Sunday, November 17, 2013

Raising the Bottom Raises the Top

As I was riding the bus down Boonvile I saw a line of people waiting to get into Crimson House for an Ozarks Food Harvest distribution. I never saw the line so long before. Things seem to be getting tighter and more are lining up for food.

It made me think of my conversation last summer with someone boarding the bus who was looking for a job. He asked me if I knew of anything. I told him I never had much luck getting a job. I always had to provide a service, using my abilities and experience, that someone would pay me for.  It dawned on me then, and even more so now, I can help these people. What he needs is the skill to make money.

On the bus lines we see people in similar circumstances as those in the food lines. Many have to depend on others to get what they need or want. But we can move from dependence to a greater level of self-confidence, a can-do attitude, to more self-sufficiency. With some additional skills and working together, we all can accomplish more. With basic understanding of the entrepreneur skill anyone can create a flow of income, small or large amounts of money. So I created a program just to do that... teach people how to make just a little more for something important to them.

When a person learns the basics of entrepreneur skills, they can create ingenious ways to survive, get by, and even advance because of difficulty.
(Entrepreneurs look at problems differently. They look for opportunity within a problem. Creatively, they figure out how to flip a problem into an opportunity.)

The average person can learn how to make money, do noble things, and have a little more money for food and bus fares. They all can do something, make something, or sell something that produces income. Put More Cash in Your Pocket, written by an entrepreneur, teaches people one method on earning more money. I like her outline which explains how to create new income within weeks. Then I put alongside this the power of partnering, joint belief using prayer. The plan teaches people the entrepreneurial process while building a self-confident “can do” attitude… and faith in someone Bigger than us, there with us, ready to help.

People waiting at the food distribution lines and those in line to board the bus are the ones who could have the greatest benefit. Jack Stack said in The Great Game of Business that when you raise the bottom you raise the top.

My challenge is how to let the people know about it who need it the most, and motivate them to attend the sessions. I am seeking ideas on ways to get the word out to them. If anyone reading this has any ideas, I am eager to hear them. As I advocate, I need partnering relationships with others as well.

What I learned from riding the bus is we all have something to offer that can make a difference for those around us; there is something we can do to help.

“Give freely what you have received.” Matthew 10:8

 

Dale Shumaker
417-224-3517

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

On-time, key to making it in life

Once I heard a personal development speaking emphasize that the most important principle to  success in anything is… to show up, and be on-time.

I have noticed the bus system runs a very tight clock. No matter where you are you can count on the bus showing up and on-time. It’s one thing they do that amazes me. How do they do that? There are so many variables a bus route handles on every run and they change each time around on a route. If there is anything impressive about the drivers is their skill in handling customers, stopping here and there, waiting for slow traffic or lights, and still go from stop to stop on-time. As a patron, and those in the business setting, being on-time is quite important. We need to plan the day, when and where we will be and make sure we get there… on-time. The bus system provides a very reliable way to do that.

When I go to meetings it seems today many come in a few minutes late. If the bus system teaches a person anything it is, if you are late, no ride.  They are on-time, so the rider needs to be on-time too. Now think what would happen if wherever you go, if you arrived five minutes late, that the meeting, appointment, activity was cancelled for you. You could not attend or be part of it. Sounds too extreme? Five minutes late, six times a day equals a loss of two and a half hours a week… three full weeks a year.
Riding the bus creates this discipline in a person. If a business would insist their people ride the business once a quarter it could make the skill of… learning how to be on-time... become more a part of their habitual behavior.  

On-time is critical to  getting up, going to work, making appointments, meeting project deadlines, paying the bills … being on-time affects all parts of our lives and it has the biggest impact on our own life outcomes. You can count on on-time with the bus and plan a day very precisely.

Just another lesson of life I have learned from riding the bus.

“You may delay, but time will not.”  Ben Franklin