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I love technology and how it has helped me learn and even provide for my family. But I think there is one important thing that we’ve lost (maybe you haven’t, but I certainly have)…

Deep thought about others.

Let me explain.

I’ve been reading Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson. We know so much about Benjamin Franklin because of his letters to family, friends, foes, and others. Think of the difference between his letters and our emails, though… often those letters would take not only days, but sometimes weeks to arrive. A simple “never mind that last email” wasn’t as easy to write – or a simple correction to a flippantly sent text wasn’t possible. So much thought and intention went into each one of those letters. So much time was spent thinking about others while those letters were being written.

Physically writing letters forces us to slow down our thought process and be intentional with each word we write – which forces us to think about the person to whom we are writing and our relationship with them!

Think about FaceTime, or even texting. About the deepest we usually go with our loved ones when we’re apart is, “I miss you.” Maybe it’s just me, but it’s easier for me to convey the deeper thoughts of my heart through a longer letter to someone rather than in a text or a FaceTime conversation – or in-person for that matter.

Don’t you have people in your life that deserve more of your thought time? I sure do. Reading this book has made me realize that I don’t give as much well-deserved thought-time towards those that I love.

Off to writing a letter…

How often could we benefit from stopping and simply starting over? When is that the best course of action?

For some things, it means that we might completely scrap the whole thing and start over. Furniture makers, artists, or other craftsman hate to admit this, but sometimes they admit it’s best to take their losses and start from scratch.

For other things we don’t need to completely start over, but reset back a little ways. I’ve done this on projects before, where I know there’s a solid foundation of work done that I can go back to and begin (again) from that point. Good coders and developers are excellent at this.

This next year (2016) is going to be a restart for me in many areas. There will be a little bit of starting from scratch, and a lot of re-focusing where I’m heading and in which direction I need to go.

Here is a list of areas where I’ll be restarting this next year.

• Exercise: This hasn’t been a priority, but it will be moving forward.
• Work: I’m going to refocus what businesses are capturing my attention and where my time is focused in running my businesses.
• Family: Scheduling intentional time with my family more than a week out.
• Creativity: My goal in 2016 is to create more than I consume. Ask me how that’s going to look in about a month.

What does that mean for this blog? Right now I’m not sure. It may mean a refocus. All I know is that my own adventure in maturing ‘from boy to man’ has been quite a wild ride, and I would like to share more of my thoughts, struggles, ideas, and victories with anyone who might care to read.

Thanks for sticking with me. Here’s to growth and progress in 2016.

Jason

What areas in your life do you need to restart in this next year?

What does it mean to become a man? When does that happen? How does that happen?

These are the questions that I continue to struggle with myself, and that I struggle with as I raise (at this point in time) 2 boys into becoming men someday.

As we try to define what a ‘true man’ is like (his characteristics, attributes, nature, etc.), we need to have some sort of standard – some kind of principles with which to begin. As I try to find the principles that define what it means to be a true man, I want to be open about where I am finding those principles. First and foremost, I look to God. I believe that the God of the Bible has the greatest intentions for men, and desires for us to become the men that He has created us to be. He also has given us some pretty good (and also some pretty poor) examples in the Bible itself.

I want to earn your trust, though. I don’t want men to not listen simply because they either don’t believe in God, or don’t believe that He has anything good to say. Please don’t confuse what God has to say with what other people have interpreted Him to say. For every good example of a Christian man, I’m convinced there are many bad examples. I’m sorry if you have been hurt, abused, or led astray by one of those bad examples. I know that God is sorry as well, and I believe (He actually says this) that those men would have been better off “with a millstone hung around their neck and were thrown into the sea.” (Mark 9:42)

So, from this point onward, I believe coming up with the definition of a ‘true man’ has to include talking about the God of Christianity. I plan on being honest and open about my beliefs and struggles as a Christian, and I hope you can be honest about where you are at in life as well – no matter where you are at in your spiritual life or any other area.

I would love if you would join with me in this great journey – or continue on with me. By no means have I arrived, nor will I ever arrive at true manhood. I simply want to be open about my progress, how I process things, and how I consider raising my boys into men.

I’m convinced that our world would be a better place if more men stepped up to become true men – men that they were created to be.

Thanks for joining me. I hope to hear about your progress along the way as well.