Inspiring Excellence

Summertime Family Fun

First full week out of school and LeAnn and I are already having the discussions about how much time the kids should get in with electronics.  It's easy for me to suggest that be a low number because I am not at home during the day.

We have added something that I am having as much fun with as the kids.  We picked a classic, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, to read this Summer as a family.  We have four copies so that all of us that read can read a chapter a night.  A couple of nights this week we have had the chance to read out loud together.

We might even throw in a book-on-cd for the trip to Florida in a couple of weeks.  I believe we are creating memories that a Playstation or TV station can't touch.

Recent Reading

My friend and Bob Parks Realty agent, Don Renne, handed me a book on Friday and said it great...you can probably read it in one sitting.  Don doesn't have kids at home, so it took me two sittings.  V Mitchell is an overcomer.  He's been through two horrific accidents.  Not only does he live to tell about it, but he shares his story with others.

"Before I was paralyzed there were 10,000 things I could do; now there are 9,000. I can either dwell on the 1,000 I've lost or focus on the 9,000 I have left."

My favorite thing that he reminded me of is the negative thought that we buy into so often that exist in our minds.  The power of replacing those lies can take us beyond our wildest dreams.

Another recent read is the June edition of Fast Company.  They featured several short reads about the social networking (such as blogging) related to the 2008 Presidential campaign.

Laura Crawford suggests: "My prediction for '08 is that user-generated content is going to force candidates to go positive with campaign advertising because the on-line airwaves will be flooded with negative stuff. That actually might be the biggest plus out of it all."

If social networking can help create something positive from our politicking, I'm all for it.  Just one of the wins for web 2.0.  A thought for the future of real estate: Negative or positive experiences with real estate agents will be posted for all to see on-line to help customers choose their agent.  It already exists and will be a large part of my business within the next 12 months.

A Monthly Retreat

A goal of mine is to take some time near the beginning of every month and get away for a minimum of two hours and sometimes more.  This is my way of checking in every so often on the most important things in life.  I can write about that today because I completed that goal for this month yesterday.

There have been a couple of favorite places that I have gone in the past that really help me put the world away for these few minutes.  One is the national cemetery where my father is buried.  The other is land owned by my friend Randy Elrod full of rolling hills that is going to become an artist development retreat soon.

For whatever reason, neither of those places was the right place to go yesterday.  So part of my journey became finding "just that right spot."  A few different people I know have been up to Sewanee, TN.  Its about an hour drive from home and sits near the southern tip of the Appalachian Chain of the Smokey Mountains.  I got up to the top of the mountain and intentionally turned left rather than right and decided I would follow the signs to the South Cumberland State Recreation Area.  The Visitors Center was a few miles down the road and there I found out that this recreation area covers 10 distinct sites scattered over 4 counties, so I headed for the closest one.

What a pleasant surprise awaited!!!  I drove a few miles more to the Grundy Forest State Natural Area located near Tracy City, changed shoes, found a trail-head and started walking.  Within a half-mile I found this waterfall and took a seat.  There I sat for a couple of hours on the Fiery Gizzard Trail (only in Tennessee can you find a trail name like that).

My routine is usually to be quite and listen first.  Then I might read or write or dream.  Yesterday I was quiet then I read some great stuff from Calvin Miller's A Hunger for the Holy.  The most striking quote for the day was:

Most of our hurriedness is really a cover for sloth.  When we cram our calendars with appointments, we may delude ourselves that we are busy.  But busy about what?  We are tending the whirligigs of the trivial--afraid that if we stop, we might actually come face to face with the emptiness of our lives.

If you haven't been to a state park lately, we've got some great ones here in Tennessee.  Check them out at http://www.tennessee.gov/environment/parks/.  If you haven't taken more than 30 minutes to be alone, meditate, question, listen, find solitude, contemplate, rest in nature, I encourage you to put it on your calendar right now.