Good evening everyone!  Yes, I’m totally going in a slightly different direction than normal today…  kind of.  The first thing I’m thankful for is something that hasn’t happened yet.  Crazy right?  Not really!  Tonight’s blog is both gratitude and an ask for your help.  First I’ll set the stage and then I’ll ask for your help.

I still remember way back in the day when I was trying to decide what I wanted to do for a career.  Through a high school internship I had the opportunity to learn form an engineer.  In college I remember learning from several of my managers on how to run a business and what a career in sales and management looked like.  I still remember meeting with someone who was a sales rep in the paint industry and learning more about sales.  That contact was one thanks to a relationship Dad had with the rep and I’ll never forget that conversation, advice and help.  I remember many conversations with business owners early in my Express career that helped me see the in’s and out’s of owning a business.

Long story short, there are so many people who’ve had a very positive impact in my career and career choices.  I am thankful for each and every single one of them.  Without their coaching, conversations, influence and time I would not be in the career I am in.  I am so grateful for the time and advice they gave me without ever asking anything in return.

And that’s where all of you come in today 😉 

I could use your help in helping someone who has helped my family.  Gavin’s basketball coach is a college student and is going to school for a double major of Finance and Accounting.  He’s got a few more years until he graduates and is looking for an opportunity to reality test his career path.  He is mature beyond his years and he’s one of those people you can tell has the Grit, Growth Mindset, and Gratitude to do something very special in his career.  The leadership he showed and his ability to rise to the challenge when facing adversity were on full display as he coached. I am grateful for the coaching experience he provided for my son.

Would you or someone you know who has or had a career in finance or financial planning have an interest in talking with him about the Finance and Accounting career path?  He’s not necessarily looking for a job (though he is most likely available this summer); more of someone to talk with or possibly someone he could shadow once social distancing is lifted.

As you can imagine, I wouldn’t be reaching out to everyone if this wasn’t someone I believed in whole heartedly.  Personally, I’m still hoping to persuade him to consider a career in business ownership via Express.  If that was his interest I’d hire him in a heartbeat!  I can’t wait to see the great things he does in his career.

If you’d like to talk with him please let me know and I’ll be happy to introduce the two of you via email, phone, video conference, or LinkedIn.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide him!

Thanks!!!

When I think of the phrase I’ve used a lot recently there’s a piece that I maybe didn’t quite realize was crucial to the success of that specific phrase.  Over the past few months I’ve been very much focused on “controlling what I can control.”  I’m a long ways from perfect at it, but in spending as much time focusing on it as I have there’s been a significant difference in how I’ve been viewing the world and the corresponding increase in my joy.

Over the past few years there’ve been many lessons, both personal and professional, that have led me down the path of controlling what I can control.  I’ve used the term “letting go of the whee” in a very similar fashion.  There’ve been several times when I’ve reminded myself that an even itself is neither good nor bad, it just is.  It is I who add the context of “good” or “bad” to the situation.  The event itself is out of my control, but the decision of how I respond is 100% my choice.  When I remember to pause and think about what’s actually under my control and how I should choose to act there’s an underlying foundation that I haven’t really focused on as much as I should have.

What is at the heart of all of these thoughts?  Simple…  acceptance.  In my head and heart I would love to wish away the situation and have a different one.  I would love to find a way to negotiate a different challenge than the one I face.  I can bury my head in the sand and refuse to see what is truly in front of me.  There’s always the option to just disbelieve the reality around me and live in a delusional dream world.  In all of those cases I’m still controlling what I can control, but in such an unhealthy way.

In order to find the right path, to choose the right attitude and actions, I must first accept the situation in its entirety.  That’s not to say that I will just rollover and be run over by it, but there is a point in which I have to accept that this is, or may be, reality.  Once I truly accept it I can then control how I respond.  I can only choose the right attitude after I’ve accepted what’s happening.

This is a tough one for me.  I’m overly optimistic much of the time which can lead me to think that something isn’t as dire as it may truly be.  My ego is strong and I feel confident in my ability to use negotiation to shift a situation in my favor.  Accepting something at face value isn’t something that comes naturally to me.  In a weird circular logic kind of way I have to remember that I control whether I choose to accept the situation first and then determine my response to the situation.

If I accept the situation I can move forward. I can find a way out.  I can find the bright side.  I have hope to use it as a point of leverage to become stronger.  I can bear the short term suffering as I know I will be better for it in the long run.  Once I accept it I know I can find a way to leverage it into becoming more of the person I am called to be.

If I don’t accept the situation I get frustrated.  There’s a dissonance in my brain because my reality and the reality don’t line up.  If I don’t accept the true challenge I will not be successful, I might miss the gravity of the situation, and I will end up frustrated and depressed.  I’ll never get over the hump until I accept that the hump is there.

With all that is going on I’m so thankful for realizing the power and beauty of acceptance.  Turning adversity into strength hinges upon acceptance.  If I accept the gravity of the current challenge I know I can be successful in finding a way to navigate these stormy seas.  If I don’t accept them I’ll disbelieve the tidal wave right up until the point that it crushes me.  I can only control what I can control in the right way once I’ve accepted reality.

Thanks!!!

There’s only one right way to start my blog tonight…

Some things in life are bad. They can really make you mad.

Other things just make you swear and curse.

When you’re chewin’ on life’s gristle, don’t grumble, give a whistle.

And this’ll help things turn out for the best… and…

Always look on the bright side of life.

Always look on the light side of life. – Eric Idle

If you suddenly have an itch you have to scratch you can scratch away here: https://youtu.be/SJUhlRoBL8M

Right after listening to that classic we shot chasers of Don’t Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin and Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. Talk about three songs that could make you smile anytime. Even as much as I dislike Don’t Worry, Be Happy I cant help but smile and sing along whenever it comes on.

As an added bonus there was also a bonus video that popped up on my YouTube app. Eric Idle on the Late Late Show from about a year ago. It was awesome! It started as very quaint lead-in for Bright Side of Life but then it took a much darker, and more hysterical, turn. Next thing you know they are singing a song that sounds the same musically but has completely different lyrics… We Are Probably All Going to Die. I know, it sounds morbid, but it cracked me up! https://youtu.be/tAPceUSVLKM

This evening I am so thankful for those great songs and funny video. While there is so much wonderful in the world to put a smile on my face the songs and video made it even a little easier to crack a grin. Being able to share them with my family, smiles included, made it all the better.

If you’re night isn’t going as planned or something is just off tonight please remember those great words of advice from the aforementioned Mr. Idle…

If life seems jolly rotten, There’s something you’ve forgotten

And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing

When you’re feeling in the dumps, Don’t be silly chumps

Just purse your lips and whistle, that’s the thing..

And…

Always look on the bright side of life

Always look on the bright side of life

Thanks!!!

This morning I got to make an hour long drive time take care of some business. Talk about the perfect morning to do it; the sun was out and there was a fresh coat of snow on the bluffs. The route to my destination led me through some small county roads up and through the coulees. A couple of times I checked for traffic behind me, stopped, and took a few pics of the beautiful snow covered paradise all around me. There’s a magic to the rolling valleys in the Driftless when they have a light coat of snow on their trees.

Times like this make me chuckle. I know my words don’t even begin to do the natural beauty justice but I still try. I’ve already written and rewritten the paragraph above several times to attempt to better reflect the vistas, but I know it’s in vain. Just as is taking pictures of it; they just aren’t the same as experiencing it firsthand.

One of the blogs I follow often talks of “alive” time versus “dead” time. Alive time is when we are productive and truly living life. Dead time is the opposite when we’re doing something that truly doesn’t matter and contributes nothing. To help show that point from a very different angle today the author used a scene from Fight Club to show the difference between the two – how crazy is that? Even more crazy was just how well it really proved the point. Is life truly worth living if you only choose dead time? Knowing that we all only have a limited amount of time why would we all not want to maximize our alive time? This will be in my thoughts often over the next few days.

Thanks!!!

It sure wasn’t a normal Easter Sunday, but it was a great day nonetheless. Much of the time was spent hanging out with each other at home. Becky made a delicious ham for lunch and we laughed the day away playing games and watching movies.

Interestingly, one of the parts of the day I’m most thankful for happened totally by accident. Due to some technical difficulties we had to pause our movie for a little while. In our attempts to fix the issue I stumbled upon some videos of the boys from a ways back.

Without a second thought we hit the Play All button and laughed at all the videos they’d created. It was wild seeing how much they’ve grown! Seeing them each day kind of numbs me to their growth but seeing them back then was a shock to the system. The best part was hearing their voices joke with each other and watching them do all types of crazy action as they ham it up for the camera together. What an awesome walk down memory lane! It was only fitting to find an “Easter egg” like that today. 😉

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Thanks!!!

What an awesome day it’s been!  Shortly after writing this I’m going to head off to bed and sleep for most likely a very long time.  Ahh…

Somehow we totally lucked out with the weather.  We headed out to Wildcat Mountain State Park just before 7am to knock out the next of the hikes for Gavin’s Hiking merit badge.  Earlier in the week we were nervous that the weather was going to be brutal.  Somehow we hit the timing just perfect!  The weather was sunny and warm the entire time we trekked up and down the bluffs.  No wind, no rain, and no clouds – it was awesome!

During the hike I was thankful for the opportunity to spend time with my family.  Not only was there time with all of us talking as a group, but there were many moments in which we broke into smaller groups on the trail.  Gavin and I would shoot the bull for a while, then Dominic and I would get into a conversation.  Being able to have conversations with everyone together and individually was a great mix.

There were a couple of interesting leadership lessons that came up throughout the day.  They both came from interesting and unexpected sources.  The first came from Point Break, the 2015 version.  Yup, I just admitted it.  We were talking about a couple of things and one of the lines and concepts from the movie came up out of the blue.  As soon as it did my brain processed it in a slightly different way.  I’m interested to see where my brain goes with it.  The second came from the second chapter of Becky’s PhD dissertation.  She used an example of resilience that included a visual that hit home.  As she used the visual of a ball and cup showing stable state change something my brain took it to the world of leadership and team action.  Interesting stuff that definitely will take some time and thought to flesh out.  Wild to see where inspiration can come from sometimes!

All day long my brain has gone back to the story of Easter.  Between the days leading up to it and the days immediately after my head keeps spinning on the event.  It seems as if each year Easter really hits home for me a little more than in the previous years. Each thought seems to help me see ways I could improve how I live my life.  Wrapping up the evening with Easter vigil was a wonderful conclusion to the day.  More food for thought and prayer.  Just a hunch but I’m thinking the topic will be on my mind more tomorrow also.

Thanks!!!

 

Speaking of family traditions I’m going to keep this one relatively short and sweet as we have something coming up in a little while.  I’m reminded of a post I wrote a while back, I write to bring more joy into my life, but not at the expense of missing life.

Yesterday we had an awesome conversation about how to communicate with all of our customers in these times and my head kept going back to an idea.  After getting off the phone the idea just kept growing and growing and then it hit me.  This morning I hopped online, found the video I was looking for and was amazed to see how it still holds up even almost a decade later.  If anyone wants to have a reading buddy for the book The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk shoot me a call, email, or text.  I’ll be firing that bad boy up again by the middle of next week.  To summarize the book, we must continue to find ways to out love our competition and go to our customers as opposed to pushing stuff at them.  Intrigued?  It’s a great book and it’d be fun to discuss as we read it together, just sayin’.  😉

I still remember getting care packs when I first went off to college.  There is one in particular that will forever live in my brain as the best care package ever with the greatest story about it – thanks again Grandma Lamping!!!  Today I got another care package courtesy of my buddy Grant – bread, beer, and puzzles!  How awesome is that?  Don’t worry, we totally practiced social distancing.  Grant, thanks again dude, the homemade bread was delicious!!!

Don’t worry, we’re not breaking social distancing or the safer at home protocols.  the pic above is from a couple of years ago.  One of the things that is so strange this year is staying home versus traveling to spend Easter with our family.  Instead of getting frustrated, we’re going to do the next best thing – hope online and do a Zoom Easter egg dyeing as a family!  Sure, it’s not the same, but I’m so thankful there’s a way for us to keep our family traditions.

Over the past four days I’ve spent time during my work day to give a quick video shout out to people I am thankful for.  Nothing fancy, no crazy graphics, and no scripts except the first one, but all from the heart and genuine.  This isn’t a plug for me or anything, but it is kind of selfishness.  It’s amazing how much better my attitude is when I do these.  Taking time to think about the person and why I’m thankful for them puts my head in such a great place.  Hearing the thank you’s back and the smiles just add to the joy I’ve felt from doing these.  If you’re in a funk this is one heck of a wonderful way to help raise your own spirits while also raising up someone else.  How awesome is that?

Thanks!!!

This whole blogging everyday thing cracks me up some times.  Do you remember that scene in The Matrix when Neo goes into the home of the Oracle.  She says, “and don’t worry about the vase.”  Neo looks confused, says “What vase?” as he turns around, and knocks over the vase with his elbow.  “That vase,” she responds with a smile.  Later she tells him, “What’s really going to bake your noodle later on is, would you have broken it if I hadn’t said anything?”

After today please consider my noodle totally baked, but not in a Colorado kind of way.  Would I have acted the way I did today had I not read my blog yesterday, or would I have written the blog today had I not written it yesterday?  Then I literally LOL and realize that The Big Dude Upstairs might be chuckling as my tiny human brain tries to figure out something that truly doesn’t matter.

It was interesting today to have my mind go back to last night’s blog post several times and through several interactions.  There were moments in which I wonder if people thought my screen froze as I paused and ran what I was about to do or say through the filter of yesterday’s blog.  Sometimes I smiled and then let the thought/action fly.  Other times I paused, chuckled to myself, looked up to the sky with gratitude, and then did the right thing.  I am quite positive I made several better decisions today specifically because of the thought process I went through from typing yesterday’s blog.

And that leads to what I am most thankful for today.  In taking time to write last night I took a spark of an idea that had been started and through writing it caught fire.  Today it was ablaze and helped me see my reality through a slightly different lens.  I can honestly say I had a significantly better day and lived closer into who I am called to be because of the thought process I went through in writing my blog last night.

Unlike most days, I have a little call to action for everyone who reads this.  If you would, please take a few moment before you go to bed or right away when you wake up and think about what you’re grateful for from the past 24 hours.  Grab a pen and paper or computer and write about it.  Share it if you’d like, keep it to yourself, save it in a journal, or crumple it up and throw it away when you’re done.  You do you.  But take the time to actually write/type about what you’re thankful for.  This action will force your brain to get more detailed and specific.  As you noodle on it I can almost guarantee you’ll find even more of it, you’ll learn from it, and you’ll change your environment around you within the next 24 hours.  I swear, talk about an easy way to start and end your day with extreme joy.  Please, try it.  If it doesn’t work I promise I’ll give you all the money back you paid me for consulting fees for this last paragraph 😉

Thanks!!!

Before I started typing today’s post I hopped online and searched through the 1,654 blogs I’ve written over the same number of days.  I could’ve swore I’d written about this topic at least a dozen times so imagine my shock at the number of blogs including the name “Gethsemane” totaling only two.  They include the following (if you’re interested you can click on the link and it should open up in a new page for you):

• Day 180 – Thankful for the Story of Jesus Praying In Gethsemane
• Day 199 – Thankful for the Rawness of Being Tired

That just didn’t seem right to me so I dug a little deeper.  When I changed the search I found the following included “Jesus” and “Garden”:

• Day 252 – Thankful for Prayers, Love, & Support From Friends and Family
• Day 255 – Thankful for Letting Go of the Wheel
• There were two others from the past few weeks, but I’ll skip them due to their recency

When I went back to read these four I was struck by how clearly I remember writing each of these four posts.  Amongst all of the posts I’ve written two of them are easily in my personal Top 10 favorites.

I remember writing the post about Jesus praying in Gethsemane (Day 180 above) while laying in bed at Dad’s house on Good Friday of 2016.  When you check out the date of the post you’ll see it was the first one I wrote that wasn’t posted until just after midnight.  I’d milked out as much time as I possibly could with Dad before he went to bed and then wrote it.  I remember thinking about whether I should take the time to write what I really felt I should or if I should rush through it to meet my self-imposed deadline.  In looking back I am thinking it was a beautiful little nudge and an Easter egg from the Big Dude Upstairs.  There was an opportunity for me to choose between my will (getting it written on time) and His will (writing what needed to be written).  I am also so thankful for not rushing the night with Dad in order to accomplish the task.  Little did I know that he would be gone just over a year later.  Side note, I still remember just how much Dad loved that post.  It still fills my heart just thinking about that.

Just the sight of five words from my post on Day 255 caused my eyes to immediately water and my lip to tremble.  “Letting Go of the Wheel.”  That was both one of the most difficult and most beautiful days of my life to date.  It was on that date that The Big Dude Upstairs decided to help me truly learn one of the lessons taught in the story of Jesus in Gethsemane.  From Matthew 26:39 – … he fell with his face on the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  This was the day when I learned acceptance.  On that date I knew there was nothing I could do to help Dad live.  I couldn’t fix anything or change anything.  All I could do was accept and choose how to live with whatever The Big Dude decided.

So what am I truly thankful for today?  That was a whole lot about past blog posts, wasn’t it?  Let me bring back one more of my favorite old posts as it pulls the full story together.

• Day 454 – Thankful for “The Man and The Birds” read by Paul Harvey

The story itself is a Christmas based story.  I wrote my post the day after Christmas.  Why on Earth would I include a Christmas story when talking about Jesus praying in the garden???  Seems a little crazy, doesn’t it?  What I realized today was this was the last piece I needed to add to the mix to help me understand more completely why I find the story of Jesus praying in the garden so incredibly compelling and thought provoking.

The Big Dude Upstairs wants the best for us, always, and without question.  There are many reasons why sometimes things happen that I feel are terrible as they are not at all what I want.  When His plan and mine don’t line up I try to find a way to make mine work as I know mine has to be better, right?  In what possible way is it better for a loved one to be gone?  How is it possible that suffering can be the right answer?  At a certain point I feel like I could just scream out the anthem of all disgruntled teenagers to their parents, “BUT YOU JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND!!!”

But that’s where I’ve always been wrong, haven’t I?  The story of the man and the birds reminds me that God loved us so much that He came down to be as one of us to help us understand and to help lead us to eternal joy.

The story of Jesus praying at the Garden of Gethsemane to choose a different outcome is what I would assume is the most humanly possible and plausible reaction anyone could have.  If I knew I had to die to help save others I would try almost anything to negotiate a different solution or to create a work around… especially if I knew just how horrible and painful that death would be on so many levels.  Jesus shows His beautiful humanity in that moment.  There is no other point in His story in which I feel like I can truly connect with and understand Him.

When I put the two stories together I realize that The Big Dude Upstairs really does understand.  He knows that we are going to hurt.  He knows hurt and suffering on an exponentially worse scale than I could ever possibly imagine.  He came down to save us and wouldn’t even bend the rules for Himself/His Son.  If there ever was a time to be able to shift the line or fudge the details a little that was it…  but that was never truly an option, was it?

I’m so thankful for all of these bread crumbs that The Big Dude Upstairs has provided over the past handful of years.  When I look back I can’t imagine where my mind, attitude, and spirit would be without the lessons He’s taught.  Regardless of what happens in the world, to my family, to my friends, and to me I know that there is a purpose for the struggle and the suffering.  Each and every difficult trial life has offered has made me stronger, has helped me become better, and has led me to long term joy.

Yes, there are many times I would’ve rather chosen a different path to get there, but I trust in the wisdom of The Big Dude.  I have faith in Him as I know He truly understands and He loves me (and all of us) so much that He is willing to do the tough things we need to become who we are truly called to be.

Thanks!!!

First off, I got a wonderful motivational video from my Aunt Renee this afternoon.  It’s a short clip that left me laughing, clouded my  eyes, and helped me remember perspective. If you don’t mind missing out on about 6 minutes of sleep you’ll want to check this out before bed tonight: https://youtu.be/CgQkh1_cACE

Thanks again for sharing it Aunt Renee, that was awesome and greatly appreciated!

There were many things that seemed like they almost just fell into place today.  At almost every turn there was positive progress and things just worked.  Days like that feel great, especially when working remotely.  While I’d love to take the credit for having great ideas, motivation, timing, and the like – I can’t.

As I’ve thought through the day and all of it’s successes one thing kept coming to mind.  I am so blessed to be surrounded by others who motivate and inspire me on a daily basis.  For reals, all of the great ideas today, all of the actions that helped, everything came from the inspiration of others.  Recording a thank you video for a couple I’m thankful to have in my life?  A teammate of mine who did that yesterday.  Remembering to apologize when I make a mistake?  Family who’ve done it the right way and mentors who’ve helped coach me.  An idea to keep work fun and inspiring?  Teammates, past teammates, mentors, and friends.  Finding ways to be positive in difficult times?  Great friends and family, wonderful teammates, and excellent business partners.  Exercising even when I’d rather sleep in?  Totally Becky.  Behind everything that went well today was the face of someone else who inspired the idea or motivated the action.

Now that I think of it I should keep a separate blog list of the people who’ve motivated and inspired me throughout the day.  What a list it would be!  I still love the lesson Dad taught me of remembering who I got each tool from when I use it.  I wonder how I could do the same with actions and ideas…  That would really be something!

To all of you in my life who motivated and inspired me today – THANK YOU!!!  My day was great because of your presence in my life.  I’m eternally grateful for the blessing of your presence in my life.  Thank you for being you, thank you for being awesome, and thank you for bringing extra joy into the world!

Thanks!!!