Do you know what a bore is?

A bore is someone who when you ask them how they are, actually tells you.

So this is a big part of the problem we face when we endeavor to reach out and serve others.

People tend to yammer about their problems.

Blah blah blah I was in the hospital.

Blah blah blah I lost my job.

Sometimes we can look at another person and see their problems from a unique perspective. Have your ever thought about someone you knew who was struggling, and thought that the solutions to their problems seemed so obvious?

What would you say to this person to help them? Something blunt? Something to the point?

“Stop whining.”
“Stop being stupid.”
“Stop being lazy.”
“Get out and TRY.”
“End your toxic relationships.”

Is it possible that someone else sees YOU in the same light? What could we learn if they would tell us honestly about the problems they see in our lives?

Okay, We need a periodic joke around here.

I love jokes.

That's just the way it is. I'll try to keep it clean.

People who know and love me accept the fact that I am a relentless tease.

Don't fall, falter or fail and let me find out.

I'll never let you forget it, and I'll make sure you learn from it.

Does that make me cruel? My kids say yes, I say no. I love the people I tease.

If I've ever given you a cruel nickname, written a demeaning song or limerick about you, you can be sure that I care about you.

Real things are almost ALWAYS funny. Funny is the proof that things are true, and that life goes on. That's why I LOVE jokes. So from now on, we're going to have frequent jokes on this blog.

Here's the first one:

As this man was driving down the freeway, his cell phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way the freeway. Please be careful!"
"It's not just one car," said Herman, "It's hundreds of them!"

Very friendly people make up the Layton Kiwanis club.

I was enjoying myself from the moment I arrived.

I spoke to the Layton Kiwanis club on Wednesday night, March 25th. My lovely daughter Xochi joined me to help with my materials.

The Key Clubs from a couple of the high schools sponsored by the Layton Kiwanis club were present, and we talked a lot about inspiring the youth in our community. These kids were enthusiastic, and had much to contribute.

I learned that true friendliness and communication are the keys to service success. I know I personally felt enriched by meeting with these good folks.

We met at the Golden Corral in Layton, and dinner was great! We had dessert after my presentation.

I hope to reach more Key Clubs and have the opportunity to speak to youth groups.

WHAT AN HONOR TO MEET WITH THE LOGAN KIWANIS CLUB.

On a beautiful snowy Wednesday morning, I went to Logan to meet with the Logan Kiwanis club.
This is a very impressive club. They are making a big difference in their community. We talked about the possibilities of re-creating events that lead to big changes in people’s lives.
I strongly believe that it is very possible to re-create a successful experience of service. It all comes through forming habits of observing the lives of others and looking for ways to serve.
We have to be sincerely interested in the things that matter to others. We have to learn to find joy in the successes of others.
The one thing we cannot do is expect a reaction from the people we serve that comes from the way we imagine things should play out.
The people we want to serve have the freedom to reject our service, or ignore it. They might not see our service as having any value, or they may try to take advantage of our service for other reasons that may seem very petty or even wrong to us.
But this should never deter us or discourage us.
I believe that if we learn to recognize needs in others and ways to teach and lift, and if we learn to find joy in service, we will have successful experiences in service that can be repeated and re-created.
By the way, we met at the Coppermill Restaurant, which meant that lunch was fantastic.

WHO REALLY CARES?

I've found that this is truly the foundation of everything I talk about.

I guess what I believe is that if you can learn to care about yourself and what you know and how you accomplish the things you do and how you interact with people everyday,

Then you'll start to care about others.

Motives are another subject we'll talk about later.

As I've researched our little proverb:
Give a man a fish, blah blah blah, Teach a man to fish, yadda yadda yadda,

I've discovered some amazing attitudes. Some of them tickled me.

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you will not have to listen to his incessant whining about how hungry he is.”

That one kind of hits home. Is this why we reach out to lift others? So they will stop being a bother to us?

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you can sell him fishing equipment.”

Or are we creating customers and followers and admirers?

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to sell fish and he eats steak.”

How far can we take our teaching? How far do we want to take it?

Then we have to honestly ask ourselves if we are doing the right thing:

"Teach a man to fish, and you introduce another competitor into the overcrowded fishing industry. Give a man a fish, and you stimulate demand for your product"

"Sell a man a fish, and he'll eat for a dayTeach a man to fish, and you lose a wonderful business opportunity."

Then came the absolute silly viewpoints:

"Build a man a fire, warm him for one day. Set a man on fire, he'll be warm the rest of his life."

"Give a man a boil and he'll just be sore. Teach a man to boil and he'll be able to make his own tea."

"Give a man a goose, and he'll have Christmas dinner. Teach a man to goose and he'll get a slap in the face."

You're Smarter Than You Think You Are.

This is the title of another presentation I like to give.

It all started with the word "stupid".
I'm fascinated by that word.

It's so offensive. In Mexico it's profanity.

We throw the word "stupid" around as if it were a big joke.

What do we really mean when we call someone stupid? What do we mean when we call ourselves stupid?
Is stupid a permanent condition?

I admit that I've felt stupid too many times in my life.
Now I look for ways to test my intelligence. I like to learn new things and prove to myself that I'm smarter than I thought I was.

You'd be amazed. You know more about more things than you even imagine. You have the capacity to learn and do things that would tickle you pink.

It's fun. It's like magic.

I'll share some games, tricks, and lessons you can use to feel a little smarter.

New things learned with the Murray Exchange club!

Had a GREAT morning visiting with this club.
My daughter Xochi came along to help me record our presentation on video, and she helped me with my hand outs.

The Murray Exchange club is very "Hands On" with the community in regards to service. I feel this is an important element in the change I want to help bring about in our world. Too often we are complacent with the idea of donating to a cause and letting someone else deal face to face with the people we want to serve.

I believe that the only way to really lift each other in this life is to be in actual contact with one another.

I also enjoyed very much the presentation from Dorie Olds, Director of Client Services from the Academy of Life Management here in Salt Lake. She had some wonderful thoughts on stress management.

American Fork Rotary is a great club!

We had so many good things to talk about today, It was a learning day for me.

We met at Jim's Restaurant in Amerian Fork, which is a good thing all by itself. For those of you who haven't been to a Jim's Restaurant: Go right now. It's that good.

The American Fork Rotary club is involved in some of the best service projects I've seen. There is a great feeling in their group.

I had some great participation, and wonderful new insights and ideas on my subject matter. It makes me believe more and more that we CAN make a difference in this world.

We start with ourselves.
Cliches?

Nope. Truth is truth. Go with it.