Unleashing Your Force for Good

Another great article by Chris. Enjoy!!

by Chris Widener

I do not believe that there are bad people and good people. I believe that what we have are “people,” period. People then choose what they will be. People choose to do bad or do good. And we can’t fool ourselves: each person has the capacity for both.

On one hand, every person has within them the capacity for evil. G.K. Chesterton’s quote is certainly true: “Original Sin is the only philosophy empirically validated by 3500 years of human history.” Fortunately, most societies groom people with a sense of right and wrong and encourage people to respond to their own conscience so that most people live their lives self-restricting the bad things they are capable of. For those who don’t self-restrict, we have police and prisons.

On the other hand, everyone has the capacity to do great good as well. Every mind can dream of the possibilities that they can come up with to make life better for themselves and for others around them. Every person has the imprint of God and therefore the ability to do what is good, if they so choose.

So where do most people live their lives? I think most people live their lives in the middle. Most people do not live out the terrible things they are capable of. Instead, they cut ethical corners here and there. Nothing society would punish them greatly for but not as pure as the newly fallen snow either! The opposite is true as well. Most people do not live out the incredible goodness they are capable of. They will, of course, open doors for people and jump-start an old lady’s car when the battery goes dead in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but most people do not live their lives with the passionate and purposeful pursuit of goodness each and every day to live their lives. Thus, most people live not so bad, not so good lives.

But you are different! I know by the very fact that you subscribed to this Ezine that you want to be your best – and I want to help you be your best! I want to give you some thoughts that will stir your mind and heart to action. I want to give you some principles and strategies that will enable you to take your life to the next level. We live in uncertain times. The whole world is on edge and there are many wars being fought at any given time on this old earth of ours. People who choose goodness are so desperately needed!

Are you ready to take your life to the next level? Are you ready to unleash the force of good that you have within you? Then here we go!

Know your specific gifts and talent, you strengths and abilities.
Everyone has at least one and usually a few, specific talents and abilities that, if they were utilized on a regular basis, would produce for them the kind of life they would love to live as well as produce a tremendous amount of goodness in the immediate world around them. This is especially true if they surrender their gifts to be specifically used for good. Find your strengths and regularly use them.

Develop a vision of the good you can accomplish.
If you want to produce goodness, you must have in your mind what good would look like to you. Do you have a vision of what kind of good you would like to unleash upon the world around you? Do you know what good things you want to do, the good legacy you want to work for and leave behind? Get a vision for your goodness and put it to work!

Pursue your passions.
I believe that most of the time our passions tell us what we should probably be pursuing. This is not always true but generally so. Do you have a passion for helping the underprivileged? Then pour your energies into giving them your goodness in whatever form allows you to make a difference in their lives.

Develop a strategy and action plan to work on making your passions a reality.
If you don’t plan your unleashing, it will spill everywhere and may not be as powerful and effective as if you have a specific plan to focus your goodness into a specific area. The basic example would be light. Sure a bulb will give off light and be beneficial, but when that light is so focused it becomes a laser, then it can really be powerful. Don’t just say you will embody goodness, make a plan on where you will pour your good energies.

Be ruthless about living out of your priorities.
If we want to be effective, we have to know where we are going and then stick to the plan. We cannot let anything sidetrack us! You will want to, for example, volunteer one day a week to help underprivileged children learn to read. Great idea! But you won’t believe how many things will creep into your life that will want to be scheduled for that day. If you let them, they will bump your priority and destroy your unleashing of your goodness. Stick to your priorities!

Listen to your conscience.
The conscience is perhaps the greatest gift we have. It is a built in homing device that always keeps us pointed in the direction. Yet the conscience is also like a muscle in that it gets stringer when used (listened to) and weaker when not used (not listened to). If you are in a relatively good place, you conscience will tell you what is good. Listen to it and act upon it and it will help you unleash the goodness within you!

Develop and memorize a life mission statement that declares you intentions for good.
My personal mission statement is, “To use my speaking and writing gifts to help people and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives, and achieve their dreams.” Can you think up a life mission statement that will keep you on track? Sure you can – and you should.

You have a lot of good to give to this world. And this world needs it now more than ever. Decide today that you will unleash you goodness on the world around you. Some of you reading this have a lot of influence in the world around you and others don’t have as much, but we all have some and if we all unleash our goodness into the world around us, we will certainly make a difference!

Go get ‘em! Let them have all the goodness you can give them!

Ducks quack, Eagles soar

Not sure of the author, but still a great story!!


No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service is a choice. My friend Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this
point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped outand rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, Harvey read the card.

It said: Wally's Mission Statement:
"To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment."

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.'

Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'

Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.' And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.

Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called "You'll See It When You Believe It". Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining!

Differentiate yourself from your competition.

Don't be a duck. Be an eagle.

Ducks quack and complain.

Eagles soar above the crowd.'

'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle.

I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it.

Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like a duck and start soaring like an eagle. How about us?

A man reaps what he sows. Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap the deserved harvest, if we do not give up!

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

This is Good!

Great story by Phil Evans. Definately worth a read!! Enjoy!!

by Phil Evans, www.peoplestuff.com.au

The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation, the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!"

To which the king replied - "No, this is not good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake.

As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend.

"You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened." And so, I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."

"No," his friend replied, "This is good!"

"What do you mean, 'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

"If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you, and not here with you right now".

In a very unusual way, the message here unfolds into exposing the following principle about life.

"Absolutely everything happens for a purpose; and out of what seems like adversity at the time; always comes good".

I'm sure that if any of us care to reflect back on the tragedy's, the heartaches, the 'bad times' in our lives, that we discover that we have really grown or developed during that period of time, even though the reflection may still cause us discomfort in some way.

It is in this way that we slowly gather experience and wisdom, and even though we may think or feel that it is unfair, that's the way it is.

"This is good". Many of our life's experiences have saved us from some form of cannibals; it's just that we often don't know that they have at the time.

So, for a simple example to help with awareness: next time you may begin to feel you are being 'wronged' by being stuck in a traffic jam, think about the cannibals that could be lurking down the road a bit,but will be gone by the time you get there.

Now that's a bit different, but worth trying: "this is good" - despite the circumstances.

Remember: "What others do or say is their stuff; how we react, or not, is our stuff"!And: "True Happiness in life isn't having what you want, but wanting what you have"!

Great Story!

This is a great story. Not sure if it's true, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is the message and it doesn't get any better than this. Please read carefully and feel free to share with family and friends! Enjoy!!


"I arrived at the address where someone had requested a taxi. I honked but no one came out. I honked again, nothing. So I walked to the door and knocked. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated'.. 'Oh, you're such a good boy', she said.

When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, and then asked, 'Could you drive through downtown?' 'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly. 'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice'. I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued. 'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. 'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighbourhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now' We drove in silence to the address she had given me.

It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. 'How much do I owe you?' she asked, reaching into her purse. 'Nothing,' I said 'You have to make a living,' she answered. 'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. 'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.' I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.

Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.

What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID, BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL.

You won't get any big surprise in 10 days if you send this to ten people. But, you might help make the world a little kinder and more compassionate by sending it on.

Thank you, my friend... Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance".