiate and invest in solid relationships daily.

10. Generosity: Plan for and model generosity daily.

11. Values: Embrace and practice good values daily.

12. Growth: Seek and experience improvements daily.

Leadership/Servership

Starting Monday, Oct 5th, I’ll be traveling for 2 weeks across Latin America giving leadership talks @ various sites.  Some sites will be in church’s, some in businesses, & some in conference centers.  So, needless to say, my mind is completely saturated with leadership thoughts & insights which I thought I would start to share with you beginning today, since it’s all fresh in my mind. Most talks I’ll be giving are piggy backing off of Dr. John C. Maxwell’s book “Today Matters.” I recommend you read it!!

Now, for the record I think the word “Leadership” is overused in today’s culture.  What do you think?  I’m not saying books or articles on leadership are bad, I usually strategically read something on leadership once a month, and would challenge you to do the same.   What I’m saying is, true, respectable, notable leadership is really all about serving, so…….. I’ve re-coined the word leadership, and I’m calling it “Servership”.  Hey, that is original!!!  Go ahead, write a book on it!!!:) Leadership is really all about serving, washing feet, decreasing so that God may increase.  Jesus modeled “Servership” to us, so I think it’s noteworthy to know the way, show the way, and go the way.  Are you a leader or a server? Maybe it’s semantics, but internally in leaders it should be resolved rather quickly, if we’re going to honor God with our lives.

So help me here!  I believe the next generation of leaders by in large are tired of hierarchies, dictatorships, hypocritical leaders, bosses, etc, that are driven more by the bottom line, than in serving those that are helping to raise the bottom line.  Is that true?  If so, lets start a revolution!  A revolution of “Servership!”  So this is where you come in………..Define for me in one sentence, what the word “Servership” really means?  I’ll give you credit & post your answer/s

Servership is…………………??

Homes of Hope Post Thoughts

I don’t recover well from mission trips.  Not sure why, but maybe it’s my knack for the mundane, and normalcy of life.  I like habits, discipline, and routine, so anytime that’s thrown out of whack, it seems to jack me up.  Oh well!

I just wanted to share a few post Mexico home-build thoughts.

1.  A big thank you to Matt Holcomb, Ryan Grauberger, Adam Martin, and Ryan Read for their leadership.  You men advanced the kingdom of God this past weekend.  Great servant leadership exhibited.  Lead on!!!

2. YWAM (Youth With A Mission),  great organization, mission, vision, and execution.  I look forward to serving with you in the future.

3. Took my 14-year-old daughter (Hannah) with me, and it was eye opening and life changing for her.  Hannah, I’m glad to call you my daughter!!

4. What was really neat was the family we built the house for was on site the whole time we were building, and the man we were building for helped build as well.  Imagine what was going through his mind?

5.  Everybody got to do a little bit of everything.  You could paint trim, build trusses, frame walls, put on the roof, etc….. Everyone got to take a shot at different areas.  It was truly a team effort. I was never bored, and it was cool watching everybody in intentional motion.

6.  We had a safety guy appointed to make sure people weren’t going to hurt themselves.  I was told I had to wear safety goggles.  I did!

7.  Lunch’s were sandwiches, chips, soda, and a hostess snack.  Great breather mid-day, and a time to engage the team.

8.  Took Saturday night to go get authentic Mexican taco’s.  Unbelievable!  No cow brains for me though.  Then headed to a coffee shop second to none, called Lat 21 (?). It was the coolest coffee shop off the coast I’ve ever been to.  I could spend days hanging out there.  We then wrapped up the night with the guys grabbing a few choice beverages @ plan B:)  Great stories!

9.  The rooms overlooked the coast, and it was like we were literally staying @ a nice hotel.  Accommodations were sweet!  Didn’t feel like missions, but I’m not complaining.

10. YWAM served a hot b-fast everyday for us.  There was a team from New Zealand there with us as well.  They were building a separate home.

11.  We were transported in 15 passenger vans.  Never felt unsafe.

12.  Sunday we finished the roof, trim, painting and detail work.

13.  A group of us took the family shopping for essentials, while the team back at the build site was furnishing the home.  Stove, tables, chairs, beds, etc…  It was a shocker to the family.  Loved it!

14.  Arrived back @ the home-build site.  Circled up, and everyone got to share something.  Gifted the family with a bible, plaque, and then turned the keys of the house over to the family.  They hadn’t even seen the inside of their new home yet.

15.  Once we gave them the keys, they had some time to go in and check out their new home, and furnishings.  While they were doing that we brought down the groceries, and became the first guests into their new home.

16.  We huddled up in their home & it was moving to see David (The Husband & Father) not able to gain composure because he was so moved @ what had been done for his family.  I was a wreck, and so was the team.  I’ve never been a part of something so tangible and life giving as what happened in that home on Sunday morning. It was a God moment!!

17.  Thinking about going?  Don’t think!  Just go! Love wins, and families lives will be changed forever, not to mention yours.  It will start a revolution of compassion in your soul.  The revolution begins!

18.  I must say waiting in line to cross the border is about as fun as a sharp stick in the eye.  Are van load was fun though, and it’s very entertaining to see all the venders going by your vehicle.  I think we crossed in 2 hours.  Oh, and if you’re ever in line to cross the Mexican border into the USA……get the hot fresh churros.  Nothing compares!  Unbelievable!

One word sums up a Homes of Hope Home-build weekend…….Amazing!!!!

Homes of Hope

Just wrapping up some last minute projects before our team from EpicChurchlv.org leaves for Tijuana, Mexico for a home build.   Stoked to be taking my oldest daughter Hannah with me.  Missions impacted my life as a student, and I pray it rocks her world as well.

EpicChurchlv.org has partnered with YWAM (Youth With A Mission), San Diego, and their initiative to build homes for the poor working class of Mexico.  This weekend we bring hope, in the form of lumber, paint, furnishings, clothes, food, etc.., to a family that makes less than $50.00 a week.  Think of the family receiving this blessing.  What will be going through their minds?  How do you ever repay somebody for a gift like that?  You don’t!  It was given in love, will be received in love, and one day rewarded in love.  I confess it doesn’t get much better than that! As we’ve done it to the least of these, the bible says….”you’ve done it unto me!”  Why spend money, give gifts, & sacrifice time?  Because of Jesus love, residing in the form of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  It’s love that sent Jesus to the cross, and it’s love that sends us to Mexico.

Check it out…….

Want more info?  Click

Also, you can go to www.EpicChurchlv.org click on Next Steps, scroll down to “Servership”, then scroll down to “Compassion & Outreach” & click on the sign-up.  It will get the ball rolling & let us know that you’re interested in getting involved at some level. Can’t wait to serve Jesus with you!!

Louie Giglio

One of my favorite communicators nails it!!! Enjoy!

Denominationlism vs Independent

Finished up a day of meetings in Sacramento, CA, yesterday.  The purpose of the meetings was to orient Me and Angel to the Assemblies of God infrastructure.  Here’s a problem of mine:  I don’t care!

I’ve never been a corporate guy.  I’ve tended to buck authority from my earliest days.  I’ve never really been a conformist.  You say black, I say white. Why?  I have no idea! I’ve struggled with leadership for years, and certain things just drive me crazy.  What’s my problem? Is it just certain individuals that are like me?  Is it my generation?  Is it the new culture being raised, seeing defunct leadership that has caused us to be a non-conformist, and to be anti-denomination, anti-authority, anti-corporate guy?

So, what’s my problem?  I can’t figure out why I don’t like to be affiliated/associated with a denomination.  People ask me “Are you with a particular denomination, or non-denominational?”  I say “Oh no, we’re non-denominational.”   “We’re part of a cooperative fellowship that gives us accountability, with independence.”  It’s true!  But what is my angst with corporate, with denominations?

So I listen to preachers like Ed Young (Fellowship Church), Bill Hybels (Willow Creek Community Church), Rick Warren (Saddleback Church), Rob Bell (Mars Hill), Craig Groeschel (LifeChurch.tv), Steve Furtick (Elevation Church), Andy Stanley (North Point Community Church), etc…..  For the most part I like what they preach, what they write, the initiatives that they’re a part of.   I’ve for years looked on & thought, “I would like to do what they do.  Preach well, write well, lead well, and branch off & do all kinds of satellite church’s.  After all that is non-denominational, right?  It’s their own way of leading, its non-conformists showing us how to do church, be church, and lead church’s independently.  Right?”

I’m not so sure.  This is what conclusion I’ve drawn, and by no means am I going to talk bad about any church or denomination.  After all our mission is all about redemption, but just doing things in different ways.  Right?  I’ll never knock that!  So……..

My conclusion from my day of meetings yesterday is this…… it does not matter if I am part of denomination, or one of the above pastor’s organizations.  Why?  They all have leadership hierarchies.  They all require a form of subordination.  They all want things done a certain way.  Even if they claim to be non-denominational, they become big, create satellite church’s and then they want those church’s to do church just like they’ve been doing church for years.   They pipe in the pastor to 22 different campuses, have live worship, and curriculum that is streamlined.  Nothing wrong with any of that.  I’m thrilled that these church’s are successful and reaching people with the message of Jesus love.  It’s awesome & I applaud them.  But the reality is, whether it’s a denomination, or a successful independent church, both bands seem to be playing to the beat of the same drummer.  Am I wrong?

Why do I write about this? I think denominate is:  to assign a name to and brand something.  Whether you’re part of a denomination or highly successful independent church, the reality is, there’s really no difference.  They all have leadership circles, plans, initiatives, chains of command, hierarchies, branding, etc… The goal is really no different, just some have a far greater reach, and much more impact.  Why?  Because everything rises and falls on leadership!!

So what’s for you?  Denomination?  Independent? I think it’s all semantics.  You’re not independent!  You’ll never be free from overseers!  You’ll always have someone telling you what do, how do it, and if you don’t do it their way, well, maybe you should find a different ministry to be a part of.  If you don’t  have someone leading over  you, you’re probably at the helm, and requiring people to follow your leadership.  If that’s the case, lead humbly and never forget your mission.  Leading people to Christ, and making disciples!

Any thoughts?  I know some of you have been hurt by denominations.  I know some of you have been hurt by independent church’s.  The church is the church, and it will always be composed of people, leadership, and hierarchy’s.   What makes ministries successful?  God!  Who does He use?  People! Some are jacked, and some are great leaders.  Don’t let your bad experience determine where you go, what you do, or what organization you’re going to support or be a part of.  Why?  You can have bad leadership @ any level, whether denominational, or independent.  Maybe you can be a change agent?

Last thought: “Only follow leadership as they follow Christ!”  Denomination or Non-denomination!!

Sacramento

Flew into Sacramento around 3:30 P.M..  Picked-up our rental car and headed to the Citizen Hotel in downtown Sacramento.  Neat buildings, our room overlooks the capital of California, and it’s nice to see some green every now and then.

Angel & I had some nice connections with people, and finished out the evening with dinner @ the Grange.

Tomorrow we’ll be out the door by 7:00 A.M., and headed to a ministers orientation that has been nearly 3 years in the making.  EpicChurchlv.org,  2 1/2 years prior didn’t have the resources to send us to a ministers orientation, and finally we moved over the hump.  God has been faithful!

Sitting in our room finishing up the night with a little bit of reading, reflection and writing.  Thank you to everyone who has helped us with our children on the home front.  I appreciate all of you so much!  You’re family we never have had!

Good night!