SecondIron's Blog

Sharpening Iron to Live Second

There is no end to Amazing Grace

There is no end to amazing grace… how simple words can calm an anxious heart. It is amazing how the words of one song that many people hear and dismiss as just another song can have such an incredible impact on someone else’s life. For the past few weeks I have been going through an undisclosed health complication that has required weekly visits to a doctor across town. Knowing what I do about the music industry specifically the rotations that radio stations use when playing their A,B, and C’s the odds that I would hear the same song about the same time during the same trip each week are well pretty phenomenal. In the middle of the storm I am holding on Click To Tweet Granted there are certain songs that get heavier rotation due to popularity, ratings, etc. but for the song to land in the same five-minute window  of each weekly journey when the appointments may have been the same time but my arrival differed is proof that even in the era of pre-programmed air play there are bigger controls being used.

11 Leadership Lessons Learned From Dogs

Everyone knows that dogs are our best friends right.  How about dogs being some of the best mentors on Leadership Lessons as well. Here are a few ways that we can learn how to be a better leader from that same dog that licks themselves in public. Meet everyone at the door – dogs love to run to the door and get excited no matter who is at the door.  Hopefully your dog has manners and does not lose its mind when there is a knock at the door as mine does.  As leaders we need to meet people, don’t hide behind a desk all the time with a secretary or team member on guard.  Customer service is key component no matter what business or industry you are in. Lead From Behind – anyone that has a dog know that before they are going to get out in front of you well they have to check the rear.  Nothing says you are part of a pack than a nose up your butt nudging you along.  As a leader we need to push more and pull less, we cannot drag our team to success nearly as well as we can encourage them to succeed.

What Harm Was There in Haring’s Ghost

Is it really art?  Is it really a crime? .. you decide I walk around my local neighborhood regularly to get out of the office and get some fresh air from the cubicle that I spend many of my days.  On these walks throughout the historical district of my city there are many things cultural items that one can take in within a few city blocks. Like most cities and towns in the country there are landmarks that signify events or people in history that make the city what it is today. Whether it is an old abandoned school that they won’t tear down, yet won’t sell to repurpose it either.  Or the eagles that stand guard over the park keeping a watchful eye on the vagrants that are dressed in business suits that scurry around on their lunch breaks. There is a little bit of history and nostalgia on almost every street corner that make this part of town what it is. You have the old movie theatre next door to the infamous tattoo parlor that share space along the street with numerous other small businesses fighting for their piece of the American dream. There is the park with the duck pond that they want to make into a dog park that has a playground for the kids to play. There is the occasional graffiti that can be found in this city as well where neighborhoods have been claimed and turf lines drawn. All of this is part of living in any town in […]