To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Family

What will your family be known for?

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I am certain if they don’t now, my boys will have a few laughs over my constant attempts to get everyone focused on the good. So the thought above is a result of one of those times where I asked them by text “what should we be known for?”

We have a family mission statement that we created a decade ago, but these thoughts are from the last six months. By the way, we may or may not have 100 percent participation – ha!

I didn’t come up with this idea on my own by the way. It was most certainly a product of some people with amazing wisdom that have crossed my path and shared their stories and in this case, an idea that I felt wasbrilliant.

So, my question for you today, no matter your status, is what will you or your family be known for? I encourage you to write it down. Get everyone involved. Heck, make it a conversation point at Thanksgiving. Of course we don’t get this right all of the time, but we put it out there and work at it and as a result, life is just plain richer.

Crazy beautiful all around

blog_737081_2810070_1447905059Today’s a good day to stop and realize the sheer beauty of the world.

We are sitting right on the edge of winter and the shorter days give way to a great desire for comfort food and jumping in bed at 8 p.m.

But wait… in a few days, you’ll get shaken out of the stuper and thrown into the fury and fun of the holiday season. With this week’s theme of “mind the gap,” I can’t help but be somewhat alarmed and exhilarated at the very thought that there is a very short gap between these few days that rest between November 1 roughly (daylight savings time) to Thanksgiving where we give way to a different set of energy.

My thought: soak it up while you can! 

If you need to sleep, sleep! Beg, borrow or steal it if you need to. If you need a cup of great soup and some bread that reminds you of grandma’s house, then make or go get that, too. If you just want to lay under the covers all day and hide, well, try to make that happen!

I was with this amazing Uberdriver this morning and he shared that yesterday he just stayed home and enjoyed his family. He told me he got up to go to work, but was called back by his body and spirit longing to simply enjoy this day before the action gets moving at such a rate, he can’t stop. I thought that was awesome.

As a leader, I’m not advocating everyone calling in sick, although I am a big fan and supporter of flexible work schedules and an integration between work and life that is reasonable and allows us to produce our best. I am, however, advocating that you allow yourself and your staff if you are a leader to pull off of the side of the road, so to speak, and mind the gap that is this brief season.

Perhaps by doing so we will improve our health and get a sense of rejuvination which will help us build energy to have the best holiday season ever.

Birthdays are worth celebrating!

blog_735001_2807093_1447301272For those of you reading this thank you! I totally get it if folks skip over this one, because it’s personal. Personal as in the true joys of my life. That is inspiring if you ask me.

I started out my health care career in the OB/GYN field and for those of you that don’t know, those are the wonderful physicians that help us bring new life into our world. In that space, I learned quickly that birthdays are a big deal. Life is beyond precious and worth every candle, every bit of annoying confetti andevery good ol’ loud and obnoxious birthday song – cha cha cha!

So for today, I celebrate my boys’ birthday and share three wishes for them and for all of you:

  1. PURE JOY. As we climb the inevitable mountains of life, that we always remember to stop and soak up God’s beauty as it can be found in everything from the simplest dandelion that pops up in the spring to the most complicated of all, which is the beauty found in the complexity of our first breath and the intricate wiring of our human bodies.
  2. LOVE. “And the greatest of these is love.” To find love everywhere: In our families, love that sustained us as babies (and still today), childhood friends, teachers of all kinds that have been a part of our growth, the well wishes and smiles of strangers, the prayers of generations past, the first kiss and the loves of our lives. My great hope is that you will see these, recognize them, cherish them andlove fiercely.
  3. MAKE A DIFFERENCE. My belief of course is that we were all were put here in our generation, at this very moment in time to serve and to improve our world. Through our life work, our family, career and community, we have opportunities of need surrounding us. My wish is that we will reflect often on how we do this well and show our passion and act often.

Happy Birthday dear boys! Here’s to YOUR BEST YEAR YET!

Train your mind

blog_734618_2805536_1447168536Most every American knows Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos quarterback, NFL Super Bowl champion and MVP. To many, the best quarterback of all time.

Regardless of where he lies in the final stats, there is no doubt that he has demonstrated that training your mind is critical to great success. In fact, when he had potentially career-ending surgery in 2011, he did what many thought couldn’t happen and made a decision to seek the best training of his mind and physical body to step back into the game again. And he has done so with sheer greatness.

The first step in his decision: train your mind.

Most everyday we are hit with an array of challenges, decisions, problems, etc that have the potential to take us down. A simple action or reaction can send us reeling and quite often those are left whirling in our minds, often creating a life of their own. What if he meant that? Did that text she sent mean what I think it meant?

The National Science Foundation estimates that a human brain produces as many as 12,000 to 50,000 thoughts per day, depending on how deep a thinker a person is. Most of the so-called random daily thoughts are about our social environment and ourselves.

As you can see, with our brain on overdrive, we simply must train our minds to think positive and focus on the best of ourselves, our abilities, our intentions and of course, people.

One of the interesting things about the brain is that it is methodical. In my research, I read that a thought actually becomes a physical pathway in the brain. According to life coach Tim Brownson, the more you have a thought, the more you groove that path and the easier it is to have it again. That’s why having the thought “Why do I suck?” is never a great idea.

That’s where the training part comes in. I don’t want to overcomplicate this, but instead give you this to contemplate today. We are all champions in one way, shape or form. Peyton Manning just does it on a national stage. When troubles come our way, we have a choice to train our minds to go into what I’ll callexcellence mode.

What pathways have been etched into your mind due to constantly thinking or focusing on them? It could be a person in the workplace that has driven you to drink or at the very least you have hit your head against the wall so many times trying to navigate the situation. It could be a family member (Thanksgiving is a few weeks away in case you want to get prepared now…), that always seems to say the most life-draining things that leave you wondering where they came from or where you came from. It could simply be that you are really hard on yourself for pick your issue: over spending, not doing enough charity work, not working out enough, never picking up the phone and calling your best friend… You get the picture.

Let’s “groove” some new paths in our minds today and put our minds on excellence mode.

The brilliance of courage

blog_731142_2798643_1446129417Courage is always brilliant.

Courage is stepping into a board room prepared to give a killer presentation. Courage is going into an interview for a job you desperately need. Courage is signing for your first big purchase… and second…and third. Courage is bringing your first child home from the hospital. Courage is rising to the occasion to help someone in need. Courage is facing a tough loss and making something better out of the situation! Courage is taking the long road to leave your home and cross borders to achieve your goal. Courage is seeing the good in bad situations with great faith.

Courage is:

Mindy Corporen: My dear friend who has faced incredible loss and instead of hiding, is the very definition of “rising.” Creating an organization, “faith wins” to focus on the good versus evil in this world. And in the midst, galvanizing thousands to do the same in their personal situations.

Alli Pflueger: My colleague and friend who is a young professional, and a newlywed. Facing a new chapter with a rising career, new family and a passion to help others.

YOU: All of us display courage on a daily basis through our everyday choices and actions. We step in and step up and we change lives for those around us.

Go be BRILLIANT!

‘What if’ decisions

blog_728896_2795414_1445521910What If we did in fact make some ‘pre-decisions,’ and they just aren’t going so well?

I was drawn to this particular image because honestly, sometimes our tractors and the weight of our decisions, are just a heavy load.

I just love the idea of a good solid tractor. It represents to me hard work, provision of food, real salt of the earth people who have likely followed a family labor of love. An old-beat-up tractor, has “been there, done that” and once shined brightly and no doubt worked those fields. Some days I feel like that. How about you?

So what’s the insight here?  Here’s what I’m thinking:

How do you take a ‘not so bright’ decision and recover gracefully?  You know, those decisions that become a heavy load. Maybe the tractor, like you, woke up bright and optimistic (or shiny), but just think about how you feel after a day, a week or years of not always choosing right.

Here’s the great news: Hang with me here, because I realize most of you reading this aren’t washed up or haven’t even made too many bad decisions. After all, most of our problems are what we call “first world problems” because honestly, in most of the world they wouldn’t even count as a factor at all. To make it more relevant, here is what I feel does make sense:

  1. You over-scheduled your children. They are downright cranky and you can’t remember the last time you had a great conversation around the dinner table.
  2. You have decided that the comfort of fall foods are just too much and you fall off the health train for a while. You already know where this is headed, but none the less, it’s a bit chilly, so surely it will be easy to get back on track when you – and I, for that matter – decide to do that.
  3. You haven’t taken any time at work or in your community to  build relationships. Everyone is busy, so you’ve decided it’s okay to just skip that part and stick to the agenda.

All of these are decisions we somehow made, and these are the decisions that become heavy loads and get us off track of a life of excellence. All of them can be reversed of course.

Make a short list today of the one, two or three things on your mind that are distracting you from yourbeing your best, and make a pre-decision to lay out a plan to reverse course!

Fueled by good decisions

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A little history lesson:  John Deere was born in Vermont in 1804. His father died at sea, and he was raised by a single mother who had a meager income. John, at a young age, made some decisions, which resulted in his great success. As you may know, John Deere is the namesake of the global company that provides us with world-class machinery that started with farming equipment and has expanded over time. As Ralph Waldo Emerson says so well, sometimes, the universe conspires to help us be greatly successful once those decisions are made!
“Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of my favorite concepts I have learned over the past few years is this idea of making “pre-decisions.” At first it was a parenting application, sharing with my boys that when sticking with their values, the first step is making a “pre-decision.”  If you make a commitment to yourself to do or not do something important, well then, that is likely to be exactly what happens.

The thought then came into the area of health and fitness. Making a “pre-decision” at the beginning of each year to complete the “Daniel-Fast” for 21 days, was the catalyst for me getting on the right road to health!

After some reflection, I realized my whole life I have been making these personal agreements or decisions on how I wanted my life to look at the end of my “run,” so to speak. Decisions to pick the right friends, to make a difference, to encourage others daily, to be a person of excellence and lead well in my career. Somehow, giving it an actual term helped frame it and helps me to share those thoughts with my boys and others.

The application of the idea of making a “pre-decision” is well laid out once you look at the few key steps to John Deere’s success. I always believe that looking at historically great people who have impacted our world is a good idea when the topic is ‘how to be the best I can.’

Here are a few decisions Mr. Deere made:

  • He decided to go out boldly and leave home, leaving his family so he could help provide and learn his skill.
  • He decided to actually create what he thought just might work, to make his job easier (note that this is no different than what it is today, he simply decided to be fearless.)
  • He decided that to do this in the best way, he needed to partner with others who could help him move forward.
  • He decided after his company was well-oiled, to get engaged in the community. He held several leadership roles in his hometown, including mayor.

What decision do you need to make today? Where are you on life’s path? Time to dive into the community where you can help others or make a child laugh? Is it time to go after that new role at work that you have been teetering about for months?

Step in and make a decision today! I’m cheering for you and the whole world will conspire for your success. I believe that!

Make it a week of great progress

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Happy ‘Simple Thoughts Sunday!’ Our focus this week will be on making pre-decisions. 

I promise it will be fun and it’s one of my favorite “insights” that I’ve gotten over the past few years. Thank you for joining the conversation!

Oh, and GO ROYALS!  Seriously, they clearly have made a pre-decision to do whatever it takes in whatever inning! A terrific story in itself for us: be bold! 

Blessings to you and your family!

Bring Your Own Guts and Heart (BYOG+H)

blog_724971_2789324_1444268845Happy Thursday everyone!

I absolutely loved watching this post game video of Clemson coach, Dabo Swinney on Saturday.

Thanks to having three boys, I have the pure pleasure of getting engaged in pretty much all major sports. ESPN and SportsCenter are household names, if you know what I mean.

One of the big games this week was Clemson hosting Notre Dame. It proved to be the game it was hyped up to be with Clemson winning 24-22.

(Side note: I am a Clemson fan after winning a $10 bet from my son Joe last year. No other particularly good reason – but I do like orange, if that counts. It is the happiest color after all!)

So, as we wrap up our ‘take on October’ theme this week, let’s look at what is so awesome about this video:

  1. Pure enthusiasm! We can give a lot, but “we can’t give guts and heart!
  2. Give kudos to the competitor! Always a classy move to give credit where credit is due.
  3. Be humble! “We ain’t always perfect.”
  4. Pride in your team! “Play by play…” didn’t give up!
  5. Always appreciated: Thanking your fans!

I hope everyone shows this video to their peers, teams, family, students, etc. It truly delivers an amazing message! Bring your own guts and heart! 

Take on October!

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Can you feel the excitement?

Football, baseball playoff time, pulling on the cute type of winter boots (though they are not all cute…), sweater weather, crunching leaves, smoke-filled air from fire pits and fireplaces, and of course, comfort food with family and friends!

October is amazing.

So here’s the deal friends: We have approximately 90 days until 2015 wraps up! We have a full quarter – a full 25% – of our time left this year to make a difference. Businesses nationwide are driving hard toward having a successful year. Football teams are no doubt in huddles trying to figure out just how to win the game! Students are looking at those mid-term grades and making the adjustments needed to move into victory.

As you think about a life of excellence today, what do you need to do to achieve what success looks like to you over the next 90 days?

I leave you with my list of 13. Why 13? Because that’s my lucky number, of course!

  1. I really need and want to make healthy fall meals! Think soup, warm bread (sorry to my trainer, but I promise I’ll put in the work to cover it) and a yummy apple crisp.
  2. Plan ahead to ensure I have time to spend with the people I hold the dearest over the next three months, not letting the rush of the holidays be a barrier!
  3. When I am with those people, cherish every moment.
  4. Complete my annual “read through the bible” effort. I have done every year this for four years now, and it makes a huge difference in my life.
  5. Go see my grandma in Tennessee!
  6. Take in a few Chiefs games, and even take the time to put together an actual tailgate.
  7. Generate some ideas for my annual Christmas theme and act on making it magical for the family.
  8. Get to the Cider Mill, pumpkin patch and to my friend’s winery next door, which is so much fun!
  9. Review my ‘life plan’ and make sure I’m on top of my goals! “Achieve great success at work this quarter” is a big one.
  10. Make progress on my book, To Serve Well. I’m about halfway done right now.
  11. READ! I read 3-4 books per month, which is a terrific habit.
  12. Watch my Royals win the World Series… nothing wrong with having bold faith!
  13. And most importantly, love and cheer on my boys like it’s nobody’s business.

I’d love to hear a couple of yours – I am cheering you on.