Tag: life

What is #Winning?

Carl Setzer

I read Om Malik’s great piece today about winning. Chris Michel looks like a delightful person, and the tale of their friendship exemplifies the power and delights of networking.

In the course of their recent conversation, defining “winning” comes up. I’ve been pondering that myself recently. Well, I’ve been looking at “success”, but it’s really the same discussion. I love Om’s thoughts on questions: starting the day with more questions than answers, ending the day thinking of new ones. I have one key add: pride. I want to feel good about what I do, both in terms of ethics and in terms of quality.

So, how about you? Let me know in the comments, via Twitter or Facebook.

And now, Monday

Carl Setzer

It was a lovely but busy weekend. Highlights:

Saturday, I saw Kamiak’s production of Little Shop of Horrors. Very impressive! Even more do considering these are high school kids. This was worthy of any community theatre. And it’ll be fine next weekend, too. It’s worth your time! Followed up with dinner at a friend’s place, perfect!

Sunday, went to Bellingham for the Whatcom symphony. I’m always amazing at the high quality of their shows. Plus, the Mount Baker Theatre is an amazing space. Little old Bellingham has an amazing gem in their community. Then piroshkies at Pel’Meni, and ice cream at Acme Ice Cream in Fairhaven. A delightful day!

Looking forward to this week, and all the potential therein. What about you? Is there anything you’re particularly excited about?

Go make it a great week!

Ah, Life!

Carl Setzer

Woke this morning listening to birds punctuate the silence. Delightful and heart-warming, clearly reminding me how good my life is. Sometimes it’s easy to fill up on life’s negativity. Then it spills over and crafts a life of misery, despair, anger and fear. Taking time to focus on beauty, on love, absorb it, pull it into one’s marrow, creates a more joyful existence. A deliberate act with great value.

Passion, Connection, Transportation

Carl Setzer

I’m often giving a lift to one of the teens at my taekwondo studio, and I’m often pinged for last minute rides, sometimes involving a fair amount of driving. A few friends question why I make myself that accessible for such. “Am I just being a sucker”? The short answer: “no”.

I deeply value helping people connect with their passions. The thought of someone not participating in a passion simply because of transportation issues bothers me greatly. Sometimes the easiest way to assist with that connection is simply facilitating presence. If my gift of a few minutes of driving helps connect passions, then it’s a glorious investment in the communities that I love.

To Be A Seattleite

Carl Setzer

I consider myself a western Washingtonian, even though Mr. Ron Rudd might not.

“If you weren’t born in Seattle or the Northwest, you’ll never be one of us.”

Though born in Rhode Island, my parents were born in Washington, as were all my grandparents. My father and his mother were  born in Seattle. Next: my parents met at UW. And I was supposed to be born in Seattle, but my timetable was a bit off-kilter. The family was in Rhode Island as my father attended the War College. So, I guess if I must be disqualified from “one of us” status, I’ll accept the consequences of my father’s service with pride. 

Deeper: why do I consider this place “home”? Well, the biggest reason was that we always called it home. Flying out to Seattle was always “going home to visit grandma” (sorry grandpa, but it was always “to visit grandma”. 

Lastly, this is the place we moved when my dad decided to retire from the Navy. And where I’ve lived the vast majority of my life here. Lastlyiest lastly, there’s the simple fact I love it here. 

Please note: I’m hardly offended by Mr. Rudd. Actually, I find him quite witty, and the piece is quite clever. It did give me pause to consider, though. Which is worth a heap of oysters, shucked by hand along the Edmonds beach: my happy place.

Keller Williams Family Reunion 2015

Carl Setzer

Most of last week I spent in Orlando, taking part in Keller Williams Family Reunion. Around 15k real estate agents from all over the globe deepening our knowledge and celebrating the unique culture that is KW. It’s an amazing event. I came away with tons of new ideas, which I’ll flesh out more fully in the coming weeks. Evernote got a lot of use!

Friday I took what I called a Decompression Day where I focused on organizing my thoughts, mail and desk. And, since my son had a half day, I got to just hang out with him. We went to Donut Factory, where we’ve wanted to go for awhile. Lynnwood area friends, this is worth your time. Very tasty with an eclectic blend of flavors. So much so that decided to go again yesterday, too.

Florida was great. I lived in Orlando for a few years back in the 80s. The city grew hugely in my absence. I couldn’t navigate without GPS. There were familiar elements, though: trees, sand, the lizards (I really delight in them). It’s as pretty as I remember. I managed to breakaway out to Cocoa Beach, one of my favorite spots, where I was able to watch the SpaceX launch. Very, very cool!

Getting home, Seattle’s weather was dramatically different, but that was great for me. I love Florida, and was thrilled to visit. Seattle, though, is home. The cool morning mists make me content. Once that sense of home is achieved, one’s relationship with place is forever changed.

Thinking fitness

Carl Setzer

Fitness is a key part of my life. Now, I’m as vain as anyone, but that didn’t push me enough. About a year ago the long term issues of being chronically overweight became very clear. Getting winded by a single flight of stairs, seeing friends deal with the painful effects of diabetes, and the continued tightening of my clothes; all this frightened me. And the motivation birthed.

I’ve focused mostly on fitness apps and food trackers. Between eating less and significantly upping my exercise, I’ve been able to shave off nearly 30 pounds from my heaviest, and 20 in the few months since I became serious. This makes me proud, though I realize I’m only just getting started.

I have another 10-15 pounds more to lose to reach a healthy weight. Yet I’ve been stuck at my current weight for a few weeks. My workouts haven’t been as rigorous, but not a huge drop. The great weakness, though, is diet. I’ve lowered the quantities of food, but not changed the quality. Tracking my food shows a diet high in fats, salts and sugars, and low on nutrients. So, quality:  my next major focus. Time to be more thoughtful with my eating. Balancing out my diet should push me to the next stage.

An Evening At The Lynnwood Rollaway

Carl Setzer

My son’s school had their final skating party of the year this evening. My memory calls this the Lynnwood Rollaway, though it’s now called Bowl & Skate. Whether Rollaway is legit, or some weird memory glitch, I’m unsure. Whatever the name, these are fun, though it’s different for the kids than the adults. Catching up with the other parents: fun. For me, though, there’s one additional piece. This rink is where I spent a great deal of my pre-teen and early teen years. Many formative moments happened here. It’s a key part of my, as well as the city’s history. I wonder how many first kisses, romances, fights, breakups, ups and downs, all within these same walls.

Oddly, to me, the space looks very much the same. Now, that could just be a memory trick. Memory is quite malleable. But, the visual cues seem unchanged.

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I’m not sure how clearly these pictures will come through, but you should at least glean the basic idea. Anyway, it’s pleasing to me that the space has maintained that essence, and that my son gets to experience it…at least as close to that as we can. History continues.

This Upcoming Weekend

Carl Setzer

As a parent, you get to have these zany birthday weekends. Tonight we’re going to Red Robin, tomorrow to a friend’s backyard, and then Sunday we’ll be spending several hours at the Lynnwood Pool. Cake and pizza in extreme, I’m sure. Fortunately, the back-to-back pool parties might give a chance to explore the other elements of the fitness center. I’ve seen the space via pictures and from the street. So, maybe, I’ll get in there and explore the space. Burn off some of those zillons of calories.

I’ll also try to fit in a ride or run (or two).