Top of mind...

I have two offices.

That's the 'blackboard wall' in my second one. Why do I have a 'blackboard wall'? So I can keep the most important ideas that are currently driving my work right in front of my face (and in front of EVERYONE who sets foot inside my office).

It's like my 'propaganda wall'.

I need it 'cause I forget. I need it 'cause I get busy. I need it because I stop doing the 'first things' and get caught up in the tyranny of the urgent.

Unless I stop myself by reminding myself what's really important.

Maybe click on the picture above (it'll expand larger) and see if any of the core ideas up there are transferrable to YOUR context.

If they are, write 'em down somewhere VISIBLE so you can keep 'em...

Top of mind.

T

Milestone...

They tell you that, at some point, you're gonna' "Make it..." like you'll wake up and have 'arrived' or something.

So far, from my journey, it looks like that's absolutely NOT the case.

See, here I am, in my edit suite working on VFX shots that are being built at two Effects Firms (one in Toronto, one in the Philippines) and looking at comps built on plate shots we did months ago with a 24 foot crane and the best (give or take) digital cinema imaging systems you can get in a place almost no-one ever gets to shoot; and--all that said, and though I'm working on a 'dream project' to be sure--the hard truth is; I'm no-where near 'there' yet.

Add to that the call I get a couple times each week from my biz partner (and exec producer on this project) reporting to me on another meeting he's had with another top-level decision-maker at one of the largest Bible-interested organizations in the World and they're TOTALLY into this project; we haven't had a lukewarm reply yet, and you'd think we were really onto something.

I'm sure I don't have to tell you what a rare experience that is.

His top-level meeting this week told him, "Look we get, literally, thousands of proposals each year, and THIS one is directly, exactly, aligned with our mission, values and current strategy..."

That's music to your ears.

And I've never heard it before.

That's right. In 20 years of trying THIS is the first time we've produced something that is potentially VERY interesting to a VERY large segment of the viewing public. THIS is the FIRST time we've had players of that caliber coming to the table wanting 'in'.

In 20 years of trying.

So, have I arrived? Don't think so. I mean, in some ways 'sure', maybe. Would I have given anything ten years ago to be doing what I'm doing today? Yes. So in that sense, I've moved from 'there' to 'here' from 'then' to 'now'. But, in another (and very real sense) where I sit today is nowhere NEAR where I want to be five to ten years from now.

And what's MOST daunting about all of this is that the path from 'here' to 'there' is paved with unrelenting toil. I'm talking small detailed step after small detailed step running uphill the whole way against resistance and conflict and time management issues and personality issues and resource shortages and lack of inspiration.

And the craziest thing is there's NO guarantee that if you keep putting one foot in front of the other you'll end up where you WANT to be or where you THOUGHT you'd be.

One thing you CAN be sure of though...

If you stop walking you're guaranteed to STAY where you ARE.

So, lace 'em up and get moving.

T

Take it...

Sometimes you just gotta' take a risk.

Those are my two 'littles'. Yes, we call their older sister and brother the 'bigs'. Anyway, those are my two 'littles' perched atop a 350ft sand cliff overlooking Lake Erie.

We were climbing (my wife and older two a ways behind us on the ridge), I looked up, the sun was setting, the light was perfect so I told 'em to hop right up on the ledge (yes, I tested it first) so I could grab this shot.

Pretty epic.

Was it risky? Slightly.

Was it worth it? Certainly.

After I took the shot, my 'littles' walked ten feet further (away from the actual ledge) and began their jumping, hopping descent; kind of like slalom skiing, but on sand with no skis.

I did the same, except I walked up to the ledge they'd been standing on, took a good look, took a moment to hope that my 42 year old body could do what it did when I visited the same ledge a decade ago and...

I jumped.

Slalomed MY way down, like on sand but without skis.

Super fun.

Yes I'm sore today. Yes I was stressed about it at the time, thinking concurrently how awesome the moment was and how quickly it could turn from awesome to horrible.

But, as I look at life I don't see any way around it. Risk and reward are intrinsically linked. If you want that moment of reward, sometimes you just gotta' jump.

So, next time you're contemplating a risk, consider the many facets at hand, then...

Take it.

T

Offspring...

Went to watch some of 'my' boys play and some of 'my' coaches, coach the other night.

Why do I call them 'mine'?

Because they're part of 'my' coaching tree. 

Coaching Tree:

"...if a coach worked as an assistant on a particular head coach's staff for at least a season then that coach can be counted as being a branch on the head coach's coaching tree. Coaching trees can also show philosophical influence from one head coach to an assistant."

Love it.

I have 'coaching trees' in football and also in my dual career of ministry and production; these are (in my case) generally 'guys' who have grown up to do things in a way/style that reflects the way/style I tended to employ when they were part of my sphere of influence (as a coach/pastor/producer) at some point in the past.

Sometimes I see this echoed in actual words they say, or in how they carry themselves, or what they emphasize as important. Sometimes they do things differently but with a similar 'spirit', sometimes they do things with a 1:1 approach.

Regardless, it's humbling.

Also makes me feel old. I remember when much of what I did was rooted in the 'coaching trees' that I descended from. It took many years to see 'my' own distinctives added to things that I'd adopted from my mentors. Now that I'm resolutely middle-aged, it's cool and also strange to see some of the things my wife and I have been working on for some time, beginning to show up in the ethics and approaches of some of our peers.

What I really take from this is the power of 'long obedience in the same direction...' (Peterson) There hasn't really been anything spectacular about what we've been doing and, to be honest, I've sometimes felt like that's a problem to be overcome. But, now that we've got some water under the keel, I can see the early signs of some very real impact and influence.

So, if you are out there today, putting one foot in front of the other feeling like you're getting nowhere and making no difference; keeping going.

Before you know it you'll be in the stands watching a game you're not physically a part of but over which you have influence nonetheless and that's a very satisfying sort of impact.

Keep at it!

Best,

T