To Serve well

Serving with Excellence for a Life of Excellence

Inspiration

Rewind: We need your voice

(Rewind: This is a relevant post circa June 2016)

I found this sign on my drive back from an appointment last week. I immediately did a U-TURN and turned around to go snap a picture. I know I have seen business owners/ churches, etc use their sign for humorous or inspirational messages before but this one is REALLY GOOD. It’s SIMPLE and YES, I do need to call my grandmother more often, and probably my dad for that matter. GREAT REMINDER, THANKS SONIC, I’LL DO THAT RIGHT NOW! IT’S IMPORTANT!

In addition to that thought, I am constantly thinking about how we should all use our voice. Whether you are America’s Drive-In, a 5 year old, or a 105 year old, God gave you a voice. Your voice is your point of view, your story, your contribution. The world needs it. Perhaps more than ever.

Our world is relying on it as a matter of fact. What insights do you need to offer your team at work? Your child? Your city? Raise your hand, write a letter, post a blog, tweet, Instagram or Snapchat. USE YOUR VOICE!

An accelerating world continued: INVENTING OUR LIVES

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I hope you are good with my continued focus this week on maximizing our summer (especially for the younger generations) by understanding and hopefully creating an action plan to go “deeper” in your knowledge of how our world is ACCELERATING.

Of course the quote above would stop me in my tracks. Grab the highlighter and send texts simultaneously to the kids… We have to get in the mindset of INVENTION. I would say even my generation needs to grasp this sooner rather than later. It’s not too late… in fact, it’s RIGHT ON TIME.

Here’s the thing: you need a plan to succeed. If you have younger folks in your life, even if you don’t wish to “jump in,” you need to do it for them.

To truly understand the driving forces and and help them design that “plan.” By the way, the “plan” will be short lived, because for this generation, the pace of change is so fast that they will have to recreate (INVENT) themselves via learning multiple times in their lives.

“Like everything else in the age of accelerations, securing and holding a job requires DYNAMIC STABILITY – you need to keep pedaling all the time,” says Friedman. “Within the next decade the digital divide will disappear (meaning literally everyone in the world will have access to the internet and cloud, i.e. a WORLD OF EDUCATION AT THEIR FINGER TIPS…). And when that happens, only one divide will matter, says Marina Gorbis, executive director of the Institute for the Future, and that is, ‘MOTIVATIONAL DIVIDE.'”

So there you have it. The future pretty much belongs to those that will JUMP IN and take ADVANTAGE of the world that is literally available to them. What a great OPPORTUNITY WE ALL HAVE TO embrace the CHANGES. Sure, days at the pool, throwing rocks in the pond, and hangin’ with your besties are still critical. I’ll always be one that says we learn so much from the people we surround our selves with. However, this is a world that Mr. Friedman helped open my eyes to over the last few days. I hope this helps IGNITE some of you to begin to go further in understanding and truly make this SUMMER COUNT for you and your families and friends.  Let’s all get to INVENTING… and let’s make it FUN.

An accelerating world… Making THIS summer count by learning

(Photo Creds: Canva)

I am reading one DEEP BOOK (Hint: You should be reading it, too).

Some of you may be familiar with Thomas L. Friedman, who also wrote the famous book, “The World is Flat.” He also has won three Pulitzer Prizes for his work with the New York Times. He’s a genius and his style is a bit refreshing. It’s not for the faint of heart, but I’ll do my best to make it required reading in my house and in my circle, (hint: In the house, that means there will be bribes).

So, here’s the thing: I hope you’ll stay with me on this “deeper than normal” writing for this week.

As you may have picked up, I’m HUGE on innovation. I am even bigger on life long learning… reading, listening, whatever I can get my hands on to grow as a person. Here’s the thing… it’s summer. If you have kids of any age, they probably have some down time. This would be a REALLY great time to begin to explore with them how this WORLD is moving and to help steer them in the right direction. I’m afraid we don’t have the answers because this world is markedly different. What we DO have are great resources such as this, and with a bit of effort we can MAKE THIS SUMMER COUNT in helping the younger generation grasp and grow and take FULL ADVANTAGE.

I’m not even halfway done with this book as it requires really understanding, taking time to soak it in. Here are the key points so far and why I decided it was so important to get it in writing now:

  1. The world is changing so fast we cannot even begin to understand. Since 2007, a mere decade ago, our lives have been upended and are each year by a pace that we cannot even define. The three largest forces  -technology, globalization, climate change – on the planet are accelerating all at once which requires that our societies, communities, etc. be reimagined.
  2. We should consider having “no limits on our curiosity” about learning different disciplines and how the advent of the internet and the “cloud” have literally OPENED the FLOODGATES into what is possible and who can achieve what. The three possible ways to look at the world sounded reasonable:
    – “Inside the box” thinking
    – “Outside the box” thinking and the best one…
    – “Where there is no box” – of course this is the world we live in today
  3. Consider how the world is becoming interdependent… Technology can connect us to one another in ways not imaginable a few years ago. Case in point is AirBNB, which now connects any renter to any tourist or business personal anywhere on the planet… The platform build had an infrastructure that supported BUILDING TRUST so you could rate one another, etc. This is one small example.

I hope this gives you a SPARK of INTEREST to consider going DEEPER THIS SUMMER for the sake of a better WORLD. It is entertaining also, I promise! The generations that follow will thank you!

Another quote from the book I loved… it happened to be at the start of chapter one, which is likely why I jumped in so fast:

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Marie Curie

This sucks… The reason why we need to call out bad days

Okay let’s be honest today. Some moments, some days – and it seems some months – just aren’t what we “had in mind.”

You know the internal narrative… “I didn’t sign up for this (fill in the blank…) life, relationship, job, health condition, weather, home repair, increased rent,” you name it. We all know it’s inevitable to have these moments, so I just thought we should call it out and and consider what we can do with moments like this.

If we are in the business of creating a life of excellence, of serving others and ourselves well, we must acknowledge, learn and move on.

As I approach 50 years, I would say all three are important and all three are a state of mind. We truly need to claim the rainy day that dampened the party and also the “all out” chaos moments. We then make a decision about whether we’re going to allow those times to own us or if we are going to just smile and realize life is giving us a gift. A gift of reserving our energy, a gift of a lesson, a gift of grace under pressure.

As you go through your week, I hope that you will realize it’s all part of getting to the point of true joy. We mix the good and the bad and the great and the “this plain sucks,” and then miraculously it weaves into this beautiful life that we have been given to bless others and create an amazing world.

Celebrating big this month: The power to imagine

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I am a huge sucker for good commencement speeches. My sister was telling me about Will Ferrell’s graduation address to USC over the weekend and, of course, that has to be an instant classic. We all need more humor and I am confident that most USC grads were beside themselves with excitement at the notion of Mr. Ferrell joining their celebration!

Although I’m sure that was terrific, I prefer the graduation speeches that are a bit more poignant. A bit more hit you right in your spirit, lump in the throat, type advice and inspiration. Something I can sink my teeth into.

I really love this quote from J.K. Rowling. It speaks to us no matter our age or degrees are – or perhaps are not. I sit firmly in the camp that we are all gifted with everything we need to CHANGE THE WORLD. IMAGINING the POWER that this idea has is something to really think about. What if God has already given me everything I need to make the impact I am supposed to make? To CREATE A LASTING LEGACY? To truly change our world for the better in my lifetime?

I hope today you will think of the POWER YOU HAVE. To join the thousands of graduates worldwide and just IMAGINE the possibilities… no matter your age. I am betting that we can add some significance to this day if we all do so.

Simple Thoughts Sunday: Open the door

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I love water… I’m more of a lake girl than the ocean, but even a pool, pond or hot bath present a breath of fresh air for me.  It was perfect sybolism for this post.

I love the idea of being able to allow him into our week by simply “opening the door”.

It’s true, we can make a conscious decision to ask Him to step right into our week. To help us find joy, be of service to others and yep, even to fight our battles, be it navigating through summer road construction or a full-frontal type.

My prayer today is that you will open that door, take a deep breath and know that in His full beauty and protection He is on the path with you.  Make it amazing.

The winding roads of life – take in the beauty

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I thought today would be a good day to let my readers know that I launched my own health care advisory group.

It’s an exciting time and one that I know God is leading me through. Boy, when I left KCIM, which as of now will go down as the best career experience of my life, I had no idea that Humana would only be a stop on the road. God has interesting ways in which he guides us through life, to learn and to connect with great people and of course, to challenge. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn the health insurance side of the business and to have a met some brilliant people that are transforming our communities across America.

Here are a few of my insights from the experience as I look toward my next adventure…

  1. Beauty can be found everywhere. There is beauty even in life’s side roads that find you wondering why in the world you may have arrived there. Literally, if you SET YOUR MIND to find the BEAUTY (the good, the positive, the inspiring….) it is INDEED THERE, and often front and center.
  2. Once again, God reminded me that He is leading and I am to follow. Those ideas about life that we have of where, how and what we will be doing at any given stage of our lives… Those are open to change at anytime. If you truly follow his lead, I believe he will use the right people and places and the right time and situations to bring you right to where you are intended to be to achieve your highest purpose. Again it is up to us to CHOOSE TO LISTEN to those promptings and be obedient to following.
  3. Finally, STAY EXPECTANT. I am truly excited about this adventure. I have learned so much over my career, and the opportunity to pull it all together and build a business around those pieces is exciting. It may be a little scary, but I choose not to look at it in that way. As the last few months have offered clarity, I am reminded that the right people are placed on the path at just the right time, and that if we step forward and reach out and do our best work, that there will be honor found in the process.

So whether your path today is straight or winding, I hope you will great BEAUTY all around.

Onward: We must take what we need and move on to serve others

(Photo Creds: We Heart It)

I’ve seen a similar image before. I love it. What do you need right now? For every friend I know well, I could tell you that they need one of these. I personally could use some healing and some patience. Heck, I think I may need a bit of strength, inspiration and peace as well.

The final day of the annual Seven Days events sponsored by Faith Always Wins, concluded last night with a unity walk. The final day is also claimed as “ONWARD.” My friend, the founder, and a great inspiration to many, Mindy Corporon, explained why they chose ONWARD for the final day in her Facebook post yesterday:

“Because, as we live our journey on earth together we need to find a way to move onward… past and THROUGH our CHALLENGES. WE ALL HAVE THEM.”  

She is spot on – of course.

I want to take a moment to remind you that there is quite literally an army of people ready to help you with whatever it is you need to help you not only survive, but TAKE A VICTORY LAP AROUND THIS JOURNEY! We need each other. If you question that, I’d be happy to prove that to you! You see, I have seen incredible acts of humanity in my short time on earth and I know personally that with a simple phone call I could engage some of these beautiful people to help, cheer, pull or even push someone across their finish line!

Have an amazing week. ONWARD.

Adventures of traveling with mom

I had the opportunity to take my mom on a business trip this week which we made into a long weekend and Easter celebration. I had no idea how this would go, but it was a joy with a lot of laughs.

My point is that if you have a living parent, an aunt/uncle or someone dear to you and you have the opportunity, try to make it happen. The very idea of it might overwhelm you at first, and if it does, give me a call. I’ll tell you my story and maybe it will help. I want to thank Dr. Mark Box, and Nancy Levota for inspiring me to take the leap! You both really inspire me!

Here are some things I learned (or was reminded of):

She’s a bit like me… I mean, when the fire alarm went off, she didn’t leave the room. I always think it’s a test (and it was), but that’s not the brightest conclusion… but we lived, so that’s for another day. Just an insight that in some way, shape or form, most of us end up like our parents.

She reminded me to stop and smell the roses and TO STAY AMAZED. I got a kick out of how her wonder of looking at the ocean was like a child. It was really cool actually. I too often don’t stop, although I honestly try. I can do better.

We all need to stop and celebrate. We toasted with real and virgin pina coladas, mai tais and iced tea. You really should do this with those that don’t expect it (AKA, in my world, older adults…).

She DIDN’T like the airport full-body, pat-down screening. Once again, being reminded that our WORLD IS CHANGING was good for her… Our world could use some simplicity, the kind technology doesn’t offer.

I hope this sparks your thinking! Do share if you decide to make the leap. I think even a trip to the zoo would be a delight!

Safety or adventure? You choose.

(Photo Creds: We Heart it; Grand Gunderson)

Sunnier days! We are all ready for that! You might be looking at the coming summer months ahead and planning a road trip, a “bucket list” trip or something else like hanging out by the pool.

One of our local magazines featured several road trip ideas within a “tank of gas” from Kansas City. It was a fun read, and I truly believe there are so many little towns across the country that would have a lot to offer for a someone out on an adventure, even if that’s an antique hunt!

Here’s the idea to contemplate today: Will you choose SAFETY OR ADVENTURE as you plan out the free moments in your life? Will you be afraid to launch out and do something you’ve never done? (Blaming it on lack of energy, funds or something else.) Or, will you set forth on an adventure and go out and LIVE?

I truly believe I spent too many weekends at home when I was younger thinking for some reason that I was saving money, or choosing the better path. Today, I believe and KNOW that you can go on an adventure, whether it’s close to home (think sailing/kayaking on Shawnee Mission Lake) or not, and that ADVENTURE OFFERS PERSPECTIVE. It can cost little to nothing and still deliver an experience that allows you to get OUT of the everyday patterns of life.

As the warmer days show up, I hope that you will put some time into thinking about what ADVENTURES you can dream up over the next few months. Grab a family member or a long lost friend and enjoy ALL THAT LIFE OFFERS. You’ll be REFRESHED and add MEMORIES that will enrich you with HAPPINESS!