Carpe Cupcake (and Carpe Entrepreneurs)!

I got an e-mail today from Donna ('Annie'), who was a PTA Co-President with me in Puyallup, WA. We had lots of fun along with accomplishing tons of good for the school, students, and teachers. So, her e-mail was no surprise to me. Here is a snippet:

I have news. Recently, I opened a new business, everythingcupcakesbyannie.com. It all started with my sister's stamp 'original cupcake' (Lockhart Stamp Co.). I started making products with her images and feeding my ever-growing creative soul and... bing, bang, boom a business was born! Please visit my site and enjoy shopping through my calorie-free cupcake collection.

Now, I can't say that cupcakes are an obsession for me. However, I have a daughter, cupcakes are popular & cute, and I do whole-heartedly support entrepreneurial spirit! So, I checked it out and I plan to buy a gift for my daughter. I am sharing Donna's story because I want to support a motivated woman who has decided to do something she loves with the talents she has.

Writing this, I got to thinking about the other business owners I know: Jamil Evans owns a growing government contracting company (DC), Anthony Kirlew is a search engine marketing wiz (Phoenix, AZ), Gwen Grimes Sawyer (San Antonio, TX) has an awesome photography company, and there are many others, in fact too many to name, but....I think they would all say that getting started may well be the hardest and most important step.

Another business-owner who downright inspires me is: Brandie Hall. She is a Personal Trainer, Motivational Speaker & Life Coach but honestly, she is just an encourager like nobody else! She has taken her passions and uses them daily to create a living AND to benefit others. When a client connects with Brandie, they get a full service experience, not just an exercise plan. She educates, challenges, and designs a plan to get them to results. I haven't ever had a training session with Brandie (though I wish I had) but I know what she accomplishes, YOU CAN'T FAKE THE INTERACTIONS (AND RESULTS) THAT SHE HAS WITH HER CLIENTS. Facebook has given me a window into her business from the service and client perspective that marketing couldn't possibly capture....it speaks for itself (I could do a whole other post on creative use of social networking to not only promote your business but convey "who" your company is).

Launching a business of your own is no minor endeavor, but is anything worth having easy? It will take confidence and hard work, did I say 'hard work?' I meant REALLY HARD WORK.

These are just a few of the people I know who have exhibited confidence and commitment to being an entrepreneur. If you have been thinking about doing something new and different in business or life, take the leap!

Dominican Republic Trip GROWS into Long-Term Missions

WOW!!!!!

We are so excited to share our friend Katie McFaddin with you. Katie was one of our teammates on the Dominican Republic (DR) Missions Trip in January. God has such big plans for Katie. He used the DR Trip, along with its people, our missions team, and the missionaries we served with to water a seed that He planted in Katie's heart.
I am including part of Katie's newsletter/announcement here. But the short story is that 7 days is GROWING into a YEAR of missionary service through Katie's willingness to listen to God's voice and take action on what God laid on her heart during the recent trip to the DR.

From Katie's Newsletter: I’ve shared with many that while I was on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic in January, 2009 that I felt called to serve on a long-term mission assignment, but I had no idea exactly what, where, when or how… After prayer and getting advice from other Christian friends, I interviewed for the World Race with Adventures in Missions. The World Race is a mission assignment to serve Christ in 11 countries in 11 months with a team of 50 young adults. In February, I found out that I was accepted to run the race!
…and then I developed a “Jonah-syndrome” and went back to the chaos of work and comforts of life in Washington, D.C. I’m grateful that God puts us back in our place because as of April 17, I was spewed out of the belly of the whale, or in other words, RIFFED along with a large chunk of my former co-workers due to major budget cuts.
I’m so grateful that God is in control and He’s working through me, calling me to be His hands, feet, mouth and heart in all parts of the world. I’m ready to go, serve, teach, and to be used by Him!

Katie's race will begin in August 2009 and will include the following locations: Cambodia, Egypt, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Romania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam and another country in Africa to be decided later.
If you are able, please consider supporting Katie. Prayers are always essential but consider financial support too. Katie will need to raise approximately $14,000 in the short-term just to embark on the journey and will need some additional support over the coming year. You can make a one time contribution or commit to monthly support. I assure it, it will not only be worth it but your contributions will have eternal value.

I am amazed at Katie's spirit, heart, and her willingness (in her words) to spend the year: ministering to the poor, sharing God’s love to widows and orphans, building community, growth, discipleship, and being a part of God's work all over the world. My greatest desire is to allow God to use me outside of my comfort zone and serve for His glory. During this trip, I will have the opportunity to pray for and minister to people who need to hear of salvation through Jesus Christ.

**Links to Katie's blog and support page are included.

Skills

I have witnessed a lot of incredible basketball slam dunk contests but this beats them all. While I am not advocating destruction of property...I do love to see people show off the skills they have been blessed with.

Are you showing off the skills you have been blessed with?

~David

Stop Doing IT!!!!

Recently I was fortunate to hear Jim Collins expound on several ideas from his book Good to Great. He also spent some time in a shorter but just as challenging book "Good to Great in the Social Sectors". He spent his time centered around the theme that greatness is not a function of our circumstances or the cards we are dealt but rather...greatness starts with a choice and then the discipline to carry out that decision.

In the follow-on study of great organizations and the differences between them, Collins made 2 statements/observations that I took to heart:

1. HUMILITY

2. STOP DOING

His point was there was one characteristic between Level 4 and 5 leaders that made all the difference. In the words of Rick Warren, "It's not about you." Humility was the game changer in taking good organizations to that next level. I have to admit that it made me stop and think about all the times I take credit for something when I could be passing it along to someone else in the organization.

The other MAJOR take away for me was the 'stop doing list'. We all have our 'To Do' lists and Collins said that great leaders take time to evaluate where and how they are being most and least effective. Based on that, they create a 'stop doing' list, These are things they will stop doing because they: can be delegated, are taking up too much time of the leadership and there by are creating inefficiency, or they are things that need to not be done at all by the organization.

Some quick thoughts...David

Email

Can I just say, "I hate email". Why can't we do all our work and communication through facebook? Am I crazy? I have spent the last three weeks since I came back from Myrtle Beach trying to get out from underneath all the email and today at 8:52am it happened!

There was no email in my Inbox for a whole 2 minutes!

My dream is to be able to communicate with everyone via one medium. You want to make a million dollars? Figure out how people can blog, email, and communicate about business, life, and family all in one spot. Obviously there are some security hurdles there but man it would be great to completely get rid of email! Someone would ask me, "What's your email?" and I would reply, "Don't have one....you'll have to catch me on the super duper million dollar idea sight."

You would think with all the technology out there: facebook, twitter, ovvoo, digg, etc.

Ok Ok Ok

Maybe a little far fetched and silly...but I can dream can't I?

~David

Don't Miss Out!

THIS INFO IS ONLY GOOD THROUGH AUGUST 10th!

I think Seth Godin is one of the most forward thinking leaders out there today and he challenges people to look at where they are, where they are going, and why. I really appreciate how he challenges business leaders. He has the most popular blog on the Internet and it is one of my life goals to personally meet the man.

Through a friend of Seth's I got the inside scoop on his next big launch!

The TRIBE is like the Fight Club -- for ideas!

The Tribe will be an exclusive membership but it is open to friends for a short time. If you are willing to pre-order the book then you can get in on the ground floor of the Tribe.

The details are on Seth's blog.

Father's Day Food Drive Finale

Instead of a gift for Father's Day, Colin and Connor decided to Honor their dad by demonstrating the love and service to others that he has taught them. (See post on Service Project Update)

On Father's Day, the boys were invited to Chesterbrook United Methodist Church to make a presentation of all the food and donations that they collected for the Food Bank. During the announcements they had the opportunity to briefly explain that by going door-to-door and sending e-mails that they had collected:

~ 16 filled bags of groceries and $150.00 for the local SHARE food bank

as well as,

~ $275.00 collected for a local Washington State Food Bank because of their e-mails.

The kids FAR EXCEEDED their goal to collect 20 bags or approximatey $400-$500 dollars. Essentially their efforts, almost doubled their goal. Great Job!

We are so proud of the care and concern that they have for others, it will certainly bless and enhance their lives!

Date Night

Sharon and I had our monthly date night last night. I made the reservations and she found the babysitter. Off we went for 2.5 hours of adult time to talk, eat, and relax at Tysons Tower Club.

We recently read a book called the Love List by Les & Leslie Parrott. It recommends 2 things you should do as a couple daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. Great little book, easy read, and short enough that a man might read it all! One thing they recommend is a date night...Sharon and I already subscribed to this and love that time away every month to date each other.

More on P.E.A.C.E

I promised to follow-up from my time in California with Rick Warren, the PEACE Plan, and PD Summit. Here is a link to the video interviews of the top leaders flown in to participate in the Purpose Driven Summit...

Some quick thoughts and notes I wanted to capture:
1. You can only take someone as far as you have grown
2. What you measure you succeed in
3. We are called to build people...God builds the church
4. Spiritual growth is intentional and happens when we make commitments

My favorite comment from Rick was:

5. People set goals too low and try to accomplish them too soon...We need to set big goals and spend the rest of our lives chasing them.

New Link

Adding a new link to Chris Brady's Blog...

I have known Chris Brady since 2002 and he is a gifted orator, leader, and author. His book "LLR" was #1 on Wall Street Journal's Best Seller's List and was in the top 10 of all the major business reviews.

Enjoy...

Visioneering

Used a big chunk of the 10 hours in the air to digest Andy Stanley’s book, “Visioneering” and what was left I finished up during the start of vacation. Stanley takes the historical story of King Artaxerxes and his servant Nehemiah to draw life lessons on why vision is important, how to set vision, how to respond to challenges, and staying focused.

My biggest take away is the following quote, “The most significant visions are not cast by great orators from stage. They are cast at the beside of our children…My most significant vision casting takes place on my knees with my face twelve inches away from the face of my children.”

WOW!

Some other quick highlights on this excellent book:

1. Vision begins as a concern
2. Don’t Get distracted
3. Anyone can be a critic, everyone can come up with solutions because it does not take anything special to have a good idea, but it takes a visionary to generate results.
4. Vision requires constant attention…one individual has to be willing to pick-up the vision and be the person who will deliver.
5. Leaders who have success in vision casting share at least these three traits: A Peaceful Spirit, Healthy Relationships, and Character
6. To be an effective leader you have to engage people’s heart and tie it to the vision.

PEACE

Took off early on Monday morning and flew with Mark Batterson to California. Rick Warren was hosting a special event at Saddleback Church in Orange County. I have forgotten how beautiful California is and how awesome the sunsets are.

The conference was incredible with leaders from all over the country. Mark was asked to speak to this select group of invites who came to learn more about Rick’s vision for the PEACE Coalition. Rick has more than a big dream he has a heart for helping people by taking on the 5 Big Global Goliath’s of today through PEACE:

P - Promote Reconciliation
E - Equip Leaders
A - Assist the Poor
C - Care for the Sick
E - Educate the Next Generation

I will share more later but just wanted to encourage everyone to dream big dreams and trust God to fill in the gaps. I was totally in awe at the wisdom, experience, and teaching provided by these spiritual giants of our time. Mark is sought after by so many and is truly a transparent leader who men in leadership look to. Mark has a new book that will be coming out called "Wild Goose Chase". The more I hear him tell people about the book, the more excited I get...can't wait for the release later this year...

Mudslides!

Mudslides...no not the alcoholic kind - and not the natural disaster kind either. I am talking about one of my children and where the playground 'slide' and 'mud' met my daughter.

Now Colin and Sybella were having fun and the sun was shining but it was only a matter of a few minutes before that when the rain came pouring down. As they prepared to launch themselves down the slide, everyone was laughing and having fun.

Colin was being a big brother and having a blast. Round and round they went swirling to the bottom of the slide. As they got to the bottom, Colin hopped off and left his sister sitting on the end of the slide. The next thing I knew...slip...slide...MUD SLIDE...

OOPS! Now here is the interesting thing, she got up, smiled, and went on playing. THAT'S MY GIRL!

Each of us jumps into life experiences, choices at work, relationships. On the surface things often times start out great and are a lot of fun. There are even times when we are fortunate enough to form friendships from theses experiences or have a mentor come along side us. At some point (sometimes unexpectedly) we find ourselves in a place where we didn't expect to be and face down in the mud. It is not always fun and you can sometimes get really dirty. The question is...how do you handle the situation?

Sybella got up and laughed, some people roll over and cry, others get angry, and yet other people panic. There is a Proverb (15:18) that says, a hot-temper stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel. I also believe that patience lends clarity to difficult situations.

SO...when you find yourself in a muddy situation, just remember this smiling 16 month old full of joy while covered in mud and say to yourself...MUDSLIDE!

Soccer begins...

Soccer began today and as evidenced by the photos, everyone is playing in some capacity.

In the VYS they told us that we would not be keeping score. Excuse me! Last time I checked we are a culture built on capitalism. In a capitalistic society you have to be competitive. Instead of the laundry list of reasons why keeping score hurts our kids, maybe we need to revisit this concept and ask...How does not keeping score in a soccer game help teach and cultivate the competitive spirit? Don't get me wrong...we are a long way from the MLS but competition begins somewhere. Soccer was formalized in the 1800's in English Boys Schools and was intended to teach young men through athletics, general principles in life: discipline, rules, competition, and fairness.

Here is the irony of their rule...despite no one keeping score...it is amazing the boys know exactly what the score was and who won and who lost.

Colin tied 2-2 and Connor won 4-1.

It goes to show you that most people, inherently have a sense of winning, losing, and competition.

~David

The 3 D's for 2 C's

The 3 D's:
Direction, Delayed Gratification, and Dirt bikes

The 2 C's:
Colin & Connor

Some time ago we were walking through Toys-R-Us and saw these motorbikes. Of course the boys immediately wanted one. While I thought it would be cool to buy them one, Sharon had an idea and we agreed this would be a great opportunity to teach some key life lessons. We made a deal with the boys we would match them dollar for dollar if they would save there money and practice delayed gratification.

Direction - We set a goal with them and helped them establish a plan to accomplish that goal.

Delayed Gratification - We gave them their allowance that they earned based on a weekly plan to participate in work that needed done around the house. So in October of last year we started this journey and now 6 months later they have achieved their goal...a Dirt Bike!

At the end of the week they had to tithe 10%, 20% to savings, and then determine what they would do with the remaining 70%. That's right, we did not make them save it and when we went to a coffee shop and they wanted a hot chocolate...guess who paid? Yes, we made them buy their own hot chocolate. We went to the movies and guess who bought the candy and soda? Yep...they did. It is amazing to watch them prioritize and what they decide to spend money on.

Cruel? Unusual? Maybe...

Effective? Definitely!

The 3rd D - DIRT BIKE...check it out!

Family Night

Tuesday night we took the boys and headed over to RFK Stadium to watch DC United play Jamaica's Harbour View in the CONCACAF Quarterfinals. We rode the metro from Vienna to the other side of DC and walked to the stadium. Being spring break we had no worries about getting home late. The boys got to hang out with "Sammy the Eagle"...United's mascot. We had great seats in the 'rowdy' section of the stadium. We actually sat just to the right of the group that was throwing confetti, splashing liquids, and beating the drums.

The boys are embracing the great American past time of heading to the local stadium and cheering on your favorite sports team. We left Sybella at home with Granda while we headed out into the cold weather. We decided to get stadium food...OUCH! Forgot how expensive that stuff is. Anyways, it was a fun game and the home team won.

After a 1-1 draw with D.C. United at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium, many were expecting Harbour View to lose the return-leg CONCACAF Champions Cup game in Washington on Tuesday night.

However, a 5-0 thrashing was more than many, yours truly included, bargained for. Tons of scoring, lots of yelling, what a wonderful atmosphere.

At no point did I envision D.C. United, a United States Major League Soccer kingpin, as a team that was five goals better than any of the top Jamaican sides.

Sacrifice

Well, tomorrow starts Lent and I really struggled with what I want to give up during this season. Lent, in most Christian denominations, is the forty-day liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the desert. The purpose of Lent is the preparation of a believer, through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-denial—for the annual commemoration of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, as celebrated during Holy Week.

I wanted to give up something that was truly a sacrifice and would be a public confession in the work place of my faith. I am not sure what your beliefs are on alcohol but I personaly enjoy a glass of wine from time to time and during most dinner meals. I decided to give alcohol up for the next 40 Days. I choose this primarly because I know people in the work place will notice that I am drinking water or soda during dinner meetings and ask. It opens a door...

Not only does it open the door but when I see others drinking, it reminds me of my commitment and Christ's sacrifice.

~David

Hard Times

No we aren't having 'hard times' at the Simon's...just eating there:

I went to the Hard Times Cafe for a lunch meeting with a friend. This place has awesome chilli and is one of the top 3 places to hang out in Alexandria, VA. It is one of my favorite meeting places (of course any meeting of food is a favorite place fore me). It really hit the spot with the wind blowing and making it a little colder than usual. Over lunch we talked about a number of things to include FOCUS.

Looking back on many personal adventures as well as the business ventures of friends around me, we talked about how your focus determines your direction and ultimately your destiny. Whether you are an owner, employee, or leader, it is critical to remind yourself of why you are doing what your doing. I watch way too many people here in DC thinking about being at home while they are at work and thinking about work while they are at home. And then they wonder why they are not achieving the success that others around them are having. Their focus is off.

Here's a hint...don't take the laptop home one night and turn off the blackberry and see what happens around the house. I am just as guilty as the next guy but sometimes that stuff has to be put aside and the focus needs to be on family. Now I would comment on the opposite of this but far more people struggle to make home and family the priority than the other way around.

The other thing I will mention is that my life goals and dreams are written down and saved on my desktop so that I can look at them daily. I don't dwell on them or stare at them for minutes on end but glancing at them keeps me in focus as to why I am doing what I am doing.

~David

DERBY RACING!!!

What fun! Start to finish the boys and I had a blast. My approach is that they are the cub scout and this is their project. So I made them read the instructions, pick a design, trace it out on the wood, cut, sand, and paint! That's right, we spent a lot of time together working side-by-side but I am giving them all the credit. Grandpa came by and help with the paint; it was a family bonding experience. Uncle Phillip (my brother) showed up at the races to cheer them on. It is great to have family who can be close by to encourage and cheer them on.



Now race night was interesting. I did not realize how serious this stuff is. There were mom's cheering, dad's working on cars, and all out chaos with that many children in one place. It was NASCAR meets CHUCK-E-CHEESE. There was a professional track with a laser light counter to clock times. I have to admit that when the 1st heat raced down the track and one car did not finished I prayed, "Dear God, just let the boys cars cross the finish line." Is that wrong? I knew how hard they both worked and I would have felt terrible if their cars did not finish the race. They both did great and almost trophied (both missed 3rd by milli-seconds). I WAS SO PROUD OF THEM! This was not Dad's project & car that they raced, this was their project that they built and raced.


The boys finished the race...

How many times do people start things and not finish the race?

Lesson 1:
Hebrews 12 - talks about running the race set before us. Now I know we are talking about pinewood derby but I believe that kids learn the lessons early in life and carry them through to adulthood. We all have a race to run...do you know what your race is? How well are you running?

Lesson 2:

1 Corinthians 9:24 - Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. I guess I have to remind myself of this because during the project the boys put the tools down, stopped sanding, and I let them go play while I worked on the cars (not a lot) but...the point is I want the boys to run in such a way as to win. I have seen so many people go to work, take on a project, or go through life never giving it their all. No wonder people are unhappy with their jobs, if you are not running to win then all that can be expected is mediocrity.

So I ask...Are you running to win?

Soccer

After refereeing at the highest levels of soccer (MLS) it is quite humbling to go play indoor soccer last night. I joined my friends from ATS to play with the "Burn'o'nators" ... which describes exactly how my legs felt! They were buring baby!

It was a blast playing with all the guys from ATS at the Olympic indoor sports arena in Bremerton. The team had thier first 'non-loss' of the season. AKA...we tied. Win or lose it was loads of fun and a great workout.

Playing sports is so great because it draws out the competitive nature, gets the blood flowing, changes my focus from work, and teaches us all that life isn't always fair (you know the comment, "that's a foul ref!"). Yes I did say it once.