My Boomerang Moment 

You know what they say..."Spring Forward-Fall Back." Well, that’s exactly where I am headed with this Autumn BlogSpot... back.

I thought I would share one of my favorite Lunchmeat moments of late and tell you all about an amazing thing that has happened in my life. Jack is Back!

The back story to what I'm leading up to may ring a bell. It's Chapter Nine -- or the "Jack Story" as so many of my readers call it. In fact, click here to listen to an audio excerpt:

http://maryblucas.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=94&Itemid=81

So, I sent myself flowers -- and sent the bill to Jack -- back in 1989. Over 20 years ago. Flash forward to 2010 and what do I get in an email last month? A message from Jack. Read over my shoulder here......

Mary,


I sat down and read your book in one sitting and I really enjoyed it. You could tell the life lessons came from your heart and the admiration you had for your father was quite clear. Anyone who grew up in a close family could relate to the connection you had with both your Mom and Dad.


I also came away from the book with two really strong feelings. The first is something I know you know but hearing it from a distant contact will reinforce that awareness. You really did live and practice what you write about in the book. When I reflect on how you handled different situations, it is crystal clear that you absolutely "practiced what you preach" so if you ever need a testimonial as to whether “Lunchmeat & Life Lessons” worked for you, I'm your man!


The second feeling that kept coming back to me, mainly because of my personal experiences early in my career, is the power of culture. The strong culture that existed within your family and how those experiences played a role in formulating the culture that you helped create at work permeates the book. It is critical to the success of a company that its culture is endorsed by everyone. Your life lessons were embraced by your team and co-workers, you embraced others philosophies and collectively created the company culture. As I witnessed that collective culture, was a key to the success of the company.


A “Life Lesson” for anyone joining a company, or becoming part of one as the result of an acquisition, is to understand and embrace the existing culture. Even if you have been charged with change, that change has a better chance of being successful if you first appreciate what already exists. I learned that the hard way early in my career. As a result of that life lesson, I devoted an enormous amount of energy to creating a strong positive culture and one that is also receptive to new concepts later in my career. I do not believe I would have ever realized the importance understanding and accepting a culture before trying to change it if it had not been for those earlier years. Your book confirmed those beliefs for me. Great job on the book, congratulations on a wonderful second career.


Sincerely, Jack

You could have knocked me over with a feather! What a gift! I was so grateful for his kind words and thoughtful observations. I even asked him if I could share his message with all of you and his response was an immediate “Yes”. I have to say I was blown away... I hadn’t seen or heard from Jack in almost two decades and frankly, never really thought our paths would cross again. But through the power of this little book, "Lunchmeat & Life Lessons: Sharing a Butcher's Wisdom," Jack has returned like a boomerang and landed right back in my life teaching me another life lesson or two.

So what can this "Boomerang Moment" mean for you? Two words: Lasting Impact.

Think of the impact you have on other people each day. Think of the personal responsibility you have in bringing your very best self to those around you. In the workplace. At home. In school. As neighbors. In your own communities. To those less fortunate. To those who seldom glimpse the goodness in others.

Do you present your values to the world proudly, even memorably? Do your actions inspire others to do the same? Do you bring your A Game of honesty, integrity, kindness and generosity in all you do?

That's lasting impact. And I don’t know about you... but Jack sure reminded me with his message that I still have a lot of work to do. I think maybe after all these years that's really the greatest gift Jack could ever send me.....way better than flowers: A reminder that during our time together I lived and practiced the very special life lessons that my father taught me. Even 20 plus years later, he remembers ... so I'll never forget.

As my Dad always said:

Thanks for reading, and may you welcome your own returning boomerang soon!