Today We Honor

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation." - President George Washington

The day begins with gnats biting at their faces while they stand in formation awaiting the days orders. It is in the same early morning light of a hot and humid place that they train. The long ruck marches through the lifting fog only to meet up with the blistering sun.

These are the men and women of our military who train and prepare while we make our morning coffee. As the rush hour traffic frustrates our commute, two or more hours have passed for military personnel. In fact, the military never sleeps in protecting our ability to wave a flag, argue left or right, and dance our nights away.

I have known many that served their country. Some were once young, others are still young. All them of them, proud and brave. Their names are not in the great books and movies we each have read or watched. There are no statues bearing their likeness in the town square nor portraits upon the walls of government buildings.

Yet each one remains as brave and heroic as any medal given.

Each of them served during time of war.
Each of them I respect and admire.
Each of them are my heroes.

Ralph Gale: WW-I
Lawrence Primm: WW-II
Paul Schmidt: WW-II
Arnold Gale: WW-II / Korean
Jerry Perkins: Vietnam
Gerald Primm: Vietnam
John Primm: Vietnam
Roy Carter: Vietnam
Brian Smalley: Gulf War I
Joseph Schmidt: Gulf War I
Daniel Primm: Iraq

And there are many others that would fill days upon days to honor each and everyone. Many that served during times of conflict and during times of peace. Each placing their lives into service of others. And many more that gave their life in defense, honor and service to our country.

Today we honor those that train in the early morning fog. We honor those that protect our freedoms. We honor those that have sacrificed so that others may live in freedom. On this day, Memorial Day in the United States we remember the men and women who died while serving in our country's armed forces.

Thank you brave and gallant warriors. Thank you for each and every moment given.

Stay inspired my friends.

Serving Daily

"Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger and we will make not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large." -Mahatma Gandhi

In our daily lives, it is a fact that in one way or another, we serve people in many different ways. Acknowledging that serving others is one step in cultivating your own attitude into something great. Once you realize the servant nature of our lives, where we help others, success in your own life becomes quite evident.

The reward of that servant minded life may not seemso great in the beginnning. And believing in yourself as one who can do great things in service to others isn't an easy concept. You have to understand how you serve others and how much it impacts their lives. You should constantly work on improving how you service others and the success will follow.

When I travel on business, it is the little things I do that impacts the lives of other people. Whether it is opening a door for someone else, buying a cup of coffee for a coworker, or simply listening to their story - these things impact others. I have learned through out the years that these are things of service. I try to improve on them and notice as well when I forget or fail to perform them.

In the long run it simply becomes second nature.

Is it success? to me it brings me a feeling of success and has brought me great things in life so far. Sure, success is in the "eye of the beholder" and my eye is quite happy with what it sees.

Take a few minutes to stop and examine those things in life you do for others. Find ways to perform small things and see the reaction you get. See what it does to you personally in both happiness and success.

The video below comes from a series of commercials about an insurance company. It is not my intent to endorse this company, but every once in while we can learn a life lesson within those sixty seconds.

Stay inspired my friends.

Going Up or Down

"He stands erect by bending over the fallen. He rises by lifting others." -Douglas Horton

During this current business trip that I am on, every morning and every evening I use the elevator. It either lowers me to the ground floor so that I may have my breakfast. At night it lifts me to my floor so I may sleep away the day's tiredness.

Most every one of these days I cross a threshold where the sliding doors open and close. A recorded voice warns me of both their opening and impending closing. The voice asks me to select my floor number and announces it when we arrive. It is an elevator that seems to take care in taking care of others.

Recently one morning, I happened to notice the name on the threshold. The name was Otis and for some reason I connected the name to the recorded voice. It was amusing to me as the voice of the elevator is a female voice. I thought to myself, her name is Otis; amusing only to me I would guess.

Every day, hour upon hour and minutes upon minutes, people walk over Otis. But never a complaint, never a worry or concern. Otis continues to serve the needs of others without a loss of voice or strength. Otis will lower you safely from the highest floors, placing your feet on solid ground. This fine elevator will also lift you up when you have had a hard day and need rest.

Each of us can be like Otis in our daily lives. We can help lower others to the solid safety of the ground. When others have gotten to the edge of destruction in their lives, we can offer a safe elevator to come back down and regather themselves.

We can also provide the extra lift in their lives when the day has gotten them down. They can rise in spirit and comfort as we ask them which floor they wish to get to. We then safely lift them and open the doors to a new and greater place.

Otis is simply an elevator, mechanical and pre-programmed. You are not. But you can help people down from the scariest of heights and lift them as well to wondrous new levels.

You have the ability to bring a human connection into the picture. You have the ability to be an elevator to others. So which floor would you like please?