The Note is me reflecting... click reply, let me know what you're thinkin' 'bout these days.

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2022 - Y.4 N.11 - "One text changed my life"

Dear ,

• "What are your priorities?"
• "What's important?"
• "What do you do?"

This email is NOT the first time you or I have seen those questions. 

And, if you're anything like me, you've listened to a podcast, watched a youtube video, or read a book to try and "quantify or qualify" your responses to those questions. 

But what happens when you test your answers?

There's one level of answering these questions, and then there's another, more profound level. I'll meet you there.

There are the "safe" answers to those questions and then there is the honest, human-being "here's-who-and-where-I-am answer." I'm sitting here at the computer thinking of how I would have answered those questions last Monday afternoon...and how I'm answering them now.

Last Tuesday, my life changed. 

At 0431, I felt the text arrive. I don't know how I knew. My body felt it though. No, it didn't buzz, or light up; I have my phone on Do Not Disturb. But, for some reason, I opened my eyes and reached for my phone. I turned it on and realized why I woke up.

My friend had texted me one minute earlier: "Emergency."

Immediately I was up and getting dressed. I called, we started talking, and by 0441, I was in my car, driving ("just" above) the speed limit to the house.

We sat on his patio, and I just listened. I just listened. I sat as the phone rang, texts sent, websites visited, and decisions made. When it was time to inform the rest of the family, I drove home. 

And since then, I've been "reflecting" on my own answers to the questions I asked. I have been rethinking my answers. You wanna do it? Go ahead, scroll up and reread them... 

This thing is called life. And, it's important. 

On Monday night, my friend lost his son, a loss I will never understand. I can only think I can empathize. I can only be there to listen, hold a loving space, and reflect on what life means... to me.

//

Three days ago, a colleague of mine led a session titled "Clarity of Purpose" for our new faculty at LDC. This is a lesson we teach and a course we facilitate for our students during the year, and to learn the material AND practice with it, we all had the opportunity to clarify OUR purpose. As the session ended - I'll write a bit about what hit my journal here in a moment - I asked the group if we could take a photo.

I said, "Two days ago, a friend of ours had his life impacted in ways few - if any - of us can understand. Can we take a picture to honor our commitment to the 'Clarity of Purpose' of us helping leaders emerge into and through the Human Domain?"

Since that Tuesday morning, I've been thinking more and more about my own *Purpose.* For a long time, I've been leading sessions for leaders that I title "Your Two Whys." I believe that while we all have an expansive purpose, we have two unique kinds of why.

1. Because
2. So that

The first one gets me from the past to the present. There was me before that presents itself to you today. I turned 50 years old last spring; when I stand on stage for an hour, what people "SEE" is the current version of what those 50 years have created. But they don't see the 50 years.

Here are a few because ofs...

• I always have more than a ½ tank of gas in my car. When I was a kid, we'd go to the gas station. Because of our financial situation, my mom would put $2 dollars of gas, sometimes $5, in the car tank. I remember as an early teen, I asked, "Why?" She said, "Because I don't have much more than that." Because of that, I'm sure two things are true: I always have cash (I've always found ways to make money), and I feel MUCH more comfortable when I have a full gas tank in my car.

• I always look words up in the dictionary. I think I was in 7th or 8th grade. One day, the teacher had us all sit on our desks. (I'm sure there is an OSHA rule about that now!) The reason? Spelling be. So, there I was, "Womack," in the back of the class. When it was finally my turn, I was told to spell the word: "40." I remember it to this day, "F - O - U - R - T - Y." My teacher said no, but the students around me laughed. "You're soooo stupid," I remember one of them saying. So, I jumped down from my desk (yeah, I was short then, too!), walked around, and sat in my chair. I looked up, and the student in front of me - still sitting at his desk - had a jacket on, and I could read the words clear-as-day: FORTY NINERS. 

• I always look at email and text messaging in the morning. You know that Jodi and I ran our own shop before we moved to The South. Our business was global; our network was huge. Now, I've got students who are commanding and leading around the world. Because of that, there have been many mornings that I've woken up and scrolled through my messages only to "re-prioritize" my morning.

As you read those "because ofs...", you'll intuit my "so that..." for the things essential to me. What is the "so that?" It's the mindset and the actions that take us from the present and deliver us to the future.

My clarity of purpose ...

...is me taking the time to open a blank page and answer this question as many times as possible: "What is important to you, JW?" This MAY be the most unselfish and giving thing I can do. In the most strict of terms:

unselfish: willing to put the needs or wishes of others before one's own

giving: providing love or other emotional support; caring

If I allow myself to sit down and put pen to paper, I give myself the gift of my attention AND put myself in a position to clarify to my world what I want to be known for...what I want to do...what's important to me. The more I meditate and reflect on THAT, the easier it is to find ways to do more of what I'm here for.

Last week, I wrote in my journal; and while that won't surprise you, the emotion I feel looking at it now is at another level of importance. What I do, who I do it for, where I get to do it, how it's done, and the impact it has...it is all about #connection.

My purpose is more transparent than ever, and while the wording will continue to "buff" (as a friend of mine says), the intent is clear as a bell:

"I define ideals and implement ideas so people around me thrive in life and at work."

I believe in this stuff I talk about. It is needed. Necessary. Wanted. And missed.

So, what do you prioritize?

Much love from MGM,

Dr. JW

PS: "Just in case" ...

I'm hosting a couple of events in Zoom so that (1) I can hone my skills at #gathering in the virtual space, and (2) we can re-get-ready in case we spend more time in Zoom this fall/winter. Soooo.....

You are invited to a Gift and Power #Gathering on 8 Aug. Info here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1l8pkyHbIqs498f4ExztFfVlxwa1JC-3YDu9QHp27o5Y/edit?usp=sharing

And, if you read Marshall's book, "The Earned Life," we'll talk about that over TWO meetups on 8 and 22 Aug... you're invited, but register soon and read his book ASAP!

https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIpcO6gpjIoGtPBcw1eJNHk_U8t0hnHKykj 

This morning, on Amazon, the KINDLE version of the book was $1.78 - c'mon, you can do this!

How did The Note* from MGM (Montgomery, AL) begin?

Jodi and I moved to Alabama in 2019. After being here for just less than a week, I opened up my email to send a note to my family in friends in California and beyond. Jodi was on her way to join me here, so I took some time to reflect on this significant life decision/change I had initiated. That Tuesday, January 22nd, 2019, I sent an email at 9:38 pm (or, as I was beginning to learn: 2138). Here's how it started:

Today was my first day as an employee of the United States Air Force. And, I am bold enough to say I've never been prouder or more excited to serve a community.

Though I "moved" to Alabama last Wednesday [Jodi plans to be here Monday], I went to my New Employee Orientation just today. The 90-minute briefing culminated in me taking the Oath:

"I, Jason Womack, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well; and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

All at the same time, I felt pride, Honor, and a hefty dose of responsibility. I'm helping leaders on a grand scale.

*The following Sunday, and many subsequent Sundays!, I've sent a note to my family and friends. Thanks for reading, and gratitude (more!) for clicking reply and letting me know what YOU'RE reflecting on!