Kevin Karschnik and I have been friends for about sixteen years. He is light years younger than I am, but he has been my mentor and friend since we first met. When I was working at Children at Heart Ministries in Round Rock, Kevin and I routinely met for lunch or breakfast about once a month. After leaving the agency almost seven years ago, contact with Kevin has been less frequent. That is to my detriment. Kevin always energies me with his ideas and his approach to life.
When we met on Saturday, Kevin greeted me with the news: "I have a title for your next book." The title struck a chord with me. It is descriptive of how I live my life. He suggested: "Color Outside the Lines: life's adventures don't happen inside the box."
Actually, the time shared with Kevin on Saturday was a monologue because I had no voice. Kevin knew that I couldn't talk, so he took the ball and ran with it. He filled me in on his current work and some of the challenges this past year held for him.
Shortly after initially meeting Kevin, I began referring to him as the "Dos Equis Man – The Most Interesting Man In The World." As you may remember, the "Most Interesting Man in the World" was an advertising campaign for Dos Equis beer featuring actor Jonathan Goldsmith. The voiceovers were both humorous and outrageous. The advertisement always concluded: "He doesn't often drink beer, but when he does, he drinks Dos Equis."
When I first met Kevin, he was co-founder and co-owner of a professional training company that served companies across the globe. He regularly traveled to faraway places that sounded exciting and adventurous.
Kevin never wastes words. He is always intentional in his communication and thoughtful in making decisions. I'm a "fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants" kind of guy. It would serve me well to pay more attention to the thoughtfulness an intentionality with which Kevin makes decisions.
Prior to starting his last company with a childhood friend, Kevin worked for a computer company in Round Rock. Kevin took his son to work with him one day. When the day was over, his son said: "Dad, when I grow up, I want to be just like you. I want to work here."
Kevin knew he wanted and needed more satisfaction from his work than he was experiencing. The thought of his son following in his footsteps in that environment was a deal breaker. That gave him the incentive to make a change.
In my blog for tomorrow, I'll share more of what I learned about Kevin's past year. I think you'll find it very interesting.
All My Best!
Don
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