I gave blood yesterday for the first time in over 20 years.

Embarrassing, really.

My last experience was in high school and I remember not feeling too well afterwards. As a result, the effort was tagged a "no go" moving forward (excuse number 8 according to the Red Cross). How pathetic. (not a hint of malaise two decades later)

For the last couple years, the thought of giving returned but I was always "too busy" to help (excuse number 2).

As I sat answering my health history questions and getting my "mini physical", Cathy, my screener, asked what prompted my visit.

"It’s been on my mind recently and then I saw a sign for it in church yesterday. For whatever reason, I finally decided to actually do it again."

"Do you know your blood type?" Cathy asked.

"I think it’s O negative if I remember correctly."

"O can be used by everyone — it’s the universal type," she informed me. "And O negative can be used by babies if it’s CMV-free."

It was an instant connection for me.

In over 20 years of being eligible to give blood, I’ve done it twice. I could have done it over 100 times. According to America’s Blood Centers this means I could have helped to save more than 300 lives (rather than 6).

Moving forward, I’ll be giving every 56 days as allowed.

If you’ve been giving regularly, thanks for picking up my slack. If you’ve been thinking about it, stop. Do it.

business mind: Leaving, I asked Cathy if she was trained to tell all new donors (or 20 year interval donors) how their donation might specifically help others (and how those others might be babies).

She said, "I don’t think so. It’s just something I do sometimes."

Assuming I live a healthy 40 years more (I’m optimistic), her added benefit discussion (her extra effort) will likely reap a couple hundred more pints from me alone in my lifetime.

If the blood services personnel training doesn’t include this added customer care step as a formal part of the screening process, I suggest they implement it as soon as they can. Imagine the impact of even 10 Cathys doing the same thing each day.

Is there something similar in your world?

(nice work, Cathy)

4 days and 73 holes of play.

A one stroke difference in yesterday’s Masters tournament gave Tiger Woods a $504,000 raise over his second place challenger — $1,260,000 vs. $756,000 (67% more).

One stroke. A birdie stroke (one better than par).

Another 212 finish.

Let it inspire your week and go beyond the norm.

from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
par – 2 : common level   3 a : an amount taken as an average or norm

I couldn’t believe what I heard. How ridiculously rude and self-centered.

Later that day (within a few hours), I caught myself repeating the same mistake — a ridiculous remark, speaking before I thought.

A bad sound bite, from both of us, reminded me of tolerance… humility… of giving others a break.

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."– George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), Anglo-Irish playwright and critic

When I catch myself whining, I try to remember how lucky I am.

Ever caught yourself beginning a sentence "Knowing my luck…" and concluding with something negative?

For many of us (even you), it should be "Knowing my luck… I’ll win the lottery."

tgim

"In fact, the number one concern expressed by kids was not having enough time together with their parents… Other research shows that if teenagers don’t spend time with their parents — if they don’t eat dinner together as a family, for example — they’re at double or even triple the risk for sexual activity at a young age, drug use, and emotional problems." from Too Much of a Good Thing : Raising Children of Character in an Indulgent Age, Daniel J. Kindlon, Ph.D.

This book has helped me (and will help me) be a better parent. If you’re a parent (or plan to be one), it’s worth your time.

Its Amazon sales rank isn’t great. The publisher might want to consider a title change…

How to Keep Your Children from Early Sexual Activity, Drug Use, and Emotional Problems

Thanks to Kindlon, my kids are getting much more of my attention and time (and dinner together isn’t something we miss every weeknight).

"Yeah, I’d hung around for the trial and the long, agonizing walk down Pennsylvania Avenue to where they crucified him.  Right on The Mall.  Thousands of tourists strolled by, arms stretched and curled with shopping bags from the gifts shops…"

Lisa Samson brings the final hours of Christ’s Passion into the modern day. When you have a moment, let it impact you.

Happy Easter.

A little over a month ago, I brought attention to a marketing effort by Universal Orlando Resort (the blog entry is below). The thrust of the thought was those people who created it (and implemented it) should have pushed to create something better. A portion of the campaign is negative and irresponsible.

It includes a "Bash the Boss" game where players control an animated employee that punches an animated old-school stereotypical boss as far as possible.

When the ad columnist at The New York Times covered the campaign a couple weeks ago, I was reminded of Universal’s effort and looked into it again.

They’ve added "Belt the Brown-Nosers"…

…a game where players throw their choice of office products (computer screen, stapler, telephone, cup of coffee) at targeted animated colleagues.

When creating and approving the campaign, did anyone in the room ask, "Hey, do we want the Universal Resort brand to be associated with violent and disgruntled employees?"

Someone must have, right?

Be valuable where you can. Encourage the principle.

VH1 aired the 2005 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Ceremony last night (taped and edited from the March 14th celebration in New York).

If you can catch (or record) an encore presentation, it’s worth the time.

I’m not a member of the music cognoscenti (especially knowledgeable group — just learned that big word) or a big fan of TV outside of The West Wing. I turned it on to induce sleep and ended up motivated (at midnight unfortunately).

It’s inspiring to listen to these Hall of Fame artists talk about their work and watch them perform. They appear to care so deeply about what they do — to maintain such a high level of enthusiasm even with the incredible level of repetition required to create their product.

These people had truly found their verse. Have you found yours?

"… What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here — that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on, and you will contribute a verse."– Walt Whitman (1819–1892)

It was bedtime. I was in the home office across the hall.

My 4 year old poked his head out of his room, "Maaaaooom?" in a soft questioning voice.

"Mommy’s downstairs, Gabriel. Go to bed, please."

<< big pause >>

"I’m not talking to you Dad."

"Gabriel, please. It’s bedtime. Now go to bed." I said quickly.

"Thanks a lot, Dad."

I laughed to myself and thought I’d challenge the sarcasm. In a sincere tone I said, "You’re welcome."

A long pause came from across the hall.

"No, Dad. It’s not a good thing," he said.

"But I thought you said ‘thank you’ to me?"

"No. It’s not nice. It means I’m angry."

"Okay. Well, it’s time for bed. I love you."

"I love you, Dad." And the door shut.

I’d love to know it was something else (or someone else) that planted the ability for sarcasm at such a young age. I’m certain it was a little bit of me and a little bit of the something else.

(a 212 thought on sarcasm & cynicism)

"That’s the wonderful thing about working with Disney. They bring out the best in you. Disney will tell you ‘It’s not good enough’ and they’ll be right… and you’ll make something better."

While running yesterday, I caught a great interview/ music session on XM Radio with Phil Collins. I’m sure the words above aren’t exactly correct but that’s what I heard. At that point in the discussion, he was talking about his work with Disney in creating Tarzan the Musical.

Here was an iconic artist, contributing to his field for over a quarter century, talking about how someone else (a large corporation, in fact) helped him make a better final product.

I love this about so many people at the top (or those who are headed there). Ego might exist (more with some than others), but their work is ultimately about the contribution.

from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
contribute — 1 : to give or supply in common with others… 1 b: to play a significant part in bringing about an end or result