Esteem

Four Kinds of Angry People – Shouters, Pouters, Clouters, and Routers

by Andy Wood on June 2, 2008

in Esteem, Insight, Leadership, Life Currency

AngryBret* was a Sherman tank.  Didn’t drive one; he was one.  He was ticked off – at me!  And he wasn’t in a mood to pout or negotiate.  He came with a verbal Uzi, convinced I had done him wrong, and he was going to let me know about it.  (For the record, he was wrong about me doing him wrong, but he was in no mood to hear it.  Or hear anything, for that matter.)

Right in the middle of the tirade, as this hulk of a man was blowing me away, I had this surreal experience.  It was the Lord, I believe, speaking to me.  “Just let him finish.  With everything he has to say.”  So I did.  I just sat there and took it.  I didn’t like it.  I didn’t like his attitude.  I didn’t like his complete blindness to the facts.  But I took it.

“Is there anything else?”

“No, that’s about it,” he said very gruffly.

“Okay, well I’m very sorry you feel that way.  I’ll see to it that you never feel that way because of me again.”

That was 11:00 a.m.  At 2:00 p.m., the phone rang; it was Bret again.  Totally different story.

“Man, I just want you to know, I’m on your team.  I so appreciate you.”

I quickly ruled out the possibility of demon possession, mental illness (that one took a bit longer), or bribe money.  No, Bret had just emptied himself of his poison.  And he meant it.  He was on my team.

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The Face in the Window

by Andy Wood on March 12, 2008

in Esteem, Life Currency, Love, Turning Points

(A Turning Point Story)

Joel024This is an article I first wrote about my son 16 years ago, about what a powerful thing encouragement can be.   It means as much to me today, if not more, as it did in 1993.  Click “share this” and forward it to the encouragers in your life.  Thank them for being your “Face in the Window.”  And let somebody know you’ll be theirs….

It was one of those forgettable days, when nothing seemed to go right.  I was physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted.  The summer heat was unbearable, the humid West Alabama air unbreatheable.  But I had to bear it, and I had to breathe it on this day. 

Name a pitiful emotion – I’m sure I felt it on that day.  Rejection, anger, discouragement, depression, loneliness, fear, shame – they all showed up with the intention of staying. 

“Nobody needs you,” they said.  “And nobody believes in you.”

It was a day of giving.  Normally that rejuvenates me, but not today.  On this Saturday, I had given time, love, and tenderness, together with a whole lot of physical energy.  I had given my best (I thought).  Apparently, others had disagreed, and I had been humiliated in front of a large family gathering. 

I was spent.  I would say that I came home with my tail tucked between my legs, but honestly I don’t think I was standing that tall.

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Seven Ways to Recession-Proof Your Life

by Andy Wood on February 12, 2008

in Ability, Esteem, Insight, Leadership, Life Currency, Love, Time, Words

Financial NewsRecession.  It’s the word on everybody’s mind these days.  Congress, in an election year, is scrambling to give people some of their money back in order to avoid it (which begs the obvious question…).  All the media, the experts, and the average Joes are all talking about some aspect of it.  Somebody did a poll a couple of days ago, and it seems the average American believes if we’d just get out of Iraq, the recession would get better.  Uh, OK, I guess.

What most of us are interested in is, can I keep what’s happening in a national and global economy from happening to me?  Yes!  But first it’s important to understand that economists are measuring only one thing.

What to recession-proof your life?  Get a bigger definition of the word, “economy.”  Try this one as I first heard it from Jack Taylor:  Economy is the exchange of all the commodities of life. 

If you’re finding yourself a bit short on cash, or if you’re worried about it, why not try a different kind of currency?  Here are seven ways you can be wealthy, with or without money:

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The Encourager’s Creed

by Andy Wood on December 16, 2007

in Esteem, Love

Encouragement 3
Today and every day I will offer the most elegant gift another human can receive: the gift of encouragement. I will recognize that my gift is theirs to receive or to refuse, and that it comes with no expectations or demands.

Today and every day:

I will give the lonely a reason to believe in companionship again. And in so doing, I will banish loneliness from my own heart forever.

I will give the open-hearted a reason to grow – to expand their knowledge or their experience, their character or their self-confidence. And in so doing, I will discover paths of my own growth I never knew existed.

I will give the dreamer a reason to achieve – to accomplish a major step toward a goal or project. And in so doing, I will find myself closer to my own dreams than ever.

I will give the sojourner a reason to feel connected – to God, to self, to me. And in so doing, I will embark on my own wondrous journey of intimacy.

I will give my coworkers a reason to say, “Thank You,” but I will not demand that it be said. And in so doing, I will experience the exhilaration of true teamwork.

I will give the ordinary a reason to feel respected. And in so doing, I will possess greater respect from myself and from others.

I will give the solemn a reason to laugh or smile. And in so doing, I will be reminded again not to take myself too seriously.

I will give the decision-maker a reason to say, “Yes” with enthusiasm, or, “No” with courage. And in so doing I will be delivered from my own inaction.

I will give the weary a reason to go on, refusing to quit. And in so doing I will sow the seeds of my own prevailing strength.

I will give the apathetic a reason to be passionate about the things that really matter. And in so doing, I will face the trivial and meaningful in my own life.

I will give the cautious a reason to get out of that dull routine and live a little. And in so doing I will protect my own spirit from stagnation.

I will give the cynic a reason to believe the world is a beautiful place. And in so doing, I will rediscover for myself the splendor of the grand and the grace of the simple.

Most of all, I will recognize that this day is a gift to me. Today and every day I will take the time to encourage the encourager. I will recognize that my greatest gifts become available to others only when I offer them first to myself and to my God.

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