So, what did you do with your extra time on the extra day?

“How did it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon.
December is here before it’s June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?”

Dr. Seuss

In our business time IS what we do. We sell time, we fill time, we announce the time. Whether our vernacular is “time spent listening” or “average weekly time exposed” we are in the business of time.

When was the last time someone did something for you?

When was the last time a business did something for you?

Now it gets harder. When was the last time a radio station did something for you?

We can all remember the first time someone said, “I love you.” (We can also painfully remember each time someone didn’t).

We are created to be known. From the early playground experiences of “Mommy, mommy, look at me,” to the moment you discovered the pretty girl knew your name.

“Listen at 7:20, 10:20, and 4:20 for the next three weeks and write down all the clues we call out. Then on the following Thursday be the 103rd caller when we announce the secret phrase and we’ll put you in a drawing for a chance to win. And if you go to our website you can download all the clues by clicking the tab labeled ‘Promotions,’ then scroll down to ‘February’s promotions’ and enter your loyal listener number which you can find on the back of the bumper sticker you can pick up at several of the 37 metro area Chick-fil-A restaurants. For a list of locations enter your zip code on the dropdown box in the far right corner, unless you’re browsing on your phone then it may appear on the bottom left. Not valid if listening online in Nevada.”

PLEASE! Sometimes we make listening so difficult.

Our format is either a bunch of songs that people don’t know by artists they’ve never heard of…

or…

… it is a format of stories and songs about the most important things in our lives.

The former results in a station with a one share. The latter results in a station that is a market leader.

Most radio stations aren’t really all that bad, but most aren’t all that good either. Even the ones that ARE good aren’t good all the time. An elite few are good most of time.

Stations that are good most of the time get that way by understanding the transformative power of CONSISTENCY.

The beginning of a new year seems to me to be a good time to consider how we internalize the values in our organizations.

Andy Stanley suggests, “Just start celebrating what you value. People will value what you celebrate, and they will celebrate what you value.”

I’ve recently been reading, “Breakfast with Fred,” the conversations and ideas of Fred Smith, Sr, a mentor for many leaders such as Zig Ziglar, Philip Yancey, John Maxwell and my friend Steve Brown.

“When Fred was in his early twenties, he visited a cemetery and asked himself what he would want the epitaph on his tombstone to read. It was at that moment he chose the phrase that would set his life direction: ‘He stretched others.'”

That stretching led Fred to value conversations and the sharing of insights and wisdom. So much so that the “Breakfast with Fred” concept evolved as his health deteriorated as his breakfast meetings with a few moved online for many to read.

There is a phone in our home that we never answer. Seriously. A constant barrage of robo-calls and “Anonymous” caller IDs has left that phone to be no more than a nuisance. In fact, we no longer even listen to the voice mails because of so much time wasted checking them.

We live in an OPT-IN world, defined by Merriam-Webster online dictionary as “to choose to do or be involved in something.” If I didn’t give you permission to communicate with me then your efforts, automated as they be, will be met with an unanswered ring.

I was eager to see “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” not because I had watched “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” as a kid (because I didn’t), but of my respect for Tom Hanks as an actor; a modern day Jimmy Stewart whose acting skill ranges from “Saving Private Ryan” to “Big,” from “You’ve Got Mail” to “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump.”

I was not disappointed.

But the movie wasn’t what I expected. It’s not really a cinematic bio-op of a quirky children’s television show host in Pittsburgh. It’s more about the impact and transformation that can happen when we choose to care for others, affirm them for who they are now, and inspire them to their better selves.

Folks in Houston, Texas, know the name Jim McIngvale, better known to locals as Mattress Mack, that eccentric guy in the Gallery Furniture TV commercials. But if that’s all he did I wouldn’t be writing about him now. And you wouldn’t care.

During Hurricane Harvey and recent Houston flooding, Mack’s showrooms became makeshift shelters in which hundreds of evacuees and dozens of National Guard troops could catch some much-needed rest. Recently, he arranged for Metro shuttle buses to bring some 10,000 Houstonians to his store parking lot for turkey with all the trimmings. And on and on and on.

People are searching. So many of us feel bombarded with negativity and bickering, particularly in the wake of the partisanship of the impeachment hearings. With a potential Senate trial and another election in 2020 I don’t get the sense we’re headed for a kinder, gentler new year, do you? As a result people are literally searching for something good.

Every year Google compiles a list of the most searched for words of the year. In 2019 searches for heroes soared.

Good things in the world

Throughout history, in times of uncertainty the world looks for heroes.

What makes a person a hero?

Because living life as something bigger than yourself is a hero’s journey

To everyone using their powers to empower others, search on…