What Are We Waiting For

What Are We Waiting For

We’re here, waiting, waiting, waiting.  And for what? 

If you’re on an elevator and you're stuck, do you walk up, or down, or wait for someone to come and fix the broken mechanism?

Are you waiting for Mr. or Ms. Right to come along?

Are you waiting to be asked to write the great American novel, or any book, blog or article for that matter?  I had to ask to write a series of magazine articles once upon a time.  And they said “Yes, please do.”

More often than not, we are the ones who have to take action, take the first step, reach out and do the thing that needs doing.  I got a few jobs early in life that just landed in my lap, but most of the time, I had to reach out, make the phone call, send the resume.  They weren’t waiting for me, but after reading about me, then they wanted me.

So, what are you waiting for?

This is a purely motivational thought for today.

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Failure Is Not Shame

Failure Is Not Shame

When I was a small boy, I had to learn to walk.  I fell down a few times.  There was no shame in that. Falling down is a part of learning to walk.

When I really got into singing in high school and college, I would, on occasion, sing a few flat notes.  I probably shamed myself.  I beat myself up for my flaws as a singer.  As I look back on that time, I have to put things into perspective.  As in learning to walk, learning to sing is a process.  My vocal chords weren’t developed yet, nor was my musical ear trained to discern pitch perception.  Those are learned traits.  They are not shaming moments. 

In the tenth grade, I took mechanical drawing.  I was lousy at it.  I believe I made a D minus.  My teacher, Mr. Casteel, had the good sense to write on my report card something like … “Mike really tries hard to do a good job in my class.  He just doesn’t have the insight, a basic skill, for mechanical drawing.”

And yet, I’m a darn good drummer, singing, conductor, writer, speaker, manager, banker, and a few other skills and talents I’ve accumulated along the way.

Oh my, I’ve had some hard learning curves, and that is what they were – LEARNING curves.  Not shame closets, not failure marks – learning curves.

I’ve written on this topic a dozen times, and will continue to address this subject.

Failure is the gateway to success, to learning and improving.

FAILURE IS NOT FINAL!

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Today I Choose

Today I Choose

There is a lot going on at the moment in our world, in this land called the United States of America, in our cities and counties.  There is political divide, racial divide, economic divide, philosophical divide and spiritual divide.

And what are you choosing to do about all of that?

Here is what I am choosing.

I’m not a marcher.  Never have been.  If you choose to do so, and choose to do it in a peaceful, non-aggressive way, I bless you and say, “go do what you must do.”

I’m a Christian.  I do not curse and slam those who are politically or racially different from me.  I bless them for also living on this planet in this world and breathing the same air that I breathe.  I choose to allow you to believe differently from me, use different phrases and language expressions from me.  You can hold any political stance you wish, any philosophical dogma you care to hold.  Please, hold to those thoughts with passion and confidence. 

However, … allow me the same privilege and the same opportunity.  Just because we differ does not mean one is better or more superior than the other.  We just believe differently.  We express ourselves differently.  You get to choose and I get to choose.  How great is that?

I choose to pray for all of mankind.  I pray for George Floyd’s family, I pray for those who staunchly wave his flag of honor and memory.  I pray for the police officers who were involved in his death.  I pray for their families and fellow officers.

I choose to pray for their commanding officers and other law enforcement individuals, including those in the judicial system and court systems that will have a hand in in bringing about proper judgments and assessments in this situation.

I choose to pray for my President.  I will not judge his motives, his past life, his present actions, for I do not know all that he knows.  I don’t have the privilege of knowing all that he is privy to.  He has a weighty responsibility, and I pray for his health, his safety, his judgment, and for those who advise and consult with him.  I also pray for his family.  This is no small burden resting on their shoulders either.  To see one you love and respect who faces daily criticism and one whose every move and decision is questioned … that is a hard burden to bear.  I pray especially for them.

I choose to pray for all our men and women in political positions and with varying responsibilities.  They, too, bear a heavy load and have much to weigh on a daily basis. 

I choose to pray for you, my reader, regardless of the stance you may take on any of these issues.  Be open, be wise, be careful in making hasty decisions and forming judgmental opinions. 

I choose to believe in the honest and fair resolution of these crisis that we all face.  It will take time, perhaps a lot more time than many of us would hope for.  Yet I believe a positive outcome will be revealed in due time.

I choose to believe mankind will have a future with hope in the middle of all of this upheaval.

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

How to Keep the Lamp Burning

How to Keep the Lamp Burning

To keep a lamp burning, 

we have to keep putting oil in it.  

~Mother Teresa

This idea is simple, you see.  I hate paying my electricity bill, but I love having power whenever I need it. 

To build any business, we have to keep the ideas coming, the employees content and the marketing plan in place. 

I am a writer.  My number of clicks suffer when I don’t produce fresh material or promote my stuff.  I now know this after ten years of doing this work.

Feed your dream 

     Stoke your fire 

          Read

               Learn

                    Grow

Become whatever it is you wish to become so that you can keep your lamp burning.

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Self-Motivation Is the Best Motivation

Self-Motivation Is the Best Motivation

After thirty or forty years of reading and following motivational thoughts and mindsets, I have come to the conclusion that self-motivation is the best kind of motivation.

I’ve been to motivational seminars, heard great speakers, read inspiring books on the subject of motivation, and that is all right and good. 

However, if a book or seminar or speaker failed to motivate me, then what?  You see the importance in being a self-starter in the motivation game?  It is an inside job.  It has always been an inside job.

Someday, the speaker or book won’t show up.  What then?  Well, if you depend on outside sources to motivate you, you are in a pickle.

What motivates you?  That is the question.

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

If at First

If at First

The salesman says, “But I knocked on the door, and they slammed it in my face.”

The athlete said, “I ran that race once, and fell down.  Never again.”

The speaker said, “I had a sure-fire speech, and they laughed me off the stage.”

The romantic said, “I asked her for a date once. She said “no.”

Oh my, it is so easy to walk away and never try again.  ‘Tis easier to give up than to try again. 

But what if there’s gold on the other side of that “NO”?

Here’s what Seth Godin says about that.

When success doesn’t occur, the easiest thing is to walk away and not make the mistake of speaking up ever again. The most important thing to do, though, is to do it again, to care again and to seek to make change, again.

Seth Godin What to Do when it’s Your Turn

An encouraging word for all of us –

Try Try Again.

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Do What You Do Best

Do What You Do Best

Here’s the thing … do what you do best.  I write about topics that I have some experience in.  I read a lot, I’ve had nine or so different careers, I’ve lived in seven different states and have a bit of insight into some cultural distinctions I would not otherwise have.  Those experiences have colored my perspective, in living life, in foods I enjoy, in dress, in language and accents, in religious perspectives. 

We are happiest when we do the things we love, when we express what we know best, whether it is a special dish we love to make, a painting we love to draw, a song we love to sing.

I write a certain way.  I’m not James Paterson, but I am ME.

If I were to open a restaurant, it certainly wouldn’t be French cuisine.  It would probably be a breakfast place, for I can do some good stuff for breakfast

What about you?  What would you do if you did something in a contributing way for mankind? 

Here’s the thing.

~Draw the art you want to see

~Start the business you want to run

~Play the music you want to hear

~Write the books you want to read

~Build the products you want to use

~Do the work you want to see done

Show us your best side.

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

The Potential in One Person

The Potential in One Person

I’ve written on this before, and it deserves another effort.  I’ll be brief so please remain as you were.

The unknown quote I’m using is this:

It’s not what they are now. 

It’s what they could be. 

I wasn’t much to look at when I was in the tenth grade.  Oh, I had soft goals, wishes, dreams of what I would be someday.  I’m glad most of you didn’t know me then.  However, I grew, I learned, I improved.  I became.

Did you get that last part?  I BECAME!

Note this:  Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was fired from his job as a computer salesman because he failed to open the store one day.  He was busy with a potential client.  He went out, started his first company – Micro-Solutions- and made billions of dollars off that and other interests.

Bob Dylan was booed off the stage at his high school talent show.

Randy Travis was rejected by every major record label twice.  

This famous quote by Michael Jordan sums up our time together today.

What is your potential?

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

The Bull's Eye Can Be Hit

The Bull’s Eye Can Be Hit

People who hit the bull’s eye on the first try are lucky.  There is no skill in that.  They got lucky.

So, what’s your bull’s eye?  Consider this … that takes some figuring, some mulling and some trying and aiming and missing.  I didn’t settle on being a writer until I was in my late fifties/early sixties.  I thought about it, I dreamed of it, but I never got serious about writing until later in life.

And when I landed on writing, I knew I had found my niche.  Oh, I dabbled along the way.  I wrote some stuff –small stuff.  And I kept dabbling.  I kept writing, yet never dared called myself a ‘writer’. 

I began enjoying the process more.  I tried my hand on a more consistent basis.  I expanded my horizons and actually wrote a poem or two along the way.  Finally, I developed a sense of direction for my life – my life purpose.  It’s this – Offering Hope, Ecouragement, Inspiration, one word at a time.

People started reading, and following, and commenting.  I was encouraged, and so it continued.  I kept throwing darts at the board.  I had miss-spelled words, wrong verb tenses, and sometimes silly ideas, but the ideas flowed and I captured them.

Got a bull’s eye?  No matter what it is, you can learn to hit it.  Notice I said “Learn”!

Keep aiming.  Keep throwing.  Ignore the critics, and sooner or later you just might figure out how to hit the eye of the bull. 

And that’s no bull!

This is what is

on my mind today.

It's All About People Blogsite

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration