educating eric

I don't often give career advice but I do have some in me. And if you have subordinates, you need to read this article: https://www.fastcompany.com/40481089/stress-is-making-you-micromanage-which-is-making-everything-worse I know some people don't like the term "subordinates" so let's rephrase it as: "If you have people in your life for whom your actions have a direct (and perhaps debilitating) impact on their income and career..." Want to go back to the word "subordinates" now? I thought you might. I've had plenty of managers in my 21 years of full-time employment and working several years part-time before that. Probably shy of half have been textbook micromanagers (the type to read that Fast Company article as a how-to manual) and one of my biggest regrets in life is that I was one, too. Only at times... but a character flaw that only shows up when things are stressful is about as major a character flaw as you can have. What ...

It's both entertaining and embarrassing that I can point to this blog at a blogging convention and note its 2002 start date. It's a mess -- a glorious, fascinating, pathetic, inspiring mess -- of random content over the past 15 years. So when I confront the "what's my niche" question... I don't have one. And maybe that's what it is. A non-niche. (That's so meta! I was introduced to the term "lifestyle blogger" at this year's Minnesota Blogger Conference , and the fact that I'd never encountered that term before now probably tells you something about my qualifications as a "blogger." I explained to those around me that my attendance was "aspirational" rather than... I don't know. "Real"? "Functional"? I don't know what the opposite word would be. I know that I'm nothing like the bloggers who were around me, with their focused themes and editorial calendars and monetization...

Don't worry; I'm not having a crisis of faith. But I had an interesting realization a few weeks ago: the only thing that has intrinsic measurable value is entertainment. OK, maybe not the only thing. Remedio healthcare, where you can stop somebody's pain. Or perhaps the restaurant industry where you can feed someone and stop their hunger. But even there, restaurants are more than mere satiation – they are a form of entertainment. Point being, a lot of the "deeper things" are really impossible to measure and you just have to hope that people are being affected the way you intended. This might have something to do with my being professionally employed in higher education. If I were to work in the entertainment industry, life becomes simpler: Were you entertained? You were? Great! Mission accomplished. Hedonism doesn't sound very satisfying, but it sure is straightforward. :)

Listening to The Ray Edwards Show | http://rayedwards.com/286/ Spiritual Foundations This week I want to talk about the promises made to Abraham and how they still belong to believers today. God promised Abraham that he would be blessed to be a blessing. Some people argue that this just applies to "spiritual" blessings, but in this week's episode I'll propose to you that we are, in fact, "heirs of the world" – according to "the promise". "

Wonder what that means? Listening to The New Man - Advice for Men on Relationships, Dating, Fitness, Career and Sex (How Anger Can Make Us More Powerful: Anger Management): http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheNewMan/~3/OJdOiqI3PC4/ Is anger management a bunch of BS? How can anger make us more powerful? Discussed: Anger vs aggression, Robert Augustus Masters, Equine Therapy The post How Anger Can Make Us More Powerful: Anger Management appeared first on The New Man Podcast .

There is an interesting theological tidbit in this podcast that I've never heard before and I'm not quite sure what I think. Eldridge says that we can plead the Cross against demonic influence, but the Cross "doesn't work against envy" because "it's envy that sent Jesus to the Cross". Join me in replaying and pondering that section a bit. Listening to John Eldredge and Ransomed Heart (Audio) (Envy - Part 2): http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ransomedheartaudiopodcast/~3/D3zjljKZcS4/envy-part-2 Envy aimed at you and your family is a form of spiritual warfare - but rarely seen that way. Discover how God's love can overcome it.  

Listening to Resolute For Men (Godliness): http://traffic.libsyn.com/resolute/Godliness.mp3 Have you ever thought about what it means to be godly? Join us today on the Resolute Podcast, as Vince Miller and author Roger Thompson spend time together discussing godliness and its unique role in facing challenges with enthusiasm.

Just encountered this insight while surfing the FTA satellite onto IBN and the Time to Revive ministry and a message from Dr. Kyle Lance Martin... The Old Testament emphasis on sacrifices was bringing your first and best -- you don't bring leftovers to God.  In Romans 12, Paul writes that we should "offer our bodies as living sacrifices."  So, my conclusion: Doesn't this mean that God sees us as a worthy sacrifice?  That we have something of value to offer? For many of you, this is obvious.  But many of today's Calvinist (or Puritan) Christian theologies run instead to OT passages like Isaiah 64 and insist that "our righteous acts are like filthy rags" ...and therefore, we ourselves are like filthy rags to God.  That sad not only because it's clearly incorrect, but because it denigrates the human creations that God loves.  Fallen? Absolutely. Valuable? Absolutely.  Please don't forget that.

I think I need a new word. I'm trying to describe my hope that project participants and client volunteers have two qualities. They need to be enthusiastic, in that they are positive and encouraging and engaged regarding the project. And, enthusiasm needs to be voluntary, in that it's because of a true personal interest in intrinsic motivation, not nearly fake because of some reward or feeling of obligation. But I think the word "voluntary" doesn't exactly capture that. As long as it's not under threat or duress, engaging in something is by definition "voluntary." So I need a word that captures something more than "I'm not doing this because anybody is forcing me to," but instead really says, "I'm doing this because I truly want to do it." Is that a distinction without a difference, or does it make sense?