Authenticity…From a Kid
Thursday night I was at dinner with my family; it was a gorgeous evening crisp and clean air quickly cooling by the nightfall from a warm and sunny day. Just one of those great casual evenings consisting of hangout-with-the-family time. Royce, my seven-year old daughter, was really being quite loving with me. She kept [...]
The One
Here’s an interesting article related to performance and success, and while not earth shattering at its core the originating subject is about the next baseball wunderkind bazillionaire (pending all things go as planned) who could be another “Dwight Gooden” style game changer. What I found fascinating is that the bulk of the article is really [...]
The Physicist in Sonoma
Recently I took a trip to Sonoma, California, one of my favorite places to visit–and even more so when my wife is with me. So in touring lots of wineries there’s a lot more than “does the wine taste good?” It includes the atmosphere, the staff, the process they use, their focus, and a lot [...]
At first she HATED running…
This story out of Sports Illustrated speaks for itself, and is touching on so many levels. Physical improvement. Accountability. Teamwork. Persistence. Heart. Patriotism. Compassion. Love. It’s a simple story of a single act that turned into something so much bigger, and for whatever reason really touched me as I read it a second time this [...]
The Nike Experiment
I love hearing various stories about what works for people’s “wellness” initiative, or what they do to get–and stay–motivated to improve themselves physically. And I’d love to hear or read some other comments from readers, so post your comments away! Fundamentally, I do think Nike has it right as, with many things in life, [...]
The Day Before!
Here we are, the day before the big event. Lots happened today. All the preparation moments absolutely flew by, it’s like we’re on a locomotive and can’t slow it down. But it’s all good, starting with a fabulous Diamond leadership meeting earlier today, some exceptionally run workshops this afternoon, followed by a lot of fun [...]
Univera Convention ’09: The Day Before!
Here we are. Seattle, 2009. Ten Years, One Truth. And it’s all coming together. Today’s my first of what will be a daily blog all around the events of the day and exciting things that are happening. Most of today’s entry is a VLOG, but some of the highlights included countless hours of preparation, store [...]
Yet Another Way to Live Longer
When you do a Google search for images related to the word “purpose” I don’t understand why the results pull up esoteric whispy trees in the middle of green fields, or that of a person paddling a canoe in the reflective moonlight in the middle of a widespread ocean with nary a sign of life [...]
Happy Father’s Day
Though late in the day, I’m still going to get my Father’s Day post in before “COB”, even beating midnight Eastern time. My Dad is a phenomenal individual and I really appreciate him (as well my Mom, but today is the Dad’s day) more than words can adequately express. Which might be a good thing, [...]
Another Life of a Leader
For whatever reason, I feel like a I read a lot of tributes–perhaps because there are always at least one or two in most issues of Business Week, Newsweek, The Week, and the WSJ. And it’s a different insight to look at the life of a person whose time has past. Reading this short [...]
Why Seattle???
Today I’m reposting a video from a year ago as we prepare for a really exceptional event in Seattle NEXT WEEK! June 26th and 27th (though the 70′s celebration band/bash starts on Thursday night the 25th, as well as some great workshops earlier that afternoon) we’re going to be celebrating Univera’s 10th year anniversary, learning [...]
A Random Update
This has been the longest I’ve gone for quite a while without a blog update. I’ve missed writing, and am also a bit embarrassed for the time that’s passed. So as I was thinking of blogging topics I thought better might be a quick highlights from the past week. So this particular entry isn’t focused [...]
C’mon Royce!
I think one of the challenges in being a leader (in many capacities: work, home, volunteerism, friends) is to know how hard, and when, to push. It’s a skill that’s developed over time, and through some trial and error. I’ve had plenty of both. Yesterday was Royce’s last soccer game of the season. She’s naturally [...]
Redemption
Last Wednesday night was the season finale of LOST. There are few TV shows that I watch, but I love this one. I blogged about it a while ago and one of the things that I mentioned I enjoyed is the depth of character development. Some people really hate the show, and I get it. [...]
Goal Accomplishment
Going into the Univera Cruise a few weeks ago I was still working towards my physical goal for the year (and, technically, my target date is still end of June) but I’d moved into the mode of “well, I’ll try my best.” It was accompanied with a bit of a plan, like working out a [...]
R Angel
Today’s a really great day, and not just because of our birth mothers (though I’m particularly appreciative of my mom and my wife) but also because of all the other great literal or metaphorical mothers out across the world–there are some of you who have done as much as any other mother, but for kids [...]
Rachel, Did You Work Out?
This afternoon I was talking with Rachel Wisby, who heads up our Creative Services team. We were discussing working out, getting in shape, losing weight, all that stuff. And she said to me, “how do you get over ‘Mpmphfhhph’?” “You know”, she continued in her British accent, “Mpmphfhfhph! That thing, it’s like, that moment [...]
27 Years
“During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which [...]
Genius: The Modern View
Why do we love the “underdog” story? Susan Boyle. “Mine that Bird” (Derby this weekend). Slumdog Millionaire (brilliant fictional drama). To some degree, I think it’s because it represents more of “us.” Where we think we are, and what we hope to someday do or be. But the reality is that we’re less than an [...]
Lesson from 54A
Thanks for tuning in this past week for excerpts based on my recent Servant Leadership article “Lessons Learned from Mother Teresa.” Funny as the way life goes, I had many great blogging ideas this week (seems to always be the case in the rare event that I’ve got a weeks worth of entries already considered). [...]
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” -Mother Teresa
The following post is part of my weeklong series “Lessons Learned from Mother Teresa” (read that post first). This excerpt is part three, the final component, of the Direct Selling News article from March. I’ll post the full article and link this weekend. “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.” [...]
“One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.” -Mother Teresa
“One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.” -Mother Teresa There’s a lifestyle component to our industry that sometimes we feel that we need in order to sell “the opportunity.” There’s nothing wrong with lifestyle; nice homes, comfortable cars, and exotic trips are all part of our industry at various times. There’s [...]
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” -Mother Teresa
The following post is part of my weeklong series “Lessons Learned from Mother Teresa” (read that post first). This excerpt is part two of the Direct Selling News article from March. “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” -Mother Teresa When you arrive in Kolkata, despair, more [...]
Lessons Learned from Mother Teresa
In January I took two weeks off to go to Kolkata, India to do some volunteer work and personal study at Mother Teresa’s organization called the “Sisters of Charity.” About the time I was leaving, I was asked to write an article on Servant Leadership for the Direct Selling News publication. So the decision of [...]