January 2009

Vision – More Than Just Hope

by Andy Wood on January 6, 2009

in 100 Words, Exploring the Possibilities, LV Cycle

There’s more to vision than hopeful daydreaming about a desired future.

Yes, vision sees the goal, but it is aware of much more than that.

Vision sees the path from here to there.

Vision recognizes the need for decisive action.  It has a bias toward making the jump.

Vision also recognizes the risks and potential dangers that lurk on all sides, and prepares accordingly for them.

Vision then sees beyond the goal.  It recognizes the larger community, and the visionary’s place in the larger world.

Yes, vision sees the goal.  But true visionaries recognize that success is more than the perfect landing.

(This extraordinary picture of Oberstdorf, Germany as reflected in the goggles of Japanese ski jumper Noriaki Kasai is one of many that can be found here.  PHOTO:  Reuters/Kai Pfaffenbach)

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Is it Time for You to Fly the Plane Differently?

by Andy Wood on January 5, 2009

in Exploring the Possibilities, Leadership, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Protecting Your Investment, Tense Truths

Tense Truth:  There are no solutions to problems that do not require some kind of change.  And there is no change that doesn’t create problems of its own.  The solution is not to avoid change or eliminate problems.  Rather, it is to anticipate future challenges with a solution-based mindset, even while we attack the problems of today.

John Miller, in his book, QBQ, The Question Behind the Question, tells the following story:

When Stacey was 12 years old, she and her father, a pilot, took off on a Sunday afternoon joyride in their single engine Cessna.  Not long into the flight, and about a mile up over Lake Michigan, the joy of their father-daughter adventure came to an abrupt halt.  Stacey’s father turned to her and in a calm, reassuring tone he said, “Honey, the engine has quit.  I’m going to need to fly the plane differently.”

Like Miller, I love the phrase, “fly the plane differently.”  It speaks of how problem solvers (read “leaders” here) approach changing conditions and frame crisis situations.  He didn’t look for somebody to blame, bail out of the plane, or give up on the laws of aerodynamics.  He also didn’t magnify the fear of the situation.  He didn’t try to fix the engine!  And most importantly, he didn’t stop flying.

He simply changed in response to a new set of information and a new horizon of challenges.

Tony Robbins on Problems

On a recent video blog, Tony Robbins said: [click to continue…]

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Old School – How This Year’s Bowls May Have Shaped Up in the 70s

by Andy Wood on January 2, 2009

in Uncategorized

Sittin’ here watching the bowl games, wondering – is this the fix we’ve been looking for?

Hardly…

I grew up fuming at the whole college bowl game situation.  Too many conference/bowl tie-ups.  Too many great teams (my favorite in particular) unable to play for a national championship, while every single other NCAA sport and division had some sort of playoff system.

The solution?  What we have now as the BCS system, complete with

  • uneven conferences being treated as all equal.
  • four or five conference championship games that are either really meaningful or dangerous to a great team.
  • other conferences (Pac 10, Big 10-actually-11, etc.) with no forced championship game, getting a free pass into the bowls.
  • twice as many games so that everybody gets a chance – after all, we’re ALL winners, aren’t we? (We used to joke when a team had a lousy year that they were going to the Toilet Bowl.  Now, lo and behold, we actually have a half-dozen of ‘em!)
  • EVERY SINGLE bowl game of ANY type has a conference tie-up.  “Big 10 #6 vs. SEC #8.”  Are ya’ KIDDIN’ me?   There is now no such thing as an at-large team.
  • A single championship game decided a week-plus into January between a hybrid of two polls and a stack of computers.  Four other BCS games bearing the same bowl names and locations, but lacking the same luster. (With all due respect to Cincinnati and West Virginia, really?)

Just for nostalgia’s sake, I thought I’d take this year’s year-end AP rankings and results, and see what they might produce in a 70s bowl scenario.  Take a look and tell me, do you really think we’ve made things better? [click to continue…]

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My Favorite Personal Posts in 2008

by Andy Wood on January 1, 2009

in Following Your Passion, Life Currency, LV Cycle, Words

Okay, one last (I promise) favorites list – especially  for those of you who may be new to LifeVesting or haven’t discovered SynerJACK yet.

One of the things blogging has done for me has been to get me to write more often, and more content, than ever – something I’ve always wanted the discipline or inspiration to do.  Some of those pieces were duds.  Others were things I was really proud of, but didn’t seem to resonate with others.  And some, like this and this seemed to capture a lot of attention and imagination from others.

What follows are, in order, the ones that still resonate with me.  Taken collectively, they reflect my passion, values, relationships, and a couple of things I think are hilarious or supremely important.  I hope you like them, too.

1.  The Holy Spirit Salad
I still just laugh and laugh, and Robin still punches me when I do.  But I have to admit, God speaks to people today, and He does so in many different ways.  Still not sure about the Holy Spirit salad, though.

2.  He Had a Hammer
In response to a question about my childhood hero.

3.  Don’t Go Gently
Butch Lowery died more than 15 years ago, but his life still speaks to me today.

4.  Last House Standing
A picture-and-100-words piece about resilience, strength, and determination.

5.  The Language of Letting Go
In a year of transitions, we went from mere in-laws to empty-nester grandparents.  This came as no surprise, but it required a new level of communication and understanding – the language of letting go.

6.  Braves Lose!  Braves Lose!  Braves Lose!
A tribute to Skip Caray, one of the greatest broadcasters and cultural icons of my generation.

7.  To Prepare a Place
It had been a while – and I’d forgotten what groom-love looked like.  What I saw revealed far more than a man in love with his bride.  It was a reflection of Christ’s love for His.

8.  The Myth of the Early Christmas Shopper
Who says that just because you love somebody you have to get their Christmas gifts weeks in advance?  This is a fun look at the joys of shopping on Christmas Eve.

9.  Grace Works for Pastors, Too
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, scripture says.  This describes some of the most life-giving words I have ever heard.

10.  16001 Crosses.
This year I met one of the most remarkable men I’ve ever known.  Neville Davidson refused to accept complete blindness as the end of the story of his life.  He has found a way to give back, and in doing so, has touched countless lives.

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