Categories
motivation

Why I admire Dandelions

Photo of a backyard with two dandelions among green grass

I admire dandelions because they keep coming back in spite of man’s best efforts to put them down. May we learn a lesson from them on perseverance.

Last week, I saw the first one. In a sea of grass, a lone dandelion popped up from the ground. It isn’t supposed to be there. The place we rent from does regular fertilizing and weeding. In fact, when I look to the left and right, I see no evidence of another weed. There is nothing but a sea of green grass…except right there!

Then last night, I saw that the lone dandelion had a friend. In spite of man’s best efforts, a dandelion plant is thriving and producing two flowers. You have to admire that kind of determination in spite of the best efforts of men with sprayers and spreaders.

Even as a child, I’ve always admired dandelions. They kept me from focusing on baseball and soccer. They were always more interesting than the games. I loved picking them and proudly presenting them to my mom. My grandmother would harvest them and make dandelion greens. Yes, the greens are edible. And if you like spinach, you’d love dandelion greens. Don’t laugh until you try them! Here are some legitimate recipes:

Life Breaks Us

We all have discouraging moments. The last three months have been ripe for disappointments. If you live for any length of time, one of the following will happen:

  • Your heart will be broken
  • Loved ones will disappoint you
  • You will develop an illness
  • Friends will come and go
  • You will be passed over for a promotion
    • It may be because you’re too good at what you do now
    • Or it may be because someone doesn’t trust you over a thing you can’t control like:
      • Race
      • Gender
      • Age
      • Not in “the” Clique
      • Your personality
  • You discover a “stable” job was not that stable when you were laid off
  • A total stranger will say something hurtful, whether they intended to or not

Unfortunately, we live in a broken world that tends to break people.

We have a choice

  • We can choose to let those that break us define us
    • Unforgiveness leads to bitterness
    • Bitterness leads to hurting others
    • We stay stuck
  • We can forgive, persevere and rise above the brokenness
    • Instead of hurting people, we become healers
    • Instead of going with the crowd, we become changemakers
    • Instead of staying stuck, we move on and become a light to the world

I admire dandelions because they just keep coming back in spite of the best efforts to keep them down. May we learn a lesson or two from them on perseverance.

Photo of a backyard with two dandelions among green grass
Categories
Business Business Cartoons motivation

Customer service is turning lemons into lemonade.

sliced lemon fruit in glass picher
Photo by Julia Zolotova on Pexels.com

If you are in customer service, you’ve had to face a lot of lemons lately. It has been nearly impossible to give customers exactly what they want when the whole world has been turned upside down. Yet customer service is turning lemons into lemonade.

When I drew this cartoon, I didn’t realize how sales and customer service do this daily. Instead, I wondered how even a humble lemonade stand owner could benefit from customer service. I didn’t know about the sour events customer service representatives face daily. Yet, this view can be compelling.

One of my friends works in the hospital billing department. She has fielded calls from people who have been affected by the financial hardships of COVID-19. For example, two couples in a family have lost their jobs. Or maybe someone just wanted to talk about the disease. She’s done a lot of listening. She’s shed tears with customers who are going through tough times.

About a year ago, our plant was going through some capital improvements. We hit some snags when installing and testing the new equipment, which caused jobs to be late. Our customer service department had a very rough time because they had to field the calls of frustrated customers who were used to excellent service. I was impressed by those in the department who took the time to listen and be helpful even when they may have felt there was little they could do.

Excellent customer service looks like the following:

  • Treat each customer the way you want to be treated
  • Taking the time to listen to the customer even when they may disagree with them
  • Offer solutions that may not be precisely what they wish but involve compromise
  • Being an advocate for the customer while avoiding making unattainable promisUltimately

In the end, if we’re in business, we are all in customer service. Everyone wants to know they are being listened to and that the other person cares about their plight. Consider listening to the customer and becoming an expert at turning lemons into lemonade.

Cartoon of a boy at a lemonade stand and a girl. the girl says, "How's your customer service?"
Categories
Quotes

Enthusiasm and Perseverance

One man has enthusiasm for 30 minutes, another for 30 days, but it is the man who has it for 30 years who makes a success of his life.

Edward B. Butler in Instant Inspiration

Did you think life was supposed to be easy? Who told you that? Surely you didn’t believe all those commercials over the years that promised the good, easy life if you just bought their product, did you?

Right now, it may be difficult to maintain enthusiasm. You’re not going to get much help from the news media or social media. You may find some gold if you filter out all the bad information. But you may have to dig through a lot of manure to get to the treasure.

Keep going, though. Keep going with the right mindset! Life is truly a long journey. It isn’t over until you breathe your last breath. And even then, I believe there is an eternal glory awaiting.

You may fault me for being a person of faith if you wish. But it takes faith to keep your enthusiasm for thirty or more years. There is something better. Keep striving for it. Don’t expect things to be easy now, but know better days are coming.

Categories
Book Reviews motivation

Why we need to tap into the power of kindness

Cartoon of a boy handing a newspaper to an elderly woman. "She says, "Why thank you for bringing me my newspaper. You are just in time for some fresh-baked cookies."

This morning, I listened to an interview with Adrienne Bankert on The Ziglar Show. It was about kindness as a superpower. It is extremely timely with the events of the last several weeks. Who wouldn’t want to see some more kindness in the world?

When I first posted today’s cartoon, I noted that the more selfish we are, the more miserable we become. Unfortunately, selfish people make others around them miserable as well.

What is the solution? kindness. On the podcast, Adrienne mentioned the difference between being nice and being kind. It was an epiphany for me. Just being nice isn’t kindness. We can be courteous and smile at a stranger without really helping someone. In addition, kindness in the workplace is the key to being professional. There was a lot to think about in this podcast.

You can find more about Adrienne Bankert and her book at her Discover Your Hidden Superpower web site.

Cartoon of a boy handing a newspaper to an elderly woman. "She says, "Why thank you for bringing me my newspaper. You are just in time for some fresh-baked cookies."

Categories
motivation

I blew it this weekend…and you probably did too!

"I blew it this weekend...and you probably did too!"

This was a rough weekend. It was difficult to see the riots, the anger and hatred play out in the news. Cities were burning. Both sides were pointing fingers. In the midst of this are the warnings this could make the coronavirus pandemic worse because of the mass gatherings.

Racism is ugly. It can cause pain and death. I have to admit I don’t know much about what it feels like to be on the receiving end of racism, nor do I understand how hate can dominate one’s life. The issues are much too complex for simple solutions. It can give everyone a sense of hopelessness and despair.

I let it get to me.

You probably let it get to you as well. Who couldn’t? And yet, there were some things I had to be grateful for.

  • The weather was perfect where I live
  • I have the love of a beautiful, devoted wife
  • I am alive, healthy and active
  • I witnessed the first manned launch spaceflight from US soil in nine years

But this time, I didn’t count my blessings. I let the news get me down. I let the narrative of the news sour me. It was a mistake. But it was a mistake that I’m sure a lot of us made.

We cannot ignore the hurt and pain. Yet, we cannot let it put us in a place of hopelessness. How can anything be repaired if we believe it is hopeless?

As we start a new month and a new week, let’s pick up the pieces, count our blessings, and remember there is always something to be grateful for. Then let’s fix what we can. There are plenty of things to be fixed. But let us remember to give ourselves and others grace for the things we can’t fix.