InnerSelf.com

A number of years ago I went on an intense lecture tour that left me feeling exhausted. The last event of the trip was a full-day workshop in Atlanta, and as I pulled myself out of bed that morning to get ready for the seminar, I wondered how I would gather the energy to present a decent program. When I arrived at the venue, I found a young man at the door, waiting to greet me. He shook my hand vigorously and told me, “I read your book and it changed my life. I drove four hours to get here today, and I can’t wait for the seminar. I came to meet the man who wrote the book.”

Well, that sure put a different spin on the program for me. When I saw the eagerness in that fellow’s eyes and I felt the sincerity in his voice, I was moved to present the seminar he came to receive. I couldn’t let my tiredness or resistance stand between him and his intention. I felt a burst of energy and enthusiasm, and went on to offer a program at the level of excellence he expected. That fellow literally called forth the man who wrote the book.

Calling Forth Brilliance & Genius

You, too, have the power to call forth the brilliance and genius in those around you, as well as yourself. You just need to give more attention to what is working and what you want to happen, than to what is not working and what you do not want to happen.

The Spiritual Cinema Circle (www.spiritualcinemacircle.com) has distributed a potent short film, Validation, which you can find on YouTube. The film tells the story of Hugh Newman, who validates tickets in a public parking garage. Yet Hugh’s validation goes far beyond stamping parking tickets. When each customer arrives at Hugh’s station, he gives them a sincere compliment like, “Wow, what a great smile!” or “You are an amazing, wonderful person!” One by one, tired business people light up and step away with joy, confidence, and spryness absent just a few moments earlier.

Be An Uplifter, Not A Downer

Hugh’s reputation as an uplifter spreads far and wide, so people come to park in his garage and stand in long lines just to receive the validation from him that they are missing in the rest of their lives. Hugh is a true healer, using his occupation as a venue to feed the soul of the world.

Not long after seeing Validation, I met the real Hugh Newman. He is a TSA security officer in the Honolulu airport. After flying all night overseas, Dee and I arrived at the airport early in the morning, tired and eager to get home. When we asked the agent for the airline operating our connecting flight to put us on an earlier flight than we had scheduled, she refused. So we decided to go to the gate and ask the boarding agent for that courtesy. On our way through security screening, a handsome older agent checked our I.D. “Now there’s that smile we love!” he commented as he studied my driver’s license. “And don’t you look lovely this morning!” he told Dee, although that’s not how she felt.

You can imagine what a surge the fellow initiated in us after a long flight and the airline’s denial. Suddenly I felt there might be hope for us and humanity. When we arrived at the gate we asked the agent if she would put us on the next flight, and she was happy to do so. That TSA agent called us to be the people we wanted to be, which set in motion a train of positive events.

Give Them A Reputation to Live Up To

As we move into the holiday season, we might do well to remember Dale Carnegie’s suggestion: “Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to!” People will become as magnificent or inept as you label them, so be careful what you call them. At every moment you are scripting the actors in your life movie, for better or worse, by the way you see them and the words you speak about them.

During the next month or two you will have plenty of people to practice giving a reputation to! At your Thanksgiving family gathering, you can keep Aunt Sally stuck as a frumpy old gossip, or acknowledge her for the way she’s been there for her kids. At your company office party, your boss can be a stingy souse, or a source of financial support for you during a lean economy. After waiting in a long line to pay for your Christmas present purchase, you can complain to the salesperson about how few cashiers there are, or compliment her on how effectively she is handling her customers in a crowd.

You've Got a High I.Q.

Education annals tell of a young schoolteacher who arrived at her classroom on the first day of school and, perusing her class register, saw high I.Q. numbers next to the student’s names. “Thank goodness, an intelligent group!” she exclaimed. Consequently she gave the class challenging assignments and freedom to be creative.

At the end of the marking period, all the students received high grades. The next day the principal called the teacher into his office and asked her, “How did you take a group of underachieving students and turn them into geniuses?” The befuddled teacher showed the principal the high I.Q.’s in her register. The principal laughed as he told her, “Those are not the students’ I.Q.’s. They are their locker numbers!”

Thank goodness the teacher did not know the class was not bright. The students lived up to the reputation she gave them. And so are we all assigning numbers to everyone we meet. Let’s make them high ones.

Recommended book:

A Daily Dose of Sanity: A Five-Minute Soul Recharge for Every Day of the Year [Paperback]
by Alan Cohen.

In times of challenge as well as ease, we all need a helping hand to stay on top of our game, make successful decisions, and find peace of mind in the midst of people and events that might distract us. This collection of inspiring, poignant, and humorous real-life stories, coupled with uplifting insights, will show you how to keep your head on straight and your heart open no matter where you are or what you’re doing.

Click here for more info and/or to order this book.

About The Author

Alan Cohen is the author of many popular inspirational books, including the newly-released Enough Already: The Power of Radical Contentment. Join Alan for Metaphysics and Miracles, May 30 – June 3, 2012 at the Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, Colorado. For more information about this program and Alan's other books and free daily inspirational quotes via email, visit www.alancohen.com, email info@alancohen.com, or phone 1-808-572-0001.

Click here for more articles by {ga=author-alan-cohen}.

Please Share This Article... Thank you :-)

You Might Also Like

InnerSelf Newsletter: November 25th, 2011...
InnerSelf Newsletter: November 25th, 2011 We are often exposed to a lot of different types of stresses in our day to day life. And just as there as many d...

InnerSelf Newsletter: January 27th, 2012...
InnerSelf Newsletter: January 27th, 2012 This week, we bring you powerful articles on choices and on change, on toxins (both physical and emotional), and on...

Testing and Validation...
One of my children brought to my attention a TV program that he was watching. On the program, a scientist was testing individuals who had gifts simil...

InnerSelf Newsletter July 18th, 2011...
InnerSelf Newsletter July 18th, 2011. This week's articles bring to mind the expression "now you see it, now you don't", or perhaps a children's game of hid...

InnerSelf Newsletter October 24th, 2011...
InnerSelf Newsletter October 24th, 2011 There are two quotes that portray the human situation in relation to each individual as well as to humanity as a whol...