Why do you REALLY do what you do?

Seth nails it again with this post. I think that many of us would probably not like the answer if we were to really dive deep into trying to find out why we do what we do. While this post focuses on business - I think this can apply to our personal lives as well.

So what is it? Why do we do what we do?

Why so quiet around here?

This blog has been badly neglected and become somewhat stale over the last several weeks.

If there are still any followers or readers out there, I thought I should maybe explain why. But before I do that I should maybe start with a story. Quite awhile ago I was lucky enough to land a job with a company that supplied MRO supplies in the mid-west. I was not qualified for this job and only got it because I was lucky enough to know someone who was in a position to put in a good word for me. While there, I learned a lot about myself and learned some principles that I still use. There was a small group of us that would meet at lunch time and go running to then justify the lunch stop at McDonalds. It was the hours spent on the track and over a Quarter-pounder with cheese that the principle of 'next step' really sank in. We would talk about what was going on in our lives currently both good and bad and every conversation then shifted to - so what is your next step? And then what are you doing about it?

 For many years my next step was to get my master degree. Which of course I kicked that can down the street because of many reasons, having children, finances, etc. Well that next step is finally happening. I have enrolled at Augsburg College and am thus far two classes down am making progress. Because of this new world of studying like crazy, writing papers and making time for team projects, this blog has and probably will continue to take a hit. I will attempt to post and link to things that interest me as time goes by, but it will be at a much slower pace then it has been in the past. I leave you with my favorite phrase from 'Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' that I often refer to.......

Wise words - Albert Einstein

"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein

Awe - the creation process

This is such a great talk. I have heard people talk about that when you understand the 'behind the scenes' that the story, the film loses some of it's magic. For this talk, I would say that is not true. Rob gives a great walk through of how our brains work and we see things. Fascinating.

Book review: Tough Guys and Drama Queens

This book is meant to be a guidebook to help parents navigate the difficult emotional and relational issues that come with having tweens and teens. There is so much that is changing in our world in regards to technology, communication, entertainment and culture in general, when you compound that with changing hormones and trying to figure out this strange middle ground between childhood and being an adult, it can be a very combustible combination.

 I loved this book! While it took a little while to get going, I thought that Mark spent a little too long emphasizing that the world has changed in this now digital age, the practical advice and the topics covered where spot on. By presenting major topics in both parenting styles to avoid and parenting styles/things to embrace, Mark lays out steps to develop and maintain a relationship with your child that will stand through the storms of the tween/teen years. This relationship is critical as you are ultimately trying to equip your child with the skills necessary to become a functioning adult.

Using stories that Mark has personally witnessed by being a youth counselor as well as just presenting the bigger picture, this is a great book to put into your parenting ‘toolkit’. I hope that I am able to actually put this information into practice and as my kids go through these years, be able to have successful kids and strong relationships with them in the end.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

What are you doing to prepare for the future?

This is a moving talk. One that is personal and intense. But it also faces reality in the face and says, "even if the monster gets me, I won't go quietly". I know that we are genetically wired in some cases for things to go wrong. But what if we anticipated them and prepared?

A desk to drool over......

Here is hoping that it would be ok to have liquid on it....  but this is one sweet looking desk that appears to integrate with your iMac. Granted these are just renderings, but someone should really get on this ASAP!

Check out the full story here.

Late thought on father's day.....

It is awesome when technology and life can come together in really amazing ways. Here Google gives and example of how that can happen.

Want to be a better person?

Then you need to position yourself to be awed.
Do things that blow you away.

At least that is what this study says and it would seem to make sense.

Story. What it is, and why we care.

Ken Burns is a great story teller. And at some level we are all writing, telling, plotting out our own story. There are great thoughts about story that Ken reveals here:


Link from Echo hub

If you do anything....

Seth brings it: If you do anything, you will be judged. You will get negative reviews. You will get slammed. But the other option is even worse......

The silence. Nothing. Being ignored.

So what is it going to be?

Thank you mom!

Your perception might just mean everything....

Texting shouldn't be combined....

With other tasks. We understand that walking and texting can cause you to walk into others, walls, and doors and other embarrassing situations. I believe that most of us also understand that driving and texting is a really horrible idea. This should be especially true when driving a PLANE with a lot of people on it!!!!! Check out the story here.

Who are you listening to?

It is easy to try and listen to everyone. While I think it is important to be aware of what people are saying about your service or product (if you don't the market will pass you by), you have to also be careful. Because who you choose to listen to will determine how you run your business or your service. With the ease and low cost options for everyone to share their opinions, who you listen to becomes an even more important decision.

Seth of course has some great thoughts on this. What he presents are a couple of quick criteria that should disqualify a 'voice' from being listened to. If the voice passes these hurdles, you probably better pay attention!

Book review: Empty Promises by Pete Wilson

In this book, Pete Wilson tackles something that every one of us faces, that feeling that what we have been chasing in life is just hollow. The sinking feeling that what we thought mattered most really doesn’t.  This book also is a resource to peel back the blindfold and really examine our lives and make sure that we are actually targeting the right things.

The book is divided up into two parts. The first really lays the groundwork to understand that much of our lives lived with our priorities out of whack. Rather then having God be the number one, front and center of our lives, we have instead bought into the lie that says something else should be first. With chapters that provide easy examples as well as some gut wrenching questions, the topics covered are things like approval of others, power and even religion. The second part of the book really helps in the area of calibrating your life and really works towards helping your determine if your life is one that is prioritized correctly.

While this book is easy to read, it is challenging. I sometimes have the illusion that my life is somewhat together, chapter by chapter, Pete peeled back the layers and showed how many lies I am currently chasing in my life and how out of order I am. And while there is a hunger that will never be filled because ‘we are not home yet’, Empty Promises helps to guide you back to where you should have been all along. This book should be considered a must-read.

Full discloser: BookSneeze® did provide me with a complimentary copy of this book to review.

Food that effects your moods

In a good way. It is interesting on the connection between how we feel and what we eat. This is a great post that helps give some suggestions on what to eat or drink to change or improve what you are feeling.
For example, eat an apple with peanut butter to get over feeling cranky. For more check out the full post here.

Being alone together

Some interesting thoughts about what technology is doing to us, and what we are becoming. Alone together.

Living in tension and balance

There is often a tension within me. The tension of 'just a little more'. This is feed and encouraged by just about everything around. The problem that Seth so brilliantly points out is that the people that are where or with or have what you want also have this pull. As Andy Stanley said recently, there will always be someone with more 'er' then you. They will be smarter, skinnier, richer, younger, etc.

The flip side of this is contentment. Being satisfied with what I have. With who I am. This is hard. It goes against the grain. It isn't natural. To some extent this feels to me like 'settling'. But I think it has to be more then just that. Because we don't want to settle, we want to do better, we want to improve.

And that is the balance. To be content with what I have. With where I am. With me. But also staying hungry for a better me. Hungry to make a positive difference. This requires balance. And it something that I often find myself on a tightrope, waving my arms attempting to navigate this narrow gap.

And I don't have it figure out yet. I may never. But this is something that I will continue to try.

How does shame and guilt control us?

I listened to this talk today and all I could do afterwards was just whisper....   'wow'. This is a powerful talk about shame, guilt and vulnerability.