Who Am I? Part 2 | PPE Deals & Bundles | Cisco Switch 3750-X | Square Peg in a Round Hole | News to Start Your Day
Happy Thursday! It’s Friday Eve!
Who Am I? – Part 2 (A personal and CK Story)
[This is Part 2 of a personal story/some CK history. I strongly suggest you read Part 1 first if you haven’t already. This part of my story is deeply personal, and I share it today from a place of vulnerability but also hope.]
When I first stepped out of CK, I really had no idea what to do with my days. No email, no accounting, no meetings; it felt like I had no purpose. I spent a solid month “unwinding” from the tightly wound mess I had myself in. Unwinding practically looked like sitting on my couch watching pointless television while crying off and on all day. It wasn’t pretty at all. Around that same time, Craig’s life had also changed. He had gone from being “a Christian” to a fully surrendered follower of Christ. Perhaps that makes sense to some of you and for others I am sure it is as clear as mud. I guess a simple way to say it is that he’d gone all in on his faith, all in for the life Jesus had for him. That is his story to tell, and perhaps he will share it with you all at some point. For me I can say that such a drastic change in the life of a husband or a wife most certainly will affect their spouse, and I was not immune to the change in Craig’s life.
After crying all the tears, being angry and sad, struggling through all the things that came as I fought to hold on to what I had, I finally reached a place of letting it all go. When I let the pieces of me that I knew sift through my fingers like grains of sand, I was left with what felt like nothing and felt nearly empty. One of the last things I let go was the notion that I needed success to be me, and that I, by my own hands, could control the outcome of my life or of our business. I hope I always remember that moment, alone in my car, praying and crying, letting it all go. “I give it all to You. Whatever You want to do with my life, I’m all in. I’m following. If you want to shut down our business, if we lose everything, it is okay.” Surrender. Freedom.
I was really shocked by the freedom I felt after that day. The shackles of needing to be the best, to achieve and be successful, were gone. I was free to be me, whoever that was.
Within the next year, Craig and I were invited to attend a Christian business leadership course that kicked off with a weekend retreat. I felt like an imposter from the beginning since I wasn’t technically working in the business, then it became even more uncomfortable showing up and being literally half the age and the opposite sex of the average attendee, but I was confident that I had been told to be there. The Lord used that weekend I spent there listening to some amazing speakers, being with seasoned business leaders who desired to serve Him in business, and my quiet time with Him in the Bible and journaling to teach me truths that I live by today:
It is not my job to achieve. It is my job to be obedient (and diligent) in what He asks me to do. I am not worthy on my own. I am worthy because He is worthy. I am given His righteousness because of my faith and His sacrifice, all I have to do is choose to put it on. He gives me what I need, all I have to do is show up ready to serve. Freedom. Worth. Being fully known and loved. It was what I had been searching for all along.
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“I am worthy because He is worthy.” These are the words I would repeat to myself when my past behaviors and thoughts warred with my newfound freedom. Eventually it became more normal to think this way, but it felt very unnatural at first. I had spent a lifetime attempting to prove my worth to my self and those closest to me.
If this, or any part of this story, resonates with you or is something you’d like to discuss further, please feel free to hit reply and reach out. I would love to hear from you.
[Part 3 will be more what I set out to write initially, some tools we use at CK to help discover people’s talents and strengths, tools that helped me as I rebuilt who I was in my own mind. I obviously took the long way to get to that destination. I appreciate being able to share this part of my story with you all, and I hope you’ll tune in tomorrow.]
Christin
Today’s Product Updates from Rebecca:
Happy Thursday! I wanted to let you all know that we just dropped prices again for our 3M 8210Plus Masks (20 Pack)! We only have a handful left and we will not be re-stocking so grab them now if you’ve had your eye on them!
Additionally, we just made the deals even sweeter on the 100 Pack Bundle and the 1,200 Pack Bundle of the Medical Grade N95 Face Masks! If you’re buying in quantities, don’t miss out on the savings from these bundles!
Speaking of deals and bundles… We reduced our sale price for Blue Nitrile Gloves AND we have added BUNDLES! Each bundle includes 10 BOXES (100 gloves/box) and of course these bundles are at a reduced price!
- Small (10 Boxes; 100 Gloves/Box)
- Medium (10 Boxes; 100 Gloves/Box)
- Large (10 Boxes; 100 Gloves/Box)
- Extra Large (10 Boxes; 100 Gloves/Box)
Check out all the awesome deals running on PPE right now and, of course, don’t forget to use code PPESHIP for FREE SHIPPING on your PPE orders!
Main Safety Supplies Landing Page: https://www.cablesandkits.com/c/safety-supplies
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Today we’re taking a look at a super popular switch, the Cisco Catalyst WS-C3750X-48PF-S!
This Cisco Catalyst 3750-X switch is an enterprise level, stackable, managed switch that offers 48 Gigabit Ethernet PoE+ ports with 30W of power on all ports! It also features Cisco EnergyWise technology as well as stacking capabilities with Cisco StackPower and StackWise Plus technology!
Square Peg in a Round Hole – by Gary our Chief Administrative Officer
(If you missed the previous parts of this series, you can read them on our blog.)
Apollo Mission Moment #4
The Apollo 13 explosion had damaged the power system of the Command and Service Module (CSM); so the crew had moved into Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) as a lifeboat. (Yep, NASA loved acronyms just like many of companies where you readers work. Haha). However, two different contractors had designed the CSM and LEM. The CSM used square carbon dioxide filters and the LEM used round filters. The LEM carbon dioxide scrubbing system had been designed to support two astronauts for 36 hours; not three astronauts for 96 hours. The buildup of carbon dioxide threatened the lives of the astronauts.
Ed Smylie’s team practiced excellent discipline under intense pressure to resolve the carbon dioxide filter crisis. The end result was a set of detailed instructions for putting a “square peg into a round hole.” The rigor of their work withstood a 150,000 mile communication path to builders who had never seen the finished product. In a similar vein, Ken Mattingly and John Aaron designed a radically modified Command Module power-up procedure for which the steps and sequencing were crucial to remaining under the 20amp threshold. Mattingly ended up successfully walking Swigert through the process a step at a time. Although both of these situations involved unexpected problem solving, the Apollo team was able to execute their innovative solutions, because they had learned the power of rigorous checklists in their relentless pursuit of flawless excellence.
The difference between winners and losers in the business world is discipline, whether you are executing the process for the first time or the millionth time. Customers demand the reliability of discipline and colleagues appreciate it, too. Discipline has two key elements—training to achieve reliable repeatability and a system of controls to measure and manage it.
LEVERAGING THE MOMENT:
- Determine which processes are crucial to your business or personal success.
- Determine the skills required to support high-quality execution of those processes. Select and train people with those skills firmly in mind.
- Define standards of performance or behavior for your team, project, organization, etc. and measure conformance to those standards (this is the “control” aspect).
- Lastly, we too often demand discipline from others while excusing our own shortfalls. Flip it. Demand discipline from yourself and be prepared to cut others some slack.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” (Jim Rohn)
News to Start Your Day With:
- Right at 36,451,000 cases worldwide, with 27,445,800 people who have recovered, with 1,061,522 deaths AND 7,777,000 cases in the US with over 4,984,500 people have recovered, with 216,818 deaths.
- Germany recorded a 43 percent jump in new coronavirus infections on Thursday, the highest level since April, as a country once lauded for its measured response to the pandemic struggles to curb a rise in cases. In a press conference in Berlin, Health Minister Jens Span called the sharp rise to 4,058 daily cases “worrying.” He put the increase down to an increasingly lax attitude among some segments of the population.
- The second presidential debate will be virtual, with Trump and Biden appearing “from separate remote locations,” the Commission on Presidential Debates announced Thursday morning. President Trump has declined the offer for a virtual debate.
- Dow futures pointed to an over 250 point gain at Wall Street’s open after President Donald Trump said in an interview Thursday morning that coronavirus stimulus talks have reopened.
- Ads from politicians and campaigns accounted for at least 3% of Facebook’s estimated third-quarter U.S. revenue, according to data from Facebook’s ad library and the Center for Responsive Politics.
- IBM will separate the managed infrastructure services unit of its global technology services division into a new public company. IBM said it hopes to become more focused on cloud software and solutions through the separation. The spin-off is expected to be completed by the end of 2021, the company said.
- Sam’s Club is selling smaller packs of food to fit Americans’ plans for downsized holiday celebrations during the coronavirus pandemic. Customers will be able to find hams in three sizes, side dishes intended for a family of four and packs of yeast rolls that are a third of the typical size.
- NASA astronaut Kate Rubins told The Associated Press on Friday that she plans to cast her next vote from space – more than 200 miles above Earth. Most U.S. astronauts live in Houston. Texas law allows them to vote from space using a secure electronic ballot. Mission Control forwards the ballot to the space station and relays the completed ballot back to the county clerk.