First, build up trust with customers,then...

A well known business maxin is: "To build up business sales, first build up trust with customers."  As any psychologist will tell you, most conflict between people arises from a lack of trust. If you don’t trust the motives of the person you are dealing with, you won’t believe anything they say, even if they are telling the truth. In his book, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team", Patrick Lencioni discusses the fact that trust is only possible when people have personal knowledge of each other, not simply a good working relationship. Knowing something personal about someone changes the working dynamic in ways that prompt and accurate service can’t.

It seems that trusting someone else... and more so, to surrender to that person implicitly ..... especially in a relationship of close friendship or, better still marriage...are the most difficult concepts for today's society to accept. While trust may not be so difficult for many to accept it is surrender that seems to be an aspect of our characters which we are not born with. To trust and surrender everyday is not easy or natural. We see the fragility of our lives in these two words – one builds for years only to see everything destroyed in a second; one is patient with a situation for many years but in a second one explodes into anger and loses all one had been working for.  The other day I listened to a talk by Rev. Dr Rene Camilleri on this topic.  Fr Camilleri said that we often seem to create a prison around us as a protection.  He gave a specific example of this prison:  “I am offended because I feel I deserve better.  I remain tied to my own prison because I am the centre of my life.  Trust can be the virtue that frees us from the cell.  When my heart becomes a sacred space. We need to shift the centre of gravity of our selves to God, but not in a sense of slavery but in a sense of adoration. The vacuum of having God at the centre will lead us to discover ourselves and our direction”.

Handbook for your life?

I got the following list from  friend this week and thought I'd share it with you all. If we could manage to stick to most of these points we'll be the happiest people on earth. It might be a good idea to stick the list up on your refrigerator or, better still, learn it by heart! Wish you a great day! :)

> Health:

> 1. Drink plenty of water.

> 2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

> 3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

> 4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

> 5. Make time to practice meditation and prayer.

> 6. Play more games.

> 7. Read more books than you did in 2009.

> 8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

> 9. Sleep for 7 hours.

> 10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.>

> Personality:

> 11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

> 12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

Love Is....

You will have probably recognised the cartoon here, from the famous "Love is..." comic strip created by New Zealand artist Kim Grove in the late 1960s. The strip is, I believe, still syndicated worldwide by Tribune Media. "Love Is..." began as a series of little love notes that Kim drew for her future husband Roberto Casali. The strip was first syndicated in 1970 and one of her most famous drawings, "Love Is...being able to say you are sorry", published on February 9, 1972, was marketed internationally for many years in print, on cards and on souvenirs. Unfortunately, Wikipedia states that Kim Casali died in June 1997 but her son Stefano has maintained the strip although it is always shown as "by Kim Casali" and signed "Kim" instead of Stefano. He remained in his regular occupation in advertising until September 1999 when he dedicated his full time to the strip, working with Bill Asprey who sketches the characters.
The reason for this opening today is because my post is tied to one of the biggest dates on the world's calendar - Valentine's Day, lover's day - when the greatest hype imaginable gets into high gear...or so says I.   Personally I have no problem with love or telling your loved one "I love you" but hey, you don't need to do it only on the 14th February. You have to live your belief in the love you want to give to the other person in your life everyday of the year.  Right?  
What then is this thing called love?  We already noted that Kim's idea was to show your partner the affection you have for her/him.  Interesting, St Paul had the same sort of idea yet his idea was a bit tougher to follow.  He, in fact, wrote that "Love is........ patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."  (1Corinthians 13 ff)
He continues even more precisely to state that  "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" because, he adds, "Love never fails....And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

NOT BY CHANCE...

A virtual conversation of sorts with the Almighty Good....

HE: You know that it is written in John 6: 35-40 that I said I am the bread of life; and that he who comes to me shall not hunger, or shall ever thirst again? But now I say to you who has been with me a while that despite it all, yet you do not really believe!

ME: No, that's not true Lord. You've done so much for me already.....picked me up and gave me a new life. Of course I believe in You.

Ah yes, but didn't you lose your temper this morning with your kids? And what about that gross overcharge that you just did with that customer? Isn't that tantamount to not believing in me?

But that's not quite the same thing. I was still half asleep this morning, and they were making such a din.

Were you asleep too when you overcharged that customer? Or when you judged your friends because of what they said? Believing in me is being in control of yourself, your thoughts and of your feelings.... all the time. Having Me and the Holy Spirit with you all the time means that you are special indeed. Don't forget that we reside in you, and that means that you must act special too, ALL the time.