Have Hope / Give Hope

 Have Hope / Give Hope

Do you have hope? Does it bubble up in your heart? How are your dreams? They are first cousins to hope, you know.

Some word pundits say, 'Hope is not a strategy'. However, I wouldn't want to go through life without hope.

Remember this:

Man can live ...

Forty days without food

Three days without water

Eight minutes without air

Only one second without hope.

(Unknown)

If this quote is true, and I believe it is, then I don't want to live one second without hope.

Hope whispers of what might be. Hope offers the seed of a promise in waiting, perhaps.

This quote by Mr. Emerson is significant. Talk about hope. It is the essence of which we speak.

"Our chief want is someone

who will inspire us to be

what we know we could be."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

How about that? A could be in the making. I like that a lot.

We seek a savior who dispenses hope. We seek someone who will come along in our lives and say the magic words that we all long to hear. Those life-giving words of esteem and good will.

Oprah said it so well on her last televised show.

"I've talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, and all 30,000 had one thing in common: They all wanted validation. If I could reach through this television and sit on your sofa or sit on a stool in your kitchen right now, I would tell you that every single person you will ever meet shares that common desire. They want to know: 'Do you see me? Do you hear me? Does what I say mean anything to you?'

They all had hope. Hope that someone somewhere would recognize them as valid and worthwhile individuals. Hope that they were living a life of significance or could live a life of significance.

Oprah goes on to say. "Try it with your spouse. Try it with your kids. Try it with those with whom you are in a relationship. Validate them. 'I see you. I hear you. And what you say matters to me.'"

That action alone gives a person hope. Great hope.
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."

I think Dr. Seuss might be onto something with this memorable quote.

"A person's a person,

no matter how small."

~Dr. Seuss

~Every person should have
  a chance to have hope.
        ~Every person has worth.
                ~Every person needs
                  some kind of recognition
                  that they exist.

I want to be a dispenser of hope. How about you?

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Keep Throwing Darts

Keep Throwing Darts

Figuring out life is the GREAT challenge for all of us.  And now, at my ripe old age of 71 I have come to this conclusion. 

We keep throwing darts at the dart board.  The goal is to hit the bull’s eye.  I rarely hit the bull’s eye, but I kept throwing.

It took me a while to figure out what my real magnificent obsession in life was.  I’ve chased many obsessions.  To name a few …

~A great minister of music

~A producer of musicals and dramas

~A great drummer

~A stellar business man

~President of a certain publishing company by age 45

~Minister to ministers of music

~Writer of best-sellers in the motivational and self-development vein

~A great encourager

~A great music clinician

~A world-famous orchestral director

Oh, there have been other pursuits along the way.  And where have I ended up?

It hit me one day that in all of my pursuing, in all of the dreams I chased, the one thing I kept coming back to was this … I simply wanted to help people.  I wanted to encourage people. 

I accomplished that in some ways through many of these pursuits, and for that I am grateful.  However, once I settled on my major chief aim in life, my magnificent obsession, I feel I began to make some real progress in my own sense of self-fulfillment and had a sharply defined focus of how I wanted to spend the rest of my life. 

I believe that was the day I quit throwing darts and began focusing on the one talent in my hands and in my heart that mattered most.  I began focusing on ways to benefit mankind, to help and encourage mankind.  I realized that many people I met had a great need for validation, self-esteem, self-confidence and to know that there was at least one other human being in this world who cared for them.

I must confess, it took a lot of dart-throwing to finally narrow my focus, my aim and see the bigger-than-life target for which I had been aiming all along.  I am very thankful I discovered this magnificent obsession.

Now, my friend, I turn to you.  Have you been throwing darts in search of a target, an obsession?  By all means, throw those darts.  Throw as many darts as you can.  Some will stick, some will fall off.  Some will hit dead center and some will miss by a country mile. 

And when that fine day comes, and you finally hit upon that one obsession for which you have been seeking, then stop throwing.  Look closely at what you’ve discovered, and set your cap for a fresh journey toward your life’s purpose.

And become that person you have desired to become.  Move in the direction of your dominant goal and dream.  It matters not your age, now how much money you’ve spent, now where you live, what your dress is, your language nor your favorite food.  The main focus for the rest of your life is this … how can I best serve mankind with this fresh focus of my attention.

That is graduation day, my friend. 

Celebrate!

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Your Inner Voice Speaks

Your Inner Voice Speaks

Before he became Randy Travis, Randy was rejected by every major record label in Nashville twice.  Can you imagine that?  He heard more “no’s” than he ever thought a person should hear.

So, what happened in the meantime to turn little-known Randy into Randy Travis, winner of seven Grammy awards, eight Dove awards, and a whole string of other awards and accolades.

Randy believed more in himself than he believed in the naysayers of the music world.  He knew he had the stuff within to become a super star, and he persisted, he honed his craft, he practiced, and practiced some more, until his break came.  He became a super star because he believed in himself.

He didn’t let the “no thanks” and the “we don’t need your type” slow him down. 

He listened to his inner voice that kept saying, “you can do this”, “you have something unique that the world needs to hear”. 

What is your inner voice saying to you about you? 

That is a critical piece of the equation in our search for the top.

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Know Your Worth

Know Your Worth

The above quote deserves to be studied and made a part of everyone’s philosophy for life. 

And the question is … so, what is your worth?

This is tied into the “Know Thyself” idea, and the “As a man thinketh” thought, and don’t forget the “If you think you can, you can”.

I am a huge fan of this idea.  As I am a fan of the Strength-Finders book and the ideas presented inside.  However, keep this thought in mind.  Once you know your worth, you then have to begin the journey of bringing that value to the forefront of your life and activities.  People will not honor you, recognize your worth and value simply because you declare such a thing.  We actually have to do the hard work and dig in, dig around, read, study, hone our “worth-of-an-idea” until we actually make something of it.

It is hard work.  It takes some alone time.  It takes mulling, dreaming, journaling, reading, and some real old-fashioned honesty with one’s self for your worth to then become valuable.

And you will become valuable … after all that mulling, dreaming, journaling, reading, and some real old-fashioned honesty with one’s self.

What do you think of that?

Ah, that’s another ingredient … THINKING!

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Be Proud of Who You Are

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Be Proud of Who You Are

Got time for a bit of self-acceptance?  It’s important, you know.

To get us started, listen to what Dr. Seuss has to say about that:

Of all the shapes

we MIGHT have been

I say, "Hooray 

for the shapes we're in!

And of course, we’re talking about a lot more than our shape, or size, or weight, or hair coloring. 

We’re talking about your essential YOUness.  Having role models is one thing, but rejecting your basic YOUness in pursuit of becoming that other person … No, No, No my child. 

Borrow from them, steal a character trait or three if you must, and then make it your own.  Do a little “inside looking around” and see what you find.  I have a feeling you’ll find a lot of hidden treasures inside of you that you never saw before.  After all, I don’t think God makes junk, and you’re not a pile of junk. 

You are SOMEBODY.  You have ideas, and strengths, contributions to make and lots of possibilities that want to be let out.  Do you see them?  Will you embrace them?

I remember the day a few years ago when I discovered a phrase that has changed my life.  The phrase is this:  I APPROVE OF MYSELF.

I had a difficult time in accepting myself.  I didn’t believe in ME.  I didn’t like much of what I thought of myself.  I wasn’t proud of who I was, much of the time. 

Oh, you couldn’t tell it much.  I hid it pretty well, but I knew. 

I opened my eyes to my world, my efforts, my talents, my gifts and decided that from this day forward, I would embrace ME.  I would approve of ME.  I would never be my heroes from my childhood, from TV, from the books I read, or the movers and shaker in the news. 

But, and this is important … I could be the best ME you would ever see.

Do you follow my meaning?

You are YOU for a reason.  Now, today, go and find out what you are all about.  Be proud of who you are!

This is my

morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration