NO...MATTER...WHAT.

Everything's negotiable. 

Everything?

Today I hung out with two brilliant negotiators. What impresses me isn't their ability to negotiate; it's their choice not to. 

Today is the final instalment of "The 365 Experiment," one of Leslie Foster's blogs. He wrote a script a day this entire year! A script a day!

On a film shoot in Tennessee I was up from 5am 'til 1am the next morning. As I crawled into bed for a 4-hour recharge so we could do it all over again, Leslie settled at his computer to write the day's script. Dude, seriously?

Why not just write it tomorrow? Why not take 2 weeks off while the movie is in production?

Because this was his "non-negotiable." Because he'd made a promise. To himself. Every day this year, he was going to turn in a script, a crafted slice of imagination, a soul-painting, a story worth telling.  

NO...MATTER...WHAT.

Actually, I think I first heard the phrase "this is one of my non-negotiables" from Bjorn, another incredible human I encountered today. I'll tell you about him later...

Foster, I am impressed by your resolve, intrigued by your creativity, inspired by your integrity.

What are my non-negotiables? 

What do I have to do today? Who do I have to be? 

NO...MATTER...WHAT.

A single phrase to describe my friend Leslie Foster: Diplomatic Non-Negotiator

Third Wheel

A full-grown man asking my permission to go to the bathroom! 

I knew my path for the day would cross a particularly attractive woman. Amazing as she is, she is not the one for whom my heart reserves. I knew I had to walk that path, but I also knew that on that day I wasn't strong enough to face the encounter alone. So I asked my friend to be there with me.

I met this guy about 6 years ago and he stands out in my memory because he's not afraid to dance whenever the music comes on. He'll even dance when there's no music playing. He's a carrier of contagious enthusiasm. 

Lately I've been reading Nehemiah 8:10 differently than before. It's says the Joy of the Lord is my strength. Ok, sure it's my strength and your strength and everybody's strength. But I'm realizing it's not just generically everyone's strength--It's specifically MY strength.  

Tom Rath describes Positivity on page 141 of his book Strengthfinders:

...Somehow you can't quite escape your conviction that it is good to be alive, that work can be fun, and that no matter what the setbacks, one must never lose one's sense of humor..."

That sounds like Clayton, sounds like Dan, sounds like Jim, like Mike, like Penner, that sounds like...

I've been paying attention to which men have my back in a tight spot, and it seems coincidental they all exhibit this trait, this Positivity, this strength. I'm learning more about the way Joy both derives it's strength from Character and supplies it's strength to Character, a perpetual cycle of replenishment. 

I did run into that young lady and we had a blast! Me and her, and my brother. 

I needed a man I could count on that night. He never left my side. Except one time, and he asked me first. I wonder what he would have done if I'd said no. 

A single phrase to describe my friend Clayton Bedell: Strong Joy Backup