When I was a thief...

I don't remember a great deal to be honest. That's why I rely so heavily on things like iPhones and reminders and to do lists and tattoos like that guy from the film Memento. What you've never seen it? You really should.

Every now and then, though, I remember something completely bizarre and irrelevant. Like I just remembered the time in my first year infants class where this kid broke the glass bottle of milk that forever after meant we only got (smaller) carton milk. Then somehow that just reminded me of sports day that same year and I was too embarrassed to enter in the parent-kid-combo-three-legged-race. Sorry Dad.

So Thursday night I was about to fall asleep and I remembered the first time I ever stole something. Every day for as many years as I lived there, Dominic's the ice cream van would stop outside my house in Dagenham. Like clockwork Dominic would drive up Naseby Road with the pride of a royal precession and like a pied piper would lure my friends and neighbours from their homes with the unmissable tune of Greensleeves. I have since wondered why a product largely targeting a market of children uses a 16th century folk song as it's theme tune.

It seemed as though aaaaall my friends got to get an ice cream from Dominic but I never was. My Mum knew it wasn't money well spent, knew ice cream every day wouldn't be good for me, knew I was hyper enough without extra sugar, and maybe she also knew Dominic sold cigarettes for 20p each to anyone that asked. I'm not blaming my Mum for what happened next but maybe the odd ice cream here and there could have stopped me sinking to the depths I then did.

I must have been 5 or 6 years old and despite our recently installed double glazing I heard Dominic in his cream machine purring his way up the road and pull up outside the house. Dad wasn't in and Mum was upstairs - Mum's purse however... on the brass trolley we used for roast dinners on Sundays. My window of opportunity was slim. I opened the purse, unzipped the coin section, grabbed out the biggest coin I could find and sneaked out the front door to join the queue of kids buying their 99's, popeyes and toffee crumbles. My turn came and I was way too short for the window so I had to stretch up with my coin to reach Dominic's open hand, presented him with just a two pence piece and asked what I could get. All 2p would get me was a bubble gum. Which incidentally I wasn't allowed either, but I took it anyway, ran back into the house and hid feeling really guilty.

Remembering this story made me think... why do we sometimes get so focused on something that we break the rules trying to get it. All I got out of it was two pence and then a bubble gum and I had to steal to get it. So much effort for such a small prize, and would it have been worth it if I found the note section rather than the coins? Never is.

Education and Experience

Earlier this year I made the amazing discovery of iTunes U. I was at a conference where everyone went to bed really early (!) and while browsing the iTunes store came across free lectures from the top universities in the world... Few others can say they trained at Harvard, Stanford and Oxford all in one evening.

I was looking for some seminars on leadership or business processes and came across a series of video interviews carried out by McGill University in Canada. One interview was with Larry Smith, president of Canadian Football League team Montreal Alouettes. He talked about the balance between education and experience...

Imagine a bike's wheels, one wheel represents education and the other experience. The smoothest, safest and fastest ride comes when the wheels are matched in size - unlike the rather ridiculous looking (although groundbreaking at the time) penny farthing pictured above. The penny farthing's shape meant it had such an odd centre of gravity that anyone breaking on a downhill descent were more than likely to end up flying over the handlebars.

Most pastors, or leaders, or anyone doing any job in fact, get regular experience in their job - whether it's leading a church every day, the office team leader or the chef in their kitchen. Each day that experience wheel grows larger and larger. Which makes me think... I can't halt the growth process of my experience wheel without quitting my job so I better get working on my education. Everything I read, listen to or invest in adds to making that balance a touch more even - and makes me a lot less likely to fly over the handlebars!