This is a short article I stumbled across today as I was making the rounds on the internet papers I peruse on a daily basis:

Dennis Rodman was shocked, then indignant, after he was voted off the British TV reality show “Celebrity Big Brother” on Wednesday.

The former NBA star, 44, spent the last three weeks sharing a house with other celebrities, including former Baywatch star Traci Bingham. Despite entertaining viewers, Rodman’s popularity dropped when he verbally attacked fellow contestant Chantelle Hougton.

After Rodman said goodbye to each of the housemates and left, he marched straight to the studio for his exit interview.

“This is a game, this a show … just because I’ve been evicted, I’m still a star, I’m still famous. I don’t give a damn what you guys think of me, I’m a star. I’m here to stay.”

That’s the Rodman we know and love.

Now, I have a lot I could say about this news piece.  One, it is a sad commentary on Dennis that he is clinging to a very fleeting fame and is indignant about it.  Does it strike anyone else as sad that if at some point in your life you have to say “I’m a star, I’m here to stay.”  Usually people who are really famous (whatever that means) don’t have to say they are a star.  Tomorrow though I could write a blog entry on how I think I am star and maybe some of you would believe me, but probably not because, again, those who are truly famous would not have to make the case that they are. 

I watched Dennis play basketball in the late 80′s for the Detroit Pistons, he was a hustle player who was one of the best rebounders I have ever seen.  Then I watched him play for the Chicago Bulls in the mid-90′s and again, help a team win championships.  Now I watch him on MTV, and the E channel struggling with they years of addiction to drugs and alcohol.  Sad, really sad.  I hope he finds something that fills the hole that is obviously in his heart and soul.  JVD

Minneapolis, MN

Last night I accompanied Danielle to an Indiana University alumni event.  My wife attended and graduated IU Bloomington and is a loyal Hoosier fan.  I am a big time University of Illinois fan, and do not routinely route for the Indiana Hoosiers.  But, my wife is helping restart the Minneapolis chapter of the Indiana Alumni chapter, so I agreed to accompany her to this event.  We drove to the Sheraton Hotel in Minneapolis and none of her colleagues were there yet.  I was thinking to myself, oh great a night of meeting people who I don’t know when I would maybe just want to be at home watching a movie. 

But, I was wrong.  After people started showing up it was a great time of chatting with different people and hearing how they connected to IU, and what they do for a living etc. etc.  It is good to get out and meet people.  I have the Gallup StrengthsFinder strength of Woo, which stands for ‘Winning others over,’ and I was putting it to good use.  Then, in the most random part of the evening we were asked to drive the guest of honor back to his hotel.  Rick Greenspan is the athletic director for Indiana and he needed a ride from the Sheraton to the Hyatt.  Rick and his daughter came with Danielle and I as we drove across Minneapolis.  Rick and I chatted about college coaches, the difference between D-1 schools and D-3 schools and a variety of topics.  He was such a nice guy, it was an enjoyable time. 

Half of Life is just showing up.  JVD

Living insignificantly is worse than dying early.

What does one blog about at 1:00 am in the Seattle airport?  I guess we are about to find out.  Hold on kids, it could get a bit rough back there.  Today I worked with Leadership Vision at Timberlake Church in the Seattle area.  It was a good event, and I got to meet some cool folks – even people who read my blog – that is always a surreal deal when you meet people and they know quite a bit about you before you ever talk to them.  It was good meet AJ, Erin and others over the weekend. 

I also got to hang out with Alex who is a good friend and colleague who I really enjoy spending time with.  Alex has been a huge influence on me and once complimented me in front of a large group (including my future wife) – thanks Alex, your words helped me win Danielle over – for that I am forever in your debt!  Alex shared some of his vision for Voxtropolis - the new city of voices, you all can check out my new blog at www.josephdworak.voxtropolis.com  We also got to check out a new movie – “The End of the Spear” which is a fascinating flick about some missionaries who were killed by native people in Ecuador.  Really recommend the movie.  Great to see you Alex! 

I have really hit the jackpot here at the Seattle Tacoma airport – I have free wireless by the Northwest World Club, so take that $10 access charge by Wayport!  Free internet for everyone!  Hmm what else can I ramble on about.  Seattle is way to grey for me to ever live in I think.  But, it is really pretty and has super tall trees.  Ok I think I am at the point where I might not be super effective in communicating with you all anymore.  Peace and Power – your buddy – JVD

Tonight I sat listening to presentations about leadership, strengths, and character.  The thing I realized tonight is that life is about giving myself away to other people, some who will never even know I helped them.  As the great prophet Bono once said, “You gotta give it away,”  you too must give it away. 

As I sit within 15 minutes of the richest man on the face of the earth (I am in Redmond, WA near Bill Gates), I realize I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth.  The only way I will stay that lucky is to give it away.  To my wife, to my friends, to those I don’t know, to anyone I can help.  I can help them through how I was created uniquely for a purpose.  “I gotta give it away”  – JVD

As many of you know, I am now coaching a junior olympics club volleyball team consisting of mainly 16 year old sophomores in high school.  They are a fun group to work with and, for the most part, try really hard in practice.  It is always a stark reminder to myself that everyone is motivated differently, based on how they are wired.  Some of us are goal oriented, some of us compare ourselves to other people and then push to be better than those who we are comparing ourselves to.  Some people need a helping hand to get moving, others will figure it out on their own. 

As I grow and learn how to motivate this group of 10 athletes, I need to remember to have patience with all of them.  Yesterday we had a practice that was partly good, and then lost focus at the end.  We have a power league coming up this Sunday and we are not as sharp as I hoped we would be going into the power league.  Now, the last time we played in a power league my girls rose up above their practice level and went 3-0.  This time we are being moved up to a higher flight of teams, so we will need to find a new level to stay undefeated. 

This is all to say, I just want them to get better as volleyball players, and more importantly people.  This means I will play girls who do not always give us the best chance to win, so they can play.  I can usually accomplish this by using them in non-deciding situations, or for parts of games.  It is a fine balance.  Our club philosophy is to find a role for everyone, some people’s roles smaller than others, but none the less, a role. 

As I sit here waiting for Leadership Vision to get started today here in Seattle.  I am pondering this and other topics, but really should just get started on my homework for class.  Amazing how many things I will find to do before I start my homework.  JVD

Today I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Virgil Olson speak here at Bethel Seminary.  Dr. Olson started as a student here in 1938 and ended up teaching here for some 30 years between the college and seminary.  He is close to 90 years old and spoke today at an installation service for a new professor.  He spoke about standing on the shoulders of those who came before us.  The man was totally sharp and with it, and I learned a lot from him. 

1)  Always pay tribute to those who helped you get where you are today

2)  Be grateful

3)  Stay sharp

If I can do those few things for the rest of my life, I will be on a good track.  Dr. Olson is inspiring, I was moved by his candor, wit, intelligence and grace as he spoke today.  All the while he is 89 years old!  I have 68 more years of living before I get to be his age – if I make it – I hope I can be like Dr. Olson when I get there.  Thanks Dr. Olson, you inspired me today.  JVD

Traveling for business has slowed down a bit in the last month, but is all set to crank up again, and it did this past weekend.  I traveled to Wisconsin to work with the Nicolet Bible Institute students at Silver Birch Ranch in White Lake, WI.  This has become a semi-annual deal where I go back up to the camp I have long been affiliated with and try and give back to the place that has helped me so much.  Danielle was able to come with me and we got a day of skiing in at Ski Brule and we worked with the students and staff at Silver Birch on Friday.  It is so much fun and very energizing to help people figure out how they are wired, where they are headed, and maybe for what purpose.  Some of the staff went through this with me last year and they had more questions nine months later for me, as sometimes this stuff takes time to settle in and make sense.  All in all, a great weekend.  Special thanks to Dan and Sharon for having us over for dinner on Saturday night. 

This week will be incredibly full, today is a ‘day off’ but I will still crank things out here at home.  I have lots of volleyball – and then Friday I am flying to Seattle to work with Leadership Vision at a church named Timberlake in Redmond, WA.  I am excited to head to a hopefully not to rainy Seattle.  That will be a quick 1.5 day trip and then I will be back to coach my volleyball team on Sunday in a power league.

Speaking of our volleyball club, MN Select, funny thing happened the other day when I started reading the Sunday paper.  I saw this picture which I have imported for you on the left.  A young lady with a MN Select t-shirt on was on the front page of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: 

http://www.startribune.com/526/story/183139.html

This article makes the case about young players and how they are doing too much at a young age with sports, etc. etc.  On the one hand, it was great to have MN Select be on the cover of the largest newspaper in the city and state, but on the other side of things the article portrayed club volleyball in a bad light.  The best part was they did not talk about how club volleyball is totally optional and parents and players need to make a decision of whether to take some time off from sports – etc.  Anyway, interesting article about what I am involved with.  It did make me think about my players and making sure they don’t push themselves too hard -  Here is one more point I have about this article.  So, many girls play three sports in high school, these girls who play club volleyball are just not playing a sport in school for that season and are choosing to play out of the high school system, so it is really not that big of a deal.  At any rate – Just thought I would share.  And as they say in the PR business – all publicity is good publicity. 

More later this week.  JVD