From Where I Sit

What I Have Learned in Four Years of Blogging

I began blogging in April 2004. (I actually began writing articles and posting them on my Web site in 1998, but that was before we used the term “blogging.”) Since that time, I have posted 344 entries. At an average of 800 words per post (which, for me, is conservative), that is 275,200 words—almost four 256-page books.

During this time, I have learned a good deal about blogging. I’m sure I still have way long way to go, but I thought I would summarize what I have learned so far:

12 Reasons to Start Twittering

I originally committed to using Twitter for 30 days. So far, I have enjoyed the service and intend to keep using it. My wife, Gail, and three of my five daughters are active. I have sure this is one of the reasons I am still using it.

Don’t know what Twittering is? Read my original post on this topic. If you want to know how to get started, read The Newbie’s Guide to Twitter.

Finishing My Second Half Marathon

One week ago today, I was running the Country Music Half Marathon. It was an incredible experience. I enjoyed this year’s race even more than last year’s—which is saying a lot.

Amazingly, some 32,000 people participated in either the race. According to various media reports, another 32,000 or so spectators attended. Regardless, it was a sea of people. Unless you run these types of races, you can’t imagine the energy.

Why I Am (Still) Excited About Christian Retail

Last Saturday, April 12, I spoke to Christian Retailers at our inaugural Open House event. It was video-taped, and you can watch it here if you are interested.

Because the file was so large, I had to upload it as five separate videos. The total length is 40 minutes or so. However, if you click on the link above, it will play all five videos as a YouTube “playlist,” with each video playing one after the other.

Biggest Snowfall in Five Years

I don’t know what it is about snow, but it always gets me excited. It probably stems from my childhood, when snow meant the possibility that school would be cancelled. Or maybe it was just the shear joy of playing outside in the snow.

Regardless, on the way home from San Jose yesterday, I checked the weather widget on my iPhone. It had the little snow icon next to Friday and Saturday. I next checked Weather.com. The meteorologists there were predicting 3–5 inches for Nashville. My heart lept!

Turning Failure to Your Advantage

In 1991 I, along with my business partner, suffered a financial meltdown. We had built a successful publishing company, but our growth outstripped our working capital. We simply ran out of cash.

For a while our distributor funded us in the form of cash advances on our sales. But eventually, their parent company wanted those advances back. Although we didn’t officially go bankrupt, the distributor essentially foreclosed on us and took over all our assets.

The Perfect Moment

Last night, my daughter Mary and her husband, Chris, came over. The weather was unseasonably warm, so we sat out on the porch and talked. We reminisced about their wedding among other things. We laughed. We even cried. It was a rich, full time.

Before long, I opened a bottle of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc. It’s my very favorite white wine, and I was eager to share it with Mary and Chris. They had never had it before. We savored the hints of peach, passion fruit, and, most of all, grapefruit. We delighted in each drop.

Holidays, Housework, and Being Present

I am on vacation this week. Every year, I take off between Christmas and New Years. It’s a glorious time of mostly doing nothing. We stay home and enjoy the family, catch up on some home projects, and plan for the new year.

Today was awesome. I slept in until 7:00 a.m. I puttered around the house most of the day, helping Gail clean up from the Christmas festivities. Unlike my real-world job, I could actually see the immediate fruit of my labor—a clean kitchen, dining room, and bedroom. It was simple but very satisfying.

Second Thoughts About the iPhone

I’m thinking very seriously about giving up my iPhone and going back to my Blackberry. I know, I know. I was initially so enthusiastic. (But I also discussed the pros and cons here.)

My first Apple product was an iPod that I purchased about five years ago. Based on that, I bought an Apple PowerBook for one of my daughters. Then I bought one for myself. Later I upgraded to a MacBook Pro. Now every one in my family is a Mac user. I even own a little Apple stock.

Thanksgiving at the Hyatts’

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. All the kids were home, including our two granddaughters, Ellie and Libby. All total, there were eleven of us, plus a friend or two that joined us throughout the day.

Mary, my third-born, was the official chef for the occasion. She planned out the menu in meticulous detail and created a meal that was sumptuous in every way.

My Achilles’ Heel—Really!

This morning as I began mile three, I felt a tug in my left ankle. It took a moment to register, but I had injured my Achilles tendon. This is the same ankle I broke four years ago. I still have a plate and six screws in that ankle.

At first, I was in denial. I walked a few steps and then tried to run again. Nope, I thought, I've injured myself. I began walking home from the Park. After another 100 yards, I tried to run again. Bad decision. That only made matters worse. Now I was limping.

This is my first bona fide running injury. I plan to lay off for a few days in the hopes it will get better. Bummer.

Technorati Tags: jogging, Running, Injury

Slip-Proof Headphones for Runners

As I have mentioned before, I usually listen to audio books while I run. It’s a great way to kill two birds with one stone. The problem is that I have had difficulty finding headphones that don’t slip out of my ears when I begin to sweat.

I’ve tried nearly everything. Neither the standard-issue headphones that come with the iPod nor a pair of high-end Shure headphones worked. In the end, gravity prevailed and the headphones fell out. This got to be quite a nuisance.

My Current Workflow System

Several people have written to ask how I am managing my current workflow. Most of those writing are “GTD practitioners” (inspired by David Allen’s bestseller, Getting Things Done) who are specifically interested in what software tools I am using. So, I thought I would I would dedicate a post to providing an overview of my current practices.

My current computer is an Apple MacBook Pro with a 2.4 GHz processor and 4 GB of memory. I installed the new Leopard operating system a week and a half ago, when it first came out. I made two complete backups of my hard drive before I installed it, and so far I am enjoying it.

My First 30 Days with the iPhone

I bought my iPhone a month ago. I have used it extensively since then. I have traveled the country with it and, I think, given it a fair test. I thought I’d report back on my experience with it.

I’ll start with the positive:

What Is It About Your Leadership?

Blame is the oldest game in town. It was invented by Adam who, after eating of the forbidden fruit, told God, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12). In other words, it’s Eve’s fault. (And, by extension, God’s fault.)

Not much has changed since Adam’s day. Ask almost anyone why something bad happened and they will point to someone or something else. In my experience, it is exceedingly rare for people to stand up and take responsibility.

So, I Bought an iPhone, Bokay?

I know, I know. I said I wasn’t going to buy an iPhone. But, in a moment of weakness, I did it. (Those of you who bet I wouldn’t last can now collect your winnings.) Three things put me over the edge.

First, last week Apple made several announcements. The company introduced new iMacs, as well as updates to iLife and iWork. I even watched Steve Job’s entire speech and demo session. As usual, he blew me away. It’s not just the fact that he is a great presenter (which he is), but that his products are so unbelievably cool. I love everything about them.

A Runners Guide to Knee Pain

Usually, when I tell people I have taken up running, they respond with some variation of “Gee, isn’t that hard on our knees.” Well, actually, no. At least until recently.

About three weeks ago, I started developing a distinct soreness in my knees. At first, I tried denial. It’s not really that sore, I tried to tell myself. But as I continued to run, the soreness worsened.

Upgrading My Standard Messages

I thought it was about time to overhaul my standard voice mail greetings. I’ve been following the same procedure for several years.

I generally update my office phone message daily. I liked providing the current date to let callers know that I was checking my messages regularly. But that has proven to be more trouble than it’s worth.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

One of my favorite movies of all time is Planes, Trains, and Automobiles with John Candy and Steve Martin. If you do much traveling, this movie is hilarious.

Well, I’ve been living my own version of the movie for the past twenty-four hours. The nightmare began at LaGuardia. I had been in New York for a Board meeting and was on my way home.

Finishing My First Half Marathon

This morning I ran the Country Music Half Marathon. This was the longest race I have ever done. I finished in 2:39:27. This was 11 minutes faster than my goal of 2:50.

When I first began training, I just hoped to finish. Then, as my training progressed, I got a little more ambitious. I set a goal of 2:20. However, about three weeks ago, I came down with a really bad cold that turned into bronchitis. It took me two weeks to heal up, and I was not able to run for this entire time.

Living with Open Hands

I only have 16 days until the Country Music Half Marathon. My training was going pretty well until recently.

I didn’t run at all during Holy Week. I had two authors in town, plus all the additional services at Church. (In our Church, we have lots of services. We often say, “If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the liturgy.”) I just had more to do than I could physically get done.

Question: How Do You Balance Work with the Rest of Your Life?

A few weeks ago, I invited my readers to submit questions to me. I said that nothing is off limits. I will answer questions about leadership, publishing, business, my job as a CEO, your job, work/life balance, running—whatever. Since that time, I have received about twenty questions. Today, I want to answer the first of these questions. (If you have a question, you can send it to me at question4mike@gmail.com. Please only include one question per e-mail and keep it short. Thanks.)

Tim, the reader who e-mailed me the question in the title of this post, elaborated by saying,

In the midst of all the things you do, where does your family fit in? Do you come home at the same time every night? Do you have kids at home? Do you have consistent time set aside for the family? Do you have consistent planned activities? Does your family eat dinner together?... It seems like there is just not enough time for everything, where everything is: time with God, time with family, projects around house, church/serving others, work, and personal time (sleep, exercise, etc).

Most people believe that somehow, if they can just find the right system, they can get everything done. I think this is a myth bordering on an outright lie. You can’t do it all. Time is a limited resource. This is just something you have to understand and accept.

My Vacation Drama

Today is my first day back in the office following my vacation last week.

For the most part, the time away was great. We took the whole family to Seagrove, Florida, where we have vacationed every spring for years. We love the beach. We had four of our five daughters with us, one son-in-law, two granddaughters, and my sister and her family. It was a full house, to be sure.

I finished two books and got started on a third. Gail and I read Maya Angelou’s, A Song Flung Up to Heaven, which was fascinating. She is a great writer and it was delightful to hear the book read in her own voice. It gave me a whole new appreciation for Black history and the civil rights movement.

Unplugging from the Matrix

I will be on vacation next week, so this will be my last post until I return.

I don’t know about you, but periodically I need to unplug. I sent an e-mail to my direct reports today and told them I will not be checking e-mail. If they have an emergency, they can call my cell phone. Otherwise, I am offline for the next week.

Rhythm and Pacing

In almost every project I undertake, I get to the place where I “hit the wall.” You’ve probably been there, too. You’re too far in to quit, but you can’t quite see how to get through to the other side. I experienced this again last week.

If you regularly read this blog, then you know I am training to run a half-marathon in late April. So are 105 of my co-workers. I have been following a training plan I found on the Web and (of course) modified.

Don’t Take Life for Granted

Every now and then we are reminded how fragile life is. You just can’t take it for granted.

For example, a few years ago I was attending the early service at our church. My family was coming in a separate car and had not yet arrived. About ten minutes into the service, one of my friends walked up behind me and whispered in my ear, “Mike, your family has been in a car accident. You need to leave ... now!”

This is about the worst possible news I could imagine. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any details. The wreck had occurred about two miles from our church.

Three Lessons I Learned from Getting Fired

It’s easy to look at successful people and envy their situation. What you often don’t see is the pain they went through to get there. That certainly applies to me.

I’m not a CEO because I’ve made fewer mistakes than you. In fact, it’s probably just the opposite. I’ve made more. Believe it or not, I have actually been fired from three jobs in my career.

Each of these was a very painful experience. But they also taught me important lessons that I probably could not have learned any other way.

Five Things You May Not Know About Me

My blogging buddy, Eric Mack has “tagged me.” This means that I now have to reveal “Five Things You May Not Know About Me.”

When I am done, I then have to tag five of my blogger friends, who get to repeat the cycle with five of their friends. I guess it’s kind of a networking, traffic-building kind of a thing.

Here’s my list: