Just some good churning

churnOn logo:

This week, thus far, we have churned about taking initiative and responsibility, the word 'afflatus' and the very engaging DeLoss Dodds. You may have noticed that I recently added a logo on churnOn.com. The inspiration (afflatus) for the design came from my dad, who called to say, "If it's not butter yet, keep on churning." Actually he said, "If it ain't butter yet, keep on churning," but then quickly corrected himself as he knew his mom (the English teacher) would not be accepting of the slang. Lucy, my 11 year old daughter, then went to work and quickly sketched out ways to use the letters 'c' and 'o' in the form of an old fashioned butter churner. (I hope I did not have to spell that out!) Then it was off to the very talented Allison McDougall, my graphic designer and a graduating senior at St. Edward's University here in Austin.
Coming soon on The Churn: The six characteristics of successful selling - ELU times two.

Meeting DeLoss Dodds

UT Disch Falk Field:

Last night, I had the privilege of meeting and spending a few minutes with University of Texas Athletic Director, DeLoss Dodds while attending a baseball game at the recently renovated Disch Falk Field. I was there as the guest of some friends who work in the sports business and enjoyed an evening of college baseball in a beautiful setting. What struck me in my interactions with Mr. Dodds was how engaging he was. He was genuinely interested in me, asking questions and connecting stories. Mr. Dodds is a legend in the world of college sports, and it was easy to see why he has built such an amazing program. Since he became the Athletic Director at Texas in 1981, he has overseen programs that have claimed 13 National Titles and over 100 conference titles. 

How engaging are you in your interactions? Coming soon on The Churn: The six characteristics of successful selling - ELU times two.

Word of the day - afflatus

Afflatus:

The word of the day in my 6:30 a.m. yoga class was 'afflatus'. Afflatus is a Latin word derived from Cicero (The Nature of Gods) that can be translated to mean 'inspiration'. The literal translation ties to last weeks post, "You can't control the wind, but can adjust your sails" as it means to blow upon/towards. Wikipedia says, "It can be taken to mean "to be blown upon" by a divine wind, not unlike its English equivalent "inspiration," which comes from "inspire," meaning "to breath/blow onto"." 

In English, the word is sometimes used to describe an idea that comes from a divine place and often can not be described by the creator. Ever have an idea that is hard to describe, but you know it is good? I thought 'afflatus' was a great word, and very yoga-like!

About initiative and responsibility

Seth Godin:

"Initiative isn't given, you take it". 

"The amazing thing is that unlike taking an apple or a chocolate bar, there's no loss to the rest of us. After you take it, we all benefit. There's one other thing you can take at work, easily and with approval: responsibility. In fact, they sort of have to go together. One without the other is a mess."

How true that last sentence rings. I like Seth, and we have the same haircut. Maybe my head can fill in for his head one day?

You can't control the wind

But you can adjust your sails:

As the Tar Heels prepare to take on Marquette tonight in the NCAA round of 16, a friend shared this article on Will Graves, who was dismissed from the team early in the season and now plays professionally in Japan. Scroll to the bottom to see what Will has apparently learned from Coach Roy Williams about life, reconciliation, and second chances.

Speaking of second chances, the Heels owe Marquette a little something from the 1977 NCAA Final. That was Al McGuire's squad who took care of business in Atlanta, beating Carolina 67-59.

churnOn language from John Morton

What to do with what comes back?:

"One way to look at what is going on is we are continually being exercised in our growth and learning and so we are constantly being strengthened and enabled. The conditions in this world are in each and every way a complete and whole creation for our upliftment and advancement, our progression and fulfillment." - John Morton

From yesterday's post on The Churn, titled Back at You: Of course, like all things in life, it is what you do with the information that comes back at you that matters most. And nothing comes back, if you don't first put some stuff out there!

Back at you

What's coming back:

Okay, I have put it out there. churnOn.com was launched on February 7th and the idea was really fairly simple. In summary, it went like this:

1. Something more than a resume.
2. A way to finish the re-write and self-publish my book, Releasing the Churn.
3. A home base around which to master the ecosystem of social networking tools, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn, so as to be a more effective professional in the next phase of my career.

And here is what has come back at me:

1. The site needs a 'call to action'. It needs to be a little less about me, and more about what I have to offer the world. This is a work-in-progress, but coming along nicely.
2. Write to help others, make information as useful as possible, and be service oriented.

Of course, like all things in life, it is what you do with the information that comes back at you that matters most. And nothing comes back, if you don't first put some stuff out there!