My Favorite Things

Posted on May 4, 2013 by sticker1

I remember when I was very young, my mom taught me to sing “My Favorite Things.” You might allow a single mom raising two kids and running a business would be tempted to complain sometimes, but I remember this song more than any complaints. In high school, I found the legendary John Coltrane cover of the same tune, and I think back to jamming out teenage angst on that 3/4 groove.

I’ve been feeling pretty out of my groove lately- my foot has me shut down, moving house has required heroic effort, and professional fulfillment seems frustratingly illusive. Coming home from the grocery store tonight though, I started to notice a few of my favorite things:

The way the sun dapples through the new crabapple tree outside the living room.

Sharing with people.

The way the sun and breeze dry my clothes in the Montana spring.

The visuals are easy, but stepping back there are plenty of others.
- I have people in my life that remember how wonderful I am, even when I don’t remember myself.
-That whether I see it or not, the sun rises every damn morning.
-and even when I’m not my best, other people are, and that inspires me.

What are your favorite things? Post to comments.

Impact

Quote

Posted on March 16, 2013 by sticker1

That, is a great place to put a Zola Window.

The first Zola uPVC windows installed in the US, as of Thursday...

Feedback

Posted on March 11, 2013 by sticker1

First thing today at work, I got some feedback that I had dropped the ball on a few things, and we probably lost some money, and some respect, because of it.

After work, and my weekend facilitating NLC sessions, our board for the group met and reviewed some of the feedback we had received- as I had invited most of the speakers, and facilitated most of the sessions- I felt pretty invested in it, and some of the negative feedback we got hit me hard.

After that meeting, I got some feedback from a friend that I had really let her down in a big way. I care about my friends a lot, so I took this more seriously than all of them.

Feedback is the most important thing in the world because it’s when we find out if what we thought (or guessed) and did actually resulted in the outcome we had hope for. In short- it’s how we actually learn.

Professionally it’s pretty easy- if we reduce utility bills, make people happier, and put a little money in the bank, we win, but it usually doesn’t keep me up at night. In my personal life it tends to hit harder, maybe because the lessons feel closer to home, and maybe because it takes a long time to really change who we are. I’ve still got plenty of work to do. Everyday, most of us strive to do our best- and every day, we guess, and we get things wrong.

I have to remind myself that my best is good enough for today. If you get it mostly right, most of the time- you’re probably doing well. Half the battle is letting go when you’re in the wrong, the other half is hanging on to the lesson.

Learning to Sell

Posted on February 9, 2013 by sticker1

I spent yesterday manipulating an overly aggressive chainsaw against a sisyphean task. Doing this left me with a lot of spare mental capacity. Thoughts drifted from the jobsite to Alaska, my damaged left foot, the woman I’m crazy about, and finally to engineering sales. Yes, engineering sales.

I’ve always poo pooed sales, particularly engineering sales- but it’s fast becoming what I am most excited to do. My boss agrees with me that this is what we need most at work, and is probably the fastest way to shift my employment away from operating agro chainsaws.

If we vote with our dollar, sales is how you campaign. After 9/11, the nation looked to the White House for leadership and George W. Bush could have said anything. In a gross statement of American consumerism- he told us to go to the mall and shop. “Bolster the economy.” The socio-economic/political consequences aside, the moment highlighted the point that one of the most consequential actions we take is how we spend our money. If I really want to change the world, I’m not going to do it by inventing some new design- I’m going to do it by educating people about the value of design and technology available to us right now.

Sustainble building design is interesting- I really believe that “the trick” to sustainable buildings is to find satisfaction and elegance in practical, elegant, designs that maximize use of basic materials and simple technology. Part of the challenge is that these most important elements aren’t particularly new and it’s hard to evoke intense emotion . The things we need most already exist.

If I learn the design of something, I can only effect that thing. If I learn to sell- I can affect everything I touch, and I can change the way people act on their beliefs. Sometimes “the goal is to keep the goal the goal”*- and sometimes the goal is to figure out what the real goal is. I don’t know if this is the birth of my career as a salesman, or maybe just a new awareness in my business interactions, but moving forward the topic of sales is going to be big on the horizon.

*quote by Dan John.

HNL

Posted on January 1, 2013 by sticker1

Like the title, my time on Oahu was abbreviated. That said, it didn’t lack substance. Given that December 30st started with this:

“Going to Hawaii, right…”

… it took most of the 6 hour flight from Seattle to convince myself I was going to sleep on a beach in Hawaii without a sleeping bag for the night.

I felt pretty good getting off the plane, and somehow managed to talk the rental car guy into a substantial upgrade from my originally reserved Ford Focus.

Rollin’, like I do…

My first stop might have been my most important. I’ve wanted to visit the Pearl Harbor Valor in the Pacific war memorial for quite some time, and it was the only thing I had really planned to do on Oahu. I visit war memorials a lot. I think honoring the dead is important. The Pearl Harbor memorial is well done, and powerful- and I particularly appreciated the fact that it clearly laid out the primarily economic drivers that coerced the Japanese into attacking Pearl Harbor (and entering WWII) in the first place- they are not dissimilar from our own current circumstances. I couldn’t hold back the tears while I was there. Our culture has a problem, more specifically- an addiction, to violence that I find entirely unacceptable. Maybe, with time and luck, humanity will figure out how to meet it’s needs without killing one another.

Tribute to the 4,560 men KIA, just in the Pacific Submarine Service alone.

Collecting myself, I took an obligatory pass to gawk and the absurdity of Waikiki beach, but followed some beta from the guy I sat next to on the plane and headed to Oahu’s east shore for a more down to earth scene.

Despite a thorough investigation via Yelp, Sunday night is a bad time to try to experience Hawaiian cuisine on the cheap. That said, fish tacos, an acoustic bass guitar, and a gorgeous beach all to myself were a perfect way to spend the night. With the time change, I was up plenty early on Monday morning, and around sunrise, I headed for the tallest point I could see. Makapuu Point was the perfect spot for a healthy little run and some great photos.

East side- love.

The last sunrise of 2012.

After a dip in the ocean, and a few wrong turns, I headed up the Pali Hwy and back to the airport. I can’t say much for Honolulu as a city- cluttered, dirty, and mostly ugly, but the rest of the place is pretty okay- and I’m certainly glad I poked around a bit before heading south.

Kaneohe, from the Pali Highway. Worth the drive.

The Real Thing

Posted on January 1, 2013 by sticker1

While my trip to Salt Lake City was a hilarious amount of fun, my friends are also very good at asking important questions too. In the course of getting to know each other, Sarah asked me-

“What are you looking for out there (when you go adventuring)?”

To be clear, Sarah has spent more time off the beaten path having her own adventures, but this is a question worth asking between climbing partners. Reading back through some email correspondence, I felt like this was supposed to show up here. Usually New Years is somewhat of a “high holiday” for me- a time for reflection, and prioritization- but my NYE got eaten by the International Date Line and my reflections have been foggy from jetlag. Maybe this is just what I’m going to be looking for in 2013.

Simply put, I am looking for the real thing.

“Peace is who we are when we are completely honest.” (Ralph Marston)

I’ve only just recently started to describe it as “the real thing”. The real thing is honest. Honesty is peace. More that simply saying that what I am looking for is peace- describing it as the real thing reminds me of how to get there- it makes the search less illusive. Credit where due, the term comes from here.

The real thing happens when we have the right combination of risk, friendship, beauty, simplicity, authenticity, and probably a few other things I can’t name so easily. Sometimes, the real thing is enjoying dinner with new friends, and sometimes it’s a multi-day, runout, alpine scarefest. You know it’s the real thing when you realize that you don’t have to hide anything. When you can’t hide anything. When you’re scared, and you wish you could pretend, but you remember that everything works better when you don’t. Hard climbing tends to be the real thing because it demands our complete attention- we can’t fake training we haven’t done or technique we haven’t learned. I’m pretty sure the real thing happens just as much in our day to day lives as it does when we are climbing, it’s just easier to ignore.

I am much more comfortable getting to know people with my faults on display than simply the things I’m proud of. When I’m not trained up. When I’m not shrending hard. When I feel my worst. Because honestly, we are all only at our best for a fraction of the time. I’m looking for the cleanest, simplest, most authentic version of myself. I’m looking to spend time with people who are as optimistic, grateful, enthusiastic, creative, and engaged as I am (or more so). I believe that “you become who you hang around. (MFT)” and I’m looking to build friendships in which I would never say something about someone that I could not say to them. To make friends that won’t settle for my bullshit, and who are as excited about next week’s version of myself as I am.

I am looking to share experiences with people that don’t leave me wondering if they felt the same way, because how they felt will be clear in their eyes- or they will feel compelled to speak up. I hope that I can be more honest with each successive person I meet- and learn to be more honest with myself along the way. Adventuring outside inspires the most honesty, and therefore I believe it represents my path to peace.

Speak Out

Posted on November 28, 2012 by sticker1

Someone told me today that they wanted to get better at public speaking and asked for my advice. I thought what I had to say was worth sharing here:

“Connect with your passion in whatever you are talking about. Bring whatever you have to say back to your passion- if its invasive species, or vegan gourmet, or energy efficiency, connect to that. If you are talking about something really esoteric or far from your passions, find a way to joke about it, or something about it that you genuinely want to learn more about. If you find yourself in the unfortunate place of talking about something you really don’t know anything about, own that too- get vulnerable and admit your ignorance, there are few better ways to make friends.

People connect via authenticity, vulnerability, and humor- if you can use one of these, you win. Also, practice. It sucks and it’s hard, but speaking is really one of those things that only happens when you put yourself on the spot and do it. Take every chance you can get to speak in front of people (it’s scary), and make a deal with yourself that you won’t back down from an opportunity. It gets worse, then better, and then- it gets fun.”

Next Friday I’m looking forward to giving a presentation about my professional work to a group of architects in Helena. I am a little nervous about it. The vulnerability tactic is definitely my plan, but I also respect what I have to say, so I hope I can speak authentically. I mildly expect my audience to eat me alive (architects and contractors in the construction industry tend to be at odds with one another). I can’t hide the fact that I’ve only been at this contracting gig for a year (holy crap, it’s been a year)- so I intend to own it, and while usually presenters are on the spot to teach something, I’m thankful that I tend to walk away having learned something.

ThanksAction

Posted on November 24, 2012 by sticker1

One of the biggest reasons I like Thanksgiving so much is that it reminds me (and leaves a day off) to express how thankful I am to the many people that make my life rich. I call this ThanksAction. I will give Facebook some credit for being a useful way to keep track of people that might otherwise disappear into the ether. My Thursday was punctuated with cooking, laughing, and text/phone/facebook messages from across the world.

Hiking the M to get our appetite on!

Dinner was a small group of lovely folks, and a large table of delicious food.

Prairie Heritage Farm Heirloom turkey, perfectly seasoned and done.

Very thankful for friends that love to cook.

Who are you thankful for? How can you let them know? I know few things that can improve your day as powerfully and quickly as sharing some gratitude with someone. My ThanksAction has continued through the weekend, and perhaps one of the things I’m most thankful for is that I haven’t run out of people to get in touch with yet.

Special.

Posted on November 19, 2012 by sticker1

It is important to remember that the most important, special, things tend to happen in just their own time- and that time has been the last 9 days.

This past weekend I was again at Prairie Heritage Farm to slaughter turkeys for Thanksgiving. You’ve seen the pictures from last year, so I’ll spare the gory details, and if last weekend wasn’t one to celebrate my anniversary in Montana, this one certainly was.

The high, northern plains.

There’s a feeling I get being out there, on the high northern plains. The openness of the land and the warmth of its people remind me why the hard, unglamorous work of farming is what has shaped many of the richest, and most fulfilling parts of our culture. Jacob and Courtney seem to draw a particularly beautiful crew of people each year to help with the grisly work- I was particularly privileged to enjoy the company of my new friend Katie for the drive from Missoula to Power, and our shared work slitting throats together. We had glorious weather, and spectacular new facilities for the slaughter- making this year less about “getting through it”, and more about “doing it right and having fun.

Getting what she came for.

Farm-fresh and amazing, dinner is not to be missed.

The introspective observations:

As much as I enjoy my time on the farm, I don’t feel compelled to farm- but I do feel compelled to empower other people to farm.
The hard and unglamorous work of farming often mirrors the hard, unglamorous work of contracting- and I like that.
Being around this group of people made me start to seriously think about my own aspirations in participating in the sustainable food system. How can I participate more?

A humble day of work and 10 gallons of blood.

The practical observations:

People always look funnier with turkey blood splattered on their faces.

“I told you not to look directly at the turkey…”

Turkey farts smell really bad, and are hilarious.
The look on little Declan’s face says it all…
There is such a thing as “sipping Tequila.”

It was a special weekend, and no doubt I got what I came for.

A few other highlights from the last 9 days:

I had a hilariously good time as a guest soloist with the Dodgy Mountain Men last Thursday night as Missoula said goodnight to our beloved Top Hat (until spring of 2013). Thank you gentlemen, and I look forward to more songs soon.

Soundcheck.

Despite a year of injuries and training focused entirely elsewhere- I still put 10 more pounds on my best-ever deadlift last Tuesday night.

Last Sunday I took the first few steps on the next BIG adventure. Stay tuned.

Safe to say, I will have plenty to give Thanks for at the table this Thursday.

The Seeley-Swan at sunset.

Special?

Posted on November 10, 2012 by sticker1

Today didn’t feel special, but I had the notion that it was supposed to.

I did not appropriately prioritize my time today.

I did not accomplish anything of particular note.

The adventures I would like to be having remain far away.

I started paying rent at an apartment in Missoula on November 10, 2011. The ordinari-ness of today rests uncomfortably at the back of my head, as it seems to be another in a string of ordinary days. This is not acceptable. I look forward to making tomorrow different.

stickthefeeling

"… let the baggage go."

Category Archives: Philosophy