OK, so I’m very aware that this is the trending topic of the week, or even the month, so I write with an element of risk that this might be overlooked as just one more piece on Thanksgiving, one more list of things to be grateful for, or one more reminder of just how good we all have it.
And if I’m crafty enough, I’ll accomplish all three today. :)
Read MoreThe other day I came this close to giving up technology altogether…
There are two reasons I was about to call it quits:
The first is the addictive quality of being needed.
Read MoreI had the opportunity to speak to a group of young professionals last night. It was a great time sharing my personal story and that of my business with an absolutely great audience. What struck me as I was sharing was fairly profound:
A life lived courageously is really the only life worth truly living.
Read MoreIf your life is anything like mine, you’re intimately familiar with the hectic day-to-day of running from one meeting to the next, frantically checking emails in between appointments, peeling yourself away from work in order to scarf down an early dinner before running the kids to soccer practice, only to finally allow pause sometime after 9pm where you’re too tired for much of anything before you finally collapse in bed only to start again the next day.
Your specific details may differ from mine, but busy is something I think we can all relate to.
Read MoreThis was originally written 7 years ago, but I felt it worthwhile to post it today. You see, I often feel like young Garrett in this story - sometimes reluctant to take risks, yet letting the sense of adventure take over, enjoying the thrill that comes with it. Until, that is, I feel in danger and/or scared that I might not make it through. Like Garrett, I often end up with scrapes and bruises, but I can relate to the young bloke in so many ways...
Enjoy the read; I know as a father I sure enjoyed the moment:
Read MoreI’m fairly certain we can all relate to the paralyzing fear associated with feeling called to move in a particular direction. Perhaps it’s a calling for a career change, or to move to a new city, or maybe it’s a calling to finally pop the question to your longtime girlfriend.
The fears seem to wait until after we’re convinced that we should take that big step—it’s almost as if the torrent is held back until we finally decide to move forward in courage, and then the floodwaters break and all of the fears and doubts roll in…
Read MoreI had the opportunity to celebrate my birthday over the weekend, and I was genuinely humbled by all of the love shown me by family, friends, and even those I don’t know particularly well.
It was such a contrast to a birthday I had a few years ago…
Read MoreI used to walk blissfully through life, all the while not knowing I was being stalked by a wild, stealthy cat—one with big teeth and sharp claws, and when it jumped me, I was caught so off guard I didn’t know quite what to do.
Read MoreMy last 24 hours were contrasts on such heightened levels I honestly don’t know where to begin.
On Sunday evening I had the privilege of being a groomsman in a wedding of two lovely people who joyfully celebrated the beginning of a new life together.
On Monday I found out that a buddy of mine was hit by a car while on a morning jog and being held in the ICU in critical condition after emergency brain surgery.
Read More- Part 2 in a Study of Contrasts -
For nearly my entire childhood, life felt easy.
Friendships came easily, good grades came with little effort, even my junior high saxophone days had me playing first chair in the concert band. I won free stuff in high school (a CD player, a week at Magic Johnson’s basketball camp, even a trip to Europe) and I got in to the colleges I wanted. I even got a convertible for my 16th birthday.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had formed a worldview where everything seemed to go my way, and that although “hard work” was required to achieve, my awareness of hard work was quite limited.
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