When the optometrist pulled out the lenses, proclaiming this is what it’s like without any glasses, then put the lenses back in, the difference was nothing short of remarkable. I had literally no idea what I was missing…
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I hate saying goodbye. I mean, I’ve learned to be really good at it, almost to the point where I shut off my emotions and just say a warm, but heart-guarded adieu, but last week I had the opportunity to watch my brother pull off in his moving van as he headed two states east and by most measures, I didn’t handle it well…
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I’ve never really had to deal much with anxiety during my adult life. That is, until recent years…
When I was working as a high school math teacher, I remember feeling anxious, but that seems to pale in comparison to the stress and anxiety I’ve experienced since leaving teaching to work full time on my entrepreneurial interests. Something about ditching all forms of security in the name of adventure will do that to a person, especially if that person is responsible for a family of five…
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I have this coat that I wear. It is made of fur, and I’ve had it on all of my life. Since birth I’ve been wearing this coat around my shoulders, the heat of it keeping me warm and comfortable. It is such a part of me that I honestly can’t imagine life without it.
I suppose I must admit the weight and heat can be dreadfully uncomfortable at those times when the summer sun is scorching me. No doubt I would like to rid myself of this coat in the summer—when the sun’s light torments the land longer, hotter, and with a concentrated brutality. But like another layer of skin, I refuse to shed this coat of mine—we’ve been through a lot together, you see... I even have a name for the coat. It’s called Self, since I feel it is such an integral part of me; it and me, one in cause, one in duty, one in mission.
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We just got back from a two-week road trip which included four nights tent camping in the Rockies. I figured I might share some of my observations about the experience; including some of the things I’ve come to appreciate after four nights with nothing but a thin nylon wall separating me from Mother Nature…
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My family and I are vacationing in Colorado at the moment. Being from Southern California, where we intimately know entertainment, we have been enjoying the slower pace of life at 8700 feet. Enjoying the outdoors, we have been in awe of the abundant groves of aspens, the high and craggy mountain peaks, and the sheer grandeur of nature.
A natural response to this sheer beauty, at least for us, is to want to get out in it—for our experience is that once we venture off the confines of the roads, Nature shines forth in all her glory; we hear the songs of birds, the soothing sounds of running water, and the smells of forest. While it certainly can be experienced from the car, when we step out of the insulation, we experience beauty in all kinds of new depths.
Of course, with the removal of that insulation, we leave ourselves vulnerable to things outside of our control.
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used to think that the fascination with superheroes was reserved for those under the age of 12—where children dress up as Spiderman for Halloween, they play Superman in their backyards, or wield their light sabers around the house in hot pursuit of their villain father as he comes home from work (or is my household the only one where that happens)?
But a look at some of the summer blockbusters over recent years seems to suggest that as an adult society, we are quite taken by the Superhero theme—those characters who, on the outside, appear just like you and I, but on the inside know down deep that they possess some otherworldly power; a power that carries with it the darker temptation to use it for one’s own devices, but yet is intended for the good of a society in desperate need of rescuing.
Why, I wonder, the recent resurgence of the superhero stories?
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Growing up, as my father would tuck me in at night, he would often avail himself to hearing the frustrations of my day. I’m sure it was an act of loving patience for him as he would listen to the angst of a ten year old boy Billy said I was a bad basketball player, which would then morph into the insecurities of a young teenager I don’t know how to ask Jamie to the dance, to the late teenage I don’t know how to confront so-and-so on this issue. After listening intently and compassionately, he would then often quote the legendary Vince Lombardi:
“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.”
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It’s time for a small confession: I struggle with being a “Christian Businessman”. The struggle isn’t a moral one, as in “am I making decisions that are full of integrity, or God-honoring”. The struggle isn’t a business one, as in, “am I giving enough of our profits away to those in need”.
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A few years ago I was invited to speak at a fundraiser dinner for the Cal State University, San Bernardino School of Business. Hosted by the Ontario Convention Center, it was an event highlighting social entrepreneurs in the area, with the thematic title, “Start Something That Matters”.
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