Friday Favorite - Shrinking the Sea

I work for EMC Corporation and our yearly customer conference called EMC World is nearing once again. For a Friday Favorite, I am re-posting a very popular article I wrote back in 2010. I hope you enjoy it as well.

"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 sit on the third full day of EMC World, a 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. there are roughly 7,000 people roaming the Boston Convention Center this particular day.

There is always something new and exciting which 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 you just might run into someone you haven't seen in a long time. A 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 exists 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 higher level of greatness.

Conventions can be a workload to some, but to me it is a chance to connect with others. It is an opportunity to make a difference, large or small in the lives of other people.

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, 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 person 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.

Stay inspired my friends!

Endless Ceiling

"Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you." - George Whitefield

Each of us have an ability to move beyond pain, grief or disappointment. We can move beyond the circumstance we find ourselves in. So much is possible if we just press forward and speak the future out loud to ourselves. We can find a way to see beyond what blocks our view.

We can get beyond what is holding us back.

There is an old story about a bedouin within his tent wondering how he would ever achieve all that he wanted. A friend told him to look up at the ceiling of his tent.

"What do you see" he asked the bedouin?

"All I see is the ceiling of my tent" responded the bedouin.

"Come out of the tent and see my ceiling" said the bedouin's friend. "What do you see?"

"I see no ceiling but a sky full of countless stars" replied the bedouin.

Exactly as the bedouin saw, your life has no ceiling above it.

The possibilities are as endless as the stars in the night sky. The paths you can choose are as vast as the eye can see. All it takes is moving beyond the present.

Do not let the past hold you firm in its grip. Break free to reach for a star or even the seemingly impossible.

Step out and look to the night sky. Find a star and begin your journey.

And stay inspired my friends.

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!