Kevin W. McCarthy

The Professor of On-Purpose

Laughs

Kevin, How Did You Lose Weight And Keep It Off For Two Years ?

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Many people have asked me to reveal the secret to my success with losing my weight and keeping it off.  This On-Purpose “Minute” gives you the skinny on the keys to my weight loss, keeping it off, and staying at a healthy weight. Warning: this “Minute” is a bit different from what you might be used to seeing.

After watching the video, keep reading as I share my update and a surprising residual insight to this whole healthy experience.

OK!  So I had a bit of fun there with you in this On-Purpose Minute.  Hey, it’s the summer so it’s time to cut loose a bit.  Did you watch it all the way?  Hopefully, you hung in there with me and learned my many “secrets.”

From March to July of 2008, I lost 50 pounds.  Candidly, about 10 pounds have crept back on me here on my 2nd anniversary.  I’m in much better shape so I hope some of it is muscle weight – or is that a rationalization?  The tips I gave you work amazing well, if you apply them.

More importantly, I’ve learned a few things about myself, too.  Keeping a healthy weight isn’t nearly as hard as I imagined it to be.  Certainly my behaviors and habits are much healthier, yet there is still this unnecessary and unhealthy desire – call it an occasional lust – for sweets.  It isn’t a physiological need, but an emotional longing of some sort.  But what?

Some unmet need, hurt, frustration, or anger causes me to run to my drug of choice.  I’m working on understanding what the heck is happening and the pattern.  It mostly rears its ugly head at night.

Thankfully the weight loss and new habits have given me a margin of health, a fresh start, and a clearer mind, but there’s more work to be done on good (not so old) old Kevin.  By stripping away a pile of fat-boy producing habits, I’m getting to the root of my issue(s).  It is all good!

My prayer would be that you, too, get on a journey of healthy on-purpose living.  Your personal insights refine and enrich your life if you will go to them instead of running from them.  If you have a health coach, then work with them.   If you need a health coach, then please contact Judith McCarthy at judithmccarthy@cfl.rr.com to learn how you can do what I did.

Authorship: Making Yourself Write

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The Writing processImage by brainpop_uk via Flickr

About once a week a would-be writer approaches me to ask for my pearls of wisdom for how to write a book.  The answer is simple: start, finish, edit, rewrite, edit, share, rewrite, and stop short of being totally satisfied.  (Tip: You will never be completely satisfied.)

The first step, "Start!" is the most difficult.  After that the Finish step is the most difficult, followed by the edit step… you get the picture.  Writing is work folks. 

I stumbled upon 50 Strategies For Making Yourself Work, an article by Jerry Oltion.  It offers great advice for getting the writing process started.  These 50 strategies are accurate and spiced with humor.  

So read (oh, yes, and apply) Jerry Oltion's advice.  Surely, there is at least one of these strategies to get your book started sooner rather than later.  So now you know how to write a book – easy wasn't it? 

How to sell a book?  First, the writing is the easy part.   Need I say more?

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Sarah Palin Network – Really Funny

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I make no bones about my politically conservative point of view, but funny is funny.  Tina Fey's Saturday Night Live Skit about the Sarah Palin Network is smart, clever, and extraordinarily well done.  Ms. Fey and SNL – kudos for your satire.

This clips starts with an ad, but it is worth the wait.

What does it take to be a success?

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I found this presentation on TED that breaks down some of the key qualities of being on-purpose.   RIchard St. John was asked a simple question by a teenager.   His pursuit of the answer lead to 500 interviews over 7 years with successful people.  In 3 minutes Richard provides great insight in an entertaining manner.  Enjoy!

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What’s Your Valentines Day Advice?

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20680_1323712497320_1366104299_918444_5919804_nWhat's your greatest advice for keeping your marriage together?  Let me hear from you on this one!  With Valentines Day fast approaching, it would be great to gather some insights – serious and humorous alike.

The "best advice" I ever got was from a man married for 39 years.  I was in college at the time and his daughter was a dear friend of mine. As he drank his morning coffee, I asked, "Mr. Collier, to what do you attribute the longevity of your marriage to Mrs. Collier?"

Immediately he answered, "Early in our marriage we came to an agreement that I would make all the big decisions in our marriage and my bride would handle all the small decisions.  Amazingly, in 39 years of marriage there has been nothing but small decisions."

I can remember laughing as he shared that advice.  After over 25 years of marriage to my bride, I fully appreciate his humorous wisdom even more.  If only I had listened better…

Be On-Purpose!
Kevin

PS: Photo is the McCarthy Family:  Charles, Judith, Anne, and Kevin

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And the Winner of the Contest Is… Me!

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Jeevan Sivasubramaniam of Berrett-Koehler Publishers produces the weekly BK Communique.  An occasional feature is a puzzler.  His final contest of 2009 caught my eye.  Here it is:

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Drum roll please, I won the contest.  Here is Jeevan's most recent posting:

"I issued this challenge. Some people came close, but no one answered correctly.  The answer? You should definitely not take my bet — here's why.

"Kevin McCarthy submitted a response that was just so, um, creative that I had to give him a free book. (And he kindly sent me a copy of his book.) You can read Kevin's response to the challenge here.

Dear Jeevan,

No, I will not accept your bet in A Game of Cards.   Here's why:

After reading the challenge, I easily recognized it as a probability and statistics question.   Upon the thought of engaging in the calculation of the odds of winning versus the payoff, I felt this knot in my stomach – the same one I used to feel in undergraduate and graduate school when I had to take probability and statistics classes.   My mind swirled with permutations, methods, and calculations as to how to attack and solve your challenge.  My competitive juices began to kick in because I had to be the first to solve it in order to win a book and have a shrine in the lobby.  Fortunately, I'm on the East Coast so I have an advantage over those later risers in the Central and Western time zones. 

Recognizing this strange mix of competitiveness and cards, I immediately converted from worshiping in an Episcopal church to an ultra conservative Baptist church with Pentecostal and Charismatic leanings.   This means I can neither play card games nor gamble.  Because I don't smoke, drink, or dance (lack of any sense of rhythm per my wife) anyway, my transition ten minutes ago to my new Thursday morning church is going along fundamentally well.   Never doubt the power and practicality of my conversion and the values of my new denomination.  The knot in my stomach is gone – healed in an instant!  Here is proof of the peace that passes all understanding as it washed through me.  PTL! 

Sure, you were likely expecting some brainiac to give an answer to the challenge using math.  I, however, have claimed the high moral ground in a triumph of faith over math to come to the answer.  Finally, should this be the winning and timely response, then I will accept a book but must decline the shrine in the lobby.  I can have no part in false idols.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin

Kevin W. McCarthy
CEO, On-Purpose Partners, LLC

Here was Jeevan's notice to me of being the book winner:

"Never has an answer been so blatantly wrong and yet seemed so right.  So, what the hell, for sheer audacity and creativity, you win a book."

Cover of "The New Organizational Wealth: ...Cover via Amazon

Jeevan was true to his word and sent me The New Organizational Wealth, the book of my choice.  He was a good sport so I sent him The On-Purpose Person.

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Customer Service Laughs

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We all have our travel war stories.  I just had to add my most recent experiences to the "I wonder what they are thinking" file.

Wireless Wonders
OK, so I check into the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, AZ for a convention. My wife and I just traveled way too many hours thanks to a thunderstorm over the Atlanta airport that had us missing our connecting flight and the next flight because it was already overbooked.  I go to power up my laptop to handle a few items while my wife is taking a bath before we crash for the night.

I'm greeted by a screen that informs me internet connections are $12.95 per 24 hour period or $3.95 per hour.   Let's face it – when Hampton Inn can give you free wireless access, why is a five star resort gouging its patrons by making wireless internet service a profit center?   Frankly, I was ticked off about it.  Here I was stuck for four days at this beautiful resort and I couldn't shake the feeling I was being raked over the coals.  At least they didn't have a meter on the water for the shower and bath tub.

Thinking there might be some sort of group rate or discount available, I called the front desk and asked if there was a group rate for wireless service.  "No," the woman told me.   Admittedly, I vented my frustration when I said, "Gee, Hampton Inn gives you free wireless; you would think the Phoenician would have this service for free."  Her response was priceless:  "Sir, we're a five star resort not a Hampton Inn."

The message I got was if you can't afford the car, then don't complain about the price of gasoline.  So come on Phoenician, get into the 21st Century of basic services for guests. 

Great place to stay otherwise!

Delayed Thinking
So we're heading home from the trip to Phoenix.  Delta Airlines calls my cell phone around noon Eastern time to say our connecting flight from Cincinnati to Orlando is delayed from 8:15 PM to 10:00 PM.  I'm impressed. 

We arrive at Cincinnati to find the 10:00 flight time is still the mark.  About fifteen minutes before boarding we're informed that the flight departure is now delayed to 11:30!  So with a 1 hour and 49 minute flight that puts us home at 1:30 am.  Thankfully, we've adjusted somewhat to the three-hour time difference in Phoenix. 

What few of us in the airport realized was the food court and all shops closed at 9:00 on this Sunday evening.  That meant you had about 200 souls and two vending machines tucked behind the food court half a concourse away.  Now Delta had only about ten hours to make other arrangements for the plane, but they bet they could get this one on the ground fixed.  About 10:30 someone from Delta threw a flat of water and some biscuit cookies and peanuts on the counter and announced, "Come and get it."

Judith and I were fine sitting there.  It was the families with all the little kids heading to Disney World for whom I felt true compassion. 

Fortunately, when we got on the plane, the flight attendant, Peter, had a plan.   A free movie and headsets for everyone. He did a great job of apologizing to the passengers.   The movie was 17 Again.  You aren't going to believe this, but the plane landed just before the movie ended.  So if anyone knows how the movie ended… email me!

It gets funnier…

Bathroom Humor
We land in Orlando just past 1:30 AM.  Judith and I head to the baggage claim to get our bags.   The Orlando airport is empty except for passengers from our flight and another from Atlanta.   They place all of us at carousel 30.   About this time, nature is calling me so I head to the bathroom for an on-purpose pee.  I see it has one of those bright orange cones in front and a cleaning cart.   I walk in and a woman is cleaning the men's room.   She scolds me for coming in and tells me to leave.  I comply. 

I walk half a concourse to another men's room.   It is closed with a barricade.   I walk back up to baggage claim 30 hoping the attendant is finished.   She's standing in front of the entrance blocking people from going in.  Get this… a male attendant is standing in front of the women's bathroom entrance blocking women from going in. Do you think they could have switched?  

So here you have about 400 people all waiting for the bags with the only two bathrooms within 500 yards being blocked by staff of the opposite sex from the bathroom they are cleaning.   Could they have switched bathrooms?  No!  Could they have accommodated the only two flights left to come into the airport at now 2 AM?  No!  My Spanish is not good otherwise I might have argued the point.  What were they thinking?

I just had to laugh… fortunately not hard enough to wet my pants.

Be On-Purpose!

Kevin