Buying Bigger Shoes

The passing of an American Hero

Buying Bigger Shoes

I’ve heard the term, “The Greatest Generation,” for most of my life.  And, honestly it didn’t have a lot of impact on me until, perhaps, the greatest hero I’ve ever personally known from this generation passed away very recently.  His loss has caused me to really stop and think about the attributes this man displayed before my eyes for more than thirty years.  Perhaps you and I might consider incorporating one or two of his traits into our own way of living.

First, he never considered himself to be a hero.  I call him an American Hero.  The truth is he is more than that.  After all, he and his contemporaries liberated the entire world from others that had already subjected large areas of our planet to their ruthless rule.  He, along with others, stood up and gave their all to restore free choice.  And, while that’s impressive, and earned them the title of hero, they didn’t stop there.  He didn’t stop there either.  Ever! 

Second, he never puffed out his chest and took credit for saving the ability for future generations to make their own choices.  He said, “We were just doing what we needed to do.”  His life was never about him!

Third, he was always focused on the small things.  He didn’t spend his efforts working to stand in the spot light.  He always kept his head down and his eyes fixed on the all-important details.  I never saw him miss one detail.  In fact, he would study an issue for hours and hours until he felt he understood every aspect and its ramifications.  When I would question him such exhausting effort he would reply with, “I guess I’m just more conservative than most.”

Forth, he never considered any kind of work to be “beneath him.”  He had the means to hire people to do lots of menial work around his home.  He took pride in completing the smallest tasks.  And, I never heard him complain about having to do so.  He made a conscious choice to do things that others felt were “beneath” them.

Fifth, he always put his loved ones first.  He would play dress up with little girls and attend sporting events for the sake of his grandsons and granddaughters. He was there whether it was convenient or not.  He never complained about the heat, location, or lack of comfortable seating.  He was focused on being there for the ones he loved.

Sixth.  He was a rock!  When the world was “crumbling” around others, his world was not crumbling.  He made the concentrated effort to make sure his health, work, home and finances were on secure footing.  The world was a safer place because of him!

Now he’s gone!  And, suddenly the world looks much larger and a whole lot scarier because he’s no longer here to protect you and me.  But, if we will incorporate what he taught us deep into our own characters he’ll, and the others of his generation, will still be with us.

We’ve lived with the greatest generation.  We’ve known them.  Let’s not forget what they’ve taught us.  Perhaps such remembrance, along with concentrated action on becoming who they taught us be, will allow us to carry on their legacy and fill their shoes.

I need to buy bigger shoes!

Face-to-Face

The Former Mayor

Face-to-Face

We were friends.  We were of different political persuasions.   And, he taught my daughter and me the lesson of a lifetime. 

It all started as my daughter was visiting me at my office.  The Mayor also worked with me there and when she saw him she wanted to shake his hand.  So, we walked over and I introduced her to him.

He was generous, as always, and took her hand in a friendly manner and said, “Nice to meet you.”

My daughter responded with something like, “You’re in the wrong party!”

I have to tell you that at that very moment, I was quite worried about how my friend would react to her statement.  But, I had nothing to fear.  I watched as his faced softened even more and he became gentler than I had ever before seen him.

“I think we believe in the same things.”  He said as he bent toward my young girl.

“Do you think people should be free to so the things they want to do?”  She replied.

“I believe that!” He kindly said.

Then she continued down a list of principles in which she believed and he replied to each in the same tender way. Finally, he said, “Isn’t it great to know we have so much in common?”

We both shook his hand warmly as we departed.  Now all three of us were friends.  Our manufactured labels no longer mattered.  They would never matter between us again, all because this man was kind, gentle and sharing.  He looked at us face to face and taught us that we had more in common than we supposed.

Something important happens when we engage with each other eye to eye.  It allows us to see emotion, authenticity and softness.  Meeting person to person establishes the fact that we naturally share a significant baseline, humanity.

The Former Mayor became more than a public figure to us in a few moments because he responded to a little girl’s comment with humanity, gentle communication and compassion.  He will forever be our friend.  We know who he is.  We know what be believes.  We know he is more like us than any label would suggest.  He changed our lives face to face.

We can all change each other’s lives by following his example.  Let’s talk with each other person-to-person, face-to-face, in gentle tones so we can discover that we have much more in common than difference, so we can become friends.

Creating a Home Team Advantage

University of Utah Gymnastics

Creating a Home Team Advantage

I looked across the floor and saw a familiar sight.  Twelve young women were standing together watching their competition and listening to the roar of the crowd.  Their faces had begun to lose their fight and as they saw their competitors end her floor routine those same faces transitioned to realized defeat and deflation.  It was the same pattern I had observed over years and years of competitions at the Huntsman Center.  I am a witness to the power of Home Team Advantage.

Utah Gymnastics is steeped in a tradition of excellence and winning.  Perhaps their greatest accomplishment has been this storied team’s ability to create the best home competition advantage in all of college sports.  I’m not claiming to understand every aspect of how they’ve accomplished this, but I’ve observed some important things that you and I can use to build our own home team advantage.

First, the expectation has always been focused on having each athlete do their very best and give it their all.  While some may believe this to be the same as a focus on winning, it is not.  It may result in winning, but no one wins each and every time.  And, here is the real lesson, even when they lose Utah Gymnasts have given it their all, done their best, on that particular day.  Then they move forward and work to do their best the next time.

Second, while it may appear as if the competitive routine each gymnast does is easy, it is not!  Utah Gymnasts have learned that sometimes, even when they have done their best, it isn’t enough.  Such times can be very disheartening, but they don’t let it stop them from working to become better than they are at that very moment.  They work through personal struggles until they become the master of what challenged them.

Third, members of this team support each other all of the time.  When one of them succeeds they run to congratulate her.  When one fails, they run to console and lift her.  They live, compete, sleep, study, train, lose and win together.

Fourth, they have created an atmosphere of having fun.  And, it shows in the way they move and interact with each other and their fans.  One fan once told me, “They have created such a great and fun atmosphere at their meets that we never, ever miss one!”

Fifth, the team continually tells their fans that they are a difference maker.  They never take their fans for granted.  In short, they’ve asked their fans to take an active part in their meets and victories.  And, they do!  The last meet with UCLA is the perfect example.

The meet was tight, right from the completion of the first rotation.  As the competition went on, the crowd participated more and more vocally until finally, I turned to someone sitting next to me and said, “This crowd is willing Utah to victory!  They will not let our team lose!”  These participant fans willed and cheered their team on to personal best scores and another victory over UCLA.  That’s exactly what I mean by Home Team Advantage.

You and I can have the same advantage in our own lives as well.  And, we can create it by following the same steps!  Focus on helping the people in your life to do their very best, to give it their all.  Congratulate others when they succeed and encourage them as they struggle with personal challenges.  Live your life with the people you want on your team.  Eat, study, exercise, lose and win together.  Have fun together so your team will want to be with you all of the time.  Finally, tell your team how important they are to you and how much you need their support. 

You and I may never win any great awards or accolades for doing these things, but one thing is certain.  Creating our own home team advantage will allow you and me to do our personal best and have very sweet victories in our lives!