I was reading a book by Michael Beckwith in which he encourages us to ask ourselves one question everyday. I encourage all of us to look for things to celebrate this weekend. The smile from a stranger, the touch of a loved one and everything in between. There is always something worth celebrating. It could be your morning cup of coffee or making it through a tough day. So take some time to celebrate and share some joy this weekend!
This is my friend Kyle. As you may be able to tell he works at one of the Starbucks I frequent. So how does this barista change the world? How can one man serving coffee change the entire world? More to the point what lesson can we take from him that can allow us to do the same? Keep reading for the answers to all these questions and more.
Here is one great thing about Kyle, his customer service may be second to none. So does that change the world? In short, yes. Not only does he craft amazing beverages, one of which I am currently enjoying, but he does it with a flair and a kindness far beyond what is asked and expected of him. This is just how Kyle is. He has a good heart and likes to leave people with both a smile and a great drink.
So how does being so fun and friendly change the world? The countless number of people that flow through this Starbucks come in all races, shapes and with different stories. Some may be having a great day already and Kyle’s service may just put them over the top. Some may be on the verge of a bad day and having the pleasure of being served by him may turn their day into a great one. Still, the most important thing is there are people who certainly come in contact with Kyle who are having a bad day. They may even be having the worst day they have had. Seeing how much the local employee at the coffee shop cares for them and their order may go a long way into changing their state. They will then be able to react better to those they encounter. It is a ripple effect. Kyle never knows how much his kindness may affect people, and that is not why he does it. Still it has a ripple effect that blesses the lives of a great many people. It may even save the lives of a few who think nobody cares.
So what can Kyle teach us about changing the world? Treat everyone we come in contact with as if they were the most important person in the world. We do this for two reasons. One, to that person they are the most important person in the world and because that is how we should treat each other. Now when we do this that person may go home and be more understanding with their spouse or children. They may pass along this kindness to others. Imagine a world full of this? Does this sound like a fantasy? It doesn’t have to be. A kind world starts with one person at a time, and that person is us. So if you want to change the world for the better the simplest thing you can do is treat everyone as you would like to be treated. Share an encouraging word, a smile and some positive vibes. It not only will brighten their day, but you never know who else it will go on to effect. Be like Kyle, change the world
Feel free to share this post as well as any stories you may have of people you know who change the world.
This weekend take time to go easy on yourself. Take time to recharge your batteries. I was speaking with Travis Jones who writes bringitivity.net last weekend. He took some bold steps to take some time away from the entertainment he does to focus on other more important aspects of his life. The result? A refreshed spirit,done great new blog posts and energy going into the future.
Even if you are doing what you love, what you are passionate about and it hardly seems like work at all, you still need to focus on you from time to time. My favorite way to explain this, especially to the givers out there, is that you cannot fill a glass from an empty pitcher. If you keep giving and giving eventually the pitcher will be empty and no cups will be filled.
Another thing this does is give you fortitude. Life is sure to present some challenges to you at the most inopportune time. If those challenges find your energy and inspiration close to empty you may get knocked down. If they come up against a fresh and energetic spirit, they don’t stand a chance.
So do something for you this weekend. Find something that inspires you or recharges your batteries. If you feel guilty about that, remember that you must have a full pitcher if you hope to fill someone else’s cup. So take care of yourself so we can all take care of each other!
Feel free to share this post as well as your ideas for recharging your batteries in the comments below.
I posted this on my Facebook page 4 years ago. It showed up in my memories and I was interested to note although I agree with this statement, my approach is almost opposite. While it is true if you fill your days with attention to negative people and situations there leaves little time to focus on what is good. This will leave you feeling at the very best uninspired at the end of the day. Do this over a prolonged period of time and you will feel tired, worn out and depressed.
So how can you eliminate the negative from your life? Here is a very painless and easy formula I share at my seminars. If you are anything like me telling your negative friend “I can’t hang out with you because you just bring me down and complain all of the time” is not that easy. So how can you eliminate negative things in your life? Here is the formula. The best way to limit and get rid of the negative is by adding the positive.
How does this work? Well I heard people say that they don’t like looking at their Facebook pages because it is to negative and drama filled. I tell them to get rid of those people or at the very least hide their newsfeeds. I hear a million and one reasons why this can’t happen. “It’s my uncle though” or “I have to work with this person everyday”. Ok, well then add positive pages and people. At least that way when you log on between the politics and drama you may find some motivation and inspiration. Same works for negative people that want your time. Find some positive people and pursuits and commit your time to them. Then when the negative Nancys come calling you can honestly say “I’m sorry I am busy that night” Even if you feel obligated to spend some time with these folks if you also add positive people and experiences they can certainly be a little easier to take.
Feel free to share this blog post and formula with all of those you care about. Thank you.
I’m here to talk to you about a dear old friend we share. Our friend moe. Not this moe who happens to be the leader of the comedy group the 3 stooges. No I’m talking about a different moe, one who can and does have a great impact on our lives. This moe was brought to my attention in a conversation with my good friend Bret.
So who is this friend? This friend’s name is motivation. Have you ever noticed how hard it can be to get motivated some days? Have you ever noticed how easy it is to get things done when you are ‘on a roll’? Even if you experience challenges you seem to just find your way through our around them.
Here is some great news, you can to a large extent control your motivation. In fact, if you are not you may find yourself fall victim to our friend moe. Yes it’s true motivation can be negative. It can seem to turn against you. Perhaps you may have heard this in sports. The talk about teams losing motivation, or that the motivation has switched teams.
So how can we not only get motivated, but stay motivated? Again more fabulous news. In this day of modern technology it is all around us. Viewing motivational videos on YouTube is something I do daily. You can download or purchase these for your mp3 player as well. There are books on motivation as well. Don’t have time? They are even on audio book as well.
Still the best motivation doesn’t come from outside it comes from inside. How can we develop inner motivation? Some people refer to it as ‘drive’. Here are some quick ways to develop yours. First, learn your why. Knowing what has to be done is only part of the job. Knowing why you need to do it gives you motivation. Be it ‘negative’ motivation such as if I don’t get my job done at work my boss may fire me, or ‘positive’ motivation such as if I surprise my wife by doing the dishes she will be happy and more loving. Knowing why gets you moving. Second, find a reward for you in it. It’s great if you can get that externally such as my wife will give me more affection if I help her. More often than not, however the reward misty come from within. Whether it be the feeling of accomplishment you get, or something more tangible such as “I’ll treat myself to ice cream if I can make it to the gym 3 days this week”. Then you also meet moe’s friend discipline.
So put our old friend moe to work for you! Feel free to tell anyone you like about your old friend by sharing this post. Also feel free to share your secrets to getting and staying motivated in the comments below.
The question in the title of title of this post is what we are going to think about today. If you were to approach a ships captain in a harbor and ask his next port of call he could tell you in one sentence. Now at the moment the captain cannot see his destination, nor can he forsee the challenges of the journey to get there. Still he knows where he is going and can picture it in his minds eye. He also knows if there are challenges such as weather he will make adjustments to his heading and continue on. It is even worse for an airline pilot. They are of course a full 80% of the time! Making constant slight adjustments they arrive most of the time on time.
What is the point of all this? The reason why both people can arrive safely and on time is simple – they know where they are going. Do you know where your life is going? What is your life’s destination? Quite often people are afraid to think of one, or to set a goal. Why? They are afraid. Afraid of failure. Much like our two people above your course will take detour after detour. Still without a port of call in mind your journey can often feel hopeless and senseless. A ship or aircraft would never set out and say “who knows where we are going, but let’s hope we end up somewhere nice”. The odds say they would both end up in tragedy. Would you get on a plane that did not list where it was going? Of course you wouldn’t! Still this is what most of us do with our lives. Sure we have wishes and things we want, but know concrete goals or destination. So take some minutes today and sit down with a pen and paper. Write down what you want your life to become. Who you wish to become as a person. List every detail. Then look at that list at least weekly. If you find you are failing or seeming to be drifting off course,that’s great! At least you know and can make adjustments. Your life will have direction. You will feel as though you have a purpose. When someone asks you where your next port of call is you can answer them in just one sentence.
Feel free to share your goals in the comments below. Also feel free to like and share this posts with others. It is always more fun to be around others with goals.
This is a quote from Michael Bernard Beckwith, one of my favorite inspirational authors and speakers. Here is what I get from this. Filters, what are they? Well in a furnace they trap dirt and other things from getting through. In cameras whether video or still, they change the way we look at things. So now we have a clear idea of what filters are. How does all of this affect our lives?
Here is the thing, filters in life, what are they? In short, experiences. You have a powerful experience in colors the way you see life from that point forward. If you were in a relationship and there was a lot of dishonesty that you ended up being hurt by, in the future you may be less likely to trust. In fact, you may see dishonesty where there is none. This as you can imagine, can cause great problems for any new relationships. So like a camera filter it can totally color the way you see the world. If you put a red filter over a camera lens everything looks different. If you look through the filter of past hurts and dishonesty the world looks different than it may actually be.
Here is something else that can act as a filter, belief systems. If you were raised in a certain spiritual belief system you may not understand or accept others. Worse yet, if you were raised with certain prejudices you may have beliefs or dislikes for certain groups of people. This could act like a furnace filter mentioned above. It could trap things from getting through to you. Say you were raised to believe people with red hair were not smart. Then any idea you receive from a person with red hair you would dismiss. This could result in you missing out on a lot of good ideas.
Ok, but filters can also be good. The furnace filter mentioned above traps impurities, which serve as a good thing. I do my best to have a filter in my life against negativity, gossip and judgment. Working with the public, especially in places where alcohol is being served that filter can trap and stop a lot of those impurities and become less effective. So I am going to have to replace or clean that filter. How do we do this? That is a topic we will address in an upcoming post. Until then, look at your own filters. Are there any coloring your world in a negative way? Are there some you could add to color your world in a positive way? Do some need cleaning? Feel free to share any ideas you have for doing so in the comments so are other readers can do so as well. While you are in a sharing mood feel free to share this post in any way you see fit. Thank you for reading and sharing.
Let me ask you a question, who do you like to be around? More to the point, what qualities do the people you like to be around the most have? I can tell you what people seem to be a challenge for me. See if you share the same opinions. Being in the customer service industry I have seen my fair share of different people. We all have certain things that tend to bother us more than others. Personally, I am not a fan of negative people. This can fit a few different people. I do not like people I say suffer from the “eyeore syndrome” So named after the loveable character in Winnie the Pooh. (Of which it may be noted I am a big fan) You know the souls who can always see the thunderstorm in any rainbow. It seems if you are full of joy they can find a way to damper it. If you are having a bad day they can bring you down even farther. Funny thing is a lot of these people have no desire to change. Some even wear their depression as a badge of honor. Also are judgmental people. Always finding something negative to say about everyone around them. I look at these people as adult bullies. Most of them are usually making up for a lack of confidence in themselves.
Enough about the people we would like to avoid. How about the people we love to hang around with? I have a friend who is rather financially well off. When we go out he insists on paying for everything. Seems like a sweet deal right? Seldom do I take him up on his offer. Why? You might ask. This is why. He makes a point to let me know how well off he is and when I offer to pay makes sure to remind me that I am not as well off. I have another friend who is not as well off. She always has a joke, loves to take silly pictures and tells me how amazing the people she knows are. When I leave the first person I don’t feel very good about myself even though they have treated me to a night out. Leaving the second person I feel not only good about myself, but about life in general.
What this has taught me is one of the most attractive qualities is helping people see the beauty in themselves and the world around them. It has since become my mission statement. I encourage all of you to be the kind of person who makes others feel positive about the world we all share.
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Yesterday we talked about fighting the battle within. This is why the time to do so is now. Why happiness is not a decision to be made later or thought of only when we lose it.
Why is happiness so important and what is the hurry in putting it into practice? Simply put, life challenges do not call ahead. How often has your phone rang and a voice on the other end tell you “please enjoy this week because next week you will get a flat tire, oh and in the near future your job may be downsizing so you might want to stay looking. Thank you”. Doesn’t happen. Quite often life and it’s peaks and valleys catch us off guard. That is why it is so important to work on increasing the joy in your life right now!
So what can we do? Start putting to together some lists. Movies that make you happy when you watch them. At my seminars I recommend everyone create a “happy cd” or “happy playlist” they can listen to when life gets them down. Think of places you enjoy going, people you enjoy talking to,great blogs by bartender/postal workers you like reading. Seriously, know what makes you happy so when life gets you down you have something that turns it around.
These things may not fix your problems but they will help put them in perspective. If challenges takes you down a few rungs on the ladder of life, at least let them find you standing on the top.
As always please feel free to share this post and tell your friends about it.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 