The ‘Adventure’ of Indonesia

As many of you know, our ‘Leadership Adventure’ took us to Indonesia over the past 10 days or so, with a stop in California on the way to see my son, Zach, who is at Camp Pendleton. The word ‘Adventure’ is appropriate. Yesterday felt like I had been through quite a ride. It seems, at times, that everything only catches up to us when we finally stop or slow down!

It, usually, takes me a couple of days to shake off international travel and return to my routine stateside – but my heart is continually pulled back toward the blog and my connection with you that have chosen to join me on this adventure. I am a bit driven to share leadership principles every day and have a ‘destiny’ to add value to people Every Day – which leads me to shake it off and get back to posting blogs!! Thanks for your patience during the travel.

There are a number of blogs that are intense in my heart from the trip – adding to the thread started on the many roles we play as leaders, unpacking some leadership and life questions from discussions with Zach, and talking about a burning topic of the ‘bottom line’ of business.

However, I thought we could jump back in with just talking about the journey and maybe connecting on a more personal level, for today.

We started in California with a blaze of activity with Zach over July 4th and the pride of having two sons serving their country during that patriotic weekend.

We expected to see the beauty of California, connect with Zach, ship a care package to his brother and then enjoy the beauty of California before heading out to business in Indonesia.

We received a call during that time that was a reminder that serving isn’t for the weak and the fast realization that having sons serve the country meant their lives are, truly, on the line every day. Our oldest son, Josh, had come under attack and there were casualties in their unit. We went from being thankful that he made it – to empathetic and compassionate for the families that lost their sons.

Conversations about life, happiness, meaning, etc. ensued and all of the questions about what is true and lasting in this world (and the next) – all of the topics that transcend leadership of business into leadership in life and personal courage. (I know life isn’t always easy and I am thankful, daily, for the gift of each day with those that are close to me. We have experienced loss of loved ones in the past year or so and know that many of you are facing your own trials and pains and our hearts are with you!)

From there – we had a few days to enjoy La Jolla and the beautiful coast, caught the flight, connected through Hong Kong and landed in Jakarta. Our main seminar was scheduled for the Ritz and the smaller subsequent meeting for the JW Marriott.

Long story short, there were a number of circumstances that transpired that caused us to change our accommodations just a couple of days before suicide bombers (that were staying one floor up from us) walked into the restaurant during breakfast and carried out their deadly attacks – one at the JW and one at the Ritz. We are fortunate to be alive… there are 5-6 different reasons why we should have been there that morning and only providence that we were not.

We spent the next several days in the home of a business partner, not knowing when or if the next attack would hit, while working to wrap up the training certifications that we had committed to complete. It was a couple of stressful days with long hours followed by 30+ hours of flying time coming home – not exactly the best representation for my wife’s first time to accompany me on business!

Thanks so much for your prayers and support of me and my family!

I believe the people of Indonesia will overcome the evil that seeks to do it (and others) harm. The people I met were great – with a great hunger for leadership and excellence. We wish them all the best and will be back with them for more!

Long post for the first one back – if you want more on the bombings here’s a link.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/channel/headlines

The post for tomorrow or later today is on the triple bottom line – one of my favorite discussions!!! Thanks for allowing me to add value to your leadership growth!