Web Theologian

One of the deepest lessons I am learning as a grown up is that someone is not always to blame, sometimes things just happen. Stuff falls through the cracks and no one is at fault. Only children or twisted people always look for someone to blame and it leads to a world of judgment and hatred. Mature people say, wow this happened how can we move forward…I don’t do this well but I’m learning. The goals and the results are what matter, so if I can get my head out of the mess and focus on where we are going it makes life so much better.

A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit.

Arnold H. Glasow

So today we have published our first podcast for Moravia! You can find it at our website or through any podcast provider. It is called, Globally Speaking! Needless to say after you listen I’m having a ton of fun doing it with Renato Beninatto. I am proud of what we have done so far, but I do think it is only the beginning and there is lots to come!

Website, iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play.

The medium of podcasting and the personal nature of it, the relationship you build with your listeners and the relationship they have with you – they could be just sitting there, chuckling and listening… there’s nothing like that.

Marc Maron

So it appears that Mother’s Day has been a complicated holiday for many, including it’s founder. The story of Anna Marie Jarvis demonstrates how a good thing can have unintended consequences. Check out the video to learn more. I took away that many cultures have had days of honor to sow gratitude for their Mothers. Also post-Civil War U.S. was in need of healing which to honor her mother Ann Marie Jarvis committed to that work, not surprising to see women tapped into healing after such great destruction primarily caused by men. Enjoy the video and in some way try to let mom know you are grateful for her today..avoid getting arrested at the carnation stand:)

Today you will have to make a choice If you are thoughtful at all you know that there is a downside to it, and after thinking a little longer you realize there is a downside to not doing it. Multi-perspective can drive you mad or to fear, yet it is necessary for any logical person to function optimally.

Some of these decision we face deserve time and discernment, walking through each alternative, making lists, and seeking the advice of others, and yet it still comes down to making the decision and that alone can feel like a trap to us. Often I turn to what would make me feel good or make me happy. Only to find that was short sighted criteria for making the decision.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”, Mahatma Gandhi. The hard work is aligning oneself with our truth. Seeking what you think, not just listening to the voices distracting you in your head. Listen to what you say, not when the ego is operating and surviving with everything he has so you don’t look foolish in front of someone you want to impress. Struggle to find the subtle thoughts and the quiet voice.

Were I to wish for anything I would not wish for wealth and power, but for the passion of the possible, that eye which everywhere, ever young, ever burning, sees possibility. Pleasure disappoints, not possibility.

Søren Kierkegaard

Thank you to Maria Popova via Brain Pickings,  Either/Or: Kierkegaard on the Tyranny of Choice and How to Transcend the Trap of Double Regret, for inspiring this post and getting me to share the idea.

Growing up there were a few things I knew about my dentist. First that he drove a red Porsche 911, loved golf, was funny, and that when he worked on my parents’ teeth it really hurt them, especially my mom. Dr. Scerba was a nice guy and other then our yearly visits I didn’t think about him much.

Yesterday I returned home from another work trip in time to tuck my younger daughters into bed. As I’m tucking in the youngest she shows me the new Frog Stuffed Animal (Stuffie as we call them). When I asked where she got it, she says the dentist. Then she says, “I LOVE going to the dentist.”

 Then this morning my middle daughter walked out of the bedroom with her Monkey Stuffie for breakfast, and I realized that this is brilliant. We switched to our dentist a few years ago now and I have always really liked her as proof check out the Yelp review from 1/6/2014. Dr. Dhakchang is growing her practice and is a wonderful person to spend time with. Though the Stuffies takes her game to an entirely different level, and could actually change the perception my daughters have of their dentist for the rest of their life.

So if you are looking for a dentist and live around Seattle check her out or just call 206.801.7441. Let her know I recommended you. Also think about how you can do your work in such a way that transforms the way generations think about your vocation.

I told my dentist my teeth are going yellow. he told me to wear a brown tie.

Rodney Dangerfield

In 2009 I had my first work trip to Vegas. The months before I had been working with the Partner team at VMWare and was convinced that attending VMWare World in Vegas would help progress the business relationship. No booth, no coworkers, no marketing, nothing. Just the instructions to win business and “don’t mess up”. One VP even told me that, “Michael you are the only salesperson that could convince a company to let you go to Vegas by yourself.” I achieved my goals for the trip, but it was lonely and overwhelming. To make it manageable at the time I went for a 15 mile run around the strip, another day I took off in my free time to see the movie Avatar in 3D.

Contrast that with this week. A company that has invested in supporting the work of the sales team. Sponsorship of the event, five people including on executive, a booth, and even another executive giving up his spot to allow me to give a talk and moderate the summit for the day. As a team we took care of business and are very excited about the conversations and connections we had during the show. In addition there has even been successful recruiting for guests on our podcast, Globally Speaking. Never have I felt more supported professionally. In addition because of the airline miles I accumulated traveling for work, I was able to bring my wife along so she could relax by the pool during the day and then celebrate a successfully executed day of moderating! This time it wasn’t Avatar but rather the show Michael Jackson One by cirque du soleil.

In many ways this contrast is a picture of the change I have experienced professionally. I learned to work well as an individual and get things done, but more recently in my career I’m realizing the fun and power of activating others in amazing work we do!

Our culture does not teach us this, but what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas. If you cheat in Vegas, it comes right home with you. If you cheat in Vegas, you walk home as a cheater. You lie awake at a night a cheater. You cannot escape it.

Tom Shadyac

A town you are unfamilar with and a night with co-workers that you would like to impress with a savvy dinner choice. Hours can be spent reading reviews and looking at websites in order to make the correct choice, or you can call a trusted foodie friend to get her recommendation on the best place in this town. The list of restaurants you receive confirms you made the correct choice, various cuisines, locations and styles. You are confident that you can’t go wrong.

The choice is not the end of it though. Upon arriving at the restaurant letting them know that not only was it our first time eating there but also the restaurant came highly recommended from a friend is key information to share. It gives them (the restaurant) an even greater opportunity to delight and treat you like you are special. And if all goes well they don’t disappoint.

So there are wins all around: you got to eat great food, co-workers were delighted and impressed, and the friend becomes more of a trusted friend. Sometimes the person doesn’t even have to be present at the meal in order for deeper bonding to happen around food.

Eating is so intimate. It’s very sensual. When you invite someone to sit at your table and you want to cook for them, you’re inviting a person into your life. -Maya Angelou

Many in my industry (localization) tell the story of how they ended up here by accident, and I think they are doing themselves a disservice. How we tell our stories matter, especially those as important to how we spend the majority of our time. I come from a line of people who generally told their professional story in a negative light.

While looking at it on the surface both my grandfather and father were regretful about where their careers led them. My grandfather was a successful cattle trader, the only part of the story I heard while growing up though was that he wanted to be a veterinarian, got married, went to war, came home to children, and had to go out and earn. Now as I understand it because my grandfather was a cattle trader even during the depression there was always meat on the table, this is important and not easy when you have nine children. In addition he suffered by being robbed by larger farms and the manner in which he conducted himself in spite of the injustice made him one of the most respected cattle traders on the East Coast of the United States. These stories alone demonstrate that William “Billy” Stevens was exactly where he was supposed to be.

When I was fourteen years old my father told me that I was to become an engineer, I didn’t understand the conversation but afterward I came to learn that he always wanted to be an engineer. When returning from the Vietnam war my father started his own company washing windows. When I asked him why he answered, “Well when I came back from the military all I could do was drink and kill people, neither of which I could get paid for on the outside.” He grew a substantial business that not only provided for our family of four but employed recovering members of Alcoholics Anonymous while they put their lives together working the program. Ultimately he sold the business, completed his MBA, and got a job with the National Security Administration as a logistic manager running buildings and construction projects, even getting our family a transfer that allowed us to live in Stuttgart Germany for two years. Again these don’t sound like the accomplishments of someone in the wrong position rather the story of a person exactly where they were meant to be.

My life is no different. When I think about what is before me each day, I am tickled with how everything in my life has set me up for this moment. Thankfully it has not been a straight line, nor will in be in the future. Each part of this remarkable story sets you up in order to do exactly what is needed for today, so enjoy!

You look at a herd of cattle and well, they all look the same… but they know. They all have an individual personality, and those personalities change from day to day. They can have their grumpy days and their happy days and their serene days. But it’s unpredictable. You can’t be off in outer space when you’re dealing with animals.

-Chris Cooper

For most Westerners TIME = MONEY. Since the industrial revolution there is a value placed upon each unit of time because fifteen widgets can be produced within that unit and they can be sold for a definite amount of money. This stands in contrast to other areas in the world not as governed by industrial/postindustrial mindset, rather meetings start when everyone arrives.

Each of these views of time is equally valid and therefore also equally invalid dependent on the situation. For instance the concept of TIME as numbers on a clock is an extreme abstraction, add MONEY to your thinking and you have just abstracted the ‘moment’ to a much further degree. In some circumstances thinking TIME=RELATIONSHIP is a much more appropriate alternative.

We must use time wisely and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right.    -Nelson Mandela