Wednesday, June 06, 2007

An extraordinary young man

I try to be organized. I have a Covey Planner and carry it almost every where I go. I also have a thin notebook about the width and height of the planner. I scribble random odd thoughts on notebook. The notebook is always open, folded back, with a pen in the spiral. I keep the pen ready to write. Then if I’m driving to work and an idea comes to me, in just a few seconds at a stop light I can jot down the idea.

I take to heart this thought:

"An extraordinary pilot uses his or her extraordinary judgment to avoid having to use his or her extraordinary skills."

I’m not extraordinary, but being organize helps me avoid many annoying issues before they grow to real problems. Unfortunately Covey Planners won’t help a person avoid all problems. Character is often revealed in how we handle the unexpected problems.

My oldest daughter plays the clarinet in a homeschool band. Tonight was the end of school year performance. A young man in the band conducted one of the numbers. During practice the regular band leader had a contest and four students in the band each took turns conducting. The winner got to conduct for the final performance this afternoon.

I was greatly impressed.

He started the number, but on the up beat of the second measure he accidentally lost the baton. It landed somewhere between the flutes and the clarinets. He never missed a beat. He didn’t get flustered. He didn’t stop and apologized. He just kept going. He showed great pose. If you blinked, or looked away for a few seconds, you would never have known there was a problem.

I think he will go far.


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