Take Dead Aim - Part Two

Last week I wrote a story about an old-time golf coach, Harvey Penick, and how his best golf tip was to always take dead aim. I mentioned how Harvey’s advice will help your golf game, and how staying focused can also help you in the game of life. So I guess we should always be super focused on our goals… or should we?

The business world is extremely competitive, even more so now due to the restrictions caused by the Coronavirus. Fortunately for me, one of the services I provide in my company is to inspect parking lot light poles and that’s something I can do without having to be around other people. I work totally alone, but I still have to work fast and do a good job, or my customers will hire a different inspection company.

So over the past two years I’ve developed a very efficient methodology to my inspection process. My paperwork is streamlined, my tools are top of the line, and once I get started, I usually get into a pretty intense and highly focused rhythm. There are eight steps I have to perform at each pole location, so I try not to get distracted because if I miss even just one step, it can really slow me down.

Last week I was on a job that was not only far away, it was a really difficult project. The unique design of the light poles was making it hard for me to do my inspection work and I was getting frustrated at falling behind. Not to mention, the temperature was over 100 degrees that day! As I started working on Pole #15 (when I should have already been on Pole #25), I heard a crash of glass behind me. I turned around and saw an elderly woman standing next to the trunk of her car looking really upset. I could tell right away what happened. There was a huge pile of colorful broken glass on the ground near her car and the poor old lady looked like she was going to cry.

I had two choices. A) I could stay focused on my work or B) I could stop working and go help the elderly woman by sweeping up the broken glass. I admit I hesitated for a moment, but the look of despair on that lady’s face was too much for me. I chose B, grabbed a broom out of my truck and swept up the mess. The lady thanked me profusely, saying she really appreciated my help, and I’m pretty sure she was smiling behind her mask. As I walked away, I was smiling behind my own mask too, because I realized something. The most important part about being focused, is being focused on doing the right thing!

Don’t get so busy accomplishing your agenda 

that you miss the opportunity to surrender… and serve.

~ Max Lucado

Take Dead Aim - Part One

I would like to be a better golfer. (Actually, I would like to be a better man overall, but that’s a whole ‘nother Monday Message.) So I have been reading Harvey Penick’s “Little Red Book”, which is chock full of useful golf tips that he accumulated during his storied career as a golfer and golf coach.

Harvey was born in 1904 and began caddying at the Austin Country Club at the ripe old age of 8. Later on in life he became an extremely revered golf coach and when asked by professional golfers for his best golf tip, he would always say the same thing, “Take dead aim”. Harvey liked to keep things simple, but he also knew the importance of staying focused on every single shot.

Staying focused isn’t easy, but it’s a critical factor if you want to accomplish just about anything important in life. When I was younger and really busy with work and my family, I made it a point to stay focused on the task at hand. But now that I’m older and life is a lot simpler, I seem to have trouble staying focused and I think it’s totally related to not being as busy as I used to be.

For example, I like to help my wife out sometimes by doing chores around the house. Yesterday morning a smoke detector started beeping in the back bedroom. So I took it down, pressed on the button, and it stopped chirping. I noticed it was one of those “sealed 10-year-life” units that was obviously nearing the end of its life. Our washer and dryer are in the garage, so I tossed the smoke detector on top of the laundry basket full of clothes, intending to throw it away when I got down to the garage. Unfortunately, I lost focus and dumped the full basket of clothes into the washing machine. An hour later I went to the garage to move the laundry around and the washing machine was making a funny beeping noise. I couldn’t figure out what it was until I unloaded the laundry and there was that old smoke detector, chirping ever so faintly, at the bottom of the washing machine.

I was about to toss it into the trash when it dawned on me that it might just keep on beeping. So I did the smart thing. I dropped it on the ground and stepped on it. It was a ornery little bugger and just started chirping louder. So I stomped on it really hard and it chirped even louder. I stomped it again, no luck, it just got louder. So I started stomping the heck out of it and after seven hard smashes it was still beeping. I got really frustrated… but I also got focused. I picked it up, spotted a huge boulder on the other side of the fence near the railroad tracks, took dead aim, and threw that sucker as hard as I could, whereupon it smashed into tiny little pieces never to be heard from again. I guess Harvey was right, if you want to accomplish anything important, take dead aim!

Harvey is as comfortable as an old pair of jeans, as unpretentious as a young child, 

smart as a whip, and the most contented man I have ever known.

~ Ben Crenshaw, Pro Golfer

    Referring to Harvey Penick

Advice From an Old Man

I was listening to a radio talk show this week and something the host said caught my attention. She asked her audience to share the most important advice they heard while growing up.

I thought that question was interesting because many times as a young man, I found myself making the stupid decision to learn things the hard way. Which basically means I didn’t pay attention to the good advice my parents and other intelligent older people were constantly bestowing upon me. My Dad was a good man, honest, hard working and well respected. So why would I ever ignore his advice? Why is it we human beings have to learn things the hard way before we finally get it? Sadly, I don’t have the answer to that question.

However, ironically here I am now, a successful business owner, father of four, grandfather of six, and a man with a wealth of life experience. But do you think my kids or grandkids want my advice? Probably not. But just in case they might be reading this…. Here are a few of the more obscure life lessons I wish someone would have shared with me many years ago. 

• If you borrow something more than twice, buy one for yourself.
• Don’t get caught glancing at your watch when you’re talking to someone.
• Make it a habit to do nice things for people who will never find out.
• Remember that bad luck as well as good luck seldom lasts long.
• Give people a second chance, but never a third.
• Be a good winner and a good loser.
• Marry only for love. 

And my personal favorite… Don’t be afraid to share good advice, you never know when someone might actually be listening!

Good advice is something a man gives

when he is too old to set a bad example.

~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Surprising Ways

Have you ever had one of those days where life surprises you and everything goes right? You know, you wake up and your hair is perfect and doesn’t even need combing. Your favorite jeans and shirt just happen to be clean and ready to wear, traffic is unusually light, work goes smoothly, and when you come home your wife has an even better surprise - twin lobster tails and a perfectly cooked filet - ready for dinner! I had a day like that earlier this year and I remember taking time before I went to bed to say a quick prayer. I think I said something like, “Lord, thank you so much for a wonderful day… full of so many nice surprises.”

Last Thursday I had a day like that again! Except, when I woke up my hair was sticking out all over the place (and missing altogether in some places), and when I put my favorite jeans on they had stains on them so I had to change, but at least I had a brand new shirt to put on. On the way to work I hit every single red light in existence, and when I finally got on the freeway, I got cut off by a lady talking on her cell phone, which forced me to slam on my brakes, which then sent my briefcase flying onto the floor spilling my paperwork everywhere. When I got to work, I had to load up 12 heavy boxes into my truck but the last one slipped off my tailgate and landed corner first onto my big toe. Ouch! But it wasn’t all bad, because when I got home, my loving wife had a great dinner ready for me, a tasty home-made hamburger with a side of mac and cheese. Comfort food! Except when I took the first bite of that juicy hamburger, I was a little too comfortable, and a huge blob of ketchup plopped out onto my brand-new shirt. What a day!

So right before I went to bed Thursday night, I decided a prayer was in order again, but perhaps a little longer one. “Dear Lord, thank you for such a wonderful day, so full of surprisingly educational experiences. I learned that looks are not everything, patience is important, and so is a sense of humor. And that having a wife who is really good at cooking and getting stains out of shirts is truly a blessing too. Also Lord, I know you are with me everywhere I go, so thank you that I still have hair, that I didn’t crash on the way to work, that I have a job I enjoy, and a wife that I love, and a God who will never stop blessing me… in so many surprising ways!

Every happening, great or small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us. 

And the art of life is to get the message.

~ Malcolm Muggeridge