Goooood Morning Folks!

I’ll say it now… Best Mailbag of the year material this morning folks!

The reason I am especially pumped about this week’s Mailbag is because it is a tribute to my dad, better known as Gordo. He hit his milestone 65th birthday on Monday and it’s given me lots to think and reflect on. Tune in to the first video video link below which is a really cool insight into the work he has been pioneering in his field of reconstructive Plastic Surgery. I’ll preface the video with a few reflective thoughts…

What hit me this week is that my dad, like many father/son relationships, has had a huge impact on my life since day 1, but when I sit back and think about it, I really have never had any concept or idea of what his day to day to life is like as a doctor.

Last week, one of his residents dug up a YouTube clip of a feature that was done on Gord (and much to mine and sisters’ chigrin, a family bike ride we went on in the 90’s that was quite embarassing)! Point is, this really is the most introspective look I’ve ever had on someone who’s had such a big impact on me, yet professionally speaking, my dad’s career and mine could not be more different. As a kid growing up, when Gordo came home from work, he put his “dad” hat on and never talked much about the meaningful impact he was seemingly having on people’s lives. Now that I’m older (and a little more mature), I’ve put a lot more thought into the craft he’s honed and expertise developed he’s carving ears out out of patient’s rib cartillege who have lost one or both of them due to a bad accident, cancer, or having been born without one or both.

When you’re able to help someone while they’re at their most vulnerable, that is enormously powerful and the grounds for forming a very meaningful relationship. I’m just starting to realize how big of an impact he’s had on so many of his patients, both young and old, and yet he’s stayed as humble as the kid who grew up with three younger brothers on the streets of Meadowlark in west Edmonton.

Thanks dad for being such a great role model and teaching me many qualities that I hope to emulate in some fashion as I grow into my professional career, wherever that may lead…

• As prefaced, here is the clip from the late 1990’s titled, “The Surgeons“, on Gord’s leadership of the Institute for Reconstructive Sciences (formerly COMPRU at the time) at the Misercordia Hospital in Edmonton. Very cool stuff…

• Some truly inspiring words from the man, the myth, the comedic legend… Jim Carrey!

• A couple weeks ago, I wrote about a random guy, Tony Esteves, quest to meet one new person every day for an entire year. Well I’m very proud to now call Tony a friend, a chum, pal, compadre. We met last Friday night for what was supposed to be “a beer” which turned into many… Our conversation went in every direction and to great depths, which there’s nothing more I enjoy! For the record, I was day #220 on Tony’s calendar. Tony wrote about our initial encounter on his Talk2MorePeople page. In the last 7 days since meeting, we’ve broken bread at both of our Calgary dwellings and I attended my first ever “improv jam acting class” at Tony’s house (which totally scared the bejeebers out of me going into it. I’m trying to work on my creative expression which Tony graciously offered to help me out with). And he also virtually met with one of my best friend’s and loyal Mailbag reader in San Francisco, Chris Snoyer. Pretty solid first week of friendship if I say so myself! And it all started with a simple… conversation.

  If you’d like to meet Tony and be part of his Talk2MorePeople journey, I’d love to introduce you!

Song of the Week: Live in 1973, here is Chicago and their classic, “Saturday in the Park“. This one is for my dad, as Chicago is his all-time favorite band. The above photo is Gord and his cousin, Greg, on cloud-nine taking a photo with the entire band after their concert in Edmonton a couple weekends ago. They blend right in if you ask me!

Quote of the Week: “I’m looking for what’s real. And when I find that, I take it right to the soul. I’m not a surface guy, I can’t stand living on the surface. I think that’s why people are so unfulfilled today. People text instead of communicate, people think their Facebook friends are their friends. Depth is what people are missing. I like taking people deep. That’s why people are so riveted because it’s so rare.” – Tony Robbins

Take Your Life To The House!

Mike