Who Is There When You Really Look?

There are people in our lives that we think will always be there.

Our parents.
Our siblings.
Our best friends.
Our spouse or significant other.
Others that means something to us.

We look at them as fixtures in our lives. We expect them to be there like the old pair of slippers under the bed; seldom used but nice to wear on a cold winter's morning.

We know they are always going to be there so we don't necessarily look for them do we? I mean really look for them.

We don't necessarily appreciate them like we should.
We take them for granted.
We don't tell them how we really feel.
We don't tell them what they mean to us.
We don't share all that we could share with them.

We justify it in our minds by saying to ourselves, "They know. They understand. There is always going to be time."

But time, at least in your life and mine, is not infinite. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, it is all too short when in it comes right down to it. And those people will not always be there.

So who do you need to look at and appreciate that they are here and now?

Who needs to hear from you? And not just a "Hi how ya doing?" But something significant. Something meaningful.

Who needs to be with you? Really feel like they are with you when you are both together.

Who needs to not feel like they are that old pair of slippers? To understand and appreciate by your thoughts, words and actions how much they really do mean to you.

Who?


Ripple On!!!


Steve Harper

Walking Lottery Ticket - Part Two

So you remember yesterday we talked about my giving you a lottery ticket every day without any financial obligation on your part and the only real expectation was your need to come meet me every day to pick up the ticket. One tiny little action that you had to take every day in order to pick up the ticket that gave you a chance at millions of dollars was all that I asked. All it took was investment of a little bit of time and effort on your part...every day without fail.

You got excited. You couldn't believe someone would be so kind and generous at first. You found yourself fantasizing about what the money would do for you and how it would absolutely change your life right? Plus when you won, I wouldn't expect a thing from you....not one red cent of the money would you have to share. What a bargain right?

But then the excuses came. You had this going on or that going and now that golden ticket, the one that could change your life forever, somehow took a backseat to your procrastination, to your excuses, to your laziness. You began to bargain...to make deals for me to watch the ticket, to hold on to it for you but all the while still hoping, still praying that the ticket would payoff. You hoped that even though you didn't have to do a thing (literally) for it that your lottery ticket would finally cash in. I think you and I both know that life doesn't work that way.

I took my time explaining this scenario over two days for a reason.

This happens every day, though the lottery tickets you are given are walking up and down the halls of your office, standing in line with you at Starbucks, will be at today's Chamber luncheon, is the person you rode up with in the elevator this morning and is that person whom you've yet to meet...but will. Your walking lottery tickets are the people whom you know and don't know. They are the ones that literally have the power and capability to do far more than six numbers on a piece of paper could ever do for your life, your career and for your own personal psyche. No, these lottery tickets have the power to effect real change in your world.

And....there's good news!

Every day you and I have the opportunity to meet one of these walking lottery tickets. Yes it takes effort. Yes it takes time. No I can't do it for you...neither can anyone else. It takes you and only you. But just like in our scenario it takes your willingness to show up (and do it every day) wherever the ticket might be to have any shot at cashing in on the opportunity.

People are like a lottery ticket. You have absolutely no idea what you might get when you meet someone new or make that extra effort to get to know someone better. The possibilities are truly endless.

Many of you who've heard me speak or read my book understand that my willingness to go the extra mile, to seek out the walking lottery tickets in my life enabled me to become an entrepreneur and find real success in my life. Those lottery tickets weren't just going to land in my lap...I had to go seek them out and make the effort to find them. But let me tell you it was worth the effort!

No I won't give you any daily lottery tickets but I will tell you that if you would take a different view of the people who cross that path in your life you might just find that your life is filled with tons of potentially winning tickets. The question then becomes, are you going to let the excuses control your destiny or are you going to rise above it all and seek out your winning numbers?

Give it a try because the odds are so much better than any real lottery. Life, by design, works in our favor. You just have to know how to play the game. But just like with a lottery, you have to pay to play.

Good luck and good Rippling!!!

Steve