One is silver and the other gold...

Growing up, my mom always encouraged me to have a few close friends you could count on for anything.  I never knew that throughout my teenage years, and even in to my twenties, that would be a challenging task.  You travel through pockets of life surrounded by friends, co-workers, family and sometimes just "people you know" and before you know it, you are not certain who's a close friend and who is just someone sitting in the seat next to you.  You grow up, get married, have kids and those people fade in and out of your life with each stage.  At this point in my life, I'm not up for high school drama - been there, done that and NO thanks - so I keep the ones that I love closest to my heart and treat them like family... and I can count them all on one hand (and one actually IS family).  All of this is fine - I love my friends for who they are and know the feeling is very mutual. 

Around a year ago I was introduced to a group of people from all over the state.  I had shook hands with many of them at various work events and functions and didn't think anything of it really other than some good business relationships.  I joined a committee with some of these people and as we started working together in a more intimate setting, I started to get to KNOW them.  Their spouses, their kids, their weekend plans, stories of their childhood...

This last week I was lucky enough to travel with a few of them to Washington DC for an amazing experience.  Lots of travel time provided the opportunity to get to know each of them more and for this I am so very grateful.  I had the chance to not only better myself and my career, but feel that now I can use two hands to count my closest friends on.

My take away...  make new friends but keep the old ~ one is silver and the other gold.

Be a Bucket Filler

A few weeks back, I was getting dinner on the table and my five year old son was paying me compliment after compliment which pleased me to no end.  A few minutes of silence went by and then he asked me, "Mom, is your bucket really full now?"  Confused at his question I asked him to tell me why I would have a "full bucket" and his response literally brought me to tears.  "Because Mom, I'm being really nice and am being a good listener.  When I do that, it fills your bucket."  After I swallowed back a few tears, I called the school and left a message for Cole's teacher thanking her for teaching these little people about making others feel good by their actions and words.

As we go through the daily grind of talking to someone on the phone, meeting with someone face to face and dealing with difficult customers, it can be easy to neglect to tell someone thank you, or pay them a compliment, or to take a moment to let someone know how they make you feel.  The power of words are so strong that I think sometimes people forget that the way you speak or act towards someone can either "fill their bucket" or "empty" it.  It's an easy concept - one that is being taught to five year olds that not only understand what it means - but actually PRACTICE it!  It's a concept that needs to be brought back to everyday routine.

My take away... Will my words and actions fill or empty someone's bucket?

YEAH!

My first blog!  I've been thinking about blogging for a while - what to write about?  How much to say?  Who will actually read it?  Then a thought occurred to me - who cares!?  It's a good opportunity for me to continue down a journey of "self help" just by blogging.  My blog is going to vary on topics from personal, work, relationships, my three sons, etc, etc, etc.  But one common denominator will be what "my take away" was from each story or experience.  What did I learn?  What type of positive outcome can I spin on the situation?  What did I gain to be better prepared to handle a similar situation next time?  And lastly, how did the story/experience make me a better person?  Some "take aways" will be minor things but some will have a deeper meaning.  I hope you enjoy reading and following my blog as much as I enjoy writing it!

My take away...  sometimes the biggest obstacle when starting something new is YOU!