That Extra Special Day

Happy February 29th!

It's what you might call 'a rare day', since it comes just once every 4 years. Do you remember what you did last February 29? Or the one before that?

I've enjoyed 13 of these rare days, and I don't remember a thing about the first twelve. But I'll remember today ...

lovin' the stinky

I've run a few races in my day. Not fast, mind you. But I've run them and each time I've grasped or grabbed little cups of Gatorade from the nicest, friendliest volunteers.

Today I ran the LIVESTRONG Austin Half Marathon with a girlfriend. We looked pretty last night, and we smelled pretty, too. Not so today. Or at least, not in those last 12.1 miles.

Yet there they were, the friendliest folks holding cups of Gatorade. Can you imagine standing alongside a race, handing sloshing cups of Gatorade to 500 or 5,000 or 35,000 stinky, smelly people?

I can't!

Here's to race volunteers. I don't know where you get your enthusiasm or your energy and endurance. Thank you for serving with a smile. Thank you!

Great Beginnings

"Too much fun!"

That's the way I would describe our weekly BNI business meetings. Each Wednesday at precisely 7:30, a crowd of approximately 30 business partners (and in our case, friends), gather at The Perfect Landing restaurant to share cameraderie, coffee and qualified referrals.

Any given Wednesday morning, you can find us laughing while helping each other build more successful businesses.

This week, we drew names from a hat as we arrived at the meeting. Then, during the meeting, we stood and gave a 60-second commercial as though we were that person. Some of my partners did an exceptional job of imitating the one they drew. And others, like Jonathan, spoke in his own voice, giving a warm and sincere testimonial of his high regard for the one he drew.

I'm so glad I'm there.

on lance and steve

A friend recently recommended the book Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. I should say, highly recommended; he was emphatic in his insistence that I pick it up. Before I dropped by The Tattered Cover, though, I picked up an older title. I re-read Lance Armstrong’s Every Second Counts.

Both books tell the tale of a successful man who beats cancer, at least long enough to realize how precious life is.

And so I drank a double dose of the Kool-Aid. Not bad stuff, to tell the truth.

Lance’s book, an oldie from 2003, reads like you’re sitting across the table from him, and he’s just talking. Super-relaxing prose, even while he’s talking about chemo and throwing up, which is a lot of the book. But the meaty parts jump out, and often.

I started taking notes on page 2. “At what point do you let go (of a situation). Maybe I haven’t entirely and maybe I don’t want to.” Note To Self: It’s okay to hold on, as long as you want to.

Lance states and re-states, in a variety of ways, a central message: “You have to decide how to live life, and that’s not an uncomplicated matter. You ask yourself: What’s the highest and best use of myself? These things aren’t linear, they’re a mysterious calculus.”

I frequently laid the book down and took the dog for a walk, pondering, What’s the highest and best use of myself? How does that differ from where I’m at today? And how do I get – safely yet gracefully – from here to there? Lance is right. It’s not an uncomplicated matter.

Thank you ~ Lance and Steve ~ for sharing your bit of human wisdom with the world around you. I'm so grateful that you did.

Scott

A few weeks ago, I walked into Scott’s classroom. I hadn’t darkened the door of his room in over four years. Way back then, Scott taught a small bible study at one of Denver’s largest churches. And today? He’s still at it. Same Scott. Same church. Same bible.


But I’ve changed a bit. Today, I’m a quiet learner. I’m here to observe, to absorb. It’s amazing what you learn when you’re humble to your core.

I look around.

The class requires a minimum 3 hours of homework per week, so it attracts the sort of people who want to dig deep. I admire my fellow students, the loud and opinionated, the quite and reflective, the one who’s fallen behind. Each wears a mask, as we all do in public. But I don’t imagine their masks are intentionally deceptive. They just are. As masks must be.

Good teachers try to reach around or behind our masks. Scott’s a good teacher. He asks the probing questions. He waits for us to ponder, then formulate, and finally share our responses. He creates an atmosphere of trust and an environment conducive to thinking openly. We open, we share, we learn, we grow.

Here’s to the good teachers among us, those special people who delight in helping us discover our world and our place in it.

On Civic Engagement

Today is Caucus Day in Colorado, and that brings to mind a local campaign last year.

Last fall our community voted on a ballot initiative. The question was, "Should term limits be extended for the Office of County Sheriff?" - not only for the current sheriff, but for all future sheriffs.

I would venture to guess that most folks approve of our current sheriff's job performance. I would also venture to guess that folks who know our sheriff, like our sheriff. He's not perfect, but he's a hard-working, likable guy.

The YES position was: "It's hard to find a great sheriff. Since we've got one, let's keep him awhile." The NO position was: "But we're talking about extending term limits for all future sheriffs, not just this one."

I stood off to the side and watched the process. Throughout the campaign, it seemed both sides looked at the issue with genuine thoughtfulness. It was discussed and debated with honest philosophical arguments. No rancorous mud-slinging or name-calling. And the sheriff, to his credit, remained silent, letting the community weigh the pro's and con's of term limits without making it personal. All in all, it was the best election process I've ever witnessed.

As America heads into another presidential primary season, I want to toast those rare folks who are engaged thoughtfully and intelligently in the political process. You're a breath of fresh air.

Engaging People

It's just another manic Monday
     I wish it was Sunday
          'Cause that's my Funday
               My I don't have to runday
                    It's just another manic Monday ....

Okay, so that's how I started my day.  Sunday was so good. SO GOOD! And then, today.

But wouldn't you know ...

I dutifully went to my sales training class and was suddenly in the presence of 20 or so other folks who also wished they could turn back the clock. But they pulled their hopes & dreams out of their pockets, and contributed to the class.

I love being in class settings with engaged and engaging people. They lift me to a higher plane and suddenly, Monday's an all right place to be.

just a smile

Have you ever walked into a coffee shop, just an ordinary coffee shop - maybe even an internationally successful coffee shop - and you just had an inkling you were about to enjoy the friendliest clerk & barrista team in the world?

It's a simple pleasure, really. He stands at the cash register, greets you and rings your purchase. She leans toward you from behind the bar, cup in hand, ready to start your drink. They both seem to be loving life and loving this moment with you. It's magic!

It's magic worth celebrating. Here's to the spectacular people making spectacular moments out of the routines of life. You are wonderful!

It's nice to be nice to the nice!

The path to the local park,
under a heap of fresh fallen snow.

Frank Burns once said, "It's nice to be nice to the nice!" It was a classic Frank Burns moment on my favorite TV show, M*A*S*H.

Sometimes, that quote comes to mind at a time and place that is completely out of context. Like today. As I slogged down my street through 19" of fresh fallen snow, I watched and admired scores of neighbors shoveling sidewalks and driveways. Helping one another. Smiling. Laughing. Being neighborly.

ah, It's nice to be nice to the nice!

In the mid-1990's, Robert Putnam published fascinating research on America's declining civic engagement. He titled the piece, Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital. It was an in-depth study of bowling league memberships and other yardsticks of social interaction. In short, he found that adults weren't participating in society as much as previous generations. I remember hearing him speak on NPR radio; I remember thinking, "Sad but true.... Today, we drive straight home from work. We prepare a quick dinner. We watch TV. And that's about it."

Fast-forward fifteen years. I see my neighbors more these days. Do you? They're walking outside, and they're on Facebook, too. Thank goodness for neighborly neighbors, smiling under heavy hats, waving wet gloves. Here on Dawson Drive, we are blessed.

The Gift of Amateur Photographers

Last week I  took a photography class. I bought a Nikon d5000 last year, but I haven't done much with it. To be honest, all those buttons and knobs overwhelm me. I don't remember being overwhelmed by my Olympus OM10 in 1981. Fast-forward 30 years ... Is the root problem the exponential number of settings, or is it my advanced age?  (maybe a little of both.)

The class was filled with folks like me, except they were all quite a bit more experienced.

My mind keeps going back to that class. Lens littering the floor, people pulling flashes and flash covers out of their bags, passing and sharing their favorite gear. I remember smiling to myself, and I'm still smiling to myself, at the thought that all my classmates ~ all those fabulous, creative people ~ love life so much, they can't wait to snap a really good picture of it.

Sometimes the world appears bleak. We're in the depths of winter. It's cold outside. The wind is howling. The limbs on the trees appear bare and lifeless. But in the midst of the cold and dark and dreary, strangers are encouraging each other's creative endeavors. They're sharing their talents. And they're recording the beauty that surrounds us. Thank goodness.