Inspirational Stories

Sometimes you can’t go back and fix it…

02/17/2010 in Inspirational Stories

Zig Ziglar writes how that a few years ago when He was doing an early-morning seminar, He greeted the young woman who was guarding the backstage door with a cheerful “Good morning, how are you doing?” She said, “I’m not doing well. I hate this job.” I confidently, cheerfully and arrogantly said to her, “Well, think about it this way. There are some people who don’t have any kind of job doing any thing, so maybe you’ll feel better with that thought.” The young woman looked at me and said, “Look, I’m not ready for any of your ‘positive thinking.’ I’m having an extremely tough time.” As I walked away I thought to myself, “Boy! What a lousy attitude!” However, as I pondered it during the next few minutes I realized that what she needed was some empathy, somebody to say, “Is there anything I can do?” or, “I’m sorry things are not going your way.”

I went back at my earliest possible moment to apologize to the young woman. Unfortunately, she was gone. That’s one of the reasons today I talk a great deal more about the right attitude in addition to having a positive attitude. In that particular incident, my relationship with that young woman, and the possibility of giving her any real encouragement later, was destroyed because I was so intent on saying what I had to say and not really empathetic to her problem. Relationships are built on putting yourself in the other person’s position and trying to relate; as the old Indian adage says, “You won’t know another person until you’ve walked in his moccasins at least one day.” Try to imagine how he or she must feel, and you will be able to deal with them more effectively and get along with them far better – and feel better about yourself in the process.

Zig Ziglar-Having A Right Mental Attitude

How do you identify someone who needs encouragement?

02/17/2010 in Inspirational Stories

Answer: “That person is breathing.”

There is breakdown today in the church, in the family, and in the meaningfulness of work. All three arenas were given to us as blessings, but our culture has turned them into sources of hurt. Some pastors lead like CEOs instead of shepherds or spiritual guides. But people long for shepherds. They are looking for comfort, encouragement, direction and spiritual guidance.

Even though he headed a large institution, Pope John Paul II came across as a shepherd. He had and showed character, love and compassion. His character appealed to young people. He was the rock. The love was the generous spirit he displayed.

When our politicians wave, it’s in a way that says, “I hope you like me.” John Paul didn’t wave, he gave a blessing. People felt that they were being blessed by seeing him, that the encounter wasn’t for him, but for them. That’s encouragement.

And when he died, the occasion attracted 5 million people to the largest voluntary gathering in history.

The thoughts above concerning Pope John Paul II was the observation of Fred Smith Sr.

Mom was always working behind the scenes..

02/17/2010 in Inspirational Stories

Some of you are avid sports fans, others are just casual viewers, but we’ve all seen it. The camera zooms in after a spectacular play by our sports heros and what do they do and say? With one finger in the air they say, “Hi Mom”! Not “Hi Dad”, not “Hi Sister” but “Hi Mom”. What they seem to be saying is, “Mom, I wouldn’t be here and couldn’t have done it without you.” So it was with my Mom.

I have written about the great impact my dad had on my manhood and ministerial life, but it was mom always working quietly behind the scenes that shaped my character. As most moms are, she was always there working, praying and believing in me.

She raised seven children almost single-handedly. Dad was always on the road as a traveling minister. She was a Proverbs 31 woman who was a homemaker as well as one who had to be employed outside the home.

There are so many memories I have of her, but two things stand out in my mind as I write of her:

Mom picked a lot of cotton as well as worked for many years at Sherman Steam Laundry.

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Laughter can bring healing and encouragement.

02/17/2010 in Inspirational Stories

Laughter is a great stress reducer. If you have never read Norman Cousins’ account of his experience of self-healing as described in Anatomy of an Illness, I encourage you to do so. When diagnosed with an incurable illness, he brought a movie projector into his hospital room and watched reel after reel of old classic comedy movies, laughing himself into hysterics. He found he could relieve his otherwise significant pain on a consistent basis through laughter. That practice, along with some other novel therapies, resulted in his healing. He left his prestigious journalistic career and taught on the faculty of a major medical school about the power of the mind and emotions in healing the body of disease.

Next to love, laughter has been described as the second-most powerful emotion we can express. It has been said that laughter is like internal jogging—it stimulates the respiratory system, oxygenates the body, relaxes tense muscles, and releases pleasure-producing chemicals in the brain. You cannot laugh and be mad, laugh and be tense, laugh and be stressed. Laughter is low-calorie, caffeine-free, and has no salt, preservatives, or additives. It’s 100 percent natural and one size fits all.

Laughter is truly God’s gift to humankind. You can get high on laughter but never overdose. Laughter is contagious—once it starts little can be done to stop it. Laughter never felt bad, committed a crime, started a war or broke up a relationship. Laughter is shared by the giver and the receiver. Laughter costs nothing and it’s non-taxable. Laughter is a trend-setter. If we can find ways to laugh first thing in the morning, it may in fact set the trend for the rest of the day.

Let me close by telling you the most important use of laughter I have ever discovered: The ability to laugh at ourselves. I stopped taking myself too seriously years ago and it was the best decision I ever made. Don’t get me wrong—I’m still serious about what I do. But not so serious that I can’t be the first one to laugh when I mess up (which happens all too often—it’s why I spend so much time laughing!). When you’re the first person to laugh at yourself, you leave little room for others to laugh at you.

This is adapted from Zig’s book Better Than Good.

The man known as, “One Way Roy”

02/17/2010 in Inspirational Stories

On New Year’s Day in 1929 Georgia Tech played the University of California in the Rose Bowl. Shortly before half time, a man named Roy Regals recovered a fumble for California. Somehow he became confused and he started running 65 yards in the wrong direction. A teammate tackled him just before he would have scored for the opposing team. When California attempted to punt, Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety. The team headed off the field and went into the dressing room. As they sat on the benches, Regals put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in the corner, put his face in his hands and cried like a baby.Coach Nibs Price was silent. No doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Regals. Everybody just sat there. When the timekeeper announced three minutes till the end of the half, the playing time, Coach Price looked at the team and simply said, “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second.”The players got up and started out — all but Regals. He didn’t budge. The coach looked back and called him again but still he didn’t move. Coach Price went over to Regals and said, “Roy, didn’t you hear me? The same team starts the second half.” Regals looked up and with tears in his eyes he said, “Coach, I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you. I’ve ruined the University of California. I’ve ruined myself. I couldn’t face that crowd in the stadium if my life depended on it.” Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Regals’ shoulder and said, “Roy, get up and go on back. The game is only half over.”Roy Regals went back and everybody who saw it said he played the greatest game in his entire life in that second half.The fact is, we take the ball a lot of times and run in the wrong direction and we stumble and fall and embarrass ourselves and make mistakes and we’re so ashamed that we just think, “I don’t even want to try anymore. I don’t want to get up. I don’t want to try again.” God comes to us. He puts His arm around us. He says, “Get up and go on back. The game’s only half over.”

The Success of Uncle “No-Name”

02/17/2010 in Inspirational Stories

The Success of Uncle No-Name…His name was Wally Amos and he built a $100 million business selling his “Famous Amos Cookies.” Through a series of unfortunate circumstances, he lost his business. He went from fame and fortune to a debt level of one million dollars.Even worse, he lost the right to use the name he made famous. He did not, however, lose the things that made him successful in the first place. He maintained his sense of humor and his outgoing, optimistic, confident nature. As might be expected, he bounced back big time.He started a new venture under the name of “Wally Amos Presents Chip’n Cookie.” PEOPLE Magazine did a story and Fitz & Floyd made a Chip’n Cookie Jar. J.C. Penney marketed Chip’n Cookie dolls. Everyone was delighted at Mr. Amos’ comeback. Everybody but the new owners of “Famous Amos.” A lawsuit resulted and once again he was put out of business.Wally says he got famous and rich and paid a price for it. . . . He wrote a book, MAN WITH NO NAME, which was enthusiastically received . . .and he is back in the food business. He started a new company by the name of “Uncle No-Name.” (In 1999 they changed the name to Uncle Wally’s.) Wally is a good example of a man being knocked down but not out. He is fighting back with the same zest and zeal he demonstrated the first time around. I predict he will continue to do well.Wally Amos is the classic example of a man who gets up again and again. The old saying that a person who won’t be beat can’t be beat is certainly true of “Uncle No-Name.” Why not adopt his attitude.