Kye "K" Chung

In 1993, I saw the web coming. I was hired to write the cover story for a now defunct computer magazine about the internet, and dismissed the new Mosaic browser in a single paragraph.

I figured the web was just like Prodigy, but slower, harder to use and without a business model.

About as expensive a wrong analysis as a single entrepreneur with an email company could make in 1993.

The reason it was an insanely valuable lesson: I got better at announcing that I was wrong, learning from it and doing the next thing.

Politicians, of course, are terrible at this. They are never wrong, apparently, and when they are, spin instead of admitting it. Which not only hurts their trustworthiness, it prevents them from learning anything.

Two elements of successful leadership: a willingness to be wrong and an eagerness to admit it.

Tim Tebow makes no apologies about it.
He is a believer of Jesus Christ and even has his own patented prayer move.
He makes a lot of Christians happy.
He makes a lot of Christians nervous.
I’ll admit, I have said a few times things like…
“Take it down a notch Tebow.”
My friends and I sometimes watch what he does through our fingers, as if watching a scary movie.
He sings Lord I Lift Your Name On High on national television.
He gets mocked on SNL for pulling the God card in every single thing he says.

He prays to God to win a football game, as if somehow God cares about the outcome of the game.
[stepping back from lightening bolt you real football fans think is about to strike]
Kurt Warner, the former highest level offender, even took opportunity to tell Tebow to turn it down a notch…

Then yesterday happened.
I was suddenly proud of Tebow.
I was like… “Look at that great Christian role model! I’m a fan!”

I’m such a #$@@* hypocrite.
So no. I’m not embarrassed by Tim Tebow.
I should be embarrassed by Carlos Whittaker.
My embarrassment is not about Tim Tebow. It’s always about ME.
What people will think of ME.
Because no matter how cheesy…
No matter how brash…
He is 100% more open about his faith on a daily basis than I am.
The nervous feeling that we get is not wanting him to embarrass US as opposed to Christ.
Truth is…Christ is more embarrassed by Christians who are embarrassed by Tim Tebow, than anything Tebow will ever do.

Some good thoughts from Steven Furtick on the creative process:

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. -1 Corinthians 13:11

If you ask a little kid how babies are born, and then ask a mom of three kids the same question, the responses will differ considerably.

Your viewpoint of a process is based on your experience.

Before we started a church, I had preconceived notions about the creative process. Now that I’ve seen my share of babies born, I think about that process much more realistically.

For example:

I used to think brilliant creative inspiration flowed in calm settings of tranquility.Now I would tell you that my best creative ideas are hewn out of hard conversations, migraine level multi-tasking, and nearly neurotic obsession about details that seem silly and tedious.

I used to think that the most difficult part of the creative process was getting a good idea. 

Ha! 
Conception is the fun part!
Labor and delivery is the heroic stuff.
Lots of people can make a kid, or hatch a concept.
But to nurture, refine, and sustain that idea takes tenacity.

I used to think that when you had a killer idea, you’d just know it.Now I think the better an idea is, the more prone you’ll be to second guessing, and the greater the temptation will be to quit before you get started good.

Growing in creativity means coming to terms with this reality:The most beautiful ideas are often the product of an ugly, messy process.

The less time I spend waiting for the stork to bring me the next awesome vision, and the more I embrace the blood, tears, pain and joy of creativity, the better my babies turn out.

We are always looking to build those big happy family moments.

What if we told you the small habits you live out every day, week in and week out, have much more to do with building a happy family than any one time event?

And honestly, is happiness really the goal? What about loving, forgiving, enduring, and supportive? What about a family that gives to others, serves those who need help, and follows in the footsteps of their Heavenly Father?

This might sound like an unattainable goal, but we have a few every day habits, week in and week out, that we think will help you build the kind of family you’re wanting.

Try a few of these habits out for 2012:

Good stuff.

So what’s the secret to keeping the resolutions you make?

Writing them down? Nope. I’ve not kept resolutions I’ve written down.

Commitment? No, I’m pretty committed to what I write down.

Developing a plan? I’ve had plans that I’ve not followed before either.

Discipline? I can be pretty disciplined in some areas but not in others.

So what is it? Why do I keep some resolutions but not others? I spend some time reflecting on that and realized that when I add two key ingredients into my new year’s resolution process, my accomplishment rate jumps significantly:

Specific Accountability. When I personally track with someone on my goals, I am far more likely to meet them. Whether you join a club, hire a trainer, meet with a consultant or share the goals you have with mentors or a personal board of directors, creating specific accountability will help you fulfil far more of your goals.

Measuring the Cost of Non-Fulfilment. When I count the cost of not fulfilling a goal, I am more likely to fulfill it. The tough part is that a lot of the consequences to not fulfilling your goals are far down the road. Not losing 20 pounds probably won’t kill you this year, but it might in 20 years. Financial irresponsibility may not bankrupt you in 2012, but it could expose you to real hardship three years from now. Neglecting your relationship with God, your marriage or your parenting might not create any immediate crisis a year from now, but give it five years and you could end up divorced, estranged from your kids and feeling like God has lost all interest in you.

Think I used almost all these services this year.

So simple, but true!

It seems like resolutions fall into two categories: Start doing. & Stop doing.

What I’ve personally found is that resolutions only work when a ‘stop doing‘ also has a corresponding ‘start doing.’ …and vise versa.

So ‘start working-out 3 times a week’ (a start doing) had to also include stop sleeping until 7:00am. (a stop doing). Read at least one book a month had to correspond with no tv on weeknights. Drink more water had to include don’t drink soda…

I’ve tried it the other way too. I’ve made long list of new things I wanted to do, without considering when I’d actually have time in my schedule for them. I’ve also written down lists of habits I wanted to change without considering what habit would replace them. But, for me this never works. I always end up throwing in the towel a few days or weeks in; left with nothing real to show for my efforts except for a new layer of guilt about it. But, when I’ve been disciplined enough to think-through both sides of the equation, I’ve seen that great results can take place.

So, if you’re in the resolution-making kind of mood this week, I’d encourage you to at least consider adding both categories of resolutions to your list.