afordrunning

Took all three kids to my 13 year old’s High School orientation last night. (One thing I will say unrelated to this post, is that teachers need to work on their Power Point skills. From my point of view, your words say “cutting edge leadership in education”, your ppt. says “I just found clip art.”)

Sitting there with the guys trading looks and giggles, and knowing glances at the teenager as the administration discussed certain classes it dawned on me that I really LIKE these guys. Not a pat on my back either. I mean God bless the people investing in our kids, the teachers (presentation skills aside), the relatives, the coaches, the Sunday School teachers, the Youth Group leaders. They are helping form their futures. And as a former youth development professional with the Boys & Girls Clubs, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Fellowship of Christian Athletes I know how important it is to have a greater cloud of witnesses supporting their development.

But, I was so blown away with how patient and considerate and funny they are that I wanted them to know how I felt. So I planned this moment when we got home that I would circle them up, hold their hands, express how I felt, and then pray for them. And so the moment came when I relayed my thoughts, looked each one in the eye, and then said let us pray – suddenly the most foul odor enveloped the room. I had to back up and immediately looked at both boys and said “Oh my, which one of you did that?’ As both boys began shaking their heads in denial, my sweet little girl said sheepishly, “That was me Daddy.”

I guess the look on my face was utter disbelief because all three of them just about fell down laughing. Then we all laughed for a long time as I struck matches and lit candles. It was perfect – my big moment upstaged by the unexpected, just like kids.

These four elements dawned on me later that evening. By no means rules to raise your kids by, but things I surely don’t want to forget.

• Smile so much you develop lines.
• Laugh so hard you develop abs.
• Hug so often you develop intimacy.
• Listen so intently you develop them.

This is going to sound initially like it’s about working out. It’s really not.

However, I have talked to quite a few people lately who are just now getting back into the health/workout mode. I love to see a new/return runner or person at the gym getting their sweat back on. Maybe that’s why I  walk up to them and welcome them, find out their story, basically just be friendly. And being just another member, not a coach or a trainer I can be the voice of a comrade and they don’t have to worry about saying the wrong thing to that might result in a lecture or demo in technique. It seems lately that most of these folks have the same concerns. Once you get past the I want to feel/look better rationale you get to the thing that has been holding them back. “What if I make a fool of myself.” Granted, many of them don’t outright say this, but this is the bottom line. They are worried they won’t know the drills, the equipment, you know…the process. No one wants to look foolish, and everyone is affected.

Me for example. I’ve been working out, or competing in some level of physical challenges since I was a young boy. While I don’t play the same sports today that I did then, I am no less active. When you’ve been playing sports and working out for coming up the better part of 4 decades, you can begin to get the nervous butterflies to subside a bit. You don’t get as jumpy for the flag football game when you’ve played in front of Alabama’s home crowd. You don’t sweat the lunges at the local Y when you’ve done it for so many years.

But, everyone can fall off a little. I admit that for a few years I just tried to make a career. Work, travel, family – I often stood back from the day and thought that I couldn’t jam one more thing in. So when I got back into a regular workout I was afraid I didn’t have what it took anymore. Imagine not being able to do a couple of pull ups and showing up to a box (what we people call a gym) and hearing that the workout was 1/3 pull ups? Or sprinting, or 1,000 burpees (never had to actually do 1,000 – I think 999)? You get the point. I was worried for a long time about showing up and not being able to do the WOD (workout of the day). Now, disclaimer here…there are a LOT of people who show up and can’t do even the most minimal of exercises. And I have NEVER been at a box and not seen some level of effort from everyone that looks strained. No matter the level! Truth be told, I struggle every time I step in for a WOD and that’s what finally got me over the edge.

See, I did a workout called “Nichole” twice in one week. Nichole is 20 minutes AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) of pull ups to fatigue, which means you do pull ups until you can’t do another, then you run 400 meters for 20 minutes. Now I can run 400 meters all day long, it’s the pullups that sucketh. The first time I strategized and made a plan and worked the numbers in my head to figure out what I would get – it worked. The second time I took another route, work smarter not harder and my numbers improved but guess what – it sill sucked! I might have done better but I got little joy out of the effort. All I could think about was what I would do different and then it dawned on me… I was improving, I am getting better physically, but my mental state is static. Even though I was competent, and no longer concerned about making a fool of myself for not being able to complete the work, I was now concerned I wouldn’t improve and once again – look foolish if even to myself. My “reputation” was to be protected and I had taken the joy out of the struggle.

Here’s the secret then, whether it’s your first time or you’ve been at it for awhile – it’s foolish! A grown man doing pull ups till some of the skin was coming off my hands and running around a city block – on repeat? Definition of foolish. Trying to protect some stupid reputation that exists in my head – foolish. Concerned that people will laugh at me if I step into a new situation and don’t know the right routine – foolish. Not trying the new thing or being held back because of what others might think – tragic.

We are fools. All of us. The faster we embrace our fallible nature the quicker the perception that we have something to lose will loosen it’s grip on our lives. This isn’t about working out, it’s about silencing the voices in your head that say you can’t make. That people will laugh at you. That you actually have something to lose. If I can impart any knowledge to my children it will be embrace the foolish – attempt the pull ups, or public speaking, or dance classes, or whatever because the fool is the only one light enough to laugh at himself.

My career has allowed me to work in marketing/strategy and insights across several categories. Sort of a jack of all trades in the insight world I guess. As a matter of fact I have had the benefit of working across multiple categories, targets, B2B and consumer, different regions of United States of America, and outside the US. Mind you I’m no expert, but I have learned a thing or two about looking for an insight and uncovering an emotional benefit or two. Here is the best advice I can give. Before you decide to work on a brand/category/career – make sure that you are solving for a friction and not a neglect.

Solving for a Friction is motivating. There’s not an action in the world that is exercised without friction. Friction is the reason why, the motivation to move, the proverbial match head on graphite. We are a competitive race that likes a good conflict. We want to solve problems and overcome obstacles. Sure peace and tranquility are wonderful selling points, but only because turmoil and chaos exist everywhere.

Neglect is the lowest common denominator. The old pen at the very back of the junk drawer. The last thought before your head hit’s the pillow at night, “You know I need to flip the mattress tomorrow.” Or, “I really should have someone look at that dark freckle on my back.” Neglect in the marketplace is guilt without any payoff. And you can’t sell guilt ladies and gentlemen. Ask any non-profit out there…guilt won’t motivate your contributors past one donation. And guilt surely won’t bring volunteers to your cause.

Friction drives emotion, need, and ultimately action. If you look at your category or brand and can’t readily find the points of friction it’s time to consider what conflict in the consumers life you are really trying to find a solve.

Lately, the topic of running has come up a lot around me. Turns out A LOT of people don’t like running. I run. I don’t jog. And if I spend enough time with you it will eventually come up. I can’t help it. It’s like some kind of palsy I suppose. However, I’m not in love with running. I like what it does for me, where it can take me, what I can see because of it, how much more lung capacity I have because of it, the fact that I’m almost 40 and can crank out a sub 6 minute mile if I feel like burning one. Love it…not exactly – but, I don’t hate it either.

Invariably when the topic is broached someone will tell me, “I hate running.” Hate. What a strong word. How can you hate something like running? Do you really HATE it? It’s like when people say they hate certain textures in food. You hate pudding? Really?

It’s a common fitness-nut discussion too. “I hate running.” Then you get the runners explaining the POSE running form, the reasons to increase your AMRAP WOD’s, etc, etc… This is why I never go that route, I tell the easily offended that running hates them back, and you shouldn’t let the bastard get you down. In fact, the whole universe does not desire you to conquer it with your feet and body. That’s why we do it! Dominion – you soft-hearted, bi-pedal meatbag.

Run, don’t run? I don’t care…but we all should watch it on the hate front. That mess comes around to bite you, and next thing you know you’re running a 5K. We all know that’s just a gateway drug for longer races. Soon, you’ll be planning out road trips for runs, looking forward to the endorphins, coveting the quiet that comes from the toil. Hate it? Why? You conquer hate by embracing the thing you despise. It works in every capacity of your life.

Godspeed and happy running.

This past Friday I did something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’m not sure if it’s legal – but I hope not worth prosecuting. And, while I would punish my children for even considering it I was smiling from ear to ear while doing it. I caught and rode a moving train. It’s a long story, that involves my afternoon run. Dudes yelled at me, dogs were chasing me, and when confronted with a road blocked with a train I decided to just ride it. Needless to say it was the most interesting run I’ve had in quite some time.

I can’t be the only one who has sat at an intersection, watched a long train go by and thought, “Could I run alongside that, grab onto the ladder, and just climb on up?” That was as much thought as I’d given the catch a moving train scenario…until Friday. With guys yelling behind me, dogs snapping, and the road blocked…I decided to run along the train tracks in the gravel. After a few minutes I realized the train wasn’t really moving that much faster than me. I started to really look at the train, saw the difference in the cars, the size of the wheels, the space between…and thought, “I could be riding that.” And with the sum total of 5 minutes of planning I was riding a train, hanging on to a ladder of what appeared to be tanker car (you know the rounded ones).

It was bliss. I was thrilled to be moving along the Mississippi river on a railroad that probably helped connect the Eastern and Western US. It felt like a surreal mix between Urban Ninja and migrant homeless person. When I got down off the train, which was much easier than you’d think I thought about who I would tell of my adventure. I knew the question that most people would ask me, “Why would you do that?”

I could pontificate with the best of them, on the reasons that I would do such a thing but I think at the end of the blustering it comes down to one thing, it makes me feel free. Adventure, excitement, joy, and a little danger all rolled up into something that doesn’t hurt anyone else…freedom! That might be Monday Morning analysis, and maybe I’m just an idiot. But, you can’t beat the look on some dudes face standing on a corner smoking a cigarette as you wave to him from the ladder of a moving train. (In NO WAY am I recommending that you go run down moving locomotives or buses, planes, or cars! I would start with a small dog and work my way up to ponies and then catch other people, then trains!)

Couple of days after the poll I thought it’d be nice to report that 70% of the respondents would want to “Control their dreams” as opposed to 30% desire total recall of their dreams. No respondents opted for blocking bad dreams or nightmares.

People are fascinated with dreams. Not just the “I have a DREAM” poster people either, but the I just woke up from the craziest dream in which a snake was chasing me through a field of pudding and my Grandmother was the lifeguard of said pudding-field dreams. (Not my actual dream, but probably means you ought to get more calcium or something) I think people are fascinated with dreams and the interpretation of their dreams. I have met a few people who are thrilled with their dream-life and many, many more that don’t remember their dreams at all. Still some that are held back by the same recurring dream. I have been a lucid dreamer for as long as I can remember and lately, I can’t wait to go to sleep because my dreams are like the movies in which I can mess with the sequence of events. Every morning I awake at 5 AM and have the best recollection of my night before. I don’t know why now at this stage in my life my dreams have become so rich and entertaining but I can’t complain.

It does have me thinking about how other people feel about their dreams though. I’m curious if anyone feels about their dreams the way I do, so I put my queries in a brief anonymous poll. Feel free to answer and see how others responded, and happy dreams.

The US is the largest producer of corn in the world. Corn is grown on over 400,000 U.S. farms. Many, many of those farms are family owned, and the age of those farmers is getting older. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics about forty percent of the farmers in this country are 57 years old or older. But, that doesn’t seem like the target I would be interested in. I would want to know what’s going on with the 20-40 year old farmer. Those are the guys I’d like to learn a little about. What kinds of tech are they into? What social media sites? What websites and blogs? In short, I know how advanced these farms have to be to do their business, but how net savvy is the new farmer? Take the short poll and help me out if you will.

If you want to pursue a change in your life, find a seemingly small thing and do it everyday.

I’ll give you an example from my own life. I decided around 7th grade that I wanted to be a football player. However, my father didn’t want any of his boys to get injured like he had been (career-ending knee surgery in college) and had subsequently banned football until we became of age (like 50 in his mind). Undeterred, I broke down the components of what would make a good football player. Obviously, athleticism, speed, and strength ran to the top of my list of physical attributes that would benefit an individual desiring to succeed at that sport. Yes, I could watch film, become a student of the game and begin to break down different schemes and tactics. But, to tell the truth, I didn’t have a clue about where to begin with that stuff and really just wanted to run into people anyway. So, I played as much backyard ball as humanly possible. And for strength I would do push-ups, sit-ups, and hand stand push ups (or dumb bell press) every night before bed.

Starting in 7th grade I did this every night for about 10 years.

Now, endgame results: Did I get stronger? You bet? I could push up or sit up better than just about anyone on the field during my career? Probably. Did I become a star athlete that dominated my sport and made a name for myself…no I emphatically did not as pushing up faster or longer doesn’t necessarily make you a BETTER athlete.

However, I received something infinitely more valuable than fame and accolades in my chosen sport.

I got some peace through the beauty of the struggle.

I learned the power of multiplication of a discipline over time.

Joy in a task completed.

The value of sticking with something.

The reason to stick with a daily plan in order to make significant change is not for the 10-20 year look back at what can occur. It’s for the small daily reward. See, when everything else in my life felt out of control, I had the push ups. When my Dad died, I still did the sit-ups. When I was waiting for ANY college to call regarding a football scholarship I did the sets. It was the one thing I could do that was in my control, every day. Even now, when the pressures of the world get bigger than my ability to process them, I’ll have some daily element that I can accomplish. I do them consistently, because I can. Because no one can do them for me. Because, so many people simply won’t do it! Mainly because sacrifice feels good when you stand back from it, embrace the chore, and realize your entire life is just a minute. The pain of the daily rigors can become joy if you embrace the ownership of the moment. Struggle is incredibly liberating when you freely accept it and are not subjected to it. 

The power of doing something significant is doing something small over and over and over again.

Had a coach when I was in college (football) who used to encourage us to run faster from one point to another by saying “All I want to see is elbows and buttholes when I look out there on the field!” Now this might sound like a strange request, but let’s face it, football is a strange demanding sport that attracts some characters all on it’s on. What he meant was he wanted to see proper sprint technique with arms pumping and upper bodies leaning forward. I was immediately taken with this slogan as truth uttered in a very unconventional way. That’s the reason it is the sub-heading of my blog and has been for years. Arresting, memorable truth compels me, and I also like to run.

Which reminds me of this graphic I saw the other day about proper running form. It is a great illustration of all the things you should be doing when you want to have proper body movement during a run. However, if you want to learn something about yourself…forget all that crap and run like someone is chasing you. You ever watch kids on playground? Or, if you don’t have kids and would feel awkward hanging around a playground watching them, remember being one? They chase each other. Constantly. Now that I think about it we should still be playing tag as adults. And, if not tag then we should be running like someone is after us.

Sometimes I go out for a run and just crank it out for as long as I can until I think my heart or lungs will explode. Then I walk, catch my breath and just get a good even pace for the next few miles. You should try it. It will most likely make you feel like you are going to die, but you probably won’t. You will immediately realize that you will be the first person to die when the Zombie outbreak occurs. But, it will also clear your mind if you push it just right. Something about oxygen deprivation and your heart pounding in your ears is very clarifying.

With this in mind I’m excited to announce that I’m going to start playing tag during my runs. Will other people know? Good question…eventually.

As I near another runner I’m going to yell out, “Ohhhhh yeaaaahhhhhh.” just like the Kool Aid man (or Randy Savage, RIP), then while they are wondering what that was all about I’m going to reach out and tag them. Yes, I’ll say “Tag, you’re it”, and no I won’t touch them inappropriately, I’m thinking forehead slaps? My hope is that they start chasing me back, or maybe tag another runner.

If anyone wants to play with me, we can start on opposite sides of a trail and see if we can get a mass of people chasing us to a central meeting point. This is gonna be so awesome!

I’m an almost 40-year-old man who often wears khaki’s and button down shirts. I work in an office and drive an SUV. I am more concerned with having access to an American Airlines advantage desk than a weapon, and I love Rap music. But, I often wonder why I like it so much?

My musical lineage is as such.

I grew up in the South with Country and Gospel music as staples passed down from my parents. While in Jr. High, Michael Jackson took over MTV with Thriller and the Moonwalk. In high school hair bands were extremely popular. I was leaving high school when boy bands started to sell out stadiums. In college the Seattle scene begat Grunge music and all throughout these X’er moments Madonna continued to expose me to things I had not expected to see.

Even now, when I hear Willie, Waylon, or Johnny Cash I will sing along; I feel that church choirs should be blasted at a very high volume from stereo speakers (thanks Mom), and to tell the truth I own the MJ discography and feel “Man in the Mirror” is still one of the best songs of all time.

But, I remember where I was when I heard rap for the first time, ironically I don’t remember who it was. License to Ill by the Beastie Boys changed my perspective one summer, and the first time I heard “Fight the Power” I thought Chuck D was a genius for having this super serious message projected right beside that burned up looking midget named Flava Flav. LL Cool J made music that we worked out too. Eric B and Rakim made music we drove around too. And Ice T made music that would have gotten me a whooping for listening too had my parents known.

I’m not alone in my tastes either. There is a pastor friend of mine. to this day, can’t help but bob his head when he hears a big beat. Another pal works for a major research company, and looks like an accountant, but he’s forgotten more about the genre than most people would ever hope to know.

Some of it was soft, some of it was hard. Will Smith and MC Hammer made stuff that everyone liked, Ice Cube made the stuff that my teammates and I got pumped up listening too. My Rap was raw. It was not clean or processed, I mean watch the interviews with the artists from that era, they mostly sucked. It was fringe and still kinda hard to understand for most people. I’m still of the opinion that you can either hear rap or you can’t. It’s either poetry to you, or garbage that needs to get turned off. You had to really like it to get into it. It was polarizing and fragmented (West Coast v. East Coast anyone?). Artists still have major beef with each other in just about every track.

Maybe I was into it because of the disenfranchised plight of one’s youth? Maybe, because of the people who were around me? Maybe, I just like music with some kind of message, and yes, “I like big butts” by Sir Mix a Lot is a message! For whatever reason, it fascinates me now to hear what other people’s musical preferences are. Speed metal, House music, Opera, whatever  – it is the path that took you to your own taste and style that I find interesting. I for one think everyone should create Playlists from periods in their own lives as an act of self investigation. Think about how the music you ingest has an impact on your behavior, and what your behavior indicated from the music you consumed. I bet nobody with Chopin on their playlist ever robbed a bank.

Not many people will believe this, but I am making a lot of lists lately. Shocking I know! It has me thinking about the level of importance I now place in the daily list. So, for perspective I am considering this:

Make a list of the things you’ve got to do right now. Mine involve building a deck for some upcoming research, getting back in touch with a guy about a speaking engagement, and faxing a completed document back to a company (people still fax?). That’s just the top three things… there are several more than I can or maybe should list. I’m guessing your list is long, filled with things you have to do to keep your job, family, and general life in order. Assuming we all live in the same universe the list probably changes daily, and it never stops. The stuff you have to do will probably be there until you are gone. Even on vacation the Got To list is waiting isn’t it?

Now, make another list of the things you are Going To accomplish. The difference in this category is these are things/events that will make a longer term impact on your life. You’d like to do them today, but with the Got To list in front of these items timing becomes a critical fulcrum. My Going To list often involves my health, my Faith, my family and friendships. More ethereal considerations, and they tend to be items I can’t solve by punching a series of buttons and digitally sending an image through cyberspace.

I’m not attempting to paint an analogy here that asks you to draw a line through the top three things on your Got To list and engage in the top item on your Going To list. I’m simply going to point out that time is the only factor here that matters. If you can, stand back from your daily perspective. Will the call I “Got To” make today be more important over the history of my life than my health? Will the fax (still incredulous about this one) that must be sent benefit me long term in light of my walk of Faith? Things have to get done, you have to do them…sometimes you need a reminder to stand back, look holistically at your list(s) and ask yourself, “Which of these lists will matter in 20 years?”

Things to consider as you explore new products and white-space.

Every electrical device I own vibrates. Well, a lot of devices I use on a daily basis vibrate. Don’t get the wrong idea, it really just begs the question, why does everything vibrate now?

When did vibration amongst electronics become the sense dejur? And why?

Just to give you a sense of the number of products I’m talking about; my phone, toothbrush, razor, remote to television, watch, iPad, drill, vacuum cleaner, Espresso machine, video game controller, most of the kids toys, and I could go on and on about those devices that naturally vibrate like a lawn equipment and such.

From an innovation point of view, it would seem that if many electric items on the store shelf today vibrates for some reason or another, then a) why doesn’t your product vibrate b) what does the vibration mean in different categories (soothing in a razor/alarming in a cell phone?), and c) what other sensation should we as innovators be exploring?

Maybe, more importantly, when will consumers find the vibration effect “dated?” What if there is a long-term “ghost vibration” problem that we are accumulating?

Here’s a little personal revelation about me that could be embarrassing. When I was a kid I used to think I had sporadic x-ray vision; and for a couple of years, right before bed, I would ask God to make me into a 100-foot-tall gold robot that could turn into a plane. Two separate issues really, but let me explain.

Turns out the x-ray vision was an optical illusion. This would happen when I looked at the fingers on my left hand, slowly pulled my right hand up about three inches in front of my right eye, and it would appear that I could see through my right hand. This is simply the illusion your mind creates when your brain is getting two separate images. But, as a kid the thought that I had a super power (even if slightly spotty) was AWESOME! I would look for other ways my x-ray vision would benefit the world, and wondered if I would “grow into it”, but I couldn’t connect it all the way to the cape and crime-fighting!

The hundred foot tall robot thing was because I was in love with a Japanese TV show that, by the time it got to the U.S., was called The Space Giants. This featured a very tall gold robot named, wait for it…… Goldar. His female companion was named Silvar, and they eventually got a humanoid robot son that could turn into a small jet (it was a complicated show).

I would come home from school, watch this almost 15 year-old show on TBS, and then eventually go to bed and pray that I would wake up as a giant gold colored robot that could fight space monsters. The Lord in his infinite wisdom apparently decided not to make this happen. That might have been for the best.

While I no longer desire to be the giant robot, or think I have x-ray vision, I’ve never stopped dreaming the ridiculous. My head is still filled with unbelievable notions of what could be. While this world continues to keep me in the “reality check” of the ever-present daily grind…I pray I never lose my foolish child-like whimsy. I can laugh at the memory of it now, and might one day laugh at the thought of what I’m dreaming today, but how sad would it be if I let the dreams get old with the rest of me? And while it might be embarrassing if people found out that I had these foolish notions, how humiliated or mortified should I be? In reality, I’m not embarrassed now about the 100 foot-tall robot prayers, or my desire to be a published author with a nationally-syndicated radio show. Why should I be? What if I wanted to be a model as an old man? Or ultra-marathon runner? Cartoonist? What’s the problem of you knowing? I might fail, or you might think it’ stupid?

The foolish notion would be keeping that dream locked up deep inside some secret place where no one could hear about it. If you lock that dream up, that is where that dream dies. You have to speak it out loud, give to some other people, let it get a little dirt on it and see where it goes from there.

I simply can’t recommend enough the drive to dream the ridiculous. We must keep our fanciful notions along with our reality. The balance of the “not-yet-done’s” with the “I-must-do’s” doesn’t just keep you young, it gives you crazy hope. Not the kind of hope that wishes for a bigger TV, the kind that makes you want to be on TV. Go ahead and dream, who cares what anyone else thinks?

There is a truism I’ve discovered over the last 17 years of my career having worked for 6 organizations and with a lot of different companies in a wide variety of fields as a consultant: there is always room for a long-jumper.

A long-jumper is that person who with little prompting can see the possibility of a solution in a very non-linear way. Many people have this skill in one form or another. Some can see the end of the storyline in a movie, book, or play; some can automatically know whether or not they will be friends with someone 20 years in the future; others can hear three ingredients you might have as leftovers and add a little something extra to create an unbelievable dish.  They simply possess that skill of looking over the horizon and can see the possibility or potential outcome. I’m not talking about predicting the future, I’m speaking to the opportunity to see a path and let it meander in their heads long enough to understand the potential for change. But, for whatever reason many people simply don’t do it when they are working. Maybe it’s the risk factor, maybe they have been beaten down by a former boss, maybe they have been bitten previously and just want to “get the job done”.

I can speak from experience, there is always room for a long-jumper in the business world. Of course, impeccable timing, the right scenario, and ultimately an indomitable spirit are HUGE factors. But, any person willing to see something in another point of view and cause others to desire to pursue that end must have at least these three facets of their personality. The rest of the equation comes down to chance and the willingness to risk failure.
You and your company should always post help wanted signs that read Long-Jumpers Needed.