Recently, a very hokey movie was on television and I got hooked on it, watching it all the way through. Not only was the storyline hokey, the acting was so bad…that I could tell it was bad. Usually, I cannot; this time I could.

However, there was one line that made it all worthwhile. The newly-deceased woman, having just spent a day of her afterlife back in an earth-like situation, was telling her mentor angel how surprised she was that, after living a life without ever thinking about being alive, suddenly, today she felt more alive than ever.

The angel asked her, “How often were you aware of being alive while you actually were?

This was a very powerful question! As he then noted, “You now have a different perspective.”

In a past article it was discussed that one way of developing gratitude for the simple things, such as our senses, is to imagine losing them all, then gaining them back one-by-one. As you can imagine, each would now take on a whole new meaning, being seen from an entirely new perspective.

Personally, I fall into this trap. I rarely think about being alive. Though, that one line brought it — and a huge sense of gratitude — back into focus, at least temporarily. The trick is to keep conscious of it on an ongoing basis, setting up reminders if necessary until it becomes habit.

The same with breathing. Aside from my friends into Meditation (sorry, Linda Ryan, I still don’t do it) and other arts where breathing is part of the ritual, too many of us forget about breathing, and even that we are breathing. Imagine how much more we’d appreciate it if we, for some reason, lost that ability. Somewhat frightening to even think about. The trick is to stay conscious that we are breathing.

This would certainly help us in the gratitude department. And gratitude might be the root source of everything good that we experience.

I continue to work on these things. How about you? And, how can we do even “more better-er” in this regard?

Have you ever heard someone tell you that your product (or service, opportunity, idea, etc) “won’t work here” (or, in this business, this company, this region of the country, etc.)?

After all, “it’s different here”…isn’t it?

Actually, not so much. I mean, don’t get me wrong; we are all individuals; each with our own needs, wants, desires, fears, etc.

Still, as human beings, in total, we are all so much more alike than we are different.

You might recall that last summer I spoke in China for a major Direct Sales company. In the audience were people from 12 different countries. Perhaps the most interesting thing to me was something that — while expected — was still both enlightening and delightful to experience.

During the question and answer period there was something very familiar about the questions. And, that is, they were the exact same questions I am asked here in the U.S. and other western countries.

I don’t mean they were close to the same questions. I mean, the same questions. People had the same concerns, fears, needs, wants, desires. Oh, and they heard the same objections from their prospects.

All in all, we can pretty much know that, as different as people are, we are all basically the same. And that is one of those really cool things.

Do you find that to be true? Or, is it…different where you are?

In the original The Twilight Zone television series, there was an episode that periodically comes to mind and haunts me to this day. (It really doesn’t haunt me; it’s just fun to think about)…(okay, it haunts me a little)…(HELLLLLP!).

It had to do with a small-town resident apparently possessing the meaning of life. Whenever he’d whisper this “truth” to someone, the listener would go insane. By episode’s end, half the town’s residents were out of their minds, not being able to cope with this new information.

So, the question I’ve always asked myself is, “what could be so frightening about the meaning of life that it would cause everyone to go totally crazy?”

I’ve still never been able to figure that out.

So, I’ll ask you: is there an answer to this question? Not the meaning of life (though, feel free to share your opinion of that, as well, if you’d like) but rather, what could be so scary that knowing it could cause us to lose our minds?

Instead of my responding to each answer, I’m going to just sit back and enjoy, if you don’t mind. Though, I’ll do so without the pepperoni pizza that I used to eat whenever I watched “The Zone.”

Oh, one more thing. Get this, get this; I know this episode aired during the original series, not the 1985 revised series.  I remember the black and white setting. And, I remember watching it in college back in 1980. Yes, I remember it as though I were watching it yesterday. Yet, when I tried to search for it on the site of the original series, I could not find it. I could only find it as part of the new series, the episode entitled, “The Need to Know.”

But, I absolutely, without question, remember it. I remember it clearly as can be. I KNOW I do. What is happening? What’s going on? How can I not…

{Narrator: A middle-aged man with graying hair and a slightly expanding girth cannot fathom why his memory, which he thinks of as a steel trap, is possibly failing him. Or, rather is it the world that is failing his memory? He begins to lose his mind as he cannot deal with not being able to place that which he is sure happened. Or, did it happen? That is the quandary he faces as he wanders cyberspace and finds himself suddenly trapped in…The Twilight Zone.}

Cue theme

I recently posted on my Facebook page the very words from the above title:

“Acknowledge The Problem, But Live In The Solution.”

The basic idea is to put the focus on where it should be, while not ignoring the cause. One annoyance I have every so often with the world of personal development is that it can at times be a bit “politically correct.”

For example, we’ll often hear or read that we should simply ignore the negative; that which we don’t want. Well, I believe that while it’s terrific to think positive and focus on the positive, ignoring the negative is simply not productive. The reason is that…

“What is ignored, does NOT necessarily go away.”

Don’t get me wrong; as usual, there is a time and place for most everything. And there is indeed a time to ignore that which simply doesn’t serve. When that is appropriate then, by all means, do so. Ignore away!

But, “sticking one’s head in the sand” like an ostrich — thinking that not acknowledging what needs to be dealt with will automatically cause it to disappear — is counterproductive. And, that’s the best case. At worst, it will cause the issue to fester and grow bigger.

So, yes, note that there is a problem. Acknowledge that the problem is there. Next, devise a game plan for overcoming it — in other words, determine the solution. And then…focus on that solution. In other words, live in the solution.

How are you doing with this? And, what great examples have you seen of others who tend to do that very well?

When I was growing up — just before the Designated Hitter became a part of American League play — we used to say that the best American League teams could bunt…and all the National League teams could. Not surprisingly, at that time, the National League was also known as the better league.

For those not into baseball, or sports at all, please forgive the example. Though I must explain something very quickly; a bunt is a “small” move and not often used (perhaps once or twice a game). Yet, the team that can bunt is at a distinct advantage.

The point: little things so often make a big difference and help obtain big results. It’s the difference between the hotel employee responding to a “thank you” by saying, “no problem” while his counterpart at the Ritz Carlton says, “my pleasure.” And there’s an even bigger difference between the high schooler working part-time using the first or second response!

If you have a retail establishment is the floor kept clean? Or, is it kept so spotless that one could eat off it if one so desired? (Assuming one would ever so desire which, hopefully one wouldn’t!)

Harvey Mackay’s Famous “Mackay 66” — mentioned in his books, including his newest one, is perhaps the ultimate tool for learning everything you can about your customers. In our recent interview, he again stressed how important going the distance is in terms of details.

If you plan a client event, do you simply show them a nice time, or do you research every individual client’s desires to the point that the entire event is one value-based surprise of delight after another. My friend, Lou Imbriano, provides a glimpse of how-to in this post and goes into detail in his newest book, Winning The Customer.

Yes, you’ll get by, and can even do well, doing everything correctly. But, if you really, really want to separate yourself from the pack and achieve stratospheric success, then pay attention to detail; every detail, and communicate that through your actions.

Is this something you are able to do in your business? And, if so, how?