Friend Sanford Berenberg writes a daily message and today I just had to forward it.  I find his observation and conclusions on the “Miraculous News” of yesterday are insightful and useful.  Why?  Well don’t we all find ourselves at times enduring tedious training…or asking others too.  Enjoy Sanfords words….

Yesterday I saw and read in the news about the airliner which lost both of its engines to a bird strike shortly after takeoff and had to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River. You sure don’t hear too many stories like that, thankfully.

Everyone on the airplane survived, and the airplane itself is still relatively intact, and according to this morning’s new report, is still floating on the Hudson River. The New Yorker’s reading this may want to get some pictures.

It seems miraculous that after take off, and with no engines, the pilot was able to crash land with no loss of life and minimal injury to everyone onboard. We often hear of similar crashes and expect there to be a total or near total loss of life.

How did this happen? From news reports, it was the quick thinking response of the crew with the help of the control tower. It was as if this were an exercise for which they had some form of training for.

Wait a minute. Very few airplanes crash, so few that most pilots will never experience anything like this during their entire careers. In fact, they are more likely to be injured driving home in their car after a day’s work. So why train for something that may never happen? There appear to be more logical things to train for, which the pilots will encounter more often. Because we never know what may happen to us, in whatever we do. Having some form of training, and thus experience, in handing oddball and difficult situations gives us resources to pull on to handle these difficult situations.

Training for the unknown is often jeered at or written off as something unwarranted or unnecessary, especially during tough economic times.

As we see today, training for critical situations like this has saved the lives of everyone on that airplane.

Practice makes perfect, practicing what to do in times of crisis can give you the tools to make a No-Win situation come out miraculously well. While there are no guarantees, I would rather have more tools in my tool kit than less.

Practice for the unexpected and maybe you may see a miraculous outcome.

Enjoy!

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://www.berenberg.net/

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

502-533-9336

PS: If you know others who may enjoy this message of the day, please pass this message on or invite them to receive them themselves by sending a request to me. If you wish to stop receiving these, please also let me know. Thank you!!!

PSS (kirk Here…  And none of this is to say that yesterday’s crash wasn’t miraculous and wonderful)

I have yet to see any problem, however complicated, which, when you looked at it in the right way, did not become still more complicated. - Poul Anderson

In every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong; honor that; try to imitate it, and your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes.   — John Ruskin (1819-1900) English Art Critic

Yesterday’s T4D “Sacred Shared Treasure” elicited some absolutely wonderful responses - 3 of which are posted on the Blog in the comments section.   Since many of you recieve the e-mailed version of blog and don’t see the comments, I really wanted to share this response with you.

AW writes:

When I was 19, and without sharing too many details, I was kicked out of my parent’s abusive home.   At the time, I had twin 8 year old brothers that witnessed the embarrassingly volatile argument that led to me getting kicked out. As I tearfully put my suitcase in the car, JL, the quiet, thoughtful, reserved twin, ran out to the driveway with his favorite war-torn teddy bear in hand.

As he wrapped his arms around my legs, he said, “Here Sissy. You can have Fuzzy. You’ll need him to watch you.”

19 years later, I still have that little bear, not too worse for the wear. It has since been passed down to my little 16-month old boy, who was named after that sweet uncle of his. I’ll never forget the generous, childlike sacrifice that my baby brother made, in an effort to help comfort his hurting sister.

It’s a quality that I work to instill in my son today. When he offers me a slobbery graham cracker in his baby-ish efforts to share, I accept it and make it a point to say thank you to his generosity, even if it grosses me out. I share my food or magazines or books and am attempting to help him learn thank you and please.

I don’t think it’s ever too early to set an example of generosity, nor is it too early to set an example of a gracious receiver. A few years from now, I hope to find my son giving something personally valuable, to another in need…just like his uncle did with me.

 Here is the Fuzzy of all those years ago with new baby of the author AW

With permission I share with you the following short e-mail I recieved from Andy Oconner.   I believe a thougtful reading will easily reveal an opportunity to substitute leader for parent and co-worker or team member for child.  Enjoy…

Kirk,

I just wanted to share something with you because I think that these simple acts I’m about to describe let us know that things can be right in this world and these points are incredibly significant:

1) Parents are incredibly important to their children, no matter how difficult it is, we’ve got to do our part,

2) the kindness, thoughtfulness and genuine, untarnished, unjaded love that a child shows can teach us so much, and

3) what would seem to many such a simple gesture, can teach us more than we know.

This morning as my wife and I were nearly out the door for work, and running late as is often the case, our nine year old daughter, Kennedy, is in her room working on some secret project.  I call down the stairs to tell her goodbye and that I love her and I receive a, “just wait Dad, I need give you something“. 

Mind you, we’re already running late, my wife is scrambling to find the right shoes and my first thought is that I really don’t have time for this right now.  I wait anyway and she proudly walks up the stairs holding Pooh, who coincidentally has a note tied around his neck that reads, ‘I love you Dad.”‘  She hands him to me and tells me that he can sit at my desk and take care of me today, and honestly, I nearly melt right there. 

Why is this a big deal?  Some history on this Pooh bear would reveal that she’s had it basically her whole life and Pooh is never too far away from her at night, no matter where she goes or we go, he is, in almost every instance, along for the ride.  We go to Wisconsin Dells to the water park, Pooh goes with; we go to Disney World, Pooh flies along, and the list goes on and on as to the places Pooh has been and seen.  Pooh is a constant in her life and one the few things that she looks for when she needs some solace or a piece of home if she feels lonely. 

I felt so proud, I felt touched and I think I even felt a bit small…we too often find it so hard to give of ourselves or to let go of possessions and here, she has freely given an item that provides her a sense of security, in search of providing someone else that same security.  And what does she do for an encore?  Before I can pull the truck out of the garage, she delivers a cookie to each of us and tells us to have a good day.  Wow!  Through all the challenges of parenting, it is so rewarding to enjoy moments like this, to reinforce the hope that you’re doing the right things and that they’ll hold on to that heart of gold, along with their principles, as the world attempts to rip it away. 

So…I’d classify today as a good day, have a good one Kirk!

Let go of something and share yourself more fully with those around you… make it a GOOD DAY>  Said another way… “Share your POOH” 

Kirk Out

Andy O’Connor

IN response to last weeks “T4D” piece about being brutally honest “Thought 4 the Day” subscriber Ron Hawkins shares these 2 great quotes with us.

“People who are brutally honest get more satisfaction out of the brutality than out of the honesty.” – Peter F. Drucker  

“Today I bent the truth to be kind, and I have no regret, for I am far surer of what is kind than I am of what is true.” – Robert Brault

Rebecca and I were talking this morning about an article she had read recently about how many people use the guise of honesty to deliver hateful and hurtful messages to others.  Rebecca went on to say something that is today’s ”T4D … 

Many people hide their vicious attacks behind the guise of “just being honest”.   Don’t be one of those people, and don’t allow yourself to be a victim to those that do.  ~ Rebecca Weisler

Make it a great weekend!!

 Kirk 

I thought this was brilliantly concise … and such a great play on the words “worth  & less”… 

“I was worthless, until I decided to be worth more.”  ~ Kim Jeffery

Become worth more…. you are worth the investment…or you will be soon!  :) 

Kirk out

It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him.  ~– John Steinbeck (1902-1968)

I marvel at the simple truth of this statement and my heart is filled with gratitude for those in my life who expected greatness from me.  The tragedy is that in my own life there were so few who did, …and the greater tragedy still is that in the lives of far too many there is no one at all.

Hello friends and welcome to the new year of 2009!  Good times, Bad times and uncertain times ahead.  While so many speak with certainty about the uncertainty of our world economy, and of our recession / depression and all that goes with it… I find myself thinking of a very brief but significant interview I had 2 years ago with a young teenaged girl whose nametag read Diamond.  

It was the first week of January in 2007 she waited on me and my family at the local movie theater.  She appeared to not be too happy or engaged in her work…at least in no way that I could detect. Her eyes seemed devoid of spirit and life, her countenance devoid of emotion.  After several failed attempts to engage her in some meaningful or uplifting banter.  I had just about concluded she was determined to be miserable and there was nothing to be done about it.

But not quite ready to admit defeat and believing that if I get her to smile it would be a beautiful thing… I made one final attempt asking her this question?  ”Diamond, are you excited about the new year ahead?”

Her tragic and limiting response still rings in my ears today… ”Well it couldn’t be any worse than last year.”  

“Oh Diamond”, I pleaded, “Don’t say that …or at least don’t say it that way… instead say, MY YEAR WILL GET BETTER AS I DO.”

She looked at me suspiciously and asked, “What are you a motivational speaker or something?”

“Just say it.” I repeated, ignoring her question.

With an exaggerated sigh and roll of her eyes, she capitulated and said, “My year will get better if I do.”

“Not, if I do”, I corrected, “but AS I DO”.

With the slight beginnings of a smile at my persistence Diamond said, “My year will get better as I do.”

“Now doesn’t that feel better I asked? ” Then without waiting for a reply I continued…  ”Diamond…. Our lives follow our language.  What we say influences what we see and ultimately what will be, and what we’ll be and what we’ll become. So it’s important to speak powerfully and positively about ourselves, our lives and especially our future.” 

She appeared to be listening, so I continued… “and if you think about it Diamond…how could your year get better if you didn’t?  It always starts with us…and as you get better, the world around you has to respond to that “BETTER YOU” and so the responses become better, your relationships become better, your opportunities become better…. Truly whether it be a single year or your whole life.. the principle is the same….it only gets better as we do.  

Diamond listened and then said with a growing smile, “I like it, I am going to make it my motto for the year”.  I then watched her as she repeated the phrase several times while she completed our order of refreshments.  As I paid her and thanked her… she said, “And Thank You too!”

But the real thank you came as our family walked out of the theater and feeling eyes upon me I looked across the large lobby towards the concessions stand where through the waiting lines of people I saw the bright sparkling eyes and full beautiful smile of a girl named Diamond.   As she gave me quick wave and a look of pure gratitude and I felt like my year had just gotten better - because I had been able to help remind someone of a simple but undisputable truth…

That life can only get better if we do.  

Let’s make 2009 our best year yet…by setting our goals to become our best selves yet…

I look forward to our journey together…. Let’s join Diamond in her quest… a better year, a better life… begins with a better you.   I commit to share and send “Thought 4 the Day” messages to help encourage and inspire us on our way.

2009… I’m excited, I’m delighted…. LET’S GO - Let’s GROW!

Kirk Out