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.

If you're coastin', You're goin' downhill

This is a quote from a friend of mine. It is one of my favorite quotes and it is SO TRUE! The road is long, but we can't ever stop learning, growing, serving and loving.

Sometimes in life, you feel like all you want is to find a place to be able to "Coast" for a while, but this hectic pace that we all move at will not let us. You can slow down a little; maybe not climb that hill at 100%, but at 50% instead. You can pace yourself so you don't wear out before the finish, but you can't stop pedaling. If you have a family, especially a young family, you know that you are always climbing a hill. When you are climbing a hill and you stop pedaling, you fall over!

That is easier said than done. It takes hours of conditioning for a cyclist to be able to climb those steep, long hills. It is the same with us in life. You don't just wake up one day and "Poof", you're a great; father, mother, manager, employee, friend, or person. Anything is this life worth having or being takes effort and planning.

Start with some goals.

You can start with some small goals that are short term so you can reach them quickly. When you can see you are progressing and moving forward, even if it is small steps, it is positive. When you reach those goals, you can then set some new goals that are harder to reach and farther out.

Soon you will find that you are making some REAL PROGRESS. The people that are able to accomplish great things, are people who set real, meaningful goals.

Take time to set some goals. Do It Right Now! Start pedaling and stop coastin'. You are too important to waste time going downhill.

Why Walk When You Can Fly?

I'm sure you've heard the saying,

"Why be grounded with the chickens when you could be flying with the eagles?"

OK. Well why are we still pecking the ground with our eyes always looking down like the chickens in the pen. We have all been endowed with GREATNESS. We have been born to do amazing things. The circumstances we have been born into, the obstacles placed before us, the handicaps given us and the opportunities missed are not the reason we are not soaring with eagles. They may slow us down, make us work harder, make us learn more, and make us use more of our resources to get there, but we will get there if we truly want to.

One way to greatness I've found is Heroes. Everyone should have heroes.

As little children, we have heroes. We were not afraid to tell anyone who would listen. "I'm going to be just like Michael Jordan when I grow up." As we grow, we are less and less likely to tell people about our heroes. Maybe it's because we are embarassed about being "childish" or maybe our heroes change and it wouldn't be "cool" to say that my hero is my Dad.

Well, no matter what age we are, we NEED heroes!

Let me tell you about a few of my heroes:

Dale Murphy, former major league baseball player. "Murph" played for the Atlanta Braves most of his career. He was a 2 time MVP in the National league. He played in a number of All Star games, won multiple Golden Glove awards, was elected Sports Illustrated's Man of the Year and was very active in the communities he lived in. This is only part of why Murph is one of my heroes. Murphy retired from baseball after hitting 398 home runs. When he retired, almost without exception, everyone with 400 or more HR's had been elected to the baseball Hall of Fame. He retired to spend more time with his family. His wife and children, (all 8 of them), were more important than the individual honor of the HOF. He was also known as a gentleman, a sportsman, a man of integrity and a man of faith. I call that a hero.

My Parents, Del & Beth Wallace. Not people that the world would call heros, but I was always proud of being their son. I was taught values, respect and a work ethic from them. They not only taught these values, but they live them. My brothers, my sister and I were taught the value of not just working, but also of having fun. Trips to Mexico, family vacations to relatives houses and of course, you have to throw in the trip to Disneyland.

My Dad was a person, that if he decided to do something, you could consider it Done! He put his full energy into whatever he was passionant about. Running marathons, family, scuba diving, whatever subject he wanted to learn about or be the best at. He did it.

He passed away of cancer in 2000, but the way he faced the thing that most of us dread, was inspirational to me. His memorial service was amazing to me. I didn't know he even knew that many people. You never realize how many other lives you touch during your on life. Even an "Ordinary Joe" like my Dad. I call that a hero.

Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. President Hickley spent most of his years in full-time church service and spent the last 12 years of his life as the Prophet of the LDS Church. The man was always so positive that even if he was speaking of something church members were doing or needed to do better, you always felt uplifted after listening to him speak. He was a model of what we should all be. Some one who served selflessly, loved his family, worked hard at everything he did and loved the Lord. He was a hero.

So Who Is Your Hero?

Everyone needs a hero. If you don't have a hero, find someone who has the qualities you desire and then emulate those qualities. Use your hero as a goal to work towards. There are heroes all around us. Your hero doesn't need to be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Your hero could be right there in front of you.

Find your hero!

Do It Right Now.

Why walk when you can fly? - Mary Chapin Carpenter from the Stones in the Road CD.

That's Why I'm Here

I've always felt that one of the reasons we are all here is to help each other to grow. I know that sounds very simplistic and corny.

OK, I'll give you that.

So is being patriotic, believing in God, telling people you believe in Jesus Christ, having an "old fashion" work ethic, believing that we live in the greatest country in the world and believing that all people are basically good. This blog is more an exercise of trying to put into the cyberworld my thoughts of what makes us all good people, what can help us to be better people and thoughts in general of this state we call life on earth.


It is easy to give in to all the people saying negative things, all the horrible things people do to each other for the sake of money, all the innocent children hurt because they happened to be born to a parent or parents who don't know how to deal with a child and the wars people fight because one side doesn't believe the same thing as the other side. It seems we are bombarded constantly with negativity.

Don't Believe it!

There are so many good people everywhere. Good is all around you. You notice the guy who cut you off on the freeway. Did you notice the 10 others that slowed down to let you change lanes, or didn't honk at you when you inadvertently strayed into their lane?

You want to see courage, go visit the pediatric cancer ward at the hospital. You'll leave saddened for the kids, but uplifted by their spirits. What courage!

Visit the Randy Pausch video. He's "The Last Lecture" guy. Wow! Following is a link to it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8577255250907450469

I'm into cycling and Lance Armstrong is a hero for me.

The man overcame serious cancer to become arguably the greatest cyclist in history. At least the greatest of our generation.

Not into positive thinking genre, goggle Brian Regan, the comedian. He in a riot. He is also clean, makes fun of life in a way that you feel great after watching one of his videos.

Life is great!

Look for the great in life. You'll find it. It is all around you. As you look for it and realize how great life is, you will help others to see how great life is. What a fantastic circle to start! Do It Right Now!

P.S. "That's Why I'M Here" is a great James Taylor song from his greatest hits, vol 2. Check it out.