Decision Making

Tonight I made a decision.  Where I typically think about the decision I need to make, tonight I actually made the decision.  Is such a simple concept as deciding on something really warrant a blog post?  Indeed, it does.

After putting Hannah to bed, I joined Craig in the garage for a "jam session".  This is a mix between favorite guitar tunes and debriefing days.  Great as these evening may be, there is still a house to keep, lunches to prepare, and we can't forget the coffee.  So tonight, I made the decision to leave my entertainer and dip my hands into a little soap.  I knew what I needed to do in order to follow through with my commitment to having a healthy and happy family.  Though what I wanted to do was listen to Craig's guitar and talk about exciting ideas.  However, the dishes would need to be washed, tonight. Preparing for lunches the night before is worth it in the morning.  Awaking to the smell of coffee is preferable to making coffee in the morning.  Though this reality withdrew me from the "jam session," I was ultimately able to act in a way that is in accordance with what I value. I value preparation and cleanliness, I decided to prepare and clean.

The decision to do act in this way is the hardest step.  Yet, I have found, there is great reward in decision making.  A kind of strength comes over the mind when it is able to make a decision, to take something as its own.  Then there is the freedom that comes from deciding to live aligned to the values you hold within.

On what have you decided lately?

Family Values

Do a Google search for the title. Nothing. You get the last Korn tour, a few polarizing "Family Values" websites, and then it is essentially web space. In a world gasping from information overload where does the family lie?

Over the last decade the family has been all but destroyed by feminism (I'm not a chauvinist), the media, pop culture, and a host of other sources. But, is there not still a yearning by a big pool of folks who want to know what it means to be a family in this era? Are there still not young start-ups and re-kindled spirits who are seeking to know how to build upon their love, their virtues, and their dreams together?

We think there is. We believe the family is not dead, but maybe it just lacking the insight and encouragement on how to engage in the modern world.

What do you think?

Economy of Favors

As more and more of us find ourselves in a job providing a service of one sort, or another, it becomes highly important that we recognize who is actually doing the favor in the transaction. The look and attitude I receive from the lady buzzing my hair at Great Clips often makes me feel that she is doing me the favor, but when I go for a massage at a more high-end joint the impression inverses.

Things break apart when both parties feel they are doing the other a favor, both leave feeling that something is owed them in the future. Conversely, things go extremely well when both parties feel like the other is doing them a favor, both leave feeling as if the transaction increased, or gave them, their value.

The Solution for Great Clips: Great hair stylist realize that their customers are doing them a favor by showing up, appreciating their talent, and paying their money. Great consumers realize that the hair stylist has worked long and hard on her talent, and that they receive the favor of their utmost attention to detail and dedication. Both people win.

Who does the favors in your profession?

Moving On

250 years ago a man named Adam Smith dropped the following into the mind of the American people, "Make more things, make more people happy." How happy are we with our things? Do you choose what is available, or what defines you?

Our argument is that we have shifted. That is, shifted in thought about what brings us the most pleasure.  We now live in an economy partially, or majorly, filled with artisans.  Consumers, today, beg to be different. That it is ART that matters, not price; That you want something that defines YOU.

What do YOU think?

Appreciate Someone Today

Life, lately, has been a string of busy and full days.  With our "onto the next one" pace it is easy to forget to stop and say, "I love you and I appreciate you."  So, I am taking the time now to say, to you Craig, I love you and I appreciate you.  Without you, we would not be where we are today.  Without you, our family would be incomplete.  Without you, my days would be less full.  Thank you for being a wonderful father and best friend.  Thank you for living on purpose.  Thank you for being you.  I love you more than itunes loves Apple.  You are an inspiration.

So, those who are checking this out today, I ask that you call someone up, or text them if thats what you do, and tell them you appreciate them.  An act of kindness and kind words can go a long way.

Many blessings.

It's All About YOU!

I want to thank Maegan Balzer for pointing this out to me, and being the inspiration behind the graph above.

Marketing, Blogging, or Creating period should be about one thing: YOU! Your time is limited and if I want you to read my blog, which I write to inspire YOUR creativity, then I should do it in a manner that fits your lifestyle. Maegan pointed out that my blog, while she liked it, was too long and she was uninterested after 2 paragraphs. The graph above, while silly looking, portrays that very contradiction between what I thought was useful and what an audience really wants.

Be good at giving and you will get everything you want. 

This is a test

I am trying to hook this up to my Facebook

You

If art is a human connection that causes someone to change their mind. How do you create art?

Being Last, First

When it comes to trying new things why do we expect to be perfect the first go around? History is wrought with stories of the uber successful failing hard and often before they achieved their great triumph. George Washington lost many battles, many men, and many supporters before he ultimately won the admiration of a new country, and an old world. Lance Armstrong defeated testicular cancer before he went on to win 7 Tour De France races. Abraham Lincoln failed as a businessman, a senator, and a congressman, before ultimately living to be one of the most revered leaders of our time.

It is the courage to decide, commit, and then succeed that we must learn to accept. The human element is capable of so much greatness if we will only pursue it in its proper course. Believe that you can, commit to its practice, and patiently harbor its success.

When The Mighty Fall

There is always strange looks given when I tell people that their business should be a means of "worship" a form of "giving" or a means of "gifting." The reply is always that the purpose of business is for the maximizing profit with little regard to anything else. As the economy continues to sour we see many examples of the Mighty Falling, of the greed that drove some to maximize profits being the detriment of their own crooked philosophy.

I by no means shun the idea of making profit, I actually believe giving increases it, but I cast aside the notion that business is born solely for the owners benefit. There is nothing noble about getting rich by sacrificing others. The servant leader places the welfare of all of those involved in his business stream into the consciousness of his business decisions. Because of this his decisions are more clear, more accurate, more sincere, more visionary, and do not get distorted by his unyielding temperament for purely personal gain.

Sure this makes business more challenging. But it makes the profit more rewarding. How long will we strive for profit at the sake of our health, our values, our religion, and our humanity?

Constant Creation

In a world filled with choices and endless options it is easy to get paralyzed in the decision of what to do. But, few things can serve better to that necessary momentum required for achieving our dreams than the habit of daily re-creation. Building into our routines things which allow us to re-create ourselves daily help us to build momentum and keep striving to that ultimate peak.

Things like exercise, reading, teaching, and listening are all habits, which when built into our routine, allow us to grow as individuals, and in most cases the effect is immediate. Serving that desire for immediate gratification, which is so pressing these days, and simultaneously serving our long term success can be a wonderful tool for anybody struggling to make the progress they desire.

Put things in your routine that allow for re-creation naturally, and you will find it easier to create the ART which is your ultimate aim. Great ideas most often come when serving some motive HIGHER than ourselves, and when we are doing the things proper to a healthy survival.

Re-create yourself today!

Craig

Defending Mediocrity is So Exhausting!

      Why do we fight so hard for what used to work, for what always has been, and for the "just the way it is?" It seems that some things, the principles, are tried and true, and can be trusted to produce the desired results.  But, the process by which we go about implementing those principles surely must change according to the times. How much do we have to hear about the way Health care used to be? How often do we have to defend the way this job used to be? Your job is going to change, this means you must change too.

      Change is natural and required for growth. We must accept the uncomfortable position that is inherit in our quest to be better. Trying news methods is tiring, but rewarding. Defending your status-quo, your mediocrity, is exhausting and unproductive. Strive to be great. Search for new ways. Be open to change and challenge. Deny the race to the bottom, run the race to the top.

Craig