A Thousand Words

Lesa and I were pleasantly surprised as we came to the end of Eddie Murphy's movie, A Thousand Words. The movie received terrible reviews and our expectations were not high. We assumed we would laugh but we received an unexpected bonus. The movie provoked a conversation with Lesa and I that led me to share my thoughts with you. The movie asks the question, what would you say if you only had a limited amount of words before you die? One of the actors mentions that we waste so many words on worthless conversation. I am a high "I" on the DiSC profile and I tend to be a talker. This statement hit home with me. I cannot begin to tell you how many times my words have placed my proverbial foot in my mouth. Last week I taught the first in a four part series on Communication and People Skills with Kevin Miller's Free Agent Academy. Shortly after beginning the session we discussed what Dale Carnegie mentioned as the three things we should never do if we want to Win Friends and Influence People. Never criticize, condemn and complain. I wonder if you had a thousands words left before you die, would you waste them focusing on the negative. Or, would you use each of those precious words to express gratitude, ask for forgiveness and tell those people who mean the most how you feel. Is it also possible that you would not use words at all? Maybe you would show people how you feel. Ralph Waldo Emerson stated, "What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say." This Thursday is Thanksgiving. I am going to join some close friends of mine and choose to use the words thankful this week. How about you? Happy Thanksgiving! Pierce