I sent out the Positive Thought this week and mentioned I would tell the story about using Love to diffuse difficult situations, so here it is.  

When Dayton was little he was so filled with energy it was like holding on to an electric wire from the moment his woke in the morning to the moment he went to sleep.  But he only threw a tantrum once.  

Back many years ago, Susan and Dayton were in a toy store,  Susan was ready to leave but Dayton was not.  Dayton decided to try throwing a tantrum.  He started jumping around, stomping his feet and his face was getting red.  Out of the blue Susan, instead of reacting to Dayton behavior, started using  Steve Martin's "happy feet" dance, from Saturday Night Live, right next to him.  Dayton stopped his tantrum almost immediately and looked at his mom as if she had lost her mind.  Then, within seconds,  he realized she was having a great time so he started dancing right along with her, they were laughing all the way out to the car.  I know I would have reacted much differently.  My normal behavior in those days would have been to push back with my own inappropriate behavior (yelling, grabbing or punishing).  Susan stopped the tantrum, changed Dayton's mood and accomplished her shopping trip, all while having a good time.  She loved Dayton enough to find a way to work through the issue staying loving and positive.  Love is always the answer

Hello Everyone,

This week seemed to be filled with more than the usual share of frustrating situations. I am sure you know what I mean. Even after many years of knowing better, I still allow myself to get agitated and struggle before I eventually remember to let go of the attempt to control the uncontrollable. When I let go of people, places and situations that are beyond my control (and almost all are) my mind, body and spirit come back into balance almost immediately.

Positive Thought of the Week

Am I feeling stressed and out of balance? Am I trying to control, guide or direct something that is out of my control? When I am demanding my way, I lose emotional and spiritual control. I feel like a ship being tossed about in a storm. As I let go of this unhealthy behavior I step back, take a deep breath and relax. Almost immediately my tension and stress melt away. I remind myself that I am responsible for the effort and not the outcome. As I regain control, my little ship finds safe harbor.

Business Thought of the Week

We are in the third stage of client relationships. First, it was just the product, well made and priced right. Next, we used "value-added" services that were more closely tied to client need but still product or service centric. We are now at the "Love-added" stage. In The Daily Six love is defined as: "understanding the needs of others and treating those needs as if they were as important as my own". Love-added is a holistic relationship where the interests and needs for my client's success become my primary focus. We will become client centric. When we reach this level of commitment and focus for the success of our client, our success is assured.

I'm back to Atlanta this week for business and pleasure. I will do some client work for a day or so but most of the time we will spend with our daughter Lisa, son-in-law Keith, our grandsons Ryan, Owen and our newest grandson, Alex.

I am refining a two-day retreat for a client for the end of June. Additionally, I have just been booked to deliver a keynote right here in the Jacksonville area in about two weeks.

Please keep spreading the word and pass this message to anyone you think might just need a little shot of positive energy.

All the Best ...

John