The Virtue of Humility and Striving for Greatness
Jonathan J. Sanford, PhD
October 22, 2019
Embedded Files
Event Recap
Event Recap
Small Group Discussion Questions
Small Group Discussion Questions
- What keeps men from being humble and striving for greatness?
- What should men do to be humble and strive for greatness?
Action Items
Action Items
- Think about one thing you will do different.
- Bring 2 Friends
Closing Prayer by Dan Torpey
Closing Prayer by Dan Torpey
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Lord,
We thank you for this evening - this evening of fellowship of like minded Great Men who are seeking to be a better father, brother, friend, coworker, boss, or a better husband.
Thank you for our wives who are holding down the home front while we are here. Help us to do something meaningful for our wives or just to listen and be present to her in a meaningful way.
Thank you for the gift of having Provost and Professor JJ Sanford for providing words of wisdom and inspiration. Let the vision that JJ mentioned - of Pope John Paul II suffering in his last ten years and that of JJ and his wife praying on their knees - resonate in our lives.
Where are we showing and sharing that humility in our lives?
Do I want my children to be like me?
Whenever you start complaining about your life, think about being a father of 9 and being responsible for overseeing the education thousands of young adults in today’s world.
Help us remember the themes of past speakers - “do hard things” and “perseverance”.
Help us work through the myths we create and that we should seek the authentic the truth to truly ask the Lord what is it Lord we need to do to do your will?
And the power to listen to what the Lord is asking of us?
What do we need to do to be more humble?
In this month of Mary, let us remember the hard things that Mary lived through in seeing her son persecuted, knowing who he is all while understanding the greater purpose of her life and our Lord's life.
Finally, let us be thankful of the fellowship we have experienced here tonight and help us grow as a community of Great men who are alive, present, grounded, and effective in our work, our community, and our family, to love honor and serve your will. Amen.
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What keeps men from being humble and striving for greatness?
What keeps men from being humble and striving for greatness?
- Pride - Desire - Ego
- Inertia (Sloth, Lazy, Easy)
- Broken/Weakness
- Not having the right purpose that you are striving for
- Fear of failure
- Lack of communal accountability
- Blindness, Complacency, Lack of self-awareness
- Fear, Comparison
- Lack of purpose, intentionality, goals, mission
- Not knowing what authentic humility actually is
- Humility and Greatness in Conflict
- Busyness of life distracts us
- Lack of prayer and study of scripture
- Define ourselves by our profession and not by our whole selves
- Other people
- Sin
- Ego/Pride
- Lack of focus/distractions
- Need for control
- Lack of self-confidence
What should men do to be humble and strive for greatness?
What should men do to be humble and strive for greatness?
- Pray
- Self Honest Assessment
- Alignment/Purpose
- Be Present
- Hail Mary / Washing Hands
- Mindful of the connection/relation of the two
- Focus on what is left to achieve
- Take time in prayer and contemplation to find direction
- Do an honest self-assessment
- Begin with the end in mind
- Reflecting on our mission and where we want to go
- Need to understand true humility
- Pray and study Scripture
- Read about Saints
- Feedback from wives, friends, coworkers
- Surround yourself with like minded men
- Reflection and challenging yourself
- Hit your knees
- Spiritual Direction
- Vulnerability
- Listen more
- Learn from failures
- Focus less on Outcome
- Regular Confession
- Examination of Conscience
- Self-Aware
- Small things matter
Take 1 Action this month
Take 1 Action this month
- Seek Communal Accountability
- Being present, being introspective
- Honest self-awareness, reflection daily
- Pray, study, read about Saints
- Counteract pride with vulnerability - find someone you can be honest with
191022 Great Men meeting.pptx
Jonathan J. Sanford, PhD
Jonathan J. Sanford, PhD
Jonathan J. Sanford is Provost and a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Dallas. As Provost, Sanford has principal responsibility for all aspects of academics, campus ministry, student life, and athletics at the university. He has published widely on philosophical figures and topics, and more recently on liberal education. He is especially interested in foundational questions in moral philosophy, as evidenced in his latest book, Before Virtue: Assessing Contemporary Virtue Ethics (The Catholic University of America Press, 2015). He is currently writing a book on virtue and education. He has lectured widely to both scholarly and popular audiences on a variety of topics, and hosts a radio show on a DFW station which focuses on liberal education and cultural renewal. He and his wife Rebecca live in Irving, Texas, and have been blessed with nine children and one grandchild.
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