Landing Our Connections

"I think people are isolated because of the nature of human consciousness, and they like it when they feel the connection between themselves and someone else.." ~ James Taylor

Many Monday mornings can be a blur for me. These days tend to be very busy days. I am either heading out on the road or catching up from the previous weeks travel. Many a Monday leaves me little time to even consider writing anything motivational.

Monday is a day of shift for me and for many of you.

Mondays are also a day when we to adjust our focus on clarity. It is a day we transition that focus from weekend relaxation to the work required to make the weekends much better. It is also a chance to bring life into focus by connecting with others and then doing something with our newfound clarity.

Connections are made by drawing closer, not further away.

When traveling by plane, the engines begin their deafening roar as the plane presses at increasing speed upon takeoff. The laws of gravity and air resistance seem in contradiction to lifting a fully loaded Boeing 737 airplane weighing roughly 75 tons.

Traveling down the runway at 170 mph, we lift off and the details of everything disappear as the plane rises higher and higher. When reaching a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, you can see huge expanses of the earth.

The earth spreads out before you in a wondrous view.

One also notices the buildings, the people, the cars and the small details are also gone. From such a high altitude, there is no ability to focus on the small details. The people, the cars and buildings are impossible to see.

It reminds me that if we back ourselves away from connection with people, we lose the same ability to focus on things. We lose our relationships to others around us. We might as well be 35,000 feet in the air.

When we draw closer, relationships reappear and come into focus.

A plane descends near the end of a flight and little things reappear again. The shapes of buildings become clear. One can see vehicles racing up and down various roads. The landscape up close becomes much more recognizable, more familiar to the eye.

We begin to more clearly focus on all of the details as we drew closer to them. The closer a plane comes to landing, the closer we draw towards others, the tighter our connection becomes with everything around us.

Connection can only take place when we draw closer to others.

When we draw ourselves into relationship with other people, our focus on life achieves much greater clarity. With newfound clarity, your ability to impact the lives of others becomes much greater. The ability of others to impact your life becomes greater.

Your best life becomes even more achievable with connection.

Do not isolate yourself at 35,000 feet. It may feel like you can see so much further, but in reality you only see a possible landscape of your life. To live that possibility you need to draw close to it. And you draw close by connecting with people.

Achieve focus through connections and gain a better life.

Stay inspired my friends.

Are You Hungry

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” ― Herman Melville

As I go through my third day of a three day food fast, there are certainly obvious physical effects being encountered. You are starting to place the body under tremendous stress. Within the first 24-48 hours of denying calories, our bodies will have used up deprivation, the body depletes its glycogen stores from both our muscles and the liver; this is the stuff which helps provide us with quick energy.

More things begin to break down such as the protein within those same muscles and fat in order to produce energy. You've used up the glycogen, so the body starts using it's other hidden stores. And while all of this is going on, your metabolism will slow down in order to conserve energy. Your hormonal reactions board an unanticipated roller-coaster ride.

In jest we become "hangry" as we fight these hormonal fluctuations.

In seriousness, persistent hunger has serious consequences to health.

My three-day fast is a tiny portion of the lack of portion hunger many live with everyday.

There are many sources containing information and statistics to choose from. In general what I have read is, in America nearly 50 million struggle in one way or another to put food on the table. You can interpret this many different ways and assign your own cause or reason as to why this is so.

It could be poverty, bad choices of how we spend our money, food waste (40% of food is thrown out in the US every year, or roughly $165 billion worth; all of this uneaten food could potentially feed 25 million Americans) to name just a few.

Of course everyone will have their opinion of these causes, but whatever the cause, hunger has an impact on society.

Everything is connected

Are we singularly going through life, trying to remain disconnected from all of the world? Can we really do that and still live a live fulfilled? Is that really the life you think we as humans should live?

I doubt the vast majority of you reading this would think that way. In fact the vast majority of people in this world have some level of compassion for other people. We help each other in ways that are small, big; some of it reported in a news shaking way and most in a quiet undertaking.

My question then, is if you are hungry one day, can your hunger for food turn into hunger for greater connection?

Stay inspired my friends!

Revealing Hidden Connections

"A hidden connection is stronger than an obvious one." - Heraclitus of Ephesus

There are hidden connections that exist between humans from all over the world. When I think about how we are connected with each other in ways we may not realize, I think of the popular game called, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. The game rests on an assumption that any person can be linked through his or her life to actor Kevin Bacon.

It became so widely played, the actor himself started a charitable organization called Six Degrees. Mr. Bacon's organization takes the premise that everyone is connected by roughly six connections, and turns that networking capability into something powerful and quite useful.

When you stop and think about how you are connected to others, we can usually trace it to three or four people fairly easily. It is those further connections which are hidden, and even if hidden we are still connected.

Connection to one another is important in our lives. Zig Ziglar says that “you can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

But how do you know what they want?

By connecting and taking the time to get to know them.

People are generally not interested in how much 'you' know until they know how much 'you' care. It is an odd way of looking it but has quite a bit of truth in it. You develop credibility with others when you connect with them and show them you genuinely want to help them.

This does not mean you make a project out of people, but you connect because you actually care. What happens is those hidden connections get revealed. The separation that once existed is now closed and people's lives are impacted.

When you make a move to connect, the connections begin to vibrate throughout your sphere of influence.

The hidden connections are revealed and lives are touched.

Stay inspired my friends.

Friends Around Your Table

The friends around the table, St. Jacut

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival." - C. S. Lewis

As I sit writing this morning, there is a cool breeze through the open window. The sounds of the gathering day echo from the street below. It is my last morning in Curitiba, Brazil and those sounds are different but also quite familiar to the ear. While the language is Portuguese, the ebb and flow is very comforting.

A laborer power washing a building wall.

A woman shuffling her children into the car.

A plane in the distance approaching to land at the local airport.

The other is the sound of our families former neighbors and good friends Annie and Dave Spell. It is here to Brazil that they moved over a year ago. It is here that they now call home in Curitiba. It is amusing to me that I have flown 4691 miles in order to see my neighbors.

Yet friendship has that ability, to cross thousands of miles in separation or to simply cross the street. Friendship is a powerful part of our lives as humans.

In an article by Tarra Conte, she outlines five important values of having friendship with others.

Concern: a matter that engages a person's attention, interest, or care, or that affects a person's welfare or happiness.

Compassion: a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Honesty: truthfulness, sincerity, or frankness. You may have heard that this is the best policy, even if the truth hurts.

Understanding: a state of cooperative or mutually tolerant relations between people. The word "tolerant" in this definition made me laugh.

Support: to sustain (a person, the mind, spirits, courage, etc.) under trial or affliction.

For my wife and I, friends matter. And whether they be friends found around the kitchen table, neighbors living around the corner from you or living thousands of miles away in Brazil; our connection to others is what makes living life great.

I hope the same for each of you. That life presents you with a large basket full of friends, near and far. For you not only have friends, but you are also a friend to them.

Stay friendly my friends!

SIDE NOTE: Our friends Dave and Annie Spell are doing great missions work in Brazil, working with Ps Ronald Berg and the C3 Church Curitiba. If you wish to support their efforts, a small (or large) donation is greatly appreciated. For those in the United States, your gift is tax deductible.

Blink of an Eye

"What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined... to strengthen each other... to be one with each other in silent unspeakable memories." ~George Eliot

Two people unconnected by any thing in common cross paths one day. They see each other, they might acknowledge each other, they might even talk. They might just pass, but they see each other. There it was, a connection that takes place in the blink of any eye.

It is a connection which is instantly a good or a bad one.

It is a connection which creates a memory in each person.

Change occurs in that moment for both people. It is a change that can have a lifetime impact on the other. And whether we intend it to or not, the connection creates a memory. But what kind of memory are you leaving for others?

I have always tried to make the outcome of this connection a good one. I am not always successful at it. Such is life, but the point being that the memory we each have of the event creates an impression. It might be a pleasing one; it might be a not so good one. Yet we each individually play a part in what it will look like.

We can either create a great memory or allow it to be a bad one. Sometimes you will try and it just comes out all wrong. The reality is that you have the ability to effect what the memory will look like. Your impact, how you look, respond and talk to other people will greatly affect the connected memory.

Make the memory a wonderful connection; one that will bring something greater into another person's life and yours.

Stay inspired my friends.

Something Unexpected

"We are never prepared for what we expect." -James A. Michener

Today, Ps Ronald Berg arrives in Atlanta from Curitiba, Brazil. He will be speaking at our local C3 Atlanta Church this coming Sunday and I know it will be a great one to listen to. But somehow it feels like he is coming to take away friends of ours, Dave and Annie Spell. I know in fact this is not the case, but the human part of me hates to see them go.

You see, Dave and Annie are moving to Brazil in order to help build the C3 Church not only in Curitiba but also throughout Brazil and South America. Ps Ronald Berg has a great vision to help other people live a great life; to give them new hope and opportunity. As I have said before, this isn't about religion, it is about connecting with other people and lifting them up.

I have visited Curitiba, seen the church, spent time with Ronald and others in the community. My impressions are the same as anywhere I have been. It is a great city, great people, but the same issues exist for them as do for you and me. All are working to have the best life possible, raising families, and dealing with all of the mess that goes on in a normal, everyday life.

There are also people struggling to survive. There are addictions, poverty, abuse, and social strain just like those that exist in your own hometown. The same things we want to lift people out of are the same things they face in Curitiba and every other part of the world. So it really is not strange that two people from Georgia should go to Brazil to do the same thing.

If you would like to hear more and you are in the Atlanta area this Sunday, May 19th, come on over to the C3 Church in Lawrenceville, GA. Dave and Annie will be sharing their vision and Pastor Ronald Berg, of C3 Curitiba, will be speaking. It will be your last chance to see them as the Spells fly to Curitiba that same night.

We are never fully prepared for what we expect and you might be surprised by your own expectations in life as well. If you would like to help out the Spells with your tax deductible donation, click on the following link; Annie & Dave Spell - Brazil Missions.

Step out of the ordinary in your life and find something new.

And for those that know the Spells, they are fitness fanatics and here is a short video of the place I'm sure they will be working out at while in Curitiba. Stay inspired my friends.

Connected Dots: EMCWorld 2013 - Day Two

"Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you'll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you'll find that you have more of it." -Ralph Marston

An impressive first day that truly didn't disappoint myself or any one of the nearly 15,000 people in attendance. I always develop certain expectations of what these days are going to be like. Am I going to run into someone that I haven't seen in a long time? Will I remember their name? Will they remember me?

What I have come to the conclusion is that of all those connections made over the years are lasting if I have committed to the relationship without expectation of something in return.

That means if we develop friendships, help other people and do all of this without a requirement of getting something in return, the connection is much stronger. This is what happens in the business world and can work for you in your own life. At EMCWorld and in our every day business, EMC personnel work hard at developing the relationship. If we build a business trust with each other first, the rest is rather easy.

You can attain the same type of relationships in your own business and personal life. When you approach life with a serving attitude, the connections become strong and lasting. In fact, your day is filled with serving others and you may not even realize it. Allowing someone in line as you drive to work, opening the door for someone or simply doing your job. You help your spouse with the dishes, the kids with homework or a neighbor move a desk.

Most everything you do throughout your day is comprised of serving others. And this elaborate intertwining of peoples lives means that you are served as well through out the day. What you receive in return is directly proportional to the level of servitude you extend to others.

It can be humbling but you need to have confidence in yourself and a positive attitude that you can change other peoples lives through small acts of kindness. Serve with a joyful heart and with the knowledge that you will receive in kind the same. You have nothing to lose and all the world to gain. We are never too young or too old to ask, "Can I hold open that door for you?"

Stay inspired my friends.

Connected Clarity

"I think people are isolated because of the nature of human consciousness, and they like it when they feel the connection between themselves and someone else.." ~James Taylor

While I am on the road, filled with business travel, business meetings and business meals, the days start to become a blur. The days are busy, filled with much to do. Many times I have to stop and refocus in order to regain clarity back into my world.

When I begin to focus, clarity is what begins to happen. There is no better way to bring things into focus then by connecting with others. As an example, while on the plane, looking out the window, the details of everything disappear as we rise higher and higher. When we reach a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet, one can see the huge expanses of the earth. It spreads out in a wondrous view.

What I also notice is that the buildings, the people, the cars and the small details disappear. From such a high location, there is no ability to focus on those small details. The people, the cars and buildings are impossible to see. It reminded me that if we remove ourselves from connection with people, we lose that same ability to focus on things. We have no relationships to others around us. We might as well be 35,000 feet in the air.

When the plane begins its descent near the end of the flight, little things begin to reappear. The shapes of buildings became more clear. One can see vehicles racing up and down various roads. I can more clearly focus on all of those details as we drew closer to them. The more we descended, the tighter connection we had to everything around us.

Connection can only take place when we draw closer to others. When we involve ourselves in relationships with other people, the focus of our lives achieves much greater clarity. With this new found clarity, your ability to impact the lives of others becomes so much greater. The ability of others to impact your life becomes greater.

Do not isolate yourself at 35,000 feet. You may feel you can see so much further, but in reality you only see a non-detailed landscape of your life. Draw closer to others by connecting in various ways. Achieve focus through these connections and you will gain a better life.

Stay inspired my friends.

The Unwanted Are Wanted

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." -Mother Teresa

It has been said by my kids that I have a greater social media presence than all of them put together. I'm still not certain if that's a complement or not. But I will admit that I am tweeting, blogging and on Facebook quite a bit.

If you are on Twitter long enough, you will notice there are certain "followers" that are not necessarily the type you want following you. Normally they are spam porn and the normal "junk mail" folks that come with any type of media. Its relatively easy to spot, avoid or block. Just the kind of attention that is quite unwanted.

The problem that arises is that there are many folks out there that truly feel unwanted. They are isolated either by circumstance or choice. Those people are like a sheep separated from the herd. This separation makes the sheep vulnerable to wolves.

You may think I am over reacting in making that statement, but when we are isolated and unwanted, we are prime targets for the wolves. That is what the rogue Twitter followers and the like are looking for. They are trolling for people that are in search of being wanted. Once hooked, the fangs of these people will sink in deep and painfully.

Wow...not really a great way to think about starting out the new year.

The reality is that there are many people that really do feel unwanted, unloved or unneeded. All they are searching for is connection to something good for their life. And this is where you and I can come into the picture of their lives.

We can make connections to these people, even if in a small way. We may not even realize those folks are feeling unwanted. Which means that everyone we come in contact with is potentially one of the separated sheep.

Now I am not saying that you should treat everyone as a project or as someone in need. What I am saying is that you should treat everyone you run into with grace, gratitude and respect. This will start a process in that person's life which will change things dramatically for them. It will be a positive connection as opposed the bad connections that are out there constantly looking to swallow them up.

Use every day, every contact, every interaction as a means to give others the opportunity to remove the separation. You will be the one to light their way, and to help them feel wanted. It starts with connection, it starts with you, it starts by wanting to be a positive influence in the lives of others.

Stay inspired my friends.

Conversation

"It is not what we learn in conversation that enriches us. It is the elation that comes of swift contact with tingling currents of thought." -Agnes Repplier

Day one of @EMCWorld is complete and day two is well under way. As I sit in the quiet, relaxing bloggers lounge, it contrasts with the hubbub of activity out on the floor. If you have ever been to a large conference, the number of people flowing through it can be overwhelming at times.

For breakfast most mornings, I liken it to the "Running of the Bulls". At times it seems like a narrow Spanish street filled with people and bulls running through it. Then again, I don't mean to say people are running in a mad rush of confusion. What I mean is the well directed funnelling of people into a huge banquet hall. It is an amazing feat to pull off the feeding 10,000 people.

And in that crowd of walking, picking up food, finding a chair, and eating, there is conversation. There are people talking to each other about a wide variety of subjects. Since we are in Las Vegas, many of those conversations revolve around how much someone won or lost in the casino.

Others will be giving introductions of themselves, the latest sporting event, and at a conference such as this, technology. In the high level view it may seem like just a lot of noise. But listen carefully and you will hear people connecting.

People are talking and sharing with each other. They are learning something new or reaffirming something old, but they are talking. Folks will gather new friends and also touch base with old friends. And each of these connections will advance each of us even further.

By connecting with others you gain new insight that will lift your life even higher. By connecting with others we give them something new in their life. By connecting with others we strengthen the human experience.

Connect with others and see how your life will gain from it. You may think you are adding to the noise when in fact you are actually adding to your life. Enjoy the noise.

You Can Pretend

"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." -Helen Keller

Simply put, you can put yourself alone out on the edge of a cliff and wait. You can sit there hoping that the world will fill in before you. It is a very lonely existence to be there on your own, no connections, and no one to keep you from falling over the edge.

It is connection to others which is a key thing here. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines connection as, "the act of connecting, the state of being connected, as a casual or logical relation or sequence (the connection between two ideas); a person connected with another especially by marriage, kinship, or common interest."

So it takes two or more people for this connection to occur. To stand out on a ledge and hope someone will grab hold will require a connection. To have a friendship with anyone or anything will require a connection. To live your best life will require a connection.

But how do connections become established? Do they just happen? Do they magically appear between two people?

No, connection requires at the very least one person making an effort to connect. The other person needs to respond and reciprocate to complete this joining of two people. The problem is that many times neither side is willing to put their hand out first.

Standing on the edge of being alone, you have to turn and face away from that edge. You have to be willing to look to where others are standing. We know from the laws of physics that people are not floating out in mid-air. So we have to turn and reach out to where others are.

Those of us standing back away from that edge have to be responsible for making the connection also. We can tell ourselves "no way, that person is much too close to the edge. I'm not going out there." But as Dr. Gordon Moore has said, "You can pretend to care but you can't pretend to show up." Going out to that ledge to connect with someone whom is paralyzed by the edge is just as important.

All of us can use connection in our life. Whether it be with one person or many, it helps us live a great life. It brings meaning and purpose in to our daily existence.

You can be lonely and pretend not to want anyone else in your life. But down deep it is connection that we all desire.

You can pretend to care about those living out on the edge. But until you reach out and make the connection, it is just words.

Connect with someone today, be it the first time or the one hundreth time.

In A Sea

"I think people are isolated because of the nature of human consciousness, and they like it when they feel the connection between themselves and someone else." ~James Taylor

Here I am on the third full day of EMC World, the yearly technology conference put on by the company I work for. Many of us assist, present and meet with customers to give them more detail on our products and services. This year is no different with a large turn out of people. Roughly 7,000 people roaming the Boston Convention Center.

There is always something new and exciting that happens at an event this large. Sometimes stressful, sometimes exhilarating and sometimes just tiring. But the experience is always enjoyable because of the people.

With such a large crowd of people moving about, you can begin to feel like a small boat out in the middle of a very large ocean. Miles from the shore or miles from anyone you know; it can result in feeling very much alone.

Yet there is an expectation that you just might run into someone you haven't seen in a long time. That familiar face suddenly appearing within the crowd with a smile intended just for you. It can lift even the most weather beaten individual. All at once comfort in this large crowd occurs and you become connected.

Within this large sea of people, there is also opportunity to lift and inspire other people. A chance to do something in their life, to make a connection and not leave them alone out in the vastness of crowd. These people can become new friends, new influence in your life or be pushed to a greater level of greatness.

Conventions can be a workload to some, but to me it is a chance to connect with others. To make a difference, large or small in their life. And it doesn't simply happen at conventions. The ocean is large and vast, so is your life and the influence you carry each day.

Whether it be at EMC World, at your job, in school or at the grocery store; connecting with others can have a significant impact. You can be the one that changes the life of another with a simple smile and hello. Approach each day believing that someone in the crowd is waiting for you. Waiting for you to be that friendly face with a smile just for them. When you do, that large and expansive sea of people will become a little smaller.

To those at EMC World; enjoy the final two days and do not lose this chance to connect with someone new. Change their day and next year at EMC World in Las Vegas, you just might see that familiar face in the crowd smiling back at you.

Connection To Others

When it comes to connecting with people, communicating in various methods is a must. My book, "Attitude In Words" is available at many locations such as;

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/
Barnes and Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Books Unlimited - http://www.booksunlimited.ie/
Lulu - http://www.lulu.com/)
Eruditor - http://www.eruditor.com/
Libreria Universitaria - http://www.libreriauniversitaria.it/
Target - http://www.target.com/
Blackwell - bookshop.blackwell.com

There are so many other places it is available as well. A shameless plug I realize, but it is only one method of impacting those near and far. There are so many ways we can communicate with each other including the internet. Our church has a great website that allows people to connect with each other. I like to think of it as "MySpace on steroids". This form of communication allows us to reach others across all geographical boundaries and to form closer connections.

I am constantly amazed at how the words of a person can spread so quickly and to such a wide audience of people through these forms of communication. My own blog touches people all over the world and it creates connections to so many.

History has seen so many advances in these various forms of communication. The spoken word, the written word, the recorded word and the various types of medium through which the word is communicated. Think of the advances in communication shown below. The list is only a small record of how humans have advanced our ability to communicate with each other.

3500 BC to 2900 BC - Phoenicians develop an alphabet.
1775 BC - Greeks use phonetic alphabet.
1400 BC - Oldest record of writing in China on bones.
1270 BC - The first encyclopedia is written in Syria.
900 BC - 1st postal service for government use in China.
776 BC - 1st use of homing pigeons to send messages.

500 BC to 170 BC
Papyrus rolls and early parchments made of dried reeds.
They are the first portable and light writing surfaces.

200 BC to 100 BC - Human messengers on foot or horseback.
100 - 1st bound books
305 - 1st wooden printing presses invented in China.
1455 - Printing press with metal movable type invented.
1714 - 1st patent for a typewriter.
1793 - 1st long-distance semaphore telegraph line.
1831 - Joseph Henry invents the first electric telegraph.
1835 - Samuel Morse invents Morse code.
1843 - 1st long distance electric telegraph line.
1861 - U.S.A. starts the Pony Express for mail delivery.
1876 - Alexander Bell patents the electric telephone.
1877 - Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
1902 - 1st radio signal transmitted across Atlantic Ocean.
1914 - First cross continental telephone call made.
1925 - 1st experimental television signal transmitted.
1930 - Radio popularity spreads, the "Golden Age" of radio.
1939 - Scheduled television broadcasts begin.
1944 - Government owned computers put into public service.

** The age of Information Science begins **

1958 - Photocopier or Xerox machine is invented.
1969 - ARPANET, the first Internet started.
1979 - 1st cell phone network started in Japan.
1981 - 1st laptop computers sold to public.
1983 - 1st cell phone network started in the United States.
1994 - American government releases control of internet

** WWW born, allowing for communication at light speed **

Today, we sit and wonder how we ever got along without all the devices to communicate with each other. All of it is great, it improves our ability to connect with others. We can learn about each other, find out about each other and perform all of this nearly instantaneously. Prior to the popular use of cellular phones, the one question people never asked on the phone was, "where are you?"

The point being, when you called someone on the phone, the phone was tied to a specific location. Today with cell phones you could be almost anywhere in the world.

In the end, when it comes to 'connecting' with people, the best method is 'face-to-face'. To sit down across a table from someone and share a cup of coffee or a meal remains the greatest form of human communication.

By all means, use the various methods of communication to spread your words and ideas; use the various methods to stay in touch with other people. Yet do not forget to take the bold step in communication; communicate one on one with people and find out how much more you can learn.