A LESSON IN GIVING

“Each of us will one day be judged by our standard of life – not by our standard of living; by our measure of giving-not by our measure of wealth; by our simple goodness-not by our seeming greatness.”

William Arthur Ward

When I was traveling several weeks ago, my friend and I took a very late night shuttle from the airport to the hotel to pick up my car. As we arrived in the parking lot, I happened to look down on the floor of the shuttle and discovered three wadded up $20 bills. Since I thought they belonged to my friend when she took money out to tip the driver, I did not say anything until we were in the car headed home. When she went into her purse, she found they were not hers.

The next day I called the hotel, explained the situation, and asked if anyone had reported money missing. Then I waited several days, and when I did not hear anything, I began to think about what to do with that money that would benefit someone else since it did not feel right to simply keep it myself.

I have been trying to teach my little grandchildren, ages 7 and 10, about giving, so several years ago as part of their Christmas present, I adopted a child in Haiti in each of their names. I chose a child of the same sex with some of the same interests so that they could write back and forth and share small gifts with them. When Gavin, age 7 at the time, got the first letter from his new friend telling him that they did not have running water or electricity, his horrified comment was, “You mean they don’t have X-Box?” It has been a wonderful learning experience as they have begun to realize how people in other parts of the world live, and they have made friends with someone from an entirely different culture.

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Weekly Question and Answer

How can I get my employees to give caring customer service?

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MONTANA and MANDORLA RANCH – July 2 – 8, 2008

In February I was asked to be the opening keynote speaker for the Travel Learning Conference in Baltimore, and through that experience, I became friends with Mara Dellipriscolli, the founder of the organization. Because of a tight budget, she offered me a week at her B and B ranch outside of Missoula, Montana, this summer as part of my speaking fee. Since my kids were all busy with other plans, I decided to have a girl friend’s week to celebrate my 65th birthday. This is our story:

The attendees:
Annie Gourley from Belfast, Ireland, my parttime condo neighbor in Sarasota
Penny Davoren from Chicago, IL, my former next door neighbor in IL
Nancy Cobb from Western Springs, IL, one of my traveling friends
Barbara Sadek and Nancy Woolever from Alexandria, VA, friends from the Society for Human Resource Management
And Annette Dubrouilllet from Morris Plains, NJ, a speaker friend

(My daughter, Erin, had planned to be with us, but just a few days before leaving, she was asked to audition for the TV show, “Project Runway,” which was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity since she has just graduated in Fashion Design. By July 9, she needed a 5 minute video, photos of all her creations, her portfolio, and a 10 page application finished, so we decided that this was her first priority. We really missed her, though. BTW, please keep her in your thoughts. The actual auditions are July 21 – August 21 and then filming starts in September. We are all pulling for her to make it!)

All of us who came are very different and have different lifestyles, ages, interests and marital situations. Only a couple of people knew each other ahead of time, but we all shared a similar spirit and joie de vivre, and everyone truly enjoyed everyone else…which is amazing when you think of seven very strong women who did not know one another before, being all together for 24 hours a day for 7 days and not having any issues.

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Weekly Question and Answer

What do employees really want in today’s workplace?

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Weekly Question and Answer

How can I create a workplace that promotes a healthy lifestyle?

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For more ideas on promoting a healthy workplace, read CARE Packages for the Workplace–Dozens of Little Things You Can Do to Regenerate Spirit at Work by Barbara Glanz, available at www.barbaraglanz.com/products/books.php3.

HAPPINESS IS…..??????

In their new book, “Who Are You and What Do You Want – A Journey for the Best of your Life,” Mick Ukleja , Ph. D, and Robert Lorber, Ph. D. share some interesting statistics about happiness from a book by Silverstein and Fiske which reveal that we Americans are, for the most part, an “overwhelmed, isolated, lonely, worried, and unhappy lot.” These were the responses received :

Never have enough time 54.8%
Don’t get enough sleep 53.8%
Don’t spend enough time with friends 51.5%
Worry about my health 40.1%
Working harder than ever 38.0%
Feel a great deal of stress in my life 36.6%
Don’t feel appreciated for all that I do 36.5%
Am happy with my appearance 30.5%
Am happy in my romantic relationships 17.8%

Only 39% agreed with the statement, “I have the right balance in my life;” only 37% with “I feel like a part of my community;” and only 33% (one person in three) with “I have a lot of close friends.”

In “The Progress Paradox, Gregg Easterbrook writes, “The disabled and chronically ill report a slightly higher sense of well-being than the population at large; they have a higher appreciation for the value of their own lives.”

What is thought-provoking for me about these studies is that we as Americans have the highest standard of living in the world, the most access to all kinds of goods and services, and a longer life span than ever before. Yet look how many people are unhappy with their lives!

What really caught my attention was the statement about the disabled and chronically ill being bappier than the rest of the population, and it triggered for me this question:

MUST WE HAVE A LOSS OF SOME KIND IN OUR LIVES IN ORDER TO APPRECIATE HOW GOOD WE REALLY HAVE IT?

Here are Owen and Simon Gawlik, my precious new little grandchildren. They and Gavin and Kinsey are MY happiness! 😉

If you want to make your workplace happier, read “CARE Packages for the Workplace — Dozens of Little Things You Can Do to Regenerate Spirit at Work” by Barbara Glanz, www.barbaraglanz.com/products/books.php3.