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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Ratgeber
- Serie: Jon Gordon
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2020
We all need more positivity in our lives--now more than ever! Five of bestselling author Jon Gordon's most powerful and timely books. Bestselling author and acclaimed speaker Jon Gordon is passionate about developing great leaders and high-performing teams. Celebrated for his engaging storytelling, invaluable insights, and proven real-world strategies, Gordon has helped millions of people around the world infuse positivity into every part of their personal and professional lives. His simple yet powerful books provide time-tested wisdom and practical guidance for overcoming challenges, achieving superior results, and bringing out the absolute best in yourself--and in everyone around you. The Jon Gordon Power of Positivity E-Book Collection brings together five of the author's most compelling books about harnessing the power of positivity in work, at home, and in all you do. This must-have collection includes: --The Energy Bus, the beloved international bestseller that reveals the ten secrets for turning negative energy into positivity and achievement, featuring an actionable plan for becoming a great leader and overcoming common life and work obstacles. --The Shark and the Goldfish, a business fable that strengthens the courage and confidence you need to overcome fear and uncertainty in difficult economic times--and thrive! Features charming illustrations and an action plan filled with practical tips and proven strategies. --The Positive Dog, a delightful story that shows you that we all have two dogs inside of us: one is positive, the other is negative. Learn how feeding your positive dog also nourishes those around you--to everyone's immense benefit! --The Power of Positive Leadership, a practical framework based on Jon Gordon's research on positive leaders throughout history, and his work with those who have transformed their organizations, won national championships, and are currently making positive change in the world. --Stay Positive, a unique collection of inspirational quotes and messages, co-written by Gordon's friend and colleague Daniel Decker. Your daily resource for encouragement, creating positivity in your life, and motivating others at work and home. The principles and strategies at the core of The Jon Gordon Power of Positivity E-Book Collection have driven great success for thousands of top-level leaders at Fortune 500 companies, school districts, hospitals, nonprofit organizations, the NFL and NBA, and numerous colleges and universities. Packed with motivational stories, meaningful insights, and effective strategies, this collection is the ideal resource for anyone seeking to fill their work and personal life with positivity, purpose, and achievement. *Note: Due to its unique format, Stay Positive may display differently on eReaders than the rest of the collection. For the best reading experience, decrease the font size on your eReader.
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Table of Contents
Cover
The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Author’s Note
Introduction
Chapter 1
: Flat Tire
Chapter 2
: Good News and Bad News
Chapter 3
: The Long Walk Home
Chapter 4
: George Wakes Up
Chapter 5
: No Joy on the Bus
Chapter 6
: The Rules
Chapter 7
: You’re the Driver
Chapter 8
: It’s All About Energy
Chapter 9
: George Shares His Vision
Chapter 10
: Focus
Chapter 11
: The Power of Positive Energy
Chapter 12
: George Takes a Walk
Chapter 13
: One Great Golf Shot Theory
Chapter 14
: Bus Tickets
Chapter 15
: A Very Long Weekend
Chapter 16
: Who’s on the Bus
Chapter 17
: The Enemy Is Negativity
Chapter 18
: No Energy Vampires on the Bus
Chapter 19
: The Ultimate Rule of Positive Energy
Chapter 20
: George Takes Control of His Bus
Chapter 21
: George Has a Dream
Chapter 22
: Better Today than Yesterday
Chapter 23
: Feeling Good
Chapter 24
: Lead with Heart
Chapter 25
: Chief Energy Officer
Chapter 26
: Love Your Passengers
Chapter 27
: Love Rules
Chapter 28
: Fear and Trust
Chapter 29
: The Next Day
Chapter 30
: The Team Gets Inspired
Chapter 31
: Game Day
Chapter 32
: The Presentation
Chapter 33
: Joy
Chapter 34
: It’s More Fun on the Bus
The Energy Bus Action Plan
Bus Tickets
The Energy Bus Training Program
Other Books by Jon Gordon
The Shark and the Goldfish: Positive Ways to Thrive During Waves of Change
A Confession
Introduction
Are You a Shark or a Goldfish?
A Wave of Change
Embrace and Ride the Wave of Change
Stay Positive
Thrive because of Change
A Shark School for Goldfish
Start Your Own Shark School for Goldfish
: Empower Your Team to Ride the Waves of Change and Teach Them How to Fish
Food for Thought
: Individual/Small Group/Team Discussion Questions
Other Books by Jon Gordon
About the Illustrator
The Positive Dog: A Story About the Power of Positivity
Introduction
Matt and Bubba
The Benefits of Being Positive
Simple as a Smile
Feed with Laughter
Take a Thank-You Walk
Build Your Gratitude Muscle
A Day of Gratitude
Tell Yourself Positive Stories
Get to
instead of
Have to
Blessed
instead of
Stressed
Turn Complaints into Solutions
Fear or Faith
Challenges or Opportunities
An Opportunity
The Positive Dog Grows
Positive Energy is Contagious
Positive Boomerang
Feeding Others
Love
Encouragement
No Ordinary Day
Negativity Serves a Purpose
What Would Bubba Do?
A Special Day
Two Positive Dogs are Better than One
Feed the Positive Dog
: Action Plan
The Positive Pledge
Two Positive Dogs are Better than One
Feed your team with positivity
About the Illustrator
Other Books by Jon Gordon
The Power of Positive Leadership: How and Why Positive Leaders Transform Teams and Organizations and Change the World
Chapter 1
: From Negative to Positive
Chapter 2
: Real Positive
Notes
Chapter 3
: Positive Leaders Drive Positive Cultures
Your Most Important Job
Culture Beats Strategy
Know What You Stand For
More than Words
Positively Contagious
Create a Culture that People Feel
Invest in the Root if You Want the Fruit
You Must Keep Building Your Culture
Notes
Chapter 4
: Positive Leaders Create and Share a Positive Vision
A North Star
A Telescope and Microscope
Dabo Swinney's Vision
Keep the Vision Alive
Make the Vision Come Alive
My Vision
Chapter 5
: Positive Leaders Lead with Optimism, Positivity, and Belief
Believe It and You'll See It
If You Don't Have It, You Can't Share It
Feed the Positive Dog
Talk to Yourself
It's All How You See It
Tell Yourself a Positive Story
Challenge or Opportunity
Shark or Goldfish
Think Like a Rookie
Defeating Murphy
Inside Out
Distort Reality
Leadership Is a Transfer of Belief
Lead with Faith Instead of Fear
Be an Over-Believer
Don't Stop Believing
Your Leadership Journey
Note
Chapter 6
: Positive Leaders Confront, Transform, and Remove Negativity
Your Positivity Must Be Greater than All the Negativity
No Energy Vampires Allowed
Why Wait?
The First Step Is to Transform
Start at the Culture Level
Remove the Negativity
Sooner or Later
Lead from Where You Are
Implement the No Complaining Rule
Michael Phelps's Positive Leadership
Don't Be Negative about Negativity
Chapter 7
: Positive Leaders Create United and Connected Teams
Connection Is the Difference
Team Beats Talent When Talent Isn't a Team
Dabo Swinney's Safe Seat
Collaborate and Facilitate
Don't Let Your Reptile Eat Your Positive Dog
Note
Chapter 8
: Positive Leaders Build Great Relationships and Teams
Love Does
Love Is the Greatest Leadership Principle on the Planet
Rules without Relationship Lead to Rebellion
Communication Builds Trust
Where There Is a Void in Communication, Negativity Fills It
Leading by Walking Around
Listening Is Communicating
Enhance Your Positive Communication
Be an Encourager
Believe in Others More than They Believe in Themselves
Help Your Team Become Unstoppable
Connect One on One
Be Committed
Serve to Be Great
Doing the Laundry
It's Not About You
Commit to Coach
Commitment Requires Sacrifice
When You Help Others Improve, You Improve
Elite of the Elite
Positive Leaders Care
Develop Your Caring Trademark
The Sandwich
Notes
Chapter 9
: Positive Leaders Pursue Excellence
Humble and Hungry
There Is No Finish Line
Demanding without Being Demeaning
Love and Accountability
Love Tough
Craftsmen and Craftswomen
The One Percent Rule
Clarity and Action
Chapter 10
: Positive Leaders Lead with Purpose
Find and Live Your Purpose
Share the Purpose
Inspire Others to Live Their Purpose
Purpose-Driven Goals
One Word
Life Word
Leave a Legacy
Give People Great Stories to Tell
Life and Death
Notes
Chapter 11
: Positive Leaders Have Grit
Know What You Want
Know Your Why
Love It
Embrace Failure
Keep Doing Things the Right Way: Trust the Process
Ignore the Critics; Do the Work
Note
Chapter 12
: Lead the Way Forward
Acknowledgments
Bring the Power of Positive Leadership to Your Organization
Power of Positive Leadership Resources
Other Books by Jon Gordon
Stay Positive: Encouraging Quotes and Messages to Fuel Your Life with Positive Energy
Introduction
Chapter 1
5 Ways to Be More Positive
6 Ways to Get Better
5 Fs For Team Success
2 Keys to Help You Be Your Best
3 Truths About Leadership
5 Ways to Love Your Passengers today:
Three reminders today.
20 Things We Should Say More Often
Focus on your mental and emotional fitness today!
Tell yourself these 5 things today:
5 Ways to be a Positive Communicator Today:
Everyone Matters
Today I will
5 Things To Do Instead of Complain
20 Ways to Get Mentally Tough at Work, in Sports, and Life
Other Books by Jon Gordon
End User License Agreement
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
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The Jon Gordon Power of Positivity E-Book Collection
Jon Gordon
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ISBN 9781119747994 (ePub)
9780470893319 Energy Bus (ePub)
9780470550106 Shark Goldfish (ePub)
9781118234860 Positive Dog (ePub)
9781119351702 Positive Leadership (ePub)
9781119431046 Stay Positive (ePub)
THE ENERGY BUS
10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy
JON GORDON
To my mother, Nancy Gordon Nicolosi
Your strength and courage in the face of cancer will always inspire me. I love you from the depths of my heart.
Foreword
In many of my seminars I begin by asking people to stand up and do two things. First, I ask them to greet other people as if they are unimportant. After an initial chuckle or two, there’s a dull hum as everyone walks around trying to ignore each other. Then I stop them and ask them to continue to greet people, but this time, to do it as if the people they are greeting are long-lost friends they’re glad to see. The room erupts with laughter and the volume rises as people run around, smiling, hugging, and chatting with each other.
When the people in the audience sit down, I ask them, “Why do you think I had you do those two things—besides the fact that I’m from California?”
After the audience laughs, I tell them that the answer is positive energy. “To run a successful organization,” I say, “you must learn to manage people’s energy, including your own. When was there more energy in the room—during the first activity or the second?”
Of course, everyone shouts out, “The second!”
“What did I do to change the energy in the room?” I ask. Then I answer: “All I did was change your focus from a negative thought to a positive thought, and the energy of the room increased tenfold.”
What I just described to you is why I’m excited about Jon Gordon and The Energy Bus. Every morning you have a choice. Are you going to be a positive thinker or a negative thinker? Positive thinking will energize you.
When you get to work, you have another choice. You can catch people doing things right, or you can catch them doing things wrong. Guess which of those two activities energizes people more?
If you want to fuel your family, your career, your team, and your organization with spirit, read this book. Jon’s energy and advice will leap off the page and help you cultivate positive energy in everything you do—and you will make the world a better place for your having been here.
Thanks, Jon, for pumping us up and making sure we get on the right bus.
—Ken Blanchard
Co-author of The One Minute Manager® and Leading at a Higher Level
Acknowledgments
I truly believe that no one ever creates success alone. Everyone needs a positive team with supportive people at their side. I am thankful that I have been blessed with truly amazing people on my bus and journey through life.
First I must thank the driver of my family’s bus, my wife, Kathryn. You are the glue that keeps us together. Your support has made all the difference. Without you I would not be the man I am today. And I thank my children, Jade and Cole, for reminding me what matters most. Every day you make me want to be a better father. My favorite part of the day is asking about your success at bedtime. I love you.
My parents get a big thank you for always cheering as my bus drove on. You were invariably there supporting and loving me every step of the way.
Thank you to my brother for always challenging me and helping me improve this book. Your ideas, suggestions, and encouragement helped make this book the best it could be. I look forward to seeing your book next to mine in the bookstore. Also, special thanks to my grandfather Eddy, who at the age of 89 inspires me to live young, have fun, and enjoy the ride.
Thank you to my Chief Energy Officer, Daniel Decker. You are not just a business partner, but a true friend who has helped me grow as a leader and as a person. I appreciate every ounce of energy you pour into our mission. I am thankful God brought us together on the same bus.
Thank you to my friends and agents, Arielle Ford and Brian Hilliard. You have helped me pave the way to do the work I am here to do and I am forever grateful. You helped open the gates so my bus could drive through. Thank you for your confidence in me.
Thank you to Kate Lindsay, Shannon Vargo, Matt Holt, and the incredible team at John Wiley & Sons for seeing my vision for the road ahead and for making it possible.
To the other members of my team who not only provided fuel for our bus ride but who also got out and helped push when the bus broke down: Francis Ablola, thank you for all your hard work and web site creation. Shawn O’Shell, thank you for your amazing talent and design. Vince Bagni and Jim Careccia, thank you for continuing to spread the energy. Susan, thanks for the gifts you share with others.
Thank you to all my clients who allow me to work with your companies, organizations, teams, and people. I am grateful every day to get to work with so many wonderful people.
I’d like to thank Ken Blanchard, Danny Gans, Pat Williams, Dwight Cooper, Fran Charles, Linda Sherrer, Tom Gegax, Mac Anderson, and all the people who read and supported the book.
I’d like to thank all the subscribers to my weekly newsletter and the readers of my books. You have shared your life stories, your hearts, your pain, and your triumphs with me and I am honored that you trust me to be a part of your life and growth. We are all teachers and students and I learn so much from you.
Most of all I’d like to thank God. Thank you for the signs that show me the way. Thank you for the gift of Jesus. Your holy spirit flowed through me as I wrote this book. You strengthen me and you are the ultimate driver of my Energy Bus.
Introduction
Positive energy… . It’s a term being talked about a lot more frequently in conference rooms, classrooms, locker rooms, and even living rooms. Perhaps it’s because there is an abundance of new research that shows that positive people, positive communication, positive interactions, and positive work and team cultures produce positive results. Or perhaps at a deeper level we all know that every person, every career, every company, every organization, every family, and every team will have to overcome negativity, adversity, and challenges to define themselves and create success.
No one goes through life untested, and the answer to these tests is positive energy—not the rah-rah, cheering kind of positive energy, although there certainly is a time and a place for that as well. But rather, when I talk about positive energy I’m referring to the optimism, trust, enthusiasm, love, purpose, joy, passion, and spirit to live, work, and perform at a higher level; to build and lead successful teams; to overcome adversity in life and at work; to share contagious energy with employees, colleagues, and customers; to bring out the best in others and in yourself; and to overcome all the negative people (whom I call energy vampires) and negative situations that threaten to sabotage your health, family, team, and success.
Positive energy is very real, and in my work with thousands of leaders, salespeople, teams, coaches, organizations, teachers, athletes, moms, dads, and even children, I have witnessed the amazing power of positive energy. I have seen principals turn their schools around and enhance morale. Leaders have told me how they used my strategies to help their employees and teams become more successful. Cancer survivors have told me how they won with a positive attitude. Athletes have shared how they’ve overcome adversity to reach their goal. Hardworking employees have e-mailed me and told me countless stories of promotions and accomplishments at work. And one mom even called to tell me a story about her son Joshua who, after hearing that his mom and dad were getting a divorce, said he was going to try to be strong and positive through it all because positive people live longer, happier, and healthier lives. It turns out Joshua remembered what I said to him a year earlier when I spoke at his school about the importance of positive energy. Not only was I touched, but I was deeply inspired.
People like Joshua inspire me to write about and share positive energy because deep down I know it matters and I know it works. My hope is that you will use this book to cultivate positive energy in your own life and career and then share it with your colleagues, customers, organization, team, friends, and family. I’m confident that when you apply the principles in this book you’ll find greater happiness, enhanced success, higher performance, inspired teamwork, and significant results.
While this fable takes place in a business setting, please know that this book was written for everyone. We all are part of a team, and every member of our team—whether it’s our work team, sports team, family team, church team, or school team—can benefit from the 10 simple, powerful rules shared in this book. After all, positive people and positive teams produce positive results, and the essential ingredient is positive energy.
Chapter 1Flat Tire
It was Monday and Mondays were never good for George. He stood in his driveway looking at his car and shaking his head. He wasn’t surprised, really. Misfortune had been following him for the past few years like a dark rain cloud hovering over his life, and today was no different. His tire was completely flat, and George’s face was about to burst. “Not today!” he shouted as he opened the trunk only to find a flat spare tire.
He heard his wife’s words in his head: “You should get that fixed, George. One day you’re going to have a flat and wish you had a spare tire.”
Why does she always have to be right? he wondered. George thought of his neighbor Dave and ran down the block to see if he had already left for work. Dave worked downtown, too, and George was hoping to catch a quick ride with him.
George had an important meeting with his team at work, and today he couldn’t afford to be late. Not today. Especially not today. George punched the air with his clenched fist when he saw that Dave’s car was gone. Of course, he thought. Why would he still be here? That would be too easy.
As sweat poured from his brow, he ran back home, then stood in his driveway and looked at his cell phone trying to think of someone at work he could call. Think, think think, think think.
Then it dawned on him. He couldn’t think of one person at work he could call who would come pick him up. His only option left was his wife, and she was the last person he wanted to ask.
George walked in the house and heard the usual noise and chaos coming from the kitchen. He could hear the puppy jumping around and his wife trying to get the kids to sit still and eat their breakfast before heading off to school. He peered through the kitchen archway. As soon as the children saw him, the cheers erupted. “Hi, Daddy!” they yelled. His daughter came up to him and wrapped her arms around his hip. “I love you, Daddy,” she said as George barely acknowledged her. His son shouted, “Dad, can we play basketball right now?” George was like a reluctant celebrity in his own home. They wanted a piece of him, but he just wanted to hide in silence.
“No!” George shouted back. “It’s not a weekend. I have to get to work. Now both of you just please be quiet so I can ask your mother something. Honey, I have a flat tire and I have this really important meeting I have to get to today and I need your car!” he said frantically.
“What about the spare?” she asked.
“Of course you would bring that up. I never got it fixed.”
“Well, I can’t help you, George. I have to take the kids to school, then I have a dentist appointment, then I have to get the puppy to the vet, then I have a parent-teacher meeting. Should I continue? You’re not the only one who has things to do. You act like you’re the only important one in this family, but I run this house and this family and if I don’t have a car today, I can’t do my job.” She had become good at mounting a good offense to preempt George’s attacks.
“Yes, but if I’m late to this meeting, then I may not have a job,” he said.
As George and his wife continued bantering back and forth, their five-month-old puppy decided to say hello to George as well by jumping and slobbering all over him until he grabbed her by the collar and took her into her kennel. “Why did we get that dog, anyway?” he asked. “Do we really need to deal with a dog right now with all we have going on?”
“That’s real nice,” his wife said as their daughter started to cry, saying, “Daddy doesn’t love Sammy.”
“I can’t deal with this right now,” George said.
“You can’t seem to deal with anything anytime,” his wife countered.
“Can you just drop me off after taking the kids to school?” he asked. “I’ll still probably make it in time for the meeting.”
“I don’t have time, George. Didn’t you hear all I have to do today? I’ll hit serious traffic on the way back and then my day is gone. Why don’t you just take the bus?” she said. “It’s only about a mile to the bus stop.”
“The bus? Are you kidding me? The bus! I haven’t ridden on a bus since who knows when. Who takes the bus?” George asked, very frustrated.
“Well, today,” his wife answered bluntly, “you do. That’s who.”
“Fine,” George said as he grabbed his bag, stormed out of the house, and began his mile-long trek to the bus stop.
Bus #11 stopped in front of George, who was huffing, puffing, and swearing under his breath. What a surprise, George thought. I actually made the bus. With my luck I figured I would miss it.
As George stepped on the bus, he made eye contact with the driver, who had the two brightest eyes and the biggest smile he had ever seen.
“Good day to you today, Sugar!” she cheered.
George just grumbled and took his seat. What’s so good about it? he thought.
But her eyes never left him as she watched him walk to his seat through her rearview mirror.
George could feel her eyes on him. Why is she looking at me? I paid the fare, he thought.
He could see her big, never-ending smile in the rearview mirror and wondered, Does this woman ever stop smiling? Doesn’t she know it’s Monday? Who smiles on Monday?
“Where you going?” she asked.
George pointed to himself. “Me?”
“Yeah, you, Sugar. I haven’t seen you on my bus before and I know everyone on this route.”
“To work at the NRG Company,” he answered.
“That building downtown with the big lightbulb on it?” she asked excitedly.
“Yes, we make lightbulbs,” answered George, who wished he had had time to get a paper so he could bury his head in it.
“So what do we owe the pleasure of having you on my bus today?” she asked.
“Flat tire,” he said. “I hate taking the bus but I have a meeting I have to get to with my team and I had no other choice.”
“Well, you just sit back, relax, and don’t worry about a thing. You may not like taking the bus but I gotta tell you this is no ordinary bus. This is my bus and you’re going to enjoy the ride. My name is Joy. What’s yours?”
George mumbled his name hoping she would just leave him alone. His words were short and so was his fuse. Even on his best days George was not a man who enjoyed chitchatting, and he certainly didn’t feel like talking to a bus driver who seemed like she had drunk one too many cups of coffee and of all names hers had to be Joy. Figures, he thought. Joy was something that had certainly been lacking in his life. He couldn’t remember the last time he was happy. I bet she has no worries, he thought. All she has to do is drive a bus each day and smile and be nice to strangers. Sure, she can be all cheery and smile at me, but she knows nothing about me. She doesn’t know the stress I deal with each day. She doesn’t know the responsibilities I face at work and at home. Wife, boss, kids, employees, deadlines, mortgage, car payment, and a mom who is sick with cancer. She doesn’t know how drained I feel.
But she did know. Every day they walked on and off her bus, and she could spot them immediately. They came in all shapes, ages, colors, and sizes: men, women, white, black, Chinese, white collar, and blue collar. Yet all had a similar energy about them. She could see and feel it immediately. Lifeless. No kick in their step. Like a light had been turned off inside them. She could tell the people who shone brightly and those who had a subtle dim. She called them Dimmers. They walked around like zombies just trying to get through the day. No purpose, no spirit. No energy. As if it had been sucked out of them by the daily grind of life. She could tell the men who had given up their dreams. She knew the women who were working by day and taking care of a family by night. And she heard the complaints all the time. Too many people were overstressed, overtired, and overworked. That’s why she made it her mission to be an Energy Ambassador and to try to energize everyone who came on her bus. That’s why she called her ride the Energy Bus. And if anyone could use an energy boost, it was George.
“You know you came on my bus for a reason, George,” she said firmly to him. “Everyone does.”
George snapped back, “No, I came on your bus because I had a flat tire.”
“You can choose to look at it that way, George, or you can see the big picture here. Everything happens for a reason. Don’t forget that. Every person we meet. Every event in our life. Every flat tire happens for a reason. You can choose to ignore it or ask what that reason is and try to learn from it. Every problem has a gift for you in its hands as my man Richard Bach says. You can choose to see the curse or the gift. And this one choice will determine if your life is a success story or one big soap opera. And while I love soap operas, George, I don’t like seeing real life people like you living them. And George, I got to tell you that from the look of you, you’re not making the right choice. So choose wisely, George, choose wisely.”
At that the bus stopped and George got off as fast as he could, feeling more like he had been hit by a bus rather than riding on one. “Choose wisely; soap opera” stuck in his head. Whatever, he thought and shrugged it off. His team was waiting for him and he hated being late.
Joy didn’t always like hitting her passengers straight between the eyes with the truth, but with the stubborn ones like George, she knew there was no other way. It was the stubborn ones who often had the most potential. She knew because many years ago she had been just like him. Down, out, tired, and negative. People had offered help but she had never accepted it. She had been angry at the world and hadn’t thought she deserved it. It was ironic how the people who needed help the most were often the most closed off from receiving it. She had had a big coat of armor just like George did now, so sometimes the blunt truth was the only way through it. Joy figured she would never see George again but hoped that at least her piercing words would do some good.
Chapter 2Good News and Bad News
That evening George sat in the car repair shop waiting for his tire to be replaced. It was taking much longer than it should and as usual George was growing anxious and impatient. He didn’t like waiting: waiting in lines for the movies, waiting in traffic, or waiting in line at the grocery store. He always picked the wrong line and of course the person in front of him always had a product without a price tag so a manager needed to be called and the product had to be found and well, you know. George felt as if the world conspired to inconvenience him. How long could it take to replace a tire? he wondered.
At last the mechanic walked briskly into the room. “Sir, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that your car isn’t destroyed and you’re still here.”
“What are you talking about!” George shouted. “It’s only a flat tire!”
“Well, that’s more good news, Sir. The flat tire prevented you from driving the car. While replacing the tire, I remembered seeing a notice from the manufacturer about your make and model so I had a hunch to do a check on the brakes and sure enough they were completely worn down. At any moment they could have gone, and you would have had no way of stopping. If you had hit a wall or something, you would be as flat as your tire. You’re lucky to be here, Sir. It’s been a common problem with your year, make, and model and you should have received notification of the recall.”
George remembered seeing some letter from his car manufacturer but had just thought it was another sale mail trying to take his money and so he had thrown it away.
“The bad news,” the mechanic continued, “is that the part takes about two weeks to get here from the manufacturer, so we’ll need to keep the car here and once the part comes in we’ll be able to have it ready that day.”
Just great, George thought, not even realizing the good news he had just heard. The only things he was thinking about were having his car in the shop for two weeks and getting home. Just one more inconvenience for an inconvenient life.
Chapter 3The Long Walk Home
Instead of calling his wife to come get him, George decided to walk home the two or so miles from the repair shop. He walked more today than he had in several years, but at this point he didn’t feel like talking to anyone, especially his wife. Car in the repair shop for two weeks, he thought. What else could go wrong? He was near his breaking point. Just last night his wife had told him she was unhappy in their marriage and that George’s negativity was making the entire family miserable. She had given him an ultimatum. Change or it was over. It wasn’t the first of their marital problems and certainly it wasn’t the first time she had told George he was negative. But now it was real and he didn’t want to lose the woman he loved. He knew she loved him, too, but, as she had said no matter how much she loved him, she wouldn’t live with someone who made her life so miserable.
He vowed to change but for the first time in his life he was at a loss. He felt like his life was spinning out of control and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. He had always been able to fix every problem and rise to every occasion to meet any challenge, especially in his marriage, yet now he felt truly powerless. As if his life was being lived by someone else while he watched it unravel. That night he had yelled to the heavens asking for help and had woken up with a flat tire. Some help, he thought. Just one more problem I don’t need right now.
George walked briskly hoping to get home in time to read the kids a book. It was one of the few things he enjoyed doing and it was something they loved as well. Whenever he was working in his home office, they would always come in and say it was time for him to read a book, which he always did. His two kids were his driving force. He loved his family and he wanted to be able to provide for them and give them everything he had never had. They had a beautiful home. The school district was one of the best in the state and the children thrived. He and his wife drove new cars and did their best to keep up with the Joneses, the Smiths, and whoever else they were supposed to keep up with. Yet with this family also came great pressure and responsibility. Work hadn’t been going so well and his last review was very troubling. His team was in disarray. Their productivity was in the toilet and George had been told that if he didn’t get it together, he would be replaced. For the first time in his life his job was in serious jeopardy.
So as George walked, he thought of his family, his wife’s ultimatum, and his job. He was in danger of losing it all, and the car problem was the final straw. Something good has to be coming my way, he thought. It can’t continue like this or else I’m done. “My life wasn’t always like this!” he shouted to the stars. “I was a young go-getter once. Everyone talked about my great potential. I was a rising star in my company. My future was bright. I squeezed the juice out of life. Now I can’t even get my hands on a piece of fruit. I can’t take this anymore!” he yelled. “Please help me!” he shouted as he looked up to the moonlit sky.
The air was silent and George heard nothing except the sound of his own breath. He was waiting for something. A word, a sound, a bolt of lightning. He wasn’t sure what but something.
Chapter 4George Wakes Up
George woke up the next morning feeling tired, anxious, and stressed as usual. Every day he wondered what else was going to go wrong, but at least today he knew he wouldn’t have car problems. “Do you want me to drive you today?” his wife asked. “I do have time.”
“No, it’s okay,” he answered. “I’ll take the bus. It’s not that bad. Except for the driver.”
“What’s wrong with the driver?” she asked.
“Long story, I’ll tell you later,” he said as he put on his sneakers for his trek to the bus stop. Then his mood turned even more sour as he thought about seeing the bus driver, who had insulted him. “Choose wisely; soap opera” stuck in his head. Who does she think she was talking to? He shook his head and then turned his attention toward his sneakers because it became painfully obvious that he wasn’t able to untie his shoes. The laces were tied in 20 different knots, and he knew full well that his kids had been playing in his closet again. He threw his shoes against the wall, breathed a big huff, and just sat in painful silence.
More silence.
A minute later he looked in the mirror above his dresser and saw himself as he heard a voice from his own conscience saying, “You, the bus driver was talking to you. You’re the one with the failing marriage. You’re the one who is about to get fired, who now doesn’t even have a car to drive to work and can’t even put on your own shoes. You’re the one living a soap opera.”
The realization hit him unexpectedly. He couldn’t disagree with Joy. She was right. His life and career had hit rock bottom. Even his boss and biggest supporter and mentor had sat in his office yesterday and told him he couldn’t vouch for him any more.
“I can’t carry you, anymore,” his boss said.
“I don’t want to be carried,” George replied.
“But that’s what I’ve been doing. Everyone’s asking me, what happened to George and I’m saying I don’t know but he’ll get it together. Well, now they are looking at me saying he better get it together or else you’ll both be gone. I love you, George, like a son, but I can’t let you bring me down, too. I’ve worked too hard for this. I have kids in college.”
“I will get it together,” George declared.
“We’ll see,” said his boss. “As my old football coach used to say, ‘We don’t talk this game, we play it.’ So I hope to see action soon because if you don’t get it together, then we both know what has to happen.”
Fired was a word George never thought he would hear and now he was hearing it all too frequently in the same sentence with his name. I need to try to turn this around today, he thought. How? I have no idea.
Chapter 5No Joy on the Bus
George finally got his shoes on and as he walked to the bus stop, Joy the bus driver and her smile popped in to his head. Maybe she’s not all that bad. After all, she pegged you, George, he thought to himself. But do I really need another person telling me how much my life stinks? I mean, not only do I have to hear it from my boss and my wife, but now I even have a bus driver and total stranger on me. Who would be next to tell me what a loser I am, the mailman?
He made it to the bus stop in plenty of time and waited for Bus #11 to pull up expecting to see Joy at the wheel, but when the bus arrived, Joy was nowhere to be found. Instead a man was at the wheel and he certainly didn’t have the smile nor the welcome she had.
George wondered what had happened to her. He felt bad for being rude to her. After all, she was only trying to be nice and it wasn’t her fault my life is in the toilet, he thought. George sat quietly on the bus. No conversation, no smiling, and certainly no energy. He thought about yesterday’s meeting with his boss and the meeting he had with his team. He knew some changes had to happen and they had to happen quickly. He was ready to do something. What he wasn’t sure but he knew he needed to do something to save his job, his family, and his marriage. He would start today, he thought.
Chapter 6The Rules
George arrived even earlier the next day at the bus stop. He sat on the bench and thought about work yesterday and how he had wanted to make an impact and get things moving in the right direction but as usual one crisis had led to another, and he and his team had spent most of the day dealing with conflict and putting out fires rather than getting something done. George thought about each member of his team and how each one contributed to his growing problems. I should fire every one of them. The thought made him smile but then reality set in and he knew there was no way he could do that. If anything he was the one who would be leaving the company before any of them. Besides, they weren’t bad people. He had even hired a few of them. They had just lost their way somehow, he thought. Like a bad marriage, he figured, where you can’t finger any one thing as the cause, yet you know it just isn’t right. George was in such deep thought that he didn’t hear Bus #11 pull up. When he looked up he saw Joy once again at the wheel and her smile made him smile.
“Weeellllll look aheeeeeerr. Look who we have here today. How you doing, Sugar? I didn’t think I would see you again.”
“Me neither,” answered George. “I was on the bus yesterday, too, but you weren’t here. Where were you?” he asked.
“Tuesday’s my day off, Sugar. It’s the day I take care of my sick father. He can’t remember anything anymore. He doesn’t remember his name nor his pride and joy. Could you imagine not being able to remember me! Not easy to see your father every week and he has no idea who you are.”
“I’m sorry,” said George, feeling bad that he hadn’t thought she had a care in the world. Everything is not always as it seems.
“Don’t be sorry, Sugar. It’s part of life. Every one of us got challenges. Everyone who comes on this bus has problems. Some got marriage problems, health problems, family problems, work problems, and some got all kinds of problems. It’s part of life and I’m just another person on the bus who’s got another problem.”
“But you’re so happy and cheery,” said George. “How do you stay so happy?”
“It’s just what I’m all about, Sugar. It’s because I love life. It’s because I love you. And it’s because I love me. How can I love myself if I don’t love you? How could I love myself if I don’t love everyone? You see we’re all connected and I love it all. Even the ones who are hard to love.”
Like me, George thought.
“Yes, like you, George,” she said, reading his mind.
“And how about you?” she asked. “What are you doing on my bus again? I thought we had seen the last of you after you ran off the bus faster than Carl Lewis at the 1984 Olympics. I consider myself blessed not once but twice with your presence, so please do tell.”
George told her about the flat tire, the repair shop, the brakes, and how he could have crashed if he had driven the car and how he would have to take the bus for about two weeks.
“Well, that’s just great, George. The fact that you are going to be riding on my bus is a great thing. As I said the other day, you’re on my bus for a reason. I didn’t know why exactly then but I do know now.”
George asked why curiously, not quite catching on. “What’s so great about having your car in the shop for two weeks?” he asked.
“Man, your head is hard to crack. But I’m going to be gentle with you. Look up there, George, to the right of the mirror. Tell me what you see.”
“A sign,” said George.
“That’s right, a sign. And what does the sign say?”
“It says THE 10 RULES FOR THE RIDE OF YOUR LIFE.” Underneath this headline was a list of 10 rules that George couldn’t really make out. He didn’t have his reading glasses on and the words were blurry. Besides the sign’s letters were handwritten and not very legible.
“That’s right, Sugar. All my long-term passengers learn these 10 rules. We talk about them often. And now I get to share them with you. I’m so excited!” she cheered.
