Cool Kids teaching the Dad a thing or three

My children are some of the coolest people I know. Their minds are so full of imagination and life. It's a pleasure to see them set up lemonade stands, plays and their own carnivals. When you see a child's imagination in action, the innocence, fun and joy is probably one of the brightest evidence' of God breathing his spirit into man. No wonder Jesus said to his disciples "...suffer the little children to come unto me." and "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven"

So, I have to learn to think like a child, and had a good example of this a week or two ago. I'm one of those people who think garages were made for putting cars in. It's almost a religious fervor with me. It's funny because it's largely due to my lack of desire to sweep Michigan winter snow & ice off of my vehicles.

However, my children introduced some magic to my garage, that to me, changes how I will ever look at my garage again. After my daughter's birthday, they turned it into an art studio and gallery. They stood up canvases and poster paper and painted, drew and markered their little hearts away. Every color and paper size you could imagine graced the garage floor and walls and tables throughout. My three children turned themselves into an art team with an energy, joy and childlike creativity that surpassed the greatest artists history has ever known.

In the course of their creation's of beauty, their father learned an important lesson that humbles him. A simple garage for keeping snow and weather off of a few cars could be transformed into a palacial studio of art and creativity at the whim of his children's imagination. I hope in my lifetime, I learn again to touch but a bit of that imagination.

To be willing to take the simplest of things, of people and of dreams; and apply a bit of imagination and creativity and make an art studio from a garage or a fort from a pile of leaves or a palace from a tree fort in my life.

A twist on a technology career

Being employed in the technology arena, I tend to get very focused on it and all of the things surrounding it. (It probably doesn't hurt that it's fun and a hobby for me too ;-)

However, I have a friend that started out in Civil Engineering, wound up as a "LAN" Administrataor, network admin and eventually a manager at a technology firm. Very sharp guy. However he surprised the heck out of me when he told me that he was diversifying his hobbies into stained glass!

Anywho, I was out on his site this morning and saw some very beautiful pieces! They were really examples of hands that can build a pc or a server or a network infrastructure finding something creative to do that expresses an artistic side of him, that I knew was there, but didn't know the extent!

I was impressed, not by just the pieces, but even the settings that he chose to display them in! From all impressions he has also unintentionally captured the beauty of Michigan's different seasons in the backgrounds that fill out the life in his stained glass. Displaying his work in use at a dinner table also brings out a delectable and fashionable dining experience. This one here, Strawberries, made me want to reach out into the computer screen and take a bite.

Here are some of the pieces I really enjoyed that I thought bring out some life of their own. The names are mine, so if you send them an e-mail wanting to buy a piece or have one custom made, make sure you use the photo number or their headings to let them know! ;-)

Reflection
Note the person and trees in the background that make this piece feel alive.
Winter
Winter2
SummerRain
Monogram Fall
WinterSunshine

So, those are just some of my favorites; beautiful artwork framed by nature's beauty! I hope you enjoy it too!

Innovate - Do something different today

Innovation, Change, Action, Agile......

These are all the things a business needs to stay feasible in today's world! I actually have the privilege of working for one of these companies. For privacy reasons, I can't really talk about who they are, but I can say that they have reinvented themselves over the past two years.

That reinvention bodes well for their future. They've taken old school determination and applied themselves to new, inventive ways of doing things that breeds creativity. They are re-creating themselves from the inside out. They are also creating awe-inspiring potential, by allying with their technology partners to solve problems and create new solutions for business.

While this type of change takes time to reach into every facet of a company, the enthusiasm and infectious nature of it, really are spreading to the people who work for them and are generating the opposite of what I complained about in my last post; They are creating desire for change, desire to innovate and also putting in place essential tools and people to remove the artificial boundaries that prevent a company from innovating and moving forward.

It's exciting to see a company implementing the things that will not only make it an exciting place to work, but as this Idea Virus grows and spreads, will launch themselves and their customers into the next generation of technology and enabling business success.

Their people are the key to this, the people working for them that are spreading the excitement and potential. So, while there may be a struggle with growing pains and some fight for mediocrity, others are pushing the envelope for success. That's where I want to hitch my star, with those who are driving this better, making it grow and creating the atmosphere that makes a company and their customers successful.

People who aren't in groups or companies with that kind of vision, have to become the driver. Take hold of the infection and excitement, in fact, generate it yourself. The naysayers will eventually be caught up with, they will obsolete themselves if they don't catch on. In the technology arena, don't let those types obsolete you by absorbing their philosophies; instead, grow yourself and move forward, generate good change littered with new and common sense ideas.

Be innovative, it's what you as a person were born to do!