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A rich man’s tomb…
“He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” Isaiah 53:9 (NIV)
Roman law provided that those crucified were to be left on their cross for weeks as birds stripped their flesh and then their bones thrown in a pit containing the bones of all criminals for the feral dogs to eat. Among the many reasons for this were psychological and spiritual. The bottom line is that those subjected to crucifixion as their death, were sentenced to torture and abuse long after their physical death.
Joseph of Arimathea’s “request” of Pilate for Jesus’ body was in defiance of Roman law. His simple request to take and bury Jesus was one of the boldest moves in early Christianity. His action of defiance against Roman law likely involved bribing Pilate, which was quite common with Roman governors of the day. A move that could have resulted in his being charged with a crime and Roman punishment as well.
Why would a member of the Sanhedrin make this move and place his standing of authority an wealth at risk? The beautifully simple answer is the that he had met Jesus and believed. Joseph of Arimathea is often referred to as a secret disciple. This bold move revealed his secret. Why did he ask for Jesus’ body. Well, Isaiah had written of this event occurring 700 years before, so it was certainly predestined.
As a member of the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimathea would have known of Isaian’s prophecy that this event would occur because he knew scripture. The Book of Isaiah was one of the prominently studied books of prophecy among the Jews during the time period of Jesus crucifixion, known as the Second Temple period. He knew scripture and he knew these things must happen.
I have often wondered why this wealthy man of position and influence would ‘throw it all away,’ to take and bury Jesus. Shame on me! Joseph of Arimathea’s understood the yet to be written truth of Mark 8:36, “What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
So on this day of silence, I don’t believe that Joseph of Arimathea was experiencing the fear and doubt of Jesus’ death. He had taken the step of faith to retrieve and honor his Savior’s body. He knew and acted upon prophecy. I believe a man who would take the ‘risk’ that he did, did so because he knew the truth of what was to come. These are my beliefs and not verified, but I have to believe that when Simon of Arimathea was told that the tomb was empty, he confidently responded “of course it is.”
There is much written and theorized about this man’s influence after Jesus’ death. And while much is unverified and stories of legend, I know this truth, that I will meet him on day in Heaven.
The gates of Hell have been invaded and Satan’s legions have realized that they have chosen the ultimately losing side. Sunday is coming. Love came down and life eternal is the reward for all who believe and receive.
“O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 (NLT)
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The day that hope died.
Can you imagine investing 3 years of your life to someone who now hung on a tree? Flesh ripped off from horrendous and sadistic flogging. Blood running down his beautiful face because he was mocked with a crown of thorns. Hanging between two men described as thieves and best case scenario, hardened criminals that society had deemed too horrid to continue living.
Can you imagine the thoughts running through the minds of the men and women who had left their families to follow this man? Now hanging from what was regarded as the most shameful, brutal, agonizing way to die. They had left everything. Were rejected by everything that they had been raised to believe mattered. Realizing that without him, they had nothing. They had the courage to reject the religious entrapment that had enslaved generations. Now that ‘courage’ hung bloody, mutilated, dying then dead on that horrid cross.
We know these men and women were afraid. Scripture tells us that they ran (Mark 14:50) with fear and confusion. One young man fleeing naked as they tried to hold him and ripped his linen clothing off. Fear reigned in those moments. Confusion instantly caused a cloud to cover what had been so beautiful and clear.
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me,” declares the LORD of hosts. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.” Zechariah 13:7 (ESV)
When, if ever, do you think the awareness that all of these things, even the disciples fear and desertion, must occur to fulfill the prophecies 800+ years before? Why is the knowledge and understanding of scripture so needed? Because in moments of seeming complete devastation, seeming complete desertion, understanding what has been written ‘must happen’ returns us to the very hope and assurance that brutally hung on that cross.
Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6), now lifeless on this horrid day that redeemed humanity, pleased his Father. While I can only guess the angels mourned and Heaven stood silent, Jesus was mutilated so our broken and wretched lives could be redeemed.
What a day. What a terrible, horrendous day that delivered never ending hope and unquestioned assurance. I am thankful for the example of those disciples who revealed their human failings in this seminal moment of eternity. Their failings and abandonment give me cause to accept that I am loved and forgiven despite, not because.
Good Friday. What a omnibenevolent God that he permitted the sacrifice of his only son on this day that reflects love in ways too marvelous to understand. On this ‘good’ day, hope reigns as death mocked evil. The event that caused Hell to be invaded and the righteous that went before us to be redeemed. The paradox of death delivering eternal life to those who believe and accept is too amazing to fully comprehend and too beautiful to refuse.
Sunday is coming. Galilee awaits. Affirmation for the disciples is pending. Love has not left them. Forgiveness will reveal itself in the resurrection and life of their/our Savior, Jesus. They had not wasted 3 years and this will soon be revealed.
Please join in the joyful mourning of the day that leads to the most beautiful morning that will ever occur. Hope never left, even in death.
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‘You’ve got to know when to hold them…’
“My wife and I were offered $100-million for our company when we were $10-million in debt and we declined.” Okay, you have my attention.
When I was a young President of an outdoor sports distributor, I was recommended to attend a weeklong training offered exclusively to presidents of companies. You had to be recommended by a prior attendee, who was also a President of a company. A fairly unique and surprisingly transparent group of people.
This training was called ‘The Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence’ and was located in Dayton, Ohio at the IAMS Pet Food corporate campus. IAMS had recently been sold to consumer brand giant, Procter & Gamble and was in a transitioning phase. Interestingly, this weeklong training was free and they considered the executive willing to surrender a week of time, payment enough. They wanted us there for the right reason.
A real gentleman came in dressed in a polo style shirt and khakis. I always remember those khakis for some reason. It was the corporate uniform of the season, unless you worked for IBM and a blue suit and red tie were required. He started with “if you don’t love dogs or cats and are not passionate about pet health and nutrition, you do not want to work at IAMS.” He went on to tell us that in the two decades he had owned and led IAMS, no person, no matter how qualified, had stayed with IAMS longer than a couple of months if they did not care deeply about pets and own a dog or cat. Interesting.
The gentleman sharing with us was Clay Mathile. He shared that he had convinced his wife to buy IAMS pet food from the original owner by selling their house, moving in to an apartment and basically starting over at a time when they were becoming empty nesters after having raised a family. He was all in. And thankfully for him, so was his wife. Clay shared with us IAMS strategies for success in the land of dog and cat food giants. Identifying and pursuing a channel that they could dominate while operating in relative obscurity so as not to awaken the giants they wanted to ultimately beat. Fascinating strategies were underscored by passionate commitment to the health of animals, not the wealth of the owners. So with stealth, strategy and zeroed in focus on a single lane, IAMS dominated…a channel that had not been valued as a dog and cat food sales channel. It wasn’t. It was a dog and cat owner channel made up of hyper passionate dog and cat owners committed to the best care of their animals. (Yikes, don’t tell them I called them animals. Their ‘kids.’). IAMS targeted the veterinary channel for selling dog and cat food. And it worked!
The lesson of the week could be drilled down to a single statement. “If your company is not passionate about the health of your customer to the point of obsession, you are not meaningful to them.” This lesson was reiterated over and over by imbedding in us that every decision must be guided by this simple question: Is this good for the health of our customer. I took from that a new commitment to the health of our sporting goods retail customers and that idea became and obsession that allowed us to separate our company, selling the same products to the same group of retailers to the point that we developed a ‘co-ownership’ with our partners that effectively shut our competition out. Another story.
We as a group were very intrigued by Clay’s telling us of declining the $100-million offer for his company, when $10-million in debt. Finally on the last day of training, which was really a leading of C-change in thinking, we were ready. When offered the $100-million, IAMS owned a 60% market share of the veterinary channel pet food sales. Clay knew there was more to be done to protect the health of pets and deepen IAMS market share within their single market vertical. So, after talking in depth with his wife, praying and considering, he turned down the offer. There was more to be done. By the way, the suitor in the $100-million offer was Procter & Gamble.
So IAMS kept their head down, their focus solely on the veterinary channel and commitment solely to improved products that contributed to pet health for another 10 years. After these next 10 years, the Mathild’s were no longer in debt. IAMS “owned” the veterinary market for pet food with an 88% market share. Their up and to the right had ever so slightly shifted downward. It was time to sell to a company whose reach involved existing market channels dominated by the giants.
Clay sold IAMS to P&G in 1999 for $2.3-BILLION in cash. 23X what they had offered him 10 years prior. Each % of market share growth in their single channel, equated to almost another $100-million in valuation. At that time, this was the largest cash purchase that P&G had ever made. And there were provisions that protected the health and welfare of dogs and cats through IAMS products.
The Mathild’s awarded their team with $100-million in bonuses from the sale. The original amount offered for the company because the team bought in to the timing and most importantly, the purpose of the organization.
Knowing when to hold is best understood by a clear understanding of your market, your strategies and girded by a corporate culture immovable in the face of giants.
David, the young Jewish boy killed the 9 foot giant, Goliath, in front of him with a string and a rock because he had trained on those lonely hillsides as a shepherd protecting his sheep from lions and bears with that same string and rock combination. When in the face of attack from a better armed foe, his training and his ability proved themselves. He knew when he stepped up, victory was already assured.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)
Clay wanted more than anything for us to understand the need for focus on faith when building something amazing. “Great companies are bought, not sold,” he continually said to us. Great leaders serve, he showed us.
“Know when to fold them.” Timing is everything. Your time is coming. Trust. Believe. Succeed.
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Changes in Attitude, Changes in Latitude
“I was lucky that I was always smart enough to realize that if I wanted to be a better man, I needed to hang out with better people.” Wendell Weeks, Corning CEO
The great American philosopher Jimmy Buffet defined so well how attitude determines our altitude with his profound lyrics “It’s those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes; Nothing remains quite the same; With all of our running and all of our cunning; If we couldn’t laugh we would all go insane.”
I have always gravitated to people who did not see brick walls. They saw opportunity for new directions, alternate pathways or differing methods of delivery. They understood the objective, conveyed the vision in ways that their team could see, and empowered the collective to achieve ridiculously fantastic results.
I love the story of Apple’s Steve Jobs needing glass screens for his company’s new product coming, the iPhone. He was challenging Corning, a 175 year old glass and materials science company, to get uncomfortable. To commit to supplying the critical element of what would become the transformational product of a generation. Mundane glass, that had existed for 4000 years was the pivotal variable in the iPhone equation. And our minds were blown when we first held those units and swiped.
Now Corning was no paper tiger having proved its organizational willingness to change and evolve over 17+ decades. Yet, in this moment of opportunity, Jobs looked at Corning’s CEO and said: “Do you know what your problem is?” Jobs asked. When Weeks admitted he didn’t, Jobs continued: “You’re afraid. You know, you’re afraid I’m going to launch the biggest product in history, and I’m not going to be able to do it because you failed, and I’m going to eviscerate you.”
It is easy to get caught up in the intensity and brilliance of Steve Jobs vision, but I believe the story here is of the willingness of an ocean liner (corporate giant Corning) to assume the agility of a speed boat (entrepreneurial spirit) needed to move quickly and reconfigure to meet the need wrapped in the guise of opportunity. Visionary leadership embraces change and speed when the opportunity becomes clear as glass (no pun intended).
I remember being at a technology conference in the early 2000’s, listening to leaders of then emerging technologies that have impacted our lives today. Theories that these leaders foresaw as vehicles for life enhancement and societal contribution. Then the CEO of a design company called IDEO stepped up and owned the room. He described envisioning new brands and businesses and bringing them to life. It was clear that if you were a “by the book” type of person that you would be miserable and fail at this company. If you had never seen a box, a wall, a barrier, you might just fit this company’s culture and more importantly, contribute to motion that was changing the latitudes of dozens of innovations then, that are standards today. And their innovative mindset and trend establishing corporate culture continues.
Latitude is measured by North and South. I believe that life can be described as a canoe in a river, either proceeding against the stream and determining one’s own direction and achievement, or pushed by a culture that washes one out on the side somewhere downstream. I use this illustration to say that life is not easy and neither is seizing opportunity. Equally, opportunity is available to all, but realized by those who seek it with unquenchable tenacity and vision. I marvel at brilliant friends who can take exponentially complex issues and break them down into ‘problems’ that can then be attacked. Many of these same friends look at me as a resource who can deliver results for the problems categorized. My point is this, we all become much more effective when we accept the gifts we hold and share them for the greater good of the team and society as a whole.
The greatest leader who ever walked the face of this earth was and is Jesus. In 3 short years he took a ragtag group of marginalized people in a culture that provided zero opportunity beyond the caste in which you were born, and taught them to see eternity.
He empowered them to speak, teach and provide the hope of salvation and eternity to a World that was ruled by overlords who squashed every threat of hope. He walked with them. He ate with them. He sweated with them. He mourned and laughed with them. More than all of this, he empowered them to see beyond themselves. He included doubters, zealots, corporate flunkies, doctors, achievers and deceivers because he knew that the tenacity that delivered life-changing results existed within each of them. He changed their latitude of thinking and they changed the latitude of life for 1000’s of generations because of the truth of his vision.
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” John 10:10 (NLT)
Know that latitudinal change lies within you. Allow your attitude to catch up with the plans for impact you were created to contribute. Belief is a power that cannot be contained when properly pursued.
You matter.
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Random ramblings of a simple man.
I find myself in a confused and conflicted time of my life. I am solid in my identity. I am solid in the blessings of my amazing wife and family. I am solid in these personal thoughts that I have decided to share. Beyond this, I am wandering and seeking…
Your dream is not everyone else’s.
I find it profoundly sad that most dreams go unfulfilled because of the factoring of fear.
The unknown crushes too many ideas that could change the individual’s life and even possibly, have exponential impact on humankind.
How can you lose what you never had?
Recognize that everything beyond life and health has little meaning.
A new car loses its smell within months. Its payment will stay with you long after the temporary euphoria.
Euphoria is temporary. Joy lasts a lifetime.
Joy is a choice. ‘Happiness’ is thrust upon us by emotions that deceive.
Keeping up with the Jones’s offers diminishing returns.
The hamster wheel will turn as fast as you can run and deliver you right where you started.
The miracle of Springtime blossoms is too marvelous to miss. And best case scenario, you only get 100 + or -.
Use money as a tool or it will enslave you.
A 401K is an asset. So is a shovel. One you control. The other will control you if you’re not careful.
A bigger house enables the loneliness you’re already feeling or provides a resource for outreach. Share.
“They don’t grow up so fast.” Every child that we’re blessed to raise and watch reach adulthood (by the World’s definition) is ours for 18 years, 216 months, 864 weeks (+ or -), 6,048 days, 145,152 hours and 8,709,120 seconds.
Choices we make determine how much time we spend with our kids.
Cost/benefit analysis has no greater place than our families.
Our kids remember time. They likely can’t tell you what they got as presents for Christmas but they can tell you about the time you chose them over the meeting.
A promotion at work may be at the detriment of your family and what is important. Choose wisely.
The grass is not greener on the other side. It’s just a reflection of where you are already standing.
The servant who buried their treasure because of fear was likely shocked that their Master was furious that they had not taken even a modicum of risk. (Matthew 25)
The only thing more beautiful than a newborn baby is his or her grandparents holding hands as they walk and talk.
You are enough. Just ask God. He made you for marvelous purpose.
Contentment is not surrender. It is fuel that calms the soul and reveals the beauty of color all around us.
Watching the sunrise reveals that hope never dies. And when hope fades, it renews the next day if we allow it.
Eggs are amazing. Bacon gave all.
Other than Easter and Christmas, I guess the most marvelous day is ‘New Tire Day’ for the car.
One day picking blackberries is much better than a year of therapy, if you listen.
Laughter really is the best medicine. Laugh uncontrollably and be the aggravating envy to all around you.
The man lying in the gutter has more value to God than every material thing that you own.
You matter. So does every person that crosses your life’s path.
Truth is immeasurably valuable. True friends more valuable.
Have a friend who tells you the truth. You lie to yourself enough for the both of you.
The mirror in front of you stops working when you angle it 45 degrees.
Envy is crippling. Comparison defeating.
The only thing more powerful than optimism is pessimism. (Just ask the 2.4-million Israelites who chose to believe the 10 pessimistic spies rather than the 2 optimists.)
A 40 year issue is often a 14 day walk where faith exists. (Ask the Israelites who wandered in the Wilderness because they chose fear over faith.)
Life is precious.
You are precious.
What you have to offer is precious.
There is no there before Heaven (or Hell). Only next.
Take another step.
bible, christianity, dream, envy, experience, faith, fear, friendship, god, greed, hope, jesus, joy, junk, life, love, materialistic, stuff, value -
What do you want?
It’s a powerful question that I often ask people when meeting with them. Almost every time the question is followed by silence, that at times becomes uncomfortable. The truth is many of us are going through the motions and too often, the emotions of a life without direction, goals or sadly, purpose.
The great speaker and write Zig Ziglar said “how can you hit a target you don’t have?” Seriously, how can you?
While I was attending college (as a commuter), I moved from working at a Savings & Loan (and now you know that I am old!), to selling insurance and securities. I was good at selling insurance and securities. I was praised by coworkers, my boss, my boss’s boss to the heights of the giant organization. I was so good that I won a Gold Record and qualified for a trip with the Chairman of the org. Awesome! Just one small issue. I hated selling insurance and had only approached this as a stepping stone of learning to my goal. What I wanted.
As a young kid, I loved the outdoors. No question some of my love of hunting and fishing is that is where I connected most closely with my dad. And I wanted to pursue a career in the outdoor sports industry. So, as a young man in my early twenties, a sales manager at the nation’s largest outdoor sports distributor agreed to interview me as a favor to his former boss, my friend’s dad and an early mentor to me.
I killed it in the interview. Connecting with the sales manager, talking outdoor stuff and just general life things that made it clear we were on the same page. We weren’t. The sales manager said “you will do well in this industry. You just need 10-20 years retail experience.” Wait, what? I literally said to him, “I don’t have 20 years to wait. I want to start now.” I was a little too arrogant but sincere in that statement. I told him that I would prove to him how much I wanted the job.
So began a period of absolute tenacity. I called the sales manager every Tuesday at 10:00 am, asking if a job was available? Wherever I was, whatever I was doing, I made that call. For 14 months straight. Never missed a call. The result was he and I became friends. I got to know about his wife, son and daughter. His daughter’s graduation. His father’s passing. His anniversary. He grew to know we. He became a cheerleader to the insurance salesman, congratulating me on my achievements and asking to buy insurance from me. I declined to sell him something because I told him ‘that I would be working for him soon.’ Maybe not as good a salesperson as I thought I was.
The week came that I was to be recognized and awarded the Gold Record for rookie sales in the 75 year-old region where no one had ever won the award before. The EVP of the company had flown in to present the award to me and talk with me about becoming the youngest regional manger in the history of the company. It was a Wednesday. I had made my call to the outdoor sports sales manager the day before. Still no jobs available!
As my insurance office prepared for the presentation, someone said ‘Myron, you have a call.’ I answered and it was the outdoor sports sales manager who said, “I just fired a guy who had the Northeast Ohio sales territory. It’s yours if you want it…if you promise to stop calling me every Tuesday at 10:00 am.’ I immediately answered, “I’ll take it. No promises on stopping the Tuesday call.” I proceeded to walk out, accept the award, quit my job, express my sincere appreciation and come clean that I hated selling insurance.
So, I moved to Canton, Ohio, thoroughly unprepared for the discipline of character needed to live in a new place without a proper support structure. And by the way, absolutely killing it as a territorial outdoor sales representative for my new company. Quadrupling sales in the first year. Setting records and quickly overcoming the $15K the territory had paid the year before and eclipsing the significant income I had walked away from because of what I wanted. Did I mention that the new job was 100% commission and I paid all expenses? Man, I love risks to a fault. Not quite as much now as I did 30 years ago, but still willing to take risks to achieve goals.
I want to convey that the lessons are in the journey. Unknown only becomes known if we’re willing to take a step. Risks can be mitigated by a committed desire to learn. Success comes from the recognition that failure is only a step in the walk, of the trek, of the journey, that leads to a perpetual destination continually extending beyond “here.” There is no ‘here,’ only next. It’s the experiences that are where value and contentment are found.
In two years I had taken the 178th performing territory out of 178 territories to the 2nd performing territory. And would have been number 1 had I not learned to love golf and carousing. (Another story.). The sales manager asked me, what’s it like to achieve what you want? I said, “I’ll let you know.” And then explained that I wanted his job within 2 years, to handle merchandising in 5 years, to be a VP in 10 years and a President within 15 years. BAG baby! Big, Audacious, Goals! I achieved them all in 7 years and was miserable beyond understanding.
What did I want? What I achieved almost caused me to end my life. ‘What did I want’ came walking up to me as I was drunk in the VIP section of a bar in Akron, Ohio and was exactly what I had told myself that I did not want. God knew that she was exactly what I needed.
Ask me to today what I want and the answers are very, very different. But the want is still there, coupled with a better understanding that the best ‘wants’ are delivered by helping meet needs.
I will forever cherish those 56 calls at 10:00 am on Tuesday mornings. They were the reminder that what I wanted was worth the effort. They were the catalyst to a career that has rewarded, shaken, changed and humbled me. They were the 56 steps that began a journey of life experience that I would not change for anything.
There’s more to this story that is the basis of what I want right now. More to come.
What do you want? Let’s find it.
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“Your mother will be alright.”
I don’t know why I feel compelled to write this today but I do. I sense there is someone in my small sphere of connection who needs to hear the affirming words that ‘someone they love will be alright.’
You see, I was 36 years old and at the professional pinnacle that I had pursued at the sacrifice of all that mattered, standing beside the bed of my mother begging God to heal her as she lay dying. My rock. My comfort. My source of unconditional love. My first and lifetime love lay dying. My mother, my sister’s mother, my father’s wife, my aunt’s best friend, the “singing bus driver” who lovingly drove the children of Centerville City Schools for decades lay in front of me. And there I stood, her little boy wrapped in the veil of a “successful man,” who was actually just her little boy. Insecure and wracked with doubt, guilt, addiction and systematic failure in all that mattered.
As I prayed and petitioned the God of all Creation that I had been running from for 20 years, I knew He would answer my prayers. I knew that the benevolent God would heal my mother. I knew that my negotiation skills honed over years of working significant and meaningless deals would work as I stood beside the bed of the one who mattered to me more than anything in this World. Who, by the way loved me despite, not because.
So that night as I stood beside my mom’s bed and begged for her to be healed, a voice audibly said to me “your mother will be alright”. Yes. Mom is going to be alright. Yes, God. Thank you. Yes, God. I knew you would hear my plea, accept my offer of living a better life. Yes, God, I knew my bartering skills honed over years of disingenuous love and calculated care would rescue my mother. My, my, my. How sad.
A few days later, my mother was miraculously ‘alright.’ She was in Heaven. She was the best, the greatest, the happiest, the freest, wrapped in inconceivable love, joy, celebration, welcome and connection that she had or would ever, forever be. She was home. At 61 years of age, she was all right. She was greeted with “well done good and faithful servant,” (Matthew 25:23) and wrapped in the loving arms of her Father and holding the hands of Jesus, while feeling the scars on his beautiful hands that bore the remnants of those holes created by the nails that held him to that horridly beautiful cross. For the first time she was all right. I had prayed for the wrong alright and God had blessed her with the perfect all right.
I was so angry at God for taking my mom. My emotional maturity, or lack thereof, was exposed. My conditional faith laid bare as no faith at all. Anger swept over me. Bitterness invaded my life in ways that I had never surrendered to before. I had been double crossed by the very God who makes all things new. (Revelation 21:5). ‘God, the God, benevolent God, you double crossed me;’ I thought as I walked in misery, loneliness, abandonment. Ironically and assuredly, I was not walking alone. The Rescuer of my mother, was walking alongside me. Yea though I waked through the deepest of valleys…He was with me. (Psalm 23)
Then on that profoundly sad Thursday evening as I sat in my empty house, abandoned by all that I had in fact driven out, i intended to leave this World through self inflicted death. The fact is this death walk had begun decades earlier, culminating in this moment. I yelled out in anger, “God, if this is all there is, I want out.” And those life saving words came. “Son, this is not the plan that I have for your life.” This from the same Voice who had told me that my mother would be alright. As always, his words were truth. His words were steadfast. His non-negotiable covenant with me saved me. The same voice who entered into covenant with the Israelites as they entered the Promised Land, spoke to me.
Can I share with you the incredible joy that came 5 years after my mother died when I understood that my plea for her to be alright was answered with eternal all right. The bitterness of losing her was surrendered to the beautiful recognition that she was eternally all right. That my request for her to be temporarily alright was answered by the omnipotent Creator with the gift of her eternal all right. All was right for my mother. Her son is walking toward all right and the seeds she sewed through a life well lived and a son so well loved by her example, continues in the generations that follow. (Deuteronomy 7:9)
I will leave this with this thought. God, who cannot be measured, calculated, fully understood or limited, can be trusted. That faith in Him is the eternal assurance that allows all things to be reconciled. That right now whatever you are going through, has a purpose so much greater that you can possibly see or understand. He will reveal the perfect reasons for his moment in the season to come. That you are okay to find joy and optimism in the face of uncertainty and even crushing burden. Oh how He loves you. He knows your heart and He knows your capacity for impact. He holds you in the storm and He frees you when you trust. My prayer for you is this: Through the tears of this season, look at the horizon with anticipation of what He has beautifully planned for you. These moments of difficulty are the fuel that will propel you into ‘what he has planned for you.’ Prepare. The bridegroom is coming for you. (Matthew 25).
You matter and you are needed. Trust.
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Stop Horsing Around!
Ask me how to use $425 to make $7-million become $28-million.
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 (NLT)
In those early days of being appointed to develop and lead the sales side of the small sporting goods company, I realized that this would be a 360-degree type of position. If we were going to develop into a sales oriented organization, we had to change the fundamental way we approached the market. The company had been methodically built by advertising products in a newspaper type of industry monthly. Taking incoming calls from individuals licensed to buy our products. These individual buyers were being phased out by increasing government regulation. Our core revenue source was at risk. The larger market did not know us and did not take us seriously. For good reason.
– Identifying what needs to be done is the first step. Doing what needs to be done begins to separate you from the pack. Doing without being told is the catalyst to leadership.
My boss, the president of the company at that time, came from a buying background and had minimal sales experience. Compared to my extensive 3 years of sale experience. (Insert going into work without tools here.) There was a magazine publication that reached our target customer base; sporting goods retailers and I asked him if I could have $425 to place a 1/4 page, black & white ad that I would create to see if we would get any response from our desired target market. After 3-4 months of asking, each time missing the deadline to place the ad, he agreed.
– If you believe in what you want to do, you will be tenacious and consistent in pursuing the objective.
So I saw a cartoon of a cowboy riding a bucking horse, holding his hand in the air as if saying something. The cartoon was designed in a way that our company logo fit perfectly under the horse’s rear-end in the image. I naively and without any intention of trademark violation, cut out that cartoon image and placed it and our logo in the defined area 3.25” x 4.25” of the ad space we had purchased. (Did I mention that I was now an advertising specialist?). I then wrote the words, “Stop horsing around.” And the copy of the ad said, “If you’re not buying from us, you’re paying too much.” Included was our non-toll free phone number because I had not been able to convince my boss that more orders would come in if we had a 1-800 number….yet!
– Rome wasn’t built in a day. But it was built.
After a graphics designer laid the ad out to meet the magazine’s standards, we waited. Sure enough, two months later an envelope arrived on my desk, containing over 50 inquiries from retailers who had taken the time to fill out the response card in the magazine asking to be contacted by our company as a prospective supplier. My boss wasn’t happy! “How are you going to have time to call all of these inquirers, while still unloading trucks, helping pack orders and cleaning up at the end of the day?,” he asked. He also was not happy that we would be incurring significantly higher phone bills because of all of the outgoing calls I would be making. He was a very farsighted guy! I committed to come in early (we opened at 8:00 am), stay late (we closed at 5:00) and cut short my lunch to make the calls. He grudgingly acquiesced.
– Where there’s a willingness powered by commitment and tenacity, there is a way.
As I made those calls early in the morning, I quickly learned that the best store owners worked early and could typically by reached before 8:00 am Eastern Time and Mountain/Pacific time retailers could be best reached at the 12:00 ET slot. Let the calls begin. This was a time period where there was no Internet, no email, no texting. Sending and accepting faxes was still somewhat in its infancy and was not an allowed way to send legal docs. The setup of new customers was slow. Relationship was key.
– Anything worthwhile is worth the effort. Relationships built to last require investment of time, energy and genuine interest.
As I made my way through those initial ad inquiries, I came to the S’s. A Terry A. from a company in Atlanta called ‘Sportstown’ had inquired. When I called, he answered and his first comment was life changing for our little company: “I can’t believe you called me,” Terry said. He had been submitting these inquiries for months to every advertiser in the magazine and our company was the first to respond. I learned that Terry was the Buyer at Sportstown for our category of products. I learned that Sportstown had grown from 7 stores to 17 stores in the last year and had outgrown their existing suppliers. I learned that they planned to open another 15 stores in the coming 13 months (private equity is awesome and/or selling your soul to the devil). I learned that Terry needed help. Our little horse ad was his Calvary coming to save the day.
– You can learn a lot about people and companies if you ask and are willing to listen. Committing to solving their problem versus slotting them into your model separates you from the pack.
Terry said, “I would like to give your company a try. I’ll have our new vendor group send all of our documents.” I then learned that they purchased using Net 30 Day payment terms and he thought a $1-million dollar credit line would suffice to start. Our company’s terms were COD, cash on delivery, and our really good customers could write a check versus literally paying in cash. Seriously!
– If you’re chasing giants, don’t bring a mouse trap. Houston, we have an opportunity.
Imagine my boss’s response when I said we have a prospective customer who wants a million-dollar credit line and 30-day payment terms. I won’t write what he said. I will say my work as a sales person, sales manager, advertising specialist were just beginning. And merchandising manager, marketing manager, IBM AS400 integrator, corporate real estate developer and on, all lay on the near horizon.
– You have to be very ‘stretchy’ to grow exponentially. Your commitment is often measured by your willingness to overcome pushback from within of the very thing you are tasked with doing.
One call to a buyer who held a very large checkbook changed the trajectory of our little company and of a young kid. It was indeed time to stop horsing around. We were moving up from Single-A to Triple-A and the Majors were calling.
We weren’t ready!
“He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.” Matthew 8:26 (NIV)
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Squirrels
My family gave me a squirrel-proof bird feeder that has proven to be very accommodating to the squirrels. The “protective” wire that houses the seed holder gives them a nice foothold as they devour the seeds meant for the many beautiful birds that inhabit this area. Squirrels!
There is an interesting dynamic as I observe the devouring of the ‘bird seed’ by the squirrels. There is a perpetual competition for access to the seeds in the feeder. So much so that most of the squirrels will chase one another to “protect their seeds,” most often resulting in little seeds being eaten and massive amounts of energy being expended to protect what really isn’t theirs from those equally trying to access what was not intended for them in the first place. Are you still with me.
You see the obsession is the perch at the top of the seed chain. The opportunity is getting there. The reward is being there. The challenge is staying there. The purpose? Well it is lost in all of this if the squirrel is not careful and they’ll leave more hungry than when they arrived.
Do you know why most people say they do not set goals? Because they are afraid of failing and not achieving them. If it helps, I guarantee you a 100% success rate in not achieving the goals that you do not set. Fear really is crippling. And the decision to not risk, to not stretch, to not dream, to not try is profoundly sad. I seldom if ever see a squirrel come and look at the bird feeder and its treasure, then turn around and leave. I watch with a mixture of half admiration, half laughter, half disdain and half anger as these enemies of the seed execute their planned takeover of the feeder. Okay, so fractions are not my strong suit. A real ‘half and half-not’ scenario.
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Wayne Gretzky
So as I watch the squirrels work to achieve access to the feeder and access is almost always short lived. They work like dogs (or squirrels) to remove the squirrel presiding at the feeder prior to their arrival. They do this primarily by playing off the greed factor of the resident squirrel, whose desire to protect and not share what is abundantly available. Seeds. The selfish desire overrides the reason for going to the feeder in the first place. Life sustaining food. Many to most times, the squirrels desiring to unseat the ‘king of the feeder’ squirrel will work in tandem to draw the king away. Invariably, while the king chases away a challenger, a new ‘king’ assumes the throne of the feeder…again, capable of feeding all of them if they would do one thing; share the bounty that is available. So the new king has arrived. Don’t unpack your bags. Or seeds in this case. The stay is never very long.
Next is the hamster-wheel of the bird feeder. The new king-of-the-feeder enjoys her or his newly achieved position and abundance for exactly, well approximately 30 seconds to a few minutes. Never as long as the identification, preparation, plan, execution and ascension to the feeder. I cannot remember a time when I watch the new king take a moment, look around and enjoy the fruits (or seeds) of their labor. The challengers are coming. A plan for removal and replacement is being hatched. Squirrels don’t abdicate the throne of the feeder. Greed and ego causes them to lose their position because of obsession to protect what was not theirs to begin with. They’re squirrely! And so they forget and react out of instinct instead of analyze and respond out of recognition. Good thing we humans are not like this!
So the purpose for the execution of the plan, the ascension because of the purpose and the realization of the purpose are surrendered by this thing called pride. The king squirrel is proud and protective of the bounty of seeds too significant and appealing to be ignored by those desiring the same treasure. The purpose, food and fulfillment, lost on the king as challengers seek to achieve the same purpose as those who have come before them. You see, the purpose often takes a back seat to the noise, confusion, challenge and pride that confuses what is being pursued and certainly the ‘why.’
Did I mention the contented squirrel and birds? Decades of experience and observation have caused me to see opportunity exists in the chaos happening around us. While the war for the feeder and seeds rages, there are usually several older squirrels (you can tell because they’re a little more plum in the rump) and many birds peacefully eating the massive amounts of seed falling to the ground, caused by the chaos happening above. The life metaphor here: “You don’t have to participate in the chaos raging around you to live a full and peaceful life.”
One last observation. I always watch squirrels in the woods behind our house and beyond the bird feeder, systematically retrieving nuts from the trees or on the ground after they have fallen and squirreling them away for the season that is coming. These squirrels operate in such peace and purpose, laser focused on the task at hand and using their God given abilities to live the life they were created for. Never chasing. Always methodical. Content. Peaceful. Productive.
Hmm, peace through purpose, free of greed and envy. Interesting concept.
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13 ESV. (Written by a man in chains. Unjustly jailed. Freely forgiven at a horrible price, paid by Jesus on that cross.)
Let’s go.
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Myron Speaks 