Well, the festivities of the 4^th of July are over and summer is officially under way. I spend my summers on Red Wing Island, a piece of property that has been in my family for 69 years this year. Right now I am sitting in my A-frame on my couch at 5 a.m. watching two Loons float by as Bluegills snatch insects off the water’s surface and Kingfishers chatter on. Soon, I’ll paddle off the island and go do my horse chores.

Our year-round property is just a quarter of a mile down the road on the mainland, so my sense of place is tremendous. All though I did not grow up in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, the physical place, this couple mile radius particularly, feels so much like home that I feel a part of it. It’s in my blood.

Figuring It Out

It is interesting deciding where you want to live and then figuring out how you will make it work. It is all I have ever done. The only time I ever moved anywhere for a purpose and not a place was when I went to Beloit College. It was in the middle of cornfield country and that did not do it for me. I left after the first semester. Since then, I have lived in Boulder Colorado, Missoula and West Glacier Montana, Seattle and Port Angels Washington, Houghton Michigan in the U.P., and Sandpoint Idaho, as well as Ashland and Minocqua Wisconsin. I write a lot about leadership and service to others because I believe it is important and fulfilling, but you really do have to be the leader of your own life and decide how you want to live if you going to be truly satisfied with your life. It is harder than it sounds because there are times when the tail starts to wag the dog.

Summertime: Blessing and a Curse

For me, summer gets so busy and there are many demands both social and work, that I operate in a very reactive mode. One of the reasons I live where I do is because my family all comes up to the island in the summer, so I want to spend time with each of them. Also, a stream of friends come to their cabins for a week at a time, all on vacation and sort of assuming that we are too. The social demands are non-stop. It is a blessing and curse, but it is what I chose and that is the big thing.

Sometimes we don’t get to make choices about how we live. Sometimes we get sick or have someone depending on us that ties us down, but for the most part we can really do anything we want and live anywhere we want. We can be anything we want!

Be Intentionally Thankful

So, as I sit and watch the sun rise and the eagle fly by, I give thanks that I made it through the harsh, slow and long winter, to get to be part of this fast paced, full-of-life summer. This moment of reflective bliss is perfect and a big part of what I live for. Now I turn to you and ask, what do you want out of life? Do you have it? Are you ready to take charge and go get it? Are you ready for the sacrifices? Do you even know what it is? I hope so. If not, maybe some reflective time in nature giving thanks will help you find your way and fuel your soul. I am here to help as well. I hope you are enjoying the intensity that is summer.

Keep leading,
Rad