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On Being The Friendliest
By Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, February 16, 2017
Disclaimer: There was a time in my
life when I took Jeffrey Gitomer’s
words from his book, The Little Gold
Book of YES!Attitude to heart. I
have read the book at least 6 times and have listened to it on CD even more
times in my car. There was a time when a
friend of mine called just to tell me that he called on that day just to hear
the positive attitude in my voice because I always had one and he needed a lift. That was then, this is now. On February 16, 2017 I realized I had slipped
away a great distance from that type of attitude and while I can offer you many
reasons why, it is safe to say that the primary reason has been the world of
politics. I had a belief that something
I had to say or something that I had given a lot of thought to regarding world
politics would make a difference in our world.
On this day I realized just how fruitless that belief actually was. So on February 16, 2017, I officially resigned
from being the Chief Executive Officer of the World. I would strongly recommend others give
serious consideration of doing the same. If there is one thing I am certain,
there cannot be two or more or as I have discovered Millions who feel they too
can be the CEO of the World.
Definition: Friendliest:
characteristic of or befitting a friend, showing friendship; like a friend; kind; helpful; favorably disposed; inclined to approve, help, or support; not
hostile or at variance; amicable; able to coexist with something without harm
or trouble.
Initial Thoughts on
Friendliest: When
I first read this quote from Gitomer, my initial thought was that becoming the “friendliest”
person would mean becoming a person that other people would want to be around;
being someone people would seek out to be uplifted by just by “being around.”
From
Orison Swett Marden’s book, Cheerfulness as a Life Power, “He
alone is the happy man who has learned to extract happiness, not from ideal
conditions, but from the actual ones about him. The man who has mastered the
secret will not wait for ideal surroundings; he will not wait until next year,
next decade, until he gets rich, until he can travel abroad, until he can
afford to surround himself with works of the great masters; but he will make
the most out of life today, where he is.”
“Where he is!” That is the key. Not where you wish you were or how you wish
things were, but where you are right now!
If you take the time to look around “where you are”, you will discover
that there are many things that you should be grateful for but so often take for
granted or simply overlook. Again, there
was a time, way back when, when I carried a “gratitude stone” with me. It was a great habit, past tense. It was nothing more than a glass rock
purchased from a local Hobby Lobby store.
The premise was simple. You carry
the gratitude stone with you EVERYWHERE
you go. You kept it in your pocket or
your purse and EVERYTIME you saw,
felt or touched it, you paused and gave thanks for something in your life at
that moment in time. It could be
something as simple as just being able to breathe or it might be the car you
are driving, your spouse, your children, your home or a cold glass of
water. The point is that there are
always things, hundreds of things that you can be immediately grateful
for. Pause and think about those things
when you can and then give thanks they are in your life.
Why? Because it is impossible to hold two opposing
thoughts at the same time or at least that is my belief. If you are constantly giving gratitude for
what you have in your life, you have no time for thoughts of any other
kind. I found myself listening and
watching the news and the news is horrible; always has been, always will
be; if it bleeds, it leads! With the advent of cable news, we now have
access to the news 24 hours a day. As an
example, for the past two hours I have not watched or listened to the news for
even one second. I have no idea what the
President Trump haters or lovers are doing; they are going to do it whether I
agree with them or not. I don’t know
what the Russians are doing or the North Koreans or the Iranians. I only know what I have been doing –
listening to good music and thinking about writing this Nugget. Pretty simple and a better expenditure of my
time than watching the misery on TV or listening to it on the Radio or scanning
and responding to the numerous Facebook posts.
What do I hope to
accomplish: It
is important for me to always be aware that what someone else thinks of me is
none of my business; regardless! Is also
critical to be aware not to give people a reason to think unkindly of me. If I can convince just one person that there
is a better way to achieve happiness and success by being grateful thus
friendly; I will have succeeded. Maybe
that one person will be you.
Gratitude Stone Learn
More: If you want to
learn more about the Gratitude Stone, I encourage you to go to http://freespirituality.com/what-is-a-gratitude-stone/
where you can read what Tara Walker has
written.
Conclusion: I believe that to be the “friendliness”
person you must first be a person of gratitude for all that is good in your
life and in the world. Moving from where
I had TEMPORARILY landed to
where I NEED to PERMANENTLY be will not be easy
and will require a constant reminder – a gratitude stone. This time I have given up my ruby red
gratitude glass stone and replaced it with a U. S. Coast Guard Commemorative
Coin. Why? First it is heavy so I will always know that
it is in my pocket. Secondly because it
represents some of the happiest and most content days of my life while serving
in the U. S. Coast Guard and starting my family. I’ll see it every morning as I remove it from
my dresser and put it in my pocket. I
will feel it in my pocket all day long and every time I put my hand in my
pocket. I will see it the last thing
every evening as I replace it on top of my dresser until the next morning. And every time I see, feel or touch it I WILL pause to give thanks and be
grateful for what I have. I WILL return to my roots of working on a
positive attitude by once again becoming grateful for what I have.
Action
Plan: I will…
- Carry my Coast Guard Coin with me at all times
- Pause and give thanks for that which I have in my life
- Greet everyone, no exceptions, with a smile and a good morning, afternoon or evening
- Pause BEFORE I answer the phone to clear my mind, smile and then answer the phone
- LISTEN to people before I think about what I will say next; wait for my turn to talk
- Imagine everyone with a forehead tattoo that reads: WCILFTP, (What can I learn from this person?)
- Get back to the habit of asking people questions about their lives
- Spend more time listening to good music
- Return to the habit of reading at least two books a month; less time watching television, except for Elementary, Elementary is fascinating as are most shows on the History Channel
- Return to the habit of writing “thinking of you” note cards and sending them out daily
- Add to this list as situations arise
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