Misunderstanding Money →

I'm a banker so I come across a lot of different approaches to money management and I see how people feel about money. I've often joked with clients that I've seen everything from coins buried in coffee cans to cash thrown from the window of a speeding car.

Seth Godin posted this article over the weekend and it contains a lot of wisdom regarding money.

I won't claim to be amazing with money- I'm somewhere on the journey just like you probably are, but from my unique perspective, I can validate Seth's observations.

Most people make it a more central part of life than they should.

via Shawn Blanc

Successful People are Do'ers

I just read a fantasitc article this morning by Lee Morris on FStoppers. The article is called The Photographers You Idolize are No Better Than You

Though the article is set in the context of Photography, I think much of it is applicable on a much broader level.

Here is my favorite part-

Successful people are “Do’ers.” By that I mean successful people accomplish things. In many cases it doesn’t even matter what they do, they just have to do something, anything, over and over again. “Talented” people take initiative to do, create, or start something. The average person doesn’t actually do anything themselves; they go to work, they do what they are told, and then they come home and watch tv and get ready for the next day of work. Successful people see a problem and then fix it. They have an idea and they create something. Think about the people that you look up to in your life. You probably admire them because they have done something unique or different or they do something specific very well.

The average person is a talker. They claim to be smart, they claim to be talented and they claim to have great ideas. But they also always have an excuse about why they aren’t doing anything...These same people are the ones that will sit back and look at other people who are doing things and talk bad about them or their projects...The truth is, successful people don’t have enough time to hate on other people because they are too busy doing things- like making money.

Long quoted section there, but I was especially struck by it. I so badly want to be the person in the first paragraph, and not the person in the second. Too often in my life, the roles are reversed.

I want it in all areas. Work, Photography and more important ones like Husband, Father and Friend.

Weight loss update Week 18- Shiny Things and Bacon

I've had a pretty good week and am feeling good about my old nemesis discipline. When I look back through journal entries from the past few years, this issue of discipline has been constant. An old lyric by Derek Webb just popped into my head. "...the same old struggles that plagued me then are plaguing me still"

I don't know if this is such a struggle for you, for everyone or just for me. I've certainly met people- close friends even- who are amazingly disciplined and just do what they know is right with impressive consistency.

My resolve is so much more fleeting. I am so easily derailed and distracted by shiny things and bacon.

I've had a couple weeks of holding steady. My weigh in this morning was 196.3. I was hoping an all time low and hit it, but just by one tenth. My goal was for somewhere under 196. Either way, I'm feeling better week by week and my measurements continue to decrease.

I guess that the primary update to give you is that I'm not tracking my food as closely anymore. I've gotten into some pretty good habits at this point and feel like I don't really need to input every thing I eat to know how many calories it has. That being said, I may start back up again at some point if I feel like I've gotten off track.

This has been part of my long-term strategy all along as I don't want to be stuck counting calories the rest of my life. It's kind of like reading instructions or a recipe the first few times you make something. At first, you havent' memorized exactly how it works and need to check every so often to make sure you are still doing it right. After you have made the same thing 50 times, chances are you have the recipe/instructions memorized and can wing it.

So, all of that said, I'm not able to use autopilot just yet. I read a great post this week by Joshua Becker on his blog Becoming Minimalist that kind of addresses this. He is talking about getting to the point where you don't miss and long for possessions. That contentedness comes from recognition of what you are able to have because of what you've given up.

Cool. I'm gonna have to chew on that a bit this week.

Taming a Bulldozer

This is a bit of a response to my friend Nish's post Smooth me out, Soften me up. Let me first say that this post is a great example of why I love her writing. More than that, she is a really great person.

This post. Wow.

This idea of being reshaped and having rough edges smoothed-out has been a recurring theme in my life for nearly half of my 37 years. The first really clear awareness is from sometime in college. I was probably around 20 and I was the student director for a campus ministry group called Campus Crusade for Christ. I had sort of inherited the role when the previous director stepped down and then the next guy in line rather abruptly left campus to get married.

I don't think I had any sort of real qualification to be doing any of this, but there I was. I had been leading our team for a year or so when a staff advisor that we borrowed from Oregon State University just down the road said something to me. He said that as a leader, I was like a bulldozer. He said it was clear that I usually had a very firm idea about where we were going and that my default method for dealing with things was to push any and all obstacles (usually people) out of the way.

I can't tell you how true that metaphor has proven over the last 17 years.

That conversation was really hard for me. No one likes to be told that they push people around. Seems like a pretty loose definition of "bully" when you think about it.

My wife says I can almost always find a way to make something happen if I really want it. She doesn't mean it as a compliment.

I think it's important to know that I don't blindly push towards stubborn ideas. I rarely make big decisions without considering quite a few possible outcomes. Usually, this means I've mentally been through a few failure scenarios already and have constructed a vision that seems likely to succeed. I try to think through these things so I don't have to fail as much in real life. Because of this, I usually feel like I've got a good handle on "the right way" to do something pretty early on, and am not as receptive to different strategies or ideas.

Being a husband and a father challenges this on so many levels. While there is still great room for me to be a forward thinker and a planner, there often isn't a lot of time or space to wait until ideas are complete and vetted. In addition, my wife has great insight - often times much better than mine. Not listening to her opinion can prove quite problematic. Also, my kids often don't care if they are doing things "the right way".

The rest of life is like that too. Coworkers, employees, clients, friends, acquaintances- None of them like it when you ignore their ideas. I've head-learned so many great things about making sure people know they are more important than your plans and ideas, but it is still so hard to consistently follow through.

If Nish feels like a cheese grater, then I often feel like a giant yellow Bulldozer.

But I'm pretty sure there's hope.

All those years ago I was obliviously just pushing stuff around and rolling right over the top of anything that wouldn't be pushed. Throughout the years I've learned to use a broader arsenal of tools and to push with the bulldozer only when it really makes sense.

I'm hopeful that my inclination to focus on vision can keep being refined into a beautiful character trait that serves God, my family and our world without a lot of collateral damage.

Thirty Seven

1. Make the right thing, the easy thing.

2. I spent a lot of years thinking that photography was hard, and that is why I never started. I should've started much earlier.

3. If you ride a bike in the rain, you will get wet. Either from the inside or the outside. It is a fine balancing act, but after 3 years of daily commuting, I've decided that I mostly just care about not getting cold.

4. Merino Wool feels too good to be true.

5. My kids aren't afraid to call me on contradictions in my life.

6. Sometimes buying the best is really important, but there are times when the generic version will work just fine. However...

7. You could spend a lot of time and energy looking for jeans or you could just do the right thing and buy a pair of Levi's.

8. Try putting less sugar in your coffee a little bit each day. If you like it sweetened, that's fine, but you lose flavor if you add too much, and you will probably like it with a little less than you expect.

9. Simple is almost always better.

10. If you tell Siri to remind you of something when you arrive somewhere, it will eat your battery twice as fast until you check that box.

11. I think that you should find a new home for gear that you no longer use.

12. Software. I used to think that it should be free. I don't feel that way anymore. We're all willing to pay for the devices, but what are they without the software? I say pay for it if you find it useful.

13. I have no use for pretentious art or music.

14. A Chorizo, egg and cheese taco on a flour tortilla is a thing of beauty.

15. Amazon prime is a really good deal.

16. The behavior of my children is directly related to the quality of my communication with my wife.

17. All men are leaders. Not leading, is just leading poorly.

18. Acceptable jewelry for men = a wedding ring and a watch.

19. Manhattan with Maker's - in a rocks glass.

20. The smaller your wallet, the better. Don't be Costanza.

21. You should choose which gadgets will be upgraded every time a new one comes out- it makes the decision making process a lot easier.

22. There is freedom in wearing a suit and tie every day.

23. Watching my wife lose a parent is more heartbreaking than I expected.

24. Star Wars nerds shouldn't get so upset about Jar Jar Binks. It's not like episodes 4-6 set the non-cheese bar very high.

25. Inclement weather is great because it equalizes everything. I love inclement weather.

26. If there was a way to harness the energy of my children...man, that would be awesome!

27. At the root of every poor choice or sin is improper perspective. It is easy to justify selfishness if you use yourself as your reference point.

28. There is nothing better than hugs and kisses from my kids.

29. There is a difference between management and leadership. No one wants to be managed.

30. I figured out a few years ago that I am an end user. I don't want to be an IT guy.

31. Always aim for fantastic User Experience.

32. I read a lot more now that I have an iPad. Not sure what that says about me and if that is a good thing or a bad thing.

33. I'm a lot more productive when I have a short to-do list that I can -and have to finish today.

34. Coffee beans are an area where you shouldn't scrimp. It costs 2.50 for a cup of coffee at a good coffee shop. It costs $12-14 for a bag of good beans that will brew 3-4 cups a day of French press for at least a week. Do the math. Brewing good beans at home is the best value.

35. My wife is pretty hard core about education. I'm grateful for this as her involvement is making a ton of difference for my kids.

36. The older I get, the more I understand moderation.

37. Everyone has their favorite birthday cake. I finally figured out mine. My wife's apple pie. It is amazingly good!