What I’ve Learned (And Am Still Learning)

59 And Still Cruising Around!

As I celebrate a birthday today and reach the end of my fifth decade I couldn’t help but reflect on what I’ve learned and what I am still learning. Here is a fairly comprehensive but likely not complete list:

  • Every step of the life journey prepares you for the next step. Be mindful of what you can learn each day.
  • Live Gratefully!
  • People First.
  • Listen to what stirs in your heart and soul then have the courage to act and invite being uncomfortable.
  • Family is the biggest blessing of all.
  • Lifetime friends are lifetime friends and they come at different times in your life.
  • A loving and supportive wife is worth more than anything else.
  • Be true to who you are and what your talents are. (play to your strengths)
  • You have to have hobbies and things to help you relax and refresh your mind, body and soul.
  • Show Grace.
  • Mistakes happen. How you respond and grow from them is what matters after the mistake is made.
  • Love is a wonderful thing.
  • When people turn on you it says more about them than it does about you.
  • Don’t stop dreaming. Ever.
  • It’s OK to say “No” for the right reasons.
  • Listening is a skill and not practiced by enough people.
  • Negative people don’t need to have a space in my head or be in my circle. (but I will still try and help them)
  • Offer advice when needed but don’t force an opinion.
  • It’s not about me.
  • Moments happen every day. Embrace and act on them.
  • Problems are opportunities.
  • I have so many friends on social media that I have yet to meet, share a drink, a handshake, a hug and a laugh with.
  • Respect everyone.
  • Every person has a story and has value.
  • Read.
  • I will never know everything but I need to keep learning.
  • Stay cool.
  • My age is a number. My attitude toward that number is more important.
  • I have been blessed.
  • Encouragement and praise help people.
  • Continue to be creative.
  • What is needed is not always convenient for you.
  • Forgive others. (sooner than later)
  • Try it.
  • Own what you need to own.
  • Try to be better every day.
  • It’s not a failure if you learn and grow from it.
  • Relationships first and foremost.
  • Honesty is really the best policy.
  • At the end of the day God is not only good but He is greater than all that is going on around me and He is faithful. And that is enough for me.

Thank You for reading and being a part of my life, my journey and bringing a smile to my day.

Be Blessed!

No More

Every day there are choices to make. Yes, there are some things that we may be told to do by our boss or we do things at work that we just need to do because they are part of what we are required to do but how we do them is where we make some very important choices.

These choices aren’t made or determined by those around you, your family or your boss. They are made by you and you have control over them.

Don’t settle. Don’t settle to do average, good enough or second rate work even if those around you seem to think it’s alright. If this is the case you may need to rethink who you let be around you and possibly influence you. Don’t settle to coast because you are in the final few years before retiring from your chosen profession. (Yes, Todd Gordon I’m looking directly at you. )

Better yet never look upon yourself as average, good enough or second rate. You have been blessed with incredible and unique gifts that you can use to help those around you. You just have to make the choice to use them.

Say No More to average, good enough, and second rate and say hello to Exceptional, Outstanding and First Class! That’s a choice worth making for yourself and those around you.

Made For This Moment is a collection of writings for living day to day on the journey that we are all on. Todd Gordon is the Director of Activities at Greene County Community Schools in Jefferson, IA. He has been in education for 36 years serving as a teacher, coach, and an administrator.

He has been married to his wife Deb for over 37 years and they have three married children and five grandchildren.

Todd wants to help you on your journey any way that he can because he believes that we are all better when we go through life together and with teammates.

You find him on Twitter and Instagram at @toddagordon.

Our Waiter Tipped Us

This is Jarrin. Jarrin was our waiter at Monkeypod Kitchen in Ko Olina, HI and was phenomenal. HIs smile says all you need to know about his personality and ability. As Jarrin took our initial drink orders I noticed a photo in his waiter notebook. When he returned a I asked him if the photo was of his son. His eyes lit up and you could tell he was a proud father as he talked about his son Eli.

Jarrin said he keeps that picture in there to remind himself of why he does what he does when the days get hard. Jarrin then dropped a golden nugget of personal and leadership philosophy when he said “if you had $100 you wouldn’t hesitate to give away $10 but you wouldn’t have to give away the other $90. If someone ruins 10% of your day you don’t have to give them the other 90%.” Wisdom.

Take a moment to think about how many times we let people have more than 10% of a space in your head. Have you ever given up more than 10% of that space to someone you probably shouldn’t have? I have. Let’s join Jarrin in working to make sure people don’t get into our 90%.

How?

  • Keep pictures of who or what inspires you to remind you to keep moving forward.
  • Smile and be positive no matter what.
  • Share your story. Be proud of your story.

Here’s an additional lesson besides Jarrin’s wonderful analogy. Strike up conversations with those you come in contact with. You never know who you might meet, what you might learn and what they may inspire you with.

Thank You Jarrin. Blessings to you and your family. Mahalo.

Can You Withstand The Waves?

We recently returned from a trip to O’ahu, Hawaii. What a beautiful place. We enjoyed many things and kept busy and moving practically the entire time we were there. We saw water and experienced it almost every day in one form or another.

The first day we were there we ventured to a beach to enjoy the ocean. The photo here is taken by me as the waves came onto the beach. I was standing, feet firmly planted as the water rushed onto my feet and then receded back into the Pacific Ocean. My wife, Deb, was sitting just a few feet from me. Sitting, relaxing and enjoying the sights and sounds.

Shortly after this picture was taken the waves got a little bigger and forceful. The sea wasn’t angry my friends as George Castanza famously said in a Seinfeld episode but the water was amazing. As I stood on my feet with a good base Deb started to get thrown around like a rag doll as the waves came in and then went back into the ocean. She laughed and took it in stride but she could not stand up because she did not have a good base to stand on. She got swept up in the power and at the mercy of the waves.

We could both see the waves coming at us, we were both ready, but I was braced for it and could take the waves that came my way. Without a good base Deb didn’t have a chance. Isn’t that like it is in life sometimes? The waves come at us and sometimes non stop. Most of the time we might see them coming and at other times we may not see or respect the power of the wave that is coming at us.

So What Do We Do With The Waves?

  • We need to make sure that we have a good base, a solid foundation, to withstand the waves when they come our way.
  • Jon Kabat Zinn is credited with saying “You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to ride them.” We weren’t having to ride any waves but there are times in life when we just have to ride out the waves and learn how to best do that.
  • Lastly, as Deb showed us, we may have to wait for some help to assist us in getting back onto our feet. There may be times as you are getting back up with the help of a friend that the best thing you can do is, hang on, enjoy the ride and make sure you laugh a little bit too.

Look past the waves that come your way. You will be able to see the beauty as well.

Photo from same spot we experience the power of the waves

Made For This Moment is a collection of writings for living day to day on the journey that we are all on. Todd Gordon is the Director of Activities at Greene County Community Schools in Jefferson, IA. He has been in education for 36 years serving as a teacher, coach, and an administrator.

He has been married to his wife Deb for over 37 years and they have three married children and five grandchildren.

Todd wants to help you on your journey any way that he can because he believes that we are all better when we go through life together and with teammates.

You find him on Twitter and Instagram at @toddagordon.

Grateful and Thankful

Being grateful and thankful does not mean you will be free from the absence of problems and pain but is due to the presence of perspective and perseverance.

Todd Gordon

Yesterday afternoon I posted a very simple and honest tweet. It described how I was feeling and I just shared it. Why would I feel like that after picking up golf cart batteries in Lowe’s? It probably wasn’t because I was then heading to Sam’s Club. I mean that’s a pretty cool place but I’m not sure it is what prompted me to be feeling the way I was feeling. (It wasn’t even sample day at the club)

Why? I don’t believe it was even the culmination of having what one might consider having a good day. I had a productive day working and planning for the new school year and this always gets me pumped up. I had an uplifting conversation with a really good friend after a full weekend spent with other close friends. We had recorded a new episode for our Beyond the Bench Podcast on Sunday night with a top notch guest that encouraged and inspired. I had also done a few things during the day to help keep me grateful and thankful.

What happens to us during a day or a weekend shouldn’t be the catalyst for us feeling grateful and thankful. They (what happens to us) do help, but outside factors should not determine the joy and the lens that we see our life through.

I don’t want to just tell you to be positive and see your life through the lens of gratefulness and thankfulness. I want to give you a few practical things to do to help you do that. The following things help me keep the proper perspective. Maybe they can help you too.

  • I keep Thank You cards as book marks in all of the books I am reading. The extra ones I keep in a drawer at home and rotate them in and out as book marks as I start a new book. I recently found some Thank You’s from players and students I had 30 years ago. Those were special and are now in the rotation. Reading these keeps me motivated, thankful and feeling blessed to have done what I have done.
  • Gratitude walks. Jon Gordon has written about this and encourages them. I have been working on losing some weight so I make sure to get up and get moving every 40-50 minutes and not get stuck at my desk for long periods of time. Since I have to get moving why not make it a walk of gratitude and think about all of the things I am grateful for. I pop on some of my favorite music and take a brief walk of gratitude. Not only am I working on my physical health but also my mental health.
  • Say “Thank You” to the people you work with and around, as well as the people that serve you in the grocery store, at Lowe’s and at Sam’s Club. You get the idea. Think about how you feel when someone tells you thank you for something that you have done. Feels good doesn’t it? Why not help someone else feel the same way. Verbalize it.
  • Take some time to write a thank you or two to people around you. You know it feels good to get them because I have kept some for over 30 years. They are special.

The feelings that I had after coming out of Lowe’s and before I headed into Sam’s Club felt good. Those feelings led to the tweet which led to the quote at the top of this post. We can do all of the things listed every day and it doesn’t mean that we will be free from some painful experiences, but doing positive things consistently for ourselves and others will help us keep our perspective and will help us persevere when problems do come our way. Choose and practice a life of gratitude and thankfulness. You might even be overwhelmed with that emotion in a Lowe’s parking lot on the way to Sam’s Club (on a non sample day).

Made For This Moment is a collection of writings for living day to day on the journey that we are all on. Todd Gordon is the Director of Activities at Greene County Community Schools in Jefferson, IA. He has been in education for 36 years serving as a teacher, coach, and an administrator.

He has been married to his wife Deb for over 37 years and they have three married children and five grandchildren.

Todd wants to help you on your journey any way that he can because he believes that we are all better when we go through life together and with teammates.

You find him on Twitter and Instagram at @toddagordon.