“If a man has talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If he has a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed. If he has a talent and learns somehow to use the whole of it, he has gloriously succeeded and won satisfaction and a triumph few men and women ever know.”
Thomas Wolfe
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about strengths.
No one has the ability to use their weaknesses to accomplish anything great. Building self-confidence is effectively achieved by managing your weaknesses and developing your strengths. In other words, do a lot of what you do well. And, quit doing, or at least reduce the frequency of doing, what restricts your confidence. . . what you don’t do so well.
As a little boy, he was unusually shy and noticeably thin. He wanted to be a tough guy, but no matter what he ate, he couldn’t gain a pound. To make matter’s worse, he was a minister’s son, and that certainly didn’t make him popular. The other members of his family were outgoing and endowed with public speaking ability. He wanted nothing to do with that kind of responsibility.
“I was shy and bashful,” he says, “and this self-image of inadequacy might have gone on indefinitely had it not been for something a professor said to me during my sophomore year in college. One day after I made a miserable showing, he told me to wait after class. ‘How long are you going to be bashful like this, a scared rabbit afraid of the sound of your voice?’ he demanded. ‘You’d better change the way you think about yourself, Peale, before it’s too late.’”
Norman Vincent Peale went on to become a world renowned speaker and author. The talent he possessed laid dormant because he was investing more time and energy dwelling on what he couldn’t do than exposing what he was capable of.
In his book Making The Most of Life, J.R. Miller told a heart-warming story about Leonardo da Vinci. While da Vinci was still a student, long before he became a renowned renaissance artist, his old and famous teacher asked him to finish a picture he had begun. The young student was in such awe of his teacher’s talent that he initially declined the request. His instructor would not accept no for an answer and handed da Vinci the brush, along with these encouraging words: “Do your best.”
DaVinci took the brush and his trembling hands began to stroke the canvas. He gradually gained confidence, his hand grew steady, and his eye “awoke with slumbering genius.” Soon he overcame his initial timidity and found himself engrossed in his work. When the painting was finished, the master teacher was brought into the studio to see it. Filled with pride over his student’s achievement, he embraced da Vinci and exclaimed, “My son, I paint no more!”
Leonardo da Vinci was a common person with an undeveloped talent. He became a master of his trade when he continually did the best with what he had. Henry Van Dyke once suggested, “Use that talent you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.”
Da Vinci’s instructor had a keen sense of talent and an even wiser approach to surfacing talent in order to maximize da Vinci’s potential. As Peter Drucker believed, “To build on a person’s strengths, that is, to enable him to do what he can do, will make him effective . . . to try build on his weaknesses will be . . . frustrating and stultifying.”
What talents have you been timid with? What undeveloped abilities do you possess that are just waiting to blossom? Like Leonardo, your true abilities will surface when you do the best with what you have.
Start viewing yourself as a bundle of potential waiting to be opened - not a package of limitations. Listen to Malcolm Forbes: “Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.”
See yourself as endowed with a unique selection of talents, abilities and skills - not as one left with an empty bag when talents were distributed.
Begin seeing yourself as a person with an exciting future of successes, enjoyment, and opportunities to use what you’re good at.
Your self image rises when you use the gifts you’ve been given. Get started on your list.
“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.”
H. Jackson Brown
Monday, August 23, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Happiness Is Living Every Moment
“To experience happiness we must train ourselves to live in this moment, to savor it for what it is, not running ahead in anticipation of some future date nor lagging behind in the paralysis of the past.”
Luci Swindoll
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about Happiness. Dennis Wholey, author of Are You Happy, reported that according to expert opinion, perhaps only 20 percent of Americans are happy. In another national survey, it was estimated that 29% of us are happy. That’s sad. I’m a pretty happy guy and find it difficult to accept this ‘happiness data.’
Regardless of the accuracy of these statistics, there is a pretty good indication that people want more in their lives. There is a hole somewhere waiting to be filled and thereby producing happiness. Actually, unhappy people simply have a gap between what they expect and what they are experiencing. That’s why happiness has very little to do with what we attain. The more we get, the higher our expectations and the more likely a larger gap will be created.
Unhappy people would probably agree with the wry definition of happiness offered by psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, who said, “Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.” According to this definition, happiness is anywhere we don’t happen to be.
Former child star Shirley Temple Black told a story about her husband, Charles, and his mother. When Charles was a boy, he asked his mother what the happiest moment of her life was.
“This moment--right now,” she responded.
“But what about all the other happy moments in your life?” he said, surprised. “What about when you were married?”
“My happiest moment then was then,” she answered. “My happiest moment now is now. You can only really live in the moment you’re in. So to me, that’s always the happiest moment.”
I love Mrs. Black’s perspective. Whenever you focus on the past you strip the present of it’s’ beauty. And, when you get caught up in the future, you rob the present of its’ potential.
Happiness seems so simple--and yet, so difficult to define. Norman Cousins, former editor of Saturday Review, wrote, “Happiness is probably the easiest emotion to feel, the most elusive to create deliberately, and the most difficult to define. It is experienced differently by different people.” I suggest, after considerable thought, that happiness is an existing state of joyful contentment, accompanied by a peace about the present and hope for the future. Happiness is a by-product experienced by looking at all the good and bad in any given moment and then choosing to focus on the good. Such an easy concept, but a difficult habit to acquire.
“A happy person,” said ABC’s Hugh Downs, “is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” Dr. Norman Vincent Peale agrees. “Happiness,” he said, “is not a matter of good fortune or worldly possessions. It’s a mental attitude. It comes from appreciating what we have, instead of being miserable about what we don’t have. It’s so simple--yet so hard for the human mind to comprehend.”
Here’s a little help in developing the attitudes that nurture the seeds of happiness.
Accept life’s difficulties. I know you know this but let me remind you that life will never be void of problems. Pain and difficulty are constantly perched at your back door. They are inevitable experiences of living in an imperfect world. A great starting point to happiness is to accept these unpleasantries as quickly as you do the joys. To be content in the ups and downs of life epitomizes a truly happy person.
Choose happiness now. Waiting for your life to be totally in order before experiencing happiness is an unrealistic dream. “If only” and “Someday I’ll” are detours to happiness. They snuff out contentment. The best part of your life is right now not some day in the past or future. Life may not be as good as you want or as good as you ought to try to make it. But, you really have it pretty good. Learn to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.
Learn to look for the good. Try looking for the positives in your job, relationships, community, church, and children. Guard against focusing on the negatives or things that fall short of your expectations. Identify the little things that bring you a sprinkle of happiness. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how developing a mindset that looks for the good will prepare you to deal more positively with the problems you encounter.
Help others experience happiness. Bertrand Russell once said, “If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years.” Let go of judging. Accept people where they are. Expect the best from others. Help people believe in themselves. Become an inverse paranoid. You read that right. Inverse paranoids are people who think everyone is out to make them happy. Just imagine everyone you meet wanting to bring happiness to your life. And then try to do the same for them.
Decide what you want in life. In the early 1980’s, two Harvard psychologists completed a study of people who called themselves happy. And what did happy people have in common? Money? Success? Power? Health? Love?
None of the above.
Happy people had only two things in common: They knew exactly what they wanted and they felt they were moving toward getting it. Dr. Benjamin Spock concurred. He said, “Happiness is mostly a by-product of doing what makes us feel fulfilled.” The ultimate in personal happiness is to be actively involved in something bigger than ourselves that causes us to stretch beyond where we are.
On the flip side, unhappiness can be experienced by not knowing what we want and working like crazy to get it. “Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness,” advised Helen Keller. “It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Sometimes I think we work far too hard at trying to be happy. The more we pursue happiness the more evasive it becomes. As Harold Kushner wrote in the best-selling book When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, “Happiness is a butterfly--the more you chase it, the more it flies away from you and hides. But stop chasing it, put away your net and busy yourself with other, more productive things than the pursuit of happiness and it will sneak up on you from behind and perch on your shoulder.”
If you really want to be happy, the only person that can stop you is you. Don’t strive to be happy. Be Happy. Wake up each morning. Smile. Look for the good in the day. Choose to act happy. Find the good in others. Work toward something larger than yourself. Do the best you can in every endeavor.
Be encouraged by Denis Waitley’s insight on happiness. “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.”
“Just remember, happiness is having a poor memory about what happened yesterday.”
Lou Holtz
Luci Swindoll
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about Happiness. Dennis Wholey, author of Are You Happy, reported that according to expert opinion, perhaps only 20 percent of Americans are happy. In another national survey, it was estimated that 29% of us are happy. That’s sad. I’m a pretty happy guy and find it difficult to accept this ‘happiness data.’
Regardless of the accuracy of these statistics, there is a pretty good indication that people want more in their lives. There is a hole somewhere waiting to be filled and thereby producing happiness. Actually, unhappy people simply have a gap between what they expect and what they are experiencing. That’s why happiness has very little to do with what we attain. The more we get, the higher our expectations and the more likely a larger gap will be created.
Unhappy people would probably agree with the wry definition of happiness offered by psychiatrist Thomas Szasz, who said, “Happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.” According to this definition, happiness is anywhere we don’t happen to be.
Former child star Shirley Temple Black told a story about her husband, Charles, and his mother. When Charles was a boy, he asked his mother what the happiest moment of her life was.
“This moment--right now,” she responded.
“But what about all the other happy moments in your life?” he said, surprised. “What about when you were married?”
“My happiest moment then was then,” she answered. “My happiest moment now is now. You can only really live in the moment you’re in. So to me, that’s always the happiest moment.”
I love Mrs. Black’s perspective. Whenever you focus on the past you strip the present of it’s’ beauty. And, when you get caught up in the future, you rob the present of its’ potential.
Happiness seems so simple--and yet, so difficult to define. Norman Cousins, former editor of Saturday Review, wrote, “Happiness is probably the easiest emotion to feel, the most elusive to create deliberately, and the most difficult to define. It is experienced differently by different people.” I suggest, after considerable thought, that happiness is an existing state of joyful contentment, accompanied by a peace about the present and hope for the future. Happiness is a by-product experienced by looking at all the good and bad in any given moment and then choosing to focus on the good. Such an easy concept, but a difficult habit to acquire.
“A happy person,” said ABC’s Hugh Downs, “is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” Dr. Norman Vincent Peale agrees. “Happiness,” he said, “is not a matter of good fortune or worldly possessions. It’s a mental attitude. It comes from appreciating what we have, instead of being miserable about what we don’t have. It’s so simple--yet so hard for the human mind to comprehend.”
Here’s a little help in developing the attitudes that nurture the seeds of happiness.
Accept life’s difficulties. I know you know this but let me remind you that life will never be void of problems. Pain and difficulty are constantly perched at your back door. They are inevitable experiences of living in an imperfect world. A great starting point to happiness is to accept these unpleasantries as quickly as you do the joys. To be content in the ups and downs of life epitomizes a truly happy person.
Choose happiness now. Waiting for your life to be totally in order before experiencing happiness is an unrealistic dream. “If only” and “Someday I’ll” are detours to happiness. They snuff out contentment. The best part of your life is right now not some day in the past or future. Life may not be as good as you want or as good as you ought to try to make it. But, you really have it pretty good. Learn to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.
Learn to look for the good. Try looking for the positives in your job, relationships, community, church, and children. Guard against focusing on the negatives or things that fall short of your expectations. Identify the little things that bring you a sprinkle of happiness. You’ll be pleasantly surprised how developing a mindset that looks for the good will prepare you to deal more positively with the problems you encounter.
Help others experience happiness. Bertrand Russell once said, “If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have a paradise in a few years.” Let go of judging. Accept people where they are. Expect the best from others. Help people believe in themselves. Become an inverse paranoid. You read that right. Inverse paranoids are people who think everyone is out to make them happy. Just imagine everyone you meet wanting to bring happiness to your life. And then try to do the same for them.
Decide what you want in life. In the early 1980’s, two Harvard psychologists completed a study of people who called themselves happy. And what did happy people have in common? Money? Success? Power? Health? Love?
None of the above.
Happy people had only two things in common: They knew exactly what they wanted and they felt they were moving toward getting it. Dr. Benjamin Spock concurred. He said, “Happiness is mostly a by-product of doing what makes us feel fulfilled.” The ultimate in personal happiness is to be actively involved in something bigger than ourselves that causes us to stretch beyond where we are.
On the flip side, unhappiness can be experienced by not knowing what we want and working like crazy to get it. “Many persons have the wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness,” advised Helen Keller. “It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”
Sometimes I think we work far too hard at trying to be happy. The more we pursue happiness the more evasive it becomes. As Harold Kushner wrote in the best-selling book When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough, “Happiness is a butterfly--the more you chase it, the more it flies away from you and hides. But stop chasing it, put away your net and busy yourself with other, more productive things than the pursuit of happiness and it will sneak up on you from behind and perch on your shoulder.”
If you really want to be happy, the only person that can stop you is you. Don’t strive to be happy. Be Happy. Wake up each morning. Smile. Look for the good in the day. Choose to act happy. Find the good in others. Work toward something larger than yourself. Do the best you can in every endeavor.
Be encouraged by Denis Waitley’s insight on happiness. “Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn, or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.”
“Just remember, happiness is having a poor memory about what happened yesterday.”
Lou Holtz
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Saga of Flight 6269
“Here is a simple but powerful rule – always give people more than what they expect.”
Nelson Boswell
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about the idea of exceeding expectations.
Our serving Value says: “We succeed by focusing our attention and energies on anticipating and exceeding people’s expectations. Our actions are driven by a ‘Yes, I Can’ attitude and the commitment that we are ‘Family Serving Family’.”
A recent personal experience might be the best way to explore the presence, or in this case, absence of this value.
Some people get stuck in long lines. . .
Some people get stuck on elevators. . .
Some people get stuck in traffic. . .
Not Glenn ----- It’s Sunday, 3:52p.m.
I (with my wife) get stuck in New York due to a one hour thunderstorm that kept the plane I was scheduled to fly from landing. Result – Flight Cancelled.
Panic! Run to the ticket counter. “I was scheduled on that cancelled….” Before I could finish my emotionally charged statement, the ticket agent pointed to a bank of phones. “Call the Help Line,” he said stoically and unapologetically.
I call the Help Line. (It should be renamed for obvious reasons) Next available flight ---- 5:15 p.m. Monday Evening. Booked. Pull our luggage. Done. Tried to book a flight to Des Moines and drive. Full. Attempted one more time to book a flight early in the morning. No luck. Kept the 5:15 flight.
Okay, take a deep breath, get your luggage and realize you are going to spend another fortune on taxi, meals and a hotel room in New York City.
My wife’s luggage is found. Mine doesn’t come. The baggage ‘guy’ finally tells me to visit with the Baggage Handling Department. “They’re expecting you,” he says. (That’s not a good sign)
Heard the wonderful news --- my luggage accidentally got loaded on a flight to Cincinnati and hopefully it will arrive in Omaha by late Monday night. Baggage Guy: “I’m sorry that happened. We goofed.” That’s it --- no offer for a hotel room, no taxi, no flight, no service, no NOTHING.
“I can’t do anything for you,” he says. “I’m just telling you what happened.” Exactly what I wanted to hear.
4 1/2 hours later Marty and I are in a taxi with a stressed out, irritated, angry at life cab driver who beats on the steering wheel, taps the windshield with his fingers and huffs and puffs at every car we tailgate, pass or nearly sideswipe. His right foot accelerates, decelerates, accelerates, etc. etc. Car sickness sets in. $42 later we are at the hotel.
Dion (nice guy) checks us in. Room 901. Elevators are stuck on the 18th Floor. The lobby is full of anxious, unhappy people. 27 minutes later we’re in the room.
A trip to the department store to buy a clean shirt and underwear for the morning, then over to the drug store to purchase essentials (you get the picture), a bite of dinner and we collapse in our room around 10:01 p.m. – just in time to record this saga before I crash.
You gotta love the Big Apple!
Monday – 7:17 a.m. - Personal Reflection - I was reminded again yesterday how little control I have over my life. Events I never expected, desired or previously encountered seem to surface without notice.
I came to a simple conclusion by the time the evening was over --- Suck it up… thank God you are safe (especially after that cab ride)… and realize there is a reason for every event in life. Check your attitude. Adjust it where necessary. Make the best of the situation. Move on.
(Besides, I bought new flashy (pricy) underwear and now own the most expensive toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant I’ve ever purchased. I’m good to go.)
Praying for smooth travel tonight……..
A continuation. . .
Monday – 4:37 p.m. – We board the overbooked plane for Omaha. They are begging for volunteers to give up their seats – for $10,000 I might have considered it. No such luck.
Monday – 7:16 p.m. – the plane has landed BUT the saga continues.
I hurriedly and anxiously make my way to the Delta Baggage Retrieval Office. (I really miss my dirty clothes, toiletries and New York street stained soles on my shoes). Finally, we’ll be reunited. Get out of my way people. Sheeesh they walk slow.
Shawna (baggage claim person) listens to my story. Smiles. Then she begins punching keys on her computer keyboard. She’s looking for the bag number in the computer. (Never throw away your bag receipt) I look around the room. I’m not seeing a piece of luggage that resembles mine. . . At this point I’m tempted to claim someone else’s. . .
Reminder: my bag traveled to Cincinnati last night in route to Omaha (or so I was told).
“I found the number,” she says. “The bag is being “expedited” from LaGuardia and a big sticker has been placed on it.”
Expedited – to speed up, accelerate, hurry up, rush.
From LaGuardia – the point at which it mistakenly left last night for Cincinnati and supposedly on to Omaha.
It’s now 27 hours later! Expedited????
What’s wrong with this picture?
“I’m sure it will be on this flight,” she assures me. (The one I was just on)
We both stare at the luggage carousel fully knowing what the final verdict will be. The baggage claim area and carousel are empty. . .
Well, I guess it didn’t make it,” Shawna profoundly exclaims.
I do the paperwork and she assures me they will call 4-6 hours before they deliver the bag to my home.
Antonym for “Expedite” – to impede --- the perfect definition for my luggage’s demise.
You know what hurts the worst. . . My luggage doesn’t care that it is lost. In fact, it doesn’t care if it ever comes home --- could it be that this is all a conspiracy between the airlines and my personal belongings to teach me about ‘separation anxiety’? - - - this whole thing is causing me to think strange thoughts.
There has GOT to be a better way…
“Please come home to me Dry Idea – New Formula – Antiperspirant……………………………………..”
The ‘Happy Traveler’
Tuesday update – 4:32 p.m. (49 hours and 15 minutes since my luggage went missing) – Called the Baggage Service Office.
Message: “This mailbox is full, please try again later.”
Should I be surprised at this continuation of pitiful service? They’ve sealed the deal – never will I fly with them again and I plan to tell my story every time I need an example about anticipating and exceeding the expectations of people. I’m sure that will scare them -----
8:16 p.m. – Happy days are here again. Luggage #DL202479 and the owner have been reunited.
Looking back. . .it is all rather anti-climatic. BUT ---
But the service experience is indelibly etched into my story telling memory.
Serving. . . focus our attention and energies on anticipating and exceeding people’s expectations with a ‘Yes, I Can’ attitude understanding we are family serving family.
Review the Saga of Flight 6269 – how many opportunities were lost by how many people to make our experience less dramatic, less painful and less irritating?
Now reflect on the past ‘8’ hours. How many opportunities have you overlooked to ‘live out’ the privilege of Serving?
“It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.”
James C. Penney
Nelson Boswell
I’ve Been Thinking . . . about the idea of exceeding expectations.
Our serving Value says: “We succeed by focusing our attention and energies on anticipating and exceeding people’s expectations. Our actions are driven by a ‘Yes, I Can’ attitude and the commitment that we are ‘Family Serving Family’.”
A recent personal experience might be the best way to explore the presence, or in this case, absence of this value.
Some people get stuck in long lines. . .
Some people get stuck on elevators. . .
Some people get stuck in traffic. . .
Not Glenn ----- It’s Sunday, 3:52p.m.
I (with my wife) get stuck in New York due to a one hour thunderstorm that kept the plane I was scheduled to fly from landing. Result – Flight Cancelled.
Panic! Run to the ticket counter. “I was scheduled on that cancelled….” Before I could finish my emotionally charged statement, the ticket agent pointed to a bank of phones. “Call the Help Line,” he said stoically and unapologetically.
I call the Help Line. (It should be renamed for obvious reasons) Next available flight ---- 5:15 p.m. Monday Evening. Booked. Pull our luggage. Done. Tried to book a flight to Des Moines and drive. Full. Attempted one more time to book a flight early in the morning. No luck. Kept the 5:15 flight.
Okay, take a deep breath, get your luggage and realize you are going to spend another fortune on taxi, meals and a hotel room in New York City.
My wife’s luggage is found. Mine doesn’t come. The baggage ‘guy’ finally tells me to visit with the Baggage Handling Department. “They’re expecting you,” he says. (That’s not a good sign)
Heard the wonderful news --- my luggage accidentally got loaded on a flight to Cincinnati and hopefully it will arrive in Omaha by late Monday night. Baggage Guy: “I’m sorry that happened. We goofed.” That’s it --- no offer for a hotel room, no taxi, no flight, no service, no NOTHING.
“I can’t do anything for you,” he says. “I’m just telling you what happened.” Exactly what I wanted to hear.
4 1/2 hours later Marty and I are in a taxi with a stressed out, irritated, angry at life cab driver who beats on the steering wheel, taps the windshield with his fingers and huffs and puffs at every car we tailgate, pass or nearly sideswipe. His right foot accelerates, decelerates, accelerates, etc. etc. Car sickness sets in. $42 later we are at the hotel.
Dion (nice guy) checks us in. Room 901. Elevators are stuck on the 18th Floor. The lobby is full of anxious, unhappy people. 27 minutes later we’re in the room.
A trip to the department store to buy a clean shirt and underwear for the morning, then over to the drug store to purchase essentials (you get the picture), a bite of dinner and we collapse in our room around 10:01 p.m. – just in time to record this saga before I crash.
You gotta love the Big Apple!
Monday – 7:17 a.m. - Personal Reflection - I was reminded again yesterday how little control I have over my life. Events I never expected, desired or previously encountered seem to surface without notice.
I came to a simple conclusion by the time the evening was over --- Suck it up… thank God you are safe (especially after that cab ride)… and realize there is a reason for every event in life. Check your attitude. Adjust it where necessary. Make the best of the situation. Move on.
(Besides, I bought new flashy (pricy) underwear and now own the most expensive toothbrush, toothpaste and deodorant I’ve ever purchased. I’m good to go.)
Praying for smooth travel tonight……..
A continuation. . .
Monday – 4:37 p.m. – We board the overbooked plane for Omaha. They are begging for volunteers to give up their seats – for $10,000 I might have considered it. No such luck.
Monday – 7:16 p.m. – the plane has landed BUT the saga continues.
I hurriedly and anxiously make my way to the Delta Baggage Retrieval Office. (I really miss my dirty clothes, toiletries and New York street stained soles on my shoes). Finally, we’ll be reunited. Get out of my way people. Sheeesh they walk slow.
Shawna (baggage claim person) listens to my story. Smiles. Then she begins punching keys on her computer keyboard. She’s looking for the bag number in the computer. (Never throw away your bag receipt) I look around the room. I’m not seeing a piece of luggage that resembles mine. . . At this point I’m tempted to claim someone else’s. . .
Reminder: my bag traveled to Cincinnati last night in route to Omaha (or so I was told).
“I found the number,” she says. “The bag is being “expedited” from LaGuardia and a big sticker has been placed on it.”
Expedited – to speed up, accelerate, hurry up, rush.
From LaGuardia – the point at which it mistakenly left last night for Cincinnati and supposedly on to Omaha.
It’s now 27 hours later! Expedited????
What’s wrong with this picture?
“I’m sure it will be on this flight,” she assures me. (The one I was just on)
We both stare at the luggage carousel fully knowing what the final verdict will be. The baggage claim area and carousel are empty. . .
Well, I guess it didn’t make it,” Shawna profoundly exclaims.
I do the paperwork and she assures me they will call 4-6 hours before they deliver the bag to my home.
Antonym for “Expedite” – to impede --- the perfect definition for my luggage’s demise.
You know what hurts the worst. . . My luggage doesn’t care that it is lost. In fact, it doesn’t care if it ever comes home --- could it be that this is all a conspiracy between the airlines and my personal belongings to teach me about ‘separation anxiety’? - - - this whole thing is causing me to think strange thoughts.
There has GOT to be a better way…
“Please come home to me Dry Idea – New Formula – Antiperspirant……………………………………..”
The ‘Happy Traveler’
Tuesday update – 4:32 p.m. (49 hours and 15 minutes since my luggage went missing) – Called the Baggage Service Office.
Message: “This mailbox is full, please try again later.”
Should I be surprised at this continuation of pitiful service? They’ve sealed the deal – never will I fly with them again and I plan to tell my story every time I need an example about anticipating and exceeding the expectations of people. I’m sure that will scare them -----
8:16 p.m. – Happy days are here again. Luggage #DL202479 and the owner have been reunited.
Looking back. . .it is all rather anti-climatic. BUT ---
But the service experience is indelibly etched into my story telling memory.
Serving. . . focus our attention and energies on anticipating and exceeding people’s expectations with a ‘Yes, I Can’ attitude understanding we are family serving family.
Review the Saga of Flight 6269 – how many opportunities were lost by how many people to make our experience less dramatic, less painful and less irritating?
Now reflect on the past ‘8’ hours. How many opportunities have you overlooked to ‘live out’ the privilege of Serving?
“It is the service we are not obliged to give that people value most.”
James C. Penney
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