Quite Time

Going through the muss and fuss of the rigors of everyday life gives us very little time for any quite time during the day. Or at least any quite time that we take advantage of as such.

There are actually several times during the day that we could (and should) use for quite time during the day to make the day more bearable.

1. The ride to work. Whatever amount of time it takes, this is time that you can have to yourself to either get yourself ready for the day or just relax without having to think about work at all.
2. Lunch time. Yeah, yeah, I know. You don't have time for lunch, so you get your lunch from wherever and eat it at your desk so you can work through lunch so you don't have to stay too late. Every now and then, you need to take lunch so you can get away from the process so you can get a clear mind and handle things with a renewed spirit.
3. Your ride home. This is a good time to wind down and forget about work for awhile. You are leaving work, so that is where work should stay (at least until you get a call stating you need to work on something again.)

Enjoy your quite time. You generally don't give yourself much of it. Take advantage of the times you do get, because you generally will not know when the next one is going to come.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. It could be as simple as doing something for them so that they can get a few minutes of quiet time.

Dress for Success

If you want to be successful, you need to act and look successful. If you want to be taken seriously, you need to be serious.

One of my favorite movies is The Secret of My Succes$. The premise of the movie is a college graduate from Kansas gets a job in New York and on his first day, the company is bought out and he is out of work. He ends of getting a job in the mailroom for his uncle's multi-billion dollar conglomerate. He really wants to be in a position he studied for in college and when he sees an opportunity to get a position he seizes it while he mains his mailroom job. He ends up wearing one set of clothes for his mailroom job and brings dress clothes for the other job and is continually switching between clothes as he switches between the jobs.

If you want to work in the corner office, you need to dress like you want to work in the corner office. Your attire will show you mean business, as well as show your confidence in yourself.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. It will help the person out as well as show the person your character. You never know if that person could be your boss sometime down the line.

Basketball Tryouts

Last night was basketball tryouts for the basketball team I am going to coach this year. There was an incredible turn out. There were some 25 young ladies trying out for the 7th grade team and 11 young ladies for the 8th grade team. There is something to say when you get that many young ladies to show up when just a few years ago there was scarcely enough to make up either team.

I think a big part of the reason that there are so many young ladies now is the good program that Hillsboro Hi has in place. It is not all just about basketball. It is about bringing out the best in the young ladies and teaching them how to work as a team and to respect themselves and each other. This is definitely why I am happy to be part of the program.

I have some players that are going to be on the team that really know how to play this year. There are a couple of players who are going to need same basic coaching to get their skills up to where they need to be. There are a couple of players that just need some coaching to iron out a few kinks. The one thing I don't think needs any work is the positive attitude that all the girls displayed during tryouts.

This should be a fun season.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. It usually rubs off.

Tough Times Don't Last

No matter how dark things look on a certain day, the day will end and things will get better. Tough times don't last.

Hardly anything is as bad as it seems when it is happening to you.

On bad days, here is a mantra for you ... This too shall pass.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. Especially if you can tell they are having one of those days.

To-Do List

I have a buddy who likes to say The faster I go, the behinder I get. What I think he means by this is he has so many things that he thinks he needs to do, but he has no idea what the tasks are.

To-Do List
The easiest way to procrastinate is to not know where to start. I have a couple of tips for you ...
1.) Make a To-Do list of all the things that you have to do. It really won't take that much time and once it is made, you will really know what you have to get done.
2.) Don't get overwhelmed by your To-Do list. Do a little research and planning so each item on your To-Do list can be started easily.
3,) If you are feeling overwhelmed by your To-Do list, invest a little time to simplify your list. Figure out what really needs to be done today, what can be done easily, and what does not need to be done at all. Getting rid of the things that don't matter will make your list smaller and give you more time to do the things that need to be done.


Stress Reducers

When the tasks on your To-Do list are getting the best of you [there are certain days when it is going to happen no matter how positive you are] here are a couple of ideas to help reduce the stress ...
1.) Take a walk. Exercising can release endorphins which help improve your mood. It is also a good way just to take your mind off the stressing task.
2.) Remember to breath. Yes, breathing is supposed to be a non-thinking action our body does on our own, but when we get stressed, we tend to hold our breath. Thinking about breathing will take your mind off your troublesome task and get your blood flowing again. Once you are breathing again, you will feel better and less stressed and you will be able to get back to task and get it done.
3.) Two-minute tasks. There are bound to be tasks on your To-Do list that take 2 minutes or less to complete. When you need a few minutes away, look at your To-Do list and complete a few of your 2-minute tasks. This not only gets you away from the troublesome task for a few minutes, but it also gets some tasks off your list. You will feel good about getting tasks accomplished so you will be ready to complete the other task.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. The person might just need some help getting their To-Do list started.

Attitudes & Leadership

I was talking with the varsity basketball coach yesterday during open gym about keeping our youth occupied with sports so they have fewer chances of getting themselves into trouble because when they have too much time on their hands and not enough to do, trouble will probably find them.

Athletes are not exempt from problems. Just turn on ESPN - unfortunately, you will see more athletes getting into all kinds of problems.

Student-athletes, just like any other student, act the way they are taught. If coach, or even the team captain, has bad habits, the rest of the team will soon follow suit.

The following line from the movie Remember the Titans demonstrates this to the T.
Attitude reflect leadership, captain. - Julius

Coaches and leaders, if you want your team to display good sportsmanship, hard work, teamwork and a winning attitude, you have to display these characteristics yourself. Your athletes and followers will demonstrate what they have learned from you. They are a mirror of your attitude and mindset.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. It will rub off on them.

Stumbling Blocks or Stepping Stones

In life, everything does not go the way you plan it. Life is what actually happens in between your plans. How you handle life's little issues determines whether you get through life or if you enjoy life.

Some people review everything that goes wrong in life as a stumbling block. Everything is a problem when nothing goes right.

If something does not happen today that you were hoping would, don't become negative but think of it as something you get to look forward to tomorrow.

It might not be a bad idea to change your stumbling blocks into stepping stones. When an obstacle gets in your way, consider it a challenge to overcome rather than a stumbling block that got it in your way. Complete the challenge and become a stronger and better person for it. Turn mountains into mole hills, rather than the other way around.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. The person just might need a little help changing that stumbling block into a stepping stone.

Early and Late Adopters

I have a couple of buddies (Scott and John) who are the epitome of earlier adopters. When the iPhone came out -John was waiting in line. Anything relatively cool in the computer world, Scott will try it out or try to get it - upon wife approval and acceptance. Nothing like being on the leading (or bleeding) edge of technology.

I on the other hand am a relative late adopter. During the late 80s and earlier 90s, man, I tell you I was an earlier adopter. But a company called Microsoft turned me off after having numerous issues and headaches with DOS version 4.0 and 6.0 or any version of software that ended in dot zero.

I am such a late adopter that I personally do not even have a cell phone. Work has one for me, but it is for work. You know, not having a cell phone is not such a bad thing. I thoroughly enjoy going to the beach and not having a signal. I can't hear about what broke or what absolutely needs to be done by tomorrow and I need to do it. The sound of silence (or the sound of crashing waves) is music to my ears.

Don't get me wrong, I would be lost without a computer or some kind of computer device to help keep track of things. But I don't necessarily need the latest greatest thing anymore to make me feel good about myself. I don't always have to keep up with the Joneses.

I have an electronic organizer, but it does not connect to the internet and ping me ever time I have mail. It does not double as a phone. It keeps addresses and phone numbers primarily and what appointments are coming up.

At work, I actually use notebooks and pencils; I may be one of 3 or 4 people who still use wooden pencils that need to be sharpened. This weekend, our computers and computer network are being migrated. Some people were completely lost without being able to use their computers to figure out what needed to be done next. I had my notebook and it contained what I had to do and where I had to go - all was good with the world. Mind you I did have a desktop computer to perform my required tasks on, so I did not have to go through withdrawals.

There is nothing wrong with being an early adopter; I actually encourage people to do it, so I get a finely tuned device or piece of software by the time I am ready to buy it. I don't know if I will be buying a cell phone any time soon, as I kind of enjoy the 1o to 15% of my day that people can't necessarily get a hold of when I am sleeping, commuting or goofing off.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. They might really need it if they are a really earlier adopter.

Treat People Nicer than They Treat You

I have two favorite quotes from the movie Roadhouse :
"I thought you would be bigger." -Anyone who meets Dalton
"I want you to be nice until it's time to not be nice." - Dalton

No matter how someone treats you, you should treat them nice. Treating a person with kindness that treats you like @#$% usually gets the offending person thinking.

1. What is this person smoking, because no one acts nicely after what just happened?
2. This person is strange because no one acts nicely after what just happened.
3. Get me away from this person because (s)he is not normal. Or ...
4. I want what this person has going on in his/her life because no one acts nicely after what just happened.

If you have a positive attitude towards everyone, no matter how they treat you, and treat them nicely, then the world is on its way to becoming a better place.

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. It is as simple as being nice to everyone you meet, no matter how they treat you.

Favorite Places

If I could keep the sand out of my laptop and keep a really good internet connection, I would be at the beach the majority of the time.

The sound of crashing waves on the beach can make me forget about whatever is bothering me. I find it rather mesmerizing to watch a storm come in. There is something relaxing about watching seagulls negotiating the incoming waves as they either relax or look for food while sitting on the water.

What is your favorite place? What makes it your favorite place?

Make someone's day and perform a random act of kindness. If possible, try to do it from your favorite place.