The Fire Within

We are all busy, so busy we miss opportunities to do the things that will really add value. We all have things filling our day which feel like the make our lives more hectic, and in reality most of them we likely don't need. But we do them anyway.  They are put there either by others or by ourselves. It is easy to complain about the things given to us by others. The report you have to write or the project you need to take care of. You often wonder if anyone actually looks at it, would anyone notice if you just didn't do it. Then there are the things we create for ourselves that make us busy. Nobody is forcing us to do them, but it is important for us to do them for whatever reason we believe. No matter the source of the task, the hard question always needs to be asked about the value of a task. Maybe it is a task that doesn't seem important but it is like pushing the button on Lost every 108 minutes, if you don't do it catastrophe could follow. But if there is no value

I've been reflecting on leadership recently. There are lots of definitions, quotes, anecdotes and stories about what good leadership looks like. We often speak of it in the simplest form as the person in charge. But we all know that isn't where it ends because it is easy to spot people that are in charge but are not good leaders. If you asked people to expound on what leadership means they would likely say things about someone who inspires, motivates, creates a vision, helps people grow, and communicates.  For all the words and ways we have to explain what leadership is, it is still one of those things which is very hard to describe. There are so many definitions used, or often times the descriptions are vague. Yet everyone knows it when they see it. I think it is because leadership is more of an emotion.  Think about it, if you had to describe what happy or sad mean, you end up using other emotions to describe them. If you are happy you are joyful, excited, the opposite of sad

We all know that it is good to get feedback and of course there are two types of feedback. There is the positive stuff, the things people tell us we did well. When they are proud of us and slap us on the back for being great at something. Then there is the negative feedback. What all of us say we are open to hear but never really like. The things we didn't do so well. Where we need to improve. The hard truth on the thing we most want that is never going to come to fruition.  It seems like today things are either too soft or too harsh. We get soft when we coddle people and dance around the hard truth just because we don't want to hurt their feelings. On the flip side there are the people that don't seem to care at all about anyone's feelings and will say whatever they are thinking. When we are the messenger it is important to try to deliver the information with as much care as possible, but at the end of the day it is far more important to the receiver to hear the truth.

The words of Abraham Lincoln have been ringing in my ears for some time now, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." The words spoken were brought about because of the divide in our country over the topic of slavery. Our country was divided from the colonial establishments in North America where the slaves were first brought in 1619. The practice grew and after the Revolutionary War, were we fought for our freedom, stipulations were drawn around what the term "all men" in the Declaration of Independence really meant. The Three-fifths Compromise was added to the Constitution. Some of the the most revered men in our countries history were flawed humans, like we all are, who made wrong decisions though they felt they were right. Our country grew but the division was still there. People turned a blind eye, or fought to make things right, or compromised while justifying their actions in their minds but not in their hearts. Then in 1858 Abraham Lincoln spoke these

Anyone who is a parent has probably had a time where they had to tell their kids they did something wrong. You reset expectations, say you are disappointed, and explain the behavior you expect. At no time do you ever stop loving your child. It is interesting how often today, if you are in a position of not agreeing with a decision or action you are automatically viewed as the enemy. If you are a fan of a sports team and don't like the decisions the coach is making there is a potential for people to attack you because you aren't a true fan.  In politics, no matter if you are conservative, liberal or moderate, if you criticize you are unpatriotic. If you don't agree with something your employer is doing, people want to know why you still work there.  Just because something isn't perfect, or not living up to the expectations we have, doesn't mean we love it any less.  We can demand better from our government leaders and still love our country. We can criticize decision

One of the biggest shows on Netflix this year was The Queen's Gambit . It is a fascinating story about a child chess prodigy that has you on the edge of your seat watching the various chess matches. It is said that 62 million people watched the show, which quickly became an overnight sensation.  I love hearing the stories behind getting this show made as it is a great reminder of the realities of the world. As phenomenal of a show as it turned out to be, it took almost 30 years to finally get made. I can only imagine the feelings of the studios and others that passed over it or weren't able to get it made have after seeing the success it has had.  There are countless stories like this out there like this. Look at J.K. Rowling, she was rejected by 12 different publishers before someone took a chance on Harry Potter. There are two lessons here. The first, if you are in a position where you hear different ideas, it is important to be as open minded as possible. Nobody knows what t

2020 was a heck of a year. I don't think anyone came out from the year thinking things were better for them than the previous one, that was certainly the case for me. I recognize that it became the year of the funk. It felt like the movie Groundhog Day far too often, not being able to tell one day apart from the next. Having to remind myself what day of the week it was. I was one of the lucky ones, my routine didn't change. I had my same job, still working from my home office, still able to support my family just like before. I should have nothing to complain about but as the year went on I could see myself falling further into the funk. When I look back on the year, I could see the elements that were missing that filled areas of my life. Elements that when missing the funk found its way in further.  Dance season is usually a time of competitions and recitals. Time interacting with other dance families over three to four day weekends. It was supposed to be a nationals year whic