One of my “off duty” hobbies is to participate in an online “mini blog” site called “Floort” (www.floort.com).  At Floort we can write our opinions on pretty much anything – from trivial issues such as hair styles and the taste of hamburgers to more serious ones involving diversity relations or international policies. Indeed, this may be one reason why I like the site so much – nothing is off limits.  Taboo topics such as religion and politics are ok.  All it takes is an opinion and a reasonably “tough skin” – things can get pretty feisty from time to time.

One of my most interesting co-floorters is Mr. William Brown, a pre-med student from Texas Tech.  The two of us disagree most of the time, bring up every supporting web site we can think of, and can go on for days on the same topic.  We have succeeded, however, in keeping civility alive – we can get excited and passionate, but never rude or insulting. Probably for this reason, I have learned a lot from our debates.

The excerpt below came from one of one his Floorts, and I reproduce it here with his permission. 

I just got done working with one of my old horses, Boe, and was thinking about how much that old son of a gun has taught me. I’ve had him since I was 8 and he’s taught me patience, determination, and about having confidence in my own abilities. He taught me that ignorance will get you hurt, and that cockiness will get you killed. He’s taught me that no matter how hard you kick you’ll never get him to run as fast as he does when he’s running home. He taught me that a good hard ride will always leave you sore, sunburned, and tired, but that it’s always worth it. He taught me that approaching things head on is the best way not to get kicked in the teeth, and that you can chase a horse all day with a rope but you’ll never catch him till you get the feed bucket. He taught me that if we come to a puddle that he won’t go through it probably means it’s too deep, and that when he’s stuck in that puddle telling him to go doesn’t help nearly as much as getting off and pulling. All in all I know that the old guy doesn’t have very many more years left, but when he dies he’ll have left a mark on me that I’ll never forget.

I chuckle as I reread the excerpt.  I chuckle because I read so much and look for complicated models and conduct endless surveys… and yet, at the end of the day, receive the most powerful message from Mr. Brown’s horse in Texas.  Calm down. Curb your frustrations even if you need to lock the door and scream a little.  Remember what your jobreally is… to help Boe negotiate puddles, face challenging rides, and get safely to his destination.  And most of all – remember to take lessons from the Boes in your life – all those non-work experiences in which we must influence people whom we cannot hire or fire, people who will simply walk out on us if they don’t feel we’re leading them where they want to go, people who could care less what our title is. 

Thank you Boe – you have taught me a thing or two. What has life taught you today?