Message of the Day - Making it Work with what you Got

Good Morning,

 

My daughter is a fan of the cartoon 'Avatar: The Last Air Bender' and often we will watch an episode prior to going to bed at night. Tonight the episode was about Sakka who learned sword skills from a master swordsman. In the last part of the episode, the master was testing Sakka on what he had learned. Sakka on the other hand thought the master was out to get him when he revealed his true identity and origin.

 

To fight and defend himself, Sakka did the following:

 

Used his youthful agility, which was greater than the master's.

Used his surroundings to work for him.

Used the terrain to his advantage, higher ground, etc.

Used unexpected tactics to throw off the master.

 

In effect, he used what he did well to improve his overall performance.

 

While this is a kid's show, and even a big kid's show, there is some useful knowledge here. When we use those attributes we have to our advantage, we can perform better in work, and in life.

 

For example, one person I worked with had an amazing attention to detail. An ability to go deep into facts and figures and tweeze out details which others both could not find and did not have the patience to look for. This skill of focus and attention to detail makes him a true asset wherever he is when there is a need for research into project or problem.

 

If you are very good at understanding cars, and can name stock engine sizes for the last 20 years of your favorite make and model, that too is a valuable skill. When you get excited about something, you have the ability to learn great deals of information and can bring it up whenever you need it. Some of the best customer service folks I have ever worked with had this skill. Some put it to work and became subject matter experts in our company, and others didn't put in the effort and eventually got fed up and left.

 

Whatever special skills you have, you can most likely apply them to other parts of your life. The better you are at in these skills, the better you will be when you use them in different areas. Like what Donald Clifton and Marcus Buckingham shared in "Now Discover Your Strengths" the potential to improving our strengths is much higher than improving areas we normally struggle in.

 

When we match up our skills, what we like to do, with our jobs and what we have to do, the job becomes more fun, and our ability to work it becomes easier with greater results.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com   Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336

Message of the Day - What Comes In Is What Goes Out

Good Morning,

 

I have spent some time reflecting on what I can do to further improve myself so I can better serve others, be a better husband, father, friend, employee and Christian. How I can get into better shape and how to sharpen my mind further. Through this reflection I have looked to people who are doing what I want to do. They are healthy, they are good fathers, husbands, friends and successful in their jobs, etc. When talking with them, there seems to be a single trend which underlies their success.

 

What they put into themselves is what they get out.

 

At a basic level this involves food. When Karen and I were at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove last month, each meal was a buffet. It was also delicious and each of us went up for a second serving on more than one meal. Yet, at the end of our weekend, neither of us had gained any weight. Why? The food. There was zero fried foods, no junk foods, and even the snacks, frozen yogurt, were healthy. In effect, what we put into our bodies is what produces the results we see or don't see. To this end, we are changing our diets. Instead of snacking on a bag of chips, we are reaching for dried fruits, etc. It will be a slow process to make the full transition to healthier eating, but it will make our lives better.

 

This also goes for our minds as well as our bodies. Several friends and associates I know don't have a television in their houses. They and their kids don't watch TV. The horror, I know. Their kids, though, are doing extremely well in school, and turning out successful in life. Why? Television is mostly junk food for the mind. It has been called the idiot box for years. And this label is not for people who watch it, but what it does to people who do watch it excessively, it makes them into idiots. This does not mean that I am against all TV, as I am not. I am though, particular of what I do watch. Educational shows where I learn something make up most of my personal viewing. A few cartoons here or there for levity, and that is it.

 

If like watching violent action and horror movies, realize this is what is being fed into your mind. And just touching on video games, I am not sure of worse time stealer than these addictive enticements. Luckily there is the Wii which helps you physically when you do play. Does watching these TV shows, movies, hours of video games and whatnot cause in impact on you as a person, one what you do and how you act?Why not test it. Switch to enriching material for one month and see how you feel about yourself.

 

What I put into my mind are books, some magazines, and information I hear on the radio. Mostly enriching material. I have stopped listening to violent music, and while I still love hard rock and metal, I listen to Christian hard rock and metal (Skillet, Fireflight, etc.). I still play a video game here or there, but try not to do anything that takes more than 30 minutes in a day. I want my mind to munch on something edifying.

 

As I wrote in my book, Learn and Grow Daily!, the more I filled my mind with knowledge the more I moved to the Lord. It has had a humbling experience in my life and I think it has made me a better person. Others tell me the same of how I have changed and grown. My thirst for knowledge and entertainment is still there, but it seldom looks for the mind-numbing materials of my past. Gone are the days of watching Jerry Springer and endless sitcoms, playing Final Fantasy for 10 hours straight, sitting down with bags of chips or cookies to just munch and slowly killing myself as a couch potato.

 

What I put into my mind and my body is what I get out. With that decision I changed the course of my life for the better, and I urge you to consider doing the same thing. It may not mean throwing your TV out, but maybe switching from the 100th viewing of that 'Friends' episode to 'How Its Made' or some other educational show. Instead of running to the next action packed special effects laden movie, find a book to help expand your mind. 

 

Now, off to get some dried apricots for a snack.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com  Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336

 

Message of the Day - We are Unique and that is Good

Good Morning,

 

In my recent read, "Encourage Me" by Charles Swindoll (http://www.amazon.com/Encourage-Me-Charles-R-Swindoll/dp/0310415217), I came across a section which really resonated with me. It was how each and every one of us is a unique person, and more than that, each and every one of us is purposefully made to be unique.

 

While being who we are does not necessarily make for a calm and simple life, it does make it okay to be who we are. That means that we don't have to be a John Wayne or Bill Gates or Martin Luther King Jr. or anyone other than who we, ourselves are.

 

Being unique is good because there is no one else in the world quite like us. For some of us, this a good thing. I know there are many people out there thinking that there is only one Sanford Berenberg and the world is grateful. I am too. This means that I am the only one of me. It means that the contributions I make to others are all the more important as I am the only one of me who will be making them. Not that any of these are innately better than the gifts of others, just that what I give can only come from me, like what you give only comes from you.

 

This does put a burden on ourselves, though. Since we are the only one of ourselves and the gifts and blessings we bring to our families, friends, jobs and society at large can only come from us, it behooves us to do the best we can.

 

That is, since we are unique, what we bring to the table should be our best.

 

When we help others, we should do our best in this endeavor. That does not mean when we donate to a charity or non-profit that our gift will be like Bill Gates' gift, but it will be our gift. It may look a lot like the gifts given by others, but it comes from us, making it unique. And in that respect we should do our best in it.

 

The words we say, come of us, and are unique, so lets also make them count for the benefit of others.

 

When we leave this world, there will be no others exactly like ourselves ever again. Because of this, with the time we have here, lets do our best to help others in a way that only we can do. No matter what we do, with our intentions pure and focused on helping others, giving our best, that is the penultimate gift we can give anyone.

 

We are each unique and that is okay, because the world is a better place because of each and every one of us when we put our efforts on helping others.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com  Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336

Message of the Day - Using the Wrong Label

Good Morning,

 

On Saturday, my brother-in-law, Keith, and I stopped by a Chinese Buffet for lunch. During our meal we perused the food in the buffet and then we saw it. The bin was full of French fries, or so we thought until we saw the label over the bin. These crispy golden fries turned out to be something else. The label said 'Frogs Legs'. I looked more closely at the oddly shaped and colored frog's legs and wondered.  

 

Okay, they were fries and the sign was wrong, but isn't this something we all do from time to time in our day to day lives. We put up the wrong label. We show ourselves to be one thing, when in fact we are something else. We say are are doing one thing, when in fact, we are doing something else.

 

For example:

 

  -When we are upset, but say we are happy.

 

  -When we are being told something and we are asked if we understand and we nod even though we are less than certain of what is being asked of us.

 

  -When we agree to do something knowing full well that our chances of completing it are not the best.

 

  -When we update our resume after learning some new skill or software, do we list that new skill as something we are proficient or even an expert in when it is not quite the truth? 

 

These labels we send out to others offering frogs legs when we are giving French fries can cause some issues and challenges for us down the road.

 

 

For example, with using a wrong label:

 

  -Our integrity is questioned. When someone asks us to do something they may ask knowing full well that we are probably not going to do it, and eventually stop asking.

 

  -Our capability is questioned. We are given all sorts of training which we say we understand, but time after time, we fail to perform in our tasks as if we had never understood the training.

 

  -Our stability is questioned. We are seen as being unstable, with our hearts on our sleeves, and ready to erupt at any time in any place for any reason. We may say we are alright, but deep down, we know we aren't, but worse those around us know it also.

 

  -Our honesty is questioned. When we misrepresent ourselves by saying we are able to do what we cannot, or we know what we do not, those we interact with learn to distrust us.

 

 

These are just the tip of the iceberg of challenges caused by having the wrong label. Honest is the best policy. And as such when I mentioned the label to the restaurant staff, they smiled meekly and removed the label. Luckily most people know what French fries are supposed to look like.

 

Lets wear the right label and be who we say we are, and do what we say we can do.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com  Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336

Message of the Day - Wrong-Way Rah-Rahs

Good Morning,

 

One of my friends shared with me an event that happened at their place of work, where a boss gave a Rah-Rah speech, but the effect and impact of that speech had very different results than the boss probably ever intended.

 

Rah-Rah speeches are those speeches or talks which people use to help get others fired up. They reach key points in the hearts and minds of their audience with the goal of inspiring them to step up, roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done.

 

A successful Rah-Rah speech can turn a losing battle into the biggest win in an organization's history. It can turn the feelings of hopelessness and defeat into those of promise and anticipation of achievement and success.

 

To make a successful Rah-Rah speech, we need to know our audience. We need to know what makes them tick. That is, what is important to them, and at the same time know what they have been doing and what they have been facing in their day-to-day efforts.

 

For us to successfully help motivate others, we need to speak to them in a way that THEY understand that we are speaking to them. Even more so, we must speak in a way to show that we not only know what they are going through, or have faced, but that we also care about them as people and appreciate all they have done and who they are.

 

A person giving a Rah-Rah speech who does not know the people they are speaking to might as well speak to a wall or a statue. People are usually a lot more intuitive and intelligent than others give them credit for. People tend to know when someone tries to snow them, or worse yet, patronize them.

 

My friend is a hard worker who, with their co-workers have pushed themselves for many years to do their jobs well where they work. They tend to pick up the slack for others and often come home exhausted. They also know that they are doing what must be done with the relative obliviousness of the leadership and those who take advantage of the situation by avoiding work.

 

When their boss started talking about tightening up operations and getting folks to pick-up the slack, she pulled my friend and their co-workers into a meeting and gave them a Rah-Rah speech. The boss told them they would need to step it up and gave a list of goals that they would need to work hard to meet.

 

Sadly, what the boss did not know was that these people normally exceeded these goals on a daily basis. The boss ended up insulting and hurting those they wanted to inspire and motivate. My friend and their co-workers then shared what was actually going on with the boss, who seemed relatively clueless about their own department. It's hard for a boss to show they care, when they don't know what is going on.

 

It is a stressful work environment, made worse by a well meaning, but uninformed leader who needs to get a better understanding of what is happening on the front lines of their own operation.

 

This Wrong-Way Rah-Rah imploded on the team, rather than empowered them.

 

Something to think about.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
Follow Me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/sberenberg

http://learnandgrowdaily.com  Click here to order: "Learn And Grow Daily!"

502-533-9336