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Do all things...

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I needed to get up extra early if I was going to get my steps in this morning. I had an all day training that is preceded by almost two hours of driving, so my normal morning routine would look different. I set a mental alarm for 4:30 and hoped that I would wake up in time to get this done. I decided not to wear my spikes as I was going to run the roads. They are mostly clear and there is almost no traffic at 4:30. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but I didn’t want to run the trails or sidewalks that early. I put on the wrong shoes. I left the house in shorts and a t-shirt. It was 37 degrees with a slight but chilly wind pulling it down to 34. I was a block away when I realized I was not wearing my gloves. I took all of these things as a sign to quit. Run a quick mile and go home. But my goal was three miles and I was determined to get it done. The one smart decision I made was starting the morning with the daily devotional in the Bible app. It was 1 Corinthians 10:31, and th...
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Running Through Winter

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I get asked fairly often how I handle running in the winter. Honestly, I treat it like most runs and don’t dress much differently, aside from adding a hat and gloves. Cold really isn’t the issue for me. Ice is. I’ve tried trail shoes, and while they work well in snow, they aren’t very warm and they’re not effective on ice. We also tried a simple hack by drilling sheet metal screws into the bottom of our running shoes. That does help somewhat with traction on ice, but they don’t always stay in, and drilling into your shoes obviously shortens their lifespan. I’ve also tried several winter traction products over the years, but most fell short, either due to poor fit or a lack of stability. Eventually, I found a setup that works for me. I use Kahtoola EXOspikes for winter trail running and Kahtoola NANOspikes for icy road running and walking. Both are easy to put on and take off, and more importantly, they’ve given me increased confidence running through Michigan winters. Even with...
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Location: Michigan
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20,000 Days

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20,000 days…, that’s how long I have been alive as of today. 20,000 days, 480,000 hours, 28,800,000 minutes. It sounds like a long time when you look backward, but looking forward and measuring in days, it seems significantly less.   We measure our lives in years, and as we age, they pass us by faster and faster. I wonder if we started to measure our lives in days, would we live differently? Would we apologize faster? Would we move on quickly from unhealthy situations? Would we try something new sooner? Would we stop avoiding the hard?   In the early years of our lives, passing time seems like a reasonable thing to do. As a child, the summers seemed to last forever; now, as we get older, they dance past at an accelerated pace. And our time is finite, and we don’t know when the end comes. So, passing time, or worse, wasting time, should not be something we do lightly.   We are so afraid to talk about death and the fact that we will pass on from this world, that we of...
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Growth is Knot Always Easy to See

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 I remember struggling to tie my shoes as a kid. My mom patiently attempted to teach me how to tie my shoes with a standard knot, and I struggled. I’m unsure if it was because I lacked the understanding of the concept or the digital dexterity to perform the task. Maybe it was a little of both. Either way, I was not able to accomplish this seemingly simple task. So, my mom, like many other parents, taught me the bunny ears method. I imagine I must have used that method for a few years. I remember feeling bad about my inability to tie my shoes successfully. I remember feeling embarrassed and frustrated. Very.    The thing is, I don’t remember when I transitioned to tying my shoes with the standard knot. It wasn’t an epiphany. There wasn’t a marked moment where I could say, “Eureka, I did it.” Yet, somewhere along the way, I figured it out. Success crept up on me quietly. It’s interesting that I felt bad that I couldn’t tie my shoes but never celebrated the moment I coul...
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Stop Swearing at Work

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  Stop Swearing at Work. There, I said it! I know this will not be a popular opinion. I imagine there will be many of you who will argue against this thought. I understand that some will argue that colorful language is a sign of creativity and intelligence. I know that people will tell me that those who swear seem more honest. I have heard every argument, over many years, multiple different times. But it does not change my opinion.   Yes, I have read the studies that seem to advocate for a looser mindset when it comes to profane and vulgar language. In fact, I have read many studies because it has been an issue that I have been at odds with for many years. What I found is often we look for arguments that support the belief system that we want to embrace.   Just because it is written, just because it is studied, just because it is published, does not make it true. The same can be said for my opinion here. but I’m not trying to justify my position based on a study. I’...
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22 Years and Counting

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  22 Years Twenty-two years ago, I started on a path to build several businesses. The process began for one simple reason, I was not a great employee. I feel my intentions were good, but often misguided, and I felt that I knew how to do things better, my way. Sometimes I was right, often I was wrong, but it made me a challenging person to manage. So, I was forced to start something on my own.   I have made countless mistakes along the way, mostly guided by ego and pride, I often refused to listen to anyone and followed the wrong path. I still don’t pretend to have it all figured out, but I do have some insight that I have gained by starting my businesses as well as helping hundreds of others start theirs: 1.       Fail And Learn: Face it, you are going to fail. Mistakes are inevitable and losses are part of building success. Just remember that if you fail, learn from it. Take a critical look at what you could have done differently, and then here...
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I Pray For My Team

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  I Pray for My Team   I pray for my employees and their families. I pray for their relationships with their spouses. I pray for their children and any struggles they may be facing. I pray they find the success they are seeking both personally and professionally. I pray for my team.   I recognize that there are complications to bringing religion into the workplace, and this has created obstacles that I have not properly faced over the years. But I no longer want to feel like I must apologize for my belief. If I deny my faith it allows for poor decisions both personally and professionally. I will not force my religion on other people. I will not ask my team to pray. I will not use scripture to train them in their work, but I will pray for my team.   Christianity continues to take criticism in this modern day where a fickle and ever-changing society tries to dictate what is acceptable to talk about and what is not. Religion is often part of the latter, and peop...
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Location: Michigan, USA
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