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You’re Killing Me, Smalls
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5:30 am, there is a pick-up game at the gym. Men (and at least one woman) from all walks of life and of all ages come together to start their day with play. The rules of engagement are not complicated. You show up; you get to play basketball. Oftentimes, there are more than two teams worth of players. When that happens, they self-regulate and take turns. They make it work. Pick-up games demand mutual respect amongst the players. They require discipline and a sense of fair play. There is something very appealing about the simplicity of living by playground rules. Grinning through one another’s triumphs, laughing at each other’s mistakes, and…
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Question Marks
question mark — noun 2. something unanswered or unknown I saw my friend Jessica ask for help the other day. She didn’t do it directly, and it wasn’t premeditated. She was relating a bit of a story about herself and, as sometimes happens with humans, she took a brief, stream of conscious detour. A need was revealed. It was clear that revelation was not her intent. She was just joining in the conversation and out it came. Her question mark. A little later, another one of our friends approached her. She gently leaned into the tender spot that Jessica had made known and offered some assistance. Both of their lives will change as a result. Sometimes,…
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Dig Deep. Stand Tall.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Stand a little taller.” – Stronger, Kelly Clarkson
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Helpfulness
When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed. –Maya Angelou, author, poet, and civil rights activist I was preparing for a major presentation. There were people from my team that gave their time and talent. Three different mentors provided guidance. On the day of the presentation, several people texted me notes of good will. Not only did I feel prepared, I felt supported. The second scenario was a simple exchange. I met a friend at the coffee shop. After a few minutes, I noticed she wasn’t having anything. I later learned that in her hurry to leave her flat, she had forgotten her wallet. She chose not to ask to borrow the three dollars she needed. What happens when…
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Eyes Wide Open
Both my parents were trained in the visual arts. As a child, my father would sit me down, set a mug or an apple in the center of the table, and entreat me to draw “what I saw, not what I knew”. He knew, of course, that the artistic efforts of children are based on simplified elements of the object we were trying to represent. All trees resemble lollipops. The sun is the yolk of an egg in a Lego blue sky. Fast forward 35 years, as an adult problem solver, the directive is still relevant. How do we, as adults and as leaders, “open our eyes” to address the issue actually…
