What would you do first?

I received an email last night from a friend in prison. (Yeah, I have a friend in prison) I was reminded of how much I have to be grateful for. His release date is coming up in April and he sent me an interesting question.

If you were gonna be FREE to do whatever (after being locked up for 20 months, or whatever) what would be your first meals? What would be ALL of your 'firsts"?


My friend's list came in a second email; it was surprisingly simple. He talked of going to Olive Garden, getting a frozen yogurt from Maverick, Eating a big Mac from McDonald's and a Whopper from Burger King, having a crispy chicken burrito from Taco Time, visiting Bryce Canyon and going camping and rappelling. He talked of going to plays, and attending any "event" that his nieces and nephews are in. He is even looking forward to attending his family reunions!

This Thanksgiving, as you ponder on your blessings, remember the little things that we so often taken for granted. Right now, you could go and order anything you want from any restaurant in town. You may choose not to, but you could. You have the freedom to do it. You could take your lunch break and go meet your child, a friend or your spouse for a nice lunch together. You could go camping tonight, a little cold probably, but you could do it. You have the option. You could put up Christmas lights, bake a pie, watch a movie, work out at the gym, go for a run, visit a neighbor, buy a pet, call a friend, go out to eat. All of these are available to you right now. If you want to do any of this and more, no one is stopping you. You have the freedom and the option to do them.

"If you were gonna be free to do whatever [and the great thing is...YOU ARE!]...what would you do first?"

There is so much to do, so much to enjoy, and so much to be thankful for right now in your life. When we complain about what we don't have, we miss finding joy in what we do have. We are free to do so many things! This Thanksgiving I am grateful to be free; grateful to be free to do whatever. Hm-mm...now what to do first!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Browse the Bookshelf

On the left of this blog is a bookshelf that shows a majority of the books we have in our company library. Click on the scroll arrow at the bottom of the shelf to see more books. This list is also available on the benefits web site under "Boulevard Stuff." We encourage you to check them out for your own personal/professional development. Many of these books are on CD also. If you would like one, just let HR know and we will get you signed out for one. The store's library is in "the fishbowl" by Brett's office. The DC's library is in Ben's office. If you have suggestions on books we should add to the library, please let HR know. If you have a book you have read, enjoyed and would be willing to donate to our library, we would be happy to take them. They should be related to personal and or business development.

"The man who doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." - Mark Twain

Click here to request, or recommend a book now.

The Three P's

This weeks post stems from one of our fine Contractor Builder Salesman, Jeff Messerly. Jeff joined us last week in "The Boulevard Experience" program where we were taking some introspective time to put down on paper our purpose, our "Why are we here?" statement.
We have a company purpose, "To Create and Unforgettable Experience" We have department purposes. Have you stopped to think though; What is your purpose? This idea ties back to the very first post on the BLVD training blog. If you haven't done this "Why am I here?" exercise, I challange you to do so. It will make a difference in the way you do your work. Click here to read first post.

So back to Jeff; Jeff shared with the group the three P's. Purpose, Process, and Payoff. What is the purpose for what you do? What is the process? What is the payoff ? (By the way, Jeff was careful not to claim credit for the three P's. I did some digging and the three P's can be attributed to Spencer Johnson in "The One Minute Salesman" )

If you don't feel that your payoff is worth it, or if you are bored or frustrated with the process, take a look at your purpose. Is your purpose meaningful? Does it help someone? Does it make you feel that your day is well spent? Is it worth your effort? If you don't have a strong sense of your purpose, and if you don't align your process with that purpose, the process will be mundain and the payoff will not satisfy you.

If you are having a hard time figuring out a significant purpose, consider this as a start:

"For why else do we live, but to make life a little more comfortable for each other"

Why do you live? Why do you get out of bed? Why do you come to work? What is your purpose?