Posts

360 degrees in 365 days

/in , , /by

Last week I turned 55. One year ago to the day today, I was facing a really ugly tumor. Let’s just say this last year is amazing grace. I just got back from backpacking in the mountains of Colorado with some inspiring friends. To have the strength to do this is indeed a miracle.

A few things I am thankful for today:

  • I am alive
  • I am strong.
  • I am healthy.
  • I have a beautiful wife that loves me, in spite of me.
  • I have two beautiful daughters that are amazing.
  • I still have my Dad and he’s happy.
  • I have a group of friends and colleagues that are lovers of life and God.
  • I live in a beautiful place with the love of my life.

Yea, we had some tough times. Times when I wondered why God was punishing me. But I survived with the support of a lot of people, and those times only served to strengthen who I will be when God is done with me.

I now know those times are just chapters in a really cool novel with MANY chapters.

I can’t wait for the next chapter.

Weakness in Healing. 3 Weeks Post Radiation

/in , /by

Yes, that picture is me on my 50th birthday. I’m just a couple of years older now but have been through more. It seems to me that without THAT strength the process I’ve just been through of enduring two surgeries and 30 radiation treatments would have been MUCH worse.

So the preface for the little pity rant I have now is that without preparation and strength, weakness would have been MUCH worse. I thank our trainer and coach Adam Hammett for making this real. Without him, I’m really not sure how this would have gone. Worse for sure.

So I finished radiation treatment three weeks ago. I was excited for the discomfort to come to an end.

It hasn’t.

In fact, it’s stayed pretty consistent. Headaches, fatigue, sinus pain from the treated area and some other things I won’t bore you with. Let’s just say I still can’t taste or smell. I must admit to getting a little irritable. When I met with our Dr. last week I asked how long this will take.

‘They don’t know. It could be two more weeks, months or even years. “. She says.

Well shoot. Time to get used to the new normal I guess.

Look I’m thankful it wasn’t worse. I have my eye and all my brain still in one piece. But I gotta tell you until you see the light at the end of the tunnel this is annoying.

So I go searching for some kind of uplifting passage about pain and healing. This one came up.

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Isaiah 53:4-5

Like many of you, I’ve read stories about the suffering endured on our behalf. I have to admit I still don’t really get it. I’m not suffering I’m merely annoyed and hurting a tiny fraction of what He endured. Why are we so weak? I do not feel strong today but I know I am, because I know I am not alone.

I’m looking forward to getting through on the other end of this and being the man that endured and thrived.

Until then I need some pain medicine. 👍 .

Pity party over. Carry on.

Proof that you should behave in life

/7 Comments/in , /by

This morning I arrived in radiation to my normal group or locker room members.

Mind you we’ve only been chatting a few days and while we know names we only know first names and some basics.

James has to drink 32 ounces of liquid before his treatment. Ann his wife waits patiently for him outside. Ray is an Air Force academy graduate and so on.

We’ve never gotten to last names. So imagine my surprise this morning when I walk in and one of the guys says “it’s Charlie Alsmiller”.

Hey I was sort of enjoying being anonymous here. Turns out this guy went to school with one of my wingmen that did our Colorado hiking trip and somehow they put two and two together that we all knew each other.

Now the Dallas area has 7+ MILLION people. What are the chances of that?

Bottom line. Behave in life. It’s truly a small small world.

What is an “investment in yourself” worth?

/in /by

We “Invest” in ourselves constantly.

Except we think about it like this…we “invest” in a gym membership, a nice house, a savings account etc.

Jay Z was just named the first hip-hop billionaire.   Rock on Shawn.

Here’s the difference.  He knows enough to invest in himself and RETAINS the rights of what he builds.

If you are working for someone else, either as a consultant, employee or an investor – you really don’t have the rights to your work…someone else does.  If you have value, then you can make a huge difference in your future self by honoring what you are contributing and not giving it away for free or a low value.

I had a colleague once told me that even though he was the CEO of a global company, he still does many critical negotiations himself.  He said that’s the only part of his business where he can make $1,000,000 (or more) an hour.

To paraphrase one of his lines, Jay-Z became a check writer instead of a royalty receiver. This is how you bring your worth. This is how you become a billionaire.

But first, you have to know that your work is worth defending. Jay-Z evidently does.

From Inc. Magazine