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ONE OF FORT COLLINS’ claims to fame is 
Tim Farnsworth, the M&E Painting sign dancer guy. He’s been working for the company for six years now and is an energetic asset to the community.
He cares deeply about his job. He’s an expert and puts his whole heart into what he does.
Let’s contrast this to, oh, the other twenty sign flippers around town. They stand there. Maybe they wave their sign around a little. It a fit of inspiration, they might even turn it around for ten minutes.
You get the impression that it’s just a job, a way to make a few bucks before moving onto something which will pay 50¢ more.
OUR CULTURE celebrates self reliance. 
We applaud the “self made man” as if such a thing could even exist, and we have a deep desire for independence and autonomy. The USA holds up the archetype as cowboy or business mogul as one who courageously takes on all challenges and doesn’t rely on anyone else.
It’s a wonder that society can exist at all!
The truth is that we deeply need each other throughout our lifetimes. Read the rest of this entry »
EVERYTHING IS A DISASTER. 
Or at least it seems that way.
But you get a different perspective when you’re able to reflect after the fact. It’s human nature.
We’re expert at focusing on the detail. If we didn’t do that, the magnitude of everyday experience would overwhelm us! But it also means that we shut out 99% of the world to focus on the 1%.
Especially when it comes to problems.
THIS WEEK I WAS CHALLENGED 
by a speaker named Todd Musselman to think about the concept of making choices. One of his key messages? “At every moment in time, you’re doing exactly what is most important to you.”
I have a resistance to this, as you might as well. It feels like an incredible amount of my time is spent on extraneous stuff, trivialities, and annoyances.
Yet, this is absolutely true.
SALVATION IS AT HAND! Christ is risen!
I would like to take this moment to extend to you the warmth and joy of this, our most holy day of the Christian year. Nearly 2000 years ago, Jesus showed us our path out of sin and into God’s loving presence.
Are you taking time every day to build this into yourself and your business? I don’t care if you market yourself as a Christian company. But certainly you should be letting your values shine forth.
JILL VAN ORDEN heads up Arts Reach Center here in Fort Collins. It’s a fascinating concept, giving kids an outlet for creativity and inspiration.
This city has a fairly active arts scene, but most of that is targeted at adults. Sure, most venues also have special kids’ shows. But Arts Reach Center is different.
It’s targeted entirely at kids, and at their direct involvement in the performing arts. Jill described it to me as giving children a rich learning experience, joyful expression and friendships, and development of their artistic abilities.
Janska’s outerwear
JANSKA PRODUCES STYLISH WOMEN’S WEAR and is based here in Colorado. Jan Erickson started this venture 2003 based on an experience she had with a friend who was incapacitated at the time.
Jan’s friend was a talented, respected woman. But when dressed in a hospital gown, her self-esteem took a hard hit. More importantly, others in the facility treated her as more of a nameless patient than a vibrant individual.
Jan had the idea to develop a line of wear which was accessible to those with limited mobility, while also being incredibly comforting and stylish.
Janska was born.
DO YOU PRAY for your business?
I know that I’ve struggled with this question over the years.
In our society, we try hard to separate our religious lives on Sunday from our secular lives the other six days of the week.
But God has asked us to be focused on him at all times, not just for an hour or two.
IT‘S DARN HARD to start a business.
I was speaking with a gentleman this week whom I had met a couple of months ago. He had an interesting and unique business idea, but has been struggling to gain traction.
So a couple of weeks ago, he had to go get a full time job.
EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE SUPPORTERS. 
Humans are social beings, and we have a fundamental need to be encouraged, even to look good in front of others.
In business this can be particularly difficult. A company is a bit of a faceless entity, so people aren’t as accustomed to stating things in a polite way like they would to someone’s face.
Quite likely, you’re awash in a sea of criticism.
