Extemporaneous; from the Latin ex tempore meaning “out of the time;” refers to something that is comprised, performed or uttered at the spur of the moment.  Extemporaneous is frequently interchanged with the synonym “impromptu,” the difference being, something extemporaneous has been carefully prepared whereas impromptu denotes no preparation.

Now that we’ve gone to English class, let’s go to a phone call I had in June of 2016.  I was on the phone with one of my coaches discussing plans I had over the next six months.  One of the many plans was to do some sort of writing, newsletter, book or blog…something to get the writing juices flowing.  Accountability is a major theme my coaches and I speak about and this particular coach gave me a challenge to go start a blog that exact day.  His charge was simple:  no content, no refined website, just go get a blog URL and send it to him.  He told me to have it to him that day, but I asked for 3 days given it was Friday afternoon and I had a few items I needed to attend to with my family.

Immediately after we ended our call, I began thinking about the blog and an associated title.  What should I call it?  What would I write about?  How would I classify it?  The more I thought about it the more petrified I became and the more doubts crept in.  I knew then and there that I could not take a weekend to come up with a title…it had to be immediate…it had to be crisp…it had to be spur of the moment…

SOMEWHAT EXTEMPORANEOUS was born.

Why “Somewhat Extemporaneous” and not just “Extemporaneous?”  I’m the type of individual that will not go from my 2nd floor to my basement without thinking if there’s an optimal way to get there, or if there’s an item I can take down or bring up that will eliminate a future trip.  Very little that I do is truly “spur of the moment.”  I needed something that was less definite than pure “Extemporaneous; ” therefore “Somewhat” was introduced.

“Somewhat Extemporaneous” is a blog that has been planned and prepared; but not memorized or rehearsed.  The planning and preparation come from the experiences I’ve had during my life, yet each post is comprised at the spur of the moment when a thought or activity give rise.  This allows me to weave in multiple experiences (if appropriate) into a single message while keeping it fresh and interesting.

Given the source of material will be based on experiences, I suspect the blog will cover a host of topics including but not limited to: faith, leadership, ego, self-awareness, self-help, group dynamics, mistakes, decision making, travel mishaps, family and a host of other things.  The beauty of this will be that it’s alive, it’s fresh, it’s relevant, it’s…

SOMEWHAT EXTEMPORANEOUS

Photo Detail — The photo above is the Pantheon in Rome.  My wife and I went to Italy for our Honeymoon and on this particular day we decided to walk from Vatican City back to the hotel.  While walking down one of the streets I was engrossed in looking at a map in an attempt to ascertain our location.  “I know where we are, we just need to turn right ahead and we’ll be on a straight line to the hotel.” Famous last words as we turned right and BAM, the Pantheon.  Didn’t expect that one!