Yesterday was one of those rare dates (a numerical palindrome), 01-11-10.  Makes you stop for a few seconds and reflect...

Anyway, my reflection has been that as we begin 2010, we continue to live in a challenging and often dangerous world. During a traditionally peaceful time of year, a would-be terrorist attempted to detonate a suicide/homicide bomb in the skies above the U.S. Were it not for the courageous act of another passenger aboard that plane, we could have experienced a terrible disaster, claiming many lives and fueling our deepest fears.

The Dutch passenger reacted instinctively and impulsively to thwart a potential disaster.  I have heard that the heroic passenger has made some attempts since Christmas to profit from his deeds, and I hope that he has abandoned that effort.  Regardless, we need more of these heroics - people simply doing the right thing.  Too often in our contemporary pop culture, people strive to be famous and profit simply for dating, getting married, having children, finding a job, getting into trouble, stopping a crime, or just showing up at the right place at the right time.

Here's my idea... Make yourself famous with a young girl or boy for teaching them how to hit a baseball or do long-division, become famous with a whole bunch of people at a local senior center by calling a Bingo game, gain fame with an anonymous driver on the highway by letting him go ahead of you in traffic, and make a friend for life by visiting the local animal shelter to walk a homeless dog. Yes, we can go on and on with examples of potential good deeds and what a wonderful world it would be.  Work hard, help others when you can, take care of your family and friends.  It's a simple recipe.

It feels great to make a difference, doesn't it?  The opportunity for any of us to be a hero may be right around the corner.

Mr. Zig Ziegler, the motivational speaker, always said, "You can get anything you want out of life by helping enough people get what they want in life".  I sincerely believe that!    

Happy 2010!!!  As always, let us know if we can help.

- Lou G.