Many people in my Twitter stream quote inspirational thoughts. Although the five I’ve gathered over the past week aren’t the same caliber as those quoted by John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln or Martin Luther King, they are inspirational just the same (in a warped kind of way), so I thought I’d share them with you.
Give them a chance, they’ll grow on you.
1.) The roof tells the story.
Last Thursday night it poured down rain. Buckets of rain fell and woke us out of a sound sleep on numerous occasions. Friday morning it was still raining just as hard. That morning, while walking the puppy, I realized that the contractors working on a new house next door to us were working feverishly to finish the framing. It was pouring rain. Those house framers didn’t seem to mind one bit – radio playing music, generator humming, nail guns pounding (no one uses hammers anymore), a damp chill that had to be worked from your bones so it didn’t take over, and a new home being built for one lucky family.
This same day, I saw at least five people in my network post comments on Facebook similar to, “today is the kind of day you just want to curl up in bed and go back to sleep.” I have to admit the thought crossed my mind, too.
What’s the difference between the house framers and those who want to hide from rainy days? They had purpose. That house build had meaning to them. I found out just today from speaking with one of the builders, that one of their crew (a father and uncle to some on the site) had passed away three weeks ago while building that very house. The rest of the crew wanted to finish it in his honor. Their commitment is now permanently visible on the roof.
I’ll make a very broad generalization and say that maybe some of those folks (myself included until I took a bit of the builders’ purpose and decided to push forward) who wanted to curl up and sleep the rainy and cold day away – lacked a driving desire to work for, toward, because of, or in spite of something. Find a purpose.
- Our Neighbor’s Roof
2.) Want to feel good about yourself? Watch the Jerry Springer show.
A colleague of my husband’s, who was out of work in the past, concurred with me that Thursdays are the worst day of the week when job hunting. It’s the low of the low and she said, “I never thought about it but, now that you mention it, if I got all the way through Thursday soaps operas, Oprah and to the Jerry Springer show, then I knew it was going to be OK. If you ever want to feel good about yourself, watch Jerry Springer.”
I got to thinking that her approach was not so different from mine. I have been job hunting for 5 weeks now and have yet to turn on the television, but one of the reasons I have been getting more involved as a Hospice volunteer and just generally donating more food, money and time during this work lull is because it keeps me grounded with reminders about what is really important. For some it’s Jerry Springer. Thanks, Jerry.
3.) I love this shirt so it will fit.
This inspirational thought is courtesy of my five year old daughter who is trying to deal with the fact that her favorite shirt is starting to get a bit tight. She’s had it for three years. The innocence, optimism and sheer naivety of the comment has encouraged me over the past five or six days to just say “yes” (ala the Yes Man movie) to a few things in my life. Some believe that you make the life you want so if she can make her shirt fit then I suppose I can take steps toward achieving what I want in life. 
4.) 90% of social media is just showing up.
This one comes courtesy of @BostonMike. Many might think it is common sense, but in the social media space I think there are a lot of people who don’t know this fact or seem to forget it frequently. For geeks (I am one) social media is an easy way to connect with others, but if you don’t EVER show up in person then you’re missing out on half (I might even say ¾) of the fun.
Extrapolate this idea out to the rest of your life and you’ll be amazed at how your relationships are deepened just by showing up and participating in person with your friends, family, and colleagues. Be social.
5.) Ring the bell the next morning.
It’s an @billrozier statement, for sure. And it’s so true. I haven’t heard him say it recently, but the basic concept can be applied to any number of situations and it runs through my mind frequently. The context for the phrase is – go ahead, play hard. But just be sure you’re there to ring the work bell the next morning. Be present and have your A-game ready. It also has been inspirational to me in times where something has gone wrong and it would just be easier to ignore it and forget about it. And that doesn’t just apply to work situations. It can also be helpful when dealing with situations involving family or friends. Ring the bell – face it head on. Play hard, live hard and ring the bell.
Notebook bumper stickers are back, but not everyone has jumped on board again, yet.
