Another day of crazy busy. Up by 5am, running with Becky and the girls. Off to work, get many tasks knocked of the list, handle a couple of curveballs. Head home, kiss Becky, eat supper, Becky heads out to pick up Gavin, a few minutes later I head out to drop Dominic off at church…

The script then read something along the lines of “chill in the car, get some work done, bring Dominic home, sell popcorn on the way, and crash at home.” I guess I’ve never been great at following scripts, I prefer improv… and that’s exactly what I did. Of course I’ll be back on track soon, but I took a 30 minute detour and I’m very thankful for that.

As I was driving Dominic to church Becky told me to check out the moon, it looked huge! The color was also pretty awesome and I got an idea. I dropped Dominic off at hutch and then hit the gas and headed out towards Granddad’s Bluff. My plan was to drive out and get a sweet pic of the moon.

As luck would have it, I struggled to get the right angle and the brightness never quite panned out… I smiled to myself and was just happy for the chase to see something awesome, to pause the chaos for one fleeting moment, to enjoy nature.

When I whipped a U turn the deep red of the western horizon really caught my eye. I hightailed it to the top of Granddad’s Bluff just in time to get a few sweet shots that made me smile.

As I was walking from the parking lot to the observation area I paused to enjoy the cool fall weather (1st date with Becky weather). The breeze felt amazing, the smell of fall hung in the air. I was in the moment, my senses loving every second of it, enjoying the non-hurried feeing. It was exactly what I needed today.

And now back to reality… sitting in the car, getting work (& this blog) done. Soon Dominic will come out and I’ll start heading home, selling popcorn for Scouts along the way. Shortly after getting home I’ll crash. Right back on script… but there’ll be one difference… I’ll be laying in bed smiling at the memory of pausing the chaos for a moment to enjoy nature today.

Thanks!!!

Super proud of, and thankful for, my Winona team today!  In every business there’s usually one goal, maybe two, that really tell the story of your team’s success.  In our case one of those two measurements is the number of local businesses we have our people placed at.  The more businesses we have people placed at the more different opportunities we have to offer, the more opportunities to offer the better the odds of getting them in the right career.

Winona started out the year averaging 45 clients each week (clients is the term for the businesses we have our people {associates} placed)…  This past week we hit our highest total almost ever (with the exception of a special project a handful of years ago).  We have our associates working at 64 clients just in Winona!!!  Up until last week we couldn’t quite break past 61, but this week we jumped huge!  Over the past four weeks we’ve averaged over 60 clients per week, we’ve increased by 33% since the beginning of the year – how awesome is that???

My team has been busting their butts over the past 9+ months and I’m so thankful that they’re seeing the incredibly awesome fruits of their labor.  I’m beside myself with pride and gratitude for this team, they continue to blow past what we thought was possible and reset bigger goals.  Congrats on crushing it!!!

Thanks!!!

Just when I think that I’ve got the perfect idea or two for the blog something happens and I change it up.  Today was that kind of day.  There were things that came up completely out of the blue, making progress on projects, and a philosophical idea that I was going to focus my gratitude on, but as the day kept going I knew there was really only one direction to take my blog today.

Exactly 18 years ago today I was able to sweet talk a beautiful blonde into giving me her phone number and agree to a date the next weekend.  You can read about the actual event on blogs from last year and the year before (click here and here).

I still remember riding to my parent’s home from the wedding and telling my mom and dad that I’d met the woman I was going to marry.  It was already a done deal in my mind, zero question.  There haven’t been many, if any, moments when I’ve been so sure of anything.

Here we are 18 years later, that memory is officially an adult!  My mind is blown thinking that here we are, our relationship growing from newborn to adulthood, and I’m happier and more in love than I was at the beginning.  Sure, life is complex and it’s not all perfect, but there’s a joy in continuing to find ways to stay happy, in love, and having fun the whole time.

18 years later my life is even more complete than I’d imagined it would be on that early October night.  For that I am grateful!

Thanks!!!

Days like today are amongst the toughest to decide what to blog about.  The reason being that there were so many moments that I’m thankful for.  Amongst those moments today was having Becky make homemade tomato soup when it was perfect soup weather, a trip to Menards with Dominic, knocking out our last long training run for our marathon, cleaning up a chaotic mess of stuff on my dresser top (I’m a piler, not a filer), and getting more done in the workshop than I expected.  I’m thankful for all of those moments and many more today.

As I think of where my thoughts have been today there are two articles I’ve read recently that had brain going all day long.  The one that really kept resonating was an article about Leonardo da Vinci by one of my favorite authors, biographer Walter Isaacson for the Wall Street Journal.

It was so intriguing to learn that he wasn’t necessarily the smartest guy around, as evidenced by the fact he often made mistakes in calculations.  While not the smartest, there were a few things that he did exceedingly well that helped him to be the genius as we all see him as.  It is in considering those key qualities my brain kept thinking about what I am missing, not seeing, or not taking action on.

In the article the skills or qualities that really made Leonardo special were:

• His passionate, playful and occasionally obsessive curiosity
• His curiosity was aided by the sharpness of his eye, which focused on things that the rest of us barely notice.
• Just as he blurred the boundaries between art and science, he blurred the line between reality and fantasy.

My brain has continued to ponder these qualities today, thinking about the clouds differently, how to do some construction a little differently, considering an idea I’ve had in my head simmering for a while, and cleaning things up in my bedroom so I have more clarity for my brain to think.  All from one article, and I’m thankful for that!

Thanks!!!

This one really doesn’t need to be a very long post, especially if you’ve experienced Oktoberfest in La Crosse…

While there’ve been some years when I’ve been most thankful for the beer… lots of beer… so much that I wasn’t thankful for it the next day… 🤢… today I’m thankful for the Oktoberfest food.

I’ve been jonesing for brats and a beautiful gyro all week, and now I’m halfway done… soon the gyro will make the evening complete!

Thanks!!!

Today has been one heck of a great day.  Seriously, I’ve smiled and laughed, I’ve had time in thought, and I’ve been moved to tears.  To quote the great speech by Jim Valvano:

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

It has been a full day, one that I am incredibly thankful to have had and to have shared with so many friends.  Days like this are reminders to me of how blessed my life is, and how thankful for all that The Big Man Upstairs has provided.

There was time with my family as I got ready to head out of town.  We joked around, enjoyed each other’s company, and had got our hugs and “I love you’s” in.

The ride in to the office and up to Minneapolis were bonding time with my team, a chance to set aside the concept of “work” and just shoot the bull for a while.  We all got to know and appreciate each other a little better.

Upon getting to Sales Summit it was a steady stream of handshakes and hugs with Express friends.  Sharing of smiles, laughter, and stories.  Some work related, some not.  It always has the feel of going to the family reunion that you’ve been longing to attend, the one with the crazy relatives that get you in a way that is unique and special.

Having conversations in between speakers and classes led to incredible moments that I’m so grateful for.  From one former team member who’s back with the Express family I learned of how she got into mud runs after a conversation she and I had many years ago.  That warmed my heart and I fought hard to not let the awesome leak out of my eyes.

Our keynote speaker was lights out and helped us all remember just how blessed we are to have what we have and to find ways to make the world a better place for everyone.  A story of love, civil war, refugees, and a simple idea that’s had an incredible impact.  What an inspiration for all of us to look at the world a little differently.  As the day has gone on I’ve continued to think on that – how could I change the world?  What am I not seeing that’s right in front of my eyes that I should be doing to help others more?  Great food for thought…

My teams have been busting their asses over the past year to help us grow.  They’ve been focused, determined.  Each of them has shown over and over again how they live to our values of Grit, Growth Mindset, and Do Right.  From this hard work they were able to experience an extra special taste of success – winning awards with their peers.  We won several awards and there were smiles all around.  I am so proud of all that they’ve accomplished, for all that they’ve grown, and for all of the future successes that they will continue to have.  Being able to be a small part of their success is one of the absolute most rewarding feelings I’ve experienced in my professional career.  I love them all and am so grateful for each of them.

As I wrap up the day and prep for bed (I’ve got an 8am presentation and will get one more practice run in at 6:30am) I reflect on today with misty eyes.  I’ve laughed, I’ve thought, and I’ve had my emotions moved to tears.  It’s been one heck of a day.  Thank you to each and every single person who made this day memorable.

Thanks!!!

Today has been pretty awesome.  In addition to hanging out with Nick for a little bit, getting a nice little nap in, and spending time with good friends at the Oktoberfest Torchlight Parade there was something else that kept me smiling all day long.

Starting from last night through this moment I’ve received many birthday wishes from so many friends and family.  Between cards, in person wishes and hugs, texts, emails, and Facebook  it’s been a steady stream of love for this guy.

Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes, it was an awesome one, specifically because of all of my family friends.  Thanks to everyone for making it an awesome birthday!

Thanks!!!

Later tonight Nick and I will be kicking back at Miller Park watching the Brewers game.  Knowing that it will be a late night and that I’ll probably be too tired by the end of the night to blog about it, I figured I’d throw this one up a little early.

It’s been a while since we’ve made the trip to Miller Park together.  The last time we went we were both skinny enough that our giant melon heads fit (almost) into our matching game worn helmets.  While our heads may not fit anymore, I know we’ll still have a blast shooting the bull, remembering old games with many different family members, and maybe, just maybe, having a cold beer or two!

This will be a pretty epic way to end my first year of being 40 and I’m thankful that we were able to make it work.

BTW – If you happen to watch the Brewers game tonight be sure to watch closely, we’re right behind home plate.

Thanks!!!

Quick side note… yes, I know that Day 365 comes after Day 364. Unfortunately I did not know that Day 213 was supposed to come after Day 212, not Day 213. Pretty sure that I’m going to be off by a day every year based on being two for two! 😂

My schedule today was totally bonkers. With being out on Thursday and hot deadline approaching today’s schedule was about as loaded as it could’ve been. There were eight phone interviews, a coaching call, and a conference call each butted right up to the next with a short break in the middle.

Most days this would be a recipe for disaster. I’ve been known to go a little long on my phone conversations… or so I’ve been told. 😉 Today was all good and everything stayed right on schedule, it went just about perfect.

While I’d love to credit myself for just being that good and disciplined, it was really due to an awesome new tool in my office… The Time Timer.

I know, this will probably sound a little ridiculous, but with the way my mind is wired this clock has really helped! While my mind often wanders to different ideas (aka Shiny Syndrome), I’m much more cognizant of time when I have a visual like this in front of me.

Knowing how much time I have to devote to the task I turn the red portion to the appropriate spot (45 minutes was the norm today). As I take part in the task I can dive in full feet and just take the occasional glance at the clock t see how much time I have. It sounds weird, but I can more easily see how much time I have this way as opposed to watching a clock.

Today everything rolled on just the way it was supposed to with one exception of about 2-3 minutes. Pretty sure that’s never happened before, and I am thankful for having the Time Timer in front of me to help me out!

Thanks!!!

Today I’m pretty sure that I bumped my head pretty hard.  As I was sitting on the couch wrapping up some work after Cub Scouts tonight Zeke jumped up, snuggled in, and next thing I knew, I was petting him.  After a while I grabbed the brush and spent some time brushing him off.  We enjoyed each other’s existence for a short period of time, both realized what we were doing, and the moment was gone.  He jumped off and scampered away while I was disgusted at picking his hair out of my eyes and nose.  And that’s just how the two of us roll.

If you’ve ever been to our house I can pretty much bet that I’ve offered you the cat.  I’ve probably even offered you cash to take him.  Odds are that either you said no or Becky stopped the transaction from happening.

Zeke and I have always had a love hate relationship…  we both love to hate the other.  Way back when my niece got him as a kitten I tried to be nice to the little guy.  He came up to my feet all cute and snuggly.  I reached down to pet him, and as I did so the little bastard bit my pinky toe right in between the nail and the side of my toe.  I would explain how I handled the situation, but it might make Sarah McLachan cry (not really, there was nothing mean done to the cat).  In that moment our Seinfeld / Newman relationship was born.

Zeke has been kind enough to allow us the privilege of living with him for the past 14 years.  As his servants he treats us well, showing us his love by acting totally disinterested and showing his disgust by intentionally barfing in our walkways in the night.  Yes, he’s a grumpy old bastard cat, and we’re pretty sure the only thing that brings him true joy is being unhappy.  I don’t think he’s eaten anything but anger and frustration for years!

While you may be wondering why I’m thankful for this cranky animal, it’s actually pretty simple.  He’s a part of our family.  Thankfully, the part of the family that reminds us why life is too short to be unhappy…  unless that’s what really makes you happy???  Hmm… Maybe that logic doesn’t work in this case.

I’m also thankful for him as he brings comic relief as our old grumpy bastard cat.  He’s our Oscar the Grouch, Red Foreman, Grandpa Simpson, and Frank Costanza all rolled into one.  In Zeke’s mind he’s Batman and the rest of us our his Jokers.  As we all learned in the Batman Lego movie, Batman needs the Joker to be complete and to have a purpose.  Zeke needs us to stay crabby and grumpy…  which keeps him happy.

Thanks!!!