Mario Kart and Choosing the Right Set up for the Task (8-13-25)

Mario Kart 8 Kart Customization

Happy Wednesday,

Recently, my family and I have got back into playing Mario Kart 8 on Switch, which is the inspiration behind this blog series. Our first entry will be about choosing the right set up for the task in front of you.

In case you’re not familiar with Mario Kart, here is how it works. You choose from a collection of Super Mario characters along with a variety of vehicle, tire, and glider options. These choices impact your speed, acceleration, weight, handling, and off-road capabilities. Here was my predicament. Typically, I would choose characters and set ups that were higher on speed and not so much on acceleration. This was great at the lower difficulty levels. Then, once I got to 200cc, I was no longer able to have success with this set up. I slid off courses, struggled, and ultimately lost. As I reflected, I realized that 200cc is more about stopping and going vs staying at a continual top speed. My builds focused on speed may have worked in previous situations, but now I was facing a different challenge. I needed to adapt. Maxing out speed was no longer serving me. Instead, I needed to choose characters, carts, tires, and gliders that would give me high acceleration. Once I switched to this new set up, I started winning!

Making connections. Work is a lot like Mario Kart. We have different options of tools and skillsets we can use to solve problems. Over time, we find set ups that we become comfortable with that we can use over and over again. This serves us well, until things change. Then, our tried and true methods are no longer effective. Has this ever happened to you? You better believe it’s happened to me. From time to time, we need to take a step back to understand the problem we are solving for. From time to time, we need to take a step back and ask whether our current tools and skills are the right ones to solve this problem.

The challenge: Will you be willing to switch your set up when the environment and challenges around you change?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

I Hope We are all like The Grinch (12-11-24)

This will be the last blog of 2024. If you’ve been on this distribution list for a while, you might recognize that I usually end the year with this entry. I feel it is just as relevant now as it was in years past. Besides, we watch the same holiday specials every year, so we can revisit the same holiday themed blogs, right? 😉 For our final blog of the year we will look at How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

During this holiday season I hope we are all like the Grinch. Pretty strange thing to say, right? Let me explain why I feel this way. You may know the story of the Grinch. He is a grumpy creature who decides he will try to steal Christmas from the Whos. He concocts an elaborate scheme and then steals all of the presents, decorations, etc. in an effort to ruin their holiday. This negative attitude is what we often associate with the Grinch, but this isn’t the end of his story. The Grinch grows as a character, and life is all about growing, changing, and becoming better.

The Grinch has stolen the gifts, and then he hears the Whos singing. All of a sudden it hits him right as his sleigh full of gifts starts to go over the cliff. “And what happened, then? Well, in Whoville they say – that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day. And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through, and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!” He saves the gifts from falling over the cliff, rides into Whoville, and serves the roast beast at the feast.

The reason I hope we are all like the Grinch this year is because he grows and becomes a better person. He begins filled with apathy, malice, and grumpiness, and then he allows love in and it fundamentally changes him. How have you changed and grown this year? Wherever you are right now, we have the chance to be better. Imagine how different the world be if all of our hearts grew like the Grinch’s.

Here is to all of us knowing what it feels like when our hearts grow three sizes in a day.

As always, thanks so much for reading. Your reading and encouragement throughout the year is the best gift I could ever ask for. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukkah, and happy holidays for anything you might be celebrating! I hope you disconnect and recharge. I hope you find peace, love, and fulfillment.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry

Expanding Your Comfort Zone (6-26-24)

A person holding a staff

Description automatically generated Last week was about parenting and tailoring support. This week is about expanding your comfort zone.

About a year ago, Cameron watched his sister in The Wizard of Oz on the big stage in the spring play. This sparked Cam’s interest in doing something similar. The only problem was that he was nervous and scared to do something like that. This was outside of his comfort zone. Instead of giving up, Cam thought about things he could do to expand his current comfort zone, so being on the big stage wouldn’t be such a big leap. He started by signing up for a puppet camp last summer. Then he signed up and participated in a fall show with younger kids. He found he enjoyed those two things, and this gave him the confidence to be in a bigger show. A few weeks ago, he was on the big stage in Beauty and the Beast. He was in the ensemble, so mainly in the background as a villager and a dancing spoon. However, he ended up getting one line. He’s proud of being the angry mob member who yelled, “Kill him!” which started everyone to go after the Beast. Now that he’s had one line, he’s starting to think about auditioning for a bigger part next year. The audition is a little daunting, so he’s already thinking of smaller things he can do to stretch his comfort zone for that.

What does this have to do with anything? Cam saw how far out of his comfort zone being on stage was, and instead of giving up he became INTENTIONAL about taking small steps to expand his comfort zone. The first couple of shows gave him confidence. Then practicing for the big show set up him for success. By the time he was on the show, he was 100% feeling himself, and I loved his swagger 😉 Now think about your own life. Are there things you’d like to do outside of your comfort zone? Those things might seem too big and too scary now, but are there small steps you can take to move toward them?

The challenge: How will you expand your comfort zone?

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry