Intentional Kindness

Thursday September 17, 2009 #156

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” 

~Mother Teresa

It never ceases to amaze me that people continue to need to be reminded to be civil, kind and caring.  But they do – which means you probably need this reminder too.  Today, challenge yourself in every interaction to be intentionally kind.  While interacting with your families – i.e. look in your son’s eyes and say “Have I told you lately how glad I am that you’re my son?” While ordering your coffee at Starbucks – i.e. let that woman ahead of you in line who seems to be in such a rush.  While in a meeting with your subordinate, find something about their contribution to compliment them on.  Try it – the effort takes almost no additional time or effort but the impact will be priceless.

A better destination

Thursday September 3, 2009 #152

“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”

 ~Jim Rohn

It is time to make a change from a bad habit or from moving in a direction that is clearly not producing the result you need.  You haven’t made the change yet because the habit is hard to break and/or you’ve invested so much in the direction you’ve been heading that you can’t imagine how you can move to a different path now.  But today you will realize that the only thing you have to change is your direction.  That can be done instantly.  Now.  You’re now on the way to a new and better destination.

Give when it counts. Give without counting.

Tuesday August 4, 2009 #143

“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”

~Mother Teresa

Enjoy #5 of the “5 Life Lessons” by Geir Ove Knutsen:  “Giving When it Counts”

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.”
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?”
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her but he had chosen to save her anyway.

The Lesson:  Give when it counts. Give without counting. Give!

I hope you’ve enjoyed these “5 Life Lessons”.  I’ve enjoyed giving them to you!

Improving our condition

Thursday July 30, 2009 #142

 “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” 

 ~Frank A. Clark

Enjoy #4 of the “5 Life Lessons” by Geir Ove Knutsen:  “The Obstacle in Our Path”

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.
After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.
The peasant learned what few people in the world truly understand: Within every obstacle lies a golden opportunity to improve our condition.

The Lesson:  Within every obstacle lies a golden opportunity to improve our condition.

Wake up the Giant Within You

Thursday July 16, 2009 #138

“Don’t live down to expectations.  Go out there and do something remarkable.”  

~Wendy Wasserstein

“Just in case you are not doing what your potential allows you, it is time to arise from your comfort zone. If you can sing, sing now. If you can build a business, do it now. If you can do motivational speaking, speak today. If you can lead, seek the mandate of the people when that time comes. Stop being a spectator when you should be at the forefront. Wake up the giant in you.” ~Shawn M. Bremner

This is part of an excellent blog post at Aspire Higher Motivational Quotes.  Click on the link to read more!

A Social Experiment

Tuesday July 14, 2009 #137

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” 

 ~Thornton Wilder

As you scurry through another day of business and activity, I invite you to pause a moment and notice the many wonders you have all around you.  The following short story illustrates the point perfectly.  Enjoy it.

Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:  The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:  A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:  A 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.

45 minutes:  The musician played.  Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while.  About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32.

1 hour:  He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities. The questions raised:  In a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ….

How many other things are we missing?

Listening to the Voices

Tuesday July 7, 2009 #135

“If you hear a voice within you say “you cannot paint”, then by all means paint & that voice will be silenced”

~Vincent van Gogh

What is that ‘impossible’ dream you have for yourself?  Running a marathon?  Playing an instrument well?  Getting a professional degree?  Learning to scuba dive, snowboard, hang glide, pilot a plane?  It is likely you are not living your dream because of that voice in your head that says you can’t do it – for whatever reason.  The only way to shut off that voice, and live your dream is to go do it.  You have the power to act.  Do it!

Mastery through intention

Thursday June 11, 2009 #128

“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.” 

~Albert Einstein

A mistake many make is attempting to be a master of everything.  Because being a master demands all of you, being a master of more than one or two things is virtually impossible.  The path to success is to choose carefully what you will master and then apply yourself fully.  It is the choosing that makes all the difference.  Choose based on passion and love and you won’t regret when you wake up to find of what you’ve become a master.

Dreams, intelligence, and courage

Tuesday June 2, 2009 #125

“Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.” 

~Leon Joseph

There is a significant price to pay to realize your dream.  The price may be time, money, a relationship, physical pain.  No one said this was going to be easy.  If they did, they were lying to you.  Nothing worth having ever comes easily.  The good news for you is that most will never realize this.  Most will keep playing the lottery, expecting others to take care of them, lamenting their circumstances.  But not you.  You’re one of the few that understand.  You have big dreams combined with the intelligence to identify the price to be paid, and the courage to pay up.

Be one of the few

Tuesday May 26, 2009 #123

“To dream anything that you want to dream. That’s the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.”

~Bernard Edmonds

There are millions who dream, but never act.  There are many who use their will to act, but accomplish little because of self-imposed limitations and fears.  The very few succeed through their courage to test their limits.  Will you be one of the few?