April Showers Bring.....

I was at a breakfast meeting last Wednesday where somebody mentioned that the normal rainfall total for the month of April in Ottawa, Ontario is 60mm. At the time Ottawa had received 91mm. This is a clear indication that it has rained way too much.

The Rideau River was on the brink of overflowing its banks, but now it has receded. Meanwhile the Ottawa River is really full of water. Also signs that it has rained too much.

There are a lot of great things that come with rain. The grass is greener. Less pollen is floating in the air, my sinuses really like that. However, it's getting a bit tiresome to have to deal with rain everyday.

It kept me from flying on Friday evening. It's keeping me from spending more time outside. It's making a lot of days grey. It's just not very cool.

We have a week remaining in April. If mother nature wants to keep dumping water for the rest of the month, that's fine. When May comes, we better be getting some sunny weather.

Spring in Ottawa can be really nice. It can be a great city to have a tasty beverage on a patio. It's a great place to go for a walk or run. It can be very beautiful and you want to walk with your camera. However, when it rains everyday, none of that is much fun.

I admit it, I'm frustrated with the weather. It's a bunch of garbage. There is however an upside, the snow has all been washed away. It's been swept away in the Rideau and Ottawa Rivers. It isn't underfoot and slippery.

I know the weather impacts my mood but it's time for it to get better.

Musical Mood

I sell advertising for an independent rock radio station. I really like the station. It was listening to the station that I discovered that they were looking for sales people. The station is very heavy. It is one of the heaviest in the country. Even though I really like most of the music played, I was finding that I was more and more on edge. I also noticed that when I was most on edge it was when I was listening more to the station.

So, last week-end I started to listen to the music on my phone. I had not done this in close to six months. Even though I'm a rock guy, I like a lot of different music and within about thirty minutes of listening to some different music, I found my mood changing. There was some Neil Young, Mumford and Sons, and Scott Nolan. All of these amazing performers are not what we play at the station. I found myself smiling and singing along.

Music can have a profound effect on mood. It gets deep into you and makes you feel different. It can explain how you feel or make you feel different. It makes us different.

There are songs that will get you jacked up for an encounter. There are songs that will make you feel romantic. There are songs that will make you smile and sing along. Everyone has a song or two that will take you back to a moment.

I don't want to abandon listening to the radio. I still enjoy the station but I needed to remember that we do what we do to get the results we want. However, we don't play everything I like and I shouldn't abandon that music I like.

I love a good party song, the ones that make you smile and sing along. I like to calm down with some Neil Young. There are even some country tunes that get my feet tapping. I have all of this on my phone. 

I enjoy music and it may have taken me a while but I realized that I should enjoy all of the music I love.

Exclusive Access

Most Canadians don't know that there is a restaurant that operates in Centre Block of the the Parliament of Canada. The primary mission is to serve Members of Parliament and Senators. It's a place they can take their guests and have a nice meal and not be in the public eye.

Additionally, there are opportunities for the staff of Members of Parliament to attend events. Now, I don't work for a Member of the House of Commons but the love of my life does.

Thursday night we went to an event where the Chef of the Parliament of the United Kingdom was in town and cooking. It was the one of the best meals of m life.

Most people have access to something exclusive. Often this is because of where they, or someone close to them, works. Unfortunately, this often becomes normalized and people don't take advantage of their opportunities. 

As I have moved through my sometimes strange life, I have had access to different opportunities. I have not always taken advantage of what was right in front of me. Now that some opportunities are no longer available, I miss them. As a result, when people ask if I want to do things or when I have opportunities to do things through my connections, I make sure that I find people who want to go and we enjoy the experience.

In my current gig, selling advertising at a rock radio station, I get opportunities to go to concerts. It's slower over the winter but will pick up as the show season gets going. Long before I ever worked for a radio station I went to a lot of shows and I won't be slowing down anytime soon.

So, look at your life. Look at what you get to do that not everyone may have the same access to, and make sure you enjoy it. These are the moments that are going to make the stories when you are old an sitting around at the Legion. Let's be honest, everyone wants to have good stories.

There are so many opportunities out there, find yours and don't let the day to day get in the way. Don't shirk your responsibilities but when you can, make sure you do the special things that you have exclusive access and live a great life.

The Search

I saw a memory flash up on Facebook this week. Four years ago I was lamenting that I no longer believed that I can change the world. This feeling made me eventually make a career change to go back to selling.

I was becoming increasingly frustrated with a lack of focus on the mission. The idea of returning to sales was very appealing because the mission was so clear. I knew that everyone would be on the same page. It is that way. There is no doubt about what is expected and where the focus needs to be. That part of my professional life is much happier.

All that being said, I find the focussed mission of sales to be rather singular. There are an increasing number of days I miss the multi-faceted days of my past. I miss thinking about all the ways that a change will impact the organization. I miss helping others achieve great moments. I miss being the go to person for so much.

As I look to the past I realize that the broader my responsibilities, the better I do. I don't like stove pipe organizations and I whole-heartedly believe that they stifle creativity. As well, the broader your responsibilities, the more chances you can take to have a shot at something magical.

If you emulate really good people, you can get really good results. However, if you go out on a limb you can change how everyone thinks. I need to find a way back to a place where I can change the way people think.

I realize a lot of people want a predictable life but I seem to thrive on a life of the unpredictable. I'm getting an itch to be entrepreneurial. I'm feeling like I need to be the boss again. I think there is going to be some risks in the future. Smart risks. Risks that will lead to reward. I'm fairly tolerant to risk and I'm getting close to taking advantage of that again. I used to present some crazy ideas. I used to be told on a regular basis that my ideas are a bit too much. Out of all that came some great improvements and I miss that.

Maybe I can change the world and all I really need to do is get back to thinking big and making everyone around me elevate their game and their thinking.