Smile You're on Candid Camera!

Good Morning My Friends!

Here is what is on tap for this week's Mornings with Mickey.

• Learn why I have nearly 30 8mm tapes sitting in my home office
• What I just got done reading
• A Kindle Giveaway on Goodreads
• An observation I'm digging deeper into

In my home office sits a shoebox full of 8mm tapes, waiting for their destiny with conversion to digital. How they got there, well our family was blessed with our own version of Allen Funt (the creator and host of Candid Camera), our father. The story starts with him.

An excerpt from the chapter titled: The Stealth Photographer in Mom Dad Not Hear gives you additional context.

Science has discovered that when someone does not have use of one of their senses, the area of the brain that would be used to process the input from that sense (like hearing) doesn’t remain unused. Instead, it gains function to augment another sense. Interestingly, research has shown that deafness correlates with an enhanced ability to perceive moving objects, increased peripheral vision capabilities in the retina itself, and increased visual attention. So that might explain some of my father’s passion and giftedness in photography.

My dad pursued this passion with quite an assortment of cameras. In addition to those 8mm tapes, I found all the old photography and video gear he had collected over the years, sitting in their cases, right next to the tapes.

My father’s prime candid camera season was during his 35mm camera phase. That was a film camera, which meant that you couldn’t see the photo right after taking it. Instead, when the roll of film was used up (24 or 36 shots later) it had to be taken to a darkroom service to be developed and printed. Once he got the packet of photographs home, he’d look them over with my mother. Invariably, she would give him an expression of annoyance and sign, “Why?” Sometimes, that look would also involve a light slap on his shoulder and a laugh.

Digital photography soon leveled the playing field for my mother, who was often the victim of his candid shots. As she became more accustomed to taking photos with her phone, our family text messages often included a photo she had taken of our father lounging in his chair, head back, mouth open, sawing logs. We laughed every single time she sent one!

The Lesson:

Take more photos—some will turn out to be priceless, cherished memories of important moments. Save those images in a place where you can easily find them again. Organize your photos and videos and label them so that the next generation won’t wonder what they are or where to locate them.

This Week's Book Recommendations

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World by William H. McRaven

Notes on a Nervous Plant by Matt Haig

Next Generation Leader: 5 Essentials for Those Who Will Shape the Future by Andy Stanley

The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran

P.S. If you're on Goodreads sign up for a chance to win a Kindle copy of Mom Dad Not Hear - https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/389791-mom-dad-not-hear-30-powerful-stories-and-lessons-about-leadership-life

P.P.S. An observation I'm pondering is the concept of the 100-Hour Rule. The idea is that if you invest 100 hours into something you'll most likely be better at that skill than 95% of the population. For a year, that is seventeen minutes per day! More than likely, I'll go deeper into this concept as I'm beginning to see it unfold before my very eyes.

Hire Mickey to Speak!