courage Archives | SageTalk

Jump for Jump

Early in the bull riding Crusade of my son, Ryan, he made the comment, “Dad, it’s really pretty simple. You just stay in the middle of ’em and ride ’em jump for jump.”

At the time, we were sitting in a Truck Stop across the Interstate from the Horse Palace, where Ryan was waiting for his turn to ride. I was sipping on my coffee and Ryan was stirring his hot chocolate.

The cafe was noisy from the farmer and trucker banter, and distractions were constant because of the shenanigans from the waitresses and busboys. I didn’t hear exactly what Ryan had said. So, I asked him to repeat it.

“Dad, you stay in the middle and ride them jump for jump.”

Yep, from the mouths of babes, or in this case a high school student at the time, comes the secret to life.

Stay in the middle and ride ’em jump for jump.

Choose One

Think of the most important decision you’ve ever made. Maybe, it was the decision to get married. Maybe, it was that mutual decision to have children. Maybe, it was a flying leap of faith to start your own business.

You chose this and forsook that — all other possibilities.

I don’t know of any individual who believes they can be partly married. How about a little bit pregnant? Or, an Employer providing a paycheck to someone who is no longer an Employee — but is now an Independent Contractor?

Those scenarios are laughable – aren’t they?

Oh, I’m having way too much fun with this. Imagine the skydiver who at 10,000 feet wants the thrill of jumping and the comfort of the cabin. Nope, doesn’t compute. They are either in a perfectly good airplane or out of it hurtling toward earth.

Speaking of which, as they hurtle toward earth, they now have another choice of two options: 1) blunt-force trauma, or 2) tip-toe touchdown.

Performance Realms

In an ordered Universe, these four — in this order — would be the performance realms: Goodness, Thought, Action, and Feelings.

Goodness would fuel our Thoughts, which motivate us to Action, resulting in warm fuzzy Feelings.

However, we live in a time with slogans similar to, “If it feels good, do it.“

The CARE Credential

Alphabet Soup

At one time, I was quite proud of all the initials behind my name —

CPA ~ Certified Public Accountant
CITP ~ Certified Information Technology Professional
CGMA ~ Chartered Global Management Accountant
AMM ~ And Many More…

Yes, they demonstrated the discipline and commitment to play the game of achieving recognition in the eyes of academia.

Yet, no one other than I knew, fully, the extent to which sacrifice was made to achieve these designations.

And, the humorous point of this whole exercise in bragging rights is how times have changed. Now, another meaning for the acronym of CPA — in the realm of Digital Marketing — is Cost Per Acquisition.

Three-E Formula

Three Good E’s

Greater than a Magic Wand to wave at the hand of fate, this is E-ven better.

This is E times 3.

Enlighten
Empower
Encourage

The prefix forming verbs of “En” and “Em” are expressions of action and doing, defined as:

I Am

What follows I AM follows YOU.

This is a humor Kim moment. Please, read all of this paragraph, act upon it, and, then, continue with the Rest of the Story. Close your eyes and relax. Be the most authentic YOU possible. Finish this sentence, “I am …”

Now, with eyes wide open, write down what that little voice in your head just told you.