Kevin Williams - Irrational Kindness!: The Crazy Pursuit of an Extraordinary Life

The Crazy Pursuit
of an Extraordinary Life

NEW YORK

LONDONNASHVILLEMELBOURNEVANCOUVER

The Crazy Pursuit of an Extraordinary Life

2021 Kevin Williams

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Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

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100% of proceeds of this book go to support families in crisis and those with foster/adoptive children around the world.

ISBN 9781631952951 paperback

ISBN 9781631952968 eBook

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020943533

Cover Design, Interior Design & Illustrations by:

Meghan Brim

www.megbrim.com

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As you read this book, create time to reflect at the end of every chapter.

You will see this icon as each chapter comes to a close, reminding you to pause.

Feel free to use the space on your bookmark to jot down the chords youll use to write your beautiful life song.

This book is dedicated to Gwen. Mary Nell, Terry, Kate, Elizabeth and all the past and current Canton team members who helped me grow and who continue to teach me. I love being on your team.

Chief Balloon Inflator
Author of three NYT Bestsellers: Love Does, Everybody Always and Dream Big

One of the challenges for soldiers in World War II was keeping their ammo dry. To address this, they would wrap the ammunition boxes in paper and then dip them in wax. This process kept the ammo dry to be sure, but when a soldier needed to get at it in a fight, they couldnt. Vesta Stoudt had two sons in the military, and she wanted her boys to get what they needed to fight the fights they were in. Vesta didnt just stay concerned; she got busy. After a lot of effort and even more creativity in the factory where she worked, Vesta showed her boss what she had invented. Almost predictably, her boss thought her invention was a lousy idea. Heres why: He simply didnt get what it was.

Sometimes people are the same when it comes to kindness, particularly the irrational variety. They just dont get what it is. There are several explanations for this. Fear, apprehension, and uncertainty would certainly top the list. Most people might think to themselves, a little kindness, sure, but why do a lot of it? Besides, who would it really help anyway? Everything in moderation, right? Why go overboard? The reason that kindness at this level is often hard to understand is that it hasnt been experienced. Simply put, its hard for us to get what we havent known.

Fortunately, Vesta didnt take no for an answer when her invention wasnt at first well-received, and we shouldnt either. She was determined to get the people she loved what they needed to fight the fights they were in. In a magnificent hail Mary, she sent her invention to then-President Roosevelt, who in turn sent what she had invented on to the Pentagon. Are you ready? This is how duct tape was invented. No kidding. It was an idea that was much needed yet completely misunderstood. In other words, some people didnt get it. Kindness is a lot the same. Its what can bind us together in our communities, our friendships, and our marriages. It what we need to fight the fights were in, but sadly, it is often misunderstood.

We can always tell where duct tape is because its shiny. We can also tell where its been because it leaves behind sticky evidence. Heres why. Duct tape is meant to be effective, not beautiful. Gaffer tape, on the other hand, is what stagehands use on movie sets. It doesnt reflect light at all, and it comes off clean. There is literally no evidence its even been there. Think about it this way: merely being polite with one another is gaffer tape. It has no shelf life. An irrational amount of kindness on the other hand, is duct tape. Its this brand of kindness Kevin talks about in this book, Irrational Kindness and kindness, like duct tape, is what we need right now to fight the fights were in.

Kevin has been a friend of mine for years, and Ive seen him live out the ideas hes written about in this book. This book isnt filled with impersonal lists of things to do or empty collections of words on pages. Irrational Kindness is a path Ive seen Kevin walk in the workplace and his personal life. His hope for me and you is that well take the next courageous step in the direction of this over-the-top brand of kindness. If you will do this courageous work, will you be misunderstood by people who dont get it? Of course, you will. The reason is that you are you, and people are people. But heres the thing. The adventure is worth the effort to get there. So, buckle up and lets get started. You can forget having a bookmark. Just fold over a piece of duct tape. Here we go.