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Cowboy Up

Today marks the end of the annual three-week Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Anyone living outside of the Bayou City might think that’s just a small gathering of rowdy Texans whoopin’ and hollerin’ about steer wrestling and saddle bronc riding.

While there is that, this year more than two million people visited the exhibits and midway, and up to 74,000 fans piled into Reliant Stadium each day to see performances by entertainers like Sugarland, Janet Jackson, Tim McGraw, Keith Urban, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, Kid Rock, KISS and Brad Paisley.

Since 1932, the organization with 24,000 volunteers has contributed more than $235 million to area youth. It’s the heart of the city’s charitable efforts and an important ‘gotta be there’ social scene.

My 13-year-old daughter and I took advantage of a beautiful Spring Break day last week to pay $12 to park, drop $20 on games of chance, fork over $30 on food and – the best deal of all – spend just $20 to see CMA Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert.

Shortly after making our way through the entrance gate, I asked Kirsten to stop and turn around. I wanted to look over her shoulder to see if I recognized someone I knew in college. Although somewhat uncertain, I approached the man, said my name, and heard in reply, “David Handler, I know you.”

He immediately introduced me to his wife and two teenagers, and we spent a too quick 10 minutes reminiscing. I told Kirsten how we lived on the same floor in the huge Jester Center dormitory. I also reminded her that I’ve spoken to my kids about ‘the great amateur wrestler who never lost a match’ on many occasions.

My friend said he is an attorney in Houston, having graduated from UT Law School. His daughter smiled, embarrassed yet proud, when I told her what a great man she has for a father. It was a wonderful chance meeting after three decades, and we followed up by exchanging emails. Chances are 30 more years will pass without our crossing paths.

The next time you’re having a down day, think about my long lost friend who is achieving so much in life, and you’re sure to find inspiration. Stephon Breedlove – wrestling champion, attorney at law, family man – is blind. So is his wife.

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Revolutionary Times

Tunisia. Egypt. Libya. The Middle East and North Africa are in turmoil as citizens stand up for their rights. It’s a long road. This quote appeared in today’s NY Times:

“Our task isn’t easy. We don’t have parties, we don’t have a constitution, we don’t have political organizations, we don’t have an effective civil society. We have to create a completely new state and we have to do it in the middle of a war and revolution.” ~ Mahmoud Bousalloum, graduate student and political organizer in Libya

History appears to be repeating itself. Our nation traveled this road 235 years ago. Below are the words of our founding fathers as the American Revolution drew near and citizens revolted against tyranny that inhibited their inherent rights:

“The ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages, is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy.” ~
 Benjamin Franklin

“It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people’s minds.” ~ Samuel Adams

“That these are our grievances which we have thus laid before his majesty, with that freedom of language and sentiment which becomes a free people claiming their rights as derived from the laws of nature, and not as the gift of their chief magistrate.”
~ Thomas Jefferson, 1774

“The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.” ~ Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

“Objects of the most stupendous magnitude and measure in which the lives and liberties of millions yet unborn are intimately interested, are now before us. We are in the very midst of a revolution the most complete, unexpected and remarkable of any in the history of nations.” ~ John Adams, Letter to William Cushing, June 9, 1776

“If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight!” ~ Patrick Henry

“The hour is fast approaching, on which the Honor and Success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding Country depend. Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of Liberty – that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men.” ~
 George Washington, 1776

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Lifetime Decisions

The last time I turned on an NBA game on TV, I’m pretty sure Hakeem Olajuwon or Michael Jordan played in it. I watch the NCAA Tournament every year; however, the pros hold no interest for me. Except for the slam dunk competition at the All-Star game… now that’s exciting. Last night’s 28th edition will be remembered for Blake Griffin leaping over a car for the winning jam. I’ll remember it for another reason.

At the end of the broadcast, when you had changed channels or gone to bed, Ernie Johnson read the credits for the production crew. Half listening, I heard the name of a talented gentleman who directed many of the telecasts I worked on as a rising producer. He’s been part of the TNT team since the network launched. Then Johnson mentioned the executive VP… and my mind immediately jumped back to 1988.

You see, in March of that year, my former mentor – who had gone on to become the executive producer of Turner Sports – offered me a job as coordinating producer of the NBA. After much deliberation, including spending two hours in an empty church listening for the right answer, I turned him down. There were many reasons: I liked my job and was starting to work bigger events; I loved living in Fort Worth; I wasn’t open to relocating. The biggest one, though, was the night before flying to the interview in Atlanta, I went on a first date and something deep inside told me that I was supposed to stay near her.

As you might have guessed, that young lady became my wife 15 months later. We have three children. I’ve changed careers a few times during our marriage. She’s supported every one of them. We moved to Houston in 1998… met new friends, discovered new things, found ourselves called to serve new causes. Like any marriage, we share wonderful joy and tragic heartache together.

When I didn’t take the job, Turner hired someone younger than me. He’s apparently done great things the past 23 years: it’s his name I heard announced last night as their executive VP. That moment reminded me that each major decision you make truly does impact many people. Things would have been quite different had I said ‘Yes’ to Don McGuire instead of ‘I do’ to Kathy Lott. I’ve always known my prayers were answered that day. It’s a wonderful life.

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Overnight Success

Kathy and I had dinner two weeks ago at the home of a couple we’ve grown close to the past few years. At the end of a wonderful evening together that included intriguing conversation and a meal featuring delicious pork, our hostess asked if we would like to see her latest paintings. Chris is an excellent artist and illustrator – with several published books – and she wanted to share her recent foray into impressionism.

As she shuffled through various outdoor, still-life and portrait works, I was amazed at her ability to vividly capture subjects on canvas. Being a neophyte to the art world, I asked about one nighttime scene of a bridge with water flowing rapidly beneath it, “How long did it take you to do that?”

“An entire lifetime,” she quickly responded. “It’s my art degree, the decades I’ve spent learning colors and technique, the ability to transfer what I see with my eye to my hand and onto the canvas, and the 10,000 hours I’ve stood in front of an easel. That’s how long it took me to paint that bridge.”

Malcolm Gladwell highlighted the 10,000 hours phenomenon in Outliers, using Bill Gates and the Beatles as prime examples. It’s become the accepted standard for the amount of time someone must put in to become an expert at his/her craft. Gladwell got it right… and our friend Chris is living proof. So, keep practicing.

[Note: Kathy and I commented that night how much we liked the pork entrée. Chris said it was her mother’s dish. A few days later, a note arrived in the mail. Enclosed was the recipe for “Mom’s Tender Lemon Pork Chops.” Those artists… they don’t miss a thing.]

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Good Questions

When our youngest daughter was four, we were visiting friends out of town. She and their four-year-old were upstairs putting on dress-up clothes. The doorbell rang, and the police officer standing on the front porch explained there had been an emergency call from a child at the residence. Mystified as to what was going on, we asked the girls to explain, and ours said: “Daddy told me if I ever need help to dial 9-1-1. I didn’t know which dress to wear, so I called to ask.”

Fast-forward eight years… our soon-to-be teenager is having some challenges with a couple of girls at her junior high. She asks us what to do, and I say, “Be nice, and eventually they’ll be nice to you.” She tries. Things don’t improve. She seeks a different answer. This time she doesn’t call 911; she e-mails one of the counselors at the camp she attended last summer. Seems that young woman told all the campers: “If you ever need advice, feel free to contact me.”

There is wonderful beauty in my precocious child’s inherent trait to take things at face value. More importantly, she’s unafraid to ask anyone anything. That should serve her well eight years from now when she’s finishing college and starting to look for a job. You’ll be a better leader by utilizing her approach when you’re looking for answers. Ask questions. Then ask some more. I’ve seen it work firsthand.

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