Men

“It’s the job that’s never started as takes longest to finish.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

This year has proven to be a real challenge in business. A growing family and large ministry movements and pressures have sapped creative and productive energy from the entrepreneurial efforts – yet in this is a formation.

What would have been difficult even a year ago is becoming lighter to handle. It’s not unexpected of course, when you exercise, you can take more weight and reps. Positioning your feet on stable ground is easy to do, but when the boat is rocking you need to earn your sea legs. This formation is solidifying and clarifying the next steps with Righteous Co.

What is getting clear through this formation is a suite of options to help men grow – spiritually and productively. As a man, I see genuine masculinity under assault in society. I hear from men all the time of the struggles they face – faith, direction, commitment, fatigue, goals, and accountability with the families, lives, and dreams they lead. I feel all of this not because I’m on the clouds above it but because I’ve been working through it all myself.

Men need men as iron sharpens iron. How the Lord is working in this, in the time I can offer in this season is coming into the mountains this weekend with me. I’m not expecting to come down as Moses with stone tablets but simply letting the Lord work internally so I can give externally in service of my fellow man.

Pray for us as I’ll be praying for you!

— Adam Jarosz

Founder/Leadership Coach

Righteous Co.

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This article is from Righteous Co.’s weekly newsletter, The Climb. If you want to see content like this and more, subscribe here to get The Climb right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along on Instagram @righteousco.

To The Mountains

“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.”

Theodore Roosevelt

We’re last call for our second Iron Ore: ADK Men’s Retreat. I’m excited to head back to the Adirondacks – the fresh mountain air, the green and sappy evergreens, and rocky vistas. Beautiful. It’s really God’s country out there. New York has some excellent natural features and the ADK is at the top of the list.

This is the backdrop to the ADK series as we tackle the top three mountains in NY. Last year and the year before the test run was Whiteface. Rigorous and wild, victory and defeat. A storm chased us off in the test but we came back to win it last year. This year, we’re on to number two with Algonquin.

The physical challenge is genuine but it’s only a part of the experience. Where the real metal is formed is in the heart of the retreat – to open up to what the Creator is calling you to do in this season of life. When do we make time for that?

The physical mountain is perennial, but the answers to the proverbial mountains in our life have answers. We don’t need to be stuck there. So as the saying goes, “Come with a why and leave with a purpose,” is true. We have extraordinary purpose, whether it is small or large, this life isn’t to be wasted. But sometimes we need to be proactive and make the time to get clear. That’s where this experience sits.

If you or a man in your life needs to make that space to get clear and tackle the challenge, it’s not to late. Message me and let’s get out there! If this isn’t the right time, we’re on for the last Adirondack high peaks next August 25-27 with the highest peak, Marcy. After this, there is no guarantee we’ll be back but we will move ahead with the next amazing round of Iron.

Pray for us.

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This article is from Righteous Co.’s weekly newsletter, The Climb. If you want to see content like this and more, subscribe here to get The Climb right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along on Instagram @righteousco.

Mind Dump & Priorities

“Man must be disciplined, for he is by nature raw and wild.”

Immanual Kant

*Quick note* I missed my first Climb last week. We had a killer event in youth ministry, YouCon and I was on full afterburners all week. I’m sorry I missed you – but if I was going to break goal for something, this would be it. Now back at it.

This is a follow-up to the last Climb, “The Weekly Planning Session”. If you want to get more out of organizing all that you do, check it out. This is a natural follow-up because it breaks down the mind dump and how to prioritize it into what’s useful. As a leader of any project or business, especially when also navigating family, you need to prioritize what is coming at you. It’s just as important to say no to things that come your way as it is to say yes. All things are not created equally on your list.

Mind Dump: All is fair game here. This is the battleground of ideas and to-dos. Whatever comes your way put it down so you can recognize it and get it off your personal RAM. You can discard it later, but for now, put it down.

For example, here is a list of some items from this week that make my mind dump…

Mind Dump

Fix oven – igniter

Personal Retreat I

• Mass, confession, journal, praise & worship – St. Michael’s
• Answer big questions
• Reflection – Wilkenson Point
• Day 2 – SWOT and further probing
• Energy recoop

Iron Ore Retreat outreach

YouCon recap, budget, timeline for next year

Clean the toilet

Vacuum

Buy black rifle coffee at Cabelas – yum

Convert kids savings to UTMA

Read third book of Space Trilogy

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Ok, there are some of my items simplified. Let’s prioritize using the priority quadrants underneath. It’s easy to click, copy and paste into position…

Quad 1 – Urgent & Important. These are the fires on your mind and desk. ASAP’s. Not fake ones, but the real you need this done today list because it’s due-or-die today. If it’s not do-or-die, then it’s just fodder for…

Fix oven – igniter

Iron Ore Retreat outreach

Personal Retreat I

• Mass, confession, journal, praise & worship – St. Michael’s
• Answer big questions
• Reflection – Wilkenson Point
• Day 2 – SWOT and further probing
• Energy recoop

Quad 2 – Urgent & Unimportant. This is the list where other people’s items go that don’t actually move your needle. Just because someone has an urgent item, doesn’t mean it’s your priority. This list can actually eat your time up so fast you never settle into work that matter to you, the stuff only you can do. You can also add your own items here and feel good about saying no to them.

Clean the toilet

Vacuum

Quad 3 – Not Urgent & Important. This is my favorite list. This is where your big ideas and dreams reside. You have time to let them bake. This is deep work level that moves your initiative beyond burnout and into purpose. Don’t let it get too crowded and protect it like a baby condor.

YouCon recap, budget, timeline for next year

Convert kids savings to UTMA

Quad 4 – Not Urgent & Not Important. The runner-up to the favorite. This is where the bad ideas and “no’s” go to die. After dumping them above, I will recognize it and intentionally put it out to pasture and wipe it out. It doesn’t belong and is taking up mental RAM from things I really need to and want to work on. IF it is intriguing enough it may reside for a couple of Weekly Planning Sessions until I delete it for good or reprioritize, but it usually means death here.

Buy black rifle coffee at Cabelas – yum 

Read third book of Space Trilogy – may linger until I get started

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I hope this helps! I find this system to be relevant in most of my work but will sometimes fatigue and simplify for a season and come back with renewed organizational vigor to tackle the next round of challenges.

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This article is from Righteous Co.’s weekly newsletter, The Climb. If you want to see content like this and more, subscribe here to get The Climb right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along on Instagram @righteousco.

The Weekly Planning Session

“Security is defined by ones ability to produce.”

General Douglas MacArthur

Do you feel like you have a lot of responsibility and need to organize it? How do you keep yourself on track and prioritize? You might have your own systems in place for keeping all that you do in check – but in the case that you don’t, check out this system I picked up along the way starting with Brett McKay’s version and adding processes along the way.

I feel like I’m drinking from a fire hose often so to keep track of it all I do a Weekly Planning Session at the start of each week. I’ll get a cup of coffee and lay out my agenda and priorities for the week. This format is best done digitally but you could certainly do it on paper too, just with a little more writing. Evernote is my favorite tool for storing all my notes and creating a log. I have years of workflow now logged with dates. I carry over from the previous week on a new page, copy & paste from the last, and delete the completed/redundant/consciously-low-priority items. 

I’ll share my personal session and format below with notes in red as commentary. I’ve streamlined my lists to the basics below…

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Weekly Planning Session 7/25/22

Big Rocks – These are the biggest projects on my horizon. I keep them at the forefront because it reminds me every day of what’s ahead and how to prioritize. See my “big rocks vs little rocks” article for more here. Big Rocks get their own planning pages.

Stage Curtain Project – imminent 

Building / Basement Project – on-going

YouCon – August 5-6, 2022 – imminent

Iron Ore – August 26-27 – short and ready

Brave IV – October 21-23 – medium and started

HS Spring Retreat – March 24-26 – long

YouCon II – August – distant

Daily Freshers – I leave things here that are inspiring and challenging me to stay sharp. I need that in front of my eyes.

Victory.

• How to make a victory?
• What goals do we/I need to focus on to obtain victory for?
• Art Williams
  • What’s the big dream/vision?
  • Gotta have an edge – better at something than everyone else. What is that?
  • Positivity – 98% of winning is being excited. Be positive, aggressive, enthusiastic
• Stay disciplined
• How do we get on the street? Main street and Spot/Starbucks
  • Out & Abouts
  • Relational Ministry – Tacos, coffees

Mind dump – This is where the magic happens. No matter what comes to mind, this is your dumping ground so you don’t lose track of tasks and ideas. All is fair game here from the mundane (get staples to “MAN, I just came up with an incredible idea to change the world!”). This becomes an active workspace over the week as you prioritize and scratch them off

Righteous-Discipline for 2022 – I’ve incorporated an exercise from a mastermind group here, a word or phrase to filter life/labor through for the year

• Order lights
• Order banners
• Order memory cards
• Admin
  • Submit receipts – ASAP
  • Reimbursements from personal CC
• Call Stella 
  • Needs help with YA ministry
  • YA population: 10-15 people (17-18 mostly, 20’s and 30’s missing). Has relationships with 3-4 of them.
  • Urban setting, Eastside
  • Neighborhood has young adults
• Call back Brian – wants to be added to list
• Call Jesse from Good Shepard after connecting with Sara post-YouCon. Prolife ideas
• Get back to Rachel about insurance
• Tell AM / FL about Mark Hart insurance
• Life Teen subscription to pay Sept 1?
• Kaitlyn settled email from Typa
• Post Coffee Talks
• Amped incoming, Ukraine roundup!

If needed, I’ll further filter my priorities. Not all things are created in your to-do. Say “yes” to what needs to be said yes to but let “no” be something you’re not afraid of.

Urgent & Important

Splash youth ministry day

Call Joe Zambon Called 11:15am

secure help

Training catechists next Thursday at 7pm 

Get dates to Fr. Leon about calendar and Encounter

Submit my hours and sick day – Due Monday 6/6[x]

Get the receipts and monthly credit card statement turned in.

Urgent & Unimportant

Fill out the request for Ramseys

I’m told to kick rocks

Not Urgent & Important

Place new contacts in the system from the sign ins and permission slips

Get the receipt from the pizza night and submit the payment from 21 teens and 3 chaperones

Plan out productivity

Focus Seek – January 1-5 in TX

Not Urgent & Unimportant

Order SGYM jackets

Go through the Life Teen materials

Cookie Dough with the ladies – need eggs

Sell concessions at the sports games next year?

Brothers of Mercy campus- in need of servers – part time 3:30-7:30pm

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I’ll track other things below that, like an update on financials and further organizational processes, you can tailor from here. Maybe you’ll find this one helpful but I’d love to hear what you do to get your dreaming and doing done! Thanks to Evernote, I can access this on any device and on the go. It acts as my personal dashboard and keeps my workflow in front of me – has been essential as I lead on many fronts. 

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This article is from Righteous Co.’s weekly newsletter, The Climb. If you want to see content like this and more, subscribe here to get The Climb right in your email box, every Righteous Wednesday. You can also follow along on Instagram @righteousco.