Street Signs

Street signs are important markers that let you know if you are going in the right direction. There are two symbolic streets that you may notice at strategic points in your life.  As a child, you might have watched Sesame Street.  This street and its residents probably helped you learn and develop basic social and educational principles.  You may still have fond memories from Sesame Street.  As you enter and progress through the work force, your attention shifts from Sesame Street to Wall Street.  When you think about investments, retirement, and other economic challenges, Wall Street is an important location.  So if you have Sesame Street at the beginning and Wall Street toward the end, what are some of the streets in the middle of your life? 

Tude Street - As you travel down this street, there will be opportunities to take detours related to your attitude, gratitude, and latitude.  These three side streets can lead to productive locations. 

• Attitude adjustments are sometimes needed for more effective communication.  Your outlook contributes to the quality of your output.
• Gratitude opens doors and builds relationships.  Let others know when they say or do things that help you.
• Latitude allows you the freedom to try different things.  Make decisions that allow you to grow and become your best you.

Imp Street - Purpose and intent are located along this route.  You seek to make improvements, leave impressions, and challenge impossibilities.

• Improvements should be continuous and noticeable.  Your most significant work will be the work that you do on yourself.
• Impressions are often based on a moment in time.  You cannot control how others perceive you, but you can control how you present yourself.
• Impossibilities represent limits to some people.  Do not let the boundaries of others prevent you from finding new answers to old questions.

Rity Street -  This is the road that establishes your reputation and influences your interactions.  Your sincerity, priority, and charity are being evaluated on a regular basis. 

• Sincerity is the bridge that connects opposing points of view.  When someone feels that you are honestly trying to understand their perspective, they are more willing to try to find common ground when dealing with you.
• Priority is an essential component of helping you manage multiple tasks.  Be aware of how your different responsibilities are related to one another. Everything cannot be done at the same time. Know what can be deferred, or shifted, to another time. 
• Charity involves considering the needs of others.  You do not always have to give money.  People can also benefit from your patience, encouragement, and respect.

Leave a comment and share which street signs you will look for this week.

Talk Show

Are there times when you wish that you had a forum to share your views?  In this age of social media, you can post things to Facebook and Twitter.  However, those avenues might not provide everything you need to broadcast your insight.  Blogs and podcasts allow you some flexibility on how to present your content.   All of these options give you the opportunity to host your own talk show.  You see others do it on television or hear them on the radio.  While you may not think of your effort as a talk show, it can serve the same purpose.  When you have a topic, a guest, and an audience, you have the building blocks to produce your show.

Select topics that provoke thought and generate conversation.   You don't have to be an expert on the subject.  Be informed enough to ask the right questions and establish a dialogue.  It's okay if you don't have all of the answers.  Raise awareness to encourage others to learn more.

If you can have an actual conversation with your guest, it adds authenticity to your show.  However, you might not always have access to the people you want to feature. You can use books or articles, previous interviews, and other published works to present the views of others.  Always give credit to your source.  Some of the best guests may not be well known individuals.  Use your platform to showcase new voices and perspectives. 

Your audience will often be determined by the topic and guest.  Don't worry that everyone may not get the "it" that you have in mind.  They don't have to get "it".  They just need to get something from your effort.  When you allow people to be active participants in what you are doing, they will often receive more value from it. 

Leave a comment and share the topic, guest, or audience that you will focus on this week.   

First Aid Kit

It is good to have a first aid kit in your house, car, and any other place where injuries may occur.  You can use it to handle minor cuts and bruises when they occur.  The bandages, ointments, and flares have assigned jobs related to treating problems.  Your words, touch, and expressions are components of the human first aid kit.  You have more power than you realize to ease the anxiety, discomfort, and hurts of yourself and others.  

Kind words have the ability to soothe feelings of frustration and uncertainty.  Simple acknowledgement can positively impact someone's day.  Saying please, thank you, or you're welcome shows a level of consideration for other people.  Each day try to speak more compliments than complaints.  Focus on what you like, what went well, and the other silver linings in the cloud. 

A hug, pat on the back, or comforting touch can communicate support and encouragement.  Your hands are an extension of your heart.  Use them to let others know that you care.  The contact doesn't have to be long.  It just needs to be sincere.

Sometimes you may not know what to say.  You might not be close enough to touch the person.  That is when a warm smile can establish a connection for you.  When a smile is given away, it is usually returned to you.  A slight nod of the head can also indicate to someone that you are there for them.  Small gestures may have a bigger impact than you realize.

Leave a comment and share which item in the first aid kit you will use this week.   

Finders Keepers

Do you remember the childhood saying, finders keepers, losers weepers?  It was usually uttered when someone got something that somebody else wanted.  The same theory can be applied as you get older.  Focus on finding and keeping rather than losing and weeping.  The following quotes can inspire you to find and keep those things that can help you move in the right direction.



To find fulfillment...don't exist with life - embrace it. Jim Beggs

Do good to your friends to keep them, to your enemies to win them.  Benjamin Franklin

If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.   Frank A. Clark

It is wise to keep in mind that no success or failure is necessarily final.   Anonymous

Here is the test to find whether your mission on Earth is finished: if you're alive, it isn't.
Richard Bach

Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don't keep it a secret.
Mary Kay Ash

Inspiration exists, but it has to find us working.
Pablo Picasso

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Stephen Covey

A man who wants to do something will find a way; a man who doesn't will find an excuse.
Stephen Dooley, Jr.

The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best.
Epictetus

Leave a comment and share the quote that you will apply this week.