Because I Can

The number of people who doubt themselves astounds me.

I’m talking excessive doubt here, not run of the mill everyday I’m not so sure about this doubt. And along the lines of excessive doubt … people who always, always assume that they can’t.

What a depressing existence to keep schlepping through every day doing the same old thing because it’s what you assume you have to do. Not because it’s something you enjoy or because it’s the right thing to do. (Some might consider things like paying bills and maintaining tax records “have to do” items, but I maintain they’re just the right thing to do. You do actually have a choice, but fines, a lack of electricity, and jail time aren’t especially desirable options.)

A music teacher of mine banned the word “can’t” in her presence. I suppose enough frustrated, whiny students would drive you to that, but it’s a good teaching strategy as well. And a good strategy for life.

You haven’t lived until you’ve played Bach at top volume in a big empty church while practicing for Sunday. Even when Bach is not on the Sunday agenda. Because you can.

I went to Chicago last weekend. Because I can.

I had a regional conference to attend. And one by one my usual circle of traveling companions dropped off the trip for a variety of reasons. I could have expanded the search for a carpool and a hotel room by another circle or two. I could have skipped the conference altogether. But I needed some motivation and an adventure. And I am sure not gonna sit around and wait for that sort of thing to just fall in my lap.

By the grace of God, of course … I make things happen.

Short aside. When people say they can’t afford something, while sometimes that is indeed the case, I often find that they

(a) have other priorities, sometimes whacky priorities

(b) aren’t creative enough

(c) won’t ask for help in being creative

(d) won’t take the time to explore how they might be able to afford it

(e) are so stuck in a rut and so don’t believe in themselves that they assume they can’t.

So Ms. Road Warrior used a combo of frequent flyer miles (but a fraction of what I have) and cash, found a very reasonably priced hotel room at the airport, and rode the L into downtown Chicago.

Have I ever ridden the L before? Nope. New life experience. I did promise my mother I wouldn’t ride the train late at night, so I splurged on a cab at 12:30 in the morning. (Shhhh, no one tell her that I would have cabbed it anyway because I’m well-traveled enough to know that’s the right thing to do.)

And what did I gain from all this?

A sense of accomplishment. Motivation. Inspiration. Nuggets of information I can put to use. Large amounts of personal attention from some successful business people – mentors of mine who I never see often enough. Large amounts of time with friends, both old and new. A bigger network. Examples to follow. New words to use. New stories to tell. And an unforgettable view from the 95th floor of the Hancock Building.

You are the CEO of your own life.

You are the leading lady (or man) of your own life.

Act like it, people. No excuses.

J

Practice Makes Perfect

Have you ever felt invisible? Although attracting attention is something I come by naturally, even I have those moments. So I just go with it … rest and recharge, or maybe go meet new people, change something up.

I read an article that says pessimists tend toward inaction. They sit back and wait. Apparently I’m not a pessimist.

What do you come by naturally?

Playing piano is another one of my things. When that 8am on a Sunday sound check comes, I’m not always fully functional. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone said they could see smoke rising as my brain struggles to get started. Give me enough Neuro and I’m always good by the 9am service, though. The ladies in the kitchen can vouch for me that I’m often in there about 8:30 mixing up my bottle of awesome. The brain connecting to the fingers is important, because for me an F#m7 chord is not E-F#-A-C#, it’s this:

That comes via the grace of God and many years of practice. And the ability to jump on stage for second service with no rehearsal and barely a sound check comes from hours of practice with the same group of people. (Not that that happened recently or anything …)

What are you good at? Do you practice it? Should you? Have you practiced it enough?

It’s funny. Being in a “behavior change” business, I sometimes see people trying something new … and then – despite being really good at it – they will quit at the first tiny little bump in the road.

Do I ever hit the wrong note in front of several hundred people? All the time.

Does the worship leader ever throw in an extra chorus? Sure, we just go with it and act like it was planned. We’re professionals. Unpaid, but we’re professionals. And maybe it looks like the PowerPoint guy’s fault. ;-)

Do I ever eat anything unhealthy or eat too much? Yep.

Do I ever blow off a workout that I really ought to do? Yep.

It’s not about being perfect, it’s about getting better. And using the talents and gifts God gave you to help others.

Practice makes perfect. Or close enough.

Inspiration

Time wasters abound just lately.

I am trying to inhale … exhale … and remember it’s God’s plan, not mine.

Let’s just say if you’re a contractor bidding on work on my house … and I rearrange my entire day to be there for the walkthrough … and you no-show with no phone call or anything … I might be unlikely to call you again.

This is but one example in my life.

So Godincidences. Yeah.

After about a month hiatus, I started seeing all these little signs and that word again. The same word every couple of days. Okay, hey, hi. I don’t know what you’re up to, Big Guy, but it’s something.

Oh yeah, it’s something.

Cue Switchfoot and some Earl Grey and some focus.

One of my mentors says,

“Be inspired. Be inspiring.”

I try to remind myself of that philosophy when I’m feeling scattered and distracted. When seemingly random opportunities keep changing my plan. And on days like today when I’m pretty sure there is ragweed pollen embedded deeply in my lungs. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Being in the health and wellness field, taking care of myself is actually part of my job. I giggle when I think about that. Working out, eating healthy, getting enough sleep … are all part of my job. That is so cool. How many times have I said this … put on your own oxygen mask before assisting others.

And I don’t call it a job – I have my own business. I’m sure some people think I don’t really have a job, though. Entrepreneurship is so far out of the mindset of some that you can tell they just don’t get it. The confused look on their face says it all.

Okay, fine, maybe I’ll hire you to work for me at some point? You are the CEO of your own life. More people should act like it.

I don’t know why it surprises me anymore, but every now and then it becomes startlingly clear how many people have an employee mindset. Don’t get me wrong, the world needs good employees. And I never say never to the possibility of taking on the right opportunity. In retrospect, even when I have been an employee I had an entrepreneurial mindset. The more enjoyable roles were those where I had more freedom to decide how things were done.

Don’t even get me started on an entitlement mindset.

Newsflash time. It is possible to love what you do for a living. And you do not have to be pigeonholed by whatever your college degree is. Or by not having a college degree.

Being inspiring? Also part of my job. So whatever it takes to make that happen … part of my job. Maintaining good mental and spiritual health … part of my job.

In order to be inspiring you need to be inspired. So I make sure I put forth the time and effort to get inspired. I don’t sit back and wait for it to happen. Other than the aforementioned taking care of myself … for me, getting inspired is reading (the bible, leadership books, random fiction and nonfiction, articles and blogs), writing, thinking / praying / listening, playing in the kitchen, figuring out what makes people tick, listening to music, playing music. Sorry, no arithmetic. You were thinking it, I know you were.

So here’s my thought for the day. When the world starts getting a little too loud and tries to pull you in fifty directions … tell it to talk to the hand and go get inspired.

Discernment

Do you believe everything you read?

I write this blog not as a source of scientific data, but to make you think, to make me think, and because I like to write.

A writer connection shared this thought, “Real writers don’t write for recognition. They don’t do it for fame, accolades, or notoriety. They do it because they cannot not write.” Thank you, Jeff Goins. Guilty as charged.

Most of the time I’m writing about theological and faith-based observations … however on the subject of scientific nerdiness …

I have been noticing a plethora of links on the social media to articles that look perfectly innocent and sciency. (That’s a real word, I’m sure of it.) But many of these posts have no basis whatsoever in scientific fact.

Most often I’m looking at nutrition-related articles, since nutrition is my business. I’ve been on the sales side, the engineering side, and the manufacturing side. I know a good clinical trial when I see it. So anything said in a blog-like post on a site with a URL along the lines of www.eatorganicordie.org, www.vegansrus.com, or www.monsantoisthedevil.net is not credible.

No offense to organic and vegan peeps. I eat some organic things. And while not vegan, I’m frequently vegetarian. (I eat a little poultry.) Just a personal choice. If you want to bring a steak over and throw it on my grill, have at it. Everyone should do their best to eat clean and healthy as much as possible. The exact dishes that constitutes is different for different people. And let’s face it, not everyone is going to go vegan. And not everyone has access to all-organic.

So I chuckle at the posts and comments on some of the social media. If I gave up everything people say you should NEVER eat … I think I’d be left with water, nuts, and twigs. I’m sure someone has a reason not to consume any of those, though, along with a sciency-looking blog post stating “facts” with no backup references.

I was in a discussion online the other day where someone was shrieking again about a particular ingredient being bad for you. I googled some stuff but didn’t really come up with sites other than www.youlldieifyoueatthis.org. So I asked for links and explained that I wasn’t finding anything scientific. “I have a food science background, so I like to dig into the details,” I said. The shrieker told me the exact phrase to google. Which was the exact phrase I had googled. J

Okay then.

Data available from credible research changes over time as we learn more. And sometimes data conflicts from study to study. That’s when we have to use the brain God gave us and dig into the assumptions and methods and so forth. And sometimes we have to act like a judge in a court of law and go with the preponderance of the evidence.

And sometimes we just don’t know.

So let’s remember … finding something on a page on the interwebs … does not necessarily make it true. Consider the data. Consider the source.

I’ll get off my soapbox now.

One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them.

 ~Romans 14:2-3

The Beach

Today’s blog entry is brought to you by an eclectic mix including Third Day, Glory Revealed, Michael Buble, Jars of Clay, and … .drumroll … Jonas Brothers. You never know what will happen when the iPod is on shuffle.

I’m also sipping on Earl Grey tea with honey. Good for the soul, good for the scratchy throat. I’ve been popping the Vimmunity and praying to fight off this latest round of sinus ickiness.  Anyone who saw me playing piano at church on Sunday may have noted I was not singing along.  You’re welcome. I’m not usually mic’d but the piano is. So it’s close enough.

Btw the iPod has now moved on to John Berry’s rendition of “O Holy Night”. Yes, it’s July. No, I don’t care. Best version of that song ever.

Last week we were talking about checking a few things off the goals list.

Spend at least one day at the beach – done.

Post-conference last week we had scheduled the Monday flight back home for late in the day. After exploring options, our party of six cabbed it to the Orlando airport, rented a Crown Vic, and headed for Ron Jon’s in Cocoa Beach.

That sounds fairly simple, but I addressed a lot of “but what if” questions along the way.

J

I felt like I was channeling my friend, Christen, whose signature phrase is, “It’ll be fine.”  Trust me, I’ve done this before. Do not underestimate my ability to find sand and become one with it.

God always speaks to me at the beach. And indeed he did. I felt like I never really managed to get still and quiet this time, though. Too much going on. Ugh.

Solution – I will have to go back soon.

God speaks to me all the time, not just at the beach. I just need to get quiet enough to “hear it” / figure it out. I don’t share specifics with many people because so many just don’t understand. I am probably the only one who can truly understand my calling. And that’s fine. It’s just a little disheartening when people inadvertently … or in a well-meaning but misguided effort … try to rain on my parade.

I’ve got my umbrella and galoshes ready, thank you very much.

I received a specific answer to prayer while in Florida. Most people would consider it small. Or nothing. Maybe even coincidental. But to me it was huge. And positive. And smile-worthy.

I don’t know, isn’t anything God does huge and monumental in the greater scheme of the universe? I mean, it’s God!!! The almighty. The omnipotent. The big guy.

So when we recognize that God has taken care of something we are completely incapable of, let’s give credit where credit is due. And be happy about it.

Think about that. I’ll be over here on my beach towel with my SPF50.

JJJ

Time and Change

Where do I even start …

I’m kind of on top of the world at the moment. In awe of God and his handiwork. And listening to Chris Tomlin today.

I checked several items off my goals list in the last week. That would be my written goals list. Not my manager’s list. Not my CEO’s list. Not a corporation’s list. My list. Mine, mine, mine, all mine, hee hee.

I attend several events for my business throughout the year. One of my goals was to make it to at least one “optional” worship service on Sunday morning at a national event. The service is always fairly early, especially considering that the fun and networking goes on into the wee hours the night before. And depending on how far away from the venue we’re staying, there may be a walk or a cab ride involved.

So it’s really easy to blow off church at 7:30am before another long day when sleep is at a premium. And if no one is keeping you accountable.

What drove me to make this one a written goal was missing the service last fall in St. Louis. I was looking forward to it, truly planning on being there. It was time change weekend … time to turn the clocks back an hour. Officially that happens at 2am I guess. But often it takes a few hours for computers, tv’s, cell phones, etc. to update the time you see displayed in a lot of places. I used to work at a plant where it would take a couple weeks at least for everything to catch up. Talk about confusing.

In St. Louis we were back in our hotel room briefly that Saturday evening to change into Halloween costumes, and I noticed the maid had apparently updated the alarm clock. “Oh how nice,” I thought. So when we went to sleep in the wee hours, I set the alarm on my cell for early early … and not knowing whether the phone would update as expected while I was asleep … and not knowing how that would affect the alarm … I somehow had worked out that when the alarm went off, if the time on the phone and clock agreed then I should get up, but if they disagreed then I had one more hour to sleep. I don’t know, trust me, I’ve taken more math classes than any human should have to, and I aced the analytical section of the GRE. The statistical likelihood of me being right was high.

Except …

It was an atomic clock sitting on the nightstand.

Which means a satellite speaks to the clock at least once a day to keep it updated and aligned with government time standards and the planets and who knows what else.

So my roommate and I dragged our extremely tired selves out of bed and headed across the street. While we were getting ready, I had been messaging my frequent partner in crime / friend / prayer partner asking what time he was walking over to the worship service … followed by a “never mind, we’ll be there last minute, see you there”.

Um yeah, hopefully his phone was on vibrate because by the time we got there, the next breakout session was starting. We completely missed the worship service. Our phones were showing the correct time. The clock in the hotel room had also updated in the middle of the night and was now wrong.

Oy vey.

(Yes, this does bring up a whole discussion for fellow computer nerds on how updates from atomic-land are programmed, but we will leave that for another time.)

Later that morning I was sitting in the general session in the Edward Jones dome, where cell service is practically nil and getting enough of an internet signal to use messenger is worthy of notifying the Vatican. It was about 10:30 – no, really it was actually 10:30, lol. My phone vibrates and this simple message appears … “Your phone should update the time automatically.”

In a testament to how far I’ve come, I skipped the sarcasm and responded with grace and something to the effect of “you’ll laugh, it’s been an adventure”.

Fast forward to Los Angeles in March this year. I was on the volunteer staff for the event and the worship service conflicted with my duties.

Fast forward again to Orlando this past weekend. I didn’t have anyone else in my circle saying they were getting up early and making the twenty-ish minute walk in July-in-Florida-heat-and-humidity to the convention center. But I did it anyway. And it was good.

So, kids, what can we learn from all this?

Write your goals down, even if they seem small and stupid. It’ll spur you to actually do them.

You never know which of your teammates might show up a few seats away from you in church.

I will not hold it against any particular one of said teammates that they could have mentioned they were cabbing it to the convention center and therefore did not arrive damp and frizzy. J

God speaks through the most seemingly insignificant things. Over and over and over again.

Show Me Somethin’ Mista!

We interrupt this blog for the Granville 4^th of July Street Fair and random miscellaneous other time occupying items.

I’ve been going with the flow as of late, spending time with old friends, and resting a bit without feeling guilty about it. Well, resting in between workouts. I’ve been experimenting with a few recipes involving flaxseed, chickpeas, and such. And I ate a lot less fair food than I thought I would. (You might be a food Nazi if …)

All good stuff.

I still haven’t figured out what the big guy is trying to tell me with all the connectedness stuff. I have my theories, they’re just not ready for prime time yet.

I have some travel coming up & some product launching to do, so I’m getting back in gear. You know … hair, nails, a couple new clothing items, lol. It’s been a nice little break, but I’m feeling a mite restless. Tired of waiting. For me. For others. Honestly maybe for God, too. But clearly he’s saying to wait. So okay, fine.

And in a nod to Mardi Gras and my couple tours of duty in New Orleans, I just want to say, “Show Me Somethin’ Mista!” Before you get the wrong idea, the phrase is actually “Throw Me Somethin’ Mista!” … what children at parades are taught to yell to get coins, beads, etc.

And it’s not like nothing has been going on. I was having a really blah tired Sunday morning but dragged myself to church anyway. Where one of my favorite people got baptized. Win.

Let me say that again. Win!

Maybe all my restlessness is a side effect of my past road warrior life. I like to be on the move. I like to get things done.

I think summertime bakes people’s brains sometimes with the heat. And some people are so obsessed with fitting in all of their scheduled fun before school starts again that they get everything done while getting nothing done. It’s a weird phenomenon, and I’m not sure I’m doing it justice with my description. Maybe it’s just good old fashioned procrastination … I’ll have more time when school’s out for the summer … I’ll have more time when school starts back and we’re all in a routine … I’ll have more time after the holidays …

Put up or shut up! Ha!

Okay, who’s ready to get some stuff done? J