So I’m about 3 weeks into a 5 week CrossFit bootcamp and I had to write about the lunacy of this workout plan.  I decided to wait until now because I figured I would have quit at this point.

Let me take you through a typical day in the ole Crossfit gym.  Show up at 8:00, do a bit of dynamic stretching, then spend 15 minutes or so finding your one rep max on deadlift.  I’ve never found a one rep max on deadlift in my entire life and this was day one of our workout - couldn’t straighten my back for 3 days.

Fast forward and the instructor will tell you something like.  OK, you have 8 minutes to complete 3 rounds of 10 kettle ball swings (with 25KG) followed by 20 sledgehammer swings against a tire followed by a 300 meter sprint.  If you haven’t done this before, just give a shot and write me back.

I’ll write back with a conclusion at the end of the 5 weeks, but for now take a look at my inspiration to do this 3 days a week below - Sir Charles …

http://www.nba.com/insidethenba/?p=502374&s=5083307&i=938264

More examples of some of our workouts …

Fran:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVBgKB4Gnsw

Fight Gone Bad (1 set, we do 3):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPL72A0-WJs

What is the true measure of community - how it responds when members are in need.

This week I was that member of the community and I have rarely experienced such an outpouring of support as what happened here at the Graduate School of Business.

As many  have probably seen on the news, tornadoes recently ravaged the South with over 350 people perishing.  Arguably the hardest hit state was Alabama.  Specifically, the biggest tornado (about 0.5-1 mile in diameter –http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeUUZQMpZ6U) hit about one mile off of the University of Alabama’s campus.  

I’m a bit far away from campus at the moment but still felt that we could help even from California.  So, four of us from Alabama decided to throw benefit event to raise money for the victims.  We decided to bring a bit of the South to the West Coast and ordered an obscene amount of Fried Chicken, Biscuits, Sweet Tea and PBR from Popeye’s.  In case you were wondering, yes, at least half the crowd had never even eaten Popeye’s - it was truly a life-changing moment on numerous accounts.

At the end of the event on Thursday night, we had about 100 people show up and contribute close to $1500 to support a state that most people have never been too and some couldn’t even place on the map.  However, these awesome people just came out to support their fellow classmates no questions asked.

I can’t thank the GSB community enough for coming out and aiding my home state and my first university with unfailing commitment.  Yep, even the logo at the top was made by a GSB student overnight (thanks Sean Mehra!).  

I hope and pray similar outpourings of support will continue across the world so that Alabama can make this recovery as soon as possible - every bit counts.

If you would like to contribute, please see the link below:

https://www.ua.edu/advancement/giving/donate/?division=2&account=349

First of all, this post should have been made a while back, but I just got the time to sit down and type out my thoughts.

This mainly concerns a great dilemma I heard from a classmate on Easter Sunday.  This classmate was deeply concerned because for the first time they realized that they weren’t sure that this dead man named Jesus actually freaking rose from the grave.  Actually, they were fairly convinced that this sounded preposterous!

One might think this would be a shock to my faith, but I actually saw a ray of light in this inquiry.   Honestly, I wonder how many people have actually deeply thought about that moment when those two women showed up at the grave and He was gone:

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.  And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. - Luke (24:1-3), ESV

Seriously, stop and think about the ramifications of us proclaiming that a man conquered death and was resurrected to join His Father in Heaven.  Take a second …

You got it, you have a picture, long haired guy flogged and crucified on Friday, sky went dark for hours, numerous people watched him die, buried and gone on Sunday - no body to be found anywhere.

What does this mean if it actually happened?  How should we respond?  What should our life look like?

I’ll tell you one thing, it should look different, a LOT different.  I am not living as if I remember this fact each day and I need too.  I need to think hard about this claim I make when I tell people I am a Christian.  I am signing up for a big change if I remember each day that this man, my Savior truly did rise from the dead.  

I do believe this wholeheartedly and I hope people will continue to remind me of this with each passing minute because that moment described above in the Gospel of Luke is not something small, it is something this world cannot comprehend - it is something that should influence my every action.  Our God sent his Son to die for us and He is the only being in history to conquer the grave.

Think about the perceived insanity of those statements and then think about how we should respond if we claim them to be true …

Last weekend, Stanford hosted the MBA Challenge for Charity (C4C) - a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that draws on the talents, energy, and resources of MBAs from nine West Coast business schools to support Special Olympics and other family-related local charities, to develop business leaders with a lifelong commitment to community involvement and social responsibility.  This year, over 1400 students came up to Stanford to compete in four main areas:

•  Volunteerism
•  Fundraising
•  Collegial interaction and
•  Friendly competition

The organization was founded in 1984 and has raised over $5.1 million for Special Olympics and other charities.  C4C today remains the world’s largest MBA non-profit organization.

This year, the 9 schools donated 18,000 volunteer hours and over $500,000 to the event - record highs.

Over the two-day weekend, we compete in over 20 sports - ranging from basketball to ultimate to the spelling bee (hey, ESPN covers it).  The event is topped off by a Battle of the Bands competition on Saturday night with the presentation of the Golden Briefcase - which unfortunately went to USC this year - we will be back with a vengeance for my last year.

However, from the picture you can see our champion Men’s Basketball team which dominated the highest attended event - it drawing hundreds of students to surround the court and heckle the other teams.  Never hurts to have a 2-time NBA champion on your team - thanks Mark!  Mark received by far the loudest ovation and heckling combined.  Mark claims his C4C title ranks right up next to the first victory alongside Shaq and Kobe (not really, but we made him say in anyway).

The notion that one can do anything might be one of the most liberating and simultaneously constraining ideas in the world.  This phrase is something that most of us children hear at a young age and many of us take this dream to heart. However, my generation has seen something that no other has before it - this dream become a reality - we really can do anything, anywhere in almost any area of interest.  The world has literally shrunk to allow us the opportunity to work hard and achieve things beyond the rational comprehension of those that have come before us.

So you may be wondering how this idea is constraining?  It is constraining because the majority of young professionals have decided to find this dream only within their careers.  Many of us (myself included) wrap up much of their worth in their job.  Our careers are considered fulfilling only if we work long hours and continue our “personal development”.  I know I spent many long nights at the Investment Bank just thinking that I had made one of the greatest life decisions ever - fired up to be working at 3am.  Now it was a great learning opportunity, but I was 22 years old, why do I still seek this type of life today approaching 28?

Now, I don’t want to diminish hard work, but rather the idea that work is a lifestyle choice all unto itself - one in which fulfillment is directly correlated to hours worked.  That is a scary proposition - to find your entire identity within your job.  When did society blindly stumble across the trap door that held this ideal?  What happened to family, friends, hobbies, simple fun - what are the real sacrifices?  

If we continue along this path for too long, will we ever stop?  Will we ever feel content or will we simply continue on a journey of never-ending searching for more and more “opportunities”.

Life is just as much about closing doors as it is about opening them - think hard about the choices you make, for that’s what they are - your choices.  Succeed and change the world in your own unique way, but don’t measure your success by triple digit work weeks.

THIS IS HOW YOU SKYDIVE!

So yesterday about 8 of my friends and I decided it would be a fantastic idea to jump out of a plane from 18,000 feet - and all the chutes opened.  

I was strapped to this freaking out of control maniac (as evidenced by this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTuIXHujjOM&NR=1).  I still cannot believe they let me jump out of a plane with this guy, but somehow we made it down.

Enjoy the ride!

Today I would like to reach out to the State of California to get its act together concerning some of its laws.  And, let me remind you that I am coming from a state where I worked for a while on reforming a constitution that was written in 1901 - so I know what bad laws look like.  

At 340,136 words, the Alabama State Constitution is  12 times longer than the average state constitution, 40 times longer than the US Constitution and is the longest still-operative constitution anywhere in the world.

Some of the greats include how it is legal to drive the wrong way down a one way street as long as you have a lantern strapped to the front of your car, how it is illegal for men to spit in front of the opposite sex and how you may not have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any, I repeat, any time.  Lastly, my personal favorite applies only to Mobile (a town in South Alabama that celebrates Mardi Gras as aggressively as New Orleans) - it is illegal to howl or hoot at ladies within the city limits.

Now, on to California.  Last weekend I had a little adventure planned to make the four hour drive to Lake Tahoe, relax and ski a bit.  What happened next turned into a 15 hour unforgettable experience.  Now, I will have to admit an accident on I-80 explains about 3-4 hours of hassle, the State of California is responsible for the rest.

Let me introduce you to the chain control law.  I haven’t read the law in detail, but it must read something like this - if one flake of snow sticks to any part of the road, we will require all motorists to put chains on their cars, rendering their top speed 25 mph.  We will enact this law anywhere within 100 miles of Lake Tahoe and an absurd distance away from actual, dangerous roads due to snow.  Now, what makes this real fun is that people get so frustrated after about  5-10 miles of driving on black pavement with chains that they will take them off.  Oh yeah, California has seen this before, they set up control stations every 25 miles - which leads to people having to stop in the middle of a two-lane road and put these things back on - no easy task, more stoppage ensues and a 15 hour drive is the result.

I drive a Chevy Tahoe with All Terrain tires and they still said I had to put these stupid things on my tires - just having them in the car was not enough - only 4 wheel drive can handle the madness that is one eighth an inch of standing snow.  For the record, I didn’t actually need chains until getting into the driveway of the house.

So after this marathon, I know what you are thinking, just want to grab a beer and relax - that’s where part two of the saga begins.  I recently transferred my license to California and unlike most states which can easily afford a license printer at the DMV, California gives you a temporary piece of paper and sends your real one in 6-8 weeks.  You would naturally think this piece of paper would be legitimate - oh no, you would be wrong, no merchants are allowed to take the temporary license as proof of age - so at 27 years old there is actually no way for me to buy a beer except with my passport which of course I did not have on me.

Thanks for an amazing weekend California! 

“Don’t try to win over the haters, you are not the jackass whisperer” - Unknown

Was fortunate to attend a talk with Brene Brown – a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.  She was made famous in a lot of circles for this TED Video …

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

She gave a very compelling talk on the power of vulnerability (repeating some of the TEDTalk) and I wanted to pass along the notes as I thought they were extremely insightful.

• Our culture has slowly started telling us that an ordinary life is not OK, that extraordinary is all that counts
• We live in a constant state of never _________ enough (fill with good, pretty, intelligent, etc.)
• Why are we not vulnerable with people – fear, scarcity, shame, grief, uncertainty
• Vulnerability creates love, belonging, joy, innovation, creativity, gratitude, authenticity
• Vulnerability is not disclosure but rather the willingness to accept the full range of emotions – you must open yourself up to truly enjoy the good, but you will definitely get some bad with it
• Happiest moments in life are typically ordinary moments – notice these, remember these
• We as a culture have learned to NUMB – we drink, eat, watch TV, etc.
• What people don’t realize is that when you numb the bad, you also numb the good
• Innovation is killed if you are not vulnerable
• Perfectionism is not a blueprint for successful innovation – you must put yourself in a comfortable place where failure is accepted and ideas are encouraged no matter if people will think they are stupid or not
• Make a very small list (4-5 people) of people’s names whose opinions really matter to you (this is where the quote at the top comes in)
• If shame is a management style, creativity will die
• Use laughter, song and dance to inspire people
• People love to be a part of something – reminded me of this awesome short TED Video – do it http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement.html
• How do you start being more vulnerable – find two or three people to talk with about your struggles

An Open Letter to Pastor Fred Phelps

I didn’t start this blog to even be remotely political in my views, but the other day I saw something on the news that I could not ignore – a Pastor exhibiting behaviors I see that are completely contradictory to my views as a Christian. 

For those of you that have not seen this, please quickly read the below article about Westboro Baptist Church.  The church, led by Pastor Fred Phelps and made up primarily by his faimly, believes God is punishing the United States for “the sin of homosexuality” through events including soldiers’ deaths.  Members have traveled the country shouting at grieving families at funerals and displaying such signs as “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “God blew up the troops” and “AIDS cures fags.”

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/02/scotus.westboro.church/index.html?iref=allsearch

I don’t even know where to begin, but I will start with what Jesus Christ said were the two greatest commandments:

And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  – Matthew 22:37-39, ESV

I would love for someone from Westboro to explain to me how on earth these actions represent “loving your neighbor as yourself”.  The entire gospel of Jesus Christ centers on the fact that He loves all of humanity and therefore came down from His heavenly throne to live like a man, fight the temptations we fight and ultimately die for our transgressions.  ALL, I REPEAT, ALL ARE WELCOME TO COME EXPERIENCE HIS GRACE.   That’s right, he died for ALL of our transgressions, yours (Pastor Pheps), mine and those soldiers you mock openly. 

I also think Pastor Phelps should mediate intensely on Paul’s words to the Corinthians in his first letter.

“For what have I to do with judging outsiders?  Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside.” – I Corinthians 5:12-13, ESV

I am not claiming to know the hearts of these soldiers or their religious views.  I am simply using Paul’s words to illustrate how we are not supposed to judge those that we do not know on an intimate level – people who we have not shared our faith with.  Pastor Phelps and his congregation travel the nation picketing funerals – I have little doubt that they know these brave men and women well. 

I want to be blatantly clear here, only God truly knows a man’s heart – not us – broken sinners.  We need just as much grace (if not more) than the people who have not yet found their redemption in Christ.  But as Paul says, “God judges”, not us.  As a great mentor of mine Tim Keller says,

“The church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints” – Tim Keller

I pray that Pastor Phelps and his congregation find mercy in their hearts to turn from this wickedness and truly fall down at the cross of Jesus Christ and see what True Love looks like.  Then, I believe their actions will change drastically.

Lastly, Pastor Phelps why don’t you look at the flag for a long time and contemplate the rights the Supreme Court just issued you that those soldiers died to protect.  Without those brave young men and women, you wouldn’t even have the freedom of speech that lets you judge them.  I pray a fervent prayer to my Savior – the one of LOVE and GRACE that died for ALL HUMANITY – that He changes your heart and you give these soldiers the respect they deserve.   For better or worse, you now have a stage and I believe Jesus has the power to change your heart and through this change bring more people to Him – through redemption, through repentance, through grace all will see His glory.

Watch the below video and see the sacrifices that these people make for the Love of their families and Our country.  Contrary to your message Mr. Phelps, I know my God is with our soldiers – gay, straight, black, white, green, blue or red …

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSMlIM9zLio&feature=player_embedded#at=184

Was Jesus Funny?

He could do miracles - think he could crack a joke.  This might be an awkward question that you have never asked yourself, however, it’s something I have been thinking about lately.  If Jesus was fully human (as I believe), then the Savior of the universe was bound to have a sense of humor.   Let’s examine the evidence.

One pastor I was recently listening too stated that it was truly an enigma that there are 17,000 books about Jesus in the Library of Congress and he has only found 1 about Jesus’s sense of humor (The Humor of Christ by Elton Trueblood).

Most people think of this glowing white figure that walked around all day thinking and making astute comments.  But let’s think about it, his disciples were primarily blue collar guys (a lot of fisherman) and we have all hung around in that atmosphere enough to know that jokes are bound to surface.   I’m thinking they wouldn’t hang around this guy as much if he wasn’t fun to be around.

Jesus was also constantly being invited over for dinner parties by sinners and religious people alike.  I think we can all agree this is because he was probably a great guy to hang out with.  This is a defining characteristic of a Christian to me.  Just looking for some friends to eat some wings and watch a football game – crack a few jokes.   Not all of religion is supposed to be super freaking serious.   Enjoy the life Christ has given you, take it easy and enjoy the fellowship He has provided you.

Why don’t we typically hear about his jokes?  As I learned in an awesome class this quarter – different cultures are different.  I’ve lived in some different countries before and I’ll tell you that their jokes just don’t make any sense.  Additionally, we might have just become so familiar with some of the texts that we forget to see them from a different lens.  So, let’s examine some of Jesus comments from a different angle.

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” – Matthew 7:3-5, ESV

Think about this picture.  He’s a carpenter so this is vivid imagery for him.  Think of a small 1/12 inch speck in your eye and then picture a six foot log coming out of the other.  Take a second – pretty funny picture – not laugh out loud in today’s age, but funny.

Lastly, this one.

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” – Matthew 19:24, ESV

See the picture above for the visual of this one.  Just a great joke here thrown out by Jesus.

So, moral of the story is that every so often, read the Bible through a non-serious lens and some things just might jump off the page in a different way.