What's your Dream?

When we were small children, we all had a dream of what we wanted to be when we grew up. For most of us, it was a pretty sure thing. "I'm going to be a fireman, a doctor, an astronaut or a baseball player." There was no, "Well, I might be a ...., or if things go right I'll be a ........., or I'd like to be a ......., but I doubt I'll ever make it." No. It was a done deal, a sure thing, a lock.

Where Did Those Dreams Go?

• You can say that you're grown up now and "Out Grown" those childish fantasies.


• You're just too darn busy with all the stuff that is life.


• Adults don't have "dreams". They set goals.


• Dreams don't come true, so why waste your valuable time on them.

All of the above statements are true....... if you allow them to be. Dreams don't need to be a complete fantasy like: "I want to be Donald Trump." or "I want to own Microsoft within 5 years." Dreams can be anything you want them to be. After all, it is your dream, not someone else's. It can be something small. It can be doing service work full-time. It could be to help change kids lives by working with under privledged kids. It could be helping to educate young single mothers on how to be a GREAT mother. Maybe you want to invent a product to help people stay in touch easier.

The following questions can help to clarify what your dream is or could be.

1. What do you enjoy the most?


2. If you had no limitations on where you could live, where would you live?


3. What one thing would bring you the most satisfaction if you were to accomplish it?

OK. What is keeping you from doing these things? Is it money? Is it time? Is it knowledge? It is a particular skill?

• Money can be earned.


• Time can be saved, re-organized, or prioritized.


• Knowledge can be learned.


• Skills can be acquired.

Take some time to reacquaint yourself with your dreams. Everyone should have a dream. Everyone can achieve their dream. Start by going to a quiet place and writing down what your dream is. You can then start planning to make it come true. Dreams DO COME TRUE! Don't let anyone tell you differently.

What ever your dream is, make it come true.

It's all about me... I mean you!

I saw an article on MSN a couple days ago about the latest generation being totally narcissistic, (self absorbed). It talked about how now we give our children "Princess parties", tell them they are "doing Great", their teachers try to make sure everyone "Feels good about Themselves". They interviewed a young lady who was in her twenties and her comment was something like, "Yea, I love myself. What's wrong with that?"

Well, I agree with her.

Nothing is wrong with that IF;

If that love of self is tempered with a LARGE PORTION of serving others.

We should tell our daughters they are princesses. We should tell our sons they can be the best ball player in the world if they want. We should encourage them, tell them we love them unconditionally, support them in every worthy endeavor they undertake, sacrifice some of our needs for them. We should help them to love themselves. These are all healthy things!

BUT,

They also need to be taught service to others. If we fail to teach them respect for others feeling, property, needs and beliefs, we end up with a society filled with spoiled rotten primadonnas, (Paris Hilton and Terrel Owens come to mind, along with most of Hollywood's actors and actresses).

If children are taught to serve others, they learn to be humble yet confident. They learn to love others and themselves. They learn that we feel the best about ourselves when we have been able to do something for someone else. They learn that it really isn't "All about me". It's all about me helping others.

There are opportunities for service everywhere; in the home, at school, at work, at your church. Especially now, with a lot of people having more needs than a couple years ago, you can find more opportunities to serve than you have time in the day. Every family member should have responsibilities at home, no matter how young or old. Sometimes it can be hard to get others, especially those teens, to look outside of themselves and see that service can be very satisfying and gratifying. One way is to do the service as a group; family, class, friends group, church group, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts.

If we teach service, we will love ourselves, but for all the right reasons and in the right way. Love yourself doing service for others and the world will be a better place because of YOU!

Playing for another Angels team now

You probably have heard the news about Nick Adenhart. The Los Angles Angels 22 yr. old pitcher who was killed by a drunk driver the night of April 8, 2009. It is a tragedy for a man as young as Nick, who had just made the Major Leagues in baseball, to have his life here on earth cut short.

Don't feel sorry for him though.

Nick Adenhart worked hard to get where he was, overcoming a career threatening injury, the surgery and then the physical therapy to get back. As he said after the game he pitched that night, "I feel like a Major Leaguer". His dad had come from Maryland to see him pitch and he pitched a gem, 6 scoreless innings before coming out of the game.

A Greater Tragedy

The young man who drove the vehicle that killed Nick was also 22 years old. He had a suspended license from previous DUI convictions, was over the legal limit when arrested and fled the accident scene leaving a companion in his vehicle who was injured. What a tragedy. This young man will most likely spend a significant portion of the rest of his life in prison. If you are a believer in an afterlife, then you can understand the eternal problems this young man has before him. What a wasted life.

It drives home the fact that we never know what the future holds for us. Nick I'm sure felt he was in complete control of his life and was on top of the world.

Whether you leave this world at 22 or 102, don't leave things undone!

Did you tell your kids, wife, husband, parents, special people that you loved them today?

Did you strive to do your best at whatever task, endeavor, job or project you were doing?

Did you feel good at the end of the day, that you accomplished everything you could?

When you leave this world, will the people at your funeral say that you lived life?

Or will they say it was a tragedy that you wasted your life?

Don't live an existence, LIVE LIFE!

Live like Nick Adenhart did. He accomplished much in his short life!

Life is a gift. You are special. You owe it to yourself to make your life the special life it was meant to be!

Baseball, Chevrolet & Apple Pie is America

Now wait, I know what you are saying! A-Rod and steriods, $200 to take the family to an average Major league game, players holding out because he feels dis-respected because the team ONLY offered him $45 million over 2 years. General Motors is asking for ANOTHER $20 BILLION just to keep afloat for the next 6 months.


Apple pie is still in pretty good shape.



I agree that taken in that context, America is looking more like the 98 lb. weakling on the beach than the muscle bound "HUNK" all the ladies are flocking to.


Baseball the sport is what I am referring to. More people attend and watch baseball games than any other sport in America. In what I consider one of the best documentaries ever made, (maybe I'm just a tad bit prejudiced because of my love of baseball), Ken Burns BASEBALL, the sportscaster Bob Costas makes the comment that baseball is the best sport ever invented because:

It is a true TEAM sport. It is the only sport where the superstar of the team

still bats only once every ninth time. He can only play one position of 9.

Every other sport can be completely dominated by 1 player.

The team can keep going back to him every play if they want to.

It takes a true team effort to excel in baseball.

That's where I think baseball and America are one in the same. America is a true team. We have such a diverse population, with more freedoms than anywhere else on the globe and yet we are the strongest country on the planet. We still lead the globe in any number of things. People still WANT to live in the United States. We are the largest philanthropic country in the world. When disasters strike anywhere in the world, who is usually the first there?

There was one baseball player in particular that I think embodied "The American Spirit".

John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil

Buck O'Neil was a player / manager in the Negro leagues before baseball integrated the sport. He is personally one of my favorite people, not just baseball players, (I never even saw him play), but people. He is a hero, not only to all African-Americans, but to thousands of people who had the good fortune to hear him speak. He was one of THE most positive people I have ever heard. When asked if he was bitter that he never got to play in the major leagues because of the prejudices in baseball at the time he played, he responded,"No. I'm not mad. I helped to pave the way for all those boys that followed. Jackie Robinson, Frank Robinson, Willie Mays, Roy Campenella. Yes Sir, I helped them. No, I'm not mad at all." Everything that came out of his mouth was positive, encouraging and never negative. Look him up on the internet or youtube. He is INSPIRING.

America is baseball and Buck O'Neil. America is still the country that I live and work in and am proud to say, "I'm an American!" Buck realized that even with all the things wrong in the America he lived in during the 40's and 50's, that it was still the best place to be. If he was asked today about our country and the problems we are experiencing, I think Buck would say, "Don't worry. We'll get through this and we'll be stronger and better because of it."

This is just another challenge for the greatest country in the world and like baseball, we'll get through this and be better for it.

R.I.P Buck. (Nov 13, 1911 - Oct 6, 2006)

Sunglasses on or off

"Whether your sunglasses are on or off, you only see the world you make."-Bonnie Raitt
This is a line in one of her songs, but it is somewhat profound.

What do you see?

Do you see a dark world like the one in the Spiderman movies? The last few movies of that series portray a very depressing city, with crime and filth everywhere and people almost without hope.
I'm not talking about the person looking for situations or individuals that they can uplift or help, I'm talking about the person who reads or watch's the news media and only see the bad things happening in their community. The majority of what is published as news is unfortunately negative, so it is easy to do.

Then there is the person like the line in a ZZ Top song.

"The future's so bright., I gotta wear shades!"

Boy, that's the one I want to be.

I noticed yesterdays news was slightly upbeat. And what happened today? The stock market goes up almost 400 points! What would happen if we had a regular dose of positive, upbeat stories? We might be seeing 10,000 soon in the Dow Jones.

So which world do you see?

I love quotes, so let me give you a couple of good ones;

"America was not built on fear.

America was built on courage,

on imagination and unbeatable

determination to do the job at hand."

Harry S. Truman

"Keep your eyes on the stars,

and your feet on the ground."

Theodore Roosevelt

"The future starts today, not tomorrow."

Pope John Paul II

I hope that your future is so bright, YOU GOTTA WEAR SHADES!

So....Feeling sorry for yourself?

What's to feel sorry for yourself?

• Your 401 K is now a 201 K?
• Spring baseball is here and the Dodgers still haven't been able to sign Manny Ramirez.
• The spin doctors are now telling us we are in a depression instead of a recession.
• Michael Phelps party ways cost him an estimated $60 million in endorsements.

There are a lot of things that we can control and even more that we can not control. If you spend your time concentrating, worrying and fretting over things you can't control, you will soon be helping your psychiatrist make his house payment.

"If you worry about what might be, and wonder what might have been, you will ignore what is."

Anonymous

I ride my bike several times a week as my schedule permits. On my ride this afternoon, I saw a man who I would guess was in his 50's, riding on the trail. He was moving along at a good pace, not burning up the trail, but not just a casual rider out for a scenic afternoon cruise. His bike looked normal except for one thing about it that was different.

It only had one pedal.

That's because this rider only had one leg. This guy is out doing what 95% of the population probably couldn't do with two healthy legs. I saw him later on the trail. He was probably doing at least a 20 mile loop. I pulled along side him and said, "Not to be patronizing, but you're an inspiration to most of us out here on the trail." He very humbly replied, "I'm just glad to be out here." No feeling sorry for anyone here!

I know I felt uplifted and grateful for what I have after seeing this special person. I don't his name and probably never will, but I started waving "Hi" to everyone I saw on the trail after that. Amazing how many people smiled and waved back. (Normally, riders on the trail just try to stay out of each others way and not run over the people walking.) It reminded me a little of the movie, Miracle on 34th Street, where "Kris Kringle" started a "I can help more than you can" revolution in New York around Christmas time by getting the big department stores to work together instead of against each other. It infected the whole city with a joy and friendliness and it started with one person. Now, I am not saying I'm Kris Kringle or that I am trying to start a "Friendliness" revolution. I am just saying that if you look for a little inspiration, you can find it almost anywhere.

There are a lot of people who are stressed out, worrying about everything. How far would a wave and a "Hi" go towards making them feel better. Maybe it would go nowhere. But maybe, it would uplift them a little and then they would wave to the next person they come to meet. I know this sounds REALLY SIMPLE! Maybe even simple minded. Maybe it is. Maybe I am.

SO WHAT!

I would much rather be called simple and a good, friendly person than be that "grumpy guy" that people want to avoid. What the heck do you have to lose? Do It Right Now! Make somebody feel good because you recognized them. If nothing else, you sure won't end up feeling sorry for yourself!

I'm just here to serve

I was in the local grocery store, (Albertson's), on saturday trying to track down chocolate chips. Not being real savey on grocery store logic in the layout of their stores, I walked around for about 5 minutes before I overcame my male ego. You know, the

"No Honey, I don't need to look at a map or ask directions syndrome.

So I walked to the deli section and asked the guy behind the counter where the chocolate chips were. I have been in the store enough to know he was the helpful kind. A gal who had a shopping cart and was talking to him said, "I'll show you." I said, "If you just tell me where they are, I'm sure I can find them." She sprinted off towards the middle of the store with me desperately trying to keep up. She took me right to them then said, "If I can help you find anything else, let me know." I realized she was an off duty employee of the store. OK. Now she gets an A+ for customer service. I already liked the store, but now I tell people about the store!

I'm in the service business industry and probably the biggest problem most service businesses face is; "How Do I Get My Employees To Act Like They Care?"

My answer to that question is;

they won't act like they care unless they do care!

OK. Then, the next question would be...... How do I get my employees to actually care.

1. Some of them won't, no matter what you do.



2. Some of them will, no matter what you do.



3. Some are motivated by money.



4. Some are motivated by recognition.



5. Some are motivated by opportunity.



6. Some are motivated by fear.
   

Number's 1 and 6 are probably not people you want working for you. Number 2 is a GREAT one to have. 3, 4 and 5 are what most people are that you will have to work with in your business.

So how do you find the 2 -5's? It's not that hard.

You gotta care yourself!

If you are lucky enough to find a 2 to work for you in your business and you don't care about that employee as a person, they won't stay too long. The old adage is true in this case; "They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I know that business training says,"don't get involved in your employees lives." It doesn't mean you need to spend every weekend with them, go to their kids soccer games or invite them over for the Super Bowl, but there are many ways to show you care without violating the manager / employee code.

• Take time to ask how they are.


• "Catch" them doing something right.


• Help them do "their" job once in a while.


• Praise in public, criticize in private.

If you care about your employees, you will build a culture of trust, integrity, honesty and loyalty with them. They will CARE about you and your business.