Issue No. 539 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting includes a Pop Quiz and recommends the perfect book for your Christmas gift-giving from Aaron Tredway. He asks: Is your target success or significance? And this reminder: click here to download free resources from the 20 management buckets (core competencies), click here for over 500 book reviews, and click here for the table of contents to Mastering 100 Must-Read Books (a perfect Christmas gift for a leader/reader). 
How might your day be different if every step reminded you of Mother Teresa and Johann Sebastian Bach’s “S.D.G.” signature, Soli Deo Gloria? Order the shoes from Saints and Sneakers! Men's shoe. Women's shoe.
Tredway’s Treadmills or S.D.G.?
Several years ago, when I reviewed Aaron Tredway’s book, Outrageous, I thought, “Aaron’s outdone himself. He couldn’t possibly write a book better than this one. The stories are…well, so outrageous. Stunning, really.”
Example: Read the eyebrow-raising account in Outrageous of Aaron’s professional basketball career debut as the only American on the Tajikistan National Basketball Association team. (It’s scary hilarious!) Aaron notes: “As it turned out, I also got paid to play in that basketball game. The payment? One live goat. Apparently that made me one of the highest paid players in the league!” (Read more here.)
So when I read Aaron’s latest book—I was amazed. More outrageous stories. More insights. And deep. (Few authors score multiple must-read books.) My suggestion: order several copies as very special Christmas gifts for staff members, emerging leaders, family members, and others. You’ll resonate with the truths and the stories in Don’t Miss Your Life: The Secret to Significance.
Aaron Tredway warns that it’s way too easy to aim for the wrong target in life. His new book is so, so timely. The FIFA World Cup final game is Dec. 18, 2022. (Oops. The U.S. didn’t make it.) While Tredway is now a pastor and ministry leader, he also invested 20 years as a player, coach, and executive in professional soccer on six continents. He is also the founder of the Cleveland City Stars soccer team. His first book, To Who, was written for players and fans at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Weary of the “success” treadmill, Tredway’s personal target evolved towards God-honoring significance. His goal became this Scripture: “So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” He adds,
“I used to write that Scripture verse on my cleats when I played soccer. Sometimes I’d write in Latin—Soli Deo Gloria—it means the same thing. I stole the idea from the seventeenth-century composer Johann Sebastian Bach. He would never sign his name on any musical score, he’d simply write the initials S.D.G. in the bottom right corner when he was satisfied with his work.”
“I started writing it on my cleats long before I lived it as my purpose.”
So Tredway asks us, “Do you live for the significance of God or the significance of yourself?” (Do you see why his book is the perfect Christmas gift?) For more on Bach and S.D.G., click here to listen to “5 Minutes in Church History.” (LOL!)
Tredway writes about the time he flew from Africa to Singapore. “The Singaporean Professional Soccer League isn’t one of the best in the world, but they pay well.” Yet on his first day on the practice field, he heard God’s voice.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“That’s what God said,” admits Aaron, but… “I didn’t pay attention.” God spoke to him again, “You don’t have to do this.”
“I’ve noticed God doesn’t use a microphone, but he does speak,” adds Aaron. “It wasn’t audible. It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t condemning. But only God could know my greatest goal was approval.” (Aaron explains.) The result?
“‘Thanks for having me, Coach.’ That’s what I said as I walked onto the field for my first practice in Singapore. I never actually touched the ball. I flew back to Africa that night.”
I’ve rarely read a book that is both convicting and fun with both poignant stories and pregnant pauses—occasional moments to drink deeply from a diversity of authors and notables such as Mother Teresa, Homer, C.S. Lewis, 50 Cent, Deion Sanders, Kobe, and many others. Reflect on this from D.L. Moody:
but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.”
And speaking of treadmills (hmmm…Tredway’s Treadmills?), Aaron invests several pages in “The Hedonic Treadmill.” The two charts are memorable. He quotes Shakespeare: “Happy thou art not, for what thou hast not, still thou striv’st to get, and what thou hast, forget’st.” Aaron summarizes:
• “Thou striv’st.
• Thou get’st.
• Thou like’st.
• Thou forget’st.”
That’s the hedonic treadmill (Desire, Strive, Obtain, Enjoy—then repeat). Read more here. The treadmill reminded me of a recent Wall Street Journal article that asked, “How would you feel if an anonymous benefactor gave you $10,000 to spend within the next three months, no strings attached? Would suddenly being flush with cash fill you with joy?” (Read more.)
In the book, Tredway describes his visit to Mother Teresa’s home for terminally ill women. The home radiated joy! He notes Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s “calling card” and mantra: “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”
Order these Mother Teresa/S.D.G. shoes from Saints and Sneakers. Women's shoe. Men's shoe.
So what’s your calling card? What’s your target—success or significance? Tredway points us to Matthew 6:21, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” He continues, “I don’t know if Jesus ever did archery in high school, but I’m pretty sure he’s saying that whatever you aim at, what you most pursue, that’s where the majority of your attention, affection, and effort will be.”
“Have you ever noticed, Jesus doesn’t say we should aspire to hear God say,
• ‘Well done, good and successful servant!’
• ‘There’s no mention of a good and famous servant or a good and wealthy servant.’
• ‘Jesus doesn’t say we should seek to hear the words, good and powerful servant either.’”
“It makes me wonder,” writes Tredway, “will anyone arrive in heaven and say to God,
• ‘I wish I had kept my house cleaner!’
• Or, ‘I wish I had mowed my lawn more.’
• Or, ‘I wish I had a more prestigious title.’
• Or, ‘I wish I had been more consumed by my job.’”
Not you? Not convicted yet? No problem. Tredway has a pop quiz for you. He asks: how addicted to success are you? He lists 10 symptoms of “Success Sickness.” They include: Insecurity, Insomnia, Loneliness, Dissatisfaction, Workaholism, Perfectionism, Burnout (see the new book below), Addiction, Risk-Taking, and Imposter Syndrome.
His color commentary for each symptom is…well, convicting. How many symptoms did you check? Tredway surmises, “I’m guessing the over-under on this little assessment is six or seven. Maybe you got eight?” He adds:
“The point here isn’t to shame you but to show you that success as the target of life is woefully inadequate. In a recent study, over 60 percent of American adults said they are too busy to enjoy life. Parents, it’s worse for you. Seventy-four percent of American parents say they are too busy to enjoy life.”
As you consider who on your Christmas gift list would appreciate this book, include yourself. Don’t Miss Your Life is well worth the read. Twice. Aaron Tredway is the real deal (and he’s also climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro—all 19,341 feet! Oh, my. You must read that story!). To learn more about Ambassadors Football International, where Tredway also serves as vice president, click here. To view his message, “Don’t Miss Your Life,” click here. And to listen to the unSeminary podcast interview with Aaron, click here.
If you still need a push, Tredway offers this from D.A. Carson:
To order from Amazon, click on the title for Don’t Miss Your Life: The Secret to Significance, by Aaron Tredway. And thanks to Jon Ortlip of Ambassadors Football for hand-delivering a review copy! Click here for the creative World Cup 2022 resources available from Ambassadors Football.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) Is your target success or significance? Pick one of the 10 “Success Sickness” symptoms and describe how that one might be an obstacle to focusing on God-honoring significance.
2) In Chapter 9, “Give Your Life Away,” Aaron Tredway shares the story of Mahatma Gandhi when he was in law school in London. In those days (circa 1888), the British Rail Company had a policy to stop at rail stations only “if there were white passengers waiting at the station.” When the train didn’t stop for Gandhi, he sprinted after the train, losing one shoe in the process—before successfully jumping on board. “Gandhi immediately reached down, grabbed his other shoe, and threw that shoe onto the train track as well.” Why? Gandhi’s response: “The one who finds my shoe shall now have a pair.” What was Gandhi’s target? Why?
Mastering 100 Must-Read Books - Part 2: Books-of-the-Year
Book #10 of 100:
The Power of Moments
For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by spotlighting Book #10 in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.
The Power of Moments:
Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact
by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
Books #6 through #21 feature 16 books that I named the Book-of-the-Year from 2006 to 2020. Reading Book #10, I wondered how pastors could best inspire a congregation—weekend after weekend, 52 weeks a year. (Is that even possible?) You’ll learn that creative teams can create extraordinary experiences along the way—by defying “the forgettable flatness of everyday work and life by creating a few precious moments.” (p. 265).
• Read my review.
• Order from Amazon: The Power of Moments
• Download the 100 Must-Read Books list (from John and Jason Pearson)
Don’t skip the insights about a weeklong program, the Course Design Institute (CDI). “The dirty secret of higher education [and maybe seminaries?] is that the faculty aren’t taught how to teach,” says Michael Palmer, a chemistry prof at the University of Virginia. So Palmer invites groups of 25 to 30 profs, per course, to meet the ugly truth in the mirror. Read how he does this!
THE BURNOUT CHALLENGE. This new Harvard University Press book cautions that there are six “mismatches” that create hazards in the “Burnout Shop” (your office!). They include: Workload, Control, Rewards, Community, Fairness, and Values. Inspire your team members to read The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships With Their Jobs. Read more on the Pails in Comparison blog.
PEARPOD | TELLING YOUR STORY. This Christmas, are you inspiring your team to creatively THANK the key marketing and communications people who help you tell your story? Here’s a creative idea: check out the Saints and Sneakers website and custom order a pair of sneakers for your favorite vendors or team members. Pearpod created the website to add fun and significance to gift-giving. Visit Saints and Sneakers. Contact Jason Pearson at Pearpod (Design, Digital, Marketing, Social).
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