Rain Falling

"Love is never lost. It will flow back and soften and purify the heart." -Unknown

Many years ago, while still attending high school in Cedar Bluffs, Nebraska, I worked summers for a local farmer. Herb and Mae Ritthaler were their names and along with their sons, had a pretty sizable farming operation. Along with the ground that they owned, I believe he also rented ground, all of which was spread across a two county area. These two people were could be stern and tough, but were also quite wonderful in their kindness.

There were many things I learned during those summers. In addition to the standard farming operation, I was fortunate enough to help in their other operations. They provided custom field spraying with a large three-wheeled sprayer. I got to assist in ways that are hard to explain, but to see one roaring down the field towards you can be a bit unsettling.

The drilling of wells for both farm water and irrigation was a miserable job. My part was to keep the slurry pit open and unclogged. A wet, dirty, back-breaking and miserable job. Yet when we hit water, it was a sight to behold.

Once a well was completed, many would use them for irrigation systems. Those irrigation systems were sold by the Ritthaler family as well. Back in those days, you had to move from tower to tower to adjust the speed. My job of course was to "run" from tower to tower to adjust the speed after the system was installed and final preparation was being made.

As you notice, much of farming requires water. The use of water is not only needed to nourish the thriving crops. Water will also soften the ground, allowing break through for the plant. I remember we would cultivate the soybean fields which would tear out the weeds. This was done to keep those weeds from choking out the crop.

In certain fields during dry conditions, the ground would harden to near cement like consistency. In those fields you had to keep the tractor at a slow speed. If you did not, the tines on the cultivator would break off. The tines are what dig into and break up the ground where the weeds could grow.

When it rained though, the ground would soften and cultivating became much easier. You could move through the fields and clean out the weeds, allowing the crops to flourish. So not only does the rain provide nourishment, it also softens things for break through. It is this softening action that causes me to rejoice in the rain.

So many people associate rain with disappointment and find it depressing. They look to the outdoor picnic ruined by the wet ground. They frown at the lack of sunshine to warm their beach experience. But what they fail to see is that the rain is like love. It should be enjoyed, embraced and rained upon those you love with regularity.

Love Is something that allows you to dance and stomp through mud puddles. Love Is the closeness of walking arm-in-arm under an umbrella with the one you love. Love Is the washing away of hurt and pain of a dry landscape. It softens our hearts and allows us to grow a better life.

Allow the rain to fall upon your life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Friday Guide

It is Thursday and the week is nearly over. The weekend is within reach and all that is between you and a great weekend is Friday.

That one day when everything could smoothly guide you into a relaxing two-day rest. Or it could evolve into a mind numbing and stressful day.

But what is Friday? In some cultures it is the sixth day of the week while in many it is considered the fifth day of the week. In those locations where it is considered the fifth day it is also considered the last day of the work week.

The word Friday comes from "the Old English frigedæg, meaning the day of Frige the Anglo-Saxon form of Frigga, the Germanic goddess of beauty."

So it should be that Friday is a day of beauty and wonder. Yet those days do occur when everyone else decides that your day will not be quite so enjoyable. So you groan and let the tension grow in anger about your 'situation'. Not a great start to a weekend they may include friends or relatives...your mood is already destined to be bad.

Jimmy Dean said that, “I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” Your destination could be as simple as a wonderful weekend. Don't let the storms caused by others to keep you from it. Adjust your attitude to make your way to where it is you want to be.

You can determine that Friday will be a great day just like every other day. Enjoy the day and more fully enjoy your weekend.

Stay inspired my friends!

Step Up Parenting

“You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around- and why his parents will always wave back.” ~William D. Tammeuson

Think about it, the global population has increased from 2 billion in 1927 to 7 billion people in 2011. this means that about 80 million people are added to the earth each year. Given this ever increasing world population, in an ever increasingly crowded world, do we as parents have the necessary skills to raise and prepare these children?

It is well known that people decide to have children for many reasons: emotional, cultural, religious, and instinctual. This strong instinctual drive to have children is an ingrained biological need to procreate in order to preserve our human species. But to simply procreate is only part of the equation. The other part, dare I say the biggest part, is knowing how to raise these children.

Knowing there is such a huge need for parents to learn and better understand their own parenting skills, I am pleased to announce that my wife Laura Primm and Jeanne Lynch have founded a new company called STEP UP PARENTING. Step Up Parenting provides an environment where facilitators walk parents through the popular parenting program called Systematic Training For Effective Parenting. The goal is to empower parents to become better parents and help them create a great family environment.

Laura and Jeanne are very passionate about helping parents. I encourage you to contact them today for classes starting in September.

STEP UP PARENTING - http://stepupparenting.com/

If you are a parent, know someone that is a parent or even a grandparent, check out their website today and join thousands of other parents that have taken this step up in parenting.

And who knows, maybe I will show up to offer some motivation and inspiration.

Stay inspired my friends.

Leadership Qualities - The Jobs Way

"The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there." — John Buchan

Like many of you out there, I too have read the "just short of War and Peace" biography of the late Steve Jobs. For those that simply are unaware of this man, Steve Jobs was the co-founder and visionary force behind the company called Apple.

There are many things I did not agree with Steve regarding his style and personality. Yet that is what makes all of us unique in this life. What I do admire is the greatness he was able to pull from those that worked for him. If you read both his book Jobs and a book about co-founder Steve Wozniak called iWoz; you will get a sense of the visionary and the inventor.

Both men are incredible examples of what has made technology so great in the past fifty years. And still I go back to the leadership greatness that defined who Steve Jobs was. It defines what the Apple company is today. It also makes me wonder how long the company he built can survive off the memory of his leadership.

What we can do is take pieces of Steve Jobs leadership qualities and try to emulate them. I would like to pick and choose, which I will, the good from the bad. But given Steve's personality, it is very possible that his good qualities only existed because of the bad ones. So I will ignore the psychology behind his personality and focus on three qualities of his leadership.

1. VISION

"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards." ~Steve Jobs

Quite a bit of Steve's early life was full of Zen Buddhist experiences. It contained belief in the "power of sublime minimalism." This early part of his life shaped Steve into what you could consider an artist. This passion for the arts and humanity when combined with technology is what helped create the products you see today.

Steve Jobs understood that to make something truly great and inspiring meant you had to create the dots, not simply connect them. He firmly believed in his vision and lived it as well by his own actions. His firm belief in his vision impacted those that worked with him, inspiring them to greatness as well.

As a leader, you have to develop a clear vision, believe in it firmly and live that belief through your own actions; others will follow, others will become great in their own right.

2. FOCUS & DETERMINATION

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things we have done.” ~Steve Jobs

When Steve developed a vision for a product, an idea or a new business plan, he could rid his mind of distractions. This allowed him to create a nearly crystal clear path to success for that vision. One could easily point to his return in 1997 to lead Apple, which was in near financial ruin.

By establishing a vision, he then eliminated nearly all of the existing products except for a few key products and projects. These were the ones that matched his vision. Doing so freed up resources that could be focused on the goal and return Apple to greatness.

As a leader, you have to be steadfast and not tolerate "leaders" in your organization that are afraid to offend others and say no. Everyone in your organization must be able and willing to catch your vision, remain focused on the goal and determined to drive towards it with you. When you do these things, people will be able to achieve what many others thought was impossible.

3. PASSION FOR GREATNESS

"Some people say, ‘Give the customers what they want.’ But that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, “If I’d asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me, ‘A faster horse!” People don’t know what they want until you show it to them." ~Steve Jobs

One of the neat things that Steve Jobs did was anticipate what people would need in their lives. It was not so much market research, which he never relied upon, but listening and observing people and trends. He used his knowledge, his vision and his passion to create the "dots" that later would be connected.

With Steve's direction, Apple designed products with the user experince in mind first. How you built it became secondary. I hear it today in my business where people say that is "too hard" and "people would not buy that." Human innovation in the world of technology far better than what we give ourselves credit for.

What we lack is the ability to see it from a user perspective first. And the reason this happens is because we defeat ourselves with a belief that the technology could not accomodate it. No one thought they needed a "smart phone" device. Why would we need such a thing when we had MP3 players, laptops, digital cameras, and a cell phone that we could store a phone list in.

If you lead with a focused and determined intent to make the user experience great, the technology will follow. People will be drawn to your vision and success for the user, the business and you will inevitably happen.

SUCCESSFUL LEADERSHIP

With a clear vision, determination to pursue that vision and lastly, design with an appreciation for the user in mind, you can emulate one of the greatest business people of our generation. You can use these leadership qualities in your work, in your business and in your life -- your best life.

Stay inspired my friends!