Love and be Loved

We have a dog. Her name is Bryce. Every time we ask her if she wants to go outside, or we unlock the deadbolt on the backdoor, she goes scrambling and flailing to then flying against the door like it is the most exciting thing ever. When I get home, whether I have been gone for 20 minutes or all day, she is at the door to greet me tail and often full body shaking with joy. Many of us already see and know the unconditional love and youthful joy of pets. It has almost become cliché. There is another, a little subtler, lesson that Bryce reminds me of everyday. It is a lesson that I first learned from one of my favorite books, The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann. Bryce illustrates the lesson through the greeting at the door and the relentless “kisses” in bed in the morning combined with the flipping her leg open for a belly rub when I approach or using her snout to my hand onto her for more pets. She knows that life is about giving and receiving. That is something for all of us to remember for a happy and fulfilled life. Are you planning and acting to create both giving and receiving in your life after sports?