Auburn Grads

Ok, I get it, I have a built in bias, but it doesn't change my observation.

Auburn alumni, that I know personally, tend to significantly outperform their peers who have similar educational and experiential backgrounds.

Just a few examples...

My friend Brent. He gets ministry, like very few I've been around. I've been a very active member of 6 different churches in my life and he would be in the Top 10% of all ministry staff I've observed through the entire process. As a youth pastor, he invested in his teens - compared to most of the peers I've observed who play with them.

I know 6 Auburn men in my town. Five own there own businesses that range from $5 million to $100 million. All are of strong character, good Dads, and 5 of the 6 are strong leaders in this community - actively serving on boards and making AU proud.

My wife and I were discussing this the other day and trying to figure out why? We think it might have something to do with the Creed. Could a simple creed have that much impact?

You be the judge:

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn.
Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.
I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.
I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.
I believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities.
I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all.
I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.
I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God." And because Auburn men and women believe in these things,
I believe in Auburn and love it.

Does Jim Halpert have a place in Business?

NO!

And I mean it...NO!

Jim Halpert is make believe. No different than wives like the ones displayed on Wysteria Lane aren't really the goal for the typical home.

Recently I've had to have this discussion with a couple of my people at work, and it blows me away how shocked they are that this behavior is unacceptable. Like, man, why would anyone get all bent if we put your stapler in jello?

Duh!

You see, Business is for one reason and one reason only...to make a profit! It's not to supply you a job, a place to make friends, a place for you to express your creative side, etc. If these things happen...AND, we make a profit, great...we all win more.

But, if I have to buy a new stapler, or loose two days while someone cleans there office out from 3' of paper shreddings that you decided to fill it with as a practical joke while your coworker was on vacation (3 days if you count the time it took you to fill it), then that cuts directly into profit, which is diametrically opposed to why we're here.

So when I have to have this conversation with you, and tell you that your $50K - $60K job is dependent on you growing up...and you look at me like I'm from Mars, forgive me for being blown away. I mean if you want to be a camp counselor or youth pastor (read play with your friends all day here), then go do it, but with that choice comes the economic realities of being with your playmates all day (no offense directed at youth pastors past or present intended...just venting).

More on Baseball...

My wife got me a great Father's Day present...a new Carl Crawford jersey, and tickets for the entire family to see the very competitive and entertaining Rays host the best record in baseball, steeped in tradition, huge national fan base, Chicago Cubs...this event took place last night.

First, let me say...I get that I-75 connects the mid-west to Florida...and the natural resevoir for folks in Chicago, who want something a little more mild climate-wise, is to end up in Tampa-St. Pete, but...for real...there were every bit as many Cubs fans there as Rays fans.

Now, about Cub fan...I've been around obnoxious fans before (read Gator fan here), but Cub fan took this to a whole new level. Everything about there team was great, and oh, wait till you see what happens here. For example...
- From the guy behind me..."Dempster is 8-2 and for sure going to go 9-2 tonight...you just don't know how good he is, and man is he hot right now." (By the 4th inning we were averaging 2 hits per inning, Cliff Floyd took him deep in the 2nd, and in the 4th we our 2nd string left fielder struck out looking with bases loaded)
- Then when the bull pen came in..."Oh man, you just wait, our bull pen is so good, no one hits our bull pen." (First pitch, seriously, first pitch...yard...2-0 Rays).

It was like that all night.

So, you can only imagine, after Rays fan has to listen to a thousand versions of this through 5 innings, by the 8th when its 3-1 Rays, and all Cubs fans are beginning to exit, and Ray fan is fairly well liquored up...it got ugly...real ugly.

My 16 year old leans in to me and says..."I could go see 100 "R" rated movies and still not catch up to what I heard tonight." I think she's lobbying for us to relax our standards...sorry sweetheart.

I know it sounds rough, but we had a GREAT time. We had great conversation to and from the game, the game was awesome...and I sat next to the most colorful, talkative, knowledgable Rays fan...who held his own in the trash talking category himself...just so you get the picture...
- Imagine Matt Wolfsburger, but he's 5-10, 290 and red headed.
- Every time a pretty girl walked by, he'd say "hold on", stand up and begin to clap, then look at me and say, "what, that aint funny". The usher began laughing by the 6th at this act.
- He picked out this young kid in front of us in a Cubs jersey and began calling him Bartman in the 2nd, so every 5-10 mintutes, he'd yell out..."That's ok Bartman, your welcome here in Tampa, we got your back."
- He worked the lack of championship angle throughout the night...things like..."Don't the White Sox have like two more championships than you guys"...and, "Jordan cheated...had it not been for pushing off, Chicago's drought would be 50+ years...oh yeah, I forgot the White Sox won two."
- And after we went deep on their first releiver (first pitch), he starts calling for Rex Grossman..."he's got a great arm, right".
- The classic of the night was there was this one woman, looked like a Barbie Doll, blond, perfect figure, enhanced, that would walk by every 2-3 innings. My guy next to me gave her the standing O, like usual, then, only for her, would praise Dr. Dachia very loudly (Dr. Dachia is a well know plastic surgeon on the radio here)...so the picture is...standing O, sit down, and "God Bless Dr. Dachia...what, that aint funny"...and my 16 year old loosing it every moment on the other side of me.

What a tremendous evening. Happy Fathers day to me.

Why I like Baseball...

I've never been much of a baseball fan, and I certainly wouldn't fall into the "purist" category, but I find myself liking the sport lately. The reasons are plenty why I never took to it...slow, long, batted .082 my last year of pony league...I could go on.

But of late there are several reasons that get me jazzed up...
- The Rays are really good and really fun to watch. I've never watched a major league team that seemed to try so hard every night. None of their guys slow up charging fly balls, jog out ground balls, avoid contact...and they all seem very focused.
- The leader of my Bible Study (a DTS grad by the way) has a son in the majors, who is one of the Top 20 batters in the league (according to some statistics his Dad can produce) - oh, the son is Matt Diaz with the Braves.
- I can take my shower in upper or lower half of the 7th (depending on when the Rays are batting) and even if its a big inning, I'll get the highlights by the time I'm out, in some inning recap.
- I can have a conversation while watching the game and still keep up with the game...its not like watching Football or Hockey where I need to stay so engaged that I alienate family members.

There you go...new Baseball fan created.