Do the Pupper

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” – George Addair

Do the Pupper

The grass had been bathed in strong rain overnight and the walking path was glistening at the introduction of the rising sun.  Harry Pupper stepped off the trail as soon as he heard the put, put, put of a gas-powered work-cart coming up behind him.  Then, the sound of the cart suddenly stopped.  It had stalled toward the bottom of the hill “The Pupper” had already begun to climb.

The put-put driver looked up and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say, “I have no idea why this thing simply decided to stop!”  Then, he looked down and turned the ignition key.  The engine sputtered.  He turned the key again.  The engine sputtered again and then began to hum.  The driver and his companion restarted their climb up the hill, giggling a little as a result of their needless-embarrassment.  Of course, being a dog, Harry’s tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth, as if was laughing along with them.  And, as soon as the cart puttered past, he shifted his stance toward the upside of the trail and resumed his climb as well.

Just like Harry Pupper, everyone will encounter darkened, windswept days, filled with rain at one time or another in life. And, even when the rain stops, personal progress can sometimes seem to stall, for no apparent reason, when faced with the sudden appearance of an unwanted, challenging hill of resistance.  When that happens, when all of your energy and confidence are destroyed, remember these words from George Addair:

“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.”

Yes, the grass under your feet may have been pummeled by strong rain overnight and your path forward is still glistening-wet at the introduction of a new-day’s sun.  You may feel as if you’ve stepped off your trail, feeling so weak that it’s as if you could be run over by a small put-put, gas-powered cart coming up behind you. It will be a time when you believe all of your momentum has stopped; all stalled near the bottom of a small hill you’ve unconsciously turned into Mount Everest!

When that happens, do the Pupper!  Shrug your shoulders, as if to say, “I have no idea why my progress has come to a screeching halt!”  Then, turn your internal ignition key!  Let your engine sputter once or twice.  When it does, turn your key again.  If you will, your engine may sputter once more, but action will cause it to soon begin to hum.  That faint humming will give you the confidence to begin your climb up that seemingly insurmountable, high mountain of your own creation.  Each step forward will get easier and you’ll soon be giggling as you recognize your needless-fear!  

Yes!  Do the Pupper!  Let your tongue lolled out of the side of your mouth! Laugh at yourself for your internal doubt, because the view from the top of your now conquered hill will allow you to feel like a conquering hero! 

A couple of hill-side stalls are common to all and will never stop your ultimate success.

Growing Your Pie

“I try to put ingredients and flavors together in new combinations.”  Earl Poon

Growing Your Pie

Earl stood on a spacious wooden deck looking out over a seemingly endless forest as the sun was getting in position to dip below the Ozark Mountains.  He was casually dressed in cargo shorts, a tee-shirt and flip flops.  A surprising view, based on his buttoned-up background as a ranking supply manager in the U.S. Airforce.  Yet, his attire was not the most surprising thing to discover about him while sharing the breathtaking view.

“He’s a baker!” Is the way Robin, his wife, describes her husband.

Earl, the founder of Earl’s Uncommon Pies, is indeed a baker.  But such a commonplace, shortened description falls short of what he really does and who he is.  Magic!  That’s a better, more complete portrayal.  After all, he produces a couple of different kinds of magic.  One a pastry and the other is anthropological.  You’ve heard the saying about being able to make the world more prosperous by “growing the pie,” so more and more people can enjoy the benefits?  That’s what Earl does.  And, this is how he bakes in, what can only be described as, the remarkable.

“I try to put ingredients and flavors together in new combinations.”  He says.  “I could make the more common pies.  You know, like apple or cherry?  But, I work to discover how to combine such common ingredients in an uncommon way.”

When he finds the right combination, he knows it!  “When my taste buds start singing and dancing, I know it’s right.”  He says, as if hiding his genius behind twinkling eyes.  “When people taste my work, they often say they can’t believe they’ve never seen these ingredients used together before!”

Earl says there are times when he looks at a common ingredient and wonders why he hasn’t seen its true potential before; because he’s so familiar with it.  “Maybe it’s because I’ve viewed it in one dimension for so long that I’ve become blind to its true beauty?”  He asks, rhetorically.  “I’ve come to believe in the principle of ‘Dimension Supplementation!’”

Dimension Supplementation means seeing something not only for what it appears to be, for its obvious use.  It means asking, “If I pair this with something else, what can it become?”  Earl elucidates.  That can only happen through careful examination, often combined with trial and error.  Finding additional uses, in addition to what is obvious, is what Earl calls, “allowing the commonplace to Blossom.”  Another, less used, meaning of blossom is growth.

“What I really do is grow pie!”  Earl says.  “My recipe for ‘creating the uncommon,’ grows both the taste and varieties of a specific kind of pastry, the pie.  And, interestingly, these same principles can be applied to both makers of pies, as well as those who eat them.

Anyone can look at the elements composing their life and ask Earl’s important questions to facilitate forging a path toward combing them into the creation an uncommonly good life.  First, what are the common, abundant parts of my life?  Second, how can I combine these components together in an innovative, uniquely “me” way?  Third, if I examine these parts, of my life, can I discover distinctive combinations to make the commonplace blossom into something unexpected and greater than it was singularly?  These steps are Earl’s winning recipe for baking, growing bigger, more scrumptious pies and as well as a magical life.

Magic!  Earl, the enchanted baker, produces two kinds of magic.  You’ve heard the saying about being able to make the world more prosperous by ‘growing the pie,’ so more and more people can benefit?  That’s what Earl does.  And, this is the recipe he follows to creates such magical, remarkable pies as well as a extraordinary lives.

Lunding Forward

“My personal search for meaning lasted an agonizing 3-4 years!” – Tom Lund

Lunding Forward

“I had to apologize to my wife!”  Tom said with emotion in his voice.

This showing of emotion was a new version of Tom.  He’s always been a consummate professional, specializing in sales.  Not a pushy, obnoxious man in his work and professional life. He’s always been polished and studied in his craft.  Perhaps the best way to describe him is knowledgeable, confident and successful.  But, this new Tom?

The current Tom is all of those things, polished, confident, successful and, softer.  Don’t take that to mean he’s weaker in any way.  He’s clearly stronger.  His new strength comes from the completion of a personal journey, having successfully completing a personal search for meaning; a process of questioning his core, his history, his very personal meaning.

“I had to apologize to my wife!” Then he continued.  “I told her I was sorry for putting her through my difficult behavior for the past two years.”

“Two years!  Hardly!”  Gretchen replied.  “It’s been more like three-and-a-half to four years!” 

The welled-up emotion of Tom’s search burst as he recounted his story and the pain he and his wife had lived through together.  It is a recognizable pain for many of us.  After all, who hasn’t gone through something very similar, either personally or with a loved one?  Hopefully, in almost all instances there comes a time when something “clicks” one day and personal, private darkness ends.  Such a breakthrough is sometimes called an opportunity to lunge forward into life’s possibilities again.

Luckily, such a breakthrough occurred for Tom.  And, in retrospect, he’s identified three realizations that he credits with his “Lund Forward” allowing him to live joyfully and hopefully once again.

First.  Tom says, “I did so much internal evaluation that I discovered who I truly am.  While that part of my process was important, it may not have been the most important aspect of my growth.  I think the key, turning the lock within my own heart, was that I finally became comfortable with who I really am!”  He went on to explain that this was vital because it allows him to also give others the same latitude.  Tom says, “This latitude is a sort of freedom allowing me to finally be able to grant individualism to everyone else too!”

Second.  “I have a new understanding that the world is different for everyone.  I call it the ‘Rule of Billions.’”  Tom has been able to simplify this critical perception in another way too.  “Think of it in this way, if a group of people belong to an organization and there are about thirteen members, there will be thirteen sets of eyes, all viewing the same group in thirteen different ways.  And, that’s ok!”  It’s alright to have a different personal reference point, even in situations where the entire group is supposedly bound together in a common belief or effort.  Being comfortable with the Rule of Billions allows a person to naturally become comfortable within the group and within their own heart at the same time.  That leads to Tom’s third rule or realization.

Third, the Rule of History.  Tom says, “Perhaps the Rule of History is more like an understanding of history.  Once I understood that history books and even ancient texts were a record of human mistakes I became much more comfortable with my own mistakes and conversely, with the mistakes of others.  I stopped worrying about being perfect and living a life of perfection!  Now I’m free to simply work to become the best I can be in all areas of my life without apology.”

“I had to apologize to my wife!”  Tom said with emotion in his voice.  “I also had to apologize to myself, so I let go of the fallacious assumptions I’d made about my relationship with the past, my background and other people.

This was the premier of a new, stronger version of Tom.  He’s always been a consummate professional, specializing in sales.  Not a pushy, obnoxious man in his work and professional life. He’s always been polished and has successfully studied his craft.  Perhaps the best way to describe him is knowledgeable, confident and successful.  But, this new Tom?

This new Tom has given you and me three realizations around important life rules that can allow everyone to Lund Forward.

Rooted Trust

“That’s easy!  She’s a blessing!” – Todd Feld

Rooted Trust

“When these new documents came out, I knew I had to call you!  I wanted your opinion.”  Todd said.

He went on to say that he made the call because of complete trust.  Yet, there is one, much more important, universally rooted trust exhibited by Todd Feld.  And this conversation was the perfect opportunity to discover the deepest kind of trust.

An outsider’s view of Todd’s family life could lead one to conclude the opposite of what the truth is.  You see, Todd has successfully raised a mentally challenged daughter and her siblings.  Someone who hasn’t spoken with him about this would easily assume that Todd and his wife are the ones who have undergone the most difficult, been through the most, challenges throughout this child rearing process. Yet, a conversation with Todd, asking the direct question, “Will you tell me what you’ve learned as a direct result of this experience?” resulted in this definitive response from him:

“She’s a real blessing!”

Perhaps the ability to live life fully rooted in trust is the real blessing?

Does life continuously present fitting lessons, individually tailored toward optimal personal growth?  Are such individualized, perfect lessons, offered freely as a demonstration of faith?  A faith rooted in a universal conviction that every person has the ability to succeed?  Todd’s life experience answers these questions with a certain, yes.

No one knows what their fitted lessons are going to be.  Todd didn’t understand the lessons he would face when he and his wife began their family.  They learned, from each child, as they were born.  They learned, with each child, as they progressed together.  Fitted lessons are a process of gaining incremental trust.

Incremental trust is progressive in nature. It is gained step-by-step.  It is gained, age-by-age, experience-by-experience.  Most often, such growth is not recognizable until a time of reflection allows us to see it, as if looking in a mirror which exposes our forever changed image in the form of a ripened face.  This moment could be called, time counting our blessings; the time when we are more able to accurately see conquered obstacles for what they really are.  Realization of universally rooted trust.

“When these new documents came out, I knew I had to call you!  I wanted your opinion.  Because I know I can trust you.”  Todd said.

He went on to say that he made the call because of complete trust.  Yet, there is one, much more important, universally rooted trust exhibited by Todd Feld.  And a conversation with Todd Feld was the perfect opportunity to discover the deepest kind of trust, universally rooted trust.  A trust that life has and will continuously present fitted lessons, individually tailored toward our own optimal personal growth.

An Improved Hunt for Joy

“He said, ‘We need just need two more ducks to reach our limit.’” – Boyd Billingsley

An Improved Hunt for Joy

“I was duck hunting with my son-in-law.  We’d been sitting in the blind for at least a couple of hours when he turned to me, toward late morning, and said, ‘We need just need two more ducks to reach our limit.’ I responded with, okay, that’s good.”

Then, the two men sat for a few more moments in a silence that spread over a minute or so. Soon it became clear that there was something else on the mind of Boyd’s companion.

Said he, “Boyd, we’ve been here all morning and you haven’t even picked up your gun!”

Boyd responded with, “Oh! I hadn’t noticed!”

Perhaps the two were on the adventure with different purposes?  Boyd’s son-in-law was there to hunt.  Boyd was there to savor the golden view.

Boyd says, “I don’t think I ever understood what people meant by the phrase, ‘The Golden Years,’ until now.”

The experiences of life have naturally allowed Boyd to develop improved sight while in his golden years. Here’s how he described his purposed, glitter-viewing duck hunting adventure with his son-in-law:

“When my son-in-law said I that hadn’t picked up my gun the whole time we’d been in the duck blind, it struck me that it hadn’t even dawned on me to do so!  I was there to enjoy the beauty of the place as well as be him. The duck hunting was really just an opportunity for me to show love for him and relish in gratitude for the surrounding beauty of the place.”

Boyd’s place in life is now well past the middle of his seventieth decade. There was a time when he couldn’t imagine an end to his living.  And, while he’s always enjoyed people, a sense of community and his surroundings, his acquisition of an improved, golden view has enhanced his living in virtually every moment of every day.

“Having a golden view means allowing myself to pay attention to the important people in my life and genuinely enjoying every precious moment!”  Boyd clarifies to anyone who asks exactly what living with a golden view means.

“I enjoyed everything when I was younger. But, not enough!”  Boyd said with a twinkle in his eye, right before saying, “I was duck hunting with my son-in-law.  We’d been sitting in the blind for at least a couple of hours when he turned to me, toward late morning, and said, ‘We need just need two more ducks to reach our limit.’  I responded with, okay, that’s good.”

That was good indeed.  But, living with a golden-view-perspective; that everyone can enjoy an improved hunt for joy in life by remembering that there will come a time when each person will reach their own personal limit, is what will make life glitter. That’s when every precious moment of living will be genuinely enhanced with joy.

She Knows

“I shared the two most important things my father taught me with my friend.”

She Knows

“He said he wished he’d paid much more attention to the lessons my father had taught to our youth group when we were younger.”  She said.

She paused, as if for emphasis.

“I then told him what the two most important things I learned from my father were.”

As circumstances, age, experience and conditions change in our lives, the things we’ve learned from our fathers seem to be refreshed and come into active memory, just in time.  Different lessons, once offered at another time and place, seem to dance into and then speak to our hearts and minds, becoming essential for our current moments.  So, the two most important things she said she learned from her father may have risen to the top of her heart, just because of the health, professional and economic events we’ve all experienced over the past eighteen, or so months.

“The first thing my father taught me is that innovation is the result of trouble or struggle.  The second is that there is always opportunity, even in the worst of times. Look for it and it will appear!”  She explained to her friend who had been experiencing both personal and professional challenges for an extended period.

She’s found that such fatherly-teaching not only has the capacity to help the hearts and minds of its intended recipients, it can additionally be extended to the benefit of multiple generations and unknown future connections.

“He really needs a father right now!”  She continued, by talking about how she has shared the benefits of her own received fatherly-teaching with her friend.  “So, I thought it would be good to share mine!”

She knows that being a father is much more than a simple biological relationship.  It isn’t even necessarily tied to legal adoption.  It’s much more about accepting the responsibility of acting as a father to others.  That means gathering up a life-time of experience and love and then transferring it to anyone who will accept it.

“After talking with my friend, I asked my dad if he would mind becoming a father to my friend as well.  Of course, he said, ‘yes!’  In fact, my dad made a quick call to my friend immediately after we talked.  Now my friend feels his warm fatherly-embrace too.  Perhaps I can best describe it as enjoying a big teddy bear hug all the time.”

She’s learned that being a father means offering security to others, even if he, her father, doesn’t feel all too secure himself at the time.

“You said you’d always have a place for me!”  She once said in despair to her dad when he told her he was selling her childhood home.  

“He replied, ‘I do have a place for you.  It’s just a different place!’  When he said that, I was reassured that he’d still be there for me.  Even when the “there” was different.  I just needed to hear and feel the confirmation from him.”

Such validation returned to her heart as she talked with a friend in need. “He said he wished he’d paid more attention to the lessons my father had taught to our youth group when we were younger.”

She paused, as if for emphasis.

“I then told him what the two most important things I learned from my father were, so he’d have increased confidence!”

She knows!  She knows that true fatherhood should be a gift that keeps on giving to everyone.

Piloting with Compassion

A compassionate airline pilot.

Piloting with Compassion

“What’s the worst thing that can happen?”  A little girl asked her mother while waiting to board their flight.

Her mother was sitting in her chair sideways.  Her left arm was curled along the top of the chair, so it could cushion her drooping head.

“I don’t feel well.”  Her mother replied.  “I don’t know that I am well enough to fly.”

Upon hearing her mother’s pained words, the little girl redirected her question to her grandmother.  “What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

“There’s nothing to worry about.” The girl’s grandmother responded gently.  “It’s a lot safer to fly than to ride in a car.  We’ll have such fun in Montana!”

“We’re going to begin boarding by row.” The gate agent announced just seconds later.

“I don’t think I’m going to be able to go.”  The small girl’s mother said immediately after hearing the general announcement.  “I think I’m going to vomit!”

Shortly thereafter, the grandmother, grandfather and the worried girl began to gather their carry-on bags because their seat range had been announced.  The fearful mother stirred, picked up here bag and walked across the hall to vacant seats at another gate.  “I can’t get on that plane!” She said as her daughter followed, floating in the wake of her mother’s fear.

After hugging their two loved-ones goodbye, the hesitant grandparents boarded the plane, while the distraught pair still sat across the hall.

“This is the final boarding call.  If you have a ticket you must board now, before the door shuts.”  The gate agent announced, looking directly at the woman and her daughter, just before a pilot appeared at that same, almost closing jet bridge door.

The pilot had the grandmother at his side.  When he walked through the door, she was directed to wait just inside, because she had already boarded.  He walked directly to the girl and her mother across the way, where he stopped and began to converse in kindly tones.

“We’d love to have you join us on the plane.”  He implored.  “I don’t want you to miss your celebration in Montana.  I promise I’ll be able to get you there safely.  Come with me and I’ll show you the cockpit.”

They talked for a few minutes more.  He coaxed and empathized with patience, until he helped them gather their belongings and escorted them onto the plane.  Once on the plane, he showed them the cockpit and gave the young girl her own set of pin-on wings.  All before making sure they were sitting comfortably in their assigned seats.

“What’s the worst thing that can happen?”  The little girl had asked her mother while waiting to board their flight before getting on the plane.

Her mother was now sitting in the aircraft with her seatbelt snugly fastened.  Her arms were comfortably draped comfortably at her side and a smile had replaced her once darkened, fear filled face. 

“He’s such a wonderful man.”  The woman said to her daughter as they smiled at each other.  “I would never have been well enough to fly without his help!”

Upon hearing the comfort in her mother’s voice, the little girl redirected her gaze toward the just closing cockpit door to her before she said, “The best thing that could have happened just happened!”

Piloting others with compassion always makes it possible to transport another person’s life to an otherwise impossible destination.