I’m excited about my upcoming talk at TEDx Front Range.
I’ll encourage the audience to follow big dreams. At one point I’ll show this picture and ask them to consider an important insight: When you help someone climb a hill, you end up at the top.
I borrowed these thoughts from the archives to illustrate my idea.
To me, the word ENCOURAGE means “giving courage to someone else.” The photo illustrate a challenge, and I’ll ask listeners to think of someone they know who is facing a difficult life obstacle. I’ll ask them to picture that person standing at the bottom, looking up at an apparently insurmountable climb, and saying, “I can’t do it. It’s too hard. I quit.”
ENCOURAGE means to come alongside, put an arm on a shoulder, and say, “Come on. We can do this. I’ll help.”
ENCOURAGE is more than cheering from the sidelines. It’s entering the field, taking a few steps, sharing the struggle. It’s literally showing someone how to have courage.
And here’s an interesting dynamic:
When you help someone climb a hill, you end up at the top.
Encouragers become more courageous. Giving away courage is like giving away love—the more you give, the more you have.
For clients in a rehab center, kids feeling lost on a university campus, and perhaps you and me—it’s a cool image of how God’s design for community works.
Want to find courage? Encourage someone—don’t just cheer, but engage, take a few hard steps with them.
It’s a great way to get up the hill.
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