How do you express care for your parents?

December 28, 2016

I carpooled with three other guys that had a bit grayer hair than I, and they were each negotiating the treacherous terrain of caring for elderly parents. Broken bones, cancer, elder care, Alzheimer's, downsizing to a retirement community, and estate planning were common topics during the drive. The discussions about parents moving into assisted living were brutal for everyone involved.

These discussions prompted me to consider the choices I will force on my kids when the time comes. Arguably, some would say I have already abandoned my mental capacity.

My utmost respect to those caring for...

How do you express care at work?

December 27, 2016

Entrepreneur, Gary Vaynerchuk, found the best marketing strategy is caring. His example of caring for a customer on a snowy evening before Christmas became the standard for how the employees treated customers. We continue to solidify our company values and personal character with each engagement. How does each customer interaction display your care?

What are the legends of customer care where you work? What were the heroic efforts made to care for a particular client? What has been the long-term impact on the company?

Your care of the end user is easier to track...

What do you care about?

December 26, 2016

The picture is not flashy, but the words are trustworthy. This snapshot is from Seth Godin's new 17 lbs behemoth book, What Does It Sound Like When You Change Your Mind?

This community desires to provide good service, exemplify good leadership, and enjoy a good life through the use of inquiry.

This last week of 2016 is a fitting time to reflect on this past year and look forward our investment in the new year.

What made your list of things you cared about over...

What priority is your journal?

December 24, 2016

We make time for what is important, and each of us is granted the same 24 hours a day. How we spend these precious moments, reveals what we value.

Where does your journal fall on your priority list?

No, your journal didn't slip me $20 because it is lonely. But, it is helpful to assess how we spend our time. We tend to add useful items to our to-do list and failure to intentionally remove others to ensure balance. Instead, the others atrophy due to neglect. The action-oriented posture...

Whose journals inspire you?

December 23, 2016

Mirror-image cursive encompassed 13,000 pages of notes and drawings. The topics compose a mini encyclopedia. Detailed studies of flying machines, plants, architecture, babies, emotions, and drapery, are a sampling of the journals Leonardo da Vinci wrote. Many of his studies are written in a manner to make publishing easy. This genius is human; the journals include lists of debtors and weekly groceries.

In 1994, Bill Gates paid over $30M for 18 sheets of paper that contain 72 pages of da Vinci's journal, known as the Codex Leicester. I haven't journaled flying machines, but I have journaled grocery lists, so I have hope for...

What benefits has journaling delivered?

December 23, 2016

What benefits has journaling delivered?

The sales copy sold you on the idea; did all the promises come true? The promised benefits of keeping a journal are remarkable. Greater creativity and self-awareness, serenity, stress relieve, and enhanced relationships are a sampling of promises provided for daily writing.

Thankfully Google didn't return a list of journal promises that included six-pack abs, $1,000,000 in the bank, and sparkling white teeth in 30 days.

The promises of journaling are similar to meditation...

How well do you listen when your journal speaks?

December 22, 2016

"Self-awareness involves deep personal honesty. It comes from asking and answering hard questions." ~ Stephen Covey

Journaling provides the opportunity to document this personal honesty. The writing is a safe space to develop self-awareness through analysis of our answers. The answers will include clear action steps. Some will be terrifying.

Starting a journal is easy. Consistency is hard. Implementing the self-imposed actions is brutal.

How does your journal speak to you?

December 20, 2016

This inquiry is not a paid promotion for a pending Disney movie. I am not pitching a cute singing journal for the next McDonald's Happy Meal's campaign.

My growth through inquiry and questions were the result of answering hard questions straight from the heart. My friends and I would know it was a real answer when the answer landed with a dull thud. These were the answers that were not sugar coated, or on the Instagram highlight real, but a solemn moment of truth.

What are your journaling tactics?

December 19, 2016

The Marine Corps develops a plan before an invasion. The Navy SEALs strategize how to conduct a special operation before taking action. Is it any less important for you to detail your plan of daily engagement? We have one life and how we allocate our time is critical.

What is the structure of your journal?

I have used three different formats over the years. The five-minute journal is a quick bulletized list of questions regarding planning, accomplishments, and gratitude, completed in the morning and evening. Julia Cameron popularized the morning pages in her enduring work, The Artist Way. These pages are three stream-of-conscious pages...

Why do you journal?

December 19, 2016

Veins bulging at her temples, body drenched in sweat, and muscles are screaming for relief. Your Muse continues to administer CPR to keep your creativity alive. Every chest compression pushes oxygenated blood to the extremities and keeps the brain functioning. The Muse knows you both have much left undone.

There are more poems, code, proposals, equations, and songs to be written. If your creative persistence dies, your addition to the annals of the human experiment remains incomplete, and your Muse dies with you.

What has music taught you?

December 17, 2016

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." ~ Albert Schweitzer

For such a smart guy, he was half right.

My lessons include:

Enjoying this life is good. Music transforms the mundane into magical. Insert earbuds, press play and be transported through time and space. A little jazz and the refuge appears.

What memories are triggered by music?

December 16, 2016

Hearing a song from our teenage years lights up our brain like a Fourth of July fireworks show. The perfect storm of raging hormones, significant neurological development, and strong emotions, tie memories and songs together.

As life progresses, there is not the same dynamic happening in our bodies and the ties are not as strong. Doctor's us music to bring back memories of youth to Alzheimer's patients by playing songs from the Top 100 charts of their youth. The area of the brain that stores these memories is some of the last to be affected by the disease. The patients can regain some awareness and enjoy walking down memory lane.

Why do you like your favorite musical artists?

December 15, 2016

Details matter and being specific makes all the difference. Honoring an artist as "great" is an empty compliment and lacks integrity. How does this particular artist stand out from the others? What makes them "great" in your eyes?

Is it their vocal range, emotion on stage, music writing, the ability to sing and dance, knowing the right songs to choose to record, music production, talent on an instrument, willingness to shock the audience or their causes outside of music?

There isn't a right or wrong answer. It is your opinion and your taste.

How do you use music to alter your state?

December 14, 2016

We are not giving up our music. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) represents the international recording industry. The 2016 annual report stated, in 2015 global industry revenues were $15B and digital sales overtook physical products for the first time.

That is a lot of $0.99 downloads!

What musical genres have been your favorite?

December 13, 2016

My cousin betrayed me, and it took a change of heart to forgive.

I was about ten-years-old before paying attention to music. My cousin, Crystal, is a few years older and introduced me to the world of country music. Kenny Rodgers, The Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly Parton, and Alabama were well-worn records in my collection. We were country music fans, and nothing was going to challenge this loyalty.

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These INQUIRIES are here for you.

My intention is for you to ask better questions and think deeper.

Our fast paced, always on, society provides little time for reflection.

After answering the initial inquiry, dig a little deeper and follow-up with a bit more thinking:

What do I think about it?

How can I make it better/worse?

How does this influence my life and those around me?

How can I be more generous?

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Kenneth Woodward and IOTD365 with appropriate and specific direction to the original content. Give me a chance to say "Yes".