Thursday, September 17, 2009

Bono

When I first heard Bono speak at the 2006 Leadership Summit, I was blown away. His intensity, passion, conviction was ... surprising and inspiring. I took notes and put them in my daughters baby book. I want her to incorporate his words as life lessons. And from a rock star. Who'd have thought?


This is what I wrote in 'E's' baby book in August 2006:


"One of the speakers was Bono, the lead singer of the Band U2 and Time Magazine's 2005 Person of the Year. He was a taped interview conducted by Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church. I was so impressed by Bono that I took some notes to share with you [E]."
  • Always reserve the right to be ridiculous.
  • He finds Christians difficult - very judgmental and only looking at surface issues.
  • He likes to be in the middle of conflict - he actually said "in the middle of a conflict is a great place to be. It allows duality. I see his point here and agree with the concept - be able to see all sides / perspectives. But, be prepared. Sometimes you have to chose a side.
  • Celebrity is currency.
  • Great ideas have the same power as a great melody.
  • The church is historically behind the curve.
  • Love thy neighbor - who is our neighbor?
  • Stop asking God to bless the things you are doing. Find what God is doing. It's already blessed.
  • It's not a burden, a duty. It's an opportunity, an adventure.

So here it is 2009 and Bono was back at the Leadership Summit to report on what he was seeing in the fight to end extreme poverty. Again, this was a taped interview conducted by Bill Hybels.

  • Only love can leave such a mark.
  • Love thy neighbor" is a command, not advice.
  • Intuition is greater than intellect.
  • There's always resistance on the ongoing journey of equality.
  • If you lead anything do something.
For more information on the fight to end extreme poverty and the One Campaign, go to www.One.org.


Here's to learning and growing. J

1 comment:

  1. There were several great thoughts here, ie: Great ideas have the same power as a great melody. & Intuition is greater than intellect. but the one I'll be thinking about for a while is: Stop asking God to bless the things you are doing. Find what God is doing. It's already blessed. That gives me pause. Thank you!

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