Glenn Ferguson
02-09-06, - 06:59 AM
It's the little things
By Glenn S. Ferguson
"One of the most important rules for success is this: Every great success is the result of hundreds and thousands of small efforts and accomplishments that no one ever sees or
appreciates." - Brian Tracy
My aunt Susan called me several months ago from Andros in an almost panic voice - you see the unthinkable happened! A few months earlier she notices springs popping up through the cushion of her favourite chair and these springs were giving her an unpleasant poke. This chair was the place she retreats to after a long hard day of working in the field, a place where she would relax and forget about the challenges of the day and life! The place outside of church where she found her moment’s of peace.
Now after years of bringing her comfort the unthinkable has happened, her safe place has fallen into holes and has become uncomfortable. She had tried putting a piece of board under the cushion to fix the problem, it work as the springs no longer poked her but now the chair was not comfortable for her any more!
Finally, after months of trying to make the chair work she has had enough and decided to
buy a new chair. She wanted the exact style and was coming to Nassau to buy it herself and she wanted me to get her from the airport that afternoon.
On her arrival in Nassau, we headed straight for the furniture store where she had bought her chair many years ago and to her surprise there was the exact chair on display, in fact even the same colour. She headed straight for the chair and sat in it. “What’s this? This isn’t the same chair! Why it’s...it’s hard! There must be some mistake!” She had the saleslady double check the model number and sure enough it was the same chair.
As she ponders what was wrong, I realize the obvious; this chair hasn’t been broken in yet. Pointing this fact out to her made her give the chair another try. She lowers herself into the chair and bounce a little. Firm, not hard, wiggle some more, and then sit up straight again - Trying to convince herself that this is the chair for her.
Then she sees a chair two rows over. The color is bright but the style is different from the one she is sitting in, “I will buy this chair,” she says “but let me try that one” and pats the arm of the chair as walked away.
She then spends a few moments checking out the new chair by pressing down on the cushion with her hands, she rubs her hand over the fabric and smile at the softness. She likes the bright colours and finally convinces herself to sit in the chair and to her surprise she liked the way this chair feels and begins to look back at the chair that is the duplicate of her favorite chair with a look that said “it’s time for a change.”
Auntie Susan, decide to buy that chair but what happened over the next few weeks was what was amazing to me. Once that new chair, with its vibrant colors and unworn fabric was in place, she realized that the curtains didn’t match. So she saved money to buy new curtains. She then noticed that the walls look dingy and decided to give the wall a fresh coat of paint. Once the walls were painted, she couldn’t help but notice that there were stains on the carpet and that it was now worn out, which took away from the peaceful room she had now created. So she saved until she had enough to buy her new carpet.
On my recent visit to Andros, I tried out Auntie Susan’s new favorite chair and looked around the room. I was amazed at the difference in its appearance and was surprised at the fact that she didn’t realized the walls needed painting, the curtains were sun faded or that the carpeting was a mess until she made one small change.
That the way it is with all of us! You may start with something small, something that will improve the comfort of your lives, like fixing the springs in a chair. But that one small change gives you the desire and enthusiasm to make another change. And another. Until finally, you look back at the person you were, and think, “I didn’t even realize I needed to change. But look how far I’ve come.” Be willing to love yourself just as you are, and yet be open to change for the better.
Think of the person you are and ask yourself if there is some small change that you could make to your physical, spiritual, emotional or financial aspects of your life? Then make a conscious decision to focus on just that one area of your life. Then watch what other changes result from that one effort. It is an amazing transformation.
Maybe you want to begin your journey to financial freedom but feeling overwhelmed by your current situation. Don’t be just start where you are today and do that one thing that you can do now. Probably it’s just deciding that financial freedom is what you want and then developing your plans for achieving it.
You will find that deciding to get free financially is one of the best choices and goal you can set for yourself as its accomplishment will impact every aspect of your life in a very positive way. That’s why you should consider professional help thru financial and retirement coaching program that are available. Through coaching, you get personalized attention and information on exactly the issues you are working on and how to integrate them into your overall plan. Having a coach focuses your attention; it clarifies your goals and encourages you to aim higher. You’ll also have a partner on your side.
Remember it’s the little changes you make today that will make the greatest difference in your tomorrow!
By Glenn S. Ferguson
"One of the most important rules for success is this: Every great success is the result of hundreds and thousands of small efforts and accomplishments that no one ever sees or
appreciates." - Brian Tracy
My aunt Susan called me several months ago from Andros in an almost panic voice - you see the unthinkable happened! A few months earlier she notices springs popping up through the cushion of her favourite chair and these springs were giving her an unpleasant poke. This chair was the place she retreats to after a long hard day of working in the field, a place where she would relax and forget about the challenges of the day and life! The place outside of church where she found her moment’s of peace.
Now after years of bringing her comfort the unthinkable has happened, her safe place has fallen into holes and has become uncomfortable. She had tried putting a piece of board under the cushion to fix the problem, it work as the springs no longer poked her but now the chair was not comfortable for her any more!
Finally, after months of trying to make the chair work she has had enough and decided to
buy a new chair. She wanted the exact style and was coming to Nassau to buy it herself and she wanted me to get her from the airport that afternoon.
On her arrival in Nassau, we headed straight for the furniture store where she had bought her chair many years ago and to her surprise there was the exact chair on display, in fact even the same colour. She headed straight for the chair and sat in it. “What’s this? This isn’t the same chair! Why it’s...it’s hard! There must be some mistake!” She had the saleslady double check the model number and sure enough it was the same chair.
As she ponders what was wrong, I realize the obvious; this chair hasn’t been broken in yet. Pointing this fact out to her made her give the chair another try. She lowers herself into the chair and bounce a little. Firm, not hard, wiggle some more, and then sit up straight again - Trying to convince herself that this is the chair for her.
Then she sees a chair two rows over. The color is bright but the style is different from the one she is sitting in, “I will buy this chair,” she says “but let me try that one” and pats the arm of the chair as walked away.
She then spends a few moments checking out the new chair by pressing down on the cushion with her hands, she rubs her hand over the fabric and smile at the softness. She likes the bright colours and finally convinces herself to sit in the chair and to her surprise she liked the way this chair feels and begins to look back at the chair that is the duplicate of her favorite chair with a look that said “it’s time for a change.”
Auntie Susan, decide to buy that chair but what happened over the next few weeks was what was amazing to me. Once that new chair, with its vibrant colors and unworn fabric was in place, she realized that the curtains didn’t match. So she saved money to buy new curtains. She then noticed that the walls look dingy and decided to give the wall a fresh coat of paint. Once the walls were painted, she couldn’t help but notice that there were stains on the carpet and that it was now worn out, which took away from the peaceful room she had now created. So she saved until she had enough to buy her new carpet.
On my recent visit to Andros, I tried out Auntie Susan’s new favorite chair and looked around the room. I was amazed at the difference in its appearance and was surprised at the fact that she didn’t realized the walls needed painting, the curtains were sun faded or that the carpeting was a mess until she made one small change.
That the way it is with all of us! You may start with something small, something that will improve the comfort of your lives, like fixing the springs in a chair. But that one small change gives you the desire and enthusiasm to make another change. And another. Until finally, you look back at the person you were, and think, “I didn’t even realize I needed to change. But look how far I’ve come.” Be willing to love yourself just as you are, and yet be open to change for the better.
Think of the person you are and ask yourself if there is some small change that you could make to your physical, spiritual, emotional or financial aspects of your life? Then make a conscious decision to focus on just that one area of your life. Then watch what other changes result from that one effort. It is an amazing transformation.
Maybe you want to begin your journey to financial freedom but feeling overwhelmed by your current situation. Don’t be just start where you are today and do that one thing that you can do now. Probably it’s just deciding that financial freedom is what you want and then developing your plans for achieving it.
You will find that deciding to get free financially is one of the best choices and goal you can set for yourself as its accomplishment will impact every aspect of your life in a very positive way. That’s why you should consider professional help thru financial and retirement coaching program that are available. Through coaching, you get personalized attention and information on exactly the issues you are working on and how to integrate them into your overall plan. Having a coach focuses your attention; it clarifies your goals and encourages you to aim higher. You’ll also have a partner on your side.
Remember it’s the little changes you make today that will make the greatest difference in your tomorrow!