Exhaust all options before giving up. Sometimes it's the only way to figure out the solution that most people would have given up on long ago. Exhausting all options to find a solution is what those people that are known for making things happen do all the time. It's the extra effort that goes into making things happen that makes difference makers stand out. So exhaust all options and become a difference maker. After all it's the right thing to do and it models the way for others.

So I went for a bike ride with my daughter and my son and tried taking off the training wheels tonight on my daughter's bike. She did a pretty good job working to balance herself, but she is not quite ready to remove them completely yet. It's amazing how much confidence training wheels give an inexperienced bike rider. What area in your life do you need training wheels in and what area of your life are you ready to take off the training wheels?

Remember everyone has a story, even you. There are reasons why people act and behave the way they do, and it's based on their story of who they are and where they have been. So help understand their story and why they are the way they are. Don't judge, but seek to understand them first before trying to be understood by them. After all, understanding their story is the right thing to do and it models the way for others.

My mentor once told me regarding trust, "If there is no trust, there is no relationship."

Ephesians 5:25-33

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her  to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,  and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.  After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--  for we are members of his body.  "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."  This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church.  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Do you have a family emergency plan? What would you do in the event of a major storm, tornado, fire, hurricane, ice storm or other natural disaster? Are you prepared? Do you have an emergency kit, radio, food, batteries, etc? Does your family know what to do or where to meet in the event of an emergency? Put together a plan and discuss it with your family so everyone knows the plan. After all, having an emergency plan and being prepared is the right thing to do and it models the way for others.

Believe you can. Take a step in the right direction. Map out a plan. Write down strategies and tactics. Follow them and adjust if necessary. Push yourself. Don't quit. Don't stop. And win. After all it's the right thing to do and it models the way for others.

A wise sales manager once told me, "you have two ears and one mouth, so you can listen twice as much as you talk."

Become a good listener. It's the right thing to do and it models the way for others.

Don't stop till you get enough. The song from Michael Jackson in the 70's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" resonates with me with sales. Make sure that you hit your sales goals and that you don't stop 'til you get enough. Don't give excuses. Don't give reasons why you can't. Find a way to do it. Find a way to make it happen. After all it's your job, if you're in sales, and it's up to you to make it happen. After all it's the right thing to do and it models the way for others.

Bill Hybels, Senior Pastor at Willow Creek in Illinois helps define the 'diligent worker' in the book of Proverbs in the Bible:

"A Diligent worker...

Shows up on time

Determine what's expected

Exceeds expectations

Is joyful

Plays nice

Honors supervisor

Admits mistakes

Shares credit

Resolves conflict

Takes responsibility to get better

Honest with time"

So make sure you are a diligent worker and not a sluggard. After all it's the right thing to and it models the way for others.