“One must know not just how to accept a gift, but with what grace to share it.” - Maya Angelou Well, here is where I landed, as my strategy included options two, three, and four. I also asked my wife for help in this important endeavor. Lois agreed to make me no more than two cups of coffee each morning, and she would also monitor (and provide feedback on) my behavior at home which she made me aware of. I also asked a few close colleagues at work to watch and see if they noticed a change in my morning engagement with others during the upcoming weeks. It was important for me to track my progress towards becoming the person others looked forward to seeing in the morning versus someone they hid from! The result: After three months of decreased coffee consumption, my team noticed a significant change in my morning disposition. I saw it too! I felt a lot better and was much calmer in my interactions with my team, colleagues, and peers. Also, when our exchanges became spirited, I was the one who interacted with everyone with the serene spirit of a buddha. Yes, the new Franklin was the person they looked for to quiet the storm, sought advice from and quizzed about how they too could bring a more balanced approach to their lives. Wow! That was my reaction and what a boost to my ego. I wallowed in confidence and embraced a feeling of increased assuredness from the plan development, implementation, and execution for my positive personal transformation. I was on top of the world, and as my parent’s generation would say, I was not only feeling myself and brimming over with confidence, I was also smelling myself! Which is a good segway and transition point to bring you to the “rest of the story!” It happened over coffee with my wife Lois one Saturday morning. I was saturating her unmercifully with my glory and self-gratified metamorphosis at the office. I prattled on about the renewed reception of the new and improved Franklin and how my plan of execution down this path of reverence was successful. As I went on about how my heroic acts of conquering my caffeine and coffee demons were superb, I noticed a subtle bit of indifference in her body language during this discussion. This was like a moment when a keynote speaker suspects they are losing their audience during a key point in a presentation. Call it a mood change or a shift in the wind, regardless…these are sobering moments that instinctively set off alarm bells for experienced presenters. When this happens, they know it’s time to pause, gauge your audience, and audit your suspicions by proceeding with the signature move of, “Are there any questions thus far before we get into the next section?” As I nervously watched Lois lower her coffee cup from her lips and, with her signature half-grin and raised eyebrow, I asked her, “Lois, what’s up? Is there something you need to tell me? My wife looked at me with a face my children and I have seen before and know well. It is a face that telegraphs empathy from a courtroom judge who is just about to deliver to the accused a hard sentence - laden with the look of, “here comes the truth, but I am not sure you can handle the truth!” She responded to me with the delivery of a well-trained inquisitor, “So, you do know there was some help in your behavior transformation plan you may not be aware of Mr. Franklin?” I replied with a look of astonishment at first, followed by another look of suspicion, as I thought to myself, “Why is she challenging my story of
37 Publizr Home