Grandpa Bob Encouraging Leadership

Seven Steps to Creating Your Goalprint

People who buy shovels don’t want shovels…

There’s a classic quote in business:

People who buy shovels don’t want shovels. They want to make holes, or fill in holes as quickly and easily as possible.

Chances are pretty good that you’re selling shovels to someone. Or, maybe you dig the holes?

Either way, the planning, the shovel, the digging, and the hole itself are all merely steps along the way to achieving someone’s goals.

Your goals? Maybe…that all depends on whether you know what your goals are.

The funny thing about goals is that no one has the same goals. They may share some, or agree on goals to pursue together. But, no two people have the exact same goals.

Each of us has a goalprint as unique as our fingerprint. It captures our passions, our dreams, and the specific goals we’ve laid out for our lives. Partially-developed goalprints live in our subconscious mind, until we take the time to bring them into our conscious mind and fully define them.

Consciously defining our unique goalprint isn’t easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is.

Here are the seven steps for creating and living your personal goalprint:

1. Define five things you are most passionate about, and how you plan to center your life around these passions over the next five years. Not willing to focus your life on this list of passions? Maybe these aren’t really your passions.

2. Define at least seven things you plan to experience over the next ten years. A quasi-bucket list, only with a ten-year horizon. Notice this isn’t a list of seven things you want to experience, rather a list of the seven things you plan to experience. How many of these involve the things you are most passionate about?

3. Money isn’t everything, but it does make the world go around. With this in mind, write down how much money or assets you plan to have set aside for big ticket expenditures (i.e., home purchases, kids’ college, retirement, something you were passionate about in item 1, etc.) in one year, five years, ten years, and twenty years. What income do you need to hit these targets? Start saving now, if you haven’t already.

4. Define what you plan to be in one year, five years, ten years, and twenty years. This can be personal, professional, or anything else you define as what you plan to be. Keep working until your “what” supports what you’ve listed in the first three steps.

5. If you’re blessed with a spouse, or a soon-to-be-spouse, compare and discuss your answers in the first four steps above. What do you have in common? Are your goalprints compatible? How will you each accommodate and support your spouse’s goalprint in the coming years?

6. Hold yourself accountable for fulfilling what you’ve laid out in your goalprint as you make decisions in your life. Enjoy defining success on your own terms.

7. Repeat this exercise once a year.

Unlike fingerprints, our goalprint will change and grow over time. That is, if we have the courage to let it.

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Beyond the No Wake Zone

True adventure happens out past the buoys…

I get seasick easily, especially on sailboats (and fighter jets). I’ve been on a few sailing trips. They all had one thing in common. Once we’re outside the no wake zone, my nausea starts. Things go downhill from there until my head is buried under a towel and I try to sleep until we get to dry land. Needless to say, I avoid sailing trips.

I don’t have a problem on cruise ships, except in rough seas. Cruise ships are engineered to deliver a smooth ride for their passengers. Most swells go unnoticed. Passengers wake up in a new port almost every day, and the food and entertainment are usually spectacular.

Harbor cruises work for me. I can handle cruising around inside the no wake zone, looking at all of the boats in their slips, the nice homes on the shoreline, and passing other boats as they make their way out to sea. Christmas time, with all the lights and decorations is the best. It’s relaxing and safe. There are no swells to cause nausea and seasickness.

Every sailor knows the opportunity for new discovery lies beyond the no wake zone. True adventure happens out past the buoys, past the breakwater, and out in the wind and waves. Riding around in the harbor, or lazily enjoying a multi-course dinner on a cruise ship are fun and sometimes exotic. But, neither compare to the adventure of plying the seas in a forty-foot sailboat, with your hand on the tiller.

What about the risks? Staying on shore has risks. Cruise ships certainly carry risk (and sometimes, viruses). We may take comfort that others are managing our risks for us, but nothing is risk free. Storms and rough seas will hit, no matter who drives the boat. Understanding the risks, planning and preparing for them, and facing our challenges head-on is the only consistent winning strategy…at sea, and in life.

What about seasickness? I remember talking with a sailor in Tahiti. We had flown in for a vacation, and met my mother-, and father-in-law, who were sailing their boat across the South Pacific. The sailor was a friend of theirs. I mentioned my problem with seasickness, and how it would prevent me from making such a voyage.

He laughed and said, “The seasickness usually passes after three days at sea. After that, it’s an adventure of a lifetime.”

He was right.

Balancing Attention

Attention is the currency we use for spending time…

I’ve read countless articles and blog posts about work/life balance. They generally focus on the rigors of managing a business in a 24-hour-a-day cycle. Some are from the manager’s perspective, and others are from the worker’s point-of-view.

Most articles mention sacrifices. How families, spouses, kids, friends, and even our own health and welfare, are forced into the back seat while our hero focuses on the challenges of his/her career path. There’s usually some kernel of wisdom…justification for the decisions being made by all involved.

Achievement rarely happens without hard work, focus, determination, sacrifice, and making the (hopefully) right choices. What are the right choices? That varies for each person.

One thing that doesn’t vary for each person is the value of their time. Time is the most precious and fleeting commodity in our lives. We can’t control time. We only control how we spend it.

Attention is the currency we use for spending time. Like time, our attention is limited. Unlike time, we control our attention. We decide what deserves it, and what doesn’t.

Work/life balance isn’t really about the demands of the job. It’s not about the oppressive boss who demands our continuous availability, or employees who need input and direction at all hours. It’s definitely not about checking our email or social feed every fifteen minutes.

Regardless of its details, if there is such a thing as work/life balance, it comes down to two things:

Realizing that we decide where to focus our attention.
Whether we decide consciously or not, our actions make our attention decisions a reality.

Photo credit: Diane Anderson (my wonderful mother-in-law), who focuses (pun intended) a lot of her attention on making beautiful art with her camera.

The Candy Store

Imagine you’re a candy lover…

Imagine you’re a candy lover. You like all types of candy. Actually, that’s not so hard to imagine for most of us.

Imagine you’re placed inside a candy store. Every type of candy is there. All of your favorites, and some that you’ve always wanted to try, are right there for you. New flavors arrive all the time.

You get to have as much candy as you want. No worries about calories, sugar content, cavities, or the inevitable sugar crash. Just great candy, and it’s all yours.

Two rules:

you only get thirty minutes
you can’t take any of the candy with you

I’ve come to view life as that candy store…especially since I’ve been in here for at least fifteen of my minutes.

Here are seven things I’ve learned about the candy store, so far:

It’s important to get the lay of the land before grabbing handfuls of candy.
The best flavors are the most subtle, and often take time to enjoy.
Some candy flavors mix well, others, not so much.
I’ll never be able to taste all of the candy in the store, and that’s okay.
There are just about as many sour candies as there are sweet. The sour ones help me appreciate the sweet flavors even more.
Most of the candy melts in your hand if you hold on to it for too long.
The best candy, whether sweet or sour, is the candy that you share with those you love.

The Bargains We Make

I bargained with Life for a penny…

I came across this classic poem recently:

My Wage

I bargained with Life for a penny,

And Life would pay no more,

However I begged at evening

When I counted my scanty store.

For Life is a just employer,

He gives you what you ask.

But once you have set the wages,

Why, you must bear the task.

I worked for a menial’s hire,

Only to learn dismayed,

That any wage I had asked of Life,

Life would have willingly paid.

–by Jessie Belle Rittenhouse (1869-1948)

My Question for You

What is your bargain with Life?

Are you working for a penny, or something more?

How about your end of the deal?

Are you even keeping score?

If we get out of Life,

Only what we ask,

I say go for the Moon,

And reach for the stars.

But, are you willing to bear the task?

Will This Be On The Test?!?!

I’m told that this is one of the top questions students (and parents) ask of teachers.

Test questions in school come in many standard forms: true or false, multiple choice, essay…just to name a few. Oh yeah, and word problems! Decipher the riddle, find all the numbers that fit into formulas, and arrive at an answer (hopefully, the correct one). And, of course, remember to show your work.

We’re taught in school that there is only one correct answer to most questions. Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, not 1493. It takes two hydrogens and one oxygen to make water, not two oxygens and one hydrogen. The student’s job is to learn (memorize?) the correct answers and then “ace” their test by answering all of the questions correctly.

It’s no wonder students ask what will be on their tests. After all, their grade is in play. Who wouldn’t want to know what they should study, and what they can ignore? So much is riding on the outcome.

Tests outside of school aren’t as easy. The questions don’t come from our teachers. Variables are often missing, and formulas rarely provide one definitive answer. They aren’t always fair. They don’t come with a study guide. There’s no advice about what should be studied, or ignored. Real life tests come from our family, friends, customers, co-workers, managers, elected officials, our children’s teachers, strangers, and ourselves…on a daily basis. A lot more than a grade is in play with most of these tests.

Attention to detail, listening to what is said and unsaid, curiosity, creativity, openness to risk, connecting with others we trust, and a clear sense of right and wrong are the guides we have in answering the real life test questions we face.

What’ll be on your next test? Everything you’ve experienced in life up to this point, and probably a few things you haven’t seen before. Here’s hoping you studied well.

Test Question: What’s the connection between this post and the sunrise photo?

Searching for Awesomeness

How’s your search going?

How’s your search going? Have you found the awesomeness you’ve been seeking?

There are a lot of awesome nouns (people, places, things) out there. A whole bunch of awesome verbs. And, don’t forget about all the awesome adjectives. String these together in almost infinite patterns, and you have the makings of a lot of awesomeness.

The sound of steaks sizzling on the grill, a beautiful sunset, the sparkle in someone’s eye when you’ve taught them something they never knew, the quiet stillness of a starting line just before the starter’s gun goes off, the aroma of a perfect cup of coffee as the sun comes up, the crackle of a campfire, watching your daughter roast a marshmallow to perfection.

The search for awesomeness should be an easy one. It’s all around us.

Sadly, for some, finding awesomeness is impossible.

That’s because they don’t realize that awesomeness isn’t about what’s outside. It’s not about what we see, touch, or hear. It isn’t what we smell or taste. It isn’t even about who is with us.

Our thoughts drive who we are, what we’ll be, where we’re going, and how we look at the world. To find and experience awesomeness, we must first open ourselves to gratitude and appreciation. Without gratitude and appreciation, all of the awesomeness in this world (and beyond) are merely nouns, verbs, and adjectives, waiting to be combined.

The search for awesomeness starts and ends within each of us. Gratitude is our compass. Appreciation is our map.

[This post marks the first anniversary of my blog. My goal was to publish one post per week, and limit their length to no more than 500 words. This is my 58^th post, and I think only one went over my self-imposed word limit (but, it was one of my favorites).

I’m grateful and appreciative that you have taken the time to read my posts. I hope you found them encouraging, informative, and maybe a little thought provoking.]

Everyday is a Surprise

It all started with an earache…

“Bobby (what anyone who knew me before I was about 13 calls me), it all started with an earache. The doctor gave me some ear drops. The pain didn’t stop and seemed to get worse, so he gave me stronger drops. That still didn’t work. He ran some tests and told me it’s cancer, and I’m gonna die. It was an earache, and then I was dying. He says that I will probably just die in my sleep, so each time I wake up, it’s a surprise.”

In Pete’s case, it took about four months for the cancer specialists to identify the type of cancer that is killing him. He told me the name, and said it is very rare, untreatable, and fast moving. I made a mental note to look up the cancer and learn more about it. As I type this post, I have forgotten its name.

The fact that each of us will die is no surprise. The timing is the surprising part. That, and the name of the thing that ultimately causes our death. There’s always a name.

I remember a conversation I had with Grandpa Clyde (my wife’s grandfather) at least ten years ago. He was in his late-80’s at the time, showing me how to cook ribs properly on a barbeque. I asked him what it was like to have lived as long as he had. I will never forget his response. “If you live long enough, you say goodbye to a lot of friends and family. Most of the people I grew up with are dead and gone. I stopped going to funerals a long time ago. I spend my time making new friends, and enjoying this time I’ve been given with my family.”

Growing up, Pete was one of my role models for a life worth living. A firefighter, motorcycle tuner, racer, helmet painter, wheelie king, runner, water skier, speeding ticket magnet, traveler, and a Bluegrass fan. Although I never actually saw it, he used to say that he also jumped rope, attended three world fairs, and a few other things that are probably better left unmentioned. Pete never stopped making new friends, or appreciating his old friends. He grabbed all that life has to offer, and then some.

Pete wears a patch over his right eye now. The tumor has grown and prevents that eye from blinking. He is in a lot of pain, and the pain medications cloud the passage of time. This hasn’t stopped Pete from grabbing what life has left for him. He is living each remaining day as a surprise.

In truth, each day is a surprise for all of us. An opportunity to appreciate our family and friends. An opportunity to make new friends, and enjoy what little time we’ve been given.

Sea Turtles, Conversion Ratios, and Time

The only thing you get to do with your time is…

I was in Kona last week. I could write paragraph after paragraph about how awesome the Big Island is. How the island has nearly every climactic zone on the planet represented. The stark beauty of its huge lava flows, the serenity of its beaches, the fun I had boogie-boarding for the first time in 30 years. Maybe in another post…

For me, the most memorable part of our visit was snorkeling with sea turtles. Their fins are like wings in the water. Sea turtles don’t just swim. They soar and glide. Every movement is graceful. Effortless. Each movement has a purpose. Theirs is a plan that unfolds in slow motion before your eyes.

Did I mention that they’re holding their breath? In yet another almost effortless motion, they pop their heads above water for about three seconds to take a new gulp of air. With only three seconds of air, sea turtles can stay underwater a long time…3-4 hours.

Three seconds of air providing hours of underwater time. How’s that for a conversion ratio? Consider the value sea turtles extract from such a limited supply of air.

Think about your resources. What are they? How much value are you extracting from them?

I submit that time is our most precious resource. It marches on, relentlessly. You can’t speed it up, or slow it down…and you can’t buy more of it.

One can’t talk about time without a few quotes on the subject:

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” Michael Altshule

“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose.” Thomas Edison

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” H. Jackson Brown

The only thing you get to do with your time is choose what you do with it. Choose wisely, and be sure to spend some of it snorkeling with sea turtles.

Photo Credit: http://www.wallsave.com

Your Talent Won’t Be Enough

Enough for what?

There are very few truly one-man (or one-woman) shops. Show me a successful sole proprietor, and I’ll show you someone who leads, and relies upon, a team of talented individuals…whether they realize it or not.

How can this be? Doesn’t the definition of sole proprietor mean that one person is the sole talent? Well, sort of, but not quite.

Imagine that you’re an awesome flower arranger. Your bouquets are exquisite. Their beauty is unmatched. You decide to take a risk and open your own flower shop. Your confidence is high. After all, your flower arrangements are incredible. Customers will come from miles around to buy your arrangements.

A few weeks into the process of opening your new shop, you discover that flower shops don’t run on flower arrangements alone. There are building leases to negotiate, furniture and fixtures to procure, point-of-sale systems to deploy, website interfaces to create (if you’d like to receive orders from some of the national flower delivery services), suppliers to line up, insurance coverage to purchase, merchant account services (if you plan to take credit cards), and payroll systems (for the one or two part-time employees you’ll be hiring, just for starters).

You’ll need to connect your talent with the talents of a wide array of other people, just to open your shop.

It’s the same thing in a larger company. Your ability to build trusting relationships across your company, and across your industry, will have more to do with your long-term success than individual talent. Creating a reservoir of trust with talented people, and relying on them, just as you’d rely on yourself, is critical to your success…and theirs.

Your talent, alone, won’t be enough. Enough for what? Enough to accomplish whatever your definition of success is.

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My Wage

My Question for You

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