Kindling

I'm a big fan of quotes.  But, recently I have been wondering what their value is.  It made me think about why I like them.  Here is what I came up with.

Kindling.

Kindling, as in the stuff you use to start a campfire to keep warm, prepare food or just to gather around, relax and maybe tell stories.

Good kindling catches fire quickly and burns long enough to allow the larger, longer burning logs to catch fire, which ultimately enable you to keep warm, cook, or tell ghost stories.  Without kindling, it is very hard to start a fire simply with a large log.  But, if all you have is kindling, your fire will burn out pretty quickly.

A good quote "kindles" your thoughts and imagination, which are the logs in your fire.  The resulting fire can enable growth and change through actions, just like the camp fire enables you to cook food or keep warm on a cold night.

Like kindling, though, by itself, a quote will burn quickly and won't provide much heat.

Have you collected the kindling for your camp fire?

Slow Down! So you can SPEED UP!

I was talking with a friend about golf while driving back from a fun weekend at a daddy/daughter camp.  I am not a golfer and I don't find any enjoyment on the golf course mainly because I am SO bad.  I have not made the attempt to adopt a "growth mindset" with golf.  Why am I so bad?  Well, we could probably list 150 reasons but one big one is that I try to swing too hard.  More than one person has told me that you shouldn't swing the club hard if you want to be good.  A good steady swing is all you need and let the club determine the distance.  When I swing hard, the ball goes everywhere except straight.  Which means par for me is losing 1 ball per hole (I'm not kidding).  It takes me a long time to get from tee to the cup.  Maybe if I didn't swing so hard I could play better.

Similarly, as I watch stock car racing, I often hear the announcer or spotter tell the driver to ease into the corner instead of driving into the corner so hard.  Sometimes it is in the effort to use less gas to extend their mileage.  This adjustment often results in faster lap times.  So, driving smoother, letting off the gas, and using less braking can result in faster laps.

I know when I do go-kart racing I see this first hand.  If I go full speed into the turns, I end up losing control or being passed by people that are driving more smoothly.

So, in what areas of my life am I "swinging too hard or driving into the corners at full speed, just to end up slamming on my brakes?" Could this tie into micro-managing and frustrsting my team?  How about pushing too hard with fitness and getting injured?  Parenting?  How about even in my faith?

The tough part, for me, is knowing where the line is between pushing enough and pushing too much. If you don't push enough, you leave results "on the table" and don't reach your potential.  If you push too hard, you may get good results today but at the cost of poor long term results.

I think the key is being aware that the line exists and looking for indications that you are approaching it.  Watch your "laptimes" as you push harder.  Listen for indications from your team, spouse or children.

So far, it seems that the best I can do is to be aware that the line exists and be alert to indications that I am approaching it.

Olympic Training: Life or Death Motivation

One of the few Olympic sports that uses judges to determine scores that I enjoy watching is gymnastics.  The process of determing a winner still frustrates me but those gymnasts are amazing athletes.  What guy wouldn't love to snap his fingers and have the muscles that the olympic guys have?  To be able to do what they do on the rings is amazing.  But, this isn't about one of the guys.  It is about one of the women.  Yes, I said "women", not girls.  Most Olympic "women" are 16-21 years old and they are pretty old at 25.  But, there was one woman that was representing Germany that was 37 years old.

Oksana Chusovitina is the only female gymnast to compete in 6 Olympics and she began performing internationally in 1989.  Many of the girls she was competing against this year weren't even born at that time.  What has motivated Oksana to continue so long in a sport ruled by teenagers and 20 year olds?

Well, in 2002 her son was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and the best option for his survival was for Oksana and her family to move to Germany where he could be treated.  Oksana depended on prize money and relationships in gymnastics to help fund the treatment.  Her son's life depended on her not just doing gymnastics, but doing it well enough to win. 

What do you do for a living?  Could you do it better if your son's life depended on you being the best?  Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A, often asks if we are giving our best effort and if we aren't he asks, "why not... why not.... why not?"  Does it take a life and death situation to motivate us to do our best?  Should it?

Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:23 - Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
       

   

Olympic Training: Gold Medal Leadership

I love watching the Olympics!  Not because I like all the "sports" (ping pong, trampoline and horse dancing?  But that is another blog of some sort).  I like hearing the stories of how the Olympians got to the level they are at. This often includes overcoming personal challenges as well as intense training.  Sometimes the story is just as much about the coach, parent or mentor.

One story was about Michael Phelps.  We've seen him win just about every event in the pool.  We've seen him on Wheaties boxes and endorsing all sorts of stuff.  We've seen him interviewed by everybody.  But, how did he become the dominant swimmer he has been?

Of course, his training included lots of weights, a proper diet, practicing specific techniques, etc.  His coach also pushed him in other ways.  When Phelps was swimming his coach took his goggles and stepped on them so they wouldn't keep water out and made Phelps continue swimming with water filled goggles.  I bet Phelps didn't like that.  I bet he wasn't happy with his coach at that moment.  But, during a swimming final in the Olympics Phelps had his goggles come lose and allow water in.  I'm far from an Olympic swimmer but I imagine having your goggles fill with water can be a bit distracting and these swimmers separate themselves by thousandths of a second.  Phelps showed no sign of problem during the race but when he finished you could see him take his goggles off and water empty from them.  Oh, and he won by a fraction of a second.

His coach had prepared him to overcome challenges not just by training him to be the most fit and having the best technique.  His coach forced Phelps to encounter challenges and learn to overcome them.

As a leader, are you preparing those around you to overcome adversity or do you seek to prevent them from encountering it?  Do you care enough about your team to step on their goggles?

Proverbs 27:17 - As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Honey Bees

Want to accomplish your objective?  Here are 3 bees that will help.

Bee Early

Get started before everybody else.  Show respect to others by ensuring they won't have to wait on you.  Get ahead of the game.

Bee Fast

Don't waste time.  Take action.  Turn the idea into a behavior.  Get their quicker than everybody else.

Bee Intentional    

Do what matters.  Do it right.  Do it the best you can.

Then your results will be as sweet as honey!

Kickball

Remember back in elementary school when the gym teacher picked two kids to be captains and pick teams to play kickball? Whether you were a captain or not, you wanted to be on the strongest team. If you weren't a captain, once you got picked you probably made suggestions to the captain about who you thought was the best classmate to pick next. Did you base your picks on who you liked hanging out with most, who made you laugh the most, or who would help you win the most? If your goal was to win, hopefully you picked the best kickball player. 

As adults, we are all in another game. The game of life. In this game you don't have a choice about whether you are a captain. You just ARE. So, who are you picking to be on your team? Are you picking people that will help you accomplish your goals in life? Are you picking people who can teach you how to be better at what matters to you?

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Hebrews 10:25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

"Thank God our transmission blew up!"

I'll warn you.  This is a long post.  It is mostly for my sake so I remember how God provided.  If you read it, just imagine it is a short book and it will seem like a short story instead of a long blog post.  Here it goes.

I had just had two conversations about how fortunate we have been that our 2003 Honda Odyssey hadn't had any transmission problems.  Everybody I know that has that model and that year has already had their transmission fail.  Well, on the way to the beach it was our turn.  It was a sinking feeling to be on I-40 well past the Raleigh area, van packed full, plus luggage on the roof and I see my tachometer registering 5-6,000 RPMs.  And, no, I wasn't driving fast enough for that to be right. 

We limp to the next exit which was the last populated exit for a couple marathons.  With the help of a very friendly and assertive gas station employee we confirm that our transmission was no longer functional.  Of course, the smoke, fluid on the ground and lack of forward movement were pretty convincing to me that I had a blown transmission and I have never even replaced a flat tire or changed the oil myself.

I quickly accepted that this van was not going to get us to our final destination at Pine Knoll Shores.  So, we needed to get it to someplace that could repair the transmission and we needed another form of transportation to get us the remaining 100 miles, or so.  No problem, I called AAA.  I've been paying for it for about 20 years.  Time to cash in.  Before they could help me, they needed to know where I was at.  That meant I needed to know where I was at.  I was off I-40 in a BP parking lot, next to a McDonald's.  That wasn't good enough for them. Fortunately I remembered that the exit sign said Warsaw.  Apparently Warsaw isn't a very big place because AAA kept asking for the nearest larger town.  Eventually, we identified Goldsboro as the nearest population large enough to receive a transmissionless Honda Odyssey. 

Our trip quickly went from a great beach trip to a long pit stop at the Warsaw BP.  But, then it turned back into a cool family trip, in our kid's eyes anyway, because our kids got a kick out of riding in the tow truck with our van on the flat bed right out the back window.

34 miles later (I know this because AAA only covers 3 miles and then I pay $3/mile for the rest) we end up at the Honda dealership in Goldsboro.  They quickly diagnose my problem and present me with an estimate and our options.  Without paraphrasing too much, they come and say, "the transmission will cost $5,300 to fix, we will give you $500 for the van as a trade in, and all the car rental places in Goldsboro are closed because it is Saturday".  Fortunately, while waiting for the tow truck and on the ride to Goldsboro, we had coordinated with our GREAT friends, that were originally going to meet us at the beach the next day, to get my truck from home and bring it to us after they did a quick packing of all their stuff.  So, we had about 3 hours to kill in Goldsboro with no transportation. 

We decided to use that time to figure out some options for the end of the week when we needed a second vehicle again.  Of course, the dealership was more than happy to get us in one of their vans for a test drive.  We started out smart by driving one of the used vans on the lot.  But, then we tested one of the new vans. 

The next hour, or so, was spent talking with the sales manager at the dealership, other dealerships, family and friends trying to figure out what our next move was.  Ultimately, I couldn't justify making a decision of that magnitude within 4 hours of our beach trip turning into a car buying trip.  I told the sales manager about the $200 rocking chair that I bought spontaneously 12 years ago and that it still bugs me that I didn't think it through.  He offered to keep his price till I could call him during the week after having time to think about it.    

Thanks to our wonderful friends, we finally got to the beach 5-6 hours after we had planned to arrive but we were there and the house had a hot tub.  If you ever have your transmission die, find a hot tub.

Sunday morning we went to a local church and heard about 4 sermons, or it seemed like it because each time it seemed like the pastor had summed up the message, he jumped right back in.  One time, I thought he was about to wrap up and then he said, "now lets dig a little bit deeper".  Fortunately, the content was good.  The first summation was that we need to understand that our lives are directed by God's Purpose, God's Plan and God's Timing.  That was a pretty well timed message for us.  For those of you curious what the text was that he drew this from.  It was 1 Samuel 24 where David spares Saul's life in the cave.   

Later that afternoon, we were sitting on the beach and we see a tire washing up on the shore.  We immediately started laughing and remembering the sermon.  God's Purpose, God's Plan, God's Timing.  We jokingly said it must mean it was God's Purpose to get us a new van, God's Plan to have it wash up piece by piece, and God's Timing meant we needed to stay at the beach till the rest of the van showed up.

It gets better.  The next day, Kaylyn and I are walking down the beach and we see a second tire washing up.  Unbelievable!!  We told our friends about the second piece of our new van washing up.  They said, "no, it's a different kind of tire (true) which means they should also be getting a new van".  They had the same model we did and were having troubles but theirs was still moving at the moment.     

Monday afternoon, while people were resting, reading or playing inside, I did van research.  First decision was to fix it or not.  Then, if not, buy used or new and where.  The information I had seemed to lead to buying new and ultimately buying it at the dealership in Goldsboro.  We got a good price and some nice extras to sweeten the deal.  They also were very nice hosts that Saturday afternoon, accomodating our kids, tolerating all our phone calls, etc.  So, Tuesday evening I finalize the deal and we arranged to pick up our new van the upcoming Saturday on our way home from the beach. 

So, why the title to the blog?  "Thank God, our transmission blew up!"  Initially, it didn't seem like a very good situation but as we dealt with it and looking back on it we see so many instances where God provided.  And, ultimately, it was a perfect time for us to make the transition to a new van which I new was coming sooner or later with our mileage and the history of transmission issues on these model years.  Here are some examples of God's provision.

-We had debated whether we should go to our girl's soccer games the morning that we left for the beach.  We decided to skip the games to get to the beach "at a reasonable time".  If we had waited, our transmission would have blown much later in the day.  Most of the story above couldn't have happened.  The dealership would be closed.  Our friends wouldn't have had as much time to respond.  Even something as small as that I was going to get gas at the exit we limped up to.  So, I had saved a full tanks worth of $$.

-God has provided us with great friends that proactively came up with the plan to come rescue us.  We hadn't even thought to ask.

-God provided us with great memories.  The ride in the tow truck was the highlight of day one of our vacation for the girls.  I look forward to talking with our friends years from now and saying "remember that beach trip when we got new vans.....".

-The closest car place that was open was a Honda dealership.  Not only that, but as I talked to people throughout the week, I heard more than once that they had heard good things about that dealership.  What are the odds that we get towed to a car dealerhip an hour from home that people have had good experiences at? 

-God showed His sense of humor with the tires washing up.  Just in case the situation was weighing us down, He provided many laughs for us that week.  I've never seen a tire wash up, not just appear one morning, but actually washing up in front of us.  I'm guessing I won't see that again.

-It turned out to be the perfect time to buy a van.  Honda was running a .9% financing offer which took some of the short term financial burden off the decision.  I didn't need the 2nd car for a week.  It was the end of the month when dealers want to "deal".  I had plenty of free time to research vans which was actually kind of fun.  Being so far from home, I had alot of dealerships I could call that were between the beach and home so I had alot of info to go into the price negotiations with.  If the van had died a week earlier, during the kid's school year, we would have been in a bind.  As Kaylyn pointed out, I was with her when it happened.  She isn't a big fan of having car problems on her own.

Oh, and one fun piece of information to wrap up this story is that our friends ended up buying a new van that week, too.  They were able to get the local dealership at the beach to match the deal I got plus a better trade in on their still-functioning-van.  So, we both left with old vans with numerous problems and both returned with new vans and great deals AND unforgetable memories. 

Thank God for His timing.  Thank God for our friends.  Thank God for our memories.

Thank God, our transmission blew up!