At the Whole Foods salad bar buffet, I fill my to-go box with just about as much green leafy goodness with a side of craisins as I can.

When I pour my morning coffee, I fill my cup to the top, no room for milk or any other substance to detract from how coffee was meant to be consumed: black.

As I look at the way I consume, I realized one thing: the amount I consume is decided when I pick the vessel to transport my meal or coffee. The idea of only filling half my plate or pouring a half cup of coffee doesn’t resonate with me.  And as such, I’ve learned that, if I want to have a lighter lunch, I need to grab the smaller to-go box or if I want to twitch a little less in the 10 o’clock hour, I should use a smaller cup for my coffee.

But, in this realization, the thought also came to me that the amount of awesome that we get out of any day, week, or new opportunity is directly proportional to the vessel of our expectations. Whatever size plate we show up with, we’ll fill. Whatever size cup we carry into it, we’ll get all the way up to the brim.

So, if that is the case, why not show up with a big plate and a huge mug and have ourselves a feast?

When you expect more than others you will work harder than others to make sure you get everything that you can see. When you carry a bigger plate to the buffet of awesome, it may take you a little longer to fill it up, but you’ll be able to see how to fit a little bit more cranberry sauce on your plate and, if we’re being honest, isn’t that what makes this buffet called life so great?Tweet

“The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find what it is that interests you and that you can do well, and when you find it, put your whole soul into it – every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.”

- John D. RockefellerTweet

Today, I made the best Breakfast Tacos ever.

Three eggs, one link of fresh chorizo, grilled tomatoes, green peppers, and mushrooms, with sharp white cheddar cheese in flour tortillas.

So good I felt bad not inviting anyone over to eat them with me.

So good I might just give up on other people doing it right and rely only on Citerella to keep stocking fresh chorizo.

So good, the world’s cutest beggar almost made me share.

Tweet

If you have no chance at failure, you truly have no chance at a real success.

Fear is an amazing motivator. There are few things that inspire the correct kind of hustle as efficiently and as quickly as fear. Not that fear should be a consuming mindset, but, if it is not a part of your emotional diet, you should try bigger things that you will likely fail at. The fear of failure is an extremely important ingredient in the recipe of success.

So, on Friday the 13th, what will you do that scares you towards success?Tweet

Quick note: being a school bus driver in college is the best job ever. You make $12-15/hr, never work nights, weekends, or holidays, and get to watch kids get excited when they see you turn your Bluebird onto their street and flip open the flashing red stop sign. Fun times all around.

Not completely understanding the point of my friend’s advice at the time, I follow it anyway. I was relatively stern with all of the kids on my bus routes. They wanted to listen to ghetto rap radio, I forced them to listen to country music. They wanted to play musical chairs, I stopped the bus and watched them go back to their seats. They wanted to hang out the windows, I put the windows up if they tried it. And, after the first couple weeks, they started telling me that “Mr. Casey (the other driver on my route) lets us….” to which I replied, “Then do it tomorrow when he’s driving. Not on my bus.”

Now, a funny thing happened. Sometime between Halloween and Thanksgiving, order had been established. Country music was understood as the soundtrack for Mr. Andy’s bus, butts stayed in seats, and the windows stayed open because no one tried to throw their seat mate out while we wear stopped at a light. But then, in an unforeseen turn of events, the kids started complaining about Mr. Casey being mean. They things that he used to let them do, he now didn’t and they liked riding with me better.

I found out that Mr. Casey had had a couple of parents call in because their kids were hanging out the windows when they came around the corner to be dropped off and may or may not have been singing rap lyrics as they walked in the front door. Mr. Casey had to crack down on his routes and the fun loving attitude had to change. Or, put another way, he smiled before Thanksgiving.

Now, ten years later, I’m not driving buses any more (though I do miss having a 36 foot vehicle under my control) but I am still following the principle of “not smiling until Thanksgiving.” It is so much easier to establish respect and the ground rules for a professional relationship and watch a friendship emerge than to start ‘buddy/buddy’ and try to flip it to having professional relationship. I don’t want a sales guy to be my friend. I want him to sell me on why his product is better than others and on the value that it creates for me and my company. If, in that process, a relationship develops beyond that, it’s a bonus. But, when there is too much smiling and not enough closing, I end up listening to ghetto rap and trying to shove that sales guy out the window.Tweet

Most of the notable traditions that folks on the outside looking in and the inside looking out may point to are traditions on campus and participated in by current students. But there is another tradition that Former Students are especially counted on to carry out. And that’s giving back to the school that gave us so much.

When giving, everyone comes at it from a different perspective. For some it is a month gift. For others it is a one time donation in December because their CPA told them they needed to show a little more giving for the calendar year. And, for others, it is tied to some kind of recognition or capital campaign that may lead to your name being on the side of a building on campus.  Whatever it the, the hope is, that as Former Students, we will continue to be involved in the traditions on campus through our giving, even if we can’t be there for every home game.

As a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of 2004, I was a little disappointed when I found out from our Class Officer and former Student Body President Matt Josefy, that our class year has the lowest % of giving of any class in recent history. Just 6% of our incredible Class of 2004 have given back to the Association of Former Students and that’s just not right.

Now, here is where, if I was making a sales pitch or going for the close, I would ask some leading questions and lay out the benefits that your “one time gift will bring to the lives of Aggies everywhere…” But, since this is out of Class pride and not because I’m making commission, let me give you my secret reason (among all the other good ones) for consistently giving back to Texas A&M: The wooden plaque is now online!

When you go to AggieNetwork.com and log in, it will not only pull up your profile (which looks awesome after the recent updates to the website) but it will also show you your virtual wooden plaque with the corresponding bars for each year you’ve given! (see mine HERE) And, as soon as you make your Bronze level donation for this year, the new bar will show up on your profile. And, if you’ve missed some years, you can add them on to your donation and they’ll show up so it looks like you’ve been consistent since you graduated.

Whatever you choose to give, give something and help our Class get rid of the burden of being “the lowest % giving Class in the history of the University.” Because, as we remember from our indoctrination at Lakeview, we’re to “Mark our mark and so much more, Fightin’ Class of ’04!”

(To find out more, check out the Class of 2004′s Facebook page HERE)Tweet

I woke up this morning and poured my first cup of coffee and came across two articles that gave me pause. The first a terrific read in The Atlantic about the “White Savior Industrial Complex” and how it is the fastest growing trend in the privileged communities in America. (Yes I am talking to all of us that made sure to get a picture of us with some cute kids in a third world country and use it as a Facebook Profile picture.) Taking aim at KONY2012, Nick Kristof, and Oprah, it is worth taking some time to read through this eloquent rant about the convenient approach that we take towards going good, as opposed to the inconvenient work that it takes to make real change.

The Atlantic: The White Savior Industrial Complex

There is a lot in there to chew on and think about any kind of work that we believe in and want to see done abroad. But then, as I poured my second cup of coffee, I came across a piece reminding me that the killing of the young and the innocent isn’t just something that happens “over there.” The death of Trayvon Martin at the hands of an over zealous neighborhood watchman who thought he “looked suspicious” is a tragedy on a lot of levels. What is even more tragic is that this kind of stereotyping still happens in our country. But what is the worst is that the same people that got ramped up and mobilized about innocent kids being killed across the ocean have been pretty quiet about it happening in a suburban neighborhood in Florida.

White People, You’ll Never Look Suspicious Like Trayvon Martin

I want to say that what KONY2012 has brought to light is a bigger story because it has been going on for years and that Trayvon Martin’s murder is an isolated incident. What I want to say is that Invisible Children (an awesome organization by the way) has been building their audience for years and that is why they were able to bring such a voice to KONY2012 and there wasn’t a group rallied to roll out the call for justice in the Trayvon Martin case. But I don’t think those ideas are actually what I want to say at all.

As I pour my third cup of coffee, I’m realizing what I found myself asking this morning about these two points of view is this: is it sexier and easier to think about a problem that is half way around the world than it is to think about and doing something about a problem that we all know exists right here at home?Tweet

“The Chuckit! Ball Launcher: Throw farther, faster, and never bend down to pick up a slimy ball again. Durable plastic wand firmly grasps a tennis ball then releases it as you swing. With practice, you can consistently throw the ball 100 to 140 feet.”

*Sigh*

In the words of ESPN announcers everywhere: “C’Mon Man!”Tweet

 Tweet

Most of the incredible turns of events that I’ve seen in my life began as questions before turning to statements. From the beginning of that transition to the end was never a straight line and had times that pointed up and times that pointed down. At other times, it felt like the line I was one was just going to circle back to where I started. But then, as it took a turn for the better and the conclusion drew near, there was a gap. There was always a space that couldn’t be filled in that would take that one extra leap of faith.

But, when that leap was made and my feet landed firmly on the other side, it punctuated the path that lead me there. It completed the journey that began with a question and reminded me that in order to have discover better answers in the future I need to continue to ask better questions.

 Tweet