How To Get A Buzz On Your Best Day
In one of my favorite movies, City Slickers (1991), a question is asked amongst friends who were on a modern-day western cattle drive adventure,
What was your best day?
This is a great question to ask at different points in your life to get a pulse on where your heart is. I have a firm belief that in order to discover your heart that God gave you, it is essential to look back at the moments, in this case a day, to understand what stirs you.
For me, I remember driving through the Scottish Highlands with my good friend Steve Griffin and another South African friend. It was recommended that we go to the Isle of Skye in the west highlands. We weaved through long windy roads traversing historic and beautiful areas like breathtaking Glencoe, The Rob Roy Monument, and even the enchanting Eilean Donan castle. The day started by waking up in beautiful Portree, a small fishing village only to witness small boats heading out to sea with the sun rising above them. After a hearty Scottish breakfast of tea, eggs, and sausage, we drove and walked around the island. We drank water from the streams, walked along the coast, took pictures of the mountains, breathed in the beautiful air. Believe it or not, the Scottish Tourism Board isn’t paying me to write this as my sentiment is genuine.
After we left the island and drove north, we all were in awe and marveled at what we just witnessed.
I said to my friends,
“You know what would make this the most complete and best day ever? ”What if an RAF Tornado fighter jet buzzed through this beautiful valley?”
I had heard about military jets buzzing some of these valleys and since I’ve always been a fan of British and American airpower, this would complete it. Our South African thought we were delirious Americans who only cared about weapons. We laughed of course and didn’t think anything of it because of the unlikelihood.
Not five minutes later we heard a roar of a plane approaching us. I was in the passenger seat and could see it approaching us from behind us. With half of our bodies out the window, Steve and I went crazy screaming and cheering as a Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado buzzed our car at almost supersonic speed.
After the plane roared on by, Steve said it best,
That’s the sound of freedom, baby.
I’ll never forget that day.
Our reaction to the RAF Tornado made me think of the awe and amazement of Christian Bale’s character, Jim, in the beautiful and tragic Steven Spielberg film, Empire of the Sun (1987) when he sees the P-51 Mustang buzz his concentration camp. Jim saw his “Cadillac of the Sky” as a sign that freedom is coming. I can imagine that it was Jim’s best day at that point in life, despite how hard things were.
Why does a best day ever even matter?
Since that day in Scotland, I’ve had several “best days” that have topped that one. I’ve been to the World Cup in Germany and seen amazing sights. I’ve also traveled around the Mediterranean to see Greek islands like Santorini. I think mostly about Brooke and I getting married and how beautiful she looked walking toward me at All Saints Chapel in Sewanee. I remember her smile, her grace, and beautiful blonde hair gracing her long flowing white dress all while walking along flowers. God was present that day, May 28, 2005, I know it. It was a “best day” indeed.
These “best days” matter because they give us a glimpse of heaven. It is a swagger in the golf swing, a tip of the hat, a wink of the eye. It is God showing us the way things are supposed to be and what we also have to look forward to for eternity in Heaven if we put our trust in Christ.
What about you?
What is your best day?
How To Make The Best Plans and Master The Moment
You know a good speaker when you see one.
But are you one?
Do you ever wonder exactly why a speech can be so good? It can bring shivers down your back. It can inspire you to change the world. Sometimes it can be as simple as provoking the feeling that you aren’t alone. Everyday I have the opportunity to speak in public or watch someone else do it. I am fascinated by those who do this so well so I try to study and emulate them.
More people fear public speaking over death for example. It is frequently ranked as the #1 fear for people as a matter of fact. With so much fear attached to public speaking, often people shy away from trying to better themselves at it. As Flannery O’Connor put it, “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” As it a good speech. I have a long way to become a good orator.
Winston Churchill noted that in each speech,
“There must be character, personality, delivery and occasion,…”
As in all things in life, Sir Winston. Thank you.
I like keeping things simple in life so there are two attributes that can be applied to about anything in life, especially speech: Planning and Delivery.
Let us study two of my heroes of speech and rhetoric.
PLANNING: Churchill’s “Our Finest Hour” Speech
Churchill grew up with a lisp and had to overcome incredible odds to become the speaker we know him as today. He was known early on in his political career as a rambler but over the decades, he transformed into a master of public speaking. How did he do it? Churchill would often say that for every minute in a speech one should prepare an hour. His work ethic was untouchable and it helped eventually him do best what was needed in the moment. In Churchill’s preparation, he knew that his pause was his secret weapon. By intense planning, he knew when to best use the pause. Churchill has given thousands of speeches that you will neither hear nor read in life but if you could only read one, read his amazing “Our Finest Hour” speech. Whenever you feel down and frustrated by life’s circumstances, it will uplift your spirit. If you are in that Dunkirk point of life in retreat as the Allies were; learn from the Brits and regroup, reassess, and get back in the game. You can read the full speech here.
“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”
DELIVERY: FDR’s Message to Congress after Pearl Harbor
Draft #1: “Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in ‘world history’….”
Following the sudden and deliberate attack on the United States, FDR knew this was a moment to capture emotion and reason so in his final draft he changed ‘world history’ to ‘infamy.’ Read the original version a few times and you realize that it doesn’t fully embrace the magnitude of what happened at Pearl Harbor. It is now one of the most famous opening speech lines ever. Can you imagine trying to describe the emotion of a nation on the fly like FDR? He mastered the moment and a nation became united and galvanized for war.
What does this mean to you?
Part of your planning must be to anticipate the moments that could come. You must plan for the moment in the same way that you planned how to get there. Over my years as a history student, I studied Churchill and FDR extensively. Today, I become discouraged occasionally and think, “I can’t do it like them. I am not even in a position of ultimate leadership that would require this sort of planning and skill.” But I then realize that I am wrong. My team, which includes my family, look to me daily to master these skills of planning and mastering the moment.
Remember that yes you can do it.
Keep it simple. Plan, and plan for the moment.
The Best Era in History to Live
Recently I watched the movie Midnight in Paris (2011). I’m not a Woody Allen junkie but this one fascinated me. The main character Gil, played by Owen Wilson, is an aspiring writer who admires the “Lost Generation” artists from 1920′s Paris. In the movie, Gil finds himself transported to that era where he meets artist greats like Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, Gertrud Stein, Pablo Picasso, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although a fiction story, it was amusing to get lost in the story of the Gil and it got me thinking.
What era would I have liked to live in?
There is much to consider in the question and answers can be surprisingly personal. I’ve asked this question many times to friends and you get a lot of different answers.
Women quite often bring up that era’s rights of women first. An old female friend of mine said that she wouldn’t want to live in any other era than now because women have never had so much opportunity. I never thought of that before she brought it up. My wife in particular always wishes she were in the Jane Austen Victorian Era with the beautiful dresses, chivalry, and beautiful dialogue (no pressure on me, huh). My mother is fascinated by the Tudors (yes the show as well) but never would have wanted to wear the suffocating dresses or have to deal with lack of modern medicine.
Most men I’ve quizzed seem to be fascinated by eras that represent the greatest adventure to them. If you were a baseball fan, perhaps it would be the 1920s and 1930s when Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig ruled the diamond. If you admired the military, they say World War II, The Civil War, or the Napoleonic Wars. My father has always been intrigued by his grandfather who lived from the 1880′s to 1980′s. His Grandpa Moberg was born during the “horse and buggy” age and lived until seeing a man on the moon.
And now my answer…
The Age of Exploration is a favorite of mine. But then I remember details about explorers like Magellan who despite technically not making it around the world (killed by Filipino natives), ironically got a GPS system named after him. The truth is, his story wasn’t much different from other explorers who either died in the middle of their journey fighting natives or from some terrible disease. I’ve also been fascinated by the Roman Empire or Ancient Greece and their gallant expansion battles, beautiful architecture, and lessons of government. Perhaps I read/watched a little too much of Julius Caesar and The Iliad. If I were to pick a favorite, I would pick The American Revolution. I imagine myself fighting for freedom with my distant relative, Vermont Minuteman Lt. Nathaniel Bowman Brown. It has always seemed to be a time period of great drama; to live on the frontier, fight for freedom, and form of a new way of life.
The truth is, as Midnight in Paris’ Gil points out, someone is going to be asked this question fifty years from now and possibly think that “the 2010′s” is the best era. We are never quite satisfied in the era we live are we? We look back to find solace and inspiration from other eras. I’m sure that ole Uncle Nate Brown looked back to The Renaissance and thought, “Man, that era was so much better than this 1770′s mess.”
What about you?
What is the best era in history to live?
After D-Day…
After D-Day, it wasn’t over. It took the Allies over a month to finally break through inland.
General Dwight Eisenhower, then Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, wrote two letters to release the morning of June 7th. Thank God he didn’t have to finish this letter and but send a report of initial victory.
Prior to the invasion, he gave this encouragement knowing well that this was just the beginning.
“Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.”
You can read his full inspiring message here.
In life we have to keep pushing to the end. The enemy is strong and with God’s help we will achieve victory.
After you secure the beachhead, keep moving forward. You’re not alone.
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