I Almost Forgot

I'm now 26.

Walden Pond and the Beach Boys

Remember that post about Total Immersion swimming? The one with the embedded videos that no one bothered to watch? Well I tried it! Brooke and I went swimming in Walden Pond on Saturday afternoon. The pond is beautiful. Concord is beautiful. But when you're there, you feel like you're thousands of miles away from the city. There are pine trees everywhere around the lake. Although the parking lot is full, the beach area is surprisingly tiny. And it's full, but there's still space.

There are lifeguards and a small roped-off swimming area, but you're allowed to swim wherever you like. it made me think of swimming to the buoys at Gilson Beach.

Anyway, I tried the TI swimming technique and loved it! Although I didn't do a normal workout, I got to experiment for a few minutes. Definitely something I'd like to master.

We left Walden pond with just enough time to shower and change before heading off to the Beach Boys concert. It was one of the free summer concerts at the Hatch Shell along the Charles River esplanade. Our timing was good. We arrived about twenty minutes before they went on stage.

The place was packed. We found a tiny patch of grass squished between the Charles River and a bridge. We couldn't see the stage, but we could hear the music. They sounded great. I love the Beach Boys. I used to listen to their Greatest Hits CD over and over again.

To beat the rush of traffic to the T, Brooke and I left the show a little early. But we loved it. What an incredible weekend.

Harbor Hotel Movies

The Boston Harbor Hotel has free movies on Friday nights. They project the movie onto a screen in the harbor after sunset. We went on Friday to A League of Their Own. The weather was beautiful. It was one of those nights that you wish you were jumping on a trampoline in your backyard.

 

 

Fear Wall

Tell Me Something

Opportunity

Brooke emailed me this the other day and it resonated with my personal philosophy. I do not know the source.

Somebody said you have to love what you do, but that's not necessarily true. What is true is that you have to love the opportunity. The opportunity to build life, future, health, success and fortune. Knocking on someone's door may not be something you love to do, but you love the opportunity of what might be behind that door.

For example, a guy says, "I'm digging ditches. Should I love digging ditches?" The answer is, "No, you don't have to love digging ditches, but if it is your first entry onto the ladder of success, you say, 'I'm glad somebody gave me the opportunity to dig ditches and I'm going to do it so well, I won't be here long.'"

You can be inspired by having found something; even though you are making mistakes in the beginning and even though it is a little distasteful taking on a new discipline that you haven't learned before. You don't have to love it, you just have to learn to appreciate America, appreciate opportunity and appreciate the person who brought you the good news; that found you.

Appreciate the person who believed in you before you believed in yourself, appreciate the person who said, "Hey, if I can do it, you can do it."

If you will embrace the disciplines associated with the new opportunity you will soon find that your self-confidence starts to grow, that you go from being a skeptic to being a believer. And soon when you go out person to person, talking to people, you will find it to be the most thrilling opportunity in the world. Every person you meet - what could it be? Unlimited! Maybe a friend for life. The next person could be an open door to retiring. The next person could be a colleague for years to come. It's big time stuff. And sometimes in the beginning when we are just getting started we don't always see how big it is.

So, before you are tempted to give up or get discouraged, remember all success is based on long term commitment, faith, discipline, attitude and a few stepping stones along the way. You might not like the stone you are on right now, but it's sure to be one of the stones that lead to great opportunities in the future.

My 92.9

Brilliance in action. Radio preset #2 in my car is 92.9, WBOS. The music they play is fairly average – a good blend of the 90’s and today. What makes them stand out is their approach to advertising.

They advertise in one-minute blocks. And they tell you that they advertise in one-minute blocks. Before they go to a commercial break they tell you that they’ll be back with music in one minute.

When that happens, I make a conscious decision not to push the button by my finger to change the station. Why? Because I know exactly what to expect. I’m willing to sit through the commercials because I know how long they will be and it’s acceptable to me.

Phenomenal advertising strategy.

Legos and Time

As we get older, we invariably lose track of people. And although we wish we could stay in touch with all of them, we can’t.

Someone once explained to me that people are like Legos. We only have so many connection points. When we put someone new on, we have to take someone old off.

There was a time in my life when I regretted losing touch with so many people who played an important role in my past. But then I started looking forward instead of behind – if I’ve accumulated so many close friends in the past, think how many more I’ll accumulate in the future.

Thoughts on the Law of Unintended Consequences: Luggage

Most airlines now charge a $15 fee for checked baggage. The rationale behind the decision is simple: if everyone checks a bag for $15, it adds up to quite a bit of money.

Unintended consequence: to avoid the checked baggage fee, many people are now switching to carryon-only travel. This increase in carryons creates havoc while people are boarding the plane. Boarding takes longer, turnaround time is slower, and customer satisfaction decreases.

So was it worth it?

100,000

Today was a big milestone for Chloe. She hit 100,000 miles. I bought Chloe in early 2005. I’d been home from my mission 6 months or so and felt it was finally time to get a car. My parents are extremely generous and have purchased a car for each of their children. At the time, Shelly was the only one who had taken them up on the offer.

I started looking at things and researching and decided that I wanted a 1979 Camaro. Mom said no.

So I started thinking seriously. SUV’s get bad gas mileage, but are great for outdoor recreation. But they get bad gas mileage. So I struck them off the list (goodbye Nissan X-Terra).

So that left Toyota and Honda. I chose Honda because their 2001 models had better designs than Toyota’s. And I chose an Accord over a Civic because Accords are bigger and I’m tall. My dad felt it was important that I have a V6 if I was going to be driving in the mountains a lot, so I got that. But the V6 only came with the EX models, which have a leather interior, sunroof, etc. So I ended up with a nicer car than I had in mind when I started looking.

Have I been happy with my choice? Yes and no. The car had previously been in an accident and started having paint problems early on. It still has those paint problems because I just don’t feel like it’s worth fixing them. But mechanically, the car has been a dream. I’ve put 50,000 miles on it. All I’ve done is change the oil regularly, flush the transmission fluid, put on new tires and put in new brakes and rotors. I haven’t had any surprises or breakdowns. Everything runs well.

At 105,000 I have my scheduled maintenance. That’s the big one, where they replace the timing belt, adjust the idle, etc. But it’ll be worth it if I can get another 100,000 miles out of Chloe. I’d even be happy with another 60,000.

What did my family think of my purchase? Both Kevin and Janene bought Honda Accords.