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45. Show Don’t Tell

June 16, 2020 in /by

Silence is golden. There comes a time when silence is betrayal. The dichotomy between these two axioms is glaring. Let me give speech not to my thoughts in this period of civil discourse and unrest. I am white privilege. I don’t apologize. That is how I was raised and who I am. I am also left-handed and pigeon-toed. I don’t apologize for those either. But, I will confess that my left-handedness and my pigeon- toedness have caused me more issues in my life than being white. But that does not make me tone deaf to the injustices felt by people […]

44. Celebrate Success

June 10, 2020 in /by

I was playing golf on Sunday. The stakes were high and the competitors were menacing. I reached the long par four 13th in regulation and was settling in for my birdie putt. My nerves were steady. The putt was about 25’ with a strong slope down and to the right. I picked my line, practiced my pace and set in to stoke the putt. That’s when the horns started blowing. Hundreds of horns. Unfortunately for me, the horns started just before I putted the ball. My legs jumped at the cacophony of horns and I pushed the ball more than […]

43. Rise Like A Phoenix

June 3, 2020 in /by

I am writing this podcast while watching the countdown for the SpaceX Crew Dragon historic launch.  It will be the first commercial manned flight into space.  It will also be the first American manned launch since 2011.  The astronauts just announced that they are a “go” for launch.  I can’t lie.  I am stoked about this.  I’ve always had a fascination with the science and mathematics behind space travel.  What makes this flight unique is that it is the first launch of a new vehicle in thirty years.  And, this flight is the gateway for Developing Resilient Leaders to book […]

41. Create A Meaningful Scoreboard

May 21, 2020 in /by

Always eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, indoors or out of doors, in the bath or bed – no escape. Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimeters in your skull. The passage came from George Orwell’s 1984, but it very easily could have been about working from home. There are varying estimates of the number of workers who are now working remotely. A study by MIT in April showed the number approaching 50%. Half of the workforce has carved out office space in their homes to serve their employer’s needs. They rearranged their […]

40. Reward The Deserving

May 14, 2020 in /by

 The Kentucky Derby was supposed to run last week. That’s normally one of my favorite days of the year. I invite friends over to watch the race, enjoy hors d’oeuvres and sip on mint juleps. It’s probably the only time in the year I get to use the word muddle. I muddle the mint in the bottom of the glass before I pour the mint julep. We sip, we laugh and we comment on the outrageous hats worn by the ladies. After that, the race. The fastest two minutes in sports is a pure adrenaline rush. Party goers screaming […]

39. Take Only What You Need

May 7, 2020 in /by

I was shopping in my local supermarket last week.  My mouth and nose covered with a surgical mask and I was snaking through the aisles in the new one-way traffic pattern.  There was a run on Brussel sprouts.  It’s nice to see during a pandemic that parents are feeding their kids healthy foods.  The line at the deli counter could not have been more genteel, each offering others the opportunity to be served in front of them.  The fishmonger smiled through his mask when he told me that he had a great cut of salmon.  The store had only a […]

36. Learn To Paint

April 30, 2020 in /by

 My mother sent me to bed an hour early for a few nights in a row when daylight savings time would come in the spring. The theory was that she didn’t want me to lose an hour of sleep and be tired for school come Monday morning. My mother also sent me to bed an hour early when the clocks would go back in the fall. Probably because I was getting in her hair more than a compassionate concern for my biorhythms. I remember waking up that Sunday in the fall and thinking it was the greatest day in […]

38. Kiss The Girl

April 21, 2020 in /by

Coronavirus Fear Around Us   I was on a run through the middle of town a few days ago and arrived at an intersection when I put my leg on a post to stretch my hamstrings. Traffic was light for 5:00 on a weekday. About twelve feet away from me a couple walking along the sidewalk stopped. They were in their mid-30s and both wearing masks. They stopped right in the middle of the sidewalk. After a few seconds I asked if they were waiting for me to move. They both nodded. Stretching, I tried to rationalize why they wouldn’t […]

37. Zooming On By

April 14, 2020 in /by

A Clockwork Orange is a difficult read. Difficult because some of the narration is a hybrid of Slavic and Cockney and difficult because of the rehabilitation scene of the protagonist, Alex DeLange. Alex is strapped to a chair, his eyes are forced open with wires, a screen plays directly in front of him for hours on end. Alex becomes emotionally distraught and exhausted. The scene is relentless and intense. Reading this scene made my mind tired and drained…kinda like how I felt after spending five hours on Zoom calls last Wednesday. Welcome to Swimming in the Flood; a podcast where […]

35. Find Your Silver Lining

March 30, 2020 in /by

I took a trip to up, upstate New York last weekend before the state issued their shelter-in-place order.  The scene was surreal.  The town of Clayton, New York sits on the Saint Lawrence River overlooking Canada, just northeast of Lake Ontario.  The promenade is gorgeous., lined with hundreds of Adirondack chairs overlooking the river.  Ferry landings and their wide births waiting for the next boat to arrive.  Open air table dining to maximize their view of the sun setting over the fast moving river.  The scene was idyllic.  Idyllic and barren.  There wasn’t a soul enjoying the breathtaking location.  Part […]