Whoa, I didn't think I would make it this far, and other difficulties!

My father passed away at age 59 and all his brothers and sister, my uncles and aunt, have now joined him!  This month I will turn 59. 

Trust me I am no pessimist and most would say my glass is always half full.  It just never leaves my mind that my future is uncertain at best.

Last week I was faced with the reality if changes were not made The Noblemen would not make it till the end of the year without suffering significantly!

Wow which one of us will die first?

Perhaps it’s time for some good ole reality therapy!

I woke up this morning and plan to do the same for the immediate future!

Last week I met with my board and made the decision to close down our office at the beach and ask staff to now volunteer!  

I remember writing a blog a while back describing growth as 5 steps forward, 5 steps back, 5 steps forward, 5 steps back, 5 steps forward, 4.5 steps back – Yay!

I recently attended the Global Leadership Conference held at Spring Branch.  John Maxwell spoke to me when he referred to all growth as a “climb.”  You never get to somewhere great and look back and say “I wonder how I got here!”

I look forward to next steps and invite all of you to evaluate your current scenario.  Pain and discomfort are “no fun” as motivators.  They do work however!  Your choice!

Today I celebrate a wife that I love and loves me back!  A son that I love and gives me a reason to do what I do.  A dog that loves me more than life itself!  A career that clearly impacts my life as well as a few others!

WTF do I have to complain about!

Today is a great day and I look forward to tomorrow!

NobleOne

I've got something to say

My life was set in a new direction in 1993 when my son Matt was born despite given only a 2% chance of survival.   Tough decisions and strong faith rewarded me with a son, a family and a reason to alter my life’s course.  

My heart started to beat in a new way and my soul directed me to take action.  I’ve done my best to honor that calling to “balance the gift” that was given to me!

The Noblemen are my employer, my career, my calling, my family, my why!

Today I face many new challenges requiring me to even question the relevance of my actions over time. 

I would like to remind my community “why” I created this organization…

• To share the "joy" when you focus on giving not getting
• To provide that “platform” for others to use to improve the lives of the children that surround them
• To have “fun” creating our own local philanthropy and seeing first hand what we can do to change someone's life!
•  To explore cool new ways of helping kids using my friends, my town, and local businesses, combining our talents to make something great!
• I have "no agenda" other than creating and doing something amazing for all of my members, partners and my community!

Monday I need to shift into new gears in order to take The Noblemen to a new place of relevance!

 I can’t do it without

• Old friends
• Friends I haven’t met
• Making changes
• New leaders
• New talent
• Great Vision!

I strongly encourage my community to support The Noblemen, I promise to deliver an amazing return on your investment!

Love you all!

NobleOne

Who's with me?

Got a grievance, now what?

For whatever reason, this year has presented me with the opportunity to be “pissed off” at quite a few folks. 

…and I also know there are two sides to every story! 

What I started to observe was the misery I was attracting to myself by talking about how I/we were wronged.  Also how "someone else" is going to be responsible for making it right!

Harboring a grievance allows you to say “I am right and You are wrong.”  In the end there will be no winners! 

Consider this…in everyday life when a friend or perhaps a stranger confronts you with a right or wrong situation, what is the outcome?

Example, Why did you? / How come you? It immediately puts most people into a combative or defensive mode.  Rarely do you state “you know you are right, and I am wrong.”

I seemed to have forgotten what I learned at Ferrum College in my Assertiveness Training class.  Seek ways to discover how all conversations end in “win win” scenarios. 

Life is too short to allow negatively to enter into your life.  It truly can be cancerous to your health and to your relationships with others. 

There is always a high road and I plan to stay on that highway!

Be Noble!

NobleOne

Sometimes it’s as simple as walking your dog!

We have a young Labrador retriever that still has a bit of curiosity in him.  A great dog however still working on perfection! 

We are early risers and so is Marlin. (our dog)

Marlin starts his day traveling down our lane going to see his best friend Rosabelle.  Rosabelle is my cousin Willard’s dog that lives a short distance away directly on Back Bay. 

Marlin usually goes for a quick swim and a short play session and then comes home ready to start his duties with Marge and the horses.

 

Lately he has started wandering to the other end of our road and checking things out.  He would go “missing” and that is not a good thing!

I hated not letting him out, so Marge and I decided to give him a better option.  We started to take an early walk and make sure Marlin was a big part of it. 

In no time, Marlin refused to wander far in the morning because he knew we would be walking soon, and he was not going to miss out on that!

I have learned over time that discipline doesn’t always work, sometimes you just need to offer a better option! 

The return on investment…

My wife and I enjoy a wonderful walk in the county catching up with everything that’s going on in our lives and observing “all” kinds of nature happening around us. 

You see we live in southern Va. Beach and it’s untarnished by all of the stuff that happens at the other end of this great town.

The second one of us starts the process of putting on our shoes or shorts, our dog Marlin is in full I want to go, I want to go, I want to go, mode!

If my day starts with a dog and a woman that loves me…taking a walk down a quiet road…watching the corn grow…

it’s gonna be a good day!

NobleOne

Painful doses of life, a necessary prescription!

It's been three months since my last weekly blog interestingly titled "Growing through Pain and Suffering."

If you believe in the power of attraction, don't write a blog about something you don't want to attract in you life!

Over the last three months, I have had my eyes opened, my heart broken, lost good friends, my trust jeopardized and my soul questioned!

Not an easy journey and not one I want to have very often.

I am still in one piece however a little older, wiser and I'm afraid not all the way through it.

Lately I have been saying "you don't know what you don't know."

Well today I know a bit more, however not close to knowing enough.

I have to say I plan on waiting for my return on investment.  You know the cliche' everything happens for a reason.

I am digging deep to discover why new wrinkles need ironing however not judging the process or the roots of the wrinkles.

I enjoy writing this blog and felt a bit empty not corresponding to those that follow the stuff I think about.

It's time for next steps and I look forward to new challenges and growth.

It is my hope that all of you recognize the necessary prescriptions in your life and you don't overdose!

NobleOne

Growing through Pain and Suffering

On a daily basis my goal is to be happy and to make others happy around me.  Not a bad goal, however there are times when “happy” seems a bit far away!

Life simply serves you up all kinds of realities that you have to deal with based on your resources at hand.  You are directly responsible for some and others have nothing to do with you. 

A book I am reading right now by Timothy Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering uses the analogy that pain and suffering is like walking through a fiery furnace and being molded by the experience or consumed by the flames. 

Consider this…have you ever met someone truly interesting or fascinating that has not endured some sort of unique pain and suffering?

I guess the wisdom here it to “know” it’s coming and decide not to judge it when it does.  Grow through it.

When dealing with opportunities in your life!  Live in the moment, experience the new reality and see how time treats it. 

Look back at your life and remember the trials you have faced and understand that today’s actions and deeds will be the fabric of your memories tomorrow.

At the end of it all, do your best to be the “example” and not the lesson to learn!

NobleOne

Seeking inspiration from a bowling ball!

Yesterday I visited the new DAV Thrift store on General Booth Blvd and found this bowling ball for $4.98.  You might ask, Al, why a bowling ball?

Three years ago Pete Hansen and I watched the movie Fat Sick and Nearly Dead and decided to juice for two months in order to lose weight.

One of the visuals I took away from the movie, a man measured his weight loss by bowling balls.  For every 10 lbs he placed another bowling ball on the rack.  

It stuck with me!

I know I am probably the only one that used additional food to get through “snowmageddon.”  So very soon I plan to lose my winter bowling ball!

How ‘bout you?

NobleOne