Our Most Thoughtful Family Member

Our most thoughtful family member isn't actually a member of our family; he's our Saturn salesperson. This isn't an advertisment but just fact. Two years ago we purchased a Saturn for my wife, and I know it was two years ago because we got an anniversary card from our Saturn salesperson, Barry Neal, today. In the last two years Barry hasn't failed to miss one of our birthdays and that includes Shelley's mother because she also purchased a Saturn from him shortly after we did.

Now, I know it isn't rocket science since all of our information is in their computer system but he also always manages to write a little note to our son who was six months old then. He also will send us a card for no particular reason. We can always count on Barry.

If you are thinking of purchasing a car his information is:

Saturn of Irving
Barry Neal
972-721-7400
214-325-4238 (cell)

Writers Block

Ok, I have writers block. I'm not sure what the problem is because it isn't because of a lack of topics. I could write about our wonderful 2 week old son, the President's recent speech, the fact that the FEC (Federal Election commission) wants to regulate Blogs, the recent Kenny Rogers incident, or the fact that Ward Churchill is promoting the assassination of officers in the US Military. I just can't get any words out.

If anyone has any suggestions they would be welcomed.

Leadership Assessment Results

I received the results from the online leadership assessment I took. Just to level set, I did a self-assessment and then sent a request to supervisors, direct reports and colleagues to do a similar assessment.

The results don't indicate whether I am a good or a bad leader, but points out my strengths and areas where I may want to improve.

The assessment looked at four primary areas: Authenticity, Navigation, Architecture, and Community. Out of a possible 50 points, my scores were:

Authenticity - 48.5
Navigation - 43.4
Architecture - 41.3
Community - 41.6

Each of these primary categories consists of two sub-categories worth 25 points each.

Authenticity

• Credibility - 24.5 points
• Maturity - 24 points

Navigation

• Purpose - 22.1 points
• Pathfinding - 21.3 points

Architecture

• Personal Genius - 20.8 points
• Organization Innovation - 20.4 points

Community

• Perpetual Leadership - 19.8 points
• Engagement - 21.7 points

So my strength lies in the area of Credibility and my weakness in the area of Perpetual Leadership. Some questions pertaining to Credibility are "is honest and straightforward," "treats others with dignity and respect," and "demonstrates personal accountability."

Some questions pertaining to Perpetual Leadership are "coaches others on their development as leaders," "provides large, challenging roles to others," and "shares leadership responsibilities."

I appreciate everyone who took part in this and the feedback provided. I will take the information to heart and begin searching for ways to improve.

Joys of Fatherhood #8

An unexpected Joy of Fatherhood has been watching my Mother with my children. She doesn't get to spend as much time with them as any of us would like because she lives 500 miles away but when she does it is something special for me.

This weekend while I watched her play with Seth and hold Chase my heart was filled with Joy.

We love you Mom.

Coca-Cola, Stop The Madness!

I went to Quick Trip to buy a bottle of Diet Coke and I had to fight through Diet Cherry Coke, Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Diet Coke with Lemon, Diet Coke with Lime, Diet Vanilla Coke and Coke One. Then there were all the variations of regular Coke.

Can we just go back to Coke and Diet Coke? Oh, the simpler times...

Joys of Fatherhood #7

Nothing specific today, it is just awesome being a Dad.

Last night my mother flew in and prior to going to the airport we stopped by our church and walked around the lake and then stopped by a free concert one of the praise team members was putting on. (By the way I recommend her new CD). It was just a pleasant evening and at one point my wife said, "I love our life."

I couldn't agree more...

Quitter or Failure

If given the choice would you rather be considered a Quitter or Failure? I know neither are very good choices, but I believe we all make this decision from time to time. I also believe that the majority of people choose to be a Quitter rather than a Failure.

Why is that? Maybe because being seen as a Failure is a much more public stigma. People can Quit something before they Fail and site all sorts of reasons. "I didn't have time", "It wasn't for me", "It wasn't working the way I expected", "I wasn't having fun" or whatever the case might be. Also, they can choose to Quit before they ever even Start so the fact they Quit is only known to them.

This is something I am currently struggling with. I have been struggling with a new project for most of this year and am on the verge of Quitting. But, I have come to a realization that I would rather be seen as a Failure than a Quitter. Everyone that has succeeded has been a Failure at one point but nobody succeeds by being a Quitter.

Thomas Edison is an excellent example of a Failure who was never a Quitter. Edison tried over 3,000 different filament types before he came up with the one that made the light bulb a reality. Where would we be if he had stopped at 2,999?

In Edison's own words "Results? Why, man, I have gotten lots of results! If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is often a step forward.... "

Other great Edison quotes..

The three things that are most essential to achievement are common sense, hard work and stick-to-it-iv-ness.....

Many of life's failures are experienced by people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Positive Parenting

Check out this post by Mark Patterson called Positive Paradigm.

"I read something that really impacted me today. A research study at the University of Iowa found that the average two-year-old receives 432 negatively oriented statements a day compared to 32 positively oriented statements. That's a 14-to-1 ratio."

Castle Doctrine

The State of Florida recently enacted a "Castle Doctrine" law. It reverses the pendulum that has long protected the rights of criminal over the rights of the victim. In short, it does three things.

First, it establishes in law the presumption that a criminal who forcibly intrudes into your house or vehicle is there to cause death or bodily harm and the person may use any manner of force including deadly force against that person.

Second, it removes your duty to retreat if you are attacked in any place you have a right to be. You can now stand your ground and fight.

Third, it provides that persons using force authorized by law shall not be prosecuted. It also prohibits criminals and their familis from suing victims for injuring or killing the criminals.

Let's hope this moves into other states soon.

Armed Citizen

American Rifleman magazine has an interesting section in each issue called Armed Citizen where it recounts many stories where Americans protected themselves with a weapon. The MSM (mainstream media) doesn't like to publish these types of stories because it would go against their agenda to revoke the 2nd amendment and eliminate every American's right to bear arms.

Studies show that firearms are used more than 2 million times a year for personal protection, and that the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances.

Two million times? How many of these stories do you ever hear? One, two maybe...

For example, a resident of Hempfield Township, Pa., tried at first to halt a 3 am break-in at his house by firing two shots. The intruder allegedly used a fireplace poke and his fists to break out a pane of glass, but refused to heed the warning and charged the homeowner. The next time the homeowner fired his handgun he struck the bandit in the legs and drove him out of the house..

If anyone has more examples of these types of stories please email them to me.

We are Home

We brought Chase home today so we have now officially begun the next leg of our journey.

I haven't posted much this week because I obviously have been a little busy with other things. But, that isn't the only reason. I sat down several times but I have had so many crazy emotions I couldn't really put a complete sentence together.

I have experienced joy with the birth of Chase; we have had deep sadness as we have experienced an unexpected loss in our family; and I have anxiety about being the father of two and fear of the change we are about to experience in our life.

I am writing it because we have a saying in our household to "say it out so you don't act it out." I thought I would write it out this time.

Chase

Chase

Chase is Here

Chase Walker Dowdle was born today at 12:47 pm. He is 7 pounds 7 ounces and 20 inches long.
Mother and son are both doing well. Pictures to follow soon...

Today in History

On this historial day, the birth of Chase Walker Dowdle, I thought I would note some other historical events occuring on this day.

Births
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Burl Ives
Pierr Salinger
Donald Trump
Eric Heiden
Steffi Graf

Deaths
Benedic Arnold
Alan Reed (voice of Fred Flintstone)

Events
US Army founded
Continental Congress adopts Stars & Stripes replacing Grand Union Flag
1st commercial compuer, UNIVAC 1, enters at Census Bureau
Pres. Eisehwe signs order adding words "under God" to the Pledge

Today is Flag Day

During the American Revolution, the Continental Congress adopts a resolution stating that "the flag of the United States be thirteen alternate stripes red and white" and that "the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation." The national flag, which became known as the "Stars and Stripes," was based on the "Grand Union" flag, a banner carried by the Continental Army in 1776 that also consisted of 13 red and white stripes. According to legend, Philadelphia seamstress Betsy Ross designed the new canton for the Stars and Stripes, which consisted of a circle of 13 stars and a blue background, at the request of General George Washington. Historians have been unable to conclusively prove or disprove this legend.

On June 14, 1877, the first Flag Day observance was held on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the Stars and Stripes. As instructed by Congress, the U.S. flag was flown from all public buildings across the country. In the years after the first Flag Day, several states continued to observe the anniversary, and in 1949 Congress officially designated June 14 as Flag Day, a national day of observance.

Millionaire

I read an article the other day that said last year there was over 600,000 new millionaires created. That is a lot of new wealth.

I had a goal to be a millionaire by the time I turned 40 and that was defined as my assets - minus my liabilities equaling one million dollars. But, since I am almost 39 and unless God comes through with some sort of unexpected blessing, (aren't all of God's blessings unexpected, though?) I am not going to make it.

But, I now have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a wonderful wife and best friend, one and soon to be two sons, I'm blessed to live in the United States, a roof over my head, no worries about where my next meal is coming from and I could go on and on.

I have a million reasons why it doesn't matter how much money I have so I have made my goal to be a millionaire by the time I turned forty.

Countdown to Chase

Thirty-nine and one half hours until Chase is born.

Happy Anniversary

Today is the 6th anniversary of my marriage to my very best friend.

I bought the diamond for her engagement ring on the internet, she planned our entire wedding on the internet, we have had some of our biggest fights and best love letters via email(I'll have to post the story about the "deleted" email some time), she told me that she was pregnant with our 2nd child on instant messenger so it only makes sense that I use my Blog to wish her a happy anniversary.

Happy Anniversary honey, I love you.

p.s. For you traditionalists I also bought her a card.

Another Political Post

I just read a great column by Peggy Noonan and thought I would steal an excerpt from it but please go read the entire article at Link.

Close your eyes and imagine this.

President Bush is introduced at a great gathering in Topeka, Kan. It is the evening of June 9, 2005. Ruffles and flourishes, "Hail to the Chief," hearty applause from a packed ballroom. Mr. Bush walks to the podium and delivers the following address.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I want to speak this evening about how I see the political landscape. Let me jump right in. The struggle between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party is a struggle between good and evil--and we're the good. I hate Democrats. Let's face it, they have never made an honest living in their lives. Who are they, really, but people who are intent on abusing power, destroying the United States Senate and undermining our Constitution? They have no shame.

But why would they? They have never been acquainted with the truth. You ever been to a Democratic fundraiser? They all look the same. They all behave the same. They have a dictatorship, and suffer from zeal so extreme they think they have a direct line to heaven. But what would you expect when you have a far left extremist base? We cannot afford more of their leadership. I call on you to help me defeat them!"

Imagine Mr. Bush saying those things, and the crowd roaring with lusty delight. Imagine John McCain saying them for that matter, or any other likely Republican candidate for president, or Ken Mehlman, the head of the Republican National Committee.

Can you imagine them talking this way? Me neither. Because they wouldn't.

The Blue comments are actual comments Howard Dean recently made and the Green comments are ones Hillary Clinton recently made.

The Direction of the DNC

My first political post and I will try and not post many cartoons but I couldn't resist. I hope the DNC doesn't run Dean off and I don't think they will. You don't hear any clamoring to remove him or quiet him because he represents what the DNC wants to stand for.

Number of Blogs

The first Blog appeared around 1999 and according to Technorati there are now over 11 million Blogs.

Wow, from 1 to 11 million in 6 years...

Leadership

I'm participating in an online leadership assessment. I had to do a self-assessment and then identify a variety of "observers". These "observers" are to be supervisors, direct reports and colleagues. They will then evaluate me anonymously and I will get the results. I identified 15 "observers" so I should get a variety of responses.

I enjoy personal growth but it can be scary when you just open yourself up for critique.

Once I get the results I will post them as well

Uh-Huh

Last night at dinner Seth was doing something somewhat mischievous (I don't remember what exactly) and I asked him if he was going to teach Chase all of his tricks.

He promptly replied, "uh-huh."

Too cute...

Brothers

We are days away from the birth of our second child. Anyone that has known me for anytime can understand how amazing that is. I once believed I didn't want any children and I actually held that belief up until about 3 years ago. But, I took a leap of faith and decided to fulfill one of my wife's biggest desires and that was the desire to be a mother.

I haven't regretted that decision and have learned what everyone told me and that is being a parent is one of the greatest joys there is. But, I then thought having one would be plenty.

But one day I saw our son playing quietly by himself and my heart just broke. Now, he was having a wonderful time but he looked lonely and I realized he needed a sibling.

You see I was an older brother and while we didn't get a long all of the time we had some wonderful times inventing games and playing together. We played for hours with just a nerf ball and a ping-pong paddle. We played for hours in a hallway with nothing more than tennis ball. We beat ever other team in our neighbor in football by simply running "our play". When things got tough we always had each other.

I hope my son enjoys being a big brother as much as I have.

Countdown to Chase

We just got back from the doctor and he may be coming sooner than expected. The doctor said Shelley might make it until next week but he didn't seem too confident.

Books, Books, Books

I love books. I wish I had all the money to buy the books I want and all the time to read them. One of my favorite Twilight Zones starred Burgess Meredith entitle "Time Enough at Last" about a man who loves to read and ends up being the only person on earth following a nuclear holocaust. He finds a library and despite being the only human to survive he is in his own paradise until he breaks his reading glasses.

Countdown to Chase

198 hours and counting...

The Joys of Fatherhood #6

I discovered a joy of fatherhood today that I never anticipated. It was taking my son swimming for the first time. I have to admit a bit of anxiety because we had no idea what his reaction would be. I anticipated him being scared, screaming, clawing at me trying to get out of the pool because one thing we have learned about our 2 year old is that he is cautious. He isn't afraid to try new things and he can be a little adventurer but he often takes a little time to get use to new things. Not today, though.

He took to it like "Duck to Water". He was a natural. Now, he can't swim of course, but he knew that he needed to kick his legs to either go forward or keep his head above water. And he wasn't afraid of get his head under water, either.

Our friend was squirting him in the face with water and he kept saying, "Again, please", "Again, please. In Seth's face". He couldn't get enough. I was really proud of him.

I'm just sad that the moment is gone but excited to experience the next one with him.

The Lake

We go to a big church and I really like going to a big church. There are people that say "there are too many people", but like our pastor says "If someone offers you tickets to the Super Bowl, are you going to turn it down because there are too many people?" A big church offers a lot of opportunities and we took advantage of often-overlooked one that our church has.

Tonight we were out running errands and we planned to go to a local park for a little walk afterwards but Seth wanted to go to church. We tried explaining to him that we would go tomorrow but he really wanted to go tonight. (It's really neat that he is just 2 and already enjoys going to church).

We decided we would just go up to the church and walk around the lake instead of going to the park. You see our church has a 10 - 15 acre lake with a three quarter of a mile-walking trail going around it.

We were out there all by ourselves and had a wonderful walk. Seth really enjoyed picking up rocks and throwing them into the lake. This has become one of his favorite past times. Also, there is part of the trail that goes out into a wooded area and when you are back there you feel like you are way out in the country.

It was a wonderful evening and I'm sure we will return often.

My Personal Trainer

Tonight I was doing push-ups and Seth kept saying "Again, Again". No amount of push-ups seemed to satisfy this little task master.

GM Offering Everyone Their Employee Discount

General Motors is offering their employee discount to everyone until July 5th. This looks to be a pretty good deal because the way I understand it you are also eligible to receive any cash rebates that may be offered as well.

If you are in the market for a new car this might be the time to buy.

Free Credit Report

A recent amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires each of the nationwide credit reporting agencies to provide you a free credit report to you once every twelve months. They have been phasing this in across the country and today people in Texas as well as ten other southern states became eligible. The only remaining states are in the northeast and they will be eligible September 1. For more information on this you can go to the FTC website at link. You can also go AnnualCreditReport.Com to find out when your state is eligible and the procedures for getting your report.


I highly recommend everyone getting a copy of his or her credit report and reviewing it at least once a year.