Pleasing Everybody

Are you a people pleaser?  I’ve been accused of that a few times in my life.  “It ain’t working” as we used to say in Tennessee.

Today, I subscribe to Seth Godin’s philosophy, as stated below.

“Better to pick just one thing you can be proud of, rather than offering just about everything in an attempt to please just about everyone (and thus no one).”

There is no way I can write to please everyone in this world.  I am honing my niche for my reliable readers, and it is to this supportive group of individuals to whom I speak every week. 

Sometimes, a more narrow focus is the real secret to success.  Who is really a success whose philosophy is to become “all things to all people”?

What are you really good at? 

March onward!

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Setbacks Only Make Me Stronger

Have you had a setback lately?  So have other.  And then what?

Consider this:

Oprah Winfrey:  “I was raped at age nine.”

Bill Gates:  “I didn’t complete my university education.”

Steve Jobs:  “I used to sleep on a friends floor and returned Coke bottles for food money.  And I would get free meals at a local temple.”

Prime Minister Tony Blair:  “My teachers used to call me a failure.”

President Nelson Mandela:  “I spent 27 years in prison.”

Setbacks happen.  That is a given.   

And we still persist. 

Setbacks don’t mean the end.  Sometimes they are simply the beginning of a new direction.

You get to decide.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

A Word about Habits

Habits fascinate me.  How we allow a habit to take over our lives fascinates me even more.  This is a short article so you won’t find a detailed treatise on this subject – just some observations and thought starters.

About 40% of our daily actions are not decisions but habits.  40%!

Consider this:

What are your morning routine habits?

Left shoe or right shoe first?

What part of your body do you wash first in the shower?

Where are certain clothes placed in your closet?

Where do you place your deodorant?

When meeting an attractive member of the opposite sex, where do your eyes look first?

See what I mean?  We evolve into habits for a large portion of our lives.

Now, what if you wanted to change a particularly bad habit?  How would you go about it? 

First comes the awareness of the habit to be changed, then the change in behavior or patterns.  A huge part of that is being aware of the trigger points that lead to the habit to be changed.

If we follow this logic, that is a good path to be on, however, there is one ingredient above all others that must be invoked.

The Power of Belief

We have to believe we can change a habit first for it to become a viable change in our lives.  I’m not talking about a belief in God.  I’m simply talking of a belief in one’s own ability to alter a certain set of circumstances, exposures and thought patterns.  You and I have to believe that we can make the changes we seek.  “Once people learned how to believe in something, that “belief” skill starts spilling over to other parts of our lives and we start believing we can change.  Belief was the ingredient that made a reworked habit loop into a permanent behaviors.”

~The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

I am a spiritually minded person, and spirituality, religion, a code of ethics, laws and legislation are all good, but when it comes to overcoming bad habits, it is a matter of belief in one’s ability to make the changes that come into play.  It’s not a God-thing.  It is a strong determination and belief within that says “I can do this.  I believe in myself to bring this about.

This concept in no way diminishes my God-concept or my relationship with God.  It does, however, have to do with the power of choice.  We choose to believe, and in this case, we believe a change is needed and we accept the change we perceive as good and wholesome.

If this article causes you to consider the power of habits in your own life, well and good.  If it causes you to read Mr. Duhigg’s book, even better. 

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

How to Become Great

The quest for greatness – that is the chase of a lifetime.

Let’s cut to the essence of this pursuit.

I’m taking this quote from an unusual source – the classic movie The Godfather by Mario Puzo. 

And how do they do that exactly?

~They hang with other great men and women.

~They read books and become lifelong students.

~They learn from their mistakes.

~They analyze and review every performance and presentation and get better with each delivery.

~They have a can do attitude.

How do good men and women become great?

They do the hard work of self-analysis and improve every day.

Now, go and do likewise.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Are People Buying YOU

We SELL with every word we speak, every sentence we write and every encounter we have.  And how well do we do pull that off?

We bump up against this concept time and time again – We are as successful as we perceive ourselves to be successful.

Dozens of philosophers, writers, business speakers and thought gurus have said this before.

Earl Nightingale’s famous quote is the most often repeated. 

“We become what we think about.”

So … how about raising your self image a notch or two?  It just might work – if you believe.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time