Happy Camper

Now here is someone who works happy!

Just wandering thru the offices during this quiet week. Love the Christmas Spirit Lisa!!!

Cheers
Calvin

Gifts That Don't Suck

It's nice to know I can still find my wife a Christmas gift that she likes and vice versa.

Today one gift we gave each other really made us laugh. You see, we each had the exact same idea for a gift - the "Happiness Molecule".

The Happiness Molecule is a design based on the serotonin molecule, a neurotransmitter that interacts with receptors in the brain to induce feelings of happiness, satiation and relaxation.

Sandy gave me a nice framed picture and I gave her a hand made necklace from an artist called Raven out of Hawaii I found on Etsy. Her company is called "made with molecules."

Merry Christmas.

Cheers

Calvin

Serendipity

Serendipity means a "happy accident" or "pleasant surprise"; specifically, the accident of finding something good or useful while not specifically searching for it.

I love this word. To me its a way of being, a state of mind, kind of like an internal radar looking for "happy accidents". But, if you don't have the radar on you wont find them.

Case in point. Today I was out for a bike ride alone while on our family vacation in Maui. Serendipitously I was caught on the side of the road as a Christmas motorcycle parade approached.

The road was narrow and I pulled my bike off the side the best I could and then pulled out my iPhone to film. What happened next was just so cool. As I filmed I received waves and honks and smiles as the hundreds of bikers rode by.

It was great to just sit there and soak up all the positive energy. As my 6 year old would say - my bucket was totally full!

Then as fast as it started, it was over..........silence. I got back on my bike and headed quietly on my way. Cool.

Cheers

Calvin

Mind Your Wake

It's that time of year again for my favorite movie "It's a Wonderful Life". The reason I love this movie so much is because of what I call your WAKE.

Like the movie, everything we do or don't do in our life has an impact on other people far more than we can ever realize. The movie is all about George Bailey being shown the size of his wake and what a positive impact he made on others, or in some cases because he wasn't there he made no impact at all. I think our wakes are much bigger than we can ever imagine. Like a boat cutting thru still water there is a large wake spreading out that will ripple long after we have moved on.

Minding our Wake is something we talk about in our company and are conscious of. When you have a group of people mindful of their wake and making positive ripples, some pretty great things can happen.

Cheers

Calvin

Giving Back

Tonight was our annual "Give Back" Event. It's an opportunity for our company to support the less fortunate on the downtown east side.

This year we were able to leverage some of our suppliers who donated product that helped fill over 2500 care packages for us to hand out.

Before our group of 100+ strong headed out on the streets there was a fantastic speech given to by Sister Nancy from Covenant House and her message of being involved at any level helps build the bridge of understanding and tear down the stigma that surrounds the less fortunate.

It was an impact full evening that was far reaching for many of the participants. I would like to share a email string I read the next morning from Shawn our VP of eCommerce below.

Cheers

Calvin 

Hi friends,

I sent an email a couple weeks back about the far reaching effects of our reputation and the impact our actions have in ways we are often unaware of. Calvin, as our leader, gives us a venue and a platform to "Live, Love, Laugh and Learn" both in the work-place and in our personal lives. Last night with the EO event on the downtown Eastside, we directly impacted lives - not just of those poor souls on the streets, but our own...and this truly is the gift we have been given. I've spoken with many of you today, and I know that you were profoundly impacted. I believe that all 4 of our core values were strongly in evidence last night. I congratulate you all and I applaud Calvin for providing us with this opportunity.

Broadening the scope and the impact of the event though, I wanted to add this email that I received today from Ron Lee. Ron's daughter Madison plays on the soccer team I coach. Ron is a high school educator in the Coquitlam school board. He came with both Madison and his 9 year old daughter Taylor.

Here is what he wrote to me:
Thank you for the tremendous opportunity that you gave to my children and the rest of the girls. This is not a soccer lesson, but a life lesson. The impact that you have and the the experiences that you give the girls (yesterday and soccer), helps shape them for today, tomorrow, and forever. I heard the word "sad" at least three times last night and what it showed is that the girls where effected in some way. We as adults, are a beacon to opportunities for our children to experience. I wish discussion takes place with the girls and their parents as these moments become the "teachable moments" that we look at during school. It's not just the experience, but where we go from here. I know that Madison respects you and I am sure that your words have meaning.

I have spent the first 10 minutes of every one of my PE classes today discussing what I saw and how students can make an impact (to remember being kind to one another or helping with food hampers at school).

Once again, THANKS from the Lee family.

Remember, that we have 364 other days during the year to support, encourage, respect and treat people without judgement. I'm sure that you feel as I do, that I took more than I gave last night - that's the beauty of selflessness, and doing good for others.

Blessings!

Shawn