Power of the Spoken Word

The Power of the Spoken Word is one of the strongest forces in how we shape our lives. Most of us can remember some misplaced, unfortunate choices of words someone said in our childhood and can replay those words in our minds with total recall.  Often, when working with children, we just don’t think before we speak and we rarely measure the strength of our words. 

I have met beautiful women who were told they were ugly as a child and in their minds - they are ugly.  Looking in the mirror upon those gorgeous faces should be proof they have been misinformed but they can’t get past the hurt of the words.

I have met brilliant men in marginal jobs that use about 5% of their brain power because a teacher or professor told them they didn’t have what it took to be successful. They still feel the pain from those words. 

What would I recommend to people who are still hitting the replay button?  Try hitting the delete button the next time you hear those hurtful words and never replay it again!  There is power in the spoken word but there is greater power in moving forward and not believing every word spoken in your past!

Unnecessary Power

There is Unnecessary Power at Time Warner Cable. I have my services, phone, internet and cable, bundled with Time Warner.  When they all work, it’s great. 

Imagine going almost three weeks with inconsistent service on my phone and internet.  Oh, I’d call them and ask them to send a signal and it might work for an hour and then be off the rest of the day.  It was so frustrating.

It was determined on the 13^th call to Time Warner, I might have an outdate modem.  Since I travel, I asked for an appointment in two weeks.  Alas!  Time Warner only books appointments one week in advance.  Now, who in this day and age only books out one week in advance.  My dentist books out six months.  My gynecologist books a year in advance.  And, Time Warner, in order to provide their most excellent service books out one week!   Oh, oh, you need to know… if you are not going to be at home during the upcoming week, you have to wait until the next Friday to call them back to get an appointment for the upcoming week.  I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP, YALL!

So, as an obedient Stepford Customer, I call on a Friday and make an appointment for the following Tuesday.  In order for them to provide their most excellent service, I get to wait at home until someone arrives during the-ever-so-inconvenient-time of 8 am – noon.  At 11:30, I had heard nothing from them so I called to determine when I could expect a tech to arrive.  Well, well, well, I was not allowed to ask any questions nor access a human until after the noon scheduled time!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME? 

So at 12:15, I contact what I thought was Time Warner which had evidently been relocated to India.  What?  I talked to a young man, who called himself Chad.  REALLY, CHAD?????   His broken English was so indecipherable that I kept saying “Please repeat that.”  When I finally got accustomed to his accent, he said, “Oh, your appointment was canceled by the tech.”  WHAT?   Really irate, I asked, “How can a tech cancel an appointment without making any contact with the customer? “  Cha,d reading from the script in front of him, said, “Oh, we call that human error.” WELL, KISS MY GRITS!  I have just wasted four hours waiting for a tech who can randomly cancel my appointment and my gift is Chad reading a script?  I was hot!

I immediately called the local number and told the rep in no uncertain terms was I going to settle for such ineptness and I wanted a tech at my house that day.  Although she was very soothing, and could speak fluent Southern, she indicated it was impossible for a tech to come today.  BUT, she could book me an appointment next week!!!!  SHUT YO MOUTH! Now I am going on three weeks of sporadic service.

Frankly, I don’t think Time Warner cares.  They possess the DMV mentality – we’ll provide service when we want to because you don’t matter.  Isn’t that sad? 

After 22 phone calls in America and 1 to India, I finally had the tech arrive.  He walked in, changed out the modem and left…taking all of 8 minutes.  Why are customers being held hostage when we are paying ridiculous fees to get very marginal results?  Because Time Warner has Unnecessary Power.

Power in the Beauty of the South

There is Power in the Beauty of the South.  Here’s a photo of sunset in Santee Cooper, SC area The beauty abounds!

Power in Volunteers

There is Power in Volunteers. My friend, Wanda Cox, has been volunteering with Guardian as Litem for two years and I asked her to share information with me about this organization. The facts will astonish you.

Since 1983, the North Carolina Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program has served the best interests of thousands of children. Caring people volunteer to be a voice for the children who find themselves the subject of court cases due to being in an abused or neglected environment. GAL provides training to volunteers to be a team member with a trained attorney advocate. Many children are able to return home, some now live with other family members, still others have been adopted. GAL tries to ensure that all of the children they represent remain safe, and their homes permanent.

In the past fiscal year, 4,919 trained volunteers served 15,373 children. The number of volunteers advocating for children is greater than the preceding year, as a record number of 43,988 hearings were scheduled. Isn't this so sad to read?

It takes a special person to be a Guardian ad Litem volunteer, but a GAL volunteer makes a real difference in the lives of these children. Wanda Cox is one of those special people. There is Power in Volunteers who serve as a voice for hurting children.

Power In People who go the extra mile

There is Power In People who go the extra mile.  I recently had to get a small storage unit to store some records that I longer had room for in my home.  I didn’t know where to turn to find a small unit in a safe neighborhood, with 24/7 security, climate controlled and a reasonable monthly rate.  So, I emailed three different companies to determine their interest in my business.  I heard from one of them. 

Of course, this storage company was the furthest from my house but I didn’t mind.  Why? Because of Cathy Tuttle at AAA Storage in Greensboro!  This dynamo woman emailed me within 10 minutes of my inquiry and said she had the perfect unit for my needs.  She provided me with the monthly rate, the office hours, the location along with a Google map!She flat won me over electronically!  And, I couldn’t wait to meet this most helpful person face to face.

So I loaded up the car and headed 15 miles to meet Cathy Tuttle and unload several years of records.  When I walked in she had the paperwork ready to roll.  With energy abounding, she had me in and out within 10 minutes while totally entertaining me.   Cathy had customer service oozing from every pore!

In this day of self-centered employees who just show up for a job because they have to….it was a delight to meet someone who went the extra mile for me on June 6, 2011! 

There is Power in People who love to provide excellent customer service.

PS  I moved the contents from another 5 X 10’ storage unit I had been in for over 5 years to Cathy’s company on June 16th.  Yep, 10 days later in 94 degree, humidity soaked North Carolina, I moved that stuff just to be with Cathy!

Power in Friendship

There is Power in Friendship. I have a gazillion friends.  Some friends I know their every secret and others I just know they are special friends.  The old saying goes, “You can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family.”  It’s true, huh!

I think the good Lord gave us friends for balance!  Why the Good Book embraces friendship and tells us “Pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”

Have you ever had a fabulous new idea and enthusiastically shared it with your family to just receive a semi warm reaction?  I have.   But if you share that same fabulous new idea with a friend - they will help you write a marketing plan and serve as the Vice President of Enthusiasm for your new corporation!

I love my friends and cherish each one of them. We laugh ourselves silly when we are together. We find comfort just being near them. We love seeing their names on our email list and can’t wait to open the message. We will do anything to help them when they are in a tough spot without hesitation.  We just blend together with one heart and mind.  Friends are an endless gift of goodness!

My favorite quote about friendship is: “A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."  Ahhh!

Power in People

There is Power in People with a common cause. Together they can do some amazing things. In October, I am speaking to the National Association of Hospital Hospitality Houses. NAHHH is a caring association of more than 200 nonprofit organizations located throughout the US that provide family-centered lodging and support services to families and their loved ones who are receiving medical treatment far from their home communities.

We have all heard of Ronald McDonald Houses that serve pediatric families but there are other houses that provide support for adult patients and their families. I want to tell you about a wonderful such home SECU Family House in Winston Salem, NC (located at 1970 Family House Way) that has an opening date in September, 2011 with 45 guest rooms available. Thanks to the grass root efforts from generous donors and dedicated community volunteers along with State Employees Credit Union and the Richard J. Reynolds, III and Marie M. Reynolds Foundation, Winston-Salem’s location will be impacting patient and family care by providing a safe, comfortable and welcoming guest house. 

I have met with House Manager, Melissa Thompson and she is on fire for the house and its future! The staff is looking for volunteers to help with House, Group, and Special Event opportunities. If you are interested, please contact Melissa.thompson@familyhousews.org to let her know you heard about the house on this blog and you’re raising your hand to help!

There is Power in People who have a heart for hospitality and meeting needs of others who are hurting.

Power in People who Serve

     The 4^th of July has offered me many fun times from family gatherings as a child to being in Washington, DC as an adult. All of these are wonderful memories but the one that stands out today was the opportunity I had when in Washington.  I was attending a National Speakers Association Convention and we had an event near the Lincoln Monument …so close, Mr. Lincoln was watching us. 

There was Power in the People who spoke of their love for America. Each of the speakers had fought for our freedoms in different wars. We heard from US Navy Capt Gerry Coffee, a POW, who lived a horrible existence in the Hanoi Hilton.  His speech was nothing less than spell bounding.  www.captaincoffee.com

USAR Lt Col. Janis Nark, was the final speaker for the event.  She shared her amazing story of being a nurse while serving in Viet Nam. www.nark.com  We so often forget about the nurses and medics who serve to help our wounded troops. 

How often do we fail to recognize them for being at war?  They see things the rest of us could not bear. Her story was phenomenally personal and eye opening.

When Janis’ speech was over, my RN speaker friend, Bobbie Staten, www.bobbiestaten.com  and I walked over to the statue in Tribute to the Nurses in Viet Nam.  We gazed at the detail in the statues – the love, care, anguish, and horror on their faces.  And, as we walked to the area behind, there was a statue of a nurse kneeling in prayer. We cried and simply held on to each other not saying a word for quite some time. 

There is Power in People who serve and care for our wounded military personnel!