For Those Who Want to Write

 For Those Who Want to Write

I'm writing a novel. The idea has been in my mind for nineteen years.  I've attempted to write this novel three other times and never got beyond four or five thousand words each time.

This time is different - better.

Here's what I've learned on this writing journey this time around. Oh, by the way. I'm not finished writing it. But wanted to rush these thoughts out for now.

~I started on January 1, 2024 in earnest to write my novel again. I hooked onto an idea that was a good 'hook' this time that had escaped me before. My title stayed the same. My main character stayed the same. My location stayed the same for the most part.

~What changed? My mindset. One night, late, I was writing and it hit me. I am god (little g) of these pages. I can write anything, do anything to my characters I want. Even death. Once I realized that, it was like a lightbulb turned on and the lid was taken off.

~I also realized that persistence in writing is critical. I work a 40-hour week, and write two blogs each week plus produce at least one podcast and a video podcast every week. And I still find time to write almost every night. I say 'almost' because I give myself permission to take a night off when needed. Yes, permission. I listen to my body, and when the body says 'rest', that's what it gets.

~Since we writers are gods of our writing, we control the destiny of all we create. I killed off a minor character in my book this week. She had outlived her usefulness and I needed to keep the action in my chosen location.

~I took a writing retreat break recently: Thursday - Sunday. What a marvelous retreat that was. My goodness. To have a huge block of hours of concentrated writing time was a real gift to myself. 

It was just me, my laptop and a few groceries at a friend's condo at the Peake of the Snoqualmie Mountains just out of Seattle. There was no one else along. I set no agenda. I wrote and took standing breaks as needed, I napped as needed, and then wrote some more. For two of those mornings I was up by 6:30 and writing shortly after that. And two of those nights I wrote until 11PM or later.

~I had a goal to accomplish for this four-day retreat. I was well into my second story in this book and felt it was time to bring it home. My goal was to finish this particular story. And I met it Sunday morning around 10:30. That felt great.

~I'm the kind of writer who has the idea of where the story is going to go and then I let it come out. I don't outline and stick to that script. I was amazed and surprised more than once in the twists and turns my story took, and in some of the characters that came forth. Toward the end I introduced a 10-yr-old street kid named Ze that I'm going to bring back in another story. He's a keeper. He was also a surprise.

Here's what I proved to myself.

~I have good ideas.

~I have the discipline to attempt a retreat like this and stick to my agenda of writing, writing, writing.

~My characters became real in some unusual ways. They took on traits, personalities, speech mannerisms and behaviors that were unique to each one. I love that. I told my wife before I went on this retreat that these characters were becoming friends.

~~ Thanks for reading this article. It's not for everyone, and if any writers or wanna-be-writers read it, my wish is that it will help unlock and inspire you to keep writing.

Success to all you word-smiths out there.

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Who Are You Becomming?

 Who Are You Becoming?

See this picture quote?

I know for sure what we 

dwell on is who we become

I happen to believe this. I’m living proof – past and present.

I talked of being a writer for over thirty years. And that is pretty much all it was – talk. Oh, I published my first article at age 28 and got paid $22 for it. But I didn’t buy into me being a writer.

Later, in other jobs, I wrote a lot of stuff – video scripts, marketing brochures, you know the drill, and yet never adopted the label ‘writer’.

Ah, but in 2009 I started taking my writing urge seriously and began my first blog. Even then, the fear of not having enough content to sustain a weekly blog plagued me. Mystery of mysteries, I kept finding subjects that needed my touch, my perspective. And now, fourteen years later I own six blog sites.

And ... I have published five books. After publishing my first book, I finally found the courage to call myself a ‘writer’.

In my earlier adult life, I attracted images of myself that were less than esteeming. As time wore on, I’m afraid I dwelt on those negative, harsh words and phrases that others had attached to me, and I began believing some of them.

The worst of all was this ... “You’re an accident looking for a place to happen.”

I’m glad many of you didn’t know me in those days. Even though those words were spoken to me almost fifty years ago, I believed a bit of that idea, and thus it affected my self-esteem, self-worth, self-confidence, and my ability to perform on a consistent basis in life.

You see, the principle of “Whatever a man thinks in his heart (mind, soul and inner being), so is he” was at play, only I was tuned into the negative images and words. Wise sages, ancient philosophers, and men and women of learning have taught us for years about the importance of good and wholesome thoughts and how we should direct our attention to those ideals and lay off the negative, put-down language that tends to run free-will though our minds in constant stream mode.

This is a hard lesson to grasp. And those negative thoughts and ideas that we allow to live rent-free in our minds are hard to corral sometimes.

But corral them we must! We must take charge of our minds when in neutral, or when discouraged, or disappointed, or after a major loss of some kind.

It is a conditioning of the mind of which I speak. WE are the masters of our own minds. Others may say those awful words of hurt, however, we are the door keeper of our own minds. WE decide if we will allow them to run free or do we arrest them sooner than soon?

There are many excellent words and phrases that disciplined people find useful. Here are some of them.

I can.
I will.
I like myself.
I approve of myself.
I am capable.
I am better than that.
I may be down but I’m not out.
If I fall seven times, I’ll stand up eight.

What are you listening to in your mind?
Can you see the importance of changing those loop-to-loop soundtracks to different, more positive words and phrases?

I so strongly believe in the power of words that my company name is Up-Words. I say – I will speak Up-Words to every person I meet. I will look for the good in others and compliment those good traits on every occasion in which I am able.

I remember a story Dale Carnegie wrote in his book "How to Win Friends and Influence People."
One day he walked by a man standing outside his office building. The gentleman was holding a sign begging for a handout of any kind.

Rather than give the man money, Mr. Carnegie looked him over and finally commented, “My goodness. You surely have tied your shoelaces nice and neat."

Mr. Carnegie thought no more of that incident.

The next morning Mr. Carnegie's secretary announced that a gentleman was there to see him. Dale showed the gentleman into his office, who was dressed in his Sunday best, wearing a fresh shirt and tie and shined shoes. And his hair was neatly combed and his face cleanly shaved.

The man began. "Perhaps you don't remember me but yesterday I was standing outside your office building begging for money. You walked by, looked me over, and then commented on how nicely my shoelaces were tied. You wouldn't have known this, but I had already decided that I was going to go and throw myself into the river unless I got some kind of sign that somebody somewhere might still care about me."

He continued.

"Your words gave me hope. I reasoned that if I could do that one thing of tying my shoelaces neatly then perhaps, I could still find other things I could do with success. I decided then and there that I would clean up and make something useful of myself. You gave me hope in those few words, Mr. Carnegie. Thank you."

My favorite quote on the power of words.

“Never underestimate the power

of the right words spoken at the right time.”

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

One Word at a Time!

How Far Have You Come?

 How Far Have You Come?

We’re all on the road again, aren’t we? Some of us occasionally have flat tires, we lose our transmissions, our motors give out, we run out of gas, we get dented, bruised, and need a paint job. It’s all a part of the journey we are all on.

And if you think I’m writing about an actual road trip, then keep reading.

Here’s the basis for today’s thoughts.

You Didn't Come This 

Far to Only Come

This Far!

I latched onto the parable of the servants in the Bible story who were given differing amounts of talent.

You know this, perhaps.

One was given 5 talents. He turned those into 10 talents.
One was given 2 talents. He turned those into 4 talent.
One was given 1 talent. He buried his in the ground and it was lost. No growth, no production, no future possibilities.

The moral of the story is to take what you have been dealt and make the best use of it and multiply its value.

Expand your enterprise. Grow.
Become more.
Do more with what you have.

Of course, setbacks will happen. We will get knocked off the horse a time or two. Surgeries will pop up. Illnesses will happen. And twenty or thirty other hurdles will pop up on our path.

And we keep going anyway.

We keep moving. We keep taking our pills. We keep going to the gym. We keep eating better. We keep listening to great information. We keep reading superb books.

WE GET BETTER.

The quote above challenges me.

"I didn’t come this far to come this far!"

Heck no!

There are times when issues arise, medical circumstances happen, job losses slap us down, and perhaps we think “Well, I’ve come a long way. Maybe this is where I get off.”

I don’t think so.

If you have a measure of talent, if you care, if you dream, if you have a goal and a mission in life, then you go a bit further. You reach back for a bit more strength, a bit more creativity, and a bit more will to do something more.

~Oh, we may move slower than before the attack happened.
~We may not be able to do the broad jump anymore.
~We may not sing a high C again.
~We may get our sticks tangled up and drop one or both occasionally, but we play and sing and move at whatever pace we can NOW move and play and sing.

If you can no longer speak, write.
If you can no longer sing, hum, or teach, or enjoy the music.

We find ways to continue using our talents and gifts.

I still want to write the blog heard around the world.
I still want to write more books, and especially finish my novel, for I feel it has redemptive power. (This probably makes no sense to you unless we’ve engaged in conversation about my book. It is still my little secret, and yet someday I will present it to the world.)

I don’t bother counting my talents these days. I just find ways to use them. That is the great joy in life at this age and time.

So, I’ll repeat our premise.

We didn’t come this far to only come this far!

Can you go a little farther?

P MiCHAEL BIGGS

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

You Can Bounce and Not Break

 You Can Bounce and Not Break

It’s such a simple thought, isn’t it? It almost doesn’t need to be written on, and yet we need to remember this great concept.

Rejection teaches us 

that we can bounce 

and not break!

I love that idea.
I know this to be true. And you do too.

Everybody gets rejected.
Everybody loses out at some point. 

Everybody gets defeated sometimes.

Ever been divorced?
Ever been in bankruptcy? 

Ever had open-heart surgery?

Ever had an amputation?
Ever lost in love?
Ever had a foreclosure or a repossession?

Here’s the thing.

All the bad stuff I mentioned above, and there is a lot more that could be added to this list, all of that stuff is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it could, perhaps, be the beginning for a different take on life or on any of those circumstances listed.

WE CAN BOUNCE AND NOT BREAK!!!

We should take out an ad in every newspaper in the world, yes – the world, and proclaim this from every mountaintop.

This I’ve said in many blogs, and yet it needs saying again and again.

Failure Is Not Final!

~We walk away from failure, (or hardship or sickness or defeat.) ~We overcome failure, (or hardship or sickness or defeat.)
~We bounce back from failure, (or hardship or sickness or defeat.) 

~We learn from failure, (or hardship or sickness or defeat.)

Failure is not the end. Oh no. It is a teacher. It is a hard lesson in life that we take to heart.

Yes, we must grieve our failures. We must take time to process, and reflect, and wonder and ponder and do all that other stuff a smart person does after a failure.

And then we move on. WE MOVE ON!

Is your mindset that of an overcomer? Do you want to bounce, or do you want to break into thousands of tiny pieces?

I say – Let’s Bounce.

Rebuild.
Reinvent yourself, your dream, your one thing that is always on your mind.

Do you remember what Muhammad Ali once said? 

You don’t lose if you get knocked down.

You lose if you stay down.

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Discovering Silence

 Discovering Silence

I am a drummer. Drums are loud, not silent except perhaps in the opening few bars Ravel’s Bolero. That is almost silence.

Music has been my life all my life. There are splashes of silence throughout most musical compositions in the form of rests, but they are fleeting seconds at best.

So, what is the meaning of discovering “silence”?

In moments of trauma, of distress, of my world being upset and knocked off balance – these are times when I’ve discovered silence. There is peace and comfort in silence, if one can truly embrace that soundless oasis. And it is not for the faint of heart.

In moments of personal crisis and in peaceful seasons of calm and bliss, I’ve found myself longing for silence, desperately needing silence. Isn’t that odd of a drummer? Sound and noise are what drumming is all about.

Ah, but those moments of silence.

As I age, I find my need for silence growing with intensity. The peace and calm of silence is what I seek.  No noise, no sounds, not even Dvorak’s New World Symphony.  I simply need silence.

Silence allows us to hear the unheard, the silent voices, the whispers from a bigger, wiser source to seep through to our souls and minds. Some call this meditation, and that’s good. Some call it tuning into a higher power, and that’s good. Some call it the calm in the middle of the storm, and if that metaphor works for you then that’s good.

The world is a noisy place. Multitudes of musical tastes can be had from numerous sources if one chooses. Traffic is thick and loud in our larger cities. Jets zoom overhead, car horns blare, babies cry, dogs bark, balloons pop, doors slam, people interrupt, dishes get banged, our electronic gadgets put out an abundance of sound. Carolyn and I fall asleep to the sound of a machine that produces “white noises’, and it's all good. This “white noise” is supposed to mask my snoring, and any other sounds that seep in through our windows and walls in the night.

I suppose that is a form of discovering silence through steady sound. How ironic is that!

Ah, but the healing power of silence is magical. When we reach those moments of peaceful bliss in silent retreat, well, that is a slice of Heaven.

These silent and still moments don’t come easy, AND we make them happen. It is an on-purpose kind of experience that is sought, not bought.

We decide to have a moment in time of silence, a break from noise, and intrusions into our bombarded senses.

My friend Mitch often seeks his silent moments in nature. On Facebook, I often travel with him to some amazing, gorgeous landscapes and mountain vistas that our Pacific Northwest has to offer.

I’ve often driven to Sunset Avenue here in Edmonds just to sit and watch and listen. The Puget Sound has its own rhythm of the tides coming and going, and the Seagulls gliding and riding the currents in majestic quietness. All of this is a great source of peace and beauty.

The radio stays off. The windows are rolled up. The walkers and runners and bikers pass by with not a sound that interrupts my moment of bliss. I’ve even known moments of sleep or dozing in the middle of all this beauty. How about that? Isn’t that a perfect picture of discovering silence?

And what do I hear in the middle of these moments of silence? Oh, there is nothing audible that I come away with. But what it does for my soul and my psyche is immeasurable. Sometimes I have viewed my Sunset Avenue times as being in a ‘Sorting Hat’ machine. The ‘Sorting Hat’ comes from the Harry Potter movies and is used to place new students into one of four houses in which to live. I have been able to sort thoughts, problems, health issues and ways to allow my body to heal. I listen for the gentle nudging’s of what I call “God” in my moments of silence. And I’ve retreated into silence when writing so that I can touch a deeper part of my soul and instincts that bring to light an occasional idea in need of expansion.

Silence works for me. I often come away from these moments with a renewed energy, some new thoughts, and new and improved desires with which to serve Carolyn, my family and mankind.

I love my moments of discovering silence.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Anything Can Be

 

Anything Can Be

Shel Silverstein just rings my bell sometimes. In his whimsical, often silly ways, he brings home a truth that is simple and astounding. Such as this one.

“Listen to the musin’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. 

Listen to the shouldn’ts 

The impossibles, the won’ts. 

Listen to the never haves, Then listen close to me ... 

Anything can happen, Child. Anything can be.”

For years, too many to count, I was told I shouldn’t buy a circular saw. They said, “Why, you’ll cut your foot off.” I bought one, used it successfully for a bunch of years, and never cut off my foot. The fact is, I discovered a real love for woodworking and still have a bookcase that I made in the ninth grade.

Once, I was told while looking at a reel-to-reel tape recorder to “Leave that thing alone, boy. You don’t know nothing about machinery.”  

I owned two different reel-to-reel machines, learned to operate a dozen other recording-type machines, and now produce my own podcast using a Mac Air and iMovie. I learned you see.

What do you want to be? It could happen, you know. If you have the aptitude for it, and the desire, and a will to learn. “Anything can be”, as Shel Silverstein said.

There is one thing, though, that I’ll never be. I’ll never be a ballet dancer. First – I don’t want to be one, and second, I don’t have the physical body size and muscle strength to become a ballet dancer.

But look at what I do want to do. I want to keep writing encouraging and hope-filled blogs and books and continue producing my podcasts along the same lines. I have been doing that, and I have a strong desire to do that, and it appears I have some skill in doing those crafts.

Want to know what the best part of all of these wants and desires that reside inside each of us? We don’t need a permit. We don’t need a license in most cases. We just do it.

This short line from The Treasure of Sierra Madre speaks my point very well.

“Badges? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges.”

You don’t have to wait for the phone to ring, the talent agent to call, or for your invitation to arrive in the mail. You just “screw your courage to the sticking place” (thank you Beauty and the Beast) and do it.

YOU DON’T NEED A PERMIT!

Some unknown person said this:

Do not wait for the perfect time and place

to enter, for you are already onstage.”

Find your spot and belt out your lines. We’ll listen, and perhaps applaud, and buy your books or music or widget.

Be courageous. Do the hard thing – that of taking the first step toward your dream. The rest will follow.

Morning Notes

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

The Courage to Start

 The Courage to Start

Anything worth going after takes courage. To put it another way, it takes courage to start.

You’ve heard this – “The journey of a thousand steps begins with the first step.”

Ben Franklin once said – “Nothing ventured. Nothing gained.” I’ll say it again – 

It Takes Courage to Start.

A wise person once said this:

“If you do not go after what you want, you will never have it.
If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.
If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.”

For thirty or more years I dreamed of and talked about being a writer. Oh, I wrote a few things here and there. I had my first article published in a magazine in 1978 and got paid $22 for it. I wrote other stuff but not on any kind of consistent basis. I certainly did not earn the title “writer” with what I produced.

Finally, in 2009 I started in earnest to write with one blog site. I had the courage to start on that day and have continued ever sense.

What do you want to do? Write, draw, paint, sing, act, start a business, build products? Now is a dandy time to begin.

What’s that you say? You’re too old? Nonsense.

I wrote a blog on January 23, 2023 (What Will I Accomplish Today). Here’s a reminder of some important facts.

A study in the U.S.A found that the most productive age in human life is between 60-70 years of age.

~The 2nd. most productive stage of the human being is from 70 to 80 years of age.
~The 3rd. most productive stage is from 50 to 60 years of age.
~The average age of NOBEL PRIZE winners is 62 years old.

~The average age of the presidents of prominent companies in the world is 63 years.
~The average age of the pastors of the 100 largest churches in the U.S.A. is 71.

~The average age of the Popes is 76 years.

This tells us that the best years of our lives are between 60 and 80 years. A book review published in NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE found that at age 60, you reach the TOP of your potential, and this continues into your 80s.

Does that inspire you, encourage you? I hope so.

Here’s the thing. Begin. Just begin. And in the early days, it’s okay to copy your heroes. Copy the people you love. Who inspires you to do what you want to do? Copy what they do, and sooner than soon you’ll find your own voice and start making your work your own with your unique touch and style.

Seth Godin inspired this next bit of writing. I call this his Manifesto to Begin Something.

Draw the art you want to see. Start the business you want to run. Play the music you want to hear. Write the books you want to read. Build the products you want to use. Do the work you want to see done.

Just find the courage within you to start.

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Scratch an Itch or Embrace an Itch

Scratch an Itch or Embrace an Itch

I have a good and sturdy back-scratcher in my drawer, and I use it almost every night before going to bed.  I have learned to manipulate it to hit the itchy spots on my back.  An itch demands to be dealt with.

I’ve had other itches.  I wanted to drum like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, so I practiced, studied and listened to their drum licks.

I had the itch to write for over thirty years, yet all I did for much of that time was scratch the itch a few times.  Finally, I decided to embrace that itch.  Now, four books and a whole passel of blogs later, I suppose one could say I am a writer. 

See the point?  We ‘artist types’ ultimately have to embrace the itch, an idea, a proclivity.  We have to recognize the knock of a potential call and open the door to whatever that itch has to offer.

Oh, we may not be very good, at first, but with a bit of effort, and practice who knows what might happen? 

Got an itch?  Perhaps it’s time to embrace it.

(This blog is based on a quote from Seth Godin’s book – What to Do when It’s Your Turn.)

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Tom Sawyer Still Teaches

Tom Sawyer Still Teaches

There is a story in Mark Twain’s classic book, Tom Sawyer that I think can teach us lesson today.  Here it is:

~ ~ ~

Tom is headed to Sunday School, against his will of course.  And so he goes anyway.

As he and Aunt Polly, Sid and Mary approach, Tom begins to lag behind a bit and he addressed a Sunday-dressed comrade.

“Say, Billy, got a yaller ticket?”

“What’ll you take for her?”

“Piece of likrish and a fish hook.”

“Less see ‘em.”

Tom exhibited.  They were satisfactory, and the property changed hands.  Then Tom traded a couple of white alleys (marbles) for three red tickets, and some small trifle or other for a couple of blue ones.  He waylaid other boys as they came, and went on buying tickets of various colors ten or fifteen minutes longer. 

The tickets were usually earned in Sunday School by successfully reciting passages of Scripture. 

Blue for two verses

Ten blues = one red ticket

Ten red = one yellow

Ten yellow = well that was the jackpot – the possessor of ten yellow tickets was awarded a very plainly bound Bible, worth forty cents in those easy times).

Tom’s sister, Mary, had acquired two Bibles in this way.  It took her two years, and yet she had earned two Bibles.

Well, they gathered all the children into the church building for they had a ceremony planned.  And it was some fine ceremony, let me tell you.  They even brought in a special guest.  

“The middle-aged man turned out to be a prodigious personage – not less a one than the county judge – altogether the most august creation these children had ever looked upon.  He was from Constantinople, twelve miles away – so he had travelled and seen the world.  And he had looked upon the county courthouse – which was said to have a tin roof. 

Mr. Walters, he was the Sunday School Superintendent, he was

flittering around, acting busy, acting important and all and probably trying to impress the Judge – Judge Thatcher. 

There was only one thing wanting to make Mr. Walter’s ecstasy complete, and that was a chance to deliver a Bible-prize and exhibit a prodigy.  Several pupils had a few yellow tickets, but none had enough – he had been around among the star pupils inquiring. 

And now, when all hope was dead, Tom Sawyer came forward with nine yellow tickets, nine red tickets, and ten blue ones, and demanded a Bible.  This was a thunderbolt out of a clear sky.  Mr. Walters was not expecting an application from this source for the next ten years.  But there was no getting around it – here were the certified checks, and they were good for their face.

The prize was delivered to Tom with as much effusion as the superintendent could pump up under the circumstances; but it lacked somewhat of the true gush, for the poor fellow ‘s instinct taught him that there was a mystery here that could not well bear the light.

Tom was introduced to the Judge.  The Judge put his hand on Tom’s head and called him a fine little man, and asked him what his name was.  The boy stammered, gasped, and got it out.

“Tom.”

“Oh, no, not Tom – it is –“

“Thomas.”

“Ah, that’s it.  I thought there was more to it, maybe.  But you’ve another one I daresay, and you’ll tell it to me, won’t you?”

“Tell the gentleman your other name, Thomas.”  Said Walters, “and say sir.  You mustn’t forget your manners.”

“Thomas Sawyer – sir.”

“That’s it!  That’s a good boy.  Fine boy.  Fine, manly little fellow.  Two thousand verses is a great many – very, very great many.  And you never can be sorry for the trouble you took to learn them; for knowledge is worth more than anything there is in the world; it’s what makes great men and good men; you’ll be a great man and a good man yourself, some day,

Thomas, and then you’ll look back and say, “It’s all owing to the precious Sunday-school privileges of my boyhood – it’s all owing to my dear teachers that taught me to learn – it’s all owing to the good superintendent who encouraged me, and watched over me, and gave me a beautiful Bible – a splendid elegant Bible – to keep and have it all for my own, always – it’s all owing to right bringing up!  That is what you will say, Thomas – and you wouldn’t take any money for those two thousand verses – no indeed you wouldn’t.

 And now would you mind telling all of us some of the things you’ve learned -  no, I know you wouldn’t – for we are proud of little boys that learn.  Now, no doubt you know the names of all the twelve disciples.  Won’t you tell us the names of the first two that were appointed?”

Tom was tugging at a button-hole and looking sheepish.  He blushed, and his eyes fell.  Mr. Walter’s heart sank within him.  He said to himself, it is not possible that the boy can answer the simplest question – why did the Judge ask him?  He felt obliged to speak up and say:

“Answer the gentleman, Thomas – don’t be afraid.”

Tom still hung fire. 

“Now I know you’ll tell us.  The names of the first two disciples were …”

“David and Goliah!”

Let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of the scene.

~ ~ ~

The point of this story …

Sometimes we accumulate prizes, gadgets, titles, banners and diplomas, yet did real learning and effort go into the gathering of those “awards”?

I could go out and buy a degree on line, or so I’m told, but for what end?  

I could be promoted to a high position, or I could run for an elected office and win the challenge, and then what?  Oh my, there are honors and accolades in such an accomplishment, but is there an increase in knowledge to go with this sudden windfall? 

This is a funny story from Mr. Twain.  Now, what is your take-a-way?

That is for each of us to consider.

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration