My wife works for a hospital. She sits on various committees and is always looking for ways to improve “the system”. She takes her job and the responsibilities that come with it very seriously. She takes all responsibility seriously. She is responsible.

As we were driving to a function at the children’s school, she was telling me about her day at work. There is a project that she has been working on for some time and she is hoping that some of her work will be implemented at some point. She is aware that things take time and there is a possibility that her proposed way of doing things could be “tabled” or voted down. She is a team player and wants what is best for the hospital.

I asked her why this committee meeting was so important that she would be willing to attend on her day off. She responded by saying, “It’s important because I want to look back one day and say that I made something better. I want to be part of building a better hospital.” At that moment, I was the proudest man alive and keenly aware of the type of person I was fortunate enough to call my wife.

Amanda wants to make things better. It doesn’t make any difference what the cause, if she is part of a team her focus will be on making things better.

I work to make it to the weekend; she works to make things better.

I go to PTA meetings because I saw my mom do it and I want to do the right thing; she goes because she wants the kid’s school to be better.

I go to church because I was raised in church and I see other people doing it; she goes because she wants to be better.

I perform tasks because I want them to be finished; she does things because she wants them to be better.

I told her that any organization in the world would be fortunate to have her as an employee. I wish I could say that I wake up every morning with the intentions of making things better. It would be great to be able to honestly say that my focus is on leading a life in which one day I could reflect and say that I made things better. The truth is…I don’t do this at all.

I want to get by.

I want to survive.

I want to make it.

I want to get finished.

I want to be done.

I want to retire.

I want to get some sleep.

Amanda wants to make things better.

I’m stealing this attitude. I’m copycatting her mindset.

Today, my focus is on making things better.

Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,

Beefcake