Lover of trading, tacos, 3D/AR/VR, cryptos, and most things Japanese

I’d like to talk a minute about the importance of having a support system. Usually, this support comes in the form of family, friends or co-workers. They are crucial to our well being and for living a happy, fulfilled life. I would like to take this chance to thank mine.

For those who don’t know, my life has been turned upside down these past two years. I had a psychotic breakdown and have spent the last two years living in a mental hospital. I am now nearing my release date and couldn’t have made it here without the overwhelming support I’ve received from virtually every person in my life.

I have been spending my home pass time living at my mom’s when I get away from the hospital temporarily. She, along with my stepfather Dick, have opened up their house to me and welcomed me into it. My good friends have been quick to call and offer their help, often making the two hour drive to Pueblo to visit me before I had privileges to leave the hospital. My new bestie Christine has always been there for me, and we’ve spent countless hours chatting away via Facebook or Skype. My son and ex-wife bought me a work outfit to wear for interviews for Father’s Day. My father and mom₂ have been simply amazing. And just today, my sister and her husband took me to the Joseph A. Bank “Buy One, Get Two Free” sale to give me a belated birthday present of some nice clothes. There are so many more people to thank that I could go on and on, but hopefully you know who you are and know that I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. That means you Jason, Jessica, Dana, Charissa, Hsun, Mason, Garrett, Gregory, Steve, John, Tom, Rich, Barry, Scotti, Vicky, Cara, and everyone else I can’t think of at the moment.

Thank you all for your support, I truly do appreciate it deeply, and I wouldn’t be making such a good recovery without each and every one of your efforts. I look forward to putting this phase of my life behind me and progressing on into the future. I have a new perspective on life and am SO looking forward to seeing where this new road takes me. 🙂

The Power of Positive Deviance

• A “positive deviant” is an individual who represents an exception to a social norm

• A community with a problem must discover it’s own positive deviants — people who have independently avoided the problem and thus hold clues to the solution

• This strategy works on many levels, situations, and industries

• Systems pass through four stages on the road to change:

  • prolonged equilibrium – system resists change, though deviants exist

  • invitation stage – chaos engulfs community, opening the door for change

  • self-organization – develops as members look inward for a solution

  • unintended consequences – unexpected solutions and results

– Richard Pascale
via @NickPassig

“The secret is to work less as an individual and more as a team. As a coach, I play not me eleven best, but my best eleven.”

– Knute Rockne

(thx2CF!) #quotes