Marc's Musings

I just finished being off the grid for 52 hours. Yep, no Google+. Or Facebook, or Twitter, either.

And I survived.

In fact, I highly recommend trying it.

Honestly, I freaked a little before hand. Having an internet connection seemed incredibly important. As I drove away from our house, I heard myself thinking thoughts like, “What will happen to Fundraising Coach? What if people want to hire me? What if I don’t answer an email or tweet all Friday?”

That’s when I knew I needed the break.

We all have triggers. One of my “I need to get out of this place” triggers is when I think my job will completely end without my hourly nurture. When I think that the world really does revolve around me, I know something is incredibly warped. So it’s great that I got to get away!

Looking back on the weekend, the lack of internet connection was sort of releasing. But what was really distracting, a complete surprise to myself, was not having brought a book along! *sigh* I got over that too. (And picked up the second Bourne book at a local bookstore on Saturday afternoon!)

I’ve now checked into Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. I am grateful for the connections. But I also love hanging out with my family by a fire and getting to look up at leaves like these.

I encourage you to try unplugging between now and the end of August. If you’re of the camping persuasion, I highly recommend a few nights at Peaks-Kenny State Park here in Maine. But if you do, go for 3 nights. Two wasn’t long enough.

Went to the store today. When I came back to my van, I found a note on my windshield.

It said

You will go TO HELL if you park so close to me ever again

Despite the obvious pun on my license plate “I WILL GO” (ironically based on a Christian worship song), the anger in the note was palpable. [More ironically, it was written on note paper from the Humane Society!]

As I walked the note to the trash can, I started seething. How dare anyone write a note like that! Especially when I was right in the center of the painted lines of my spot! I wasn’t sure who’d put the note there, but I started trying to figure out who was to blame.

Then I remembered Zig Ziglar’s story about kicking the cat. You see I grew up listening to Zig. And he had a great story that went something like this:

A man is angry because he got a late start for the office so he drives like a maniac and cuts off Frank. This ticks Frank off so when he gets to his office, he snaps at his assistant about a report at that is late. His assistant is now upset that the person responsible for the report, Joe, is making her look bad to her boss so when she calls Joe, she takes out her anger on him. Joe gets the report but is upset all day. He’s still upset when he gets home. His cat, who’s has nothing to do with Joe’s day, bumps the door and Joe, in his anger, ends up kicking the cat.

Don’t Kick the Cat

The cat had nothing to do with Joe’s bad day, or the assistant’s stress, or Frank’s being upset, or the first guys getting a late start to the day. But the cat takes the brunt of that frustration.

Zig’s point was that at any point in the chain of events each of the people had a choice over their attitude. They could choose to react in kind, or respond more positively.

Each of us have the choice to not kick the cat. To not pass on the negative crap we get by hanging around people like us.

Obviously this lady was having a rough day. I’ve never received a note like that. Think of the effort involved in finding the Human Society note pad, finding my license plate, and hand writing such a venomous note. She must’ve been fit to be tied.

And really…it had nothing to do with me.

Sure, it was wrong. But did my kids really need me to lash out at them as I’d been lashed out at? Obviously not.

So I tried making up a story in order to fight of the anger that kept trying to get me. I decided it was the woman who’d parked into my space and went into the cell phone store. I know how frustrating that can be. And I tried imagining what happened to her on the way to the store and why those people did what they’d done.

Because, her anger really had nothing to do with me. And I didn’t want to kick the cat.

Let me tell you about a dream I had last night.

I wanted to get a burger at 5 Guys. I’ve never had one from there and a new 5 Guys had opened up in our city.

When I went there, it was packed. The line wasn’t out the door, but it might as well have been. I don’t like lines like that. They get stressful and people often get mean. So I started strategizing.

I decided to step outside, call in my order from my cellphone, and relax while it was being prepared.

The problem was…I didn’t have my cellphone. I wracked my brain to figure out where I left it. I also tried figuring out who I knew that would let me use their office phone to make the call.

As I was looking up to get the 5 Guys number off the sign, I realized I already had a burger. And I’d eaten half of it!

I’d been so focused on the seeking, that I hadn’t even realized I’d been munching on my burger. Somewhere along the way, I’d accomplished my goal. But I had such tunnel-vision, I missed it.

Sometimes success isn’t about the journey

I blogged about the fundraising implications of this dream over at FundraisingCoach.com. But I really think this dream is about life.

It got me wondering: am I so focused on building my business and helping others that I am not realizing I already have achieved some of my goals.

Self-employment is amazing. The most exhilarating thing I’ve done, and the scariest. There’s no HR office to work with, no regular paychecks, no planned vacation days. Nothing happens financially unless I start it.

It’s easy to get so focused on building the business that I forget how much has been accomplished. I get so focused on getting the hamburger, I fail to see the one in my hand. And if I do recognize it, I’m too busy worried about where the next hamburger will come from to enjoy the one I have.

They say that success is a journey, not a destination. But sometimes it is a destination…at least a rest stop on the journey.

An invitation

I think this dream was an invitation for me. An invitation to enjoy what I have, savor it, cherish it. Family, friends, things, all of it.

I don’t have any formula for this recognizing and enjoying these rest stops. But I think that knowing they exist will help. It’s like GI Joe used to say, “Knowing is half the battle!”

How about you? How do you recognize and enjoy your accomplishments?

The King James Version of the Bible turns 400 today.

Normally that wouldn’t have mattered to me. I don’t read the KJV. I associate it with the type of Christians that use lots of other adjectives on their church signs like “fundamentalist” and “blood bought” and (ironically) “independent.” I prefer a more immediately accessible translation like the TNIV.

But last month I heard a great story on the creation of the KJV translation on NPR. I hadn’t realized how much this translation had impacted our language and culture. The NPR story helped give me new appreciation for the KJV.

So I took notice when I learned that the folks at YouVersion, my favorite geeky Bible site and app, were planning a celebration. Their goal? To read the entire KJV of the Bible in 400 seconds!

They did this by dividing up the text among anyone who would sign up to read at the appointed time. They called it a sort of “digital flash mob.”

And sign up they did! According to the YouVersion folks, there were enough people to read the entire KJV eight times in 400 seconds! Here’s a map on where readers came from:

I was assigned Isaiah 64. Not only was it oddly fun to read the now archaic language oddly compelling, I even rediscovered the Hebraic roots of one of my favorite biblical passages like 1 Corinthians 2:9:

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (NIV)

Rather than just reading it, I chose to live stream it from my office using Bambuser. You can see my 2 minutes of reading here:

A fun way to spend part of my lunch hour.

If you want to learn more on the KJV, check out the story NPR did or click on this terrific infographic prepared by YouVersion (click on it to expand it):

Or you could just start reading it. Why not try reading Isaiah 64?

Ever wonder what different social media tools are? And how they’re used?

Wonder no longer. @bravenewmalden tweeted this simple guide:

• Twitter= I need to pee
• Facebook= I peed!
• Foursquare= I’m peeing here
• Quora= Why am I peeing?
• Youtube= Watch this pee!
• LinkedIn= I pee well

Reminds me of a funny short guide to comparative religions I once found. You can see a version here:
http://www.friesian.com/no-shit.htm

A fun video from my family to yours!

Today is the winter solstice here in Maine. The shortest day of the year.

For those not inclined to see the glass half-full, it’s also the darkest day of the year.

But in the Southern Hemisphere, in places like New Zealand, today is the longest day of the year. The day with the most sunlight.

I love that! It helps me remember that even if things look really dark for me, I’m simply not seeing the whole picture.

And as my wife reminded me, the winter solstice has always been celebrating that the light does return. The darkness doesn’t triumph.

No wonder the Church chose to celebrate Christmas on the winter solstice. The Light will return to triumph over darkness.

May you experience that Light this Christmas. And may you have a hope-filled 2011.

I’ve been speaking to lots of people asking me if I think Cutler really has a chance of winning Maine’s gubernatorial race. You see, they don’t want to “throw their vote away.”

Today, I’m glad to say that it looks like Cutler isn’t the spoiler in the race. According to Colin Woodward:

“Recent polls suggest it is Mitchell who has become the real spoiler. The Critical Insights poll released last night confirms the trend: Cutler has doubled his support base to pull into a dead heat with Mitchell, who has been hemorrhaging support since the primaries.”

Throughout the primaries, people always came up to me and said, “I like Peter Mills but I’m not sure he has a chance of winning.” If each of these people had voted for Peter, we may have had a different Republican nominee.

Let’s not make that mistake with Eliot Cutler.

Yes, being an independent is hard, especially when there are two other independents siphoning votes away. And when you have money rich lobbyists like the Republican Governors’ Association and special interests like the Maine Education Association working against you.

But we’re Mainers. We’re independent. And we don’t need out of state people or special interest groups telling us how to vote.

If like me, you think Eliot Cutler is the right man for the job, vote for him. Vote now at your town office or vote on November 2. You really don’t have to settle for a party nominee this election.

But you will if you don’t vote.

This weekend, we remember the thousands of veterans who’ve fought and died for us to enjoy the privileges we take for granted.

One of those privileges is the ability to participate in choosing our leaders. A privilege the majority of us will blow off.

Here in Maine, June 8 is an election day. The two major parties will be nominating their gubernatorial candidates and as well as candidates for some state offices. We will also be deciding important issues for our state and our communities.

But it’s estimated that less than 30% of us will even show up at the polls.

Less than 30%.

Please, let’s remember the sacrifice of our veterans and those currently protecting us by turning out and voting.

Whatever your issue, whoever your preferred candidate, a republic like ours is meant to have direct input from each of us. Not just 30%.

Let’s remember our veterans this weekend and on June 8.

I’ve been told that Gen Xers will have 7 careers during their life, and multiple jobs within those careers. As of today, I’ve started a new job, and if you think of it as a switch from healthcare to politics, possibly a new career as well!

A few weeks ago, I gave my resignation from my position at Inland Hospital. Yesterday was my last day. My favorite gubernatorial candidate, Peter Mills, asked me to direct his statewide campaign and I said “Yes!”

I loved my five years at Inland. It’s a great hospital and a real asset for Waterville. I’m honored to have been able to take the annual fundraising from around $60,000/year to between $250,000 to $500,000 a year. An even more exciting accomplishment was bringing the cost of raising a dollar from $1.75 before I came to around $0.50.

But I never moved to Waterville to take a job at a hospital, as great as that job was. My family and I moved here to start a church. After we closed the church, we looked at moving to OH or PA, but found we’d come to love Waterville.

So this new position is awesome. In it, I get to use social media, use my fundraising expertise, use my marketing skills, use my coaching abilities–I get to bring my whole package to the task at hand!

People seem really concerned about what I’ll do after. And there are a number of hurdles to jump through:

• We need to get 3,250 $5 checks by March 31. That will allow us to qualify for money to run the campaign. (We’re within about 500. If you’re registered to vote in Maine and would like to help, you can find the web page on the State site at: http://bit.ly/5forPeter.)
• We need to get Peter nominated by the Republican voters in the primary on June 8.
• And then we need to get Peter elected on November 9.

Somehow, all of these “known deadlines” seem a lot less risky than the seeming “sure thing” of a steady job. Perhaps it’s because I received half a dozen job inquiries in January. Or perhaps it’s because I continue to get speaking and training invitations. Or because my book on fundraising continues to sell. (Just shipped an entire case of 120 books to New Zealand!) I am also having a blast teaching a course at Thomas College in internet marketing.

Whatever it is, this risk feels more like an adventure. I’m honored to be married to a woman with a spirit of adventure too! (She did make sure I would apply to Starbucks if it didn’t work out so we could at least have health benefits. )

Does Peter Mills have a chance?

I’m often asked if I really think Peter Mills has a chance.

I do.

I have no idea why anyone would make the decision to work on a campaign that they thought didn’t have a chance!

Peter ran in 2006, but he ran a general campaign in the primary. He had a great time connecting with people all over the state. He’s a great fit for Maine. He votes his mind–and he’s got a very smart mind! He researches issues, talks to people that are affected by the legislation, and often writes detailed reports This ends up in his votes being fiscally conservative and socially libertarian.

But I digress. In 2006, he ran a campaign to the whole state when he really needed to get Republican votes for a nomination. And even then, he came within 3 percentage points of being nominated!

More importantly, all the major papers in Maine said that if he’d been nominated in 2006, he’d have beaten the incumbent Governor Baldacci.

He’s definitely the most electable Republican in our state. And yes, I think he has a great chance of winning.

If you’d like to learn more about Peter, check out http://MillsForMaine.com.