Dr. Thunder never got his PhD

The best PopTart flavor is Cinnamon Brown Sugar. Bold statement, I know, but I stand by my conviction. We all know that PopTarts are just cookies for breakfast right? It's a shame that typically everything that is bad for you is so dang delicious.

But as unhealthy as they are, I love PopTarts. This is America, home of the chart topping blood sugar levels. Who doesn't love PopTarts? I never trust someone though, that tells me they are bringing me a PopTart, and then they show up with the off-brand version. There are certain foods that you just don't cut costs on. One is PopTarts. I'd also throw peanut butter, soda, and cereal into that mix as well.  I love to save a buck, but when it come to those commodities, I'm going with the higher quality product. I treat humans the same way.

In the music industry as an artist or as an actor, your name is your brand. And you are trying to get as many people to know about your brand as possible. Brand name recognition is the end all goal. But even if you're not filming the latest blockbuster, I think your goal should be to develop a great namesake. 

While the quantity of people that know of you may seem important, I firmly believe it's the quantity of people that know you are of upstanding caliber that is the real trophy.  Having a Roman Empire-era type of social network (expansive) is crowned as important in high school and on twitter, but here on Earth it always boils down to relationships. And how your character is viewed in those relationships, is more so what you should aspire to tell your grandchildren about.

There are self help books to the moon about character and how to develop a great one. I support that reading material. (Side tangent, why don't they have those books in doctors offices and car repair waiting areas? I get magazines are quick reads but a lot of the time they're about as useful as the top half of a chip bag. Squirrel!). While those do it yourself help novels are great, I firmly believe developing character boils down to two things: how you treat other people and your habits.

How you treat other people: Add value to every situation. Be a filler, not a drainer. Love up on people. Genuine compliments are not natural, but come with practice. Use self awareness. How are you being perceived by the people you interact with. When someone is talking to you over a meal, is your eye contact on them or your cellular device? (If you are reading this on your phone and someone is talking to you right now, that's just hilariously ironic) Overall, practice patience. This world needs more of that.

Your habits: How you spend your time and your thoughts forms your individuality. If someone asked you what parts of your life are important to you, do your habits reflect that? If being healthy is a priority, is your time spent at the gym? Do you bring your lunch to work or go for Taco Tuesday? Habits are the DNA of our character. Great thing is they can change. Book I'd recommend on this "The Power of Habits" by Charles Duhigg.

The bare bones of it, your name is your brand. Your brand comes from your character. Your character comes you habits and the way you treat other earthlings. Strive to be a name brand, higher quality product on a daily basis. Hone your inner PopTart.

New in my life: Coyote's are wile. Relationship goal: Two-stepping to the Best of Don Williams. Sweet potatoes are great in chili.

Keep on smilin'

Franklin D. Roosevelt Drank Budweiser

A perfect game pitched means there are no hits or runners allowed on base by a pitcher for at least 9 innings. In the Olympics, a perfect dive is judge based on how little of a splash there is.  In order to be a Budweiser Clydesdale horse, the animal has to be 72 inches tall when mature, between 1,800 and 2,300 pounds, have a bay coat, four white legs, and a black mane and tail. So in horse lingo, perfect. But most of you reading right now don't have to worry about winning the Cy Young Award or pulling a beer wagon on all fours this year.

In this tumbleweed on a windy day speed of life we live in, it's easy to strive for a superlative schedule. But most successful things don't aim for perfection. Not many in a well off marriage expects their relationship to be perfect. The most successful businesses put out hypothetical (and potentially realistic) fires everyday. You see it's not flawlessness that we need to seek, but rather simple progress. Are you getting better as a person? As a family? As a business?

We all are going to have flaws. We are all going to make mistakes. In fact, if you aren't making mistakes, you probably aren't challenging yourself enough. But that's a different blog all together. The point is, it's okay to have a couple of bogeys on your score card as long as you're taking note of why they happened.

We are not designed to be perfect. Some of us are closer to it than others, but from our initial birthday, we are set up to make mistakes. To fall off the bike, to let down our spouse, to fill out that report wrong, etc. Whatever it is, embrace your inaccuracies and learn from them.

When we are toddlers and we are upset, a nap fixes everything. After that nap we have a blank page to work with. As adults, for the most part, we can do the same thing at the end of a day. Mentally start over new with a different 24 hours. Maybe the same issues are present, but we can approach them with a new-found, well rested attitude.

If you fault in your actions, take a lesson from it. That way every falter can be considered an infamous "opportunity for growth" and you can walk away from it new and improved.

On a daily basis, don't worry about pitching the perfect game or pulling off the perfect dive. Life is about the home runs and cannonballs anyways. Progress not perfection.

New in my life: Randy Travis is Mondays and Daily&Vincent is Tuesdays. The blackberry jam at Cracker Barrel is a close second to their strawberry jam. Despite Walmart's marketing strategy, I need to get my cornucopia on before I think about writing a letter to North Pole.

Keep smilin'

#goatlife

The Pie is the Limit

I always enjoy seeing couples that are physically opposite of each other. You know what I mean, that really tall guy with the really short lady. Or even better, the super skinny dude with a large and in charge woman. When I see the latter I always do a quick mental picture of the struggle they must have on a teeter totter. The struggle is real. A really good teeter totter partner is one that is equally comparison in weight. You need a good balance.

Even when we aren't talking about playground recruitment though, it's important to gauge that b word. Balance. This world is crazy saturated with achievement. And even more so over achievement. In grade school, over achieving is seen as a complimentary thing. Which it may be at the science fair, but as we get older I think we all need to be wary of spreading ourselves too thin with our assortment of responsibilities.

I've talked before about people who use the "too busy" cliche in standard conversation. "Sorry, can't make the bbq, too busy with the kid's sports." "I'm just too busy at work to grab dinner." Stating that you are too busy, implies that there is in fact a healthy amount of busy for you as a person. And I agree. But how do folks get to the point where they are "too" busy then? They pick the wrong teeter totter partner.

Through observation, I've noticed this too busy bunch of people naturally commandeer a higher level of stress. Which makes sense. If you feel you have so many things to do and not enough time to do them, who wouldn't be stressed?

I love waking up slowly, getting a cup of coffee and then sitting on my porch reading for an hour. One of my few happy places so to speak. But realistically, I can't do that everyday. My schedule doesn't allow it. I also think it's necessary to go to the gym or get physical exercise consistently. But some days, there's not enough time in the day for that.

On the contrary, people who retire without things to fill their time, find themselves painfully bored with life. Too much free time. So what I'm saying is don't get too busy and don't get too bored. Simple right?

Just as you can find your comfort number on a Tempurpedic bed or find your spiciness level at Buffalo Wild Wings, you can also grasp a fish-to-fry level that works for you and your schedule. To put into practice, look at your life as a pie chart and separate it into categories. The sectors I use are: Work, Leisure, Health and Family. You may have others that make your list. But within your agenda chart, try and make each piece of pie size up equally. Find yourself working too much? Force yourself into a movie night. Been having too many movie nights? Let's go tour a gymnasium today. Yep.

To grand finale this point, life balance is a close cousin of contentment. If you're off balanced, there's a good chance you're stressing more and overall less happy. A quick evaluation of how you spend your time, followed by action will leave you with a better matched teeter totter partner.

New in my life: The freezer needs protein. It's spelled with an "e" not an "a". Taking an old pair of boots to a shoe repair shop is good for the sole.

Keep smilin'