Red Light, Green Light

"It is in the moments of our decisions, that our destiny is shaped." -Anthony Robbins

I was driving to work this morning after having breakfast with my lovely wife Laura. We were discussing a possible change in our lives to accomodate something that is dear to our hearts. But it is a decision that impacts not just us, but our family and friends as well. That means we are giving it careful thought before moving forward.

During the short drive from breakfast to work, early as it is I came up to the stop light at an intersection. As I sat there in the fading darkness of night, the green of the traffic light for cross traffic jumped out at me. But so did the glowing red of the stop light in front of me. Each light seemed to be accomplishing the same thing.

The thought struck me that these traffic lights were not just there to safely guide me through. The red and green were also there to slow me down in my busy and hectic life. I'm sure you can relate to being busy and I'm not here to say mine is any busier than yours. While it may seem that the stop lights are getting in your way, they are actually slowing you down.

They give you time to catch up with yourself and consider what is going on. It is similar to slowing down and making thoughtful choices about how you are going to proceed. Those decisions we make in life are sometimes 'drop of the hat', quick and without much thought. We move on and correct maybe a wrong decision later. If only we would stop for a moment or two first, we may save ourselves further down the road.

What it might save is getting pulled over further down the street for having run a 'yellowish-red' light at the intersection. It may have saved a life from running a red-light and not making it.

But some will ask, how long should I stop and think about my decision? My answer is "how long is a piece of rope?" I can not answer that for you because it depends upon you and your willingness to feel comfortable with the decision. For that matter, how long do you sit at a red light?

Depending upon whom you ask, how long it takes is very much like this chart.

Cheezburger.com

So take care and watch out for those red lights cautioning us to slow down. Take the time to make your decisions wisely and then get ready. The light is going to turn green on your life.

Tear from an Apple

"Visionary people face the same problems everyone else faces; but rather than get paralyzed by their problems, visionaries immediately commit themselves to finding a solution." -Bill Hybels

Steve Jobs has passed away at the age of 56 years old. As a co-founder of the computer company Apple, the world experienced the visions of a man unfold and transform our lives. It is not often that we get to experience such a person in our lifetimes.

There will be plenty written about Steve Jobs, the business man, the innovator and the accomplishments. The changes that his company brought into this world will impact how we communicate, conduct and relate to each other for years to come.

I was not alive at the time to watch when people such as Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and others brought their visions into our world. I only get to live with the results of those visions, dreams and accomplishments. They gave us the types of changes that completely altered and improved the world around us.

The computer business is no different as it has transformed our everyday lives. Steve Job's vision and his company's products and innovations have accomplished the same thing. For a long time to come, what he accomplished will also transform our everyday lives. We will not soon forget the man.

But I also realize there is a family and friends behind this man who lived by the name Steve Jobs. To those people I send deepest sympathies. To lose a loved one is a heart breaking and life changing event as well. It is a loss that goes beyond words.

Steve's vision will live on in his products. His memories will live on in the hearts of his family, and his friends.

Teamwork and Me

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." -Andrew Carnegie

It might be that you work by yourself, sitting at your desk filling out reports, researching, or making projections. Maybe you are on the factory floor installing windshields, or in a day care tending to infants. It could be a myriad of things you do each day. But much of what we accomplish is done with teamwork present visibly and many times invisibly.

Take the story of Charlie Plumb, a navy jet pilot in Vietnam. He had seventy-four successful combat missions, but on his 75th mission, with only five days before he was to return home, Plumb was shot down.

Captain Charlie Plumb parachuted into enemy territory, was captured and spent six years in prison. He survived imprisonment and now lectures on the lessons he learned from his experiences.

After his return from Vietnam, Charlie and his wife were sitting in a restaurant when a man approached them, and said, "Are you Plumb the navy pilot?"

"Yes, how did you know?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied.

Plumb was amazed and very grateful to the man, "If the chute you packed hadn't worked I wouldn't be here today."

Charlie Plumb refers to this story in many of his lectures. He realized that there were anonymous sailors who packed the parachutes and held the pilots' lives in their hands, and yet the pilots never gave these sailors a second thought; never even said hello, let alone said thanks.

As Captain Plumb asks his audiences, "Who packs your parachutes?..... Who helps you through your life?.... Physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually?....... Think about who helps you; recognize them and say thanks."

There is teamwork involved in many parts of our lives. You know they are out there and you can find them. Look around your community to find them. Look around your workplace to see whom they are. Look around your home and church to see whom those people are that are on your team.

You will hear the phrase that there is no 'I' in 'TEAM' to make their point. I prefer to say that there is 'ME' wrapped up in the word 'TEAM' which means we only succeed because of those around us. And those around us succeed because you are part of their lives, their team. We are each an integral part of not only our success but of those around us, the team.

The people around you that have entered into your life. Your family, your friends and co-workers. Your team exists of many, not one. Realize that you are part of a bigger team than just one. See how much further your life and the lives of the team will achieve once we acknowledge and embrace the idea.

Stay inspired my friend.

My Aching Attitude

"Grow old with me! The best is yet to be." -Robert Browning

So there I was sitting in the Orthopedic doctor's office, waiting to hear the news. This particular doctor had once been a team physician for the New York Mets baseball team. There was confidence in my mind but nervous about what the results might be.

My left shoulder had been having increasing pain over the course of two to three months. Normally I would not think much of it but worse and worse it became. The pain becomes nearly unbearable when trying to sleep at night should I happen to roll over onto it. Think of sleeping quite nicely and then having someone drive a pointed stick into the area of your collarbone. Ouch!

My doctor said that normally that is the point at which people finally come in. The point in which sleep is disrupted. Go figure!

I sat in the examining room and thought of all those sports injuries it could have been. While I am not an athlete, oh well it could be. Anyway, a tear, a cracked bone, some abnormality that defies logic? I can see the sports headlines now, "Primm out with Rotator Cuff - Blog put on Hold." What would all my fans do?

The doctor came into the room and ran me through a few more mobility tests, looked at pictures of my shoulder and always in the inevitable "hmmm" sound. "Give it to me straight Doc, I can take it. Am I out for the season?"

His diagnosis? Normal, common everyday AC Joint Arthritis. As a person becomes older and uses the shoulder, normal wear and tear, or degeneration, of the cartilage takes place in the joint. Common in middle age people. "Wait a minute, did you say as people become older?" I asked.

That is correct, I am just like you and millions of other folks that have this thing called "aging." For some reason I got to thinking it probably has to do with that AARP membership card I sent in earlier this year. But no getting around it, I am simply growing older like everyone else.

I really can not complain though. My body might be trying to show signs but my mind is fresh and not nearly as old. Some may call that immaturity, but I think of it as never getting too old not to enjoy the life I have. There are people that have and are going through much more difficult physical challenges, (cancer, major injuries). So I thank my God for the good health that I do have.

While we each may be getting older, complaining about it will not make it go away. We need to enjoy our lives to their fullest possible given our circumstances. Some are better than others but it isn't a comparison. It is about you and what you feel about your life. You dictate how happy your life is by choosing to be happy.

There are those that will say, "Sure, that's easy for you to say." And they are partially correct in that assessment. I don't have a debilitating disease nor am I fighting through anything worse than a sore shoulder. But what I am doing is working on my attitude. Training myself to change any negative thinking into positive thinking.

The time may come when my aging body gives me a bigger surprise. But if I have exercised my brain, my thoughts, properly than I will be better prepared to deal with the physical changes. In many ways there are only two choices we have, "Get busy living, or get busy dying" (The Shawshank Redemption - Andy Dufresne).

Stay inspired my friends.