One of the things I like most about traveling is that you don’t have to work very hard to be childlike. On any given day, children have a very strong chance of seeing something they’ve never seen before. The older we get, the more things we’ve seen, making the chance of seeing something new less likely. It is certainly possible to see something new everyday no matter how old you are; you just have to work a little harder.
But when you’re traveling, away from your normal routine, somehow life has a way of seeming brand new. As I spend most of my time in Wisconsin, it is not every day that I get to see the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico, plunging itself into the purple and orange horizon. It’s not often that I have the chance to take my daily walk along a shell strewn beach as waves lap at my feet. And the last time I had the opportunity to see pods of dolphins playing in their natural habitat was — never. I am sure these things are nothing new for the people who live here. Ho-hum. No big deal. But that’s not the point. This stuff is new to me, just as the rolling autumn hills and stunning rock formations of Wisconsin would be new to the residents here in Tampa Bay. For me, traveling is a magic elixir that helps me to renew my sense of wonder and change my state of mind. It’s amazing how much our perspective changes when we take the time to look for something new.
Technorati Tags: dolphins, travel, Tampa, Florida
Jason and I have been busy relaxing these last few days. He had a gig in the Tampa area, so we decided to tack on a few days to bury ourselves in relaxation. Actually, since the weather cooperated, I asked Jason to bury me in the sand. It was awesome.
I have to admit the process of being buried in the sand was similar for me to the process of trying to hurry up and relax. You know how it is – you have a certain amount of time, with certain restrictions, and your goal is to relax as soon as possible.
As the sand started to cover more and more of my body I tensed up. It was chilly and heavy and my body was not liking it at first. Then I took a deep breath and relaxed myself. At last, everything felt different. The sand no longer felt cold. The heaviness of the sand was comforting, like a warm blanket on a cold night. It was glorious!
How often do I ‘tense up’ in situations and not allow myself to breath and ‘let go?’ Whether it’s in a busy period or a time of relaxing, I find myself over thinking things and tensing up. What started off as some sand fun turned into a life lesson. It seems like God likes to use nature to show me things about life and about me. The other lesson I learned is that sand likes to stick with you. I think I’ll still be finding sand on me next week in Wisconsin.
(Yes, those are my big toes.)
My dad works at a lumber yard. It’s a small town place; been around since 1848. In a sea of gigantic, homogenized lumber yards which feature discount prices (and employees with discount experience) Maze Lumber stands out because of its knowledgeable employees and non-crappy building materials. 
You’d think this would be enough to stand out in the marketplace. However, price competition is a seductive mistress and it can be easy to be intimidated by the Big Boxes (i.e. Wal-Mart, Menards, etc.) and slip into the belief that you must compete on their terms. This ill-fated belief is why so many mom and pop shops go under. You can’t beat the big boys at their own game. But they can’t beat you at yours, either.
A funny thing (among many) has come out of my dad’s decision to undertake The Escape Plan. It all started with Challenge #33 in which he purchased two bow ties from a local men’s clothing store. Then for Challenge #36, he wore one of the ties to work:
So this morning I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and I clipped on the large goldish bow tie. I snapped it into its place and boy did that bring back childhood memories! I wasn’t actually sure if I would wear it all day long especially since I had to go out with our newest salesman to do final measuring of some Marvin windows. This order would be in the $50,000.00 range and I didn’t want to make a bad impression. In the end I decided to just go for it and it was a HUGE success. I think my appearance just tore down the wall of apprehension and it went well. I think that they thought if this guy would wear “that” in public….well whatever.
Back at the shop the customers had plenty of comments when they spotted the bushy bow tie. It just put everyone in a playful mood…I also think that some of our regular customers thought either I was nuts or gutsy.
I think it is interesting that by bravely adding this little touch of childhood to his wardrobe actually helped my dad land the deal. Sure, it went against "societal norms," but societal norms are largely laced with Adultitis anyway. The bow tie helped break down the barriers that typically arise in standard sales situations. But that’s not the end of this story.
Since the first "Bow Tie Day" was such a success, a tradition has emerged. A smorgasboard of ties have been collected and more people are getting in on the act:
Just letting you know that today, Thursday is tie day. The employee response has been huge! Besides myself, Pete, Chadd, Ray, and Todd sported ties and we had our picture taken! The customer response has also been very positive and we are considering other “special” days including Kilt day, dress day for guys only, and thong day. I’ll keep you posted.
Talk about exterminating Adultitis from the workplace! But thanks to this interjection of childhood fun, the team at Maze Lumber now has an even greater opportunity before them. I think they should market Tie Day around the community, and in their ads. Any customer who comes in wearing a tie could save 10% off their order, or get a free box of nails, a free doughnut, or whatever. Maze could take pictures of the tie-wearers, and post them in the office, creating a Tie Wall of Fame. Maybe they could start a contest, in which the customer who comes in wearing the craziest/oddest/most colorful tie wins a fun prize, and THEIR picture ends up in the next Maze newspaper ad. Lots of potential, if you ask me.
The biggest thing it does, besides increasing the comradery and productivity of the employees, is get people thinking and talking about Maze Lumber. It reminds them that these are fun people to do business with. It gives customers an experience. The Big Boxes may have lower prices, but they also have a perception of being sterile, generic, and uncaring. Tie Day can underscore the exact opposite perception for Maze Lumber.
Just a little free advice for the folks down in Peru. But the real question, dear readers, is this: What little sliver of childlike spirit can you introduce to your home or workplace? And what kind of momentous effect might it have?
Technorati Tags: Ties, bow ties, Maze Lumber, Adultitis, marketing, Wal-Mart, lumberyard, sales
An article in the Houston Chronicle by Nicki Britton got me thinking. The article, which appeared in the Food section, features a brand new cereal bar she says is ideal "for those too grown-up for Rice Krispie Treats."
I’ve got nothing against Special K — although it needs a few spoonfuls of sugar to make it palatable in my book — but upon reading this review, I can’t help but think:
Who’s too grown up for Rice Krispie Treats?
Technorati Tags: Rice Krispie Treats, Adultitis
This little exercise has been on a million and one blogs. Just call me Mr. Late to the Party.
Four jobs I’ve had:
Little League Scorekeeper
Concession Stand Manager
Art History Teacher
Wash Boy at a GM Dealership
Four movies I can watch over and over:
Field of Dreams
Napoleon Dynamite
Star Wars
Old School
Four places I have lived:
LaSalle, Illinois
Peru, Illinois
DeKalb, Illinois
Madison, Wisconsin
Four television shows I love to watch:
The Office
Scrubs
CSI:Miami
Numbers
Four places I have been on vacation:
Disney World in Orlando
Dysersville, Iowa (Home of the Field of Dreams)
New York City
Minneapolis, MN
Four of my favorite dishes:
Pizza Hut’s Thin Crust Pizza
Shrimp (and Crab)
Cherry Pie
Dairy Queen’s Ice Cream Cakes
Four websites I visit daily:
Seth’s Blog
Micropersuasion
Church of the Customer Blog
The Escape Plan
Four places I would rather be right now:
Disney World
Hawaii
San Diego
Barnes & Noble
Four bloggers I am tagging:
Kim Kotecki
John Wentz
Daniel Bigler
French Toast Girl
Every month, one Club K&J subscriber is drawn as the winner in the Supremely Wonderful & Exciting Loot Lottery. This month’s lucky recipient is John Gundich! She wins a $20 gift card! Congrats, John!
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When I was in high school and college I took the MBTI or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. ® After answering a series of questions it provides you with your personality profile. There are four divisions of your personality type. They are introversion versus extroversion, sensing versus intuition, thinking versus feeling, and judging versus perceiving. You can read more about each mental process and orientation here.
At first I was skeptical but when I read my profile I was in shock. The profile of my personality type was very accurate. Since then my friends and I have learned more about this test and about the different parts of our personalities. This information that I have about myself and about my friends has given me a clearer understanding about our relationships and communication. It is actually very fun to talk about.
I would highly recommend taking the test and at the very least reading your own profile. You will learn so much about yourself…it is amazing. There are many different ways to take the test. Here is a quick 72 question online version. It’s painless. One piece of advice, don’t think about the questions very long or hard. You know what your teachers used to say, “Your first answer is probably the right one.” You can over-think the questions, which may make your results less accurate.
The main reason I’m thinking about the MBTI today is that it has identified a trait within myself that is directly connected to my Adultitis. My type is ISFJ. (Others who share my type are Jerry Seinfeld, Jimmy Stewart and Mother Teresa.) One thing about my personality type is that ISFJ’s have a very strong work ethic, so strong that we think we must earn rest and play.
Once I read this a huge light-bulb went on for me. I cannot give myself permission to rest on the weekend until I have spent an equal amount of time doing something productive. If our schedule requires me to rest, if we have company over or are going someplace, I find myself thinking about what needs to be done (cleaning, bills, shopping, laundry, etc.). This is a problem. Knowing this about myself is key. I have a long way to go before I can claim victory over this, but I think the fact that I am aware of it should help me fight my ‘workaholic’ urges.
The day that Jason and I took off last Tuesday for the final challenge of The Escape Plan was awesome. It was difficult to get past the guilt at first, but I was able to fully enjoy myself. Sometimes I need to force myself to do this. I have a feeling I’m not alone.
In this podcast, brought to you from Madison, Wisconsin, we share the latest news about The Escape Plan, talk about grown-up doll houses, grown-up pillow fights, and offer a review of the new Curious George movie.
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