Sunday Night With John: Advice from Jim, “Just Put Good Stuff Out There”

I was sitting in a hotel room in Milwaukee in February. I had a public speaking gig on Friday and a then a meeting for a potential event the following Friday.  I had lodging all set up with a friend of mine, Jim, who lives in Milwaukee, but that was pulled out from underneath me at the last second. An unforeseen illness at his house made it not a good place for a guy to stay who was attempting to stand in front of others and give a presentation.  So Anne and our brand new full of energy puppy tagged along for the ride.

In the evening between the event and the pitch, Jim was able to tear him self away to hang in our over-crowded hotel room with a puppy who hadn’t had a proper walk and was bouncing off the walls. We were a sight to be seen when Jim knocked on the door and I let him in.  We have been friends since my first senior year of college, and yes you read that correctly. We once had plans to play whiffle-ball but Jim showed up late.  His excuse was that he got side tracked with a nap. Taking a nap is a conscious decision, you get side tracked by unexpected guest, a phone call, or a flat tire; a nap is never going to be on that list. It’s what makes being friends with Jim so exciting, you never know what he will get side tracked with.

I have been making primgrimledge to Milwaukee to hang with Jim since he landed in the city five years ago to work for an urban farm called Growing Power. Jim talked about there being more to life that sitting in a cubicle and he acted upon it. He dove head first in composting as an intern for Growing Power. I feel in love with Milwaukee because of my trips to watch the Milwaukee Bucks, and hang around town with Jim. He was always the ever-gracious host showing me so much of Milwaukee including in the ping-pong bar. We may have crashed a party there and been asked to stop playing on the ping-pong tables.  It was an accident on our part but I called it getting sidetracked with Jim.

Back in the hotel room Jim and I spent a lot of time chatting about his adventure into the world of urban faming and taking a chance on a life outside the so called “normal” and the parallels between getting my speaking into a larger audience and Jim stepping into the urban farming world. I grew to trust his advice and his words of wisdom. Anyone brave enough to quit a traditional good paying job and venture into the unknown can have an understanding of standing on the ledge of creativity. As Anne, Jim, and I chatted about his future and the future of my public speaking, Marv danced around the hotel room soaking up attention from all three us of. Jim asked about my blog, he said he is a reader and been really enjoying them lately. I thanked him for the compliment and asked him why he felt they were worth reading. Jim cocked his head to the side and replied, “You are putting something good out there, and people need good.”

Good, a notion that had not crossed my mind about my blog, about my message, and ultimately about me.  Jim is right about people needing good, and he is right about my message, my blog, and about me.  The old Milwaukee farmer gave me some great advice.  Really, it’s great advice for all of us - just put good stuff out there it can only help.