Failure and its successors

Ran into a terrific WORDPRESS post (Why I’m Failing and Why It Isn’t So Bad) in which the author talks about failure… and what happens afterward. The post comes from a recent college graduate whose dreams of architecture went the way of our nations credit rating over at Standard and Poors. In it, she embedded J.K Rowlings commencement address at Harvard. It is powerful… I included it here (well worth the twenty-one minutes).

War or hearts? – This American Life

The segment, Act 1: Is This War or Is It Hearts?, took me off guard.  It’s eleven minutes long… See if it gets you, too.

It’s David Ellis Dickerson, from his book House of Cards.

LISTEN TO SEGMENT

Silent Monks

Provide lyric for Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus.  Classic.

The Blessing of the Wine

We got in on the harvest party at South Coast Winery this weekend with our good friends Skip and Janet Allen.  I wrote a LeaderFOCUS for this week about our experience – STOMP.  Enjoy the video:

Teacher of the Year – Speech

I love this suff… Teacher of the Year 2010: Iowa’s Sarah Brown Wessling

WATCH CNN VIDEO

One incredible pilot story…

Amazing.  My favorite airplane… a turbo King Air.  Whew.

WATCH VIDEO

Two Powerful Stories from Haiti

Dan Woolley is a guy who was in Steve Highfill’s youth group back in Cypress days who now works with Compassion International. Dan’s harrowing story was featured this morning, top of the first hour, on the TODAY show. It’s powerful.

DAN WOOLLEY on TODAY

Jenna Wolfe, an NBC correspondent, grew up in Haiti.  She returns to search out the people she grew with, workers in her father’s factory, and her families house in Port ai Prince.  Grab a box of hankies.

JENNA WOLFE Returns to Haiti

Call to Prayer

One of my cluster-group colleagues and fellow Arrow Leadership alums is right in the thick of the relief response to the horrible crisis in Haiti.  MICHAEL MESSENGER is VP Public Affairs, World Vision Canada.  He tells a powerful story.  It will direct our prayers.  Also included is a story from another Arrow alum, a Salvation Army staffer with an “on the ground” story.  It’s compelling reading.

CALL TO PRAYER FROM ARROW LEADERSHIP

Invictus

When the four of us arrived at Spectrum, the line told the story.  We expected to get our IMAX tickets for the 7PM showing of the new hit movie AVATAR.   But at the counter, we were informed that the sellout occurred at one o’clock that afternoon.   It’s a huge theater.  I guess that explains why James Cameron is all smiles these days.  In spite of initial critical pot-shots, he’s enjoying the many benefits of a mega-hit.  So we regrouped at the electonic marquee.  Invictus, Clint Eastwood’s collaboration with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, became the pick.

We were not prepared for the power of the story.  There is so much to think about.  Freeman plays Nelson Mandela, in the first year of his unlikely presidency.  I would love to write about it for this week’s LeaderFOCUS, but the last two have been movie reviews.  I’d rather not make it three in a row.

If you like to read reviews, here are three: NY TIMES, Roger Ebert and the LA TIMES.  Enjoy.

This is why I love this guy…

Garrison Keillor answers ten questions for TIME Magazine.  His interviewer is somewhat humorless; clearly from some other generation, doing her duty as an emerging journalist; but in spite of her bland response, Keillor establishes himself as the master of spontaneity.

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