Don't Let Cows Get in Your Way

"Mom, why are you cutting off the end of the ham before you cook it? Because that's the way my mother did it. But why did she do it? I don't know dear, she just did. Oh, okay... Mom, can I call Grandma?"

"Um, sure."

"Grandma, why do you cut off the end of the ham before you cook it? Well dear, my roasting pan is too small for the whole ham"

Do you do things because that's the way things have always been done? An honest examination of our behaviors can reveal habits or practices that are perpetuated with no real reason. Some of these behaviors can be damaging. Many can impede you from going where you want to go.

In his book, "Killing Sacred Cows", Garrett Gunderson explores many of the financial myths that he says are keeping us from going where we want to go financially.

He teaches that you need to gauge your financial success, not by net worth, but by "human life value." In other words, is what you are working for making you happy, are you fulfilled and living your purpose?

If not you should reevaluate what you're doing.

A good honest look at your self can be painful, but truly great change can only begin with that first step.

Are you living the life you want to live? Are you making the difference you know you can make? If not then let this be a wake-up call. Life is short, make the most of it.

Double-bit Therapy

Wood chips flew as the axe sunk deeply into the soft green log. So badly, at times, he wanted to just be like everyone else. Why couldn't he relax after a long hard day? Something within kept at him until he was driven from the house out to the log pile. It had been this way for years.

You might think he was just out for some fresh air or exercise. He didn’t need it, cutting trees all day keeps you in top shape.

Looking back, I believe he was restless. While mopping his brow, his eye would wander to the mountains, much like the mountain men of yesteryear. Given the choice, I believe he would have trekked off into them with his “possibles bag” and his gun. The responsibilities of a family kept him grounded, but I think he never quite felt like he was living the life that would have pleased him most.

Later in life, he channeled some of that energy. He built a business with his sons. He ran a trap-line (to satisfy the mountain man). He educated himself, served in his church and wrote poetry.

Poetry? From the man who couldn’t relax? This may seem odd until you realize that everything he did was an effort to tell his story.

I don’t know if my father ever felt at ease with himself. He slowed down in his later years but that same old restlessness still persisted. I don’t think he realized all he had accomplished. His persistent effort to tell his story lifted his family out of poverty. He opened the way of spiritual fulfillment to his family and many friends. He instilled a love of learning in his son.

The story he told was messy and challenging. I don’t know that it was the story he wanted to tell. All I know is because he had the courage to keep telling it, lives around him were changed for the better.

When your story gets messy and the challenges mount up, keep swinging your axe. You never know where the chips will fall.

Snow Glorious Snow!

April 7, 2013... Here I am gazing out my window as the snow slowly sifts past my window. Yes, I said April 7 and snow in the same breath. The funny thing is, I know Spring will come, someday, it always does. Within a few weeks from today Summer will spring forth in all its glory. New leaves will erupt from those dead looking trees which surround us, sentinels of the cold winter. Since the forecast is calling for even more snow, I thought I could pen a few words of encouragement for my friends in Alaska.

You folks in warmer climes are asking the obvious question. "Why do you people live there?" My answer is this; When it is 106 degrees in a couple months where you live, I'll be standing on the bank of a world class fishing river, breathless from the panoramic view of jagged mountains jutting 6000 feet straight up from sea level. The temperature will be a balmy 70 degrees and there will be nearly unlimited daylight. Life will run at a frantic pace for a few months because, frankly, I forget to go to bed.

Take heart fellow Alaskans, as my Dad always said, snow in April just makes Spring come faster. I'm not sure of his science on this subject, but it always seemed to work. Soon the glory days of Summer will be here. This is just a test to see if you have the mettle to deserve a glorious Alaskan Summer. So, hold out a little longer, winter's reign will soon be over. (Oh and if you have any pull with the Man upstairs, pray it don't rain too much.)

Make Some Time

The past couple of weeks I've gotten myself into an uncomfortable position. My son was having trouble with his Chemistry class in school, so the hero, me, opened my big mouth and said I would help. You must realize, it has been 25 years since I have cracked open a chemistry book, so to jump in, in the middle of the second semester, has been a bit challenging. This is how it works, I read the chapter he is going to be studying next, work through the study questions, familiarizing myself with the work, so if he gets stuck, I can help him work through it.

It has gone fairly well and I soon remembered that chemistry class was kinda fun, a lot of work but enjoyable. The best part though is the extra time I have been able to spend with my son. We get a couple hours a night to talk, laugh and agonize together, what a deal!

It is not often that an opportunity like this comes around. If you get a chance to do something like this with your child, don't squander the blessing. One on one time with a child pays some of the greatest dividends in family life. Remember, they are only with us for a short time, so make the most of it.

Riding The Storm

Ever driven through a blinding snowstorm? You strain your eyes to see what's ahead, knowing that a car is there only because the snow is billowing up behind it. You pray that if they stop, you will see them in time.

Life is much like driving in a storm. As you attempt to move ahead with your goals and plans it is difficult at times to see just what's ahead. If only we could clearly see the obstacles ahead, they would easily be avoided.

It is tempting in the storms of life to slow down or stop completely. But, like a snowstorm, if you slow down too much the snow sticks on your windshield and we lose sight of where you are going.

If you will just keep up your pace the snowflakes of life will just blow on by. You may have white knuckles at the end of the trip, but remember that the great stuff in life always comes at those white knuckle moments. So buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Muscle Up Your Mind

I have always been good at working with my hands. For as long as I can remember, if something needed doing, I could generally figure it out. Physical work just came naturally. Now that I am getting a little bit older, just a little mind you, my body doesn't cooperate like it used too. My joints hurt, my back creaks, I sound like a bag of pop rocks when I get off the couch. All this noise brings me to my subject. For those of us who have depended on our muscles, when our body starts to wear out, we need to start using that oft neglected part of our body, the brain.

Some people figure out early in life that the brain is quite useful and amazing. For some of us, this realization takes a bit longer. For the last few years, I have been trying to exercise my brain muscle a bit more and I have discovered a couple of things. First, when the brain muscle has atrophied, it takes a while to get it back in shape. I have first hand knowledge in this area. Second, our brain doesn't know the difference between what is imagined and what is real.

I want to talk about this second discovery. Now, I'm quite sure that someone much smarter than I am discovered this long ago, but for me personally,it was a great discovery. It took reading a few books on the subject and looking back on my life for some personal confirmation that what I could believe, I could achieve.

Australian psychologist Alan Richardson did a study in which he took thirty people, had them all shoot free throws and recorded the amount of free throws they made. The people were then divided into three groups. The first group was instructed to practice shooting free throws every day for a month. The second group was instructed to visualize shooting perfect free throws every day for a month and the third group did nothing. The results of the study showed this; The first group improved 24% in that month. The second group improved 23% without ever touching a basketball. The third group was, of course, unchanged.

How is it that the second group and the first were virtually the same in their improvement when group two didn't even touch a ball? The brains of group two had shot just as many free throws as group one. Their brains had taught their muscles what they needed to do to improve. This floored me when I read it. To a hands on guy, this didn't make much sense.

In the Bible it says that "as a man thinketh, so is he". There is a book with that title that is a good read on the subject as well. What we visualize in our mind is what we will get. I'm not talking about wishful thinking. Visualization is an action word, it takes work to visualize what we want. We have to picture our goal in our mind, make it real so to speak. We have to visualize the actions needed to make this thought a reality, just like the free throw shooters had to see themselves making the shot over and over again. I am convinced that our brain is the most powerful tool we have if we will put it to work. Let's dust ourselves off and start exercising that most important muscle, the results will be astounding.

True Heros

In every great story there is a great hero. In fiction, there are characters like Ivanhoe, Gandalf, or Sherlock Holmes. In real life the heros seem even greater, heros such as John Chamberlain, Corrie Ten Boom or Ghandi. The fictional hero is always larger than life and somewhat superhuman while the true hero seems more like you and I, unsure of their path, but confident that what they are about doing is the right thing.

I don't know about you, but I don't feel like a hero most days. I wake up, go to work, come back home and try to be a good dad. I feel pretty good if I'm on top of the bills and trying to be a contributing member of society.

If you look a little closer, those things are heroic. What can make a bigger difference in todays world than being a loving parent? What a big difference is made in each community by people who contribute, even a little, to making their town a better place to live. It's funny, in this world of instantaneous, worldwide news, we can get so caught up in national or international politics, that we forget how much influence we can truly have within our own families or communities.

Reading with your kids, or volunteering at your local school or church, can make such a big difference in the lives of those close around us. The fight for freedom will not be won by writing your congressman, it will be won in each and every family. Teaching principles of freedom to your children and friends will make a lasting difference in peoples lives and outlooks. This grassroots effort will eventually result in good honest people being elected to political office. No amount of protest or argument will produce more lasting results than instilling of good character in our children.

It's time for all of us to step up and be the real heros that the world needs. If we don't do it, who will?