Wal-Mart parking lots are not only always full of cars, they’re also full of opportunities. “Opportunities for what?” you may ask. Well, opportunities to make someone’s day with a kind comment or kind gesture. Let me explain…

While walking to my car today I noticed an older Hispanic gentleman offering to wash windshields for a little spare change. Upon seeing this I went out of my way to get his attention. As I approached him I greeted him with a hearty hello and hand shake. I then reached in my pocket and gave him a crisp ten dollar bill.

“Do you know why I’m giving you this money?” I asked. “Yes, it’s because you’re a good Christian.” he said. I smiled at him and said, “No… I’m a Christian, but that’s NOT why I gave you this money.” He then looked at me with a puzzled look of confusion.

“Although I don’t need my windshield washed, I gave you this money because I want to support what you’re doing. Even though you may be in a struggle phase of your life right now, you don’t have your hand out asking for something for nothing.” I said. He beamed a toothless smile at me and offered his words of sincere thanks and said that he’s a worker that’s just looking for a hand-up and NOT a handout. We chatted a few more meaningful minutes then parted ways wishing each other well.

No, I didn’t walk away with cleaner windows today but I did walk away with a cleaner feeling of making someone smile. Yes my new friend Louie had a little more bounce in his step, zip in his hips and slide in his glide as he moved on through the parking lot looking for his next client. “GO GETT’EM LOUIE !!!” I yelled with a hardy laugh. 😉

This event reminded me that despite our situations and circumstance we can still do something that can enhance the lives of others. Yes my friends, in the game of life the doorway of value-added service swings both ways. Today Louie got a boost and a smile with a ten dollar bill and I got a boost and a smile with a much better feel. LOL

So a great question for you to ponder as you head into another wonderful, well-deserved weekend is, “Are you cashing-in on your opportunities to make someone else’s day Great?” Hmmm… No need to answer this question hear just make sure your intentions are crystal clear and have no fear as you roll through the rest of your year. Let’s keep Making it GREAT!!!

My Book: MakeItGreatNOW.com
My Site: MrMakeItGreat.com
My Blog: MrBreadCrumb.com
My Store: TheInspirationStore.com

The million dollar questions that make a lot of cents (sense) but won’t cost you a dime…

Can we live without Personal Development? Yes, but only a fool would recommend it. Do we need Self-Help? No, but we’ve got to be two kinds of crazy to ignore it. And, can inspiration, motivation and education really make you happy and successful? Well maybe not, but the lack of these three things are sure to negatively affect your happiness and level of success.

Yep that’s right my friends, a life can be lived in the absence of all these things but we’d have to be two kinds of crazy and three kinds of foolish to live without them.

Simply put: Living a life increasing your worth makes life worth living. So, stay committed to working on the #1 most important factor in the equation of your life which is “You”.

Now let’s go Make it GREAT!!!

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Being the huge World War II enthusiast I am, there are few things that make my smile bigger than when I run into World War II Veterans.

Today’s encounter with Mr. Orville Stephenson at my buddy Dennis Stitt’s State Farm Insurance office was nothing short of epic. This Navy Veteran had the distinct honor of serving on a battleship that was tasked with defending our US Aircraft carriers in the Pacific theatre.

When asked what was his most memorable moment of the conflict, he paused a few seconds then his eyes started to well-up with tears and his voice started to crack as he began to share the details of he and his fellow-crewmen watching helplessly as a Japanese Kamikaze plane flew into the deck of one of the US Aircraft Carriers during the time of their refueling process causing the death of over 600 servicemen. It was if he was reliving the moment all over again right in front of me. Wow!

I stood in awe as I witnessed his transparency and candid recounting of the unsettling details. After several minutes of listening to his awe-inspiring story I was elated at having the opportunity to personally express my gratitude for all that his generation did to preserve the freedoms that we enjoy in this country today.

He beamed a smile at me and I reciprocated with one even Bigger as we gave each other a “bro-hug” and hearty pat on the back. “You made my day young man.” He said. “NOOOO, you made my day Orville!” I said with a smile. “How much is one of those books you got there?” He asked as he reached for his wallet. “For you Orville, it’s absolutely FREE!” I said. I even signed it noting him as my special hero.

Yep, it’s fair to say that today was a Great day.

Don’t miss your opportunity to make someone else’s day Great, even if you have to give something away. Make it a GREAT

Was having a little one-on-one chat with one of my little group-home boys today and to my surprise he told me that he now wants to be a Motivational Speaker when he grows up. After hearing this, I cracked one of my signature smiles at him then asked him “Why”. “Well, it’s because I want to motivate people when I grow up.” he said.

“Little Buddy, you don’t have to wait until your older to start motivating people, you can start now.” I said. “You can start leveraging your unique story of having an abusive, absentee Mom & Dad and in spite of it all you were able to break the cycle and become something special in the world.”

He smiled and said, “Can I start calling you Dad now?” “Naaah, Uncle “C” still works best for me little buddy.” I said with a smile. We both shared a hardy laugh then went back to shooting some hoops with the other fellas.

It’s times like these that really make me feel like I’m making a difference in service to this hurting humanity. There’s a “throwaway”, overlooked and underserved generation of youngsters out there who need our surrogate guidance and support now more than ever before if they are to have a reasonable chance to NOT just survive, but thrive in a society that’s poised and ready to pipeline them to poverty or prison.

Focusing on doing for a few what I wish I could do for the entire crew has been my mission and objective over the past five years with my group-home boys and I hope you will honestly consider using some creative ways to do the same.

No, I can’t pretend to know what the future holds for my little buddy, but I do know who holds his future and he himself has a lot to do with it.

I can only hope and pray that my future statement for my little buddy years from now will be that “He didn’t use his abusive childhood checkered past as an excuse to fail, he used it as a reason to do well and leave a positive trail.”

Simply put: I hope he decides to Make it GREAT!!!

Don’t miss your opportunities to do the same and stay in the game.

Always Ok to share if you dare… 😉

GREAT WEEK!!!

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So, I was between appointments tonight with a little time to spare and I thought it would be a great time for me and my baby-girl Chayse-Marie to drop-in to get a treat at one of our favorite smoothie shops Jamba Juice at the Marketplace in Bakersfield, California.

We quickly found a parking space and briskly crossed the lot headed toward the shop full of anticipation when I suddenly realized that I had forgotten my wallet. “Ughhh, Not Again!!!” I exclaimed. Then suddenly I realized that out of crisis comes OPPORTUNITY! 😉

“Chayse, I have some of my newly released books and CD’s in the truck and I can just grab one of them and sale it to someone out here in the courtyard. With this many people here, there’s bound to be some sucker, I mean some person who believes in Personal Development like we do.” I said jokingly. We both laughed and then headed back toward my truck to retrieve the goods.

After getting the goods I boldly went into the center of the courtyard then stood up on the center concrete planter-box and belted out, “LADIES AND GENTLEMEN MAY I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!!!” I then proceeded to share my story of desperation for a Jamba Juice treat for me and my daughter and my willingness to bless someone with my Best Selling book and bonus CD at a reduced price. Then it happened…

To my surprise, NO ONE even remotely seemed interested. I then walked the circle inviting the listeners to engage and invest in this heck-of-a-deal and great story, but still NO TAKERS. I then looked at Chayse and said, “You can’t expect everybody to ‘get it’ and be interested in what your doing, but you have to be bold and keep going.” She smiled back at me with a look of concern.

Then I looked up and saw a young couple with their two boys walking across the parking lot close to our direction. “AHA!!! Let’s go Chayse-Marie, let’s be BOLD!” I said. We approached the young family and gave them our spiel-of-speech and Eureka! They actually were interested in being a part of our story, but there was a catch. They didn’t have any cash… Ughhh…

But to our surprise and amazement, they then suggested we stroll over to Jamba Juice and they would purchase our treats in exchange for the book and CD. “You’ve got a deal.” I said, and off we went. We chatted a bit more and exchanged a few niceties as I sent them on their way with a freshly autographed book and a banging CD. Now we have a new family of friends Jake and Ashley Axt and their two handsome boys. If you see them around town, please give them a thumbs-up and warm smile. It’s people like them who make this “life” thing just a little bit more special.

So what does this mean for you? Well, it’s simple… I want to remind you that not everybody will understand what you’re doing or want to be a part of your cause or worthwhile story, but if you keep your enthusiasm and kill’em with your bright eyes and winning smile, it’s just a matter of time before someone(s) will step-in to your space and affirm you.

Me and Chayse set out for a treat tonight and ended up with so much more, not only a treat, but some new friends and a GREAT story to tell. I think once again little Chayse-Marie is a believer in the power of fighting through the “No’s” to get your “Yes”.

I’m not sure what your message is or what you’re doing but I encourage you NOT to miss your opportunities to master your moments and let those around you see you do it so they can realize that they can too. Let’s continue to Make it GREAT!!!

GREAT DAY!!!

Oh… And always Ok to share if you dare…

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