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I’ve spent the last two days blogging about a movie that, in my opinion, is nearly perfect. I can’t overstate how well this movie is written. And what I’m not saying is that Toy Story 3 is my favorite movie, because it isn’t, or that it’s even in my top ten, I’d have to think about that for a while. What it is, however, is the best-written screenplay to come down the pipe in many years. And of course it has much to teach about life, leadership and the very nature of our existence. So I’ll wrap up this series with a list of things we can learn from the movie. Feel free to keep the list going in the comments. A great story, and a great life, must be clear. Now of course Toy Story is a movie and life is life. Life will never be as clear as a film (unless it’s a poorly written film) but to the degree we can clarify our objectives and define our antagonist, life begins to feel more meaningful. Great stories are about love. Now this one is tough to execute, but life works best when we defend love. This means we [...]

What made Toy Story 3 great was more than just colorful characters and great graphics, though those were certainly in abundance. What made Toy Story 3 great was a strict adherence to some basic story principles, and those principles can also make a life great. I’ll create a short, incomplete list: 1. We knew exactly what the characters wanted. There wasn’t a scene in the movie when we didn’t know what the principles characters wanted. Whether it was to escape the daycare, or get back to Andy, or find a new home, the ambition was clearly defined. And because it was defined, the audience sat wondering how the characters were going to get what they wanted, rather than wondering what it is the characters were trying to accomplish. 2. The characters were good. A constant theme through the movie is family, brotherhood, and a sense that under no circumstances would they separate. They were in the adventure as a team, weak or strong, and they would live or die as a team. 3. The point was love. This may be the most powerful force in the movie, and one of the reasons the Toy Story franchise has made billions. The [...]

Today I’ll launch a three-part series about the movie Toy Story 3. Yes, the movie was that good. It’s rare a story comes along in which the elements are as perfectly clear as they are in this film. The movie is graphically impressive, to be sure, but what really shines is the story itself, and in this movie, the story has been chiseled down to the basic foundational elements, elements that, amazingly, too many screenwriters ignore. The reason I’m excited about this series is because the elements of a great story are also the elements of a great life. And when those elements are clearly defined, it’s hard for a story to go wrong. If you’re leading or managing a team, I’m betting you can learn more from the movie Toy Story 3 than you can from a dozen books on business. If you’ve seen the movie, you know the story. Andy is heading off to college, and the toys are trying to navigate a difficult transition. They might get stored in the attic, or they might get donated to a local daycare center, but what they really want is to be reunited with Andy and to be played with, [...]

I saw a news story recently about a Hindu guru named Mata Amritanandamayi. She’s gaining a considerable following worldwide, even filling enormous stadiums with travelers who’ve come to see her. Her theological schtick is fairly simple, she chants to the Hindu deity Krishna and people sit in front of  her chanting to whatever God they choose. She’s referred to as Amma by her followers, which means mother, and she has a motherly aspect, a kind smile, kind eyes and a soft voice. She does not make theological stands, and she does not offer advice that helps people succeed in their families or businesses, at least not with that specific intent. Her message is the same wish wash of a thousand other gurus before her. So why does she have such a following? And why is her following growing? The reason may surprise you. Amma is gaining an enormous following because she gives hugs. Seriously, she’s the hugging guru. Her handlers estimate she has given more than thirty-million hugs. And these hugs are not unlike blessings, in which people receive a kind of enlightenment about the importance of loving one another. Now to the critical Christian mind, this sounds like hogwash [...]

For the past few years, I’ve been considered a leader in the emerging church. I’ve read as much in articles, mostly attacking the theology of the emerging church. I’ve even sat in a room where they talked about me being a leader in this church. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to embarrass them. There were only about ten people at the panel discussion, in a room without more than 500 chairs. I’ve normally laughed, because whoever wrote these articles clearly didn’t do their research (and by the way, they have never called to verify their facts) because I don’t attend an emerging church, and for that matter have never used the phrase in any of my books. So I am not sure how you lead something without talking about it, but this doesn’t seem to matter to the critics! But my question is this: Why don’t these people go after the Pope? Whatever the emerging church is (and I’m not pretending not to know. I really don’t know, because conversations about it bore me and I’ve never read a single book on the subject). Do they agree with the theology of the Catholic church? If not, why don’t [...]