I held him as tight as I could without hurting him. His head rested in my left arm as his breathing became shallow.  And he took one last look.

If still of reasonable mental faculties nine minutes before my passing here are nine things I will consider mentioning to whomever is close by.

I did.  I do.  I will………

Memorial Day Weekend…

The value of the little things.

On any day of the week I am often in front of an audience of leaders either facilitating, training or coaching in various areas and topics of leadership.

We have heard the phrase, plant the seed and pray for the rain.

Not knowing the actual definition of the word “still” I thought I would look it up…and…

A warm fire on a cold night can help with the following.

First of all, I had no idea the season tickets we had been offered would bring us in contact with so many Pittsburgh Steelers fans.

Derinda and I will be attending an Atlanta Falcons game this afternoon. Have not done this since 1992 and that’s been a minute. Will post photos later.

Typically each year my wife and I welcome lots of guest during the holidays.  Hopefully this year will be no different.

Going to Clarkesville, Georgia for the weekend.  Top down hopefully on the car.

In coaching leaders, I often hear these responses, “I don’t know what to do.”  “I’m not sure of the next step.”  “I don’t have what I need to go forward.” My usual reply?  “What’s in your hand?”

My morning view from my patio in Georgia.

The first indoor fire of the season.

Let’s see…check list for fall..

What more could a man ask for or want?

Many times our own words are the answers we are looking for…to the questions we have asked ourselves…we just don’t hear them.

Jason in a fun loving way let me know he had some place to be.  Some place very important…for him.

It was the last day of school, Humphries Elementary, sixth grade, Southeast Atlanta, the year? 1968!  And Cissy Shaw was going to know how I felt.  So, I decided, today was the day.

Typically, I have little or no warning when inspiration is about to show up in my life.  This particular day being one of those times.

As an Executive Coach…coaching non-executives as well, you often have to get to a third layer to find out the real issue.

Will and I were discussing leadership strategies when I asked him the following question…

In the coming days www.johnhembree.com will go through some changes.

Ever visited an amusement park, shopping mall or complex of buildings and you can not determine where you are?  In fact, you are here.  But, where is here?

No matter how many times you say, “I have always wanted to…” or, “I think I could…” it does not matter, not even in the least, until you do that which you wanted to or thought you could.

You already have some idea as to what the next few days holds in store. But then, there is the inevitable. The inevitable surprise, the curve ball, the gotcha.

When I am forced to look at reality I see a fuzzy imperfect image of the world as it is.

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of the telescope.” Dr. Seuss

I have the opportunity almost every day to make at least fifty to one hundred first impressions, if not more, at once.

Howard Schultz, Chairman and CEO of Starbucks was meeting and talking to employees who would soon open the first Starbucks stores in South Africa.

I love quotes.  Always have.  And I love to apply them to everyday life and when I can.

Maybe I missed something…or maybe I have it all wrong…or even possibly I never understood it at all…but…

In the book, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett, there is a discussion between Aibeleen and Minny, two of the many maids who work in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960’s.

Someone said to me, “I want to do little things to express my appreciation to others. I just don’t know how.”

In order to make a turn you have to point your skis downhill.  Great advice for the slopes…great advice for life.

If your goal is to be a more effective communicator, consider these five tips from an expert in the field of public relations and messaging.

The magic of a half baked idea.

You knew within a very short amount of time they were exactly what you were looking for. They were the perfect fit.

One cup at a time. One customer at a time.

I have an ongoing fascination with incomplete or unfinished circles.

It was somewhere around 2:16 a.m. The kitchen was dark except for a small lamp. I did not have my glasses on and I simply could not take it anymore.

  “You did the impossible, because you didn’t realize it was impossible.”  Debi Coleman

You have the potential to be a great leader if…

You are on the verge, the cusp, the edge of a new dream.

I looked up from my eighth floor desk and watched two window washers not ten feet away, but on the outside of the building.

“He kept me in the game longer than I did.”

Biological bingo at birth? Chaos at conception? Delivered with a destiny? Specific not spontaneous?

“People…can’t live with ’em…can’t live without ’em.”  Somebody probably said somewhere.

Even if…keep going.

At 5:00 a.m. my alarm went off.

She was still young and not as experienced in the world of business as she will be some day.

We all want to believe we are making an impact in the lives of others.

This is how I ended my letter.

Ten women in a circle.  And me. Here was the question. Two actually.

“If I knew then, what I know now.” We have all said it.

“Well, somebody had a big bowl of confidence this morning.”

Mother’s Day. One of the most revered days of the year.

One of my favorite movie lines from one my favorite movies…Forest Gump.  “I’m pretty tired…I think I’ll go home now.”

Those who often live out an almost life are those who pretend as though life just goes on and on. It does not.

My text to them was simple, “No matter how big you are thinking regarding your future, you ain’t thinking big enough. Think much, much bigger.”

As clearly as we know our past, God even more clearly knows our future.

If you were limited to nine words, only nine, what would those nine words be?

“Honestly, I thought you had more fight in you.”  Not really something you say to someone you may never see again.

Sitting in a room full of educators as well as writers can be a little intimidating.

In the middle of the night a great army has surrounded you. And you do not even know it…yet.

  “Here’s to the crazy ones.  The misfits.  The rebels.  The troublemakers.”

How many billions of dollars have been spent and made on finding the perfect fit?

Challenged to use less words more effectively I began to study effective speakers.

Who could have guessed that such a positive message of hope could come from a troubled beginning?

Being a Colin Powell fan, I read his book, It Worked For Me.

Be so confident in yourself that when success comes…you are the only one not surprised.  

“It has been said that something as small as the flutter of a butterfly’s wing can ultimately cause a typhoon halfway around the world.”  Chaos Theory

We check boxes throughout our life.  Some important, some not important.  Natalie Ann checked a box.

You’ve seen them. They see the silver lining in every storm.

The craziest thing about inspiration is that it comes out of nowhere. One minute…nothing. The next minute…everything.

  Rembrandt painted the related photo in 1630 and titled the work Parable Of The Hidden Treasure.

“Welcome to Hollywood!  What’s your dream?  Everybody’s got a dream!”

It worked every time. Five questions and five minutes was all I needed.

“Wear the hat?” “Yes, wear the hat.”

Be open to the “what if” within you.

There was a tree in the front yard of my house.  It was dead.

Excuses that are oft repeated, are…

  I received a phone call from a friend.  My friend’s name is Jeff.

The phone rang and her voice was confident and the first thing she said was “I know I am not exactly what you are hoping to find for the open position.”

Recently I was speaking to a group and said, “I am practicing to be a Billionaire.”

Are you a square peg trying to fit in a round hole. I have only one question. Why are you doing that?

  On a grand piano there are eighty eight keys. Fifty two white keys.  Thirty six black keys. Seven octaves.

“The 20th mile.  That is when they are most likely to quit.”

Go into today with expectation. With anticipation. With excitement.

You will remember the Christmas classic, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer. And Herbie the elf. Herbie, if you will recall, was different than the other elves.

On Sunday our posts are more related to faith.

“I expected that it would not happen.” “I expect it will not turn out, in the long run, like I had hoped.” Often phrases used as a realization of a disappointing outcome.

There really is no place, nor space in the church for hypocrites…because it frees up much needed space for sinners like me.

Each of us have experienced walking into a meeting, or speaking in front of an audience or taking on a new challenge, and our confidence level is at zero.

Though I do not know where it will arrive from, nor what will cause it to happen, I feel a breathtaking moment of life headed straight for me.

I have on many occasions walked up to someone, extended my hand, and said, “Hi, I’m John, what’s your story?”

“People will come Ray.  People will most definitely come.”

Lawyers say, Never ask a question you do not already know the answer to. Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon says, If  you only do things where you know the answer in advance, your company goes away. Practice opposite thinking today. Upside down and backwards. .thing great next your of threshold the at standing be may …

Job interviews…no two are alike. What should you know and how should you prepare? Five things you should know in order to prepare for an interview.

Burn some bridges in your life…you ain’t going back there anyway. You are only going forward.

This morning I opened my mothers Bible, she having passed away in April of 2012. I turned to the first four words in the book of Psalms. “Blessed is the man…”

Simply stated, I do.  I really, really do. John

It is rare that I write about faults and weaknesses in others. There was a time however.

I love words. How we use them intentionally and unintentionally.

She stopped…left…stopped…and left…stopped…and left. He never stopped and never left. What kind of love that must be. John

"Who has a man love them like he does you? Every woman ever born would question your sanity right now."John HembreeFrom Secrets Of A Southern Sanctuary

Got it. John

“A little is a lot in the beginning, if a lot is what you are looking for in the end.”  Jedediah Grant How do you finish a marathon? You take a first step.

Simple answers have always been my favorites. The shorter the better. However, if you want to get know someone, then a lengthy answer is appropriate. Those you can delve into someone’s life, explore and discover. For this entry, let’s look at the “yes” and “no” answer.

This picture captured me a few years ago, when I saw it on CNN. I had to go back and find that story.

You know the story. David reaches down into the stream to pick up five smooth stones, and upon releasing the first stone from his sling, kills the giant. Then David takes the giants very large sword and cuts off the head of the giant and shows it to the opposing army. Needless to say, the battle …

Being a late night guy, I tend to get more sensitive the later it gets. As it approaches midnight, I felt to offer this prayer. I am aware of all the distress in the world. The threat of ISIS, the feelings of hatred that is transpiring globally toward that which I consider holy. To be …

I always wanted to be one of those people who, “coin a phrase”. It seems like it would be so creatively stimulating to come up with words that mean nothing, but say something.

In a previous entry, I encouraged people to color code the book of Philippians, one color for positive and one for negative. I did it also. Though the Apostle Paul was in dire straits, the book of Philippians is overwhelmingly positive. In my markings, blue was positive and orange was negative. Once I read through …

One reason many christians are willing to remain at one spiritual level for a long length of time, is that if they go any higher the persecution and responsibility will get tougher. They do not see that the power and authority you have to combat these trials will also become greater.

“Like a treasure a man discovered in a field.  In his excitement, he sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field–and get the treasure, too!” “Like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.  He discovered a real bargain–a pearl of great value–and sold everything he owned to purchase it!” …

I am developing new levels of believing God. I have driven more falling apart cars in my life that I wish to admit. And I thankful for all.

Since I am not a big believer in coincidence, I found it very interesting that this progression of events had happened on the same day. I believe events happen for a reason and many times a very specific reason.

If you have ever participated in organized sports there was a coach involved.

It was Morgan’s birthday.  A really awesome young lady with an extremely bright future and quite frankly, a bright present. I wanted to send her a birthday greeting. Here is a copy and pasted version of the greeting. I really hope she doesn’t mind. My guess? She won’t.