Unplugging
I’m completely unplugging from my computer, blogging, email, social media, etc. for 11 days in order to deeply rest. Adios! See you when I return.
San Jose Residents Have Longest Life Spans in U.S.
SAN JOSE (CBS 5) — San Jose has topped a list of U.S. cities where residents enjoy the longest life spans.
A study by The Daily Beast and the Centers for Disease Control looked at decades worth lifespan data to find out in which cities people lived the longest.
In San Jose, the average life expectancy was 79.2 years for men, 82.9 years for women.
Following San Jose on the list, San Francisco came in 6th. Men there live an average of 75.9 years, while women live 82.52 years. Oakland also made the list, coming in 15th. There, men live 76.4 years on average, women 81.2 years.
Even tourists like Mack Gillen of Ireland could be found basking in San Jose’s youthful glow. “I’m not surprised people live longer because it’s laid back, it’s relaxed,” he said.
It seems as if the farther west you go, the better the longevity. Only two cities in the northeast made the cut.
The west coast had the majority of the spots on the list of 20 cities, with California having the most out of all the states.
The study did not specify why people in the top cities listed were living longer.
The full list can be found at this link.
Scars
There is no way to escape scars in this life.
Life on this planet involves plenty of scars–scars you receive when others hurt you, and scars you give when you hurt others.
Our world offers a million ways to try to numb and deal with the scars. They don’t work.
There is only one place to go to find deep healing for your scars: Jesus. He has a lot of scars. He was scarred in order to take away the shame and guilt of our scars.
Don’t pretend. Don’t numb. Don’t hide.
Take your scars to Jesus. Show him your scars and ask him to heal you.
His grace is bigger than your scars.
The Vision of Garden City Church
Planter Profile: Justin Buzzard from NorCal Network on Vimeo.
Watch this two minute video to see me share the vision and story behind Garden City Church. Please continue to pray for us as we plant this church. For a few months we’ve been meeting weekly as a core group on Sundays at 4pm (and new people are joining us each week). Three weeks ago we launched five Neighborhood Groups that meet throughout the city. Our official launch date is Sunday 9/18/11.
Jesus is building this church and I’m sure enjoying the adventure. I wish you could meet the people who are part of this church plant, I love them.
PS. We’re hiring for two part-time positions: Worship Leader and Kids’ Ministry Director. Interested in viewing a job description? Email karen(at)gardencitysanjose.com
The Only Risk is To Waste Your Life
I was always a good adventurer. I was never afraid of risks. I always had a good philosophy about risks. The only risk is to waste your life, so that when you die, you say, “Oh, I wish I had done this.” I did everything I wanted to do, and I continue to.
Finished!
I’m finished!
Today I finished writing my book, Date Your Wife. The manuscript is now in the hands of my publisher, Crossway.
Thank you for all your prayer and encouragement. It’s been a fun four months of writing. This book was a joy to write and I believe God will use it to impact men and their marriages in a gospel-powered way.
Silicon Valley Company Towns
While less heralded than recent expansions announced by Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL) and Facebook, Netflix (NFLX) is making plans for a larger headquarters in its historic home of Los Gatos to accommodate the company’s breakneck growth.
More than just reflections of the success of these tech giants, this spate of announcements illustrates a remarkable new phenomenon: Silicon Valley is becoming home to a new breed of company towns.
Entrepreneurs, Silicon Valley, and The American Job Market
Thomas Friedman writing in The New York Times:
…Look at the news these days from the most dynamic sector of the U.S. economy — Silicon Valley. Facebook is now valued near $100 billion, Twitter at $8 billion, Groupon at $30 billion, Zynga at $20 billion and LinkedIn at $8 billion. These are the fastest-growing Internet/social networking companies in the world, and here’s what’s scary: You could easily fit all their employees together into the 20,000 seats in Madison Square Garden, and still have room for grandma. They just don’t employ a lot of people, relative to their valuations, and while they’re all hiring today, they are largely looking for talented engineers.
…[Reid] Hoffman argues that professionals need an entirely new mind-set and skill set to compete. “The old paradigm of climb up a stable career ladder is dead and gone,” he said to me. “No career is a sure thing anymore. The uncertain, rapidly changing conditions in which entrepreneurs start companies is what it’s now like for all of us fashioning a career. Therefore you should approach career strategy the same way an entrepreneur approaches starting a business.”
To begin with, Hoffman says, that means ditching a grand life plan. Entrepreneurs don’t write a 100-page business plan and execute it one time; they’re always experimenting and adapting based on what they learn.
It also means using your network to pull in information and intelligence about where the growth opportunities are — and then investing in yourself to build skills that will allow you to take advantage of those opportunities. Hoffman adds: “You can’t just say, ‘I have a college degree, I have a right to a job, now someone else should figure out how to hire and train me.’ ” You have to know which industries are working and what is happening inside them and then “find a way to add value in a way no one else can. For entrepreneurs it’s differentiate or die — that now goes for all of us.”
Finally, you have to strengthen the muscles of resilience. “You may have seen the news that [the] online radio service Pandora went public the other week,” Hoffman said. “What’s lesser known is that in the early days [the founder] pitched his idea more than 300 times to V.C.’s with no luck.”
Read the whole thing.
Video: God is Bigger Than Your Biggest Fear
I don’t think I’ve ever posted a video of me preaching. In this message I share my vision for church planting in the Bay Area and tell the story of why last year was the hardest year of my life. This is from last Sunday, guest preaching at a large church in San Jose that’s supporting Garden City Church.
Justin Buzzard from WestGate Church on Vimeo.
Nine Things Succesful People Do Differently
From Harvard Business Review:
Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren’t sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer — that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others — is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.
1. Get specific.
2. Seize the moment to act on your goals.
3. Know exactly how far you have left to go.
4. Be a realistic optimist.
5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good.
6. Have grit.
7. Build your willpower muscle.
8. Don’t tempt fate.
9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do.
Read the whole article for the explanation of these nine points.
HT: Matt Perman
