Response

I suffer mightily from an overwhelming desire to give flippant, typically one word, and always “you-got-to-be-kidding-me” answers.  It’s a life-long problem that got me hauled into the Principal’s office when I was in grade school, got me slapped when I was a teenager for being disrespectful and got me “put on report” during my military years for insubordination. 

As I think back on these examples and the many other times I’ve responded without thinking, any one of them should have taught me the much needed lesson that responding without thinking is a bad thing.

But they didn’t.

And I still say stupid things, without pausing for that needed time to assess the response, including how it would be received and who would be affected.

But with age (hopefully) comes wisdom.

I’m starting to realize that I don’t need to instantly respond to very many things.  In fact, I’m finding that if I patiently wait and thoughtfully ponder my response, more often than not, something else happens that makes my response unneeded or at least much more targeted (thus less flippant).

I have no doubt I’ll be fighting this for the rest of my life because it’s impossible to purge the zingers that are just sitting there waiting to launch.  But maybe, just maybe, because of that wisdom coming with age, I can lengthen the fuses on those zingers and potentially even put them out prior to launch.

You never know!

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Moments Alone

When you’re alone…

…do you pray out loud?

…do you belt out songs?

…do you spend more time listening?

…do you focus more intently?

I answered “yes” to all of these.  In fact, it’s an emphatic “YES”!

I pray differently and more intimately when I voice my prayers when I’m alone.

I sing differently and more enjoyably when I belt out the songs when no one is listening.

I listen very differently and hear background noises that I don’t notice and don’t care about when I’m not alone.

And I focus much differently when there are no expected or unexpected distractions.

The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to cherish and optimize the times when I’m alone.

It’s during those times that questions can be raised and answers can be found.

It’s during those times that sights, and sounds, and smells can be noticed that may not be noticed during other times.

And it’s during those times that revival and renewal occur and new passions and renewed purpose can then be brought back and shared with those I love and those who have expectations of me.

With all the demands on our lives today, it’s harder to find that time alone.

But we all can do it if we want to.

And we all need to!

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Blessings

Our sermon yesterday was rooted in Genesis 12:1-3:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

I will make you into a great nation

   and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

   and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,

   and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

   will be blessed through you.”

So Abram left, as the Lord had told him.

Imagine if we started every day with the faithful belief that (1) we are blessed; (2) we in turn should bless others; (3) they in turn will bless us; and (4) all we have to do is be receptive and obedient to the one who first provided the blessing.

We do have that blessing, and we certainly have the choice (maybe a mandate) to bless others because of (and in response to) that blessing.

May your week be filled with both the giving and receiving of blessings!

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Inspiration

I was inpired in so many ways this week:

  • by the diligence and commitment of those toiling so hard behind the scenes to make a big presentation something special
  • by the passionate talk given by a member of the executive team that transcended business with words flowing straight from his heart
  • in the joy filled call from someone who had waited nearly a decade for positive things to happen and was so excited to share the news
  • in the candid conversation when fears are admitted
  • in the call requesting a reference for a close friend that starts out with, “I really love her but want to get your thoughts”
  • from the excitement in voices when you take that first step on a very long but exciting journey
  • in the email that comes in from the field showing such great concern and empathy for those not being taken care of in the organization
  • in that clink of the wine glasses as now great friends confirm their bond and toast each other for the shared commitment to fight the business battle together
  • from that song that randomly pops up from your playlist and reminds you of emotional moments from times past that still mean so much today

Inspiration is all around if we’re open to be inspired!

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Anchors

When the seas get rough, what do you anchor on?

Do you anchor on your faith?

Do you anchor on your family?

Do you anchor on your friends?

Do you anchor on your team?

But when the seas get really, really rough, to the point at which all that you’ve worked for, or all that you own, or all that you cherish is at risk…what do you anchor on then?

Does the list get smaller or remain the same?

Steven Curtis Chapman sings Be Still and Know.

Be still and know that He is God.

Be still and know that He is faithful.

Consider all that He has done;

Stand in awe and be amazed,

And know that He will never change.

Be still.

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Reflection

When others look at us, what do they see?

Do they see a magnificent reflection of our Creator?

Do they see sunshine, radiance, happiness, joy, and optimism?

I want to shine!

I hope you do to!

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Top 10’s

Following the lead of one of my favorite sales oriented blogs – Conrey is for Closers – I’ve pondered what my Top 10’s are on the “must do before I retire” lists, both personally and professionally:

Personal Top 10 (not prioritized)

(1) Write a book

(2) Visit China

(3) Take my wife to NHL games in all Canadian team locations

(4) Take my wife on a cruise across the Atlantic and around the Mediterranean

(5) Take my daughter to Daytona or Talladega

(6) Go fishing in Alaska with my son

(7) Take my grandkids on a tour of the White House (when they are older and long out of diapers)

(8) Take my wife to Australia

(9) Join 20 of our favorite people in a box at the Avs game for my wife’s birthday

(10) Go on a missions trip overseas

Professional Top 10 (not prioritized)

(1) Own and grow a company from concept to $100M in annual revenue

(2) Create 1000 jobs

(3) Close a $1B deal

(4) Take a company public

(5) Start a non-profit

(6) Go to business war with my dream team of business executives

(7) Meet Jeff Immelt

(8) File a patent

(9) Invest in a “game changing” technology

(10) Work with one of my kids

Seems doable to me.

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Dreams

Try this.

Set your alarm to 30 minutes earlier than normal tonight.

Set the “snooze” for 5 minutes.

Then tomorrow morning, hit the snooze every 5 minutes for 30 minutes.

And as you fall back asleep for those 5 minute intervals, see if you dream.

And if you do dream, see if you pick up on the same dream during each 5 minutes segment.

Or, like me, do you seem to start and stop a new dream every time you fade off?

I’m fascinated now.

Because I’m obviously rapidly transitioning from one thought to another.

And it’s a deep enough thought to command my focus for that very brief period of time.

Then it’s off to something new.

And I bet that’s what I do during my fully awake times too.

Rapidly transition from one thought to the next, never spending any significant amount of time deep in thought about any particular issue.

I don’t know if that’s good or bad.

It may prevent me from falling into a really deep funk.

Because I’m off to the next thing too quickly to stay down.

It may also prevent me from really working through incredibly intense or detailed issues.

Because of my fleeting focus.

In either case, it could be good or bad.

It could explain a lot though!

PS.  Every dream was good!

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Priorities

When you spend 6-7 hours a day on the phone working the business of being in business, how do you prioritize the 5-6 hours that remain in your typical 12 hour work day delivering the business to the business?

Here are some suggestions:

(1) do those one or two things that definitely kick the cans further down the road and get you closer to the revenue success that everyone desires

(2) focus on those individuals that with just a little bit of your time can be positively impacted in significant ways with that little bit of time

(3) complete those one or two tasks that you promised others you’d get done during the day, and only as a last resort, beg for forgiveness and ensure you get it done the following day

(4) praise those individuals that achieved greatly for the company while you were focused internally and ensure you thank them specifically for the great work they did

(5) engage with that one partner and that one special customer that you know have meaningful new work that can be won with just a little bit of your time

(6) take 15 minutes of any remaining time to get outside the box and to envision accelerated growth and great success

(7) close out the day with a smile on your face and get ready to do it all over again tomorrow

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Personal Goals

Resolutions never work for me…maybe because I’m only ultimately accountable to myself…and that doesn’t seem to be enough to get me to focus intensely on any of them.  Maybe if I publish them this year I’ll be accountable to a few more people!

Here are some personal goals:

(1) Get under 200 pounds…haven’t been there for a long time…wonder what it feels like to be that light again

(2) Go from walking to running again…haven’t run in 5 years or more…might help me with (1); get to 10 minute miles

(3) Read the Bible completely through (starting with the New Testament) in this calendar year

(4) Prioritize more personal time for working with local charities; pick one to become extremely engaged and active in

(5) Be active in the job hunting and references for those still looking for work or needing new challenges; be successful for at least 25% of those seeking my help in their next steps

(6) Develop the outline and draft the first few chapters of a book with my Dad

(7) Cut my Starbucks intake by half

(8) Remind myself daily of how blessed I am and start each day out smiling

I need to get to work!

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