Spence Smith

When I was in high school my basketball coach, Bruce Davenport, told us something I have never forgotten. He said, Boys…this is how the play works, stick to the play…and if the play isn’t working…play the game and remember…don’t let the play get in the way of the game, because no matter what… we are here to win the game.

I have used that analogy so many times. I can’t tell you how many times this situation comes up in everyday life experiences and in relationships… especially in the work place.

In our fast changing culture of new media and new ideas…if you always stick to the play book or the rules or guidelines or whatever you want to call it…you will loose the game at some point.

One of the things as a marketer I know is you MUST have the ability to change and adapt quickly and go with your gut for what the situation dictates.

When we were playing basketball, we could execute a play over and over and over again and it would work every time…until that one time where it was not working…as soon as we would see the play wasn’t working we stopped the play and just played the game…time to focus on the basket and go for the best shot, the best way you know how. It’s that simple.

If you always play by the rules without knowing how to play outside the rules then you or you business will be viewed as old fashion, obsolete, not up with the changing market, etc…you will get passed by, over looked and the little guy in the corner that is flexible in his approach will win every time. But remember, it helps to know the play or rules in order to change at a moments notice.

Does it mean you abandon the play or rules every time? No…you have to have a foundation that you know works. I’m saying that it might not work every time. You have to know when to change and adapt so that you can play the game in order to get the desired result.

Experience and maturity help in knowing the bigger picture of how your game is supposed to be played. Just don’t forget to play with lots of energy. Experience and maturity combined with energy leads to powerful knowledge that will get you through your game of business in the best way possible.

Where do you sit in the game? Are you so ridged that you ALWAYS follow the play or are you flexible enough to change to get the desired end result?

For me community is having a close group of friends that I experience life with. Most of these friends know so much about me and are willing to be there for me, and I for them, at a moments notice.

I think most people want to feel connected to others in someway. I’m pretty grateful for being an extroverted relational guy. It makes it really easy for me to make friends quickly, but there are times when my extroverted ways get me in a place of being too busy. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. It’s a good problem to have. I think without that sense of community and being busy I would feel a little lost. Plus, it makes the quite down times even sweeter.

What community provides for me is support, connection, belonging, and growth. I find these to be a vital part of what makes me tick, what makes me passionate and what makes me want to be effective in everything I do.

Community makes me want to see others succeed and to finish well. It makes me want to pour into others and invest time into the well being of those around me.

I love to connect people to each other and this just expands the community around me. I love the saying Rising tides lift all ships. As a community when we grow together we succeed together.

So… Do you have a community of people around you? If not… take your time and build one. You can do it. If you do have a community around you, then what does community mean for you and what part do you play in your community?

I’ve spent the past couple of days having some very deep discussions on God, relationships, and life in general. Conversations that really open my mind to who I am.

Asking where does God fit in all of this is always an interesting discussion because I know I have moved on from the typical churchy mindset. You see the older I get the more I realize how wonderfully imperfect my relationship with God really is. I say wonderfully imperfect because I don’t think God ever intended for us to have a perfect relationship with him. Why is that? Simple… I’m not perfect and neither are you. Forget what the church says, what you pastor tells you, what your small group leader suggests and especially check yourself on what I am saying, but God is the only perfect one in this relationship right? And just because God is perfect does not mean the relationship is perfect… there’s still me and my not-so-perfect ways for God to deal with me in this relationship.

So… let’s assume everyone reading this blog knows the ups and downs of a relationship. (Married, boyfriend/girlfriend, friendships…etc… whatever kind of relationship you can think of is what I’m talking about here.) Relationships ebb and flow … they have great moments, hard moments and stale moments.

So… if this is the case, then from my end of the relationship why would I think my relationship with God be any different? I’m human right? I make mistakes, I question God, get angry with God at times, and I tell Him about it. When I’m happy and I see what God has put in front of me, so-to-speak, I go Thanks God… that was really cool or Ok… I get it, I know you are there and you are the only one that could have made this moment happen so thank you for that.

I guess I’m realizing more and more that my relationship with God has more to do with how the two of us engage each other and less to do with what I’m “supposed” (in the churches eyes) to do to make this relationship stronger. I feel myself being challenged on what God really thinks.

For instance… have you every thought about things this way? Two believers get married and so we naturally think this marriage is what God wants. Well… so how do we really know? Do we assume that just because two believers get married that God approves because they believe in Him and might have a relationship with Him? The divorce rate is just as high for believers as non believers, so why would we think God always approves of marriages between two believers… what if God was thinking  Well… this is your choice but there’s actually someone else who is a better fit for you.

So… just a few thoughts for the day… feel free to discuss.