Preparation for Palm Beach

February 20-21, 2014 at Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL

Preparations are being made for the Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute team to go to West Balm Beach, FL for the next BWFLI two-day event. As one of the top Christian colleges in Florida, Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBA) has more than 50 undergraduate and graduate programs. Established in 1968, PBA is a young and active university community.

The BWFLI team members will be there as a resource of experience attending their assemblies, classrooms, lunch halls, and study areas. They will be discussing a wide range of daily life, goal planning, and keys to leadership. BWFLI is looking forward to coming to the campus on February 20 and 21 to connect with the student body and to “stretch and bless the next generation of leaders…to the glory of God.”

Time Counts

Weekly Thought – November 19, 2013

Fred learned “waste not, want not” from his Mother. She raised five boys in a preacher’s home (on a preacher’s salary) during the Great Depression. She almost miraculously managed to make resources stretch. Fred became thrifty about money and time.

These weekly emails began nearly ten years ago when Fred literally did “out loud thinking.” They continue using the richness of his writings, notes, and memos. Thank you for expressing your appreciation. Fred would thoroughly enjoy knowing he is being helpful.

Time Counts

I am not a believer in the “time pressure” phenomenon. I believe there is a faddishness to the race against time I see in so many. As a modest accomplisher, I find it arrogant to think that I couldn’t get my work done in the same amount of time afforded to Einstein, Michelangelo, Salk, and Schweitzer.

Time, like money, varies in value. High energy hours, like after tax dollars, are more productive and more valuable. In thinking about the organization of time to maximize the value, here are a few points I feel are important:

1) Make a specific decision about what you are trying to do. I first make a list of the things that only I can do. Then, I hand off (first by assignment and then by delegation) everything else. It takes ego control to accept that other people can do most of what we think we have to do.

2) Keep a reasonably busy schedule of meaningful things. Work pace is important. When we move too fast we make haphazard decisions and confuse our priorities. If the pace is too slow, we procrastinate and let our time be filled up with even small tasks. (more…)

Hello, World

Brenda’s Blog – November 12, 2013 blog-4-china-buildings

“I didn’t think there was anything outside of Longview, Hallsville, and Marshall. Then I went to China.”

The student told of his overseas study adventure as part of the chapel service. His naturally worn cowboy attire told me he was indeed a native Texan. The first sentence stayed with me. What is opening my world right now? What amazes me and creates a sense of awe?

I thought of another young man from Appalachian America who left home for the first time to spend a semester at Disney World. He returned to Kentucky with a deeper appreciation for his strong roots and his unfurled wings.

In college my parents bought a ticket for a friend to accompany me to North Carolina. It was her first plane trip. Her emotional response as we crossed the country touched me. That trip began a lifetime of discovery for her.

We go to Christian colleges and universities to “stretch and bless the next generation of leaders…to the glory of God.” We leave stretched and blessed. Their world is full of hope and promise. Their world is unhindered by geographical boundaries. Their energy for change is contagious.

Reduced options is one of the symptoms of aging. Our worlds get smaller; our walls grow higher; our healthy restlessness diminishes.

I may never challenge the Great Wall of China again but new roads lie ahead. I am not ready to call it quits. I am still eager to wake up each morning with, “Hello, world, where are we going today?”

Choose A Pleasant Road

Weekly Thought – November 12, 2013

Fred and Mary Alice showed their three children the country, teaching them the value of travel. However, Fred was influenced by his love of efficiency and looked at family road trip from the “How fast can I get from A to B?” perspective. They whizzed past national monuments, teepee tourist courts, and must see stops. Later he realized the children chose to enjoy the journey, not play beat the clock with their own family trips.

Planning is underway for the Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. on February 20, 21, 2014. Please join in prayer with us. Thank you for your continuing encouragement.

Choose A Pleasant Road

Too often, after selecting our destination, and making our plans, we fail to look at all the possible ways of getting there. Recently, on the West Coast, I decided to turn off the interstate and follow an exciting scenic route. Generally we miss the byways and endure the highways to “save time.”

Is time always that important?

Sometimes we become so goal-oriented we forget to consider the ways of getting there. The road should be interesting. We spend much more time on the trip than at the destination. Why shouldn’t it bring satisfaction? Remember, this isn’t always the fastest route. Learn the joy of the journey and amplify the value and benefit of the goal. (more…)

BWFLI Impacts Lindsey Wilson College

BWFLI Impacts Lindsey Wilson College.

LETU President Recommends BWFLI

Click here to see the impact at LeTourneau University presented by Dr. Dale Lunsford.

Direction not Goals

Weekly Thought – November 5, 2013

Fred sat on a tombstone when he was in his twenties thinking about the direction he wanted for his life. To codify his thinking he wrote out an epitaph: “He stretched others.” He said, “I enjoyed seeing people productive and growing.” His tombstone in Dallas, Texas bears those three words for indeed, he did!

“Thank you for last week’s email. I really needed to hear that and I am sure many others did, too.” The Weekly Thoughts are sent as an encouragement and as a way to allow Fred’s work to keep on stretching others. As you know we are currently having a critical fundraising drive and your help in large and small contributions is needed.

Direction not Goals

Choosing a life direction is more important than just focusing on goals. Enticing short term goals can take one off course and in a faulty direction. Mature success and satisfaction come in the direction we move, not in the goals we attain.

I oppose setting an ultimate goal for one’s life, in the sense of a specific, definable, measurable, figure-oriented place in life — the place for arrival. This puts too much importance on one decision. This closes off the serendipity of life which leads to magnificent adventures.

I have known too many executives who set a title as their ultimate goal only to realize that the joy was in the challenge of achievement, not the actual job attained. The old song says it well, “Is this all there is?” I laugh at the picture of the man spent a lifetime climbing a ladder only to realize at the top it was leaning against the wrong wall. (more…)

Clarify Your Thinking

Weekly Thought – October 29, 2013

Fred’s understanding of human nature resulted from lifelong study and observation. He found patterns in thinking and behavior. He talked of the modus operandi – the method of operation. He strongly believed in finding the basis from which our life’s philosophy derives.

The tenth year of Breakfast With Fred is nearing its completion. In these years a website, a book, hundreds of weekly thoughts, and eight Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institutes have touched thousands worldwide. Beginning during Fred’s lifetime, the work goes on striving to expand, deepen, and preserve. Thank you for supporting us. We are reader-supported and we are currently having a critical fundraising drive. Your help is needed.

Clarify Your Thinking

Behind every plan of action, every commitment of time, and energy should be a solid philosophical base. From it comes our answer to “why?” Why should I be a leader? Why should I pay the price of success? Why not stay where it is comfortable? Why push ahead risking failure?

Is it just for ego? Or do I feel I have been given a talent, an opportunity, and I don’t want to miss to excitement of worthwhile accomplishment? Do I see this accomplishment can be made in any period of my life? (more…)

Lead On

Brenda’s Blog – October 29, 2013

“God loves us. God is not a meanie. I am not afraid. Say it Mommy, ‘I am not afraid.’”

These words were spoken by a 3 year old girl dying of brain cancer. Leadership is not age sensitive. No degrees, no certifications, no titles, no powerful positions — just qualities that cause others to follow.

Phoebe Fair led all of us during her 21 months of illness. Why? She had vision; she had passion; she had direction. She understood her mission, and stayed the course.

Most of us will not be asked to travel Phoebe’s path, but each of us is asked to be faithful to our calling. Leading a corporation, a Christian organization, a family unit, or a campus ministry….all share the same common elements: defining reality, setting the vision, understanding constructive strengths and destructive weaknesses, capturing the loyalty of others to the vision, effective communication of direction, and the ability to move the group forward.

How could a 4 year old do this? During her lifetime she received thousands of personal messages weekly, had 75,000 followers of her Facebook page, filled the sanctuary of a major church for her service, and continues to touch lives worldwide. How could that not be leadership? Her life was her mission; her love for Jesus was her passion; her eagerness to encourage others was her uniqueness.

Never underestimate your LQ – leadership quotient. You don’t need position, power, and prominence…you simply need to influence and move others to action. Lead on!

Who You Are Meant to Be

Weekly Thought-October 22, 2013

Fred was blessed with a network of friends who strengthened him and lived out the “iron sharpening iron.” He gathered a cadre of truth-tellers who walked in integrity. He knew who he wanted to be and chose an inner circle of those who, like him, understand their gifts and their missions.

As October nears a close, we thank you for your support. These Weekly Thoughts are a unique way of continuing Fred’s legacy. Please continue to share ways they are meaningful and helpful. Breakfast With Fred is reader-supported and we are asking you to support us with donations large or small at this important time. If you receive encouragement from these emails, we need the encouragement from you in the form of your support.

Who You Are Meant to Be

We are in a time when ne’er-do-wells (particularly young ones) persist in saying, “Love me for myself!” When I hear that I think of the sign in the store, “Sold as is.” That always denotes damage to the product or something that reduces value. I want to see people striving to fulfill their gifts, not sitting idly by accepting “as is.” (more…)

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