A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to fly on Southwest Airlines. The last time I had flown Southwest was over 20 years ago so I was curious as to what the experience would be like. After all, people are constantly raving about Southwest and they’ve developed quite a reputation for being the fun airline, with brightly colored aircraft and flight crews rapping the inflight safety instructions prior to take off.

If you’ve never flown on Southwest let me tell you a little about the experience. You are not assigned a specific seat unless you pay for it and seats are generally first-come and first-served, depending on your assigned order in line. Therefore, if you’re in a later boarding group, you’ll probably get stuck sitting in the middle seat.

Speaking of the seats, they’re pretty small and close together. Did I mention that the seats were pretty close together? Since I was stuck in the middle seat, I had no use of any armrests and my little bit of legroom was taken up by my carry-on bag.

For me, it was as if Southwest put wings on a nice air conditioned school bus! On a later leg of my travels I flew on another airline (admittedly on an over the ocean flight) and everything was much more comfortable and appealing to me as a traveler.

So why is Southwest succeeding where others are struggling? Why do so many people swear by the cattle truck that is a Southwest Boeing 737?

Here are my thoughts:

• They deliver on what they promise. You book on Southwest knowing that you are getting “no frills” travel. In return Southwest offers very competitive airfares around the nation. The planes are clean, the people friendly and you know what you’re getting.
• They deliver more than others do and give what their customers want. This may be a weird thing to say about a “no-frills” airline, but Southwest offers customers things they want like free check in bags, curbside and online check in. Sure they don’t give you the whole can of soda, but you can get a pretty good deal.
• They are generally likeable. While I didn’t have any flight attendants singing “Call Me Maybe” while giving us drinks on our flight, Southwest employees has developed a reputation for a friendly attitude. Don’t get me wrong, my flight crew was all business, and they corralled all of us onto those planes in a hurry! Yet, the feeling was better than I had experienced on a few other airlines.

I think these are tips that we can all can live by and learn from.

Now it’s your turn! How do you deliver on what you’ve promised?

In an earlier entry, I wrote about my fondness for Hallmark Movies. Yes, I know they’re pretty formulaic, cliched and hopelessly sentimental and I think that’s why I like them so much. One of my favorites is “The Note II: Taking a Chance on Love.”

(By the way, I suggest you watch “The Note” prior to watching “The Note II.” While the second movie can stand alone, there is some back story in the first movie that is helpful. And there is also a third installment called ‘The Note III: Notes from the Heart Healer’ that Kacy and I just watched.)

‘The Note II’ tells the story of two women, one a newspaper columnist names Peyton MacGruder (played by Genie Francis) and the other a woman named Eve. When Peyton urges her readers to be cautious in love, a reader of Peyton’s column named Eve, writes to her contradicting her point of view.

Over time an unlikely friendship ensues, with both women trying to come to terms with the consequences of letting passion die and not pursuing the love that we all desire. And together they both seek to figure out ”when is the right time to take a chance on love?”

Well, thinking of the movie got me thinking…when is the right time to take a chance on your dream? What are the consequences for choosing the safe route and not following your life’s passions? Is there a time when passion must give way to safety and stability?

When I started my business I had a choice to make and it was a difficult one. I traded the safety and security of the corporate world for the roller coaster world of an entrepreneur. Most of my friends and family thought I was nuts (many still do) to venture out on my own; especially when I could have had a safe and stable career in corporate America.

But I knew that the safe path would eventually suck the soul out of me. I knew that my dream and vision of helping people achieve success was something that I needed to do. I knew that it was what I was created to do.

So I took the plunge and while the time since I started my business has been exhilarating and VERY stressful and often led me to wonder, “What were you thinking??”, I would not trade it for the world. Yes I miss the steady paycheck, the group insurance benefits and the perks of corporate life; yet I love what I do and hope that I am blessed enough to continue to do this for as long as I can.

I have had far too many regrets in my life; of things that I wished I did, risks that I wished I would have taken and times I wished I stuck my neck out there; I didn’t want to add one more to the list. So, I decided that it was time to take a chance on my dream.

What about you? Is there a dream just waiting, hoping, needing to come out?

Heading into the 2012 London Olympics, the "face" of the U.S. women's gymnastics team was Jordyn Wieber. Wieber was the 2011 world champion and the 2012 national champion and easily one of the favorites to win the women's all around gold medal.

Even when Gabby Douglas narrowly edged out Wieber for first place during the Olympic trials, many of the commentators seemingly referred to it as an anomaly; which was not a criticism of Gabby Douglas, but a reiteration that among the "Fierce Five" of Ali Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Kyla Ross, McKayla Maroney and Wieber, Wieber was the "sure thing."

Then the unthinkable happened, Wieber did not qualify for the women's all around competition that she seemed destined to win! Instead, her teammates Ali Raisman and Gabby Douglas qualified for the two available American spots.

While conventional wisdom predicted that Douglas would have been one of the qualifiers, Ali Raisman seemed to be the long shot. Indeed after she edged out Wieber for the final all around spot, the coverage focused more on Wieber not making it, as it did on Raisman qualifying.

So what did Gabby and Ali do? If you've watched the Olympics, you know that Gabby Douglas went on to win the gold medal in the women's all around competition. She also qualified for a couple of individual events.

And Ali Raisman, as the long shot, may have the coolest story of all. While she finished in fourth place during the all-around competition (due to a tie-breaker with the eventual bronze medal winner), she ended up with two medals in the individual events; a bronze medal on the balance beam and a gold medal on the floor exercise.

Here is what I love about what Raisman did; when her time came she was ready. She didn't get caught up in the attention she did or didn't get leading up to the Olympics. When she beat Jordyn Wieber for the final spot, she was gracious (as was Wieber) yet you could see that she was also confident that she belonged.

When you're presented with your moment, will you be prepared? 

A few weekends ago my wife and I attended an estate sale located in our community at the home of a neighbor who had recently passed away. Our neighbor had lived such a full life with more twists and turns in it than two or three people put together and we really liked her. She was in poor health and slowly over time we began to see her less around the community, until one day we realized that she wasn’t there anymore.

My wife was already in her place when I walked in . . .

At first it was kind of interesting to see what the inside of her unit looked like. She was such an interesting woman, so it was insightful to see what was on her bookshelves and in her movie collection. We even picked up a few small things that we could use and also that reminded us of her.

I wondered “is this what life comes to?” We work all our lives to buy homes, cars, fill it with stuff-only to possibly have strangers rummage through it when we’re gone. I’m pretty sure there were things in her unit that she was so proud of, that perhaps defined her in some ways, that other people just glossed over as ‘junk.’

Is this why we work so hard? Is this why we stress about climbing the corporate ladder? Is this why some choose to lie, cheat and steal to get to the top? To close the sale? To meet their quotas?

Is this why we spend hours and hours away from those we love, spend it with some people that we don’t always like, miss little league games, miss soccer games and ballet recitals? Just to accumulate stuff that someone will either one day buy for a quarter or will be loaded up on to a van and donated to a Goodwill or Salvation Army?

I’m not suggesting that everyone get off the grid, live off the land and take a lifetime siesta…hmmm, well, doesn’t sound so bad sometimes…but perhaps we should all take some time, and often, to think about what we are really living for.

Is what I’m doing truly worthwhile? Is this what I wanted to do with my life? Is this what I want to remembered for when my days on are over? Is the price I’m paying worth the price?

Now it’s your turn! What are you living for?

One of the breakout stars of the 2012 London Olympic Games has been Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen. The 16 year old swimmer won two gold medals, setting a new world record in the 400 meter individual medley. Her Olympic triumph should have been a time for celebration, both for Ye and for China. Yet that wasn't the case.

Immediately after Ye's performance doubt had crept in about whether or not she may have cheated through the use of performance enhancing drugs, or other methods such as blood doping or the use of human growth hormones.


Olympic officials tested Ye (as they do all medal winners) and she passed her tests. And while many people expressed doubts about her performance, many athletes (including American swimmer Michael Phelps) jumped to her defense, saying that it was a shame that her performance was marred by speculation regarding cheating.

So why the speculation? Well, Chinese athletes have cheated or have been suspected of cheating in the past. In the 1990s Chinese swimmers came out of nowhere to achieve a great deal of success; only to be discovered that many of them used performance enhancing drugs.

In 2008 a few of China's gymnasts looked younger than the 16 year old minimum age (or 15 if a competitor will turn 16 during the year of the Olympics). To be honest, when I watched the 2008 Beijing games I thought that there was NO WAY some of those girls were the age they claimed to be.

Reputation is a powerful thing isn't it? I've often heard it said that it takes a lifetime to develop and a moment to destroy.

By all accounts Ye Shiwen is simply a swimming prodigy that took her God-given gifts, combined it with hard work, sacrifice and dedication and achieved spectacular results. Yet, because of the actions of some of the people who preceded her, her achievements are clouded with thoughts of "I wonder if she..."

Chinese officials have balked at the criticisms levied at their athletes, yet in many ways the Chinese authorities may have brought some of it on themselves with their past actions. There was cheating in the past, so some people (in the interest if fairness I was one of them!) assumed that Ye Shiwen's amazing performance had to have been fueled by cheating as well.

Now it's your turn: what is your reputation? Is it working for you or against you?

Going into the 2012 London Olympics, one of the most talked about athletes was U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte. Lochte was not shy in proclaiming that the 2012 Olympics were going to be his games.

In interview after interview he promised that his performance in the London games was going to be "epic" and "one to remember." I cannot count how many times NBC host Bob Costas referred to Lochte as "very confident!" (Translation "cocky.")

After winning a gold medal in his first individual event, it appeared that the "Summer of Lochte" was in full swing! Then a funny thing happened, Lochte fell short of the expectations he created. In three races (two individual and one team relay) Ryan Lochte was beaten and he found himself (or his team) off the gold medal stand.

Soon the headlines started bashing Lochte, screaming "Lochte Flops Again" and "Lochte Learns Lesson." One swim commentator, when speaking about Lochte's early performances, said it this way, "If you're going to talk, you better back it up!" Another article began with, "Ryan Lochte says it would be his time at the London Olympics. He'll have to wait until next time."

Hmmm...the epic games Lochte promised weren't as epic as he proclaimed; and people seemed to cheer against him or at least revel in seeing someone so smugly confident falling short.

Here's the funny thing~Ryan Lochte won five medals in the London games. For anyone else, five medals would be a great Olympics. For Lochte, the fact that he 'only' won one individual gold medal and lost the lead on a couple of races during the games that were supposed to be all about him, invited questions as to whether or not his Olympics were even a success.

What is the lesson here? Most people cannot succeed without having a legion of fans along the way. Your success requires the help of the people around you. Your success requires customers who trust you; co-workers who like working with you; employees who will follow you and employers who will advance you.

When you boast - when you brag - when you self-proclaim your greatness to the world, many people in the world will root against you, people will compete harder against you, and they will do what they can to make you eat your words. Not the best formula for developing a foundation for success right?

Have you ever had a "know-it-all" boss, brother-in-law, friend or family member? Don't you LOVE IT when they're wrong? It's human nature and you can help this work for you or against you. Why not help it work for you?

Here are some tips to consider:

• Stay humble! Even if you're the best at what you do, let your performance speak for itself.
• Edify others. Always give credit to others when possible.
• Take responsibility. When you falter or your team falters, take responsibility for it. Forget pointing fingers, besides no one is going to believe you anyway.
• Back it up! If you're still determined to tell the world how great you are, then be prepared to back it up!

Now it's your turn! How have you balanced confidence without seeming arrogant? Or, are you still 'Pulling a Lochte?'