I originally sent this ”Thought 4 the Day” T4D out in early 2002. 

“I wish I were as enthusiastic as you.” said the young man. Or should I say “said the young ignorant man.” Ignorance is not a bad thing, because with just a little information and a little bit of effort, it can be overcome.

Enthusiasm is not an accidental gift of the Gods, it is a choice, it is an obtainable attribute that can be strengthened through exercise and discipline, like any other attribute.  Make enthusiasm a deliberate part of your personality. We could start by learning exactly what the word means…we could start at www.dictionary.com

en·thu·si·asm Pronunciation Key ( n-th z - z m)n. 1.Great excitement for or interest in a subject or cause. 2.A source or cause of great excitement or interest. 3.Archaic. a.Ecstasy arising from supposed possession by a god. b.Religious fanaticism. [Late Latin enth siasmus, from Greek enthousiasmos, from enthousiazein, to be inspired by a god, from entheos, possessed : en-, in; see en-2 + theos, god; see dh s- in Indo-European Roots.]

Word History: Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm, said the very quotable Ralph Waldo Emerson, who also said, Everywhere the history of religion betrays a tendency to enthusiasm.

These two uses of the word enthusiasm one positive and one negative both derive from its source in Greek. Enthusiasm first appeared in English in 1603 with the meaning possession by a god. The source of the word is the Greek enthousiasmos, which ultimately comes from the adjective entheos, having the god within, formed from en, in, within, and theos, god. Over time the meaning of enthusiasm became extended to rapturous inspiration like that caused by a god to an overly confident or delusory belief that one is inspired by God, to ill-regulated religious fervor, religious extremism, and eventually to the familiar sense craze, excitement, strong liking for something. Now one can have an enthusiasm for almost anything, from water skiing to fast food, without religion entering into it at all.

En*thu”si*asm, n. [Gr. ?, fr. ? to be inspired or possessed by the god, fr. ?, ?, inspired: cf. enthousiasme. See Entheal, Theism.] 1. Inspiration as if by a divine or superhuman power; ecstasy; hence, a conceit of divine possession and revelation, or of being directly subject to some divine impulse.

2. A state of impassioned emotion; transport; elevation of fancy; exaltation of soul; as, the poetry of enthusiasm.

Resolutions adopted in enthusiasm are often repented of when excitement has been succeeded by the wearing duties of hard everyday routine. –Froude.

3. Enkindled and kindling fervor of soul; strong excitement of feeling on behalf of a cause or a subject; ardent and imaginative zeal or interest; as, he engaged in his profession with enthusiasm.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. –Emerson.

4. Lively manifestation of joy or zeal.

Let us be possessed by a spirit of enthusiasm!

Kirk Out

One of my wife’s all time favorite quotes is this one…. “We move towards and become that which we consistently think about and believe.”

I share these supporting thoughts from the book “What to Say when you talk to Yourself” authored by Shad Helmstetter PhD.

Could it be that those who appear to be “luckier” than the rest have actually only gotten a little better programming, or perhaps have learned how to erase their old negative programming and replace it with something better?

I was shocked to learn the simplicity of one small fact: You will become what you think about most; your success or failure in anything, large or small, will depend on your programming–what you accept from others, and what you say when you talk to yourself.

It is no longer a success theory; it is a simple, but powerful fact.   Neither luck nor desire has the slightest thing to do with it. It makes no difference whether we believe it or not. The brain simply believes what you tell it most. And what you tell it about you, it will create. It has no choice.

Kirk Out

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

– Robert Brault

The following story, by Ron White, is a long but worthwhile read.  I hope you enjoy it as I did.  ~ Kirk 

A Grenade, A Helmet And A Choice By Ron White

His name was Jason Dunham and he was a corporal in the US Marines. The story picks up with Jason as he was talking with the men in his unit. They wondered whether a person could jump on a grenade and survive by putting it under their helmet. Deep down they all most likely knew that it wouldn’t work - yet on the streets of Baghdad soon all topics of conversation can become quickly exhausted, and hypothetical solutions to real life problems can pass the time.

Unfortunately for Jason Dunham, the circumstance that he had hypothesized about arrived just a few weeks later. However, fortunately for his unit Corporal Jason Dunham was there. In this life and death scenario there is no time to think. There is only time for fight or flight. Jason chose fight and performed above and beyond the call of duty. He threw his helmet and body over the grenade and gave his life for his friends. Jason was nominated for The Congressional Medal of Honor. He was twenty years old.

Your stance on political matters or world issues is irrelevant in this scenario. Jason did not do this for you, he did not do it for the people of Baghdad, he didn’t do it for the US Government or a politician. He did it for the men beside him - period.

To give your life for your friends the greatest thing one person can do for another. It is also one of the rarest acts of civilization.

In 1981, shots rang out as bullets screamed through the air to pierce the flesh of the fortieth President of The United States. No sooner had the gun powder been ignited than Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy stood up as straight as a board and extended his arms to make himself a large barrier between John Hinckley and President Reagan. While others ran for cover agent McCarthy stood looking directly as his potential death with firm resolve. Tim was shot square in the chest and believe it or not that was exactly his goal. As he positioned himself spread eagle to take a bullet for a man, an office and a nation others cowered in trembling fear. Because of amazing grace agent McCarthy survived.

What causes men and women to lay down their lives for another? It takes a lot. First and foremost it takes a realization that life isn’t about you. It is about making a difference, making an impact and it is about giving.

Jason Dunham and Tim McCarthy were able to respond the way they did because:

• They decided how they were going to respond long before the event occurred.
• They were not selfish people - the farthest you could be from selfish as a matter of fact.

• They realized that life was not about them it was about making a difference - it was about others.

I hope with all my heart you are never placed in a situation where you have to choose between your life and those around you. Yet, everyday you are in situations where you have to make choices. You must decide right now how you will respond.

The lesson to extract from the lives of Corporal Dunham and Agent McCarthy is that of an overall attitude on life. That attitude simply put is that it is better to give than receive. It is honorable to view the lives and well being of others above yourself. If we can take any pearl of wisdom from the extraordinary lives and attitudes of these two men it is that making an impact on the world is not always about recognition, power, money or personal gain. Sometimes the greatest success is one who gives himself up so others can succeed. That is the mark of the ultimate high achiever.

Decide today how you will respond in your moments of crisis - whether it is financial, personal or life and death. As you make your plan your actions, remember the selfless lessons of Corporal Dunham and Agent McCarthy.

A dear and close friend of mine Roger Anthony from Australia who started a most wonderful human development company called Crocodiles not Waterlilies penned a short little book filled with precious pearls of wisdom for those who are journeying on the “Pathway to Mastery”. The book is titled, “NOW I UNDERSTAND“, and today’s thought is taken from page 36.

Mightier Than the Sword….is The Spoken Word

Knowing that the spoken word is parent to my thoughts, that thoughts are governors of my actions and actions are the producers of results, I am ever vigilant over words I speak.

Now I understand, the development of harmonious relationships is best served when we respect and carefully stand guard over the words we speak, knowing assuredly of their unlimited creative power, for they can either Build Up or Tear Down, Strengthen or Weaken, Emancipate or Enslave…THE CHOICE IS OURS!

In the doing comes…Becoming as One Through a Carefully Bridled Tongue

This wonderful little book- easily one of my top five favorite books of all time - is filled with truths presented in this simple format.  I love it!

You can obtain your own copy of this book from http://www.morebetterbooks.com/

Kirk

The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.  ~Earl Nightingale

How many times have you thought about something that you would like to accomplish?  You figured out what it would take to get it done.  You work out all the details, right down to how you were going to celebrate your accomplishment.  Then you pressed on to something important to think about, like that rerun on TV.  

Later the thoughts about your goal came back with almost vivid clarity.  You thought about it again.  You even noticed a problem that you didn’t think of before, and figured out a work around, or, better yet a fix for the problem.  Wow, its all come together and there’s just one more step to go and watch out because nothing’s going to stop you now.  Oops, a little distraction, like its time to mow the lawn.  

While you are mowing the lawn a brilliant plan dulls the noise from the lawn mower.  You recognize it, maybe, and after some thought it is becoming clearer.  Amazing, its the plan about what you wanted to accomplish.  While still going at the lawn the jigsaw puzzle comes together one more time.  Why didn’t you think of it earlier.  It is so simple.  It won’t take too much effort.  You can do it.  Darn it started to rain and the lawn will have to wait for another time.  

It seems we think brilliant thoughts and dream grand dreams, but something inside stops us.  It is said that many a man dies with all his best dreams still inside him.  It is also said that a journey of a thousand miles starts with but a single step.  My good friend Betty from Texas sent me this very simple truth.  

You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. - Author unknown  

Take that step, plow that field, action your dreams….YOU CAN DO IT! Written by  Fraser

A childlike man is not a man whose development has been arrested; on the contrary, he is a man who has given himself a chance of continuing to develop long after most adults have muffled themselves in the cocoon of middle aged habit and convention.  — Aldous Huxley

This next piece on Bio-Teams was initially intriguing to me….but after reading it, I was a bit less excited.  It seemed, at least to me, to be simply re-stating in a new terms something we already know  - “Great leaders build teams of powerful capable people and let them “play to their strengths” and lead as is needed.  If you have thoughts you want to share about bio-teaming I invite you to do so at www.kirkweisler.com/t4d 

Traditional organizational teams just became extinct.
With the emergence of global Internet collaboration, social networks and mobile communications, the very meaning of the word “team” has changed –changed utterly. Ken Thompson, former European IT Manager with Reuters and a  pioneer of the burgeoning “biomimicry” design movement, has mapped out a fundamentally new model for teams. He teaches organizations how they can look to the natural world to create high performance “bioteams” based on nature’s best designs.

In his just-released book, Bioteams, Thompson offers a way to build exceptionally agile, high performing teams based on a thorough examination of the key communication principles that underpin nature’s most successful groups –from signal bursts of migrating flocks of geese, to the waggle dance of honeybees, to the pheromone trails laid down by ants. Based on nature’s communication patterns, he provides a complete set of practical techniques that have been proven with real teams in the field, whose stories are described in a comprehensive set of case studies in the book.

According to Thompson, “Using the principles of bioteaming, command-and-control leadership gives way to connect-and-collaborate, where every member of an organizational team is a ‘leader.’ In nature and in bioteams, leaders don’t give commands, they transmit information, trusting the team members’ competencies and gaining accountability through transparency. True team leadership is about cooperation, not control. It’s about acting on opportunities, and letting others lead the leader when they know best about getting stuff done.”

Bioteams offers a vision of what successful teaming experiences look like. More than a book about team dynamics, Bioteams offers stories, principles, and guidelines showing how any individual can successfully participate in almost any work or learning-related situation faced today. Toby Coppel, Managing Director of Yahoo! Europe, said of the book, “If you are looking for the book that describes the radical new model for teams in today’s world –this is it!” Jay Cross, CEO of the Internet Time Group, summarized Thompson’s work, “Ironically, these are not really Thompson’s rules; they are Mother Nature’s.”

——-There are really only two ways to approach life - as victim or as gallant fighter - and you must decide if you want to act or react, deal your own cards or play with a stacked deck. And if you don’t decide which way to play with life, it always plays with you.  –Merle Shain

“I have never been a millionaire. But I have enjoyed a crackling fire, a glorious sunset, a walk with a friend and a hug from a child. There are plenty of life’s tiny delights for all of us.”  Jack Anthony

No pleasure philosophy, no sensuality, no place nor power, no material success can for a moment give such inner satisfaction as the sense of living for good purposes, for maintenance of integrity, for the preservation of self-approval.  — Minot Simons

I have been sent this story several times in the past few weeks…  

“The Law of the Garbage Truck”

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, “Why did you just do that? That guy almost ruined your car AND sent us to the hospital!”

That is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck.”

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

So take your own garbage out …but not out on others

Kirk

“It takes time to build a corporate work of art.

It takes time to build a life.

And it takes time to develop and grow.

So give yourself, your enterprise, and your family the time they deserve and the time they require.”

-Jim Rohn

I now recommit - I will give myself the time it takes

Kirk Out