Stuff I Learned Yesterday

John looked at my problem and offered up his idea of the best solution. Like C-3PO I looked at that path as too rocky. Not only was it more than I had the budget for, I knew that building the app was just the beginning. I’d have to keep a developer on retainer for bug fixes, updates, and security management. I didn’t want to be in the software development business. So I looked for a smoother path....

Growing up I always enjoyed adventure and platforming games best while my brother enjoyed sports games best. In fact, whether it was in physical sports we played in the yard or virtual sports we played via video games, I never once beat my brother. That is, until one day while spending the weekend with our grandparents we rented Joe Montana Football. That fateful day I discovered he was unable to...

We had each channeled our inner Grandpa Joe and allowed the alluring wonders of a chocolate factory to serve as our motivation for getting out of bed that day. After a quick stroll down the pier to meet up with our driver, we soon found ourselves standing at the curb of Graycliff Chocolatier. Once inside we were given protective gowns and hair nets. I first assumed these were to protect the chocol...

Whether it’s your heart, brain, or gut, there’s definitely something to be said about these intuition moments. I’ve used my gut to make thousands of decisions over the course of my life, some of which I was very aware of how my gut played into the decision, and I’m sure many others where it happened so naturally that I didn’t even realize it. I’m sure you’re the same way too. Today I want to share...

Maybe we should start our own procrastinators anonymous group. They say the first step to recovery is acknowledging you have a problem so here goes: My name is Darrell Darnell and I’m a procrastinator. Feel free to acknowledge your procrastinating too if it seems fitting. For me, I find myself procrastinating mostly around one of two types of tasks. Those tasks are anything related to invoicing an...

When we face uncertain times, we are wise when we tap into the experience of others who have walked down the road before. We have to face our fears and move forward. Once we make that decision to move forward, it’s best if we have a friend and confidant to hold us by the hand and carry us through. We don’t need to go through those experiences alone, and we’re much better off when we have that trus...

In case you’re wondering if there was a time in my life when I was a pastor that I’ve not shared with you before, I have not. In fact, I have never been in full time ministry. With an episode title of Professing Your Faith, you might think that this episode is about how to tell other people about Jesus. Whether you think that episode topic is a good one or not, that’s not where I’m going today. We...

Today is Monday Mailbag day and I’m always excited to hear your stories and feedback. We have two contributors today: Jason and Andrew. Thanks to Jason and Andrew for the contributions. I appreciate your willingness to share your lives with us and you’ve made this episode a great one. The post 613- Monday Mailbag appeared first on Golden Spiral Media- Entertainment Podcasts, Technology Podcasts &a...

Back in episode 597 I mentioned that I sold my beloved 1972 MGB GT. For those of you who have followed me on social media for a while, you may have seen me first mention that I sold it back in February of this year, and a few days later I first mentioned that I’d actually purchased its replacement last October, fixed that car up, and had been driving it ever since. So WHY did I sell my dream car j...

I think we’ve all been in a situation where either we as kids or when we were older with kids of our own ran into someone that we hadn’t seen in a while. Maybe it was a family member at a reunion or perhaps it was an old friend at the grocery store. Either way, that person looks at the kid and is surprised at how much they’ve grown. Even us as parents can have this experience with our own kids whe...

Okay let me be real with you. When I put together an episode, I start with a moment from my life that has impacted me in some way. In the process of impacting me, I can typically look at it and see a clear, big lesson. This story is not like that. It’s obvious that the story I’ve shared with you today has impacted me in a deep, emotional way. But what is the clear, big lesson? I’m not sure. Howeve...

For today’s episode, let’s think about the disciples. If you were to gather up 12 of your friends for a meal, you can imagine the different characteristics and personality types that would be represented around that table. Jesus’ disciples were no different. Today we’re going to focus on one of the disciples named Peter. Before Peter encountered Jesus, his profession was a fisherman. He would have...

I wanted to die. What was I supposed to do? Stand up and wave? Tell her thank you? Smile? I shrunk down in my chair, gave her a fake smile, and stared at my notebook the remainder of class. I still liked her as a teacher and found her class easy, but dreaded my seat and the attention she’d drawn to me. I appreciated the compliment on my work, but the whole situation just made me feel even more ins...

On business trips, business comes first. Whether I’m traveling on my dime or someone else’s, a business trip is for business purposes. Take care of business. But I also learned that it’s okay to get out of the hotel and enjoy the sights of a city while you’re there. I should have realized this by the behavior and encounters I’d had with my boss, but it took this encounter with Jim to help me fully...

In episode 44 I gave you a glimpse at the woman who would become my mother-in-law. She was wonderful on that day and she was a wonderful mother-in-law for the next 23 years. Last week was the two year anniversary of when we lost her. Today, I wanted to set aside this episode as a tribute to her. I’ve asked Dave, my father-in-law, my two brothers-in-law, Marc and Brian, and my wife, Kari, to send i...

I firmly believe we live in an age where it has never been easier to know the truth about God and his teaching, while also having never been easier to be deceived and led astray about God and his teaching. We hear something new, something that’s easier to swallow, less offensive, seems loving, or seems to bring a shiny new meaning to a passage that has been taught a certain way for generations. An...

One of my leading desires for SILY is that these stories would bring in sincere questions from listeners that would in turn bring about a deeper understanding of Christianity, the Bible, and what it means to live in this culture as a Christian both for myself and all of those listening. Put another way, I hoped questions would come in that would lead to spiritual growth for both myself and other l...

When I started podcasting in 2008, I never once thought that I might one day inspire someone else to become a podcaster. In times like these, I like to play the what if game. The quick version of it goes something like this: What if I’d never started my podcast about Fringe? What if JJ Abrams had never created Fringe? What if Cliff had never started his podcast about the TV show LOST. What if JJ h...

Trusting those you work with and those who work under you is incredibly important. But when they are entrusted to do their job with freedom and exercise their natural gifts, clients benefit, work culture benefits, you benefit, the company benefits, and your industry benefits. Remember, there’s no “I” in team, and even The Lone Ranger wasn’t alone. The post 602- There’s No Lone Ranger appeare...

You’ve heard me say it recently because it’s been on my mind a lot, but it’s so painfully true when they say the days are long but the years are short. In future episodes I’ll talk more about Colby moving out of our house and I even have a story about college marching band that I have scheduled for the beginning of football season. But for today, I want to stay focused on the idea of time. The pos...

In my early 20’s I lived in Texas for 3 years. There was also a guy I was associated with that had also moved to Texas from out of state. We’ll call the guy Mike. One day Mike had to go out of town for a few days for business. Apparently there was a meeting at the home office of the company he worked for. He and his wife had family there, so she traveled with him. The post 600- Right Handed Secret...

As a fully grown adult who loves marching bands and symphonies, I love the sound, size, and shape of the baritone. But as a scrawny middle school boy, I hated it. To me, it was only slightly better than the tuba. The tuba was the worst instrument. Only the fat nerdy kids played tuba and the baritone was its slightly less horrific cousin. I got to play treble clef music like a trumpet instead of ba...

All of us make instant judgments and develop opinions of people the instant we see them before we’ve even met them or heard them utter a word. Respect and authority are a two way street. I firmly believe we should respect those in authority over us. However, only fools think that just because they have authority they must be respected. As a recovering fool, I can testify that true respect is earne...

In my family, we have a generational heritage of working on cars. Well, except for my brother. He has no interest in working on cars and has asked me why I do it. He’s been known to buy a car without ever popping the hood to see what the engine bay looks like. It’s okay. He has skills in other areas, so I’ll give him some grace on that. For me, it seems like part of my DNA. I love the satisfaction...

So I set aside time every day to pray. While I had no idea where I would end up, God did. While I had no idea what the makeup of my team would be, God did. While I had no idea whether or not I’d take over a new store or an existing store, God did. As I prayed, I asked God to shape me into the leader that my future team would need. I asked him to help me be humble, learn from Sammy the skills I wou...