insights – Mixing Pods

Celebrating 80 years, gaining insights for the next 40

This past July, we celebrated my dad’s 80th birthday. My mom and siblings organized a big party in the backyard of the home my parents have lived in for almost 50 years. It was great to see such a great turnout of family and friends from across the country and down the street. I got to see folks from all my dad’s pods over the years.

It’s also hard to believe that he has already reached this milestone (and comes with the realization that I’m 42). Our daughter Addie won’t be 3 until this September, so there is nearly a 78-year gap in the birth years across our 3 generations.

The ability to do selfie’s changed in the last 80 years, but the birthday hat is timeless.

It totally blows my mind to think about the amount of change that has occurred during the past 80 years of my father’s lifetime. I have always been fascinated by it, so I thought that I would plot some things out to share some perspective.

Pre-K (Ken)

In the 60 or so years before my dad was born, we had some of the worlds greatest inventions and difficult times. Seriously, only 60 years!

1876 – The telephone (not the one in your pocket)
1878 – The lightbulb
1886 – The automobile
1929 – 1939 – The Great Depression

Over the past 80 years (POST-k)

My dad grew up in the post-WWII era, which saw the country come out of the depression and change the way we live and work.

1939 – The start of WWII
1940 – FM Radio
1950s – TV goes mainstream
1954 – The 4-minute mile
1954 – The Microwave oven
1955-1975 – Vietnam War
1958 – The commercial jet
1961 – First man in space
1962 – Child car seats are introduced
1970 – Introduction of Monday Night Football
1973 – The first cell phone
1974 – The first Rush album
1974 – The barcode
1975 – The concept of global warming is introduced

Then there is the stuff since I was born

1977 – The personal computer
1978 – The Mountain Bike
1979 – The Sony Walkman
1981 – MTV airs
1984 – Van Halen’s 1984 album
1989 – The Worldwide Web
1989 – Nintendo
1991 – End of the Cold War
1998 – International Space Station
2001 – Katie & Tony tied the knot (and Colorado Avalanche won the cup)
2001 – 9/11
2002 – The Bachelor
2004 – Facebook
2005 – Commercialization of GPS
2005 – Amazon Prime
2007 – iPhone launch
2014 – Alexa
2014 – Our Daughter Maggie
2016 – Our Daughter Addie
2018 – Mixing Pods Blog is launched (thanks for reading!)

The insights for the next 40 years.

There is a lot to reflect on after an event like this, some things very personal. But I did want to share some of the insights that I have been pondering.

The only thing constant is change. Apparently, this quote comes from the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus, who lived from (535 BC – 475 BC). He must have been a pretty smart dude because he sure did nail it. The pace of technology and change can be scary these days and will only get faster. But look up above, I sure there was fear and angst about using a microwave in your house in 1954 and they thought no one would ever break the 4-minute mile. Music genres have changed, allies and enemies have changed, and the way we view the post-industrial world has changed.

Somethings are timeless. Spending quality time with your family, walking your dog, going for a run (or walk), listening to music. These things will always be available to keep us grounded. Speaking of being grounded, drinking coffee has been around since at least the 16th century. Some of us practice yoga, which has been a thing since 3000 B.C. So in the midst of all this change, make sure to keep some of the timeless classics in your life.

Life is short! and long! It is amazing how fast the days, months, and years seem to go. It’s a daily realization in our house with the kids growing up so fast. But then when you look at a timeline like the one above, you realize how much has happened in your life since the 2nd grade when you were on the swings at the playground, singing Jump and Panama from Van Halen’s 1984 album. (My first tape cassette)

It’s all just mixing pods over time. So in a few weeks, I’m sure that I’ll be walking the dog in the neighborhood, checking fantasy football scores on an iPhone over a wireless network, to see how I am doing with wagers amongst my friends. Kind of like when they launched controlled gambling in Venice Italy in 1638. Some things change, yet stay the same.

Well, I guess it’s time to start planning my mom’s 80th next year!

P.S. I wouldn’t recommend using this blog as a factual reference, these dates came from a number of sources on the internet. Some may be legit, others…

The true power in unplugging!

We took a family vacation in the Colorado mountains earlier this month and I came back truly refreshed with a renewed energy and focus.

And with that introduction, you may be thinking “No duh! That’s the whole point, where have you been? And how is this insightful?”

Well, it’s kind of sad, but I really struggle with totally unplugging mentally from everything going on professionally while on vacation. I’m pretty terrible about taking a day off and based upon what I see and hear from others, I don’t think that I’m alone.

For some of us, it may be FOMO (fear of missing out), a deep-rooted need for accomplishment, or that we just enjoy the work we do. For me, it’s probably a bit of all three and may have started when I got all those perfect attendance awards in elementary school. (I really loved going to school.)

Anyway, I’ve been reflecting back on how I felt during the week that I unplugged here are my top 3 insights:

1) Get in the pool

One of the best places to be present is in a pool. (Especially with kids, and even more so if they can’t touch the bottom of the pool and still learning to swim). There is no ‘halfway’ paying attention. Chances are they are having a blast and so are you. The ‘here and now’ presence in the pool is powerful and provides a refuge from our busy days. The water forms a natural boundary and there is no quick glance at the phone for the latest notification or some other distraction.

Side note: Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that there aren’t enough parents getting in the pool. I have kind of been amazed at how many parents sit and watch me entertain their kids.

Anyway, it’s not just a place those of us with young kids. The water can be energizing and the buoyancy may be just what your overworked body needs. No matter how old you are, getting in the pool and swimming (or maybe just bobbing) may be exactly what you need to get refocused and refreshed.

2) More balance, less integration

I wrote about discovering boundaries a couple of months back. But the insight here is specifically focused during a time that you are supposed to be unplugged. We continue to embrace the shift from a work-life balance mindset to one of work-life integration now that we are connected 24/7. We can take calls, do tasks quickly on our smartphones, and then jump back right back into our personal time.

However, I’m starting to feel the work-life integration concept is a one-way street. There isn’t a lot of life integrating with work, but a whole lot of work integrating with life. Have you ever gone on a trip or even played a simple round of golf with someone that has one foot in the work door? It can be pretty annoying and they are usually the only one that feels it is going just fine.

Those of you that travel every week probably love having WiFi on the plane these days, but are you reading fewer books? It seems like we are so focused at the airport searching for an outlet in order to have the privilege to sprawl out on the floor and charge our devices. Rather, think about the freedom in just reflecting on the trip, the people, the sites, the food, and the cultural experiences.

3) Let the Priorities Surface

The best part of prolonged downtime is that the important things tend to take shape and the real priorities begin to surface. Getting out of the grind and breaking daily routines, allows us to tap into aspirations, dreams, and other realities that we pushed to the back of our minds.

We need to allow time for our thoughts to breathe and that can’t happen if you get tied up in some email or spend 20 minutes doing a task that you honestly thought could be done in 2 minutes. (and then do it again and again).

Giving yourself that important space allows you to discover the top 20% of the things you should care about that give you the most joy, fulfillment, purpose, <insert your favorite adjective (or adverb) here>.

It also reminds me of the questions that a buddy of mine used to ask me when I was overworked and overwhelmed when we were supposed to be having fun. “What are you going to remember a year from now? This experience or that one work task you got done?”

Side note: Be careful with this question, it can be used to justify many actions. Another side note: You never remember the work task a year later.

So, the summer isn’t over yet. I hope you can find some time to totally unplug before the busy fall season is upon us with back-to-school activities, fantasy football, and shorter days.

Hanging out with the family at the top of Vail Mountain. Unplugged and happy!

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.