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SIX GREAT LESSONS: The Important
Things Life Teaches You...
~1~ Most Important Question
During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I
was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read
the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely
this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was
tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my
paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked
if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the
professor. "In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They
deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'."
I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.
~2~
Pickup in the Rain
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side
of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken
down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down
the next car. A young white man stopped to help her - generally unheard of in
those conflict filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance
and put her into a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his
address, thanked him and drove away. Seven days went by and a knock came on the
man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home.
A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the
highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits.
Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's
bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly
serving others." Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole
~3~ Always remember those who serve
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered
a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front
of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins
in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were
now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. "Thirty-five cents,"
she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain
ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table
and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed.
When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed
hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels
and five pennies - her tip.
~4~ The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself
and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest
merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed
the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting
the big stone out of Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables.
On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move
the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally
succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse
lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins
and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed
the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand.
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.
~5~ Giving Blood
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital, I got to know
a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her
only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old
brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the
antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to
her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood
to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath
and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liz." As the transfusion progressed,
he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning
to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the
doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?" Being
young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to
give his sister all of his blood.
~6~ I'VE TWO CHOICES
Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always
had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he
would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager
because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to
restaurant. The reason the waiters followed him was because of his attitude. He
was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there
telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing
this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him,
"I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do
it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have
two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be
in a bad mood." I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens,
I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn
from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their
complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive
side of life." "Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry
said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation
is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will
affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line:
It's your choice how you live life." I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter,
I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but often
thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several
years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in
a restaurant business, he left the back door open one morning and was held up
at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand,
shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and
shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local
trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was
released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I
saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he
said, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to
see his wounds but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took
place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked
the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that
I had two choices I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to
live. "Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued,
"The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when
they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces
of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a
dead man. " I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well,
there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked
if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped
working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!'
Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if
I am alive, not dead." Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also
because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the
choice to live fully.
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