The True Power of Service
When cycling back to our flat from a certain meeting in Northern Ireland, my friend and I came across a car that was off the side of the road with a flat tire, and some very bewildered elderly women wondering what to do. My friend and I came to their rescue. We stopped, got off our bikes, and we performed just like a pit stop crew in a NASCAR race. We found the car jack, jacked up the car, took the flat tire off, put the spare tire on, let the car down, and it was all done in a minute flat! After putting the car jack away, we received a very kind “Thank you”, and we were off! Service opportunities are all around us. There is never a shortage.
When doing service for another person, you do not have time to think of yourself because, doing service will influence you to be selfless. You will feel good as you serve others because there is something deep down in your soul that is telling you that doing something for someone else is the right thing to do. That is what service is all about. Giving of yourself, and not expecting anything in return. One of the greatest kinds of service is serving someone without them even knowing that you are serving them. It is amazing how you feel while serving in that way.
There isn’t a right or a wrong way to serve those around you. Just serve with your heart, that is all that’s required. And as you serve with your heart, you will realize that your own burdens and worries are getting lighter. There are many, many ways to serve. You can listen to a friend who has had a hard day, or make dinner for someone, or fix someone’s car that’s not running right, or visit a friend who is sick. The opportunities are endless.
When going to school I would find ways to serve my siblings. I remember that my brother’s little Geo Metro wasn’t running, and we had suspected that the fuel pump wasn’t working. We towed the car to where I was going to school and there I put in a new fuel pump. The car started up and worked like a charm after that. Later, we towed my sister’s Chevy Lumina to the school where I replaced the fuel pump in it and drove the car home.
I remember when working at an oil lube shop, my dad had to go out of town for a few days, so I drove his pickup truck to work and changed the oil and the differential fluid in his truck. He was pleased that I had done that for him when he got home from the trip.
I remember coming home from school one day, and my dad had just cut a bunch of branches off of our Blue Spruce tree in the backyard. No one was home, so I thought that that was the best time to serve, so I changed my clothes, went to the farm and drove the two ton truck back to the house and loaded all the branches onto the truck, then drove it back to the farm, no one knew that I was doing that, it was great!
When I moved to a city that was 70 miles away, I found other opportunities to serve others. I would write meaningful poems for friends who were in need of a powerful message. They would always be so touched by the poems I would write.
I bought new rotors and brake pads for a friend and changed the brakes on her Jeep myself so she wouldn’t get further into debt. The expense was on me.
I went to the store and bought all the ingredients I needed to make my mom’s Chicken Noddle Soup for a dear friend who was sick, hoping that the Chicken Noddle Soup word help her feel better. It took all day to make that stuff!
I would send encouraging text messages to a friend who was going through a very difficult period in her life. I let her know that if there was anything that I could do for her that she could just call me and I would be there for her.
In the winter, I would scrape the ice off of the car windows for people every morning so that they wouldn’t have to stand out in the cold, scrapping off the windows themselves.
I saw a car out in the parking lot of my apartment complex with the passenger side mirror was broken off. It was hanging from the adjusting cable. I went to the store, bought what I needed to fix it, returned home and reattached the side mirror back onto the car. The owner of the vehicle had no idea that I was fixing her side mirror.
I worked on a friends bike to make it “road worthy”. I changed the brake pads, adjusted the brake cables and the gear shifters, straightened the seat and the handlebars, put air in the tires, and later replaced a broken cable housing. She was so grateful for what I had done.
I was the shoulder to cry on for a friend who was going through a very hard brake up. I held her as long as she needed me to as she just cried in my arms. It was a very difficult day for her.
A while go a friend left her bike at my house over the weekend. I could see that it needed some serious work done on it. So, I took some time out of my weekend and re-packed the bearings in the front hub, trued both the front and rear rims, bought new tubes and tires for both front and rear wheels, cleaned & lubricated the chain, peddles, and the rear hub. And tuned the front derailer. That required a lot of work, but it was a great service project that I could not pass up! It was her fault for leaving her bike at my house in the first place!
The list goes on and on! I have served to my heart’s content. I know that the service that I have rendered to others has touched their lives. It is incredible how doing service can open closed doors as well. People will open up to you if you go out of your way to serve them. So, if you want to increase your influence on other people, improve your life and others, or just feel good, then involve yourself in a service project.
Zig Ziglar once said, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want." You can change lives. So, go out of your way and look for those service opportunities and serve with your heart. Then you will realize the true power of service.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
The Warrior Within
The Warrior Within
Within each one of us lies a warrior. I am not talking about soldiers who go off and fight in international conflicts, but I am talking about what is within you specifically. You are a warrior. Some people may not realize what they have, who they are, what their dreams are because they have been listening to the negative opinions of others for way too long. People are entitled to their own opinion. People have their freedom of speech. But, you have your freedom to do whatever you want to do regardless of someone’s negative opinion concerning what you desire or what you dream about.
There are many, many, many examples out there in this great big world that we live in of people who have overcome trials, obstacles, struggles, challenges, tribulations, etc. People who were not afraid of other peoples’ opinions and lived their lives and lived their dreams.
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor and was told that “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He had to close down his animation company in 1921 and could not pay his rent anymore. In 1927 he was told by MGM that a giant mouse on the big screen would never work, and would terrify women. Look at where Disney is today. Disney Land, Disney World, hundreds of films from Disney’s humble beginnings with “Mickey Mouse” to their latest animations such as “Tangled” and “Frozen”. Not to mention their hundreds of motion pictures films. Disney also owns ABC, ESPN, now Lucas Films, and many television networks. Someone said that Walt Disney lacked imagination and didn’t have any good ideas. But, Walt Disney had great ideas. He did not let negative opinions get him down. He just followed his heart and lived his dreams.
Steven Spielberg got rejected from film school three times before attending another school just to drop out to become a film director. He did not let the rejections he received get to him. He directed many, many films, following his dreams. He eventually went back to school in 2002 and graduated with a Bachelors of Art. Education meant that much to him that although he made millions of dollars, he went back to school to get a degree.
Steve Jobs was fired from the very company that he founded. But, when he was able to come back to Apple, he created the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and the iPad. He said in a commencement speech in 2005, “I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."
Michael Jordan did not make it onto his high school basketball team. But, he didn’t let that stop him from playing. Now, after becoming one of the best basketball players of all time, he said, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Albert Einstein could not talk until he was four years old, and could not read until he was seven. His teachers and parents thought that he was mentally handicapped. He was expelled from school and was rejected by the Zurich Polytechnic School. He failed in math. But, he went on to win the Nobel Prize and changed our understanding of physics forever.
In his early years, Thomas Edison was told that he was “too stupid to learn anything” He was fired from the first two jobs that he had because he wasn’t productive enough. Concerning his many failures as he worked on the light-bulb, he said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
The list goes on and on. Look at your life in a positive light no matter how many negative opinions of other people lash out at you. You have the ability to accomplish great things just as those who have gone on before. All you have to do is go out there and do your absolute best. Believe in yourself, your dream, your desire, your passion, and press forward with a determined mind and a heart full of courage; never giving in to people who say, “You can’t do this” or “You can’t do that”. Never give up on your dreams. Never forfeit your desires to someone else’s critical remarks. You were born to win! You are a warrior!
Within each one of us lies a warrior. I am not talking about soldiers who go off and fight in international conflicts, but I am talking about what is within you specifically. You are a warrior. Some people may not realize what they have, who they are, what their dreams are because they have been listening to the negative opinions of others for way too long. People are entitled to their own opinion. People have their freedom of speech. But, you have your freedom to do whatever you want to do regardless of someone’s negative opinion concerning what you desire or what you dream about.
There are many, many, many examples out there in this great big world that we live in of people who have overcome trials, obstacles, struggles, challenges, tribulations, etc. People who were not afraid of other peoples’ opinions and lived their lives and lived their dreams.
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor and was told that “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He had to close down his animation company in 1921 and could not pay his rent anymore. In 1927 he was told by MGM that a giant mouse on the big screen would never work, and would terrify women. Look at where Disney is today. Disney Land, Disney World, hundreds of films from Disney’s humble beginnings with “Mickey Mouse” to their latest animations such as “Tangled” and “Frozen”. Not to mention their hundreds of motion pictures films. Disney also owns ABC, ESPN, now Lucas Films, and many television networks. Someone said that Walt Disney lacked imagination and didn’t have any good ideas. But, Walt Disney had great ideas. He did not let negative opinions get him down. He just followed his heart and lived his dreams.
Steven Spielberg got rejected from film school three times before attending another school just to drop out to become a film director. He did not let the rejections he received get to him. He directed many, many films, following his dreams. He eventually went back to school in 2002 and graduated with a Bachelors of Art. Education meant that much to him that although he made millions of dollars, he went back to school to get a degree.
Steve Jobs was fired from the very company that he founded. But, when he was able to come back to Apple, he created the iMac, iPod, iPhone, and the iPad. He said in a commencement speech in 2005, “I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life."
Michael Jordan did not make it onto his high school basketball team. But, he didn’t let that stop him from playing. Now, after becoming one of the best basketball players of all time, he said, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
Albert Einstein could not talk until he was four years old, and could not read until he was seven. His teachers and parents thought that he was mentally handicapped. He was expelled from school and was rejected by the Zurich Polytechnic School. He failed in math. But, he went on to win the Nobel Prize and changed our understanding of physics forever.
In his early years, Thomas Edison was told that he was “too stupid to learn anything” He was fired from the first two jobs that he had because he wasn’t productive enough. Concerning his many failures as he worked on the light-bulb, he said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
The list goes on and on. Look at your life in a positive light no matter how many negative opinions of other people lash out at you. You have the ability to accomplish great things just as those who have gone on before. All you have to do is go out there and do your absolute best. Believe in yourself, your dream, your desire, your passion, and press forward with a determined mind and a heart full of courage; never giving in to people who say, “You can’t do this” or “You can’t do that”. Never give up on your dreams. Never forfeit your desires to someone else’s critical remarks. You were born to win! You are a warrior!
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