Recently, I was in Turkey, and the designers of the airport in Istanbul added signage and lines, thinking that this would do any good whatsoever. It didn’t. The lice got through.

Now, before I get hate for this being something I should just shrug off, let me explain why I am so miffed by the practice.

• It accomplishes nothing.
  
  • If I am being generous, perhaps the only reason people engage in this practice is the fear of someone else taking their luggage intentionally or in error. This holds weight with me as the precious bag could just as easily get lost before the carousel or be taken before one gets to the carousel. That’s it. That is the only positive I can identify, and even then, it is a stretch.
    
• It blocks the view of everyone except the precious few who decided to stand one inch from the carousel, which elicits much frustration from the rest of us rule followers who now cannot see anything.
  
• It makes it impossible to collect your luggage when it eventually rolls around.
  
  • If you are taking on the role of luggage lice, you have to complete to swing your bag off the carousel with other lice standing right next to you.
  • If you are patiently waiting behind the line and somehow spot your bag, you then have to push through the lice barrier and then apologise for bashing into them with your luggage.
    
• It is simply inefficient. I have been to countries or airports where people actually honour the stand-off line (I’m not sure what it is called, but I’m going with it for the purpose of this rant). Where it works, it is a glorious thing to behold. Luggage is quickly and easily identified. One simply walks up to intercept it on the carousel and then removes it without fear of causing any bystander incapacity.

Now, to be clear, I’m not staying up all night worrying about this, just so you know. After getting this off my chest, I will return to the regular tone of my posts – positivity and inspiration. But it had to be said, and I feel some lightness now that my angst has been transferred to this post.

That’s it.

That’s the post.

Luggage Lice.

I attend a local spin studio pretty much every weekday, usually at six in the morning, but for some reason, this message on the mirror jumped out at me on January 3rd. The image in the picture shows the caption, “p.s. YOU got this”. As I walked out of the studio that morning, I thought I would do a quick reel on Instagram, noting how much that statement resonated with me and, for the start of the year, how much it could mean to others. I was nervous to do the recording, and it felt super awkward.

I did not expect the reaction that I got after I posted the reel.

Listen. I am here to tell you that I feel like an imposter offering advice to anyone, particularly about getting things done or productivity. I am pretty sure I would long ago have received the award for the world’s best procrastinator, but for the fact that I have never gotten around to applying. 

But that is not the point, is it? So what is?

Well, I can say that no matter what you are experiencing, countless others are experiencing the same thing. Many have overcome and are thriving, and many others are experiencing far worse and do not know where to turn.

I’ve been inspired by the friends or acquaintances who saw that reel and others since and reached out to me, offering encouragement or a kind word. I’ve realised how many people out there need encouragement and affirmation. We all do, don’t we? That morning, I thought, ‘Let me do something a bit different and nerve-wracking for me,’ and recorded the reel and shared it, thinking it was the worst, most cringeworthy thing I may have ever done on social. I found that my anxiety around doing that was shared by many who, like me, may keep an anxiety about doing something that ultimately limits potential.

Thank you for the support, and I’m so glad the message was timely or inspiring for some and that you took the time to let me know. That makes me happy.

The ‘why’ probably has many answers; I may expand on this in a future post.

Mainly, and related to the photo above, I ended up devoting a ton of time over the past two-plus years to the preparation for my year as District Governor of Rotary District 7020 and then, of course, the ‘year’ itself from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024.  I started this blog many years ago to work on becoming more consistent at writing, and I found that over the past few years, I was overwhelmed with writing and leadership related to my Rotary journey and had less time to devote to the personal writing that I love.  The truth is I could have found the time, but in the moments between travel and being back home, the business and ‘life’  came first.  

How do I restart? Well, this is it.  I’m hesitant to say that I resolve to do a weekly post going forward as I know if you scroll through the blog, you will see where I have made this commitment before, but I am going to give it my best, and at the end of the day that all we can do in anything, right?  I’m restarting as I’ve recently had a spark in me that caused me to reflect on ‘what’s next’, and I realised that my writing was missing and something that I needed to come back to it. Sparks are good things.

How do I continue with consistency?  Well, that is the hardest part.  I have been here before, laying bare my failing in consistently writing and promising to get back at it, even if no one else reads my posts.  And then I’ve stopped.  Consistency, I think, is not something I can promise; it is going to be something that I hope to look back on in a few months or after a year and say, damn, I did it.  I posted consistently.  I’m hoping that happens, and I welcome your feedback and encouragement.  

2025 is right around the corner.  It is like a blank canvas that you can stare at and be stumped by what to paint as perhaps you don’t know how or what to paint.  And what if you mess up? Can you even carry on with the painting?  This spark has motivated me to restart, remember the ‘why’ of this personal writing space that I share with you, and strive for consistency, not to promise it.  Perhaps we all need a spark from time to time to push ourselves to make the most of our time and to leave nothing undone or unwritten that we intend to get to one day.

Today is that day.

I distinctly remember the events leading up to that date. On May 25, 46 year old George Floyd, and African-American man, was killed while handcuffed by a policeman with his knee on George’s neck … for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The footage was horrifying. Gut wrenching. Incredible. Shameful. He couldn’t breathe. He repeatedly said that to the officers. So did onlookers.

He couldn’t breathe.

The result was a seemingly involuntary spasm of violence and protest, an un-bottling of pent up rage against systemic racism. I’m not justifying the violence, the looting and the destruction of property that happened. There are so many more eloquent and knowledgable writers who have discussed this at length.

What I wanted to finally write about was why I ended up making the conscious decision not to participate in #blackouttuesday on any of my social media channels, and how it has bothered me ever since June 2.

What was #blackouttuesday? From a post on the Today Show website, it was initially created by two black women music executives, Jamila Thomas and Brianna Agyemang, as a day to stop and reflect with the hashtag #TheShowMustBePaused. “In response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless other Black citizens at the hands of the police, #TheShowMustBePaused is an initiative created … in observance of the long-standing racism and inequality that exists from the boardroom to the boulevard,” a statement from Thomas and Agyemang on the movement’s website explains. “We will not continue to conduct business as usual without regard for Black lives.” This morphed into a general movement outside the music industry to pause, reflect, educate on anti-racism resources, and consider donating to relevant causes. It took off, and I didn’t join in. Why?

I’ve thought a lot about this since June 2. I believe I did not post simply because so many were posting. It is a stupid reason but this post is about honesty, not perfection. I overthought the action of posting the black screen image and not the reason behind the action. I thought that my participation on that day would not really amplify anything, it would be drowned out by all the other signals from others. Of course by the next day I thought that was a pretty dumb idea. If anything good has come of me not posting then, perhaps it is this post now. Certainly not to make up for it, but to acknowledge the moment, the movement, and my analysis of my reasoning for not posting on June 2.

And to acknowledge the systemic racism and often subtle ways this is experienced by so many of my friends, family, and employees, ways that I will never experience or fully understand.

Some links to consider:

103 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
Anti-Racism Resource List
13 Documentary (Netflix)
Black Lives Matter

In this blog ‘off to college’ post I won’t offer the same type of advice as I did for high school. I’m going try to give a simple piece of advice taken from a journalism class some three decades ago and repurpose it to encourage Ryan to embrace life time learning.

Ask the following five questions; Who, What, When, Where, and Why.

My encouragement for Ryan is not to just ‘be’ in class or ‘go’ to the school. Ask questions.

• Ask, who. Who built that building, who does that monument memorialize, who designed that landmark?
• Ask, what.  What is the purpose of that, what is the author trying to express, what was the history behind an event?
• Ask, when. When was that built, when did that happen, when did those beliefs change, when did that conflict start?
• Ask, where. Where did that artifact come from, where is the library (lol)?
• Ask, why. Why did that revolution start, why did that school of thought emerge?

Its OK also to ask, how. How am I doing? How do I complete this project? How do I manage my time?

The five W’s (and ‘how’) are invaluable in building a news story.  Hopefully they will also help write a successful college career, and beyond that, a life of enquiry.

A few weeks ago my niece and nephew pitched an idea to my wife and I. They had started a small business in their neighbourhood collecting the recyclables from nearby homes. Having gotten into a nice routine there, they were ready to branch out into our subdivision.

Impressed? Yep, I was. We signed up, and, as the annual AGM of our homeowners’ association was coming up, we helped them distribute info to other residents and they signed up another customer in addition to us.

Their pitch was compelling.

Uncle David, you recycle already, but how about this. For $25 per month, we collect your recyclables every Sunday morning, which, by the way, you do not have to separate, and we will return the bin to you by Saturday evening, washed. Now you do not have to take your recycling to the drop location or keep three sorting bins in the utility room. We got this.

I love so much about this story and their small business. It will teach them many lessons that they will carry forward through life.

• AN IDEA – They had an idea, based on a real need in their community. They worked their business plan and they started their business.
• ACTION TO START – Where so many wannabe entrepreneurs stop, they persevered. They took action to start the business that they had thought about. The vast majority of us never do.
• EXPANSION – After getting their immediate area sorted out, they looked to expand their operations. Jack Welch said if your business is not growing its dying. They are not running GE, mind you, but they are growing.
• DEVELOPMENT – Last night we chatted about developing their idea further, into other districts and subdivisions. These kids have big dreams. Dad may have to buy a truck.

I’m super proud of what Luke and Jade are doing. Paper runs are not a thing here. At 12 and 14 years old, in a time honoured tradition, they have chosen recycling as their modern day paper run.

When I was a kid an impact to the head and any resulting dizziness or headaches were just a part of life and not given much attention unless seriously debilitating. Times have changed for the better. In large part this is due to the awareness of the cumulative effect of head injuries in sports such as American / Canadian football and rugby. For an excellent insight into the long-term nature of repetitive head injury, I can recommend the film Concussion, starring Will Smith. The protocols that have been established over the years for injuries on-field have been extended to the wider campus, and it is impressive.

Within minutes of this accident, Taylor had been taken to the school medical centre where she completed a Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 3 (SCAT3) test, the result of which indicated she was experiencing 19 of the possible 22 symptoms. With this result, the school immediately instituted their head injury protocol which includes close monitoring in the health centre on day one, and a daily repeat of the SCAT3 test until she is symptom-free. She was also immediately banned from all screens including phone screens, which for a teen meant immediately assigning a friend to keep her Snapchat streaks going. Priorities! When the test results are normal (hopefully soon), the school then institutes its Return to Learn programme with respect to classes and school work missed while on screen restriction. This involves the active participation of the Academic Support Office at the school in a holistic approach to bringing the student back up to academic ‘speed’ after pulling them back 100% to allow the brain to recover from the injury.

Obviously, the protocol for diagnosis, management and return to academics has come out of painful and dangerous lessons learned over decades. As parents, while we wish we could be there to hug Taylor and comfort her during this downtime, but we are so pleased that the school our kids chose to attend is extremely proactive and supportive in the area of concussion and head injury, no matter where or how the injury was sustained. It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway, that we are so very grateful for the enormously caring and supportive team at the TCS student medical centre, the academic support office, residential life staff, and her always caring and supportive advisor. Thank you!

In the future, by the way, all limbo will be demonstrated on foam pads!

Photo from: http://www.athletize.com/peyton-manning-wallpaper/

Peyton observed that decision-making is the currency of a successful business leader, and that to help leaders make decisions they must have people around them who will give unqualified answers and critiques.  Honest opinion from the team will help a leader implement the vision for the enterprise.

However, as expected, life, and business, is never a straight line.  It is leaders with vision, leaders that Peyton calls ‘Game Changers’ who tend to prevail over the competition.  What are traits of a game changer?

1. Game changers thrive on discomfort.  Being comfortable is a dangerous place for a leader.  It’s probably an indicator that something is about to come off the rails.  Discomfort motivates the leader.
2. Game changers prepare, prepare, prepare.  Peyton reviews tape intensely, works out obsessively, and strives to study all variables so that on game day he is as ready as possible for whatever the opposing team may bring into the stadium.  business leaders, as with sports leaders, should prepare obsessively.
3. Game changers invest in a coach to keep them growing. As soon as someone stops wanting to be coached, taught or mentored they are in trouble. The landscape of the sports field changes, just as the landscape of your business.  Coaching keeps you on the top of your game.
4. Game changers instill trust. Trust does not come from the position occupied by the leader.  It is earned by example and over time.  The leaders role is not there to offer hope to the team, they are there to offer help.
5. Game changers stay stimulated.  Complacency does not keep company with a leader.  Leaders are constantly learning, self evaluating, and evolving. How do we as leaders move our company chains?
6. Game changers are master observers.  They constantly search for and identify points of meaning that the competition may overlook.  They often get lost in the intense focus of figuring things out.
7. Game changers develop relationships.  A leader understands the sustained change that comes from their relationship with the people they lead.

Are you a game changer or are you a Monday morning quarterback?

Basically, Seth Godin thinks we are wasting the chance of a lifetime.  The book, in his words, is “an urgent call to do the work we’re hiding from, a manifesto about living with things that might not work and embracing tension when doing your art.”  It continues his long term theme of embracing the tension, knowing that the anxiety before a decision is risk feedback and a visceral call to do great things.  Mainly, it is a continuation of his manifesto to ‘ship’ your work.  Realize that perfection is the enemy of productivity.

It’s not a heavy read.  It is somewhat magazine like in its composition.  Lots of short stories or profiles to kick you in the proverbial butt to grasp on the opportunity that is the age we live in.  And opportunity is everywhere.

The book is designed to share.  In fact the back page has a place to write your name in before passing it on to another reader.  I have given a copy each to two people who I have received inspiration from in the past.  The gift was a small ‘thank you’.

I want to give one of my readers a book also.  My way of saying thank you for your encouragement, your patience between my posts, and your feedback (public and private).  My super scientific way to give the book away is to have a random drawing from the names of those who comment on this post, either on the blog directly or on the Facebook feed.  It will not be restricted to just Cayman readers, I will send it to you wherever you are.  You just have to promise to give it to someone else after you are done with it.

Now I’m starting to get that knot in my gut.  The fear is creeping in.  Anxiety.  What if no-one writes a comment?  This might not work.

I’m going to do it anyway.  It’s my turn.

Comments are welcome and encouraged.

Rather than verbatim reporting, my recap series will be short key takeaways of the speakers and events each day.  Read on.

Monday, November 17, Sessions

Keija Minor – Brides Magazine – State of the Industry

Keija defined the luxury wedding market as a wedding with a budget of over US$80,000 (vs US$28,000 average for non-luxury segment).  She delivered a statistics compendium focussed on this luxury segment.  Some highlights of the avatar of the luxury wedding client are:

• Dated for 2.5 years
• 17% gave the groom an ultimatum to propose
• 80% start with a budget and 80% of them increase that initial budget
• 41% get married in a house of worship vs 31% for non-luxury segment
• 66% add cultural elements to the ceremony
• 41% do not use matching bridesmaids dresses (yay)
• 17% include their pets
• 11% have a man-of-honour
• 27% shoot boudoir photos
• 83% connect with hotel or venue using social media vs website
• 51% shoot a ring selfie
• 73% save images to Pinterest
• 95% use social media to plan
• 92% of guests posting on social will use a special hashtag if requested
• 30% of couples are using special hashtags
• 11% ask guests NOT to post pics on social media
• 56% ask for cameras to be put away during the ceremony

Ron Ben-Israel

Ron, of Ron Ben-Israel Cakes, discussed, well, wedding cakes and wedding cake designs.  A very visual presentation, this one is harder to blog on, but suffice to say Ron’s work is incredible.  He has learned by doing, by saying ‘yes’ to commissions then figuring out how to do it, and by creating tools and techniques to achieve results that propelled him to the top of the industry. Ron passed on a few items of business wisdom.  Of note:

• Keep to a schedule.  You have made a commitment to someone when agreeing to a time so stick to it like everything depends on it. It greatly enhances your reputation.
• Make people (your clients and others in your chosen profession) feel well taken care of and are supported.

Bryan Rafanelli – Rafanellli Events

Bryan has earned his place as one of the top 10 wedding designers in the United States.  Much like Ron, he spoke on key things

• Imagine the team you would want to work with and have around you then invest in what it takes to create that team, that vision of your future.
• Own the client.  By that he means, be the key contact point.  Control all the elements of introduction to other vendors such as photographers, venues, etc. It is your reputation on the line.
• Don’t seek to ‘brand’ the event as your company party.  It is the clients party that should exude a sense of style  and a service standard that does the branding work for you.
• His advice for planners and others in any professional service business is to charge by the hour.  Spend time to completely know your costs and charge accordingly, not how the guy down the road is charging.
• You have to value your time and your reputation and actively manage both.
• There are 1,850 billable hours in a year after holidays, etc.  When each is gone without billing, it is lost revenue that you cannot make back up anywhere.

Simon Bailey

Simon is a professional speaker.  I first heard him back at Engage09 and was fairly well blown away.  I have not followed his professional development since then and am impressed by the growth he has made in his platform.  He is truly impressive.  When I heard him last he spoke on personal brilliance.  While this is still a background theme, he is more focussed now on ‘owning the moment’.  What does this look like?

Own it:

• What is it you want to go after?
• You are the only one who can get that for you.
• You will get to a place where it is time to make the leap to the next level.
• Let things go.  What does not work, what is holding you back, what inhibits you form your potential… let that go.

Create it:

• What piece of the goal will you own next year or in the future?
• Work to acquire a circle of competence around you.
• Know that you cannot create this desired future without letting go of your past.
• You should not want all the business.  You should want all the business that you deserve.

Sustain it:

• It is often whom you think that you are not that holds you back from who you could become.
• Drop the, “I’m not … “ and start saying, “I am … “.
• Be you.  Show up.  Be present.

He offered the advice that small business in particular should consider having a small advisory board that meets every 90 days.  This board should comprise a person with a legal background, a person with a financial background, and a marketing person, at the very minimum.  These three to five people are not there to advise you on your business.  Rather, Simon flips the normal advisory board on its head and suggests instead that the board be mined for ideas and information on what is happening in their worlds.  What are the innovations, the challenges, the opportunities they are seeing.  They are often the smoke signals of similar changes coming down to the your particular industry.

As always, Simon offered up some great quips.  Some of my favourites:

• The letters used in the word ‘listen’ and also spell ‘silent’.  When you are silent you are open to what may come out of the conversation  You connect, and connections are the currency of the future.
• It’s not about always pushing out, it should also be about the pulling in.  Engagement should be about asking questions, creating connections, helping others develop.
• E-commerce is transitioning to R-Commerce, the recommendation economy.
• Customer service is dead.  It is now all about customer love. Moments. Perceptions. Memories.

Mindy Weiss

Mindy is a world renowned planner.  She shared several of her experiences and challenges.  What is really interesting to me on hearing her speak, is how the problems and challenges that the top level of planners have often do not seem that far removed from the everyday challenges of the rest of the industry.  Mindy spoke on highlights she is seeing.  Some of these include:

• Twinkle lights.  Love them or hate them twinkle lights are back in fashion.
• Less is more.  Don’t overwhelm.  Simplicity is beautiful.
• Shades of green and white.  Bold colours have taken a backseat and will continue to do so into 2015 as muted pastels take on increasing prominence in wedding design.

Mindy is a hilarious speaker (she used my favourite word – Redonkulous – in her talk after all) and she wrapped up her talk with a top 10 list of things couples ask planners.  Suffice to say that the list is best kept within the four walls of the conference hall.

Hopefully there is some information in this and the following recaps that is interesting to you.  Nothing beats actually attending an engage event (or a similar high level learning event in your industry).  However, through this three part recap series I hope I can give some insight in to the energy, passion and spirit of this diverse and inspiring group of speakers.

Feel free to ask questions or seek more information from me through the comments link on this page.