Three Simple Words that Change Everything

How wonderful it would be if there were a simple formula for success. “Follow these steps and you will be successful in business, as a parent, as a student, in your vocation or in any endeavor you attempt.” Only if it were that easy.

I think of the man who was honored as “Businessperson of the Year.” At the presentation dinner, a newspaper reporter asked him, “To what do you owe your great success and prosperity?”

“Five things contributed to my success,” said the man. “First, I always treated people fairly. Second, I always offered a fair price. Third, I was always honest. Fourth, I was always generous to my employees. And fifth, my Aunt Edna died a few years back and left me two and a half million dollars.”

Certainly, the top four items on his list are well worth following - fairness, sound business principles, honesty and generosity. Each contributes toward success. And Aunt Edna’s infusion of money certainly helped. 

But there is one behavior that will almost always guarantee that we will succeed at most everything we do. And it is especially important if we want to build whole and happy lives.

Professor Richard Weaver, who taught at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, points us to that behavior. He sums it up in three simple words: “and then some.”

Most people do what is expected of them. But some do what is expected – and then some. They meet their obligations and responsibilities fairly – and then some. They are good friends to their friends – and then some. They build bridges; they mend fences - and then some. They can be counted on in an emergency – and then some. They are considerate and kind – and then some. They donate money, expertise and time - and then some.

There are many paths to getting what you want out of life and becoming the kind of person you want to be in life. But the surest way of succeeding is to remember those three words: and then some.

They are only three simple words, but they change everything.

-- Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/bernavazqueze

Two Simple, Little Words

Lecturer Charles Hobbs tells about a woman who lived in London over a century ago. She saved what little money she could working as a scullery maid and used it one evening to hear a great speaker of her day. His speech moved her deeply and she waited to visit with him afterward. “How fine it must be to have had the opportunities you have had in life,” she said.

“My dear lady,” he replied, “have you never received an opportunity?”

“No. I have never had a chance,” she said.

“What do you do?” the speaker asked.

She answered, “I peel onions and potatoes in my sister’s boarding house.”

“How long have you been doing this?” he pursued.

“Fifteen miserable years!”

“And where do you sit?” he continued. 

“Why, on the bottom step in the kitchen.” She looked puzzled.

“And where do you put your feet?”

“On the floor,” she answered, more puzzled. 

“What is the floor?”

“It is glazed brick.”

Then he said, “I will give you an assignment today. I want you to write me a letter about the bricks. Learn as much as you can about the bricks in your kitchen, then teach me.”

Against her protests about being a poor writer, he made her promise to complete the assignment.

The next day, as she sat down to peel onions, she gazed at the brick floor. That evening she pulled one loose, took it to a brick factory and asked the owner to explain to her how bricks were made.

Still not satisfied, she went to a library and found a book on bricks. She learned that 120 different kinds of brick and tile were being produced in England at the time. Now curious, she discovered how clay beds, which existed for millions of years, were formed. Her research captivated her imagination and she spent every spare moment learning more. She returned to the library night after night until she became something of an expert on bricks.

After months of study, she set out to write her letter as promised. She sent a 36-page document about English bricks and, to her surprise, she received a letter back. Enclosed was payment for her research. He had published her letter. And along with the money came a new assignment – this time he asked her to write about what she found underneath the brick.

For the first time in her life she could hardly wait to get back to the kitchen. She pulled up the brick and there was an ant. She held it in her hand and examined it.

That evening, she hurried back to the library to study ants. She learned that there were hundreds of different kinds of ants. Some were so small they could stand on the head of a pin; while others were so large one could feel the weight of them in one’s hand. She started her own ant colony and examined ants underneath a lens.

Several months later she wrote what she learned about ants in another long letter.  It, too, was eventually published. For the first time, she began to think that she might be able to do something different with her life. She was thrilled to discover that her future was not predetermined. And in time, the woman quit her kitchen job to take up writing.

Before she died, she had traveled to distant lands and had experienced more than she ever imagined possible. 

Two of the saddest words in the language are “if only.” If only I had a chance. If only I had the time. If only I had more education. If only I had connections. If only I had more money. If only things were different. If only...

And two of the most inspirational words are “I can.” I can try. I can learn. I can adjust. I can heal. I can change. I can grow. I  can do it.

Two simple, little words. Yet they can change a life.

--Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/Janice Staines

Be A Good One

Pablo Picasso, the great Spanish painter and sculptor, once said this about his ability: “My mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general; if you become a monk, you’ll end up as Pope.’ Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.” No lack of confidence here!

But he would have agreed with Abraham Lincoln. “Whatever you are,” said Lincoln, “be a good one.” He demonstrated the wisdom of that advice with his own life. 

And Martin Luther King, Jr. put it this way: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

I think it helps to remember that excellence is not a place at which we arrive so much as a way of traveling. To do and be our best is a habit among those who want to live well.

Viennese-born composer Frederick Loewe, whom we remember from his musical scores that include “My Fair Lady,” “Gigi” and “Camelot,” was not always famous. He studied piano with the great masters of Europe and achieved huge success as a musician and composer in his early years. But when he immigrated to the United States, he failed as a piano virtuoso. For a while he tried other types of work including prospecting for gold and boxing. But he never gave up his dream and continued to play piano and write music. 

During those lean years, he could not always afford to make payments on his piano. One day, bent over the keyboard, he heard nothing but the music that he played with such rare inspiration. When he finished and looked up, he was startled to find that he had an audience – three moving men who were seated on the floor.

They said nothing and made no movement toward the piano. Instead, they dug into their pockets, pooled together enough money for the payment, placed it on the piano and walked out, empty handed. Moved by the beauty of his music, these men recognized excellence and responded to it.

Whatever you are, be a good one. Because if you believe that what you do is of value, then, at least in the important things, you and I can’t afford to be content with mediocre output. Like Albert Einstein said: “We have to do the best we can. This is our sacred human responsibility.” 

And when you choose the path of excellence through this life, then like Frederick Loewe, you may find encouragement from unexpected sources. And it will have been worth it.

-- Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/Gil Garber/

Are You Ready for Results?

One woman tells that she worked as an assistant at a jewelry store. She often arranged for engaged couples to have their wedding bands engraved with something special -- the date they met or married, a sentimental phrase, their names or even their wedding vows. She once asked a bride-to-be what she would like inscribed inside her fiancé’s ring.

“We aren’t very romantic,” the young woman replied.  She added that they were marrying on her fiancé’s birthday so he wouldn’t forget the date.

“But isn’t there something you’ll want him to remember as he looks inside his ring?” the assistant wondered.

“There sure is,” she said. And that’s how “Put it back on!” came to be inscribed inside her husband’s ring.

Perhaps she was trying to help along her husband’s commitment to the relationship.

A woman named Catherine, from Scotland, may have wanted to help along her lover’s commitment to their relationship. For several decades actually. Finally, after 44 years of courtship, her 68-year-old boyfriend George proposed. Maybe he was waiting for a convenient time. Maybe he was waiting to get up the nerve. I don’t know.

Catherine, however, was more than understanding about waiting four decades for him to pop the question. “He is a bit shy, you know,” she said.

Author Ken Blanchard says this about commitment: “There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses - only results.”

Is there an area of your life that feels more like an interest than a commitment? Does it deserve more from you? You can be interested in a job, or you can be committed. You can be interested in a relationship, or you can be committed. Interest may get you a paycheck or someone to be with, but commitment can change things. Whether you are pursuing a project, following a dream, changing a habit or preparing for your future, can you get the results you want without commitment?

Maybe the real question is not about how committed you are, but rather -- are you ready for results? 

-- Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/Samuel Hearn

Four Important Questions

Image by Shai Barzilay

The airline pilot announced over the intercom, “Folks, I've got good news and bad news for you. The bad news is...we’re lost. The good news is...we’re making great time!”

It’s too easy to live our lives like that, isn't it? Making great time, but not sure if we’re heading in the right direction. 

Susan Ertz provocatively said, “Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon.” The problem is...they know they would like to accomplish something important with their lives or to somehow make a difference. But when it comes to making the journey toward those destinations, they feel stuck. In short, they are lost.

Author and speaker Danny Cox, in his book Seize The Day, tells of a man who made a great success of his life in spite of tremendous hardships. The moment that ultimately turned this man’s life around was when he sat down and asked himself four important questions:     

1. What do I really want? He didn’t want to just sleepwalk through life, nor look back someday and feel regret.
2. What will it cost? In time, money and commitment.
3. Am I willing to pay the price?    
4. When is the best time to start paying the price?

It occurs to me that one of these questions is the most difficult: What do you really want? You will need to spend enough time deciding on your answer. But once you figure it out, the other questions will be easy.

ANSWER these four questions and you will get clear on the direction you want to take your life. COMMIT to these answers and you’ll make great time.

-- Steve Goodier

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Turtle's Can't Fly

A determined little turtle once climbed a tree. He somehow made it to the first branch. Then he jumped into the air waving his front legs and crashed to the ground.

After a while he slowly climbed the tree again. And again he jumped. This time he flapped all four of his limbs, but still plummeted to the hard ground.

The persistent turtle tried again and again with the same results. A couple of birds perched on a branch nearby watched his futile efforts. One of them turned to her mate and said, "Dear, don’t you think it's time to tell him he's adopted?"

There are simply some things we cannot do. Turtles can’t fly.

Comedian Bob Hope once thought of pursuing a career in boxing. Later in life he quipped about it: “I ruined my hands in the ring” he said. “The referee kept stepping on them.”

Fighting is something he could not do well. But he became a great comedian.

Lots of people have ability and talent. And most people have an idea about what they think they can do. So why do some excel but many do not?

The famous American caricaturist Al Hirschfield explained it like this: “I believe everybody is creative and everybody is talented,” he said. “I just don't think that everybody is disciplined. I think that’s a rare commodity.”

The secret seems to be discipline. Whatever ability we are born with is not enough. Even raw talent requires discipline to be nurtured and developed. But enough hard work and discipline can turn the most meager skill or ability into a great strength.

A man jumped into a taxi cab in New York and asked the driver, "How do I get to Yankee stadium?"

The cabbie replied, "Practice! Practice! Practice!"

He’s right. And although discipline and practice may never get a turtle to actually fly, it will probably get you and me just about wherever we want to go.

-- Steve Goodier


Image: flickr.com/Rob

A Dream That Will Catch Your Heart

That all-too-quotable Yogi Berra once said, "If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else." (I think that happened to me once.)

But even if you know where you want to end up, do you REALLY WANT to be there? I'm not talking about traveling now, but where we're going with our lives. Is the dream you are following really that important to you?

Most people are not lazy. They simply have uninspiring goals. They don't accomplish what they set out to do because they lose interest. The dream they are following is simply not that important to them.

But then I think of Dennis Oehler. He ran the 100-meter dash in 11.73 seconds. Record-holder Maurice Greene ran it in 9.79 seconds, almost two seconds faster. So what's the big deal? Maurice Greene has two legs. Dennis Oehler has one. One leg -- and a huge dream.

The truth is -- we are always highly motivated when something means a great deal to us. If I fell into a deep lake and I didn't know how to swim, I would become highly motivated in an instant. Climbing from the lake would mean more to me than anything else in the world. My effort would be no less than astounding and I would suddenly become one of the most excited and enthusiastic persons imaginable.

And that goes for anything that is truly important to us. If we want something badly enough, we will find necessary energy, excitement and drive to grasp it.

Writer Tim Redmond says this about following worthwhile dreams: "There are many things that will catch my eye, but there are only a few that catch my heart...it is those I consider to pursue."

Is your dream big enough -- important enough -- to catch your heart?

-- Steve Goodier