January 2014 – Top Posts & Comments (Plus A Book GIVEAWAY)

Here are the highlights from January 2014. Thanks to everyone who read along and commented. Your readership and participation in the daily discussions are what make The Stretched Community. Thank you!

Overall, traffic was up from December (2.63%). Traffic was down 40.1% compared to a year ago. The top 10 posts included two posts from 2012, one post from 2011, and two posts from 2013. If you missed any of these posts, I hope you’ll go and check them out now by clicking below. Also, please head over to my guest post at Ray Edwards blog this month – This Is What Customer Service Looks Like. The post with the most engagement was a fun post from January 22, 2014 – 10 Great Things To Do On A Snowy Day.

Top 9 Commenters:

As promised at the beginning of the month, I have randomly chosen someone from the top commenters list to receive a copy of The Noticer Returns: Sometimes You Find Perspective, and Sometimes Perspective Finds You by Andy Andrews. The winner of this book is…(drum roll)…Joe Lalonde. Congrats to Joe!

For the month of February, I’ll be giving away a copy of Life After Art: What You Forgot About Life and Faith Since You Left the Art Room by Matt Appling. This month, the winner will be chosen randomly from the top 10 commenters.

Thanks to each and everyone for reading and for commenting. I’m looking forward to February with The Stretched Community! The month of February will include more STRETCHING posts. If you’re interested in guest posting here, leave a comment to connect with me. February should be another great month!

How was your month? If you’re a blogger share a link to your top post in the comments? What was your favorite Stretched post this month? How were you STRETCHED in January?

In case you’re interested, here are a few other interesting stats about January (based on Google Analytics):

Visits – Increased 4.41%
Unique Visitors –Increased 13.25%
Pageviews – Increased 5.51%
Pages Per Visit – Increased 0.90%
Average Visit Duration – Increased 6.49%
Bounce Rate – Decreased 3.40%
New Visits –Increased 6.85%

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Ice Breaker – Super Bowl Halftime Show

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I ask an ice breaker question. The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community. I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments. While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

As I mentioned last week, if you have an idea for an ice breaker, leave a comment or send your idea to me at jon@jonstolpe.com. If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and point readers your way. This week’s question is inspired by the upcoming Super Bowl festivities.

Question: Who would you like to see perform during the Super Bowl halftime show?

My Answer: Since the Super Bowl is up near New York City (in North Jersey), it makes sense to me they would have Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen as the halftime show. I wouldn’t complain if this was the case. Springsteen actually performed in 2009. And my favorite band, U2, performed in 2002. So I’ll stick with Billy Joel. This may not be a popular choice for some, but he’s always been one of my favorites especially when you add a band with a great saxophone player.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep STRETCHING!

Also don’t forget to sign up for the Stretched newsletter. Check out this post to find out how to sign up.

Ten People To Thank

It’s week 5 of the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge!

It’s Thank You Thursday, and we are now at the fifth Thursday of the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge.

Honestly, I look forward to this day each week. I enjoy surprising someone with a hand-written thank you note.

I wonder what your response has been so far. Have people been surprised by your hand-written note of thanks? How has the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge changed your outlook on things? Do you have any stories worth sharing?

As I was thinking about my thank you note for today, I realized how many people I have to thank. I thought I’d share ten of the people on my list who might just be getting a thank you note from me in the near future. Perhaps, it will expand your thought process on who should be getting one of your upcoming notes.

10 People To Thank

The guy at the gym who opens the door at 5AM every morning. I need to get his name. Seriously, he opens the door right on time at 5AM every morning, so “gym rats” like me can get their morning workout in before heading off to work. It’s a thankless job. You have to get to the gym well before 5AM to unlock the doors, turn on the lights, and make sure everything is ready to go for the other employees and for customers like me. This is one guy who deserves a thank you note.
Cathy. I’ll leave her last name out. She is the person who arrives at our office early every morning to greet employees and answer the phones as people come in first thing in the morning. She has other duties to attend to the rest of the day, but she’s the one who comes in for the first hour to make sure there’s someone at the front desk while employees arrive.
Sally. Again, I’ll leave her last name out. A couple of weeks ago, we came up with the idea to have a Chili Cook Off at the office tomorrow afternoon. She has taken the idea and run with it. There are at least seven people bringing chili into the office to share with the rest of the office. There will be a trophy for the winner of the best chili. And employees will be wearing their favorite football team shirt. This would not happen without Sally who wants to make sure our team has fun working together.
Matt. He’s the new groups pastor at our church. He is creatively trying to figure out ways to get people plugged in at our church. I am part of a men’s group meeting on Wednesday nights where men are talking about things like prayer and what it means to be an authentic man. This group wouldn’t happen without Matt.
Dan. He’s the scoutmaster of my son’s Boy Scout troop. This could really apply to any of the adult leaders in the troop. Dan and the other leaders pour so much time and energy into our boys. They are a great example, and I’m glad my son can look up to people like Dan.
Mrs. Krown. She’s the band teacher at the middle school where my son goes to school. During jazz band season (December through April), she gets to school extra early to lead jazz band rehearsals and sectional rehearsals to make sure the band is ready for each of its performances. Each week, I drop Isaac off at the school at 6:40AM, and Mrs. Krown is there ready to go. She does this three or four days each week. Wow!
Coach Geist. He’s one of the track coaches at the high school, and he focuses on the distance runners on the team. I appreciate his energy and enthusiasm for the sport and for teaching students like my daughter to become better runners. I get to see him at the various track meets, and I am convinced he is one of the biggest cheerleaders for each of the distance runners on the team.
The spouses of my team members. This could be many names. Each of them are providing the support and encouragement necessary to keep my team members on track to do their best while their at work. I’m so thankful for each of them and the role they play in making my team successful.
Reviewers. I won’t give the names out just yet, but there are a handful of people who are helping me along with a book project I am working on. This past weekend, I sent out an outline for my project, and I am already getting very valuable feedback which will give me insight into how to proceed in the next step of the writing journey.
You. I’m so thankful for the people who read and comment on this blog. While I hope I can encourage others through my writing, I know without a doubt that you are a huge encouragement to me. THANK YOU!

Now, it’s your turn. Who is someone worth thanking this week? Leave a response in the comments.

Helping Everyone Starts By Helping Someone

“We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone.” Ronald Reagan

Many complain that things need to change. We know people who are unemployed. We see people who are struggling to put the next meal on the table. We live next to people who are facing an uphill health challenge. We hear about people who have strained family relationships. The list goes on. People are hurting. People are struggling. People are simply trying to make it through the day. They are hopeless.

This is true all around you and me – even in the opulence of America.

What’s the answer to all the hurt, struggle, and hopelessness?

The ultimate answer is Christ.

I guess I could end the post here, but I believe God can use each of us to make a difference in this world.

There are things that we as individuals can do.

So why don’t more people get involved to help out? Perhaps, we feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people who need help. Maybe, we don’t know where to start. Or, we think someone else or even the government is the answer to the hopelessness. Maybe, we just don’t care, or we don’t believe it’s anyone’s responsibility to help those who won’t help themselves.

What if we looked in the mirror? What if each one of us looked next door to see how we could bring hope to our hurting neighbor? What if each of us took action to help someone in need? What if we took responsibility to help someone?

I think we could actually see a tidal wave of change.

If each of us was willing to help someone else, we can help everyone.

What do you think?

8 Ways To Survive And Thrive When Things Get Busy

“Busy is a drug that a lot of people are addicted to.” Rob Bell

Our family is in the middle of a very busy week. We have activities every night this week. And work is just as busy. We’re closing out the month of January this week, so I’m chasing down invoices, time sheets, and project close out activities. It’s weeks like this that cause my head to spin.

If you’re anything like me, you have weeks like this too.

What do you do when the weeks get crazy busy?

I’ve found several things that help me survive and thrive when the weeks get crazy busy. Here are my suggestions.

8 Ways To Survive And Thrive When Things Get Busy

Start each day with prayer and time with God. This is where it has to start. Even if you can spend 15 to 30 minutes of quiet time at the start of your day, it will be worth it. This is the time to focus your day in the right place. When I jump right out of bed and into the fray without spending time to pray, read God’s word, and reflect, it often feels like I’m wheel spinning out of balance.
Find ways to exercise regularly throughout the week. For me, this is the next part of my day. Even when I’m busy, I try to exercise 5 or 6 days a week. Raising your heart rate for 20-30 minutes through running, hiking, biking, swimming, or brisk walking can make a huge difference. I’ve found that regular exercise helps to get my metabolism off and running, and it helps me stay alert through meetings and conversations when I really need to pay attention.
Make the most of the small moments in between. It can seem really hectic when you’re running from one meeting to the next or one activity to the next. Being intentional in the in between is important to getting things done. Last night when I arrived home from work, I had a few minutes before dinner. I used this time to replace a flood light above our garage. It took me a few minutes to get the extension ladder, and I another minute to climb up the ladder to replace the bulb. This is a task that needed to be accomplished. Those precious minutes before dinner were provided just enough time to check this off my list of things to do.
Connect with your family. This probably should be number 2 on the list. If you’re married, pray with your spouse at the beginning and at the end of the day. Connect when you both get home from work for a few minutes. I don’t always get this right, but it’s important to remove distractions for a few minutes to give your spouse or kids your undivided attention. For your kids, it might mean playing a game of ping-pong before you leave for an activity or before they start the next part of their homework. Connecting with your family is a huge part of finding balance in the midst of a crazy busy week.
Don’t be afraid to say no. I realize we’ve all made commitments to be part of one meeting or an activity. There may be times where we have to cancel something or postpone it, so we can take time to catch our breath. It will be okay. Really!
Remember why you are involved with the activities or meetings in the first place. When things get busy, it’s easy to lose sight of why we do what we do. This can happen at work, but it can also happen at the evening game or meeting.
Learn from your scheduling mistakes. Sometimes a busy week is impossible to avoid, but there are also times when we simply don’t schedule ourselves very well. Build gaps into your schedule. You need breaks. You need opportunities to catch up on the little things.
Practice sabbath. Take a one minute break every hour. Take an hour break every day. Take a day break every week. You need time to rest, to connect, and to be restored.

It’s only Tuesday, I’m not sure exactly how the rest of my week will go. But I do know that following these simple tips will help me though my crazy busy week.

What kind of week are you having? What helps your survive when the days and weeks get crazy busy?

10 Steps To Make Your Dream A Reality

What do you dream about?

Not at night. What do you dream about during the day?

If you’re like me, you have many thoughts, ideas, and dreams that come and go without becoming real. What’s stopping you from making your dreams a reality?

I’m working on a book project (my first book project), and I’m learning a lot along the way. This weekend, my project took an important step as I move towards realizing this dream. I finished an outline for the book idea. For me, this was important because it meant getting thoughts out of my head and onto paper in an organized structure. Hitting this milestone has taught me a lot about processing our dreams and getting feedback. Whether you’re writing a book, building a business, or chasing another dream, it’s helpful to process and to get feedback. In today’s post, I offer some ideas worth following as you chase your own dream.

10 Steps To Make Your Dream A Reality

Process your idea first. It’s important you have put some thought into your idea before you do anything else. Part of this could involve prayer. And a major part this involves time. I’ve been thinking about the idea for a book for a while. This month I finally put some solid time into praying and processing my idea. I wrote down a lot of notes. I talked it over with myself before I shared it with anyone else. Before you waste someone’s time with your idea, make sure you put in time of your own.
Talk about your idea with some close friends and advisers. Share your idea with them. Does your idea make sense to them? Can you explain your idea fairly easily. You should be able to describe your main idea in a few sentences without going into all the detail. For my book project, I talked to my wife, to a good friend, and to a couple other select people to see if my idea made any sense to them. In each of these cases, they gave me things to think about in taking my project more seriously.
Process your idea again. This is important. What did you learn through the first two steps? Take time to write it down. For my project, this is when I wrote an outline for my book idea. The end product make look very different, but an outline provides an opportunity to get into more detail, to determine your potential structure, and for discovering any roadblocks. For my book project, I spent a couple of solid afternoons adding to my outline. I wanted to do this before I sent the outline out for more feedback.
Develop a review team list. This shouldn’t be real long. The list should contain people who you trust to give you honest feedback. They should be people who have some expertise in the area of executing your idea. For my project, I chose ten people who have experience in book writing and/or short-term missions.
Ask a select few to review your idea. Before you assume those on your review team list will have the time to look at your idea (or outline, in my case), you should ask them. This could involve an email or a phone call. Your message or conversation should include a brief description of your project, an explanation of what you need from them, and a deadline for when you want their feedback. For my book outline review team, I sent out an email message to my list. I explained what I was working on and how they might fit into the project. And I asked them if interested and available to provide feedback in one week. I did not include the book outline with my message. I only sent the book outline to those who replied with a willingness to help.
Be open to the feedback. This may be one of the hardest parts. You send your idea to others for feedback. Now, you have to accept the feedback. People will have all kinds of ideas. Keep a record of these thoughts and ideas. They will help you! You must remember this. Iron sharpens iron. So far, I’ve gotten some great feedback on my book outline. I’m so thankful for people in my life who are willing to step in an constructively critique.
Process again. It seems like this is a common theme here. Once you get the feedback, you need to process (and pray) again. What will you do with the feedback. Filtering is a healthy aspect to this. You may use the feedback or you may not use the feedback. You have the choice. In my case, I’m still reviewing the feedback and processing. I’m realizing I have a lot to think about. What is my expectation for my book project? Why am I writing the book? Who do I want to read my book? I’d appreciate your prayers as I journey through this step.
Move forward. Once you’ve processed the feedback, make a decision on the direction you are going and keep moving. One of the reasons I asked for feedback within a week is that I do not want to lose momentum. I want to keep moving ahead with my project. Don’t give up (unless the feedback tells you too)! I know there’s a lot of work ahead in executing my idea, but I’m excited to keep writing and to move ahead.
Thank your feedback team. It goes without saying that people who help you process an idea deserve some thanks. I plan to do this through hand-written thank you notes (of course) and a mention in the final product.
Go back to step 1 and do it again. Our ideas and projects involve several iterations of processing, review, and feedback. Keep leaning into these steps. I’m excited to see where this journey leads me in realizing the dream of a book. I know I will need to process again, and I’ll definitely need the feedback of others.

What steps would you add to this list? What has helped you make your dreams a reality?

Visiting Ray Edwards – This Is What Customer Service Looks Like

One of my goals for 2014 is to guest post at least once a month.

Today, I’m sharing 5 Ways To Deliver Customer Service in a post titled This Is What Customer Service Looks Like. Ray Edwards was gracious enough to accept my guest post submission and I think you’ll like it. Please head over to the post by clicking here. While you’re there check out the other stuff Ray’s working on and consider subscribing to his blog.

To get you started, here’s a little blurb from my post:

This is what customer service looks like! Customer service looks like a jar of spiced apple rings? Yes! Let me explain…

I’m Swedish. As a child, I have fond memories of gathering around my grandparents table at Christmas time to feast on the Swedish Christmas culinary traditions. We ate my Grandpa’s Korv – a Swedish potato sausage. We ate my Grandma’s Swedish meatballs. We ate Swedish cheese, pickled herring, and Swedish breads. As part of the meal, I will always remember my Grandma setting out a dish of spiced apple rings.

Honestly, I’m not sure if spiced apple rings are Swedish. For me, the apple rings are part of the tradition.

My Grandpa passed away several years ago. My Grandma is now 93 years old, and she isn’t up to preparing the Swedish feast. Now it’s my turn. I make Korv for my family. My wife makes great Swedish meatballs. And we try to keep as many of the other traditions as possible. This still includes spiced apple rings.

The weekend before Christmas, my wife sent me to the grocery store to pick up a few final items for the feast. I found the pickled herring, the Swedish cheese, and even some lingonberry jam. But I couldn’t find the spiced apple rings. I searched everywhere without success.

Before giving up, I decided to ask an employee of the grocery store. The employee listened to my story about our family’s Swedish traditions. She proceeded to get a couple of her co-workers into the discussion as they tried to determine if the store had spiced apple rings. After searching a few places, checking a couple of lists, and calling some other employees, they informed me they didn’t have any in the store. I thanked them and headed to the checkout line.

This is where the story took a dramatic turn. [Click here to read the rest of the post.]

If you are visiting from Ray’s blog, I hope you stay for a little bit, check out a few of my other posts, and consider subscribing to The Stretched Community. Here are a couple of posts you may want to read:

When you think of customer service, what comes to mind?

Ice Breaker – Food For Life

I have to give credit to my wife for this week’s Stretched Ice Breaker. After writing the weekly Stretched Ice Breaker for a couple of years, it’s appreciated when people give me ideas for ice breaker questions. If you have an idea for an ice breaker, leave a comment or send your idea to me at jon@jonstolpe.com. If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and point readers your way. So here’s my wife’s question along with my answer.

Question: If you could only eat one food or had to eat only one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

My Answer: I think my wife may have been picking on me here, since I eat the same thing for breakfast every day (oatmeal) and for lunch (yogurt, cheesestick, apple, granola bar). If you throw nutrition out of the equation, I would have to go with ice cream. I love ice cream. To make it more nutritional, I’d go with peanut butter swirl ice cream. Just think of all the protein! If I’m answering the question from a nutritional standpoint, I might go with oatmeal as long as I could add almonds, cinnamon, raisins, coconut, chia seeds, brown sugar, and a little milk.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep STRETCHING!

Also don’t forget to sign up for the Stretched newsletter. Check out this post to find out how to sign up.

Thank You Notes? Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

It’s the 22nd day of the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge. Today (or sometime this week), you should be writing your fourth thank you note to a deserving recipient. It’s about time I get Matt McWilliams to chime in here on the challenge. Matt’s bio is at the end of the post, but I’d like to add my two cents. Matt is the “founder” of the Thank You Revolution. He blogs daily about life and leadership, and he has a contagious energy and enthusiasm. After you read this post, leave a comment, and write your thank you note, head over to Matt’s blog for some more encouragement worth reading.

Thank You Notes? Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

Jon and I keep telling you to write thank you notes.

But you say “I don’t have time for that.”

Excuse me? You don’t have five or ten (or thirty if you really go crazy) minutes a week to completely change your life? Yes, I said that.

IT. WILL. CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE.

And no, that is not an exaggeration.

Want to know what the wealthiest of the wealthy do? They write thank you notes. On paper. With a pen. And they pay for the postage. And they started long before they were wealthy.

Why?

Because that’s what successful people do. They do things that 90% of the population says they don’t have the time to do. Like writing handwritten thank you notes and putting smiles on the faces of others.

Money isn’t the only reason to start this habit. It’s a good one, but far from the only one. This habit also changes you on the inside. Do you know what really happens inside of you when you write a thank you note? Find out here. That post will rock your world.

The Revolution will change you. It will cause you to act differently.

It will cause you to smile more.

It will even change the way you treat people.

I don’t say this because I think it’s true or hope that it happens to you. I say it because it’s happened to me and it’s completely backed by science. I prove it here.

So, I’ve told you now that this simple practice is like a magic formula to make you wealthier, healthier, and happier. What are you going to do with that?

You have two choices:

Blow it off.

Join the Revolution.

Broke, unhappy, and less healthy.

Rich, happy, and healthier.

It’s time to decide.

How have hand-written thank you notes impacted your life?

BIO: Matt McWilliams is from the south but reluctantly lives in Fort Wayne, IN. He blogs about personal growth, business, and leadership at MattMcWilliams.com and tweets about the #ThankYouRevolution and more at @MattMcWilliams2 (don’t forget the 2 or you get an egg).

10 Great Things To Do On A Snow Day

As I was getting my laptop out to write today’s blog post, we received a call from our school district indicating school would be closed tomorrow due to the snow storm blowing through our area yesterday and today. The kids were jumping through the ceiling when they heard this news. As I type this (at 8 PM Tuesday night), 9 inches of snow has fallen and it’s still coming. The snow is supposed to end around 5 AM this morning. We’ll see what the total is.

The snow day made me think about all the great things that come with a snow day. I thought you might enjoy my ideas.

10 Great Things To Do On A Snow Day

Shovel. Shovel. Shovel. This was the way I made money when I was a kid. Where have all the entrepreneurial kids gone? Seriously, there’s something satisfying about shoveling. My back doesn’t always enjoy the heavier snows, but a light snow is good for the soul.
Read a good book. There’s nothing like a good snow storm to slow us down enough to stop and read. Right now, I’m reading Life After Art: What You Forgot About Life and Faith Since You Left the Art Room by Matt Appling.
Play a game. When I arrived home from work late this afternoon, Leanne and the kids were in the middle of a game of Monopoly. Hannah has become quite the tycoon. People don’t play board games anymore. Sometimes a snow storm is just what it takes to get you to return to the old game closet or game shelf.
Eat some comfort food. Last night, Leanne had prepared a chicken and mushroom casserole. I’m not sure what it was, but it just seemed like the right meal for a snow day.
Watch a good movie. I haven’t watched a good movie at home lately. This is the perfect time for a Netflix movie. What movie would you recommend?
Listen to some good music. Last night, I rummaged through my CD collection and found Marc Cohn‘s first album. Nothing like Walking In Memphis to make you feel relaxed.
Help a neighbor. I kind of alluded to it in the first one above. Snow days are great for gathering the neighborhood for shoveling, building a snowman, or having a snowball fight.
Hot chocolate. I can’t enjoy this one anymore unless I want a good migraine, but that doesn’t have to stop you from enjoying a mug of hot chocolate with some marshmallows a couple of drops of Kahlua.
Write a thank you note. I know it’s not Thank You Thursday, but you could use the snow day to keep up with the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge. Just a thought!
Rest! Go ahead. Take a nap. Put your feet up. Slow down for the day. We rush around so much. I snow day is a great time to take a break.

What’s your favorite thing to do on a snow day? What else would you add to the list above?

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Top 10 Posts:

Top 9 Commenters:

It’s week 5 of the 90 Day Thank You Note Challenge!

10 People To Thank

“Busy is a drug that a lot of people are addicted to.” Rob Bell

8 Ways To Survive And Thrive When Things Get Busy

10 Steps To Make Your Dream A Reality

Thank You Notes? Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That

IT. WILL. CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE.

10 Great Things To Do On A Snow Day