Waking and Sleeping

I awoke early this morning... the dog and a mess on the floor at 4 am. I won't go into that any more. I couldn't get back to sleep because I have a lot on my mind. I spent some time praying, reading my bible (John 4: did you know that in the time of His ministry people thought there was a "baptism battle" between John the Baptist and Jesus. To take the focus off the perceived competition, Jesus left town. Hmmm.) and catching up on my email/facebook/twitter/blogs. I came across this article in the Harvard Business Review blog. His second point encourages making two lists. The first is what gets you up in the morning. The second is what keeps you up at night. Now that would be a good practice.

The author and founder of Fast Company Magazine, Alan Webber, goes on to say, "Managers and leaders have got to know themselves before they know their businesses. They've got to have passion for their work and concern for their world. Otherwise they're just punching the time clock and risking every one's future." Passion and Concern. These sound like spiritual issues to me. On his site he doesn't claim any particular connection to a spiritual expression, but this sure reminds me of the expressions of God in the biblical Prophets.

So what is your passion that gives you a reason to get up in the morning? What concerns of the world so occupy your mind that you stay up at night? The answers to these two questions should have a lot to do with what you do in the hours in between.