“Average” is the top of the bottom, the best of the worst, the bottom of the top, the worst of the best.” ~John C. Maxwell
It was October 1984, and I remember the event like it was yesterday. My sister-in-law Donna had talked me into attending a women’s retreat at a hotel in Houston. The speaker was Florence Littauer and the theme of the weekend was It Takes So Little To Be Above Average, which is a title of one of Florence’s books.
That weekend was memorable in so many ways. We were eating dinner in the lobby of the hotel on Friday before the conference began and this strikingly-beautiful woman walks up and says, “Hi, I’m Florence Littauer,” and proceeds to meet every one of us at the table. I was more than a little impressed because she had just modeled for me what it looks like to be “a little above average.”
Over the twenty-five years I sat under Florence’s teaching, I can honestly say that I learned something new every time I heard her speak. Florence is, without a doubt, one of my greatest mentors in the area of speaking and writing.
As I think about getting started in our next session of First Place 4 Health, just what would it take for a member to be a little above average? Well, I believe the member would…
- attend every one of the twelve meetings
- do the Bible study every week.
- contact their prayer partner every week.
- turn in a Tracker every week.
- memorize the memory verse every week.
- begin a regular exercise routine (and do it).
What do you think might happen if our members did these “a little above average” actions for a full twelve weeks? What I can guarantee is that those members would lose “a little above average” weight this fall.
What would it look like if a First Place 4 Health Leader decided to be just “a little above average” this session? This leader would…
- have a plan to make a personal contact with every member during the 12 weeks.
- do everything listed above so that the member could follow their example as I followed Florence’s.
- set a goal to lose a specific number of pounds this session, if you are not at your weight goal, and then DO IT.
Everything rises and falls on leadership. If the leader doesn’t do it, the members will also find it hard to do.
Personally, I am more than a little excited about this next session. My class and I are going to all be “a little above average.”
The Apostle Paul said it best, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
Carole Lewis