Liz Keating is one of Flair’s favorite new friends. Don’t let her youthful smile mislead you, she is full of wisdom and grit. She excelled as a student and athlete at UCLA, accomplished two Iron Men and a number of other bucket list items. She sits on a vast array of civic boards while traveling with her role as marketing director of the Jim Stengel Company.
Some of the highlights you’ll hear from Liz during her Flair Confidence podcast (jump to our Media tab or iTunes to listed:
- How she learned to be a role model at an early age
- Themes her father Bill Keating taught her, such as getting to know people on a deep level, having a generous heart plus serving the community
- “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked”. Luke 12:48
- “Let no one come to you without leaving better and happier”. Mother Teresa
During the podcast we reference two of our favorite Thought Of The Days. I added two more below. If you would like to be added to that daily distribution, let Flair know and we will forward to Liz.
AN ADDITIONAL TEN COMMANDMENTS – Bill Keating Jr.’s Thought of the Day:
1. Thou shalt not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
2. Thou shalt not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.
3. Thou shalt not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.
4. Thou shalt face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway.
5. Thou shalt not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.
6. Thou shalt not borrow other people’s problems. They can better care for them than you can.
7. Thou shalt not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone. Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!
8. Thou shalt be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear different ideas from your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking, and some people do know more than you do.
9. Thou shalt not become “bogged down” by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.
10. Thou shalt count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.
A CARROT, AN EGG AND A CUP OF COFFEE – Bill Keating Jr.’s Thought of the Day:
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.
The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich flavor and enjoyed its aroma.
The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?” Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity … boiling water. Each reacted differently.
The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?
Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?”
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff?
Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?
How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
AN OLD CHEROKEE IS TEACHING HIS GRANDSON ABOUT LIFE – Bill Keating Jr.’s Thought of the Day:
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.”
One is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.
This same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
From Bill Keating Jr.’s Thought of the Day:
“My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me.” – Henry Ford
To Do Today: “You are a product of your environment. Choose an environment that brings out the best in you, and create an environment that brings out the best in others.” – Friar Telly, II (one of Bill’s pseudonyms)