Right Wisdom

Last time I blogged I gave you the first 7 of my 13 life changing habits for 2013. The nice thing about life changing habits is that you don't have to make the changes all at once. They will occur over time. As long as I have made the steps and I am working on those life changing habits in 2013 I am successful. Here are 8 - 13. Read my previous blog for 1-7. These first two may seem like they contradict each other but they really don't and I explain. 8.  Follow more and lead less - In some situations you have to be a follower and not a leader. That is how we learn and grow. 9.  Lead more and follow less - In other situations you have to lead more especially in areas of your expertise. 10.  Pray more worry less - Instead of worrying about things it is better to pray about them and let God be in control. 11.  Work more efficiently - Make better use of my working hours by finding ways to be more efficient. 12.  Work more and Play more - If I am worki...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Keep following this blog in 2013 for new and exciting information on Leadership and Leisureship. In the coming weeks look for a recap of some of my favorites from 2012 and a look into the future of this blog.

Tis the season, many people are in the midst of celebrating Christmas. They are shopping, entertaining and enjoying time with family and friends.   This is a great time of year to really relax and get away from your role as a leader. However to many people this can be a stressful and hectic time. It becomes a time for many to juggle their obligations to family, to work and the finances. How do you deal with the stress of the season? You need to find that one thing that is a constant during this hectic holiday. For me it is focusing on the real reason for the season. I focus on Jesus and His birth. It is a calming effect to focus on the one constant in life, Jesus Christ. Through all the chaos and craziness of this season the author of peace and calm is Jesus so I focus on His birth and every blessing He has given my family and I. What are some things that keep you calm during this hectic season? Here is a list of some things that might help you think about whether they are ...

Winter has officially arrived. Minnesota winters can bring snow and brutal cold and usually both. Today we spent the day digging out from our biggest snow dumping in two years. Last year we were spoiled with mild temperatures and very little snow. In the northern suburbs where I live we were fortunate to be hit with close to 15 inches. Because of this I spent part of the morning shoveling and then this evening shoveling again. I am one of those Minnesotans who does not own a snow blower. I have to clear the snow the old fashioned way, exercise and sweat. This is all part of a weekend of leisureship. I know what you are saying; shoveling snow doesn’t sound much like leisure. It really isn’t but if you look at it as exercise it is leisure. Many of you might spend money on a gym membership or home equipment when all you have to do is buy a shovel and live in Minnesota. It is good exercise, shoveling snow, but you have to be careful when shoveling snow to make sure you don’t hurt you...

Today I am going to write a little bit about leisureship. It is a way leaders can break from their leadership role and relax on the weekend or in the evenings. Today I had the pleasure of tearing up a carpet in our basement. The basement is flooded and I need to get the stinky wet carpet up and out. You might say to yourself that doesn’t sound like a lot of leisure. It really isn’t too much leisure but it is different than the normal leadership. Sometimes doing manual work if it is different than what you normally do can give you a sense of satisfaction. I didn’t finish but got a major sense of satisfaction from finishing what I did accomplish and that is relaxing for me. I like getting in there and fixing or renovating things I might not be the best at it but I like working with my hands sometimes because it is a break from the brain work I do. If you are one of those leaders who does brain work for a living then find something opposite of brain work to help you relax on tho...

It is that time of year when there is a cool nip in the air at night, school is back in session and the sound of shoulder pads crunch against each other are present throughout the country. Football season is here and leaders can spend their weekends enjoying every level of football. If you like you can take in a local High School game on Friday, check out a college game on Saturday and enjoy an NFL game on Sunday. On Friday I was leaving a school with my daughter who is on a swim team and from across the street you hear the announcer at the High School football game. What a relaxing time it is to sit back in the cool crisp air and watch those High School players playing their hearts out for their schools. They are our future leaders and leading on the gridiron helps them with their leadership growth. On Saturday the next level of football occurs in Colleges and Universities. You can spend a sunny fall afternoon enjoying your favorite college team. You will have an opportunity...

I spent the day at the Minnesota State Fair with the family. I said a few days ago that I was going to write about my adventure at the state fair after we went. Since we went today, Labor Day I am writing about leisureship on a Monday instead of the weekend. The nice thing about the Minnesota State Fair is that they have a number of parking lots that you can park at and take a free shuttle bus to the fair. We did that so we didn’t have to pay for parking. My daughter won four tickets and my son is only four so all of us got in free today. That allowed us more money for food and fun. What did we eat and do at the fair today? What we ate: (Some of this we shared other items were enjoyed by individuals). ·          Pronto Pup ·          Bucket of Fries ·          Cheese Curds ·          Smoothie (My Son had this) ·...

I am going to deviate slightly from my normal Saturday post. I usually post a leisure activity that leaders can do on those weekends to break away from the busy activities of a leader. Last week in fact I talked about the opening weekend of the Minnesota State Fair. The fair ends on Labor Day and that is the day my family is planning on attending. What I will do is post my leisure post on Monday and give you some highlights of our trip to the fair. Today I just want to give a shout out to Labor Day and the end of summer. Technically it is not the end of summer but School is back and the days are getting shorter. Go out and spend this weekend just doing things you enjoy. Spend it with friends, family and yourself. Do those last things on your summer to do list. What haven’t you done this summer that you wanted to do? Do it this weekend and enjoy these final days of summer.

It has started. A Minnesota tradition that has transcended time and generations. That event is the Minnesota State Fair. Every year for 12 days at the end of August people come to the Minnesota fair grounds located in Falcon Heights Minnesota. They come to be entertained. They come to entertain. The come to eat and they come to watch the best that Minnesota has to offer. The fair has changed over the years but the one constant is the hunger for any food on a stick. My daughter won tickets to get into the fair and we are all looking forward to going. We have made a list of all the things we want to eat, see and do at the fair. The list continues to grow. State fairs are a great opportunity for leaders to spend their weekends or even a day off with family. It is a fun time but extremely exhausting. I don't go every year so it is more special to me because there are new things to see every year. Here are something I like to eat at the Great Minnesota Get Together. · ...

Sometimes leadership can feel like a real zoo and a leader has to get away from it all and escape from the zoo of leadership. I had that opportunity yesterday when I spent the day at the Como Zoo with the kids. It is always fun to spend the day with the kids. If you are not from Minnesota we have two zoos in the Twin city area. One is the Minnesota Zoo and one is the Como Zoo. The Como Zoo is smaller but it is free and is run on donations. There is also a small amusement park attached. Plus there are multiple picnic areas. All of this makes for a great day on a small budget. One of the polar bears from Como Zoo Picture taken by my daughter We enjoyed the animals; we saw the seal and the polar bear from the flood stricken Duluth zoo. The only animal we didn’t see were the wolves. They were in hiding. Before we finished seeing the animals we went out to the car and had our picnic lunch in a grassy area near some gardens. After lunch we went back to finish with the primate se...

This leadership blog that I have created discusses, analyzes and explores everything about leadership. If you have been following my blog you might say that the weekends I deviate from the idea of leadership and explore activities, events and fun things to do. I call that leisureship. All leaders need a break from the craziness that can be leadership. What I decided to do with my blog is present leadership throughout the week and leisureship on the weekends. With the leisureship portion I highlight some things that Leaders can do during their time off to refresh and renew. Today I spent the morning at the annual Deluxe golf tournament. I have been attending this for five years now and I am really enjoying the time I spend at it. It is a scramble format and we form our own teams. I was the captain of our team and we had a great time despite me not golfing as well as I would have liked. As a team we shot 2 under. We had to use 4 drives from each player with three holes to go our team...

It is the weekend and time to explore ways that leaders can relax and enjoy some leisureship. I have been spending time on Fridays looking at a numbfestivals from around the nation.  Today I am going to look specifically at art fairs. Minneapolis, Minnesota Uptown Art Fair August 3 - 5 Every year in the city of Minneapolis in a wonderful urban neighborhood called Uptown the Uptown Art Fair is held on the first weekend of August. I had the pleasure of volunteering at this event about 7 years ago and it was a lot of fun volunteering. I also got to view a lot of great art work, meet some great artists and enjoy the people who attended and volunteered. It is art work in all mediums so whatever your fancy you can find it at the Uptown Art Fair. FEATURES: * Professional works of art ranging from limited editions to one-of-a-kind treasures in each of 12 media including sculpture, painting, ceramics, jewelry, mixed media, and more. Over 350 talented fine artists from a...

This past week I had the pleasure of having the week off from work. If you are a frequent stopper at my blog I apologize for missing a few days last week. My goal this year was to blog everyday of the year. I now have three blogs that I write, a sports one that I will occasionally write about sports happenings. A bible verse blog in which every Sunday I write a bible verse for the week. Then there is this blog which focuses on Leadership and on weekends what I call leisureship. The Grandview pool (Kids love it) As I said I was on vacation this past week. My focus today is on taking a vacation. Every leader needs a vacation they need time away from work and from leading. What better way to spend that time away then with a weeklong vacation. I spent the week at Grand View Lodge with my family and the in-laws. We had a great time. I spent time at the beach, in the water, with the kids. I was able to golf on one day. Watching and helping the kids fish off the dock was one of the...

Amusement parks have long been part of Americana. People all over America get their thrills riding coasters and other thrill rides at amusement parks across the country. It is a great way to relax and spend a day with family and friends. I remember when I was a kid Excelsior Minnesota had one of the few amusement parks in Minnesota. The other one was located at the Como Zoo. I remember riding the rickety roller coaster in Excelsior and that is what captured my heart for roller coasters. I love riding roller coasters. When Valley fair opened I spent many summer days riding the coasters at Valley Fair. At the time of the opening they only had two now they have many more. My favorite at Valley Fair is the Corkscrew, this of course is only because I haven’t been out there too often to ride the Wild Thing and the Renegade. A number of years ago I took a group of teens to Six Flags in Gurnee Illinois. I rode the American Eagle a double coaster. That was quite a fun ride. Unfortu...

How many of you love to go treasure hunting? How many of you love to go bargain hunting? Or maybe you like to make a little money. A great way to find those treasures and those bargains is to attend a garage sale or a flea market. A way to make money is to hold one yourself or sell you wares at a flea market. Craft sales, garage sales and flea markets abound during the weekends. You can’t drive down a street without seeing a garage sale sign. The trick is to find the garage sale with the hidden treasure. My wife’s aunt seems to have a knack for finding garage sales that have great items.   Who knows you may even find a hidden treasure that you can take to Antique Road Show or Pawn Stars and get some serious cash. I enjoy going to flea markets and garage sales but I don’t go to near enough that I would like to. You have to set aside almost a full morning on a Saturday to hit as many that you would like so it makes it worth your while. The best time to go is on a Thursday mornin...

Are you one of those people who mow their lawn every two days? Maybe one of your neighbors is that person. I have mowed my lawn twice this year. Pretty scary! I actually enjoy mowing my lawn but I can't really do it in an evening after work. It takes too long and we have a lot of family commitments to attend to. The weekends this season have been wrought with rain so I have only mowed twice. I think my neighbors were starting to talk but I got it done today. I enjoy the smell of new mowed lawn and I love relaxing afterward in a chair in the yard admiring the finished lawn. It is a great escape for people to spend their weekend manicuring their lawn and making sure it looks just right. My lawn isn't the best kept, I don't have it professionally sprayed or professionally manicured. However, when it is mowed it looks nice and I like sitting in the yard. I have a lot of trees in my yard so they create a canopy and nothing beats relaxing in a chair after mowing the lawn un...

Today my wife and I took our son to the Blaine Anoka County Airport for a special Aviation days event.   My son has been telling everyone he wants to be an astronaut when he gets older. If he wants to fly a rocket he will have to fly an airplane. He loves airplanes and he wanted his picture taken next to each of the planes we saw. If you have been following my blog with regularity you would know that every weekend I spend the time looking at what I call leisureship. Ways that leaders (actually anyone) can escape for the weekend. One of those ways is to spend it at an air show or an aviation appreciation day as we did. It was a very good time we saw some old airplanes we even watched some take off. My son really enjoyed himself as he ran from airplane to airplane looking at the propellers and the wings. He even got up close to a US Army helicopter that had a mounted machine gun. My son and I in front of one of the planes There were Navy planes, Mail planes, planes from ...

Being a leader can increase your heart rate during times of stress or excitement on the job. On the weekends the last thing you might want to do is increase your heart rate. A good workout is also a great way to relieve stress and get away from the leadership rat race. Today I found a great way to build your cadio and you don't even have to leave your house. My eleven year old for her birthday bought a a dance game for the Wii and I had a chance to play it with her today and it was a real workout. I love to play video games to relax and remove myself from the leadership world. This game "Just Dance 3" really got my heart pumping and I really got a good workout. I could see doing this on a regular basis just to increase my heart rate and get a good workout. For all of you leaders out there looking to find a way to exercise on the weekends I suggest you get your heart pumping with a great cadio workout. Some video games continue to foster a sedentary life but "Ju...

It has been a busy weekend. Today I spent time at my oldest daughter’s graduation ceremony from William Mitchell Law School. Yesterday we spent time celebrating another daughter’s 11 th birthday. Some weekends can be very busy but as long as it is activities that are different from the work week it can make for a relaxing and quick weekend. Any time you spend time with family it is also a good time and being able to celebrate with family makes it even better. I know most of you don’t have a birthday to celebrate every weekend of the year. On those weekends when you do be sure to make them special for the person you are celebrating for. In yesterday’s blog I gave you some tips on how to create a less stress in your planning and celebrating the graduation of a loved one. Today I want to give you some essentials to making sure the person has a happy birthday when you are celebrating their birthday. ·          Food – Tray to always serve a ...

It is that time of year when students in High School and College graduate. Many of you may have students who are graduating or know someone who has a child graduating. When those graduations occur you often spend weekends in May and June attending the ceremony and/or open houses. Here we are, another leadership weekend when you want to relax to escape the rat race of leadership. One way you can do that is by watching the future leaders accomplish their first step toward success by graduating. You may also find yourself attending an open house or maybe you are hosting one. Sometimes the hosting becomes more stressful than the leadership duties you face on a daily basis. I am spending part of tomorrow attending my oldest daughter’s graduation ceremony from William Mitchell Law School. Huge accomplishment for her and it will be wonderful to watch my daughter receive her diploma. Fortunately we do not have to throw her an open house. That usually occurs when someone graduates from Hig...