David Foster » The Dave Rave

Dave Rave – 5 Things I’m Leaving Behind

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 11:05:01 +0000

If you’re like me, you’ve read a lot of lists, blogs, and advice columns telling you the things that you need to start doing in the year 2012. And while most of them are good, I’d be happy to leave some things behind in 2011.

So while you start some… More

Dave Rave – The Five Joys

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 11:00:04 +0000

This is the season of joy, right? The season that we remember how blessed we are. So here are my five joys:

The joy of family. Thank God for Paula, my girls, my sons-in-law, and all they mean to me.
The joy of my faith-family. The Gathering is

… More

Dave Rave -The 4 Ways of Rest

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 11:00:12 +0000

Well, it’s Christmas season and, like it or not, we’re in a mad dash for Christmas Eve.

Often we get overwhelmed with activities and responsibilities and trying to make everything just perfect for the ones we love. And as good as all that is, you need not give up your… More

Dave Rave – 5 Benefits of Working With You

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:32:26 +0000

No one succeeds without the help of others. And to succeed greatly, you need the help of a lot of people going in the same direction.

Here is a good way to check up on your people skills at work. Ask yourself, “What are the five benefits that people receive… More

Dave Rave – 5 Cans of a Courageous Friend

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:11:09 +0000

Let’s face it. You only have so many really close friends in a lifetime. True friendship takes one quality that we often overlook, and that’s courage.

Here are the 5 Cans of a truly courageous friendship:

A courageous friend can be bothered. You know what I mean. They can

… More

Dave Rave – 5 Ways We Win

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:23:36 +0000

I’ve never met a person who didn’t want to win. I’ve met an awful lot of people who are confused about what it takes to win.

Here are the five ways, dimensions, or areas of your life in which you need to win to truly be winning.

Winning with

… More

Making Marriage Fun Again – Live Event: Last Call

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:11:48 +0000

Making Marriage Fun Again – Live Event

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:30:15 +0000

Dave Rave – My 5 Money Mantras

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 10:43:41 +0000

It’s been a lot of fun for me to join with Dave Ramsey and thousands of other churches across America these past several weeks, talking about taking back the economy, and stop waiting for someone else to fix us.

In this series called, “Great Recovery” we’ve been talking about the… More

Dave Rave – 5 Things Smart People Say

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:30:02 +0000

I made a collection of the top ten things we say that we don’t mean. You know, crazy things that we say when we’re hurt. I’ve also noticed that there are things that smart people say. Over and over and over again, I hear them repeated in successful businesses, growing… More

Dave Rave – 5 Signs it’s Too Soon to Settle

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:00:43 +0000

There is nothing sadder in life than to see someone who has settled for second best. We all start out with high hopes, but life has a way of beating us down over time. Here are five signs it’s too soon for you to settle for mediocre or second best.… More

Dave Rave – 5 Ways to Sharpen Your Skills

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:05:27 +0000

Because life is constantly moving and things around us are constantly shifting, yesterday’s knowledge and skill-sets may not work for tomorrow’s challenges. But that’s ok, because we were made to be curious, to learn, to expand; not only our knowledge base, but our skill-set. Here are five ways to sharpen… More

Dave Rave – 5 Things You Should Get Good at Quitting

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 10:00:07 +0000

For all the advice we hear about not quitting, there are some things that we do over and over again to sabotage our future. Here are five things we should all excel at quitting:

Let’s quit placing blame. You know what it’s like. It’s always someone else’s fault; the

… More

Dave Rave – 5 More Things We Say We Don’t Mean

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 10:00:46 +0000

Last week in our Dave Rave we talked about the five things we say we don’t mean. Here are five more.

This will never change. This is a way of expressing unmet expectations. But it doesn’t communicate why you’re upset, and why the needs weren’t met. It only

… More

Dave Rave – 5 Things We Say We Don’t Mean

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 10:30:24 +0000

If you’ve never heard or listened to anything I’ve ever said, please listen to these next words. Words matter.

We fail to understand the impact of our words. We use them to hurt people or to express anger, and fail to realize the wounds they cause are very real… More

Dave Rave – 5 Self-Examination Questions You Need to be Asking

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:30:17 +0000

If you’re like me, you don’t like to be managed, coerced, or told what to do. That doesn’t mean that I don’t need to be sometimes. That’s why I always include dissenting voices in my life.

As great as it is to have people in your life to whom… More

Dave Rave – 5 Signs You’re Not Focused

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 10:29:32 +0000

To achieve anything of significance in life requires focus; not just focus for the moment, but focus over time, a focus that is fixed on learning, growing, and mastering a subject,a problem, or an opportunity. Here are five signs you’re not focused.

You don’t have a plan. If

… More

Dave Rave – 5 Things you Can’t Avoid

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:30:21 +0000

Let’s face it. In a perfect world, there are a lot of things we would choose not to experience. And yet, we don’t live in a perfect world. We live in the real world where some things simply can’t be avoided. And if they can’t be avoided, they should… More

Dave Rave – 5 Signs You Shouldn’t Go Into Business for Yourself

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:30:06 +0000

When someone asks us who we work for, most of us would give the name of the company that signs their paycheck, or the place we go show up every day and do our thing. Yet, in this new economy, more and more people are taking on the entrepreneurial… More

Dave Rave – 5 Reasons We Fear Being Fired

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:30:42 +0000

As part of a series entitled, “When You’re Going Through Hell Don’t Stop,” I spoke for the first time this past weekend about my experience of being fired 5 years ago.

I did this in part because I’ve come across literally hundreds of people who have been fired. I… More

Dave Rave – 5 Ways to Obsolete-Proof Yourself

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 25 May 2011 10:30:01 +0000

One of the constant fears and challenges all of us face is losing our job, our income, and status; especially in the new economy as you get older. You live in constant fear of being replaced at work, and even at home with a younger, cheaper model. The only… More

Dave Rave – 5 Lies We Believe About Love

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 18 May 2011 10:30:41 +0000

The most powerful force in the world, hands down, is love. We know it’s the driving force of the Creation and why God sustains it even unto this day.

It’s the glue that holds relationships together and it’s the power that drives the passions of our movements and organizations.… More

Dave Rave – 5 Reasons to Read

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 11 May 2011 10:30:02 +0000

I have to tell you that I am shocked when I hear people say, “I’m not a reader.” When I hear that I want to say, “You don’t have to tell us. We already know.”

I know, that’s a little harsh, but hey, reading is important! Where did it… More

Dave Rave – The 5 Moments That Make or Break You

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 04 May 2011 10:30:31 +0000

One of the challenges of life is that most of it happens in the mundane. You know, like today. Not much happening today. Today’s not special, spectacular, not wonderful, really no opportunities to be amazing today. Just get up and do the work.

But that is the treacherous nature… More

Dave Rave – 5 Ways Not to Start the Sentence

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:30:27 +0000

Each and every day as we enter our lives, whether at work or at home, even at play, we are forced to use words, to form sentences. It almost seems second nature. But let’s face it. Sometimes we’ve said things that we wish we hadn’t.

As a matter of… More

Dave Rave – The Five Things I’ve Stopped Doing

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:30:56 +0000

I don’t know how you feel, but sometimes I feel like I’ve added so much to my life that I feel weighted down by all the good things. Sometimes I need to stop and jettison some things that are slowing me down. So here are the top five things… More

Dave Rave – 5 Ways to Sustain a Passion for Life

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 10:45:19 +0000

I’ve seen so many people start out great. They are excited, full of energy, with high hopes for the future. But as we all know, life has a way of gut-kicking us at times. And we wind up on the sidelines, nursing our wounds wondering where we went wrong… More

Dave Rave – 5 Ways to Become Obsolete

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 10:36:03 +0000

Each and every day we awake, we dip our toe into a brand new world. Change and the speed of change can overwhelm us and cause us, out of fear, to procrastinate embracing the new world as it is.

As our country ages and the workforce ages, one of… More

Dave Rave – 5 Times Influence Trumps Power

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:34:15 +0000

There’s an awful lot of bad information out there about what it takes to lead. Most of it revolves around the misunderstanding and the abuse of the use of power.

Whether you want to believe it or not, you have far less power than you think you do. And… More

Dave Rave – 5 Reasons You Should Twitter

The Gathering Nashville — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:39:02 +0000

For good or bad, I’ve always been an early adopter. By that I mean, if a new thing comes out, be it technology or a piece of equipment, I am always interested. And not every time, but a lot of times, I go ahead and take the plunge with… More

Dave Rave – 5 Reasons You Should Write a Book

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 10:30:14 +0000

The numbers are out. There were over 200,000 new books published in the United States in 2010. This is by traditional, old world media publishers. The real blow-your-mind statistic is that an additional 700,000 books were self-published by authors. What does this tell you? One, it’s a lot easier… More

Dave Rave – 5 Advantages of Starting Over

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 11:18:55 +0000

I was talking to someone on Facebook this week and they let me know that because of downsizing and other disrespectful activity, the company that they’d given so many years for had laid them off and hired someone cheaper.

His statement was, “I get to start all over again.” … More

Dave Rave – 5 Legitimate Uses of Power

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:00:01 +0000

If you’re a leader, you have to ask yourself this question almost every day, “What do I do that others can’t do? What do I do today with the position and the power that has been handed to me?”

A lot of leaders answer this question without thinking. But… More

Dave Rave – 5 Ways to be Happy

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 09:59:08 +0000

Everyone’s looking for ways to be happy: secrets to happiness, the road to happiness, 5 steps, 5 formulas, 5 easy somethings that might end up one day making them happy. I’ve come to the conclusion that you go down a slippery slope when you try to answer that question… More

Dave Rave – Five Words You Should Use Every Day

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:53:22 +0000

I love living in Nashville because it’s a town of creators. More particularly, I love to live around all of these songwriters: people who dedicate their lives to the meaning and significance of not just words, but the right words. It was Mark Twain who said that the difference… More

Dave Rave – 10 Leadership Lessons I’ve Learned From Jeff Fisher

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 14:27:40 +0000

It’s hard to actually believe that Coach Fisher is no longer at the helm of the Titans. For 17 years he’s defined the franchise and led us through good and bad times.

I met Coach Fisher when he first moved to town; when the Titans didn’t have a stadium or… More

Dave Rave- 5 Trade-offs That Won’t Pay Off

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 09:50:03 +0000

Life moves fast, doesn’t it? What we determine in a quiet moment of reflection can be turned upside-down in the crazy, emergency, hurry-here, or fix-it-now life that we all face.

In the process of trying to get it all right, we’re tempted sometimes to compromise, to make trade-offs in… More

5 Kinds of Weird You Want to Be

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:45:05 +0000

People are hurting everywhere you look. I truly believe that one of the greatest sins we commit every Sunday morning in our churches is underestimating how much hurt and pain people are in.

And while I am very compassionate, because people have been caring for me in my pain,… More

My 5 New Year Resolutions

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 09:18:09 +0000

Well, we’re off and running in the New Year, and I have to tell you, I’m a guy who is all for making resolutions.

I know a lot of people oppose it because they think it really doesn’t matter. But let’s face it. All of us need a little… More

Dave Rave – Five Reasons I Love Creating

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 09:01:34 +0000

One of the reasons I love living in Nashville is that it’s a city full of creatives: writers, singers, entrepreneurs; all people who are determined to make something of their lives.

As one of those creatives, here are five reasons I do what I do.

Creating captures time.

… More

Dave Rave – Five Signs You’re Nowhere Near Ready for Leadership

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:21:39 +0000

One of the hot topics in my hometown of Nashville right now is the controversy going on
with our quarterback, Vince Young.

The press loves nothing more than to find something small and blow it out of proportion. So now there is a triad of dissent between… More

Dave Rave – Five Best Behinds

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 10:03:53 +0000

I often hear people say, “I live on the cutting-edge.” What I think they mean to say is they live on the bleeding edge. I’ve never quite understood how important it would be to be on the cutting edge, because it seems to be too thin to be substantial… More

Dave Rave – Five Joys of Discomfort

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:33:53 +0000

We’re fast coming upon the Christmas season when we hear the same seasonal cliche’s like “Joy to the World, Peace on Earth, Goodwill to Men.” We’ll sing songs that will contain phrases like “comfort and joy.”

When I think of that term, comfort and joy, I think about the… More

Dave Rave – Five Times Character Trumps Skill

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:14:38 +0000

One of the controversies that exists in almost any arena of achievement is, do you want character or skill? My response is, why not both?

But let’s face it. If we do have to make a choice, and at times we do, character will always trump skill. People with… More

Dave Rave – Ten “Musts” of Courageous Dissent (part 2)

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 10:01:54 +0000

In last week’s Dave Rave, if you haven’t read it, we talked about courageous dissent. What is it? It’s the courage to say “no” to the life other people want you to live. It’s the courage to say “no,” to disagree that you’re mediocre, that you’re average, that you… More

Dave Rave – Ten “Musts” of Courageous Dissent (part 1)

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 09:52:16 +0000

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, there is a conspiracy afoot; a plan, an effort to keep you mediocre, miserable, and unfulfilled.

It started when you were young and has persisted through all the major institutions in your life; a call to compliance, be in step, be… More

Dave Rave – Five Signs it’s Time to Resign

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 10:10:03 +0000

I want to confess right out of the blocks that I don’t have a great perspective on the subject of this Dave Rave, in part, because I’ve always loved what I do. I am one of the blessed ones who found, very early in life, his calling and has… More

Dave Rave – Five People You’ll Meet on the Way to Heaven

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 09:52:03 +0000

Several years ago Mitch Albom, one of my favorite writers, came out with a book called “The Five People You’ll Meet in Heaven.” It was wildly successful, so much so that it was turned into a movie. Great work, great imagination, I loved it.

Since then I’ve also… More

Dave Rave – Five Daily “I wills”

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 09:57:39 +0000

You’ve heard the old saying, haven’t you? “How do you eat an elephant?….One bite at a time.”

Well, how do you get from where you are to where you want to be? Successful. Happy. Influential. Great relationships. Spiritually, emotionally, financially, and mentally at the top of your game. … More

Dave Rave – Five Simple Things You Can Do To Defeat Your Fears

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 09:40:40 +0000

One of the most limiting forces in our lives are our fears: some, justified; most, fabricated and simply figments of our imagination.

Just because fear limits our life doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a legitimate place in our life. I never bought into the t-shirt several years ago which… More

Dave Rave – Five Choices I Make Today That Make Tomorrow

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 09:41:04 +0000

It really is true that you are today where your choices have led you. You are the sum total of the choices you make. The problem with that is, most choices are not big ones. They are small ones made in the mundane and the routine. They don’t seem… More

Dave Rave – Five Signs You’re Not Relatable

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 10:21:48 +0000

Have you ever met someone who just seems cold and distant? They don’t know how to carry on a conversation and when they do, their responses are often biting and totally insensitive.

Right or wrong, we write people off as unkind, mean, or downright bad if they don’t have… More

Dave Rave – Five Reasons Business is Always Personal

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 10:12:30 +0000

Recently a video has been playing in Times Square and on the Internet and probably many other places that depicts Google as a monster company out of control with malevolent intent.

The video was put together by a consumer watchdog group, funded by The Rose Foundation.

The question on everyone’s… More

Dave Rave – Five Reasons I Love to Write

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:54:16 +0000

I love writing, and I always have. It’s a place where I feel most at peace and certainly most creative.

Creativity, I’ve learned, is not the right of a few. All of us are born with it. The problem is, most of us don’t cultivate it. As a matter of… More

Dave Rave – Five Mistakes You Can’t Recover From

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:27:40 +0000

In a recent blog I talked about mistakes and the difference between mistakes of competency and mistakes of character.

One of the greatest problems with mistakes of character is that the pain and aggravation of them usually lies on the surface of emotion or gets deflected over to another person… More

Dave Rave – Five Hallmarks of Healthy Growth

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 10:09:41 +0000

All of us want to grow. We want to be part of a growing family and a growing organization. But not all of us understand the tenants of healthy growth. Here are five hallmarks of growth that create health.

Healthy growth creates momentum. A thing that is stagnant

… More

Dave Rave – Five Questions of a Great Decision

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 10:22:12 +0000

One of the things that separates successful people from those who only strive for success is their ability to make good decisions, and then make those decisions work.

If you’ve ever thought about how to make a good decision, here are 5 questions that you can ask yourself on the… More

Dave Rave – Five Things I’m Ok With Not Knowing

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:21:44 +0000

I’m loving my life these days, and I’m wondering if it’s not so much that my surroundings have changed (though they have radically), but I think it’s because I have changed.

I dare say it out loud, but maybe I’m growing. Oh my gosh! Dare I say it? Maybe I’m… More

Dave Rave – Five Churches I Couldn’t Attend

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:28:38 +0000

I am a churchman. By that I mean I don’t just attend a church, lead a church, I believe in the church; not as an organization or an institution, but more as a movement, a gathering of like-minded men and women looking not only for the answers to their life,… More

Dave Rave – Five Best Phrases You Can Use at Home, at Work, or Anyplace Else

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:25:24 +0000

Words create worlds. They start wars. They can bring people together or they can tear people apart.

We were born to talk; not so that we could be right, but so that we could be close. But how hard is it to find the right words? It must be difficult… More

Dave Rave – Five Sure Signs You’re Mediocre

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 11:47:50 +0000

I am overwhelmed, embarrassed, and just downright enraged by how much mediocrity I see around me. Not only mediocrity in products, but woeful mediocrity in service after the sale.

Let me be quick to say, I don’t think anyone is mediocre. Everyone has the capacity to be good if not… More

Dave Rave – 5 Things You Should Never, Ever, Ever Say to Another Human Being

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:22:25 +0000

You would think, for a guy who has made his living for the last 38 years using words, I’d know better than to say some of the things that I say. Hopefully I could say “I have said,” as in the past.

I am learning a little about the power… More

Dave Rave – 5 Things You Can Be

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 10:19:27 +0000

In the last Dave Rave I talked about the five things you can’t be. Well the truth is, you can be those things but you can’t afford it. They’re too expensive. They diminish your life and rob the world of what you have to offer. So in contrast to that,… More

Dave Rave – Five Things You Can’t Be

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 10:25:19 +0000

Often times it is easier to know what you shouldn’t do than what you should do. As a matter of fact, there are five things that, if you can eliminate them, will go a long way toward helping you discover what to focus on. So here are the five things… More

Dave Rave – Five Signs You’re in Married Hell

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:30:22 +0000

As I’ve said so many times, nobody marries a boring person not having fun, but most marriages end up that way. What started out as a dream of married bliss has turned into a long string of disappointments that feels more like hell than heaven. Here are five signs you’re… More

Dave Rave – Five Big Benefits of a Life Planned

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 14:29:23 +0000

It seems like people go to one of two extremes. They either plan their lives in such a way that they’re bound to be disappointed, or they fail to plan their lives, fearing they’ll be disappointed.

Planning is a good thing. You might say, planning is a God thing. If… More

Dave Rave – Five Signs You’re Not Having Any Fun At All

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:58:03 +0000

If you listen to people when they explain high-performance, super-success, or good luck, you’ll invariably hear the word “fun.” It felt like fun. I was having fun out there. They’re having fun. We’re having fun. I wonder sometimes if we don’t underestimate how important having fun is. As a matter… More

Dave Rave – 7 Signs You’re Not Teachable

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:57:23 +0000

All of us are on a roller-coaster ride of change. The world is transitioning. It’s not just a bad economy; it’s a new economy. It’s not just the loss of jobs; it’s the loss of sectors and segments of services and products. How do we respond to this current… More

Dave Rave – Seven Resolutions for a New Decade

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:28:31 +0000

Welcome to the future! It’s here, and it waits on no one. I hope you’ve made plans to enter this decade differently, to use what you’ve learned, to be smarter, wiser, and more focused on what matters.

To help me focus into the New Year and decade, to… More

Dave Rave – 7 Benefits of Being Grateful

The Gathering Nashville — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:36:20 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. In just a few days we’ll all gather around the table with our families and friends and give thanks for the blessings we’ve received and will continue to receive at the hands of a good and merciful God.

Oftentimes I think we fail… More

Dave Rave – The Seven Best Things We Say We Never Mean

The Gathering Nashville — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:52:47 +0000

Have you ever said anything you regret out of pain or disappointment? Ever call someone a name you wish you could take back? Ever made statements that are totally out of character with who you are? Remember, words are important. They create worlds and they also… More

Dave Rave – Seven Social Media Essentials

The Gathering Nashville — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:22:17 +0000

In the wild, new world we live in today, we have to learn to connect to people in a whole new way. Whether you’re in business, or even communicating with your family, there are amazing new tools available to get your message out, stay connected, and even connect to… More

Dave Rave – 7 Reasons Why I Like My Wife

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 18:49:27 +0000

I like my wife. That may seem like a silly pronouncement, but I know an awfully lot of people who are in love with people they don’t like. Yeah, weird.

Not only do I love my wife, but I like her. I like her as a person. I like being… More

Dave Rave – 7 Advantages of Simplicity

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:17:03 +0000

We live in a world reeking of complexity. We add more and more things, more activities, and more options. You can’t buy a pizza or even go to the grocery store without being overwhelmed by layer upon layer of complexity.

For people, organizations, and movements to be successful into the… More

Dave Rave – 7 Costs of a Creative Life

admin — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:19:57 +0000

I love living in Nashville, Tennessee, the epicenter of creativity; not just in music, but in film, art, and so many other endeavors. I love being around a creative atmosphere.

But for those who think being creative comes easy, it doesn’t. It comes with a high price. Over the years… More

Dave Rave – 6 Reasons You Should Lose Your Job Sooner Than Later

admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:14:51 +0000

We live in transitional times. You can call it a recession, a downturn of the market, whatever you want to, but things are changing, and changing forever. If you know how to deal with it and face it positively, you can benefit from it.

But most people that I listen… More

Dave Rave – 6 Reasons Bailouts Don’t Work

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:02:00 +0000

During these times of financial transition and change, the newest twist is that now the government is going to bail out the American auto industry.

I feel very strongly about this because I was raised buying American. I bought American-made cars only. My father was a Ford man. And I,… More

7 Benefits of These Good Old Bad Times

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 23:04:40 +0000

Well it’s official. We’re going through bad times. When you hear CNN, Fox News, and other major networks use words like “crisis, never seen it this bad before, no one knows what to do, the bail-out isn’t working,” it’s official. These are bad times.

But remember. There is always an… More

Dave Rave – 7 Kinds of Pastors I’d Run From

admin — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:51:28 +0000

I’m a pastor. I have been all of my adult life. I love it. It’s a privilege. There is no greater honor than when someone says, “Hey, here’s my pastor!”

It’s my firm conviction that everyone in America needs a pastor. Yeah, I said it. Everyone in America… More

Dave Rave – 7 Signs You’re Not a Leader

admin — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 11:21:36 +0000

With all the titles given these days that promise leadership, there seems to be too few leaders. And the question is, are you a leader? Here are the seven signs you might not be a leader, and if you’re not a leader, why you’re so miserable trying to lead.… More

10 Signs It’s Time to Confront

admin — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 03:18:55 +0000

No one really likes confrontation, even those who say they do. For if you really like it, you’re a bully more than a person. But the truth is, we do have to confront. Here are 10 signs it’s time to confront the people you love, care about, work with, or… More

10 Warning Signs You May Be Phoning It In

admin — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 03:32:35 +0000

Am I the only one who gets the idea that a lot of people these days are stuck in mediocrity? They’re not happy with where they are, but have no idea where they want to be; kind of just phoning it in. If you’re not sure you’re one of those,… More

10 Signs You’re Living in LaLa Land

admin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 23:13:23 +0000

Life is short. You can’t afford to waste any of it. And yet too many people do, living in what I call LaLa Land. The land of “someday, maybe, if so, well I’ll get around to it.” Here are ten signs that you’re living in LaLa Land and you need… More

10 Ways Angry People Change the World

admin — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:36:00 +0000

Things change. But whether they change for the better or not depends on what people do; not just any kind of people, but angry people. Yes, you heard it right. It’s angry people who change the world. Comfortable, satisfied, stuck-in-a-rut, trying-to-protect-my-turf people don’t change the world. They nurse the status… More

Dave Rave -10 Attributes of Leadership

admin — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:08:02 +0000

Leadership is a mysterious thing. It’s hard to define, though easy to recognize. Many people call themselves leaders and yet we are in desperate need of leadership. One of the things we can do is try to know and recognize the qualities of leadership when we see them. So here… More

DAVE RAVE: Top 10 Things You Want to Stop Doing

admin — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:30:52 +0000

As we begin a brand new year, many of us are under the mistaken assumption that what we need to do is add more stuff to what we’re already doing. If you’re like me, I’m already doing more than I can keep up with now. So in the spirit of… More

10 Gifts to Give This Christmas

admin — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 02:53:34 +0000

Christmas Day is almost here. People are looking for just the right gift. But the very best gifts you can give at Christmas can’t be manufactured, bought or packaged. They are the gifts you give to yourse lf and to the people around you. Let me suggest these ten most

… More

Dave Rave – 10 Leadership Qualities You Need Illustrated

admin — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 11:25:56 +0000

Maybe you’re like me. I’ve been in leadership so long and read so many books and articles, that I know what the basic leadership qualities are. But as you know, almost all these qualities are illustrated in the Scriptures with stories that are put there to help us learn about… More

10 Stages of a Dream

admin — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 03:22:42 +0000

I’m speaking right now in a series called “Everything Begins With A Dream.” It’s amazing how God can give people an idea, a thought, a desire, and that immaterial thing be turned into something amazing and beautiful. Over time I’ve observed great dreams and how they are accomplished. Here are… More

15 Ways To Obsolete-Proof Yourself

admin — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 03:42:12 +0000

One of the constant fears people face is the fear of losing their job and with it their income and status. As you get older, your fear of being replaced at work and home with a younger, cheaper model can haunt you daily. The only way to confront this fear… More

10 Environments Negative Words Create @ Work

admin — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 02:48:14 +0000

All of us work in a certain kind of environment; either good or bad, creative or not. And those environments are created by the words that we use. In this past series, “31 Words.com” we talked about how to use the 31 words that create the 6 sounds. Now… More

10 Ways to Bring Out the Winners @ Work

admin — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 03:36:02 +0000

Each one of us spend a good portion of our lives at work. And oftentimes the difference between a great work environment and a bad one is not the mission or the product, but the people. One of the ways you can bring out the best in people is to… More

15 Reasons Why I Love Being a Pastor

admin — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 03:40:50 +0000

I’ve been a pastor all my adult life. As a matter of fact, I started when I was 18 years old. I’ve been a pastor through college, seminary, and graduate school. I’ve been doing it for so long that I need to sit down and just list the reasons why… More

10 Things I Learned From Football Hall of Famers

admin — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 03:24:52 +0000

This past weekend was the induction ceremony of six men to the Football Hall of Fame. One was of local interest, Bruce Matthews, who played for the Oilers and then for the Titans. All six men come from different eras, with different accomplishments and achievements – all amazing.… More

10 Freedoms of Getting Fired

admin — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 02:50:40 +0000

It’s hard to believe, but one year ago this week Paula and I were fired from the church we planted in 1989. What a painful ending to such an awesome life changing experience.

I am glad to say that the firing did nothing to diminish our dream of creating a… More

10 Myths of the Try-Harder Treadmill

admin — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 02:54:48 +0000

Everywhere I go I run into tired people. People are tired of trying; trying to make life work, trying to enjoy a dead-end job, or trying to jump-start a marriage when the love has long gone away.

Trying harder is so ingrained in our culture, that we’ve developed myths around… More

10 Reasons Easter Rocked the World

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 02:56:14 +0000

This coming weekend will be the highest attended weekend of the year. Why is Easter the event that rocked the world? It’s from this historical fact (that Jesus Christ was crucified and got up from the dead) that we’ve gained much of our understanding of what God is like.

Easter… More

24 Reasons To Let It Go

admin — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:03:45 +0000

I was listening to an old interview conducted by Ed Bradley of “60 Minutes.” He was talking to Willie Nelson about the past and how he would do things differently. One of the things that Willie said time and age had taught him was that we’re not in control of… More

10 Reasons Why You Can’t Die Today

admin — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 03:01:09 +0000

Too many of us are so preoccupied with the end of our lives we fail to realize that our lives haven’t ended yet. I discovered a long time ago that my job was not to warn people that they are going to die, but to remind people that they are… More

10 Signs You Might Be a Renegade

admin — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 03:21:31 +0000

If you don’t know it by now, I’m a guy who’s not into religion; in part, because I was born with the heart of a renegade, not with the heart of a robot. As I share this renegade idea with more and more people, I find that there are more… More

7 Reasons We Live Upside-Down

admin — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 02:42:01 +0000

If you take following Jesus Christ seriously, you’re going to be forced to exert the courage to live life upside-down. Jesus was counter-cultural. He was a renegade. He had a different view of life. He said that the way up is down, the way to get is to give, and… More

6 Certain Facts About Faith

admin — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 01:12:56 +0000

In the Scriptures we read this basic principle, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Each one of us faces the challenge to start from mere belief, to faith. Belief can be passive but faith is always active. The Scriptures define faith as being sure of what we hope… More

Dave Does The Today Show

admin — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:01:28 +0000

This week I’m going to dedicate The Dave Rave to my appearance on The Today Show this week. I’m in New York right now taping the session that will be aired Tuesday morning, November 14th. I’ve been invited to be a part of a panel to debate the role of… More

10 Things We Say We Don’t Mean

admin — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 23:15:30 +0000

Have you ever noticed that we say an awful lot of things that we don’t mean? We think it’s harmless but after a while you begin to talk yourself into acting out the things you say but you really don’t mean. You say them because you’re tired, upset, or angry.… More

10 Things You Can’t Afford

admin — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 03:30:50 +0000

Well, hello, all you Dave Ravers! It’s good to be back after a time away. This week’s Dave Rave comes from the experiences I’m going through and major transitions in my life; with new beginnings, turning corners, good things completed and in the past, and even greater things on the… More

10 Ways to Wait

admin — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 03:39:23 +0000

The only absolute guarantee you have every single day of your life is that you’re going to be waiting: Waiting at red lights, waiting in line, for the theatre, to eat, waiting in line for the bathroom, or at the bank. Waiting is an inescapable part of our life, but… More

21 Reasons Why I Trust the Bible

admin — Wed, 14 Jun 2006 01:01:51 +0000

The DaVinci Code has created another opportunity to talk about the historical, academic, spiritual, and social reasons why the Bible is trustworthy. As a student of the Bible for my entire life, I have studied it not only as a sacred text for its spiritual content, but also as literature… More

10 Reasons Why I Believe in Jesus

admin — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 03:00:08 +0000

One of the coolest songs I’ve heard in awhile is Brooks & Dunn’s runaway hit, I Believe. It talks about how a young man’s faith has grown and blossomed over time through the influence of a friend. I have to admit that my beliefs have been affected by time, by… More

10 Things Worth Forgetting to Remember

admin — Thu, 25 May 2006 03:29:34 +0000

This coming weekend is Memorial Day weekend. It is a time we stop and remember those who have made the ultimate sacrifice that you and I might live free. But I’ve discovered over time that memory can be a two-edged sword, for I tend to remember the things I should… More