Favorites are fuel. 

So we all need (and have) favorites. It's funny how we don't always want to say what they are though. Some of you big guys like fluffy slippers. Some of you ladies like to benchpress. And no one wants to admit their favorite TV show ... the real one, not the popular one you say to keep things secret. :) 

Christmas is a time for mentioning favorite things. Not sure why by the song says so and the letter to Santa implies it so ...

Here are a few lists of my favorite things:

Random Favorites

1. Classical piano music
2. Reading Bible conspiracy theories in PJ pants drinking hot tea with Spanish guitar playing on Alexa.
3. Sending memos to friends at 5am on the way to the gym.
4. Waking my kids up before school.
5. Making my wife laugh.
6. Downward dog, upward dog, deep squat stretch, and 15-second pushups.
7. Christmas lights.
8. Using analogies and metaphors; providing uncommon context when and where few will or can.
9. Sunshine and the heat.
10. Exploring.
11. History and finance (especially the history of finance)
12. Silence.

Favorite People

But with unique category names ... loosely associated with Christmas just for fun. 

Favorite Heralders

• Dustin Stradley - a friend, yes. But a preacher and communicator everyone needs to know and many of you need to bring in to speak. Few, maybe less than 5, connect better to other people with less hype than Dustin.
• Marcio Pacheco - a friend, yes. But a purveyor of hope that comes from his superhero ability to stand in your shoes, give perspective, and make your smile all at the same time. He's a believer in people.

Favorite Voices In The Wilderness

• Russell Johnson - provocateur, thinker, speaker, preacher, prophet, public enemy of the unseen. He's got a John The Baptist swagger to him and the exposure, experience, and education to back it up. He's not a "ministry is a marathon" guy but a "gun up, we got a war a'brewin'" kind of leader. He's one of one. And probably one of the few guys from this age who will play pool in heaven with Moses, Elijah, and Peter and talk crap about the devil. 
• Nirup Alphonse - preacher, professor, instigator, vocabulary savant, insatiable learner. I mainly appreciate and am challenged by the speed of his thinking. I, too, want to sprint but few do and even fewer have the mental fitness of Nirup. 

Vibe Alchemists

• Petr Buzyan - Dude IS what people mean when they say "vibe." He's the kind of guy who's hard to explain but then everyone loves ... because of his vibes. Chill, easy, mellow, fun but not too fun, slow but not too slow, intentional but not too intentional. Who else can stretch an 8 oz pour-over 7 hours on the beach while effortlessly weaving between expert analysis of geo-politics, end-times prophecy, and sports stats? I submit no one out-vibes Petr.
• Taylor Shytle - Never met a more confident person. And simultaneously few are as quiet about their gifts, knowledge, and substantial position on the planet in the army of God. Legit, he's also the only Benjamin Button I know - aging in reverse physically while his mental capacity and wisdom increases exponentially. He, too, will be at the bar with Russell and the prophets casually telling "I told you so" stories in heaven.

Wise Men

• Lance Witt - The guy who's forgotten more about vocational ministry than most will ever learn. The guy who provides the life-coaching to life coaches everyone else quotes. The guy who says 10X the content in 1/10th the words. And yet is never bigger than or above the person in front of him. Wise learners should do and pay anything to get time with him. I did. 
• Bill Tumulty - Not the first time he's made one of my lists but still worth the mention. He's a master craftsman of direction and coaching that upgrades paradigms. And an expert marksman with context that will upend hindering mindsets. Few want more people to win than Bill. And when I've won over the last few years, it's because I held the weapon or used the tool in the way he said to. 

Gift Givers

• Wade Joye - Someone generous with all of this resources, not just his bank account. The higher he's climbed on the food chain, the more generous he gets. In my experience, this is rare. Everyone reading this would elevate their quality of life immediately by getting time with him. And every single church would become more effective by letting him speak into their teams. 
• Bill Thomas - a friend, mentor, and life-saver for my family for over a decade. He provided my wife and I date nights for a year when we were on food stamps. He regularly invites me to speak into his team (he's not a church guy but a data guru and businessman). We've celebrated a few milestones with them because why would I stray far from that which provides life? Bill is a guy who provides life.

Some of my other favorites rotate in and out of my Flow Page.

Share with me your favorites. For example, I've been buying stuff from people's Amazon lists for a long time ... when they least expect it. 

Also please consider sharing this email and/or my social media. This is my full time income, as you know. And I look forward to making new friends, earning new business, and instigating new thinking in 2024 (even if it costs some their feelings and me some followers). :) 

Love you all! Merry Christmas!