I spent most of last week in beautiful Temecula, California. Truly such a beautiful place and always a highlight of my year.
I wrote in my last post about my work with International Scripture Ministries and Thru the Bible. It was very fulfilling to hear so many praise the tremendous efforts of my team and the value they delivered to the entire group.
In addition to an immense amount of work, my time in California was quite enjoyable. Some early morning walks through wine country and pickle ball matches always help take the edge of off an immense amount of meetings.
An individual from the group did suggest I begin diving into the book “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” - he gracefully explained how this book would be good for someone like me. I gave a genuine laugh as he and I discuss our ambitions and constant push in our professional lives.
Why eliminate hurry?
I’m genuinely curious at the point of view given in this book. I find comfort in the pushing myself to the brink and see it as a valuable asset in the overall value that I offer to others.
Yes, there are definite pitfalls with this approach so I’m hoping that I can perhaps find a bit of balance in my professional pursuits and the rest of my life.
I can easily balance the compartments of “urgent” and “important” therefore I am eager to dive into the read to see where else I can improve. I’ll give a deeper opinion on it as I get deeper into the content - not even a 6 hour listen so it’s certainly manageable.
A house too quiet
My travel plans back home were thrown out of whack causing me to not see my oldest children before their little vacation with their grandparents. Not seeing my 2 of my children for 10 days left a major gap in my emotions.
It was nice to spend a lot more time with my wife and be able to actually have more than 20 minutes of adult conversations. We went out a couple of times and were able to enjoy each other’s presence in a way that resembled a lite-vacation mode.
I just don’t understand how some dads can be addicted to being away from home. Missing my children grew very heavy on me.
I get it - work can require the man of the house to sometimes be absent and miss those special moments with the family. That’s a fact of life that is sometimes hard to escape. What I don’t understand is the man who regularly finds excuses to be away from his wife and children.
Find comfort and joy with your family. They won’t be with you forever.
Quieter than expected weekend
I was supposed to be in Knoxville with The EDGE Foundation attending an annual tailgate + attending the Tennessee v. Texas A&M game. As much as I would love to be in attendance there is simply so much going on here at home that my absence was required.
Being at home with my family for a relaxing weekend is much needed. My emotional gas tank is on E and being physically present with my family and not having a packed scheduled is very much needed.
Saturday morning donuts will be the most pressing item on our calendar this weekend.
Checkered Neyland
I’ll admit that I’ll miss be in attendance for Checkered Neyland this weekend. I attended last year’s game against Florida and seeing the orange and white checkerboard throughout the stadium was so beautiful.
Rocky Top will be rocking tomorrow night - Vols by 5 after holding off a valiant Aggies effort.
Football Manager struggle bus
I’ve mentioned my addiction to Football Manager. I highly recommend you get it even if you hate soccer.
I’ve yet to win a match in season 3 with Waterford FC and my hot seat is growing hotter.
If anybody out there in my reading space plays then please reach out! I’d love to talk Football Manager shop - it’s become one of my favorite decompression vices.
Next week is packed
Another day, another dollar when Monday arrives. A lot on all of the burners so I’m excited to really get all guns blazing in Q4.
A couple of new projects are in motion and a couple more are on the horizon. I feel grateful and blessed.
I saw the other day that a former colleague of mine was recently laid off. She’s a top performer so it hurt me to see her take this hit. If you find yourself in this position then please don’t hesitate to reach out.
I hope that I can make a promoting connection for you that will in some way benefit us both in both the short and long-term.
Don’t be afraid to fail forward as next week comes at you. Be bold and believe in your talents and skills. I had to remind myself of this just yesterday - growth can be incredibly painful and defeating at times.