Simplify!

A goal,  that until recently has never been on my bucket list!  How about you?

If someone asked me to simplify my life, I would assume that's what you do when you retire, right?  Perhaps not! 

Simplify is the title of Bill Hybels new book and a group of us are meeting on Fridays to discuss the book chapter by chapter.  I have just started the second chapter so I guess I am still a bit complicated!

In the first chapter one subject that caught my attention was on recreation or taking time away!  For me, vacations always imposed a bit of guilt in me.  Either because I was not getting things done @ the office or I was letting someone else take on my responsibilities. 

It has never been easy for me to “get away” for whatever the reasons.

If you examine the word recreation and look at its roots, the words re-create comes into focus.  That has an attraction to me and a different motivation for putting it on my schedule!

You know what people rarely say on their death bed, “I wish I had spent more time at the office.”  For me, my office is cool and rewarding however there are other major categories in my life. 

I plan to reexamine my priorities and perhaps take some time to re-create some areas in my life. 

I also will invest time into this book and examine what “simplifying” my life looks like.

Stay tuned, this could get interesting!

NobleOne

Jordan's new bike!

Today my new friend Jordan gets a new bike!  Not too long ago Jordan’s Mom discovered her son could ride a “custom” bike and set out to make it so!

Their neighbor’s son who is also special needs got a new bike and it was apparent to Tanya (Jordan’s Mom) this new adaptive bike was a life changer for him. 

Jordan tried it out and whammo!  Jordan was mobile! 

Our good friend’s at J & A Racing hooked her up with Preston’s March for Energy, a nonprofit that arranges for bikes to be customized to meet the needs of these special kids.  

However, there was a caveat!  

If Jordan gets a free bike, his family needs to purchase or arrange for the next one for the next great kid.  A “pay it forward” concept attached to this great initiative!

The Noblemen partnered with Tanya and Jordan and the community jumped in to make it a reality!

Today is the day! 

5 awesome kids get their new custom adaptive bikes!!!

Helping Kids. And Changing Lives

There will always be kids that need help however the ones that do the helping get the changed life! 

What a weekend for Nobility!

NobleOne

Candor can be painful, but productive!

Lately I am been paying a great deal of attention to “leadership.”  I think great adventures are led by great leaders and I want to be the best I can be. 

I recently watched an interview of Jack Welch, former CEO of  GE and was fascinated by the way he viewed leadership.

Candor was a phrase that screamed loudly in my head as I listened to the interview.  Simply telling the truth when the truth needs to be told.  Thinking back I have been misled by folks in my life that held back key opinions and lacked the ability to express themselves at the crucial time.

If you don’t talk things out, the truth will eventually act itself out.   In other words face the truth now because soon the truth will arise and it will be have to be handled differently. 

How many times have you witnessed someone holding back the truth in order to protect someone else’s feelings?  Truth does hurt sometimes however it hurts more later if it is not handled!

One of the more destructive ways a company or an organization can fail is what I call conducting “parking lot conversations.” 

This happens when a group of well-meaning folks get together to discuss big things and the loudest get heard and the quiet don’t speak up.  Before you know it, thinking you are on a roll and there are folks in the room completely disengaged and upset.  Unbeknownst by you at the time, however count on hearing it in the rumor mill!

As soon as the meeting is over these folks look for common ground outside of the meeting to engage in negative sentiments that eventually erode the direction of an organization.

I think there are equal amounts of introverts to extroverts however in a meeting they are not represented proportionally.  All ideas need to be heard and discovered.  Committee meetings can often be just platforms for the extroverts.  One on one meetings might be more effective in getting to the meat of an opportunity.    

Knowing this makes for better leaders!

NobleOne

To be candid I know some of you expect me to blog on Sunday mornings however sometimes it just isn't there for me!

If we build it, will they come?

“A Platform for Philanthropy” 

I have often referred to The Noblemen as a platform for philanthropy!  What I mean by this is, we offer to others the ability to help through us.  We certainly can’t do it all, however,  if we listen, learn and share we often find a solution that accomplishes great things!

If we were to “build” that platform, what would it look like?

I have often spoken of launching a restaurant called Noblemens, where philanthropy meets a good meal!  Everything we do involves a gathering, great food and libations.  What if this restaurant was centrally located and large enough to hold membership meetings not only for us but others?  It would be the “go to” spot for community platforms.  Everything from little league to linked in could have a “spot” at our table!  The staff would be NobleTeens and we would use this restaurant to provide jobs and a mentoring opportunity for our youth to learn a trade and make some money!   If you want to make something happen in Hampton Roads you meet @ Noblemens and git r done.

What if a large building became available perhaps a Church?  A large sanctuary combined with a professional kitchen and a large parking lot would be a prescription for my “vision” of a perfect platform for our kind of philanthropy.   Fundraisers and large gatherings could accomplish great things for our community.  This building would be singularly focused for giving back and discovering new ways to work together for a better life for local kids that need a helping hand.  

What these two models offer is an opportunity to take this show on the road.  Once we have established our larger platform, it will be easier to demonstrate the impact of what we do and how we go about it.  The model would provide for revenue streams that fund our infrastructure as well as our philanthropy.  Other communities could easier adopt our plan and create their “platforms” and together we expand to other places that could use a bit more Nobility!

What say you?

Do you have an idea? 

I’m listening and I believe its time!

NobleOne

I have a dream! (and it's not MLK's)

On August 29^th I turned 57 years old.  I was born in 1957, so I figure it must mean something.  I choose to believe it does!

My life changed in 1993 when my son was born, I was introduced to miracles!  I was also introduced to me.  In other words I discovered why I was placed on this earth.  To put it one more way so you understand what drives me, “I had a calling!” 

I never felt that this was God reaching down from the heavens and speaking to me, however I do feel it was a divine intervention that when acted upon started to change my world and how I viewed it. 

In 1995 I put action to intuitions and created the Robin Hoods of Virginia Beach later to become The Noblemen. 

I feel it is now time to take a next step!  Here is my vision!

I grew up in the First Presbyterian Church.  I have served as an Elder, Usher, Sunday School Teacher, and was Head Chef for our Men’s Prayer Breakfast every Tuesday for 14 years.   The concept of Church and worship is no stranger to me!

Saying that, I never “plugged in” to the essence of what most churches are meant to accomplish.  I never worshiped at Church or felt I needed to attend church to visit God.  For me God was internal and when I attended Church I felt I brought God with me.  

Why wait till Sunday to get things done?  I'm busy on Sundays! 

It was the people in our church that I loved.  The conversations and the overall goodness of other members are what continue to make me smile today!

I attended church with my mom yesterday and once again sat there thinking about how I would do it all completely different. 

Now back to vision! 

I see The Noblemen somewhat like a church dedicated to its members and open to all that desire good friends, good times, making a difference, and giving back to our community. 

I feel that people are hard wired for philanthropy however it is often tough to find that outlet.  There is a large contingency of folks that cannot or will not find that in a church. 

There are also a great deal of wonderful people that attend a church however feel that their church falls short in the category of giving and helping out the less fortunate.

I want to create that new paradigm. 

I feel that most people have needs to be met in order to get comfortable in their own skin. 

            Find a way to pay for your obligations

            If you have a family you need to work out the dynamics for making everyone happy!

            You need to believe in something larger than you! (tricky one)

If you have not figured out the first two you are going to have difficulty with the last one!  After you accomplish the first, the next two can be a combination.  

I have some “big ideas” about our future and I would love to develop a strategy that allows The Noblemen to exist everywhere we or others think it should!

These are the things that keep me up at night and drive my board crazy.  It starts with a “Vision” that builds a culture that creates an organization that is measured by the impact  it makes on others and ourselves!

It is time for me to push the envelope and stir the pot.

I invite others to jump on board to create something so powerful that we all wonder at its awesomeness! 

Here are some more considerations concerning my vision…

I don’t think someone else is going to create it for me

Lately someone mentioned we are a “hamster on a wheel” constantly challenged for our next revenue stream, that needs to stop

Others won’t invest in our organization unless we audit our financial statements

Others would like to know “what is the problem we are solving in the community?”

I plan to keep “my stamp” on this organization until someone else emerges to take my place! 

Our enhanced model needs enthusiastic support and the I feel the right vision and ideas can create that.

           

I have the passion and the drive and will “do something anyway” so why don’t we all take a step off the “easy life plan” and dig in to create a “life changer!”

Who’s with me?  

I got ideas, do you?

57 and not done yet!

NobleOne