Tonight we had a pretty awesome event for our teams, we headed out on a boat for dinner and drinks and are now off to a comedy show. So much to write about all the fun that was had, but the shows about to start!
Thanks to everyone who made this an awesome night!!!
Thanks!!!
Today was pretty damn awesome. Seriously, from start to end there were so many things to be thankful for it was amazing! Here’s a rundown of the awesomeness today:
Now I’m snuggled up next to Becky as I type this. Soon it’ll be bedtime, sleep, wake up early, repeat. and I’m okay with this level of craziness. Not only because I know that I only get one spin on this merry go round, but also because I get to have a seat on it next to my best friend!
Memento mori!
Thanks!!!
Today was a pretty awesome day. So many wonderful things to be happy for. Coaching, learning, listening, growing, thinking, and spending time with friends, new and old. It’s been an awesome day all around. That said, there’s a specific moment that really sticks out to me.
When we headed out for our early morning run it was fairly brisk outside – about 38, but felt like 34 or so. As I normally do, I stopped and walked for a little bit while Becky ran to the normal turnaround point. That couple of minutes of time alone in the dark feels good, it gives me the opportunity to pause and be alone for a moment in nature and the dark.
This morning as Becky and the girls ran ahead I started thinking about all of the things I have to be grateful for. As I kept thinking and remembering all of those things something just hit me… This was trapping weather.
When I was younger I used to go trapping for mink and muskrat with my dad. We’d head out early, well before dawn, and paddle the canoe around Solberg Lake checking his trap line. The mornings were sometimes cold enough that we could see our breath. At that time of the day there was no noise, no light except the moon, no one else awake, nothing disturbing the water except our canoe and our paddles. Often times we wouldn’t even talk, we’d just enjoy the quiet and take in the beauty. It was so peaceful and serene. Nothing else in the world mattered, it was just us being present in the moment with nature.
I’m not sure why, but I still vividly remember putting our canoe in early on a Saturday morning, the morning after my first middle school dance. The song Kokomo by the Beach Boys was stuck in my head. We put the canoe in and started paddling in the cool fall air. To be honest, I don’t even remember what, if anything, we caught that day, I just remember the feeling of enjoying being outside with my dad, paddling in a lake so still that the only movement was our wake, the only sound was our canoe moving through water. It was awesome.
This morning felt like that same kind of morning, especially as we ran past the river in a relatively quiet and unlit area. As Becky and the girls caught up back up to me I shared some of those memories with me. I think she thought I was sad, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. It felt great to think back on those memories, remember that feeling of being out in the quiet morning, spending time with Dad. The memories made me smile, warmed me, and brought me joy.
When we were getting close to the end of our run Becky squealed with joy and pointed out a raccoon that was sitting on the side of the road watching us in the dark. It didn’t move, it didn’t hiss… It just watched us. I smiled and immediately had memories of a raccoon that Dad had some fun with while trapping once, a story that I’ll never, ever forget. Again I smiled at the memories. How fortunate am i to have so many filed away in the back of my brain?
Today was awesome all around, but I’m most thankful for this cool and dark weather, trapping weather. It may have been cold, but it warmed my soul.
Thanks!!!
Sometimes I push myself and do things that are outside of my comfort zone. Many times I feel a slight lack of confidence, I question myself, and am doing what I think is right, but realize could be wrong. During these times I rely on my guiding values and purpose to point me in the right direction and trust that things will work out.
Today was one of those days in which I had a few opportunities to either take the comfortable route or push myself to be better and do what I thought was right. In each of those occasions I pushed (maybe goaded on a little by my blog about Dominic yesterday or my Memento Mori post last week). For whatever reason, I took action and am so glad that I did.
When I got home from a long but rewarding day of work I was greeted by this happy surprise…
As I read it I just smiled and beamed. While the note inside wasn’t at all related to the actions of the day, much of the note came as a result of taking similar actions in the past. The funny thing was that the person who wrote this was also someone who helped inspire me to push myself in some of those uncomfortable times.
It was a pretty awesome surprise, a little gift from the universe reminding me that I was on the right track. For that reminder I am very thankful!
Thanks!!!
This past spring Dominic surprised me a bit when he told me he had decided to do cross country instead of soccer in the fall. Knowing how much he had enjoyed soccer I was pretty sure he would change his mind and go back to it before the season started. He stuck with his initial thought and has enjoyed it ever since.
It’s easy to see that he’s enjoying it and having a great time in his new sport. The smile on his face and the way he talks about it tell the whole story quickly. He’s done well and continued to improve. Tonight was the last meet of the year for him and I was glad to be there to watch him finish it.
When I was his age I was a little hesitant to try something new like switching sports. Even through high school it wasn’t until my senior year that I changed up the sports that I played. There was always a fear I had of trying something new and not doing well {not that I did exceedingly well in any of the sports I was already in 🙂 }. My fear held me back then, and has held me back other times as well when I knew that I wanted to change but was afraid to do it. Sure, there’ve been more and more times when I’ve taken the chance, but often that didn’t come until I was older.
To see Dominic willing to change things up and try something different at his age makes me smile. It’s awesome to see that he can make a change, keep a growth mindset, and try new things to find what brings him the most joy. I’m super proud of him and it inspires me to not back down from any fears of change that I may have.
Dominic Dude, you’ve inspired me yet again. I still remember the conversation you and I had that moved me to trying out the Tough Mudder and getting over some of my fears to accomplish something that I wanted. Thanks Stud – Love you tons!!!
Thanks!!!
Each day when I work on my workshop or any project there’s usually an amount that I’m expecting to get done based on how much time I have to work on it and how difficult I think it is going to be.
Today I was working on insulating the floor of my workshop which is also the ceiling of the main floor of the garage. Going into it I was hopeful to get about a third of the way done today. When it was all said and done I finished up about three quarters of it! Everything was moving quickly and going fairly well, there were minimal interruptions, and I had Becky there to help me out a couple of times.
Usually I bite off more than I can chew, today was one of those days in which everything worked out well, I got in the groove, and just kept humming along. It was pretty awesome!
Thanks!!!
This year’s edition of Spook O Ree was pretty awesome! Not only did we have perfect weather for all but 10 minutes of rain, but we also got to stay in the Staff’s cabins – they even had beds!
Gavin and I had a blast hanging out with each other, going through the haunted house, playing gaga ball, shooting archery, going on the haunted hay ride (which had bus seats instead of hay bales this year!), and so many other scout related things.
The part that I am the most thankful for though is the time spent with Gavin. It was great to have some time to just the two of us mixed in with time with his scouting buddies. It was nice having some chill time with my best-est buddy – Thanks Gavin!!!
Thanks!!!
Over the past couple of weeks it’s been go, go, go for our family and at work. Almost all of it has been good things, positive things, things that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed and learned from. The issue is that I’ve gotten tired and feel a little run ragged. Times like this is when I’m more likely to get frustrated, be less upbeat, and not the positive and optimistic me that I enjoy being most.
In the past few days there’s been a phrase that’s been hanging around in the back of my brain… Memento mori… It just stays behind a couple of more active thoughts and then quietly whispers in my ear when I start to forget that I heard it the last time… Memento mori… As I’m enjoying a moment with family or at work it slips back into my head… Memento mori…
Finally, it clicked. I happened across an old quote from Teddy Roosevelt that helped me lock on to this thought and figure out why it’s been haunting me for the past few days. “We must all either wear out or rust out, every one of us. My choice is to wear out.”
In a snap, I had the spark of inspiration I needed. I left the office to go on lunch, hopped in my car, and headed out to a place I’d never gone in my almost two decades of working in Winona… Woodlawn Cemetery.
I drove in a little ways, parked my car, and just walked. It just felt right so I threw in my headphones and listened to The Strumbellas (one of the lyrics included “We walked in the night past the pines, the graveyard told stories of everyone’s lives” – fitting, huh?). Wandering with no specific destination in mind I just walked… and was present in the moment… taking in the smells of autumn… feeling the cool breeze blow across my face…
At one point the wind blew life into the trees and I was instantly awash in a storm of yellow leaves. It was awes inspiring, feeling like I was in the middle of a giant flock of butterflies.
I walked past the stone markers that showed where a person who was once alive now was laid as they were absorbed back by the earth. In passing them I quickly read their names, the dates of birth and death, symbols of their faith, and their titles… Mother, Father, Child, Baby… That was the only story told by their gravestones now. The dash, the most important part of their life, left a mystery to those who past.
In life they were vibrant, human, and full of emotion. They probably had many accomplishments, failures, memories, and friends. Maybe they had money, maybe they had none. In this place now they are all the same, all equals, all of the earth. To a person I would imagine they all wished they could’ve had one more day, that they would’ve done something extra, had tried something new, had told someone that they loved them one more time… But that chance was gone, they ran out of time.
Life is the race that we’re all destined to lose at one point, we need to remember to enjoy the journey, to pull every last drop of life we can from it. To burn bright, enjoy life, be happy, and work hard. We’re meant to give all that we can. In the end, there aren’t any more moments to try harder, to finish what was left undone, to try what we were afraid to do, to accomplish what we were too tired to do.
Walking through the graves reminded me of those thoughts, helped me see the world through their eyes, to see what would they have done differently if they could have a second chance.
Memento mori… Latin for “Remember you will die.”
On the surface it seems so cold, so harsh, so final, but in actuality it is a beautiful gift. Remembering that we will one day die is one of the greatest gifts we have. We know that our time is limited, we just need to keep that in mind and remember to live with that thought in mind.
Memento mori…
Yes, I could slow down. Yes, I could take a breather. Yes, I could pause… But I don’t want to! “My choice it to wear out.” Feeling tired is proof of the success of this endeavor. Memento mori…
Thanks!!!
Today we say good bye to an incredible teammate, Katie. While I wish her all the best in her next career I can’t help but miss her already. As she continues to move forward to reaching her dreams I am reminded of all of the reasons I am thankful for the time that I’ve had with Katie.
Over the past two and a half years Katie has had a tremendous impact on both my teams and me personally. Her work ethic has been incredible, she’s always taking on additional responsibility. Katie never backs down from a challenge and will always do whatever it takes to take care of her clients and associates. As others have sen her do this they can’t help but be inspired by her.
Not one to do something just for the sake of doing it, Katie would often hit me with some very tough and direct questions. I appreciated those questions greatly, I always knew exactly where I stood with her and her thoughts on that specific situation. I’m not sure if she knows this or not, but when she would ask me those difficult questions she helped me grow as a leader. Her questions helped me pause and re-assess my strategy. Her insights often helped to guide us down the right path.
One of the things that I’ve appreciated the most about working with her was her willingness to say “no.” I know, it sounds a little crazy, but when something didn’t quite seem right she spoke up and did what she felt was the right thing to do. When she would say no it was always in a very professional way. In most cases it is very uncomfortable to say no to a leader, but as a leader we need people around us who are willing to speak up and say it. Katie was always excellent voice of reason in that way.
The majority of our current team members had Katie as a trainer when they started, she did a great job of helping to grow our team’s talent base. Between those trainings and the training she did for about one hundred other Express people in Dallas Katie made quite the impact on many of us within Express.
As I look back over our time working together it’s amazing to see the impact she had on our team, its success, and on me. Man, I wish she was still here on our team, but she’s leaving our team in better shape than it’s ever been.
Katie, thank you so much for sharing your time, energy, work ethic, and awesomeness with us for the past two and a half years! It’s been an awesome journey, thank you for helping us be a more successful team in so many ways. Kick some butt and take some names in your next adventure, we’ll always be here to cheer you on and help out in any way that you would ever need. Thank you!!!
Thanks!!!
The past three days have been an absolute blur of non-stop activity. Our offices made an investment in signing a contract with an wonderful author and thought leader to bring her to our area to help our clients become even better. Marlene Chism is the expert in stopping workplace drama and helps businesses in many ways ranging from executive coaching to supervisory training and consulting. Her two books are great reads for anyone in the business or supervisory world – Stop Workplace Drama and No Drama Leadership.
While the above maybe sounds a little too business-ish, here’s the scoop… Marlene is an incredible thought leader who has, more than a few times, led me to new insights that I’d missed – both about myself and leadership in general. She and I immediately built a strong rapport, and in her I had found a kindred spirit who quickly understood me and was able to relate her similar past experiences to me. As we’ve built our business relationship we’ve also developed a strong personal friendship. She’s quickly become a coach, a mentor, and a friend, and prior to this week we’d only met once in person.
Over the past three days we’ve had three client forums to help both supervisors and executive leaders look at ways to stop workplace drama and be better leaders. I’ve had the pleasure of driving and attending each of these events with Marlene and her assistant Heather.
In that time together I’ve been able to see so many sides of Marlene and pick her brain on many ideas I have and challenges I’m facing. I’ve been able to have that “Wizard of Oz – look behind the curtain” type of tour with her, seeing how she reacts in speaking situations and hearing the origins and bigger picture of her concepts. It’s been helpful to hear the message, hear the story and thought behind it, hear it again, and then have her right there to answer questions for me. It’s kind of like listening to a book on Audible.com and then immediately speed dialing the author to pick their brain!
I can’t even begin to express just how much I’ve learned from her over the past three days. While it’s led to having to put in extra hours to stay caught up with other work responsibilities, it has definitely been well worth the time.
Marlene, I can’t begin to express just how grateful I am for the experience of working with you over the past three days. Our time together will lead to lasting positive impacts on me, my teams, and my clients. Thank you so much for the time and knowledge!
Thanks!!!
