25 Things You Didn’t Know About Me

1. When I started my business I was an airline captain.  I spent 20 months building Lukas Coaching from hotel rooms.

2. I used to be an ice climber.  I lost a few friends due to ice fall and gave it up around the time I got married.

3. I love the outdoors and spend nearly every Friday afternoon there.

4. I don’t like rules and I constantly pushed them when I was driving airplanes.  Not that I do things the wrong way, I just try to figure out how I can do things different and better.  Why does one person get to say there’s only one way to do things?

5. I have an amazing ability to eat expired food and not die.  It drives my wife, Christine, crazy.

6. I don’t do any work on December 22, June 12, or September 17.  No matter what happens, my three daughter’s birthdays are time I spend 1-on-1 with them.  We usually go hiking and do lunch together.

7. I’m a never-ending fountain of useless facts.

8. At one point, I was the most senior Mid-west employee at PetsMart.  It’s retail so it doesn’t take long to get there, but I spent seven years with the company in various positions throughout high school and college.

9. I’m still a flight instructor, though I haven’t flown an airplane in a few years.  Scary, I know.

10. I play piano and keyboards and routinely play at church.

11. I’ve been known to sing falsetto.  Again, drives Christine crazy.

12. I’ve been to 43 states (and D.C.) but still need to visit: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Mississippi. If you live in one of these, can I come visit?

13. Wisconsin has the honors of being my home state.  I’ve also lived in South Dakota, Indiana, and North Carolina; at least I’ve had permanent homes in these states.

14. I love flying, but I’d rather drive.  There’s too much history that you miss otherwise.

15. I owned at least eight cars by the time I turned 22.  I’ve had my current car for over ten years.

16. I don’t like numbered lists.  I’m more of a bullets kind of guy.

17. Christine is the biggest Twilight fan around. As many times as I’ve seen those movies, I still actually like them. Team Edward for sure. (I have no choice).

18. I don’t follow sports. I’d rather be in the woods somewhere getting my own workout.

19. I don’t watch reality TV.  I have my own adventures to make. See #18.

20. I’m with the 90% of drivers who think we’re in the top 10% of best drivers.

21. In 5th and 6th grade I wore an appliance (the dentist actually called it that) similar to a retainer. My top and bottom teeth fit in at the same time and I couldn’t open my mouth. For two years I only took it out to eat. I learned how to talk and still slur my speech. It was called a bionator and wasn’t as cool as the name.

22. I have a lot of ideas, but still have problems executing them. Much like the rest of our culture.

23. Being a father is much harder than running a business. It gives me the confidence to go to work every day.

24. When I lead small groups, my fear is not that no one will sign up, but that only one person will.

25. I bruised my tail bone in a horrific sledding accident as a kid and I cried just putting my socks on. I did get some serious air though.

26. I really don’t like rules. Why does your way have to be the best way? (I also don’t like that I have to keep this list to only 25 things. See #4.)

27. I use keyboard shortcuts many people don’t know exist. Sometimes I feel like the smartest person in the world.

What are your 25 things?  Blog about it and leave a link in the comments.