We Still Need Someone to Believe in Us

 We Still Need Someone to Believe in Us

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: On Oprah Winfrey’s last show of her popular daytime television series, she said this.

"I've talked to nearly 30,000 people on this show, 

and all 30,000 had one thing in common -- 

they all wanted validation. ... They wanted to know; 

Do you hear me? Do you see me? 

Does what I say mean anything to you?"

In this world, it is an easy thing for some individuals to become lost in the crowd of the other voices. There are shy people and individuals with a low sense of self-worth, and some that just plain ‘ole feel they are ‘nobody’. 

Some people are just too tired to speak up for themselves, or perhaps, have had some awful life experiences, and they reconcile within themselves that they are just not worth the fight to be acknowledged. And perhaps, they have committed what they consider the unspeakable act, or sin, or transgression. They feel they just don’t matter anymore.

What a terrible conclusion to reach – that you just don’t matter anymore.

My passion, my mission in life is to be an encourager. I want to be one who validates people. I attempt this through writing and podcasting, and in one-on-one interpersonal interactions. Am I successful? In some small measure, perhaps. Occasionally I will get a note or a phone call that lets me know someone needed my word and heard it in an appropriate time.

I’m reminded of a sixth-grade teacher, Mary, who assigned her class a writing assignment. The assignment was to write a short, positive comment about each of his/her fellow classmates and turn them in to her.

After compiling each student’s list, the teacher passed them out in class. You could hear a pin drop as the students sat quietly, reading what their fellow classmates had written about them. It was a remarkable moment.

Years later, one of the boys, John D., was killed during a hard-fought battle in Viet Nam. His sixth-grade teacher attended the memorial service, along with many fellow students in John’s class.

After the service, John’s father approached Mary and thanked her for coming to the service. He paused and continued. “We found this in his wallet along with his other belongings.

He began unfolding a sheet of paper, yellowed, tattered, and torn. It was the paper containing the comments from his sixth-grade classmates written ten years before.

The father said, “He carried this with him everywhere. I’m told he would often pull it out and read it before almost every major conflict in which he was involved during his time in Viet Nam.”

By now, other students had gathered around and one by one they each began saying that they too had their copy of these comments and how meaningful they were to them. Some even had their copy neatly tucked inside their wallets or pocketbooks.

You see the power of an appropriately placed word?

Has someone seen something in you bigger and greater than you ever dreamed you could be? Those kinds of people become my heroes. What foresight! What insight!

This is a great story and is at the heart of my thoughts for today. Our words change people.

We have the power to change somebody's life. In most cases we will never know when we’ve connected the dots for someone by our words of hope and encouragement, and yet it happens. This power still rests in our hands, and voices, and attitudes.

In the past fourteen years, I’ve written more than 600 blogs, and four books, plus over 130 podcasts. All of them with the intent and purpose of offering hope, encouragement, and inspiration to my readers. 

I shall continue writing and speaking for as long as I am physically able, for this is a passion to which I am dedicated.

If you take away any significant thought from this blog, I hope it is this.

You have the power 

to change somebody’s life.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Hope Is Real

 Hope Is Real

Revlon, the fragrance company, makes perfume, but in stores they sell hope. THEY SELL HOPE! Hope for romance. Hope for love. Hope for a second date and more.

Remember the caterpillar? He is going along in life, happy and content, eating plants, a few other insects and living life. One fine day the caterpillar senses a need to spin a cocoon around itself. Perhaps he thinks this is the end. Perhaps, to a caterpillar, there is no hope left, and so he spins and prepares for death.

And then ...

Out comes a beautiful Butterfly. The former caterpillar had little beauty to boast of. This new and improved Butterfly is full of beauty. Hope has come with the beginning of this remarkable Butterfly. Hope indeed.

Richard Back, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull once said, “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a Butterfly.” (Richard Bach)

Is hope alive and well in you? Oh, the outside circumstances may seem dark, dull, and dismal, and yet, what about hope?

Oprah Winfrey was raped at age nine. She is, to this day, a strong and influencing force in our world.

Bill Gates said, “I didn’t even complete my university education.”

Steve Jobs, of Apple Computer fame, said that he slept on the floor in friends’ rooms, and he returned Coke bottles for food and money. He would get weekly free meals at a local temple.

Former Prime Minister, Tony Blair of Great Britain, once told, “My teachers used to call me a failure.”

Remember President Nelson Mandela? He spent 27 years in prison.

Here’s the point. Though we may pass through many difficulties in life, we should never give up because life is not about what you couldn’t do so far. It’s about what you can still do.

Each of these individuals had hope. HOPE! They never gave up. That is important. They continued believing in themselves, their talents, their abilities.

They each had hope.

Dr. Seuss adds this thought: “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” Do you believe in hope?

Sometimes our hope comes from within us. We have this strong sense of “someday I’ll ...”. Others of us hope we’ll get some outside help. We hope someone will come along and inspire us to be what we know we could be. Ralph Waldo Emerson gave us that insight. This is why the motivational speaking industry is a multi-million- dollar business. They could, in essence, hang a sing that reads, “Hope Sold Here.”

Hope is to cherish a desire, knowing you will have fulfillment.

Hope is a state of being. Even when life sends rain, hope dances in the puddles until the sun comes out again.

A final thought: 

Man can live ...

Forty days without food

About three days without water

About eight minutes without air

Only one second without hope.

(Unknown)

Morning Notes Blog Site

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

You Get to Bat Again

 You Get to Bat Again

When I worked in banking, one day I was off in my teller draw by $5400. I mistakenly counted a customer’s deposit as a $6000 deposit when it was only $600. I thought I might lose my job over that mistake. Instead, I got to bat again.

When I played little league baseball, occasionally I would strike out. That is disappointing to any baseball wanna-be. The good news is that I got to bat again.

I once went through bankruptcy. That is a horrible and troubling experience. I wondered if I would ever have a credit-worthy reputation again.
In time I repaired my credit and today I’m happy with a credit score above 740. You see, I got to bat again.

There once was a guy named Simon Peter. He was a follower of Jesus Christ. He was a braggart, a strong-willed individual some might say, and he loved to tell you what he was going to do. However, sometimes his follow-through was less than desirable.

You see, in a critical moment in history, he denied even knowing Jesus. When accused of being a follower and a known associate of Christ, he cursed, he swore, he spat, he grumbled and he said, “I don’t even know that man.”

And then do you know what happened? He went out and wept bitterly.

He was ashamed. He was regretful for what he had said. He had lost his chance to be a man true to himself and true to the one he professed to love. He fell from grace as it were, and he felt his life was over. If only he could have taken those denials back. But it was too late.

Time passed. Christ was killed, and three days later he arose from the dead. Soon thereafter, an angel appeared to some of Christ’s followers. He had a message for them:  

7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 

He is going ahead of you into Galilee. 

There you will see him, just as he told you.

Did you notice that Peter was named specifically? It is as if Christ was saying, “Peter, you get to bat again. Don’t worry about what happened a few days ago. Get ready to bat.”

 

This idea speaks to me on so many levels. Of course, there is the spiritual application, and that’s good.

And there is the “failure” aspect of life that is dealt with.

Very few mistakes in life sound the death toll. Bottom line – WE MAKE MISTAKES!  We falter.  We mis-step.  We just down-n-out blow it sometimes. 

And then along comes a grace moment. We’re told – Get back up. Brush yourself off. Go to bat again.  You get a second chance.

There is an old Chinese proverb that says: 

Fall Down Seven Times – Stand Up Eight.

Mankind loves to put labels on people. 

“Oh, he’s a convict.”
   “Not him. He’s a bank robber.”
      “Avoid him. He’s an adulterer.”

         “Don’t trust her. She is a lie and a cheat.”

I love this quote by Maxwell Maltz. 

You are not your mistakes.

Have you fallen?
Made mistakes?
Blown it in a big way?
Committed some seemingly unforgivable act?

Your mistakes do not define you.

I'm thankful for second chances.

Second chances mean you get to bat again!

P Michael Biggs 

Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

Words Still Matter

 Words Still Matter

I was in a Walgreen’s Drug Store recently to pick up a prescription and as I turned to leave, I saw a man of 73 years. He was looking at birthday cards for his wife”. I thought to myself, “How sweet is this”, and decided to stay close by and just observe as he made his selection.

He reached up, picked a card, read it, and put it back. He picked another and put it back. He did these three more times, and finally read one card and then headed for the checkout with the card in hand.

I can imagine what happened over the next thirty minutes. He got home, scribbled something of sentiment on the card, or perhaps simply said “Love you” and then gave the card to his wife.

“Love you.” It can be expressed in so many ways. For some, it is a bump on the shoulder. Others place a hand on another’s hand, or shoulder, or cheek and look into their eyes. No words, just this simple touch.

Some are free to express the words, “I Love You,” and they stop at that, but there is so much more to be said.

“Thanks for the biscuits for breakfast this morning. They hit the spot.”

“I appreciate you always having my clothes clean and folded just like I like them.”

“Do you know I stopped a dozen times today and my heart swelled with love as I thought of you.”

“Oh, how you make my life beautiful.”

To a sibling we might say:
“Remember when we were kids, and you always looked out for me? Thank you for that.”

And to best friends:
“We’ve lived a good and long life. You are my best of friends. I am so thankful for how you add to my life.”

Or to a child:
“I’m really proud of you and the man/woman you are becoming.”
“I love my front row seat in watching you. You make me happy.”

Nice sentiment – “Love you”. I said it a thousand times in words and written it on a few cards for various occasions and then given them to Carolyn.

Words come hard for most of us when we think of those close to us. We want to say so much, but often soften the moment by a simple “Love you”.

Those sentiments are good, even great, but a well-placed, well-thought-out word is food for the soul that can be feasted on for days and weeks to come.

I never get far from Maya Angelou’s words when she once said:

I’ve learned that people will forget

what you said, people will forget what you did, 

but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Words live long after they are spoken. Their effect on an individual take on a life of its own, and are played time and again, in secret, just before falling asleep, upon awakening, when things are going right and in times of sadness and hardship.

Words matter!
Let me relate a very personal story.

~~~

During my growing up years, I thought I was loved, but I was never told those magic three words “I Love You”. Dad showed us on occasion that we were loved, yet the words were never spoken. One day, when I was seven, Donny and I were out mowing the front lawn. We were just about finished when Dad pulled into the driveway, rolled down his window and tossed out a brand-new baseball and glove.

Donny and I thought we had won the lottery. Dad didn’t say anything. He simply smiled, backed out of the drive, and went back to work.

I remember another time when I hit two home runs in one game in little league baseball. Dad and Mom treated me to my favorite chocolate shake and a hamburger at The Gizmo. He was so proud of me; he went from table to table bragging on me and my home runs. But no “I Love You.”

When I went to college, I made friends. I began noticing that some of my friends and their families would express the “I Love You” words when together. I began thinking about my own family and how I had never heard them express these words to me and my siblings. Of course, I had never expressed them to my parents either.

During these days I was still directing music for a church that my dad pastored. On an October Sunday, I felt it was time to begin expressing “I Love You” to Mom and Dad.

All afternoon I kept looking for the perfect opportunity to say, “I love you.” Finally, after the PM service, we went

to my parent’s home for a bite to eat. As we were getting ready to leave, as usual, we would gather in a circle, join hands and Dad would pray for us.

I knew after he said “Amen” that it was now or never if I was going to say “I love you” on this night.

As I hugged Dad I simply whispered, in a broken voice “I love you.”

He paused a moment, hugged me a little tighter, then tried to croak out “I lo lo lov cough cough cough.” He just couldn’t say the words, but he tried.

When I hugged Mom, I expressed those same words to her. She simply pulled me even closer. Mom had this funny way of hugging where she would bury my head between her neck and the top of her shoulder. When I said “Mom, I love you,” she just squeezed me tighter and cried. To this day I can still remember the smell of Mom’s perfume mixed with the bath powder that she wore.

We broke the ice that day. We got good at saying “I love you”.

~~~

If you ask me on any given day, “do words matter” I would respond with a resounding YES! They do. I have built my writing career on the power of words, so much so that my company is called Up-Words.

I encourage you to find the words, the phrases, the ideas that need to be expressed in your family and with your close friends. Say the words. Express the sentiments.

Words still matter!

This is my morning reflection.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

What Will I Accomplish Today?

 What Will I Accomplish Today?

Mary Oliver once said,

“I wonder what it is I will accomplish today?

I am 73 years old. Some might say I am in the sunset years of my life. I suppose death could overtake me at any moment. I hope not.

You see, I still dream dreams, I still have blogs to write, podcasts to produce, new friendships to court, and old friends whose lives I’ve not yet completely explored.

I can do things, I can think thoughts, I can speak and meditate on the good in this world, and I can still love. I’m not through loving Carolyn yet. I still enjoy holding her hand, having light and fluffy conversations, and when we have those heart moments when we go a bit deeper – well, it’s simply the best. We talk about each other, and about our kids and grandkids, our siblings, and all others close and dear to us.

I want to live and keep living. Life is good, despite what we’ve faced these past five years ago.

Heart surgery was no fun, but we’ve gone way beyond that.
Three amputation surgeries were horrible to endure, and thankfully we’ve moving beyond those as well.

I’m seventy-three. I can still see some distant horizons that excite me. There are places I want to go. There are skills and experiences yet to be brought to the light of day.

Can I accomplish anything with my life at seventy-three? Oh my, you better believe I can. And so can you.

A friend of mine posted the following on Facebook recently. I shared it on my page and have received an unusual number of likes and hits.

"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."

For those of us above the age of 60, we are in the greatest and most productive time of our lives.

How about that!

Let’s go accomplish something today.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

This is my morning reflection.

What Is Your Path for This Year

 What is Your Path for this Year

Morning Notes

It is New Year’s Eve. Tomorrow is a do-over, so to speak. A new year, a blank page. We start fresh.

I like new years. I like the hope they bring. I like the opportunities to be experienced.

And I love to think about what might be in this coming year. And so, I start with a few questions that need pondering.

Can my life get better than it is at this current moment? Perhaps a question before we answer this one – do I want my life to get better (whatever better means) than it is now?

And what about my health, my wealth, my mental and emotional life. And of course, my career, if a person is still gainfully employed.

Allow me to use the metaphor of Life in 2023 as on a path. This path will have a multitude of hills, valleys, bumps, smooth patches, growth moments and leisure moments. Are we out for a stroll or are we driving with an objective destination?

I know people in sales have fresh quotas to meet. Most businesses will have new goals, new emphasis on important measures, and have a magic number in mind for the end of 2023.

My retired friends, on fixed incomes, have a different path, a more level road to follow. Their income won’t change much, but they have some bit of input into their health and how to spend their income.

So, back to these ponderable questions.

Question: Do I like my life as it is now? Am I happy? If I were to make a change of any type, what would it be?

Question: How is my health at this moment? Am I into an exercise routine or do I need to start one? Am I under a doctor’s care or do I need to be? And do I have a medical team in whom I have great confidence? AM I willing to listen to them and follow their instructions? This is a big question in my opinion.

Question: How is my career life? Do I like what I do? Do I respect the people around me at work? Am I esteemed? Am I considered a worthy part of the team? Do I have a solid future doing what I’m doing for the next foreseeable few years?

Question: Am I a growing person in whatever activities I will enter into this year? If I’m still working, how much better can I be as an employee or boss? If I’m retired, am I partaking in activities that bring life and zest to my soul and mind?

Question: How do I treat others? Am I an esteeming person? Do I build others up, or am I the ‘fixer’ who goes around correcting and telling others their faults on how to do their lives better.

Question: If you are the boss, what kind of boss are you? Do your employees trust you? Do they have your back if you need it? Are they willing followers, or reluctantly submissive subjects who need constant prodding?

Question: What am I doing to feed my mind? Am I a reader of books and life-enhancing material? Whom do I follow as thought leaders either in my field or in the world in general? Do I form my own opinions or accept the regurgitated verbiage of others? Whose opinions do I allow to have power over my own? What kind of thinker am I?

Question: What are my thoughts about myself? Do I like myself? Do I approve of myself? Do I believe I am a person of worth? Can I see myself accomplishing anything of worth in the coming year and years of my life? Am I a contributing member of society?

Question: What are my views on God and the spiritual concepts that are in play? You are charge here, and you get to form your own thoughts and ideas in the realm of God and spirit world.

These questions will give you a lot to chew on for a while. This is no easy task and should not be undertaken lightly. And if you are a life coach, perhaps you’ll use these thoughts as conversation points in working with some of your clients.

May the path you travel in 2023 lead you to new discoveries, new thoughts and perhaps a new and improved you.

Morning Notes Blog Site

P Michael Biggs Hope~Encouragement~Inspiration

This is my morning reflection.