Saturday, June 02, 2007

Extra Kindness - Being A Friend

A large part of my life involves the encouragement of others and trying to lift them up beyond where they are or want to be. I just tend to think each of us can make life a little more pleasant for those we come in contact with.

And perfect, I'm not even close to it and understand that life isn't necessarily a pursuit of perfection. It is more of a pursuit and improving oneself, giving of oneself leaving things in the wake of your path just a little better.

One of my co-workers is involved with a group that is being phased out. He will and has moved on to another project, but with his remaining responsibility, he is doing what he can to help these individuals move on. The people involved losing their jobs are talented and wonderful people. Business has simply changed the course of their lives. Yet here, a single person in the bigger picture is taking the time to care and help.

This is what I mean, taking the extra effort to help others beyond your own circumstance. He will leave a lasting impression on those people. Something inside him is made of goodness and it may seem simple of me to say, but that goodness is worth so much more in the big scheme of our lives.

I was given a gift recently with a quote inside the front cover. It came as a gracious gift from friends on my wife and I. The people giving it have gone through some of the toughest times anyone should have to endure. We supported them in ways that only friends can do. Each of us need the support and kindness. Their thankfulness said it all in this particular quote which read, "In troubled times, the caring of a friend falls softly like a gentle rain."

Try to be a friend to those you meet, go just a step further to show kindness and thoughtfulness to others. It will be returned to you in ways you will never imagine.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Birthday Greetings

Happy Birthday to everyone that is having a birthday today. Most importantly, my wife - she is celebrating one and as with anyone you love, call that person, make it a point to wish them a healthy and love filled day.

Many of us attempt to minimize our own birth date, but as Ellen Glasgow said, "It is lovely, when I forget all birthdays, including my own, to find that somebody remembers me." Remember someone and send them a card, a phone call or even a visit to remind them of how special they are.

So Happy Birthday to my wife and to everyone else on this the 30th of May, 2007. May there be many more for you and may there be many more for us.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

How To Achieve Success

"Don't wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful" -Mark Victor Hansen

Each day many people struggle to be successful in life. It might be in getting that promotion or just that right partner. It might be writing a book or building a new career. Always getting deterred by one thing or another that is preventing you from achieving what you want.

Age will tell you that the 'time' will never be correct. It also tells you that you will never be fully prepared for the change. Many people never realize this and grow old never grasping that which they want or succeed in accomplishing it.

Adlin Sinclair, a businessman and motivational speaker said, "you are the embodiment of the information you choose to accept and act upon. To change your circumstances you need to change your thinking and subsequent actions." There's that word again, change. I've written of that many times, change your way of thinking.

And for goodness sake, just go for it...try something new, make movement in your life. Waiting for the perfect time will cause you to simply wait a long time. A long time that you could better use in accomplishing your goals. The type of attitude you present to your task will be an indicator of success or failure.

It will not be the result of poor timing because now is the time. Start moving with a positive attitude to your goal. "For success, attitude is equally as important as ability." is a quote I read somewhere but not sure whom to attribute it to. But the attitude that you bring to the table is just as important to the success you may have.

So start today, begin with one step, one email, one written page towards your goal and build upon it. The time will become right for your your success.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Sowing Positive Seeds


Each day we have the possibility of taking the gifts given to us and sowing them in others. As the painting above called "Sowing Seed" by Louis Hébert shows, our lives are much like the one that sows seeds. The sowing of seed is done to replenish the landscape and provide nourishment once again where there was none

You have that ability to sow into others lives, both good and bad. By the bad, I mean there are those that can have a tremendously negative effect on others. This past weekend, a young couple was driving by my home in a van. The young girl was driving and saw me as they slowly drove by. Whether they were married or not, from half a block away I could hear the young man yelling obscenities and hurtful things. The look upon her face was one of despair and pain.

Like the withered plant which is lacking in water and is being choked out by the weeds, my guess is the young man was like that weed destroying the roots of her existence.

Yet to sow a positive wave upon others is much like the careful tending of a garden. Watering when appropriate, clearing the field of weeds and allowing the plant to grow. When this is done, we reap the fruit of having given of ourselves to another. In love, knowledge or money, the sowing of each will be returned to you tenfold.

Be a sower of the positive, plant the seed of knowledge or love or even money into the lives of others. Your life will be enriched by the process and life will grow in abundance.