To Know and Not to Do....

In my recent efforts to research and write this blog, I came upon a name from my distant past...Mr. Skip Ross.You may find me quoting him along with many other authors and speakers of the last 40 years! I fear that some of theirr messages have, over the years become my own. Thus, if I fail to give credit all the time, it may be because I don't recall where I learned the concept. For example, The quote above was used often by Skip Ross over the years, but I also heard a similar quote from Stephen Covey, Buddah, other Asian philoshers, and more. Skip will readily admit that it is not his uniquely.

How many times have you heard someone talk a good game, but when it came time to perform, the disconnect between their talk and walk became evident? Have you ever taken a college-level class to learn a specific skill? Allow me to share with you a few specific examples. I am certain the list could be endless.As a much younger man I was training to be a police officer. Many of my courses were being taught by experienced law enforcement personnel, or retired specialist. One was a retired document examiner with the FBI. Some "General Ed" classes were taught by folks just out of school themselves, with NO real-world experience....just the "book learnin'" part! One such example was a required "health"class where the teacher proclaimed that having a baby was like squeazing a tube of toothpaste! A mother of five children happened to be a student in that lecture! It didn't bode well for that poor young man!

Later, on another adventure into my education, I was studying digital imaging with an instructor who had retired from that industry. Other related coursework was taught "in theory", since the instructor had no real-world experience.

Would you appreciate it if your surgeon had been trained by doctors who had never operated? The answer is painfully obvious! People can see the disconnect when someone is not able to DO what they claim to know, often to an embarrassing end!

Stinkin' Thinkin' vs Possibility Thinking

Many years ago, a business associate would often refer to a negative attitude as "Stinkin' Thinkin'. (He was a southerner!) Around the same time I was introduced to Dr. Robert Schuller and his concepts built on Possibilty Thinking. Other powerful speakers and authors of note have also written and spoken much regarding the "Power of Positive Thinking"!
As I was preparing my notes for this article, I came upon a presentation by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, given at Dr. Schuller's Crystal Cathedral in 1987. The topic of his address was "Positive Thinking Works Wonders". Dr. Peale shared an interesting concept at the beginning of his presentation...

Dr. Peale and his wife were on a trip to Hong Kong. His wife wanted to visit a dressmaker there. While she was thus engaged, he decided that he would take a walk through the narrow streets of the Kowloon District, among the millions of people. Looking at all the little shops along the way, Dr. Peale noticed a tatoo parlor with displays of the styles of "artwork" the patron might select. He spotted one on unusual concern to him, as the consumate Optimist he was....it read "Born to Lose"!
That drew him into the tatoo shop for a closer look. As he pointed it out to propietor, he was directed to remove his coat and such. He assured the man that he did not want a tatoo, but only had a question! "Who, in their right mind, would ever emblazen "Born to Lose" across their chest?" The tatoo artist replied in his broken English, "Before tatoos on chect, it already tatooed on brain!"

If we immerse ourselves in Stinkin Thinkin, then we have tatooed on our brains the message "Born to Lose"! Would it perhaps be more productive to immerse ourselves into Possibility Thinking? Think about it!

Don't Worry That it's Not Good Enough for Anyone Else to Hear

In 1973 The Carpenters released a song which bares a deeper message than just a cute and memorable tune!

"Sing, sing a song
Sing out loud, Sing out strong
Sing of good things not bad
Sing of happy not sad
Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last your whole life long.
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song Sing, sing a song
Let the world sing along
Sing of love there could be
Sing for you and for me
Sing, sing a song
Make it simple to last your whole life long.
Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear
Just sing, sing a song"

We should always exhibit our inate confidence as we create our future. We often spend too much of our energies worrying about what our friends, our neighbors, or others will think! The thing we need to focus on is if our creation is suitable to our Maker!

Are You Wasting Yourself?

In a society focused on time-saving devices, here's a different perspective to consider....Alice Bloch, notes British author/philosopher has said, “We say we waste time, but that is impossible. We waste ourselves.”

Time is a commodity which cannot be wasted. It cannot be spent. It cannot be saved! Actually, we have no influence or control over time. It is here, surrounding us. What we can (and too often do) waste is ourselves!It is a tragedy when we consider what we could become and what we could accomplish, but choose to not!Time is a commodity which cannot be wasted. It cannot be spent. It cannot be saved! Actually, we have no influence or control over time. It is here, surrounding us. Many businesses have been built on the concept of "Time Management".What they're really trying to teach is self-management!

What we can (and too often do) waste is ourselves! It is a tragedy when we consider what we could become and what we could accomplish, but choose to not seize the day!

Put A Little “Fizz” In Your Life

During his 40 plus year career as a Powerhouse speaker, Zig Ziglar shared this brief, but important event:

"Coca-Cola is the best-known product in the world today, but had it not been for a couple of “little things,” it might have died shortly after its birth. The formula for Coca-Cola was discovered in 1886 in Atlanta, Georgia, by a 50-year-old pharmacist named John Pemberton. He was fascinated by the soda fountain in his store and the large number of drinks it offered the customers. Because he was both creative and curious, he decided to develop a syrup that would be different and thirst-quenching. While working in the back room of his pharmacy, he combined a mixture of cola nut extract, sugar, caffeine, decocainized coca leaves and vegetable extract. To this day, the exact formula remains one of the most carefully-guarded secrets in the world. The drink was relatively popular, but a few months later an assistant served a customer Coca-Cola mixed with soda water. That little “fizz” was the “lucky touch” that caused an explosion in the popularity of the drink. However, there was one other factor involved. Pemberton’s partner, Frank Robinson, was the creative artistic talent that produced the elegant writing of the name Coca-Cola. That design is the one they’re still using today. “So what?” might be the question on your mind because you’ve “heard that story before.” Here’s the “what.” Is there a possibility that under your very eyes are simple “little things” that with a little tinkering could turn into something big? Is there a better, faster, cheaper way of doing a mundane task that would make a big difference? Could be. It certainly would behoove each of us to keep our eyes and our minds open to that possibility. Who knows – maybe if you put a little “fizz” in what you do you will find another Coca-Cola in your soda fountain. Think about it and I’ll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!"

False Limitations

We each suffer from some measure of FALSE LIMITATIONS! Here's a brief story I learned many years ago...

A young newlywed couple was preparing an Easter ham. As the wife cut the end off the ham, the husband asked, "Why do you cut the ends?" His bride responded with, "That's how my mom taught me!" Soon after, they were at the in-laws for dinner, when the brave young man asked his mother-in-law why she cuts the end off her hams. Mom replied, "I don't know! That's how my mother always did it!" Now they were all curious. So they called Grandma and asked her, to which she informed them that it was because her baking dish was too short!

What limitations do we impose upon ourselves? Have ever noticed that Circus Elephants are restrained by a small rope, which he would certainly be capable of breaking? Initially, as a baby, the elephant was bound with a heavy chain and unable to roam freely beyond that limitation. Thus trained and now grown, he does not even attempt to exceed his "limitations".

Examples abound of our limitations and overcoming them. When I was a preschool boy, nobody had ever sprinted faster than a four-minute mile. Scientists said it was physically impossible...until Roger Bannisted did it. Knowing that it WAS possible, many others soon broke his record!

Where could your life progress to if you could shed those false limitations?

Occupy Your Mind!

Considering all the social unrest present in our world today, here's a concept to consider...

We should support the concept of a Revolution. But let the revolution be a revolution of improving our hearts and our actions, to becoming more peaceful within ourselves! Imagine the effect on those around us if our thoughts and actions reflect positive growth! We must individually be the change we desire to see in our families, in our towns, state and nation!

Be a PACESETTER

By definition, a “pacesetter” is a person, group, or organization that is the most progressive or successful and serves as a model to be imitated. Each of us can become a Pacesetter! In the late '70s I became acquainted with a former Naval Aviator by the name of Hartman Rector, Jr. He shared some great advice on this process.
Let's add to the definition above...
*P.A.C.E. is an acronym for Positive Attitude Controls Everything!

Here are five principles on becoming a "PaceSetter"...

*Believe you can do it! This is the first important principle. All things are possible to them that believe. This principle also includes believing in yourself. Self-esteem is vitally important to successful performance. Self-esteem is different than conceit—conceit is the weirdest disease in the world. It makes everyone sick except the one who has it. It is immensely important that you feel good about yourself. I am sure that you can only feel good about yourself if you are on the way to reaching your potential.

*Perform positively! Eliminate all negative words and phrases from your vocabulary. Refuse to think negatively, for as a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). Refuse also to speak negatively. Now you have become an optimist rather than a pessimist. There is a big difference between an optimist and a pessimist—one is positive, a believer; the other is negative, a doubter. The optimist, as you probably know, is a person who, when he wears out his shoes, just figures he’s back on his feet. The pessimist says, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” The optimist says, “I’ll see it when I believe it.”

*Pray always, and be believing! Faith begins with belief. What man can conceive, he can achieve. Believe you can do it.

*Look to the Lord for your blessings! Some wise counsel share with me as I was growing up was...“There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated, and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated”

*Make the sacrifice! There is no such thing as “something for nothing”. This is where the concept of the "second mile" is applied! We do what's expected for the pay we receive (that's the First Mile). But to be a PaceSetter, we must exceed the expectations of those we serve! “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38.)

The Missing Point on Your Compass

Back in the '70s Paul J. Meyer, the founder of Success Motivation Institute asked particpants in one of his seminars, "Did you ever consider that you could have a map and a compass and still be hopelessly lost? " A map and compass are completely useless until you know that mising point on your compass - WHERE YOU PRESENTLY ARE NOW! That's why it is so important when writing out your goals and plans to appraise yourself honestly to determine exactly where you stand now.
* In relation to your income goals...where are you now?
* In relation to your physical and mental goals...where are you now?
* On relation to your social, family, and spiritual goals...where are you now?
A vitally important point of your compass - and a vitally impotant factor in your future achievements is WHERE YOU ARE NOW! Although over the intervening 50 years, electronic devices have changed the physical reference of the analogy, that 5th point on YOUR compass is still critical!

Why Do We Celebrate Thanksgiving?

How well do you know your history? Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. Can we begin to appreciate the sacrifices those men and women made to assure religious liberty for us and our posterity? While no record exists of the first Thanksgiving’s exact menu, much of what we know about what happened at the first Thanksgiving comes from Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow, who wrote: “Our harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a special manner rejoice together, after we had gathered the fruits of our labors; they four in one day killed as much fowl, as with a little help beside, served the Company almost a week, at which time amongst other Recreations, we exercised our Arms, many of the Indians coming amongst us, and amongst the rest their greatest king Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted, and they went out and killed five Deer, which they brought to the Plantation and bestowed on our Governor, and upon the Captain and others. And although it be not always so plentiful, as it was at this time with us, yet by the goodness of God, we are so far from want, that we often wish you partakers of our plenty."

Let the Voice of Love be Loudest.

Each and every mortal being (that includes all of us) hear and experience many voices trying to influence the the decisions we make, the paths we choose, even the friends we select. Those voices have names .....Anger, Hatred, Envy, Fear,LOVE! Philosophers,Prophets. Scripture, even Medical Science throughout time have encouraged us to LET THE VOICE OF LOVE BE THE LOUDEST! After writing the comment above, I located a video of a song of the same title!

Enough and to Spare!

There is a common philosophy among men that the resources of this world are in limited supply, and being depleted rapidly. Accepting this point of view, we must accept that for us to prosper we must take from the prosperity of others. God created this Earth and all things therein. Thus, we should be guided by scripture that tells us the Earth is full and there is enough and to spare. While we are expected to be proper stewards over our resources, not wasteful and abusive of what the Lord has provided, the resources do exist to accomplish anything you desire in righteousness, be it water, oil, gold, wealth, and more! Matthew 7:7-8 7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened unto you. We are guided through scripture, both ancient and modern, to ask and we will receive, to seek and we will find! That is a promise from a loving Heavenly Father. Anything we require to benefit His children, He will provide! In the creation of this Earth, Jehovah, and Michael did not use up all the building materials available. In addition to scripture, there are also many philosophical theories and practices supporting the concept of abundance known by such labels as the Law of Attraction, The Secret, etc. In my library are some excellent books on the topic, from the classic Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich, Robert G. Allen, Creating Wealth,, Kris Krohn, The Conscious Creator, and many more. Your needs or successes do not need to deplete the resources of another. There truly is Enough and to Spare. To get your dream career does not mean the loss of a position to anyone; to obtain your dream home does not require a family to lose theirs! To become wealthy does not demand someone else to lose their fortune. Fill your library with such treasures, and use them to put those treasures to use to fill your life! Life is a win-win activity. There will always be enough and to spare from the fullness of the Earth to accomplish much good....to become the answer to the prayers of others!

You Raise Me Up

I have always enjoyed this piece, as it brings an exciting perspective on our need for each other!

As a Man Thinketh

by James Allen (from the book, "As A Man Thinketh")

Dream lofty dreams and as you dream,
so shall you become.
Your vision is the promise
of what you shall one day be.
Your ideal,
is the prophecy
you will at last unveil.
The greatest achievement
was at first and for a time a dream.
The oak sleeps in the acorn,
the bird waits in the egg,
and in the highest vision of the soul,
a waking angel stirs.
For dreams,
are the seedlings of reality.
Your circumstances may be unpleasant,
but they shall not long remain so,
if you but perceive of an ideal
and strive to achieve it.
For you can not travel within
and stand still without...............................................