My Thoughts by R.E. Fort

To Serve the Server This is a basic principal that I believe can resolve many conflicts in the work place and if applied correctly life in general. When you think of the word or phrase serve or better yet “to server” you realize that we all are servers to some extent. We all regardless of our place in life or business have someone we must report to someone that holds us accountable. In turn we all have someone that we rely upon to provide us with information, product or simply service to complete our service. We all are connected in this way and keeping this principal in mind, we then see that it serves us best to make sure that our support team, our servers, are served well, prepared, informed and taken care of. This way we insure that we get the best service possible and that we provide the service we can provide. To Serve the Server is to, not put one’s self above anyone. Especially the one’s we are asking for service from but to server them with the best possible knowledge and service so they too can provide the best possible service. The cycle completes itself then. Think of a restaurant you walk in and are seated and given a menu. Now if you give the server bad information, like forgetting you like your steaks medium rare. Then you are the one to blame for not making your needs know to the server. In fact you gave bad service to that server. This may sound simple and basic but watch people sometimes and see how the treat each other. This world needs a change and we are in the process of one now. We are on the brink of it and if we start to think of each other not as a means to an end but as individuals that require input clear, accurate and precise information so they can excel in this new world then we all win.

First let me tell you a little story. There is this story of a New Luggage guy, I will explain the new luggage thing in a second. I am not sure if its 100% true but it sure changed how I look at things.

We will call him Bob. Bob was the type of guy that when you asked him "how's it going" he always gave you a smile and said "if I was any better I be twins". Bob ran a very successful restaurant. Not because the food was great but because of his attitude. Well one night as he was closing up shop when a guy came in the back and held him up at gun point. He tried to keep the guy calm but was shot anyway. On the way to the operating table he could see the nurses and doctors where looking at him as of he was not going to make it. When the nurse asked him if he was allergic to anything? he said "Yes" the room went silent waiting for his answer his reply was "Bullets..." the room exploded in laughter. While they where laughing he said to them "I choose to live so please treat me like I am going to make it and live" His attitude, his quick thinking saved his life that day and when people saw him after he was released and asked how he was doing, you may wonder what his reply was? "If I was any better I would be twins want to see my scars" Attitude makes the difference, choose to live a great life and make each day the best day.

I believe some of us think this way already and that there are a many different types of people in the world but in general they can be broken down into two groups, when it comes to this topic, New Luggage and Old Luggage people.

Each day we get up, we either pick up our new luggage and make the best of the day, or we get up and take yesterdays and the day before and the day before that's luggage with use to start a new day.

Old Luggage people bring all of the luggage of their lives with them. The good and the bad it all comes with them. They have all of this extra luggage they have to go through to make each and every choice. They look at every little detail, positive and negative about what's happened to them to date and measure it against what's going on right NOW.  Inevitably the negative starts to out rule the positive even if the positives are strong. This takes so much extra energy that by the time they are done and if they even remotely get close to a positive outcome there simply to exhausted to truly enjoy what's in front of them. You know the type, "why is it always me, why can't I get a break," the glass is not only half empty but for some they feel they didn't even get a glass.

New Luggage folks, well they choose to start each day with a simple statement, today is going to be the best day, or I'm going to make no matter what happens. These folks are not in denial as some would think, no, they simple have come to the relation that you make your day. When you come to life with an outlook of "I make my day, I control how I will handle this or that" well then you have action not reaction, you have thought and planning not an "oh pity me attitude."

I choose to make this a great day and I choose to share this with everyone.