Tag Archives: Sam Horn

Act Now – It’s Time to Put Yourself in Your Own Story

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Information overload.

You live it every day – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. You’re more informed and connected than ever.

Yet, if you’re honest, you’re probably feeling more distracted than ever.

More lonely. More restless.

According to studies done by Barna Research:

  • 71% of people feel overwhelmed by the amount of information they need to stay up to date.
  • 36% of adults stop what they’re doing to check a text or message when it comes in.
  • 35% of adults think their personal electronics sometimes separate them from other people.

Being hyperlinked changes every aspect of our lives – and often, not for the better.

THE QUICK SUMMARY – Someday is Not a Day in the Week by Sam Horn

Are you:
• Working, working, working?
• Busy taking care of everyone but yourself?
• Wondering what to do with the rest of your life?
• Planning to do what makes you happy someday when you have more time, money, or freedom?

What if someday never happens? As the Buddha said, “The thing is, we think we have time.”

Sam Horn is a woman on a mission about not waiting for SOMEDAY … and this is her manifesto. Her dad’s dream was to visit all the National Parks when he retired. He worked six to seven days a week for decades. A week into his long-delayed dream, he had a stroke. Sam doesn’t want that to happen to you. She took her business on the road for a Year by the Water. During her travels, she asked people, “Do you like your life? Your job? If so, why? If not, why not?”

The surprising insights about what makes people happy or unhappy, what they’re doing about it (or not), and why…will inspire you to carve out time for what truly matters now, not later.

Life is much too precious to postpone. It’s time to put yourself in your own story. The good news is, there are “hacks” you can do right now to make your life more of what you want it to be. And you don’t have to be selfish, quit your job, or win the lottery to do them. Sam Horn offers actionable, practical advice in short, snappy chapters to show you how to get started on your best life ― now.

A SIMPLE SOLUTION

According to author Sam Horn, you don’t need to quit your job, win the lottery, or walk away from your responsibilities to make your life more of what you want it to be.

There are things you can do right here, right now, to be happier, healthier, and more fulfilled.

There are steps you can take to make your life more fulfilling.

It’s time to hack your life by tapping into proven best practices, expedite results and discover a shortcut to success.

Make your “one day” Day One.

The Ten Life Hacks are actions you can take to create a more fulfilling life, sooner, not later. Please note: These hacks are a framework, not a formula. 

LIFE HACK 1:  Evaluate Your Happiness History

LIFE HACK 2:  Generate a Today, Not Someday Dream

LIFE HACK 3:   Abdicate Outdated Beliefs and Behaviors

LIFE HACK 4:   Initiate Daily Actions that Move Your Life Forward

LIFE HACK 5:   Celebrate What’s Right with Life, Right Here, Right Now

LIFE HACK 6:   Affiliate with People Who Have Your Back and Front

LIFE HACK 7:   Integrate Your Passion and Profession

LIFE HACK 8:   Negotiate for What You Want, Need, and Deserve

LIFE HACK 9:    Innovate a Fresh Start

LIFE HACK 10: Relocate to Greener Pastures

Sam Horn, Someday is Not a Day in the Week

A NEXT STEP

According to author Sam Horn, the best way to make progress in making your “Someday” is to ask probing questions that prompt you to change – for good.

Listed below are sample questions for each of the ten Life Hacks listed above. Schedule at least thirty minutes a day for the next ten days, and reflect on the questions listed.

LIFE HACK 1: Evaluate Your Happiness History

Play hooky for a day.

  1. How would you spend your free day or afternoon? What would you do if the people you’re responsible for would be taken care of, and there would be no repercussions?
  2. What are three things you would not do on your day of hooky? Why?   

LIFE HACK 2: Generate a Today, Not Someday Dream

Put a date on the calendar.

  1. What would you like to experience or achieve by the end of this year? What is your Today, Not Someday dream? When will you launch it? What “do-date” did you put on your calendar?
  2. Now, start filling in the W’s … where, when, who, what, and why. Who will you discuss this with so they can help you fill in the blanks so your dream goes from vague to vividly clear?
  3. Where will you post your dream so it stays “in sight, in mind,” and you are constantly re-inspired to do what you said you wanted to do?

LIFE HACK 3: Abdicate Outdated Beliefs and Behaviors

Let it go, let it go, let it go.

  1. How do you feel when you walk into your home? Where would your home rate on the “Clutter (1) to Clean (10) Scale”? How does that affect you? Do you feel guilty, stressed, or frustrated with how things have piled up? Or do you feel proud and at peace with how well-designed, organized, and beautiful your space is?
  2. How much time do you spend cleaning, repairing, buying, renovating your stuff? Is that a source of enjoyment, a burden and chore, or something in between? Explain.
  3. Are you ready to downsize your home and/or release some belongings? How will you do that? Who else does this have an impact on? How will you negotiate this with them? What could you do with the resources that would be freed up when you have less to take care of?

LIFE HACK 4: Initiate Daily Actions that Move Your Life Forward

Honor the nudges, and connect the dots.

  1. Do you make room for whims? Why or why not? When was a time you honored a nudge and acted on your intuition? What happened as a result?
  2. Do you think this is a lot of hooey? Does your intellect override your instincts? Or, do you agree that if we have a sixth sense that alerts us to what’s wrong, we also have a sixth sense that alerts us to what’s right? What are your beliefs about this?
  3. How will you honor the instincts that have your best interests at heart? How will you connect the dots, act on “coincidences” that beat the odds, and align with congruent individuals and opportunities that “feel right”?

LIFE HACK 5: Celebrate What’s Right with Life, Right Here, Right Now

Get out of your head and come to your senses.

  1. When was the last time you saw something as if for the first or last time? Describe what happened and what it felt like.
  2. Do you have a busy, stressful life? What is the ongoing impact of rushing, rushing, rushing— and always feeling “an hour late and a dollar short”?
  3. Would you say you have “juice” in your camera? Do you look at the world with fresh eyes? When, where, and how will you get out of your head and come to your senses?

LIFE HACK 6: Affiliate with People Who Have Your Back and Front

Launch your ship in public.

  1. So, what is that venture you want to launch? Who has supported you, cheered you on? What have they done to help you achieve your goal and do what’s important to you?
  2. Who has cautioned you, told you (“ for your own good”) that what you want to do won’t work or isn’t a good idea? What impact has that had on you?
  3. How will you take your dream public and give others a chance to jump on your bandwagon? Will you create a vision board and/or host a Today, Not Someday party? Where did you post your vision so it stays “in sight, in mind”?

LIFE HACK 7: Integrate Your Passion and Profession

Don’t wait for work you love – create work you love.

  1. Do you love your job? Do you feel you’re adding value and contributing? How so?
  2. If you don’t find your work satisfying, why not? What talents or skills are you not having an opportunity to use or get credit for?
  3. What are your Four I’s? How could you leverage them into a paying career where you get paid to do what you’re good at? What is your next step? Will you visit crafts fairs to see how other people have turned a passion into a profession? Elaborate.

LIFE HACK 8: Negotiate for What You Want, Need, and Deserve

If you don’t ask, the answer’s always “No.”

  1. When is a time you asked for something you wanted – whether it was a promotion, project lead, or pay raise? How did you prepare? What was the result?
  2. When is a time you waited for someone to “do the right thing,” act on your behalf, or give you what you deserved? As Dr. Phil would say, “How’d that work for you?”
  3. What is a situation you’re unhappy with right now? Which of the Four A’s have you used? How will you alter the situation by using the Five P’s of Persuasion to increase the likelihood of improving this situation?   

LIFE HACK 9: Innovate a Fresh Start

Quit watering dead plants.

  1. Is the majority of your life out of your control and not to your liking? How so? Does this challenging time have a timeline? Can you “make your mind a deal it can’t refuse” so you are able to keep things in perspective?
  2. What do you currently do to maintain a positive perspective, to have something to look forward to in bleak times? How do you stay focused on what you can control?
  3. Are there dead plants you can stop watering? What can you quit that is compromising your quality of life? How can you innovate a fresh start if you are going through dark times to keep the light on in your eyes?   

LIFE HACK 10: Relocate to Greener Pastures

Come full circle.

  1. When was the last time you were in your hometown? What memories did it bring back? Did you reconnect with people that influenced you? Did it catalyze a new creative direction that could be a satisfying full-circle way to come home to who you truly are?
  2. What used to light you up but now feels like it might be a retreat or regression to “go back there”? Do you worry it’s thinking small instead of thinking big? Could it actually be you’re going “home” to who you are at your core, your best self?
  3. Do you agree that we can be “at home” wherever we are and that “home” is a mindset, not a location? Where do you feel most at home? 

Excerpt taken from SUMS Remix 126, released August 2019

Part of a weekly series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader

Regular daily reading of books is an important part of my life. It even extends to my vocation, where as Vision Room Curator for Auxano I am responsible for publishing SUMS Remix, a biweekly book “excerpt” for church leaders. Each Wednesday on 27gen I will be taking a look back at previous issues of SUMS Remix and publishing an excerpt.

>>Purchase SUMS Remix here<<

>> Purchase prior issues of SUMS Remix here<<

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How to Communicate Your Message So It Catches Fire in People’s Imaginations

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Every day, your church stewards thousands of moments of truth. Every time a member talks to a neighbor, someone drives by the church facility, ministry e-mail goes out, a pastor’s business card is left on a desk, some interaction on behalf of the church has transpired. Every time these events happen, the church’s vision glows brighter or dims in the tiniest little increments.

The leader’s role is to crank up the communication wattage. The visionary cares too much about the message to let it just blow in the wind, unattended. Rather, they grab the message and affix it to a kite for all to see. This can happen only with a tremendous amount of intentionality in the complex discipline of church communications.

THE QUICK SUMMARY – Pop! by Sam Horn

Why do some ideas break out and others fade away? What causes people to become so excited about a product that they can’t wait to tell their friends? How can an idea be communicated so that it catches fire in people’s imaginations?

Popular author, consultant, and workshop leader Sam Horn identifies what makes an idea, message, or product break out, and presents a simple and proven process – POP! (Purposeful, Original, Pithy) to create one-of-a-kind ideas, products, and messages that pop through the noise, off the shelf, and into consumers’ imaginations.

A SIMPLE SOLUTION

John 15 tells us that the Spirit of God is sovereignly convicting people of sin and righteousness and judgment. In other words, God is wooing men, women, boys, and girls to Him in your community. The question is, when they are ready to act on it, where will they go? Even though the primary mode of awareness happens through word-of-mouth advertising, the North American culture supplies other media to help broadcast your position.

By broadcasting your position, two things are intended. First, think like a retailer and let people know that you exist and where you exist. Second, position yourself in the sense of differentiating yourself among other churches in your community. In the kingdom economy, other churches are not competitors but collaborators. The best thing you can do is broadcast a clear, crisp message of what makes your Church Unique.

Remember that there are competitors to your mission—that is, anything else that distracts people from being the church under the Lordship of Jesus. These competitors, whether Home Depot, the local sports league, Old Navy, or 24 Hour Fitness, are doing everything to broadcast their position. Shall we stand by as nonparticipants in the game of PR, marketing, and advertising and let them take the day?

Use of marketing should never replace the essence of a missional heart-beat: a life-oriented, conversation-driven, love-lavished pursuit of those whom Jesus misses most. Jesus’ famous sermon was not “in the valley” but “on the mount.” Jesus positioned himself to broadcast his message. If we propose to advance the gospel in and through the culture, we can’t afford to see the cultural use of communication as an enemy but as an ally. Use of marketing tools can be a powerful support to personal evangelism. These are exciting times to steward the most important message to be heard.

People today are busy, so bombarded with information, that we only have about sixty seconds to connect with them. If we don’t convince them in our one-minute window of opportunity that we’re worth their valuable time, money, and attention, they’ll switch their focus to something else.

The premise of POP! is that the best way to attract instant interest is to make our communication (in particular our titles, taglines, elevator introductions, and sales slogans) Purposeful, Original and Pithy. This is so rarely done, it makes what we’re saying and swelling incredibly appealing.

Here is a little more detail about the three components of POP!

P Stands for Purposeful

Communication that features brilliant wordplay doesn’t qualify for POP! status unless it does two things: accurately articulates the essence of you and your offering, and positions you positively with your target audience.

If people are scratching their heads after we’ve introduced our idea or invention, wondering what this has to do with them, we’ve just wasted their time and ours.

O Stands for Original

It’s almost a given that no matter what you saying or selling, you’re one of many. What is about you that distinguishes you from your competition?

One way to distinguish yourself is to be original and offer something unlike anyone or anything else. Instead of competing in a crowded niche, create your own. When you’re one of a kind, there is no competition.

People are yearning for something fresh. When we see or hear something original, we find it appealing. That product or business is no longer inanimate or boring. Instead of dismissing it, we feel compelled to try it.

P Stands for Pithy

The word pithy, which means concise and precise, may not sound very eloquent, but it’s an important part of POP! communication.

The human brain can only hold approximately seven bits of information in short-term memory. If our description of our offering is longer than seven words, chances are people won’t be able to remember it. And if they don’t remember it, our effort to obtain their attention, support, and money for our offering has failed.

Sam Horn, POP! Stand Out in Any Crowd

A NEXT STEP

Imagine that your team has taken over a local news station. Give the station new call letters – tell what it stands for. Be as cheesy as possible here.

Brainstorm story possibilities based on the announcements for this week’s worship service. Now select the top three stories that your team will produce for the news “broadcast.” Now assign members of your team to be reporters who would anchor the stories for broadcast to the team.

In preparation for the simulated “newscast,” have each Anchor and their reporting team answer these questions:

  • Why do people need to hear these stories?
  • How do they communicate our vision?
  • What would happen if we really could have these stories broadcast inside and outside the church?

As a team, think of how you can use a similar decision-making process, and filtering questions, to prioritize announcements in your worship service each week.

– Adapted from The Vision Deck

Excerpt taken from SUMS Remix 57-3, January 2017

 

Part of a weekly series on 27gen, entitled Wednesday Weekly Reader

Regular daily reading of books is an important part of my life. It even extends to my vocation, where as Vision Room Curator for Auxano I am responsible for publishing SUMS Remix, a biweekly book “summary” for church leaders. Each Wednesday I will be taking a look back at previous issues of SUMS Remix and publishing an excerpt here.