The first quarter of 2016 is two-thirds over! And despite the relative lack of sunshine during February in northern Michigan, it was a super-productive 29 days for me. I’d like to share some of my highlights with you:

Favorite Book: The $6,000 Egg by Deb and Todd Duncan.
After listening to a provocative podcast interview with Todd, I immediately ordered this book, which is an inspiring how-to guide for delivering over-the-top customer service. Beginning with a powerful story involving a simple request for a fried egg that turned into a customer service nightmare, the Duncans provide “10 New Golden Rules” for serving customers, complete with great stories and insights. And it’s only 100 pages–you can read the entire book in less than an hour! This book is only available on their website–check out the ordering options here.

Best Community Event: The 5th Annual Celebrity DreamRoom Classic on Feb 13th, 2016
This annual benefit for Child & Family Services of Northwestern Michigan has become one of the social highlights of the winter season in Traverse City. Local celebrities are paired with Golden Fowler designers to create a series of themed rooms complete with food, craft beer, and even live music from area artists (who donate their time and talent). Debbie and I are pictured below with local radio DJ Christal Frost and designer Michelle Mitchell. A huge thanks to Golden Fowler owner Michael Mann for putting on another great event… and raising tens of thousands for Child & Family Services!

Best Experience: The 2016 Crossfit Open on Feb 26th, 2016
As the fastest growing fitness phenomenon in the world, crossfit combines constantly varied functional movement at high intensity with a community of passionate, supportive people. The crossfit Open is a five-week international competition attracting nearly 300,000 athletes across the globe and hosted at thousands of local crossfit gyms, including Cold Front Crossfit here in Traverse City. Each Thursday evening, a new workout is announced on Crossfit’s website. Competitors then have three days to complete the workout at any local affiliate (most gyms host a “Friday Night Lights” event to create a high energy atmosphere) and submit their scores online. The top finishers advance to regional events and from there, the very best compete for the “fittest on earth” title at the Crossfit Games in July. If you’re looking to get in the best physical condition of your life in the company of an amazing community of Crossfit lovers, I urge you to give it a try! (And if you’re worried about whether you can do it or not, check out my recent post on cultivating a growth mindset!

Favorite Quote:

“Multi-tasking is a non-existing word; it should really be called ‘switch tasking’ because all you’re doing is switching back and forth between two or more things. And every time you do that, you incur mental switching costs that waste time, induce stress, and increase the likelihood of making mistakes.” — Dave Crenshaw, The Myth of Multitasking*

*Still think you can successfully multitask? Take Dave’s free online exercise and put your skills to the test!

What were the highlights of your February? I’d love to hear your feedback!