Tag: Do Good

Take Our Next Step

As we walk through life, our goal should be to pick up what we need and desire to help us grow. The trick is not to pick up everything. We must choose between our desires, our wishes, and our destinies.

Like a holiday feast where we want to try everything and often eat more than we can handle, our desires in life often outreach our abilities.  We need to control our passion for projects and things.  We need to pick and choose through what we find to have the time and energy to be our best at what we strive to accomplish.

To be our best, we need to be ready to compete.

As you work and plan, what will be the outstanding achievement you will offer the world?

Working New Methods

I am now building three courses on Thinkific where I am designing them and, eventually, on Udemy.  This time I have changed how I’m doing things a little bit. This time I am listening to the experts and using their advice.

I have tried this in the past and have not gotten very far. I can’t blame those who offered me suggestions, only myself, for not following the excellent information I had received. This time is different; I will pay attention, be a good student, and hopefully succeed.

I am dedicating a whole month to doing this. With the advice of the professionals, diligent planning, and executing specific courses to provide specific help, we will hopefully end with positive growth in students.

If you have ever been so excited to do something that you ignore the professionals and jumped right in, how did that turn out?

Better For All

Before today’s blog, I would like to say that our hearts go out to those people in Alabama who were hit by such a devastating tornado last night. The devastation was truly heart-wrenching, and our thoughts and prayers are with you today.

When you live in a society, you agree to some common rules and certain amenities which makes life easier for everyone. These rules are important, not because they’re meant to keep everyone in line, instead because they allow for a safer, more friendly, and more enjoyable home setting.

Most of these rules are not written down and have little means of enforcement. Yet, they fall under the heading of doing the right thing. Think of it is do for your neighbor the way you would want them to do for you.

What are some of these rules? Well, it depends and changes a little from area to area. Small things, like if you going to walk around the house naked and people can see in, draw the curtains. If you’re going to throw a beer bash and leave cans all over the yard, at least let the neighborhood kids come in to pick up the empty cans and reclaim them for a little cash. Okay, so I’m a little facetious here.

If you keep your trash cans off the street when it’s not trash day, the neighborhood looks a little bit better. If you mow your lawn once in a while, the front yard looks a little bit better. Throw little water on, and it is better yet. A few flowers always make the place look better, and there’s nothing that tastes better than fruits or vegetables that you grew yourself.

Whether I really know them or not, I always wave and say hi to a neighbor when we happen to be outside together either getting into or out of our cars. Or if we are both out working on the lawn. It is more than being over friendly or annoying, it is forming a bond in which we start to know and watch out for each other. I look at it as being human.

In these days of driving everywhere, an overabundance of electronic devices, and little human interaction, it is vital to stay connected with others. Part of that is saying hello to other humans you meet on the street. I even say hello to puppy dogs and kitty cats. Showing a friendly side just leads to many positive things. You are seen as somebody who can be kind. Someone who cares. And you do a needed service to all those out there who may have only had one positive interaction all day. That was when you smiled and nodded at them or said hello.

Am I just talking about this or do I put actions where the heart is? After a day of snow yesterday, I was up at 6 o’clock this morning to go out and shovel the walk. Not so that I could talk about it here, instead because if the school a block down the street was open this morning, I did not want to have children or parents having to hike through the snow on my sidewalks. This is just one of those ‘right things’ to do.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

Care For One Another

There is a time we come to realize that we are human. And as such, we need to take care of ourselves. As we grow in life our bodies age and with this aging comes the need to take better care of both ourselves and those around us.

We find the time comes when we cannot do strictly for ourselves. And we have to count on a partner (wife, spouse, significant other, or friend) to do things with us and eventually, for us. It is the dedication of two people to each other and/or extended family which helps each of us to go further and accomplish more.

We need to be kind and caring to others. Because as we age, our marriage, friendship, partnerships, all serve to help us in our later years. Just we as we are part of the team to help others in their later years.

You can see that I have not called these times the golden years. If they are much like my years lately, rust would be a better descriptor. Yet, please remember even Rust doesn’t mean you’re down and out. Rust just says you have a little extra work to do to keep the chassis running.

I know that my alter ego is the mean old Master Sergeant. Please remember the job of a mean old master sergeant is genuinely to be of service to others and to help those others grow and do better. It is not something ordered by rules and regulations. The tasking of service to others actually stems from the heart.

Take care of your family, your friends, all those you care about and even more for those who care about you. You may find your work coming back to you filled to the brim, shaken down, and overflowing.

Thank you for being with me today. I hope to be with you again tomorrow.

 

 

 

My Present

I hope you’re enjoying your holiday season. I hope the season has been kind to you. I personally know how holiday seasons can put anyone at odds with themselves. We are made to feel we need to do more than we can, spend more than we are able, and often extend ourselves to the point of breaking. And yet, it does not have to be and should not be that way.

I have promised myself this year to change my ways. Rather than spending a lot of money, I have tried to add something which I have spent time designing or making. It was not the big thing that I did this year, yet it said something personal that I had made with the belief that the person I was giving it to would enjoy it. Is it working out? I do not know. I still have some homemade gifts which I am still working to complete. These gifts will probably have to be delivered by the three wise men.

What did you give yourself this year? We often give to everyone else, and usually, do not consider anything for ourselves. I have broken with my usual tradition by giving myself a wonderful gift. Some people may feel that it is cheap, or flimsy, or made up. I believe that my present will turn out to be one of the best things I have ever received. My Christmas present to myself is a better me.

No one can give a present like that and just walk away. Much work is involved in making a gift like this valuable. First, I have to give myself permission to be genuine, to be me. That means rather than trying to be different things to other people, I am first true to myself and my beliefs. Therefore, the first question I ask when starting action is, “Is this who I am?”

The next questions I ask whenever I consider an action or a change is,” How will this help myself and others to be better?” And I also ask, “ Whom will these actions help or harm?” I believe that these are excellent questions to consider as we get ready to make changes in operations or directions.

There are some more questions I ask, and some more actions that I have to take before deciding. You may want to ask if this slows me down? How much more time does this add to my day? Does this make me feel better, or just send me on a constant guilt trip? I can’t tell you the answers yet. I just received this present, and I will have to work with it and report back to you.

I will report back to you from time to time. If you work with or intend on trying something like this, please let us know how you are doing with your present. And if you are attempting something like this, please don’t be too hard on yourself. After all, we are only human.

Thanks for being with me today. I hope to be with you again soon.

 

 

 

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