Message of the Day - Think Big, Plan Big

Good Morning,

 

I love this photo.  It says to me: “Think Big, Plan Big”

 

 

It is not always enough to think big to get to a better place in life.

 

Seeing the big picture without actually planning or preparing to embrace it is not much more than going to a movies and seeing a film on the big screen.  We watch, we enjoy and then we leave…pretty much the same way that we were when we first came into the theater. With the exception of the sticky floor and popcorn hanging off our clothes.  

 

Seeing the big picture can help us understand more of what is going on in the world around us.

 

This understanding is like knowledge learned.  If it is not applied, than the knowledge is simply an untapped resource.

 

To gain the most benefit from what we learn, we need to use it.  

 

Thinking big is no different.

 

Seeing the big picture without making plans to embrace it leads us on a path of mediocrity and through an ever-familiar neighborhood of where we are now.

 

Planning big, like the Anime Convention I went to a few weeks ago, where they plan to double the size of the convention each year due their successful planning and execution.

 

They see the big picture and they are not afraid to chase that dream by planning to achieve it.

 

Even if we fall short in our goals, if we plan big, we are more likely to achieve better than we would have if we continue to think small and safe.

 

We can all do this in little and big ways. For example, turning a blog into a book is a big dream with big plans. It just took focus, determination and some guts.

 

Think big and plan big.

 

It is the start of something wonderful.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

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

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Heart or Brains?

Good Morning,

 

My current read is John Eldredge’s “Waking the Dead: the Glory of a Heart Fully Alive” (http://www.amazon.com/Waking-Dead-Glory-Heart-Fully/dp/0785265538). This book was recommended to me by a pastor when Karen and I visited The Cove two years ago. I am sorry I waited so long to start it. It is a fantastic read.

 

One section covers the conversation between the Tin Man and Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. That is, from the book, and not the movie where there is more backstory on the Tin Man, among other things.

 

In the conversation, they talk about what they want and why:

 

Both Dorothy and the Scarecrow had been greatly interested in the story of the Tin Woodman, and now they knew why he was so anxious to get a new heart.

“All the Same,” said the Scarecrow, “I shall ask for brains instead of a heart; for a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one.”

“I shall take the heart,” returned the Tin Woodman; “for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world.”

(L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz)

 

 

This raises an interesting question.

 

Which is more important for us to strive for?

 

Deepening our Hearts or Strengthening our Brains?

 

Enriching love or wisdom?

 

Do we pursue a life of love and happiness at the cost of wisdom and knowledge?  Or do we pursue a life of wisdom and learning at the cost of love?

 

While some folks will ponder this question, my answer is to pursue both.  

 

It is a simple answer.

 

Sadly I believe we often forget this and trek down the path of gaining one and forsaking the other.

 

We get so focused on one path that we put blinders on to what is going on around us with the other. 

 

·         Going to college, work and being hell-bent on gaining knowledge while those we love become isolated from us and pushed away.

 

·         Or, we get so focused on doing what we love that stagnate in life, not learning anything new, and when opportunities come by, we cannot respond to them.

 

It is okay to search out a life of love and happiness and at the same time, one of learning and wisdom.

 

If the fourth member of the Oz trio was not such a coward, he might have suggested the Tin Man and Scarecrow both ask for both (just kidding…).

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

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

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - In Memory of a hero who has inspired me and millions of others

 

https://www.stephencovey.com/

 

 

Thank you Dr. Covey for all you have done, all you have written and all you have shared with me and others.

 

We are better off because of you.

 

You will be missed, but never forgotten!

 

Sanford

Message of the Day - We can be a Dulcinea if there is a Don Quixote to believe in us

Good Morning,

 

There are whole industries for finding new talent to bring into an industry. Some call them talent scouts or staffing firms, agents, head hunters, etc.

 

They look for someone to fill a role, be it customer service representative or the heir-apparent to the latest sensation to take the movie industry by storm.

 

But, what about those of us left behind, those not found.

 

Those not chosen?

 

Is there no talent or dare I say, greatness in us to be tapped and brought to a new industry.

 

Are those who are left behind all just so mediocre that we are best left alone and passed over for someone with ‘Real Talent’.

 

Or does it just seem that way?

 

No.

 

We all have talent and we all have skills and within us all lies greatness on some level in some field.

 

Some of us are blessed to be working in areas where our skills and talents align with where we work and what we do.

 

Others are just talented people waiting for someone to believe in them to give them a shot.

 

In last week’s Comicon in San Diego, the 10^th Anniversary Panel for the short-lived, but much loved, Firefly Series, actor Nathan Fillion, Captain Mal, expressed how it was not until this show that a producer felt Nathan could carry a show as a lead. Joss Whedon was the man who saw the potential.

 

 

Just like Don Quixote seeing the lady in Dulcinea when others see a simple peasant girl, we can help pave the way for someone who is lost in mediocrity.

 

 

We can help them  to step up, improve themselves and become the stars they always had the potential to be.

 

Joss saw it in Nathan.

 

We can see it in others, and others can see it in us.

 

It’s all possible should we just look, open our minds to the possibilities, and share them with those who we wish to see become greater.

 

Try this:

 

The next time you are talking to someone, take a moment and imagine what this person could become, what they could accomplish based on what you know about them (and preferably something positive folks).

 

Then each time you interact with them, treat them like what they could be.

 

For example, one of the boys in my Scout Troop wants to be a Doctor. He is smart enough, and is doing well in school, volunteering at hospitals during the summer, etc. When I see him, I call him Dr. At first he felt awkward because he was just a teenager who wanted to be a Doctor.  After a while, he got used to it and smiles when he hears his name as Dr. He started asking me if I thought he could be a doctor, and I told him yes, I believe in him. He now tells me that he really is going to work hard to be a doctor.  And I believe he will make it.

 

We can all be something great with the support of someone who sees our greatness, even if we can’t. Someone who encourages us to be what we could.

 

Don Quixote saw Lady Dulcinea when others saw a peasant girl. In the end, she became Lady Dulcinea.

 

What can we become?

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

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

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Being Blessed by Helping Others

Good Morning,

 

I am a blessed man.

 

·         I don’t just say this because I am married to a wonderful lady.

·         I don’ t just say this because I have loving and caring friends and family (including many of you reading this).

·         I don’t just say this because of what I have accomplished in life…so far.

 

I say this because I have the pleasure of helping others.

 

·         In little ways, by lending an ear to someone going through a tough time.

·         In big ways, by helping a friend work through some of their toughest challenges they have ever faced.

·         In anonymous ways, by sending money monthly to some family in Haiti who will never know who helped put food on their table for a year.

·         In public ways, by helping the boys of my Scout troop to grow into honorable and respectable men.

·         In practical ways, by picking up trash when walking my dog at o’dark thirty each morning.

·         In impractical ways, by buying more doughnuts in the morning than my team can eat and giving them to other groups as a ‘thank you’ and ‘we appreciate you gift’.

·         In personal ways, by fueling the passions of those who want to do what I have done through mentoring and encouraging others.

·         In simple ways, by giving a simple pat on the back…at a strategically important moment.

·         In complex ways, by being the part of a larger plan than just myself, where I work as leader or follower as necessary.

·         In future ways, by learning and growing daily, I find new and better ways to help more and more people in bigger and better ways.

 

Helping others, even in the smallest of ways, like adding another log to the fire of your heart. It warms you and brightens your day all at the same time.

 

I am a blessed man.

 

And I hope all you who are reading this are likewise blessed for all you do to help others in all the ways you do.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

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

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Helping Hand in Hand in Hand

Good Morning,

 

My office moved a couple blocks to a nicer building a few weeks back, but I still park at the same parking garage. So I have added a five block walk round-trip to my daily commute, I try to think about it as more of a forced daily exercise.

 

Yesterday, on my way back to the parking garage today I decided to cut through the hotel attached to the garage and get some AC after hoofing it from the office.

 

As I neared the door, the lady ahead of me opened the door, stepped through and then stopped and held the door for me before moving to the second doorway in the hotel.

 

I thanked her as I stepped up, turned around and then held the door for a lady who was directly behind me. She, in turn, did the same for a gentleman behind her.  The same thing happened at the second set of doors as each one of us held the door open for the next person.

 

Each one of us helped the person next to us in a sort of pay it forward activity with instant results.

 

It seemed kind of funny as we helped each other and then did it again within a few seconds of the first round, yet at the same time, it was happy moment where multiple people were involved with helping multiple people.

 

It was cascading helpfulness.  

 

Everyone’s mood improved and everyone went on their ways with smiles on their faces.

 

It’s amazing the joy that can be created by the simple actions of helping others. And as I experienced, that joy is expanded the more people who were involved with helping others.

 

In our rushed and hurried day-to-day lives, it’s good to know that we can bust through the darkness with simple acts of helping others. Better yet, it’s even better to know that the size of the joy we can create can grow exponentially the more people who get involved in the helping of others.

 

Seems like an untapped power out there, but then again, many of us already know this power and use it regularly, thankfully.

 

When faced with a tough day, or rough experience, try to help another, and if possible create that change of helping hand in hand in hand, etc. to bring joy to everyone involved.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

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

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Being a Good Neighbor

Good Morning,

 

Last week I was camping with the Boy Scouts for summer camp. It was the first time I was back in Summer camp since I was a scout myself in 1984. As an adult leader, I saw the camp from a different eye than I did as a kid.

 

As a boy I thought about the merit badges I would earn, my stuff, my tent and the bugs in it, the fun I would have, what I would buy at the trading post, what was for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and when I was going home. I spent some time thinking about the boys in my patrol and my troop, but not as much as I thought about me.

 

As an adult leader, I thought mostly about the boys, my fellow adult leaders, the boys and leaders in other camps, what I would buy at the trading post and what was for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I guess some things never change.

 

During that week there was a lot of interaction between scouts from different troops as well as their leaders. We visited other campsites and invited other troops to our site. I have little to no recollection of interacting with other troops or campsites during my childhood.

 

What had changed between then and now was the inclusion of others into our time at camp and activities.

 

That is, it was not so much about what we were doing, or what we would get out of things, but more importantly, what we could do for others.  

 

We were being good neighbors.

 

Being a good neighbor does not start and stop with the people who live next to you, or work in the next cubical. Rather being a good neighbor is being mindful of and interactive with those who are near you whenever and wherever you are.

 

When you invest your time into being a good neighbor, stopping to say hello, share a kind word and do something for someone else, you invest into your community. No matter where that community is.

 

It could be as simple as waving hello to every car that drives by at O’Dark 30 when walking the dog. I have been doing that for months. A few days ago, when feeling under the weather and not really loving the early morning walk, I noticed that every, and I mean EVERY car that passed by, the driver or passenger(s) waved to me.

 

You bet that raised my spirits and I waved back to each.

 

Being a good neighbor means putting deposits into that emotional bank account of everyone you interact with, no matter where they are and no matter what they do.

 

The end result is a community that is more enjoyable to be a part of.

 

Like inviting scouts from neighboring camps to join your dinner and campfire presentation to waving hello to everyone who walks or drives by, every little bit helps make where we live and play a better place.

 

In the end, it is all about others, and how we love on each other through our kindness, generosity and thoughtfulness.

 

Be a good neighbor, and make the world a better place, wherever you are.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

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

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Thank You for Allowing Me to Give

Good Morning,

 

Yesterday, on my way home from work, I got off the highway at my normal exit and came to a stop behind a short line of cars waiting for the light to change.  Sometimes at this stop is someone with a sign asking for money or food.  The sad part of it is that with this tough economy, we often do not see the impact it has on others, while we look at our own checkbook and bank accounts.

 

Anyway, I had some dollars in my dashboard ashtray which I planned on using to get coffee at my favorite coffee place the following morning.

 

I am not sure if it was the man himself, or the sign he was holding, but I went for the money to give.

 

His sign said ‘My son loves to cook’. I normally see signs with ‘Veteran’, ‘homeless’, ‘out of work’, and the like.

 

I rolled down my window and stuck my hand out with the two dollars to get his attention.

 

He came up to me and took the money and thanked me.

 

I looked back at him and told him ‘Thank You’.

 

That stopped him and get a weird look on his face and smiled as he said to me ‘you’re welcome’.

 

It must have been odd for him for someone giving him a hand out to say thank you, but being able to give is a gift unto itself.

 

It is said that giving is better than receiving.  We give and often like to see the joy in the face of the receiver. We give knowing that we will hear back how our gift has helped. Sometimes, though, it is better to give when there is no feedback. Sometimes it is better to just give, your time, your money, your efforts, and leave it at that. Basically to fire and forget.

 

I am not sure how much those two dollars will help this man and his family, but I know that it warms my heart to be able to help others, even if it is scrounging in an ashtray for some spare change.

 

It is a pleasure to give!

 

Last night, I did not get to send out this message.

 

This morning, as I drove to work, I pulled the parking pass out of my dashboard ashtray to enter the parking garage and noticed some money underneath that I had not seen last night. Turns out it was $2, and enough change to have my cup of coffee too.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
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http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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Message of the Day - Everyday Heroes

Good Morning,

 

I have been in a funk recently, bringing my writing to near non-existent, and severely impacting my reading as well. This weekend, I prayed for inspiration to find something that I both felt should be written about and what I could write about.

 

This morning, it happened. I was bring that dad who brought his daughter and friend to a local area Anime Convention, Chiisaicon. They luckily had parent-only passes for those who were only going to look around, ensure things were safe for the kids and then head out.

 

This convention is run by local librarians who, in their third year, had taken up part of a new convention center, and look to fill it all next year. The kids keep coming, and they have a lot of fun, in a safe environment.  As an old hat in conventions, my first was in 1985, and since then, I have attended nearly 100 science fiction, star trek, comic book, gaming, horror and anime conventions.  As I walked around, I started talking to the vendors who were in the dealers room. A convention with a good dealers room can make a big difference in the overall performance of the show.

 

The first table I stopped at, was a vendor, Anonymous Woodsprite (http://www.etsy.com/shop/woodspriteanon), selling costume accessories and art. That is one thing that you will find in every Anime Convention is the costumes. The vendor, Amber, turns out to be a physics teacher. During the summer months she does the anime convention circuit.  I was deeply impressed with this lady.  

 

As you know, I like to thank all teachers. They shape the future of our world. They are the ones who help guide our future generations from childhood to adulthood through their loving efforts to help their students.

 

Additionally, our nation is need of more women in the sciences, and for anybody in Engineering and the sciences. In the past, students from other countries would come to America and learn science and engineering and stay here to work. Recently, this trend has shifted toward students coming to America for their studies, but then heading back to their native lands with the knowledge they learned. This is leaving an even bigger gap in America in the science and engineering fields.

 

Amber is a great asset to our nation, in her role as a teacher, and as a role model for children, especially young women, that it is cool to get into the sciences and engineering. That she is an Anime and Sci-Fi fan, going to conventions outside of the school year, and writing fan fiction, shows that she values being connected and educating our youth both in and out of the school year.

 

I was very happy to meet such a wonderful person who has been and will continue to be an inspiration for others to strive for what some consider improbable, if not impossible, more women in the sciences and engineering.

 

For this, I consider her one of our everyday heroes, who through her everyday work, strives to make our world better, one class, one convention, one student at a time.

 

Thank you Amber and thank you teachers all around the world for helping make a positive difference in our lives.

 

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