Tag Archives: work

Lessons from 4th Graders

17th April 2013

loveThere was a point and time when I thought I’d like to be a teacher. To say I love being around little ones in an understatement, however, after two years of teaching first grade Sunday school in college with my roommate (and teacher extraordinaire), we started the third year and I asked if we should set goals and objectives for the class. It was then I realized teaching wasn’t quite my calling. I opted to continue down my path towards marketing. However, whenever an opportunity arises to spend time at the kids table, I’m happy to jump on it.

Engauge volunteers with a group called Everybody Wins here in Atlanta. The premise is simple, read to an elementary school student once per week over lunch. Today, I started my third year in the program with a new mentee.

As we picked out books, a friend of hers came by and said “See, I told you it would happen!” we picked out a book, sat down and another friend came by to give her a hug and tell her how excited she was that she finally had a mentor. I asked her why they were so excited and she shared that she had been waiting to be able to join Everybody Wins for several months and that they were so happy that her waiting paid off.

Just hearing that made my day and my hour more than worth it.

Can you imagine if we all went through our days sharing the spirit and support those fourth graders shared with each other? What if we spent our time building each other up instead of complaining or trying to one up one another?

I think those 10-year-olds are on to something.

PS: If you have an hour on your hands each week, check out Everybody Wins. They have schools across the city and are always in need of new readers.

Connected, but alone

3rd April 2013

Growing up, we had two rules around the dinner table: 1. you must at least try everything on your plate and 2. you had to share one story about the favorite part of your day.

In a family of six, my parents had their hands full with sporting events, friends and homework, therefore making spending time around the dinner table no easy task. However, it was rare that there was a night that went by that we didn’t eat as a family, even if that meant eating in shifts from time to time.

We didn’t have smart phones, personal laptops, iPads and email to interrupt our family time. To say the landscape has changed is an understatement. However, dinner at the Dennihy house hasn’t changed one bit. Sure, the phones are kept in sperate rooms (as opposed to pulling the wall phone off the hook as my Dad seemed to do nightly to keep people from interrupting), but creating genuine personal time is much more of a conscious effort.

A dear friend of mine and I have had endless conversations around technology in our lives over the years, and as we both work in the digital marketing space, avoiding it is impossible. She has been urging me to watch the Ted talk “Connected, but Alone” for just as many years. I finally sat down to watch the talk and I cannot say I was surprised by my love for it.

As we watch technology evolve, it makes our lives so much more simple on so many levels. Connections are now a click, a tweet or a post away. We can have simultaneous conversations with 10 people over a group text all while sending an email and capturing a photo for Instagram. Facebook is in talks to release a PHONE for crying out loud. In short, technology is incredible.

Then why is communicating itself harder than ever before?

Because communication is more than a string of words. Communication leads to relationships, which lead to the betterment of ourselves, which is no surprise, hard work.

In Sherry’s words, “we expect more from technology and less from each other.”

If we want to become more connected, we have to expect more from each other and let technology guide us in getting there – not serve as the sole route.

Is texting a friend easier than spending thirty minutes on the phone each week? Sure is. Do I expect to remain friends without decline over the next decade by sending text messages? Better not put all of my marbles in that bucket.

Now get to work, I owe some people some phone calls / dinner dates / afternoon runs.

Good Days and Bad Days: Perspective

28th March 2013

Some days are good days and others are not so good days…but the good news is, I’m a big believer that your perspective is what decides the fate on those days. Let’s take today for instance.

Today was:

Long,
Filled with meetings,
Last minute client requests,
A little agression,
And overall left me feeling as if I’d been hit by a bus.

BUT I’m typing this with a big ‘ol smile on my face (and probably seeming a little crazy for it).

Today also reminded me:

I work with amazing people who care about me when I’m at my desk and when I’m not.

A coworker left a copy of Sheryl Sandberg’s new book Lean In on my desk with a little note and no other reason but “I thought you might find this valuable.” Little gesture = big impact.

I’m surrounded by friends who constantly amaze me with their outpouring of love, confidence and support.

I’m not even the one who needed it today, but I was fortunate enough to witness it. You can replace all of the meetings and the deadlines, but you can’t replace the people.

I got to see a friend living out his dream as he opened his own restaurant this week and I was finally able to visit.

He’s proof that hard work, dedication and caring about people along the way goes the distance. Just seeing the simile on his face and his interaction with customers was a day maker all on its own, not to mention the food was delicious. If you are looking for a great burger, check out Cheeseburger Bobby’s on Roswell Road in Buckhead. Ask for Ryan.

Coincidence that tomorrow is Good Friday? I think not. Go out and make sure it’s a good Friday indeed.