Day 2,817

Growth:

Today was a moment in which there was extreme clarity. Everything slowed down for a moment and I could easily see the stitches on the baseball as the pitch was coming in. Moments like that are often few and far between as a leader, but so powerful and moving when they occur. What was interesting was that I unwound the moment and what led to it there were many other moments in which I should have noticed how clear the path was.

Remember to watch more closely for clarity, it is often hidden in plain sight. Some moments of clarity are hand delivered on a platter with a bow, but most often it is waiting nearby, hoping to be noticed should one look for it.

Appreciation:

I clearly remember Dad telling me early and often how his intelligence – from my perspective – would grow immensely until I was a teenager, then suffer a mind blowingly precipitous drop, and then possibly begin to steadily and rapidly increase from my mid-twenties. Let’s just say Dad knew what he was talking about.

This evening I texted to Mom to apologize for not taking her advice when I was about Dominic’s age and shared the story of what I had witnessed. Her response was an incredible quote. Mom for the win!

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in 7 years.”

Mark Twain

Presence:

Funny how life works sometimes. When we coach someone else we might learn something that we thought we were teaching the other person. This was very much the case for me recently as I re-read Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday, a reading assignment I had for someone.

As luck would have it, today I had the opportunity to put into practice something I had re-learned from re-reading the book! Had I not recently gone back through that book I would have totally missed the opportunity and the moment.

In that moment I was present, I paused, I thought through the situation, remembered the book’s concepts, filtered the moment through my mental filter, and then took the right action. Presence and learning helped me live into the moment correctly.

Thanks!!!