Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service is a choice.

Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing
Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in
a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out
and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey .

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm
loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, Harvey read the card. It said: Wally's Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way
possible in a friendly environment.

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched
the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like
a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke,
water and orange juice.'

Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke! .'

Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street
Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, 'These are
the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and
asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.

Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also
let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey
preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers
like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last
two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest
of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one
day.

He had just written a book called You'll See It When You Believe It .

Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely
disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition.
Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.''

'That hit me right Between the eyes,' said Wally.

'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to
change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.
The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided
to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous
year. This year I'll probably quadruple it.

You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for
Appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick
them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told
that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with
it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks
and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally made a choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

How about us? How many of us keep complaining about what we do not have and what
we cannot do and end up not getting anywhere? How many times do we say, "YES, this
will work. I'm going to try and do it no matter what!" and we end up doing so well, we
can't even believe ourselves?

Piring kayu & gelas bambu

Seorang lelaki tua yang baru ditinggal mati isterinya tinggalbersama anaknya, Arwan dan menantu perempuannya, Rina, serta cucunya, Viva yang baru berusia enam tahun.

Tangan lelaki tua ini begitu rapuh, dan sering bergerak tak menentu.Penglihatannya buram, dan cara berjalannya pun ringkih.Keluarga itu biasa makan bersama di ruang makan. Namun, sang orangtua yang pikun ini sering mengacaukan segalanya.

Tangannya yang bergetar dan mata yang rabun, membuatnya susah untuk menyantap makanan.Sendok dan garpu kerap jatuh ke bawah.Sebenarnya dia merasa malu seperti itu di depan anak menantu,tetapi dia gagal menahannya.

Oleh karena kerap sekali dilirikmenantu, selera makannyapun hilang. Dan tatkala dia memegang gelasminuman, pegangannya terlepas. Praaaaaannnnngggggg !!Bertaburanlah serpihan gelas di lantai dan minuman itu tumpah membasahi taplak.

Pak tua menjadi serba salah. Dia bangun, mencoba memungut serpihan gelas itu, tapi Arwan melarangnya. Rina cemberut,mukanya masam. Viva merasa kasihan melihat kakeknya, tapi dia hanya dapat melihat untuk kemudian meneruskan makannya.

Mereka merasa direpotkan dengan semua ini. "Kita harus lakukan sesuatu, ujar sang istri. "Aku sudah bosan membereskan semuanyauntuk pak tua ini.""Esok ayah tak boleh makan bersama kita," Viva mendengar ibunya berkata pada kakeknya, ketika kakeknya beranjak masuk ke dalam kamar.

Arwan hanya membisu.Sempat anak kecil itu memandang tajam ke dalam mata ayahnya.Demi memenuhi tuntutan Rina, Arwan membelikan sebuah meja kecil yang rendah, lalu diletakkan di sudut ruang makan.

Di situlah ayahnya menikmati hidangan sendirian, sedangkan anak menantunya makan
di meja makan. Karena sering memecahkan piring, keduanya juga memberikan piring kayu & gelas bambu untuk si kakek.

Viva juga dilarang apabila dia merengek ingin makan bersama kakeknya.Air mata lelaki tua meleleh mengenang nasibnya diperlakukan demikian.Ketika itu dia teringat kampung halaman yang ditinggalkan.

Dia terkenang arwah isterinya.Lalu perlahan-lahan dia berbisik: "buruk benar perlakuan anakkita."Sejak itu, lelaki tua merasa tidak betah tinggal di situ.Sering saat keluarga itu sibuk dengan makan malam mereka, terdengar isak sedih dari sudut ruangan. Ada airmata yang tampak mengalir dari guratkeriput si kakek.

Namun, kata yang keluar dari suami-istri ini selaluomelan agar ia tak menjatuhkan makanan lagi.Suatu malam, Viva terperanjat melihat kakeknya makan menggunakan piring kayu, begitu juga gelas minuman yang dibuat dari bambu.

Dia mencoba mengingat-ingat, di manakah dia pernah melihat piring seperti itu. "Oh! Ya..." bisiknya.Viva teringat, semasa berkunjung ke rumah sahabat papanya dia melihat
tuan rumah itu memberi makan kucing-kucing mereka menggunakan piring yang sama!"Tak akan ada lagi yang pecah, kalau tidak begitu, nanti habis piringdan mangkuk ibu," kata Rina apabila anaknya bertanya.

Seminggu kemudian, sewaktu pulang bekerja, Arwan dan Rina terperanjat melihat anak mereka sedang bermain dengan kepingan-kepingan kayu.

Viva seperti sedang membuat sesuatu. Dengan lembut ditanyalah anak itu.

"Kamu sedang membuat apa?".Anaknya menjawab, "Aku sedang membuat meja kayu buat ayah dan ibu untuk makan saatku besar nanti. Nanti, akan kuletakkan di sudut itu,dekat tempat kakek biasa makan." Anak itu tersenyum dan melanjutkan pekerjaannya.

Begitu mendengar jawaban anaknya, Arwan terkejut. Jawaban itu membuat kedua orangtuanya begitu sedih dan terpukul.

Mereka tak mampu berkata-kata lagi. Perasaan Rina terusik.
Kelopak mata kedua-duanya basah.

Jawaban Viva menusuk seluruh jantung, terasa sepertidi iiris pisau. Mereka tersentak, Walau tak ada kata-kata yangterucap, kedua orangtua ini mengerti, ada sesuatu yang harus diperbaiki, selama ini mereka telah berbuat salah !

Malam itu Arwan menuntun tangan ayahnya ke meja makan. Rina menyendokkan nasi dan menuangkan minuman ke dalam gelas. Nasi yang tumpah tidak dihiraukan lagi.

Tak ada lagi omelan yang keluar saat ada piring yang jatuh,makanan yang tumpah atau taplak yang ternoda. Kini, mereka bisamakan bersama lagi di meja utama.

MORAL OF THE STORY
-Teman, anak-anak adalah persepsi dari kita. Mata mereka akan selalu mengamati, telinga mereka akan selalu menyimak, dan pikiran mereka akan selalu mencerna setiap hal yang kita lakukan.Mereka adalah peniru. Jika mereka melihat kita memperlakukan orang lain dengan sopan, hal itu pula yang akan dilakukan olehmereka saat dewasa kelak.

Orangtua yang bijak, akan selalu menyadari, setiap "bangunan jiwa" yang disusun, adalah pondasi yang kekal buat masa depan anak-anak.Mari, susunlah bangunan itu dengan bijak.

Untuk anak-anak kita,untuk masa depan kita, untuk semuanya. Sebab, untuk mereka lah kitaakan selalu belajar, bahwa berbuat baik pada orang lain, adalah sama halnya dengan tabungan masa depan.
============ ========= ========= ========= ========= ========
Jika anak hidup dalam kritik, ia belajar mengutuk
Jika anak hidup dalam kekerasan, ia belajar berkelahi
Jika anak hidup dalam pembodohan, ia belajar jadi pemalu
Jika anak hidup dalam rasa dipermalukan, ia belajar terus merasa bersalah
Jika anak hidup dalam toleransi, ia belajar menjadi sabar
Jika anak hidup dalam dorongan, ia belajar menjadi percaya diri
Jika anak hidup dalam penghargaan, ia belajar mengapresiasi
Jika anak hidup dalam rasa adil, ia belajar keadilan
Jika anak hidup dalam rasa aman, ia belajar yakin
Jika anak hidup dalam persetujuan, ia belajar menghargai diri sendiri
Jika anak hidup dalam rasa diterima dan persahabatan, ia belajar mencari cinta di seluruh dunia.

Tentu hari ini harus lebih baik dari hari kemarin, dan esok harus lebih baik dari hari ini dan tentu kita selalu berharap generasi yang akan datang harus lebih baik dari kita.

The Doll and The Rose

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this little boy some money back. The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.

The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll.'

Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him:''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?''
The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't haveenough money to buy this doll, my dear.''
Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look around. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to.

'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'

I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry.

But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.'

His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with G o d. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.

''My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.'

Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.'

Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?'' 'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.'

I added some of my money to his without him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money. The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'

Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!''
'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose.'' 'My mommy loves white roses.'

A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind.

Then I remembered a local newspaper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy?

Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the newspaper that the young woman had passed away. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white rosesand I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial.

She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest...I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed forever..... .

The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had takenall this away from him.

The quote of the month is by Jay Leno:
'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terroristattacks, 'Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?'

For those who prefer to think that God is not watching over us.... go ahead and delete this.
For the rest of us.... pass this on.

HAL - HAL YANG KECIL

Setelah peristiwa 11 September,
sebuah perusahaan mengundang karyawan dariperusahaan lain yang selamat, sedangkan sebagian besar meninggal saat terjadinya serangan atas WTC - untuk menceritakan pengalamannya.

Pada pertemuan pagi itu, pimpinan kemanan menceritakan kisah bagaimanamereka bisa selamat ... Dan semua kisah itu adalah hanyalah mengenai :HAL-HAL YANG KECIL.

Kepala kemanan perusahaan selamat pada hari itu karena mengantar anaknyahari pertama masuk TK.

Karyawan yang lain masih hidup karena hari itu adalah gilirannya membawa kue untuk murid di kelas anaknya.

Seorang wanita terlambat datang karena alarm jamnya tidak berbunyi tepat waktu.

Seorang karyawan terlambat karena terjebak di NJ Turnpike saat terjadikecelakaan lalu lintas.

Seorang karyawan ketinggalan bus.

Seorang karyawan menumpahkan makanan di bajunya sehingga perlu waktu untuk berganti pakaian.

Seorang karyawan mobilnya tidak bisa dihidupkan.

Seorang karyawan masuk ke dalam rumah kembali untuk menerima telpon yang berdering.

Seorang karyawan mempunyai anak yang bermalas-malasan sehingga tidak bisa siap tepat waktu untuk berangkat bersama-sama.

Seorang karyawan tidak memperoleh taxi.

Sedangkan satu hal yang menahan saya sendiri adalah : sebuah sepatu baru.Saya memakai sepatu baru pagi itu, dan berangkat kerja dengan bersemangat.Tetapi sebelum sampai di kantor (WTC), sepatu itu menyebabkan luka di tumit.Saya berhenti di sebuah toko obat untuk membeli plester.

Inilah yang menyebabkan saya bisa tetap hidup sampai hari ini.Sekarang, jika saya terjebak dalam kemacetan lalu lintas, ketinggalan lift, harus masuk ke rumah lagi untuk menjawab telpon ... dan semua HALKECIL yang mengganggu - sekarang ini saya sangat memahami, bahwa Tuhanbenar-benar menginginkan saya berada di sini untuk saat ini...

Suatu pagi jika saudara merasa semuanya terlihat sangat kacau, anak-anak lambat berpakaian, saudara tidak bisa menemukan kunci mobil, selalu sampaidi perempatan saat lampu merah menyala; jangan terburu-buru marah ataufrustrasi, karena TUHAN sedang bekerja untuk menjaga kehidupan anda!

Kiranya Tuhan selalu memberkati saudara dengan semua hal-hal kecil yang tampaknya mengganggu.

Dan semoga saudara mengingat akan maksud dari semua peristiwa kecil itu terjadi

God's Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned intocomplaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic,glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:

"If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only thebest for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position insociety are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and thetype of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups........ .. Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

-Author unknown-