Pain

Yesterday was day two of a new agreement between me and my friend Gary. We are to meet each day, Monday through Friday, at around 6:15AM-ish.

I get there early, about 6AM, and he arrives late about 6:30AM.

The meeting place is a YMCA roughly half-way between our homes, some 30 miles apart. The goal is to spend some time on the treadmill and then do a bit of strength training each day.

Our casual agreement is meant to keep each other accountable and work on getting into shape again. His commitment is deeper as he is also just signed up to lose weight in order to benefit a charity.

Mine is purely selfish. I would like to fit into a few more pants that I own. My charity of choice for this venture is the "DigitalRich Long Lost Clothes" trust.

The pain has begun. And will likely continue full force for about a month until I get back into the swing of things.

As The Grass Grows, So Does My Brain

Each Saturday, from about mid-March until Novemberish, I get up and go through normal preparations for the big mow. Get gas, make breakfast, dress appropriately (raggedy shorts, holey t-shirt, baseball cap, eye and ear protection) and plan the attack (straight up and down? sideways? angled?).

The next four hours are some of the best of my week. Uninterrupted by phone calls, E-mail and the such. I usually finish the task with a handful of strong ideas to work through the following week, most business-oriented, some not.

Many people have their ideation peaks taking a shower or laying in bed before falling asleep. For me, it’s cruising at about 8mph on my zero turn radius behemoth mower. Part of my brain is still needed for basic things like motor control, avoiding the suddenly appearing bunny rabbit or field mouse, but other than that it is hard at work thinking through ideas, options and next-steps.

Now that the grass has stopped growing, I fear the ideas will abate. I guess I should get out and walk or ride a bike. Hey- I bet those landscaping guys are pretty smart. Seriously.







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Status Report- My Life's Goals

Many years ago I was part of a retreat consisting of a small group (15 or so) of men, all of us part of the same organization, that gathered together to learn more about each other, and hopefully, increase the effectiveness of our daily interactions. We were connected together through our business, but the weekend turned very personal for most of us.

As part of the retreat, we each had to state to the group our personal mission and goals. I had loosely gathered goals together in my mind over the years, but this forced me to write them out and organize them- and in the process face up to where I was lacking and needed to press forward.

Now, 10 years later, I am reassessing those goals and pursuing the next stage in my life, next career move or position. During the weeks (or months?) ahead I will be keeping this list in front of me and taking an account of the successes and failures to date. It’s hard to face up to where I am failing, but a good thing to take the time to recognize it. I stand a much better chance of adjusting actions and plans doing it.

Here are my life’s goals and the grade I have right now on the progress report (self-graded. It would be interesting to get Michelle's grade for me on a few of these- but that's another story):

SPIRITUAL
1. Seek God's will in my life daily through prayer, meditation on the scripture and the counsel and fellowship of others (GRADE C+)
2. Strive constantly to really understand and appreciate the saving grace of Jesus Christ (GRADE B)

FAMILY
1. work with all that is in me to understand what it means to give myself fully to my wife, and love her unconditionally (GRADE B-)
2. To heap love, acceptance, encouragement and affection on my 4 girls so they learn what it means to love God, and know what real love from a father and a man is about (GRADE B+)

BODY
1. To lose weight and get in shape to extend my life for me and for my family (GRADE C-)
2. Drink more alcohol (ok- this may seem weird- but last year I jokingly said this to Michelle after we had a few nights in a week we had wine with dinner, just a drink or two. We just don't drink that much in our home, but we enjoy it. So I made a new years resolution last year and this year we have made sure we have wine on hand for a few dinners a week. No biggie. We are not getting buzzed all the time or anything) (GRADE A..this is sort of like P.E. at school- no worries landing an A on this one).

MIND
1. To never ever stop learning and wanting to change and improve (GRADE B+)
2. Read at least one book a week (GRADE F)

CAREER
1. To work with all that is withing me for the success of my company, and to do it all for God's glory (GRADE B-)
2. To support, encourage and grow my staff, and always honor and serve those in authority over me (GRADE A-)

PERSONAL
1. Attend every school function, play, parent/teacher meeting, etc (GRADE A)
2. Coach or at least assist on the sports teams my kids play on (GRADE A)
3. Work six months or more in another country (TBD)
4. Own my own business (TBD)
5. Serve on a foreign missions trips (Hopefully in 2007)
6. Learn to fly (My wife is not on board with this one…yet)
7. Visit Israel (TBD)
8. Serve my country (Not sure how yet)
9. Own a yacht (How did this one slip in?)
10. Have my kids tell me I am one of their best friends AFTER they are 18 (TBD)
11. Honor my Father and Mother better (GRADE C. I really have to do better on this one. Sometimes I still act like I’m 17 with them-short and snippy)
12. Give to anyone that asks of me (Newly added!!! See my post from Nov. 18th)

I know my goals are a bit lopsided and selfish in some ways (I discovered that this morning writing out this post), and I will be thinking through that in the coming weeks.

It is amazing, this blogging thing. It is forcing me to think about things I would normally touch on in my mind and then push to the side promising to come back to it later. Now, I am diving in and working through things from A-Z at one sitting. My hope is that it is somehow rewarding for you (the reader, if there is one) as well.






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