Timely Wisdom
You are important! You are capable of much more than you may realize. In these challenging times we all need to do our part. We are still dealing with COVID. The Federal Government announced the U.S. inflation rate climbed again in January to 7.5% and stayed at a 40-year high. No surprise to most people who have bought food or gasoline lately. Violent crime is up around the country. Global emissions are still increasing. Russia may invade Ukraine. These are just a few of the problems we face. All are solvable.
We beat the high inflation of the 1970s. New York and other cities have reduced crime in the past. In Pittsburgh where I grew up a clear blue sky was rare. Snow turned black quickly. I swam in orange creeks. The environment in the USA is now the cleanest of my life. The Soviet Union fell apart and the Berlin Wall was torn down in the 1980s. The USA has overcome countless diseases. It took Americans working together. Sometimes we need a little guidance and encouragement.
Last weekend was our tax time clean out. We went through files trashed what wasn’t needed from last year and made sure we had everything needed for filing income taxes. We also went through papers and magazines cluttering the office. Our trash pickup folks probably weren’t happy with us because of all of the bags we filled. Old magazines can get heavy.
During the cleanout process I always find buried or forgotten gems like photos, old articles, vacation or other memories. I discovered my journal from 2005-2006. It had a few pages labeled Keepers from NSA (National Speakers Association) 2006 Convention in Orlando, FL. I was doing some public speaking and decided I needed to learn from experts what it took to be an expert who speaks professionally.
I learned a lot in an NSA seminar presented by Nedo Qubein, successful businessman, author, professional speaker and then new President of High Point University, a position he still holds today. You may find it and other information helpful. The information I’m sharing has stood the test of time and created a lot of success.
Nido told us, who we will become is based in a large part on who we hang out with. He said,
“If you want to be rich, hang out with rich people.” “If you want to be smart, hang out with smart people.” “If you want to be successful, hang out with successful people.” He said we can also learn from those who aren’t successful by not repeating their mistakes. Nido encouraged us to always “Give with a loving heart. Give your time, your talents and your money.” Then added, “I can’t explain it dear friends. When I give with a loving heart without expecting anything in return I always receive more of what I gave.” It’s not about cars and houses. It’s about touching lives. Dr. Qubein is a good person to hang out with. He has increased undergraduate and graduate enrollment over 200% at High Point University, attracted over $500M in philanthropic investments and increased campus acreage by 449%.
I learned the importance of having written goals in the 1980s. At the 2006 NSA Convention, in one of the sessions we were told to write down 100 things we wanted to accomplish before we die. I only made it as far as 22 items. To date 60% have been achieved. These were all stretch goals at the time like writing a second book. (In 2006 the first book was still just an idea.) We are now working on book #5. Overseas travel was a goal. In 2018 we traveled and spoke in Tokyo.
Being part of a State Championship soccer team was on my list. Our first State Championship happened in 2009, three years later. There are relationship and family goals on the list that have been achieved. This isn’t about me. It is about the power of having written goals, now an annual process for us. We are all a work in progress. Some goals take longer than others. It is important to continue to work toward our goals.
After writing down our goals we were told to make a list of our many gifts and talents with the help of people who know us. This was important to help to create the belief we were capable of achieving our goals. Others can see talents and abilities we sometimes overlook or are not aware we have.
Other time proven notes from the journal learned from others;
∫ Passion is critical for success. Find your passion if you have lost it.
∫ Have an attitude of gratitude. Start each day being grateful for your many blessings. It creates a positive attitude of abundance.
∫ Act! Do something with your talents and all your knowledge to make the world better.
∫ We can’t do it alone. Learn to build and be part of an effective team. It’s not about what is wrong or what went wrong. Don’t blame people or circumstances. On high performance teams everyone takes responsibility for the result good or bad.
∫ Taking risk is essential for success. Have courage.
∫ Know what is most important in your life. Take care of it first. People come before things.
∫ Learn to be an effective communicator. If you expect people to remember your message use stories. Most people can remember one or more Bible stories and they happened thousands of years ago.
∫ If you expect your business to succeed marketing and sales is essential.
∫ Be a leader.
You are unique. The world needs you and your gifts. Your family and friends need you. Every problem we face has a solution.
We just haven’t discovered it or implemented it. Decide to become part of a positive solution that helps people. Together we can do anything. Thoughts to ponder.