There are some days that go by and I wonder if I’m really making any progress.  Those are the days when I feel like I’m on a treadmill, I know I’m getting a workout but I’m not getting anywhere.  No matter how hard I push and drive it seems like I’m standing still.  

At a gut level I know I’m moving forward on those days.  I’m putting in effort, learning, growing, and getting stronger.  The grit is being used and even though the immediate reward of attaining a goal isn’t there, I just know it will be.

Today was different.  When I pause and reflect on the day I’m very thankful to have seen signs of progress.  We’re starting to move the dial in one location.  Another won a client that we’ve been working on for a really long time.  Another had the phone ring with good news, more good news, and yet more good news.  So many signs of progress in all of them.  

Then there’s my team and I see signs of continued progress.  Learning new sales skills, seeing opportunity that may not have been seen before.  Making progress towards our vision through our values.  Gritting out a tough conversation with a client because it is the right thing to do.  Taking time to ask questions and learn as we should with a growth mindset.  All around, many signs of progress.

As I think about the day I can also see signs of personal progress.  Seeing things a little differently.  Handling certain things a little better.  Little wind that show that I’m making progress.

Sometimes it nice to see hard work paying off through little signs of making progress.

Thanks!!!

Yes, it’s a new year, time to review and reset goals for the year, right?  Seems like when I do that I have great ideas that turn a little scary when I think about all that it will take to accomplish them.  As soon as I write it down I can see the hours and reduction in free time getting in the way of the other things in life that I love.  I see choices and sacrifices to be made in order to hit this grand goal.  Maybe I think that it’s worthwhile and I push forward…  but after time it gets tough to keep pushing and I get too tired to grit it out.  Don’t worry, I still know that I can accomplish anything I set my mind to, I’m going to try it a little differently this year.

I’ve still got some big goals to accomplish and some dreams to get started, but this year I am breaking it down month by month and week by week.  One of the things that I’m already finding helpful is setting small weekly goals that lead me step by step to my big goals.  Most everyone else probably already does this and I’m just a little slow to the party, but so far so good!

It feels a little old school to go back to using a paper planner of all things, but the way this thing is laid out seems to be custom made for me and I’m loving it so far.

It’s a little step, but using this approach and taking small steps towards my goals has the possibility of being a big help in my 2017!

Thanks!!!

Oh the dream that is being retired…  It is something that seems pretty awesome when I talk with people who are living it.  Obviously I have a long ways to go before I get there, but I got a nice little taste of it today.  Becky and I both had the day off for the holiday and the boys had a school day.  It was AWESOME!!!

After the boys headed off to school Becky and I went to yoga.  From there we grabbed coffee, and took the dogs for a walk.  We got a few things done around the house, ate lunch and relaxed, and eventually ended up on the couch and started watching It’s a Wonderful Life while snuggling up together.

After a while Dominic got home and Becky ran the boys around while I made supper.  After supper a couple of more tasks (laundry, dishes, picking up Dominic, and what not).  Now we’re all chilling on the couch watching the end of Mythbusters.  Once the boys go to bed we’ll finish our movie and get to bed relatively early.

All the weekends of Christmas have been great and appreciated, but it was nice to just have a day to the two of us (for the most part).  Back to reality tomorrow, but today it was nice to have a day off to enjoy each other’s company.

Thanks!!!

I need your help!  Please help my Uncle Frank enter the Pack Hall of Fame by voting here!

My Uncle Frank is by far and away the biggest Packer fan I’ve ever met in my life.  He absolutely bleeds Green and Gold and is one of 10 finalists for the Green Bay Packers Fan Hall of Fame.  There’ve been some pretty great articles and videos about him and his awesome fanaticism for the Green and Gold, the links below continue to amaze me:

• “I’m Gonna Beat This”; Fan Battling Cancer one of 10 Finalists for Packers Fan Hall of Fame – WDJT CBS Milwaukee

• Diehard Packer backer from Union Grove a finalist for Fan Hall of Fame

• The Go Frank Go Facebook page

There are a couple of things that make me extremely thankful for my Uncle Frank today, and they actually don’t have much to do with the Packers.  They have more to do with the way he acts like a big kid and helps others do the same, and his non-stop positive attitude and contagious enthusiasm.  While I have many memories of him and Aunt Andrea that leave me smiling,

A few years back I got “the call.”  It’s the call that you change plans for, the call that re-prioritizes your calendar, and leaves you smiling while you do it.  “Hey Mike, it’s Uncle Frank.  Would you like to go to the Packer game?”  Hmm…  Let me think it over…  Umm…  YES!!!  I’m not even sure what he said after “like to go” as I was already saying yes.  True to Uncle Frank form we met up at the stadium long before the gates opened and were lined up in front of everyone else ready to go in.  He HAS to be the first person in and pretty much sprints into the stadium.  While Dominic and I struggled to keep up we met up with him at the end zone where he was already in a conversation with the security guy that he obviously already knew.  As the Packers warmed up he grabbed the field goal net and helped Dominic catch the footballs as Mason Crosby booted in practice kick after practice kick.  After a brief conversation with another security guard the three of us were on the field and taking in what it meant to stand on Lambeau Field.  It was AWESOME!!!  The part of the experience that I remember the most about Uncle Frank was the child like smile that he had on his face and the high level of excitement he had for every step of something that he does at least 8 times a year.  My Uncle Frank wasn’t an adult with adult stress, concerns, health issues, or any responsibility.  He was a big kid, enjoying the moment, totally in awe of what was going on around him, consumed by the present, and savoring every single second of it.  That smile on his face is permanently burned into my brain and is the first thing I think of when I think of Uncle Frank.  The expression on his face was pure joy, happiness and appreciation for the present.

At a family reunion a couple of years ago he busted out a prized possession from his childhood that he had recently re-acquired – a Johnny Seven OMA (One Man Army) toy gun.  My mom used to tell me stories of how much he loved that toy and all the fun he used to have with it.  At the get together he decided to bring it out for the kids and it was AWESOME!!!  He was showing them all seven guns built into one, shooting them with the boys, encouraging them to take turns with it, and was, once again, a big kid enjoying the moment.  I still laugh out loud when I remember the way he used the Johnny 7 voice as he re-enacted great battles from his childhood.  The kids had so much fun with him, and all of us adults were left thinking about how much fun we had playing as kids.  Again, the smile on his face told the whole story.  It was pure joy, happiness and appreciation for the present.

Those two stories really sum up why I’m thankful for my Uncle Frank.  His energy and positive attitude are totally contagious and you can’t help but be happy when you talk with him.  He’s always outwardly happy, talking about the good things in life and never dwells on the negative.  I have yet to hear him complain about any health issues, stress, or anything, it’s nothing but positive.  He cracks jokes that leave us rolling with laughter.  He’s the uncle that all of us hope to have and the uncle we all hope to be for our nephews and nieces.  He’s a role model for all of us on the importance of staying positive, enjoying the moment, and being a big kid at heart.  I love him tremendously and so incredibly fortunate to have him in my life.

So all that being said, I’m asking for your help.  Please hop online and vote at least once (or daily and from as many devices as you have if you’d prefer) for my Uncle Frank to get into the Packer Fan Hall of Fame.  It’d mean a lot to him and I’d appreciate the help greatly.  It’s the least I can do to help someone who’s an inspiration to me!

Thanks!!!

Over the past couple of days I’ve had a few memories from past years popping up on Facebook.  In years past when the boys were off of school for Christmas week we would have a few Dad & Son Days.  Due to my work schedule I had decided not to take time off with them this year and let them chill at home.  The more pics I saw pop up from past years the more I realized that I may have been wrong.

Knowing that I was only working a half day today I asked the boys on a whim last night if they would like to spend the day at work with me.  I was surprised and overwhelmed when they both immediately answered “Yes!”  It was pretty awesome and totally made my night.

So this morning I woke the boys up early and we headed out to the office…  stopping off at McDonald’s for breakfast on the road.  We enjoyed watching the sunrise paint the Mississippi River pinkish purple to our east as we headed north, talking the whole time.

At the office the boys helped me out with handing out paychecks and greeting associates.  After some good morning’s to co-workers as they came in the boys went into my office to help me out with some math.  They both helped me total up some info off of a report and we were able to learn some cool math tricks along the way.  After that they got busy doing some homework and reading.  For the most part it went pretty well, I only had to help Gavin focus a couple of times as I was getting things done. 🙂

It was pretty awesome to have them in the office with me hearing me on the phone, seeing what I do, and hearing me talk to myself as I worked on a couple of projects.  Even though we weren’t necessarily working together there was something very peaceful about having them in the office with me.  In a crazy kind of way I felt like I was more productive than usual because I wanted to set a great example for them.

As the day went on we headed out, ran some errands, picked up lunch on the road, talked on the way home, and then played a quick game before packing up to head out.  While it may not have been the most exciting Dad & Son Day ever, it felt great and I appreciated the time with them.  I’m glad I had enough reminders to help me realize how to really make it an awesome day!

Thanks!!!

Day 93 – Thankful for If at first you don’t succeed, fail, fail again…  In slightly different ways…  Until you’re successful

The upside of failing is something that I am hugely thankful for today. 

Let me take a step back, today has been awesome.  Many great things to be thankful for ranging from awesome and unexpected compliments from team members, sharing in the successes of other team members, celebrating huge wins with other team members, working on projects to help my teams, having time for self-reflection, and spending time with my boys at home watching MythBusters while Becky gets a haircut.  Tons of good stuff!

So why talk about failing on a fantastic day like this?  Because failing is awesome!  Obviously, I’d always rather succeed, but it’s impossible to be successful at everything the first time.  Failing means that you tried something beyond your skill set.  You didn’t stay in a safe place or in your comfort zone.  You tried something you’d never done and took on something with a chance of failure.  You worked on growing.

The second part of failing is getting off your ass, learning what went wrong, and trying something slightly different.  You aren’t scared of failing again and you don’t let your fear stop you from trying again.  It is all about the grit!

Last year I failed in my attempt to be a TEDx speaker.  This year I’m trying a different approach to get in.  Maybe I’ll be successful, maybe not.  If not, I’ll brush myself off, try something different, and try again for a different TEDx talk.

Throughout the day there were several reminders of times that I’ve failed.  In some cases I’ve since figured out how to be successful.  In others I’ve failed again and I go back to the drawing board again, asking for help and coaching. 

The boys and I are watching MythBusters and the entire episode has been a lesson in failing forward.  Have a theory, try it, see what happens, fail, review the failure, re-design the theory or process, and try again…  Over and over, not getting frustrated, just continuing to look for ways to be successful until things work out.  How great of a lesson is that for the boys?

So today I’m thankful for if at first I don’t succeed, fail, fail again, in slightly different ways, until I’m successful.

Thanks!!!

It’s nice knowing that regardless of how crazy, busy, long, or stressful the work day will be there’s always my family ready to chill and spend time with me at home.

Tonight Becky took Dominic to futsol (indoor soccer) so it was just me and my best-est buddy.  The stresses of the day dissolved away and we were lost in enjoying an epic game of Monopoly!

We had fun, we joked around, we had some life lessons, and enjoyed each other’s company…  exactly what the doctor ordered.  True to Gavin form you’ll notice that he’s either totally hamming it up or in a blur in his perpetual state of motion!  How can I be in anything but a good mood when I’m playing a game with guy???

I’m very thankful to have times like this.

Thanks!!!

Today’s blog probably won’t be the most viewed post ever, nor is it will it be one of the longest or most insightful.  Today’s blog is a very honest one, and one that I’ve put much thought into over the past 15 months.

There are a few reasons why I share this blog publicly as opposed to keeping it as a private journal.  It keeps me accountable to writing everyday, or at least it did…  Now it just feels like natural habit.  Another reason it is public is that I want to share some of these things that involve other people like my post about Rachel a couple of days ago.  It gives me an avenue to show my appreciation to those individual.  The last reason I share it is my hope that each day it sparks someone’s appreciation for something in their lives that they may have overlooked had they not read that day’s blog.  Knowing that there’s the occasional smile or happy memory remembered makes me smile.

So while I am almost always honest about what I mention as the thing I am thankful for that day there’s a day every once in a while when I really wanted to mention something, but for one reason or another I didn’t want to share it.  Maybe it was too private or too personal.  It might have been something that I just didn’t want other people to know.  Sometimes it may have been something that I didn’t want to bring attention to.  Whatever the case, it is for those things that I am thankful for today.

Today has held a number things that I am very thankful for that I would rather keep to myself.  That doesn’t mean I appreciate them any less, it just means that I’d rather appreciate each of them without sharing them.  My apologies for not sharing them, you’ll just have to trust me.

Thanks!!!

In the middle of the non-stop action that is the holidays it is a blessing to get a day that involves no agenda, no work, no anything.  Today was that day!

It was also made all the better by getting some homemade treats delivered by our neighbor Elaine.  There were a lot more on the plate when she dropped them off.  Thanks again Elaine!!!

Starting off with getting over ten hours of sleep and now ending with some time on the couch with Becky looking at future vacation ideas.  I was able to get a couple of projects done that were relaxing and yet rewarding.  The only time I left the house was to get some supplies from Menards, and the majority of the time I was able to work in peaceful quiet.

There was some family time mixed in, but it was nice to be productive, chill, and just have nothing going on that HAD to be done.  Tomorrow is back to reality and getting together with some friends, today was that nice peaceful oasis that I should remember to schedule into each holiday season.

Thanks!!!