Relationships, Atmosphere, Habits (Bot9 #322)
When I encountered Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why back in 2017, I created my ‘why’ statement. That core idea has allowed me to filter a lot of decisions and bring me back to center in times of chaos. In addition to that work, I created another statement. I called this one my personal culture statement. Yes, I wanted to have a ‘why’ to focus what I believe God created me to do in this world, but I also wanted to focus the culture, the ethos, of what I would do. This statement has, more than anything else, allowed me to focus on the right things on a daily basis:
“Build relationships, atmosphere, and habits through living ideas.”
For me, the living ideas come from the wisdom of ancient people, mainly the Bible. The ideas that provide us with life are tried and true, and are thankfully recorded for us to utilize. Focusing on building relationships, creating a positive atmosphere in the things you lead, and choosing habits that will build upon each other for daily success have been three of the most powerful concepts I’ve ever experienced.
When we first baptized a group of players on the baseball field in 2018, it was one of those moments I wasn’t sure could be recreated. Since then, we’ve baptized softball and baseball players in what has become an annual ceremony. One of our assistant coaches mentioned how incredible it has become. There are parents, teachers, pastors, and people from the community who drop by to attend. All we do is invite people to choose Jesus and they say yes. People join in to celebrate God moving among us. Not only has the moment been recreated, it’s grown. I’m convinced it started with relationships, atmosphere, and habits.
But it’s the living ideas of Jesus that provide us with an even sharper focus for everything we do. In the picture above, I’m hugging one of the young men who we baptized on Friday. He’s got quite a story. It was his dream to come to our school to play for us one day. In between the spark of that dream and him being at our school, his dad passed away. Before the season, his mom told me he was waiting to be baptized with the baseball team on the field. After our tryouts, he didn’t make the team. We kept connection with him and made him welcome in the dugout throughout the spring with this moment in mind. This is our little attempt of going after the one lost sheep, or the one lost coin, or making sure we still love the “least of these.”
Everyone creates a culture around them whether they realize it or not. My coaching mentor once said “you’re either coaching it or allowing it to happen.” The same is true in culture. You’re either deciding what you’re creating or allowing stuff to happen around you. Seek to create a culture based on ideas that have given life to people for years upon years. Build relationships, create a positive atmosphere, and choose habits that benefit you. You just don’t know what the Lord will do with your impact if you do!