My first trip took place ages ago when my mom’s teaching partner invited my sisters and I up for a weekend trip. That weekend I learned to waterski–super fun!

A few years later I began what would become an annual trip. One of my good friends celebrates her birthday in early August. Several years ago just after taking the California bar, she invited several of her law school friends and other close friends to a weekend of relaxation and water sports. The following year she and I reconnected and an invitation was extended to me as well. I first attended in 2005. At the time I only really knew my friend (and some of her girlfriends from her high school). It had honestly been ages since I had hung out or visited with any of them. The law school friends, the friends of friends, the husbands or spouses of friends were all knew to me.

We had fun then, but not as much fun as we had this year.

I’ve been every year since 2005 (exception being last year when a remodel of the house prevented the celebration). This year as people arrived, I recognized my excitement over the familiar faces. People who had once been strangers were now people I really looked forward to seeing. We shared the standard funny stories, built up over the years. We checked in to see if some of the beloved elements would still be present like Oasis Island, where many a lazy Saturday (and sunburns) took place or my BBQ chicken (something that is quite popular after a day on a wakeboard). We asked about new life developments and challenges. We laughed. We joked.

Overall, I think we’ve become quite comfortable with one another simply because we’ve celebrated some life together.

But then we also welcomed new faces. This year brought the addition of 5 new faces (5.5 if you count the newborn baby who joined us for an afternoon). The new people fit in right away–the group welcoming them and bringing them into the fold. They brought in their own stories, their own humor, and created moments that will now be the memories we describe in future years (one example would be the high speed tubing pirate battle with Jon causing a great deal of laughter).

Long story short, I had fun. I feel refreshed and I’m glad this random group of people are in my life.

Why did I write all of this? To encourage you to seek out SHARED EXPERIENCES with others. Each year we create new memories. Each year we’re closer because of that. We’ve had long afternoons to just talk. We’ve had late night giddyness (not this year–we realized we were not as energetic as the past and fell asleep too early) that leads to funny conversations down the road. We’ve shared meals and the community that develops from them.

Find the opportunities to create these moments with people this year–and maybe you’ll find that these people might really be friends.

Much love to the Delta 2010 crew!

“Nah, they’re closed.”

“What?”

“Yeah, saw their sign. It’s their annual summer break.”

Just before the meeting I made a quick walk to the bank (of course, nothing feels quick when it’s 116 degrees outside–sidenote: drenched with sweat when I arrived at the meeting). On my way back, I walked by House of Tricks, a wonderful restored home that serves really good food, and was surprised to see it empty. I hoped it wasn’t a permanent closure, another establishment fallen prey of the current economy. On the front gate, a piece of paper explained it all:

TRICKS is CLOSED for our annual summer break and will OPEN August 2nd. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I was disappointed at first, knowing that I’d probably have to share this news in our upcoming dinner brainstorm. Still, as I walked, it actually made me happy.

I have several good friends that work in the restaurant industry. As talented chefs, they work long hours, preparing amazing dinners for the patrons, but often missing out on dinner for their own family. The idea of taking a few weeks off in the summer, when the outdoor ambience of House of Tricks is likely to be used a little bit less makes such great sense. Give that time for the workers to reconnect with friends and family and come back recharged and enthused.

If you subscribed to this blog, you probably notice there wasn’t a single post in June. It wasn’t my initial intent. I thought I might keep up with some regular thoughts and ideas. However, once I got back to California, I spent more time just recharging. Work was able to truly take a break. I only did one speech and spent just a few hours one day doing necessary paperwork for others. I spent more time just being with my family and enjoying my youngest sister’s wedding. I enjoyed visiting with my extended family while they were in town. I had long lunches with good friends. I took mini-roadtrips to visit others. I just lived some life for a bit.

And then I returned to Arizona, 40 days after I left. I came back, recharged, energized. My days back have been pretty productive, booking some new engagements, and preparing for some leadership conferences. I have a bunch of new ideas to share in blog format and I’m even considering a few new stories to work into my keynotes. In my personal life, I’ve been more productive at the gym, really good about cooking great meals at home, and still finding ways to connect with good Arizona friends. I really do believe I’m coming back stronger.

So here’s my thought: It’s the middle of July. If you’re life tends to be dictated by the school year, you have just about another week or so to disconnect and recharge. I’m not saying neglect your important work, but give yourself a specific timeline to recharge. If you work a normal 9-5 day, pick one weekend and make it about recharging. Don’t make it a to-do list. Seriously, get off facebook and connect with your friends over an iced coffee. Don’t read this blog for a few days–read that novel you’ve been meaning to get to instead. Bring it back to some of these things you like about life.

Recharge.

We’ve got quite a bit of road ahead of us. In the time being, let’s take a moment to enjoy the scenery.

I don’t understand a single word in the video, but you can tell there is great meaning in it. I had watched the video several times before I started hearing news stories on it. Turns out this was a special birthday surprise put on by the bus company for its employee. It was part of a larger campaign to find unique ways to recognize the service of their workers.

In a day and age where most companies tend to cut back or make rewards simply monetary, it’s nice to see creativity that recognizes that special part of the human spirit.

How can you do the same this year? What creative ways can you recognize those that help you? How can we make the people around us truly feel special?

These are a few of the questions I hope you wrestle with in the coming months. Please let me know the cool answers you discover!

I’ve watched the video a few times now at first for a good laugh (the little girl is undeniably cute), but then with some introspection. I can’t remember the last time I truly rambled off a big list of those things I’m grateful for. If I’m truly honest, I know I’ve been in a state of deficiency over the past few days. I may have posted a blog about The Code and a need to approach the world with a mindset of abundance, but I haven’t quite been there.

And then I watched this video. How could you not want to live with this energetic appreciation? Sure, I wouldn’t run around screaming it out to people on the streets, but I could easily look into the mirror each day and list five things I like about my life.

So here goes for today:

1) I really do love my job. I’m still amazed I get paid to stand on a stage, tell some stories, and talk about how we should all live better lives.

2) I love my extended family. My immediate family is a given, but my cousins are ridiculously awesome. I regularly laugh at our back and forths via text, facebook, and face-to-face interactions.

3) I love my ability to see friends and family around North America. It’s been an incredible year visiting with people from all different parts of my life and seeing their current hometowns.

4) I love sleeping in. This was on my mind yesterday. I had two back to back days of 4am-1am (yep, two 21 hour days right next to each other). It was amazing to go to sleep late Saturday night and sleep for several hours.

5) I really love the fact that on Wednesday I get to meet up with a friend of mine who just spent six months serving in Afghanistan. He returned safely to the US last week and on Wednesday, we’re going to meet up and celebrate with good conversation.

So that’s me. What about you?

If you need some ideas, check out the great site 1,000 Awesome Things that I mentioned in my April 28th blog.

That’s why I was surprised on Monday.

I received an email from the Sundance Volunteer Coordinators.

Why? Because April 18-24th is National Volunteer Week. They wanted to thank the Sundance Volunteers (again! they did this several times throughout the festival). At first I thought it was a generic email, but then I as I read it has some comments from my various supervisors at the festival highlighting some of my personal contributions.

If you’ve been to my ACTIVE APPRECIATION workshop, you know how much I love this email:

A) The comments were incredibly SPECIFIC. I can’t believe that my supervisors had the time in their schedule to write these thoughts down. We were pretty busy during the festival–yes, there was a lot of fun–but it was a pretty hectic schedule.

B) The comments focused on the INDIVIDUAL. A generic email to all volunteers would have worked, but Sundance took the time to data-merge something to customize it for the recipient. It made me feel as if Sundance valued MY service.

C) It was so UNEXPECTED. I really didn’t expect to hear from Sundance again until August when the Alumni volunteer process begins, but there was an email for me on Monday just saying “thanks again.”

So my challenge today is to recognize those volunteers around you. If you can, volunteer a bit this week. Make something happen.

Who knows… you may bring a smile to someone’s face.

Yes, the mall was crowded with people arguing for or against the upcoming health care bill, 8th graders on Washington DC trips, and other tourists, but it was also filled with locals. There were people playing soccer, people flying kites, people having a picnic, people riding bicycles, people sketching pictures and photography portraits, people throwing frisbees, and people simply enjoying the day.

My friend told me it was probably the first nice Saturday they’ve had since last fall. After months of rain and snow, including a blizzard that shutdown most of the east coast, people were out celebrating the weather. It was cool to see (and to experience–it was a great day).

I grew up in northern California and currently live in Phoenix, Arizona–both places known for their nice weather (with the exception of the Arizona summertime which truly is hell on Earth). As I was walking around the Capitol Mall, it occurred to me that I rarely do this in my beautiful home environment. Yes, I do take a run outdoors from time to time, or go on a hike here and there, but for the most part I’m a guy who does his exercise at the gym and stays inside my temperature controlled house.

I don’t truly enjoy the amazing weather I’m currently living in. I guess I really take it for granted.

Do we do this in our groups too? Do we take the amazing elements of them for granted as well? Do we simply go through the motions, or are we able to look around at times and have “our picnic”–celebrating the moments in life that we share?

I guess today, as much of the country begins to see some of these first signs of spring, I just want us to do that–celebrate the beauty around us–both in our environment and in our organizations.

Have a great Monday!

It’s not the question you’d normally expect at a Wine & Pizza Bar in Arizona. I was sitting there, waiting for my friend to join me when this really nice woman walked up to me and asked, “Are you from Vancouver?”

If this was a one-time occurrence, perhaps I would have responded with some form of surprise or a look of confusion, but the question was actually one I had heard quite a bit ever since I returned from the Olympics. Just before boarding my flight home to Phoenix from Vancouver, I was lucky enough to find one of the popular Team Canada hoodies which I now wear fairly regularly during my travels. I think it’s a cool looking sweatshirt (one of the major reasons I purchased it), but I’ve also discovered it has an incredible ability to start up a conversation.

“No, I was just at the Olympics. I love the city though. Are you from there?”

“Yes, my husband and I live there.”

“What part?”

“Richmond.”

“Oh, I attended a concert out there…”

I’ve had similar conversations like this with several people. During my first week or two after the Olympics, I seemed to only sit next to Canadians on flights and in boarding areas. They’d see my sweatshirt, and we’d start talking about the country as a whole. Apparently a bunch of Canadians spend their winters here in Phoenix, and so I’ve also had this same conversation walking around town. If the person isn’t Canadian, they are at least familiar with the design and the conversation turns into some discussion about the Olympics and what it felt like to be there. Almost always the conversation expands to other interests, pursuits, hopes, and anecdotes. I’ve really met some incredibly nice people simply because I happen to be wearing a sweatshirt that boldly says “CANADA” across the front.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had an article of clothing I like to call “ice breaker attire.” In high school I regularly wore one of two shirts to events. One said “i am a nerd” the other “Mumblypeg: It’s Not What You Think It Is.” People would read this shirts and start talking with me. First about the shirt and later about life in general. I forgot how much I enjoyed these interactions until I found this Canada sweatshirt.

I’m starting to realize that when I put on a piece of “ice breaker attire,” I’m open to who I might meet that day. It’s my own nonverbal cue (in a VERY basic sense) that opens me up to new interactions. There are times when I go through my day or my time on the road purposefully isolated. I consume my time by looking things up on my iPhone or diving into my latest book or DVD, but when I where my Canada sweatshirt, I know–at least for now–that isolation won’t be a possibility that day. Someone is going to ask me a question, and I look forward to that conversation.

My friend eventually arrived and we were in the middle of a nice conversation of our own when I had a pleasant interruption.

“Just wanted to say goodbye,” the women said with her husband at her side. “We really hope you have a chance to visit Vancouver again. It was very nice to meet you.”

“It was nice to meet you as well.”

And it was.

On February 18th, I flew on a United flight from Phoenix to Chicago on my way to a convention in Georgia. I’ve already described some of the events from that trip: the funny boy in security and the nice Canadian man I visited with throughout the flight. I neglected to mention one key moment.

After the Canadian man and I had chatted for quite some time, he got up to walk around for a moment or two and stretch his legs. I took that time to put on my Bose headphones again and zone out from the loud airplane sounds. I closed my eyes for a moment or two, but opened them just in time to see the flight attendant. She saw I was actually awake and came back quickly

“The captain wanted to give you this.”

I was a bit surprised and had to doublecheck.

“Yes, the captain wanted to give you this.”

It was his business card. On the back he had jotted down a few short sentences thanking me for being a customer and allowing him the chance to continue to serve.

Yes, I’m definitely aware that my Premier Executive status with United probably triggered this note, but it still meant something that he wrote it. He didn’t have to. I’ve never received anything like this on any flight I’ve ever taken. That day was different. The captain, after leveling off the plane and making sure we weren’t going to hit any turbulence for a bit, used some of his “free” time to appreciate me as a customer.

I’m surprised more airlines haven’t made this into a more regular practice. Pick 3-4 customers each flight and send them a note. It would definitely surprise them and they’d totally share that pleasant surprise with friends.

Can we do the same? I know that as much as I talk about appreciation, I’ve been bad of late on some of those surprise moments. I need to work on it.

What do you need to work on?

Who could you send that random note to?

Is there someone in your school, organization, workplace that could use that pleasant surprise?

Make it happen today!

If you’ve seen my Active Appreciation workshop, you know that I’m a fan of thanking and recognition. The three major ideas of that workshop are to shift from Group to Individual, from General to Specific, and from the Expected/Traditional method to the Unexpected & Creative. It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen all of that take place in such a fun manner.

The festival does a great job in recognizing its volunteers. There is a special volunteer jacket, opportunities to see films, a special volunteer appreciation day, and regular emails with links to articles whenever someone praises the volunteers in the press–it’s part of what makes the experience so fun.

my "happythankyoumoreplease" award

My special Racquetball Club Team B group took it to another level. The Theatre Manager and Assistant Managers began a tradition while at another venue a few years back called “The Honey Bear Awards” (Utah has been known as “The Bee Hive State”). A collection of small bear-shaped honey jars were brought out and a full awards show commenced. The dedication to the whole production is part of what made the short ceremony so fun. One by one, each volunteer on the team was recognized with their own Honey Bear–their award linked to an aspect of their task, personality, and/or contribution as well as the title of a specific film from the festival. Each recipient made a short speech and each award created more laughter, smiles, and photographs as we tried to celebrate these last few moments together.

I spent most of my volunteer time in the tent, communicating with ticketholders and those in the waitlist. For my efforts, I received the “happythankyoumoreplease” award.

I know its a bottle of honey, but there is meaning behind it. When I arrived back in Phoenix the following day, I took it out of my suitcase and proudly displayed it on the memory shelf I have in my office. I’ve already looked at it several times–it serving as a reminder of an amazing volunteer experience with new friends and a way to do appreciation right.

* swam in both the Pacific & Atlantic Oceans within a week.* saw Nathan Lane outside The Producers

* had a baby fall asleep in my arms

* ate breakfast with a NY times reported who had just flown out the night before on Air Force One

* worked on a sailboat in the San Francisco Bay and water-skied in the Sacramento Delta one week later

* jumped for joy with 40,000 others as we celebrated our faith at Angel Stadium

* watched Barry Bonds hit homer 725 at AT&T park and rode down a slide a few minutes later

* shared a meal and some amazing conversation with a friend from elementary school and her husband

* attempted to destroy scenes with my fellow Comedy Sportz cast only to realize it isn’t possible with good scene work

* volunteered at a food bank who regularly provides food to those suffering from HIV and the medical expenses associated with it

* shared a breakfast with a friend in San Diego & performed with friends in San Jose that night

* discussed ponderous questions with students on a 6 hour bus ride

* welcomed over 2,000 freshmen to their first day of school

* received a voicemail from Samuel L. Jackson and convinced him to call my friends as well

* said goodbye to an amazing roommate only to welcome another one in later that weekend

* attempted to kill dinosaurs with a good friend only to run out of quarters before the mission could be accomplished

* watched a banquet head, sommelier, and waiter break into opera and battle

* saw a musical about famous Siamese twins and their desired to be loved & walked away thinking my sisters cast was great

Yep, it’s been quite a summer and I’ve been pretty lucky. Now if only my insurance rates wouldn’t skyrocket after ticket…