Our books and discussions are often full of a dead, theological and merely ideological Christ. We need to rediscover this living Chris, whom only the Spirit can stir up in us. We need to rediscover this personal experience of Jesus, who died and was raised for me.
Blog: Web, Video, and Catholicism
Magnanimity is the insatiable appetite for great things; the magnanimous person is one whose heart is set on conquering the world and achieving personal excellence
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Magnanimity is the virtue of aggressiveness; it is ever prepared to attack, to conquer, to act with the impetuosity of a lion.
— Chapter 1, Created for Greatness: The Power of Magnanimity
The Church does not contradict itself, and Jesus does not contradict Himself. For twenty centuries this is how saints have become holy. At the beginning of a spiritual journey, grace is experienced in gifts and great consolations, so that a person may become detached from the world and make a decision for God. But afterward, once a person is detached fro the world, the Spirit urges that individual to go the “narrow way” of the gospel, the way of mortification, obedience, and humility. There is no reason that the Lord today would radically change His method and make saints in a different way, a way paved with sweetness and lofty experiences from the beginning to the end. It is impossible to see why of how He would have them go from glory to glory without having them go from cross to cross.
— Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication of the Spirit
It is true that we should emphasize faith and the joy of the Resurrection to the extreme, but the balance does not lie in scaling back to moderate doses of self-denial and of the cross. That is an entirely human way of thinking. The balance comes only in carrying both to the extremes: fully accepting the cross in the depths of our souls so that we can fully experience the Resurrection in the depths of our souls.
— Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Sober Intoxication of the Spirit
Leaders make their dreams come true through hard work and persistence, qualities that distinguish magnanimity from vanity: “Vanity,” says the French philosopher Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, “loves the honor and prestige that comes from great things, whereas magnanimity loves the work and effort that has to be done to achieve them
— Virtuous Leadership, Chapter I - Magnanimity
Humility is the habit of living in the truth about one’s metaphysical condition, and one’s strengths and weaknesses. It is also the habit of service to family and friends, colleagues and clients, society at large, and indeed all of humanity. Humility fosters in leaders the ambition to serve unconditionally
— Virtuous Leadership, Part I
But I think the most important trade deficit we now face may not be in capital, but in ambition. At a 2008 conference in Brazil, business leaders explained why they are investing so much in countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Russia. It’s not merely that these emerging markets are eclipsing the “dinosaurs” in the Unites States in terms of economic growth rates and other objectives parameters. There is something else going on as well, something harder to measure, but more fundamental. Roger Agnelli is a senior executive at Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, a Brazilian mining enterprise that is now the world’s second-largest mining company. Agnelli put it this way: his company is keen on China because “That’s where the ambition is.
— Boys Adift, P. 224
Lowercase Genius
“Are you saying that I have to be some sort of genius to do this? … The problem is with the word genius is that Estien ruined it, cause when we say genius with think all capital letters… thats not the kind of genius I’m talking about. I’m talking about the genius of being a human being, the genius of bringing something else to the table.”
– Seth Godin
Business of Software Conference
I’ve been absolutely loving listening to and reading Seth Godin’s thoughts on marketing and what he calls the “post-industrial revolution”. I haven’t found myself strongly disagreeing with any of his thoughts so far – I really think he is nailing what it means to be a marketer in the current business / social environment.
I read a post titled “stop doing stupid stuff” a while back and those four words haven’t stopped echoing in my head. If we are beginning with the end in mind we should be stripping the “stupid stuff” from our daily/weekly activities and instead concentrate on our genius. The things that are obvious to us but amazing to others.
Climb the Mountain
I was just reading David DeWolfs blog and found myself strongly agreeing with the following paragraph:
…past three months have been so busy that I have lowered my own expectations of myself. My follow-ups have slipped, my focus on the people has softened, my promptness has nearly disappeared, and I have failed to spend time reading books like Dr. Meeker’s in order to ensure I am sharpening my own skills as a husband, father, employer, and team mate.
It is really easy to convince myself that I’m doing ‘good enough’. That those times when I treat people with less dignity or respect than they deserve are acceptable mistakes for ‘how much I have on my plate’.
I don’t think this is the model that Christ gave us.
Christ knows what it is to be human and opens His endless mercy towards us when we fail, but this does not mean that we should accept those failures as necessary or acceptable. It is so easy to compare ourselves to others, to accomplish just what is necessary but never strive for greatness – especially in our spiritual lives.
Christ warns us strongly of mediocrity in Luke’s account of the Parable of the Talents:
…so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
In my reflection on this passage, it isn’t so much that the wicked servant didn’t do anything. He protected and preserved what was given to him. What makes him wicked is that he knew what he had but settled for mediocrity, he didn’t seek the greatness which his master expected of him. Christ expects greatness, He expects a return on what He has gifted us.
I think this is what Blessed Pier Giorgio meant when he exclaimed “To the heights!”, what motivated Blessed John Paul II to challenge us to “You must make demands on yourselves, even if others do not make demands on you.”;
As with many spiritual lessons, they extend to our professional lives. Our work is God given, and thus we should apply the same principals that guide us through our spiritual life to the way we conduct ourselves professionally.
Do Unto Others
Reading this post from Maurilio Amorim confirmed some thoughts I had after reading Getting to Yes. One of the personal changes that Maurilio made when approaching others was:
3. Show genuine interest in others. The more insecure I am the more I want to talk about my accomplishments and drop names of famous people I know or claim to know. If you want to make friends fast, get to know your new friend better and get them talking about their lives instead of yours. You’ll have a new friend in no time.
This resonates very strongly with me. Not because this is an ‘effective’ way of starting friendships, but because it is what is due to others. I shouldn’t have interest in others because of what they can do for me, but instead because they are a individual person created by God. From what I’ve read this is how St. Francis and John Paul II lived their lives, and most importantly, how Christ led his life.
Getting to Yes focused on separating the person from the problem, not attacking the person in order to achieve personal gain in a negotiating agreement, and seeking to find mutually beneficial solutions to complex solutions rather than focusing on ‘what I want’. As I was reading through the book I couldn’t help but notice that the ethic they were proposing for treating the people involved in a negotiation was very Catholic. Although to anyone who has studied Church teaching on work this is obvious, I often forget how Catholic a professional and effective business person looks like.
…there was never a man who looked into those brown burning eyes without being certain that Francis Bernardone was really interested in him; in his own inner individual life from the cradle to the grave
— Saint Francis of Assisi P. 88. Reminds me of personalistic norm described by Blessed John Paul II.
…he speaks of two ways to strive toward virtue: either being “pushed” by obligation or “pain”, or being “pulled” by aspiration or longing. We all have a bit of both, he concludes, but we stand to make better progress if we increasingly seek the latter method: perceiving God as good and magnificent, holy and loving, and thus wanting to be with Him.
Reason for Blogging
The new Cliff Side site has been launched with a new blog, if you use Tumblr, you can follow us or subscribe via RSS. This blog will eventually be a conglomerate of a couple authors, but for now you’ll be hearing from me (Michael Bianco).
I hope to share ideas and thoughts about Catholicism, social media, marketing, web development, creative and thought provoking videos, and anything else interesting we come across.
The current internet milieu expects you to blog, but this shouldn’t be the motivation for starting a blog and ‘creating’ posts. This goes for Twitter, Facebook, etc – social media for the sake of social media doesn’t accomplish much. As with most things – in marketing, design, or the spiritual life - progress doesn’t occur through following a pre-made script that someone else wrote. Success comes from intentional leadership, through being proactive.
The intention behind this blog is best articulated by two of the reason’s outlined in this article:
Blogging forces me to keep learning. It’s easy when you’re climbing to stay sharp because you’re always looking for the next opportunity. But what happens when you become CEO? I meet so many peers who just gave up on learning. The very thing that led them to the top – creative, new ideas – is the very thing lacking in their work today.
Blogging helps me sharpen my ideas. … Blogging allows me to share ideas and offers an easy, simple, and fast way for people to affirm, challenge, or negate them. This refines my thinking and strategy in ways no amount of sterile data ever could.
I look forward to sharing ideas, thoughts, and reflections with you.