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Seeking Excellence
Seeking Excellence provides people with the purpose, direction, and motivation to relentlessly pursue their God-given mission in life.
This community is about becoming fully alive through living a life of excellence.
We will discuss all things excellence including fitness, mental health, relationships, personal finance, Christianity, and social/cultural issues.
Join us here if you're ready to be your best!
This community is about becoming fully alive through living a life of excellence.
We will discuss all things excellence including fitness, mental health, relationships, personal finance, Christianity, and social/cultural issues.
Join us here if you're ready to be your best!
Interested? Want to learn more about the community?
Nathan Crankfield@nathancrankfield
August 26, 2024
Check out this awesome message
Man! I got an amazing message today on LinkedIn (if you and I are connected on LinkedIn, send me an invite!).
It was so well written that I just feel like I have to share it somewhere - and where better than Locals?!
It's a reflection on and assessment of my last podcast on self-fundraising. He offers some incredible depth in his perspective. He shares Scripture, Church teaching, and other insights that help bring it all together.
Here is what this awesome man said:
" I respectfully offer the following observations and comments on your recent podcast.
1. Conflicts within the Church over all manners of doctrine and practice have been present since the time of Christ. There was, for example the altercation between Paul and Peter (Cephas) at Antioch over the question of whether Gentile Christians must observe Jewish dietary laws. (Gal, 2:11-14). Religion is inherently contentious.
2. Specific disputes regarding the financing of evangelization are also ancient. A prominent example is that of the dispute between the mendicant orders, such as the Franciscans, and the wealthier, more conservative orders such as the Benedictines and Cistercians. A historical perspective on the issue of how missionaries should be supported could be had by searching the internet for information on "mendicants," "Fraticelli," "Franciscans," "gyrovagues," and "Rule of St. Benedict." It may also be worthwhile to consider how these disputes, as well as the one that you described in your recent podcast, were affected by the presence or absence of vows of poverty. If you have the time, and have not already done so, I would commend G.K. Chesterton's "St. Francis of Assisi" to your consideration.
3. A broader perspective on the controversies provoked by the wealth of the Church might also include familiarity with confiscation of ecclesiastical properties during the French Revolution. The financing of earthly church activities has long served as a source of criticism of the Church as evidenced, for example, by Christopher Hitchen's denunciation of Mother Theresa for accepting financial support from Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. The Catholic understanding of the treatment of wealth is nuanced by seemingly contradictory references to it in the Gospels, e.g. Matt. 19:21-24, and John 12:3-8.
4. The conflicts that you describe are prevalent in Christian Missionary work, Catholic and otherwise. You may wish to search the internet for "Campus Crusade for Christ scandal." You may also be familiar with the televangelist scandals of the 1980s and 1990s, such as James and Tammy Faye Baker, whose fundraising was criticized in light of their ostentatious and opulent lifestyle (like the frequently mocked air-conditioned doghouse). Without intending any inappropriate cynicism, it is useful to keep in mind Eric Hoffer's observation that "every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket." This probably overstates the case, but it does contain a useful warning.
5. With regard to whether socialism is compatible with Catholicism, it is undeniable that there are socialist references in the New Testament, especially Acts 2:44-45 and 4:34-35. I have encountered the argument that these verses establish the Christian basis for socialism many times o ver the last 30 years. My response to such arguments usually begins with "There are 3 words missing from the New Testament: 'the government should.'" Charity is an individual, rather than collective virtue. In my opinion, the question, though common (I heard it in my freshman theology class more than 40 years ago), cannot be answered because it is a category error. There is no such thing as political salvation or economic salvation; these are temporal concerns that are neither necessary to, nor a substitute for, a personal relationship with Christ.
6. As to the recommendation to look into Chesterton's and Belloc's advocacy of distributism, Chesterton tried to explain his theory in the book "Outline of Sanity." In my opinion he didn't get very far, because his arguments were more aspirational than practical. If you want familiarity with the foundations of distributism, subsidiarity, and other tenets of Catholic social teaching, you may wish to start with Leo XIII's encyclical "Rerum novarum."
7. The world needs people like you. The Truth requires courage. I sincerely respect your commitment to your faith and your family, and pray that the Holy Spirit be a source of light, strength and love. You have a beautiful family. There is much to fight for.
May God continue to bless you."
Let's get out there and have the courage to say what needs to be said.
There is, indeed, much to fight for.
Be your best!
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"My daughter was really offended by your talk last night." 😅
"My daughter was really offended by your talk last night."
Someone dropped this bomb on me unexpectedly after daily mass this past summer. Although I can sometimes be a bit dicey and bold in my presentations, I was pretty shocked to hear it.
I had given a talk to middle schoolers the night prior on how our faith can help us in managing sadness, anxiety, and stress.
After mass the next day, I was walking in the convention center and was stopped by a woman who asked if I spoke to the middle schoolers the night prior. I responded in the affirmative.
"My daughter was really offended by your talk."
In a flash, I try to recall what I said that might have been the trigger for offense. Nothing came to mind. So I inquired, "Interesting. What was it that bothered her?"
"She said that you told the kids that if you experience anxiety, you can essentially pray it all away. And she has been clinically diagnosed with severe anxiety so it upset her."
"AH okay, I see the misunderstanding here" I ...
00:56:59
I am a Charlie Kirk, not a George Floyd
Over the last few days, I've taken a lot of time to reflect on the importance of this moment for our nation and for the Church.
Here are further reflections on these recent events and what I think we ought to do from here.
00:36:22
The Lion and the Lamb - What We Can Learn from the Life and Death of Charlie Kirk
Yesterday, we lost a legend in the Christian movement in our country and world.
Charlie was a great force for good.
We remain here on earth to continue fighting the same mission - advancing truth, beauty, and goodness against the evil forces who work against us.
I encourage you to battle the temptation to hate or become cowardly in the face of hate. More than ever, we need love and courage to guide our words and actions.
00:34:02
Should Christians support food stamps/SNAP?
About 42 million Americans lost access to SNAP (commonly known as food stamps) and EBT over the weekend, sparking a frenzy of online debate about the necessity and fairness of the system.
Government shutdowns are always somewhat of a goofy thing. Many in the government continue to work and get paid, like Congress and the Military (for the most part).
For the average American, we don't see much impact on our day to day lives. Nothing at all in my life has changed since the government shutdown aside from the news stories I consume.
That changed over the weekend as tens of millions of Americans lost access to their grocery money.
Some have pointed out that kids, the disabled, the sick, and the poor - the very people Jesus cared most about - will go hungry as a result of this.
Others have pointed to stories and testimonies of young, able bodied people who are taking advantage of the system and simply refuse to work out of a sense of entitlement.
It's one of those topics where we typically see ...
Happy Halloween!
These are the days that make the busy schedules worth it.
As much as I love the work I do and am blessed to be able to do it, it’s easy to get caught up in the pace of meetings, deadlines, talks, podcasts, and clients.
Life moves fast, and sometimes we forget to pause and notice the little things happening right in front of us.
But then there are days like this, when I decide to close the laptop a little earlier than planned, and I get to experience pure joy in its simplest form.
Watching my family laugh, goof around in costumes, and delight in something as small as candy reminds me of what truly matters.
Success isn’t only about what we accomplish in our careers, but about being present for the people we love.
Cherishing these moments can fuel our pursuit of our goals, lower our stress, and give deeper meaning to the hustle.
So here’s to making time for the fun things too, showing up for the people who matter most, and to finding gratitude in the simple things, because...
Are we all a bunch of hypocrites?
I think most Christian parents are hypocrites, myself included. Let me give you an uncomfortable example of this.
In the eyes of the world, we are all hypocrites without a doubt. We promote values that we struggle to uphold and live out in our own lives.
That's inevitable. We can't help but continue to fail even on our path toward sainthood.
There are, however, certain things we can control and ways we can avoid vice in our lives.
What's one of the primary things parents of young children find themselves repeating over and over and over again?
"You need to share".
Toddlers are pretty selfish if we're being honest. They are willing to take things by force from others, even things that don't belong to them.
And they are very protective over what is theirs. We have all heard the angry "THAT'S MINE" phrase shouted by an angry 3 year old who sees someone playing with their toy.
What's worse than a selfish toddler? A selfish adult.
One thing that has become abundantly clear to me in my adulthood is ...
Happy Halloween from the Seeking Excellence Team!
What Is the Real Value of Stay-at-Home Moms?
Addressing the extremes of what society claims this vocation is worth
According to Investopedia, the real income of a stay-at-home parent exceeds $200,000. But is that based on reality?
For context, my wife stays home full-time with our children. We are very pro-stay-at-home moms around here—that should already be well known.
However, I am very opposed to skewing the numbers to make a financial point. The Investopedia article does precisely that. I have two significant issues with it.
First, it’s simply dishonest (which I’ll explain in a moment) and therefore unhelpful for those trying to decide whether to have a parent stay home full-time.
The second issue is that the article is materialistic in nature, focusing primarily on a financial argument for a decision that is fundamentally human, formative, vocational, and, for many, spiritual. It prioritizes money over the two most valuable aspects of having a stay-at-home parent, both of which are priceless.
Let’s address the dishonesty first. As you can see in the screenshot below, the article accurately assigns national average costs to the general work done by a stay-at-home parent.
This part is true: that's what you'd pay individuals to do those tasks. The problem, though, is that only the top 1% of society actually hires people to do that work. My wife doesn’t save us money by doing our laundry, cooking our meals, cleaning the house, or driving the kids around.
Why? Because if we both worked, we wouldn’t pay anyone to do those things. In most dual-income households, people end up doing all that work ON TOP OF their full-time jobs. Full-time working and parenting is an absolute grind, there’s no doubt about it.
My wife does save us money on childcare, but it doesn’t come anywhere near $130k per year for two children, unless I were hiring private trilingual tutors at the highest end of the cost spectrum.
Some two-income households have family members watch their children or other arrangements that cost $1,000 a month or less, so the $130k price tag to cover 14 hours of childcare per day is just absurd.
Now, I understand why people do this. It’s an extreme reaction to society’s growing distaste for traditional family values. When the world rejects the value of motherhood, we try to amplify it using the one measure the world respects most: money.
But money isn’t the best way to measure the value of the stay-at-home parent lifestyle and their contribution to the family. My wife would be the first to tell you that the most valuable part is the extra time she gets to spend with our kids.
By the time our children are 5, Emily will have had almost an extra 10,000 hours with them that she'd otherwise have missed out on. That has a massive impact on their character formation, familial bond, and education.
What’s in it for me, the provider? Besides the satisfaction of those extra 10,000 hours for my wife and kids, it’s the massive increase in leisure time I get because someone is managing the home full-time.
No, this doesn't mean I never help out around the house. But I don’t have to split cooking meals, doing laundry, and many other chores because she handles the majority of them while I’m working.
Then, when I come home, I'm able to enjoy the meal she's prepared and take over the kids for a couple of hours before we tag-team bedtime. I get to play with the kids every evening instead of washing dishes or cleaning the house. It’s a win-win: she gets her much-needed break from the children, and I get my precious time with
them.
That said, becoming a one-income household is definitely a financial decision. The problem with Investopedia’s math is that it distorts the financial bar of entry.
Most approach the financial
aspect of one parent leaving their job
through a simple equation:
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