Keep Digging, The Gold is There!

As much as I prefer to not watch the TV news (where tragedy is compounded by flashy special effects and dramatic music), I will admit that I do still read my local newspaper…selectively. Generally, I start from the back page, because that is where the ‘human interest’ stories appear. For those unfamiliar with that term: it means the entertaining, fun people of the world.

They are the ones who rob a gas station and get caught because their getaway car ran out of gas, who construct a 16-ton ball of rubber bands, who play the trumpet for 218 hours straight to set a world record, and so on.

Also sprinkled far from the front page disaster-zone are the golden members of society. These are the people I admire most. While they are too positive for the front page, and not flashy (read: weird) enough for the back page, they are my favorites.

They are the passing motorists who save someone from a burning vehicle, the local contractors who build a wheelchair ramp for a local woman who had been unable to leave her home, and the Boy and Girl Scouts who collect enough food to keep the local Soup Kitchen open.

These are my golden nuggets!

Where are you in the pages of your local paper?

Are you screaming doom and gloom on the front page?

Are you hanging in the freak-flag flotilla of the back page?

Or are you nestled with the golden nuggets on the pages in between, adding positive energy to your community?

Tell Me Somethin' Good!

As that Rufus & Chaka Khan song played in the car this past weekend, I had to laugh. It reminded of my early days in radio as a copywriter and production director. I’d be walking the halls and suddenly, around the corner, an exasperated salesperson would emerge, paperwork in hand.

As I noticed the petrified look in their eyes, I used to sing:

“Tell me somethin’ good, tell me that you love me, yeah!”

Far too often, a knock at my office door was bad news, especially Monday mornings at 7:58, just before the sales meeting began.

We all hear bad news every day, don’t we? With the challenges of the economy, health care and the job market, it seems we can’t escape the dark clouds that the media, and those around us, have decided to hand out free with the dawn of every new day.

In case you haven’t heard, there are great things happening in this world, and in your home town, every day. You’ll find them at the end of the local newscast, or buried in the back section of the newspaper.

There are also many positive people who paths cross yours every day.

Perhaps you can reach out to one of these people today and share something positive. Create the expectation that, whenever you meet, a positive word or thought is a great place to start.

Want to create a smile and a great memory? Sing the song, loudly and proudly, as they approach. Then tackle the task at hand.

If life has a soundtrack, let yours be dominated by this song’s powerful, positive message:

“Tell me somethin’ good, tell me that you love me, yeah!”