Don't Avoid The Rain

I'm training for the upcoming Cap City Half-Marathon. I needed more exercise and I thought, hey, why not completely torture myself?

I'm ramping up to the big day with a twelve-week training program. Three days each week I run normal distances of three to six miles. Saturdays are my "long run" days. Each week, the long run gets a mile longer. This week, it was ten miles. Ten miles should take around two hours with warmup, stretching, and cool-down. The problem is, it's Spring in Ohio, which means it can be hard to find two hours of decent weather. 

Saturday the forecast said scattered showers. I had planned an "out and back" route, which would take me five miles away from my house. At that point, I'd turn around and head back. It's a great way to ensure you'll get your miles in, even if you have to walk, limp, crawl, or ambulance your way back home. A quick check of the weather radar indicated the coast was clear, so I took off.

The first five miles were surprisingly easy, but my legs were starting to fatigue and I could tell that my body had pretty much used up all three pancakes from breakfast. I turned around and headed back toward home, suddenly feeling like home was a looooong way away. Fighting off thoughts of "I have to do ANOTHER five miles?", I downed a bottle of water and forged ahead.

A light sprinkle began. No big deal.

A light rain began. Again, no big deal.

The trail passed under a bridge, providing about five seconds of shelter against the rain. I kept running. 

Then the monsoon hit. A torrential downpour soaked me from head to toe (all ten toes, in fact). "All part of the training" I thought to myself, although the rain was beginning to quite effectively drown my good attitude.

Then a flash of lightning and an instant crack of thunder. How far back was that bridge, again? I found it pretty darn quickly. Taking refuge under the bridge with several other runners and one poor mother with a double stroller, soaking wet, and no longer generating any heat from running, I was getting colder and more ticked off by the second. And I thought the classic thought that you think when faced with a situation like this. "This sucks."

After about ten minutes, the rain went back down to a sprinkle and the lightning moved far enough away for me to feel safe again. But now I'm cold, irritated, and standing in squishy shoes. I hate squishy shoes. Then I remembered my wife's parting words as I headed out the door. "Call me if you get caught in the rain and I'll come pick you up." Believe me, I was so tempted to call her. I wanted a ride and some sympathy, and some Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup. 

Instead, I fired up my iPod and started my run again, squishy shoes and all. Twenty steps in, I got used to the squish. By a hundred paces or so, I realized that I...felt...GREAT! I was generating heat again, so the chill disappeared. I was re-energized, refreshed, and strangely relaxed. I had even picked up my pace. The 2nd half of my run went by in a blink. When I hit ten miles, I thought, "That's it? That was so much easier than I anticipated." I've never had a long run that didn't feel like a looooong run. 

I give all the credit to the rain. I tried to avoid it. I resented it while it was falling on me. It made me completely uncomfortable. It tempted me to quit. Little did I know that while all that was happening, the rain was refreshing me, giving me some much needed rest and energy, and placing the seed of this article in my brain. 

It rains quite often in our lives and in our workplaces. Relationships get rocky. Projects fail. Friends and co-workers let us down. Technology crashes. Work piles up. Deadlines loom. Bosses demand. Employees leave. Clients become difficult. The economy threatens our very existence. Rain, rain, rain.

Looking back (and being honest and objective), you'll recognize that times of rain almost always lead to a time of refreshed energy, a new way of working, or a much-needed cleansing in your life or your work. The recent economic disaster might have lead you to a new career, a streamlined and more profitable way to conduct your business, or gave you some much needed time with your family. The rain wasn't pleasant at the time, but the results have been surprisingly positive for many.

If it's raining on you right now, don't give up hope, and don't give up...period. Here are some thoughts that might help:

• Rain is pretty harmless. You can keep running in the rain. Keep running.
  
• Lightning kills. Better to stop for a few minutes to let it pass. If a situation is extremely stressful or potentially harmful in some way, a short break can make all the difference. Distance or protect yourself from the situation (or person) temporarily and let the danger pass. Then start running again.
  
• Remember that rain never lasts. And there is no more beautiful moment in life than when the rain stops and the sun comes out. That moment itself can be a spectacular reward for running through the rain.
  
• Recognize and celebrate the refreshment and energy that rain can bring. Don't dwell on the negative stuff, but spend time reflecting on the good things that result from the rain. Granted sometimes it takes a while to make these connections, but when you connect the dots backwards, you will gain a whole new appreciation for the rain.
  
• If you find it raining too often, you may need to move to a more suitable climate for you. Some people love Seattle, yet can't stand how often it rains, so they move to San Diego where they are much happier overall. You may find it hard to leave your current situation, but there may just be a better situation overall for you somewhere else. Ever see those people on the TV news who live in a trailer next to a river? Every few years, the river rises and destroys their trailer, yet they refuse to move. They usually say something profound like, "This is the fifth time I've lost my trailer. I don't know how many more times I can go through this." Time to move up the hill, Bubba.

Perhaps the most important lesson I learned from my run this past weekend: If you worry too much about the rain, you'll never finish your run...because you'll never start. The most successful people in life and business are the ones who don't avoid the rain; they run no matter what the weather. They keep working, learning, improving, changing, and plugging away in both good times and bad. 

Keep running. And never underestimate the refreshing, re-energizing power of a good, drenching rain.

Life is a Multiple-Choice Test

It takes 14+ hours to get from Columbus, OH, to Hilton Head Island, SC. My neighbors say it can be done in 10 hours, but I'm not sure I believe them. Then again, I don't put it past some of them to break the speed limit at NASCAR levels.

On our recent spring break, we left our house around 7:30am and drove through Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We crossed rivers and wove our way through mountains -- even experienced a tunnel or two -- before finally arriving on the island at 10pm. Needless to say, we were low on gas, energy, and good cheer.

Hilton Head likes to pretend it's a gated community which is why they put guard shacks on almost every street. Our hotel lay somewhere beyond the guard shack we were approaching after our long, long journey.

I rolled the window down as Carlos, the guard at this particular gate, beamed an electric smile at me that completely lit up the night.

"WELCOME TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND! (Yes, he spoke this in all caps) How may I assist you?" Happy, friendly, eager to serve. I immediately suspected mood enhancing drugs or a serious amount of Red Bull had been consumed inside that shack.

Matching about 2% of his enthusiasm, I replied, "We're looking for the Hilton Oceanfront Resort." Tired, sleepy, borderline coherent. But he'd seen enough of our kind to know exactly what we needed.

"Oh, the HILTON!" he exclaimed in a voice that indicated we had been very wise in our selection of accommodations. You'd have thought I said we were staying with the Queen. "Oh, BUCKINGHAM PALACE!" Same treatment.

He continued on with similar verve, "Continue straight down the very same path you are on and you will arrive at the Hilton in exactly 56 seconds. It will appear on your left."

I glanced at the wife and the kids. All were grinning from ear to ear, moments away from an all out giggle-fest.

"You will have such a wonderful stay at the Hilton that you're never gonna want to leave. Enjoy your vacation." All the while, that big, happy, genuine smile stayed put right there on his face. He then waved us on as if he was pointing Cinderella toward the ballroom and he already knew the end of the story.

The moment we moved forward, our previously groggy, slightly cranky, almost lifeless vehicle exploded in energy, laughter, and rapid fire conversation.

"That was AWESOME."
"I've never seen anybody so happy at 10pm."
"Dad, why did he say we'd be there in 56 seconds?"
"Are you counting the seconds, dad?"
"That almost makes up for 14 hours in the car."
"You HAVE to write about this in your newsletter!"

It was the single best greeting I've ever received anywhere in my entire life. We experienced that greeting for one reason:

Carlos chose the right answer.

You see, life is a multiple-choice test. Every day, several times a day in fact, we are presented with multiple-choice scenarios.

Imagine you're Carlos and today you've been assigned the night shift at the guard shack. What will you do?

A. Complain to your wife, your friends, your co-workers, and maybe even your customers about your sucky night job.

B. Clock in, do your job, grumble quietly to yourself, clock out, go back home.

C. Pleasantly go about your work, show a bit of interest in your customers and co-workers, and do a pretty good job overall.

D. Decide to be really, really amazing at your job and do everything you can to use your positive skills, delight your customers, and improve your company through your contribution.

Notice there is no "all of the above" option on this test. There's no mixing and matching. And, most importantly, there MUST be an answer. If you don't choose your answer, you will default to one. And I promise you, it won't be answer D. At best, you'll default to answer B or C, depending on how you feel and whether you're having a good hair day or not.

To achieve answer D you have to consciously choose it. You have to work at it a bit. I'll bet even Carlos has to work at it when those car windows roll down and release the pent-up smell of Doritos and body odor from a carful of ornery and demanding vacationers.

The answers to every multiple-choice scenario may vary in specifics, but you always have a range of responses to choose from -- from extremely negative to extremely positive, from selfishness to service, from underwhelming to extraordinary.

I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes fail a multiple-choice test, and I often don't score as high as I could. But, thankfully, there is always another test just minutes away. I can change my grade anytime I choose by choosing a better answer on the next test.

Most people don't ever choose the "D" type of answer. Most people shoot for average and that's exactly what they deliver. We drove by that guard shack at least a dozen times after that first memorable night. Each time we secretly hoped another guard might give Carlos a run for his money. Some were pleasant enough. A few even smiled at us. But nobody even came close to replicating Carlos' magnificent mojo.

You are likely just a few minutes away from your next multiple-choice test. As with any test, it helps to prepare at least a little bit ahead of time. So, got an idea of what your answer is going to be?

I hope you ace it.

Book Recommendation - Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders

I haven't written a book review since, well, Mrs. Nance's class in elementary school. It's not that I didn't want to. It's just that nobody asked me to. Until now.

I met Tim Sanders at an event about a month ago. I wouldn't say I was stalking him, but let's just say I have been a fan of his for awhile and I jumped at the chance to see him speak. I don't know his address, his favorite color, or what peanut-butter-to-jelly ratio he prefers on his PB&J sandwich. I'm just a fan. And since he was genuine, authentic, and downright friendly when I met him, I'm going to go out on a limb and call him my friend. Not best-man-at-each-others'-weddings kind of friends. Just new friends.

And even though I'm a fan (and a new friend), I wouldn't recommend his book to you if it sucked.

It didn't. In fact, it is very, very good. And here's why:

Tim is a gifted and purposeful storyteller and his stories and advice are incredibly timeless and powerful in application. Today We Are Rich is full of stories from Tim's life (and many other's lives, too) that he weaves into some of the most practical advice I've ever read in a self-improvement book.

A central "character" of the book is Billye (yes, that's the spelling), Tim's amazingly wise grandmother. While my grandmother was telling me things like "Be quiet and eat your peas," Billye was teaching Tim life lessons that have helped him weather bad times (which he calls his "sideways years") and propel him to success in good times. And he's had plenty of both.

Until this book, I had only heard the good stories about Tim's life -- his rapid ascent to executive at Yahoo!, his growing list of best-selling books, and how he helps companies take a fresh look at themselves via his practical and analytical consulting abilities. But this book also reveals a whole string of life events that make you realize that Tim has been-there-done-that on both sides of the success fence.

As I read Tim's recollection of his grandmother's advice, I often smiled to myself because I just couldn't get Forest Gump out of my head. Tim is NOTHING LIKE Forest Gump. I want to make that abundantly clear. But Billye's advice often sounds an awful lot like the advice Forest Gump recites from "momma." A few examples:

"Confidence is rocket fuel."
"Gratitude is a muscle, not a feeling."
"You can get glad in the same pants you got mad in." (This may be my favorite)

Today We Are Rich is what I consider a "highlighter book," meaning it's a book to read with a highlighter in your hand. As I flipped back through the book to prepare this review, I discovered I never read more than a couple of pages without highlighting something. Many pages had more than one highlight, too. By recalling stories and quotes from Billye and self-improvement heroes like Norman Vincent Peale, Tim lays down many quotable nuggets of his own, Here are two I really liked:

 "How can you detect your higher purpose? It lies at the intersection of a make-a-difference opportunity and your personal capabilities."


"Keep your promises because of who you are, not because of who they are."

One last thought. Tim talks about God in this book. Not in a Bible-thumping, hit-you-over-the-head-with-a-dashboard-Jesus kind of way. It's just part of who he is and what he knows to be important. I love that he does it with such authenticity and approachability. It's refreshing.

Today We Are Rich is a great book. At the risk of sounding like one of the quotes you see on a Hollywood movie poster, I really do think this book is destined to be a self-help classic.

If you'd like to check out a chapter, you can download a good-sized chunk from Tim's website for the book: www.twar.com

When you read it (or if you have already read it), feel free to add to my review by adding a comment to the blog!