I Love Boise!

I haven't written anything on this blog in a long time. I think it's been over two moths. Inspirations for a good blog take time to build, and I hope this one has brewed long enough. 

I love Boise! I've made my bunk in places ranging from one coast to the other, but by far Boise has infected my heart. There are many reason's my wife and I choose to make this our permanent residence. Lots of sun, few bugs, mild winters, hot dry summers, and good camping spots are just a few. However, I find the people to be my main reason. 

I found Boise as a result of falling in love with Sarah. I would never have thought to come here on my own. It was back in 1994 that we met, and it's been an incredible ride since. We came out here to visit her Dad a couple of times while stationed at Ft. Riley, Kansas in the U.S. Army. After our wedding that fall and another year of service we decided that Boise would be the place to raise our family.

We got here in the late fall of 1995. Sarah was pregnant with our first child, who was born the next spring. What I found upon arrival was an openness unlike anything I had previously encountered. People here are willing to look you in the eye, say hello as they pass by on the street and offer assistance at the the first sign of dismay. They care deeply for their surroundings and take pride in their property. Every town has pockets of decay, but none so few as Boise. From the most grandiose house on Harrison or Warm Springs to the little neighborhoods that blanket the valley, people just seem to take a bit more pride in their property, than in most of the other places I've lived. It isn't so much the place as it is the people that make Boise a great place to live.

For instance, I became a member of the George Fox University Toastmasters. It is made up of people who are there to improve themselves in a safe and constructive environment. I don't do very well in front a crowd, as I learned presenting various topics during my MBA coursework. I gave my first speech in a Toastmasters meeting and I can tell you that I was more comfortable during that talk than any time during school. Today's meeting featured three speakers; each amazing in their own way. Not only did I receive great information on three topics, but I was able to learn about giving a captivating speech. But the point here is that Boise is the place to find people of this caliber in concentrate. I know it's biased, but if you're thinking about moving here I recommend a second opinion. You can check out Move2Boise. They'll tell you a lot of what you may want to know. And if that isn't enough, come for a visit and ask people. You'll pretty much always find what you expect, but in Boise you'll find so much more.

PS. If you are thinking about coming to a Toastmasters, comment here and I will get in touch with you. It is really a good time.

Close the Door!

How many times has someone yelled at you to close the door? How many times have you yelled at your kids to close the door?

I recently met a man who has a very helpful occupation. He tests your house to see how well it's keeping in the heat when it's cold outside, or how well it's keeping in the cold when it's hot outside. His name is Lee Cotten and he is the owner of Idaho Thermal Imaging. He has a device that he uses to scan your home for heat-leaks in the winter, or cool air leaks in the summer. On his website you can see pictures of the trouble spots most homes have for heat transfer. You'll be amazed at some of these pictures. 

Better yet, lee has effective solutions for sealing out the cold (or conversely sealing in the cool air in summer). Sure comes in handy in Idaho for thosetimes when the heater (or AC) seems to be kicking on all the time. 

Those of you with older homes that have wood-burning fireplaces typically lose the amount of heat equivalent to leaving a window open 365 days a year. Or almost like leaving the door open year round, imagine the yelling? Lee has a range of services to keep you warm in winter and cool in the summer. Both of those prospects are nice, but what is really great about Lee is that he'll keep your heating dollars from leaking out of your wallet as well. "Stay warm and save money" Sounds pretty cool to me. 

One Meeting Mentor

I once had lunch with a professor from my MBA program. He has an extremely distinguished business career. He has worked for some very large and well known companies, and still does. He's well qualified from an academic credentials standpoint as well. There are few people I could find to get the kind of advice he gave me. 

His specialty is strategic planning. As a matter of fact, I found my niche in his class:  I enjoy finding solutions - solutions that deal with achieving goals. Yes, I'm fine at coming up with solutions to solve tactical, day to day problems, and usually, I'm spot on, but looking way in to the future is another matter. I can see the end result pellucidly, however, figuring out all the steps it takes to get there is another matter. Making those long range plans is always difficult because things can turn on a dime...  If one aspect of the external world changes or wasn't considered, the plan often becomes unworkable. Most of the circumstances we face are inevitable. Is there going to be a major earthquake on the west coast someday. Inevitable, right? We don't know when, but we can be pretty sure it's going to happen. We may not be able to predict when challenges in our own lives will arise, but we can be sure they will. Finding the inevitabilities is difficult, but it can be done. 

This was the insight I received from my mentor, and I don't mind sharing it with you. I have some amazing strengths, he said, that I could come up with really good solutions much faster than most people. It was a wonderful compliment and affirmation, of what I thought to be true. However, there are two sides to this coin. I do have the ability to make snap judgements,  and most of the time they are good, but what do I miss by going so fast. Maybe my snap judgements are correct, but looking at the alternatives allows for contingency planning. 

Contingency planning is a big game of "what if." I was listening to the book on CD, "Blink, the Power of Thinking without Thinking", and it said that people who mentally play the 'what if" game are less likely to to become locked with panic and be unable to act in a stressful situation. Inaction when action is needed the most can be deadly.  The ability to plan something far into the future is incomplete without looking at, (a) the alternative courses of action to get to the desired end, and (b) as many of the obstacles, changes, or circumstances that can arise to throw the plan off course. Some people say that a large percentage of success is just showing up. I'm pretty sure one can increase that percentage significantly by showing up prepared and looking for the unintended consequences of an action or plan. 

My take away from my one meeting mentor... My greatest strengths can be, or lead to, my greatest weaknesses - snap action.  Look at ALL the alternatives, and play the what if game. 

We all have our uncommon strengths. This is why I like the phrase, "Everyone is a Hero!" (my own little branding effort). However, man can be so strong in one area of his life that the dominance in his thinking blinds him to other areas that are equally important. According to the theory of brain plasticity, strongly ingrained behaviors take up more of our neurological real estate, so it follows that we must consciously remove our own blinders.

On this subject, you might enjoy the book "What it Takes to be Number One" by Vince Lombardi Jr. (Vince Lombardi's son). In it you may conclude that one of the greatest football coaches of all time had some amazingly glaring weaknesses. Don't we all...