For selfish reasons, being born the week after Christmas has its pitfalls. But the days between Christmas and New Year prove to be a great time for honest reflection. But this year, that reflection hasn’t been so easy. I turned thirty-five years old this week. I have to pause and let it sink in because life has a cruel way of speeding up without warning. Before we can blink, years have passed, our kids are grown up, and we find […]
Facebook is the greatest marketing tool in the history of humankind. It feeds us exactly what we want by analyzing our habits and demographics with absolute precision. For example, I wanted to purchase a watch earlier this year. After a few online searches, ads for watches littered my Facebook newsfeed. The Facebook algorithm is built entirely around the concept that you reap what you sow. Whatever you like, whatever you comment on, whatever you read, it returns more of the […]
I woke up this morning, as I do most mornings, and read through the trending news on Facebook. Now I’m not sure how accurate it is given that Facebook controls who sees what, but these are the headlines I saw: SNOOP DOGG: DONALD TRUMP A RECKLESS MOTHER______ POKEMON GO REALLY DISTRACTS DRIVERS As I read through, it really begged the question: “Don’t we have better things to talk about?” Have we really resorted to chasing invisible creatures in our cars with our […]
Growing up as a kid in Coastal North Carolina, the threat of hurricanes was a staple—just like tornadoes for those in the midwest, earthquakes for those out west, and snow storms for those in the northeast, every geographic location has its nemesis. This week, Hurricane Hermine swept through the southeast and left a swath of damage in its wake, affecting millions along the coast with flooding and power outages just ahead of the holiday weekend. As the storm passed through, I went to Wrightsville […]
I stand on the fence of the generation gap between Generation X and Generation Y—commonly referred to as The Millennials. Interestingly enough, that gives me a unique perspective to see both sides of the cultural issues that each generation faces. I recently sat down to lunch with a younger millennial. I originally met this young man through a church mentoring program a few years ago. From day one, I’ve known that he was destined for great things. My intuition wasn’t […]
It’s that time of year when a lot of parents are preparing for their children to leave. And regardless if it’s kindergarten or college, the emotions are the same. We’re sending someone we love out into the world—a world that doesn’t seem love them like we do. But in both the sadness and excitement, it’s important for us to remember that we raise our kids to leave. When my son, Matthew, Jr., was born, my best friend sent me a song […]
There is a real desire in every human being to be approved. Everyone wants to believe they matter. And even though we say we don’t care what people think, we constantly give them the authority to validate who we are. As a result, we orchestrate our lives to please others—our boss, our spouse, our kids, our parents, our friends, even the guy we bump into at the coffee shop. The problem is, we lose sight of who we really are because we live the life that […]
We get busy in life. Matt reminds us of why we dedicate ourselves to something other than ourselves.
- Robert Wagnon, CEO, Republic State Mortgage
