The Path To Peak Performance

Man plans, God laughs.

Even if you don’t believe in God, you get the point.

As a wise man once said, even the “best laid plans oft’ go awry”.

That’s certainly been my experience.

A BIG lesson learned on my 30-year career journey:

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Nearing the ripe old age of 30, after about 4 years abroad, I decided to repatriate to the US.

After a year and a half in the beautiful city of San Francisco, I was on a plane to Munich, Germany.

I’ve been here since.

BOTTOM LINE: You might be through with something, but it might not be through with you.

Therefore, be ready to adapt. AND, accept whatever comes your way.

The second part is not always easy, especially when you have your heart set on something.

Can you think of a time when you made a solid plan only for something to come in unexpectedly and alter it.

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...See that sweet little girl with her arms around my twenty-something neck? It's her birthday today...and she's not so little any more. She's actually got 3 little ones of her own now. So does her baby brother, by the way.

Brianna and I have always had a special bond. I'm not sure if it's because I met her as a newborn a few days after she was born. Or the fun visits around Christmastime like in the picture...It might be due to the wonderful memory I have of her signing and playing at my wedding in Big Sur - I can't watch the wedding video without shedding a tear...OK, many tears!

There are so many reasons that connect us. It's been so fun getting to know her kids - they all have the same twinkle that she did. She still does.

So happy birthday, dear Brianna! In some ways you'll always be that little girl with pigtails and pink pajamas. Thanks for all those sweet hugs and smiles over the years...keep 'em coming!

Sending lots of love your way,
Uncle Tim

My mom Nancy Nash Lund is a warrior. Not in a military or physical sense. Although I remember going to a yoga class with her about 25 years ago and feeling embarrassed. It wasn't the age difference. She was kicking my butt!

It has more to do with her thirst for knowledge, and her curiosity about herself and others.

Mom is many things to many people - mother, wife, friend, therapist. To me, she's the one who turned me on to Woody Allen's best films in the 80's - ones that led me to Dostoevsky and other great thinkers. (Love him or hate him, you can't deny the brilliance of "Hannah & Her Sisters" or "Crimes & Misdemeanors")

She's the one who was always reading, always learning, always discovering new things. She went back to school in her 50's and began working as a Marriage & Family Counselor. She's still at it.

One time while visiting her home near Sacramento I looked through her book collection…I had to laugh when I saw that most books were marked up and “worked through”. I do the same thing.

She’s one of the few people I know that still sends “real” cards – birthday, anniversary, etc. She never forgets those special occasions, one of the many things I am grateful for when it comes to my mom.

Here is what I have to say on the subject of gratitude – if you are grateful to someone, tell them. Life is short. You never know how much time you have. So don’t wait to tell someone how you feel about them.

This picture was taken at sunset up at Meditation Mount overlooking the Ojai valley, not far from Los Angeles. The fires started a few days later. In fact, my wife and I drove mom to LAX on January 7th, a few hours after the Palisades fire began. We could see the smoke on our drive. We also flew back to Munich on that day.

Even though we arrived back to freezing temperatures, I was so grateful that we had missed the fires. And that we had had 3 worry-free days with mom. Mostly, I was grateful mom was able to come down from Sacramento and visit us in Ojai over New Years.

We had a wonderful time – exploring beautiful places like Meditation Mount, enjoying great food like raw Buffalo-milk ice cream, and lots of laughing and storytelling in between.

Thanks, mom, for all those cards and gifts over the years. Thanks for passing on your thirst for knowledge, too.

Most of all, thanks for modeling fun and curiosity for me then…and now.