A Quote for Friday

"Well done is better than well said."

Benjamin Franklin

Technorati tags: bfranklin, action

Leaders: Persistent Despite Obstacles

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit“

~Napoleon Hill

The following excerpt from an article on Think Simple Now was so well worded, I thought I would simply pass it on to you adding just a few of my thoughts:

In some of his speeches, author Jim Rohn often talks about the ant philosophy. Ants are remarkably persistent. If an ant is on its way somewhere, and you place your thumb in its path, the ant instinctively tries to find another way. The ant will try to go over, around, and sometimes through any obstacle. Giving up is never an option.

Have you ever seen an ant come across an obstacle, stop and quit as to say, “Why are things always getting in my way”? Instead, the ant believes that there is a way to continue on the path and it works until it finds it.

When things get tough in our lives, we have to adopt the ant philosophy. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, and letting the obstacle win, we must attempt to find another way to get on the right path. We must be persistent until we reach our destination. (from Think Simple Now)

You can read the rest of the article if you want, but I'm really only talking about this little "parable." Ants are persistent despite obstacles.

Some see obstacles and try pushing through anything that comes their way, certain of how they're getting to where they're going, often facing conflict and frustration. Others see obstacles and redirect their path, letting their situations and circumstances dictate where they go. I know there have been times I feel more apt to 'let things happen' rather than 'make things happen.' I'm not talking in absolutes here, because I think there is value in both approaches, letting and making, but it seems a leader is one who achieves a balance between the two.

A leader has a clear, compelling vision for where people need to go, and passionately, relentlessly pushes to make things happen in the pursuit of the vision. And if you believe that vision is a God-given vision, that should be even more motivating to accept nothing but pursuit of that vision. At the same time, a leader must also be aware of what's happening and changing around them, flexible enough in strategy to go "over, around, and sometimes through any obstacle."

In other words, a leader must hold tight enough to the vision to push to make things happen, and hold loosely enough to plans and strategies to adapt to obstacles that come up.

Some people are naturally pushers; outspoken, driven people who push their thoughts and opinions and influence. Others are naturally reactors; people who flexibly respond to situations and circumstances as they come up. I think real leaders have both an unwavering commitment to a vision and the sensitivity to environment and obstacles to adapt the path that achieves the goal.

Technorati tags: thinksimplenow, jim rohn, ant, leadership

A Quote for Friday

"Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."

Albert Einstein

Technorati tags: aeinstein, success

You Can "Ask" Or You Can "Ask With Style"

This wouldn't fly with every lady, but I think that's what makes it work; that he thought through it enough that it's something SHE would be into. (As opposed to some of the other public proposals I've seen before that, well, don't go so well, like this or this.) And it's not something I'd pull off, but you've got to give the guy credit for pulling together some romance and creativity...

That's GOT to be one of the slickest proposals on YouTube (but I'm open to other suggestions).

Technorati tags: disney, proposal, she said yes

The Day the Music Died

Well, at least a piece of the music scene died. I just read these words from Jason Harwell earlier today:

This past weekend, we celebrated Independence Day, our country's birthday, on the 4th of July. This comes one day after July 3rd (of course), which is a much less significant birthday - that of Rebuilt Records. I spent much of my time this past weekend away from the world, and most of my thoughts revolved around freedom, independence, and that pursuit of happiness our forefathers declared to be an inalienable right. At some point in the six years since Rebuilt became my full-time activity, I feel like I misplaced these things. And so it is a bit poetic perhaps that here is where we end Rebuilt Records. See rest of article here.

The ending of Rebuilt Records strikes me as sad in some small ways, mostly because I appreciated what I saw to be the heart and passion of Rebuilt Records and Jason's quirky wit and the inspiration of the music. Whether it was the soulful sounds of Micah Dalton or the down-home feel of Jon Black or the fun and flare of the Flavor cds, I liked it.

Harwell's Alive in the Fall really is one of my favorite albums, finding a comfortable blend of indie/folk/pop that always felt a little-bit Tom Petty and little-bit lazy Sunday afternoon. The music is a beautiful compliment to the hope and hurt and joy and passion of the "standing-on-the-edge-of-something-new" lyrics throughout the album. Here's a little of what I'm talking about:

Somewhere The Sun

VERSE
I'm waking up for the first time in years
Not afraid to remind myself
Of who I am and in who I am found
It's all right

I'm making plans to get back on my feet
Don't want to be afraid no more
If I can make it right down to the street
It's all right
Yeah, it's all right

CHORUS
Break through all the doors you can't seem to open
Somewhere the sun is shining
It's what you are hoping to find

VERSE
Nobody said it was easy this way
But I think that it's worth the trip
I might not be the biggest bang for your buck
It's all right

So what if I fall flat on my face?
The poster boy for the never-was
Life is too short just to count my mistakes
It's all right
Yeah, it's all right

I'll offer the token of support by passing along the current website links for the Rebuilt family of artists (not knowing when these links may expire or be affected by the ending of the label):

• Jon Black
• Micah Dalton
• The Goodfight
• Paul Reeves
• David Herndon
• Jason Harwell

Thanks for the music that is a part of the soundtrack of special times and memories in my life. "Here’s to finding the next wave."

Technorati tags: rebuilt records, jon black, micah dalton, the goodfight, paul reeves, david herndon, jason harwell, alive in the fall

Fernandina Beach Vacation

We took a short family trip to Fernandina Beach last week. It was Noah and Ansley's first trip to the beach. Ansley was pretty laid-back about it, but Noah was super excited. Here are a few of the many pictures from the trip:

We went down to the beach for a few minutes our first night there, mostly because Noah was so excited about the idea of the beach. All day long he talked about, "The BEACH, mommy! The BEACH!" He wasn't disappointed. You can see the ear-to-ear grin. (Ansley was happy just hanging out in the baby-cocoon-hammock thing.)





Here's one of the funny twists to our trip... Since we were all in a room together, when Ansley woke up (early) to eat it wasn't very long after that Noah was awake, too. It was 5:45am! Since we were all up (and you know the kids aren't going back to sleep) we figured let's just get on with it. We had breakfast and were walking the block-and-a-half from the hotel to the beach by 6:30.

It's not what I'd have guessed of vacation time a few years ago, but it worked out pretty good. We saw some of the sunrise over the water, we got down to the beach before it was hot or crowded, Noah played for a few hours, and then it was back to the hotel room for lunch and naps.

It was such a fun little trip and some nice memories I'll hold onto for a long time.

Technorati tags: fernandina beach, family vacation

A Quote for Friday

"Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?"

Martin Luther King, Jr

Technorati tags: mlk, others