Lucky to See It Up Close

Marlin Perkins, long-time host of television’s “Wild Kingdom,” spent most of his life trying to put people on a first-name basis with animals. His wife Carol wanted to marry him so badly that she never let on that she did not fully share his passion for wildlife.

Soon after their marriage they went to central Africa. She tried valiantly not to complain during the long expedition, but one night she was exhausted. She said she wasn’t hungry and just wanted to go to bed. So she undressed and reached for her pillow, when out from underneath crawled a huge lizard that ran up her chest and down her arm.

Carol started to scream and couldn’t stop. She was so tired of being brave. Marlin came running, and after he saw that Carol wasn’t hurt, he put his arm around her and said, “Honey, think of how lucky you were to see him up close.”

I’m with Carol. I would find it difficult to appreciate the experience. But I still respect Marlin’s awe and enthusiasm for all things alive. He was able to marvel at the wonder of creatures and never lost his passion for animals. All living things, in their own way, were beautiful and splendid to this irrepressible lover of nature.

You may not choose to share your bed with a lizard, but do you find this world an exciting and wondrous place? Do you marvel at nature’s handiwork? Do you want to “see it up close”? Does a spectacular sunset, the smell of seawater, that first spring flower, or the soft fall of snow soothe your soul? In short, are you excited about life and this magnificent world in which we live?

One who stands in awe at the wonder of this world and universe is never without a sense of mystery. That amazing man Albert Einstein once said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” But only one is the way of joy.

--Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/Mauricio Ulloa

Fire In The Heart

The teacher quizzed her class: “He drove straight to his goal. He looked neither to the right nor to the left, but pressed forward, moved by a definite purpose. Neither friend nor foe could delay him, nor turn him from his course. All who crossed his path did so at their own peril. What would you call such a man?” A student replied, “A truck driver!” Let’s hope you don’t meet that truck driver on the highway. But I have noticed that those who possess even a fraction of that man’s passion often get where they want to go. The trick, of course, is to maintain enthusiasm. Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel got it right when he said:

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference. 

The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference. 

The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference. 

And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.

Nothing will kill a dream or douse the fire of a good idea more quickly than indifference. To whatever endeavor you commit yourself, be on guard primarily against that spirit-quenching attitude of apathy. “Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something,” says former Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton. “It’s our goal in life to find it and keep it lit.” What do you have a fire in your heart for? Most fires will go out if neglected - ask any camper who wakes up cold in the middle of the night. Our job in life is to discover the fire in our heart and to keep it burning. Feed it. Encourage it. Shelter it from those natural elements that threaten to extinguish it. In other words, find it and keep it lit. Who knows what can happen?

-- Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/Meighen

Love Life - and Let It Love You Back

A man had just taken his annual physical exam and was waiting for the doctor's initial report. After a few minutes the doctor came in with his charts in hand and said, "There's no reason why you can't live a completely normal life as long as you don't try to enjoy it."

One of the great keys to successful living is to ignore that doctor's recommendation and enjoy life as much as possible. Living well is difficult. Learn to enjoy it. Decide to be happy.

I once heard a story that you are sure to appreciate, even if you don’t know (or care) much about baseball. It occurred many years ago, back when Branch Rickey was managing the St. Louis Browns baseball team. The Browns happened to be playing against the Detroit Tigers and the immortal Ty Cobb came to bat with two outs and the bases empty in the last inning of a tie game. Cobb drew a base on balls. Once at first, Cobb took a risky lead. His daring, his pure desire to make the most of the moment, rattled the pitcher. The pick-off throw was wild and Cobb dashed. He made a defiant turn at second, forcing another wild throw, slid 10 feet into third and watched as the dazed third baseman muffed the catch. Cobb sprang to his feet and sped for home. By sheer adventure and skill he made what amounted to a home run out of a base on balls!

Ty Cobb’s Tigers won and the Browns lost as a result. But, Branch Rickey, the opposing manager, was thrilled. He had the privilege of witnessing Ty Cobb's irrepressible love of the game, a quality that set him apart from most other players. Rickey later commented, "If a player really loves this game, it'll love him back."

So it is with all of life. If I really want to love life, I must give it all I have. And if I give myself to it fully, I enjoy it more. If I try to truly live every moment and pay attention, if I laugh more and worry less, I find more joy -- even in the struggles. 

Henry Van Dyke said, "Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look at the stars."

Do you love life? After all, it’s giving you a chance to work and play and gaze at the stars. Be glad. Enjoy! Learn to love it...and let it love you back.

-- Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/John Britton

Touching the Sky

We don't always get the results we want. I read that a few years ago a Ukrainian businessman bought a pager for each member of his staff as a New Year's gift. He was returning from the store when the pagers caused him to wreck his car. Just as he was pulling up to his office, all 50 pagers on his back seat suddenly screeched. He was so frightened he let go of the steering wheel and the car plunged into a lamp post.

After he assessed the damage to his automobile, the businessman turned his attention to the message on the pagers. It read, "Congratulations on a successful purchase." The company's cheery greeting didn't create the customer satisfaction they were hoping for. But if nothing else, it proved something significant: folks notice your enthusiasm. And one way or another, they seem to respond to it.

A story is told about playwright and U.S. Ambassador to Italy Claire Booth Luce. She became a Roman Catholic late in life and, like many others converted to something new, she was zealous and vocal about her new faith.
   
A reporter once spotted her engrossed in deep conversation with the pope. He crept within earshot, all the while wondering what important issues the ambassador and the pope could be discussing. Finally, he was close enough to hear the pope say to Ms. Luce, “But I already am a Catholic!” You have to appreciate her passion. . . .

I'm drawn to people with passion -- people who live their lives fully and enthusiastically. As an insect is drawn to light, I am drawn to their energy and vitality. I actually FEEL alive around people who ARE alive. I want to be around them and hope that some of their verve for living just may rub off on me.

Maybe it's like the poet Rumi said: "Only from the heart can you touch the sky." I spend a lot of time living from the head. But when I go to that place where I feel my deepest enthusiasm and passion, I feel as if I can touch the sky. Anything might be possible. And the truth is that good ideas only go so far. It's people with passion that finally make a difference.

Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) had a good idea about a new kind of children's book -- one that contains lively illustrations, wacky characters and humorous writing. His enthusiasm led him to write a poem that became his first book. But it seemed that nobody wanted to publish it. Seuss was passionate about his writing, but he realized that an equal measure of enthusiasm and energy would be required if his book were ever to be published. He relentlessly peddled his children's book to over twenty publishers before one took a chance on him. Having a great idea was not enough; his passion made the difference.

Charles Goodyear spent every last dollar over five years filled with experiments to try and develop vulcanized rubber. He suffered extreme poverty during those years and was sustained only by his enthusiasm. He eventually succeeded, not because he had the good idea that durable rubber products may have some important uses, but because of the energy he put into his experiments. His good idea was not enough; his passion made the difference.

If I were able to give my children any gift to sustain them in life, I believe I might give them passion for what they do. For if they can live from the heart, they will surely touch the sky.

-- Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/Natalia Medd

A Child Within Us

It was an annual winter tradition. Every year we packed the children into our family car and spent the day at “The North Pole at Pikes Peak,” a year-round Christmas resort not far away. And each year they took turns on Santa’s lap while we snapped pictures.

This wasn’t any ordinary Santa, either. Maybe it was the real beard. Or maybe it was the twinkle in his eye when he talked to the kids. He came as close to the genuine Santa as anyone I can imagine. The kindly old man worked as Santa Claus at the resort all year round and, for our family at least, he was just about the real thing.

One year, after we finished with pictures, I said to him, “You must really love children.”

“Yes, I do,” he said. “And adults, too. Many adults want to sit with Santa for a picture!”

“Do you really have adults visit Santa?” I asked in amazement.

“Oh, yes,” he replied. “As a matter of fact, one day 14 of the first 20 people who came to visit Santa were adults. All of us have a child inside of us. It’s a terrible thing when you lose that.”

I think I know what he meant. Children are enthusiastic. They’ve not forgotten how to have fun. And they still feel awe and wonder and excitement.

“It’s a terrible thing when you lose that,” he said. I don’t think he meant that we are to be childish and immature - just childlike. There is a difference.

To be childlike is to be fun-loving and ready to get lost in the present. To be childlike is to be more innocent and trusting. Quicker to embrace life and love. To be childlike is to not yet be jaded by the world or too cynical about people. Those who are childlike laugh easily and often. They know there is plenty about this universe they may not understand, and that is okay. In fact, mystery is good. It fills them with awe.

My children eventually grew up and quit visiting Santa. A few years later I learned that he passed away. As it turns out, even an almost-real Santa doesn’t live forever. I had the honor of speaking at his funeral service and remembered him that day as a man who always kept his childlike sense of enthusiasm, love and joy. He was one of the youngest people I knew.

I only hope I’m that young when I’m that old.

-- Steve Goodier

Image: flickr.com/Phil Reed

Two Pounds of Enthusiasm

Anonymous. I’d like to meet that person sometime. Anonymous has come up with some of the funniest and pithiest expressions I have ever heard. And he (or is it she?) can also be so deeply profound at times.

Like these words from Anonymous about what enthusiasm can do for us:

“Indifference never wrote great works, nor thought out striking inventions, nor reared the solemn architecture that awes the soul, nor breathed sublime music, nor painted glorious pictures, nor undertook heroic philanthropies. All these grandeurs are born of enthusiasm, and are done heartily.”

I’m reminded of that great 18th century founder of Methodism, John Wesley. When asked how he drew such large crowds of people to hear him preach, he responded, “I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn!” People are drawn to enthusiasm.

Where there is no enthusiasm, there is no passion. Where there is no passion, there is no great living.

Are we meant simply to be satisfied with mediocre lives? From antiquity to the present, indifference has stolen from too many people the chance to do something important with their lives. Their indifference inspires little energy to pursue something truly worthwhile.

One woman went to the market and asked for two pounds of sausage. The clerk yelled at the butcher, “Two pounds of enthusiasm!”

“Why do you call it that?” the bewildered customer asked.

“Because he puts everything he’s got into it,” the clerk said.

In your daily activities; in your relationships with family, friends and colleagues; in anything you think is important -- what would happen if you “put everything you’ve got” into it?

Are you ready to find out?

-- Steve Goodier


Image: flickr.com/Simon Law

Unstoppable

When a group of two hundred executives were asked what makes a person successful, eighty percent listed enthusiasm as the most im­portant quality. More important than skill. More important than training. Even more important than experience.

Before water will produce enough steam to power an engine, it must boil. The steam engine won't move a train an inch until the steam gauge registers 212 degrees. Likewise, the person with­out enthusiasm is trying to move the machinery of life with lukewarm water. Only one thing will happen: that person will stall.

A. B. Zu Tavern asserts that en­thusiasm is electricity in the battery. It's the vigor in the air. It's the warmth in the fire. It's the breath in all things alive. Successful people are enthusi­as­tic about what they do. "Good work is never done in cold blood," he says, "heat is needed to forge any­thing. Every great achievement is the story of a flaming heart."

You may have all of the skill, training and experience you've ever need. Add enthusiasm to those assets and you will be truly unstoppable!

-- Steve Goodier

Image: freeimages.com/Jim Daly