Everyday Life RSS Feed

09/14/2011

40 in 40: Lesson #12

Route 40

40 in 40: #12

I was getting ready to walk out the door Sunday at 3pm to head out for what I hoped to be a great workout and competitive game of Ultimate in Hamden.

I was having a terrific weekend: finally got my home office cleaned out, had a 16 mile long run Saturday morning, went swimming with kids, church, football, etc. A great pre-fall weekend.

I was also looking forward to this week. We have a number of new projects kicking off; I love working on new client projects. I had a few other personal goals this week to accomplish also.

Then the phone rang.

“Dad I broke me leg.”

That changed everything and fast. My week has been in flux ever since.

Here are the highlights of the last 72 hours:

In and out of the ER three times over the first 24 hours.
Ortho consulation about 24 hours later.
Surgery 24 hours after that.
24 hours later we are hoping the excruciating pain from the injury and surgery will subside enough to go home.

It hasn’t been much fun.

I went from my normal “go get ‘em, I create a plan and go execute on it” week to completely out of control and dependent on other people instantaneously.

Lesson #12

Create the best plan that you can then prepare to be fluid.

I love planning and trying to execute. I could get a lot better at it but I enjoy it. But in reality all I can control are a few variables. Then I have to be flexible and move with where life goes.

The lesson doesn’t mean you give up the plan or live a plan free life. It’s that you plan the best you can and then adapt as you go. This creates freedom and ability to improve the plan along the way. There will be tension. But you can handle the tension.

When was the last time your week was entirely thrown out of whack by events that you couldn’t control? How do you modify your plan to achieve the results you were looking for?

Keep moving forward,

Greg

p.s. Here’s the result of the surgery (got some nifty hardware):

09/09/2011

Spend Friday night with us

House show tonight: music, wine, and an evening together

Jeremy Casella

Everything that’s right about acoustic music: traditional means with new expression and stunning melodies.

Brody Bond, Creative Principal Blue Ocean Ideas

Details

Who

Anyone. Come as you are.

Where

The Rittler’s

When

Friday, September 9

7:30pm

09/08/2011

40 in 40: Lesson #6

Route 40

40 in 40: #6

I had breakfast with an old friend that I’ve known for 20 years just to catch up.

I spent the day working through relational issues with a client, some of our staff, and my business partner.

I had lunch with a client to debrief a recent project and identify areas for Blue Ocean Ideas to improve.

I spent the evening at back to school night with Elise meeting teachers, seeing friends and acquaintances.

I just got off the phone with a friend who is struggling with one of those life defining problems that will change his trajectory forever.

We are surrounded by people 80% of our waking time.

Lesson #6

Who we love and who loves us will define our lives.

Relationships are the fabric of life. How we deal with them will define us and our lasting impact in this world.

Who do you love? Who loves you?

Keep moving forward,

Greg

09/07/2011

40 in 40: Lesson #5

Route 40

40 in 40: #5

Joshua Slocum was a born adventurer.

In 1892, a friend gave Slocum an oyster sloop named Spray as a gift. Spray was in ill repair and Slocum spent 13 months rebuilding the Spray to make it seaworthy.

This was no easy feat.

In 1895, Slocum got on the Spray and sailed around the world solo. Slocum rigged a method for sailing the ship while he slept down below. In fact, at one point he crossed 2,000 miles of the Pacific without being at the helm of the Spray.

Upon return to the United States, Slocum wrote a classic sailing book Sailing Alone Around The World published in 1900. The book became a classic sailing text.

All of this is notable in and of itself.

More notable to me:

Slocum was 51 when he left to sail around the world on a ship that he rebuilt by hand.

Lesson #5

It’s never too late to start your next big life project.

At 51, Joshua Slocum had put in his time as a sailor. No one would have blamed him for taking it easy. In fact, around the turn of the twentieth century early 50′s was the average life expectancy.

In other words Joshua Slocum set out to sail around the world as a then senior citizen.

And he did it.

Keep moving forward,

Greg

09/05/2011

40 in 40: Lesson #3

40 in 40: #3

I know a few people that are living life exactly how they thought they would.

One of our clients set goals about family, career, social life, etc. in his early 20′s and has executed on those goals. His life looks pretty close to what he was looking for.

But the vast majority of people I know are not living the life they thought they would when they were younger.

Dreams didn’t come true, relationships were broken, spouses and children faced physical challenges, and more.

There are positive stories as well: pregnancies after doctors said that wouldn’t happen, unexpected windfalls in a business, children facing challenges that surpassed expectations and brought joy and delight, rocky marriages that became filled with intimacy, careers that took off after long periods of struggle.

It seems that our level of predictability in life is very low.

I was sitting next to a family member last night that was lamenting the state of our society and some of the bad things that are happening. There was certainly truth in what they were saying. But a lot of the sentiments sounded like unwillingness to be flexible in the face of situations that require change.

Lesson #3

Change is inevitable.

Embracing change brings ability to influence.

Resisting change encourages irrelevance.

Living life more flexibly enables growth.

In my own life the last 5 years have been an exercise in learning this lesson.

I have:

Closed a business that I owned and provided income for our family.
Started a new business and all the challenges that go with getting that off the ground.
Seen my oldest son off to college.
Watched Elise’s journey from stay at home mom to therapist.
Seen friends deal with cancer, divorce, and infertility.
Seen others deal with great success, have relationships flourish and more.
Allowed some friendships to “dry up” that no longer had roots.
Grown in new friendships that I wouldn’t have seen coming.
Worked hard at growing my own capacity to live life well.

That’s a lot of change. Most people see similar changes in their lives over time. I may be on the “higher change” side of the spectrum the last 5 years but almost everyone has to deal with these kinds of changes over their lifetimes.

Ability to see changes that are needed and be flexible in the face of those changes is the LCGF (lowest common growth factor).

As I look at who I follow one of the traits that I value the most is the ability to see challenges, make changes, and grow throughout the process.

That’s the kind of person I want to be.

In what ways have your expectations been met, fallen short, or changed in your life over the last 5 years? Are you changing and maintaining flexibility in the face of the challenges your are facing?

Keep moving forward,

Greg

p.s. The client I mentioned above has spent the last 5 years struggling through how to change for the second half of his life. He achieved what he wanted and beyond. His challenge question is “now what?”.