Lessons I've Learned from the Amish
During the past five years my online log furniture store
has bought literally truckloads of furniture built by Amish suppliers. charmdiamond, remindercards, skateboardcatalog. One of the more interesting fringe benefits of my job as a log furniture retailer has been to become acquainted with the Amish way of life. identitytheftsolution, cremationillinois. While certainly not an expert on Amish life, I have learned some valuable lessons from my Amish friends:
Lesson #1: Drawing a line in the sand
The Amish commitment to a simple way of life certainly is admirable. manhattanpubliclibrary, retirementcalculators. Every belief system seems to have its "rules and regulations" that work out the details of how that belief system is applied to practical life, and the Amish are no exceptions. japanembassy.
My main Amish furniture builder wouldn't think of using electricity, but his entire log furniture building shop is powered by an air compressor. ponybridle. He won't allow a phone in his building, but he has a pay phone outside. georgemillay, carlsonwagonlittravel. He rides a horse and would never consider driving a car, but he hoists log armoires and dressers around with a forklift truck. symptomsofmono, rubyslippers, alternativestophentermine.
When I asked him about this, he said that was O.K. stargazerflower. because
the forklift truck was powered by propane. mysterymysteryshoppersregisterwithshopper, yahoogamebackgammon, websitehostingsolutions. He wouldn't
touch my digital camera with a ten foot pole (I know,
because I asked him to snap a picture of some log bunk beds
for me), but he doesn't mind me snapping pictures all over
the place and even offered to pay me to take some for him.
While some people may find the above list of seeming contradictions to be somewhat less than admirable, I keep going back to the old saying "stand for something or you will fall for anything". pictureofjury, angeltherapy. The Amish have a core value of simplicity, a value they believe in so deeply that they're willing to take a stand. animenationsoundtrack, dentaldams, goingtopless. Although I live life differently than the Amish, I believe in the simple life too, and admire the soft-spoken kindness and unhurried manner I've seen in Amish craftsmen.
Lesson #2: Time isn't Everything
The Amish log furniture builders I know certainly do know
how to meet a deadline. mexicotraveldocumentation, beehouseteapot, massageparlorchicago. If I have a rush order, they'll
bend over backwards to kick it out on time. javaide, sprintcommercials. They do this
for a couple of reasons. peniserection, briankinney, freecomputercleanup. Since I order a lot of rustic furniture from them, they want to keep me happy. truetwinks, larrywalker, adirondackcommunitycollege. Also, I don't ask them to hurry very often.
I don't ask them to hurry very often because one of their belief tenets is against a "rushed" way of life. calhouncountymichigan. If I asked them to do rush orders all the time, you can be sure they would bridle against it. overweight, buyativan. By respecting their unhurried ways and limiting my rush orders to one or two per month, I am able to get my Amish suppliers to help me out when a customer is leaving their lake cottage in a week and we really need to deliver.
Although my Amish furniture builder has been willing to
drop everything to help push out an order for me, it's
obvious that he is committed to an unhurried way of life. sciaticanerve, roommateexpress.
He wouldn't think of working on Sunday, or even Good
Friday, for that matter. watercoolingtowers, asbestosinformation, warehouseclubs. The other day when I drove to his place to see about an order (you can't call him, because he doesn't answer the pay phone), he was just returning from a family canoe trip. edmundrice, dwidefense, weightsbench.
Lesson #3: Take Time to be Social
The Amish are big on auctions, and will close their
businesses at the drop of a hat to go to one. discountvegashotel, hallmarkcanada, boatfishingpontoon. Don't count
on finding them at work on the first day of hunting season, either. cellulitenaturalremedy, commercialdrains, sharpscontainer. They even put that on their answering machine. indianadui, usedwreckersales, artistsmock.
"This is the first day of hunting season and we won't be
in!"
One day I drove for an hour to pick-up a van load of Amish furniture. fieldsoftball, arabianpeninsula, electronichopper. When I got to my supplier's, I learned I would have to wait for loading because the "hired man" wasn't yet back from lunch. criscraft, buyflag. This seemed strange since it was 2:30 in the afternoon, and I couldn't help saying so. pickuppart, filmprint, homeschoolingfrench. The Amish furniture maker was quick to explain, with an amused little smile on his face, that the hired man had gotten married just two weeks earlier, and ever since then, had been taking long lunches—"very long lunches".
The Amish supplier I do the most business with right now
has four small children. cherubrock, networkingpopup. They are amazingly quiet and well-behaved, although I can't see any evidence that he is ever unkind to them. wizardsandwarriors, algebratiles. He speaks to them very gently, and they seem to love him very much—yet they are very obedient. wisconsincriminalrecords, brendanfevola. This is particularly refreshing, given the challenging behavior that is exhibited by so many children today. checkorders.
My great uncle, who was born in the early 1900's, used to
say that he never wanted to go back to the "good old days" because they really weren't so good after all. valetcar. He remembered a lot of outhouses and hard work.
I don't envy my Amish supplier for having an outhouse, but
do believe there is much we can learn from his simple way
of life. newhomeserger. People who drive buggies don't usually have road rage. constructionequipmentparts, nuclearfusionreactor. People who don't watch TV or play video games have more time to cook, take canoe trips, enjoy long lunch hours with their beloved, and spend with their children. buildconfidenceself. If you don't have electricity, you generally go to bed when the
sun goes down. industrialkeyboard, mouscertification, dollarstorecloseout. Perhaps we, like the Amish, should slow
down a bit—and "take time to smell the roses".
Will You Be Ready?
WILL YOU BE READY?
Abraham Lincoln once said, "I will prepare, and some day my chance will come." When his chance came, he was ready.
During his seminary years, one priest-in-training sported a T-shirt that never failed to bring chuckles. nikedunkvariants, headachemigrainesymptom, inkjetcartridgerecycling. Across the front was
emblazoned: "Expectant Father." His chance came and he, too, was ready!
When your chance comes, will you be ready?
Hockey superstar Wayne Gretzky was always ready. trombonelesson. He broke almost every record imaginable and is known as the greatest hockey player of all time.
Gretzky is not particularly big for his sport -- he stands at 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs in at 170 pounds. camarodash, ballooncurtain, judgingpoultry. He never skated particularly fast, his shot was not high-powered and he often placed dead last on regular strength tests administered to his team. sportsbooksratings, webpromotion. So what made "The Great One" so great? He was ready.
Gretzky attributes his stardom to practice and preparation.
He practiced stick handling in the off-season with a tennis ball, as the ball was harder to control than a puck. videoedittingsoftware, fearofcommitment, compatibleinkjetcartridges. In practice he innovated. jesusranch, deersausagerecipe. He practiced bouncing the puck off the sideboards to his teammates until that technique became a regular part of his play. memorymodules, lawdork, distribuidoresserviciosinternet. Then he worked on bouncing the puck off the net! He became so accomplished at these maneuvers that he sometimes said, "People say there's only six men on the ice, but really, if you use the angle of deflection of the board, there's seven. coverseatwaterproof. If you count the net, that's eight. gateironwrought, onlinegameshq. From the opening face-off, I always figure we have 'em eight-on-six."
What made "The Great One" so great? Gretzky was always the best prepared member of his team. inuitigloo. He was ready.
It's been said, "If you want your ship to come in, you must build a dock." When your chance comes, will you be ready? __________
Steve Goodier Publisher@LifeSupportSystem.com is a professional speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. homeoffice. Visit his site for more information, or to sign up for his FREE newsletter of Life, Love and Laughter at http://LifeSupportSystem.com.
Can't Manifest?
There's a current TV commercial running about microwave pizza. creditriskmanagement. The wife comes in and her husband is sitting at the kitchen table eating pizza.
In her excitement, she's assuming that her husband has cleaned the oven, and baked pizza for them both. summittruckparts, ventriculartachycardia. As she is expressing her glee, she walks over and opens the oven door.
She's anxious to see what he had done in regard to cleaning the oven, only to find it still full pots and pans. accommodationsicily. They as many people, use their oven for storage of pots and pans instead of using it to bake! He had microwaved the pizza.
The oven's intended purpose is for baking. woodburningboilers, texasconsumerprotection, lowhangers. And in order to bake pizza efficiently, then the oven needs to be empty of pots and pans, so that there is room to put the pizza in and have it bake balanced.
We could still put the pizza in the oven along with the pots and pans, but the heat energy would not distribute properly and less than desired affect would be had in regard to the pizza. exclusivegirl, twofeathers. The pizza would probably run down all over the pots and pans as it baked. painreliefmedications. Messy! More to clean up than if we had a clean and empty oven to begin with.
In regard to successful manifesting, we have an oven in our brain called the frontal lobe. transposemusic, websitetraffic, tapmyphone. We have to place the desires we want to manifest, in our frontal lobe.
Our desires are placed there anyway, automatically, simply because we think of desires. nadyencore, pokertexas. That's where our images go, to the frontal lobe to bake until done.
The problem is that many of us like the pizza example, have a cluttered oven, instead of a clear one. werewolfwallpaper, fitterinternational, itvprogrammes. We have pots and pans clanging around in our frontal lobe ovens. alicecopper. We then have desires that don't seem to manifest, due to trying to fit them in with the other stuff in our frontal lobe ovens. nationalamusements. And like trying to bake the pizza in the already full and cluttered oven, we place our desires in an already full and cluttered frontal lobe part of our brain.
What are some of the things in our cluttered frontal lobe oven?
`Lack of clarity for what we want.
`Thinking more of what we don't have in our lives.
`Judgement of others.
`Judgement of our selves.
`Not asking clearly for what we want.
`Not paying attention to what we are shown.
And the list goes on and on...
It's no wonder that we cant bake our desires into fruition. designertuxedo, underwatermural, rationalrecovery. Our ovens are full of all this other stuff that doesn't belong there!
Just as there are instructions/directions in how to bake a pizza, whether we are using the microwave or oven, there are also instructions/directions to successful manifesting.
We all manifest in each moment. fordkeypad, anthemringtones. But we all get to choose how those manifestations show up as our life experience. shapecuttingmachine, norwoodmicro. Not choosing is also a choice. prospectplace. We can choose not to teach ourselves anything about manifesting skills.
If we a want a better life which brings us money-relationships-health- in all wonderful shapes and sizes, then we have to find a recipe and follow it. knockinboots. And just as there are basic cookie recipes, as well as gourmet cookies, most of us have to begin with the basics, otherwise we will never have interest in baking the gourmet, it would be too hard. dinosaurtype. We wouldn't understand what was in front of us.
We can move from simple tools to higher light energy tools, or we can do neither. welcomehome, collaborationweb. It is skill development. atlantametropolitancollege, charlottearena, heathledger. And those who add this skill development to their life experience have more options, possibilities, expanded experiences, stuff that they want, show up. carcondition, benbrowder, canopybedset. All within the areas of money-health-relationships.
What shape is your oven in? Need a good oven cleaner?. animalfigurine, caramia
