Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Flying Solo

I learned to fly an airplane in August of 1992.

It was a Cessna 172 Skyhawk.

A college graduation gift.

The real gift; however, wasn't the flying lessons.

The real gift was the CONFIDENCE I GAINED from the flying lessons.

Especially the confidence I gained from that first experience flying SOLO.

Just me and the plane.

Soon after that experience, I discovered the confidence to "fly solo" in other endeavors.

Running a marathon.

Starting a business.

Managing a department.

Becoming a parent.

I discovered that success in ONE area, fostered success in OTHER areas.

So...

On the days we feel our confidence sagging...

Perhaps the cure for waning confidence isn't doing LESS to build ourselves back up.

But doing MORE.

And then DOING it.

Flying solo.

Signing up for that 10k race with your son that you think is way to far--for YOU.

Or teaching that business class at the community college even though you think you have nothing to share.

Or taking that leadership role at church or the school PTA--even though you don't feel like a leader.

Taking a chance on yourself.

Flying solo.

And being amazed at how far you can fly.

AMJ

Sunday, February 26, 2012

A Lot of Lousy Paintings

I teach a beginning oil painting class on Monday evenings.

I tell my students what my painting instructor told me when I began painting:

Relax.

You have to paint a lot of LOUSY paintings before you can paint that GREAT painting.

The great painting destination you will consider MASTERY.

That great masterpiece that you will paint one year from now will only happen....well...one year from now.

I have found this simple but important axiom to apply to nearly every endeavor.

After crossing the finish line of my first sub-four-hour marathon this past October, I recalled the many LOUSY marathons I ran where every mile was a pride-swallowing grind due to amateur training mistakes. Mistakes like carbo-loading on spicy food the night before a race and washing it down with a milkshake for "protein."

LOUSY idea.

LOUSY race.

But it took those LOUSY races to get to the VICTORY race.

The race called MASTERY.

And such it is with any endeavor.

It takes a lot of lousy songs to get to that great song.

It takes a lot of lousy poems to get to that great poem.

It takes a lot of lousy golf games to arrive at that perfect swing.

So if you find yourself in the middle of "Lousy-ville" right now on your way to your destination, I say take heart.

And know that the state of "Lousy-ville" is only a TEMPORARY stop.

Because that awesome destination called MASTERY is just down the road.

It's just a few paintings away.

AMJ

Saturday, February 25, 2012

It Doesn't Matter That You Can Calculate Depreciation

Every semester, my Accounting students ask me what specific Accounting skills offer the best job prospects.

I tell them the skills employers REALLY NEED have NOTHING to do with Accounting.

I tell them that in my experience--as a former accountant--the best jobs go to the people who are really good at the following:

Finding great people.
This means having the humility to decide to surround yourself with people who are smarter and more experienced than you.  This decision, ironically, makes you smarter.

LEADING great people.  Not MANAGING great people.  A monkey can boss people  around.  Only a LEADER can inspire the group to follow him / her and help the team discover strengths and talents they didn't know they possessed.

Managing Projects. 
This means taking a room full of people from different departments and organizations  (i.e. people you have no authority to FIRE) and getting them to work together and complete a project that is  a)  on time and    b) on budget

Speaking with Passion
This means having the guts to look your boss in the eye and ALWAYS tell him or her the absolute truth --no matter how scary and unpopular the truth may be--and offer an honest and insightful recommendation. 

So here is the deal:

Learning to calculate depreciation is an important skill.

Learning to amortize a bond premium is an important skill.

Learning to produce a statement of cash flows is an important skill.

But these are skills that are not unique.

Which means they lack value.

On the other hand...

Finding great people.

Leading great people.

Managing big projects.

And speaking with passion.

Are absolutely unique skills.

And are skills that many are AFRAID to develop.

But they are the skills that are FAR more valuable to a company and shareholder value than contemplating the FIFO vs. LIFO inventory valuation methods.

So next semester, please, go ahead and purchase that textbook for Intermediate Accounting to advance your academic growth.

But let me encourage you to also develop the skills that will REALLY make a difference.

A difference to you subordinates, your peers and your future boss.

The skills that can't be found in the chapter discussing depreciation.

AMJ

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Eating the Elephant

The Ironman Triathlon is one of the most daunting athletic challenges on the planet.

It begins with a 2.4 mile swim in the ocean, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and finishing with a 26.2 mile marathon---all in one day!

I read how many of the professionals that prepare for the big day utilize a training strategy called "mental chunking."  Instead of looking at the race as a threatening 140 mile event, they break the race into smaller events---perhaps into multiple 5 mile events.  This provides the athlete with a much needed MENTAL advantage as a 5 mile race is much easier to wrap one's mind around and far less threatening than a 140 mile race.

Now notice:  using the mental chunking approach doesn't change the race--it is still a whopping 140 mile long day--it simply changes the way the athlete LOOKS at the race.

Which in turn impacts how the athlete PERFORMS in the race.

The mental chunking approach is akin to the cliche question:  how do you eat an elephant?  Answer:  one bite at a time.

I have found this mental strategy to be extremely effective--on the track and in life.

A 16-week semester filled with a teaching overload, department head duties, all coupled with kid's sports and homework and an endless to-do list of other family obligations can at times look overwhelming---even impossible--- when viewed as a whole.

But I have found that taking the giant elephant of obligations called "life" and breaking it into small pieces, pieces that can be managed, one bite at a time, one week at a time, seems to make the impossible---possible.

And not let the big elephant, seem so big.

AMJ

Monday, February 20, 2012

Only 100%

Steve Prefontaine (known as "Pre") was one of the greatest middle and long distance runners in American history.  He held the title in the 2,000 meter to 10,000 meter track events.  He was expected to win gold in the Montreal Olympics in 1976 but tragically died in an auto accident in 1975.

Although he died at the young age of 24, his legacy on and OFF the track inspires today.

Pre not only inspired people by his PERFORMANCE  on the track.  But by his PASSION on the track. 

It wasn't just WHAT he did.  But THE WAY THAT HE DID IT that inspired others.

He was known for his unorthodox racing tactic of "front-running." A gutsy method that meant he gave 100% effort for 100% of the race--a tactic that was contrary to the traditional racing method of holding back until the last lap, and then leapfrogging the opponents to the finish line.

He felt this traditional approach to racing was dishonest.

He believed that anything less than 100% effort--at any time-- was unacceptable.    Pre once said::

"I don't want to win unless I know I've done my best, and the only way I know how to do that is to run out front, flat out until I have nothing left. Winning any other way is chicken-shit."

I think Steve Prefontaine's approach to racing not only inspires us.  But more importantly, CHALLENGES us.

Challenges us to look within and ask what our life's work is.  Our mission.  Our source of passion.

So here is our challenge.  Our opportunity.  We can:

1.  Find work that that gives us PASSION.

OR

2.  Find PASSION in the work that we do.


If Pre were alive he would tell us to find our gift.  Our life's work.  And do it at 100% effort.  

For as he said:  "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."  

AMJ 

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Simple vs. Easy

SIMPLE solutions are often not EASY.

Losing weight is simple:  eat less, exercise more.  Sounds easy.

But go into any bookstore or local library and you will find entire sections dedicated to the endeavor of dieting.  Diets that promise thinner waistlines by partaking of fare like seaweed soup or tofu burgers.

Next to the diet section is the fitness section where one can find over one hundred titles on RUNNING.  Yes, running.  How to run faster, farther, with shoes, without shoes...

I suspect there will be a section dedicated to breathing soon...

When you get home from the bookstore, flip on the tube after midnight and see how fast late-night comedies segue into a barrage of exercise infomercials.  Infomercials touting triple-dog-dare-power-yoga or getting mega-ripped abs while sleeping. All for three easy payments of $39.95.
  
Saving money for retirement is also simple:  spend less, save more.  Sounds pretty easy.

But after perusing the diet section, walk over to the personal finance section.  You'll find a plethora of "investment" advice.  Advice that includes enticing opportunities like "executive income while working from home," "real estate investing with no money down."  For the pessimist investor there is advice a plenty on ways to prepare for the coming apocalypse by parking one's nest egg into gold, freeze-dried food, guns and ammo!

How did we get here?

I have a theory.

Exercising, dieting, saving for retirement...raising good kids--anything worthwhile in other words--takes discipline, consistency and hard work.

And it's THOSE THREE WORDS (i.e. virtues)  that take the easy out of simple.

It is the LACK of those three virtues why we have stores dedicated to providing slick covered books, videos, powders and pills to prop up our sagging dedication and discipline when things don't feel quite so...well...easy.

Training for a marathon (26.2 miles) is pretty straightforward: run 4-5 days per week for 18 weeks while slowly increasing the mileage.

Simple.

Disciplining oneself to CONSISTENTLY run 4-5 days per week for 18 weeks--even in bad weather.  Well...not so easy.

So here is my idea:

Instead of zipping to the nearest running store and grabbing every running book, running video, and a stash of bars, gels, and gu's--along with a heart-rate monitor and any other electronic gadget one can velcro to one's body to fool us into believing that training is easy... 

Why don't we just recognize that most of the things that we seek to grow in our life that are worth growing--our health, our finances, our families--are pretty simple to grow.

But come at a cost.

But often NOT paid in money.

Or gadgets, or books, or videos.

But instead, are often paid in large denominations of the virtues discipline, consistency and hard work.

Three virtues that are simple.

Very simple.

But not easy.

AMJ

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

From the Heart

I recently found an old John Denver album in my basement.

It was a 1975 live recording of a performance at Red Rocks ampitheater in Colorado when his career was beginning to blossom.

I know, I know.  I'm a geek. 

But as I listened to the four-decade old recording, I couldn't help but be impressed.  Impressed by the emotion in his music. Every lyric in every song felt authentic.

From the heart.

I doubt John Denver ever began writing a song with a focus group.  Or by hiring a team of consultants from McKinsey and Company on how he could best "leverage his synergies" to "maximize market share" to "enhance stockholder value."

I suspect John Denver first and foremost wrote songs to create great work.  Work that was bigger than him. Work that would endure beyond his life.

Work from the heart.

I suspect that even those who dislike his music would concede the authenticity in his music.  And that he succeeded in creating work that endures.

I have no musical talent.  But I hope that in some way I can create work that conveys the passion that people feel in John Denver's music.

Work from the heart.

I sometimes wonder if college business schools have it wrong.

Business schools teach students to earn a profit by identifying a need then creating a product to meet the need.

But it seems like the truly great entrepreneurs, artists, writers, athletes, and musicians do it the other way around:  They create great work, and THEN find the need.

The iPod, The Grapes of Wrath, It's a Wonderful Life....even the yellow "sticky-note" were all created BEFORE we knew we needed these items.

Perhaps college business schools and should look to children--that's right CHILDREN--in teaching entrepreneurship.

Why are we always attracted to a child's artwork?

Because we know it is made from love.

It is authentic.

It is from the heart.

What if more companies made and sold products this way?

So how about this for an idea:

Instead of asking,  "what SHOULD I do with my life?"  Perhaps the better question is "what is it that I HAVE to do with my life?"  

The work that I MUST do. 

The work that is authentic.

And from the heart.

AMJ

Monday, February 13, 2012

People Will Find You

Do you know what your customers are saying about you?

Or maybe your fans?

Or perhaps your students?

Don't care? Or don't think you have time to care?

You may want to reconsider.  And soon.

On the first day of class this semester, one of my students matter-of-factly said that she selected MY section of Principles of Accounting I based on a recommendation.

I asked her who the kind person was who recommended me to her.

It wasn't a person who made the recommendation.

It was a website.

The student casually informed me that finding everything she needed to know about my performance as an instructor was as easy as typing my name into Google and the school that I teach at.

A few keystrokes and...Voila'.  A website called http://blog.ratemyprofessors.com/ provided her with all the information she needed.

Fortunately for me, I received a 4.5 rating out of a possible 5.  I received a 5 for "clarity" and "helpfulness", but only a 3 for "easiness."

Guess I'm nice.

But not cheap.

I think this story is instructive.

It says THESE ARE THE RULES OF THE INTERNET AGE:

THE RULES:  If you are good.  Really good. And consistently good.

People will find you.

However....

If you are poor.  Really poor.  And consistently poor.

People will find you...AND....

They will tell OTHERS.

But....here is the cool part:

IF you are up to the challenge.

And have the courage to be good at what you do.  Really good at what you do.  And consistently good at what you do....

These new rules provide you a BIG OPPORTUNITY and...

...are the BEST RULES EVER to be playing by.

AMJ

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Eat As Though You Were A Poor Person

Coach Joe Vigil is one of the most successful cross country coaches in American history.  He taught and coached at Adams State College for nearly 30 years.

One of Vigil's most famous athletes was Olympic medalist Deena Kastor. He was credited for coaching her to dominate in the marathon after winning the bronze medal in Athens.

In Christopher McDougall's bestseller "Born to Run," the author describes how Coach Vigil's coaching of Kastor included some unorthodox methods. In addition to putting her through the typical drills of intervals, hill work, and track sessions, Vigil introduced many non-physical, esoteric elements to her training--elements that seemed to have nothing to do with training.

Mc Dougall describes how the walls in Vigil's office were posted with mantras like "practice abundance by giving back," and "show integrity to your value system."  And my favorite:  "eat as though you were a poor person."

In other words,  keep it simple.  

As my running improves, I find coach Vigil's advice to ring true.  I find I need LESS, not MORE. 

No more PowerBars, PowerGels, PowerShakes or PowerVitamins.

This became abundantly clear during the Leadville Marathon last summer.  Unlike the typical city race aid stations equipped with colorful gu's, gels, bars and funky colored "recovery drinks," the various aid stations at the Leadville race (all over 10,000 ft elevation) were equipped with flat Coca-Cola, watermelon and my personal favorite:  PBJ sandwiches--on white bread.

The best food I ever had on a race.

And the most effective.

I think the Coach Vigil's metaphor of "eating as though you were a poor person," applies off the track.

We don't need as much as we THINK we need to accomplish what we want to accomplish.

I just read how many of the titans of tech in Silicon Valley send their kids to schools WITHOUT COMPUTERS.  That's right--WITHOUT computers.  As they see that test results for digital classroom students are BELOW their classmates in the non-digital, pen and pencil schools.

My family and I are going to take the kids out to a fancy Thai restaurant this weekend.  One of those places where the plate presentation is a mini-work of art. To be sure,  I will enjoy watching the kids experience a cuisine that broadens their palettes beyond mac n cheese and hot dogs.  But I have to admit, while I consider panang curry or chicken pad thai, I will be thinking...

I wonder how the PBJ is...

AMJ

Thursday, February 9, 2012

A Movie Worth Watching

I have a challenge for you.

Write down the top five things you worried were going to happen to you last year.  Then, circle the things that actually DID happen to you.

How many did you circle?

Better question...do you even remember the top five things you worried about?

I don't either.

I just remember worrying.

About anything. And about everything.  The big things, the small things.  From paying the mortgage to forgetting to apply deodorant. 

Before every marathon, I fear I am going to either  1) not finish or  2)  finish last.  I have run over one dozen marathons.  I have  1) always finished and  2) never finished last.

Yet I continue to worry.

Worry about future events that never happen.

Last year I tried something new to boost my marathon time.  So I could finish in under four hours.  It's a process used by professional athletes called creative visualization.  Creative visualization is the process of forming a vivid picture in one's mind of a preferred outcome--a successful new business, an "A" on an exam, a new personal best in a race.

I think of it as replacing the bad DVD running in my mind with a good DVD.  Replacing Apocalypse Now with Rocky so to speak.  Replacing fear with victory.

I know.  Sounds too Oprah-ish.

Guess what my time was at my last marathon?  A 3:56.  Under four hours.  Just like it appeared in my brain's new DVD.

What if we could apply this process to everything we do?  Choose to take out the old tape we have been playing day after day and put in a new tape? A tape with a good day in the classroom, a good day with our kids, a good day with our co-workers, a good score on the exam. 

In other words...watching the outcome we WANT, instead of the outcome we FEAR. 

Now that would be a movie worth watching.


AMJ



Tuesday, February 7, 2012

You Can't Eat Chili With Chopsticks

I used to believe that humility was a sign of weakness.

I was wrong.

I now believe that humility is the foundation of CONFIDENCE.  Yes, confidence.

Confidence to admit that I don't know the answer--and gain wisdom.

Confidence to question my premises--and consider alternatives.

Confidence to ask for help--and not waste more time.

Humility--in it's purest form--recognizes that others have come before me and have traveled similar roads as I.  Roads full of danger that often lure one to meaningless side-roads resulting in lost years or decades in time and fortune.

I was recently at a potluck and overheard a mother exclaim to her toddler: "you can't eat chili with chopsticks!"  After a brief chuckle, it occurred to me that this is exactly what we adults foolishly attempt every day--to  eat chili with chopsticks! Instead of humbling ourselves and seeking the road well-traveled, we arrogantly set out on journeys to nowhere thinking we are conquering new territory or creating new standards. 

It is easy to mistake arrogance for confidence.

So how about this:  when we decide to train for that first marathon, or begin inking the business plan for that  proposed new business, or resolve to raise grateful children, perhaps the first step should be a change of heart.  A heart of humility.

Humility that creates confidence.  And wisdom.  To keep us from our own foolishness.  And trying to eat chili with chopsticks.

AMJ

Friday, February 3, 2012

Going Long

In my twenties, all I cared about was going fast.

A faster 5k, a faster 10k.

I applied this "need for speed" to my non-running life as well at the time.  Faster job promotions.  Faster accumulation of cars, homes, 401(k) contributions.

As I approach my 43rd birthday, I try and focus more on going LONG.

I was humbled when I ran the Leadville Marathon last Summer--26.2 miles--all over 10,000 feet--including a 6-mile jaunt up Mosquito Pass.  Humbled because many of my fellow runners were 20 years older than me--that's right--20 years or more.  I ran the last 7 miles with a 60-year old retired school teacher who was running the race as a  TRAINING RUN!  A training run for the Leadville 100 (a 100 mile race on foot)the next month!

Finishing that race with those hearty souls 20 years my elder spoke volumes not just about TRAINING as we get older.  But about LIVING as we get older.

What I found in Leadville that day was that what we lose in going fast, we gain in going long.

In other, words...what we lose in youth, we gain in experience.

I have found the axiom of GOING LONG to apply to many areas of life.  Taking the LONG view in building one's career, in raising kids, in building a business, in strengthening the body has profound implications for the decisions we make today.  Going LONG instead of FAST implies we are seeking to create something of lasting value, something bigger than us.

Giving our kids a TV and XBOX in their room may be a FAST solution to occupy their time and provide immediate daycare relief so we can work our pet projects or finish laundry.  Or spending the $2000 for the tummy-tuck may provide the temporary pass to avoid the pain of exercise.

But going LONG means that we forsake the fast solution.  The shortcut.  It means we ignore the silly gimmicks that promise fast health and fast wealth.  And focus on building the things that we will be glad we built when the kids are grown and we are surveying our lives from the finish line.  The things that can't be built overnight or with our checkbook.

Going long is not easy.  Truth be told, it can be downright exhausting as the temptation to take the FAST solution  is always lurking. But I am confident it can be done as others have forged the path.

People like that retired schoolteacher I met on Mosquito Pass. Who have not only gained the wisdom from going long, but possess the goodness to share this wisdom, and direct us and encourage us to remain on the path.

As race season approaches, I keep thinking of that schoolteacher. I would love to run a few miles with him again and gleen some more nuggets of wisdom. 

I hear there are a few slots open for the Leadville 50 Race this July.  Maybe he'll be there.  I better get training....50 miles is long way.

AMJ

You Can't Do Homework When You're Horny!

I had a Philosophy teacher in college tell us, "it's impossible to do math homework when you're horny." A catchy, and humorous way of  reminding us that some endeavors--like studying philosophy--demand PURE FOCUS.

I think this notion applies to anger.

You can't "do" running when you're angry!

Anger makes for lousy running.  And lousy living.  It's a distraction.  And it's corrosive.

Perhaps if we can't stop being horny (who would want to anyway, right?), maybe we CAN decide stop being angry--even if we have a right to be angry.

Angry at our boss.  Angry at our spouse.  Our ex-spouse.  Our kids, our parents, the teacher at school...the driver who forgot his turn signal.  All the little "slivers" of anger that slowly bleed us of our energy and focus on the track---and in our daily lives.

I have a friend whose son nearly set the family home aflame by burning ants on the back yard deck with a magnifying glass---a magnifying glass!  The energy of PURE FOCUS.

Instead of looking outward for the next super-vitamin or protein shake to boost our performance at work, at  home or on the track, perhaps we should consider looking INWARD.

And make a choice.

A choice to heal the "slivers."  A choice to let go of the anger and become that magnifying glass.  And regain the energy and pure focus.  In our running.  And in our lives.

AMJ 

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Run Your OWN Race

In life, as in running, I say run YOUR OWN race--not SOMEONE ELSE'S race.
Instead of comparing yourself to others, I say compare yourself (e.g. your performance at work, your health, your training) to how you were yesterday.  Are YOU better than you were yesterday?
There is always someone ahead, and there is always someone behind.  
Be yourself always.
AMJ