Musings at Altitude

Wouldn’t it be awesome if everything in life was a fun filled ride for us?

It’s that way for my granddaughter.

She’s 9 months old (or close enough to say that).

Everything she looks at is fascinating to her.

Of course, everything she looks at is destined for her mouth if she can reach it too!

But everything is certainly pure entertainment.

As this picture of her in a scan bin at the airport clearly shows.

But it wasn’t amusing for all those around.

In fact, at least one person took it very poorly and demanded I take her out of the security bin.

But several others seemed to find big smiles and a few laughs as they watched.

And that’s what life ought to be.

A carnival.

One fun ride after another.

Sometimes we’ll crash during those rides, and we may have some bumps and bruises for a while.

But the carnival is still there.

And we need to get back on the ride.

And find those smiles.

And give those smiles.

And every now and then act like a 9 month old!

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I was approving expense reports today, and I had to smile – more like smirk – when I saw the receipt for the bag charge with the airline.  We shouldn’t have to pay for baggage but we do.  That receipt reminded me of the last time I checked in at the airport, and a lady and her daughter had their bag open, clothes thrown all around, desperately trying to get the bag under 50 pounds.  They tried at least two times while I watched, and each time the digital scale landed north of 50.  I got my bag checked and left before they ever got the bag light enough to avoid the extra fee for the excess weight.

It’s amazing how much baggage costs us today.  It’s even more staggering how much excess baggage costs.

Over the years, I’ve known people who can make a two (sometimes three) day trip with only a computer bag.  I’m not like that.  I take a big bag with several days of clothes almost everywhere I go.

But with airlines today charging for everything in order to get more revenue per seat on the flight, I’m tempted to also downsize my needs and minimize big time the things I take on any trip.

That might be exactly how we should approach life too.  Baggage weighs us down, slows us down, even grinds us to a halt.  Excess baggage crushes us as we deal with the weight of so many things.

I know it’s easier said than done, but that baggage needs to stay behind.  We need to move forward briskly, and we can’t do it if we’re lugging around that baggage that could have stayed in our past.

The greater the baggage, the greater the cost too.

So, lighten your load.

Let it go.

Move lighter and move faster.

Get to that next destination and achieve that next goal faster than you ever thought possible.

Then thank God for His mercy and grace, because leaving behind your baggage is a gift.

Travel safe!

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I spent 3 hours with a university class last night, talking about passion, entrepreneurialism, respect for owners, corporate bureaucracy, and so many other topics of surprising importance to them.

Over the years…

I’ve forgotten how young most college students look.

I’ve forgotten what it looks like in a college classroom.

I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have folks raise their hands before asking their questions.

I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have people call me “Mister”.

I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be bombarded with questions on each and every issue I discussed.

I’ve forgotten how awesome it can feel to see people so actively interested in what I’m saying!

I haven’t forgotten how fun it is to learn.

I haven’t forgotten how passionate entrepreneurs can be.

I haven’t forgotten how incredibly exciting it is to be at the beginning of a brand new journey.

I haven’t forgotten how scarey it can be to address a room full of people you don’t know!

I had a great time.

It’s motivating, stimulating, intensely fascinating to be challenged by young minds that are unihibited in their questions.

I need to do it again soon!

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As I sat in the waiting area at the barber shop this weekend, I picked up the pile of advertisements and realized that almost every ad was something that we would at some time buy.  And yet we never really use ads.

So, I have an idea. 

I wonder if my 16 year old will join me in a project. 

For the next 90 days, we’ll look for coupons and use every one we can find. 

Instead of pocketing the savings, we’ll put all the savings into a piggy bank (of sorts) and then on the 90th day, we’ll take all the money that we saved and spend it on food that’s needed by Northern Churches Care in Colorado Springs.

I’m doing some simple math, and I believe the savings could be substantial.

If she’s willing, we’ll do it.

Assuming she will, I’ll give you an update every 30 days.

I’m anxious to see how much we’ve saved, so how much we’ll give!

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I was reminded this week how a focus on the little things can make all the difference in the world to business (or life) success.

In this case, a focus on doing the little things well, and doing everything in the safest possible fashion, led to the extension and then long term renewal of an incredibly important contract.

That really got me thinking, because any extension or contract renewal that’s achieved without the little things being done right and an incredible focus on safety is ultimately pure luck!

And pure luck can potentially provide a tactical win, but luck alone cannot ensure strategic success.

It’s that focus on the little things that guarantees (if a guarantee is possible) strategic success.

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Nine years ago tonight, I was stuck in Atlanta, the first real day on the job with my new company, wondering when I’d get home and pondering how the world had changed after the attacks on everything we stood for.

In the immediate response after the attacks, we saw the heroics that define us as a country.  Those heroics are remembered today because many of those heroes lost their lives in trying to save others. 

In the nine years since the attack, thousands of other heroes have sacrificed their lives to protect our freedoms and to liberate others from the oppressive regimes that control their day to day lives.

As today winds down, I’m praying for all of our heroes and thanking God for those who selflessly serve, even to the point of giving their own lives for others in need who they may or probably may not know.

Today is definitely a day to pause and remember.

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I waited so patiently for something to say,

   but words just never came;

So I walked each night to find those words

   till the sun went down in flames.

Each morning I woke in hope of peace

   thinking this would be the day,

But each hour passed with no relief

   and night returned with dismay.

As the weeks go by with no real sense

   of the purpose for which I write

I now sit here with keyboard in hand

   forcing the issue this night.

I sense I’m moments away from that joy

   that’s eluded me now for weeks

And when that joy comes I know I’ll smile

   it’s something I desperately seek.

Till then I’ll prose in meaningless banter

   reaching so deep inside me

Putting words together this way and that

   wanting that epiphany!

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I got a call recently from someone I hadn’t seen in 6 years, and even when we met back then, we couldn’t have talked to each other more than about 2 hours.  In fact, I couldn’t even remember what we talked about back then.  I certainly couldn’t remember what his company did.  And I didn’t have a clue as to what he was doing now.

All he said was, “I enjoyed our discussions back then, and I’d like to catch up if you have time.”

I quickly said, “Sure, I’d like that.  How about tomorrow at 3:30?”

After I hung up, I kept wondering why I said yes, and what in the world we would talk about.

I strained to remember anything about him and his company, and I couldn’t for the life of me remember anything about either.

For a while, I seriously considered calling and cancelling, but some very quiet voice kept telling me to keep the meeting.

In fact, at one point, I started to send an email saying I’d have to cancel.  I don’t have the time I need to fulfill all of my current commitments, so adding impromptu meetings to my already overburdened schedule didn’t seem like a bright thing to do.

But I couldn’t send the email.  That quiet voice kept telling me to go.

So I went.

And I greatly enjoyed the hour we spent together…catching up…sharing his business struggles and survival…talking about what he needs next…and talking about whether we could help him out.

We can’t.

But after talking with him, I certainly want to find a way to help.

His struggle isn’t unusual, but his survival as a business certainly may be.

His ability to stick with it when anyone else may have shut it down certainly may be.

His ability to call people that he hasn’t seen for 6 or 7 years and make both of us absolutely comfortable talking about family, friends and business certainly may be as well.

He’ll need each of those skills and many more as he now tries to find investors or partners to help him move from survival to growth, and then from growth to financial success.

So after an hour, we shook hands and agreed to talk again soon.

As I think back on the meeting now, I still don’t know why that very quiet voice kept telling me to go.

It’s a longshot for him to have any meaningful relationship with the companies he so desperately wants to partner with.  It’s also a longshot for him to convince partners or investors to provide the funding he needs to achieve some growth.

But I’m convinced that the very tenacity that kept his company alive till now will make it awfully hard for those he talks with to walk away without making another connection, without suggesting another path, without opening another door that he can then charge through.

Maybe that’s what he needed today.

Maybe that quiet voice wanted him to connect with me so that I could provide encouragement, or an introduction, or a sounding board as he pursues that lifeline that keeps his business afloat for another 6 or 7 years.

I don’t know yet.

I may not know for awhile.

I may never know.

But I’m learning to listen to that very quiet voice.

And I hope that I fulfill my purpose for going to that meeting.

Whatever it was.

Whatever it may be.

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We’ve all been beat down before.

When an expected success turns into a horrible failure.

When a great relationship ends up in shambles.

When an incredible amount of hard work results in condescending and demeaning statements.

When momentary financial success turns into the brink of financial ruin.

When a great job turns into unemployment through no fault of our own.

Any of these could have crushed us under the weight of the misfortune.

Any of these may have driven us to our knees in intense prayer.

Any of these may have caused us to question ourselves and respond negatively towards others.

But none of these broke us.

None of these wiped us out completely.

None of these caused us to deny our faith or completely give up.

Instead, the moments of intense pain created times of great growth.

The moments of extreme worry created a future of great strength.

The moments of intense doubt turned into times of great confidence.

We all are going to be beat down in some way, in some fashion, by someone or something.

But we can’t be broken.

If we are, they win.

If we’re not, we win!

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My daughter and I went to a very popular country restaurant for breakfast this morning, and she immediately picked up the table game that they provide and started playing:

Every hole on the game board is filled with a tee, with the exception of one.  The goal is to jump tees, one at a time, and end up with the final jump leaving just one tee in a hole.

Unfortunately, my daughter plays the game very much like I do – moving the tees without much thinking and definitely not considering two or three moves beyond that current jump.

With our very tactical approach to the game, ignoring any possible strategy that might exist, the best we typically do is 3 remaining tees; every now and then two; and only on that rare occasion of incredible luck just one tee left.

Some people find it very easy to think about those next moves, and the next after that, and then even another after that.  Those people live for strategy, and I bet they love the “strategy games” that have become so popular to so many today.

But many of us enjoy being in the now, focusing intently on the move we’re making now and then waiting to see the consequence after the move before deciding what to do next.

As business and life get so much more complicated, living in the now becomes very high risk.  Some will get very lucky and the choices they make and the steps they take lead them to something magnificent.  But those many others that focus only on this current move will be greatly disappointed later in life when they realize that they still have several tees on the board and no moves left to make.

Hail to those who naturally think strategically today.

We need you desperately.

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