beBetter 

Last week, we had just cleaned up the duck eggs from our front yard when one egg exploded filled the air with a stench that nearly brought me to my knees. After hosing the sidewalk down, I ran into the house to get away from this smell that was continuing to make me gag.  

We have been excited the last few weeks watching a mallard hen nesting in our front yard rose bush. She has three eggs but we have not seen her on the nest in over a week. So this afternoon, we are checking one final time to confirm she has abandoned her nest. We were looking forward to seeing the little ducklings make their way back to the lake but it does not appear it will happen this year.

What a painful blog to write and CeCe will be all over this after she reads it. I had just launched my boat into some rough water as three guys watched from the boat ramp. “You going out in this rough water?” they asked. “Yes, I’m going to the north end to wade so I won’t have to deal with the wind and the boat.” Turning the boat into the wind, hitting those first two big waves, my ego got the best of me. I grabbed my Ole Miss cap and swung it around like a cowboy riding a bucking bull, clearly showing out for the guys on the bank.

As 2020 winds down, I think we are collectively breathing a sigh of relief that we made it through an extremely challenging year.

Have you ever taken a shot to the gut? The kind that literally takes your breath and leaves you gasping for air? I had such an experience recently, and I found myself gasping at how far we have to go as a profession when it comes to female talent.

“Pull the trigger, Davis!” We chime in at the shooting range with my grandson Davis, who was nine at the time. As you probably know, we’re a hunting family, and the day before this happened, Davis had passed on a nice 8-point buck because he was frozen by the thought of the recoil even though he has successfully shot this gun before. His rifle is loud, but not deafening, and a great youth gun to learn gun safety with because of the size and limited recoil. So his dad, Brandon, and I took him to the shooting range trying to get him comfortable shooting again.

It’s raining on Saturday afternoon and I’m really in the mood to do nothing. I’m okay with that as we all need these moments to recharge. Flipping through the channels, I pause on a bass tournament for about ten minutes but start scanning again. There’s nothing on that is drawing my interest.

“Oh, a meeting with a bunch of number crunchers,” is ringing in my ears as I look into the eyes of this complete stranger who has taken the liberty of labeling our profession.

It’s the AICPA Major Firms Group meeting in Laguna Niguel, California, and we had just finished our afternoon session and I was briskly walking back to my room when I bumped into this beautiful family in the hallway.

In a recent collaboration meeting with several leaders from numerous organizations and firms, one of them commented, “I think I may have overshared.”  Actually, her thoughts, insights and feelings were exactly what we needed to hear. She had been very vulnerable with us and her comments were both relevant and insightful. After her comment, the word "overshared" kept ringing in my ears. Why did I love this term so much?

In golf, your ability to play the “short game” is the quickest way to lower your score. You cannot shoot low scores in golf if you can’t chip and putt. Obviously, the pros spend hours refining this aspect of the game. And guess what skills go the quickest if you don’t play regularly? For me at least, it’s chipping and putting. This has never been more evident to me than last month ─ my once a year golf outing at Sage Valley. This year, I shot the worst score of my golfing career (108). That fantastic little score included triple bogeys on four holes. It was ugly, really ugly.

I’m amazed by how easily I can become consumed with things that aren’t the main focus. I might have a presentation to prepare for, yet I will check Twitter or LinkedIn instead. What matters most — connecting on social media or focusing on giving my best in the presentation? Another example is when my grandchild wants to play at the playground 30 minutes longer than I had planned. What really matters most — my plan or extra time with this precious child?

As Barry Melancon, CEO of AICPA, brought up the slide at the Major Firms Group meeting in Naples this January, I knew my simple strategy of “pulling back the curtain” was over as Barry had just ripped the whole curtain down for the entire profession to see. LEARN, UNLEARN, RELEARN was center in his message and vision that our profession must retool itself and embrace a continuous learning culture. 

The truth is, it’s easy to be average. To be outstanding, however, calls for risks. It means not letting our comfort zones or fears of mistakes, perceptions and the unknown keep us from reaching our full potential.