I was an imaginative kid who played well on my own. Even though I could play by myself, what I really craved was one on one time with my hero, my dad.
It didn’t matter what we did–play cards, throw around the baseball, run to the hardware store–my ‘Dad Time’ was coveted and special. He was giving his time, his focus, his words and his affection to me.
As I got older and started dating my future wife, my focus on quality time was with her. Most of our time dating was across long distances. So,
SUMMARY
FORGIVENESS
SUMMARY
CULTURE OF THOUGHT
AWARENESS
Here is a little known fact about me. You may not believe it. Trust me, I’m telling you the truth.
I love the Little House on the Prairie book series.
I do! Really!
My love affair with Little House started when I was a kid. I would lie on my couch and watch the TV show. Often.
I carried this love for the Little House TV series into college, no joke. My two college roommates were just as hooked. We’d rush back from class to catch the latest airing of the old series.
There was one time. . .
I got a detention. Yeah, me. If you haven’t picked up on it already, I was quite a mischievous kid. I liked making people laugh and sometimes that got me into trouble.
Well, this one time, I was pressured into tossing a huge wad of toilet paper, soaked in chocolate milk, on the bathroom ceiling of the boy’s bathroom. Just as an aid walked in to check on us, it dropped at her feet.
It’s funny when I think of it now! Not then though because I got a detention!
Can you remember the last time you held a great deal of apprehension? Maybe it was an uncomfortable moment, a confrontational conversation or a space or event that gave you an unsettling feeling of anxiety.
I’ll never forget the first time I went downhill skiing. That hesitant, apprehensive feeling I had staring down at the humungous run I was supposed to ski down with little coaching or skill to aid me. Ohhhh, man, was I nervous!
To eliminate that apprehension at the top of the hill, I had to face the situation and get comfortable fast.
Courage determines our potential. It is the dial of success.
My two oldest kids are taking piano lessons this year. Some pieces they learn are instant hits: learned quickly and played daily, they become the family anthem for a short while.
Then, there’s those other songs: Way too hard, Dad! I can’t do it! I won’t do it! This is so stupid! (…stomping away, slamming the door…).
Mom convinces them to come back, be brave, believe they can do it, work through the hard parts, practice makes perfect, over and over… it may be painful.
When I coach people, I ask what surrounds them day in and day out. The people, activities, books, sounds… all these things influence us one way or another, for better or worse.
Can you think of a movie you used to watch (or still do) that got you really pumped up? For me, it was the iconic Rocky movies. I remember as a kid getting so excited watching those movies that I would be jumping up and down in front of the TV screen, doing push-ups, instigating some good-old brotherly boxing fights…. I’d even create new workout regimens in my basement so I could be as buff as Rocky.
For a while now, my front door has been purple. Not just purple: the Joker Purple. I’m not kidding. It’s a long story about how it got to be that way but my wife never liked it. (I thought it was cool!)
Recently, it was finally time. She asked me: Please, please, please can we change the door color now? She has painted around the house but I’m the one who used to do it for a living. When it comes to the front door and oil paints, it’s definitely my job.
As much as my beloved spouse was excited about the change,
