Top 10 Moments of 2018 (and, as always, honorable mentions)

WOWZERS... 2018 was nuts!! I had actually taken the entire month of December off because of the crazy I am now reminded of happening while making this list. Good news, with 30-days off I am chomping at the bit to tear into 2019.

However, before I get into this coming year and everything I have in store... Let's take a moment for my annual look back through the top 10 moments of 2018. **Also, if you are curious about the previous years, all the links are at the bottom!

Honorable Mentions:
*) Shareholders (My first real trip to see Walmart at that next level... It was so fun and ultimately set the tone for what all was going to take place the rest of the year)!!

Balloons in a Room

Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar.

Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon.  Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen.  Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within 5 minutes.  Everyone was frantically searching for their name, pushing, colliding with each other, and there was utter chaos.

At the end of 5 minutes, no one could find their own balloon.

Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it.  Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.  

The speaker began: This is exactly happening in our lives.  Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is.  Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people.

Give them their happiness, you will get your own happiness.
And this is the purpose of human life.

- Author Unknown

The Blind Boy

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the hat began to fill up.

A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it." Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective? 

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have!

Be creative.  Be innovative.  Think differently and positively.  When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret.   Handle your present with confidence.  Prepare for the future without fear.  Keep the faith and drop the worry.  

It is a beautiful thing to see a person smiling.  And even more beautiful, knowing that youare the reason behind it!!!  Catch yourself when you start complaining about what you don't have.  Enjoy your day with a heart of gratitude.

The Glass of Water

The Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students “How much do you think this glass weighs?”

’50gms!’….. ’100gms!’ …..’125 gms’ …the students answered.

“I really don’t know unless I weigh it,” said the professor, “but, my question is: What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?”…. .

‘Nothing’ …..the students said.

‘Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?’ the professor asked.

‘Your arm would begin to ache’ said one of the student

“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”

“Your arm could go numb; you might have severe muscle stress and paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!” … Ventured another student and all the students laughed

“Very good.  But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?” Asked the professor.

‘No’…. Was the answer.

“Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?”  The students were puzzled.
“What should I do now to come out of pain?” asked professor again.

“Put the glass down!” said one of the students

“Exactly!” said the professor.  Life’s problems are something like this.  Hold it for a few minutes in your head and they seem OK.  Think of them for a long time and they begin to ache.  Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.  It’s important to think of the challenges or problems in your life, But EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to ‘PUT THEM DOWN’ at the end of every day before you go to sleep… That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh and strong and can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!

So, when you start your day today, Remember friend to 'PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY!'

You usually gain perspective on the other side of it...

That was certainly the case for Giuseppe, who is named for his father, and immigrant from Italy who had settled in California.  Because they lived in America, the family called him Joe.  But his father had his own nickname for him:  “good-for-nothing.”

Why did the elder Giuseppe call him that?  

Because Joe hated fishing.  That was seen as a terrible thing by the father, because he was a fisherman.  He loved the fishing business.  So did all of his sons - except for Good-for-Nothing Joe.  The boy didn't like being on the boat and the smell of fish made him sick. 

The boy offered to work in an office or to repair nets, but his father was simply disgusted with him and said he was good for nothing. 

The boy who was not afraid of hard work, deliver newspapers and shined shoes, giving the money to the family, but since it wasn't fishing the elder Giuseppe saw no value in it. 

Young Joe hated fishing but he loved baseball.  His older brother used to play sandlot ball and Joe used to follow them there.  And he was good - something of a legend among his playmates.  When Joe was sixteen he decided to drop out of school to become a baseball player.  By the time he was through with baseball, he was a legend.  He was christened as Giuseppe, but the nation came to know him as Joe DiMaggio, called the most complete baseball player of his generation.

And his father, the elder Giuseppe, what do you think about it?  Though he had wanted all of his sons to enter the family business, he was finally proud of his son and respected his accomplishments.  How could he not?  

Joe took the bad experiences and turned them into great experiences through the perspectives of learning.

Taken from:

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn

by. John Maxwell