August 2011
1 post
4 tags
Addition and Subtraction
People seem to focus on two distinct formulas in life, addition and subtraction.
We add to our lives the things we need and the toys we can play with. We then subtract from our lives those very same things through garage sales, donations, or even the trash to make room to repeat the cycle.
Business works the same way. Add products, customers, and then employees. Then subtract what or whom...
April 2010
1 post
4 tags
When Time Stands Still
The clouds were in a hurry this morning. I don’t know if you saw them, but they were jetting across the otherwise clear sky as if they were in a mad rush to be somewhere fast. Even more fascinating was the sun which was visible but totally white behind the clouds.
It was really pretty impressive.
Even more impressive was that I was running late this morning. Yet all morning long time...
March 2010
4 posts
7 tags
What's missing in my life?
“If you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet, they’re about to announce the lottery numbers!” - Homer Simpson
It seems that the American dream was to make life easy. Computers and cell phones and cars make our lives easier. 52” flat screen 3d ambient light televisions and surround sound all from the comfort of our homes (no, I...
10 tags
Do you go with the flow?
I get bored easily. I despise traffic. I procrastinate on a lot of things that I could easily do now. I work out daily at the gym but often look for the closest parking place. I complain a lot. I can zone out in front of a television. I talk on my phone and have no idea how I got from point A to point B. Why have 1 when I can have 2?
Do I conform? ”Do not conform to the pattern of...
5 tags
Life Without Walls
There has been some talk about my hometown of Topeka changing their name to Google, Kansas. Their hope is to lure Google into bringing their gigabit wiring project to the residents and business’ of Topeka.
The idea got me thinking and asking, “What would like be like without the box?” Google’s plan is to give people unbridled access to the Internet and “see”...
6 tags
I wish I were...
Today I choose to get up and go to work. I choose to feed my dog and choose to check her paws before she comes in, after all it was raining last night.
I choose to pay attention. I choose to pray.
I choose to be lazy. I choose to be concerned.
I choose to choose.
My problems arrive when I stop choosing. When I let life “just happen” to me is when I begin to see issues.
“I...
February 2010
11 posts
2 tags
What Consumes Your Time?
Why is letting go so hard?
As hard as it is, letting go is part of the process that allows you to move forward. Bad habits are broken one step at a time, replacing the wrong choice with the right choice each and every time the option is presented.
True leaders have to learn to let go of the things that consume their time and attention so that they can focus on the things that need their time...
4 tags
complacent and tasteless and bored
Coasting through life doesn’t really build character or enlighten me to the ways of God or of man. I’m not so sure life is supposed to be easy and I’m pretty confident that I’m not here to seek a life of comfort and luxury.
Instead, feeling alive might actually hurt. It might involve risk and failure. It might downright suck sometimes.
But it’s better then...
3 tags
Dirt Sandwiches?
On the wall in my office I have a picture that says: “Until you spread your wings, you’ll have no idea how far you can fly.”
I look at this picture every day. It reminds me that spreading your wings does not always mean eating a dirt sandwich, even if my first thoughts are always prone to go there. Instead, it reminds me that the mark of a leader is one who is willing to...
5 tags
The Chicken or the Egg
The fact is, we all start owning technology because it’s cool and it adds convenience to our lives. Then something strange happens. It becomes necessary.
Do you own technology or does it own you?
You’re out to dinner with friends and your phone vibrates. Do you:
a.) Answer
b.) Look at the screen, and then return to your pocket
b.) Ignore the ring
d.) What phone? I left it...
2 tags
Start, Stop, Focus?
Success in my life comes from simplicity, not complexity. In every area, when I let things become complex (yes, complexity happens all by itself), I get bogged down and paralyzed with fear. When I keep things simple, I execute.
Ready to make a change?
1. Start doing more of the things that bring you the greatest rewards.
2. Stop doing the things that prevent you from achieving your...
4 tags
Never Going Back to Okay
“How’s it going?”
For those of you who know me, my life is never really just okay. It’s usually on a high, a low, inside, outside, or upside down. If it were just okay, I’d probably be bored and then we’re back to the high or the lows.
The problem I see isn’t in the question. It’s in the answer I usually give. “Fine.” ...
Look What I Found
I’ve worked with those who micromanage. In some instances, I hate to admit, I have tried my hand at it also. Rarely does it work for me. On both sides, squeezing the humanity out of the process and reducing a task to something a monkey could do just doesn’t create the environment I want to be in. More importantly, it doesn’t pave the way to successful business or...
Consuming vs Creating
A few weekends ago I invited a friend over and we went to buy paints, brushes, and all the other supplies one would need to paint. This time, however, the paint was not being applied to some wall in my house, but to a canvas (which has been the limit to my painting ability until now).
It was completely horrible. (the art, not the experience). I set out to duplicate something I had seen online...
“I’m always mesmerized watching PASSIONATE people do what they love best, than by...”
– @sidmohede (via haribf)
Pressing On
I am 119 pounds lighter then I was on May 18, 2009. But that’s not the biggest change in my life.
I have been on an incredible journey the past 9 months. Not a single path, but an entire mountain of trails (literally at times—see Anchorage pic’s on facebook). Some of them were paved and easy to climb, others were off road and required me getting dirty. All of them were worth the...
5 tags
Finding my Tribe
I didn’t fall asleep until 3:30am this morning. This time it wasn’t due to anything except my own excitement. Almost like the morning before a trip somewhere, the excitement of discovering a true passion of mine kept me pacing, reading, and talking to anyone that was up.
Here’s what I’ve discovered: I love changing lives. Creating meaning and purpose with people is a...