Category Archives: Family

Stop and Smell The Azaleas…

12 Friday Apr 2019

Posted by in Adventure, Company, Deciding, Encouragement, Family, Leader, Leadership, Value

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Yes, the slogan of The Masters… “A Tradition Unlike Any Other”

The wait… Year after year. Name submitted, name not drawn in the lottery for Masters tickets… year after year. Then, BAM!… my brother’s name is drawn for four practice round tickets and on Wednesday, the best of all days.

Thanks to my brother’s name getting drawn, and him inviting me, along with his son and our dad… to Augusta we went. Forty-eight hours, barely any sleep, but wide awake the entire time. Bucket list item, you bet, even better when its with family.

I’ll tell you this, and it is a running joke with my wife’s side of the family. Two things we feel strongly about… Who do you want to eat meals with and with whom do you want to travel? You better enjoy your company when those two things are happening.

Too many times in leadership we have to be around others that are not of our same mindset, and that is ok for we grind through it. However, when it comes to the point of having to be around others because of the “have to case,” no one really profits.

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I say all of that to say this… I am at the point in my life where I want to enjoy who I am around. Are you?

With life, it really is short. The older I get, the quicker the days start and end. More importantly, is the fact that we sometimes realize too late, that we wished we would have done “so and so.” Many people are too “wound tight” to enjoy life. They are worried about satisfying what others think; they stay fearful of upsetting the apple cart and open up the can of “moody spray” with everyone they are around. They cannot have peace with others, because they cannot have peace within themselves. The funny thing is, many want and choose those types of people to keep company with – why?

They say you need to stop and take time to smell the roses. Well, for a few hours this past Wednesday, I stopped and took time to smell the azaleas of Augusta National and take in its beauty that television cannot do justice. Two things were for certain… I enjoyed who I had my meals with and who I traveled with, and that made all the difference. My brother and his son, and our dad for sure made a memory for that one moment that was “A Tradition Unlike Any Other.”

©2019 J Clay Norton

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Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

GPS Leadership

20 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Clarity, Communication, Family, Leader, Leadership, Listening, Perseverance, Trust

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This past week, our family had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles, CA.  My wife had a counseling conference to attend, and my daughter and I made it a vacation.  Now, if you have never driven in LA, then you do not know what you are missing.  The rumors are true.  It is slam packed, turtle moving, and prayers needed. We had to make a lot of Ninja and Jedi moves to get to the correct turns sometimes.

We rented a car and used the GPS on our phones for directions.  As I reflect, I found a lot of leadership lessons from the trip and the GPS.

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Good leaders need a great wingman.

I found myself a few times telling my wife or daughter, “Talk to me Goose.” The classic line in Top Gun with Maverick and Goose.  They both did an excellent job in guiding me where we needed to go.  Leadership is like that.  There has to be trust and communication. You have to have someone on your side, by your side who is going to help you because it benefits the whole group, not just themselves.

Good leaders plan for the long road.

We were going to Anaheim one evening, a distance of only 26 miles.  1 hour and 39 minutes later, we arrived.  No one in LA says, “I’m just going to run over there real quick.” Leadership takes a look at what is ahead and determines the path to take.  It may be long, slow, stressful… but at least you are doing something.  Too many times, it is too easy to say no, let’s not do that.  It will take too long.

Good leaders sometimes make wrong turns.

Every day, I made at least one wrong turn.  LA is full of forks in the road and merger here and merge there lanes.  The great thing about missing a turn, the GPS will always recalculate.  That is what happens in leadership.  Sometimes leaders make a wrong turn, a bad decision, an oops and an opportunity to recalculate.  Let’s try that again.  Many times, on our wrong turns or missed exits, we were able to see something that was not planned.  A lot of great leadership decisions have been made in the same manner.

Our GPS made our trip all the more doable.  I would not want to drive in LA blind.  At the same time, I do not want to be leading blindly.  I am not a fan of the “let’s fly by the seat of our pants leadership.”  Too many bad things can happen.

Leaders need a good wingman, a plan for the long road, and an opportunity to recalculate.  If you do not, then you are leading alone, probably shortsighted, and think you never make mistakes.  If this is you, then stay out of everyone else’s lanes that know where they are going.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

Memory Moments

09 Friday Feb 2018

Posted by in Actions, Communication, Deciding, Decisions, Family, Inspiration, Leader, Leadership, Legacy, Purpose, Servant, Understanding

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The older I get, the more I have “memory moments.”

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Photo Credit: LearnZillion.com

This past weekend my wife and I, along with our daughter attended an Academic Insight Day at Mississippi State University. Our daughter is a senior this year and will be attending MSU next fall. As my daughter was driving up to Starkville (and back), I begin to think about our first driving experience in the visitor’s gravel parking lot across from Clinton High School. She was 14, and I was a nervous wreck. Fast-forward to today, and all I have are memories of that moment.

My brother and his family live in another state and we keep up regularly. Many times we will call each other to have a conversation on nothing more than, “You remember when?” Usually, it is some funny experience regarding our family growing up. Then we will call our parents and ask the same thing to make sure they remember as well. Even though we are both grown with our own families, we are still making “memory moments.”

I give you this background to say this… “memory moments” have a way of shaping who we are. “Memory moments” come in all areas of our lives, from family, friends, jobs, etc. What is most important is what we do with those “memory moments.”

So… How does this relate to leadership or does it even at all?

Our leadership if full of “memory moments.” Those moments we have made for ourselves, and those that we have been apart of with others. With each, there are good and bad “memory moments.” We only like to think about or bring up the good, but oh how does the bad make us mad or tugs at our hearts. We recall what we want to and try to forget the things we wish we could.

Every leadership decision you have ever made falls into one of these two categories. “Memory moments” have a way of shaping our leadership style and how it affects our whole world as it pertains to you and everyone around. What is crucial to understand and often we do not, is when we make decisions, our “memory moments” should serve as a guide that helps us understand we are dealing with real things and real people. Too often we fail (or do not want to) acknowledge this.

How many times do we make decisions just to be making them? As to say, going through the motions? We can chase a lot of rabbits with this idea. The critical concept to realize is there are no “flippant” decisions when it comes to leadership. Everything means something to someone. Like it or not, they leave a lasting impression.

As you think about your own “memory moments,” let them be what they are. If good, then enjoy the time and the rewards. If bad, then learn from it and make sure you do not repeat. Either way, the next leadership moment you have will leave a memory for you and someone else.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

Thanksgiving in Three Words

17 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Family, Freedom, Giving, Gratitude, Humility, Leader, Leadership, Servant

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“What if today, we were just grateful for everything?” – Charlie Brown

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Have you ever considered what “makes” Thanksgiving work? Not the “works” of turkey and dressing and the other fixings, but the “works” of our thoughts and why we are thankful. I am sure we have many ideas as to why we are thankful, and you can probably start the sentence off with “I am thankful because…”

If you are on twitter, you might follow @goodreads. It is a site for book lovers. Often, it will tweet out, “Describe the book you are currently reading in three words.” I find this interesting because I catch myself asking this with a lot of my general activities. Simple questions like this sometimes provide the most thought.

So, my statement for you today and next week is, “Describe your thoughts on Thanksgiving in three words.”

It would be interesting to know what each of you would say. I am very sure that there would be an overwhelming amount of the same words from person to person. The idea here is not to limit our thinking, but to be intentional about our thinking.

My three words for describing my thoughts on Thanksgiving are:

Authentic
I once heard someone say, “You can never separate who you are with what you say you believe in.” One reason I admire the Pilgrims is that they were a group that held firm to their beliefs of who they were. May we unapologetically do the same.

Generosity
Another saying I once heard was, “Your level of generosity is not determined by how much you give, but by how much you hold onto.” How often do we give of ourselves? While giving is not a natural born characteristic, we can learn how to give of ourselves and be generous. It takes time and most of all, effort.

Gratitude
Everyone has something to be thankful for, and only you know what those things are. Allow your gratitude to be intentional. Let it show as a helping example for others but not in a boastful manner.

This Thanksgiving, as you celebrate, take time to consider the statement, “Describe your thoughts on Thanksgiving in three words.” You might even decide to have this as a topic for conversation with friends and family at the table.

But most of all, make sure you take time to give thanks. By doing so, we bow before the Lord in our humility. Thankful that He is willing to save our souls as we look forward to an inheritance of eternal life which He has promised.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Remember… THINKLEADERSHIP

©2017 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page.