My "Leaving" Problem

So I spent the better part of my weekend in the yard. I finally found time to get out there and clean up the leaves. I'm sure my neighbor was about an hour from knocking on my door to get out there. It was a magical experience filled with children dancing in the yard and celebrating the fall season to their fullest! And then I turned off the TV and actually went out there with my loud smelly leaf sucker and wet muddy leaves my son wouldn't quit spreading around the yard. The real irony is that one hour after I finished I turned around to see the yard covered in the rest of the leaves that fell off while I was working.

Sometimes the grunt work of our daily lives can feel a lot like my "leaving" problem. We keep working but the leaves keep falling right behind us. My good friend Roger tells me there's always more weeds than flowers and all you can do is keep pulling them. At face value that sounds defeatist at best but there's more than just the surface to examine of course.

By cleaning the leaves up and pulling the weeds I'm keeping my yard and even my neighbor's yard in better shape. Allowing the grass to grow more beautiful and giving the flowers a healthier environment to bloom. By doing this I'm actually helping maintain the properties around and thus adding value to my home as well. After all, who wants to live next to a guy that won't clean up his yard? (Wait a second!?!?)

Balancing Act

So I'm learning a lot over the last few months about balance. Now before we go any further, I'm not talking about a nutrition plan or something a life coach is gonna tell you to help lower stress. I'm talking about a concept one of my brilliant friends spoke into my life. I'm learning to live in the tension between passion and patience. Isn't that an amazing thought!

I have so many irons in the fire right now and it can be so frustrating waiting for something to fall into place. The biggest challenge is maintaining the passion I have for the things that need to be done when I feel like I'm hearing nothing but no's. I once heard a story about a guy who lived in poverty working at a 7-11 but wore a fabulous suit every day. People would ask him all the time "why do you wear that ridiculous suit everywhere." Some even thought they needed to give him perspective so he would snap out of it. He always answered them "someday I'm going to get an opportunity that requires that I wear a suit. I want to be ready when that day comes." Now that's a guy filled with genuine hope.

Was he crazy or did he just see something most people can't? That's the real question. Can we see the breadcrumbs on our path enough to make it to the road signs? Then can we read the road signs enough to make it to the destination? We all feel lost in the woods sometimes as I'm sure a poor man does working in a suit at a 7-11. The difference is his ability to let the bread crumbs keep him alive in the tension between passion and patience.

Oh, by the way, he did get the job and now wears whatever suit he wants to work everyday.

Keep The Light On!

Two diverse crowds emerge as the holiday decorations emerge. Crowd number 1: Please at least wait till after Thanksgiving to decorate your "Grizwold'esk" house and please take them all down as close to the New Year holiday as possible. Crowd number 2: Set em up as soon as you smell cold weather and take them down when it's warm enough to get back out in the yard and not risk illness!

I have to admit some years I am in crowd 1 and some I'm in crowd 2. On one hand I love the idea of celebration. The world can be a very harsh place with little positivity. Celebrating a joyous time seems like a great idea considering the magnitude of what happened on the first Christmas. On the other hand we can't all pack up and move to Disney World forever and forget the real world.

I think it's important to bring the celebration to your daily life. Regardless of when you do or don't decorate, keep the light on! Find a way to keep things beautiful so you don't lose sight of hope around you. It's not a materialistic beauty but a true beauty that reflects the wonder of creation around you. Find a way to bring that beauty to your business so it brings hope to those you mean to serve. Keep the light on and take it with you wherever you go.

The Experience Factor

I once read that "if experience was the most important thing, we would've never walked on the moon." That sort of shifts your view of hope doesn't it! I do believe in having strong foundations and working with experienced people in life and business but I also believe in new and exciting ideas. This country was once nothing more than a new and very exciting idea and yet here we are over 200 years later.

We should never be afraid of new ways of thinking but rather should seek out the wisdom to view those new ideas through the appropriate lenses. This will help us see things for what they really are and avoid the pitfalls of deceptively bad ideas.

In today's world you can't wait to learn everything through experience. The road is too rocky to go it alone. We need each other as resources for wisdom. Remember, wisdom is learning from other's previous mistakes, knowledge is learning from your own. Always seek WISDOM!

Taking time away

So believe it or not this post is not about vacations. I will say that I just returned from a wonderful trip to Disney a week or so ago and vacations can be as inspiring as they are relaxing but that's for another post. This post is more of a challenge to myself and hopefully others.

I want to dedicate 10% of my work week to getting out of the office and helping other businesses or individuals in need in a way that isn't about generating a profit for me. That's it and that's all. Step away from the desk and the phone and help feed somebody who can't afford to feed themselves. Spend time with a missionary and just listen to what they are doing in their area of work.

The reality is that it doesn't take much for apathy to set in and soon we can't see past the monitor in front of us. I think of the scene in Phenomenon where John Travolta finally throws the rake down and shoves his hands into the soil in his garden. Instantly he feels relieved to be so in touch in such a simple way. Where is the garden you need to spend some time in? How can you get your hands dirty? Feel free to let us know and hopefully we'll see you out there doing phenomenal things!