My wife Margie and I needed to fly to New York in early September, and we had made a plan that we weren’t going to fly on September 11. But you know, life is not always in your own hands. I learned that from Don Shula really clearly when he talked about the importance of being audible-ready. That means you have to have a plan, but when plans go awry, you have to be able to “call an audible.” You have to go with the flow.

So on September 10 when we were on our way to our first stop in Dallas, there were all kinds of problems with the Dallas airport, and we had to land in Oklahoma City because we had to get more gas. We eventually got to Dallas at about nine o’clock that night. Of course, our connecting flight to New York had already taken off. So we stayed at the airport hotel right there. The next morning, September 11, we flew safely to New York City. I think one of the things that makes you relax and be more easy in life is if you have an audible-ready attitude. Shula said that when you call an audible in football, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a plan. When things change, you just have to call a different play. You can’t get all uptight and ticked off because you didn’t get to go with your original plan. Some people at the airport were really bent out of shape because their plans were changed. They got themselves all out of whack about something they couldn’t control. So sometimes things change and you have to just go with the flow.

One thought we have to keep at the top of mind is we are going to make it through this challenging time, and we’re going to do it together. We are. And we can’t get discouraged. We’re figuring this out together. Positive thinkers are winners. Why? Because they get positive results. And we’re going to get those. It’s going to be a story. It’s going to be a celebration. So don’t get down—keep up. We’re doing it all the time. You have a great, positive day, and remember we can do everything together. Remember that quote, “None of us is as smart as all of us.”

I’ll never forget when, right after my dad died, I took my mom up to Robert Schuller’s Hour of Power. They watched that all the time in Florida and that was their favorite Sunday activity, watching the Hour of Power with Reverend Schuller. She had never been up there and this was the last service in the old chapel. Halfway through the service, everybody got up and walked into the new Crystal Cathedral, which is just absolutely beautiful. And the sermon from Reverend Schuller that day was “Every Ending has a New Beginning,” which is a wonderful thought. So as the next season or the next year ends for us and other people, we have new beginnings.

It was also amazing thinking about visualization. I was sitting there with my mom, and it’s a magnificent place, and I leaned over and I said, “Someday I’m going to be up there with Reverend Schuller.” And this was 1979. And my mom said, “How are you going to do that?” and I said, “I don’t know.” And then when The One Minute Manager came out in 1982, the next year, there I was up there with Reverend Schuller and my mom was out there in the cathedral, watching.  So life is a very special occasion. I visualize a wonderful fall for all of us.

This Saturday is “Make a Difference Day.” From their website at http://www.usaweekend.com/diffday/index.html:

Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others — a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors. Everyone can participate. Created by USA WEEKEND Magazine, Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. Millions have participated. In 2008, 3 million people cared enough about their communities to volunteer on that day, accomplishing thousands of projects in hundreds of towns.

This is a really great project that helps bring people together and gets us all to do good things. I’d love to hear about some of the things you plan to do to make a difference… Leave a comment below and let everyone know what you will be doing. It doesn’t have to be only this Saturday. I think the main point is to make a difference everyday!

I have a great saying for you today that my friend Pat Zigarmi gave me last year when I was recovering from my hip surgery.  This is a good one for all of us:

“Peace: It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.”

How is that?  That’s really pretty powerful. Because with all the stress and the movement with the economy and everybody working hard and all, you have to find a way to stay peaceful in the midst of turmoil. That happens by quieting yourself periodically as you work through the day and know that you’re doing good things—you’re making a difference in people’s lives. Calm yourself down, take a few deep breaths, and recognize that peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. Have a great day.

Something that’s so important in changing organizations for the better is the whole concept of trust. As I’ve said before, trust and respect go together. There are some real trust issues that people are dealing with out there. Sometimes people are not sure that the leader necessarily respects them and seeks their opinions. The leader could even be making an effort to do that, but people may be suspicious because of past leaders. It’s so important. It doesn’t do you any good to be concerned or have an issue about something and not let the person working with you, or someone else, know about it, so something can be done about it. As the CEO of WD-40 Company, Garry Ridge, says, everything is a learning opportunity if it’s an issue we can learn from. So I hope you really listen to your people, respect them, and ask their opinions. Treat everyone you work with as teammates in this tough economic time, so you can trust each other and work together toward what you’re trying to accomplish. I love the old saying that there’s no “I” in TEAM, because it’s so true.

We recently offered a workshop at our company called “The Business of You,” that my friend Paul Brenner, who is an MBA and a Ph.D., was conducting with Bob Petrello, a longtime colleague of his. Their belief is that if you are self-aware, if you really understand yourself and your past, your needs, and your strengths and weaknesses, then that’s the beginning of being an effective human being. Then you add relationship awareness, which is about understanding the people around you and what makes them tick. Those are the two key things. Then, if you would really like to accomplish something, how do you do it with other people and get their commitment? It’s being relationally aware of them, and if you can do that, and you can get results. It’s so consistent with what we have been saying, which is that great leadership starts with understanding of self. I think it’s just a fascinating thing.

I’ve been reading a book by Mick Ukleja, who is one of my good buddies. It’s called The Ethics Challenge: Strengthening Your Integrity in a Greedy World. He says that one of the ways to keep your integrity high is to harness your moods. He says, interestingly, that a study of red-light violations shows a strong relationship between feeling under pressure and breaking the law. Forty-one percent of the people who go through red lights are doing it on their way to work or to school. But only nine percent of the red light violations were committed by people on vacation. He says, “A basic human frailty is that we allow our moods to master us rather than making sure we master them. You’re probably a lot like us. Sometimes we’ve known what to do, how to do it, and that we ought to do it, but we didn’t do it. You discover that your good intentions can be hijacked by your feelings. We speed through a red light, we cut off another driver, we procrastinate, we shut our minds to others because we’re in a bad mood. It’s easy, especially in pressure situations, to let our moods master us. So we really need to harness our moods. When you feel like you’re in a mood, go walk around the building. Go walk around your house. Get yourself back under control so that you can do what you know is right.”  So don’t be moody. And if you are, recognize it and get it back under control. That’s a good thought for today.

A great comment I heard recently from our consultant, Tommy Moore, was: “There is no hall of fame for critics,”  Ha! I just love that. A lot of times, people are really good at taking shots at what other people are doing. That’s not really very helpful. Redirection is so much different than criticism:  Here’s something that has happened, here’s how it has impacted things, here’s what would really help next time, and I’m still excited about working with you.  That’s really kind of a nice thing.  But we also have to remember, if you do ever get criticism, that feedback is the breakfast of champions, as Rick Tate always used to say.  The best response to any kind of criticism, if you get it, is:  “Tell me more. Is there anyone else I should talk to? Oh, this is so helpful.”  That will really blow people’s minds because you won’t be defensive or anything. You won’t get your ego in the way.  Don’t criticize yourself or other people. Give ‘em a hug. That’s what they could really use.

I found a wonderful quote about how doing well is a decision you make. It’s from Abraham Lincoln: “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”  That’s really true. So you can choose how you are going to feel on any given day. So I hope today you choose to be happy. It seems to be a beautiful day and life is a very special occasion. So go for it.