An Uncommon Sense of Curiousity and a Desire for Completeness

Jamaica is a Caribbean island nation barely 90 miles east of Cuba.  Jamaica has a history and culture distinguished by traditional values, a strong work ethic, and a high regard for education.  Many of Jamaica’s sons and daughters have made outstanding contributions to the United States.  Among the many there is Alexander James Dallas who was Secretary of the US Treasury under James Madison and more recently, America’s premier soldier-statesman Colin Luther Powell who’s parents were Jamaican immigrants.

I have been fortunate enough to know Ruth Anne Wynter Anderson, a Jamaican lady and an impeccable role model in every sense of the word.  She is a businesswoman, a scholar, and a single parent with three children.  When she is not studying or serving as an adjunct professor, her life is all about the formal and informal education of her children-Julian, Gina Kay, and Jeremy. Her children are first in her life and she seems to be in a continuing dialogue with them about the relationship between traditional values, integrity and the importance of prudent thinking and decision-making. She gives her all to be mother as the ultimate teacher and mentor.

She has a capacity and openness to seeing what many others do not see and has mastered the art of listening.  As a mother, she encourages her children to make prudent choices, which she hopes will take them on a path toward a fulfilling future. She believes that people have it within themselves to know the truth and to live it, yet we all need someone else to help us along the way.

Ruth Anne is witty and humorous with friends, family, and even her children, yet when it is time for serious discussion, she is a provocative questioner. She is resolute in her quest for the answers about life and education. She has an insatiable inquest for the source and the meaning of things and this compels her to seek the basis of life’s moral and ethical foundations.  She integrates these principles in the education of her children and shares them with others who engage her in conversation.

Young people have such energy and ideals in their search for the truth about life.  Sooner than we expect, they have a sense of liberty and a personal freedom to go out into the world and to experience life. It is also important for them to understand the responsibility that comes with liberty. The gift of liberty is also a form of duty.  Liberty is not a gift such as property or a commodity, which can be freely exchanged without prudence.  Nor is it an unbounded gift of the senses.  Those who do not appreciate the value of liberty are flattered with a sense of unbounded freedom to use it without responsible boundaries.  They seem to view liberty with a sense of unrestricted use.  Liberty is not a property, which we make use of or squander in any way we wish.

Ruth Anne teaches her children the values of liberty and of the freedom of choice, as well as the value of thinking critically before making our choices. She shows them that to know humility is an important first step toward knowing liberty and knowing where we stand in the world.

She sees life as a perpetual journey of discovery, where everyone and everything becomes a lesson in life’s experience. That life is about mastering the fundamentals of character and moral and ethical values. Life and love are a wonderful and valuable legacy, which she passes onto her children through a sense of perpetual curiosity.

How do You Measure Success?

James moved to Atlanta in  1984.  He promised his childhood sweetheart that he would get a job and eventually start his own business and then send for her.  Once he arrived, things took a turn for the worse.

His problem was that he quit school at an early age and tragically, he couldn’t read or write and had few skills attractive enough to be hired.  Although his formal education was nil, he had his informal lessons from his parents and grandparents.  Be honest, work hard, and Do What You Promised You Would Do (DWYPYWD).

His greatest values were a strong work ethic and his integrity. He interviewed for labor positions but most supervisors required him to read labels, invoices, and to sign his name (which he couldn’t do).  Finally, James landed a job as a Dry Wall Installer.  He worked six days a week but stayed an additional 90 minutes-he never left a job incomplete and he didn’t leave until the job was perfect.  His supervisors began to take notice and promoted him to team leader.

The company owner noticed his humility and leadership style and offered James a supervisor’s position.  Sadly, James couldn’t accept it-he couldn’t read work orders or invoices.  Two years passed and James reached a pay cap for his position but still had a desire to have his own business.  Today, James has his own Dry Wall Contracting business with 143 employees and 14 vehicles.  He still doesn’t read or write but his ability to recognize character allowed him to choose an advisor and an excellent accountant.

James’s real name is Jaime Palacio who moved here from Mexico 17 years ago.  Although he didn’t get very far with his formal education, he has a conviction for work ethic and integrity which have taken him farther than many.  Jaime did what he promised what he would.

A Lesson in Persistence and the Power of the Human Spirit

Some people experience a traumatic event or an extraordinary moment which enlightens them. For others, there is no particular moment or event, which suddenly fills them with wisdom or a purpose.  You may call it divine intervention, providence, or destiny. However, there are the fortunate ones among us who just know what they are meant to do and why they are here.  They have a peaceful, powerful sense of knowing. That is what I sensed when I talked with Scherry Clark.  Scherry was a Peace Corps volunteer from October 2001 through December 2003 when she served the people of Romania.

It was the morning of September 11, 2001 and Scherry was making final arrangements before she was to fly to Romania, when she found out about the attack on the Twin Towers.  Her family and friends called and pleaded with her not to leave the country but to stay home where it was safe.  Then, the directors of the Peace Corps made the decision to delay her departure.

Scherry spent an entire year interviewing, testing, and training before she was accepted as a volunteer.  She sold or give away everything she owned, and had to get her estate in order with her daughter Paula serving as the executor.  In spite of all of the trials, testing and interviews, the trauma of 9-11, and the fear, turmoil, and apprehension filling her family, Scherry just knew she was meant to serve others through the Peace Corps.

On October 12, 2001 with peace and conviction in her heart, Scherry was on a flight from the U.S. to Ploiesti, via Bucharest, Romania.  She took 80 pounds of her remaining

possessions in her suitcase and lived with a host family for a short period to learn the language and customs of the Romanian people. Afterwards, she was assigned to work in the town of Sighetu Marmatiei, which is in the northernmost, mountainous region of Romania.

When I asked Scherry what she had learned, she explained that she learned most about tolerance and patience.  She lived just as the people lived and described the hardship and sacrifice, and the difficult physical, mental, and spiritual challenges that are a part of the Romanians every day life.

She served as teacher, counselor, and mentor.  She taught English and because she was a passionate softball player, she taught them baseball. She learned how to split wood for heat, and how to live with far less than what we have here.  Scherry served children in a rehabilitation center and the adults with counseling.  As a result, Scherry became even more grounded in her faith.  She saw that we have almost too many choices here and that we can get by with so much less, yet still have more in return.  Is is the small, simple things like neighbors and community that have become less important here, yet the Romanian people values these as the essentials, as they are opportunities which can give us more meaning than all of the material choices we’re faced with here.

Especially during this time that the world is reaching out to the countries and families of the tsunami disaster, we can all see a bit of us that is in people like Scherry.  What we need to do is to bring it out of ourselves and give it to others.

“We are born as social animals and we need to accept that life

is not about me, but about us”

An Extraordinary Life of Achievement

Albert Einstein was one of the greatest thinkers of the 20^th Century.  As a student, his teachers saw him as a hapless dreamer who didn’t stay the course of the curriculum.  His thinking was “way out of the box”.  But he was a dreamer and he believed in miracles. Only a few years after he left school, Einstein won the Nobel Peace Prize for his Theory of Relativity.

Successful and creative people like Einstein are “Blue Sky” thinkers.  They see the reality of things and they see the clouds, but they also know that behind every storm come the calm, the sunshine, and the clear skies. A Blue Sky thinker realizes that when you focus on the darkness, that’s what you get…more darkness.  But when you look toward the light and focus on the good, the beauty of things come to you and you see what before was hidden.

Observe children up to age eight or nine.  They are like little sponges, taking in so much and asking a zillion questions.  They touch, they taste, they listen, and they ask.  And they ask again.  They use all of their senses to perceive.  They want to know why and how.  A child will persevere tirelessly when they want something and never entertain the idea of being put off.

Childlike discovery of the world is also not a finite stage of life.  To be childlike in the discovery of our

world is a natural process – a gift we’re born with that we never lose.  Each one of us has this beautiful gift within us that is only affected by our environment and our thoughts.

There is no mechanism inside of us that says, “Stop asking why” or “It’s time to stop touching that, tasting that, seeing or hearing that”.  Our minds and our environment tell us to stop asking, to stop touching, to stop perceiving.  But we never lose this gift.  To be child-like (not childish) is a wondrous gift that we can relearn just by wanting it badly enough.

Not a Self-Made Man

On December 13, 2004, I met Gene Beckstein, the founder of Good News at Noon, which is a shelter, better yet, a home for the homeless and poor in spirit.  When I first saw Gene, I had walked into the dining hall and Gene was playing an organ.  While there were only four or five of us present, he played as if it was a concert hall filled with thousands.  Politicians, journalists, as well as other philanthropists have visited Gene.  He is well known throughout Atlanta, but especially in Gainesville, Georgia.  Gene is living testimony that each of us has the potential to achieve whatever we desire, to do great deeds, and that we are here to share the good that we have and what we know with others.

Here is a modest outline of Gene Beckstein’s story.

He was born July 22, 1922 in Buffalo, New York and his parents were German and Irish immigrants.  Gene had four brothers, and as a child, he grew up in a poor and negative environment.  He was a street brawler, did drugs and alcohol and hated school. He was a homeless person in New York City.  Gene was told that only rich and smart people go to college.

Gene has had extreme lows in his life; and he lives to tell about them and how positive change is possible for everyone. He played as a semi-professional baseball player for the New York Yankees farm team. He was also an educator who earned the “Georgia teacher of the year” award in 1979. Gene and his wife Marjorie have five biological children, but have had fifty-three children live with them at different times.

Gene is living testimony of the enormous potential in each of us. He is also a testimony of how each of us can make a difference for someone else.  I spent only ninety minutes with Gene, however, as he shared his story with me, I saw that some of his life’s most compelling moments were when other people influenced him in a positive way.  Now, Gene has committed his life to doing the same for others in a very special way.  Other people made a significant difference in his life just when he was ready to see the value in what they taught him. These are not coincidences because there is a saying that says, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears”. Each time in his life, he had an encounter at the precise moment when he was ready.  However, he had to be open to see it, to embrace it, and to take action. For Gene, the significant people who made a difference for him were a chemistry teacher who helped him see the love of teaching, a preacher who helped him see his faith and his purpose, and his wife whom he sees as “the best Christian I’ve ever met”.

As we journey through life on this planet, we are all presented with these moments of insight and learning.  There is so much that we experience that we do not see and we do not comprehend; this is because we have not yet arrived at that place to see it.  There is an old German saying, “too soon old, too late smart”.  What we are speaking of here is wisdom, the wisdom of seeing. Unfortunately, some never see.  They are so consumed with their own desperation and insecurity that they never see beyond their own needs. Some of the most desperate people are ones who we view as successful, wealthy and even educated.   Many of the conditions which effect desperation are externally imposed, but most of it we do to ourselves.

Whatever our faith or our philosophy about life is, there is no denying that we can only live fully in this world with the help of others.  The old saying, “he is a self-made man” is so archaic.  We cannot do it alone.  The self-made man has a narrow perspective. In addition, just as we need others to help us attain our desires, so do other people need us.  Which comes first?  You know the answer.  We are here to give away what we have because that is the reason for having it!  Nothing is ours because we are only stewards of what we are given: our talent, gifts, blessings, what we know and what we have.

Before I left Good News a Noon, I asked Gene how he would like to be remembered.  He immediately responded with; “I want to be remembered as a person who really loved his wife and who had his house in order”.  Gene and Marjorie Beckstein will be married forty eight years on March 28, 2005.

The Power of Persistence

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Dr. J. Fred Pounds, a remarkable man whose life obstacles are overcome by persistence, determination, and drive.

Doctor Fred Pounds is a 5^th generation Irish-American, who’s Great, Great Grandfather emigrated from County Cork, Ireland during the early 1800’s. As a boy, Fred spent many hours listening to his great grandmother tell stories about their plantation, the slaves, and her experience during the Civil War.

During World War II, he was drafted after high school and soon after landed at Normandy as a Buck Private.  He rapidly received battlefield promotions to Sergeant, then Lieutenant, then to Captain because the leaders above him kept dying on the battlefield. He was only one of five men from his original company who survived the face of battle.

He was wounded by a German Hand Grenade at the Battle of the Bulge, hospitalized for two days, and then sent back to the front personally by General George Patton. His mother and wife received a telegram from the War Department that he was missing in action.  He was actually captured by the Germans and taken 130 miles behind enemy lines to a Prisoner of War camp.  He escaped 28 days later and it took him eight days to make it back to his unit. He slept during the day and walked all night.

He is a witness to the Nazi death camps after his company liberated the surviving souls at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp.  After the war, he was a successful chicken farmer and cattle farmer.  He was president of several companies.  He is successful attorney with a Doctorate in Jurisprudence.

In 1980, he ran for the Georgia House of Representatives.  In 1980, he was also in the Guinness Book of World records for the single living person with the most strokes, and heart by-pass surgeries.  He lives with a pacemaker (you would never know it).  In 1990, he had cancer, received chemotherapy, and is now in remission.  He is a published author on World War II and plans to publish another book soon.

His most memorable experience: “When I returned home from the war and called my mother and my wife, who had given me up for dead”.

What he is most proud of: “Our great country.  We have our problems, but I’m still proud of and love our country”.

His heroes: “General Patton, old blood and guts.”

What keeps him going? “It’s the stubborn Irishman in me”.

What do you want out of your life now? “I want to help my fellow man”. Since I was a boy, I have always loved people and I believe that 98% of all people are good, it is the circumstances that make them change. In life, there are very few rosy times, but you have to persevere through the tough times. Get through and overcome the adversity, the hardships, and setbacks”.

What is it that makes Fred Pounds different?

He has an unquenchable thirst to learn himself and his God-given talents. Any obstacles or seemingly adverse situation or conditions do not deter him.

He believes that most things worth doing involve challenges, risk, adversity, and delays. He demonstrates that persistence and tenacity go along with organization to hurdle setbacks and difficulties, which inevitably creep into everyone’s life at consistent times.

His life is full of key compelling moments that he has chosen to learn from and to grow into the person he’s become.  He is a man of varied experiences and extraordinary perspective.  He sees what many do not, even those with the same experiences. Fred is a historical figure not so much because of what he’s done but because of the person he is.

Fred’s life has been about growing and using adversity as an opportunity to become more.  As we become more, we create the conditions and the preparation for life’s next challenge or experience and therefore your next achievement.  As a reward for the tenacious, a break usually comes just at the point of hopelessness.  Many people give up before reaching that point, but there are those like Fred pounds who keep going and never, ever give up.

People such as Dr. Fred Pounds have an uncanny ability to overcome adversity, to keep going and to keep growing.  They won’t be deterred and have a stubborn sense of conviction about life and its purpose.

When I met her she was a thirty four year old successful firefighter, Rugby Player, and musician. She is a practical soul with a bold vision for seeing and doing the extraordinary

This sounds like a seductive preview for a Tom Cruise or a Mel Gibson movie and the headlines provoke images of what the media wishes us to see and of what society wants us to conform to. What I see is Paula Herrmann.

Paula Herrmann is one of those unique people who thinks, speaks, and lives her life outside of the box.  In the box is that place of confinement or limitation, which many people choose to place themselves because of personal or social pressures. While most people conform to being within the safety of the four corners, Paula has a restless dissatisfaction about being more and doing more and she and those who know her are richer because of this.

When you first hear of what she has achieved, the thought evokes images of the rough and the abrasive. You almost expect a sense of arrogance, but you are quickly disarmed of any preconceived notions and biases.  What you get is a lesson in character and creativity, sensitivity, and wisdom beyond her years.  You have the feeling of an artist at work and her work is the art of living fully.  Paula is truly in an on-going discovery of who she is and she is intent on growing and expanding.

As a child, Paula was very shy and did not like to speak up in front of strangers. She was more of a quiet, non-assuming child who was mostly uncomfortable with her own talent. Her mom made her take music lessons and play in sports and go to camp.  She would be scared out of her wits before swimming races, but won most of them and would wipe out the entire field. She went from no involvement after school to total overload with sports and music. She learned how to play the Drums, the Piano, the Trumpet, and the French horn. Gradually she built a confidence, which has led her to continually exceed her mental and physical limitations. Paula has learned more about mastering herself, which has led her to master any task or challenge she has attempted. She feels that she is capable of overcoming anything, especially which which many people believe is unachievable or unthinkable.

Growing up, she experienced her parent’s divorce and her life was disrupted with moves from Illinois to Colorado, to New Mexico, and now to Georgia.  The adversity, the challenge, and the setbacks only made her more resolute in her ambition.

She has a seemingly ideal blend of child-like innocence and sincerity and is innately curious.  Paula has played in a Woman’s Rugby Club for ten years and is a Firefighter in Gainesville, Georgia. She is more like the Eagle chick that knows the safety and security of the nest, yet also knows that there is an inviting world filled with splendor and growth just beyond the edge. Then, like the Eagle chick, she leaps and discovers the wonder and beauty of newness, growth and learning.  Just as an accomplished artist has an imagination and a curiosity to create on canvasses what they feel and see, Paula’s art is inside of her, as it should be.  Her creation is within and she reveals her art in the form of her journey outside of the box.

The Art and Passion of a Successful Writer

Carmen Green is an accomplished author with 27 published books, several best sellers, and one of her books was adapted into a TV movie. She is a testament to the adage that environment, inspiration, and action are governing factor of success.  She is a native New Yorker who lives in Metro Atlanta nurturing her family and friendships as she pursues her life’s passion of writing romance novels.

She is inspired, determined, and relentless. She has published 27 books and states “I always have another book in me”.  After a few short minutes of conversation, she quickly disarms you of any pre-conceived notions and reveals her candor, humor, and free spirit.

Carmen was raised as part of a traditional, but atypical family in Buffalo, NY.  Her parents decided that there would not be a television in their home, but there would be books, magazines, newspapers, and board games.

As a child, she drew much of her inspiration from reading and began writing essays at eight years old. Given her environment, it just seemed natural for her to write.  This reminded me of Arthur Rubenstein’s childhood environment when he said that “Everyone around us was a musician. Our neighbor’s played violin, piano, and cello. All I knew was music and it just seemed a natural path to follow”. Carmen’s life seemed to emanate from this same type of environment and from her inspirations and motivation to write.

Carmen tells an interesting story about her first book to be published. In 1992, without a word processor, she’d hand written only five chapters of “ Queen of Hearts” in the fall of that year. During that fall, she had an opportunity to meet Monica Harris, an agent with Kensington Publishing. After having read only the first three chapters, Monica was obviously impressed and asked Carmen for the rest of the book by January. Carmen told the family that the holidays would be on hold and she completed her book. Kensington Publishing changed the title from Queen of Hearts to “Now or Never”.

Carmen has had several best sellers including her biggest which was “Silk and Love” and “Commitments” which was published in 1998 and was adapted into a television movie for BET. It would become the highest rated movie to air on BET in 2001.  When I asked Carmen where she gets her inspiration to write today, she said that she is still inspired by reading and also by the people she meets, her life’s trials as well as those of others, and by her “fascination with the diversity of language”. She has her favorite authors who include Percivel Everett, Zoranel Hurston, Alice Walker, Beverly Jenkins, Krytson Hanna, and Debra Smith.

Carmen is a single mother with one child in college and another in High School. Besides her passion for writing, she wears many other hats. She tell a humorous story of being a Firefighter’s in her own home when there was an accident in her home. She lives with rheumatoid arthritis yet is undeterred to fulfill all of her life’s challenges.

She has a determination for completeness and it seems a natural relentless ability. Carmen found her passion early in life and continues to pursue it and to make a difference in other people’s lives.  Carmen lives by inspiration and is an inspiration to her family and to everyone she meets.  Her primary message is to be present and kind and with others.

I asked Carmen where does she see her life in five years and she replied that she sees herself sharing her passion with young writers as a grey professor.

Our world is full of stories of great achievements

My WordPress blog shares extraordinary stories about ordinary people. People all around us have incredible stories to tell about their life’s challenges and successes and we can learn from their trials, errors, and their celebrations. The potential to achieve great deeds is in all of us. Who is the first person you know that has an inspiring story about overcoming adversity, achieving success or lofty goals or who can share a compelling story that changed their life in a positive way?

Remember…all of the good news and the news that is worthy to make a positive difference in someone else’s life is all around us.

Look for the good

I remember reading in one of Leo Buscaglia’s books where he quoted someone saying that “when you look for the good in others, you discover the best in yourself”. Then the real work begins when we begin to discover and reveal who we are. When we disocover more about ourselves, we begin to better understand others. My favorite Leo Buscaglia book is “Love”, his very first book. His books are essentially about the limitless potential in each of us and our obligation to ourselves and others to cultivate, nurture, and reveal the greatness in each of us.  I will sign off with one of my favorite quotes (unknown author) which is “life is 20% what happenes to you and 80% how you react to it. The same is true for the successful and high achievers around us.