I’ve never liked needles.

I’m of an age where we used to get shots at school. They lined us all up in the multi-purpose room for measles, mumps, and rubella. Anticipating my turn behind the curtain was dreadful.

You know the old saying that God never gives you a challenge you can’t handle? Well, sometimes he gives it to you again and again until you can handle it.

About fifteen years ago our cat got sick. Kidney disease. Looked very bad. But we lived near UC Davis, which has an excellent Veterinary school. So we took him in and got enrolled in a study of a new treatment. It was great for Nic (the cat), but it required that we give him shots every day and pump fluid into his body by putting a needle under his skin.

It took me a very long time to get used to that. It didn’t hurt the cat. In fact, he didn’t care much at all. And it dramatically improved his health and lifestyle.

I’d say he hated rice-based food much more than he hated needles.

So I twitched and squirmed about the needles, but he was okay.

The next challenge was having a child. When Victoria was born, one of the first things they did was to take some blood. I was not prepared for this.

We read all the books on how to have a successful pregnancy, and what to do the first year. We thought we knew everything, week by week and month by month, before and after delivery.

But they didn’t tell us that they were going to stick a needle into a brand new baby who never did anything to anybody. I was very upset.

And then, over the next several months, she had to get shots and more shots. At one point she got three on side and three on the other.

Stop sticking needles in my baby!

Anyway, I’m not a needle person.

But after enough years in Sacramento I developed severe allergies. Severe as in throat closing, swelling up, and dying. So what do they give me? Shots! Allergy shots!

I started out with daily shots. One on the left arm, one on the right. Then three times a week. Eventually it went to one time per week.

This went on for three years. The weird thing about allergy shots is that they stop. The goal is to train your body to take care of itself. Which is cool. So after three years, the shots stopped.

In three years, did I get used to shots? No.

So God says, “Let’s take this to the next level.” What could be worse?

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, an immune disease. One of the common patterns with R.A. is that treatments work for awhile and then become less effective over time. So I go through this treatment and that treatment.

Finally, they tell me that I need one of the new “miracle drugs” called Enbrel. Great.

Except it’s an injectable.

Which means there’s a needle.

And you have to inject yourself.

In the stomach.

A 3/4″ needle in the stomach. Twice a week.

So now, every Tuesday and every Friday I poke a needle into my stomach.

Enbrel has been a miracle as far as the R.A. is concerned. But I still can’t get used to the needle.

And I’m a little afraid. What happens when I *do* get used to the needles? What has God got in mind next?

When they say God never gives you a challenge you can’t handle, they need to make clear that “handling” it and handling it well are two different things.

I guess I’m pretty lucky. If I could get rid of just one thing in my life, it would be the needle in the stomach. Which means the rest of my life must be going pretty well! So I guess I can handle the needle.

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So this sandwich walks into a bar

And the bartender says

“Hey buddy, we don’t serve food in here.”

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Some people are reluctant to take a stand and say (publicly) “I’m right and you’re wrong.” I don’t know if it’s political correctness or what. Somehow in our modern lives we’re led to believe that everyone’s opinion is just as good as everyone else’s.

I think that’s pretty boring — and wrong.

Fundamentally, there are right and wrong ways of doing things. This is true on both a moral level and a very practical level.

Morally, we can say that this action is “right” and that action is “wrong.” But many people are not willing to say that anyone else’s action are wrong. So a growing segment of the population is unwilling to stand up and say that any actions taken by another are wrong.

That’s a sure road to destruction.

On the practical side, experience is a wonderful teacher. There might be six ways to change your oil, write a press release, or perform an employee review. But experience will help you narrow this down to the one way that works best. On the practical side, there really is a best way — a right way.

And what’s the advantage of believing that there is a true, best, right way to behave?

First, it allows you to focus your attention. If every possible action in the known universe is just as good as every other possible action, then your choices don’t really matter. But if there’s a one true way out there, then finding that way is possible, and taking actions that are consistent with it will bring greater success.

Second, no one who refuses to take a stand on anything important will ever achieve much in this world. You have to believe in something in order to make meaninful progress. There has to be a right and a wrong way so that you can recoginize where u are and continually move in the right direction.

There’s an old saying “You have to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything.”

I believe that’s true.

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So this guy goes into a bar with a chunk of asphalt under his arm.

He says to the bartender:

“Give me a beer. And I’ll have one for the road.”

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One of the great joys in life is sneaking off. One of the great joys about living in Northern California is opportunities to sneak off.

We all lead very busy lives. I know my family does! My daughter’s in high school. In addition to being stage manager for a play and doing the occasional guitar recital, she spends her summer being a camp CIT.

My wife and I both work full time. In our spare time we’ve been fixing up our yard. I published a book this year. And now we’re having the house painted.

So much for 2007. Oooops. It’s only half over!

When our lives are constantly busy like this, it’s important not to lie to ourselves and think that the craziness will end. We’re always going to be busy. We’re always going to have major projects going on.

So how do we keep in touch with one another and keep our sense of normalcy?

In our case, we make regular escapes. We sneak off for a few days here and a few days there.

This week we’re on a small beach in the middle of Nowhere, CA. North of San Francisco. Three “work days” plus a weekend makes a nice five-day get-away.

I’m sorry to say we didn’t do enough of this when our daughter was little.

Sneaking off — finding little mini vacations — is probably better for your health and well-being that rare “big” vacations. When you’re only gone a short while, there’s less stress involved in making all the arrangements. There’s also less stress to do anything on vacation.

When we sneak off we don’t plan to get anything done. Instead, we’re totally free to hang out, do nothing, and spend time with each other.

Sneaking off is good for our relationship and good for each of us individually.

I’m not suggesting that you should cancel any big vacations you have planned. But consider where you can add mini one-, two=, and three=day get-aways.

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Someone asked about my world-famous humor.

Two Antennas Got Married up on the roof.

It wasn’t much of a ceremony,

but the reception was great.

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As a technical consultant, I get to work with lots of nerds. One of my favorite nerds is Vlad Mazek. Some time ago he started using the phrase “drinking the Microsoft Kool Aid.” Whenever he talks to someone from Microsoft he asks them what flavor of Kool Aid they prefer.

We have adopted a similar theme in our business as we push Managed Services, a great system for delivering higher-level technical support to small businesses. Sometimes clients resist the new approach until we feed them enough Kool Aid.

But Microsoft Kool Aid is a lot more complicated than that.

I’ve worked with dozens (maybe hundreds) of Microsoft employees over the last twelve years. And while every human being is different, I’ve noticed some traits that tend to be consistent across MS folks.

First, they’re really nice people. Really nice. I’ve only ever met one true jerk who worked for Microsoft, and he didn’t last long. I have only met one jerk who worked as a contract employee.

Second, Microsoft obviously places a great deal of value on balancing personal and business lives. It’s no secret that I’m a big advocate of that. I’ve met people who moved thousands of miles for their family, and Microsoft has figured out a way for them to stay “on the team.”

Third, MS employees tend to really get into their jobs. I know I haven’t met all of them, but the ones I have met seem to have hobbies and work that are related. Server nerds have servers at home. People who work with resellers tend to do little consulting job with schools and churches. As a result, they learn what it’s like to be on the delivery side of the business.

Fourth, there’s a lot of change built in. People move up, down, and across the various divisions of Microsoft. They move from city to city, and occasionally from one country to another. They take on special projects. It seems that the organization is very vibrant and that people who want to excel are given every opportunity.

Have I worked for Microsoft? No.

Do I know what it’s really like to work there? No.

But from the outside, I see an organization that places value on people. I don’t know whether they just screen people heavily, or whether they work to mold them into the kind of employees they want. Maybe a little of both. But the result seems to be an organization in which really nice people work together, aware that personal and family matter are important. It seems to be a place where work and “life” are balanced, where people enjoy their jobs, and where people feel they have opportunities to grow.

I hope, as my business grows, that we can serve some of that Kool Aid.

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May 2007, New York: Relax Focus Succeed® — The Book — was officially released May 3rd. In addition to a three-hour seminar, we had a great reception and party.

 A good time was had by all.

 After the book launch, I attended SMB Nation East, which is a wonderful two-day technology seminar at the headquarters of CA (Computer Associates), a provider of quality software.

 The book is available for purchase at www.RelaxFocusSucceed.com or at www.Amazon.com.

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