Inspiration – The fruits of our labor

Posted on June 4, 2011 by David
Fruits of your labor

Pride and joy

The one in the middle isn’t ours. We’ll claim the other two on our income tax. Benjamin wants to be like me. I tell him to aim higher. Emily wants to be like her big brother. He gets annoyed. I tell him it’s an honor. He’ll get it some day.

Report cards came in the mail today. Very thankful for the results. Very thankful for their thirst for knowledge and their ability to perform.

I’m also reminded about a cousin who is autistic. Things we take for granted don’t come as easily to her. She has issues with communication. Reading and writing are challenging for her. But she’s in school. And she’s growing.

She also has a soul, a sweet spirit and is still blessed by God. We can gather inspiration from her smile and her innocence.

For those of you who have a business, do you pay attention to the children that come in? The parents will remember it if you do. Watch them and listen to them. You might find your inspiration in the smallest places.

Posted in All You Do Is for Them, Children, Inspiration | 11 Comments

Deep Impact

Posted on June 3, 2011 by David
Deep Impact

Even 40+ years after he's gone, he still has an impact.

To say that Walt Disney (1901-1966) had a deep impact on the lives of millions of people around the world, that would be a true statement.

It’s been almost 45 years since he passed on and yet the ideals, values and vision of Walt Disney carry on.

From Wikipedia:

“Today, Walt Disney’s animation/motion picture studios and theme parks have developed into a multi-billion dollar television, motion picture, vacation destination and media corporation that carry his name. Among other assets The Walt Disney Company owns five vacation resorts, eleven theme parks, two water parks, thirty-nine hotels, eight motion picture studios, six record labels, eleven cable television networks, and one terrestrial television network. As of 2007, the company had annual revenues of over U.S. $35 billion.”

But his legacy is something that can’t easily be measured by counting how many or how much. It is measured in the character of the lives of all the people he has inspired to do greater things than they could imagine.

If you ever have the chance to visit a Disney theme park, or stay at a Disney vacation resort, take a Disney cruise, you’ll see for yourself what I’m talking about. Is everything perfect? Absolutely not! But it will be a difficult task to not find Walt’s inspiration still going strong today as the company expands into new ventures.

While most of us have not met the man personally, his vision of the future remains strong in the hearts and minds of those he came in contact with. They understand just how deep his impact can be on the child that exists within all of us.

Posted in Customers for Life, Disney, Disney Institute, Dreams, Excellence, Impactful, Inspiration, Values, Vision, Walter Elias Disney | 2 Comments

Inspiration first

Posted on June 2, 2011 by David
The Lamb

The Lamb

Inspiration – from the Latin inspirare – “in” + spirare  “to breathe”. A definition from c. 1300 has it as “immediate influence of God.” A more modern definition has it as a noun, “stimulation or arousal of the mind, feelings, etc, to special or unusual activity or creativity.”

To write a post on inspiration and not include Jesus Christ, in my opinion, would just be wrong. No matter what side you’re on, Jesus is the most inspirational man in all of history. He has inspired many to love and to do good works. Because of man’s failures, he is also seen as an inspiration for some to carry out all kinds of evil.

I choose to be inspired for good.

If you are in business, does the inspiration you receive have you as the one serving or the one being served? Are you there for your customers or are your customers there for you? It really is that big of a question. Your customers will know if you are in business to serve.

I can’t tell you exactly what to do. We can talk about what needs to be done. But the work is up to you.

Be inspired to be the server.

Posted in Customers for Life, Inspiration, Jesus | 9 Comments

From Innovation to Inspiration

Posted on June 1, 2011 by David
Be Good at Something

Be Good at Something

Many thanks to you, the reader, for your contributions during the month of May. It was a record setting month for blog visits. For that, I am humbled and grateful.

What inspires you each day to be the best for your customer? And not just what, who inspires you?

June at “It’s All About The Customer” is dedicated to those individuals and groups who have been my inspiration. Some I have been blessed to know all through my life. Others have only been a part of my life for the last year or two. It doesn’t matter if it’s been 7 years or 47. There’s something about the way they live, the way they talk, the way they walk that inspires me to live a better life.

They are in no particular order. I’ve already got a list but it’s not complete. People are walking in and out of our lives every day.

Stay tuned!

Posted in Inspiration | 5 Comments

A month of Innovation – Day 31

Posted on May 30, 2011 by David
Always looking forward

Always looking forward

“Tomorrow will be better for as long as America keeps alive the ideals of freedom and a better life.” Walt Disney

Hope you all enjoyed your Memorial Day yesterday. Let us remember every day those who have served. Their sacrifices allow us to keep the ideals of freedom alive and provide for us a better life.

Posted in Freedom, Memorial Day | 2 Comments