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Month: July 2021

Work that System

Published by on July 27, 2021

For the past few weeks I’ve been wearing around the self preservation seven hat, and I continue to learn more and more things about myself. You could say that things have been making more sense lately.

I thought of the phrase “gaming the system” while we were in Boulder a couple of weeks ago. I looked the phrase up, and it unfortunately has negative connotations.

However, the phrase “working the system” has positive connotations, so I went with that. Here’s how it’s fleshed itself out in my life. If I find myself within a system that has loopholes (that are both legal and ethical), there is something within me that wants to take advantage of those loopholes. It’s why I’m so big into travel hacking with credit cards. It’s also one of the reasons I was so excited for Mandy’s new job. It gave us the opportunity to both have a flexible schedule, which is so great for our lifestyle.

I recognized this during a couple of moments from our trip out west as well. A few months ago I opened up a Brex credit card. It was a promotion targeted at small business owners. I ended up with 80,000 points. I would normally use points for travel only, but this time I decided to cash the points out. I redeemed 30,000 points, which gave me $300 on the Brex card. I then used that cash at restaurants on our trip. Towards the end of the trip Mandy figured out what I was doing. She said she had noticed that I was way more laid back than normal when spending money. It was true. Normally I get a little uptight spending money, especially when I don’t think it’s necessarily a good deal. Jackson, WY, was especially pricey. But this way I was offsetting the expensive prices. I was getting free food – I was working the system!

The second moment came a few days into our time in Yellowstone. For those of you who don’t know, Yellowstone in the summer is very crowded. In the weeks leading up to our trip I heard that record crowds were going to be visiting the National Parks this summer. I confess that there was a bit of dread. And those first two days we truly experienced the crowds, and it wasn’t great.

So the third morning I woke up early and was out the door by 6am. I had the park to myself. I drove around Yellowstone Lake, occasionally stopping to watch the sunrise. Then I made my way into Hayden Valley. This was my first time there, and it was breathtaking. There was the sunrise. There was the steam from the many geothermal features. And then there were so many animals. And there were hardly any vehicles.

You know how you can pay extra at a theme park for early bird hours. I think that can be a good deal when you’re traveling at peak times. Well this is what I was doing, except that I didn’t have to pay a cent. I just had to get up early. The next morning Mandy got up with me, and we repeated the journey. It was a highlight of the trip.

These are examples of what it means for me to work the system. I recognize that you might be chuckling while reading this, coming to the conclusion that this is a bit odd. But it’s me. There’s something inside of me that comes alive when I do this. Now I just have a name for it!

Morning Reflections

Published by on July 6, 2021

For the past several days I haven’t slept well. I’ve had trouble going to sleep, and I’ve woken up too early. So this morning I I was able to sleep in a bit, which was very much needed. I ate breakfast and did a bit of reading, and then I went outside to work. I pulled weeds in the front flower beds, then I used my trusty Echo Trimmer in the front and back yards. Finally, I swept and bagged everything, and then used the blower to finish things off. Everything looks very nice.

By the time I had showered and dressed, it was a little after 10:30. Much of my work day is gone. But that’s ok. Here’s why.

As I was working I was also listening to a podcast. The podcast is Dave Barnes’ and Jon McLaughlin’s Dadville, and in the episode they interviewed Jon Tyson. I was reminded that I need to come back to Jon Tyson more frequently than I currently do. I would describe Tyson as a dude who is fully alive and passionate, and I am reminded that I am at my best when I am fully alive and passionate. I’m not talking about putting on a false front that looks fully alive and passionate. I’m talking about doing activities that lead to life and passion as a natural byproduct.

So much of the time we live our lives on auto pilot. We work, we have family time, and we throw in some fun here and there. It doesn’t mean that things are bad. It just means that things could be better. Maybe it means that we’re lacking some meaning or purpose, or that we’re simply getting by.

Jon has been a formative voice in my life for the past eight years, and when I listen to him, something inside me stirs. I remember that I’m made for more. The topic he was talking about in this podcast was intentional parenting. I would guess that 75% of my strategy for helping to form my sons into men has come from Tyson’s work. It’s a topic that excites me.

So what does all of that have to do with me waking up this morning and doing manual labor?

It all fits together. Working outside in the heat does something inside of me. I remember in the moment that this house and this yard are gifts, and I’m meant to steward them well. I feel a sense of pride as I work hard. Listening to an interview that gets me thinking and dreaming also does something inside of me. And now, my guess is that I will get more done in five or six hours of work than I would have in eight hours of work had I started without these activities.

It’s weird how that works, and I might chalk it up to coincidence if I didn’t have a track record of it repeating itself over and over again. I’m grateful for the reminder, but more than that I’m grateful for my current emotions and mindset as I dive into the rest of my day.