Thursday, April 1, 2010

What do certain cookies, dessert snack foods, steaks, chickens, turkeys, pork chops, dates, pigs, people, etc. have in common?
When stuffed, the middle makes it really good!
The middle is good. Yes, the new TV comedy is also good, but I’m really talking about middle, small “m” with a big impact.
Everything has a beginning and an end, but the middle may be the most important part.
If I had paid better attention to my middle, I would be healthier than I am.
If some businesses paid better attention to the middle, their bottom line would be better.
If everyone paid better attention to what happens in the middle of every minute, in every bigger segment of time, life would be better for everyone.
Most businesses, of any kind, are more concerned about the quality of bottom line numbers than they are about the quality of the middle. Ask the employees and you'll find out. Zappos.com is a great example of a company that pays attention to the middle.
Since I’m in the church business, most churches are also more concerned about the quality of the bottom line “numbers” than the quality of the middle. Yes, I know the tired statement: “Numbers are people.” People live in the middle not in the numbers or the bottom line.
The middle is always our behavior as individuals and organizations. The middle usually impacts people much more than either end.
Both the beginning and the end are exciting moments, but the middle is the truly impactful experience.
“The Dash” asks us how we’ve lived our lives. My whole life is a big thing to think about, probably too big.
How are we living the middle of every minute and every other segment of time that makes up the moments of our lives?
The attention we pay to these mini-lives paints the picture of our life.
I don’t always get it right, but I’m trying. Join me.