Make Them Laugh

“If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane.” ― Robert Frost

Donald O'Connor had an amazing dancing ability and was a joy to watch.

Maybe today we can relax from the toil of politics and circumstance.

Maybe today we can just laugh.

Stay inspired my friends!

Serving To Be Served

“He who wants to be served must first know how to serve.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita

Having a positive attitude, overcoming your own issues and serving others is something all of us can do. If you think about it, the thing which helps you get through bad days is the servitude of others.

What does it mean to serve others?

In his book The Spirit To Serve - Marriott's Way, J.W. Marriott states that a core purpose is, "to make people away from home feel that they are among friends and are really wanted." These simple words are how you can approach every day interacting with other people.

At a sporting event, your job or even the grocery store.

This idea does not confine itself to your own home or workplace. It could be said anywhere you go, the space you flow through is your home. Being in any place at any time means you can make another person feel welcomed and wanted. So many of us travel through life with blinders on to those around us. We should become an open and friendly person in everything we do.

Everyday and everywhere.

Sure its tough to always be cheerful and friendly. Yet the more you do it, the more you will see others open up to help you when you are having a bad day as well. Not long ago, I was on a trip far from home. It had been raining and I was not particularly pleased to be here.

But then a man offered me his umbrella in order to get to my car.

Nothing was asked of in return, a smile and a thank you as he moved towards his car. A simple act of kindness to make me feel a bit more at home and to ease my day. So I carried forward his kindness to others. Make it a good day for someone.

And stay inspired my friends!

4th and Go

"To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing." - Unknown

Two teams were in overtime, playing a heated rivalry football game. The score was knotted together at twenty-three to twenty-three with plenty of momentum on one side. The offense had fallen upon a fourth down with less than one yard to go for a first down. The ball was on their own thirty yard line.

Easy decision was to punt and wait for another chance.

Hard decisions require us to try and go for it.

If they made a first down, momentum would have clearly swung their way. If not, the opposing team would be in a position to win. The teams lined up, excitement grew as the quarterback barked out the call. Huge men came crashing together trying to outdo each other.

The running back took hold of the ball and ran into the mix of bodies, trying to search out those few precious feet. But it was not going to happen. He was stopped short of the first down marker, short of the goal that would allow them to continue.

The opposing team had stopped them on "4th and 1" and went on to kick a game winning field goal. One team victorious and another defeated.

All of this drama played out for a mere two or three feet.

Sometimes we get that close to our own goals in life. One, two or three feet is all which separates us from achievement. As we make our final push to cross over that line, we get pushed back, defeated and rejected.

It seems during those few moments all is lost.

But not all is lost, there is hope. There is strength in knowledge of what went wrong. There is greatness in moving forward and trying again. The obstacles in life we face sometimes get the better of us. Even when we felt we were unstoppable and had the greatest of confidence in our own ability, the opposition will win sometimes.

So you withdraw, replan and reattack the goal.

You jump back into it with new experience and understanding. You keep trying.

Stay inspired my friends!

Who Decides

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today."
- Abraham Lincoln

Everyday we are faced with decisions that need to be made and obligations that must be agreed to or kept.

The obvious ones include getting up in the morning and choosing to go into work or school. The harder decisions might be staying in a particular job or what career to pursue after completing your time in school.

It requires having responsibility; to ourselves and to others.

The easy to do is to put off until tomorrow those things which we find hard or uncomfortable to deal with. Doing so only delays the inevitable and can many times make the results much harder to accept.

Responsibility means taking accountability for your actions and decisions.

Many people will use excuses to side step accountability. It was someone else's fault, there is no way I could have done such a thing or I am not capable enough. Certainly there will be times when things are out of your control or simply outside the bounds of your capacity.

Do not get caught in the trap of using excuses as a crutch to side step responsibility. Accept responsibility for who you are and the life you live. It will make both today and tomorrow a better place.

Stay inspired my friends!