Monday, March 26, 2012

Winnies Wisdom

Have you ever had that dreaded feeling of racing out of the house when suddenly you're grabbed by the thought that your keys aren't on you?


You go back in panic and start frantically opening and closing drawers throwing socks and jewelry everywhere only to accomplish losing five more things you'll look for that evening.


What do you do when you can't find what you're looking for?


I am more of the frantic type of searcher, but some of you may be the meticulous searcher who lifts one paper or book at a time and marks each off until you eliminate all other options. Others of you may be the thinking type who will stand still and play the entire day through your head to pin point whatever it is you're seeking.


Whatever your method, one thing we all share is that when we are looking for something we want to find it as soon as possible. Another phenomenon we may have all experienced is the irony of finding all the other precious items we looked for in the past while conducting our current search. Not that you mind finding all the other stuff, but this time you're looking the keys you need NOW!


Before I go on with this thought, if you watched the special "A House on Pooh's Corner,"  you might remember the scene in which Pooh, Piglet and Rabbit are lost in the Hundred Acres Woods looking for home and keep circling back to pit? After three rounds Pooh tries to convince Rabbit that since they keep finding the pit when searching for home, they should search for the pit and they might find home.


That was the scene I was watching when I finally figured out the key to finding something you're looking for: LOOK FOR SOMETHING ELSE!


When I was selling insurance I was looking for ways to make me successful and add to my bottom line. I had no luck- I kept circling to a pit of financial turmoil. Through the encouragement of friends around me, whom I saw looking to benefit the needs of others, I was able to make a change. I sought to give to people, seeking nothing back. I went from wanting to sell a life insurance policy to making people improvement my policy. Some six months later I had a multiple thousand dollar in sales month. I couldn't believe it, I was able to pay my employer half of the debt that I owed.


I didn't make it in the insurance business, but the relationships I found in seeking to help people- aided in my finding better relationships that bridged a gap to a better career.


I learned an important lesson: the vanity of continually looking to meet your own need can lead to a lot of frustration. However, seeking to help other people can take your mind of your own self fish pursuits long enough to find it right under nose.


Best wishes in finding what you're looking for.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Speaking or Leaking

Have you ever experienced water damage on good furniture, or walked into a flood in your own bathroom or kitchen only to find that one of the pipes was leaking?

I experienced that within the last couple days, only it was in my van. My wife had noticed that the carpet on the front passenger's side was soaked in water, but the windows weren't down and it hadn't even been raining. This puzzled us.

I eventually had to start disassembling the interior of the van, pulling up the carpet to find out from where the water was coming. Turns out an interior hose related to the AC system running along the floorboard had a leak. What a MESS!!! The underlayment was drenched. I wrung out nearly a half a gallon of water.

I can tend to love water at one moment and hate it at the next. When it's downloading from the shower head to run dirt off my back and hands I love it. When it's flowing from a fountain to extinguish my thirst, I adore it. When it's being used to wash dishes I'm so cool with it (as long as I'm not the one who washing). However, when water is leaking, I can't stand it. It's damaging. It stains rather than cleans, it annoys rather than refreshes, it creates work rather than aids the work. Can you relate?

That’s the vast difference between a stream of water turned on for a purpose and channeled to specific location to serve a task, and water being dumped just because an opening was found in its path.

I can't help but draw the comparison between water and our words. When spoken intentionally and directed at the right audience at the right time, words can refresh, heal, and edify. However, when we carelessly let thoughtless words fall out of our mouth just because there is a hole underneath our nose we can create a lot of damage.

I’ve been known for sticking my foot in my mouth and sometimes I wish that it would just stay there to clog up the leak. I've learned the hard way that many times it's better to say nothing than to speak just for the sake of it. I want to be speaking not leaking. I wish the same for you.

Use your words to channel a positive energy into the lives of people. Let it not cause floods and damage that only needs to be cleaned up later.
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I would love to hear your comments.