I find that there are many ways to learn. I hope to provide some insight on the ways that I learn, share knowledge, and be a great community citizen to the web.
FINDING PURPOSE WITH 3 QUESTIONS
John Maxwell’s 30 day journey has really been a great inspiration for me. This post is actually my reflection on 3 questions he asks us to internalize. The combination of these questions were powerful for me to getting a definition around significance and how to be intentional. I am realizing that I can take charge of being the author of my life only when I become clear in what it is that I am supposed to be doing.
THINK BEFORE ACTING
One of the most exciting parts of my job tackling tough problems to come up with great solutions. While the journey can be difficult at times, I know that the reward of a job well done outweighs any challenges, risks, or disappointments that will occur along the way. The most valuable lesson I have learned is to think before acting on any decision. Thinking deeply about your upcoming actions prepares you for the twists and turns on the journey to a solution.
SUCCESS FOR OTHERS IS IN YOUR CONTROL
We are standing on the shoulders of giants for every success. Each day this reality becomes more clear for me. What is so funny though is the giants we recognize today are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things for others. I know that my success is directly related to those people who give me a boost in the process. My wife is one of the strongest contributors to my success. She put a successful career on hold to take care of the kids at home. Who she really ended up taking care of was me. She encouraged me during hard times at work, which gave me the will power to continue to persevere. She invested extra time in family so that I could concentrate on the next win at work. She lovingly councils me when I am going through tough situations. She has made me successful.
ENCOURAGEMENT IS CONTAGIOUS
Encouragement is a gift that everyone can give. It soothes the soul, lifts up the spirit, and builds confidence to accomplish great things. Words of encouragement and random acts of kindness are actionable ways to show appreciation. Too often, we miss great opportunities to pour a few kind words into someone’s life. I think eulogies are wasted on the dead. It’s the living who need to hear kind words spoken about them. I think that a powerful way to utilize encouragement is when failure has occurred in someone’s life. For me when I fail, I rarely look at the positive things that happened on the way to that failure. When I am encouraged to “look at the bright side” of things, I begin to realize that I really didn’t fail, I am just learning and that I did good along the way. I am blessed that someone took that time to encourage me.
LISTEN INTENTLY, LISTEN DEEPLY
Most of you have heard how grown-ups talk in Peanuts movies, “Mwahmwahmwah, wah wah mwah”. I must confess that on occasions, I hear those same types of sounds when others are talking to me. I am distracted and fail to listen with intention. Other times, I only get the surface of the conversation, but don’t listen to the true meaning and diagnose the root message of what the person is really trying to say. One of the best ways you can make a difference in people’s lives is to truly listen to what they are saying.
A MORE PERSONALIZED GREETING
Monday mornings when you go into work, has one of your coworkers asked: “How was your weekend?” I know I greet people like this pretty often. However, what I have lately come to realize that this question is just a formality. It is a question said in passing. I don’t take the time to listen. The insincerity is front and center and people recognize it. My greetings to others when I see them need a lot of work. A lot of times, it is just a head nod or a weak “How are you doing?” If we are to open up our mouths, what is the purpose?
INTENTIONAL LIVING, A NEW WAY OF LIFE
It is nine o’clock tonight on November 1st. About a week ago, I started pondering the idea of writing a blog post a day for the month of November, kind of like a NaNoWriMo challenge. I found other things to do today to not get started. First, I didn’t take advantage of my morning and before I knew it, we were on our way to church. Then came dropping off my daughter to work, watching the Seahawks game, picking my daughter up from work, then watching the Packers game.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE WORD I KNOW
Dear Friend, I want to share with you something incredible, something life changing, something mind blowing. It is the WORD.
UPDATING AN IDENTITY SEED VALUE
I recently ran into an issue, where I had to mix environments while developing. On top of the mixed environments, I was manipulating data.
FOCUS WILL BRING GREAT RESULTS
Wouldn’t be nice if all you had to say was “Focus” and everything just fell into place for the rest of the day? Do you feel that your day spins out of control as you get randomized? If you stray from a normal routine, do you frequently feel that something was missed? I have seen that great focus leads to great results. Short Term Focus Yesterday was a totally randomizing day, constant interruptions combined with a lack of resolve to “start” anything that wouldn’t result in completion. I know that if I had 30 uninterrupted minutes to work on 1 task, it would have been knocked out and there would be a sense of accomplishment. This type of short term focus is very intense. It requires no distractions.