My Thanksgiving

I thought for this week’s blog, it would be fitting to write about Thanksgiving. Then I quickly figured out there isn’t much I can write that hasn’t been written before. So I am going to tell you what this holiday means to me and what I like about it.

This is an adopted holiday for me since I migrated to this country about 40 years ago. I didn’t grow up with Thanksgiving traditions and didn’t experience my first Thanksgiving until the age of 18 when I came here. Once I formed our family and we had our kids, this holiday became even more important to me.

We always have tried to have Thanksgiving at our house and make it a big occasion with family and friends. I took the role of cooking all the foods and Sheri has taken the role of making our home beautiful and comfortable for the visiting guests. Yes, most of our family stays for a few days and she has to feed them other meals as well!

In recent years, my daughter has started to help with the food and enjoys it as much as I do. In the last 5-6 years, our turkey has become a deep fried turkey, which I cook in front of everyone on our patio. The act of dropping the turkey (actually lowering it gently) in the fryer has become a part of the tradition of this holiday for us. My sausage and artichoke stuffing is a must have and my son loves my corn chowder soup.

I also ask my kids and/or one of the younger people to specifically talk about what we are thankful for before we eat.

As you see, we have learned to celebrate this wonderful holiday as it has many traditions and the great purpose of bringing family and friends together. We mainly celebrate it to remind ourselves, our kids, our family, and our friends why we are thankful. I personally like to use the word “grateful” to express my thanks and gratitude.

• I am grateful that my parents sent me here to better myself.
• I am grateful that I was able to become successful and have a wonderful life.
• I am grateful for my wonderful wife and kids.
• I am grateful for our health.
• I am grateful to have all of you as family and friends.
• I am grateful that after 31 years of work I can have the time to do the fun things in my life.

It’s easy to be ungrateful for the bad things that happen to us (like cancellation of my medical insurance due to Obamacare) but being grateful for the good things create a positive energy that can change our attitude towards our family, our work, and life in general. As Jon Gordon says: “We can't be stressed and thankful at the same time. If we are feeling blessed we can't be stressed.”

So on Thursday, no matter how you celebrate Thanksgiving, what kind of foods you make, and how you prepare your turkey, take the time to pause and think of all the things that you are thankful and grateful. I am sure you could come up with many no matter what your situation is.

Bossing or Leading?

I have a magazine clipping in front of me under my PC screen which I have had for many years. Before I retired, I used to have it at work in front of me as an important reminder.

I don’t remember where I got this clipping but it has provided inspiration and guidance to me for many years. I still look at it from time to time to make sure I am following the advice.

Unfortunately, I don’t remember where I got this and there is no name on it to give the author the credit.

This small clipping has 15 observations relating to leadership. It specifically differentiate a Leader from a Boss. You may find them cliché but I think they are valuable if practiced.

As you know, I also advocate good leadership not only in business but also in our personal lives with our family, friends and society. These observations can also apply to anyone in any situation.

Let me list them for you first before I go on.

• The boss drives people; the leader coaches them.
  
• The boss depends on authority; the leader on goodwill.
  
• The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm.
  
• The boss says “I”; the leader says “WE.”
  
• The boss says “Get here on time”; the leader gets there ahead of time.
  
• The boss fixes blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown.
  
• The boss knows how it is done; the leader shows how.
  
• The boss says “Go”; the leader says “LET’S GO.”
  
• The boss uses people; the leader develops them.
  
• The boss sees today; the leader also looks at tomorrow.
  
• The boss commands; the leader asks.
  
• The boss never has enough time; the leader makes time for things that count.
  
• The boss is concerned with things; the leader is concerned with people.
  
• The boss works hard to produce; the leader works hard to help people to produce.
  
• The boss takes the credit, the leader gives it.

Again, they may sound simple or cliché but they are very powerful in shaping our character and behavior. I think the challenge is when you are in the moment, which side you tend to gravitate to. We can all agree with these observations but doing them consistently on a sustained basis takes a lot of discipline and courage.

Do you agree?

Automate your Tasks

My last blog was a technology related blog and was about Philips’ Hue. Since some of you were interested in it, I am going to follow it up with another cool technology which also relates to Hue.

This week’s blog is about a software and an app that you can install on your computer or iPhone (not on Android yet) and it will perform some interesting tasks.

It’s called IFTT, which is an acronym for “If This, Then That.” It’s also pronounced like “gift” without the letter “g”.

IFTTT is a service that enables users to connect different web applications (e.g., Facebook, Evernote, Weather, Stocks, Dropbox, etc.) together through simple conditional statements known as "Recipes."

IFTTT enables users to create and share "Recipes" that fit the simple statement: "if this then that." The “this” part of a Recipe is called a Trigger. The “that” part of a Recipe is called an Action. The combination of a Trigger and an Action from a user's active channels are called Recipes. The service offers Triggers and Actions for 73 channels (as of now), such as Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, ESPN, Flickr, Evernote, and Microsoft SkyDrive. It also integrates with Belkin WeMo devices and Philips HUE allowing Recipes to interact with the physical world.

I have started using it to see how it works and how helpful it can be. I have set up all of my recipes on my PC which was very easy and quick. For example, I created a recipe that states: If today's stock price for Twitter rises by 1%, then send me an email. You can also pick from a list of thousands of recipes that are created by other users.

Here are a few examples of what you can create:

• When a new book is added to Kindle Top 100 Free eBooks, send me an email.
  
• If it’s going to rain tomorrow, remind me by text to take an umbrella.
  
• When a new pictures is taken on my iPhone, then upload it my Google Drive.
  
• When it’s time for the kids to go to bed, turn the Philips Hue lights into a rainbow colors.
  
• When a new apartment (or anything else based on your criteria) is listed on Craigslist, send me a text.
  
• Every year post a new Facebook status wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.
  
• If I'm tagged in a photo on Facebook, then blink the Philips Hue lights to let me know.
  
• When Facebook profile picture changes, update Twitter profile picture too.
  
• Upload new Instagram photos to Flickr.
  
• Turn a device on or off from anywhere. (Needs Belkin switches in your house.)
  
• Call my phone at a specified time as a wakeup call.
  
• When I text “help”, call my phone so I can get out of a meeting or a tricky situation.
  
• Keep track of a particular stock's daily closing price in a spreadsheet.

I think you get the idea. This is a fun service which can do many things and it can become more useful as more channels are added and more physical things can be controlled. I like to see a GPS service added so based on my location I can have different actions happen. It would be interesting to get a text between noon and 1:00 PM whenever I am close to an In-n-Out Burger. :)

Give it a try, it’s fun.