David Greer

Do you do too much?

I’m kind of a do it yourselfer. I’ve come up in the ranks as a small business owner and never really experienced the good ole days of having a secretary or a maintenance staff at my beckon call. In a small business, if you see something that needs to be done, you just get up and do it.

A couple years ago a new employee came to my office and asked where the “Maintenance Requisition Forms” were. He had a light bulb out in his office and needed it replaced. I took him down the hall and pointed him to the closet and said “they’re in there.” In the closet was the ladder and the light bulbs. I told him to be careful on the ladder and be sure to close out the ticket when he was done.

 
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Kelly Greer

Anybody seen my big girl pants?

Wow, the hits just keep on coming. Work challenges, personal challenges, relational challenges, spiritual challenges – my challenges have challenges! Somewhere along the path these last few weeks, I’ve lost my way. It’s scary how quickly and easily that can happen. One week, I’m rocking along in a sea of skittles, rainbows and butterflies and the next, my little red wagon of hopes and dreams lay in waste along the side of the road. My wheels have flown off and my precious cargo is strewn into the streets of despair and regret.

Gosh, what a drama queen! Or more accurately — what a hormonal drama queen. (You can send sympathy letters to my husband David at the address below!) I know better than this. I know life is a marathon not a sprint. I know to expect roadblocks in the journey. I know, I know, I know… so why don’t I live what I know?  Here is my latest self-discovery, which will probably be no discovery at all to anyone who really knows me:  I am an all or nothing girl.  At first glance, I wear that label proud. After all, that’s how things get done right?  It’s all about commitment and making stuff happen. Being sold out to your goals and dreams. Being “all in” for a cause or need.  And while there is certainly is a place for that mindset – it’s a recipe for disaster if you apply it to how you approach life overall.

 
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David Greer

Thinking stuff up is easy

Thomas Edison quipped that genius was 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Given that he was a pretty smart fella, I think I’ll agree with him. Most people I talk to concur implementation is a far bigger challenge than coming up with ideas themselves, even though ideas seem to get all the glory.

And what about this? Seems there are plenty of folks who can spew an idea a second, particularly when they are telling you what “you” should do. They’ll throw an idea out and then sit back like they’ve done the heavy lifting, when in reality, discussing an idea is the easy part. Implementation is where superstars are born! The people and companies that see their ideas through to reality are the ones I watch.

 
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David Greer

The devil made me do it

How many times have you been in a meeting and someone says those words: “Can I play the devil’s advocate for a minute?”

What certainly follows is a litany of reasons why something won’t work, or why it’s a bad idea or why that grain of innovative thinking needs to be squashed flat before it has a chance of working.

And you can’t be mad at people like this, right? After all, it wasn’t them. They aren’t pessimistic, idea-killin’ pontificators of doom. No, no – it was just the devil. By using the ol’ devil’s advocate approach, people have granted themselves criticism-whiner immunity. They claim to be among your staunch supporters; they hear what you’re saying; they believe in you; they thrive on innovation; but, they “owe it to the cause” to play the devil’s advocate.

 
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Kelly Greer

Overwhelmed

I woke up at 2 a.m. this morning. This seems to be my new “normal” these days.  Whether it’s a sign of the times or my welcome into menopause (less the hot flashes, thank you Progressive Medical Center), 2 a.m. is my new 6 a.m. Apparently, this is also the preferred time of day that fear and doubt and worry come knocking on my mind’s door. Kinda makes sense, don’t you think? It’s dark, quiet and they have my undivided attention. It’s three against one.

But I noticed something very different today. They came knocking and I greeted them more like I do the pine straw guys that show up at my house every Saturday morning. (Come to my house and you’ll see why we are tops on their list!) I am cordial. I listen and then I politely tell them, “Not today.” And so it went with my fears. It just so happens though that my fears aren’t as understanding as the kind, yet persistent pine straw dudes.  My fears didn’t like my response and began to knock louder… they were throwing “what if’s” on top of “what if’s”… they reminded me of every current challenge in my business and personal life… and added a few more I hadn’t yet thought of for good measure.  When that didn’t move me, they made it personal, attacking all my shortcomings and any failures they could dig up from the past (which were ample).  But instead of crumbling and doing my “usual” act of working myself into a frenzy and ultimately, a state of defeat and exhaustion, I just smiled. I had their number.

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Kelly Greer

Happiness vs Joy – What’s the Difference?

I don’t know about you, but the last few years have been quite a ride.  And not exactly a fun one – more like the egg-scrambler ride at Six Flags that starts out seeming like it’s going to be OK, then by the end you are trying not to throw up on your friend.

By nature of my business, I get to visit with all sorts of people on a daily basis.  For the most part what I see are two scenarios:  The first is the person that is just flat out exhausted.  They are working harder and harder for less return and are pretty much running on empty and at their wits end.  The other type I see are people who despite the current economic conditions are having some success; they are setting goals and achieving them.  But when I dig a little deeper, I learn they are feeling like the whole process is a little hollow and not quite the elation or deep satisfaction they were hoping for.

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David Greer

Sometimes, you gotta go old school

The car is packed the night before. Snacks. Luggage. Winnie the Pooh and Home Alone DVDs that I will soon be able to recite line-by-line from hearing them nonstop for eight hours.

Our destination? Nickelodeon Hotel in Orlando. Nope, not Disney, Sea World nor Universal Studios. No, my little girl’s dream was simply to get slimed at The Nickelodeon Hotel. The Nick Hotel gleamed in her mind as worthy as any of the theme parks and well, it’s all the same to me.

We leave in the “middle of the night,” as Gracie would say. In adult time, that’s really five in the morning. We head southward, enjoying the dark quiet time while it lasts. We know that all too soon “are we there yet?” and “how much longer?” will interrupt the soothing melodies of “Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh…Willy nilly silly old bear.” Makes me wonder why anybody thought DVDs in the car were a good idea.

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Kelly Greer

Where Does Passion Come From?

I’ve been getting that question a lot these days…
Passion comes from having a high degree of purpose and meaning in what you do.

So where do you find purpose and meaning?

What do you do if purpose and meaning have “left the building”?

How do you get it back?

What if you feel like you never really had it to begin with…ever.

Experts tell us to look within

Or look outside

Or ask the universe

Or just work harder and quit thinking about it

Or figure it out on your own

Or set some goals

Or make it happen

Or settle

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David Greer

The Kid Will Eat the Middle of the Oreo First

Innovation, ingenuity and vision are often the cornerstone of entrepreneurial businesses. Countless hours spent in pursuit of the better mousetrap. If only we could think of one of those million dollar ideas. If only we could come out with some product or service that took off like wildfire and made us rich. If only we too could come up with that one great idea we’d be set for life. Right?

I’d argue that the world is full of great ideas. Opportunities lie on every corner. More ideas than you can comprehend. I also think for every great idea you see on the market there are thousands and thousands that never made it out of the minds of creators. They just never got traction. Never made it to fruition.

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Kelly Greer

This may be the most important column a parent will ever read

by Kelly Greer

A few weeks ago, I had the honor and privilege to sit across the table and share a meal with Diena Thompson. At first, Diena seemed a lot like me — an everyday gal, the mom of a seven-year-old daughter, hard working with a free and loving spirit towards life. But I quickly discovered our lives were very different. On October 19, 2009, Diena found herself living every parent’s worst nightmare when her seven-year-old daughter Somer went missing. Two days later, Somer’s body was discovered in a Georgia landfill.  We met at a reception in support of local non-profit, Keep Georgia Safe, and the 60 minutes we spent together was one of the most surreal hours of my life.

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