Episode Transcript
[00:00:20] Hello and welcome to Imagine the Possibilities. My name is Skip Pogue. Today we're going to talk about several different things that I've kind of had on my mind lately.
[00:00:32] The first thing I want to Talk about is 5:00 Friday afternoon.
[00:00:37] We're done with the work week, and what do we say we're going to do? We're going to go home and start the weekend.
[00:00:46] Well, I don't believe that's right. I think we need to refer to that Saturday and Sunday as the strong end. Because we're ending a week that we accomplished a whole lot of stuff. We maybe even accomplished some remarkable things. And to say it's a weekend isn't right. It's a strong end. And it's when we're going to get better, we're going to rejuvenate, we're going to do stuff that we talked about all week. Maybe we got an idea that we want to take our spouse out to dinner.
[00:01:20] The thing is that if we don't make plans, the whole strong end may get away from us. And we're back at work Monday morning wondering what happened to the strong end. So make plans, make some reservations at your spouse's favorite restaurant, set a time, reserve a table, then you'll go.
[00:01:46] Same thing for your kids. If you got kids and you want to do something with your kids, make plans to do whatever it is and put it in your calendar. Because if you're like me, if I put something in my calendar one hour before I'm supposed to be doing it, my calendar notifies me, I'm doing it. I'm ready. I'm going to go and get her done. So put it in your calendar and do things for your kids. Enjoy the strong end.
[00:02:11] You know, it's a time to be with family and friends and maybe you want to have a dinner party or something. Put it in your calendar, notify other people, call your friends and tell them, say, hey, come over to house. We're going to barbecue some stuff out and have a big time. And they'll show up and you will have a good time and you'll feel better for it. So be sure to do that.
[00:02:36] It just makes sense because like I said, if we don't do it, the strong end to get away from us. And we're back at work at Monday morning.
[00:02:46] Now, you've had a great strong end, took your wife out, played with the kids, did some different stuff you wanted to do, had friends over and that kind of stuff. And so Monday morning rolls around, I can't count the number of people that I know personally that Monday morning would come dragging into work.
[00:03:13] It's Monday. It's Monday. I can't deal with this and this and that. And it went on and on. Thing is, Monday's another day of the week. We actually ought to be grateful for the fact that we have a job.
[00:03:28] We should be grateful for the opportunity that we got to enjoy the strong end. And now we get to work and be productive and accomplish stuff that will move us forward in our life. So don't approach Monday like it's a bad thing. It's a great thing. And be grateful for the fact you have a job, you're getting paid, you got to do all those things that you did over the strong end because you had a job and you have money to do those things. So we need to be grateful. One of the things we should do all the time, and maybe I try to do it on a daily basis. I'm not perfect, so I won't say I do it every day, but I try to be. I try to take a few minutes before I go to sleep, let God know. I'm grateful for all the blessings I received that day, that I'm grateful for the roof over my head. I'm grateful for the car I have. I'm grateful for everything. And I think we all should do that.
[00:04:26] It will make us better overall and it'll definitely make us feel better. And it's something, I guess, that we should expect.
[00:04:35] Hopefully the majority of us are doing that already.
[00:04:39] There's things you have to think about.
[00:04:43] You probably listened to the podcast I did. Hopefully you listened to it anyway on Do Oversight. And the fact of the matter is that you'll never accomplish all that you can do or do all the things you're capable of doing unless you have a willingness to fail.
[00:05:06] In many cases, failing is the greatest teacher of all. The second thing that you have to have is a willingness to try over and over. That's why do overs are so important.
[00:05:18] I just want you to keep that in mind.
[00:05:22] I know, and I've said this, and like I said before, I'll probably say it in every podcast, but I have no doubt in my mind or in my heart that everyone that has listened to my podcast and continues to listen to them will accomplish remarkable things in their life. I don't doubt that. And I think that each of you are capable so much more no matter how good you're doing. And I think you're all doing great. But the accomplishments, the things you can accomplish are just amazing. And I don't want you to forget that. And that's the reason I remind you all the time. Because I think it's important that we fill our minds with the pure, the powerful, the positive. I think that if we don't do that, we're going to have problems. Keep that in mind.
[00:06:20] One of the things we should always strive for is that everyone we touch, everyone we come in contact with, everyone we care about and everyone we love is better because of us.
[00:06:35] And I say that in a humble way, not as a bragging person, but in a humble way, because I hope that we bring something to our loved ones and our friends and the people we know that has value to them, that we recognize them and they're valuable. Their friendship, their relationship, whatever level it's at, is important to us and we appreciate that and we only want the best for them. And it goes back to that whole thing that I have, about the only way I can be successful is if I help everybody around me be successful. So I think we have to think about that all the time. And, you know, one of my daily goals is to do something that helps someone every day. And the second one is to do something that puts a smile on God's face every day. And I hope I do both of them well.
[00:07:33] There's so much stuff we can do to help other people, and I'm not sure we do it. And most of it doesn't require us to spend money or do anything. Just telling someone that you care about them or that you appreciate them gives them value that they may not have. We may be having a great day, but that doesn't mean everybody we know or everybody we come in contact with is having a great day. So just think about it. When you're out and about and you run into somebody you know, or maybe a total stranger, they're walking toward you in the aisle of Walmart or wherever the grocery store, and you can tell that they may not be having the greatest day.
[00:08:25] Then recognize them, say, hey, hope you're having a good day.
[00:08:31] And even if they're not, that's going to make a difference. Because they realize that somebody, a total stranger, said something because they care about them. They didn't say, get out of my way or why are you in here? Or whatever, that you showed a kindness. And when you show kindness to someone, it becomes important to them. Do that every day. Set it in your mind that you're going to do that. We should always be kind to people, even if they're not kind to us. Because being like someone that's unkind and uncaring doesn't make us a better person. It makes us less of a person. And the way you prevent that from happening is show kindness to everybody.
[00:09:18] You have to remember you're unique. Each one of us is a unique person. We're one of a kind.
[00:09:28] As far as I can find out, no human being on the planet has the same fingerprints as I have.
[00:09:39] Now, there's some trivial point in that, I guess, but the point is I am unique.
[00:09:46] No one has the same fingerprint. No one knows and felt the same things I've felt. No one's done some of the stuff I've done. I'm one of a kind. You're one of a kind. Listen to your heart and your mind, use your talents and gifts. You can and will accomplish remarkable things.
[00:10:07] And some of those remarkable things just. They include kindness to other people.
[00:10:13] You know, I got the thing about be humble, stay kind, love deeply, and laugh often. In my closing, and I've always closed stuff that way. And all four of those things are important.
[00:10:26] We should really do them. And anything we do for another person needs to be done without expecting anything in return.
[00:10:35] If we have expectations that, oh, they're going to pat us on the back, or they're going to say, oh, you did a great job, then we're not doing it for the right reason. Just keep those things in mind. It's important, I think, that as we move forward in life and in this world the way it is today, that it's important that we maintain and even kill and show others that we appreciate them.
[00:11:03] We can agree to disagree on stuff.
[00:11:07] We should try to have more conversations and less arguments.
[00:11:12] If you don't agree with what somebody, the way somebody does, or what their position in life is or whatever, is that really the most important thing about that person?
[00:11:25] Maybe it's not. I can tell you it's not. You know, the most important thing is that each of us feels like there are people that care about us. So, you know, don't get hung up on all these things that people try to put us in boxes. I wrote an article one time about being put in a box. We are such. Our society's got this point that we're, yes, no, liberal, conservative, however you want to say it. There's two boxes, and we all fit in one or the other box. No, we don't.
[00:12:01] We're, like I said, we're unique. We're individuals, we're one of a kind. We don't fit in a box.
[00:12:09] There may be like minded people, but we still don't need to be grouped into a box and labeled some way. That, that irritates me. The whole idea of that just irritates me. So think about that. When you see somebody that, a total stranger that you don't know, don't be judgmental, don't try to label them, don't try to put them in a box, don't say this, don't say that. I think there's only one person that in my opinion, and I'm not a religious fanatic by any means, but I think there's only one person that ought to be judging people and I'm not going to take that job.
[00:12:49] So non judgmental, unconditional love. Those things are important and they cost us nothing.
[00:12:58] And they'll make the world a better place, they'll make us a better person, they'll make those around us better. So when you do those things, do every, everything you do should be done without any expectation of anything in return. If you're going to give somebody some money for something, you know, you see somebody, a person on the street asking for money and you decide, okay, I'm going to give them some money, then don't expect anything in return. And once you give them that money, what they do with it is not your, it's not in your wheelhouse, it's not any of your business. You know, hopefully they'll do what they said.
[00:13:40] Now I have, I have a personal relationship with God and I'll tell you a little story. I was going to the doctor one day and I was driving across the parking lot and there was this young woman walking from, looked like from the doctor's office over toward a strip mall and our shopping center. I guess way better way to say it. And I slowed down. She kind of moved her hand like she was waving at me. So I slowed down and pulled over and I asked her, I said, can I help you? And she said, yeah, I don't have room, I don't have money to pay for a room to spend the night and could you help me? And without thinking about it, I said no. I said, I'm not going to do that. I said I'm sorry. And I just rolled the wind up and drove off. Well, like I said, I got this personal relationship with God. Well, God tapped on me then and he said, why did you do that? And I said, well, I don't know the person and everything. He said, what does, what's the, what difference does that make they asked for help and you didn't help them. I turned around, drove back, she wasn't quite back over to the shopping plaza. And so I caught up with her and I pulled up beside her and I said, ma'am, I had $60 in my pocket and I gave her $60. Now I don't know what she did with it. I don't know if she got a room. I don't care. Because when I turned the car back around and drove back toward my doctor's office, I felt good about it. And I know I did something that day that put a smile on God's face. So it's, you know, we've got to do that. And it's important moving forward that we do it. Every opportunity that we're presented with throughout the day to help a person, whether it's a kind word, a smile, or buy them a burger and a Coke, whatever is important. And it not only it tells them somebody cares about them, but it gives them value.
[00:15:45] And a lot of people don't have good self esteem. And maybe it helps that a little bit. It makes them believe that people do care about them. I think that we just need to practice these things and do them as regularly as we can. I don't know the drive through restaurants around here. I live in Tennessee and we don't have a lot of restaurants, but we've got quite a few drive through restaurants. And I got in the habit once a week or so, or maybe once every couple weeks, I'll get in line and I'll pay for my food. And while I'm sitting there, I'll ask the person that's running the register. I said, I don't want to pay for the food for the people ordered behind me, how much is it? And they'll tell me it's $15 or $20 or whatever. And I'll give them money. And I said, just tell them, I said, have a wonderful day and God bless them. And I drive off. Well, the last time I did that, well, not the last time, the time before. The last time I did that, the next time I went through the same restaurant, which was odd. I pulled up to pay for my meal and lady said, the person in front of you already paid for it. And I said, well then I'll pay for the person behind me. And she laughed and I said, why is that funny? And she said, because you're like the 16th person said this started like 30 minutes ago and said everybody's paid for the person behind me since the first person did it and I said, well, this is great, but it was one of those things that it's really cool and I felt really good about it. So anyway, just some things to think about. I'd had this stuff on my mind and decided this was what I want this podcast to be about. So just think about it. If you get a chance, head over to imaginepossibilities Life and check things out. There's a transcript of this podcast and all the other podcasts there, some other stuff you can read and look at. I sincerely thank you for listening to these podcasts. I really appreciate it. I can't express it enough.
[00:17:52] It warms my heart, touches my soul.
[00:17:56] I do this, like I said at the very beginning, because I believe that the only way I can be successful is to help all those around me be successful. And my success this time is going to be as a podcaster. I don't know what that means. I don't know how it looks at the end of the day, but that's what it's going to be. So it's something I enjoy. So anyway, just remember that your future belongs to you. Be kind, stay humble, love deeply, and laugh often. I hope you have a super day and I pray that God blesses each of you in a super way.
[00:18:36] Thanks again.
