Been a while again. I think that aiming for a schedule is a little past me for the time being, but I'm still going to try. Tues, Thurs, Sat. Yeah that sounds good. Now you might wonder why those days. Well, for now, those are my running days. Yep, thats right, running. Like in a marathon. Well, not this week, but before the end of 2008 my goal is to run a marathon. Right now I can't make it very far. Me and my little brother have been running 2-4 times a week and we have been putting down about three miles a day when we run. This last week was our first actual race. It was the M.A.D.D. Dash here in Searcy and it was a really good time. Our race time was 30:10 so that made us feel good. Earlier in the week we had been talking about aiming for 35min for our race time, so it is nice to see that cut by 5. The official time, which I will hold to, is not completly accurate. While we were running we came over a hill and there was a woman lying in the grass crying. She had been hit by a car. AHHHHHHH. So, we didn't know what to do, there was a guy helping her up and we stopped for a minute, but she just kept saying that she wanted to finish the race and she did with about 30 seconds on me and my brother. Kinda embarassing, but I figure we stalled for atleast 10-15 seconds while we thought about getting a phone or calling for help before she started running again. Appartenly some car just drove by and hit her arm with the rear view mirror and just kept going, didn't stop. We were so focused on the left, right, left, right, that we hadn't been paying attention to any of the cars that were passing us. Yeah, little asian women are hard core. This week I'm in Florida. Well, ok, I'm at the airport right now, but until Friday I'll be in florida installing, training, having anxioty attacks. You know, the usual. So, I plan on finishing my book on Robert E. Lee and my Dr. Rohm book as well. So, thats my plan and I'm sticking to it.

I'm pretty fired up right now. We just got back from a leadership seminar and the couple that were speaking tonight were phenominal. They really spoke to where I am in life and where I want to be going. Talking about things they have dealt with that I see too commonly around me that I don't want in my life. Wow, amazing. But its late, so I think most people I know who would want to hear about it(and even those who don't) are mostly asleep preparing their minds for church tomorrow morning. Anyway, I had some extra time at work this morning and because there were no customer to work with I got to put in a couple of CDs and I took some notes on what was being said, so I figured I would do some thinking and writing about the notes I took. Oddly enough the CDs I was listening to were predomintly about finances. I just grabbed four of them before I left my house because I had about four hours of work to do. The first thing I have jotted down is pretty funny because until I think about it, most of the time I'm stuck in thinking about things a certain way. I know exactly when my pay day is. I know when they get my check in the main office and when they send it to me. I know what my base pay is and I know what bonuses I got for the month. So, my payday is one day a month. Now, my expense day is every day of the month. When my cc bill would come in I would be suprised every month. Over and Over, everytime it would catch me off guard. Oh crud is it that time of the month again? Good gravey, did we really spend that much on the card this month. Once it is pointed out to me it seems rediculous that I was doing this, but its true. Everyday was my expense day, but I wasn't really paying attention to it. With all of these expenses one has to wonder what the solution is. Well, odviously the answer is make more money. They only problem with that is easily found in my own personal experience. I now make more then double what I started making with this company 4 years ago and yet every month we barely scrape by at the end of the month and I wonder, how is that possible, I made more money this month then ever before and we're still broke. Well, the answer isn't in making more money, it is being more responsible with the money I have. You can actually look at your expenses as potential income. Income from an expense? How can that work? Well, think about it this way, when you get a raise what is the first thing that happens to that money? Taxes. So, for every dollar you make on a raise only $.66 makes it into you pocket. Now, if you were to cut back your expenses then every dollar you save is a dollar in your pocket. Its actually a better return to cut your expenses then to get a raise. Now, I'm sure there are some situations where this isn't the case, but for me it defintly is. So, I have gone back and I'm catagorizing our expenses for the month and I'm going to cut back on unnecisary things, like a $.50 can of DR.Pepper at work in the afternoons or going to Sonic during Happy Hour and getting a gigantic Strawberry Limeade. Building the discipline to cut back those temptations is not going to be easy. But I'm going to do it. As I was listening to the cd go on about saving your way to wealth I decided to call my wife and let her know about my new conviction. I didn't call her to guilt trip her because I can't go out and tell anyone to live their life a certain way if I'm not living that way. It just doens't make sense. So, I'm cutting back on my expenses to create more money at the end of my month for saving. What things are you going to cut out to help you build a legacy?

For the last month my reading habits have basically been focused on four books. The first book I've been working on is The Bible. One of my New Year resolutions is to read the New Testament once every three months, for a grand total of four times. I don't know why, but I figure the first time I read through it I might see some new things and just read through it to get it done. The second time some more new things, but I already have the whole picture in mind so later scripture can influence my understanding of early scripture. Hind site is 20/20. Then the third/fourth times I read it I can really focus on some deep learning that hopefully will stick with me. Then next year I plan on working through the Old Testament. Not sure where things will go from there. Anyway, the second book I've been reading through is called Leading the Consumer Rebellion. It is about building communities of loyal customers who make a majority of their purchases online and how some simple concepts can save them money while still creating profit for everyone involved. Pretty exciting stuff to realize that we are on the verge of a new market place that has the potential to change the way every day business is done in America. I had planned on writing about some of the specifics of what I was reading, but my laziness got me. So, that might be some food for my posts over the next couple of days. The third book I actually ended up reading twice, just because it is the manliest book ever written. I'll even include a shot of the cover for you to prove how manly it is.OK, maybe not so manly, but still an incredible read. Its also pretty short so if you were to dedicate an afternoon to it then I think most people could knock it out. If not in one day easily two afternoons of dedicated reading time. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be writing about that at some point as well. The fourth book I spent the last month reading was called The Centurion Principles. It goes through history picking out military leaders who were above/beyond their time and their position. Some of them are examples of how to work with people or be direct and there are also a couple of how not to act. One of the 'how not to' guys is a general type from the civil war and every time things go wrong he blames it on the weather or not having enough men or the grass was wet or his tea had to much sugar and so on(naturally I exaggerate on this, but you get the idea). So, the example there is how you can be in charge, but you have to take command and use everything to your advantage, even the negative things that are happening around you. So, those are the four I was working on last month. This month, wow, I also have a couple of books I'm working through. One is about Robert E. Lee, another one is about training to run a marathon. Still another one called What to say when you talk to yourself and a fourth one(for if I finish the others) called Good to Great. I've had a book suggested to my by one of my mentors called The millionaire next door(or something like that) that I'm going to pick up in the next couple of week and give that a whirl in the future some time. So, what are you guys reading??????

In our last episode.... Good gravy I wish I could get some consistency in the things I want to accomplish. Its been almost a month since my last post and I know every single person who reads this has been sitting on pins and needles wondering what bizarre and amazing thing I'm going to say next. Well, there is no reason to fear for I'm back. Didn't really go anyway, just let my old thinking sink in, but I went to a meeting last night and I'm pretty fired up. So, on my last post I had a response asking me where I was applying this personal revolution and whom was getting the benefits of my budding leadership skills. Well, that is a question that has a large answer. The easiest changes to see would have to be in my living room. The way I treat my wife. The way I have learned to love her by completing simple tasks that bother her. When she walks into our house she sees all the little things(shoes by the door, coat on a chair, dirty cups in the sink) and those bother her. I walk into the house and I see empty couch, lonely computer, refrigerator of unprepared food. We see different things. I can honestly say that most of the time I walk through the kitchen and I don't even notice the counter or sink or dishwasher or floor or any of that because it doesn't matter to me. But, I have begun to revolutionize the way I treat my wife. I haven't stopped saying nice things or holding her hand or kissing her on the cheek or calling her Princess. I've just added on things, like picking up clothes that are lying around, making sure my dishes make it into the dishwasher or at the least are rinsed off in the sink. Little things that she has been asking me to do all along but I haven't been listening to her. The crazy thing is the more I study about personalities and relationships the easier it is to understand both of our needs and I actually understand how/why she reacts to me the way she does. I'm glad I have started studying now. There are so many people I have meet that say "I wish we had read this book 20 years ago when we were first married." Its exciting to be ahead of the curve for once. Outside of my house the leadership skills I am cultivating are helping me with work. Again, it has been amazing how easy it is to work with people when you stop listening to what they are saying and start listening to what they are saying. What I mean, is that by growing my understanding of personalities it becomes easier to listen to what a customer is saying and understand it from their point of view instead of only seeing things from my nice comfy chair in my office. By putting a priority on by-passing my own intentions I am able to better understand my customer and where they are coming from and work towards the goal they actually have in mind, no matter what they are telling me on the phone. Also, I am trying to slowly teach those around me to do likewise and build up actual re pore with the customer so they trust us to have their best interest in mind. Besides home(my relationship with my wife) and work(my relationship with my customers and co-works) I've definitely begun to push myself at church and with my friends. On Sunday mornings during our service we have a time where they have us all stand up and greet the people we don't know around us. It use to be that I dreaded this time. Stand up, turn around, say hello to people who won't even remember you next week and will keep asking you if your a student, blah blah blah. Wow, did I dislike when we had to do that. Well, now its not so bad. I've started to take the mind set of "If its to be, its up to me." I want a better experience, I'm going to make a better experience. So, I've begun working on being the one to introduce myself first. Its uncomfortable, annoying, even painful for me at times, but I'm enjoying the change in the overall meet-n-greet experience. With some of my friends I've started noticing the negative in the conversations I use to participate in freely. Both language and content seem to have taken a rather interesting turn, but when I think about it, I'm pretty sure things have changed more in my life for the positive instead of the other way around. Also, when I'm hanging out with my friends I have started noticing the way I talk, and it is a lot. I have a tendency to repeat thing multiple times while I'm telling a single story. I tell the story and then give an example or continue to elaborate to get all of the finite details in as quickly as possible. See, right there i did it again. This bothers me and I'm working on not talking about myself so much, because honestly people don't find me as interesting as I do. On this front I have made one major change, I don't keep talking if I'm interrupted. If something disturbs the conversation I am taking part of(most likely a monologue at this point) and the other person doesn't ask me to continue I don't, I just let it go. Most of the time I can see this coming, but so far I can't seem to help myself. But I'm working on it. Always working on some part of myself so that I can be better tomorrow then I am today.

3-6

As I was reading on Saturday I came across a quote I thought got me thinking. Philip Crosby, author of Quality is Free, writes, "There is a theory of human behavior that says people subconsciously retard their own intellectual growth. They come to rely on cliches and habits. Once they reach the age of their own personal comfort with the world, they stop learning and their minds run on idle for the rest of their days. They may progress organizationally, they may be ambitious and eager, and they may even work night and day. But they learn no more. The bigoted, the narrow-minded, the stubborn, and the perpetually optimistic have all stopped learning. " What gets me about this quote is that this describes exactly where I was a year ago. I was at a point in my life where I had created a small form of comfort with the world around me and I had stopped learning and growing. I was in a comfort zone of mediocrity and didn't really care to get outside of it. In April of '07 I meet a group of people who had been in the same place that I was and had decided they could no longer live the rest of their days with their mind running on idle. They stepped out of their comfort zone and by doing so forced themselves into a learning cycle. Once we reach a level of education that we feel comfortable with, most people stop learning. I have been amazed to realize how many people don't read another book after they graduate from college or high school. They just stop with their personal education. I began to realize that I was the same way. The only books I had read since college were related to the fantastical world of Harry Potter. Besides the going-ons of Harry and the gang, I also knew A LOT about shows on television and what was going on in movies. I spent so much time on filling my comfort zone with items that would maintain my level in life instead of stepping out of my comfort zone and raising my level in life. I began to see how by changing the things I was exposing my mind and heart to I could change the way I thought. My changed thoughts could drive changed actions and build new habits. If I worked diligently on my actions and habits I could someday come into a new way of life. But there are things to be careful about. As I step out of my comfort zone I have to be careful that I do not begin to build another one around myself again. I have to continually step out of what I am use to and be driven by a hunger to know more and to grow more. I have to keep myself slightly unsatisfied with what I know and how I live. Looking past my present situation to bigger and better tomorrow. At the end of the quote it describes a couple of types of people who are stuck in their comfort zone. I'm not so sure about that, but I do know that I was relying on cliches and old habits with my brain running on idle for the rest of my days. As I keep reading I am making a pledge to refuse to let my brain run on idle. A pledge to keep my motor running.

3-5

I am beginning to recognize a pattern in my blogging habit. I apparently wait until right before I drift off to sleep and then decide I'm going to write something. I guess I can work on that tomorrow. So, at church this morning the sermon was about the church as the body of Christ. Of all the points that were made one struck out at me. Uniformity is different then Unity. Uniformity is being forced into a mold that you don't fit. It is being told that you have to shape up or ship out. Stop thinking for yourself and listen to only those in command. Unity is about people having far reaching goals and dreams in common. Having a burning desire that pulls a group together despite their differences and creates an environment of safety and well being. Manipulators create groups filled with uniformity. Leaders create groups driven by unity. Unfortunatly, from the outside it is sometimes hard to see the difference. Escpecially when a group is so driven by their unity that those outside can only see uniformity. Groups that strive to create uniformity will grow stale hollow men and women who parrot the same things over and over. Breathing stuffy air from creating so many mouth-breathers living within the box. Groups who are full of unity will grow into a diverse garden of individuals seeking the best solution for the common goal. Sucking in the fresh air of the mountain tops and striving to go even higher.

3-4

A week ago I was introduced to two seemingly benign questions. Over the past week I have been able to ask these questions repeatedly and the answers seem to point to the way things are. The first questions is If you were to describe yourself, would you describe yourself as more outgoing or more reserved? This seems like a simple question, but some people seem to waver on which side of the fence they land on. And to tell the truth, most people have both in them. But, if you were to give an answer right now 51%/49% what would it be. The second questions sits on top of the first. If you were to describe your self, again if its difficult 51%/49% and you can change your answer, would you say you were more task oriented or relationship oriented. Wow, see two very simple questions. Except that when these two questions are used in tangent they actually begin to display a lot more about you then you might at first think. The answers to these questions splits people into four different personality groups. Outgoing-Task, Outgoing-Relationship, Reserved-Task, Reserved-Relationship. Of course, we all have a little of each quadrent in us. Sometimes we are more Reserved-Task to get something done in a very detailed fashion but other times we are more Outgoing-Relationship when at a party. The interesting part about these questions is that for the past week I have asked myself these questions about all the new people I met while I did on-site training for a company in Minneapolis. One of the employees what Outgoing-Relationship and he was boisterous and vibrant and a little crass. The other office employee was Reserved-Task and she definitly had a right way of doing things that was about to be completly turned topsy-turvy. Knowing the anwers to the two questions for these trainees I was able to mirror their attitudes and mode of communication in order to have the most effective training. It was a very real way to experience the different personality types and get a feel for working with two very different types. Oh, and with the Task/Relationship break they view building new relationships very different. The Task people feel that there must be trust before there can be relationship. The Relationship people are the exact opposite and feel that there must be some relationship before trust can be built.