Archives for October 2011

This past weekend marked the final game of the regular season for me as a rookie soccer coach, and I am proud, because we finished with a record of 6-0-1.

I am proud of these kids and our success as a team. They worked hard in practice and in games and earned that standing.

But I got an email about the playoffs that bugged me. In part it read…

“ALL teams will participate in the end of season tournament. ALL players will receive trophies.”

I have a problem with both of these items. The tournament (playoffs) should only be a portion of the teams that had the best records in my opinion.

And the team that wins it all should get trophies. Participation trophies? They get a shiny award for showing up and picking their nose? That’s crap.

Yeah, they’re five, but I think it’s a good lesson to learn that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

I was there once. I started playing soccer in first grade and we won the championship in my first season.

That was the last trophy I saw for a few years. Playing and not winning humbled and inspired me.

The empty spots on my trophy shelf pushed me to get better by working harder.

Back then, you either won the championship or you were on one of the teams that didn’t win. Only the winners got trophies.

Over the years, I collected a decent amount of trophies, but didn’t win that last one.

We lost in the state semi-finals in my senior year of high school. I still think about that game. We didn’t get a trophy for almost winning the state. We didn’t get a trophy at all, because we didn’t earn it.

It sucked, but we don’t always win. That’s how life is. There will be lots of losses personally and professionally.

Those wins are so sweet. We appreciate them, because they are special and rare.

Mark Twain once said, “The secret of success is to make your vocation your vacation.” Thanks to affiliate marketing, I’ve am always on vacation… or on holiday if you prefer.

But first we have to define vacation, and my definition is probably different from yours.

My vacation is more of a state of mind. It’s a place of self-actualization.

I am relaxed and satisfied when I get to conceptualize and execute ideas, accomplish things, help people, make change.

Today was something of a typical day for me. It started with taking a walk with my dog Mattingly and a couple of my girls to school.

Then, I had a little breakfast, as I caught up on email, published a couple blog posts, and worked on editing articles for this issue of FeedFront.

Next, I went out for a run and worked up a nice sweat. When I got home, I jumped in the pool to cool off. After a quick lunch, I ran out to the bank and some other errands.

Back to the office for some more article editing and other work. Around 3:30pm, I switched into my soccer gear and took my son out to run practice for his team at 4:00pm.

When I got home, I cleaned up, did some more work, and had dinner with my family.

There was some email checking and other work on my computer, iPad and phone between then and going to sleep.

This is all in stark contrast to the day job work I did from the time I graduated college through 2004. That was a time where I’d leave home before 7:00am and return home after 8:00pm, due to a long commute and working hard to get ahead.

Back then, I’d look forward to treats like casual Friday. Hooray – jeans at work. It was fairly common that “urgent” meetings would suddenly come up around 6:30pm, as I was finishing up my 10.5 hour day.

On Sunday nights, my stomach would be in knots in anticipation of a week of office politics, busy work, meandering meetings, and feeling like a trapped rat in my cubicle.

That was the work life I watched my father experience and endure. He dreaded work, and he frequently spoke of how it would all be worth it when he retired.

He would take that vacation to Ireland, he’d do things on his own schedule, he’d be content. My dad never really splurged. He’d do that in retirement.

But there was a hitch. He died less than a year before retirement. Two years later, I became my own boss and started working for fun.

So, I sort of work seven days a week, but I don’t feel like I work at all. I’ve been on vacation for years.