Like many of you, I love thanking the men and women who serve and wear the uniforms the American military.  I have moments on flights or in airports where I see them coming home or going abroad…and I often find myself choked with emotion and filled with feelings that are difficult to describe.  I like paying for their meals, or coffee or watching passengers give up their first class seats to honor them.  Many of them look so young…so very young… I wonder if I ever looked that young.  So I went back and found these pictures…and dang, I did!

  In one I stand proud of my unit, uniform and accomplishments.  In another I lay as an even younger soldier in jungles of Panama reading a Louis Lamour western. 

I was young, I was single, I was pretty much clueless and though the Rangers were the type of unit that required high levels of commitment… I don’t think in any way that it measures to the levels of commitment that I see being performed by our servicemen and women today.

Last night I visited with a father whose wife was halfway through her year long deployment to middle east(it was her 2nd tour).  He and his 11 year old son missed her, but were proud of her service and they were doing the best they could in their absence.  The man’s older daughter was also enlisted in another military branch.  As I visited with them…my heart sitrred with emotion.   Sometimes it’s easy to see clearly the impact of our examples on our children…it seemed easy to see the impact of this Mother’s example on her children and her husband. 

I got a really nice e-mail from a dear friend Scott Koon, this morning … thanking me for my service to our country.  Being thanked for something I was “willing to do” all those years ago felt strange… humbling somehow.  Thanking others is more comfortable for most I suspect, than accepting thanks.  I’ve included Scott’s e-mail below with a highlighting of a line of his e-mail that caused me the most reflection…. a sense of even deeper grattitude for those who have gone before us - so that we might enjoy the choices & freedom that we do.  Also included below is a picture of the first man I ever remember seeing in uniform… my father.  And that young man in the cockpit of that helicopter…well that’s me.  Thanks Dad…for your service to our family, to our God, and to our Country.

   Kirk,    I just wanted to drop you a note and say “Thank you”.  Thank you for all you do to help keep me on track and remind me that I am “in control” of my attitude.  But, more specifically, since this is Memorial Day weekend… Thank you for your service to our country. 

I have not been in the military, and cannot say I regret that decision.  I am very grateful for the fact that I had the ability to decide.  You and the others that have (and are) serving made that choice possible for me, and are making it possible for my daughter to be able to make it, too.

So, if you run into or speak with any of your former army buddies, please let them know that even though I don’t know them, I am very thankful for their service.

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Scott A. Koon
Assistant Section Head
Information Technology

Winners vs Losers

A winner is always part of the answer.
A loser is always part of the problem.

A winner always has a plan.
A loser always has an excuse.

A winner says: “Let me do it for you.”
A loser says: “That is not my job.”

A winner sees an answer for any problem.
A loser sees a problem for any answer.

A winner sees a green near every sandtrap.
A loser sees two sandtraps near every green.

A winner says: “It may be difficult but it’s possible.”
A loser says: “It may be possible but it’s too difficult.”

Author Unknown

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.
– Albert Camus (1913-1960) French Writer

Scoopers In the News!!
Kirk,
Thank you so much for sending the Dog Poop Initiative book. It is the best thing about taking initiative/responsiblity that I have seen, and the humor makes it an easy message to deliver. I am going to use it in my team meeting this morning.

Andrea Ricard
EBS Help Desk Technical Leader
Logic Technology, Inc.
@ GE Energy

Get your copy today at MoreBetterBooks.com

   “Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go - purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything - whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, your true self comes out.”  ~Tina Turner

The creative hand cannot hold a brush, mold clay or carve stone if it is holding onto things like offense, grudges or envy.  We must let it go if we are to grow.  ~  Kirk Out

 Many many years ago I when was a soldier in the 19th Special Forces group  we set up a climbing tower at a local college.  Hundreds of students came out and climbed the tower.  There was one young man in a wheel chair who sat and watched for over an hour…and then finally asked if he could give it a try.  We had him in a repel seat in less than a minute and he wheeled himself up to the wall. 

Then he pulled himself out of his chair and began climbing.  His elbows scrapped against the rough exterior paint and were soon bleeding freely…but he wouldn’t stop until he had made it to the top.   There was a wonderful feeling we all seemed to share as we watched this determined young man reach his goal.  We deliberately chose to leave the blood smears on the wall as a reminder of what we witnessed and felt that day. 

Our determination to push through our own difficult circumstances often serves as inspiration to others….though many times we don’t even realize people are watching us.

History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats. ~B. C. Forbes
 

In response to yesterday’s T4D Tim sent in this personal story that I think wonderfully illustrates the importance of staying determined in discouraging times.  Enjoy and (thanks Tim for allowing me to share it)

Kirk:  First of all, thank you so much for your daily emails.  I know that you take time out of each day to put them together, make sure they are relevant and plan/research your topics.

This one made me think about something I haven’t thought about for a decade……My last job.  I took my last job because I needed one.  My brother-in-law made a couple of phone calls, and I was hired.  It was in an industry that I didn’t like, but at the time I didn’t know what I did like!

I was let go after 6 months because I wasn’t catching on fast enough.

Funny, that was the first time they told me that - in fact the first time I had not excelled in anything - school, sports, clubs, work.  I thought my life was over.  How do I tell my wife?  How do I tell my family?  How do I get the bills paid?  What am I going to do?

What I found out was that it was the only reason I am where I am today.  In an industry that I love - with management support.  I am again achieving at high levels like I have the rest of my life.

This quote is exactly how I felt:  “The difference being the choice of how we perceive, receive and respond to them.  Do we choose to be discouraged or determined?”

I am happy to say that I have been with my current company for 10 years and I’m making twice the money that I did at the job that I didn’t like and got fired from.  I’m glad they didn’t see the potential in me…

Have a great day - thanks for keeping me motivated on a daily basis!  ~Tim

Be determined - Kirk Out

“The real winners in life are the people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better.”  ~Barbara Pletcher

I remember talking to my son Jacob as he was having to deal with a difficult situation and needing to consider some courageous choices.  We spoke of adversity and challenges and how adversity can make us bitter or better.  The difference being the choice of how we perceive, receive and respond to them.  Do we choose to be discouraged or determined? 

Can any of us empathize with this statement and illustration?   “The greatest thing that ever happened to me was the worst thing that every happened to me.”  Because we determined as it was happening that it would never happen to us again.  Nor to anyone else…it can be these worst things that set us on the path to do every noble and noteworthy thing from that point forward in our lives.  But if we allow discouragement to creep in and take root our lives may simply become a tragic repetition of the very dysfunction and adversity that we despised.

Sometimes it is the worst supervisors that inspire in us a determination to be “nothing like them” or a toxic co-worker whose miserable nature inspires in us a desire to be “extra” pleasant.  Let us be be determined not discouraged.  Let us choose to become better and not bitter.

Kirk Out

There is a sense of exhilaration that comes from facing head-on the hard truths and saying, “We will never give up. We will never capitulate. It might take a long time, but we will find a way to prevail.”  ~  Jim Collins, from his book, Good to Great

In a wonderful self published book by Adam Nicol the grandfather of a friend of mine…he has a section called “Then and Now” here are some delightful thoughts from that section.

Brad’s grandmother told him that they didn’t have television when she was a little girl. The four-year-old was quiet for a moment, then said, “What did they turn off when you were bad?”

Years ago parents used to hope that their sons would grow up to be President. Now they will settle for him just to grow up.

You have to be impressed by technology. Do you realize that 10 years ago, you never even heard of the things you owe money on today.

Today’s kids call it “finding themselves.” In grandpa’s day it was called loafing.

It’s costing about twice as much to live beyond our means as it did ten years ago.

There were almost no accidents on the road when people traveled by horse and buggy. Of course, in those days, the driver didn’t have to rely on his own intelligence.

Remember when people got along without something if it cost too much?

Things aren’t what they used to be –and probably never were.

Remember your school days when the “hard stuff” meant algebra?

A little girl asked her mother whether all fairy tales began with “Once upon a time.” “No, ” replied the mother. “Today most of them begin with ‘If I am elected.’”

With alll that said… there are a few things I miss about my “then days” but there are a thousand things I love about my “now days”.  How about you, what do you miss about then, and love about now?  Or what would you add to this fun list of Then and Now? 

 Kirk out

  “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.” - Kahlil Gibran

“Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.” - Oscar Wilde

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

On my lunch break at work one day I watched from the break room window as a co-worker took off their shoes and walked around barefoot in the grass for a few minutes.  Some people may have thought that was a bit strange.  But to me, this person looked really happy.   So the next day I tried it…and the grass felt great….and I felt better. ~ KW

Make it a great day, it’s your choice!

Kirk Out

It is the delight of vulgar talent to dazzle and to blind the beholder. But true genius seeks to defend us from itself. True genius will not impoverish, but will liberate, and add new senses. If a wise man should appear in our village he would create, in those who conversed with him, a new consciousness of wealth, by opening their eyes to unobserved advantages; he would establish a sense of immovable equality, calm us with assurances that we could not be cheated; as every one would discern the checks and guaranties of condition. The rich would see their mistakes and poverty, the poor their escapes and their resources. - Taken from “Representative Men - Uses of Great Men”

Kirk

   There are plenty of people that will tell you what you are doing is ‘dumb” or ‘impossible’. I wonder how many times we do not attempt greatness because others say it is ‘impossible’ or ‘dumb’? How many times do we allow the weaknesses and limitations of others to hinder our dreams and true potential? The other day this quote hit me hard.

I know this is an add for adidas. However, this message goes so far beyond athletic apparel. When I read it the first time I could not help but think of many of my personal heroes (i.e., Gandhi, Roger Banister, Rosa Parks, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Walt Disney, Abraham Lincoln, Meriwether Lewis, Wilbur and Orville Wright, etc.).

“IMPOSSIBLE IS JUST A BIG WORD THROWN AROUND BY SMALL MEN WHO FIND IT EASIER TO LIVE IN THE WORLD THEY’VE BEEN GIVEN THAN TO EXPLORE THE POWER THEY HAVE TO CHANGE IT. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A FACT. IT’S AN OPINION. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A DECLARATION. IT’S A DARE. IMPOSSIBLE IS POTENTIAL IMPOSSIBLE IS TEMPORARY. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING!”

What a powerful concept. It helped me recommit myself to doing things others dare not to attempt. It helped me to recommit myself to excellence.

This week let us do the impossible…or at the very least let us be more patient with the “impossible people” in our lives.

Kirk Out