I am a coach for my son's hockey team and at practice this week he skated up to me and said a player from a different team which we share the ice with threw snow in his face. He wanted either advice on how to deal with it or he wanted me to deal with it. I really didn't do either. I just asked him how he dealt with it. 

I was on a vacation this past week when in just a few seconds my four-year-old daughter gave me some of the best advice I am sure any parent has ever received.  We were at a water park and she was trying to get across the pool using the monkey-bar like rope and the floating plastic rocks.  She was not tall enough to reach the rope in most areas of the course so she was going to need my help unless she just jumped from rock to rock.  She was struggling to reach the rope and the rock was sliding out from under her so I grabbed her and assisted her and she yelled, “Dad, I got this.”  Then she yelled that she needed my help, but then again followed up that she didn’t want my help.  I just couldn’t seem to do it right.

I had lunch this week with an old friend and after we exchanged pleasantries and caught up on each other’s families we spent most of the time discussing each other’s jobs.  This individual had recently changed positions and is more enthusiastic about his new job and new company than I have ever heard him before.  He was someone who always had a positive attitude about his previous position and employer, but there was a different type of spark inside him and it was good to see.

Happy Friday everyone. It’s Friday and that is a fact. But the happy part is a little more elusive if you read the headlines of your favorite newspaper or scroll through your social media feed. Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered with some positive news to send you into this wonderful weekend.

It’s 4^th of July weekend and I am guessing you are like me and all the small talk at the office and around the  neighborhood this week started with, “Whatchya doin for the 4^th?”  It marks a holiday that most Americans do celebrate in some form or fashion usually with a beverage in hand. According to this article by WalletHub it’s the number one beer-drinking holiday of the year. 

Recently I overhead someone talking about last night’s NBA Draft and how “those guys are becoming instant millionaires overnight. Can you imagine?” The one leading the conversation was not incorrect, the first round picks are guaranteed an NBA contract good for at least three years. The top pick will make at the least twenty million dollars over the first three years and the 30^th pick will make at least 4 million dollars. These amazingly gifted athletes sign their contracts shortly after being drafted thus making them instant millionaires. 

My wife and her friends were some of the thousands of women in their 30’s and 40’s who packed the Xcel Energy Center Wednesday night reliving their teenage years as they sang along to Boyz II Men and New Kids on the Block.  I had the pleasure of receiving texts with photos of boy bands who apparently are still enjoying their heartthrob status. This photo is actually taken from the group of gals as Donnie Wahlberg himself took a drink from one of their beverages. Here is an article from the Pioneer Press about the New Kids on the Block performance Wednesday night. 

Today marks a big day for me. Today I have been a parent for eight years.  Oh, and it's also my oldest child's birthday. He turned eight.  I suppose I should have started that it's a big day for my son.

It's really funny how the world changes and what was once considered a negative word or connotation becomes a positive one.  One of the big buzz words in technology in business the past couple of years is 'Disruptive'.  New business ideas or technologies that are going to shake up the industry and enrich investors are viewed more positively the more disruptive they are.  

This week Minnesota’s biggest news source The Star Tribune celebrated its 150 year anniversary.  That is truly quite an accomplishment and our region and its people are better for the great reporting and journalism it has brought over the years.  Whether it will continue to sustain itself and provide the great coverage we are accustomed to in the ever-growing digital age is an ongoing challenge but so far it appears to have done better than some of its peers across the country.