Thoughts of the Day

There are so many, flitting around my head like hummingbirds.  I don't feel like organizing them, it would take all the fun out it, wouldn't it?  So here are some randomized bullet points:

• I woke up this morning sending all my hatred to the digitized alarm clock screen projecting the numbers 6, 0, 0.  Then I thought of this quote (which, by the way, I can't believe I didn't post here earlier, because it is probably my absolute favorite): "You can often gauge a man's ambition on whether he hates his alarm clock or considers it his best friend." -Thomas Edison.  I love you, alarm clock.
• I've thought a lot today about reaching my goals versus reaching my potential.  Expect a detailed blog posting on this subject at a later date.  Also: religion, and what role does it play in my quest?
• I can't help thinking there's a reason why Max DePree's concept of "intimacy" didn't catch on in other leadership texts (and yes, it's obvious).
• A thought inspired by my readings today: Do I examine what will be important tomorrow and not just what matters today?

• Some wisdom ala Max DePree: "Three of the key elements in the art of working together are how to deal with change, how to deal with conflict, and how to reach our potential."

• During lunch today, after reading a short story about a light bulb, a fully formed speech idea came to mind, complete with three stories, a little anecdote, and a quote.  I felt like a genius- and just in time to try something new for speaking to the Palmer LIONS club next week!  In case I haven't posted it here, this is the quote, and it's pasted to the inside cover of my trusted Franklin Covey: "Don't run through life so fast that you forget where you've been and lose where you're going.  Life is not a race but a journey to be savored every step of the way."  -Kobi Yamada

• I gained copious (how's that for a Word of the Day?) amounts of knowledge today.  I think I now have a good handle on the government's involvement (or lack thereof) in the Alaska FFA, and I definitely understand organics and chemicals much better- thanks Mark Rempel!

• I've discovered "The Moth" podcast recently and I love it.  It's not studying (that I count for hours, anyway) but I think it helps me get in the mode of story telling.
• I got a call as I was leaving work from the president of Wasilla Rotary about speaking there on Wednesday (yeah, this Wednesday, the day after tomorrow).  I hope I'll have this new speech ready by then, although I may not.
• I'd much rather write a new speech than work on my letter of application...which is probably more important,

• I talked myself out of a bad mood today!  I was frustrated driving home because of some mistakes I'd made on a newsletter I produced at work, and I was worried that someone didn't like me, and I was worried about being there for a  friend...and all of this together was getting me all worked up.  So I explained to myself (yes out loud, you don't do that?) that it didn't matter if someone didn't like me, that everyone makes mistakes and that's how I learn, and that I was doing everything I could do and that I was doing my best.  Then I ran a mile, and that helped too.  But seriously, ME=master of my emotions.  At least recently.  At least today.

So now you have an idea what it feels like to be inside my head for a day.  It's pretty crazy in there. :)

Have a great night,

Rachel

What a Gorgeous Day

Hey everyone,
I had to work today (a Saturday) but I didn't mind at all.  I mostly just drove around and then when I wasn't driving I was visiting with farmers at five different farmers markets in the beautiful sunshine.   I am truly blessed to have this internship.

The day before yesterday I produced the "Fresher by Far" newsletter all by myself- start to finish.  A major part of that was interviewing and writing a profile on Bruce Bush of Bushes Bunches.  It was really cool to take a tour by Rhino of his farm and talk to him about its history.  He also had a lot to say about youth in agriculture and their importance, and, of course, rhubarb.

I need to clean the kitchen up a bit before I go hiking tonight (when you get a beautiful day in Alaska, you gotta enjoy it!) Maybe I'll read some out of a leadership book too.

Have a great rest of the weekend,
Rachel

The Problem With Marathons, July's Goal and My Brand

Hey guys,
No work today, I had the day off because I have to work in Saturday and that will busy.  So my plan was to have a studying marathon and catch up on the four hours I was short of my goal last week.  Or at least just log some.

Unfortunately, it just so happens to be a blazingly sunny and beautiful day!  And it's making it hard to concentrate.

The day started out a little rocky as a I started reading a new leadership book (because I finished 25 Ways to Win With People last night) called The Brand You 50.  I'm not giving up on it just yet, but let's just say it's not my favorite.  Tom Peters doesn't believe in correct grammar or sentence structure, apparently.  I'll still work on getting through that book, I think it just starts slow, but in the mean time I started "Leadership Is An Art" by Max De Pree.  It's also a different format from what I'm used to.  But I like what it says about writing in books:

"As a child, I often watched adults study books and learned one of my first lessons about reading.  They wrote in their books.  Intent and involved readers often write in the margins and between the lines."

Wow- this definitely describes me!  If you flip through my leadership books you'll see a lot of yellow highliter and black pen.  I wish I could say you'd get a lot out of reading my notes, but you probably wouldn't- they're pretty nonsensical to people besides myself.  My physics teacher used to tell us to "talk to the text," when we read our physics book (or if, in most cases) and that's where I got the habit. I'm constantly debating the principles, and writing in the margins, "Do I agree with this?" and "How can I say this without sounding cheesy?"

I digress.  After I did a bit of reading, I started to do a handful of other things.  I just felt all day like I had too much to do and it was a little overwhelming.  But when I step back, I really did get quite a bit done, including:

• Almost my entire FFA Application (excluding a few of the harder things)
• Called people to write me letters of recommendation
• Read through and studied the Monday Morning Monitor
• Checked in with Jeff
• E-mailed two people about training weekends
• Sent about a million emails to Rayne (or 3)
• Worked on 35 "Ways to Encourage the Heart" #33- writing thank you notes
• Read leadership books
• Two blog posts
• And I checked again just to make sure the due date for the application is indeed August 1st.

 So, up to now it's been 4.5 hours.  Which isn't bad, I guess.  I just need to not expect marathons to be very successful, because I can't focus after a few hours.  Oh well. I also got some other things done, like scheduling an appointment to get my hair cut and going to the gym (ie, March's goal).

Speaking of goals: It's July!  And it's been July for a while, but I've had this goal and have just forgotten to mention it.  So here it is: Exercise Patience.  Man, this is such a hard thing for me.  And I don't even know if this is the right wording for what I'm trying to do.  Not only am I trying to be more patient about life and the pace it goes, I'm trying to be more patient with others and mostly, control my temper.

Two weeks ago I got into a huge fight with my sister Rita, over, essentially  whether "dating" is defined as "going out" with someone or "going on a date" with someone.  Ridiculous, I know, but I totally lost my cool and it took me a long time to get in control of myself.  At one point I was ranting and my sister said, "Imagine there was a camera right here in the car (we were on our way home from Anchorage) recording you right now, wouldn't you be embarrassed to watch yourself?"


At the time I was mad, so I just thought, whatever.  But now I think, "Oh man.  What if there was a camera.  What if the nominating committee saw me at my worst, my very brattiest,  instead of this responsible, put-together servant-leader I'll be doing my best to present to them.  If they knew I treated my family this way, they would never elect me."

And, that's all very true.  So I'm working this month on that.  As a sidenote, I don't know why it's always my sister Rita who says things that impact me so much- she also contributed a quote to my retiring address.  It's probably because she's so honest- but I appreciate that.

Could this be officially considered a diatribe?  Probably.  I'm going to get to work on the harder aspects of the application now (the letter of application and the resume).
-Rachel

Cool Quotes Collection

Did you know I used to hate quotes?  I don't know why- now, I love them.  Here are a few great ones I've read recently, or had in files, that I haven't had an opportunity to share.  So here you go:

"The servant-leader is servant first...It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.  Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead." 

-Robert K. Greenleaf

"Leaders impress others when leaders succeed, leaders impact others when followers succeed." 

-John C. Maxwell 

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" 

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world.  It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher." 

-Henry Van Dyke

"Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a permanent attitude." 

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"I do the very best i know how- the very best I can; and I mean to keep on doing so until the end." 

-Abraham Lincoln

"To be a leader means...having the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who permit leaders to lead." 

-Max DePree 

"The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when someone asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer." 

-Henry David Thoreau

"Leadership is an art, something to be learned over time, not simply by reading books.  Leadership is more tribal than scientific, more a weaving of relationships than an amassing of information." 

-Max DePree 

Happy Monday, folks!
-Rachel

What I Did Today...

• Went to "work"
• Drove out to the Butte and interviewed the Huppert family
• Learned all about the history of Palmer Produce, Butte Farms, and Alaska Gold Nuggets Produce
• Drove to the Huppert's gorgeous fields and took pictures, like this one:

I may be biased- but is that not the most magnificent mountain you've ever seen?

• Went back to "work"
• Wrote a profile on the Huppert family, to be published in the Fresher By Far newsletter
• Spent my lunch break reading "25 Ways to Win With People," by John C. Maxwell
• Revised my profile piece twice
• Attended a meeting to plan the Governor's Picnic
• Planned next week, which will include another Farmer Profile, a trip to Willow, 3 trips to Anchorage, 19 store visits, and up to 9 farmers market visits, and plenty of opportunities for personal growth.
• Left "work" thinking, 'Are they seriously paying me to do this?  I love my job.'

:)

Rachel

Dreams

Yesterday, I got to pick a sticker to put on my magnet for the sign in board at work (yeah, I know- so legit!)  I chose a green sticker that said, "Dare to Dream."  I thought it was fitting.

In this post, I want to give a shout out to my cousin Kim.  This girl has a fabulous singing voice- one that I admittedly have always been jealous of.  This August, she's following her dream, in the form of flying to California to audition for American Idol.

It would be lying if I didn't say that when I heard this, I thought automatically about the vast number of people who audition for the show and how many get turned down while only a few make it to the finals.  Then I realized what a dumb thought that was!  Whether or not this works out for Kim, I think it's awesome that she's doing it, it's an adventure and in many ways, she's doing it for the same reasons I'm running for National Office.  And I wish her the best of luck.

I'm sure Kim will do well at American Idol auditions- and in life- because she's so optimistic and a total go-getter.  Here's a good description of her: this is her Info Box quote on Facebook (courtesy of Dr. Suess):

"I've heard there are troubles
Of more then one kind.
Some come from ahead
Some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat,
I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have 

troubles with me."

So I've been thinking a lot about Kim going after her dreams, and it's really affirmed in my mind the reasons I'm running for National Office.  Chasing away doubts has always been a struggle for me, I'm cynical, skeptical, and pessimistic..so I need constant reminding.  In my Rotary Speech in Anchorage, I spoke about challenges and how one of my personal heroes, William Wilberforce, overcame his. If you are unfamiliar with William Wilberforce, he was mainly responsible for abolishing the slave trade in Britain the early 1800s.  Here's an excerpt from my speech:

"When I think of Wilberforce’s life and the struggles he went through to achieve his goals, I am reminded of a poem by C.W. Longenecker:

'If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don't.
If you like to win, but you think you can't,
It is almost certain you won't.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.'

I know this poem wasn’t written when Wilberforce was alive, but I’m relatively certain that Wilberforce lived his life in accordance to a similar creed. After all, who was he to change the world?

He was challenging a system that had been in place for over one hundred years, and a system upon which the finances of Britain rested almost entirely. He had no qualifications- he was young, small, sickly, and hadn’t even done well in school. He was also a devout Methodist during a time when religious devotion was looked upon as a social transgression. Yet Wilberforce didn’t allow his circumstances to stop him from achieving the impossible. The secret to his success lies in his tireless tenacity and his unwavering positive attitude."

Thanks again, William Wilberforce and Kim, for reminding me to follow my dreams.  You guys are awesome.
-Rachel

PS: Yes, I do realize William Wilberforce is dead and will not be receiving my thankfulness.  It's okay. :)

My New Job!

Hey everybody,
I started a new job today!  Well, I guess technically I started yesterday, but I didn't really do any work...just became a master at form-fill-outing and policies and procedures.

But today- I got to go on store visits with Patricia and get a handle on what it is I will actually be doing as an intern for the Division of Ag.  And it was very exciting!  I can tell I will learn a lot that will helpful in seeking National Office, not only about agriculture, but about talking to people and being a representative of ag in Alaska.  Yesterday, I read a packet about the Division of Ag's goals and such, and it was full of spectacular information about Alaska and agriculture that I should know, and it was work!

I'm also learning I need to be more outgoing.  On the way out of town today, Patricia asked me, "Are you always this quiet?"   To which I wanted to respond, "Trust me, I'm not quiet at all- you just don't know me yet!"  So I'm working on being more comfortable carrying on conversations (even when I'm nervous!) and I know this job will help me out with that.

We went to Talkeetna today and did store visits for all the stores on the way in.  Once in Talkeetna we visited Cubby's Market and then stopped in to the new location of Kahiltna Birchworks- where Dulce Ben-East and Michael East welcomed us.  It was so cool to get to talk with them and learn more about syrup making- it is such a process!  They have a really neat Canadian evaporator there, and a machine called a "Reverse Osmosis Machine."  I wish I remembered what exactly it did...I think it takes all the water out of the sap before they boil it.  Anyway, I was impressed with their business.  Birch syrup is delicious, by the way.

Another perk of driving all the way to Talkeetna today was that it was sunny, clear, and beautiful, which meant Patricia and I got a fantastic view of Denali (or Mt. McKinley).  I hadn't ever seen it that clearly, so we drove to the outlook to look for a few minutes along with all the tourists.  That mountain is spectacular.  I'm so grateful to live in surrounded by such beauty.

This is kind of a crappy picture of me in front of Denali from two years ago- after Blast Off training.  

Denali it the tallest mountain, in the upper right.  I wish I had my camera today, because there were NO clouds in front of it.  Oh well.

Well, tomorrow I get to go interview a farmer and write a profile for the Division's Alaska Grown newsletter (Fresher By Far).  I'm so excited to have such a sweet job!

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Rachel