Pulling Back the Sheets

I started writing these messages about 12 years ago. I called them my Friday emails to the team. It was a way to stay connected with associates across the country and to keep our values at the forefront of their minds. Since then it has morphed into my way of trying to help the next one in line and to help others from making the same mistakes that I made over the years. So many people have asked me questions about this process that I thought I would take a few minutes in a question and answer format to respond to some of them. Here goes:

Question: “When do you find the time to write these?”

Glen: “Believe it or not, I am writing this one at 4:06 in the morning. I have to stop and write them whenever the topics come to me ”

Question: “How long does it take you to write them?”

Glen: It just seems to flow. Most messages take 20-30 minutes to write. Then I give them to my wonderful wife to edit because I learned that there are writers and there are editors in the world. I then place them in a queue because I could go weeks without having a topic come to mind, or all of a sudden, I could have a couple.

Question: “How do you come up with the topics?”

Glen: “One that people of faith will understand, I don’t come up with these topics! I am usually awakened from a sound sleep and if I listen closely, I believe that the Holy Spirit tells me what to write. Over the years, He has told me to do many other things, but sadly, I don’t always respond. I regret that. So, when it comes to this, I listen. I get out of bed, Barb asks me if I am alright, I get dressed, I walk across my cold garage floor to my office and I start to write.”

Question: “How many people read your message?

Glen: “Well, it started off with just my team. But through the magical power of the internet, many do now. I know hundreds are on my mailing list, hundreds read it on Facebook and LinkedIn and then I have been told that many people forward them to their children in college, brothers, sisters and friends; some even print them out and leave them on the nightstand for their younger children to read. I am honored and humbled to hear these stories.

Question: “You sometimes bring God up in your writings or seem to refer to Him passively from time to time.”

Glen: “Yes, that is intentional. A good friend of mine encouraged me to do this a few years back. I was nervous to do so. I was raised in a household where we didn’t share our faith. I like to think I listened again. My friend actually called me on a Monday morning and told me he really thought I should do it. I had major doubts. I then when to my bible study class that night and the lesson was focused on being bold with your faith. Don’t let fear hold you back from helping others. That night, I felt like I was hit over the head with a 2 X 4. So I have brought God into my messages more ever since.

Question: “Are you ever afraid you will offend someone?”

Glen: Every time! But I trust that people will see my heart and listen to my experiences and not get hung up on different faiths, etc. Bottom line for me is that I am a child of God. And I think I became a better leader and person when I practiced the principles and values of my faith in my workplace and at our home. Most of the time, it was simply having a servant’s heart and caring more about the other person than myself. I failed at this many times, but I am definitely a work in progress and can see how I have improved over the years.

Question: “What’s your goal in writing these?”

Glen: “I really hope that each message helps at least one person. I usually get a response from 1-5 people saying something like, “How did you know I was dealing with this?” Or another might say, “I needed to hear that this week”.

Question: “Did you ever think of putting them into a book?”

Glen: “I am always embarrassed when someone says this, but I actually already did it. A good friend of mine helped me to take a bunch of them and create a book for just my kids and grandkids. There are six copies. It is entitled, ‘Friday emails from Dad’. My goal was to leave something behind for my kids and grandkids that will help them learn from my life and hopefully use the messages as a guide for how to live their lives as well.

Last question: “You have written about hundreds of topics. Have a favorite one?

Glen: “There are many that have shaped my life. Remember, many of these are lessons learned from the mistakes I have made. But if I only had one to choose, it would be that if I wanted my wife to be a better wife, I needed to be a better husband. If I wanted my associates to be better workers, I needed to be a better leader. If I wanted people to treat me better, it started with me treating them better. Bottom line, it starts with me.

Thanks for reading this!

With a goal to “help the next one in line”, Glen Cavallo, a 30+ year healthcare executive has chosen to share the many lessons he has learned with others. Glen does this by serving as a coach/advisor to leaders at all levels of organizations, as a board member and as he presents inspirational speeches at regional, national, annual and awards meetings.