Archive for ‘August 2011’

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August 31, 2011

Leadership…and Children

by Jason Echols

For many of us, leadership is a term that we typically associate with business. And for the most part, that is the arena in which we see the most emphasis on leadership.

  • Jack Welch speaks about it
  • John C. Maxwell writes about it
  • Ken Blanchard tells stories about it

You get the picture…

But leadership is a concept that goes far beyond business. It is also a trait that is learned early. Children need to learn and understand leadership.

How do we expose our youngsters to leadership?  It is pretty simple really…

Lead them by example.

My son is fortunate enough to get to play baseball this fall with a really talented group of youngsters. They are all 9 and making the transition from machine pitch to facing a live arm. Since I am not coaching this team, I am taking advantage of the opportunity to sit and observe some dynamics that I normally cannot focus on when I am mentally thinking through a baseball game. And much of what I am observing involves interactions regarding the players…and their parents and coaches.

My role is different in this situation. So toning down my verbal involvement, at least at the ball park, is a challenge. I am used to coaching…its in my blood…and my son responds to that. He wants and expects it of me. But when I coach him, I am coaching much more than baseball…I am coaching life. Breathing life into the mind of a child is a massive responsibility. All of us at times are guilty of taking it too lightly.

What I am observing is the stark realization of something we all know…but do not always keep in the front of our minds.
Our children learn how to live…by watching us.

Yes, they ask questions. Yes they learn from trial and error. But they learn more about how to handle life by simply observing how we handle life.

Its that simple.

Never is this moment understood more than when you see your own child repeat a bad habit that you have. Maybe it is something we say that we shouldn’t. Maybe it is an expression of the face. Perhaps it is even a disposition toward negativity and complaining.

If we want our children to exhibit leadership, we must demonstrate leadership to them, by leading ourselves first.

Posted in August 2011, Leadership | Leave a Comment »

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August 29, 2011

Inspiration…More like Perspiration!

by Michael Ramm

One of the hardest things for me to do as a blogger is find topics to write about. I have no problems if someone tells me that I should write about X or Y. I can usually do some quick research and knock out a post in a matter of hours. But when I have to come up with something off the top of my head…that is when the sweating and procrastination begin.

That is one of the reasons that I admire Aaron Mahnke so much. He has come up with not just one, but two completely separate (I think) worlds in which he gets to lay out every character, location and detail. Along with that, he is a talented designer and graphic artist. He is one of the most creative people that I know, in multiple fields even. He details some of his writing process in the latest post on his site. But first came his inspiration.

Inspiration:

The process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, esp. to do something creative

Google Definition

All of us find inspiration in different things. It may be books for some, music for others, and friends and family for a lot of people. We live in a dynamic world where we are surrounded by amazing people. I am sure that we all know of a few folks in our own lives that challenge and inspire us every time we talk to them.

Finding inspiration, for me, it a much tougher process. Currently, the only real place that I find writing inspiration is in my Google Reader or my Instapaper queue. I am not say that is a bad thing. In fact, with the stuff that I read in those articles, I hope that I am becoming a better person and a better writer. I am constantly on the lookout for good writing and great writers in which to learn from.

I want to be able to take situations in my life and boil it down to something that I can elaborate on and hopefully write a piece that will help others. Jason does it often and Patrick Rhone is a master at it. They are able to see the things happening in their lives, see a bigger picture and write it down in a way that you will be better for it. I need to be able to expand my worldview in such a way that I see how things that happen everyday in my life can possibly help you when you run into a similar situation. I am not sure how to do that, as of yet, but it is something that I intend on working on.

Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

Posted in August 2011, Creativity, Inspiration | Leave a Comment »

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August 26, 2011

saving ink • On Turning Off

by Michael Ramm

This is a great read about someone who has gone out on her own and is embracing the freelance life. There are a lot of lessons for all of us. The biggest take away that she see is:

I think I’ve isolated at least part of it: I may have left my old job behind in December, but I took my old habits with me.

She has not adjusted her day to her new job. She is trying to run her freelance business the way she ran her previous job.

I think that she wraps it up nicely:

In other words, I need to unsubscribe from my old habits, and embrace new ones. It’s about time.

via saving ink • On Turning Off

Posted in August 2011 | Leave a Comment »

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August 25, 2011

Do You Really NEED a Fire Hose?

by Michael Ramm

There seems to be a growing number of posts extolling the virtues of a embarking on a “digital sabbatical” every so often. While I see the overall value in completely disconnecting yourself from the fire hose of the internet, I feel that we would not need such measures if we would truly evaluate every aspect and manage our expectations of our internet usage.

It seems that we choose to carry smartphones and be constantly connected by 3G, 4G, and WiFi wherever we go. Why should we be so surprised by the mass of content and distraction that comes with that choice? We should make conscious decisions about every input that we allow into our lives and the manage the expectations that we want from them.

I carry a Blackberry Torch from my job as the IT Manager for a small municipality. I need to stay fairly connected so that I can keep tabs on my many servers. I get my work email on it, as well as send/receive text messages with it. I also have an iPod Touch that I use for personal email, twitter, Reeder and other connectivity things. I have different notifications sounds set up for all types of incoming. Typically, I don’t jump up and check any notification sound that I hear. I will wait until I take a break from what I am doing until I check it, unless I am waiting for a response in email or twitter. I have learned to control my impulse to run up and check/answer any and all notifications that come in.

Another way that I manage my sanity with my social feeds is that I am very deliberate in my counts. I know that a lot of folks think that it is cool to be having thousands following them on twitter, Facebook or whatever. I have never felt the need for that. I keep a very close eye on my twitter follower and following counts. Twitter is my preferred social media. I have a Facebook account, but I do not post to it very often and keep an even closer rein on that Friends list (more on that later in the post). Currently, I am following 91 and have 189 following me on twitter. Of the 91 that I follow, 69 are actual real people. The others are music groups, podcast feeds or news feeds that I read. Even further, only about 20 of those that I follow, do I consider friends (real life or internet) that I would like to meet in person and have a relationship with outside of twitter.

I use twitter as a tool for self-improvment. I follow people who do things better than I do so that I can learn from them. I want to write like Patrick Rhone, Randy Murray and Aaron Mahnke. I want to learn to be a proper pen geek from Brad Dowdy and Ryan Roossinck. I follow blogs and sites that these folk recommend because they have seen value in it, so I may find value in it as well. I like to be able to keep up with the conversations taking place at any time. I used to follow almost 300 people, and when I didn’t check twitter for 4 or more hours, it took me more than 10 minutes just to catch up. Now with my more curated list, I only miss 20 or so tweets (unless the CEO of your favorite computer company resigns while you are in the doctor’s office!).

As I said, I do have a Facebook account. The way I use Facebook is mainly for keeping up with family and friends that are spread across the country. I have 55 friends on Facebook, and that is an ever changing list. It is my family, and extended family, along with out of town friends, but they are all people that I know in real life. I also have some fan pages, especially ones that I like that have Facebook giveaways. I mainly monitor Facebook at this point in my life with it. It is much better for sharing photos of my son’s baseball team to my sister in California than anything else out there. When I do post to Facebook, it is usually as an additional post to twitter through Selective Tweets service.

In this age of constant connectivity, we have to be more deliberate than ever to make sure that we don’t succumb from the firehose pointed squarely at us. I have never felt the need to deliberately disconnect myself from the Internet because I feel that I have complete control of everything coming at me.

Would you rather take regular digital sabbaticals, or curb your intake a little more?

Posted in August 2011, Social Media, Work-Life Balance | Leave a Comment »

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August 23, 2011

A Trusted System

by Michael Ramm

Federico really has some brilliant points in his latest story. Everyone who want to get their things done needs to read this.

A Trusted System

Posted in August 2011, Work-Life Balance | Leave a Comment »

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August 23, 2011

How Many Pairs of Shoes Does a Man Need?

by Jason Echols

Many people spend their lives battling little oddities that the uniqueness of God’s creation has afforded them. Be honest. How many of you are in between sizes? How many have difficulty finding clothes, shoes or hats that fit well, or look decent.

I certainly have struggled having been overweight for years. I am not as heavy as I used to be, but I still have plenty of work to do.

One of the little oddities of my body is that I have wide feet. This is not that unusual. Many people have wide feet. I am fortunate that I only need “EE”s. I see “EEEE” available in some stores.

Having wide feet limits the brands of shoes I can look at. But that has not stopped me from trying to experiment and see what works. Unfortunately, this sometime means trying to “make” something work. This has over the years left many shoes as casualties in my quest to find something that is comfortable…without making me look like the old guy with oversized shoes with velcro on them. In case you have not tried this…it is not that easy a task.

Recently, I have been starting to simplify things in my life. This means getting rid of things I do not need. In so doing, I am working to narrow down the number of pairs of shoes I own. Part of this is finally finding shoes that work for me. My thinking on this really got going when I recently purchased a really nice looking pair of dress shoes for work. They were a black pair of Clark’s Deanes that were slip-ons. They were on sale for a nice price. I have worn them to work a couple of times…they are incredibly comfortable. I liked them so well, that I went back this past Friday, and ordered a brown pair just like them. Those are the only two pair I really need for church or work.

I also own a pair of Merrell Chameleons. I have long loved the Chameleon for its fit, and the fact that they were slip-on (as you can probably tell by now, I really have an appreciation for shoes that simply slip on the foot). I wear them almost everywhere that does not require at least business casual.  I am on my second pair…and I will purchase another pair when these wear out. They fit my wide foot to perfection, and are easy to wear. They have hiking soles from Vibram, and serve well in that capacity.

I will soon be purchasing a pair of running shoes (since it is obvious that I need to do more of this). I will be looking for a New Balance “EE” shoe. I have narrowed my choices down to just a few. Stay tuned for the verdict on that quest.

A couple of years ago, my wife purchased for me a pair of Tempur-Pedic slippers from Brookstone. They are the most comfortable I have ever owned and will wear them until they come apart…and then buy another pair.

Every man needs a pair of closed toed sandals. I have a comfy pair of Teva’s that I bought last year. Again, a great fit, and a very durable construction.

So what is that…six pair?

Quite frankly, other than a pair of Crocs I use to cut grass, and my L.L. Bean 8″ Gore-Tex Maine Hunting Boots that I use in wet weather…those are the only shoes I wear. That does not change the fact that I own 20+ pairs that I have “tried” over the years.

Let’s just conclude by saying…in my opinion…it is difficult for any man to argue that they really need more than 10 pairs of shoes.

What do you men think?

Posted in August 2011, Guy Stuff | 2 Comments »

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