chrishancock789

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On a day when I started listening to Jocko’s book
After having dipped back into Seal training with Goggins,
A couple of hours removed from a run or swim
Or whatever it was that I did through that thick tropical air,
I got to sit down for an online training.

To honor what I heard from Jocko,
“I’m owning the venom I’m about to spew.”
It’s mine, all mine, not because of someone else,
Me. I don’t think Goggins meant anything like this when he said,
“Do something that sucks every day.”

There is no place for hypocrisy in leadership,
Starting with the end in mind suggests a direction, purpose
It is not an excuse to dump a bunch of cookbook ideas on a faculty.
Leaders should practice what the preach,
Proofread, and be proficient at using technology for instruction.

They should know what it feels like to be on the learning side,
They should suffer, listen, and get out of the way
Because the trenches are where we are right now,
Their plans are full of gaps, weak on meaning, and
Inappropriate for the needs of their teachers.

Not to mention, they quoted a douche of the highest magnitude,
Someone more suited to work with the orange one or the doctor in NJ.
I don’t understand leadership. I’ve known so few,
The best never having legitamate authority. Unfortunately, those
Who do are puppet managers, they are puppets who manage.

They don’t communicate.
They don’t respect divergent thinking.
They follow predictible, safe, fraidy cat decision making
And it shows when they come out of their litter boxes,
When they design bull do-do trainings.

Others may have benefitted from this learning experience,
I lost my commitment after the opening quote,
Only to drift into Jocko land,
The Goggins-sphere,
And dreams of running in the 99% humidity.

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Poles will fall.
Wires will snap.
Power will go out, but
None of that matters
When you ain’t got a pot to piss in.

Or number two for that matter…

It’s that way this year,
Everything seems against us.
Little gnats here, swarms over there.
The end seems so far away.
Hopefully we make it.

I’m suggesting a shovel for the duece.

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So many dudes challenging for the money,
Younger and middle career types,
The old heads are all out of the running.

A little different than our run this morning
When the youngsters were all sleeping
And us long in the tooth runners were slogging along.

We made our way over the hills,
Around the trees, and through the humidity
In such a laid back manner. Wonderful.

This PGA is anything but relaxed,
The energy high, the competition tight.
Ah, those youngsters… Wonderful.

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How does one know when age is setting in?
Why can’t there be some definitive number?
I’d like to know.
This week started so great,
A couple of quick runs, two good workouts,
Then,
Zzzzzz…

Lots of food, plenty of water, really good sleep,
But the tropics are pumping that humidity
And I’d like to blame my late week malaise on that,
I fear, however, the time is catching up with me
The runs? Too fast. The lifting? Fit for a kid.
Maybe I am one of those domino dots,
In line for the inevitable fall.

Eff that, the last two run, solid,
Quick for an old guy.
Instead of beating it up with iron,
A good amount of stretching, maybe adding some suppleness,
Flexibility… I’ve never been known for that,
Physical or mental, it’s nice to improve both of those.
Yeah, I’m getting older.

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A couple of days in the mess
Brought a great deal of stress.
Wondering what of the PIAA
And whether they’ll convince the governor to let kids play.

Really, it’s been a difficult week,
Angry weather testing anyone who might be meek
With hurricanes and thunderstorms acting gruff,
I’ve decided that for 2020, I’ve had enough.

Four hours, no power, which is really nothing, I’d say,
My friend has been without electricity for nearly four days.
Hopefully this weekend will be calm, we could use a break
Because I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

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Hustle,
More important than talent?

Hustle,
More valuable than being right?

Hustle,
A super usuable skill for leaders?

Hustle.

You guys need to hurry up,

Make some decisions,

Show why we elected you,

Demonstrate some moxy,

Hustle.

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I.

Even with COVID
Education never stops
Learning is the way

II.

Life requires effort
All habits require tending
Practice mindfulness

III.

Keep finding nuggets
Even outside of buildings
To learn is to live

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It was probably around 1982 when I was in high school. The car I was sitting in was being driven by my driver’s ed partner and she was pretty unsure of how to tame the big block that was in the retired police car donated to my school for our class. We were looking at the cones, that didn’t seem spread out enough for our car to pass through and certainly not with my friend behind the wheel.

I decided to break the rules because starting and stopping the way that we were had lost it’s novelty. I reached over and turned on the radio. Don Henley’s “Dirty Laundry” played and the car started moving with more confidence. I suppose my partner needed a distraction to keep her foot from mashing the break. We began passing through the cones without any fear. She was doing a great job. All things end, though, and it was all good until the wrestling coach, our instructor, yelled on the walkie-talkie from his ground control tower to turn the radio off.

We went right back to the herky-jerky ride as before.

Tonight, I was sitting at the computer and struggling to come up with ideas. I’m so far gone that I’ve resorted to trying to figure out what is going to happen with the start of school and there is still a month for the most recent plans to be amended. I’ve lost it.

Then, a couple of things happened. First, my wife shared some great stories from her family that were passed on to her by her aunt and uncle. They were new to both of us and we could only smile because they seemed so unbelievable in our lifetimes. It seems that even though we grew up many states apart, it is entirely reasonable to believe that our families have been paralleling each other for a couple of hundred years. Crazy, huh?

The second was “Dirty Laundry” coming through my little JBL speaker. The coincidence of the song, matched with the myths and facts of a family history was too much for me to ignore. My mind is racing and the floodgates will be open for the next couple of days.

Lovely.