And That Deserves Respect

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop location for learning from the greats! Today, we’re going to be talking about loyalty to an ideal; we're going to be talking about integrity.

As most of you know, it’s the Easter weekend, when the Christian churches remember Christ’s death and resurrection from the grave. You may not be a Christian - I’m not a strong one myself - but that doesn’t make him any the less an exceptional man that should be learned from. Anyone who’s inspired and influenced the world as much as he has possesses something we can learn from, even if we don’t agree with their message or actions.

Betrayed by the thirteenth apostle, Judas, Christ was put to trial by the Romans. Even when Pontius Pilate, the Roman commander, found him not quilty, the Jewish elders demanded his execution. Christ was crucified on a cross − nailed to a piece of wood to suffocate and dehydrate to death.

But, famously, Christ prays to God in the Bible, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34).

Christ was dedicated to teaching peace, to improving people’s lives. His teachings were intended to revolutionize the life of the people of the time to a better way. Simply because he was sentenced to death by his own people doesn’t mean he hated them. Perhaps he felt them mislead, wrong, maybe even foolish, but he wouldn't hate them. Whatever they’d shown themselves capable of, he had integrity. His teachings proclaimed forgiveness and peace, simply because others went against that didn’t mean he would - even at the end. His integrity, amongst his other exceptinial character traits, was perhaps the strongest. He always kept to what he taught. Whatever, whenever.

That deserves respect.

Sometimes people will do dumb things. God knows why − they just have this sudden urge to make themselves look foolish. They default on their dreams, eat recklessly and spend without caution. And sometimes, they pull you down with them. Sometimes they'll even condemn what you believe deepest in.

But you must remember that you, as an individual, have a choice. You can choose to throw away all your learning, all your progress, and regress to the level of an animal, angry and seeking revenge. Or you can stand tall and take it. I’m not saying it’s easy − I’m sure it wasn’t for Christ either, getting nails wrought through the flesh of his palms − but you notice something? All these millennia later, people remember the way Christ died. They remember the stand he made, despite his terrifying situation.

And, in keeping to his teachings to the last, in holding his integrity, it makes him and his message all the more worthy and well-respected in legacy as they were in life − perhaps more so.

Have a great Easter, if you celebrate, and otherwise enjoy your weekend!

Alex H.

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Earned Respect

 

 

How’s it going Ladies and Gentlemen?

Thanks for coming back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop location for success advice from the greats. Today we’re going to talk about standing for your principles.

Another sad post… As you probably know if you’re Canadian (and probably don’t if you’re not ), the great Stompin’ Tom Conners, local singer and legend, passed away a couple days ago at the age of 77 (which is far too young these days). The man who was named for the way he kept time with his left foot wrote classics like “Sudbury Saturday Night” and, most popularly, “The Good Ol’ Hockey Game”, not to mention about 298 others.

But what he might be remembered most by was his pride in being Canadian. It was only a couple months ago on Canada Day that I compared the man to Elvis in the U.S. for the patriotism he was synonymous with in my country. I mean, he openly spoke out against Canadian artists who sought fame in the larger United States who with a population ten times ours have about as many extra opportunities. He fought to keep a Canadian identity in music, even as more and more American recordings crossed the border.

Now, I’m not against American music − as you probably know from this blog, I’m a HUGE Elvis fan. But someone needs to stand up for something if it’s going to live, and Stompin’ Tom was the man to do it for us Canadians and our music. Proud to the end, a true patriot.

Stompin’ Tom’s death signals an end to an age in Canadian music. But even though he only sold nearly four million records (compared to Elvis’s over One Billion), his music will live on to all those who remember him for standing what he believed in, even when it wasn’t popular.

What does this mean for you? Stand for something you believe in and don’t stop, even if it doesn’t look like it’s going your way, even if others think you’re crazy for it. They’ll respect you in the end. At the Toronto Maple Leaf’s hockey game the night Tom’s name was called, most of the fans stood up during the playing of “The Good Ol’ Hockey Game” in respect of him.

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind a tribute like that when I pass on.

Stand for what you believe in and I'll talk to you next week!

Alex H.

In tribute of Stompin’ Tom, here’s a Youtube link to his hit, “The Good Ol’ Hockey Game”, his most famous song.

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The Little Things

How’s it going, Ladies and Gentlemen?

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop location for learning lessons from the greats. Today, I’m going to be talking about “doing the little things” − you’d be surprised at how big they really are.

So, as you may be aware, today is St. David’s Day, named after the patron saint of Wales. But even if you aren’t Welsh, there’s always a thing or two you can pick up from a saint (I don’t know about you − I think anyone who earns that title’s been very successful!)

We know a couple things about St. David: one, he existed; two, he lived about 1500 years ago; and three, he spread Christianity amongst the pagan tribes in old Wales. He gave St. David’s, the place of his shrine, such a reputation that four visits there were considered equal to two trips to Rome or one to Jerusalem. That’s what I call creating a brand!

St. David advocated a hard life for his monks; he believed in drinking just water and would only allow his monks the benefit of milk on top of this. He was against eating meat and believed that monks should pull their own plough in place of animals.

But he will always be remembered most for a quote from his last sermon "do the little things, the small things you've seen me doing".

Powerful, huh?

And as timely in modern business and our current world as it was in the ancient one. When you embark on your journey in life, whether it be in an artistic stream, leading a company or rising through the corporate steel mill, not everything you do will be noted. Sometimes, your greatest achievements will be looked over. And it can be easy to be disheartened and say “screw this! I don’t have to work this hard if it’s never going to amount to anything!”

You stop doing “the little things” and just expect that you’ll rise to the occasion when it comes along. But, as Tony Robbins says, “people are rewarded in public for what they practice for years in private”. You need to work hard at home, in your office, wherever, even if no one’s watching. Your little rituals − brushing your teeth, answering emails in a timely fashion, being nice and friendly to coworkers and friends − all come back to aid you when you do well. And destroy you when you don’t.

Would you give your money to someone you didn’t trust? Didn’t think so. To succeed in business and life, people need to believe in you as a reliable and responsible person. You don’t get that kind of reputation (or ability to live up to one) over night. You need to consistently practice being at your best to achieve that, even if your boss isn’t over your shoulder or you’re up for review the day after next. Those who keep doing “the little things” are the ones who achieve the big things in the end. Why? Because they earned it, one small action at a time.

Have a great St. David’s Day, remember the old fella’s advice and talk to you soon!

Alex H.

 

Thanks to the BBC for the information on St. David. You can check out more on the Welsh legend here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/saints/david_1.shtml

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Mean What You Say

Helloo0O Ladies and Gentlemen!

Welcome back to Graceland Ontario, your one stop blog for success lessons from the greats! Today we’re going to talk about being clear in business and life.

Now, I don’t know about you but seeing sports teams and shows live are expensive in Canada (besides I’m generally busy) so I don’t go for things like that too often. That being said, when I get an opportunity offered to me next to the beans and gravy, I’m not too quick to turn it down (providing I can fit it into my schedule).

So, not too long ago, the Harlem Globetrotters were visiting Toronto, a city not too far from where I live. I’d heard of them, not too much at the time, but it was still pretty cool. And to add, I, being a Scout Leader, was offered discounted tickets for moi and famille. Too good to be true, huh?

But, I still wasn’t sure about going so I waited (I’ll write about this later) until the last minute. The final day on the form had approached. Finally, I went hell, let’s go, faxed it in to the sports centre where the Trotters were playing and waited for email confirmation.

Only thing was it never came.

So, I emailed the major sports centre the next day. An hour or so later they got back to me (prompt service) saying that as far as they were concerned, because we’d faxed them in after their box office had closed (even though we’d gotten them in on the final day they’d specified), they weren’t going to honour the deal. Of course, we could still buy tickets from the regular box office.

So we missed the show and they lost out on tickets and a potential customer who would never see a show on his own choosing unless being offered a deal.

And it’s not because I’m cheap − I have better things to do with that money. If you’re going to make it worth my while, sure I’ll buy from you. But if I’m typically not interested, I’m certainly not going to buy on a regular day.

Here’s the message of the story: sure, I should’ve got the tickets in earlier, BUT if the sports centre had said on the form “Don’t even bother sending this after 5pm, when our box office closes on Friday” I would’ve either sent them earlier or made other plans. But when it says send by this date and you do, then you expect some tickets.

Otherwise, you feel like you’ve been cheated.

Be upfront with your customers, business associates, family members and friends. When you say a date, mean THAT date. Don’t mean when the box office closes, don’t mean if it’s a good day, mean what you say. Because I sure as hell thought I had till 11:59pm and their lack of writing otherwise on the form made me feel like I was tricked.

And unsurprisingly, me and others alike don’t like buying things again from people they feel tricked them.

You never know − they might be bloggers who'll tell the world about it afterwards!

Talk to you next week!

Alex H.

 

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