Shay Thomason

It’s one thing for me to talk about my wife, but for someone else to say something about her is a different deal altogether.

This past weekend we spent some time away camping with the college ministry at our church. As we were eating dinner one night, one of my friends made a comment about Bethany and her beauty. The friend–a guy–wasn’t trying to hit on my wife or make a move, but he was seriously giving her and me a compliment on how Bethany presents herself. My friend even continued by saying that it must be a joy for me to be able to photograph her whenever I want and for her to always look so incredible. Of course, Bethany was blushing and I was stoked, but it was a really nice and genuine thing to say about her.

Just last night I found out about a blog that another friend had written about Bethany. This was actually from a high school girl that we know and it was a joy for me to read. This young woman calls Bethany “Mrs. Shaycam” which I think is hilarious. But the real crux of that blog is that Bethany is a true friend and companion. She genuinely cares about people and loves to love. Of course as I read this, it put a huge smile on my face and reminded me of the greatest blessing God has ever given me–my wife. You would think thoughts like this would only come around your anniversary–I mean thoughts about my bride. But for me, there’s no more important time than now. I can’t wait to tell you about her…

I can think of no other person on this Earth that cares like she does. It doesn’t matter if it’s the bug I squish for her or the family that is hurting in our church, she cares about everything. She has no scale for which to weigh what she will care about, it’s all the same to her. She cares for me the same way she cares for the high school girls she disciples. She loves my friends equally as much as her own friends. She hurts when I hurt and she hurts when others hurt. She is a model of compassion. My wife makes me a better man, and I don’t want that to sound cliché. But what more could I say? Bethany is my true love. She is my true friend. She is a true helper to me. She is my better half. She is my favorite. She is my bride.

I got an email today about the new Starbucks website which allows people like you and me to post our ideas for the company. Of course, it didn’t take me long to write something up so get over there and vote for mine!

Click Here To See My Idea and Vote! (and if you’re really excited you can even comment on it!.. woohoo)

P.S. This post pairs really well with “Dave: The Future of the Starbucks Coffee Company“.

I went to get a routine SMOG check on my car and got more than I paid for.

You see, I take my car to Ned. He’s a good guy–really honest and reliable. In fact, he’s almost brutally honest at times. But I never feel like I’m getting cheated when he’s working on my car. He tells me what I need to do and then I get it done–no questions. He only has two other employees and they both make me smile. One is shorter and really serious most of the time. He doesn’t say much, but you know he’s taking care of business. The other is louder and loves to chat. Many times I’ve found him singing while fixing breaks or joking with the other customers. Ned however, is a mix of the two. He’s serious about cars and knows a ton of information, yet he loves to talk about life, photography, and this past visit he talked about business.

The conversation actually began as we were talking about photography. It actually surprises me how much Ned loves photography. He even showed me a few of his shots on his really dirty, oil covered computer in the shop. In our conversation about business he asked me what my plans were for photography. I told him I was still learning a ton, trying to build clients, and working on getting my equipment up to speed. But Ned said something that sort of surprised me–he told me I need to “know people.” With his accent (which I think is middle eastern?), he said:

Shay, you have a good relationships, I can tell. But you need to keep learning and know people. You think ‘I could do this by myself’ because you are young, but you need to continue to allow people to help you. You will look back on your life in business and it will be the people around you who have gotten you where you are.

What intrigues me most about Ned’s comments is how similar they are to those men who led great companies to the top in the book “Good to Great” (which I have talked about before). Some of the greatest C.E.O’s in the world attribute their success to the people on their teams and not their leadership.

The basic facts are that we can never stop learning. When we stop learning, we stop growing. This has been a recurring theme I have heard from numerous businessmen and pastors and I can’t help but think that’s the point of Ned was trying to communicate. You see, if you leave me alone by myself my skills will only go as far as I can take them–which probably won’t be far. But when you allow other people to teach and mentor you and help you–you will grow. This is true in both business and our spiritual lives. We need the input of others. This why accountability works and why the Church is so important. We need each other. It’s only by the grace of God that I can continue to learn and be shaped, and my prayer is I’ll listen to the simple yet important advice of my mechanic.