Fun fact about me is I get some of my best thinking done on an airplane. So, to travel far away for just a day to get my head straight is actually just like me. There’s something about being up high that reminds me of how small I am and how big God is. And thanks to gogo inflight Internet, I got more thinking and writing done than emails sent so in case you are wondering gogo only works 30 minutes off the coast to the US (though American Airlines advertises the flights to Hawaii have wifi).
All good trips should start with a little rain. That way when the sun shines again you’ll appreciate it all the more.
Be still my soul – I woke up restless, not rested, anxious to get my day going, excited for what was ahead and before long I had slipped back into my usual mindset. It took me 2.5 hrs to be still enough to simply walk along this beach. No computer, no problems to solve, no emails to send, no need to read. Just sand beneath my feet, gentle waves across my legs, a clear conscience and a clear head…
Innovation can happen anywhere if you’re willing to simply be quiet and be inspired!
To go or not to go that is NOT the question. There’s only one destination; we all just take incredibly different ways of getting there. Golf just like life is not black and white. Wait golf actually is white… But that’s an entire blog post in itself.
Life isn’t simple, neither is business, but the harsh reality is there are a lot of water hazards in life that many lacking proper training and equipment simply have no chance to get over.
I met and played a round with this 70-year-old guy who said par for him was a double bogey playing from the ladies tees; he shot 109 with a 10 and was not at all upset. This was my first round of golf in quite some time; I shot an 84 with a snowman and I was kicking myself.
It makes me think how often we beat ourselves up because we didn’t make a birdie in life when really our perspective was just off or expectations were higher than the state of our game; while we’re either unwilling or too prideful to move up to a closer set of tees… just saying!
Avoid the bunkers. Make no mistake life is full of traps designed to bring you down, not build you up. Sometimes we go for a little too much and bring unnecessary traps into play.
Sometimes you have to stop, pause, take it all in and begin again…
This is actually the photo that inspired this quote. Sometimes the best way to start is to stop. So worried about missing the sunset from the canyon that I almost missed this view along the way.
The other beautiful thing about long flights is catching up on a few movies. Did I mention it’s pretty difficult to go to the movies with a 15 month old? Anyway, one movie that didn’t make the sitter plus dinner plus movie costs cut was “Collateral Beauty.” Will Smith kicked the movie off with a compelling statement that got me thinking more than watching.
What’s your why? What motivates you? What moves you?
So here’s the concept the movie is built around, “we all long for love, wish we had more time and fear death.”
Long for love – this is true! I can’t refute this, if I’m honest, we often long for love even after we’ve found it. It’s doesn’t seem to be enough to know that we are unconditionally loved by God. Then again it’s not good for man to be alone, right? So we seek, search for and covet finding that love of our life and when we do (by the way, I have and she’s amazing) somehow we find ourselves now longing to be loved by everyone… a task which is not only impossible and impractical, it’s also irrational.
Wish we had more time – this I can’t refute either! In fact, I find myself here every day, every week, every year wishing for more. But not because I want 25 hours in a day. I simply desire to get more out of each day… more, more, more… as Solomon said, “a chasing after the wind.”
Fear death – hmm, can’t refute that either. But Philippians 1 does pose a counter to that argument.
So if I claim to live is Christ and to die is gain, why do I often live thinking I haven’t quite accomplished enough to die just yet. That’s a haunting thought! Did I just say that in a blog? As if the eternal scorecard is based on how I measure success.
I told you I was reflecting…
Can you find the connection between these two photos? What connects them both is the flow of water. It’s the one thing we all need all the time, and it’s not about how much we can drink all at once either. Physical thirst is that great reminder that we are fragile and dependent and no matter where you go, every city, every community, every civilization, every tribe, and every new land discovered the first and foremost search is always to find water…
I know I’m never going to be satisfied, it’s not just the driven entrepreneur in me. This world leaves us longing for more no matter how much or how little we have, we each gravitate towards wanting more… I mean, is Apple going to stop making iPhones once they’ve sold a billion? No way, especially if we keep asking for more memory, more speed and better pictures. This thirst we have for more can only be quenched by living water…
My thought is this, instead of focusing solely on getting to the top of the mountain how about enjoying the journey up? You may scale Mt Everest but you can’t live up there.
How come the journey almost always exceeds the view from the peak? This is often so in life. Though many boast about making it to the top, rarely are we there very long. And frankly all the really great stories are developed along the way, memories are made through the ups and downs of getting there. Pick up any business book and you will learn very little from the peak, it’s the stories on the journey up or the swiftness of the climb down that we learn from. So I’m reminded that I’m in the midst of a great story in the making and to enjoy every moment.
Why do we strive so hard and often sacrifice so much to climb to the top? For the view I guess… think about it. Isn’t the penthouse always on the highest floor? But here’s what’s also true, at the top of every mountain it’s almost always cold and eerily lonely? But hey, you always have the view…
Don’t forget to look back
This wasn’t the road ahead; this was the road behind. Sometimes it’s really important to remember where you’ve come from and allow that perspective to influence your now. I’m so busy rushing and worried about where I’m going next and frustrated that I’m not further down the road that I forget how far I’ve come.
The trip started with rain and ended with sunshine. That calm that only comes when you block out life’s noise and quietly listen to the crashing waves, breathe in that unmistakable smell of the ocean, feel the coarseness of the sand on your feet… so, this is how I concluded my one day retreat…
Mary Ellen DiTucci
May 4
Wow! What a wonderful blog! Jeremy, I want everyone I know to read it. It is a great testimony of how great our God is – and how wonderfully He has transformed you! Thank you so much for sharing this