YHC arrived with the some trepidation as it had been a while (at least a year) since last Qing. A large PAX was present missing a shovel flag. YHC was going to start with the Pledge of Allegiance, but it will have to wait till next Q.
We moseyed to the great lawn for a COP (Circle of Pain/Pro-activity) warmup:
SSH IC 49, IW IC 49, Squats IC DU 49, Calf Raises IC UD 49, Arm Circles Small IC 14 F & B, Arm Circles Large IC 14 F & B, Merkin DU 7, Diamond Merkin DU 7, Wide Merkin UD 7, Staggerd Left DU 7, Staggered Right DU 8, Wide Merkins DU 7
There was some mumble chatter about the count of 49. Many thought it was a birthday themed Q, as YHC hit 49 in August. But no, this workout was based on Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, as 7 X 7=49.
YHC directed the PAX to the museum fountain and stayed with 6. Upon my arrival, I was pleased to see the PAX planking. It was at the fountain YHC explained today’s theme and introduced the first habit.
Habit 1: Be Proactive. As men, husbands, fathers, and leaders, we are faced with numerous concerns. Habit 1 teaches us to focus on the things we can do something about. As we become more proactive, we expand our circle of influence.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. In his book, Dr. Covey asks the reader to visualize their own funeral. “To Begin with the End in Mind” means to start with a clear understanding of your destination.
I volunteered Rudy to run to the 7th tree along the green space known as Dreyfous Meadow and place a set of cones, approximately 100 yards. The first set of cones represented our ultimate end (death). YHC asked the PAX to think about their legacy and what do they want to accomplish during this lifetime.
Bear Crawl towards death – 7 trees est 100 yards. This totally sucked, and there was in fact talk of death. However, we all lived to crawl again.
YHC volunteered Hawg to take the cones and move them down another 7 trees. This time the PAX was asked to think about life in 10 years.
We alternated lunge walks and bear crawls passing 7 trees. 86 was the next volunteer to move the cones down 7 trees – This time we thought about what do we want to accomplish in the next year.
We alternated bear craws and lunge walks. The fast PAX took the proactive step to move the cones one additional tree. We covered the distance of the medeow which is about 300 yards. Thanks to DaParish for bringing gloves for those who did not see the forewarning on GroupMe.
If you don’t make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default. Highly effective people are driven and not drifters.
We collected the cones and moseyed to the green space called the John S. Mcilhenny Meadow.
Habit 3: Put First Things First. In Habit 2 you set your vision. In Habit 3, you manage your time by focusing on those activities that are the most important in supporting your vision.
We used the cones to layout Covey’s Time Management Matrix. It consists of four quadrants.
Quad 1 Urgent and Important – Ex. deadlines, emails, meetings, tests. The idea is you want to manage the activities in this quadrant and not get stuck in quad 1. YHC used 49 RedBull Seal Jacks IC in an attempt to drive this point home. YHC was later told by Douille that “Redbull Smurf Jacks” was called out in error leading to confusion and mumble chatter.
Quad 2 Not Urgent and Important – Ex. relationship building, exercising, spirituality, continuing education. This is the quadrant we want to focus on for most of our time. This quadrant was next to the singing tree in City Park, but with no wind, the chimes were silent. Bogey sang instead. YHC used 7 EMOM with 7 burpees as the exercise. All 7 habits reside in this quadrant.
Quad 3 Urgent and Not Important – Ex. Facebook updates, phone solicitation, junk email. This quadrant should be avoided if possible. 21 Monkey humpers
Quad 4 Not Urgent Not Important – Examples watching TV, social media. This quadrant should be limited. Goofballs 14 IC.
There wasn’t enough time to cover the last 4 habits. The first three habits deal with private/personal leadership. The next three deal with pubic leadership and the 7th habit is about continuous renewal/improvement. They will have to wait for the next F3Nola Book Club.
Habit 4: Think Win Win
Habit 5: Seek first to Understand then be Understood
Habit 6: Synergize
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw – Self- Renewal
With time running out, we headed back towards the virtual shovel flag stopping for water and some Mary and our last 7 merkins to bring us up to 49.
Merkins 7 UD
Peter Parkers – 21 IC
Crunchy Frogs – 7 IC
In regards to Habit 1, Being proactive, and Habit 2, Putting first things first, there is a saying attributed to Mark Twain. “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.”
COT
Countdown, Name-O-Rama. Welcome Stitch (from Hawaii) and Navigator (Red Sock fan who was able to navigate from Uptown to City Park. A skill still rarely seen from our Uptown brethren). We closed with a ball of man and a prayer.
Moleskin
I challenge the PAX to work on Habits 1-3 and eat frogs as needed.
Thank you for the opportunity to lead.
