Steve Jobs in a 1995 interview talked about what was important to him in the development of a new product. He gave the analogy of a rock tumbler in talking about the team. He stated,
“It’s that through the team, through that group of incredibly talented people bumping up against each other, having arguments, having fights sometimes, making some noise, and working together they polish each other and they polish the ideas, and what comes out are these really beautiful stones.”
You don’t have to agree with all that Steve Jobs stands for or how he treated people but you can say that he was successful. He knew the value of ideas and challenging those ideas to make a better product. How can you be a better person and I would venture to say live a more fulfilling life? It may seem obvious but let me state it anyway. You need people around you who will put you into the rock tumbler.
There are so many excesses and ways to justify what you are doing but let me just say that personally, I wish I had done this sooner in life. The excuses fly, I do not have time. After I finish this big project. When things slow down. The list goes on and on. God designed us to live in community and depending on your make up, that looks different for everyone. I also need to preface this with, not every relationship is healthy and good. By looking at your life and evaluating what God would have you do and be, I believe you can partner with Him and design a God honoring life with the help of a mentor or accountability partner.
Continuing from last week and reiterating the fact that this is not easy. The first part is that you need to be willing to be vulnerable. This means being open and honest with yourself first and then being willing to share your thoughts feelings, hurts and struggles with someone else. The basis of this is trust.
When I say be honest with yourself and coupling that with trust, the issue boils down to integrity. Do you do what you say? are you a person of character? if you were your best friend would you trust yourself? These are hard questions to answer but are really foundational in opening up to someone else and baring your soul. As a confession, I am getting better with this and have been reaching out to my pastor and other ministry friends who have been putting me in the tumbler to make me better and have been a real blessing to have in my life. It’s your turn. Are you willing to place yourself in the rock tumbler? Let the stones of life speak!
http://fortune.com/2011/11/11/steve-jobs-the-parable-of-the-stones/ Accessed Jan. 20, 2018