Apparently, this story has been floating around the Web for a while, but I was just made aware of it by my manager, and I want to make sure YOU'RE aware of it, too.
It's attributed to Col. James Moschgat, and tells the story of an unassuming janitor who made a big difference in a lot of lives.
To entice you to read the whole thing:
Maybe it was his physical appearance that made him disappear into the background. Bill didn't move very quickly and, in fact, you could say he even shuffled a bit, as if he suffered from some sort of injury. His gray hair and wrinkled face made him appear ancient to a group of young cadets. And his crooked smile, well, it looked a little funny.
Face it, Bill was an old man working in a young person's world. What did he have to offer us on a personal level?
To find out, read 10 Things a Janitor Can Teach You About Leadership by going to http://www.axpow.org/tenthings.htm.
Truth is...these aren't just leadership lessons, but facts of life that hold the potential to make our world a better place.
I am currently in Month Six of a 9-month contract, working as a Technical Writer for a large, multi-national corporation. The project I'm working on involves the company analyzing its sales data, coming up with a set of business solutions that works for at least 80% of its customers, and packaging those solutions so they get installed and configured the same way, with the same quality, each and every time.
It's all meant to increase consistency, assure quality, and drive down costs.
In the course of writing up release announcements and internal promotional pieces for the whole shebang, I've been looking at quotes about standardization, excellence, and consistency. In that context, I became enamored with something attributed to Aristotle.
Add to that a major point in the teaching series I recently began going through with the Senior Highers at my church about how the whole world can be made a better place by each of us making the part of the world we touch a little better, one day at a time.
Which brought to mind a quote from Rich Mullins:
I would like to encourage you to...start realizing that your ministry is how much of a tip you leave when you eat in a restaurant; when you leave a hotel room whether you leave it all messed up or not; whether you flush your own toilet or not. Your ministry is the way that you love people. And you love people when you write something that is encouraging to them, something challenging. You love people when you call your wife and say, "I'm going to be late for dinner," instead of letting her burn the meal. You love people when maybe you cook a meal for your wife sometime, because you know she's really tired. Loving people - being respectful toward them - is much more important than writing or doing music.
And then the cherry on top is when my friend Shonda Judy posted this on her Facebook page:
Truth is...It seems God is using the very method He's talking about to try to get a message through to me.
Beloved posted a link to an article on her Facebook timeline with the note, "Worth the read!"
Being an excellent husband, I clicked, read, decided she was right, and determined to share it with all of you.
Bronwynn Lea is (among other things) a blogger who posts her musings at bronlea.com. The particular article that commands our attention today is titled "One little word that radically changed my prayers," and I think it has the potential to change yours, as well.
As an enticement for you to read the whole piece ("whole piece"... ha!... oxymoron), I think just this one phrase is needed: Instead of praying "God, make it better," I need to pray "God, make it count."
To read One Little Word That Radically Changed My Prayers, go to http://bronlea.com/2013/08/06/one-little-word-that-radically-changed-my-prayers/
Truth is...little changes can cause big changes.
It was a simple enough question.
I was beginning a seven-week stint as guest teacher of the Senior High Sunday School class at my church, and as a way to break the ice and give me an idea of what kind of students I was going to be with for the next month-and-a-half, I asked them, "What are you looking forward to this coming year?"
It really was a simple question...and I pretty much got simple answers:
"My birthday next month." (When you'll be turning how old?) "16."
"I dunno." (Yes you do.) "Getting my driver's license, I guess."
"Graduating."
And then, the one student in the group with Down Syndrome gave her answer. Because of her muddy speech, I couldn't really understand what she said, but what she lacked in clarity, she more than compensated for with enthusiasm. SOMEthing was going to happen in this young person's coming calendar year and she was REALLY looking forward to it with great anticipation!
When a guy like me gets to be the age I'm getting to be, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot left to look forward to. Instead of "the best is yet to come", it's more like "those were the days, my friend."
And yet, my 9-month contract position comes to an end in April. And yet, I am in the midst of interviews for a possible full-time gig with the company. And yet, my grandkids are getting old enough to really start forming memories of life-with-Grandpa. And yet, this year will be full of firsts...the first time I've ever been this old, with this kind of experience and knowledge, with these kinds of friends, with this particular motivation, with this long of a marriage relationship backing me up.
Truth is...I've got a lot to look forward to. And so do you. And may we all have a happy new year.
