@life – Page 3 – Mixing Pods

And the award goes too…

The Academy Awards are tonight and it will complete the awards season for all of the music and movies releases last year. I honestly don’t really watch the awards shows. I can’t put my finger on it, but it all sort of bothers me and I think that discomfort is what generated this week’s insight.

So, I thought I would hand out Mixing Pods awards of my own (the Tony awards are already taken).

Best Supporting Family Member

To my wife Katie. She is an incredible mom, sister, daughter, niece, friend, coach, and of course wife. She is beautiful inside and out and is truly the soul of our family. She has been so supportive of my goals and interests (and allows me to put stuff out on this blog), and the ability to explore new opportunities. She has great vision, a sense of adventure, and is a comedian at heart.

Best Kiss

This year the award goes to Addie, who discovered mistletoe over the holidays. Taking this 2-year old under the mistletoe triggered the most wonderful giggles and then she would lay one on you. She is so affectionate that it makes your heart melt.

Addie snuggles are the best and her mistletoe kisses are amazing

Best Musical Number

After dinner family dance parties. Addie is was a big fan of ‘Baby Shark’ and ‘Let it Go’, while Maggie shows off her moves to ’24 Karat Magic’ (family friendly mix) and ‘Happy’. Based on the repeat requests shouted at Alexa, I think we probably overloaded Amazon’s algorithms and skewed the popularity of these songs. I hope we can keep these jam sessions going as the girls get older.

Best Late Night Comedy

Right about the time we are settling things down for bed, Maggie gets into a goofball zone and this 4-year old says the funniest things. She ends up pulling in dad and her little sister, which mom doesn’t appreciate very much. After the shenanigans, we usually settle in for a Midnight Feast (Maggie’s phrase for a late night snack), which usually involves a bowl of cereal with two girls and a dad. We are always way past bedtime!

Got to do it now before they get too big!

Best Mentoring Moment

My boss and friend Brian. At the end of last year, I was taking a hard look at my career plan. I had just let some of my thoughts flow freely into our performance management tool. The next day, I had a recurring weekly meeting on my calendar to explore my career. It wasn’t to talk about the client account or how to grow our business, just about me. Brian showed he was truly invested in my future success and a lesson that I plan to pass on to others.

Best Rescue Drama

This was probably the Westminster Fire Department when they had to come out and get our dog Buford out of the icy pond when he went after the geese. They operated quickly and had him out in no time. (Also, thank you to the Police Department for not giving me a ticket!)

Best Comeback

I think this one goes to my friend Derrick, who was at a crossroads a couple of years ago in life. He chose to be honest with himself, get things on track, and chose to forge a path forward. It’s been great to be a part of and witness the transformation. There is great power in someone that can do this sucessfully.

Creative Inspiration

Our friend Candace is in full tilt creativity mode around a new calling to spread joy and explore her art. We use our time in traffic to connect about life, ask meaningful questions, and help the other person grow.

The Cast and Crew.

The most important award and that is why it is last (like Best Picture). We are so fortunate to have wonderful and close-knit families. Parents that support us and love their grandchildren. Aunts that take an active role in life-shaping experiences with the girls. Brothers that are always drumming up adventures. Cousins that make family events feel like family. Friends that might as well just be called family.

The insight from today’s blog is that is the those most deserving of your recognition, attention, and gratitude are those close to you. These are the ones that are shaping your life and the ones you are influencing what happens on this earth more than you may even know sometimes.

Life is good. Take a minute and look across all of your pods and thank those that make a difference for you everyday.

Thank you for letting me change lanes!

So I think those of you that listened to music in the ’90s will appreciate this blog the most.

I was driving home on Friday afternoon after a fairly hectic week. There was an unexpected issue that came up on the project, and I’ve been staying late to meet with my learning group for the altMBA course that I signed up to complete. I just wanted to get home! Ohh, and my drive was from the Denver Tech Center to Westminster, which is about an hour an 20-minute commute on Friday afternoons. I don’t get road rage, but I was dreading it.

When I got in the car, it was on Sports talk radio and I finally had enough listening to guys talk about the Denver Broncos quarterback situation (again). So I ended up moving to satellite radio and landed on the Lithium Station that plays ’90s alternative music.

Then it came on… the song by Geggy Tau, ‘Whoever you are’.
One of the few ’90s songs centred on positivity.

“All I want to do is to thank you
even though I don’t know who you are
You let me change lanes
while I was driving in my car “
Geggy Tau, Whoever you are

It worked. This song about an act of gratitude put a smile on my face and I just sort of embraced the traffic. I found myself thinking about other things that I was grateful for. It went way beyond people changing lanes and being alone in the car moving at 10 miles per hour was the perfect place for me to reflect.

Well, the next song was Rage Against the Machine’s, ‘Killing in the Name of..’ and since I was on the satellite radio, all the f-bombs weren’t edited out. It was awesome! Now I had could rock out and let out any of the remaining frustration and speed up my heart rate a bit.

These two songs together were like peanut butter and jelly and the perfect mash-up to close out a hectic work week and head into the weekend.

After dinner, we had a dance party with the girls. Alexa played Pharrell William’s ‘Happy’, (Despicable Me 2) and Bruno Mars’, ’24K Magic’ (Hotel Transylvania 3) about 12 times each. Our family of four jamming out, dancing and Maggie showing us her attepts at cart wheels.

So next time you need a change in attitude, maybe just put on some tunes to help you change your mind and enjoy the ride.

My favorite ‘Mixing Pods’ Commercial

I mentioned in my last blog that I love commercials. Since the Superbowl takes place today and some of the most creative and inspiring commercials will be airing, I was thinking about my favorite ads through a Mixing Pods lens (insights from work, life, and being a dad).

For some background, I wanted to be an advertising executive in high school and in my early college days. This was the late 90’s, so not the depiction on Mad Men, but more like Mel Gibson’s character in the movie, What Women Want. My role would be the liaison between the client and a number of really creative people to come up with great pitches. I didn’t (and still don’t) have the power to hear women’s thoughts, but I thought I could combine my skills with the creativity in others (I was inspired by some very creative friends). The advertising industry was going through a major shift after being disrupted by the internet, and I found my way into management consulting.

Today, with DVRs to skip through the commercials, on-demand programming that forces a few ads on you, and targeted (sometimes creepy) advertising based on your search history; it feels like some of the fun is gone in trying to capture an audience. There is an art to it.

My Top Choice: The University of Phoenix: We Can Do IT. This was launched in May, 2017 during ‘The Voice’ and I thought it was powerful and amazing. In a one minute animated ad, it captures the strength of a working single mom investing in herself to find another career in IT (Information Technology), after her job was taken over by AI and automation. There are no spoken words, just the lyrics of the Cranberries’ song, “Dream”. The only written words are “We can do it!”, from the Rosie the Riveter poster, the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Application on her laptop, and the words “We Rise” at the end. I thought this was amazing.

On a lighter side, there are a few other Mixing Pods commercials that have stuck with me over the years as funny and inspiring that I thought I would share below.

GEICO Insurance Hump Day. GEICO is doing their best of Superbowl commercials and this has to be one of the best. The funny thing is that I think I identify most with the camel :).
The Fed Ex Office Meeting. Showing the various personalities at the office and the manager calling them out. My favorite line out of this one is ‘like a lawn chair’, with regards to folding under pressure. I use that every once in a while.
Total Whole Grain Cereal Commercial This is truly random. I am definitely not in the demographic for this commercial, I don’t know why it stuck with me 12 years later, but I thought it was super effective.

Lastly, it’s not a commercial, more of a comedy short by Tripp & Tyler. But this is a great parody of office conference calls. It’s five minutes long, but for those of you that are on calls all day, it is well worth that time watching it.

Anyway, rather the begrudge the next commercial you see, maybe just sit back and be entertained. Someone is trying to write something that will connect with you.

Are you hurt or injured? Insight into Perseverance

The NFL playoffs are underway and this is the time of year when players don’t want to come out of the game. They are asked by coaches, if they are hurt or injured, as showcased in a scene by James Caan and Omar Epps in the 1993 movie, The Program.

If you are hurt you can still play, manage the pain, and find a way to perform. If you are injured, there is no way you can go on, it’s just not possible, and hopefully, you’ll be back for the next game or even the next season.

One of my best friends is an athletic trainer. I’ve watched Derrick approach his work for years at the collegiate and professional levels. His job entails helping injured players through treatment plans and eventually getting them back ready to play again in the future. However, the moments that he enjoys the most and drives his passion, are those on game day. Once diagnosing that the player is hurt and not injured, he applies the proper medical attention and it becomes all about getting them back into the game as soon as possible. This involves helping the athlete tap into their sense of perseverance and build their confidence that they can go out and perform.

Playing hurt requires perseverance and since this blog is called mixing pods, I wanted to apply it well beyond the football field.

I’ve been inspired by so many examples of perseverance, from those of you battling that crappy thing called cancer, to those taking on the risk to start your own business. Martin Luther King Day is Monday. Talk about a story of perseverance. The entire civil rights movement at its peak, as well as today, requires strength and perseverance. It is being dedicated to the cause, continuing through resistance, pain, and pushing through obstacles.

With 2 and 4-year-old daughters, my days are filled with kissing boo-boos and applying Hello Kitty band-aids. The real challenge that keeps me up at night is determining if I am using the right words and actions to build up skills of perseverance and character. The last thing I want to do is confuse being hurt with being injured, or be the cause of long-term injury.

We all personally determine if we are hurt or injured on a daily basis.

So when life thumps you sometimes, you have to ask yourself if you are hurt or injured?

Are you confusing hurt feelings, with injured relationships?
Do you have the right mindset for the challenge that you are facing?
Do you need help diagnosing the issue?
Are you applying the right ‘treatment’ plan?
Who can help you?
What limitations are you going to accept?
How are you going to persevere?

There are times when we have to help each other get back on the playing field of life. Derrick and I can tell you that.

You can’t herd llamas, but it sure is fun to try!

Have you ever done something that you know won’t yield any results, but you do it anyway?

We were driving on I-70 past the Eisenhower Tunnel towards Silverthorne to go skiing over the holidays. Katie and I were reminded of the days we spent at a ranch nearby with our friend Wade, where he lived for a short time and during the summers while we were in college. This was when we were all young pups about 20 years ago… we had so many great memories there.

One day we took the horses out for a ride. We weren’t that experienced at riding horses and didn’t have a destination in mind. OK, we had no idea what we were doing. There were also a couple of Llamas on the ranch and somehow we started trying to herd them. They would tolerate us for a while and we would think we had them heading a particular direction. A City Slicker’s dream, we were cowboys and a cowgirl.

However, Llamas are like cats, they are unherdable (if that is actually a word.) They would give us that llama look (yes, llamas can give some serious crusties and are very good at giving dirty looks) and veer off. We would try again and again. No luck.

Anyway, I’m not sure many of you will ever have the chance to try and heard llama’s on a horseback, but if you do, I highly recommend it.

I guess the insight that I am trying to share here is that sometimes you need ‘a just because activity’ once in a while. Something different and out of the ordinary, with no expectations for any results, value, or benefit. Something you do just for fun.

Our 4-year-old daughter Maggie used to always say , “llama llama ding dong!”, which I think came from the children’s book series (my google search shows all sorts of results for it, I had no idea). Wherever she picked it up (maybe the the movie ‘The Emperor’s New Groove’), she always had fun saying it. You could see the free spirit that a 4-year-old should have, marching to her own drum, in her own world.

So the next time that you find yourself about to engage in a harmless daily diversion that you don’t think will result in anything, but find it satisfying and refreshing… Just say ‘llama llama ding dong’ and have some fun with it! There is plenty of time for all of your purpose filled activities.

That’s flocking important!

I was out on the morning dog walk and saw the flocks of geese in the middle of the pond huddling together for safety. Sleeping for the night and staying safe from the coyotes in the open space nearby.

My first thought was that maybe they didn’t fly far south enough for the winter and should be hanging out with Mike Cress in Houston, or Don Mamone in Dallas.

Then I thought about the love/hate relationship that my neighbors have with the geese. They are the subject of a little angst in our neighborhood. Some people love them (even feed them), while others can’t stand their constant pooping all over the sidewalks.

Our last dog, Prestwick, was raised as a bird dog prior to going to school to be a guide dog for the blind, so he used to chase them right back into the water. Some of the neighbors would applaud him, others would scold him (and me of course!) Our current dog, Buford, leaves them alone, except for the one night he decided to go check them out in the middle of the frozen pond (thanks to Westminster Fire Department for getting him out).

So I just did a quick look up on Geese and actually, they have some admirable instincts, which makes me want to like them a bit more:

Geese have strong affections for others in their group.
Geese are very loyal.
They mate for life and are protective of their partners and offspring.
If a goose gets sick or is wounded, a couple of other geese may drop out of formation to help and protect him.
They will try to stay with the disabled goose until he dies or is able to fly again.
They fly in the V formation to for aerodynamics and to maintain track of each other.
When the lead one gets tired, another one takes over so it can rest in the draft.

So the insight from the geese is that flocks are important!

So as I try and maintain ‘commitment’ to the 2019 goals that I mentioned in my last blog, it will be important to engage my various flocks. The family flock, the friends flock, the co-worker flock. In some cases, I might need all the flocks to help me at the same time (this blog is called Mixing Pods)!

Who is in your flock? Find them, support them, and stick together. It’s flocking important!

What is your one word for 2019?

This is the sister blog (if that is a thing) to my Perficient Blog (What is the one word that will define success in 2019!) In that blog, I tied this concept to business strategy and operating model metrics. However, since Jensen makes fun of me for using business speak in the ‘friends pods’, I thought I would tailor this to be much more personal.

I have definitely been in a transitional phase over the past couple of years, making a significant move from being work-centered to family-centered. I think this phase was at its peak towards the end of 2016. Maggie was 2 years-old, and Addie was born that September. It’s not that I was I was a dead beat dad or husband, but I was still getting used to staying present and focused on the family throughout the evening. I used to put in a lot of time in the evenings making sure all of my client and firm deliverables were completed to my satisfaction. I was finding myself gasping at the end of the night when I looked at the clock and realized how tired I was. Things had changed.

Over that Thanksgiving, I read Angela Duckworth’s book Grit, the Power of Passion and Perseverance. She talks about how to build grit and the need for an “ultimate concern”, which is a supreme goal that is so meaningful to you that it provides structure and discipline to everything you do. She described a method for gaining focus by listing 25 goals, circling the top 5 and avoiding all others at all costs, while discovering themes. Her hierarchical approach of rolling up low level and mid level goals to the ultimate concern really resonated with me.

At the time, all of my goals and the ultimate concern at the top of my hierarchy ended up bringing out the word ‘engaged’. I covered my four goal categories in the blog a couple of days ago, Why having fun will be my top work goal in 2019! I could assess everything that I was doing in every aspect to my life in that moment to the word engaged. The best part is that I could quickly get back on track if I found myself not being present or missing an opportunity if necessary.

It started off being something to focus me on work/life balance and being engaged with the kids. But I also found that I was using it to assess if I was engaged with my work, team members, and clients.

I think this approach is way more productive than doing New Year’s resolutions. So I recommend taking some time to think about it. Lay out your goals and see what theme surfaces and the one word that sums it up. There is no right or wrong word, you just have to describe a meaningful word to you. A word that describes how you want to show up every day. Then do it! Everything else will fall into place.

This year, my word is ‘commitment’. I’ve signed up to do a lot and I have some ambitious goals. I’m going to need some serious commitment and discipline to maintain the right balance and get the results that I’m striving to achieve. I’ll need some help. It’s important to engage others in this so that they can be in your corner, help you stay focused, and keep you accountable (not to be confused with judging).

So what will your word be:

Creativity?
Kindness?
Focus?
Discipline?

You may have one for work, one for your family, or it can all be the same. But at the end of the day, it’s kind of like the “one thing” that Curly is referencing in the 1991 movie, City Slickers. It’s your one word.

Launch!

Welcome to the mixing pods blog! It’s a place where we will have some fun sharing insights with each other about work, life, and family.

The name of the blog comes from a former coworker of mine. After spending some time working together in a conference room, she said, ‘ohh… you mix pods’. I believe it was in response to how much I shared of my personal life and inviting those that I work with to participate in it by sharing funny stories and life events.

In this past year, I started blogging as part of my work at Perficient (https://blogs.perficient.com/author/tmauro) and found it to be fun. Although the blogs are relevant for management consulting, I found that I seemed to always bring lessons from my personal life into the business blogs. So I thought I would launch this personal blog that can be more casual and have a unique perspective on the different pods.

I hope this is a blog that you can relate to and that you find insightful, creative, and fun. Thanks for logging on.