40 Year Old Nike Memo courtesy of Uncle Ricky

Number 11: Stay Fit!

Stay Whole - A good question to ask yourself

Good stuff from Daniel Pink, with Tom Rath talking about Life's Great Question. Check out this 90-second video: This is the most important question to ask yourself.

Fit as a Fiddle Friday - From Uncle Ricky!

Back to Brene Brown on WPW

Lucy,

Last week on Woman Power Wednesday, we celebrated Brene Brown. You told me you were voted most likely to be the next Brene by your Surfing the Nations fellow-interns. That is quite a compliment! I have listened to her recent podcast with Tim Ferris a couple of times. Here are some things I want to share in no particular order.

First, I had this exchange with Beth Smith:

Beth: You may have already listened but T Ferris/Brene Brown podcast is great. I almost didn’t listen because I’ve heard them both so much that thought it would be redundant but they proved me wrong!
Dad: The marriage 50-50 / 80-20 thing was spot on. But I also got interested in her ’voice and cadence’ as you will see in my post.
Beth: 80/20 was my fave. And I thought Tim had some great analytical points. Agree on cadence, it has been the same since her original TED talk. I think it highlights her authenticity and speaks to how careful and thoughtful she chooses her words. It also sounds like someone who has done a decent amount of therapy and AA meetings where there is no crosstalk and a lot of listening. Good stuff all around.

You can hear the marriage is not always 50-50 segment at this mark:

• Why getting married was the hardest thing Brené has ever done, and the hacks that have kept that marriage — and the whole family — going for 25 years. [53:05]

Other segments I found listen-worthy:

• Where’s the line between being our best selves or striving for excellence, and embracing who we are? Self-acceptance and complacency? Excellence and beauty in all things and perfectionism that is paralyzing? [19:08]
• Nobody makes it to adulthood without some kind of trauma, and that trauma won’t let you discard that armor without a fight — or the help of a therapist. [46:36]
• Why Brené encouraged her super-academic daughter to slow down and enjoy her time in high school and college without racing toward some grand finale career decided upon at age 18. [1:00:03] (You must listen to this part!)
• Why everybody should have to work at least one — preferably two — service jobs early in life. [1:02:29]
• Five things Brené has changed her mind about in the last few years. [1:04:10] (Good piece on sobriety inside this segment.)

I hope everyone will make time for this podcast.

Love,

Dad

Photos from the weekend in North Carolina - MIAGM!

Lucy's reunion with Surfing the Nations teammates in Boone, NC

Heading out to Woodward - Magee wedding

Dad, Jack King, Uncle Ricky, Rick Magee, Hank Ralston - Go Heels!

Stay Whole Peeps - Brene Brown

Lucy May,

My podcast this week is Tim Ferris with Brené Brown — Striving versus Self-Acceptance, Saving Marriages, and More (#409).

Brene is a Texan and you can learn about her here, though I bet you already know her? Something jumping out at me when listening to this chat is how Brene's voice tone, cadence, and inflection remind me of Sally's partner/boss Betty Burgess. And I am especially focused on how Brene uses her voice to speak in a way that is empowering!

Follow me on this if you will. It made me think of this announcement at Autodesk from Don Parker, the entrepreneur who started Shotgun, one of our most successful products. Don is stepping down and turning the business unit over to Sarah Hodges. When reading through the comments on Don's announcement, I noticed an interesting business coach (of Sarah's) by the name of Nan Crawford. Nan's site and mission are interesting in the context of what we often talk about regarding how you present yourself to the world. (I promise not to talk about LinkedIn and your front porch today.)

I hope you will find some time to listen to Brene.

Stay whole,

Dad

“We chase extraordinary moments instead of being grateful for ordinary moments until hard shit happens. And then in the face of really hard stuff — illness, death, loss — the only thing we’re begging for is a normal moment.”
—Brené Brown

MIGM - The sun did come up (sort of)

Lucy,

Duke's incredible comeback on Saturday night was the low-point of an otherwise fine weekend, so let's never speak of it again. The sun (sort of) came up on Sunday morning and I am hoping it will shine a smidge brighter as time goes by, though it is gloomy and rainy here today. This article, titled Head Up, sums things up well. "Let's never speak of it again."

On a different note and one that sounds like an old typewriter, Kyle left me a little piece of encouragement. I've been posting quotes and such on my vision board. The note says, "The way to get started is to stop talking and begin doing."

Make it a great Monday,

Dad

Pen and paper - take two

Yesterday, on Woman Power Wednesday, we talked about Anne Frank and the benefits of journaling. Today, I want to share this article on why "study after study suggests that handwriting is important for brain development and cognition."

• Fire up your brain
• Slow down in a good way
• Limit distractions
• Spark creativity

WPW - Anne Frank on using paper and pen

"Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I’ve never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year old school girl. Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I feel like writing." - Anne Frank

How wrong she was! Have my girls all read Anne Frank’s legendary The Diary of a Young Girl? Click here for nine more Anne Frank quotes worth reading.

And here to see why Ryan Holiday says "This Is The Most Important Thing You Can Do Each Morning."

A couple of questions to ponder on MIAGM

Lucy,

My podcast this week is from Peter Attia with Ryan Holiday: #90 – Ryan Holiday: Stillness, stoicism, and suffering less. Give some thought to the question discussed here: Does achieving success have to come from a place of craving and proving others wrong? And what are the costs of building a legacy? [38:45]

I like the idea of striking a balance between a burning desire to accomplish something that you enjoy but from a place of quiet-confidence rather than a place of fear, ego, or frustration.

Make it a great Monday,

Dad