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

Over the years I’ve discovered that the most meaningful muscles on our miracle bodies bar-none are the ones that help us smile. Yep that’s right folks those muscles that make our smile go up or our frown go down are great to have around.

Since this is true, a good question today is, “What kind of shape are your smile muscles in lately?” Are you making a point to work those babies out on a regular basis, or, are you’re smile muscles suffering from a mild or severe case of atrophy? Hmmm…

My smile muscles have been working overtime this past week so they’re definitely feeling a little buff right about now and I hope the same is true for you. Maybe a P90X or Cross-Fit program for smile muscles can be the next workout craze. Hmmm, not a bad idea. 😉

My unsolicited advice for you this wonderful week is to whip those smile muscles into shape and Make it GREAT!!!

GREAT WEEK!!!

Ok to share if you dare… I’m FEELING BUFF!!!

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Over the years I’ve come to realize that “Luck” is just a lazy man’s definition of a hardworking man’s success. So as a result, I no longer wish people “Good Luck”, I wish them the best results that their efforts deserve. Give it some thought and I’m sure you’ll agree.

Let’s put forth the “effort” and Make it GREAT!!!

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Would it surprise you if I told you that many people have asked me to offer a comment about law enforcement and law breakers as it relates to the increased incidents of police brutality in the media over the past few years? Well, probably not…

Yes it’s true that many have asked me but I have always continued to mark myself as being one that is NOT big on criticizing, complaining or condemning others, so I have continued to pass on offering my comments. But, after recently thinking it through, I now believe that a short comment might actually do a little good on both sides of the proverbial fence of this issue.

As an ex-law-enforcement peace officer, I can honestly admit that I’ve managed to witness my fair share of incidents where emotions were high and adrenaline was playing its significant role in fight or flight. Situations like this are always volatile and can produce intense physical actions that may oftentimes be explained away under a “fog or war” type of explanation. However, in the case where actions are punitive and flagrantly abusive in an attempt to cause physical harm to an otherwise submissive individual, these actions are appalling and unacceptable on any level.

A lawless criminal has the luxury of having no conscious to be his/her guide but law enforcement officers do, or “should”. As with any organization this side of the universe, there will always be a few “bad apples” in the bunch. This is because our law enforcement agencies continue to hire their employees from the human race. So as such, there will always be those who can’t perform well under pressure or have “bully tendencies” and “Napoleon complexes” and may find a sort of sadistic satisfaction and joy in exacting harm on others.

The challenge going forward is to single these “bad apples” out and just like cancer, they’ll have to be radiated for rehabilitation or cut out and tossed into the pokey with the law breakers they were sworn to protect us against. In fact, some of these “bad apples” may not have been apples at all. They were pears disguised as apples looking to cause harm under the color or an apples authority.

Well, the days of the “Orchard” covering for these “bad apples & pears” should be over and we should usher in a new era where judge, jury and executioner are exclusively left to the courts.

Now obviously every case and incident is not the same and should be judged on its own merit, but both sides have to concede that drastic change needed and has to be made.

I can’t pretend to have the answer to this conundrum but something tells me that the solution is rooted in “mutual respect”, “self-control” and “uncompromising accountability”. Divorcing ourselves from the “Us against Them” mindset can’t hurt either.
The days of the diffusion of responsibility amongst lawful comrades has to be eradicated and eliminated in favor of justice and fairness absent of the urge to be flagrantly abusive and abrasive.

So, I encourage us all to raise our right hands and commit to do our part to making a positive start and lead with our hearts so we don’t get splintered apart. Let’s lead with love and Make this “good” life “GREAT”!!!

GREAT DAY!!!

And, of course the post is always Ok to share if you dare… 😉

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No shame on you Ms. Betty-Sue…

As a kid my brothers and I were the quintessential young entrepreneurs. We sold everything from scented candles, oven-mittens, super-scrubbers and all sorts of candy. We even hand-picked and sold wildflowers if they were in season. Succeeding at this type of business definitely required us to have a pretty thick skin and short memory back then.

However, one specific incident that I’ve never forgotten though was the time when me and my brothers were out canvasing the neighborhood looking for lawns to cut with my Dad’s lawnmower. We weren’t having much luck at that time so we became extremely excited when we finally found someone to say “Yes” to our services.

On this particular day, a woman by the name of Ms. Betty-Sue listened to our sales pitch and gladly accepted our offer to cut her front and back lawn. Now this lawn was anything but typical. The grass was so high that we spent half of our day cutting the lawn because the blades on our mower kept getting bogged down. And, we also had to move a lot of debris.

After we finished our hard, half-a-day work, we then approached Ms. Betty-Sue with the great news. She was visibly impressed with our work and then to our surprise she said the not-so-magic words, “Boys can you come back at the first of the month when I get my check so I can pay you boys because I don’t have any money right now?” “WHATTTT!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!” We thought to ourselves. Realizing that there was nothing we could do about it, we reluctantly conceded and agreed to her wishes.

Well, when the first of the month came around we made a trip to her house, knocked on the door only to be told that she was NOT at home. We waited for a couple of hours then returned only to be told again that she had not yet made it home. This same scenario carried on for several days until we finally caught her at home, and what she said next really made us angry, “I thought I told you to come by on the 1st of the month, I don’t have any money now. You’re going to have to come back the first of the next month.” NOW THIS IS A BUNCH OF BALONEY!!! We thought.

The next month came and went with no contact with Ms. Betty-Sue and it even got to the point where her grass was in serious need of another trimming, but we definitely weren’t going to become suckers again. After a few months we then noticed that she had moved and that’s when we really realized that we’d been “Had” as the say.

Needless to say, we were highly disappointed that we were taken advantage of by a seasoned adult. But, you would be happy to know that we did not let this experience dampen and diminish our ability to continue to be kind and offer others the ability to acquire our services now and pay us later. No we refused to succumb to the bad-faith actions of the few and chose to focus on the inherent goodwill nature and abilities of the masses.

Simply put: I truly believe that the advantage of being taken advantage of gave me an even bigger advantage.

As a result, I’d like to encourage you to never grow weary of being good “to” people and doing good “for” people in this world, even when you may feel like you’ve been used, abused and flat-out-screwed.

No Ms. Betty-Sue, you DID NOT manage to steal my will or rob me of my ability to be kind to this struggling humanity! That little boy has now become a man and what you meant for bad has over the years strengthened me and turned out to be good, and for that I thank you. I will continue to lean forward in this “life” thing in service to others and smile as I attempt to Make it GREAT!

So, dare to join me and don’t let anyone compromise your kindness. Yes my friends be sure to keep your kindness keys at the ready and Make it GREAT!!!

Oh… And it’s always Ok to share if you dare… 😉

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