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