What Lay Inside

"Appearances are often deceiving." - Aesop

How do you overcome the outward appearance of things?

Do you try to see what is truly inside?

The picture above is a place across the street from a hotel I stayed at in Boston. It is called called Kings and the picture makes the place look quite a bit better then it did during my stay.

When you come up on it, you wonder how did they fit a bowling alley into a parking garage. As the door opens, stairs angle downward and you realize you are going into a basement. The first time in, you begin to ask if you made the right choice.

You then find room upon room. There are three separate bar areas, two separate bowling areas and one large billiards room. All quite nice and enjoyable. Our group spent two evenings there having a great time. As I am not a food or entertainment critic, I will stop with the glowing report. What I will say is that its outward appearance was not what we found inside.

There was so much more then what appeared on the outside.

The same can be said for people we meet. Each of us carry a certain outward appearance. From the down on his luck disheveled look to even the most well-groomed looking gentleman, we each have more on the inside. As it was, the convention I was attending with over 7000 people brought all shapes and sizes of folks. This wide variety of people are very similar to the people we meet each day. Each connection with another person is a new opportunity to discover what is inside.

The folks I meet each day adds a huge variety to my experiences. People bring great new things into my life. These people do the same for you with each connection you make. Each day you have an opportunity to look beyond the outward appearance of someone.

Go deeper and find something that exists inside of people.

"Don't judge a book by its cover" rings true and is not just a cute saying. If you look beyond the covering, you might discover a new friend who has so much to share.

Open the door of the bowling alley door or life of another person; discover what lay inside.

Stay inspired my friends.

Tend Your Garden

“He took pride in his work - a lot of pride. He wanted it done right.” - Earl Hatcher

There was a gentleman named Woodrow Green from Summerville, Georgia who died a few years back. He had lived to a pretty decent old age, had many friends and those that loved him for whom he was. I couldn't tell you a lot about how he grew up or what his 'story' of life was but there is something which stands out.

He took pride in doing the best he could in all the simple things.

Summerville is a small mountain community in northwestern Georgia. The town is not far from places of note and not far from many of the carpet mills which the area. It is also home to famed folk artist Howard Finster. It is a town where people know each other and what is going on in each other's life.

Woodrow or as his friends called him, Woody, was a man who took pride in all that he did. He worked for many years in the carpet mills. He always showed up in a collared shirt, a good pair of pants; looking decent and ready to put his best effort into the job.

It is said that the young guys at work would wear old ratty jeans and dirty t-shirts. He was asked by one of the younger guys, "why do you always dress so nice?" Woodrow only replied, "I wouldn't wear those ratty jeans to mow my lawn." Those that knew Woodrow knew that he never did.

Even in his vegetable garden, the rows of beans, potatoes and sweet corn were lined up in straight rows. There was never a weed or blade of grass that interfered with the growth of a vegetable plant. Woody spent early mornings tending to that garden, never with the intention to show it off. He did so because he took pride in all that he did.

People notice what you do in life, how you act, and how you perform the little things in life.

People in Summerville noticed Woodrow Green, they learned something from Woody which made them better people. Your life needs to be tended like Woody's garden. Take pride in how you conduct and live your life. Others will notice and through you, will become better people.

Stay inspired my friends!

Keep Climbing Your Hills

“A challenge only becomes an obstacle when you bow to it.” ― Ray Davis

Today's picture comes from a poster by the great folks at Despair.Com. It gives us a perspective many of us have from time to time. It is both humorous and a realistic look at how it can feel when trying to living out our daily lives.

It is that feeling which says it will never end.

It is a feeling that life will always be an uphill battle and that your climb is worse than anyone else.

Challenges occur daily and we achieve daily more than we want to give ourselves credit for. It is in overcoming the challenges that we will grow and become a better person. Our life improves and what were once seemingly insurmountable obstacles are easily handled.

Stay inspired my friends!

Friday Favorite - Brush With Something

"With the brush we merely tint, while the imagination alone produces colour."
- Theodore Gericault

Once in a while you get the chance to brush with fame. In this case, it was Salman Rushdie. Or so I believed it was him when having breakfast at my hotel in London one morning.

I was on a business trip and due to my frequent hotel stays, the club room is a convenience that makes the trip much easier. I was always asked, why not ask to take a picture, why not engage in a conversation, why not....

But I did not ask and here is why.

In all of my travels, it is very rare that I come within earshot or even see people of fame. For all of the media exposure so many get, there are many others that are average, everyday people like you and me. So it was with great interest that the man sitting one table away from me seemed very familiar.

In my hotel in central London, the business lounge provides breakfast on the top floor for members. This particular morning I chose a later time to arrive. With only three of us in the room, there was no particular reason I sat near this man. The only thing which drove me in that direction was to be close to the television. It also gave me a clear view of the Thames River.

Well then, maybe I did have a reason for sitting where I did.

Something about the presence of the man sitting near me and his familiar face told me he was of some importance or celebrity. After a short while it dawned on me that it could very well be Salman Rushdie. Yes, the famous author who wrote the Satanic Verses which became the scorn of many Muslims. His book was so scorned that in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini, (leader of Iran at the time) issued a fatwa or decree telling all Muslims to kill Rushdie and his publishers.

After the death threats came, Salman Rushdie was placed under police protection by the British government. As of this year (2010), Salman has not been harmed, but it is said that 38 others connected with the book have been killed.

So my mind kept thinking and rationalizing his presence in this place. No body guards or other noticeable protection in place. But I reasoned after so many years, he had slipped back into obscurity and maybe it just wasn't as big of a concern anymore.

But was it really Salman Rushdie?

I never asked because I have always felt there are times of approach and there are times of quiet. This seemed like a time of quiet. We both nodded a good morning to each other and left each other to our quiet and peaceful breakfast.

He may have simply been a person that looked extremely similar to Salman, but I am pretty certain that he was whom I thought. I choose to believe that I had breakfast with Salman Rushdie and we each enjoyed the peaceful quiet of the morning.

All of us need those quiet moments in time.

It helps us to pull ourselves back from the hurried and noise filled life which surrounds us each day. It is a time to reflect on things that matter to us. A time to just let down our guard a little bit and not be looking over our shoulder.

Maybe next time I will ask to be sure, but then it might disappoint me. Then the peaceful and quiet breakfast that I had with Salman Rushdie will disappear forever for both myself and for him. So thank you Salman for giving me a quiet and peaceful breakfast.

Stay inspired my friends.