There was a day in my not so distant past that I thought to myself that I had a great idea about how to solve a problem at the last church that I worked at. Everyone loved my idea and I was allowed to move forward with my idea. One year later I was out of a job because of my great idea. I remember a day in my past in which I felt the tremendous urge to stand up and speak but I knew that I needed to keep my mouth shut. I remember a day in my past in which I felt a tremendous desire to crawl into a corner and not be seen but I knew that I needed to stand up and speak.
Life has not been a movement in one direction for me. Today I learn to keep my mouth shut, tomorrow I learn that I need to speak up. Today I learn that I need to control my spending, tomorrow I learn that I need to take some risks. Today I learn that I need to read more, tomorrow I learn that I need to act more. As someone that has been asked to lead in various organizations over the last 15 years I have discovered the lesson in all of this is not one or the other, it is having the discernment to know which one is appropriate for each situation. So here is the motto for the next 50 years of my life:
“Wisdom: What Bart learns when he has exhausted his stupidity”
