Today we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr. Through his life he had many historical speeches and sermons includeing his I Have A Dream speech. Many would consider him a “great” man. I think deep down inside we all want to become men and women of greatness. Here is an excerpt from a sermon he preached addressing the issue of what it means to be great.

“And so Jesus gave us a new norm of greatness. If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness.”

“And this morning, the thing that I like about it: by giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”

Greatness is something that we can choose and not something that is chosen for us. I pray that through the grace of God that we would all choose to be people of greatness by following in the steps of Christ and serving others.

What book had the greatest influence on your life in 2009? For me it would have to be Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. I read this book last year and it was as if every word was speaking directly to me. It’s on the topic of pursuing God and the first chapter entitled Yawning Angels is worth the purchase price alone. Here is an excerpt from the book:

Celtic Christians had a name for the Holy Spirit–An Geadh-Glas, or ‘the Wild Goose.’ The name hints at mystery. Much like a wild goose, the Spirit of God cannot be tracked or tamed. An element of danger, an air of unpredictability surround Him. And while the name may sound a little sacrilegious, I cannot think of a better description of what it’s like to follow the Spirit through life. I think the Celtic Christians were on to something…

Most of us will have no idea where we are going most of the time. And I know that is unsettling. But circumstantial uncertainty also goes by another name: Adventure.

If you’re looking for a good book I highly recommend this one. You can check out a sample chapter here.

What was one of your favorite books of 2009?

My Desktop Wallpaper

Inspired by Chris Brogan & Terry Storch I have summarized my goals for 2010 into three words. Here’s how Chris Brogan explains it:

“If you want to try the process, it works something like this: think of how you want to be successful in 2010. Then, try to think in even broader terms. Extrapolate on the broader terms, and find one word to hang the idea on.”

“Try setting your three words far out on the horizon, but such that they can lead you to your goals every day. Meaning, can you use the same word to get you started, but have it still be relevant when you’re almost at the big goal?”

The words don’t even have to make sense to anyone else as long as they point you in the right direction. My 3 goal words for 2010 are…

1. Discipline - Be a more disciplined person in every area of my life. (i.e. physically, spiritually, financially)

2. Generosity - Give more to individuals (friends, family, strangers), charitable organizations and other opportunities that come my way.

3. Purpose - To fulfill my God-given purpose DAILY.

Brad Lomenick, the Director of Catalyst, had a great series of posts on “Producing Events”. Brad knows what it takes to produce events that will draw people back. Since inception, over 90,000 leaders have made the annual trek to Atlanta to participate in the Catalyst Conference experience. Here is a little bit of what Brad had to say:

Content is king. It all starts with content. Without great speakers who can deliver, you’re climbing uphill.

In programming, focus relentlessly on transitions. Many times producers focus so much on the speaking, or the key production parts, that they leave the transitions to chance. It’s essential to have transitions that are seamless, experiential, and connect with the audience.

Learn from those who are more talented, have more money, create bigger events, and know more. Regardless of industry or background, learn from those who are the experts. We’re never too good or too big or too experienced to learn from someone else.

Engage all of the senses. Taste, Touch, Smell, Seeing, Hearing. Hit all of them as much as possible. Most events or experiences only focus on Seeing and Hearing. Disney is the best I’ve seen at this.

Check out more on Producing Events by clicking on one of the links below:

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

I think I need to buy me an encouragement calendar. (Check out more of these videos here.)

CNNMoney.com recently asked a host of influential leaders to share some wise words that have changed their lives forever. Here is what they said.

1. Tiger Woods: Keep it simple
2. Jim Sinegal: Show, don’t tell
3. Mort Zuckerman: Do what you love
4. Lloyd Blankfein: Empower
5. Mohamed El-Erian: Push beyond your comfort zone
6. David Axelrod: Ignore conventional wisdom
7. Tory Burch: Trust your instincts
8. Jim Rogers: Read everything
9. Scott Boras: Be effective, not popular
10. Mika Brzezinski: Use failure to motivate yourself
11. Colin Powell: Focus on performance, not power
12. Shai Agassi: Take advice from smart people
13. Sukhinder Singh Cassidy: Make an impression
14. Eric Schmidt: Hire a coach
15. Meredith Whitney: Set realistic goals
16. Lauren Zalaznick: Listen
17. Julian Robertson: Don’t talk shop
18. Thomas Keller: Treat it like it’s yours
19. Robin Li: Underpromise and over deliver
20. Miles White: Don’t pursue titles and dollars
21. Aaron Patzer: Self-doubt is normal
22. Niklas Savander: Be nice to people

You can read the entire article here. Check out more best advice here.

Awhile back Steven Furtick of Elevation Church posted a quote on twitter that read, “You’ve got to follow Jesus for yourself. But you can’t follow Jesus by yourself. Who’s got your back?”

In an interview of Rick Warren of Saddleback Church a months ago (via the catalyst podcast) he mentioned the importance of right relationships within ministry.

Rick Warren said, “To make it in ministry over the long haul you need four kinds of people in your life…”

Here are the four kinds of people he mentioned:

1. Mentors - The coaches. (Even Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods need coaches.)

2. Models - People who have come before you and are no longer alive, but have finished the race strong.

3. Partners - Co-workers and peers.

4. Friends - People that love you no matter what.

Do you have these four kinds of people in your life? Who’s got your back?

Listen to the entire Rick Warren interview here and follow Steven Furtick on twitter here.