My driver’s name was Thierno Hamet Babb Ba and he was from the Islamic Republic of  Mauritania, a small country in West Africa.  He shared stories with me of hatred, prejudice and even slavery. What Thierno and his family and friends have experienced sure makes any troubles most of us complain about seem insignificant. If you have ever complained about not having enough money, driving a clunker, or not being able to afford having a bigger house, imagine living on $1.25 as 20% of Mauritania’s population does. To put that in perspective:

- A visit to  Starbucks would cost you about four day’s wages

- Admission to a movie would cost you eight day’s wages

- A $50 dinner out would cost you forty day’s wages

- A new I-pad would cost you 400 day’s wages

Most Americans and others living in democratic countries are so RICH by the world’s standards. Yet many of us complain about not having enough.  Thierno’s passion for his freedom was emphatic. It’s a privilege that is often overlooked. Freedom allows us both the opportunity to become rich monetarily, as well as in the way we live our lives.  Freedom allowed him to share openly with me about the RICH life he lives in the U.S. and to give me some advice to pass on to others.  I asked him what advice he would give others coming to the U.S. from other countries.

1. Anyone can make it.

2. Whatever you want to be, you can be or do.

3. Take every opportunity you get and make the most of it.

4. Work hard.

5. Don’t blame other people.

There are probably thousands of stories similar that cab drivers, lawn maintenance workers, hotel staff and others could share.  I would encourage you to engage someone in conversation at your next opportunity. You might just get an inspirational speech on living a RICH life.

How do you go from Good to Great? It’s all about getting a chance to be great. I started my career with one team and I was labeled a C player. After a few years with that team, I was traded and with my new team I was given a chance to shine. My new teams belief in me and the chance I was given gave me confidence. When people believe in you and give you a chance, it boosts your confidence. Plus I knew that if I made a mistake they weren’t going to bench me. When people feel confident in you and your abilities you can achieve any greatness you desire. But someone has to give you that chance.

How does one obtain confidence? First you must work hard to learn your skill and be very good at it. Then you have to believe in yourself. Finally, you have to be prepared – mentally and physically when your chance comes.  You can’t be standing on the sidelines not paying attention. Sometimes getting a chance is like a fast ball that comes at you quickly. You can’t leave it to chance that you will be ready. You have to have done the hard work so you will be ready. Whether it’s business, sports, or life, you have to work on your skills, have the right attitude and not get down on yourself when you make a mistake.

Describe how your confidence and abilities changed in your career? In your early years you just try to make the team. Even if you just barely make the team, you are satisfied. When you are in your middle years, you have to be a starter. If you aren’t a starter by this point, it’s likely the team will get rid of you.  I tell everyone I was in the league five years before I became an ”every down player”. During those five years, I was watching and learning.

What advice would you give a rookie today? Watch the guys in front of you, particularly the ones that are successful. When I was a young player, I would watch how best players practiced. I would watch how they ran routes and how they prepared. I made it a point to take what they did and work to do it a little better. I believe if you do this, things will fall into place and you will achieve greatness.

 To what do you attribute to a long successful career? Three things:  Hard work, confidence, and attitude. It was during the last phase of my career that I had my best years.  As my skills began to diminish, I worked harder and played smarter. I kept my attitude in check and knew that because I had accomplished a great deal already, I could still get the job done. I think you achieve greatness when you are no longer in your prime and you can still get the job done at a high level.

Whether you are an asipring athlete, musician, artists, corporate manager or business owner, the journey of going from good to great starts today. Do something great today.

In 1860, a lithographer by the name of Milton Bradley introduced The Checkered Game of Life to the nation. His game took players on a journey from infancy to happy old age, earning points for qualities like perseverance, honesty, ambition, and industry. Players lost points for idleness, intemperance, gambling, and a number of other vices.

Bradley wasn’t focused on making money with his invention; he had a much larger vision. He wanted to exemplify and promote the values his game espoused. And he had the right environment in which to do it: the late 1800’s were a golden age when it came to formulating America’s unparalleled, unabashed, uncompromising work ethic.

The old world view of labor as a distasteful practice best avoided by the upper classes had been replaced by the spanking new notion that a man could earn his place in the upper class through determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. Parents, schools, and churches stressed the value of hard work and taught children how to live a virtuous life. Bradley’s game struck a resounding chord by perpetuating these principles.

It was not a coincidence that one hundred years later in 1960, the U.S. was one of the two international super-powers. A century of applied work ethic had seen the nation grow incredibly, and with this growth Milton Bradley became a highly profitable toy manufacturer. A hundred years after its original release, their signature product The Checkered Game of Life had been updated to reflect the prevailing mindset of the baby boom generation and was rebranded as The Game of Life.

The object of this revised edition was no longer to accrue points, but to accrue money. The ultimate destination of Happy Old Age was replaced with the wealthy neighborhood of Tycoon Estates. Losers didn’t gamble themselves to ruin or wind up impoverished as a result of their intemperance; they simply moved onto The Poor Farm.

The great religious and moral charges of the sixties—like the civil rights movement and the fight against communism— centered on the way individuals viewed others rather than the way they viewed themselves. Schools focused time on developing social responsibility leaving parents in charge of developing work ethic and virtues. However, the emergence of the dual-wage earning family meant less face-time for accomplishing this task at home.

The next version released in the 70’s and 80’s brought three significant ‘something-for-nothing’ changes to Life. A new “Share The Wealth” card enabled players to either steal 50% of an opponent’s cash windfall, or force them to pay half of their personal tax burden. Additionally, players were now ‘entitled’ to receive cash presents from other players for ‘life events’ like getting married or having children. “Lucky Day” spaces were also added to the game board offering players lottery-like cash prizes just for landing on them, with the option to keep the cash or risk it on a roll-of-the-dice gamble to multiply it. This was a far cry from the original version in which gambling was punished, rather than encouraged.

Revamped again in 1991, Life began to reward players for community service activities like recycling and helping the homeless, and there have been additional modifications since then. While civic-minded activities are certainly admirable, what is totally absent from the 1991 revision of The Game of Life is any reward for honesty, hard work, perseverance, and ambition. But when teaching and reinforcing these kinds of values and virtues are no longer a priority in our homes and our schools, why should they be tenets in today’s version of Life?

If you want to test this, go survey your friends and co-workers who have kids under the age of 25 and ask them what they want for their children.  Seriously, try this. You’ll find out that the goals of Baby-Boomer/Gen X parents are to make certain their kids are safe, happy, healthy, and have a high self-esteem; not necessarily in that order.  Work ethic won’t be mentioned.

It is into this environment that Generation Y has been born and nurtured.

And is why Eric Chester developed the A Game. It’s highly worth checking out.

- Scott Harrison of Charity: Water is doing some cool things with social media like Facebook and Twitter. His office is also collecting supplies in Charity:Water’s New York office.

- In England, seven year old Charlie Simpson has raised over $240,000 (I think it was just $160,000 yesterday so he’s still on the move).

- Twitter’s Hope140 site give tips for using social media to help in Haiti

- Send A Nurse is helping to raise money to send nurses to Haiti

- Hope for Haiti Now is using the talents of pop music stars to raise money

- In my own profession, motivational speakers, keynote speakers, inspirational speakers and other business speakers are working on a February 1st event called Speak Out For Haiti. During this professional development day, all the speakers are donating their time along with members of an MPI (Meeting Professionals International) chapter to raise money.

Of course. there are the relief organizations and other charitable organizations like the American Red Cross, Habitat, UNICEF, Compassion, and many others that are making Haiti help happen too.  You can help too - even if it’s just by sharing the great stories you hear and forwarding cool links to others.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies. He is founder of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

The piece below was sent to me by my professional speaker colleague, Sheryl Nicholson. Sheryl’s conversation with a total stranger named Sharin inspired my thoughts below on thinking differently about lines. Here’s Sheryl’s experience:

During a recent acupuncture treatment, I had an insightful conversation with a lady named Sharin. During my treatment, we talked about the fast paced world we live in, our families, our childhood, and even our moms.

Sharin said “I’m living for the line”. Sharin’s mom had passed away recently and she told me that there was a very long line out the door and around the funeral home three hours before the viewing. The funeral director  knew her mother so they stayed open many hours past normal closing time so everyone in that line could pay tribute and offer her family their condolences. “That’s what I want when I die”, Sharin said. I’m living for that line!”

Tim,

Please accept this book as a token of my appreciation for the friendship you have shown me. Thanks for providing a listening ear, a strong shoulder and an occasionally needed kick in the seat.  Maybe someday I can repay the favor.

He did…many times.

After I graduated college, I started working with IBM in a marketing branch office. It wasn’t a good job fit and over time I became less and less motivated about my career there. One day, after being put on a 60 day performance improvement plan, I picked up the book Rob had given me. I devoured it and read it exactly as Og suggested (reading the scrolls three times per day). I am convinced that the book not only helped me turn around a very difficult work situation, it also helped inspire me to start my career as a professional speaker.

Though I never actually had Rob as a professor, his simple gift had a profound affect on me and my life. Rob was a great and well liked teacher and influenced many young people including me. As you think about gifts this holiday season, think about giving something that will have impact and lasting influence and take time to thank people for both the tangible and intangible gifts you have been given.

There are good parts too:

- I had 22 years to know him, laugh with him, and get in all types of trouble with him.

- I was honored to serve as best man in his wedding and he in mine.

- We had many snow ski adventures together in Colorado.

- We taught each other lots of water skiing tricks and had many of sunset runs on glassy water  in a quiet cove (see my post playing catchup) .

-  I learned to see the good in bad situations. He was a constant reminder of that.

- I learned about being a good father, a good friend, and how faith heals (though sometimes not as we want).

- I’ve played a role in helping start a melanoma foundation in his memory. To date our foundation has raised almost $500,000. This money is used to help people who can’t afford treatment and to educate people on the danger of over exposure to the sun.

- His family and I have stayed in close contact and recognize both his death anniversary and birthday each year.

- I have had the great pleasure to share part of his story in my keynote speaking all across North America.

Maybe, just maybe, by telling his story, I have inspired someone to change something in their life or to connect in a deeper way with someone they love. I really hope so.

Recently, when my parents were in town, we listened to one of the tapes I had made many years ago. We listened as grandpa Richardson talked about his experiences as a Navy chaplain. While there were many aspects of being a chaplain that he found interesting, there were mundane tasks as well. To liven up his day, he would sometimes go out on the PT boats near where he was stationed. One day, he was listening to a young sailor who had come to see him. The sailor lamented about how much he missed his girl back home. He went on and on as my grandfather checked his watch hoping the young man would finish before the boat left to search for enemy destroyers. As soon as the young sailor left, my grandfather ran down to the dock and watched as the PT boat left the dock. He had missed it by just a few moments. That boat never returned. He later learned that it hit a mine and all on board were killed.

I can’t imagine how my life would have been if my grandfather had been on that boat. I spent a lot of time with him growing up and he influenced me in many positive ways. Grandpa was a great joke and story teller and someone who loved his family dearly. He was one of the most amazing, humble, kind, and loving men I have ever known.

Today, I am particularly grateful for the many people who, like my grandfather, served or are serving our country. It’s always sad to hear the news of a soldier who sacrificed his life in defending freedom. So many will never make it to 90 years as my grandfather almost did. Thankfully, I have stories that I can listen to and pass on to future generations in my family. That’s what today is about … remembering and being grateful to people like my grandpa who made life for others better because they served.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies. He is founder of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go towww.TimRichardson.com

T’IS THE (WINTER) SEASON FOR GIVING

MONTPELIER, Vt. - The word ‘giving’ means a lot in these parts; it’s a way of life. Individual citizens, communities, businesses and families work to help one another in creative, often motivating ways. At Vermont ski resorts, we give ourselves to our passions; be they the pursuit of a sport or prosperity for others - and often, it’s a beautiful combination of the two, via on-mountain fund raising or donation of events’ proceeds.

Here are some stories we’d like to pay forward:

Ascutney Mountain Resort
What do you get when you add 250 grad students, 50 pounds of bruschetta and five very tired friends? The Puff Pastries and the Stale Cruller! Elbow deep in food while catering a large function in our Base Lodge, Ascutney Mountain Resort family members, Susan Plausteiner, Trisha Kurtzhalz, Tom Mansfield, Lucille Plausteiner and Amanda Plausteiner Smith, pledged to join together to walk/ride in the 28th Prouty (http://www.theprouty.org/) to benefit the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. The Puff Pastries chose the 10K wooded walk while the Stale Cruller went his own way and rode the 50K. Together, the team raised more than $1,000 and pledged to double their efforts in 2010.

Bolton Valley
Bolton Valley is not only the “locals” ski area but also a resort that serves the local community. Working with various local, statewide and national organizations, Bolton Valley seeks to better the community it is a part of.

Bolton Valley is the original home to Chill, a program geared to working with underserved youth and teaching core values while snowboarding at the same time. Vermont Adaptive Ski and Sports also expanded its operations last year to include Bolton Valley. VASS services the needs of disabled skiers and riders by providing them with special equipment and instruction on the mountain. Visit Bolton’s Chill for more info.

Burke Mountain
The Burke Mountain Sled Dog Dash, now in its fourth year, has raised over $40,000 for local children’s charities in the Northeast Kingdom. Burke is also the host of many other fundraising events throughout the year.

Killington
Over the past five years, Killington Resort has donated more than $35,000 to the United Way of Rutland County through both winter and summer United Way Days.

Mad River Glen
One of the most important annual events at Mad River Glen is known as Greenwood Week.  In honor of ski patrolman, Lee Greenwood, who was killed in a tragic car accident in 1974.  Designed to share his love of skiing with disadvantaged kids, Greenwood Week is an “Outward Bound” type of experience that encourages kids to challenge themselves and overcome their fears. Greenwood Week embodies Mad River’s sense of community as it builds self esteem and teaches group dynamics while having fun. Skiing, equipment and food are donated by Mad River; the Montclair Ski Club donates its lodge. A highlight of the week is seeing Lee Greenwood’s children, Chris and Jennifer, both Mad River Ski Patrollers, actively keeping their father’s legacy alive.

Okemo Mountain Resort
When it comes to the local community and charitable giving, Okemo operators Tim and Diane Mueller set a tone that filters throughout resort staff and guests alike. Education is a recurring theme in the Muellers’ philanthropic efforts. Diane has served on the Vermont State Board of Education and she founded the Okemo Community Challenge to support arts and technology in the Okemo Valley region’s schools. Okemo awards scholarships to staff and staff dependents annually and the Okemo Academic Reward program awards season passes to local students in grades 7-12 who achieve and maintain Honor Roll status.

Okemo is host to numerous events that benefit area food pantries and assistance organizations. For more than a decade, Okemo Mountain Resort staff members have been celebrating Valentine’s Day by donating to the resort’s Have a Heart Program to benefit the Upper Valley United Way and Okemo matches donations for departments that achieve a participation rate of 90 percent or better. Okemo promotes a culture of support for its community and encourages staff to experience the personal rewards that come with helping neighbors in need. Get the entire story on Okemo’s giving.

Pico Mountain
Over the past five years, Pico Mountain has donated more than $35,000 to the United Way of Rutland County through both winter and summer United Way Days.

Smugglers’ Notch Resort
For 20 years Smugglers’ Notch Resort has hosted families sponsored by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. These visits are enthusiastically supported by resort employees, who have donated holiday tree ornaments, delicious treats, cards and mementos to the families to enhance their stays. Visiting children have built snowmen, taken rides on snowmobiles behind ski patrollers, laughed through snowboarding lessons, and grinned during sleigh rides, and leave with fond memories of their family’s special Vermont holiday.

Smugglers’ also provides support to a variety of community efforts, including the local food shelf, the United Way, the Green Mountain Club, and the Cambridge Arts Council. The resort’s landscaping and flower crews maintain the beautiful flower beds in several prominent spots in nearby Jeffersonville. In keeping with its mission of environmental stewardship, the resort provided the site for the development of the nonprofit Gateway to Nature program, an educational effort uniting the resort and local community in support of environmental stewardship and education.

Stowe Mountain Resort
A very special event will take place January 7 - 9, 2010 at Stowe Mountain Resort. Members of the business and media communities will come together to ski-race and raise money for three charities that offer hope and comfort to children in desperate need.

The Financial Communications Society (FCS) is the presenting sponsor. Participating teams enjoy receptions and race camps prior to the competition. The main event takes place Saturday 1/9 with a dual slalom race. Since year 2000, this event has raised over one million dollars for The Hope and Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund, Downy Side, and Make-A-Wish Foundation.

About the Charities: The Hope and Heroes Children’s Cancer Fund raises money to enhance pediatric cancer research and helps patients and their families in special need of assistance Downey Side is a non-sectarian non-profit agency based national charity dedicated to the belief that every child deserves the right to a permanent family, placing older children that would otherwise remain homeless into loving homes. The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Please visit www.fcsraceforkids.org/.

Stratton Mountain
What started in the backyard of Dr. Carlos Otis’ house in 1964 has grown into a program that last year alone brought 800 local schoolchildren to Stratton Mountain weekly for skiing and riding.

The Junior Instructional Ski Program, or JISP, makes it possible for local kids between the ages of eight and eighteen to experience the joys of skiing at a very low cost.

In addition to offering inexpensive access to the mountain, free instruction, and instructor training, JISP also serves another important function; outfitting its members with new and used ski and snowboard equipment. Spearheading this effort is Stratton Ski School Supervisor Taffy Morgan who has been involved with the program for over 30 years. Taffy’s involvement with JISP actually pre-dates her employment with Stratton Mountain and is a strong testament to her commitment to the cause. “It has been a wonderful thing for a bunch of kids who wouldn’t have had the opportunity to ski otherwise” Morgan says.

Trapp Family Lodge
The Trapp Family Lodge hosts the only Nordic Relay for Life annually, with hundreds of cross-country skiers and snowshoes honoring loved ones, raising funds and supporting the American Cancer Society from dusk to dawn, March 6-7, 2010.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies. He is founder of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go towww.TimRichardson.com