Let's Go ... Together

I like living life in pairs and groups.  There is something about the shared experience that adds to the memory.

A few years ago I read a book by Reuben Welch entitled We Really Do Need Each Other.  In it he tells this story.

“After teaching a class on group and interpersonal relations at the college campus where he taught, the class decided to take an hour and a half group hike together up to a place called Henniger Flats, just outside Pasadena, California.  It was to be a sort of culmination of all that they had learned during the class time.

They picked the day, they set the time, they made the sandwiches and the chocolate and bought the soft drinks and packed the back-packs and off they went.

The strong, stalwart ones started out fast, lead by Don, a former paratrooper.  In no time the group was strung out all along the trail on their way up to the top of Henniger Flats, with Don in the lead, marking the trail for the others to follow. 

Don paused, looked back a few switch-backs and saw Jane, who was as we say “a bit over weight.” 

Don felt a strong urge to go back and walk with Jane for a while, which he did.  The others up ahead often called out, “Come on up.  Go faster.” 

Jane would call back, “I can’t.  I don’t think I can make it.”

“Oh yes you can.  Try harder,” came the reply.

And Jane did not make it to the top.

Thankfully the group decided that this was no way to end this shared experience together, so they decided to try again, only this time they made some new rules.

This time we will all go together, or we don’t go at all.”

So they picked the day, they set the time, they made the sandwiches and the chocolate and bought the soft drinks and packed the back-packs and off they went.

Time passed.

It took them four hours to reach the top, and by the time they arrived all of the back packs were empty, the sandwiches were eaten, and the hot coco and the soft drinks were all gone. 

BUT THEY MADE IT, TOGEHER.

TOGETHER!!!

What a concept. 

What if we adopted this idea a bit more in our lives, in our towns, our state, and our communities? 

What if families banded together in such a way as this and determined “we are family, we are together, and we survive together.”

What if churches exhibited this concept?  We would probably sing a good mixture of hymns and praise songs and nobody would be left out. 

What if the strong stalwart ones could humble themselves enough to reach back for the weaker, slower ones and lend a helping hand? 

That would be something else, wouldn’t it?

We’ve got to go together!

Some will definitely

have to slow down.

          And some will probably 

need to speed up.

But we do it together.  We go … together.

It’s not a matter of finishing first, or having your own way.  It’s working together as a group, sharing, laughing, loving, crying, but it’s all about this thing called “TOGETHER”.

We are facing some dire times.  If ever there was a time for us to pull together it is now.  Jobs are being lost. Families are stressed and being pulled apart.  Blood pressures are rising, bank accounts are dwindling. 

What do you say?  Next Saturday, how about all of us go up to Henniger Flats? 

Together!

GENSHAI (Pronounced GEN-Shy)

One of my all-time favorite books is titled Aspire by Kevin Hall.  As a result of reading this book and befriending the author, Kevin and I are developing a fine and life-long friendship.

One of the words that Kevin introduces us to in this book is the word GENSHAI (pronounced GEN-Shy).

Genshai means “You should never treat another person in a manner that would make them feel small.  And that means yourself.”

So, that means 

I treat myself with respect.    I like myself; I appreciate myself; I approve of myself.  This is not haughty, self-aggrandizement, self-inflating stuff.  Genshai is simply appreciating my uniqueness, my specialness, my God-given character traits and focusing on ways to develop them and bring them to more fruition. 

Kevin says this; “The way I treat myself reflects the way I treat others.  I have divinity within me.  I have greatness within me.  I attract into my life that which I believe I am.”  

I am determined to treat every human being I meet with great respect, great cordialness, and great honor.  How can I possibly accomplish this unless I also care for and consider myself with equal esteem and value?

Do I believe in me?  Kevin says “Believe means to be love.  When I believe in myself, I love myself.  When I love myself, I treat myself with respect.  “Spect” is to look at.  “Re” is back.  “Respect” is to look back at.”

Do I respect myself?  Do I look back on my life and see character traits that I can accept as good, wholesome and true?

Remember Genshai. 

A good word.

A good thought

A great way to live!

How Is Your Vision?

J C Penney was once interviewed by Dave Le Shanna, former college president of Taylor University.  As Dr. La Shanna was ushered into Mr. Penney’s office, he saw Mr. Penney sitting behind his desk examining the business card David had presented.  He was moving it back and forth like someone playing a slide trombone.

He looked up at Dr. La Shanna, cleared his voice and said, “You’ll have to forgive me.  My vision is not as good as it once was.”

He then slapped his hand on the desk and said, “No that is not right.  My eyesight is not what it once was.  I’ll never lose my vision.”

WoW!  That is a mouth full. 

I think that is all that needs to be said. 

How is your vision?

Towards life?

Toward your company?

Toward your future?

Teams Work

Let's talk about TEAM!

There is no “I” in team.

Earl Nightingale tells a great story about the importance of teamwork. 

“Once upon a time a group of boy scouts were on a weekend hike.  They came upon an old set of abandoned rail road tracks.  One by one the boys hopped upon the tracks and soon made a game out of seeing who could walk the longest distance without falling off.  Many tried, and of course they ultimately lost their balance and fell off the tracks.

“Two of the boys withdrew from the group and put their heads together for a few minutes and then approached the scout master. 

“They boastfully said.  We can walk the tracks farther than anyone without falling off. 

“They hopped up on the tracks, joined hands, and away they went, in perfect balance and in perfect sync.” 

You see, they discovered the art of teamwork.  In the word “team’ there is no “I”.

Synonyms for TEAM are words such as:

Togetherness

Partnership

Squad

Players

It all comes down to teamwork.  We share the load; we share the grunt, and the blood, toil and tears.  We share the nitty-gritty.  Above all, when we become victorious, we share the glory.

The most important two-letter word in our English language is “WE”.  Bosses should love it when their employees proudly say “Look what WE did!”

Napoleon Hill is famous for his doctrine of the Master Mind; two or more minds united for a common purpose, drawing upon the collective wisdom of all of the minds in a group.  That is Teamwork.

So, how is your team? 

I hope you are finding and developing your team.  I hope you fit like a hand in a glove. 

What if … on the 8^th day, God looked around and saw one more thing that needed creating.  And then he said … “Let there be teams.”

Teams are GOOD! 

Very good indeed..

Rolling University

Rolling University

How much time do you spend in your automobile?  I have a daily commute of approximately 18 minutes each way. 

Here’s a tip I learned from Og Mandino, author of The Greatest Salesman in the World, and others.  Why not turn that drive time into learning time.  I’ve tapped into this “down-time” over the years and I am amazed at the information I have gained as a result of using this otherwise mindless drive time and making this time work to my benefit.

I listen to audio recordings of good and wholesome books and articles.  Some are more important to me than others, and this affords me the chance to listen again and again as I drive.  If I miss a key thought I have the luxury of backing up the CD and reviewing what I missed. 

Am I better for this?  In a word, YES!  I am in the business of generating ideas that I can pass along to others and I make this a daily habit. 

Just take a look at a few of the minds I have been able to tap into as a result of this habit.

Mandela’s Way (currently listening and it is insightful)

The Naked Truth (Patrick Lencoini)

Seven Habits of Highly Successful People (Steven Covey)

Aspire (Kevin Hall)

The Laws of Success (Napoleon Hill)

Think and Grow Rich (Napoleon Hill)

Psychology of Winning (Denis Waitley)

Breakthrough Thinking (Harvard Business Review)

Success Magazine Monthly Disc (Every issue comes with one)

And there are dozens of others in my library that I rotate between. 

There is a company called   that I have tapped into and for a nominal monthly fee, I can down load audio programs.  I recently let my credits accumulate, and the just last week downloaded four incredible programs. https://www.audible.com/sign-in.  What a wealth of valued information.  Talk about information is power.  This is power to the max!

Continue your education.  Fall is coming.  Sign up for classes at Rolling University.  You’ll meet some amazing instructors along the way, even some who have long since left this earth, yet their works continue through these recordings. 

What is it that someone once said “A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste”?

Waste not!  Your future is waiting.

The Parachute

Charles Plumb was a U.S. navy jet pilot in Vietnam.  After seventy-five combat missions his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile.  Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy territory.  He was captured and spent six years in a communist Vietnamese prison.  He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb!  You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk.  You were shot down!”

“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb.

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied.  Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude.  

The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!”  Plumb assured him, “It sure did.  If your chute hadn’t worked, I wouldn’t be here today.”   

Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man.  Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, and bell-bottom trousers.  I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said, ‘Good morning, how are you?’  After all, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.”

Plumb thought of the many hours this sailor had spent at a wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know.

Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?”  

Everyone has someone who provides a needed ingredient to help them make it through another day.  

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important.  We may fail to say hello, please, thank you.  We pass up opportunities to congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them.  We miss chances to give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason.  

We are connected.  You do know that, right?  Whether I meet some of my readers face to face or not, we are connected nevertheless. 

I’m all about making connections and re-connections at this point in my life.  Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are wonderful tools for helping us with this reconnecting experience. 

People who played major roles in my life and were forgotten a few years ago are now vivid in my memory again, simply because of the reconnect. 

Some of these individuals packed my chute and I had a hand in packing other’s chutes.  The cycle continues. 

To you, my friend, my family members, and my cherished inner circle of friends, thank you from the bottom of my heart for carefully packing my chute.  I have had a few bumps along the way, and so have you, but I’m floating relatively safely and securely, thanks to your careful hand in my life at the times I needed your hand the most.

We have had our chutes packed in dozens of ways.

-A skill taught that has stood the test of time

-A word spoken at the precise moment it is needed

-A life modeled before me of integrity and respect

-An act of kindness when I was down on my luck

-A job offer when I was down to my last dollar

-An encouraging word when all else I heard was put-downs and negative nonsense

I could add a dozen more examples. 

Think about your life.  Add your own experiences. 

Above all, reach out to someone who has packed your parachute.  Call them.  Extend to them the gift of kindness, thanks, appreciation and a re-connect. 

It’s yet another way of packing someone else’s chute.

OXYGEN

Oxygen. 

The stuff of life. 

We need it to live. 

We need it go grow. 

It has been said that mankind can live …

--Forty days without food

--Four minutes without air

--Four seconds without hope. 

I want to offer hope in the form of words to those around me. 

What if you had it in your power to give someone hope, and it wouldn’t cost you a dime? 

Nothing!

Nadda!

Would you give it?

Would you give a “dying” person hope?

Of course you would.

Listen carefully!  Lean in and let me whisper in your ear.

Words bring oxygen!

Did you get that?

Words bring oxygen!

Let’s try one more time.

WORDS BRING OXYGEN!

The stuff of life is found in words. 

Words nurture the soul.

   Words encourage the spirit.

      Words offer hope for one more day.

         Words heal.

         Words inspire.

            Words bring one back from the brink.

         Words restore relationships.

      Words release tension.

   Words renew relationships.

Words sometimes can make the difference between life and death.

So, let’s brush up on our vocabulary with some oxygen-generating words of hope and help. 

Somebody in your world right now is waiting for your words, your supply of fresh air that only you can offer. 

Breathe into them life-sustaining words.

Here are some oxygen-giving words that just might make a difference – for you today, or for someone in your life.

-I believe in you.

-You’re going to make it.

-You can do better next time.

-I see such potential in you.

-I have high hopes for you.

-I know your heart, and it is a good heart.

-You are a great one in the making.

-What a creative person you are.  I love that about you.

-You can accomplish that impossible task.  Just hang on a little longer.

-I see a winner in front of me.

-I love you just as you are.

-I’m so proud of you.

-I know this is a tough spot you are in.  Let’s see if I can help get you out.

-I’ve got your back.  You can count on me.

-God cares.

-God is near.

-You are closer than you think.

-Believe in the possibility.

-Believe in a God who believes in you.

Go.  Breathe into someone.  The word “inspire” means to “breathe into” someone.

Spread the oxygen.