I was driving to my favorite Starbucks this morning when I heard a short story on the number of measures that might be on the ballot this coming year in California. There are about 80 measures that special interest groups are promoting, and to get the measures on the ballot they each have to get 433,971 verified signatures of registered voters.
Debra Bowen, California’s Secretary of State, is urging caution on the voters when it comes to signing these ballots. She said that no one should be pressured into signing something they don’t agree with and that voters need to ensure they understand what they are signing before signing a petition. So far… so good.
I then cringed when Debra gave suggestions on how to avoid people who are trying to get your signature when you don’t want to give it. Read the rest of this entry »
We’re facing some interesting times. It seems the country is split almost evenly over the health care debate. One thing is for certain, we are heading for a cliff and I imagine it this way. A teenager borrows his Dad’s car. It has a full tank of gas and carries the promise of a good time that night. As the teen drives around town, he starts picking up his friends. In spite of being told to limit his passengers to the number of seat belts, he ends up with almost 10 friends crammed into his five seater.
Yes YOU have what it takes. The question is, will you choose to do it or not? Whatever you want to tackle, all you have to do is start and not give up.
Remember, success is not measured only in results. Much of success is measured on the Journey. Start your journey today.
Enjoy this remarkable artist, Kseniya Simonova, as you think about what you will do with your life.
Note: The first two paragraphs sound like my ego ran away from me. That is not the point. This posting is really for you…. so please read the entire article!
I like to think of myself as both a “family man” and a valued member of the workforce. Over the years I think I have found a successful work-life balance. As a husband and father, I was very involved with my family. We went on vacations together, I attended most of my son’s soccer games and gymnastic meets. I was one of the very few dads who you would find at dance competitions, especially when it involved travel. I supported my daughter through cheerleading and volleyball. I taught at Sunday School, volunteered in youth programs, went to daddy-daughter dances. I went on date nights, escaped for a few weekend getaways with my wife. I pitched in with the housework, mowed the lawn, put up fences and did what I could to be the best husband and father to my family.
This weekend I taught about 400 kids about honor. While going over the lesson it made me think hard about what is honor, and how can we put it simply so that we all get it right. The lesson opened up with a jousting contest where two of our volunteers ran around the room jousting with wooden dowels and pillows. It was hilarious and the kids enjoyed it immensely. The tie in to the lesson being that Knights displayed honor to each other by tilting their visors before facing each other.
Last night my daughter was in tears as she recounted something that happened to her yesterday. I was wondering what could be so terrible that she would cry so hard. I went down the list…. Did you hurt someone? Did someone hurt you? Did you get a ticket? Did you get into an accident? Did you take some drugs? Did you yell at someone? Did someone else yell at you? Did you have a fight with your boyfriend? Did you drink and drive? On and on I went. She kept saying… no. no. no. She even laughed a couple times. Turns out what she was so upset about wasn’t that big a deal when put in perspective.
This is the third post in a series on marriage. You can find the first post here. To recap, my wife and I just celebrated our 25th Anniversary, and while I’m no Dr. Phil, I wanted to pass along some tips I learned along the way. We talked about Commitment, and tuning in to your partner. Today I want to pass on something I wish I knew 25 years ago as it would have saved countless arguments and lost sleep. Unlike a lot of other things that make a relationship last, this one is relatively simple… until you sit down at the table to talk about it. To make you marriage happier and life easier, you need to clarify roles and responsibilities.
This past weekend I had an adventure! I helped my son move from Medford, Oregon to Reno, Nevada as he got a promotion at the Guitar Center. The weekend was hectic as we drove from Sacramento to Medford, packed, drove from Medford to Sacramento, spent the night, drove from Sacramento to Reno, unpacked, then caught a Greyhound back to Sacramento. We braved the snow over the mountains near Mt. Shasta, raced a winter storm to Reno and unloaded in the snow. It was fun.
While we were packing in Medford, we made the decision to leave some things behind.To move and make room for new things, we had to leave some other things behind. This sounded like a great metaphor and reminded me of mental baggage we carry around with us.
If you want to get that promotion, is it just good enough to be good at what you do? I believe the answer is no. There are a lot of talented people who never rise above average. Not that average is bad, but as a leader, don’t you want to be better? Living near San Francisco, I sometimes drive down to Fisherman’s Wharf or Pier 39. As I stroll along the waterfront taking in the sights and smells along the shore, I pass by numerous street vendors and musicians hawking their wares. These people have talent! Yet it is pretty obvious that some of these folks have been beaten up by life.
My family and I were watching Salon Takeover on Bravo the other night where one of the hairstylists was obviously a poor performer. She wasn’t great at time management, talked incessantly about herself, disregarded her clients time constraints, was a poor listener, didn’t take criticism to heart and was a drag on the other stylists. This girl was nice enough, but was so full of excuses and a lack of commitment to improve.
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