Day 2,776

Growth:

Not too long ago I shared the quote from someone along the lines of “you can always say something later, but you can never unsay something you’ve already said.” Between that line and the recent re-reading of Awareness I lived more closely into the person I should be today though I was tempted to act otherwise. Remember to pause, think, relax, ask, listen, think, and then respond if and as necessary.

Honestly, I’m a little frustrated that I still had to choose this behavior rather than live into it as habit and natural response, but I’ll take it as a positive step forward.

Appreciation:

I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from so many other Express franchisees. One of the ways our business is unique is in the number of different owners with different stories who’ve all found their ways to similar places through very different paths. In hearing their story I am able to learn from their successes and challenges, see the world through a slightly different perspective, and change my direction and actions in positive ways.

Today we had Matt from Green Bay in our NextGen Leadership retreat and he shared his story. So many interesting takeaways and positive motivation from him. One of the biggest lessons I drew from his story was the importance of goals and staying focused on what’s most important, especially when it can be difficult to do so.

Presence:

Spending some quality time with Dominic while picking up his prom tux was outstanding! I’m a huge fan of finding those pockets of quality time which could so easily be missed if I didn’t intentionally look for them. He didn’t need me to go with and I almost told him that, but I saw the opportunity for some bonus time and it was totally worth it. Always fun catching up, joking around, and just spending time together.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,775

Growth:

Practice really makes a huge difference in performance and stress. Mike D and I are presenting our retention training for a few different organizations over the next couple of weeks. In preparation we walked through the slideshow, made a few adjustments, and found a few improvements to add. The number of times we’ve presented this already has greatly reduced the pre-presentation jitters!

Appreciation:

Dinner with our NextGen Leadership group this evening was a blast! So much fun getting outside of the office to get to know each other better. The change in environment crafts a different level of conversation and leads to a deeper level of bonding. Glad we had the opportunity to spent bonus time as a group!

Presence:

The run this morning felt amazing! Fresh air, very little wind, birds chirping, and excellent conversation with Becky. What a perfect way to start the day!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,774

Growth:

“True happiness is uncaused.”

Anthony de Mello

Appreciation:

Spending time talking with the boys and hearing about the successes they’ve generated from their hard work and focus brings me great joy. I’m very appreciative for their work ethics, their dedication, and their goal focused mindsets. They continue to inspire me to be better each day!

Presence:

There were several moments of deep presence today – deep laughs with teammates (again), dinner conversation with my family, a client meeting, a conversation with teammates, and so on. For whatever reason what really struck me was the deep green color of the grass on a hill covered by sunshine and blue sky just north of Galesville on the eastern side of Highway 93. It was so vividly emerald green – the epitome of spring colors.

Thanks!!!

Day 2,773

Growth:

When I catch myself getting frustrated over something I really shouldn’t be frustrated about I know it is time to go back to Awareness. Within the first several chapters I received the slaps upside the head I needed to get back to the right headspace. Love that book specifically because of uncomfortable I feel when I read it.

Appreciation:

Becky and I were just going through some pictures from last year at this time on our drive back from the track meet. At one point Becky started laughing and said “no wonder we’re exhausted all the time!” The amount of life we have packed in as a family has been perfectly and ridiculously us! And I wouldn’t have traded any of it for anything else.

Presence:

There were several moments with my work teams today in which I was laughing hard and 100% present with them in the moment. In between all the hard work that gets put in the time together bonding and laughing becomes the mortar of our team. Great times!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,772

Growth:

Working ahead of schedule reduces a ton of pressure and allows more focus on creativity. Scarcity has its place, but abundance due to efficiency and planning is pretty awesome. The time spent in my retreat continues to pay dividends.

Appreciation:

Gavin’s Humanities homework involves reading and analyzing Animal Farm, just as Dominic’s did three years ago. I first read the book when it was assigned to Dominic and we had excellent conversations on the story afterwards. Now Gavin and I will be able to do the same. I really enjoy some of these talks about the book and it’s characters, fun to see where the boys’ heads go too.

Presence:

Catching myself about to over explain and over coach is frustrating as it was where my brain went first, but was also inspiring as I realized it before the words came out of my mouth. Not perfect but making progress!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,771

Growth:

We all come at life from different perspectives. Remembering to listen to other experiences rather than impose my thoughts based on my experiences is profoundly insightful. Listen, learn, then filter rather than filter, disprove, then judge.

Appreciation:

What a full day! Boys making excellent progress in track, time with extended family, time with friends, time with other friends, time alone reviewing photos, time with Becky on the couch enjoying a movie, and relatively early bed. Life is good!

Presence:

The boys had plans with some of grit track friends so Becky and I fired up a movie we’ve been meaning to watch for quite some time. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent was way better than it had any right to be! Chilling on the couch, laughing together, relaxing…. Ahh… a wonderful way to wrap up a Saturday!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,770

Growth:

So much can be learned through purposeful play. Several of the projects I’ve been working on involve new skillsets as I’d I’ve been doing my best to keep a beginner’s mindset. The play I’ve had as a result has been bitch fun and productive.

Appreciation:

I’m a huge fan of the book Once a Runner. It’s an aged but classic fictional tale of a college mile runner who’s singleminded quest really details what grit is all about. So many take award this fourth or fifth time through, so glad I picked it up again!

Presence:

Hanging out and playing a game with Gavin was exactly what I needed to wrap up the night! It was a nail biter that got pretty ridiculous by the end, so much fun!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,769

Growth:

Who knew that you could continue falling more and more in love with someone every single day? How awesome that each day gets better than the wonderful day before it!

Appreciation:

Spending the day with Becky from start to end was a perfect way to spend our 21st wedding anniversary. From hiking to eating out to talking to sitting outside to spending time with the boys it was a pleasure to have so much time together. A wonderful snapshot of what the past couple of decades of marriage have been like. So thankful she said “I do” 21 years ago!

Presence:

The turkeys are certainly in the middle of mating season in Madison! We saw so many Toms strutting their stuff trying to find a date 😉. What was really wild was how close they let us get to them before they stepped off the trail for us to walk by. I’d never seen a turkey that close and it was awesome!!! Their faces and feathers shimmered in the sun while their bodies puffed up huge. Pretty amazing!

Thanks!!!

Day 2,768

Growth:

So many ideas, thoughts, and new concepts created and started over the past few days! My brain almost feels like muscles the day after a hard workout – sore but aching for more. In so many ways the mental workout of the past few days been phenomenal!

Appreciation:

It took me a bit to get comfortable being alone. It took me a bit to get comfortable being back home. Amazing how quickly the brain can adapt!

What’s been even better is finding the balance of the best of both places. The focus and creativity of being alone blended with the focused time with family without distractions. Making space and energy only gif what’s most important, and knowing family is most important. What an awesome balance it has been since I got home!

Presence:

Ninety minutes of sitting on the couch talking as a family without TV, phones, or distractions – how perfect! What a wonderful way to come back to reality after spending time away for a few days. Reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

You haven’t really been anywhere until you’ve been back home.

Terry Pratchett, The Light Fantastic

Thanks!!!

Day 2,767

Growth:

The journey of a thousand steps truly begins with one. When I started working with my writing coach and editor on my first book I didn’t quite understand why they were so excited about all the blog posts I had written prior to working together. For me it is a daily habit of writing a little each day. They saw the bigger picture, I was writing something much bigger.

If I’ve written about 400 words per day on average I’ve written over one million words since I’ve started writing this blog! How did that happen??? One step at a time, consistently, over time.

Today it has finally sunk in for me, or at least has started to sink in. As a part of my next writing project I was reviewing my old blog posts and pulling a lesson or a conversation starter from each that I could share with others. After a few hours I was only about 60 days in… only 2,707 more posts to go! 😉

One step at a time, what a beautiful way to build.

Appreciation:

What a feeling to have accomplished almost all I set out to do over these past couple of days in relative isolation! There’s much more work to be done, but after tomorrow morning I will have wrapped up all I wanted and then some. Taking the time to pause and remember a lesson from my dad many years ago has really helped me stay focused.

The feeling of making progress and moving forward is awesome, the knowledge that I am furthering the legacy of several I love fills my heart with joy. Creating and living part of my purpose, what a gift and opportunity. I am so thankful for this time to pause life and create.

Presence:

One of the blog posts I stumbled upon was a moment of presence while wrapping up a camping trip with the boys. My buddy Steve paused us all for a moment as we were about to leave camp and said he wanted to share something with us. He went on to read the following quote. I remember the moment like it was yesterday and the quote has stuck with me ever since.

I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare any more time for that one. It is remarkable how easily and insensibly we fall into a particular route, and make a beaten track for ourselves. I had not lived there a week before my feet wore a path from my door to the pond-side; and though it is five or six years since I trod it, it is still quite distinct. It is true, I fear, that others may have fallen into it, and so helped to keep it open. The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.

Thoreau, Walden

Thanks!!!