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I made it into the Chiropractor today, and after some scary creaks and cracks, I’m standing a bit more balanced that I was a week ago. I’ve never had an adjustment like that before, so to be honest it was a bit frightening to hear my bones crack. Apparently this is a good thing though. After the appointment, I spent the next two hours experiencing strange muscle spasms as my back tried to get used to the changes. Things are fine now, but for a while there I was wondering if I’d really done the right thing. My neck sure turns better now… I have about 90 degrees of motion each direction where before I could only go about 60 degrees to the left.

This experience made me wonder what other areas of my life are in need of a slight tune-up? I’m sure there are many areas we all neglect. We get used to the discomfort of knowing things are just not quite right and convince ourselves things aren’t that bad. I’m going to do a bit of an inventory and just make sure I’ve got a healthy balance in the key areas of my life. I’m sure a little attention to each area will yield good results.

I’m almost done unpacking the house. We’re having company over tomorrow night, so the deadline is almost here!

The office area is still a bit cluttered, but at least the living room, kitchen and dining areas are all coming together now.

I found some pictures of what the place looked like before we bought it, before we started fixing things up, and before we moved in. I’m hoping to take some pictures of things once the furnishing and decorating is complete. Then you’ll be able to see the process from beginning to end. Won’t that be fun?

I watched Hotel Rwanda last night. Wow. I haven’t had a movie impact me so deeply since Life is Beautiful.

Don Cheadle was up for an Oscar for his role in the movie, and it had received some good reviews, so I thought I’d check it out. It turns out I was in for more than I bargained for. If you haven’t seen the movie, push it to the top of your “Must-See List.” It really carries that big of an impact.

I don’t know about you, but I have several MP3’s that have missing artist, title, album tags. I’ve used MusicMatch and Windows Media Player in the past to try to edit these tags, but after a while I always give up due to boredom.

I just found a great program, ID3-Sync — ID3 because that’s the format used to store the descriptive information with the MP3 file — that makes this process much less painful. Based on the file name, or even the file structure, ID3-Sync can lookup the missing information and enter it into each MP3 file for you. All you have to do is walk through your list of MP3’s and verify that it got them right. Super easy. I’ve spent a few minutes this morning playing with it, and probably fixed 50 or more songs.

Check it out here: http://id3sync.meista.de/

I finished reading Attitude 101 by John Maxwell this week. It is part of his series of books that take a key topic and break down the essentials in an approachable format. The series is Relationships 101, Equipping 101, Attitude 101, and Leadership 101. I actually read them in reverse order the first time around, and as I re-read them to glean more wisdom I am still reading them in reverse order.

Attitude 101 addresses several key questions:

• How does attitude impact leadership?
• How does attitude impact an individual?
• What shapes a person’s attitude?
• Can an attitude be changed?
• Can obstacles actually enhance an attitude?
• What is failure?
• What is success?

I read the first half of the book several weeks ago, but came back to it this week and read the sections on failure and success. To be honest, they came at the perfect time. I’m watching a chapter of my life seem to come to close - an entrepreneurial effort that I had high hopes for and had dreamed would set up the rest of my life in many ways. While I’ve wrestled with feelings of inadequacy and failure, I’ve also been fairly confident that I’ve given my all in this endeavor and have grown tremendously in the process.

Maxwell encourages readers that failures often open a new opportunity - and generally provide chances to grow and learn as an individual. I like the quote by Bill Vaughan:

“In the game of life it’s a good idea to have a few early loses, which relieves you of the pressure of trying to maintain an undefeated season.”
— Bill Vaughan

In this process of building a company, shaping our team, defining our market, pursuing key customers, and delivering services I’ve seen my leadership skills and understanding of the business world - and the importance of personnel dynamics - experience great growth. I still have tons to learn, and continue to devour lessons from great leaders, but I realize that without this opportunity my life would have been very different.

Every time I read a Maxwell book I walk away encouraged - in this case I’m encouraged that when I fail it gives me an opportunity to grow, to learn, to explore new opportunities. My character is displayed as I respond to adversity, but the outcome of an endeavor is not the same thing as my identity. Failure does not define me.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
— President Theodore Roosevelt

I had my first chiropractor visit today.

The history goes like this: a month or so ago I tweaked my lower back and was in some good pain for a week or two. I scheduled a visit with the chiropractor, but they couldn’t fit me in (as a new patient) until today. In the mean time, the pain has gone away. I figured I’d keep the appointment anyway since it would probably be good to establish a baseline for when I feel good so that I know what’s wrong when I feel bad.

The chiropractor was extremely nice, and worked me through several motions to determine my range of motion and such. A few times he noticed some aberrations, but for the most part I was looking pretty good. At one point, he had me lay on my back on a massage table, and as I lay there, he immediately noticed my right leg was shorter than my left leg. Hmmmm.. That’s cute.

He had me pull each leg up to my chest, and as I did, he showed me how my right ankle came in during the motion while my left stayed in line with my knee. Apparently my right femur is rotated slightly outward at the hip which causes my right leg muscles to be tight, and the leg to appear shorter. We didn’t measure bone length, so I don’t know if this is a permanent situation - but the doc seemed to be confident we can adjust it and I’ll be back to my normal, less lopsided self in no time.

He even thought I’d see an improvement in my hoops game. So watch out. All of you who thought I couldn’t play ball just cause I’m short and white — it’s actually because my right leg is shorter than my left. Now you’re all in trouble

~J

Now Reading:Wooden - A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court

Today was the big day!

With the help of several good friends from Santa Barbara and my local church, Kristen and I were able to move into our new house today. We were able to pull it off in one trip, which was sweet! The total move time took maybe 3 hours… unpacking is taking a bit longer.

Of course, true to my Computer Science background, the computer had to get set up on the first day. I’ve only got the laptop working at this point - the other computers will have to wait until tomorrow. I’m actually writing this via a wireless connection that one of my neighbors is sharing with the world… Heh. Hope they don’t mind

At this point, we’ve got boxes coming out of our ears, but the upside is that we’ve now got our own space. It is bizarre to be in this situation, but I’m grateful for the way everything came together to allow us to be in this home. I’m tired tonight, but I know by this time next week the excitement will have repaced the weariness, and I’ll be jazzed to begin new projects to get our place organized and settled.

Now Reading: “Hard to Believe : The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus” by John MacArthur

I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the home improvement tunnel. We’re hoping to move in on Saturday the 16th, and I think we’ll have all of the major projects wrapped up in time to do so. I’ll post before and after pics once we finish the re-carpeting of the stairs. I’m certain you’ll enjoy seeing the difference.

Now Reading:“Everybody’s Normal Till You Get To Know Them” by John Ortberg

Cleverness, I suspect, does not reflect intelligence.
— Jeremy Post

I learned this, at least, by my experiment;
that if one advances confidently in the
direction of his dreams, and endeavors
to live the life which he has imagined,
he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
–Henry David Thoreau [Walden]

I’ve come to realize that some dreams of mine may never come true. I don’t think that is a terrible thing, really. I’ve had many dreams I thought were terrific. But now, on this side of the dream, I see that had I achieved them I would have been disappointed at best, and miserable at worst.

I remember there were crushes I had when I was younger that I dreamed would turn into a life long romance. Fortunately, God allowed those to fade and exceeded even the best of my dreams with my wife of the past six-plus years. This year we’ll have our first child, certainly exceeding those boyhood dreams, as I never saw myself as a father back then. I’m thrilled today, but I know I could have never dreamed things would happen the way they have - and for that I’m grateful.

I’ve had similar experiences with careers - I was at one time convinced I would become a compassionate doctor, caring for the sick and troubled. At others I’ve been sure my destiny was to teach. Today I’m building a business. Tomorrow I may write software. My vocation has shifted a little, but I’ve at least seen that I no longer idolize my career as I once did. I see it as a vehicle for other things, not an end in itself. If you know me well, I’m fond of saying “Work is tough. That’s why they call it ‘work’ and not ‘basketball!’”

I’m learning that the important thing is less what I accomplish in the working world than how I accomplish it. Am I striving to achieve quotas or personal wealth, or am I striving to build lasting, changing, transforming relationships? Do I leave those I encounter better for it, or poorer? I believe if I create an environment for my team that spurs them to growth in their pursuit of excellence the quotas will follow - and if they don’t, my team will still be richer for the experience.

So moving forward, my dreams are now of rich, transforming relationships with co-workers, customers, and strategic partners alike that mutually seek to pursue excellence in all aspects. I look forward to working in a company that has established a culture of familial belonging and sees each member caring deeply for the rest while striving to perform at the highest levels of excellence.