Epitome of Greatness / Happenings In The Outhouse 15-Nov-2019

Close to a month ago, I listened to Lewis Howes interview Simon Sinek for his School of Greatness podcast.  One of Lewis's final question was, what is your definition of greatness?  My first and obvious answer would be Jesus.  Seriously, you can't get better than that.

Then, another image came to mind.  Pictured below is my grandfather Ray Johnson who passed away in late August 2019.  There was so much I learned about him, his work history, and his personal life that I didn't know prior to attending his funeral and reading his obituary.

The other day, my sixteen-year-old daughter came to me and said, "I'm going to give you the greatest compliment that you have ever heard.  The way people talked about how grand-grandpa Ray treated his wife, great grandma Adlyne.  Well, that's the way you treat Mom."  Her compliment certainly brought a few tears to my eyes.

My grandma Adlyne (whom I would also categorize in the greatness file) passed away in January 2005 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.  My grandpa always called grandma his "forever loving doll" and treated her like an angel.  They loved each other so much.  And, without knowing it, those same values I have carried into my marriage with my wife, Melissa.

For those who have been following this blog for a while, you know my wife battled leukemia in 2011 and since May of this year has been battling other medical complications, from a failing liver to anemia and a whole host of other ailments.  She has just finished a 2-week hospital stay (her 7th such stay since May) and is residing in a nursing home for rehab.  She is struggling to regain her strength so she can return home, and we all know it is all in God's Hands.

Who do you think of when you think about greatness?

Reading for the sake of building numbers is dangerous / Happenings In The Outhouse 08-Nov-2019

I'm currently reading a book as a part of my daily private victory at work, and although I'm about three-quarters of the way through it, I already know I'm going to re-read it once I'm done.  There is just way too much information to absorb at once.

Then, I recalled a YouTube ad where someone had stacked up 52 books and said that great leaders are readers (they are, I'm not disputing that) and that in order to be great you needed a read a book a week.

I thought of how dangerous this was.  Not life-threatening dangerous, like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute or trying to catch a bullet your teeth or walking a highwire when I haven't put in thousands of hours of practice.  But dangerous when it comes to simply recalling information or putting it to good use.

In the past three months, I've been diligent on my daily private victory (see the link above for the YouTube video for more info) and putting in 30 minutes of nonfiction reading five days a week.  So far I've read a book every 1-2 weeks, and some I've even read more than once in a week just because I needed to absorb more information than during the first read--these books were quick reads to begin with, in order for me to read them so fast, as I am normally a slow reader.

It's good to read (nonfiction as well as fiction) but don't sacrifice your time by reading just to check off a task.  Take your time.  Absorb the information.  See how it applies to your life, if necessary.  The same goes with Scripture reading.  There are courses where one is tasked with reading the entire Bible in a single year.  It can be done, but how much are you able to learn by doing so.  In many cases, I've read a verse or two in the Bible and spent the week re-reading it and reflecting on it.  Reading for me is a marathon, not a sprint.  There are far too many lessons in the Bible to quickly brush over them.

Focus on your strengths / Happenings In The Outhouse 01-Nov-2019

What are you naturally strong at?

If you are more inclined toward mechanical skills and loathe books, tasks or occupations that involve writing may not be what you're meant to do.  If you aren't driven toward woodworking, building a deck onto your house may not be right up your alley.  If the extent of your drawing skills are stick figures, being an artist is more than likely not in your future.

I'm keeping this short today as I work through some financial/medical issues with my wife's health.  For my current work-in-progress, I am around the 9,000 word point.

Going back to strengths, I will revisit it soon as I feel it's an important topic.  I've touched on it before, but there is so much more to discuss.

Stay tuned . . .

Progress On WIP / Happenings In The Outhouse 25-Oct-2019

I've been making tremendous progress on my current work-in-progress.  I am currently over 8,000 words and climbing higher each day.

This project is challenging myself on a few fronts.  First, I've never written a YA book before.  I've read many, but not taken up the mantle to actually write one.  Not that it's very different as far as the actual writing is concerned, but the focus has to be more in line with the intended audience--I do have two daughters in high school who have heard bits of the story and are intrigued by it, although with homework and after-school activities their time to read it is limited.

Second is more personal: my wife.  She is still being cared for at a nursing home, for rehab, and her progress is . . . well, not sugar-coating it here, it's poor.  There are many irons in the fire, many doctors (including the Mayo Clinic) are monitoring and testing a variety of elements in her blood.  I just need to trust in the Higher Power, putting it all in His Hands.

But I take the time for myself (it may sound selfish to do so, but in reality it's not) and some of that time includes doing what I love: writing.

Three Things / Happenings In The Outhouse 18-Oct-2019

I was recently listening to Lewis Howes's podcast, The School of Greatness, and during an interview with Simon Sinek, he asked if, at the very end of your life, all of your possessions and creative works disappeared and you were given a blank sheet of paper to write down three things (pieces of advice, if you will), what would they be?

This brought to mind a post I wrote in December last year, titled "Have Fun."  Go ahead and read it.  I'll wait . . .

Funny how life turns out, given the current situation with my wife.

Here would be my three things:

Be Kind

Be Faithful

Be Happy

What would your three things be?

Trimming Da Fat / Happenings In The Outhouse 11-Oct-2019

In December 2016, I went on a podcast fast.  I had done this a few times over the years, as I had found myself with too many podcasts to listen to in any given week.

Last week, instead of going on a full podcast fast, I decided to trim back on a few.  I listen to podcasts at a little more than normal speed--around 1.5 speed.  I do this to listen to more.  But I have soon discovered that while I have a number of favorites, some I had trouble listening to.  So I asked myself, "Am I gaining anything to listening to them?  What if I took them out of my feed and quit listening to them?"

What a relief!

I had already done this with three other podcasts--all with the same hosts--as they changed the format from MP3 to M4A files.  I could still listen to them on my MP3 player, but it was a pain.  It didn't have the same quality.  So, I decided to ditch them.

My ideal podcast length is between 10-40 minutes long, although I would rather them be short.  The ones I got rid of last week were typically over an hour in length.  Not only did I get rid of two, a third one also found itself on the chopping block.

I love learning new things and deep diving into topics that interest me.  But there are times when I need to start doing, putting things into action by writing new words.

Hence, trimming da fat from the podcast feed.

Planning for the rest of 2019 / Happenings In The Outhouse 04-Oct-2019

It is now the first week of October 2019.  The start of the 4th quarter.  What is on the docket for the remainder of the year?

Looking back on the last quarter--and my list of the next five--I managed to cross off one thing and start on another.  Knowing how the summer has been for our family, I'm changing the focus to fit the circumstances.

Sure, I could write this grand list and pray for the best, knowing that I may only accomplish one thing, but I'd be kidding myself.  I need to be a bit realistic.

With the YA book I'm currently writing (I am around 6,000 words!), I also plan on exploring a print version as well.  My first one.  At the same time, I have identified another book (along with a workbook) that I may put into print as well.

Keeping it simple.  Cheers!