Finally they announced that the flight would be on it’s way.   People who needed a little extra time to get down the jetway boarded before us.   The last in this group was a pretty young woman in a wheel chair with an effervescent personality.  When the agent asked if she could make it down the jetway on her own she answered with an emphatic yes,  did a  wheelie with her chair and disappeared into the jet-way.   I boarded a few minutes later.  I had carefully chosen my seat on this very cramped small plane.  Bulk head seat on the aisle. This was where I would have the most leg room and could get a lot of work done.

But alas! Someone was in my seat.  My brow furrowed.  So much for happy face happy place.  Before I could speak a fight attendant addressed me.  “Would you kindly take the window seat she asked.  But this is my seat, I thought, digging for the piece of paper that would prove it.  The flight attendant lowered her voice, ” this young lady prefers an aisle seat,” she said, gesturing toward the person in my seat.  Since when, I wondered are people allowed to sit where they prefer to sit rather than where they were assigned to sit.  I said nothing but I’m sure that my face communicated the inconvenience and displeasure I felt.

As I huffed my way past the passenger sitting in my isle seat I saw for the first time that she was the spirited young lady who had done the wheelie on the way to the airplane.  Surely she had seen my ugly face,  but she smiled and apologized.  I assured her it was I who needed to apologize.  During this flight we had a wonderful conversation.  We talked about attitude and how if affects our life.

I found out her name was Joannah and at seventeen she had been in an accident that injured her spinal cord. She has been  paralyzed from the waste down ever since.  With a smile that lit up the cabin she told me she was on her way  to Japan alone to do research for her dissertation on Ancient Japanese art and literature.

She asked what I did for a living.  I sheepishly admitted that I spread good news and laughter around the world but today I was waiting for my face to get the memo.  We laughed and chatted the entire flight.  As I drove home, I thanked God for health and for the opportunity to meet this vivacious and courageous women.  I prayed that God would continue to help me live with the kind of grateful attitude and a daily sense of adventure Joannah demonstrated that day.  Meeting her reminded me…..

• Live joyfully even in difficult circumstances.

• Let your light (and face) shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

• When someone asks if you can handle it, do a wheelie.

That’s what I want.  A wheelie attitude.

Thanks Joannah!

Am I the only one that can loose my grip on a good attitude in a heartbeat?   Who have you met that inspired you with a “Wheelie Attitude”

Luci and Mary

Recently I attended an event called Women of Faith.  Yes, I know I am not a woman but I have faith, so I partly qualify.  I came away amazed at the examples of excellent communication I had seen.

As a professional speaking consultant and trainer I evaluate communicators.  I’m always looking for ways speakers can improve. In fact, I have never stopped trying to find ways to improve my own speaking. But, something happened. I got so caught up in the messages that I forgot to critique!  Instead my life was changed.  THAT is what good communication does……. it changes lives.

As I flew home that I asked myself , “What qualities did the Women of Faith presentation team have that made them such powerful communicators.

• They connected with the audience.  

They shared their stories of walking the difficult paths of life.  No easy, trite answers, just personal accounts of the journey.   They spoke directly to the needs of women,  but in doing so spoke to the needs of humankind.  This quality of connection is closely linked to another quality they exhibited.

• They were vulnerable.  

They laid it all of the table, the good the bad and the ugly.  They freely confessed that the in the middle of overwhelming storms, it is the grace and love of God that provides hope.  Some speakers were scared.  One lost her place.  Words were mispronounced.  Unexpected emotions surfaced.  Yet these gifted communicators held the audience, including me, in the palm of their hand.   They laughed at themselves and in the process exposed the lie that perfection is a requirement for great communication or for living life.  I don’t think  this kind of vulnerability can be taught.  It is a gift that pours out when men or women finally feel safe enough in Christ to tell the truth.  I am convinced that only the strong are capable of being vulnerable.  I’ll save that discussion for another blog.

• They had fun

If your image of Women of Faith is a bunch of ” church ladies” soothing each other with, “Well isn’t that special,”  your dead wrong.  I laughed as hard at this conference as I have anywhere else.  The organizers and presenters are BOLD individuals who don’t mince words, and just plain have fun.

If you are a woman, find a  conference near your home and sign up! 

If you are a man, pony up the money and give your wife this amazing experience as a gift.

If you have benefited from attending Women of Faith,  I would love to hear your comments.

If you would like to develop your speaking skills, check out our next Dynamic Communicators Workshop in Beaver Creek Colorado. I would love to see you there!

Go for it!

Many years ago, in a galaxy far far away, there was a television commercial promoting beer.  The commercial featured several young people precariously perched on a catamaran sailing through the water.  As spray hit the lens of the camera, a dramatic voice announced, “You only go around once! Reach for all the gusto you can get.”  Then the ad encouraged the viewer to drink their beer.

The ad was brilliant and deceptive.

The ad was brilliant because it played on two truths that motivate every living human being.

1. We only have one life to live.
2. We want to live it with Gusto.

Both of those truths are proclaimed in scripture.

Hebrews 9:26 “Everyone has to die once.” MSG

John 10:10 I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.   MSG

The ad was deceptive because it claimed that beer would maximize the gusto in life.  The truth is, drinking beer won’t maximize life any more then eating watermelon.  The mis-use of beer or watermelon can actually minimize life.   (I will save “The Dangers of Watermelon Abuse” for another blog.)

The secret to living fully alive does not come from the consumption of any product.  The secret to living “Fully Alive” comes as a result of living out three principles that lead to abundant life.

1. Live with Nothing to Prove.

We waste so much time in life trying to prove our worth with the things we own, the power we yield and the circle of influence we have that we forget all of that can be taken in an instant.  None of it is a measure of worth.  I spent much of my early life trying to validate my worth with misguided athletic endeavors  (I have the hand eye coordination of a carp) and by selfishly motivated attempts to get people to like me.

I felt a surge of life when I finally started to believe that I was one of a kind, a rare work of art painted by the Creator of the universe.  I was made in His image with colors and texture and purpose like no one else.  Even more, my value was solidified when that Creator sacrificed His Son for me.  I cannot be discounted.  A rare painting sells for millions. A unique creation….. paid for by God’s Son….. Priceless!

He gave me worth. I have nothing to prove.

2.  Live with Nothing to Hide.

I have never seen destruction like that which comes when we try to live two lives.  When our energy, time and emotional effort are wasted keeping secret sins hidden from the people we love and the world we live in, everything eventually caves in.   A glance at news coverage of the public exposure of political, business, and even religious leaders who have lived with something to hide, reveals a wide path of collateral devastation strewn along life’s path

When we clean out the garbage in our lives and live an open life designed to honor our Creator, it’s like a breath of fresh air.  This is hard and painful work.  I know.  I have been there.  But how invigorating it is to open the windows, pull up the shades, and live with nothing to hide.

3. Live with Nothing to Lose

Life was never meant to be a waiting room for death, nor a waiting room for eternal life.  Eternal life starts the moment we began to trust Christ to lead us.

From that moment we can live with nothing to prove.

From that moment we are forgiven and given freedom to live with nothing to hide.

From that moment we are also given a hope that transcends death.

Paul said, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  NOTHING scared him.  Paul was ready to suffer and die for his cause.  He wanted to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.   He knew that every situation, no matter how threatening or difficult, had an ultimate out come for good.  He writes:  “Friends, don’t get me wrong.  By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”  
TRANSLATION:

DVD

We only have one life to live.
We were designed to live it with Gusto

Aim HIGH! ——— No!  HIGHER!

Go For It!
To see my full presentation of these principles, check out my DVD, “Good News”,  available here.

We had been on our feet almost all day.  It seemed that with each foot we gained in elevation the packs grew heavier and my legs grew weaker.  I had been watching my feet to see if they were still moving.

A distant sound made me look up.  Black menacing storm clouds were flexing their muscles in the west. Could we beat the storm? It was an important question.  The last thing we wanted is to be caught on the top of a treeless ridge with lightning stomping around us looking for the easiest route to the ground.  Three quarters of the way up the ridge, carrying fifty pound packs that felt twice that heavy it became clear that this was going to be a close race. You don’t want a race with lightning to end in a tie!  

Although the sun was still baking us the clouds were growing darker, larger and closer and now we could see the snaky tongues of lightning searching the distant mountains for us.  I was breathing in huge rasping gasps.  I turned to Danny and said, “I don’t think I can make it.  How are we ever going to get to the top?”  Danny replied with determination and without hesitation.

“One step at a time, Ken.   One step at a time.” 

So the race with the storm was reduced to a simple formula.  Put one foot in front of the other, then give the other foot a turn.  I stared only at my dusty boots. I didn’t want them to become smoking boots.  And I certainly didn’t want to become some crispy critter smoldering on the mountain top.  I moved upward one step at a time.  A cool blast of wind announced my arrival at the top of the ridge.  We did not stop to celebrate, but we whooped it up all the way down the other side of the moutain.  We had beaten the storm. We were alive!  We did it one step at a time.

What mountain has to be climbed for you to experience life fully alive?

What is the first step you have to take?

You may not be sure.  Take a step anyway.  Don’t try to figure it all out before you move.  Start walking, with the first step you will be closer to your destination.

The Key!

Last week I had the privilege of speaking to a group of bright, enthusiastic students attending the 2011 speech and debate camp run by Training Minds Ministry. 

At the end of my presentation the founder of this group, Chris Jeub, asked this question, “If there is limited time to teach children the essentials of Math, Science, History, Literature etc, then why invest time and money to teach children the skill of speech and debate?”

My answer was emphatic. 

All of the knowledge you can accumulate is of little value if you can’t communicate it.  The people who are in most demand in this world are people who have the ability to articulate what they know, people who have the skills to debate what they believe.

Whether one is the CEO of a major corporation, pastor of a local church or the parent of a family, a MAJOR part of their ability to do that job with excellence is to know how to communicate well.  The students I saw at this camp are far advanced in speaking skills.  Because of those skills their chances to succeed in any field they choose is multiplied significantly.

So my answer was YES!  Communication skills are the KEY to success, and essential to affective life.

Over the years those attending our Dynamic Communicators Workshops have raved about the difference the training made in

their public speaking,

their writing,

their relationships and

their ability to plan and focus their life.

When we teach people how to aim for an outcome in speaking it ends up affecting their whole life.  Aim at nothing you will hit it every time.  Know where you are going and you can take anyone with you.

Join me and some of the country’s Top Instructors in Vail Colorado  October 17 – 20/21 and learn how to focus, your verbal communication, your writing, and your life.