Cornbread & Grease

What’s Your Endgame?

As soon as our feet hit the boat last Wednesday at a North Myrtle Beach marina, Captain Dickey said: “Catch and release, or cornbread and grease?” My husband and I immediately replied “cornbread and grease” as we carried our bulky cooler on the boat. Captain Dickey’s direct question – before giving us any instructions for our very inquisitive eight-year-old son and “sassy” six-year-old daughter – struck me as clever, but also profound. What if we asked this simple question before we begin a conference? A training? The 50th webinar of the quarter? What is our endgame and are we prepared to consume and create? Are we here for “cornbread and grease” or “catch and release”?

As we traveled the beautiful Intracoastal Waterway and into the Little River jetties wrapped up in blankets (it was very cold at seven in the morning), I kept thinking about Captain Dickey’s question. I recall attending a training in San Antonio over nine years ago, when I was so excited to be invited to a community training.  I came to the two-day training rested, with a blank composition book, some salty snacks (please don’t judge), and excited about the next two days. During those two days, I soaked up so much information from the trainers about methods and tools and asked  lots of questions during the breaks, it was amazing. The carved-out time was void of checking-in to the office, checking emails or scrolling social media feeds.  When I reflect on the training, I know that I walked in that room with a “cornbread and grease” mentality. I was hungry to learn, ready to receive, and even more important, open for applications in my every day life. 

​

Unfortunately, all too often, those same expectations are missing from many of the trainings, and even week-long conferences, I’ve been afforded the opportunity to attend. Sadly, they were a complete waste and resulted in no changes. I didn’t articulate to anyone that I had a “catch and release” attitude, but my behaviors during and post-training sure reflected it. I consumed lots of information, and sometimes wrote notes, quotes and websites in pads which were never visited again. I don’t want that to happen again. How can I prepare myself before even walking in the training space?  How can I, as a trainer, prepare others to be more equipped to apply information consumed?  Let’s all take that “cornbread and grease mentality” for our next learning event and see what happens. Let’s be all in, and fully committed to catching something worthwhile. 

​

I’m happy to report that all of the fish caught last week have been eaten! Bellies and hearts are full as our family begins another busy week of school, work, and this amazing thing called life.