Isn’t it amazing how the world perspective can change in one minute? I look on CNN.com and see that every major news story is: “Haiti.” I sit in my comfortable office contemplating Caribbean red papaya and organically-grown whole wheat toast for breakfast, while millions plead for a bottle of water as they try to rescue or bury family members and friends. I have no idea what it must be like for persons and families to lose so much in just one minute. At least the news about Mark McGuire, Sarah Palin, and Leno-Conan has subsided. Many of us will go forward with new thankfulness for our blessings and do what we can do to help our brothers and sisters who live just off the coast of our blessed land.

To be speechless is to be humbled by something so tragic that very few words are appropriate. I can only sit in silence and then hang my head as I read the news from Haiti. I have no idea what it must be like for so many to lose so much. We may each ask, “What can I do to help?”

We have just completed the first week of the first year of the second decade of the new century. How did it go for you? It’s been busy for me. The “news” is always a challenge with air travel security issues, health care reform, and unemployment taking up so much air time. Perhaps we would all do well to spend less time on “the news” and more time on our own news. Here’s my news report for the New Year thus far…

My health is good. There’s peace in our neighborhood. I’m blessed to have work to do. We’ve got smog in Utah that needs to be cleaned up. There’s snow in the mountains that sustains our winter tourism business and which means we’ll have water in the spring. Sharon and I just enjoyed a PBS presentation entitled “The Emotional Life.” After a discussion of all the “self help” formulas out there along with the hard evidence about what actually makes humans happy, the conclusion of the program was that the greatest secret is really no secret. It is that, more than anything else, humans need to be connected with each other in meaningful ways to be happy. As my age and wisdom increase, I do believe that there are two ways we find our greatest joy: through meaningful connections to each other and by regular connections to the wonders of nature around us. 

With 51 weeks remaining in 2010, I plan to connect more with others to give service and to enjoy their company. I also plan for more running in the sunshine and more walks in the woods.

Let’s start a life-saving movement. We are all beginning to realize that to text while driving is as deadly as to drink alcohol while driving. As my children have travelled about during the holidays, I have enjoyed sending them texts and receiving their replies, however, I sometimes worry that they may have received my text while driving and I DO NOT want them to feel obligated to reply to me while driving. So, when I think they might be on the road, I will add this abbreviation: “NRWD,” which stands for “No Reply (or Reading) While Driving.” We can create a nationwide code word with “NRWD” that reduces the number of times our friends and loved ones feel they must respond immediately to a text they have received while driving. Let’s all agree that, when a text is followed by “NRWD,” the reply (even the reading) can wait until you’ve stopped driving and have reached your destination. Join me to help reduce accidents and deaths from “texting while driving.”

Note: It is very difficult to come up with an abbreviation that is totally unique, so perhaps NRWD will work for most of us and will stick. If not, let each family or circle of friends come up with their own code to add at the end of text messages that may dangerously distract those who are driving.

I offer just one word to guide and stimulate our thinking about the New Year and it’s a word that has appeared in many of my blog postings. The word is CREATION. What a powerful word it is. Everything is a creation. The new economy will be our creation. Health, prosperity, and happiness are our creations. The word CREATION is the ultimate expression of the spirit of ownership and self-determination. What 2010 will you create? What new decade will you create? If we all cast aside our complaining and criticizing and get on with creating, all will be well with our worlds.

Last night, “60 Minutes” presented the heart-rending story of the residents of Wilmington, Ohio, who have been clobbered by the “Great Recession.” Their community has lost 10,000 jobs. The story opened with the auctioning of foreclosed homes and the interview with one emotional dad who felt he had let his family down. The mayor of Wilmington indicated that his community is surviving on hope. He said, “If you want to find the Christmas spirit, come to Wilmington.” These good people have been humbled by their struggles, which means they have had to come together to survive. Their Christmas spirit is about community and hope.

I was saddened at the thought that fellow Americans would suffer so while I know other communities, including my own, have weathered the recession relatively unscathed when compared with Wilmington. I believe we need a new kind of “Sister Cities” campaign where the most hard-hit cities and towns could be linked with those cities that are doing relatively well. This would tap the amazing generosity of Americans who would reach out to support their fellow citizens in need. The Quakers have an old saying, “Thee lift me, and I’ll lift thee, and we’ll ascend together.” As one city lifts another, the one will be blessed materially while the other will be blessed spiritually. How can we make this happen across the country? As we do so, our nation will heal more quickly and our recession will be over sooner than later.

Invictus is the Latin word for “unconquerable” and it is the title of a new movie starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. The movie tells the inspiring true story of how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa’s rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to unite their country. I enjoy it when a genuinely inspiring movie comes along. I recently saw The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, and Quinton Aaron. Another one’s coming in January, Extraordinary Measures, with Brandon Fraser, Harrison Ford, and Keri Russell.

It was when I was first introduced to the process of computer programming that I heard the phrase “garbage in; garbage out.” This means, if you put faulty information into the computer, you get a crummy computer program. Isn’t the same true with much of life? If you put mostly junk food in your body, what do you get? You get poor health. If you think negative thoughts, what do you get? You get a bad attitude. How about movies? If you watch a crummy movie, what do you get? Nothing worthwhile. Watch a good one and you get inspiration. 

Invictus made me thankful for the courage of great leaders. The Blind Side helped to stimulate my own spirit of fairness and generosity. Thank goodness for the good movies. Thank goodness for the true stories behind them.

These may be times of change and personal transformation for you. Here’s an excerpt from The New American Prosperity, Secret #21, that has proven useful to many.

What’s Next?

There comes a time when life moves on
And courage prompts your footsteps.
It’s time to leave those well-worn paths
And sometimes bid farewell.

To do what’s next is no simple task.
Discomfort and strangeness take their toll.
But, o’er the hill, discoveries lie,
And these may be profound.

Some prefer what they’ve always done,
And to do it again and again.
Fear of change is dominant,
Inner power lies obscured.

Then, choose to do what’s next in view
And you will see the difference:
Insight deepened, perspective broadened,
And more revelations of you.

–Darby Checketts

As we approach the end of 2009, it is time to review the past year’s business and professional performance and to set goals for the New Year. Performance Management is about preparation, follow-through, and accountability in all that we do. Why is a year-end assessment important? There are many reasons and some of these have to do with the bear. In the Customer Astonishment book, Secret #5 is “Know the Bear.” 

Performance Management is about what our customers expect and what we expect of ourselves. The message of “the bear” is that we can never let ourselves become complacent, but must keep our performance standards high and the positive momentum of service excellence going strong. 

The bear symbolizes our competitors and the challenges present in the larger economy. The bear reminds us of the need to be vigilant, to be prepared, and to be diligent so that we can run faster than the bear as needed or learn from the bear to be powerful in the ways we need to be more efficient and effective. This is true as you manage your personal affairs, your career, and your business enterprise.

Have I done any good in the world today?
Have I helped anyone in need?
Have I cheered up the sad and made someone feel glad?
If not, I have failed indeed.

Has anyone’s burden been lighter today because I was willing to share?
Have the sick and the weary been helped on their way?
When they needed my help was I there?

Then, wake up and do something more than dream of your mansion above.
Doing good is a pleasure, a joy beyond measure, a blessing of duty and love.

Will L. Thompson, 1847-1909