The Caring Catalyst

Who Cares - What Matters

Saving the Spider, Saving Myself

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He surprised me at 6:30 in the morning, climbing out of the bowl of my bathroom sink.

He was having a hard time trying to escape so I thought I would help. I snapped into my Albert Schweitzer role and attempted to help him out by extending a piece of paper, a hand towel and finally a rolled up newspaper…the latter had him scurrying back down the dark, black drain.

It was obvious…no brushing of the teeth or turning on the water.

I jumped into the shower and scrubbed my teeth, shaved and showered all into one, hoping that the itsy, bitsy spider would climb out of the drain and the sink.

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The Greatest Gift

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Wouldn’t it be great?

You think you’re home for the evening; you have no plans or DO YOU?

Your doorbell rings. You contemplate even answering it, but you do. There’s a man in an elegant tuxedo, top hat, white gloves and a cane. You see over his shoulder that there’s a luxurious limo and he tells you he’s here to escort you to a very special place where “NO” doesn’t exist. You throw on a pair of jeans that don’t have last night’s dinner remains on it and a shirt that doesn’t have the powder sugar your donut snowed all over it just before the doorbell rang.

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The Two Most Under-Heard-Words

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I get a Standing Ovation after every talk I give!

Maybe you’d never know unless you were actually There!

Many times near the end of a presentation, as a way of THANKING folks for their attendance and their attention I usually have them stand up all together. I tell them that there are two words they never hear ever enough:

THANK YOU!

And then, because none seldom do, and THEY never would, standing there, I tell them to give themselves a long over due, sincere, well-deserved Standing Ovation. And they do! Loudly! Exuberantly! With Smiles, Whistling, Yaaaaaaaa-hooooooing included…and, and exactly to the penny, what did it cost? What did it deposit in their respective emotional 401k’s?

You can Suppose about it all you want, but it’s more than mere theory or hunch now. Studies have been done and documented with not so surprising results: IT WORKS! IT’S LIFE-CHANGING!

These studies have actually concluded that the expression of sincere gratitude can have some fairly profound and positive effects on our health, our mood and most definitely our relationships. Shocker, huh?

Ok, don’t believe the Studies from the University of Texas Health Science Center or the University of California at Davis or the University of Miami or the University of Washington…use yourself as your own laboratory.

Keep a daily journal of just three things you are thankful for and why.

Make it a practice to tell someone that’s significant to you something you appreciate about them every day.

Look in the mirror when your combing your hair or brushing your teeth and think about something you have done well recently or something you like about yourself.

Maybe it’s true: If you’ve forgotten the language of gratitude, you’ll never be on speaking terms with happiness.

The world doesn’t always have to have a reason to kick you in the teeth every time you smile, but it does. Still, walk in your field and cultivate this attitude of gratitude, and PRESTO: things don’t just look better–THEY ACTUALLY GET BETTER!

Thankfulness feels good, it’s good for you and it’s a blessing for the people around you. It’s such a win-win-win that I’d say we have a cause for gratitude…even without a day just for THAT.

Please, Stand, Give yourself a Standing Ovation! And. . .

Thank You!

Happy Thanksgiving.

Professional Speaker, Author, Assurance Man