AYD - June 30, 2011 - Tough Jobs are Filled with Life Lessons

"The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do."
- Thomas Edison

Let's be honest, the most obvious of these habits is good old fashioned Hard Work.

I had a job once that I thought was pretty simple.  Basic labour work.  Sweeping floors in a Fabrication shop.  All day, sweep.  All day tomorrow...sweep.  Some other odds and ends, and then, yup...sweep.  I did my job...and one day a Journeyman at the shop took it upon himself to teach me how to sweep properly. The lesson represented one of my most insightful of my life. Understanding that even something as simple as sweeping, had a more beneficial way to be done - opened my eyes to giving more quality effort in any task I had to do.

From that day on, more so than before, I embraced every task I was given. I would finish a job and while I waited around for direction from my foreman, I stayed busy doing whatever around me needed to be done. I was always in motion. There was always something to do, and it did not have to wait until I was told to do it. And yes, some of those tasks were tedious, boring and just not interesting. What I did not know, was that I was also being noticed. I was also making a difference because I was getting things done.

The value of my actions was shown to me indirectly when lay offs came. I was the least experienced out of four of us Labourers. I worked with a couple seasoned guys who made it pretty clear that they considered themselves too experienced and too good to do some of the work we were given. They said so, loud and clear. Last coffee came, and as I patiently waited for my envelope and my departure letter, the other three guys came in angry...and didn't even say goodbye. They all had envelopes.

I was not a bad worker, yet I still learned alot that day. The message was pretty clear, and hard to miss. And I remember to this day, why they kept this inexperienced, quiet, no complaining kid. I was the only labourer in that shop for some time after that, and somehow even the Project Manager knew my name and would stop me in the shop to ask me how I was doing.

You can leave a lasting impression, and create a solid name for yourself, just by applying your best effort...sometimes to the job no one else wants to do.

May you find a moment this morning that Awakens Your Day.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, "Hi Dad", Author and Friend

Awaken Your Day - June 29, 2011 - And a Touch of Humor Should Guide You

"Think twice before you speak, and then you may be able to say something more insulting than if you spoke right out at once."
- Evan Esar, Esar's Comic Dictionary

You have to admit, there must have been a time when you walked away from a verbal smash and grab opportunity, only to think about what you SHOULD have said.  Let the memory serve you with a "one day we are going to look back at this and laugh" kind of smile.

And then in reality, allow yourself to explore the truth in the awareness of many situations where if we can avoid emotion filled retorts to a comment, or situation, or coversation - and think for but a moment longer before we retaliate with venom...we embrace the opportunity to reach out and take control of the moment before we make it worse for ourselves.

Alot like the game of hockey where the frustrated player ends up getting the penalty for retaliating, I too have made myself appear to be less competent when I reacted / retaliated without due care to an oppressor rather than taken a moment to assess the situation for what I clearly knew it to be, and then beaten him at his own manipulation.  "Mom! This guy at work is picking on me!"  You get the picture.

You hold your cards.  Spread them out so you can see what you have before you make your play.

Good morning, Twice.

Pierre Couturier
Husband, "Daddy, we play Crash, Okay?", Author and Friend.

Awaken Your Day - April 8, 2011 - The Road You Build Is Your Design

"A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her."
- David Brinkley

Many of you have come to the last leg of the race.  Rat race of a working week.
Friday shows you a light at the end of the tunnel; something to reach for; the finish line ahead.

Many of you will enter your weekend feeling like you need a break, and I am sad to say, you may even waste some of this refreshing reprieve from the day to day grind by moaning and complaining about the events of the week and how stressful they were.

WERE.
Past tense.

DONE.
Remember the Finish Line you reached for? 

Have you ever seen a marathon runner, finally finish the goal of completing the event, and then ask the reporters and television crew to follow them back along the course so they could see as they remember and retell the crew every place along the way that they stumbled or faced a tough moment?

I would think, you might want to look back, and say, "Ya, it was a tough week...but I made it and now I know I can do it! " 

And with that frame of mind...might I ask you just what you are capable of achieving this weekend, with your own time to invest ... in you ?

The road you build is by your design.
Use yesterday's news if you like, but the moment you are in, is much fresher material to mold.

Good Morning
Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author and Friend

Awaken Your Day - April 6, 2011 - With One Small Change, I Can ...

"One doesn't discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."
- Andre Gide

We can get really deep with this idea...or we can keep it simple and find it very easy to apply it to our day.
Basically, if you wish to grow, expand, do new things, test the waters, dabble, or just let curiousity get the best of you...you have to be willing to input something new into your existing routine.  And, it is simple to start doing it.

If you go out for lunch today, order something new and not the safe usual.

If you go grocery shopping, put the ingredients for a new recipe on your list and then make it.

Read the full article in the paper and not just the headline.

Ask someone at work about their tasks, and get to know what all goes into their role.

Try on some clothes that you usually walk by because, "Oh, I just don't know".

Plan a one day get away on the weekend and see what your local area has to offer.

The ideas, are endless and can be small or large.  To introduce more awareness, more experiences, and maybe more joy into your life, you need not look far, you just need to begin by moving a little.

One step at a time, could see you Creating some wonderful new experiences and opening countless new doors.

Good Morning
Pierre Couturier
Husband, Daddy, Author and Friend.