“Where have you been?” Several people have asked me that question lately referring to the absence of my columns recently. Actually I was in Palm Beach, Fla., teaching a self-development seminar. “How was the weather?” Honestly, I don’t know because the seminar runs for 12 hours a day for five days and I’m never outside.
People from all over the world come to this seminar and pay big, big bucks to attend the seminar. Someone asked me “What do you teach?” Actually, it’s the same stuff you read in my columns in The Morning Sun. Do these ideas work? They do if you do. One of my associates teaches about our “infinite potential.” My part is to teach how to energize our potential because potential is just potential until you put it into action. It’s not enough to “know something” you have to “do something”. I was at a meeting last week and there was a discussion about a situation and they decided they needed a “think tank” to find a solution, but a think tank is only the beginning. We have to get out of the think tank and get into a “do tank”.
From the media we hear a lot about our current economic situation — “It’s dire, difficult, tough times”. But in my opinion, a better word would be it’s “different times” that call for different solutions. Of course, there are things out there I can’t control, but I can always control my response. I can choose to react (negative) or respond (possibilities). I’ve never known a situation where a positive situation was pursued that the situation didn’t improve.
In a recent column, I wrote about finding 10 acres and 55,000 bricks and the favorable outcome was related to the law of attraction. Thoughts are all-powerful and the vibrations (thoughts) you send attract a similar solution. I often say the power to choose is our greatest power.
Last week in Florida, I witnessed a great example. Glen Rikerson attended the seminar. Several years ago, Glen was dating a girl that recently had a situation with another suitor. Jealousy drove the other suitor to run over Glen with and SUV and then drag him another 100 feet. Glen suffered two broken legs, a broken pelvis, broken back, and countless other internal injuries. They said he’d never live through the night, but he did. He was in a coma for five weeks. When he came out of the coma, Glen talked about a daily vision he had and how someone talked to him about recovery and he could see himself walking again. After five years of excruciating pain, rehab, and therapy, Glen has a normal life. He uses a walker and leg brace and while his body is somewhat impaired his mind is not disabled. Glen now does seminars on how to overcome adversity. His former pain is now his gain.
You sometimes hear the expression it’s the way you act when you lose that determine how long it will be before you win again. Sometimes a stumbling block becomes a stepping stone. Linda Grilz is a great example of that. Linda was recently recognized and was in Philadelphia to receive an international award for innovation in higher education. Wow! Congrats, Linda! But her gain involved some pain. Linda had been with printing services with PSU for several years, but with changes, she was reassigned to graphics and imaging technology — something she had never done before. Her new assignment was “here’s the textbook, here are the students, now teach”. Linda had a choice. She could pout, sulk, and just “show up”, but instead she chose to respond. Because she was looking for a solution, that’s what she found. The award was for innovation and imagination. Winning the award was not a surprise, but a result. Actually winning the award wasn’t all that hard because Linda had experience with setbacks. Two years ago, she lost in a recount for a Crawford County Commission seat. Two years later, she ran again and is now one of our county leaders. Congrats, Linda!
Sometimes, we have a tendency to think, “It sounds great, but it’ll never happen to me.” Know what? You’re right. Henry Ford had an expression that said “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you’re right.” Success is an inside job and we have the power to live the life we dream. And please don’t confuse money with success. Success begins and ends with serving other people.
I always conclude my seminars with the greatest success formula. It’s short but powerful. “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you.” Achieving your goals demands action on our part. The Lord said he’d feed the birds, but he didn’t say he’d drop the worm in the nest. It won’t be easy, but what is? Remember nothing is as bad as it seems, and nothing is so good it can’t be better.
Things have been good, but the best is yet to come. 6:27
Hutsey can be reached at phutsey@hotmail.com
PITTSBURG —
