Persevere Through the Difficult Times
Today I want to share one of my favorite parables with you. Whether you have seen it before, or it is new to you- enjoy.
Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie. ~ Jim Davis
by Pete Ferguson
I’m in a position in my life where I need to drop some pounds. We did bootcamp for three years and I got in phenomenal shape, but it was cutting into family time and there wasn’t a morning class, so we decided to do things ourselves.
I stayed in great shape over the summer, then began to put the pounds back on. We are now back in bootcamp, and the hard work starts again!
I was at the doctor’s office a few weeks back and my blood pressure is getting back up into the concerning zone. Like, “drop some weight if you want to enjoy your 80s and 90s zone.”
So the temptation is to take a pill, combine it with exercise, and get back to my weight from a year ago in 10 simple weeks … or at least that is what the ad in SkyMall promised.
My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four. Unless there are three other people. ~ Orson Welles
Last night I was reading up on the customer reviews of this pretty pricey regime. The manufacturer promises a 200% money back guarantee and so far many of the reviews are touting this as an excellent financial investment – but a terrible weight-loss regiment.
So instead I’ll fix my food intake, continue obeying my boot camp instructor three times a week until I want to pass out, and over the next few months I’ll see the weight drop the healthy and old fashioned way.
What works for you?
One more lap. One more rep. One more breath. I think I can make it.
by Pete Ferguson
I’ve been battling with age for the last few years. Call it 40′s survival.
Almost by accident my wife signed us up for boot camp in exchange for teaching the instructor’s daughter in preschool.
I remember the first few classes well. I was sure death was just around the corner. Then I learned that my body was capable of much more than sitting on a couch.
Knee pain, back pain, shoulder pain. But I pushed on. I pushed through. I had a small-in-stature but huge-in-heart Latina kicking my butt the whole way. And the pounds began to drop. I began to have more energy. I began to live again. The pain began to subside.
We took a break from boot camp for almost a year and hit the gym. We hooked up with a good friend who exercises more than anyone I know. And I was able to lift more than I ever lifted. I’m continually amazed at what the physical body can accomplish when the mental abilities kick in. But the lack of cardio sent my weight back up to where I began before boot camp. So about a month back we started up again with Marianne and she is kicking our butts back into shape.
Today we did about two miles back in boot camp with weights. Stopping every 100 yards to drop and do pushups, squats, arm exercises. The fresh air from the mountains washed over me, letting me know I could hold on a bit longer, try a bit harder. The “girl weights” I started off with felt like 100 lbs each by the time we made the two miles.
Drenched in sweat, mind clear, it all came together.
It feels good to be alive.
What is your ultimate sense of security? Machine guns and barbed wire? Or an environment of trust? In the end your perception of how safe you feel is the ultimate measure.
by Pete Ferguson
Several years ago I visited South Asia for the first time. I had been assured by many that the city I was going to was one of the safest cities they had been to because on every street corner were men with machine guns and body armor and that at each of our facilities and hotels were metal detectors and TSA-type security.
I was led to believe my visit was unnecessary and that I’d likely be finished with my assessment within hours.
I ignored the advice and planned several days figuring I could always change my flights and come home early.
Usually with security, the more show up front, the more hidden skeletons in the closet behind the curtain.
I took along a coworker with military experience and connections within the cities we would visit to get a better perspective.
Upon arriving at the airport, my traveling companion quickly pointed out that many of the machine guns were either fake or had no triggers. We were able to strike up a conversation with many of the guards and get them talking. Training was non-existent. Most had never fired a gun or fired once during their training academy. Many of the guns were in fact inoperable or had the barrel welded shut.
We finally found a gun that looked to be able to actually fire but there were no bullets. When we pointed this out to the guard, he smiled and quickly pulled a single bullet from out of his pocket. When asked if this was his personal bullet, he said it was passed from guard-to-guard between shifts. His hands were black from the gun powder and my friend asked if he could examine the bullet to which the guard obliged (we now had his only one …)
The bullet spun easily within its casing and the little remaining gun powder was spilling out.
As we proceeded to each of our facilities, we found that either the metal detectors were non-functional, not plugged in, or that the guards would not challenge us when we did set off a beep.
Of particular hilarity was a hand wand that the officer waved over us. We asked to examine it. It was a piece of wood carved and painted – quite expertly – to mimic a metal detector. At least in this case, the guard had a hand weapon that could do some pretty serious damage.
At other sites we examined multiple times there were no batteries or power supplies even installed on the real metal detectors.
From an American perspective, this seems like a “not in my back yard” kind of problem. Unfortunately in the US I’ve found on multiple occasions that regardless of what security may appear to be on first glance, hold a door open in the facility and get a good book, because no one is going to come and check on it for some time. When we follow up and go to the security office, the alarm may still be blinking on the screen, or the officer will say it never appeared, or they will say they deleted it because there is no manpower to go and check on these things.
Many in the industry will cite this is due to a lack of training. I’ve found the the training manuals in the office, the officers will swear they have read it.
Training is important. But Security is only the end sum of a collective group of action. Security is more than “guards and cards.” Good security only comes about when a culture – cultivated from all levels of the organization – is created and supported at every level.
Unfortunately I’ve seen the same dog-and-pony shows in America. Guards with biceps bigger than my leg, but hold a door open and wait a while, no one is coming.
Security is a management function. If local management does not participate, it is all for show.
Your job as a manager is to spend 80% of your time creating and strengthening relationships with upper management to get their buy in to your job function, and 20% guiding the competent staff you’ve hired to keep raising the bar and looking for creative ways to get stuff done better, faster, smarter, and continually showing how the company’s financial investment is paying off.
While my responsibilities were in Asia, thanks to a very dedicated team, I was able to partner very effectively with management in facilities, legal, government relationship and operations and we were able to move great strides in the right direction. That is one of the things I greatly enjoy about my current company – management at all levels are expected to participate and be involved.
Whether I’ve cleaned toilets, refinished floors, or worked to expand security globally, the principles have been the same. Perception is everything – at first. And then you need to back it up and constantly check for complacency and increase competency on the back end.
The real understanding of your worth comes over a long period of time when you continually prove you are as good as or better than the first impression.
It’s really clear to me that you can’t hang onto something longer than its time. Ideas lose certain freshness, ideas have a shelf life, and sometimes they have to be replaced by other ideas. ~ Alan Alda
by Pete Ferguson
Having a great idea is great. Taking action on it is even better. But as soon as I start to rest on my laurels, the expiration of greatness can sneak up on me and begin to stink.
It’s funny, because we can see other’s shelf life easily – It’s the guy who has been in the job for over a decade and always wants to talk about the good old days (um, sometimes that’s me!).
Or it is the gal who came up with a great idea and was recognized for it … five years ago … and hasn’t done much since.
Within my profession, there is a certification that requires taking a pretty difficult test (the test is difficult, not the knowledge the test is supposed to be validating). People expect that gaining the three letters CPP, PCP, or PSP behind their name is supposed to somehow ensure greatness for the coming decades. Same goes for PhD, DDS, etc. The shelf life of the letters expires the Monday after you received them. Party is over, time to look for the next great thing.
I find I’m happiest when I’m focused on the road ahead instead of what is fading away in the rear view mirror.
An acting career usually has about a shelf life of ten years before people get sick of seeing you. It’s a good thing to have a job to fall back on and I really do enjoy directing. ~ George Clooney
Understanding your own shelf life takes practice and humility.
Jerry Seinfield pulled the plug on his show when everyone else thought there was another season or two. Smart move. Michael Jordan retired in his prime.
Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana. ~ Bill Gates
The moments in my life that are most disappointing occur when I didn’t see change coming. I didn’t realize my shelf life on a project or in a position had long since expired. But everyone around me knew it! I had begun to stink in yesterday’s success.
So how do you keep from expiring? I have a few thoughts, but I’m mostly interested in yours:
This is where I need you to chime in – because your perspective will benefit me more than me typing a few more words. Selfish, I know, but lay it on straight. My WordPress theme is really stale, my writing is getting predictable … lay it on. Or let me know what tricks you have used over the years to keep it fresh.
Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child’s mind. ~ President David O. McKay
by Pete Ferguson
I’m traveling for work this week, but wanted to drop a line about moms. Especially since I’m married to one of the best moms I know.
It is amazing to see my wife transform over the years to being a great mom. It requires a selflessness I can’t match, but work to emulate.
Miles – almost three – will often say “I want my mom” as though I am some stranger and regardless of how much fun we are having together. At night he dives for her when I sit down with him on the bed. Not fair in a way, but I’m glad he feels loved.
My mom sacrificed much to raise six children. She was at home when we arrived and defended us when we got into trouble – then talked to us later about our actions.
I’ve had a lot of fun with my mom in recent years. While living in Hong Kong, I would travel for business and she and I would tour the Great Buddah, or take a ferry to a new island and explore.
It is amazing the power women have on us. Men too, but our relationship with our mothers started physically 8-9 months prior to our fathers.
If you are a mom – I hope you had a great Mother’s Day!
by Pete Ferguson
If you have ever blogged in WordPress (and you have turned on the “surprise me” feature), you are likely aware that there is a box to be checked just before you publish or update a blog entitled: “This post is super-awesome.”
I didn’t click it the first few weeks of blogging.
Why?
Because I wasn’t sure if my posts could qualify. I mean, what if there is a panel somewhere who judges and writes back, “Dear Pete, please stop checking that box, your post wasn’t super, and it wasn’t awesome. We will be removing this function and adding a box for ‘this post is kinda okay today, not great, but the best I could do.’”
Apparently I’m not the only one who was a bit perplexed by the option to decide if my post is in fact “super-awesome.” There are several FAQs if you search Google for “This post is super-awesome” where fellow bloggers hash out why the box is there.
WordPress has been fairly silent as to what it does, further driving bloggers crazy. They have even installed multiple browsers and tried all kinds of combinations of activities to see if they can reveal the true identity.
Allow me to quell all discussions, debates, debacles, disappointments and deliberations.
If you can’t click the box, don’t publish.
Writing is more for the author than the audience in my experience. It helps me unlock mysteries in my mind because as I type I see things from a different perspective. I learn, I grow a little. Several hundred of you have replied and further added to the experience.
So now I confidently click the box, because for me and my purposes, I think it’s pretty awesome that for almost one year I’ve kept to my long-term goal of regular writing four times a week.
Sure I’m not winning NYT or other awards, but for me, I love it and it has been a great way to bless lives – mostly my own, granted. I was able to provide an outlet for thousands of people to mourn and remember a great person when he passed. It has allowed a daughter of that employee who had been away from her father for a very long time get an insight as to the impression he was able to make.
I’ve connected with people from all over the world. I now learn and grow from reading what they have to say. I’ve connected people of great talent who would perhaps not otherwise met.
So as opposed to a paper journal where my musings might have been discovered 100 years after I’m dead, this ability to post is super-awesome.
Thanks WordPress.
Now take this principle one step further. What kind of day are you determining now you are going to have? I’d like WordPress to add one more feature:
