A RHINO WEEK OF WHACK SHIT

Woooow!

I thought to myself full of excitement.

Woooow!

I said even more excitedly than before. What was my rush of enthusiasm about this time? It was the great direct message that I had just received from an influencer on LinkedIn telling me they wanted to do a Rhino Walk-N-Talk with me. Now this is not just any message, but one that looks to be filled with possibilities. Realizing the lizard brain in the back on my mind was hard at work asking;

What is this person wanting to do with little ole’ me?

I started walking a while back to get back in shape after some health challenges. As part of that, I spend the walks talking with my kids and friends on the phone. The other day, after my usual Tuesday walk and talk call with Hive account@cynshineonline, I had the epiphany that ended up becoming the Rhino Walk-n-Talk initiative.

Basically, the initiative is just me giving away my time and expertise in exchange for someone else’s time and conversation to keep me company on my walks while I get back in shape and healthy and using Actifit as part of it.

Back to my lizard brain. What did he want from little ole’ me? Well, he just wants to talk about #cybersecurity #itsm #business #management and other topics that might sprout from those conversations. He just wants to accept my gift and give his own. It is that simple. No nefarious quid pro quo or anything like that.

Our call is Friday morning, and I am really looking forward to it. I have followed this person on LinkedIn for a very long time. So, it will be a real treat for me to pick his brain and I plan to make it a treat for him as well to pick my beat-up grey matter.

Sleepless in Sellersburg

I have just not been able to sleep well the last week. If I try counting anymore sheep, I may have the animal po-po called on me for animal cruelty making them constantly jump those fences.

The good thing about not sleeping though is that I am able to spend a lot of time brainstorming ideas, writing, coordinating the launch of ITSM RHINO, and other chores.

This does not blend well with my ongoing issues I struggle with regards to my slowed cognitive (thinking is slowed) and memory challenges from my health issues. These are significantly impacted by lack of sleep and are amplified and very apparent when I am tired.

The concern here is if I will crash and burn. Well, that is a concern, but I am confident and taking action to prevent it. Rhino’s need naps and take them, so I do. I try to make sure I am eating and drinking correctly, taking my medicine like I am supposed to, and will be adding a multi-vitamin to my diet. I also plan to TRY and shut off the use of all electronic devices at least 1 hour before I would like to go to bed. I then plan to pick up a book and read.

If you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them in the comments, so feel free to leave them.

Slave to the Grind or Freestyle My Life

Being someone who served in the military for 20 years, then worked for government a few more years, then for commercial America some more, I am used to working on a schedule. Something like; “Get up at this time, be to work at this time, meeting at this time, lunch at this time, do this at this time, do that at this time”…you get the point, I hope.

When I am not working by a schedule something in my lizard brain tells me I am being unproductive. Early this week I started working on writing out a schedule, I finished it and then suddenly something happened. I recognized that my most productive days so far, the last couple months had been this last couple weeks and they had been unscheduled, unscripted, and unplanned for the most part. Other than the schedule meetings with other people, everything else I did when I felt like doing it and when it felt fun to do.

I realized that schedules had restricted my thinking, kept me inside the box, just like a JOB, made things just like…WORK!

Well fuck, I didn’t want that shit. I love the freestyle feel of not having a schedule. I seem to be more productive, think more creatively, and just have more fun. Oh, and it doesn’t feel like a damn job.

Do you have a daily schedule, or do you play loose and free?

Mush Mind Meld

Yeah, I have some issues with short-term memory loss. That is convenient when it comes to the honey-do list the wife has, but not so much when it comes to business. I also have issues with cognitive function, mostly my thinking becomes sluggish my reflexes slow down. I often tell people it is like my mind is tracking through mud trying to find my thoughts and then communicate them. This also does not go well when it comes to doing business at the top of my game.

These are real challenges, but I will not let them stop me. I understand I need lots of rest, need naps when I get tired, especially lately with the lack of sleep, and I need to be more cautious in scheduling my meetings to ensure they are at times when I know my mind will be at its most fresh and lively state. That is why the Rhino Walk-N-Talks I truly believe are going to work out so well for many. People will get me when my mind is churning and burning, my entire body and mind is working as one and ready for action.

Yes, initially when these health challenges hit me, my confidence took a hit. However, now I am as confident as ever, I understand my mind is just as sharp as it always has been. I just need to treat my mind, and body, differently than in the past and respect it, be in tune with it more than ever before. In doing so, this has paid even more dividends. I have become much more self-aware because of this. It is great!

Resistance Can Eat a Fat Baby’s D—k

Resistance sucks. As Hive account@ryzeonline will tell anyone, you are lying if you say you don’t have resistance. We all have it in some form. My biggest hurdle the last few months was my confidence around others with my speech. Since my recent health challenges, I have developed a stutter and speak slower. This made me very self-conscious and embarrassed to be in a public setting, speak in meetings, or meet new people.

I struggled with this until recently. You see, I have doing mirror work every day, which was suggested by Hive account@cynshineonline during one of our weekly walk-n-talk calls. Mirror work is basically just anytime I am in front of my bathroom mirror I am saying positive things to myself. For me a lot of this was telling myself that I was talking fine, I was thinking fine, and that I was not embarrassed of it anymore. It took some time, but I believe this worked for me.

A few days ago, I made what was a very insignificant animated whiteboard video to many. However, for me this was a very big deal for me. You see, I used my voice for the video. I had to do several takes to get it to where I was at least willing to post it, but…I DID IT!

The damn had busted, because after that I posted on Linkedin about my Rhino Walk-n-Talk initiative and people took me up on it. I had two calls last week and they went well. Loved it! Even more calls are schedule for this week too.

Then at my regular JOB that I still work, we had a call with some advisors at Gartner Inc. During the call we were discussing IT Portfolio Management and Service Catalog Management. Usually during these calls, I would not say much, but something came over me. My confidence was back. I started dropping some knowledge on these “consultants” who thought they might know more than their client’s employee (me). They were wrong! The Rhino knows his shit when it comes to ITSM processes peeps. Anyway, I was full of myself after that.

I have ordered some ITSM Rhino swag (see example image of some further below) and will be doing more recorded videos with me personally appearing in them after the 1st of October. I have also been challenged to do some live streams, so that will be in the works as well. Man, I am looking forward to the future!

The Virtual Pitch with Rabona

So, I must live under a rock when it comes to things that exists and take place on Hive. It seems we have our very own soccer manager game in Rabona. I stumbled across it this last week as well. I never even hear of it but looks like it has been around a while now.

First, let me be very clear. I AM NOT A GAMER! I don’t play video games, I don’t do role playing games, I don’t even play board games. Hell, I don’t even play card games like poker anymore. But I am a sports fan.

I love the game of soccer since my oldest son started playing when he was a kid. He ended up playing in college and we talk about the game often over the phone. We will sit and text back and forth while watching the same soccer game doing our own commentary. You can imagine my enjoyment when he said he may be interested in playing Rabona with me after I told him about it.

My oldest son is not interested in block chain, crypto, or knows jack-shit about Hive. However, he loves soccer and games and is willing to play this one on the Hive blockchain. This just goes to show you how dApps like this can bridge the gap for Hive. We just must get them out there.

So now I am building stadiums, singing contracts, training players and honestly, I don’t know what the hell I am doing, but it is fun. Of course, my team is…the RHINOs!

My first season begins in a couple of days, and this should be fun, even if I do get my virtual ass kicked.

Well, until next time…Keep Charging Horn Down!

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