Making Good Use of Your G.P.S.?

         I must admit, I am hooked on the GPS feature on my phone.  The Global Positioning System is an awesome tool.  While I have a very good sense of direction and usually, after driving some place once, I can get back there on my own, still with all of the travel I do, it’s nice to have the option of getting from A to B with ease.
            A couple of days ago, one of my dear friends had planned to visit me after she wrapped up a business trip in Texas.  Two hours before she was to arrive, she sent me a text that read:

            “I missed my flight.  I think I’m gonna try to go straight home.”

            Two hours later, after unsuccessful attempts to get a flight home, she called.  In a detailed one hour account, she recalled her day.  She arrived to her conference late, had to walk from her hotel to the conference(which was further away than she thought), and missed the chance for group introductions, so she was quite flustered.       

       However, she made to the airport 4 hours early, with a chance to breath and make some follow up emails to her new connections.  She pulled out her laptop bag, plugged in the cord, and realized, HER LAPTOP WAS NOT IN THE BAG.            

            Panic knocked on her chest.  Fear tapped throughout her spine.  Sweat slid down her back.  Someone had stolen her life. (a.k.a. known as her laptop)  Before pandemonium took up residence, she got en email on her phone.  Someone from the conference found her laptop and planned to mail it to her.

            Since she had 4 hours to spare, she decided to leave the airport, rent a car, and pick up her laptop.  Following a few longer than necessary conversations with unhelpful rental agents, she made it back into town and picked up her laptop.           

By this time, she was hungry and she noticed a steakhouse attached the hotel.  She decided she would order a steak to go, and take it back to the airport with her. But…..     

       She admits she heard a voice telling her, she didn’t have time.  However, that didn’t make sense because she was only going to pick up a meal to go, and that way she did not have to stop on the way back to the airport.            

     What should have been a 15 minute order turned into 25 minutes.  When she got back in the rental car, she realized the time on the clock was actually 15 minutes behind the time on her cell phone, which was accurate.  She drove past the rental car return entrance on the way back to the airport, which meant she had to drive around the terminal again.  She was stopped at security because she forgot she had bottle water in her carryon bag. And…. 

           She MISSED her flight.

            If only she had listened to the voice of guidance telling her, she did not have time for that steak, perhaps she would have made that flight.  Instead, she was stuck in the airport all night.            How often do you use your G.P.S., or your Guidance Providing Suggestions?  We all have an internal G.P.S.  That voice that says, “do this,” or “get out of bed early,” or “stay away from that.”    

        If you pay close attention, like my friend, you will find yourself having a conversation with that voice.  The question to ask is, are you fighting against guidance or flowing with?  

            Are you making good use of your GPS?

Mastering the relay of your message

        As I thought about what I might do for the upcoming Fourth of July Holiday, I was reminded of what I did this past Memorial Day.  My family did not have our traditional cook-out or fish fry.  (Note:  A fish fry is a fish themed meal- usually heavy on the fish, deep fried, often outside and in the case of my mother, in a wash pot.  Cole slaw, potato salad and hush puppies are popular sides.)
            It was a little different this year.  In fact, I had talked my dad into doing some father-daughter bonding.  The master relay on my car needed to be replaced.  I had already diagnosed it by checking the symptoms on the internet.  I even found a video detailing how to replace the part.  I figured my dad and I could do it together.
            So, on Memorial Day instead of devouring a burnt hot dog, a charcoaled tender steak or feasting on hot fried fish drenched in Texas Pete, my dad and I watched a couple of “how to videos” on replacing the master relay, then headed out to my car.
            My dad started by removed the cruise control panel to expose the master relay.  Then it was my turn to contribute.  We interrupt this blog for a special bulletin.  I am not and have never been mechanically inclined.  I know to keep my oil changed regularly and my tires rotated for longer wear.  That’s it.  I can change a tire if I got in a pinch, but by no stretch of the imagination and I the Danika Patrick of car repair. We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog, already in progress. 
            I slid down under the steering panel.  With a flashlight in one hand and a screwdriver in another, I began removing the master relay.  It was pretty simple.  Once I got the part off, I handed it to my dad with the intention of getting him to install the part.  He had something else in mind.              
        “Since you are already down there, you can put it on,” he said.
            Me?  Install a part on a car that’s not a floor mat?  Me?  Oh, well, since I learned to obey my parents early, I did it.  But not without a challenge.
            Removing the old part was simple.  Getting that new master relay on though was tough. It’s a tight spot.  It’s very dark under the steering wheel panel.  My dad tried to hold the flash light for me at one point.  That did not work too well because the space was so tight, he was prohibited my movement.  I tried to prop the light up.  It fell on my face and busted my lip.  Ouch!
            I sat up for a while.  Then I slid back under the panel.  I sat up again. And then under the panel, I resumed my position.  This went on literally for at least 30 to 45 minutes.  
            The “how to video” said the entire process should take 30 minutes from start to finish.  I became frustrated.  I was sweating.  My clothes were sticking to me like barbecue sauce.  I took deep breaths.  I sat up…..AGAIN.
            And finally, I got the master relay in place.  VICTORY!  My dad replaced the cruise control panel, which took him a little while to do too and my car was all repaired.
            I decided to replace my master relay because “they” said it was simple and I even had help.  But, had I known my experience would be a much more difficult than what “they” said, would I have ventured into the land of car repairs?  NO DOUBT!
            Yes, it was harder than expected.  Yes, it took more time than I had planned. Yes, there were casualties- well maybe not casualties, but my lip hurt for quite some time after that flash light smashed into it.
            And yet, with all of that, aside from the victory of replacing the part, I realized something.  Winning is easier when you refuse to accept defeat.  Consistent winning is how you master a thing.
            So, have you mastered the relay of your message?  Yes, I am talking to you!  Everyone has a message.  And mastering how you relay that message is critical to success.
            Maybe you are the soon to be doctor who decided to go into medicine after losing a parent to a preventable disease.  Perhaps you are the student headed to law school who wants to help low income families in court because one of your childhood friends needed legal advice but could not afford it.  There are lots of possibilities.
            Identify your message.  Master the relay.

           

No Room at the Inn

            Saturday night was a big night for sports- Game 7 in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between Boston and Miami and the anticipated return of Manny Pacquaio to the ring to fight Tim Bradley in a boxing match.
            I decided to watch the game with one of my girlfriends at a local sports bar.  When we arrived, neither of us could find a park because the place was PACKED like a shoe store on the release day of the new Jordans.  In fact, we both ended up parking about 2 blocks away.
            Once inside, it was standing room only.  I passed many people leaving as I arrived because they had given up on getting a seat.  The game was already in full swing, almost at the end of the first quarter.  People were standing around tables, televisions, and anywhere there was available space.
           We were on the waiting list which at this point, was really a joke.  Ten people were ahead of us and almost everyone who was already seated was in for the long haul, for both the game and the fight.
            We had a couple of options.  There was another neighborhood grill next door where we could watch the game.  But it was empty inside and the excitement of experiencing the game with a group of energized fans was not happening there.
            Or, we could suck it up and just decide we would stand along with the other dedicated fans.  And that was our decision….
                   For about two minutes.  Then I was inspired to seek out a third choice.
            “I’m going to walk around and see if there are any empty seats around the restaurant,” I told Tara.
            “Okay.  I will be here waiting for you,” she said.
            I walked directly to a table with four chairs, three of them were filled.
            “Is this seat taken, I asked,” trying to smile to let them know I would be a friendly fan to watch the game with for the evening.
            “No, it’s not.  Have a seat,” one of them said.
            I sat down for a couple of minutes.  Made quick small talk… explaining that I had a friend who also needed a seat too.  
            I walked back to Tara, excited to say that I had found a table with one seat.  Now, Tara just needed to find one more seat to bring to that table of four.
            Tara was a little shy.  
            “I’m not that bold to go up to someone to ask about a seat,” she said.
            I approached 2 tables before I found another seat for her.  And then back to my chair across the restaurant that was kept occupied by my umbrella.
            The threesome became a fivesome and before long we were all enjoying the game together and eventually the fight.
            At first glance, there was no room at the inn…. At least that’s the way it seemed.  I passed people when I was two blocks away, who said there were no seats. 
            When I walked to the front door, people walked out beside me, discussing plans to find another place to go get wings and watch the game.
            And even when I put my name on the list, the hostess said no one was likely leaving until after the fight, suggesting that I would not get a seat.
            Still, when it seemed like I only had two options, I got an intuitive nudge to try to find a seat in what seemed like a completely filled restaurant.
            How many times have you walked away from where you wanted to be because it looked like there was no room for you?  Did you not apply for a scholarship because over 3000 people had already applied and it seemed hopeless?
            Maybe you put off getting a website because everything you read stated a website was very expensive.
            Or, was it the house that seemed completely out of your budget that you just didn’t bid on.
           What’s your inn?   Where does it appear to be no room for you?  And more importantly, how can you find your place there?