SecondIron's Blog

Sharpening Iron to Live Second

Tough Questions to Reveal You Care

As men we care for our homes in our own way, may just not be the right way. As a man we can think that life is going great and then are blindsided by the truth at home. We get so busy with work, deadlines, and keeping a busy schedule that we fail at everything. It is like we work so hard at getting things done we get nothing done that is needed. If we take a moment and evaluate our lives, are we really doing the right things? I know this means actually taking the time to stop, listen to the silence and hear the truth. Many times the truth is our truth not the real truth that the rest of the world sees. “It is not titles that make men illustrious, but men who make titles illustrious.” – Machiavelli  We brag about our accomplishments, we feel good when the bills are paid and when things are going right. We focus on what we good we have done or how well we finished a difficult project at work. Yet we leave our homes, not our houses but our homes undone. This does not mean the yard as it is mowed and trimmed. The hedges have been pruned the grass is watered so everything is looking good. You sit down to a home cooked meal every night so things are even better. Your house is tidy yet your home is still a wreck. As men we get busy in ‘our world’ of taking care of things, […]

New Release The Carpenter (A Book Review)

Best selling author Jon Gordon returns with his latest book The Carpenter: A Story About the Greatest Success Strategies of All that is bound to inspired readers and audiences around the world.  Jon has been a consultant for  numerous NFL, NBA, MLB coaches and teams, Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals and non-profits.  He has nine previous books many of which are best sellers and his tenth book The Carpenter is sure to follow in the same path. From the author of The Energy Bus and The No Complaining Rule comes another heartfelt leadership story we can all learn from and relate to.  In The Carpenter, Jon takes us on a journey with the main character Michael who wakes up in a hospital bed bandaged up on the outside burdened with fear and a heavy heart on the inside. Like many people who try to take on the world and build a business on their own, the stress and anxiety finely got the best of Michael on his morning jog. Fortunately as Michael tumbles to the ground collapsing with he is seen by a stranger who comes to aid and possibly saves his life.  His doctor stresses that he needs to slow down and take it easy for a while. Remember, life gives us warnings for a reason. Learn from this. Do things differently. Click To Tweet As Michael tries to heed the doctors warnings and his wife’s pleads to take it easy he begins to go stir crazy.  While sitting in front of the TV one day he […]

A Little Caring Goes a Long Way

As an entrepreneur or blogger, a leader or follower, a business owner or non-profit volunteer there is one thing that is in common with all walks of life that rings true.  People will believe you, trust you and follow you if you care. Many might scoff at that and say, of course I care, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing if I didn’t care.’  … Really? What would happen if you went through the day paying attention to people’s needs rather than your own.  Try the next time you pass the homeless in the street, rather than avoiding them or tossing them some loose change, how about shaking their hand and asking them about their day. Many people start out a dream or journey because they are passionate about it, or because it happens to pay the bills.  Very few actually care about not only what they do but also why they do it and for whom.  Whether you are bagging groceries at the local supermarket, or a barista at the neighborhood coffee shop it is much easier to spend our days caring about what we do. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is your power to do it. – Prov 3:27 Click To Tweet So you happen to sit behind a desk writing code or doing monotonous accounting, who says the job has to be a drag and that you should not care.