Deanna Doss Shrodes

This year at the Stronger Conference, a young minister stopped me as I was walking out of the room at the conclusion of a workshop and she said, "I want to tell you something..." (I was all ears.) She said, "Do you notice how many of the speakers this weekend are saying, "Now, I'm just being transparent when I tell you..." or "I'm just keepin' it real..." I nodded yes. In fact, I mentioned that I was one of those speakers. I think I probably said a few times in both my keynote message and my workshop that I was just "keepin' it real." After I affirmed that yes, I had noticed that -- she said, "Do you know why they have to do that? They do it...and you do it, because so many people don't keep it real. So many in leadership aren't transparent, Deanna. That's why all these people speaking here feel an urge to declare their transparency.." I let her know that usually when I say, "I'm just kee...

Sometimes in leadership, we've gotta put proverbial blinders on. It is so easy to get off track by looking around us. This will almost always slow us down. I'm a detail person and I can get distracted super easy.  Before I know it, I'm behind in my goals because I'm looking at something other than the objective. I often have to remind myself to snap out of looking around and run full steam ahead for the win. It's going to take every ounce of energy you have as a leader to accomplish big things.  We can lose the race by broken focus. Remember when Chad le Clos lost to Michael Phelps after famously turning his head to look in the middle of the race? Oh my lands, what an awful mistake. I think of that a lot in regard to leadership. What are we stopping to look at that we really don't have time to look at if we want to stay on our game? Leader friend...put those blinders on and run toward your goal with all your might!  Run like you are on fire! Run like y...

Are you a leader in need of a lift in your spirit, fresh ideas or a change of pace? Get up and walk outside!  This is so powerful, it's no joke. Getting outdoors changes everything for me. I'm a homebody, which few would guess because I'm on the road so often. My favorite thing is curling up with a book in total silence or perhaps with a bit of light classical or monk music in the background. (Yes, I am serious. I often work or relax to monk music...stuff like this .)  But, as happy as the indoors can make me, there is absolutely nothing that brings a boost like going outside. Fresh air impacts our lives in such a great way. Research shows that spending time in fresh air increases energy in 90% of people. Whenever I'm lacking energy, this is one of my main go-to's. I'm at a place right now where I'm reminding myself that it mustn't be a go-to just in times of severe stress, but it needs to be an every day thing, as regular as brushing my teeth. I ...

 No one would ever guess what happened to me this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida...so I'm going to tell you. :) As I was preaching at the Fearless Tour at New Hope Assembly of God this weekend,  I got choked up, literally. For probably 2-3 minutes I coughed profusely and greatly struggled. Then I drank some water and kept preaching. Everyone was gracious to give me a few moments to get my bearings. If you were there, you'll remember it! What no one realized at the time was that I swallowed a bug that flew right in while I was preaching! So disgusting! I said nothing because I was at a point in the sermon where I was really connecting and I knew if I said, "I swallowed a bug," everyone would either laugh profusely or be really concerned, or start feeling sorry for me.  And at that point whey wouldn't be thinking about the message anymore, but the fact that I had just swallowed a bug. They would then imagine what it would be like, and feel grossed out which...

Recently on our family cruise my husband and I were waiting in a long line for the breakfast buffet. I began to get rather frustrated with the people in line. They were moving as slow as molasses. I’ve never tested how fast molasses really moves, but you know….  What   irked me was that this line as long as an anaconda did not have to stay that way!   People moved in slow motion as they reached for a grapefruit or selected a box of cereal. They seemed to be giving serious thought to selecting a sausage. I wanted to scream, “What’s wrong with you people? It’s sausage. This doesn’t require an executive decision. Grab and move! Grab and move!” I quipped to my husband, “For a person who is on the move, this line that is not on the move but could very easily be is rather frustrating.” He gently said back to me, “Babe, you’re not supposed to be on the move this week. This isn’t the week to rush anywhere. Just relax.” I will admit that was hard advice although ...

Selecting a personal word of the year has been my custom for many years. The word is my theme of the year and something for me to focus on, to build my faith and to grow. Each year I look for ways to remind myself of the theme…everything from a decorative sign with the word, to a piece of jewelry. This year my word is resilient.  All my life I have had to be resilient, and some years more than others.   I know it is this way with everyone to a degree. No one is immune to pain or problems. But frankly, some people are more resilient than others.   I have been studying those who are most resilient and trying to learn from them. With 2017 coming to a close,I have things to bounce back from. There are parts of my life I’m absolutely slaying and other parts that are out of my control. If I could control it, I would have already given everything I have to slaying it.   The challenges remaining are out of the realm of me being able to change them asid...