Expose and Write

Here is an idea for you.  I borrowed it from John C. Maxwell’s book on How Successful People Think.

And now … the quote.

Expose yourself to good input.

Be sure and write down significant thoughts.

It is the exposing, the opening oneself up to good ideas that starts this dance.  In the last

twenty years of my life I’ve expanded the list of those whom I allow to influence my thinking.  These are not men and women who have come to my attention, often from other writers, and occasionally from casual conversations with friends.  Some have been dead for a few years, yet their influence lives on and continues to feed my mind. 

Often one of these influencers will lead me to another, and yet another.  I am on the lookout for good, sound minds from which I can glean thoughts and ideas.

The second step in this dance is this …

capture significant thoughts and ideas for later review. 

One of the documents that is open on my laptop is called Blog Ideas.  It is 103 pages of quotes quips, sayings, and longer paragraphs that I have found to be stimulating at one time or another in my reading material.  This is the document to which I turn first almost every time I sit down for a blog writing session. 

I also carry around a pocket-size Mole Skin book as a holding place for spur-of-the-moment ideas as they occur.

Go ahead – expose yourself.

And then write about it. 

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

It's Okay to Ignore Sometimes

In a politically correct society it is usually never good manners to ignore someone; however, here is an exception.

My friend Rick Justus says this:

Rick lists this quote along with six others, on a piece of paper that is constantly in his possession.  He calls this list his "Seven Secrets to Untold Wealth".

Would anything great ever be accomplished in this world if we always listened to the nay-sayers?

Landing on the moon?  They said:  “Man can’t stand the G-forces.  His body will explode.”

Every new startup has to overcome the negative comments that inevitably come.

“It’s been done before.”

“Nobody will buy THAT.”

“Are you crazy? Spending all that money?  What if it flops?”

“Who are you to think you can pull that off?”

I was told once to not buy a circular saw for I would probably cut off my finger.  I’ve had one for twenty-five years now and still have all fingers and toes.

I once said “Girls can’t play drums.”  I was threatened.  That was back in the seventh grade and we froze out a girl named Debby.  I confess that was a stupid move. 

What is being said to you?  Are you listening?  And what are you going to do about those words of a negative slant?

Do it anyway.

Avoid those who belittle you and mock your dream. 

Believe in YOU and YOUR DREAMS.  Ignore anyone who tells you it can’t be done.  Prove them wrong.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Regrets

Got regrets?  So do most people. 

Want to avoid having regrets?  Listen to this sage advice.

A group of senior citizens were once asked this question:

“If you could live your life over, what would you do differently?”

The top answer given is this:  “I would have taken more chances.”

As I reflect on my own life, that phrase still echoes in my heart, and I am a guy who has had 8 or 9 completely different careers.  There are still dreams that lie inside of me that I want to attempt. 

Climbing Mt. Everest is not one of them.

But I do want to write more books, and I’ll continue blogging until I can no longer place my hands on the keyboard. 

I want to expand my speaking circle.

I want to go sailing with CB on an extended trip.

Well, this is not really about me.  It is about you, and an attempt to inspire you to dream your dreams and give them feet and wings. 

Do you remember the age old question “What would you do if you knew you could not fail"?

That is what this is all about?  Your dreams lie buried within you.  Bring them out.  Give them a chance to breathe the air of freedom of expression. 

Maybe, some day, when we come to the end of our days, we can say with a smile on our faces, “I used up all that was within me.”

Let it be so.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Fear of Being Wrong

I want to speak to the creative person who lives inside of you.  Let him/her out for a bit and read this.

Nobody who is anybody likes to be wrong.  I certainly don’t and you probably don’t either. 

The fear of being wrong constricts, it stops us in our tracks, and it gets in the way of creativity. 

Note this:

How many attempts did the Wright brothers make before they succeeded in their first flight of 12 seconds?

Do you play the stock market?  How often are you wrong?  How often are you right? 

I don’t have millions of dollars in my retirement portfolio because of fear of making a poor investment.  Can I see a show of hands on that one?

The adventure of being a creative soul is fraught with peril.  You would not believe the fears I faced in my early days of blogging.  Before every push of the PUBLISH button, I faced panic.

My conversations ran something like this.

“What if I’ve said something stupid?”

“What if nobody reads it?”

“What if I misquoted something and the blog police come and arrest me?”

I’m re-reading Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way.  Here’s a quote worth re-quoting. 

PROGRESS, NOT PERFECTION

I love that.  Am I getting better?  Am I going further and getting stronger?

Squelch the fear.  Stop it in its tracks. 

Do the thing you desire to do. 

I guarantee that tomorrow you’ll be a bit closer to your dream than you were today.

A classic quote:  “Do what you fear and the fear of death is certain.”

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Abilities and Choices

You and I have a lot of abilities.  What an understatement.  However, let’s pursue this for a moment.

Pardon this personal reference.  I have the unique ability to impress certain people with some measure of my abilities in a variety of ways.  That is a good thing mostly.  I’m all about ability and how one demonstrates one’s abilities to a given task.

On the other hand, my abilities come to the front only when I make good choices in actions, words, follow-through and a whole host of other soft skills that come into play. 

In the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, we find this:

“It’s not our abilities that show 

what we truly are; it is our choices.”

I’ve written a bit about the power of “choice” in these posts.  That is still a great topic and an important topic.  Our choices live long after we have left this earth.

I think John Steinbeck gives us a clear distinction for this idea of choice.

“But the Hebrew word, 

the word ‘timshel’ – 

Thou mayest – that gives a choice.  

It might be the most important word 

in the world.  That says the way is open.  

That throws it right back on a man.  

For if ‘Thou mayest” – it is also true 

that “Thou mayest not.”

~John Steinbeck – East of Eden

You see, choices mean “yes” and sometimes choices mean “no”.

And we hold it in our hands to choose which response to offer.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

"Failure" Is Not a Person

This is one of the great quotes for today.

Failure is an event.  It is not a person.

~Zig Ziglar

Thank God!  Now we can take a deep breath and continue living. 

How many of us have failed at something?  Raise your hands. 

You, the one driving the rusty red Volvo ... I see you.  Thank you for your honesty.

And you, the mom pushing the stroller with your seven-month-old who just will not be still ... I see you too.  Thank you.

And you, minister at the church downtown ... Yes, I see your hand.

And I won’t forget you, the man sitting on the curb, clutching a brown paper bag, and we probably know what is in that bag. 

Failures happen to all of us.  We miss a step.  We take the wrong job at the wrong time.  We make a series of poor decisions.  And those missed cues crash in on us. 

We tend to blame ourselves. 

We tend to talk dirty to ourselves about ourselves.

And we get down and sometimes stay down for a while.

Again I’ll say it ---

Failure is an event.  It is not a person.

~Zig Ziglar

Brene Brown is one of my favorite authors and speakers.  Listen to what she has to say about this.

“We hate the disconnect.  “I can’t let you see this picture of me because I fear that it will cause disconnection.” 

“Oh how we fear the disconnect.  We don’t want anything to rock our world and our perceived perfect conditions and perfect people. 

“Everyone – EVERYONE has imperfections.  Every company has a weak side.”

~ Brene Brown

Michael Jordan once said this:  “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost almost 300 games.  26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed.  I’ve failed over and over again in my life.  And that is why I succeed.”

Bill Gates of Microsoft fame was a drop-out.

Former Prime Minister of Great Britain, Tony Blair, had this said of him:  “All the teachers I spoke to when researching the book said he was a complete pain in the backside and they were very glad to see the back of him.”

~John Rentoul – Tony Blair’s biographer

Abraham Lincoln ran for political office sixteen times.  He became a beloved president.

You see – Failure is not final.

And now … pick yourself up.  Dust yourself off, and start all over again.

Find a new challenge.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Learn from the Best

Are you in pursuit of better?

Better skills

Better speech making

Better piano playing

Better selling

Better parenting

Whatever your pursuit might be in the “bettering of your life”, the main idea is this – watch a professional do what you aspire to do.

Learn from the best.  Buy the best seat you can afford and go see the show.  Buy the book, audio recording or DVD.  Search on YouTube for your favorite guru and see what they are doing or have done that was so awesome.

Be amazed. 

   Be wowed. 

      Be impressed. 

         Be inspired.

Learn from the best.  Mimic. Borrow from their style until you make it your own.

As a young drummer, before the days of YouTube, I listened to Dave Brubeck’s Take Five album often.  I learned some of my best drum licks from Joe Morello, Dave’s drummer on the Take Five album.

Time passed.

A year ago, thanks to YouTube, I watched Joe play that famous drum solo, Take Five.  Later, I remarked to Carolyn how much Joe’s playing had influenced my own drumming style and had never realized it until that particular moment.

Carolyn and I were invited to a musical venue at Benaroya Hall to hear a concert called Ten Grands.  It featured ten grand pianos and ten stellar performers.  We left there awestruck, and Carolyn remarked that she felt inspired to practice more after listening to that quality of musical excellence.

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, and it is a great way to learn from the best of the best.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time