A Kind Word

Spouse/Family

It has been a difficult and stressful time for me and my family over the last three weeks.  There are times that I have felt that everything I touch or have touched turns to - pardon the expression -  crap.  I won't go into details, but it involves a robbery at our house and me purchasing our house before  I met my wife.

Sometimes in our darkest times a kind word will come our way that will lift our spirits.  That happened to me today at Toastmasters.  While I was in front of the group, another member was explaining to the prospective members the ice-breaker speech.  While explaining it to them, he referred to my speech that I gave two years ago.  For some reason he remembered me talking about how important my wife and child are to me.

Granted, he wasn't saying, "Al, you're a great father and husband." However, it felt like a glass of ice water on a hot day and it was just what I needed.  This wonderful observation by my fellow Toastmaster for a brief moment took away a great deal of the "crap" that I spoke of earlier.  

After I left the meeting I thought,  "If others know what means the most to me, maybe that means that I'm actually trying to live out the values I profess. More importantly, however, I hope my wife and child benefit from my actions although I don't get it 100% right all the time."  

Goin' Global

With Google Blogger I have the ability to see where my readers live.  I couldn't believe it when I found out that I have readers in The Netherlands, Germany, Malaysia, and Canada.  Thank you for reading about my  journey toward achieving my goals.

Please feel free to send me a message.  I would welcome the opportunity to meet you in Cyber space.  

Book 'em Dano

Self Improvement/ Intellectual


When I was in my early 20's I remember talking with my family about reading.  My mom and dad have always been very good readers, and to some extent my brother as well. However, in this conversation  I remember saying that I just didn't like sitting down with a book. Sure, I liked reading the newspaper and did so just about every morning. I think this was because articles are short, sweet, and to the point compared to books that develop a story or idea over many pages.

Here in the last couple of years all of this changed.  I'm not sure why, but I suspect that it has something to do with growing older and realizing that what I know is that I don't know.  With that, here are a few of my favorite books:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
This is a classic in the "self help" genre.  Mr. Hill interviews successful businessmen of his time in order to find out what made them successful.  The title is a misnomer.


Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey
Learned much about managing my time and starting with the end in mind.  I use some of his exercises every day.


Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lappin
The Rabbi is a cheerleader for the ethical business person.  This is just what we need in this day and age where if you are rich, it is believed that you ripped someone off, made it on the backs of the poor, or you didn't earn it.

One thing that I took away from this book was taking sabbatical time for my business.  As a result, every Friday I take off about 3:30 and go to the local Panera or Starbucks.  In these sessions I review my entire business plan and plan out my next week.  This has become one of my favorite times of the week and has increased my efficiency.


The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth
The blog of Mr. Roth's day.  You can truly see how the "Depression Generation" formed their attitudes toward the government, banks, and spending.


The Way the World Works by Jude Wanniski
This book should be mandatory reading for all politicians.

Out of Egypt, Christ the Lord by Anne Rice
There is a moment in this book that I will always remember.  While sailing with His family from Egypt to Israel, the family start singing hymns to God.  What an incredible moment that would have the Creator of the Universe with them in the boat as they sing to the first person in the Trinity.


The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Through fellowship and communion with the incarnate Lord," Bonhoeffer writes, "we recover our true humanity, and at the same time we are delivered from that individualism which is the consequence of sin, and retrieve our solidarity with the whole human race." 


When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."  Enough said. 


The Screw Tape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Haunting, chilling, and perverse.  It's like being behind enemy lines.


With God in Russia by Walter Ciszek
This was an amazing story of faith, a lifetime mission, and a journey.  I felt like I was there with Father Ciszek in Russia in the 40's.  I was very impressed with his strong faith and sense of vocation as well as his service to people.

There are many more that I have not listed.  Currently, I'm reading a book that my wife gave me for Father's Day.  It's a little out of the norm from the listed books above.  It's from the view point of a salty world traveling chef and his take on the world.  

Track it!

Career
In one of the books that I read awhile back, it suggested that I track my time at work.  I started doing this about six months ago.  I expected to find how much time I spent making marketing calls, sitting in meetings, and working on administrative chores.  In truth, I found out that it drove me to be more efficient and get many more things accomplished.

You see, sometimes I sit there trying to figure out what I should do next and waste a great deal of time.  However, as soon as I write down what I just did, I immediately start looking for the next item to work on without worrying so much about if this is what I should accomplish next.

Along with this exercise, I have my daily "to-do" list ready as well as five bigger items that need my attention.  One last thing, blocking time for certain projects helps as well.

If you can track it, you can do it!