Thoughts on the “Mid Life Crisis”

We all go through changes in our life, from being a helpless baby to a toddler to a child to that pre-teen mess to a teenager and then to an adult. We move along the journey through our 20s, 30s and 40s like there’s no tomorrow. And then we start to approach 50.

Fifty years old in America is a pretty big number in our lives. We realize that most of our life is behind us. That for the vast majority of us, the course of our life is set, the sails are open full and we are now holding on tight for the rest of the ride.

Sure, for some of us, the course can be changed, but our ship is not as resilient to the ever changing waves of life that surrounds us.

It is during this time that we also see the demise of our parents, uncles, aunts, older cousins. We start seeing our friends die one by one, an accident here, cancer there, an odd medical condition that took them at too young of an age. We realize that our life force from now on is less in our control and this realization disturbs some of us.

It seems that I’ve been in the mid-life funk for more time that I should. I see the beauty of life’s cycle. I know that my time on Earth is limited and I must give way for the next generation of life. I guess Dylan Thomas knew me well…

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

I hope for as much time as He will give me. I want to see my child’s child. But I must move past the rage of the inevitability of my demise.

There is still so much that CAN be done.

Why do we wallow in what is lost? Why not relish in what still can be found!

Never give up…

 

 

Growing, Growing…

Those darn kids. They grow so fast.

My little girl’s been playing the piano for three years now and she loves to sing and so does her mamma.

We took time over Christmas to record and then film this music video. It is actually Ellie-Jane’s first music video and I’m happy to say she did very good at taking direction from daddah.

Her mamma… well, that’s another story.

Hope you enjoy the video…

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnlsxmikiNY

The Things They Don’t Tell You…

From time to time, if you’re lucky, you get to realize a “fond memory” being made as it is being made. Not very often do we get to write it down when it still is so fresh in our mind. So, I’m feeling pretty damn lucky right now and decided to put it to paper.

My little girl is growing so fast these days. In her routine of life, she’s slowing getting a little taller each day and her mind is exploring the world in such a fast pace. Being close to Valentines day, she has a school project to transform a measly old shoe box into a grand Valentine’s receptacle where her class mates will share their good will and candy! She said to me “Dad, since you’re the only “real” artist in the house, can you help me decorate this, as she pointed to the future Valentine castle. I said, sure, let’s do it!

Later that night after she was securely tucked away into night’s dreamland, he mother said to me, “you know Ellie-Jane is starting to take a liking to boys.” I said with a smirk, “Really, where’s my gun, I need names?” As if she didn’t hear me, my wife went on to say “EJ really makes me smile as she said to me ‘mom, you know, I don’t think I’m ever going to find a real good boyfriend.’ Why’s that? ‘Well, I don’t think I’m going to find someone as good as dad.’ What do you mean? ‘Well, you know Dad’s so funny?’”

We laughed and talked and realized that our little girl is growing up way too fast. The whole conversation made me think that even little girls don’t tell you everything or is it we just don’t ask?

It’s pretty cool to hear it now and then to realize that these are the moments in life we live for, that we will remember.

Is It Already Time For Those Damn New Year’s Resolutions (NYR)?

I hate those damn NYR’s… They absolutely make me sick.

As I go through the middle life years, I find myself stuck. Stuck in comfortable routines, stuck on "being" tired, stuck on "trying to do the next big thing", stuck on "trying to make a mark in life", stuck "trying to get a better and higher paying job", stuck where I’ve been for the past few years!

Depressing? Yea, a little. It seems that once we achieve a comfortable point in our life, we often find a way to stay stuck there or in my case lost there. Face it, being comfortable is nice! 🙂 Getting your career to a certain point where you make good money is nice! Having the comforts of life is nice! Spending time with your family and friends is nice! Going on vacation is nice! Working a reasonable amount of time per week is nice! Saving money for retirement is nice!

I wonder if people in other parts of the world live in fear of loosing their comforts? For those who have comforts I’m sure they do have "levels" of fear of loosing their comforts. Or maybe I just think too much about it all. Maybe having a healthy fear of loosing the comfort you’ve earned is good. Maybe it’s the thing that keeps us motivated to move forward?

Too Introspective? I’m never really satisfied with what I’m doing or how I’m doing it. I look at the size of my belly and it drives me nuts that I’m not really getting to where I want to be and loosing the weight. I look at my job and I’m never really satisfied with what I’m doing or how I’m doing it. I look at my filmmaking efforts and I’m never really… you know the story.

Which brings me to the end of the year and the thought of doing the same damn things over and over in 2015.

I know that if I really dislike something "I’m doing" that "I’m the only person who can do something about it." The problem is I hate the fact that I know what I should be doing, yet, lack the fortitude to make the changes necessary to excel and move to where I "want to be" in my mind.

I guess we all suffer from these delusions to some degree? Maybe it is the Ultimate Irony of Humanity that on one hand we want to stay where we are – comfortable. Yet on the other hand we fear that being comfortable will lead to our eventual demise.

Which brings me to the end of this year and the prospects of making some more NYR’s that I know I will start with the best of intentions, yet somehow fall off the wagon and end up being another failed set of expectations!!! 😉 when I don’t keep those resolutions or don’t live up to them.

You know what, screw it. I’m not going to make any NYRs. I’m going to simply just keep my goals in mind and EVERYDAY do something to achieve them. Just like the aliens told Dr. Arroway in Contact "little steps" will get you there just fine. You may not get there in the time-frame you have in mind, but you will eventually get there!

Here’s to a great 2015 with no NYR’s… just a continual improvement at reaching whatever goals we have in our lives and a desire to enjoy the comforts we’ve achieved, yet the desire to not rest on our laurels.

Owning Your Failures

No one likes to fail. It’s a result we are trained to avoid. It feels like we are tested all the time from an early age and someone, it seems, is there scoring our results.

Seth Godin, marketing guru, wrote in his blog recently:

"You’re Right, We Were Wrong"

by Seth Godin

This is the most difficult sentence for companies that stumble in doing effective customer service.

By effective, I mean customer service that pays for itself, that is a rational expense on the way to building a loyal brand following and generating positive word of mouth.

When someone in your organization says, "You’re right, we were wrong," they’re not saying that you’re always wrong, or that you were completely wrong, or even that, in a court of law with a sympathetic jury, you would lose. It certainly doesn’t mean you didn’t try.

No, all you’re saying is that you made a promise or set an expectation and then failed to live up to it.

Owning that and saying it out loud does two things: it respects the customer and it allows you to make more promises in the future.

If it helps, you can remind yourself that this is investment in your ability to make a promise tomorrow.

This reminded me of a meeting I was in recently at work where I was trying to get a project completed in a short time-frame. I confidently suggest we could complete the project in a month. After some input from the attendees I sat and thought to myself, "you know, they are right, there’s too much red tape to get through and too many people to get buyoff from." I spoke up and said "I’ve thought about this and your right, I’m wrong. It’s not going to happen as fast as I’d hope." The whole meeting took a different tone from then on. People started to talk about how we could get it done faster than they thought, yet not as fast as I wanted. By owning my failed opinion, it gave people permission to look for solutions because they knew even if they came up with bad suggestion, it would be ok because failure of thought wasn’t going to be belittled.

As I go through what they call the "mid-life crisis" over the past few years, I try to take life’s lessons and find a spiritual connection.

For many people in the world they look at God and fear His judgment. I guess from one perspective we are living a test of life and if we pass the test on to heaven, if we fail, on to hell.

I don’t look at judgment day that way.

By owning my failures I am taking ownership of me. At the end of your life, you can either be remembered for your failures or remembered for your successes. I think by owning your failures you will move beyond them and people will see you for what you did right in this world.

Who do you believe? Is it ever too late?

There is so much information out there in the world. So many people telling you this, telling you that, saying they have the answers because they’ve researched the questions, found data and come to a conclusion.

The problem is that many questions spawn other questions and data is an enigma that give different answers for different questioners.

The world is full of people who tell you what you can’t do. They tell you you’re too old, not enough experience, not smart enough.

The world is full of people who tell themselves that it, whatever their dream is, can’t be done! They accept as truth that they are too old, they accept that they don’t have the experience needed, they accept that they are not smart enough to achieve their dream.

Who should you believe?

I say this today, BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. Don’t listen to the naysayers. LISTEN TO YOURSELF!!!

How many examples do you need of people who beat "the odds"? How many testimonials do you need to hear from people who have clinched their fist in the air and said "I will be somebody! I will see my dreams come true!" And then they went out and did what they dreamed!

Here’s one more testimonial if that is what you need. There’s data and statistics that show that It is Never Too Late!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tSCdNmd4BM

Go, now, watch this video and listen to this fellow and then listen to yourself – It is never too late to do what you dream!

Is God an Alien?

Once you accept the notion that there is indeed a God, do you ever think about Who is God? Where did he come from? What is his history? How did he come to be?

To be honest, I don’t dwell on those questions, but every now and then I have an interesting conversation with people. Just the other night I got into a discussion about Aliens with a fella and I said "Well, you know there’s no doubt in my mind that Aliens exist!"

The fella I was talking to look dumbfounded and said "really, how’s that?" To which I replied "Well, if you believe in God then by the definition of an alien, GOD IS AN ALIEN."

Is God human? I don’t think so. So, he has to be an Alien, not human.

Judo-Christians believe God made Adam in his image. But God did not father Adam biologically or clone him, else we would be demi-gods. And the last time I checked, I have no God-like powers.

So there you go…

Does it matter if God is an alien? Does it diminish the releationship we have with Him? Does not knowing more about God’s history matter?

It seems that Humans are in constant search mode for understanding of who they are (right now), where they came from, and where they are going.

Since having my daughter six years ago I have come to a realization that I don’t care as much about the future and wanting the future to get here and trying to make my future what I see in my mind’s eye.

I’ve realized that this moment with my wife and little girl is what matters. What we have today is precious. The moments of love, laughter and adventure that we share together is what we take with us into the future and into the great unknown – into tomorrow!

Tomorrow is an ubiquitous egnima that frustrates us all. Sure, we have to work. Sure we have to plan and save for tomorrow. Like the big questions of life, I don’t think it matters what tomorrow will be just as it doesn’t matter that God is an Alien…

Some Things You Can’t Take Back…

You can say “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings…” but you can’t take back the words you said that created the hurt feelings.

You can “Go to jail, pay a fine and go on probation for getting drunk in public and causing a public disturbance…” but you can’t take back the stupidity of your actions, the hurt and embarrassment to your friends and family it caused.

You can’t recall the bullet from the gun that you just fired into the head of a innocent child as you attempted to burglarize his mom who had nothing to give you.

You can’t erase from your mind the images of a video you just watched that showed the beheading of a human being.

There are some things you can’t take back.

We live in a world that has so many humans who have the capacity to create so much love, beauty, ingenuity and greatness.

Yet, we still have the nightmares that exist in our world – hatred and evil.

The imperfections of humanity weighs on our God I’m sure. As He came to live amongst us and to die for us, I’m sure He weeps for us as we live with all the greatness AND all of the filth.

I don’t know why – why did humanity had to fall from God’s grace? Whatever the reason, we are here, now, striving to shed the imperfections of the flesh so that one day we can once again live in the presence of our maker.

I can’t take back the images of death in my mind and the knowledge of the evil that exist in this world.

BUT, thankfully, I can ask The Savior for a take-back. I can ask Him to take me back into His grace. I can ask Him to come into my heart so I may accept His salvation, to accept His love, to accept His guidance in making me a worthy human being.

Thankfully for me, there is one thing that can be taken back…

Thankfully I Heard HIS Voice

Every now and then I am reminded that I am human, that I sometimes have unbridled emotions, that I am imperfect.

Today, an old man in a car acted like a dumb ASS, yes a dumb donkey. And for a few moments I wanted to catch that old man and shake him and ask what in the world was he thinking. I didn’t want to harm him, I just wanted understanding from him and for him to understand what he had done.

And then then I heard His voice. A voice of reason, a voice of restraint, a voice of understanding, a voice that told me to turn right and to let that old man go on his way.

As I sit here now and think about the whole affair that voice is telling me that there are some people in this world that I will never understand. There are people who see the colors of life differently and interpret the world differently than I do. There are people who are lost and their senses are failing them.

For these people we must see what they cannot. We must hear what they do not. We must be willing to turn right when they do not do so. There are times when our unbridled emotions must be controlled and WE MUST forgive them.

For surely our senses fail us from time to time and we loose our way. At these times we need forgiveness and understanding and love from a stranger.

To love a stranger who does you wrong is surely not impossible, it is what we are called to do.

Thankfully I heard HIS voice.

I’m So Glad God Exist

So many years ago God graciously accepted my invitation – the invitation to save me from my human instincts, to teach me love and kindness, to show me wisdom, to help me to be a better man and to save me from my sins.

As I grow in God’s image and see the world around me, I still have moments of cloudiness, moments of rage, moments of doubt and moments uncertainty.

I watch the T.V. images and stories of the Aurora Theatre Killings and my heart breaks. And in those moments I feel a rage deep in me. How could a man do such an act – to kill men, women and children with no remorse, with hate and anger.

And then, in those moments, a peace overcomes my heart.

You see, I’m So Glad God Exist – I know that he comforts me in these times of unrest, he calms the rage and he shows me his way.

I pray for the families in Aurora who have lost loved-ones. I pray that God comforts them and calms their rage and that even in this time of tribulation, they see God’s way.

My pastor, Dr. Cooper, gave an uplifting message on suffering – clarity during turbulent times – http://www.mountparan.com/mostrecentmessageV.asp

If You Know Someone in the Music Business…

I have a talented friend, Wayne Vickers, and every now and then we sit down and write a tune. In 2007 we wrote a couple of songs and they are my favorite to date that we’ve written together.

The lyrics for Scattered Road (click the link to listen to the song) were written by both of us in a day. I was listening to Garth Brook’s song What She’s Doing Now and my thoughts turned to old flame from many years back. I sat down and wrote the first verse and half of the chorus in about 15 minutes. I sent them to Wayne and that night he finished the Chorus and second verse in about an hour. Collaborating like that was crazy cool!

Realman (click the link to listen to the song) is a song idea I had after listening to one of Wayne’s one minute music treatments. We were sitting around one day just thinking about what a Realman is and out came this song.

Songwriting with a friend is really fun – when you collaborate it seems like the song isn’t yours or isn’t your collaborators. The song seems to have its own voice!

If you know someone in the music business ask them to get these to some famous artist to record. I’d love to hear a star sing either of these two on the radio.

What Is Your Message?

A couple of weeks ago a question came to me – Herschel, what is your message? I said “Brain, what do you mean what is my message?” Since then I’ve been pondering the question, trying to understand it better. What is the message about –  my life? what I want to proclaim to the world? Is it about the world and humanity at large? What message?

Sitting at church listening to Dr. Cooper talk about faith the other day, the question came to my mind and an answer came to me from the perspective of Jesus Christ. What was his message? What is his message? Sitting in that pew He answered “John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

All the great artist throughout time have struggled with this question. Socrates’ message may be one of his famous quotes “True wisdom comes to each of us when we realize how little we understand about life, ourselves, and the world around us.” In our lifetime John Lennon’s message may have been from his hit song Imagine where he said “Imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man, Imagine all the people sharing the world.” And then Thomas Jefferson’s message comes to life as the Declaration of Independence where he writes “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

Answering one of life’s, or as I think it may be one of God’s larger questions can be tough. Being a Christian I know that I walk daily with my savior. We have these conversations and he challenges me – to grow, to learn, to ponder, to question what life is about.

My mother sent me a newspaper article from the Dallas Morning News titled Life’s Larger Questions where author William McKenzie talks about life’s larger questions. Mom wanted me to read it and then comment on it through my blog. I found the timing of her request inspirational as I feel that God asked me the original question a couple of weeks ago and through my mom is asking again.

As I ponder the question What is your message? my best answer right now, at this time in my life is that life is precious and rare and unique. We all have been endowed with an unique spirit and unique gifts to add to the chorus of life, to change the world, to make the world a better place That we have been given everlasting life through the Grace of Jesus Christ and that when life here on Earth is complete, we shall be with each other to live in the glorious presence of the Father.

What is your message? Do you have one?

Mediocrity, It Fits Well…

Another week ends, another famous person dies, politicians take a break from their deeds, Summer comes to a close, Winter begins her ascent and I write another rambling of words!

It seems over the past year my mind has going through a mid-life pause and reflection. What have I done? Where am I going? Who am I? Who do I want to be? Who do I want to be remembered as? I wrote a blog rambling the other day where I looked up the fact there are around 6.9 billion people on Earth RIGHT NOW! Sometime next year there will be seven billion people rambling around this little blue marble we call home! Seven billion minds at work!

Like you, of those seven billion people I probably know at deep level maybe ten to twenty people. Isn’t that crazy that I can only call a handful out of seven billion people my really good friends. I think when I die maybe a few hundred people will have ever really known me and who/what I was all about.

As I reflect about my life I realize that I have not done all that I thought I would do. I have less than half the time left on this Earth than when I first started some forty four years ago.

Do we ever feel as if we have accomplished all that we could accomplish or is our time here just a journey of what we actually do and that it is good enough to just LIVE!

I fear that for the vast majority of the seven billion people on Earth Mediocrity Fits Well for them. They become comfortable, they accept what life is, accepts what life gives them.

I hope that the time I have left on this Earth will be used for great purposes. I hope that all the souls I know and will ever know will always strive for a great journey of life!

Find That Thing…

From time to time we face obstacles that seem too great to overcome. These obstacles can create feelings from within the depths of our inferior flesh that occupy our mind and take from us the glory that has already been won.

For after all, we are “just” humans. We can’t be expected to always have an uplifted spirit.

So, in times of your dispar, when you are down and out and feeling like life has forsaken you, what do you do?

Me, I find places in my mind that bring me back from the depths of dispar. Like an image of my little girl helping me build a snow worm or a song about the resurrection and redemption that lays ahead for me:  Lazarus, by Carmen (Video)

I tell you today, have in your arsenal a place in your mind that you can go to for strength when it is needed.

The Fountain Of Youth

My daughter turned four the other day. Damn, four years old already. Everyday since she adorned our lives with her presence I have seen a change in her.

I remember we use to wonder when she would sleep throughout the entire night, when would she walk, when would she would talk… So many milestones that we would see her go through!

Looking back at the four years with her seems like a blur. There are so many precious memories that will only come once for us with her.

But each day I’m with her I find something new to marvel at. She’s always on the go, always doing something, saying something, learning something, becoming something more today than she was yesterday! I think that as a parent if I give her the suroundings, encouragement, spiritual and physical nurishment, there is nothing she can’t achieve or become.

As adults we yearn for the days when our bodies weren’t so old, when our minds were fresh with excitement of a new day. Working for a living seems to put us into the rut of life where we never change our path, where we settle into the routine of life.

Sometimes when I look at my little girl I lament that she’s always changing, never “staying” with me in the rut and routine of the life that I live in. Sometimes I wish she would be that three year old forever.

But then I realize that she is my fountain of youth!

She shows me that everyday is a new day! A day filled with adventure, filled with new experiences, filled with new opportunities if I only CHOOSE to see them and to do something with them!

Hopefully, I think to myself, I can say around this world for another fifty or sixty years. The eighteen or so years that she is with me and my lovely wife is such a short time. But I will hold on to each moment, each day and each year! I will look forward to the changes of life that she will go through.

Don’t Get Use To The Stench!

Talking to co-workers today I came up with a good motto, Don’t Get Use To The Stench!

You see, as humans we have this great ability to adapt to our surroundings, to make the best of a bad situation, to withstand horrid environmental conditions, to put up with an ever-increasing pile of bat guano.

The conversation with these co-workers reminded me of my first visit to the Philippines. In the big city of Manila there’s a river “slum” where people live over the top of what can only be describes as a floating pile of Shit and Trash – literally. The stench from this is almost unbearable. But somehow, people live there in shotty homes built of thin wood and sticks.

You see, these people have allowed themselves to Get Use to the Stench!

There is no circumstance that you should ever accept that makes you become numb or accustom to the stench of life!

We all have things in our lives that are painful to deal with… Somehow we numb our noises to the stench these things create.

I say today to resist! Don’t Get Use To The Stench! EVER!

Yep, I’m Still Here

I love my little blog.

For me it gives me a place to leave a piece of myself behind. I don’t expect that when I post these random thoughts that thousands of people will read and understand them.

I guess that as I go through my mid-life reconciliation I find that very few humans have the privilege to make a impact on millions of people’s lives. People like George Washington, good old Abe Lincoln and Mother Teresa and thousands of great people throughout history who have made humanity what it is today.

For me, I’ve reconciled that if I exist in this time and can be a great father, husband, son, brother and friend to the people I love and for the strangers that I have yet to meet that I’ve done a hell of a lot for humanity.

So, today I say, “Yep, I’m Still Here” – I’m still here working at being a better father, husband, son, brother and friend…

Change… A Perspective

Let us face ourselves squarely in the mirror. There is a lot that we like about ourselves as we gaze at that flesh, bone and spirit. But there is a lot of what we see in the mirror that we don’t like. Do you want to change what you see? Is it hard for you? Can you do it?

YES, you can make significant changes in the things you don’t like about yourself…

Here’s Dr. David Cooper teaching on the subject. I really like the second sermon on change!

Sermon 1: http://vidego.streamingfaith.com/player.php?p=i4fl910j

Sermon 2: http://vidego.streamingfaith.com/player.php?p=mp0oy39t

Trust me, you’ll be glad you spent the time watching these…

“Roll With The Changes”

Do you have a personal motto? Do you ascribe to a having a motto? I think life at times tends to wear on us mere mortals. I think we find comfort in knowing that we are not alone, that we have family and friends and that we have our maker.

You know, when the rigors of life get you down, you need quick thought that re-sets your frame of mind so you get back on track and keep moving forward.

I’m not sure what my motto would be, but I like “Roll With The Changes”

Way back REO Speedwagon wrote this song (see it here on YouTube).

As soon as you are able
Woman, I am willin’
To make the break that we
Are on the brink of

My cup is on the table
Our love is spillin’
Waitin’ here for you to
Take and drink of

So if you’re tired of the
Same old story
Oh, turn some pages
I’ll be here when you are ready
To roll with the changes
Yea eee yea, woo

I knew it had to happen
Felt the tables turnin’
Got me through my darkest hour

I heard the thunder clappin’
Felt the desert burnin’
Until you poured on me
Like a sweet sunshower

So if you’re tired of the
Same old story
Oh turn some pages
I’ll be here when you are ready
To roll with the changes
Ohh yeah

(Keep on rollin’) Oh yeah
(Keep on rollin’) Ohh
(Woo ooo)
Roll with the changes
Keep on rollin’

The “Burning Bush”

It has been a while now that I’ve had these thoughts in my mind. And the other day, while sitting at my trusty brown leather chair in the living room I had an Eurika moment. Now I’m not the most spiritual person on the planet. But I have always been one to talk about my love for God/Jesus/THG (The Holy Ghost) to anyone when the conversation would come up. But I’m not the type to throw my beliefs into someone’s face.

In November, 2009, a friend of mine passed away. Writing about him in my blog brought back the memories of the first time over twenty something years ago when I finally heard The Holy Ghost telling me that God was speaking to me through my friend. Once you’ve had a moment like that, your life is never the same. You start to see things from a different perspective.

More and more over the past few months, I’ve been hearing the words of God. At church the sermons are so close to what is going on in my life and apply so much to me. When I hear a friend talk I can hear His words. When I hear a song on the radio I can hear His words. When I see a story about a man who shielded his wife from a mad gunmen, I hear His words.

Being the imperfect human I am, my sub-conscious says “his voice can’t be around you that much.”

And then, in that brown leather chair of mine, His words said to me “I am, here, always, with you!”

You see my friends, the world of naysayers tells us that God is this mysterious entity that exist “somewhere” up there, in Heaven, separated from our presence.

BUT I HAVE NEWS FOR YOU.

God is here with us! When we ask him into our hearts, we become a changed being. We become one with God, His presence is in us and is all around us if only we open our eyes! 

My good friend, who happens to be my cousin, and I started talking about how God talks to us. I mentioned that so far in my life I’ve never had a “Burning Bush” episode with God like Moses had on that mountain. But I can tell you with full assurances that God is here, walking with us ALL OF THE TIME, speaking to us and engaged fully with us.

My prayer for the world today is simple, I hope that the lost find His love and that we ALL open our eyes a bit more to see that God has not forsaken us. That he is with us always!

Make a Stand and Make a Difference MASMAD

While working today I made a decision.
I work in a sizeable organization where interpersonal relationships are hard to develop. Where people shovel corporate shit to the next person like it’s candy. I guess it is easy to shovel something you hate to someone you don’t know!

But we don’t have to shovel that shit which was shoveled to us! Just as “The Buck Stops Here” for Truman, the Shit Stops Here for me.

I have decided that I will Make a Stand and Make a Difference everyday. I’m going to try hard as I can not to pass along crap to the next person in line, rather it be at my job, at home, with my friends or with strangers I pass by.

MASMAD is the new, cool word!

Are You Going To Awaken In The Morning?

The past few weeks have been full of change for me in my life. Changes that ask me to reflect on all that life and this world has bestode to me.

During this time of change actions of others and incidents have shown me that life is but a chorus of constant change. Even if you live in a small town or big city, even  if the change is slow or the change is fast, change is constant in our universe and constant in our lives.

Sometimes the change is abrupt and uncomfortable and then sometimes we welcome change like we welcome a fresh spring morning.

A friend of mine commented the other day that they were sad and depressed, that life’s changes hasn’t been so gentle on them and that they were ready for the blessed reunion with the father. My answer at the time was re-actionary and full of grit. I remember defiantly remarking that no matter how hard life may get, there is still tomorrow!

But the more I’ve thought about this conversation, the more these words came to my heart “Are You Going To Awaken In The Morning?”

A simple question that sometimes brings into focus that which seems blurry and obtuse. If you are depressed, work in a lousy job, have no money or otherwise are very sad, ask yourself this simple question – ARE YOU GOING TO AWAKEN IN THE MORNING?

If you are not, as calous as this may sound, you will worry no longer. Either you’ll be 1) with the divine God of man, 2) DRT (dead right there) 3) In the place of perpetual pain and suffering (Hell) or 4) Somewhere else yet not known to man!

In any case, you’re pain and suffering here on Earth and in this realm of reality will be over.

But if you do plan on awakening in the morning a suggestion I have – MAKE TOMORROW A BETTER DAY THAN TODAY in whatever is aflicting you. Even if you only make tomorrow one percent (1%) better than today, in exactly 365 days you’ll be about 37 times better off. Yes, in one year you’ll be making more money, have lost weight, have reduced your anxiety, have become more joyful, have found a friend or two, have found greater peace of mind or any other thing you want to change in your life.

All this can happen IF and only IF you only want it to happen. You don’t have to make the change happen over night to have an impact – you just have to make a decision to wake up in the morning and make a change a little bit at a time.

11:11 – That’s Wierd

I think that within the human mind there is a multitude of still undiscovered capabilities. It is said that humans are only using about 10% of the mind’s total capacity when we are conscious. Wouldn’t it be great if we could tap into the other 90%?

Over the past few months I’ve noticed the propensity to look at the clock at exactly 11:11 pm or 11:11 am.

Out of couriosity I Googled (sorry Bing) 11:11 and found that it is a phenomina – isn’t that wierd?

Things like this make me want to invent a time machine and go into the future about 100,0000 years to see what all these weird human things are really about. Assuming that in a hundred thousand years into the future, humanity is still here and has answered these weird questions.

“Hello? Right On!”

He’s gone.
To a better place I know.
The pain of his earthly flesh now at rest.

His spirit never died, never lied and kept alive
The faith of our God throughout his life…
And now he has gone.

But he did not leave us alone.
For all that he touched he left a little of himself.
Pieces of heaven for all us mortal men.

One day, when we all hear that final call.
He will be there to welcome us all.
Then as well as now I will profess, the love he gave, never at rest!

A young man has gone before his time. A friend, a father, a husband and a child of God has ventured ahead of us. I will miss Zac!

From the first moment I met Zac he and I knew we had a connection – a connection to to each other through technology, through humor, through our philosophic inquiries, but most of all through our common love for God.

I can still see him and I talking intensely about something and him pausing, smiling and say, “man, isn’t this great!”

My prayers go out to Mandy, his children and his entire family. We have lost someone special.

Encouragement – Racquetball and Blogging Have Something In Common

How is having a racquetball apprentice and blogging related? Let’s hope I can bring them together in 500 words or less!

About eighteen months ago I started coaching a young college student in racquetball. He had watched me play several times and one day after I finished playing he asked if I wouldn’t mind showing him a few things on the court as he wanted to get serious about the game. The last time I helped someone with racquetball was about 20 years ago and I remember it is one of the best feelings in the world to give of my knowledge and abilities. Last night while playing he showed me why I love racquetball and love passing on my passion. During a rally, he went to the floor with a dive to retrieve the ball. A couple rally’s later he went to floor twice in the same rally. After the game was over, he had to step outside for a minute because he said “I’m about to puke.” In that one moment I knew he stepped his game up a level. He showed me the fire in his eyes with the desire to win. And when you see that desire come to fruition in a blink of an eye, it is truly a gift to behold.

In what doesn’t seem so related, for years I’ve written in a journal and as technology provided starting writing this blog in 2002. I’ll admit that my blog is diverse. I love thinking and talking about all kinds of subjects. My blog has never had lots of viewers. Every now and then I get a comment and every now and then I get a day when 20-30 people stop by and read my latest babbling. But my blog makes me feel good because as time passes I find I get enjoyment out of going back in time and reading the thoughts I had and how I’ve grown as a person and a writer over the years.

Today, I was chatting online with a dear friend of mine and she said she liked my Soda Pop article. I was totally surprise she had been reading my blog in the first place. As we chatted about the blog she even mentioned that she likes it. In all the years of writing I don’t think anyone has flat out said they like my blog.

As I thought about working with my racquetball apprentice and writing my blog tonight, I realized that ENCOURAGEMENT from people we respect is key in keeping ourselves moving forward in our endeavors. We all want and desire acceptance and acknowledgement that what we are doing is good and worthy. I’ve never been one to lavish praise onto someone that isn’t worthy of the praise. But I realize as I grow older that encouraging people to keep reaching for their dreams is something that we all can do for each other.

It cost nothing to utter the few words of encouragement, yet the dividends reaped are incalculable. You just never know what the words “good job” and “great effort” today will do for someone tomorrow. When was the last time you encouraged someone?

Cynicism Is Hard, Action is Easy

As the years roll under my feet and so many scandals erupt I find it so easy to be cynical to the activities of humanity.

In general, television news has become a twenty four hour cycle of “whack the mole” where the mole is anyone or any event that can garnish the most eye-balls at that particular moment in time.

Some would say that the problem with the news today is that most of what is reported really isn’t news. Stories are not being vetted properly and getting the scoop is more important than actually getting the story right.

Maybe it is just human nature as we grow older to develop an attitude of scornful or jaded negativity and general distrust of the integrity or professed motives of others. Is it possible that it is a survival tactic?

My wife barked at me the other day because I was being cynical of what CNN happen to be reporting on at that time. She later explained that all she really wanted was to watch “the news” without side commentary.

This started me thinking about my attitude and actions, especially during the Christmas season. Over the past couple I days I’ve thought ‘you know, it becomes harder and harder to be a cynic if you allow yourself to go down that road.’ You start to get tired of the petty little dumb things people do. Your patience shortens and I think eventually you become an isolated, mean, grumpy, old soul.

So what do you do about this “affliction”?

You take action to at least change things you find you don’t like.

Don’t like poverty – help people in poverty learn to get out of it.
Don’t like bad politicians – find a good politician and support them like no tomorrow or even better become a great politician yourself.
Don’t like bad drivers – learn great defensive driving techniques and stay the hell away from them.

Whatever your don’t like – ACT and do something to either fix it or buffer yourself from it as much as possible.

During the last couple of days thinking about this my mind reminded me of a trip to Seattle. Traditionally, when I go to Seattle, I go down to Pike’s Public Market. I like to hang around, buy things and in general soak up the atmosphere.

In 2003 while down there a guy came up to me and asked for five dollars. David, as I later learned his name, was this tall, gentle soul who looked like he hadn’t slept in a warm bed in months or even years. He told me of his plans to get back to school via a scholarship to play basketball. My wife still remembers the big, new, high-top shoes he was wearing. Although I wasn’t so sure of his story and not really wanting to give him five bucks to be spent on booze or such I told him “David, are you hungry?” to which he said “yea, I am.” So I said “I’ll tell you what, pick a restaurant here and I’ll buy you a lunch and don’t worry about what you get, and get you something for take-out.”

He picked a Chinese restaurant there and we went in and ordered for him. After getting his food we left him alone. Later I came back by and asked the lady at the restaurant if he finished his food and she said “yea, nothing was left over.”

Looking back at that story I realize that moments like that are what makes us all human. Those moments are what separate us from the beasts of this world. In moments of despair when we ACT to help each other we not only help those in need, but just as important, we show ourselves what life is truly about.

Life is about living as human race, working on ourselves to be better humans, helping others that want help become better humans, comforting each other and loving each other.

I believe that living life through cynical eyes becomes very, very hard over time. ACTING, on the other hand, to make life easier for one’s self and humanity, that is easy!

He Doesn’t Work In Mysterious Ways

When I was a young man in college I had doubts. My mom and father’s relationship was a mess and our family life at that time was stressful. I guess asking God for clarity in times of stress is considered normal. I really didn’t know what to expect from him. But I do remember asking him “God, let me know you’re working in my life, let me know that you are real.” Maybe like so many humans I had accepted the notion that “God works in mysterious ways” and I could only hope that one day I would have understanding.

Jon Krieger, my college room mate at the time, dad was doing some consulting work and had been told by Jon that I was this computer guru. Mr. Krieger asked if I’d like some part-time work helping out with some computer/accounting issues and I said sure.

I didn’t know Mr. Krieger very well at that time, but one day after work we started discussing my personal life and the turmoil I was going through.  Mr. Krieger shared with me some of the hard times he had went through as a young man and shared with me his love for God. I remember him telling me how God had saved him and gave him a good life with his family. He and I talked for a couple of hours about life and God and somewhere during that conversation I realized that God was speaking to me through Mr. Krieger. It was as if a light clicked on and my mind was freed from the darkness of uncertainty. After so many prayers God was showing me that he is real, and contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t work in mysterious ways.

You see, God works through people.

Everyday, people like Mr. Krieger are vessels of God’s love.

Over the years Mr. Krieger and I became good friends and looking back today I know that God brought him into my life and with that he enriched my life more than I would ever know.

Jon called me yesterday and told me that his dad was in an accident. Today, he called me with the news that Mr. Krieger didn’t make it. Today I am saddened that I have lost a friend. But I know with no doubts that the life Mr. Krieger led was full of love and joy. Love for his wife, love for his son and his son’s family, and most of all love for his God.

The God that showed me one day in a parking lot that he is no mystery. The God that showed me through a mortal man that God is with us everyday and everywhere. The very same God that showed me that all we have to do is open our eyes to see him.

I will miss Mr. Krieger. But I know that he is with God and I rejoice for him and I am so thankful to God for bringing Mr. Krieger into my life.

What If You Had Seven Days To Live?

Do you remember that movie Field Of Dreams where the main character (Kevin Costner) heard a voice tell him to build it and he will come?

What if you heard a voice and the voice said “Saturday will be your last day, call my name when you are ready to go.” Kind of creepy huh?

This got me thinking what if you knew or thought you had seven days to live? If you new without any doubts would you quit your job? Would you make amends to those who you have offended in life? Would you do something exciting that you always dreamed of doing? Or would you just live your life as you’ve always done?

I’m not sure that knowing for sure when you will die versus not really knowing for sure are really different from each other.

You see, we are all going to die. We all have an appointed day and time when we will be called away from the flesh of our bodies. With this absolute fact facing us shouldn’t we do the things that need to be done prior to our unknown departure?

We should all have last will and testaments. We should all make amends to the ones we have offended in life. We should do the exciting things that we dream of doing and we should live our lives with no regrets. There are so many things that in life we should do before our appointed time comes, even if we don’t know when the appointment is scheduled.

I’ve got a lot of things to do… what about you?

Dying Sucks!

For thousands of years, since the beginning of the first man’s first conscious thought, I suspect that man has pondered the tough question of “what happens when we die?” Where do we go? Do we exist after our physical body has expired?

Much smarter and wiser men than I have spent years thinking through this question. One of my favorite philosophers Socrates did a pretty good job of giving a possible explanation. Then there are religions that provide a pretty nice explanation.

I’m sure each of us at some time in our life go through what I call “an awakening” in which we realize that our life is fleeing and we ask about the possibilities of eternity and then we make a decision as to what will happen after we die. I know over my forty-two years of life I have thought about my eternal existence on more than one occasion.

Recently my thoughts turned back to dying because a friend of mine learned that he has cancer. Being a young man myself I started thinking about him and his family. I can’t imagine what he’s going through, what his wife must be going through, what his children must be going through.

While thinking about my friend’s plight I realized that dying sucks!

Yea, dying really, really sucks.

Thinking about my friend’s plight brought back memories of all the people I’ve loved over the years who have passed away. These people that I’ve loved are gone from my presence. Their bodies that I recognized and touched and loved are at rest now.

Thinking about my friend’s plight also reminded me of my loved ones that are much older and for who’s time is fleeing. One day they shall too leave my presence and for that I will be filled with sorrow.

But thinking about my friend’s plight reminded me of something so important.

Being a conscious, self-aware being consisting of mind, body and soul I know that when my loved ones leave my physical presence they are resurrected. They are resurrected to live forever in the hearts and minds of the people they’ve touched and they have loved. But more importantly, I know without any doubts that they are resurrected to live forever in the presence of the maker of us all. I know that though we may be separated by a physical barrier of flesh we shall still always be one in spirit!

Thinking of my friend reminded me that we are all dying. Some of us are a little further down the road to redemption, but we are all going to get their eventually.

I think it is tragic for young person to leave this world before their time. But I know that there is a reason for all that happens even if I can’t understand the reasons.

Thinking of my friend reminds me that living everyday here on this Earth and being in the presence of the ones I love is truly a gift.

I hope and pray for my friend in his time of need. He is a wonderful person with a great mind and I know my life is and will be always be better off due to his friendship.

Yes, dying really does suck, but no matter what happens we will always live, no matter if it is in a physical or spiritual form.

Happy Birthday

Ahh, birthday anniversaries come and go. For me, I’ve never been a big birthday  anniversary celebrating person. I’m not quite sure why I’m not so big on a birthday anniversaries. I thought for my 40th it would be a big deal, but like so many birthday anniversaries before the 40th wasn’t that big of a deal for me.

But for many people, celebrating the day they were born is very important. And now that I have a little baby I appreciate and relish her birthday anniversary more than I appreciate and relish my own. I guess deep down I’m not so excited about actually aging. It’s not that I mind aging – it is just the process can be painful at times.

As my 42nd birthday anniversary came and went yesterday I started thinking about what it should really mean. We always congratulate people on their birthday anniversary, give them a gift or such. Most people see a birthday anniversary as a celebration of their life. But for some reason it came to me that we should look at our own birthday anniversary from a different perspective.

I think we should actually thank other people on our birthday anniversary for helping us make it through another year and being able to celebrate another birthday anniversary.

Like I told my mom yesterday when she called, as she always does on my birthday anniversary, “thanks mom for laying on that bed and laboring and birthing me into this world. Thanks for feeding me and changing my dirty diapers. Thanks for the support and love for me and my little family this past year…” And then I thought of all the family and friends who I am very thankful for as they make my life complete and worth living. And of course I thank God, my wife and my baby for giving so much to me everyday.

You see, celebrating one’s birthday anniversary is actually a big deal no matter how you celebrate it.

You Have All That You Need

Humans are extraordinary organisms. They continually thirst for more power, fame, fortune, love and knowledge. It seems that these thirst are driven from deep down in our sub-consciousness. It’s like we don’t have a choice of how much we want to improve ourselves or push ourselves. For me it seems that there is always an inner voice telling me to do more, to be more. For me, the voice gives me a desire to make a positive difference in the world.

But as a believer in a higher power I sometimes question myself and my maker about when, where and how I’ll make that positive difference. How should I go about doing more and being more? Questions I’m sure a lot of people have throughout their lives.

As with so many questions the answers don’t come as we often envision them.

It seems that my questions of lately brought on an unexpected answer. The other day while thinking about my future and what I should be doing these words came to me…

You have all that you need.

These words answered ALL my questions.

You have all that you need – to be more powerful, more famous, to find love, to find fortune and the increase your knowledge. You have been given all that you need to do all that is needed.

And then I realized, yes, I do believe that most of us down here on this third rock from the Sun do indeed have all that we need. We can make a positive difference in each others lives, we CAN change ourselves and we can change the world.

Once you have this realization, all you need is to take action everyday and when you get down and don’t see the progress you desire always remember that “You have all that your need!”

The Mission Statement

It is the new year and for a few weeks I’ve been thinking about my new year resolutions. You know, a set of thoughts and ideas you’ve wanted to do, should do, but never got around to doing throughout the past year. And then low and behold, the new year comes rearing its ugly face at you taunting you for all you haven’t done!

It seems like the new year is a perfect time to “start over.” But the reality is that you can’t start over. You are where you are right now, never in the past, never in the future. The reality is that you have to change yourself right now.

But instead of the traditional resolutions, I thought it more appropriate to define my mission statement. Yea, I know, it sounds like one of those lofty-dofty dreamy things. But in reality it is something that everyone should do.

A few years ago at work I got a new boss and the first thing I asked of him when we first met was for him to define a mission statement for our team. For you see, I had grown tired of working in the cubical nightmare and not really knowing what our team was really being asked to do. I realized that in order for our team to be effective, and to be able to keep our manager honest with us, that we needed a “contract” to define what we put our energy towards. A statement that told other teams who we were, what we did, why we did it and to some extent how we did it – a mission statement.

Some time later after I went to work for another team my former boss sat with me and told me that it was a learning experience to go through that exercise. He said it helped him focus our team’s energies toward the objectives given to him by his management.

Long ago in my youth I went through a hard time emotionally. I guess the youth in me found it hard to find a mission in life, to find direction. I found comfort in my belief that God had a plan for me, even if I didn’t know what that plan entailed.

I found myself with a simple prayer – “God, I’m not sure where you want me or what you have in store for my life, but I ask that you let me be a positive difference in people’s lives, that I make this world a little better off than it was before I came unto it.”

Since that time I have found peace with that prayer from so long ago, with my direction, with my mission, with my life. I know that no matter where I go, who I meet or what I do, I will make a positive difference.

So, I guess my mission statement has always been with me for these years – to be a positive difference in people’s lives and to make the world better off than it was before I came unto it.

What is your mission in life? To build fortune, fame, power? Or to build something else? Or to leave something when you are gone?

Each individual’s time here is fleeing… but our collective missions, they never end.

America, is still, The Beautiful

So, my friend’s wife Ginny wrote recently in her blog about the current state of American politics. She said “I am fed up with all the commercials, bumper stickers, fliers and news commentaries touting one candidate as our savior and the other as the devil incarnate.”

She went on to discuss her feelings and that she is tired of a lot of what is going on with the 2008 presidential election process. And I agree with her in many ways. This election cycle has as well been so draining on me as well

I could spend hours detailing the things that upset me with the state of politics today. But, to be honest with you, detailing such things would only depress me more and really not serve a positive purpose.

WHAT I really wanted to say today is this:

Even with the negatives that have occurred over the past two years I still believe that America, is still, The Beautiful. American’s still have a great standard of life compared to the world. We still have freedoms that people dream of living in. We still can wake up each morning and choose to make our lives better. We still can worship the God we choose. We still can disagree with each other in a civil and safe manner. We still can engage each other in meaningful discussions on what is important for the country.

I could go on and on as to what we still can do in this country. But the greatest thing that we still can do is to travel to a poll next Tuesday and stand alone in a voting booth and to cast a vote for what we believe. In doing this activity we tell the word that AMERICA, is still, THE BEAUTIFUL. For this I am very grateful. How about you?

Some Lessons in Life Are Worth Repeating Over and Over and Over Again…

I’d like to think that I’m informed and up-to-date with what is going on in the world. As I’ve gotten older I’ve tried to become a person who listens to other people’s opinions and “facts” and I try to keep an open mind.

I know that at times I get tired of the rhetoric and stupidity in the world today. Lord knows that I have my own dumb things to over come. But at least each morning I wake up and I try to change myself and the world in which I live in for the better.

I haven’t  blogged much lately because, to be honest, I got tired. Tired of saying the same thing over and over and over again. Tired not knowing if what I was saying was actually being heard (read).

But after reading this post from Seth Godin, it re-charged my batteries and it made me realize that Some Lessons in Life Are Worth [and worthy of] Repeating Over and Over and Over Again!

Thanks Seth!

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And here’s his post as I think it is worthy of copyright infringement in the hopes that other people will read his thought today!

Is effort a myth?

People really want to believe effort is a myth, at least if we consider what we consume in the media:

• politicians and beauty queens who get by on a smile and a wink
• lottery winners who turn a lifetime of lousy jobs into one big payday
• sports stars who are born with skills we could never hope to acquire
• hollywood celebrities with the talent of being in the right place at the right time
• failed CEOs with $40 million buyouts

It really seems (at least if you read popular media) that who you know and whether you get ‘picked’ are the two keys to success. Luck.

The thing about luck is this: we’re already lucky. We’re insanely lucky that we weren’t born during the black plague or in a country with no freedom. We’re lucky that we’ve got access to highly-leveraged tools and terrific opportunities. If we set that luck aside, though, something interesting shows up.

Delete the outliers–the people who are hit by a bus or win the lottery, the people who luck out in a big way, and we’re left with everyone else. And for everyone else, effort is directly related to success. Not all the time, but as much as you would expect. Smarter, harder working, better informed and better liked people do better than other people, most of the time.

Effort takes many forms. Showing up, certainly. Knowing stuff (being smart might be luck of the draw, but knowing stuff is the result of effort). Being kind when it’s more fun not to. Paying forward when there’s no hope of tangible reward. Doing the right thing. You’ve heard these things a hundred times before, of course, but I guess it’s easier to bet on luck.

If people aren’t betting on luck, then why do we make so many dumb choices? Why aren’t useful books selling at fifty times the rate they sell now? Why does anyone, ever, watch reality TV shows? Why do people do such dumb stuff with their money?

I think we’ve been tricked by the veneer of lucky people on the top of the heap. We see the folks who manage to skate by, or who get so much more than we think they deserve, and it’s easy to forget that:

a. these guys are the exceptions
and
b. there’s nothing you can do about it anyway.

And that’s the key to the paradox of effort: While luck may be more appealing than effort, you don’t get to choose luck. Effort, on the other hand, is totally available, all the time.

This is a hard sell. Diet books that say, "eat less, exercise more," may work, but they don’t sell many copies.

With that forewarning, here’s a bootstrapper’s/marketer’s/entrepreneur’s/fast-rising executive’s effort diet. Go through the list and decide whether or not it’s worth it. Or make up your own diet. Effort is a choice, at least make it on purpose:

1. Delete 120 minutes a day of ‘spare time’ from your life. This can include TV, reading the newspaper, commuting, wasting time in social networks and meetings. Up to you.

2. Spend the 120 minutes doing this instead:

• Exercise for thirty minutes.
• Read relevant non-fiction (trade magazines, journals, business books, blogs, etc.)
• Send three thank you notes.
• Learn new digital techniques (spreadsheet macros, Firefox shortcuts, productivity tools, graphic design, html coding)
• Volunteer.
• Blog for five minutes about something you learned.
• Give a speech once a month about something you don’t currently know a lot about.

3. Spend at least one weekend day doing absolutely nothing but being with people you love.

4. Only spend money, for one year, on things you absolutely need to get by. Save the rest, relentlessly.

If you somehow pulled this off, then six months from now, you would be the fittest, best rested, most intelligent, best funded and motivated person in your office or your field. You would know how to do things other people don’t, you’d have a wider network and you’d be more focused.

It’s entirely possible that this won’t be sufficient, and you will continue to need better luck. But it’s a lot more likely you’ll get lucky, I bet.

Removing the "Ignorant Factor" from self

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post I came across two videos from www.Ted.Com. In very different ways both of these videos show how the analysis of data and the internal analysis of self can lead to knowledge and help remove the ignorant factor from self. 

Click each link to see the videos.

Hans Rosling:Debunking third-world myths with the best stats you’ve ever seen.

Anothy Robins:Why we do what we do, and how we can do it better.

Ignorance in the Information Age…

For me, accepting the realization that at every moment in time I am not as smart as I think I am has helped me become a better person. You see, rather we believe it or not, we are all ignorant. We all lack knowledge in many areas of life and even when we are “experts” in a field of study, we still don’t know it all in that area of expertise.

Yea, I would like to be Mr. Know-It-All, but that’s not ever going to be a reality I live in. But, the good thing about ignorance is that you can work on becoming less ignorant. It may take a little time and effort, but you can learn and become a better person through the acquisition and application of knowledge.

However, you can’t overcome being stupid. For me, stupidity is the inability to learn or the flat out refusal to learn.

In the information age, as a society, are we becoming less ignorant, and more informed? Yea, I think in certain areas of our society we might be. But I also have a feeling that in very important areas of society we actually might be stupid.

Here’s an interesting video on the subject…

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/alisa_miller_shares_the_news_about_the_news.html

One Good Business Thought – To use a microscope or telescope?

Working in a very large company as I do, I sometimes get bewildered by the decisions and thought processes of Executive Management. I’ve been around long enough to understand that as a person grows professionally and gets promoted their level of attention to details has to lessen due to the ever increasing amount of information they must filter in order to come to a decision. Great leaders have to balance the abstraction of information and the ability to dive into the details to make great decisions.

At my company we use instant messaging as an everyday tool. Sometimes during those little conversations a good thought submerges.

Co-Worker > that’s such a great document herschel
Co-Worker > always impressed by your organizational skills
Me > if only other people were so impressed
Me > I enjoy organizing
Co-Worker > everybody enjoys the grand things
Co-Worker > nobody likes the details that make things work
Me > I don’t mind the details… I mind the people at the top who make decisions based on 10 layers of abstraction
Co-Worker > or on white papers
Co-Worker > 🙂
Me > A real executive has to be able to understand the details without being consumed by the details… it’s like a telephoto lens… some pictures are cool very close up like taking a picture of a humming bird… but, what’s better is the hummingbird amongst a grove of flowers…
Co-Worker > ha yea good analogy
Co-Worker > there is also a good one from a book I’m reading
Co-Worker > “the art of the start”
Co-Worker > its about entrepreneurs
Co-Worker > but basically applies to any leadership position
Co-Worker > says… the trick is to carry a telescope and a microscope
Co-Worker > but the bigger trick is to know when to use them

The one good thought in that conversation is that when you are in charge of a large organization you have to be able to understand and dig for details, but you can’t be consumed by them and as my co-worker put it you have to know when to use your telescope and microscope.

Good Content Rules

So I purchased a pretty expensive camera a couple of years ago and started using it for this and that. I admit, I didn’t need a thirty two hundred “prosumer” Sony HDR-FX1 to “mess” around. But I got it thinking I would use it to create new content and do something great with it.

Well, the reality is that creating “great” content that is interesting, entertaining and engaging takes a lot and I mean a lot of talent and time.

Internet content is no different. In the early days Internet content stayed within the realm of the geek’s. After the invention of the Internet to aide DARPA and scientist in their communication of ideas, the geek’s got a hold of the technology and used it to better communicate technical information for hardware and software development.

And then some really smart people figured out that the Internet could communicate things that “normal” people were interested in, like “did you see this video of that crazy fool ranting about Brittany?” And these people figured that they could make a lot of money off a new advertising model. And some of these people got really rich, really fast.

The funny thing is that the old truism still exist – CONTENT is KING.

We still see good and bad ideas come and go in business and on the Internet. There are a class of bloggers out there who started a communication revolution and they’ve been able to cash in. One such blogger that I like to reference is Robert Scoble. He’s done pretty good for himself in this brave new medium. I also like to reference him because I’ve met him and he is truly nice person and passionate about technology.

But his problem, like many great artist, is that he can’t see past the technology and his passion and find a long term use for technology. More importantly he suffers from the “got to get it on the Internet now, got to be on the edge” with his content. Don’t get me wrong here, I think highly of his passion for technology. And I don’t like being critical.

You see, he made his mark with an interesting, entertaining, engaging blog. He’s good at that medium. However, now he’s out concentrating himself with a lot of sub-par video and audio from a camera phone and hour long interviews with technical people who are not very interesting, engaging nor entertaining.

Not to get too far from my point, I gave his video content a chance a while back and it bored me. The camera phone stuff lacked a sense of professionalism and the better quality video lacked being concise. Every time he posts a video now I ignore it.

And this over the past couple of weeks he’s starting to think less of what made him and gave him his current stature in the technology business – his blog. Maybe technology can’t be polished to maintain an audience like The Office or Thirty Rock. Maybe Robert needs time to find the right formula for video as he did for blogging.

But I can tell you first hand that since I haven’t been able to create something great with my camera that I appreciate good content when I see it and there’s no doubt that GOOD CONTENT RULES and GREAT CONTENT WILL MAKE YOU RICH IN TODAY’S WORLD.

Update, March 27th 2009?
Well, the premise of this post is still very sound — great content rules. As far as Robert’s video’s, well, they’ve gotten more polished, which has made them easier to absorb.

Writing Is Good For You…

So, a long time ago and what seems so so far away, I had an English teacher who made us write in a journal every day for the twelve week quarter. We hated it so much. Many times I’d wait until Friday morning to write my five entries that needed to be turned in for that week. But, I did write, though I never learned to like it in High School.

Turn the page some twenty years later and journal writing stuck with me. As I furthered my education I found that writing in my journal helped me organize my thoughts, gave me perspective and made me think. To write one must think and then take action on those thoughts to actually, physically write something down.

Several years ago I found blogging technology. I started writing in a blog and haven’t stopped ever since. I have found that writing is good for me. It helps me remember my life a little clearer and hopefully it will help other’s in some way, some time or some where.

If you are thinking about blogging here’s some other people’s ideas on what to do.

Seth Godin

Robert Scoble

Bloggingtips.Com

Write because you want to write and you’ll see that in time it will pay off in a positive way…

Are You Listening

I just have to say I love blogging technology. It is so inspiring to sit in front of a computer and to be able to hear the voices of anyone, anywhere in the world in almost real time. For my virtual friend Robert Scoble, I say blogging hasn’t changed one bit, there are just more voices to listen to if you want.

And for my friend and co-worker who is trying to listen to his heart and his God I want to tell you a story.

When I was about twenty years old my life was in turmoil. I didn’t know if God listened to me. I struggled with my belief system. I prayed many times “God, let me know you are working in my life, that you care for me.” Looking back I can’t believe how young and naive was to think God HAD to answer poor little me. But the beautiful thing I’ve come to appreciate about God is that he does work in my life and he does care and more importantly he talks to me and he answers my prayers, if only I listen. For one day while sitting in a car with a new acquaintance, we were discussing many things in our lives and in a mere second I realized God had put me in that car at that exact time and place and had put my new friend in that car at the same exact time and place. The words and ideas I exchanged with my new friend were words and ideas that God wanted me to hear.

Yea, sometimes I think it would be easier for me if God were to use a burning bush, but to be honest I don’t think there is much in my life that would require that much pomp and circumstance from God – he has my attention as it is. I have found that God speaks to my heart is so many ways. From the thoughts my friends convey in emails, blogs, conversations and from the ideas of radio talk hosts, preachers, movies, songs and in so many other ways that I can’t count. You see, God is in me, with me and around me all the time. I may not like ALL of his answers, but if I desire, I can hear him.

Now, the million dollar question for today is when you listen and hear him, do you take action on his words? And more importantly when God ask you for something do you answer his calling?

The Value of Real Friends

I have found that true friends take time to find and take time to nurture. Luckily, I’m not famous or rich and don’t have to deal with many phony people approaching me trying to be my friend. I think if I ever won the lottery developing new friendships would be difficult. But, since winning the lottery or becoming famous is harder than getting hit by lightning, I guess I don’t have to worry about that.

But over the past few weeks I’ve had countless reminders that true friends are so valuable. My wife got a job offer recently and so we decided to pick up the family and move to Lake Charles, Louisiana. Since I grew up in Atlanta and lived there most of my adult life, most of my real friends are there. During the lead up to moving we had several send off lunches and dinners and although we knew we were moving away and talking about moving, it really didn’t hit that we were moving until yesterday.

After the packing, loading, driving, unloading, and unpacking got done, we sat down yesterday and realized during a conversation we were here, by ourselves, with no friends, no one to get support from.

And of course our friends have all called us, asking how we are doing and if we made it ok, to which I say we have and thanks for the well wishes.

I’m not the kind of guy to pick up with just anyone. It takes time for people to get me and it takes time for me to trust people and their intentions. My wife, I think she’s about the same. But since she’s a much nicer person than I, she has less trouble finding friends.

Although I think sometimes moving is a good thing and gives a person perspective, it can be difficult and hard to get through.

But at least I have my best friend and my new best friend with me. Together we can make a new life here, while not forgetting about the friends and family left behind.

As I try to remind myself… “Don’t worry about yesterday, or tomorrow, do what you can do today and tomorrow will be better and yesterday, well, it’s already done.”

Learning From People You Don’t Know

On some conscious level, at some point in your life you may realize that you learn a boatload from people you don’t know.

During your formative years, you learned out of school books from people who wrote those books and I bet for the most part you never even had a clue who or where they were from.

For me, I guess it is easy to pick up a news paper or magazine, read something, learn something new and not even think of the person who wrote the article.

Not “knowing” your source is now so OLD SCHOOL.

For you see, with the Internet and BLOGS you have a direct connection to the author. It may take you some time as it has with me to find bloggers that you can connect and understand, but eventually you can find individuals out on the Internet who have knowledge, who share it willingly and from whom you can learn a great deal about life, liberty and the pursuit of your happiness…

Of the seventeen blogger’s that I subscribe to via RSS and read everyday, there are about three that I would say I really often learn something tangible from them.

• Seth Godin: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/; Seth gives great business insights from the perspective of marketing. Real marketing isn’t show biz and commercials, it is how you talk to customers and tell them about your company’s products and services. This guy gets customer relationship building and management. I’ve been reading his blog for well over two and a half years and never not learn something from his posts.
• Joel Spolsky: Joel on Software, http://www.joelonsoftware.com/; Joel is a software developer who started his own company that builds software. His blog chronicles his journey through the process of building a software company and his thoughts on how to build “world-class” commercial software. You may think that just because his blog is about software development that it would be boring to non programmers. If you thought this, you would be dead wrong. His thoughts and opinions on how to create software can be liberally applied to creating any product. Learning from his mistakes and journey is indeed a privilege.
• Zac Smith; Hello-Righton.com, http://www.hello-righton.com/; I have a real, personal connection to Zac. He and I work at the same company and for about two years we worked on the same team. Long before I started reading Zac’s blog I knew he had a spiritual side about him. I started reading his blog about a year ago. As he states in his blog “The purpose of this blog is to SHEPHERD others.”

Who do you really learn from?

Hope Springs Eternal

In my ignorance I never knew that “hope springs eternal” came from Casey at the Bat by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. But I thought I knew what it meant. But I really didn’t know until six days ago.

For in a mere moment in time my eyes were opened. I could see that all I knew wasn’t what I needed to know. There are indeed greater things than me and life has yet again revealed to me another secret.

Before my eyes opened a wee bit more I had thought that this world was cold and mean. That the evil of a few cast a greater shadow over the good in people. My centered thoughts told me that the people in this world are getting worse; the good times all have gone. The golden eras have long past us by.

But this is not true.

Those are sayings and thoughts of biter people who long to find their wasted years.

In an instant at 8:32am on the morning of May 24th hope did spring eternal for me. At that moment when I looked into her eyes I could see that this world we live in has another try. With the eyes of a little innocent baby peering into my soul I realized that she can make this world whole. In her heart she has no hate. In her eyes she sees no wrong. Her mind free from the worries, pains and evil of the past can think of new ways to live at last. Her soul free to choose a new journey.

Hope does spring eternal everyday. If we only can remember that first gaze from a little girl on her first day.

Baby Time – Baby Time Is Here!

So last night Melba dilated to about 3cm and patiently waited to see if she would continue to dilate. Around 8:00am with no more dilation occurring the doctor decided to do a c-section procedure. And let me tell you, from the time the decision was made at 8:00am baby Ellie-Jane graced the world with her presence at 8:32am eastern time.

If you’ve never seen a c-section it will blow your mind at how it is done. But let me tell you, when you have a good doctor working the procedure it is a like watching a work of art.

So little baby Ellie-Jane is doing very well. She rolled out at 7 pounds 2 ounces at a length of 20 inches. Mamma Melba is tired and starting to feel the after effects of the whole ordeal.

All in all I would say today is a most excellent day! We have been blessed with a beautiful, healthy, bundle of love!

1st picture is Dr. Glander posing with American Idol 2027!

2nd picture is Ellie-Jane meeting her mother for the first time.

3rd picture is me and Ellie after her oh so fun first bath!

4th picture is Ellie-Jane and mom after all the excitement of the day. Whew, they both look happy to be in the bed relaxing!

5th picture is of little Ellie-Jane enjoying a nap.

Baby Time – Patience and Modern Medicine…

It is almost midnight and Melba is sleeping comfortably. We hope the Cervidil strip is doing its magic. I know something is happening because Melba is having more contractions than earlier today.

She didn’t have good sleep last night so the nurse gave her some pain medication which has allowed her to dose off and get the needed rest before the storm.

Throughout her pregnancy she has done an unbelievable job of keeping herself in great shape. Being thirty nine she realized that she had to reduce the risks and she’s done a great job at doing that. She’s not taken any drugs — asprine, caffeine or the sorts. She’s gone with me three days a week and walked on the treadmill to keep in good shape. And finally, she has kept rested so that her body can better cope with what she is now going through.

Throughout the pregnancy we have been very blessed to have an event free nine months and I only pray that the finale will be just as event free.

I’ve been asked if I’m nervous or if I worry about the birthing process or having a child for the first time. My response is simple: I know that Melba and Ellie-Jane are in great hands with the Father. I know that God has given humanity the capability to do wonderful things.

We have a wonderful doctor and today she said we should be prepared for a c-section. Our response was simple — we embrace modern medicine and have confidence that she will ensure the health of our precious gift.

If one thing I’m learning as I grow older is patience. This whole process has given me more patience than I ever thought I would have.