tipbits

This “It’s Saturday” isn’t “showtime!”  But it could be but I don’t think soooooo but you get to decide for yourself.  Most of you live in America soooo you can think what ever you want.  God knows most of us don’t agree on much of anything. Crazy! ItchieBitchie says—Many folks are very opinionated and easily persuaded by propaganda (i.e. suckers). You think that is right? That is what I thought. 

A nurse came and saw Arlene.  She told us that her parents gave her a whole bunch of stuff that was out dated.  She said—What did I want with all that out dated stuff; I have enough of my own out dated stuff.  I did what they should have done with all that out dated stuff—I throw it in the dumpster!  Then she said—I’m a lot like my mom in that I have a hard time throwing outdated stuff away.  I have my skinny clothes that I haven’t worn for years, my medium clothes and my fat clothes (i.e. closets full of all three).  It’s been years since I wore most the clothes.  Sooooo why don’t you throw them away; they probably are all outdated? I just can’t.  Folks, we all have heard this same story hundreds of time.  SusieQ says—Ya ya, I have heard myself say that many times; many: I thought you were talking about me!  A tipbit—Throw them away or give them away if they aren’t outdated tooooo bad!  ha ha Such is life.

It’s an incredible ride for me—continuously and ongoing; it never stops.  Sooooo the other day a friend and I went for breakfast.  As we were walking to the car he said to me –What is Jesus teaching you lately (i.e. the last person who asked me that was Dennis and it was years ago)? My answer was humility.  D.L. Moody said—Be humble or you will stumble (i.e. pride causes us to stumble or pride before the fall).  I get humbled all the time; I deserve it as I get out of whack sometimes—many times (e.g. the other day I borrowed a friend’s power washer; I couldn’t get it started; it was just a simple thing that I should have known but didn’t; that was humbling to me; also funny to me). WorldClassLarry said (i.e. a tipbit)—A man with his feet firmly on the ground cannot fall very far!  “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Luke 14:11 You believe that?  That is what I thought. Such is life.

The police asked JoeBlow--Just how big were those 'two beers' you said you had?” Hey folks, what we did in our past might affect our present and our future; don’t kid yourself.  Some of those events will never quit haunting us, never.  Some we can overcome but some we can’t.  BadDecisionBetty says—Yabut it sounded soooo fun at the time.  Besides I just had a couple of beers; but it appears I had no idea what I was doing!

My Little Peanut, Heather (i.e. will always be my little Peanut, our daughter) ran in the Chicago Marathon last Sunday with the charity team of Alzheimer’s Association in honor or her Mom.  She raised a nice chunk of change for the Association for research.  I thank you folks who contributed.  Thanksamillion! The Association raised over $400,000 from the 209 runners..  It was touching to me to have Heather do this. A big commitment for her and James in many ways.

“Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.” - Epictetus  I read this tipbit while eating my oatmeal with half a banana on it--Make a conscious decision to seek out people based on their personal achievements – not what they were given or the possessions they have, but what they’ve actually done with their lives. Have they created things? Have they built things? Have they made the lives of people around them better? Have they worked hard and channeled that work into a good life for themselves and the people around them? Those are the people well worth looking at and using as your personal inspiration. Be Inspired By People Who Achieve Things…  A big house might be a nice place to visit or live, but it makes very little commentary about the values and achievements and stability of the person living there. The same goes for a shiny car or an expensive suit. Saturday question—Mentors are very important in life; who is your mentor? 

Percentage Pickleball is not making mistakes...never over hitting, being under control, being patient and being in the right place at the right time... Percentage Pickleball, it's all about putting the percentages, the overwhelming likelihood that you will be successful, on your side!!! That philosophy is good for every part of each of our lives—put the percentages in our favor; that allows a person to be have success more frequently than losing.  Does that make any sense to you? It does to me.  My mentor would say to me—erv, in investing, you got to put the percentage of winning on your side; you got to win more than you lose (i.e. pretty good tipbit).  Such is life.

Recently I was sitting in the sun porch and two hummingbirds were breeding on the feeder.  I don’t know if it was consensual or not.  I was an eye witness!  Now that is another can of worms.  It has been proven that eye witnesses aren’t always accurate (i.e. video and DNA are much more accurate).  I read this in the paper soooooo it must be right--Surveys show that most jurors place heavy weight on eyewitness testimony when deciding whether a suspect is guilty. But although eyewitness reports are sometimes accurate, jurors should not accept them uncritically because of the many factors that can bias such reports (e.g.  emotions, past experiences, alcohol or drugs, gender, mental illness). In fact, according to the Innocence Project, a non-profit organization that assists prisoners who can be proven innocent with DNA testing, mistaken eyewitness identifications contributed to more than 75 percent of the more than 200 wrongful convictions in the United States that have been overturned on the basis of DNA. For defendants, the rule of law makes all the difference. They will be judged according to the law—not according to opinion or vengeance. Sooooo maybe those hummingbirds were not having sex but putting on a show for me or maybe I misread their actions altogether (i.e. maybe I saw just what I wanted to see).  Could be. Maybe. 

Sooooo many times folks say we should do this or do that but have no example to show a person how to get it done.  Here is a real-life example that a onesmartfriend does that is a Wow!   A real tipbit that will affect you for sure. ~  After hearing a sermon 10 years ago about Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy, I was prompted to take this to heart.  Everyone has influence.. some people have large 'circles of influence', others have small 'circles of influence'....nevertheless, Everyone has influence. Believing the saying that 'What gets measured, gets done', I created a spreadsheet to make sure I was regularly connecting with the following people in my life:

• 'Paul' (Mentors),
• 'Barnabas' (Peers),
• 'Timothy' (Mentees) in my life.  

My goal is to have lunch at least 3 times/month with a Paul, Barnabas, or Timothy in my life.  Tracking the process in Excel has helped me be accountable to myself as well as make sure I am expanding my 'circle of influence'. This process has blessed me over and over again.

 A tipbit (i.e. muttin new but most folks don’t seem to catch on).  I learned this from the many support group folks I have been around.  Soooooooo Arlene and I went for brunch at our local café.  I went to the bathroom and a long-time acquaintance was carrying a container of dirty dishes.  She lost her husband within the last 6 months.  I asked her what the biggest challenge she has today (i.e. notice I didn’t ask her—how she was doing—that is the tipbit folks).  She told me being alone for toooo much time; that is why I do dish washing; it really has helped me; a chance to get out of the house and around folks.  She then asked me the same question (i.e. that is class folks).  As I was walking away she said—erv, thanks for asking. Interesting. WorldClassLarry says—Folks who are struggling really aren’t much interested in you telling them how great you are; a big turnoff!

Learned or relearned a great tipbit.  I went for a ride out in the country on my Yamaha XT250 the other day.  I stopped at some former clients who live out N of town.  They are 80, farmed for many years, landlords of many acres of farm ground, live rather modest for their net worth and income and are very fun to talk to.  They are liberal democracies and very opinionated but will and can talk objectively.  They told me that they watch MSNBC for 2 to 3 hours each night.  I have never heard of the network—it’s more liberal than CNN; we really like it—what can they say that’s new during that time—nuttin new; just repeat the same stuff; it gets us all fired up; I’m liberal but not on all issues; I think all kids should have free lunch at school but I don’t know about free college.  He said—I can understand why town folks get upset with farmers when they see them harvesting with a million dollars of equipment in the field, have a lake home and winter in the South when they are making $15 an hour and they are subsidizing them; it looks crazy; but it will be hard for many farmers to make a huge amount of money this year,. They are such good folks; salt of the earth; my kind of folks (i.e. even though I don't agree with everything they think). Sooooo are your kids liberal like you—our daughter is a divorced teacher with 3 kids soooooo she is liberal, and our son works for the government and he is very conservative; I don’t understand that.  Sooooo do you talk politics with him—very little; our love for him is much more important than causing some disagreement over politics; it just ain’t worth it.  What a hoot!

Another tipbit from real life—it’s a feel good one.  Yes, it is.  A friend at breakfast the other day told me that their daughter (i.e. mother of 4, home school teacher, has taken an interest in photography.  Her elderly grandmother, my friend’s mom, is in a care facility.  She came for a day and a half and stayed with her taking pictures of her doing her daily activities including dialysis etc.  She took pictures of her with her care faculty friends and her with her favorite nurses, and of just individuals who where there.  Her grandma never wanted to have her picture taken in the past but was soooo excited about this that she had a permanent and got all slicked up.  The other gals in the care facility were all excited.  She is going to put some type of book together for her grandma and give pictures to the others.  Wow!  She was blessed, her grandma was blessed, her parents were blessed, and the others there were blessed.  I think folks really like it when others care for them (i.e. show love to them—my opinion). Now that is innovative and creative.  What do you think of that?  That is what I thought.   

Have a FUN day my friends unless you have other plans. (-:

erv

MyFriendJean says—The smallest deed always exceeds the grandest of intentions.