Earlier, I shared what John Maxwell taught me (and a group of a few hundred others) in 2015 about how one door can lead to another - and then another. The relationships we build, especially when we’re willing to invest the necessary time and energy into nurturing them, do the same. And influence fol...
More than any other adversity I can point to, dealing with the facility being paid to care for Granny through the first six months of 2020 - and being barred from even visiting her through most of that - gave me perspective for sympathy. In complete transparency, I’m developing some of that perspect...
Despite the tremendous concern and compassion I felt through so much of what we were attempting to work through with the team being paid (heavily) to care for Granny, I maintained all the self-control I could muster with hopes of displaying enough of a pleasing personality to earn at least adequate ...
Each adversity I’ve walked through to this point has been sequential. Truth be told, that’s how life works: a series of highs and lows that we each work through. If we’re intentional about identifying and nurturing any possible seed from each adversity, we have a strong shot at making sure each high...
Global disruptions and sudden, system-wide chaos often feel overwhelming or like the complete erasure of hard-won progress, but when rooted in prior lessons of consistency, responsibility, and values-driven service, they forge adaptive resilience and a pleasing personality that earns influence even ...
I’ll say it again for emphasis: I can get a ton of work done on any given day. That’s not me bragging; it’s one of the few things I’ve ever been any good at. People frequently ask about the team Cindy and I have supporting us, so much that it’s become a running joke for the two of us inside our busi...
In late 2019, I provided a friend with a list of all the courses he had been through with us, compiled on our business letterhead, that he could submit to DPOR (the organization in Virginia that handles trades licensing) with hopes of some of that time counting toward the classroom hour requirement ...
Looking back, several of the biggest leaps Cindy and I have ever taken occurred in a very short period of time. As I’ve shared several times before, I’m not detailing the adversities we encountered along the way for sympathy. And I’m certainly not bragging about it; I’m thankful Cindy tolerated me t...
In late July 2014, I received the best performance review in my career. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I deserved it. I had hired nearly 200 external candidates and filled at least a third as many internal positions, secured over $150 thousand dollars in grants to offset some of the training cost...
From the time Cindy shared the issue those ladies brought to her, I was absolutely done with the individual they mentioned. There had been a plethora of other issues leading up to that, but this was indeed the final straw. The fellow I presented to for resolution blew it off completely and did every...
Had the Best Value Inn I was camping out in been in town even half the size of Harrisonburg, the casual observer could have easily justified sending me for a reasonable suspicion drug screen. Since Cozad, NE may have had a population of around 2,000 people at the time, I was thrilled that I didn’t h...
I previously mentioned receiving a call from Cindy while I was in Cozad, Nebraska, telling me about yet another car issue. I can’t remember what the problem was that time, but I don’t remember it being significant - at least not mechanically. At that point, though, even the most minor issue created ...
