Grant's Lessons Part 7: The Greatest Person in the World

Grant thinks Marybeth is the best person in the world, hands down.  I agree with him so it isn't a problem at all.  I would be very scared of the person that I ever tried to hurt Marybeth in his presence because I am pretty sure Grant would lose all sense of control!

I think it is important that someone in our world thinks we are the greatest thing ever created. For many of us, that is our mom.  But beyond our moms, our dogs have a particular tendency to think we are the greatest people in the world. (Event though I probably come in a very distant second to my wife with Grant!)

Seeing the love the Grant shows for Marybeth every day. it makes me wonder how much better the world would be if all of us would try to treat someone each day as the greatest person in the world.   It could be the same person or a different person every day but I just wonder. Would we smile more? Give more compliments and hugs? Treat the person that cuts us off in traffic differently? (Okay, that last one is probably stretching it a bit too far!)

Thanks G for loving with your whole 20 pound heart.  It makes me even happier that you chose the woman I love the most in the world to share your heart with.  We have much to learn from the complete love and devotion that you show everyday.....it's all about love isn't it G?

Grant's Lessons Part 6: All Dressed Up With Some Place to Go

The story of my life with my wife is infused with Grant stories.  But this story takes place before I was in the picture. Marybeth had a wonderful dog named Sparky that was her loyal companion and best friend for 20 years. In an effort to revitalize him as he got older, she started looking for another, younger dog.  She came across the picture of teddy bear-looking ball of oreo cookie blizzard fuzz named Granite.  She was immediately smitten with his picture and decided to go see him.

As Marybeth walked in, Grant immediately over and jumped into her lap.  He had found his person and was so excited to see her! It was like he was the old school TV orphan who put on his suit and bowtie to make a good impression when a set of parents came to choose a child.  There was one person already looking at G so Marybeth sadly left without him. I think the person who was showing the dogs from the shelter saw the look in G's eyes so they ran after Marybeth to convince her to take Grant home. It was time for Grant to go to his forever home. She decided to tak him and when they got to Marybeth's condo, he immediately ran to her bed and layed down. He knew he was home.

These lyrics from Switchfoot could have been his soundtrack that day:

    Now I know
    Yeah, this is home
    I've come too far
   And I won't go back
   this is home

Grant had a checkered past and needed someone kind, caring and compassionate like my wife.  He has pushed buttons in both of us but we still love him. But she never forgets that day when he was trying so hard to put his best foot, or paw, forward

There are many times in life when we do that very thing. We try so hard to put our best foot or paw forward, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But that shouldn't stop us from continually trying. Most of the time, our inhibitions and fear of what people will think create our prisons for us.  Maybe we should be more like Grant: forget our inhibitions and just go for it. I don't suggest actually jumping in someone's lap per se, but I think you get the picture.

Thanks G, for being such a big part of our lives and showing us how to live without inhibitions. We love you buddy!

Maizy's Lessons Part 7: Cheese and Bacon

Maizy doesn't like people who smell different than Marybeth, Grant and I coming into her house.  I mean really, really doesn't like it.  She has gotten better in the three years that we have had her but still she starts to bark and growl as soon as she smells someone different in the house.

We have worked with her enough so that she is getting a little more used to it....and little is the key word in that phrase.  When my parents came to visit over Memorial Day, we were worried about how Maizy would deal with the interlopers!

The first 3 days were difficult with much barking and growling. We were hoping that Maizy would wear herself out and calm down but that didn't happen until day 4.  When my parents came over that morning...something just broke.  Maizy just went into the second bedroom and hung out in her crate even when other new people came into the house later! Of course, Marybeth and I were thrilled so she got two of her favorite things in the world as treats for most of the day: cheese and bacon. (She is definitely her father's daughter!) She stayed there for most of the day only coming out of her crate to go out or come see me when I went to the master bedroom. While we hope that someday she will enjoy being around new people, this was a huge step. 

If you gave me cheese and bacon, I would probably do whatever you asked also.  I have friends who knew they could get me to help them move if they would buy lunch and dinner.  This got me thinking about what motivates us.  Whether it is time, food, money, etc., it doesn't change the fact that we, at times, have trouble doing the things that scare us. And if we do, maybe we will get cheese and bacon for doing it. Not literally of course but I think you know what I mean.  Getting to the point where we allow something to break in our lives comes with rewards, no matter how scary it is.

Thanks Maizy for showing me how to let something break in my life and I hope there is cheese and bacon waiting for me.

Worn Out

I have gotten to a point in my life where I really enjoy getting as much value out of things as I can. No, I am not an extreme couponer or anything like that. But lately one area where my life has changed is in my clothing. I have given a lot of them away but something else has happened: I have worn my clothes for so long, that a few of them had to be recycled. Not given away but recycled.

I liked the clothes, enjoyed wearing them but they had just gotten to the point that my wife felt like they had served their purpose. And, they truly had!

Here's to constant use rather than buying new over and over again.

586

Mission #1 accomplished.

About a month ago, I found out that the CFRE had accepted all 18 pages of my documentation with a few minor points of clarification. At that point, the next step was the test. I had my study guide, flashcards and was studying like a mad man. You need a 500 out of 800 to pass.

I took the test in late March. During the middle of the exam, I realized that nothing I had studied really made a difference on this exam. I even stated laughing a few times thinking "there is no way in the world I am going to pass this!".

I was wrong. At the end of the test I got a preliminary sheet that said I passed. I wanted a print out of it just to make sure! Yesterday I got my official score which was 586. The average score is 531 so many people pass by the skin of their teeth!

Now onto blogging more and building up SSG.

586 isn't so bad!

I Am Humbled.....

Life is so interesting.....I wake up and cannot imagine what will happen from one day to another. While at work this week, I saw a video that came close to bringing me to tears...at work. I am not usually one to show much emotion at work but this was different.

Most of you have seen this video by now. I cannot tell you how touched I was to see that dog protecting his friend during when he was hurt.

I could go on and on about the meaning of the video and what it should teach us but the story itself is much more eloquent than I will ever be. In this time of uncertainty, unemployment, war and sadness, let's protect our friends and nudge them with our noses.

Loyalty is very rarely overrated............

2011 New Year Resolutions

Yes the time has come again...

1. Achieve my CFRE certification. Yes I should be studying right now...the test is most likely in March. It is the next step in my career
2. Write in my blogs more! I haven't written my thoughts as much as I probably need to..
3. Slowly build The Sequoia Strategy Group to 30k this year.

Yes, that is it. Trying to stay focused on doing a few things well.

On Owning a Dog, Mike Vick and Thinking for Yourself

First and foremost, I believe in second chances. I have been given them in my lifetime and have had the privilege of giving them to others. Very few things in the world are better than seeing someone take a second chance and really do something with it....

Mike Vick is an example of that. He has truly done well with his second chance. He has kept his mouth shut, done what the humane society has asked him to do and played football.

I think we all knew that the concept of owning a dog again would come up eventually. Then a few weeks ago I read an article by Jason Whitlock and then another article arguing both sides of this issue. I don't think Mike should have a puppy....yet.

I think dogs are a wonderful model of unconditional love, acceptance, and loyalty that we could all learn from. In that way, Mike Vick would benefit greatly from having a dog. But he has to prove himself and that is going to take time and effort. Something that many athletes and celebrities are not used to submitting themselves to. But if he truly wants to have a dog, here is what I suggest...

1. Think for yourself: In interviews, Mike Vick said that dog fighting was part of his culture and no one ever told him it was wrong. (You can read his quotes here) Mike, think for yourself in every situation. No one should tell you what you believe or should you accept an opinion just because other people didn't say it was wrong. Until he can learn to think for himself and consider the consequences of his actions outside of his culture and what other people say, he shouldn't own a dog. Once he develops and is able to communicate his own internal moral compass, no dog should grace his home.

2. Volunteer at a No Kill shelter for 5 years: 5 years seems like a long time doesn't it? My guess is the dogs he used in dog fighting and the ones that were killed would love to have 5 years to run, play and love their humans. So Mike, go volunteer. Learn to see dogs for what they truly are...care for them, love them, walk them, clean up after them. When you are part of the solution to help dogs, you will see them and yourself clearly.

3. One dog only: To avoid any possible compunction to begin the dog-fighting process again, one dog and one dog only. And have the humane society do regular home visits.

If Mike Vick completes 1 and 2, then agrees to 3 then maybe in 5 years he could have a dog.

On second thought, let's start out with a hamster and go from there.......