The Detour

The Detour

The straightest, quickest route is the one we almost always take.  We time our lives down-to-the-minute with our normal route so we can get there and be on time. 

Behold the detour. 

What happens when detours come?

Most people hate detours.  On most days I hate detours too.  They take us down unfamiliar paths. 

However …

However, detours can be an adventure.  Some wise person once said …

“A truly happy person is one who can

enjoy the scenery on a detour.”

I've had a few job detours.  I didn’t stay as long as planned, or I didn’t get the job I wanted and planned for.  That is a detour.

I've had relationship detours.  Boy, they can be a ride-and-a-half sometimes. 

The point is this – in season, out of season, when your plans fall in line or when things don’t go as planned, enjoy the scenery along the way anyway.

You will see, meet, experience, and hear some good and different stuff from what you normally hear. 

Bottom line - You make the best of a detour.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Your "A" Team

When you want to win, you always put on your game face and you go with your A-Team.  You can always count on your A-Team. 

“What is my A-team” you ask?

ATTITUDE

Some wise souls have offered these profound thoughts on attitude.

Read – Enjoy – Learn

“Your attitude, not your aptitude,

will determine your altitude.”

Zig Ziglar

“The winner’s edge is not a gifted birth,

a high IQ, or in talent.  The winner’s edge

is all in the attitude, not aptitude.

Attitude is the criterion for success.”

Denis Waitley

“You cannot always control circumstances,

but you can control your own thoughts.”

Charles Popplestown

“Whether you think you can

or think you can’t, you are right.”

Henry Ford

There are two phrases that I want us to remember and use often when facing obstacles, challenges and mountains tall and rugged.

I Can

                   I Will

These are great attitude words.

Great attitude fuel

P Michael Biggs

Offering Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Get Your Point Back

Get Your Point Back

Love a sharp point on a pencil.

                        Hate a dull one.

Love a fresh box of crayons.

                        Hate dull ones.

Love to listen to a person with a fresh perspective.

Bored to tears with same-old, same-old.

          Need to get your point back?

Need to put a sharp point on your life’s work?

Do this …

Read a good book.

Peruse a magazine of interest.

Talk to someone smarter than you in your field.

Call or email an expert and see what kind of response you get.

Think of five new options for something you do as mundane.

Sit in your comfortable chair in the dark for ideas.

Take the proverbial walk in the woods.

Read from an author you would not normally read. Read for ideas, phrases.

Do a crossword puzzle.

Exercise

Meditate

Do a mind dump for fifteen minutes.  Let your stream of consciousness flow, capture it and later, go back and evaluate the results.

Above all, find ways to keep a sharp point.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Your Mission

Your Mission

Ever heard this one? 

Yard by yard is hard. 

Inch by inch is a cinch.

This speaks of dedication, of focus, and of pertinacity. 

I have been steadily exercising for eight months now.  When I started in December 2011 I had certain issues with my body’s endurance that now seem like a cakewalk.  Over the course of these eight months I’ve grown stronger, more toned and with better balance. 

And I have accomplished this one day at a time in the gym.  We go four or five days per week, and stick to our routine.  That works for me. 

Kind of like this Peruvian proverb I found today.

Little by little one walks far.

And it is true with any goal in life.  We work at it daily. 

I love this quote from Herman Wouk’s novel The Winds of War.

Define your mission and stick to it.”

What is your mission?

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

What People Want

What People Want

August 22, 2012

Melinda Gates, as in Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, once said: 

“Whatever the conditions of people’s lives,

wherever they live, however they live,

they share the same hopes,

and the same dreams as you and I.”

She and Bill know a bit about what people want around the world.  They are active in bringing food, medicine, and an understanding of good hygienic habits to many individuals in what would be considered third-world countries and impoverished areas of our world.

Yet the basics in human living and daily existence stay the same.  I live in Seattle, a top drawer, modern metropolitan city.  It has been years since I used an outhouse on my grandfather’s farm.  Yet for some in our world, this is a regular event. 

Am I better for having indoor toilets?  Am I more important because I wear shoes AND socks?  I love a great pot roast with potatoes and hot homemade biscuits.  Does that give me a higher status than someone living in a grass hut with no electricity? 

Are my dreams and hopes on a higher plane?  Is my existence of a more significant nature just because I am who I am and live where I live?

I don’t think so. 

Hopes and dreams are color-blind.  They have no bias.  They are different for cultural reasons, economic reasons and tastes, but everyone has a right to hold onto a dream and a hope. 

So, what do people want?  Here are eight wants every human being holds onto. 

To be happy

To have health

To be reasonably prosperous

To be secure

To have friends

To have peace of mind

To have good family relationships

To have hope

Do you live in a high rise in Manhattan?

Do you live in a trailer park in Florida?

Do you drive a high speed auto?

Do you drive a donkey cart?

Regardless, we both have hopes and dreams. 

We want reasonable stuff.  Did you notice that seven out of eight of the items on our list deal with “soft” wants, and only one has to do with “stuff’?  To be “reasonably prosperous” is stuff.

All of the others deal with emotional man.  We want to belong, to have friends, to be loved, be secure, be healthy, and have a good family experience.

We want connection.  We want to be validated. 

We can do that.  We can validate.

We can offer a smile and a nod of greeting.

We can use kind and esteeming words. 

We can offer friendship.

And now we take the first step.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Words of Hope

One Word at a Time

The Reliable One

The Reliable One

For seven years I worked with a man named Terry.  He had the amazing reputation of promptly returning phone calls.  If Terry said he would call you, we could be assured he would call.  Sometimes Terry would call just to say he didn’t have all the facts yet, but he wanted me to know he was still working on the issue at hand. 

That is amazing. 

Reliability is golden. 

It is also rare.

You don’t need 5 steps to becoming a reliable person.

You don’t need to read a dozen books to help you become more reliable.

Just become reliable. 

If you say you’ll do it, then do it.

Show up

Make the call

Send the check

Take out the garbage

Clean up the kitchen

Complete the report on time

Just do whatever it is you say you will do.  And when you begin doing that, you begin building your own reputation as The Reliable One.

That, my friend, is a pretty unique handle to hang around your neck.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Four Tips for Leaders

Four Tips to Help Leaders Keep Climbing

If you are a leader and you want to keep getting better, allow me to suggest these four tips to consider.   Leaders keep climbing or they fall back and so does the enterprise. 

So how do leaders keep climbing?

Leaders Give Up.

Every good leader has had to give up something in order to continue being the leader.  There will always be pet projects and pet tasks that every leader loves to do, but if they want to continue leading, they realize the need to give up those pet areas and let others do that work for them.  And that segues nicely into point #2.

Leaders Work on the Business.

Once a leader begins to see the need to give up some things, they transition from working in the business to working on the business.  When one works on the business, he or she becomes available to see the bigger picture:  the five-year, ten-year and twenty-year plan with more clarity.

When one changes their perspective, they see with the eyes of a leader. 

Leaders are Readers.

Either you read or you dwindle.  There are some insightful magazines along with an immense wealth of books available to us today.  We must read.  We must schedule time every day for reading.  That is a do-or-die non-negotiable.

There are a half-dozen book summary programs to which one can subscribe in order to keep abreast of the wealth of reading material being produced.  A well-read leader becomes someone worth following.

Read and turn your automobile into a “rolling university” and watch your productivity and business acumen increase.

Leaders Associate with other Leaders.

There is a money principle that says this:  “If you are a millionaire and want to be a billionaire, then you need to associate with a few billionaires.”

Iron sharpens iron.  We have to brush up against players who are better than we are in order to develop a better skill set and a better game.  Run with the elite to become elite.

Something to think about.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Signature Strength

Signature Strength

Love this word - Signature Strength.  It speaks volumes for our topic today.

In my lifetime, I’ve pursued a lot of career tracks.  Let’s see …

   Music Minister

     Sales Management

       Marketing Management

         Clinician

           Insurance Agent

         Retail Sales Management

       Business Management

     Public Speaker

   Writer

There have been elements in each of these jobs that have appealed to me, but my joy, my passion these days comes from writing.  So my signature strength is writing. 

The amazing revelation is this – I’ve used writing to some degree in every one of these career tracks. 

But let’s focus on YOU! 

John C Maxwell and Les Parrot say this in their great little book called 25 Ways to Win with People:

“Everyone has a number of positive qualities that represents his or her strengths, but some are more important

and more central to a person’s identity. 

When you can point them out to others,

research shows, a person is more likely

to use them, to put them on display,

and to embrace them as a key component

of his or her identity.”

Our identity is wrapped up in what we do.  We take great pride in saying …

     I’m a ____

          I went to _____

               I live in _____

                    I’m married to _____

And when we talk about our signature strengths, we come alive.  What we do best is what we want others to know about most.

Our Signature Strength becomes our identity.

Our Signature Strength becomes what we hang our hat on and show the world as a representation of what we claim to be.

How do we find our signature strength? 

-Where does your mind go during idle times?

-If you could be or do anything in the world, and knew you would not fail, what would it be?

The answers to these questions become road marks that point us to our destinies. 

May you find your signature strengths and build on them for the rest of your life.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Appreciate Me

Appreciate Me

John C. Maxwell wrote a book titled Be a People Person.  In it he lists six acts that employees deeply appreciate in their bosses.

  1. Resolve any grievance that is brought to

       your attention.

  2. Encourage your workers.

  3. Never criticize employees in front of other

       people.

  4. Always ask my opinion.

  5. Avoid showing favoritism.

  6. Give credit for suggestions.

Based on a survey analysis conducted by J.C. Staehle

-Powerful stuff

-Excellent people- skills reminders

Have a productive week in your workplace.

  

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Dogs Don't Bark at Parked Cars

Dogs Don’t Bark at Parked Cars

Nike athletic shoe company has a famous logo – Just Do It.

I’d like to alter that to say “Just Do It Anyway!

Name any activity which involves other people and sooner or later someone will disagree with you.  I have retail sales experience and I can tell you this is true.

I once worked as a golf starter for the back nine holes on a golf course.  That experience colored my opinion of golfers as a sociological group of people.  I could hardly make it through a Saturday without being the cause of someone’s bad game, bad day or bad life. 

So if some person somewhere is going to react to you or your company with less than gracious appreciation, we sometimes ask “What’s the use?”

My response – Do it anyway.

Politicians sometimes get "no" votes.  

          They run anyway.

Preachers don’t always receive rave reviews.  

          They preach anyway.

Singers don’t always win competitions.  

          They sing anyway.

All of my blogs are not read, understood and appreciated.  

          I write anyway.

Remember this – 

If you move, work, create, live and breathe, someone somewhere is not going to like the way you do whatever it is you do. 

Do it anyway.

Always and forever – Do It Anyway.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Encouragement

One Word at a Time

The Doctor

The Doctor

During my growing up years in Tennessee I disliked doctors.  Seems every time I would go to see Dr. Porch, he would stick me, probe me, give me foul tasting medicine and it was generally an unpleasant experience.

Today, I love my doctor.  I trust him.  I like him as a person and as my physician.  He really seems to have my best interest in mind at all times.

Since December 27, 2011 I’ve been frequenting his office more than usual.  He saw symptoms and signs that concerned him.  Now, six months later, I got a note from him saying “You’re doing great.  Keep doing what you’re doing and come see me in February.”  

Doctors are good people.  They are smart, and most of them are up to date on the latest treatments offered.

They are a necessary part of life.  I have this plan to live past ninety, so part of my strategy is to do my part in eating better, exercising, sleeping enough, and going to see my doctor on a regular basis. 

Doctors and their medical staff are good for what ails you.

They are some of the important people in our lives.

Really.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

If I Needed a Word of Encouragement ...

If I needed a word of encouragement, I would read ...

In case you missed it, I have two other blog sites.  My main one is called Up-Words Morning Notes.  I am borrowing from two posts from past days that have been widely read and well received.  Hope you find encouragement from reading these.


Disappointments aren't the end.  
They just seem like it.  Read this.

When It's all Over You've Only Just Begun
Posted on November 18, 2010


Sometimes we just need to laugh.  
Read and enjoy.  Even laugh out loud if it strikes you. 

Laugh
Posted on September 2, 2010


Thanks for reading.  Thanks especially for sharing this link with someone.

Have a great week.

I'm not much, but I am Me

I’m not much, but I am Me

~I’m not Thoreau or Hemingway, but I can write in my own style.

~I’m not Billy Graham, but I can still pray and honor God.

~I’m not Frank Lloyd Wright, but I’ve built a few book cases that still stand.

~I’m not Bill Gates, but I can understand software.

~I’m not competing at the Olympics, but I can go to the gym and compete with my last time there.

~I’m not Stephen Hawkin, one of the most brilliant men on earth, but I can read and write, and listen and learn.

~I may be from the South, but I still have opportunities to pursue.

~I may be bald, but I can still be friends with a lot of people.

~I may be a few pounds overweight, but I can still move about and live a productive life.

~I may drive a car that is a few years old, but it still gets me where I need to go.

Life isn’t about having the latest, or being the best, or owning the top drawer of anything.  It’s not a race to see who comes in first.  It’s a journey to see who can complete the course and leave some kind of a significant legacy, even if it is for one other person.

I want to leave a legacy.  I want to make marks, good marks, so that others can see better, live better, know more, understand more, love more, and trust more. 

Learn from my mistakes.

Learn from my words.

Learn from my habits.

Learn from my victories.

But learn, and grow, and chase your own star.

Be you – uniquely individualistically you.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

PS-Thanks for sharing this with someone in need of a word of encouragement. 

The Person behind the Label

The Person behind the Label

Viktor Frankl wrote the book Man’s Search for Meaning.  In it he tells of his experiences as a prisoner of war in a Nazi concentration camp.  He was prisoner number 119104, but he became a man, a survivor and a respected writer, neurologist and psychiatrist.  The amazing fact is this - the man who was a number became a person. 

He didn’t let his label define his life.

Wow!  Let me say that again.

HE DIDN’T LET HIS LABEL DEFINE HIS LIFE!

We’ve watched the Olympics this week.  During the opening ceremony, as the athletes entered the stadium, I was struck with this thought.  Each athlete has a name and an identity, and God knows each one of them by name. 

No label.

No stigma of “Oh, you’re from over there.”

“So, you’re the pole vaulter?”

Or

“You’re that swimmer?”

          No. 

               No. 

                    No.

Each one is known individually. 

Amazing, really. 

No matter the labels you’ve worn in the past, they fall aside when we remember we are somebody unique, an individual with qualities and personality.  We are a creation of God.  We stand alone in our uniqueness. 

I've had a few labels attached to my name in the past.

     ‘Drummin’ Man’

     ‘Singer’

     ‘Drum Stick Dropper’

     ‘A leader who runs after his group’

      And ‘Knot head’.

I knew a man from my past called “Stinky.”

I knew a lady who bore the title – Fatty Patty.

Ouch.

Labels hurt when applied wrongly.

So, today, come out from behind your label.  Rise up; reclaim your identity as a child of God.  Accept your place as one of His finest creations.  You are not a step-child.  You are a child with rights and a place of honor.

Create a new label, a new handle by which you become known.

Repeat after me ...

"I am Somebody."

"There is no one else like me."

You and I are good and wholesome representatives of the human race.

Believe that.  Act on it.

Be a Becomer.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time