An orthopedic surgeon, a psychologist, a high-end interior designer, and a lawyer walk into a factory.

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but actually it was just my Tuesday.

I recently met with a group of diverse and incredibly talented people in an old factory in Nashville. The group also included a trained vocalist, a Telecom entrepreneur/Marine Corps Reservist, a man who had run more than twenty different companies, and a comedian.

We met together because we share a common goal of becoming more effective communicators.

At first, the diversity of the group was inspiring, but a little daunting.

By the end of our 13+ hours together, I realized what we had in common:

We are each trying to Live Loved.

Each of us is pursuing a different passion and purpose. We’re all at different phases and stages of our pursuit, but that’s always true, isn’t it?

Your community of friends or co-workers probably isn’t completely homogenous and stagnant. You’re probably each in a different place financially, spiritually, and personally. Maybe some people are at the beginning of their parenting journey, while others are experienced empty-nesters. Maybe you have some friends who are at the beginning of their careers and others who are already established leaders in their industry. Maybe you’re beginning to think (or re-think) spirituality, but you have friends who seem to have it all figured out.

We can each be on a different path and yet be on a journey together.

In the Nashville factory I also learned that every path has bumps. When we watch other people move forward in their journey (life, career, family, etc.), it can look smooth or even effortless to us. Guess what? That’s not reality, it’s just a lack of information on our part.

Throughout the day, sometimes in subtle ways, each person shared how their negative soundtrack has been a factor at times. We wondered out loud about strategies that seemed to work for other communicators, but didn’t feel quite right for us.  We shared our strengths, never denying our weaknesses.

And yet, despite our own negative soundtracks and bumpy paths, there we were, each hoping to add something useful and positive to your soundtrack.

So, I have to ask you, are you Living Loved today? Are you not able to because your negative soundtrack controls your decision-making? Are you overly frustrated by the bumps on your path because life seems effortless for everyone else? Tell me about it in an e-mail or on Facebook or Twitter.