Great Service

I found this article uplifting, it shares the story of a cab driver who took some of Wayne Dyer's teachings to heart and changed his business and his life profoundly. It is my goal to provide great service to my clients and students.  Am I hitting the mark?  Or missing it in some ways?  I would love the feedback.  -jd

From the Facebook page called Daily Inspiration:

Marcia Kearl Johnson September 30 at 8:10am Reply • Report

No one can make you serve customers well.....that's because
great service is a choice.

Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver who
proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab
pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished
to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and
freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the
car to open the back passenger door for Harvey ..

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your
driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my
mission statement.'

Taken aback, Harvey read the card.. It said: Wally's Mission
Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest,
safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment...

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the
inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup
of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' My friend said
jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.' Wally smiled and said, 'No
problem I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and
orange juice..' Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'

Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to
read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA
Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another
laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play,
if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the
air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for
him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for
that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and
tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him
with his own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you
always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always.. In
fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving,
I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do.
Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day.

He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe
It. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad
day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining!
Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an
eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd..'

'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was
really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I
decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at
the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were
unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some
changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I
did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I
doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably
quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands
anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave
a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get
a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a
Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers
over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I
go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked
like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I
was suggesting..

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop
quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

How about us? Smile, and the whole world smiles with you... The
ball is in our hands!
We reap what we sow. Let us not become weary in doing good, for
at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up... let us
do good to all people.

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar.

Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.
SORROW looks back, WORRY looks around, and FAITH looks UP...

"Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass. It's about
learning to dance in the rain."

Author Unknown

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Winter Wellness

Wellness: Having the resources (physical, mental, spiritual) to meet ordinary life challenges every day; and having the resources to recover and heal from extraordinary challenges like injury, illness, and loss. To be well, we need to support our body’s innate drive for balance (homeostasis). Whether it is biochemical, nutritional, emotional, social, environmental or spiritual.

How do we do this? Through self-awareness, prevention, and self-responsibility.

Awareness: learning to listen to my body’s needs. To rest when I need rest, to eat (wholesome foods) when I need to eat. To be social and active at times and seek solitude at times. To learn to listen to the feeling state, which often makes itself known through sensations in our heart and our gut.

Prevention: how I live my life today provides the building blocks for my body 7-10 years from now. The old saying an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure holds true more than ever. We can no longer depend on job-sponsored health insurance to pay for that pound of cure. We are feeling it directly in our own back pocket, and it is costing more and more. Wellness means planning for my future, and not taking my health for granted.

Responsibility: We must put ourselves back in the driver’s seat and take control of our own health. It is no longer good enough to assign our health to doctors and other health professionals. We alone are the experts of our bodies. Who knows your body better than you? Turning over the controls to others’ leads to depression, the state we sink to when we feel we no longer have any control over our own life.

Winter Wellness: Each season brings its own special health needs. We want to hunker down in the winter, and sleep more with the darker nights. It is certainly a season to get more rest, support the immune system, and not stretch our health dollars too far out of reach. Colder days discourage thirst, but we really need to stay hydrated to protect ourselves from colds and opportunistic viruses. The body will stay strong with hearty warm soups and stews, rich with winter vegetables like roots and squash.

The solitude of Winter gives us time to dream and create the coming year’s projects, letting new ideas emerge from last year’s activities, failures and successes; however, we also need to reach out and maintain social connection for mental health. Lack of sunlight at this latitude leads to chronic Vitamin D depletion. Oral supplementation is practically mandatory, as Dr. Tom Archie demonstrated in a meta-study he performed here. Low Vitamin D levels in the body compromises the immune system in many ways and has links to heart disease, depression, and many cancers.

The dark cold days of winter often discourage us from getting enough time in Nature and taking in fresh air, instead inhaling the concentrated stale air in our highly sealed homes and offices. Making the commitment to get outside for a short 15 minute walk will bring fresh oxygen into the lungs, heart and body. It helps us stay connected to the seasons which helps keep our spirits up. Walking (or any active exercise) boosts our metabolism and keeps us from adding unwanted pounds over the winter months. Find a winter sport to embrace that supports your fitness level, and experience the beauty of our wondrous lake and mountain environment.

Each moment of our lives we are making choices. What to do, what to think, whether to take action or inaction. We always have the power to choose something that is better for us, or worse, whether it is our relationships, our job, our diet, or our attitude.

The Winter Wellness Festival returns to Lake Almanor this year with activities slated for March 12-15, 2009. Marking the 4th year of the event, this year’s Festival theme is Health & Hope: Simplicity, Sustainability and Gratitude.

Contact: Chester-Lake Almanor Chamber of Commerce at info@LakeAlmanorArea.com, 530-258-2426

c. 2009, Jan Davies, CWHE All Rights Reseserved.

Buddhist Wisdom: Rejoice in Others' Successes

Whenever you hear that someone else has been successful, rejoice. Always practice rejoicing for others--whether your friend or your enemy. If you cannot practice rejoicing, no matter how long you live, you will not be happy.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Transforming Problems Into Happiness"

Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok, with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org.

Buddhist Wisdom - obstacles

When everything is clean-clear in your own mind,
nobody can create obstacles for you.

-Lama Thubten Yeshe, "The Bliss of Inner Fire"

Copyright Wisdom Publications 2001. Reprinted from "Daily Wisdom: 365 Buddhist Inspirations," edited by Josh Bartok, with permission of Wisdom Publications, 199 Elm St., Somerville MA 02144 U.S.A, www.wisdompubs.org.