j simon

Simplicity

"Simplicity on the near side of complexity is worthless
but simplicity on the far side of complexity is priceless"
-Jessie Simon paraphrasing a quote from Robert Frost
that Frost actually borrowed from the musings of Socrates.
Which is a somewhat complicated credit for a beautiful quote on simplicity.

Canton

 

Canton wasn't feeling well today. I took him to preschool this morning. Walking in he grabbed my neck, started hugging me and wouldn't let go. Yep, we turned around and left together. He spent the day with me. I am very blessed!

Canton & Papa

This is the picture on my blackberry home screen. It is good for a guaranteed smile at any point in my day. I pull out the phone, look at the big boy loving me, and smile from deep inside. I am blessed!

Stages of a Great Decision

1. The Information Gathering Stage
Stage one is assembling information. Not biased information. Not the information that justifies the decision you already want to make. Gathering honest, objective information is the essential first step to making a great decision.

“To discover the truth, I must look for the fiction that I want to believe is true but cannot really count on. My poor decisions were based on illusions I believed at the time. My better decisions are based on realities I recognize in time.” - Dr. Spencer Johnson

2. The Shaping Stage
At stage two your objective is no longer gathering information but digesting information. Organize it. Let it simmer. Get counsel from others. Consider the information while in a variety of moods. There are three critical questions to ask in stage two…. “Have I really prayed about this?” “What does God want me to do?” “Will I surrender my will to His?”

3. The Finalizing Stage
Enough evaluation! Make the decision! Just pull the trigger…fire…do it…let it go…quit fretting it….get off the fence…rock and roll…move on! Perfection is not one of your options! Do the best you can with what you have and make a call!

4. The Execution Stage
Making a good decision and executing a good decision are very different. Success now depends on action. Carry out the decision with confidence and passion. This is not a time for second guessing, shaping or evaluation. Ask God to help you with strength and focus… then just do it, baby.

5. The Patience Stage
Don’t immediately start evaluating. Give your decision time to work. A seed can’t grow unless it is left in the ground, nurtured and given time. Be patient.

6. The Evaluation Stage
With the benefit of hindsight, evaluate the decision. You may need to revisit the decision and make course corrections. Or, it may well be that any small improvement gained from revisiting the decision will not be worth the time and energy required. Evaluate the quality of the decision based on the information you had at the time. Remember all great decisions don't lead to pleasant outcomes.

One Year Later

One year ago I was praying that my mom would live long enough to hold my grandson, just one time. I begged God. I don't recall ever begging God for anything before or since. But that day, I sat in the hospital parking lot, wept and prayed that God would please grant that one request. He did.

My Canton is a year old. My Mom is doing well. This week I will move down the street from my parents. One of the big benefits will be that my Canton gets to spend more time with my parents and will get to know some of the finest people in the world. He already knows the way from our new house to theirs. Saturday, we walked out the door and he pointed toward my parents house and said please. He loves them. They love him. I am blessed.

Failing Forward

I am turning over my blog to the wisdom of Dr John Maxwell today. He has taught me more about leadership than any other human. If you are in any way a leader and you haven't read The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, Failing Forward, and Developing the Leader Within You you need to stop right now, go to amazon.com and order a copy of those 3 books. Then when they arrive at your door cancel everything else until you finish reading Dr John.

Failing Forward
By Dr. John C. Maxwell

Vincent Van Gogh failed as an art dealer, flunked his entrance exam to theology school, and was fired by the church after an ill-fated attempt at missionary work. In fact, during his life, he seldom experienced anything other than failure as an artist. Although a single painting by Van Gogh would fetch in excess of $100 million today, in his lifetime Van Gogh sold only one painting, four months prior to his death.

Before developing his theory of relativity, Albert Einstein encountered academic failure. One headmaster expelled Einstein from school and another teacher predicted that he would never amount to anything. Einstein even failed his entrance exam into college.

Prior to dazzling the world with his athletic skill, Michael Jordan was cut from his sophomore basketball team. Even though he captured six championships, during his professional career, Jordan missed over 12,000 shots, lost nearly 400 games, and failed to make more than 25 would-be game-winning baskets.

Failure didn't stop Vincent Van Gogh from painting, Albert Einstein from theorizing, or Michael Jordan from playing basketball, but it has paralyzed countless leaders and prevented them from reaching their potential.

At some point, all great achievers are tempted to believe they are failures. But in spite of that, they persevere. In the face of adversity, shortcomings, and rejection, they hold onto self-believe and refuse to see themselves as failures. Here are seven abilities of achievers that enable them to rebound from failure and keep moving forward.

Seven Principles for Failing Forward

Reject Rejection
Achievers who persevere do not base their self-worth on their performance. On the contrary, they have a healthy self-image that's not dictated by external events. When they fall short, rather than labeling themselves a failure, they learn from mistakes in their judgment or behavior.

Don't Point Fingers
When people fail, they're often tempted to blame others for their lack of success. By pointing fingers, they sink into a victim mentality and cede their fate to outsiders. When playing the blame game, people rob themselves of learning from their failures and alienate others by refusing to take responsibility for mistakes.

See Failure as Temporary
People who personalize failure see a problem as a hole they're permanently stuck in, whereas achievers see any predicament as temporary. One mindset wallows in failure, the other looks forward to success. By putting mistakes into perspective, achievers are able to see failure as a momentary event, not a symptom of a lifelong epidemic.

Set Realistic Expectations
Unrealistic goals doom people to failure. For instance, if a person hasn't exercised for five years, then making it to a gym twice a week may be a better goal than running in next month's marathon. Also, some people insensibly expect to be perfect. Everyone fails, so expect setbacks and emotionally prepare to deal with them.

Focus on Strengths
Don't invest time shoring up non-character flaws at the exclusion of investing in your strengths. People operating from a position of strength enjoy a far lower rate of failure than those laboring in areas of weakness. You're built to give your talents to the world; be diligent about finding expressions for them in your career.

Vary Approaches to Achievement
In the Psychology of Achievement, Brian Tracy writes about four millionaires who made their fortunes by age 35. On average, these achievers were involved in 17 businesses before they finding the one that took them to the top. They kept trying and changing until they found something that worked.

Bounce Back
Rehashing missteps and blunders for too long sabotages concentration and eats away at self-confidence. When dealing with failure, achievers have short memories. They quickly forget the negative emotions of setbacks and press forward resiliently. While taking pause to learn from failures, achievers realize that the past cannot be altered.

I believe it's nearly impossible for any person to believe he or she is a failure and move forward at the same time. For those who have been downsized, let go, or bankrupted, the temptation may be to internalize failure. My hope is that anyone who has suffered setbacks recently will be able to separate life's unfortunate events from their self-worth. Failure, like death and taxes, will happen. Your response to failure holds the key to your future.

Photo Flack!

Here is the deal. I started catching flack over the 3-4 year old photo on my blog. So I decided to update. I was going for something cool. Judging by the overwhelming "2 Thumbs Down!" reaction.... I didn't accomplish cool. I miss the day when cool was easy.

Save your "Roy Orbison", "Ronnie Milsap" and "are you trying to move from a pastor look to a pimpin' look?" comments. I will change the photo!! And I will let someone else pick it out next time. Geeeeez!

I was thinking of using the photo below.... but it may lack a little authenticity. :)

 

Water HAZARDS!

Interesting week for golfers and water hazards.

On the PGA Tour, Henrik Stenson hit his drive into the water on the 3rd hole at Doral Golf Club. He did not want to muddy his clothes for the rest of the round so he undressed down to his briefs to hit his 2nd shot to the hole.

 

Closer to home, my dear friend Dan Bates was on the 13^th hole at Colonial Country Club. Our friend Oscar hit a ball in the water and Dan went over to attempt to retrieve it. In the process he fell in to the lake. FELL IN! Fell totally into the lake! When I heard the news I was so upset!!!! Not that my friend had fallen in the lake, but that I wasn’t there to photograph the moment and give it the ridicule it richly deserved. Glen Wade did snap this photo of Dan wringing out his socks on the 14th tee box.

I was very surprised when Dan released the following photo he claims was taken shortly after falling in. I have my doubts about its legitimacy.

 

Greatness

My mom is going home from the hospital today. Please keep her in your prayers as she recovers.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be moving. I am restructuring my life to be closer to my mom and dad. I am moving a few houses down from them. Not for their sake, for my sake. I want to spend time with them. I want my kids and grand kids to know them and love them like I do.

I would not recommend that most people live down the street from their parents. For many I would recommend moving further away from your parents. Maybe even a different state. It will minimize the potential damage and save you on counseling and medication cost. :) But, I simply have the most amazing, kind, generous, grace filled, freedom loving and giving parents in the world. That isn't hallmark mug hyperbole. It is just the truth.

I wish you all could know my mom. I wish you could benefit from her wisdom, experience the grace she gives flawed and broken people, and get hugged by the master. I have a healthy concept of God because of my mom. When I think of the unconditional love, grace, acceptance, encouragement and freedom given to us by our God....I get it. Because I just think ....oh yeah, God acts like my mom. 

Canton & Simone

My two grand kids spent an evening playing. No kidding. Canton would kiss Tiffani's belly, put his ear on it and listen to the sounds Simone was making. Simone would kick and he would laugh. He would then put his mouth up to Tiffani's belly and start talking to Simone. He would laugh, talk, hug and kiss on Tiffani's belly. Simone would get really active when she would hear him and start kicking (visibly).

It was a hoot. It was like they were interacting and playing with each other. Then Canton just started hugging and kissing Tiffani's belly, laid his head on her and went to sleep.

It was one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen. If I hadn't seen it personally I would be skeptical. I would think that adults were telling me exagerated stories of what kids supposedly do. But this was truly wild!