Larry & Carole Beighey books are now available on Kindle

Kindle Books

My Wife, Carole's, 1st Book, The Waddodles of Hollow Lake: Law of the Woodland is now live on amazon.com in Kindle format ... It can be purchased in the Kindle Store for $5.00 ... I formatted it for the Kindle and it looks almost perfect ... I am proud of myself.

My book, A Drop in the Bucket with a forward by Newt Gingrich is also "live" in Kindle Format ... $9.99.

I intend to make all 5 of Carole's Books available in Kindle Format.

The Waddodles of Hollow Lake: Calamity on East Bay
The Waddodles of Hollow Lake: Journey to West Shore
The Waddodles of Hollow Lake: Mighty Oaks
The Waddodles of Hollow Lake: Ruffed Grouse Courtship Ceremony

She is now working on Book 6, The Waddodles of Hollow Lake: Big Casey, and I am working on my next book, More Drops in the Bucket.

You can download an abbreviated FREE sample of the "live" books onto your Kindle ... Check it out.

Please feel free to pass the word around to your friends.

Life is a contact sport,

Larry Beighey

NEWT GINGRICH 12 STEP STIMULUS RECOVERY PLAN

.

Newt Gingrich's American Solutions group has produced a proposal for a genuine stimulus / economic recovery package.

[1] Payroll Tax Stimulus. With a temporary new tax credit to offset 50% of the payroll tax, every small business would have more money, and all Americans would take home more of what they earn.
[2] Real Middle-Income Tax Relief. Reduce the marginal tax rate of 25% down to 15%, in effect establishing a flat-rate tax of 15% for close to 9 out of 10 American workers.
[3] Reduce the Business Tax Rate. Match Ireland’s rate of 12.5% to keep more jobs in America. [4] Homeowner’s Assistance. Provide tax credit incentives to responsible home buyers so they can keep their homes.
[5] Controlling Spending So We Can Move to a Balanced Budget. This begins with eliminating Congressional earmarks and wasteful pork-barrel spending.
[6] No State Aid Without Protection From Fraud. Require state governments to adopt anti-fraud and anti-theft policies before giving them more money.
[7] More American Energy Now. Explore for more American oil and gas and invest in affordable energy for the future, including clean coal, ethanol, nuclear power and renewable fuels.
[8] Abolish Taxes on Capital Gains. Match China, Singapore and many other competitors. More investment in America means more jobs in America.
[9] Protect Our Right to Vote in the Workplace. We must protect a worker’s right to decide by secret ballot whether to join a union.
[10] Replace Sarbanes-Oxley. This failed law is crippling entrepreneurial startups. Replace it with affordable rules that help create jobs, not destroy them.
[11] Abolish the Death Tax. Americans should work for their families, not for Washington.
[12] Invest in Energy and Transportation Infrastructure. This includes a new, expanded electric power grid and a 21st century air traffic control system that will reduce delays in air travel and save passengers, employees and airlines billions of dollars per year.

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS

My wife is a remarkable person. What she has accomplished at this point in her life makes any of my accomplishments pale in comparison.

Her first husband died the day after Christmas, leaving her with four children, ages two to nine. She was 30! Besides her own grief, she still had to cope with explaining the loss of their father to these four small children. They just couldn’t understand what had happened to their father. When was he coming back?

While vacationing at her brother’s lake cabin in Michigan’s northern woods, she watched a mother raccoon and her babies feeding nightly at the stump outside the kitchen window. The idea came to write her story through the eyes of animals, believing it would be less painful for children to relate to their loss.

Carole had a dream about writing but could never imagine how she would find the time, especially after marrying me and having two more children … six children under the age of 11.

It was a great idea, but when would she ever find the time?

One Saturday afternoon, I told her that I was going to take the six kids out for about three or four hours and that she should do whatever she wanted.

When I returned home, I found that she had sat down at a typewriter (there were few personal computers in those days) and had written 30 pages of her book, The Waddodles of Hollow Lake. That was 31 years ago.

By sneaking a few minutes here or there – or staying up half the night after everyone had gone to bed – she typed away.

In 1986, we bought a personal computer and after a few quick lessons, Carole learned how to use a simple word processor. Soon, she was proficient in using the computer and had moved up to the most advanced word processors.

That was 1500 type-written pages ago.

She has now had five books published in the series, The Waddodles of Hollow Lake, and has written enough draft material for 2or 3 more books. (www.waddodles.com)

What started out as a dream has turned into a reality! It just proves the point that if you set your mind to something, you can find a way to get it accomplished, despite difficult odds and situations.

Remember to “follow your dreams” and as Theodore Waddodle, one of the raccoons in Carole’s books says, “Always look forward, never behind.”

MAKE SOMETHING HAPPEN

Many years ago, I was coaching a baseball team in a 13-15 year old league. I kept telling the players that they could not always just play the game, but that sometimes you had to do whatever it takes to “make something happen.”

In one game, we were losing in the late innings and I implored the batter to “make something happen.” We had runners in scoring position with two out, but the batter hit a routine ground ball to the shortstop and I thought the inning would be over. The runner was going to be out by a couple of strides. Surprise! He slid into first base, startling the first baseman. He dropped the ball. The runner was safe and we won the game.

This was about a baseball game, but it works in all aspects of life: Make something happen.

SHAKE HANDS

The glass container plant that I managed had over 1000 employees and ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I had been there about seven or eight months when the Christmas/New Year period approached. I thought I should find some way to say “thank you,” but it was very difficult since so many people worked on different shifts and it was a large plant covering acres of land. Fortunately, everyone had to funnel through one time clock (a practice I didn’t like … punching a time clock was demeaning … as hard as I tried I never got rid of the time clock; but, that is another subject.)

At the end of each shift, I positioned myself at the time clock and as each employee came by I shook their hand and thanked them for the job they had done for the company and for me.

I got all kinds of favorable reactions, including some women trying to kiss me. I was much younger then. I joked that my wife was very jealous and would “deck me” if I went home with lipstick on my face.

The most poignant and memorable experience was the woman who had walked all the way out to the parking lot in the ice and snow, then turned around and walked back in. She approached me and said, “I have been working here for over 25 years and no one has ever thanked me for the job I have done.” She gave me a quick peck on the cheek and said, “Thank you.”

REMEMBER NAMES

OF COURSE, THIS WAS THE GOOD OLD DAYS BEFORE COMPUTERS AND PDF'S

One of the most useful and successful techniques in getting along with people is to remember their names.

Early in my business career, I learned a useful technique that helped me gain the respect of my personal and business acquaintances.

I traveled extensively, visiting the many sales offices and manufacturing plants of my company. The visits would be of a short duration, but I would visit each site frequently.

I decided to build a logbook for each location by writing down the names of each individual. I would try to remember each person's name and other tidbits of information about them such as their wife’s name, birthdays, children's names and other interesting facts about them. As soon as I left them, I would jot down as many names and facts as I could remember. Later, when I was alone, I would enter my notes into my logbook.

When it was time to visit each location, I would pull out my logbook and browse through the names and facts. Many times I could not remember who the people were or what they looked like, but when I saw them it immediately came back to me. I would walk up to them and say, "Hi, Bob, how are you doing today? How is Mary? Is Mike still playing Little League baseball?" They would remark, "How do you remember all that?"


Sometimes I wouldn't see an individual for over a year, but by just reviewing my logbook of names before I arrived, I could recall many facts.

I have used this technique since the early 1960s and found it to be very successful. Everyone likes to hear their name and talk about their life and family. By mentioning their name or by asking a simple question, people will feel a close relationship with you and you will have earned their respect and admiration.

DRILL BABY DRILL

THIS IS "DROP" 29, IF YOU BUILD IT THEY WILL COME, FROM A DROP IN THE BUCKET ... IT WAS WRITTEN IN 2006 ... 4 YEARS AGO ... IT IS WORTH INCLUDING HERE AS LITTLE, IF NOTHING, HAS BEEN DONE BY THE GOVERNMENT IN OVER FOUR [4] YEARS.

If You Build It, They Will Come

Serving as my company’s Energy Czar during the 1970’s energy crisis, I gained some extensive experience in the energy field. In my opinion, during that period, the consumer got caught up in a battle between the government and the energy companies. They said there was a shortage of fossil fuels; but, surprisingly, when the price of oil got high enough, there was no longer a shortage.

There are several long-term energy areas – such as solar, wind, corn alcohol, etc. – that are research-intensive and expensive but give promise as long-term solutions.

For years, I have felt that there was some middle ground for energy growth. These would include drilling in the ANWR fields of Alaska and off the coast of Florida. But in my opinion, the one that has the greatest potential is nuclear power.

Only 20% of the U.S. energy supply is nuclear and there have not been any new plants put in operation since 1979 – over twenty-five years ago. In fact, a nuclear power plant has been built in the Northeastern area of the United States and has NEVER been turned on.

Are there dangers? Of course … but don’t the rewards far outweigh the risks?

Worldwide, as of May 2005, there are 439 nuclear energy reactors in operation and 137 under construction, planned or proposed. Of the 137, NONE are in the United States.

So where are they?

France: 78% of the French energy supply is nuclear, with 59 reactors in operation.

China: 15 reactors operational with 31 in the works.

Russia: 17 nuclear reactors operating, generating 17% of Russian energy usage; they have another 13 underway or planned.
Japan: 25% of their power is generated from 54 operating reactors, and they have another 14 in their future.

South Korea: 20 nuclear generation plants producing 40% of their requirements; another 8 planned.

England and Canada: These two nations have more reactors per capita than the U.S., with 40 plants in operation and 5 under construction or planned.

What do these countries know that we in the U.S. don’t?

With the right regulations and controls, nuclear power can be our shortest path to achieving a self-sufficient energy level that will greatly reduce our dependency on imported oil.

Surprisingly, decreasing our dependence on foreign oil will increase the oil supply and decrease the price of the imported oil … The Arab sheiks need the money … Supply and Demand wins again.

THE 4 F'S

Freedom, Faith, Friends and Family! These are my 4 F’s.

I first heard President George H. W. Bush (Bush 41) talk about them at a motivational seminar in Atlanta, Georgia shortly after he left office in the early nineties. I adopted the 4 F’s and use them to help guide me.

FREEDOM
In our hectic, day-to-day lives we seldom if ever take the time to think about and give thanks for our freedom. As I am writing this we are engaged in “The War on Terrorism.” The terrorists want to deny us our freedoms just like they did on 9/11. I don’t think we want to give up our hard earned sovereignty like women’s rights, voting, free expression and freedom of speech. It is a battle we must endure and win … “Don’t tread on us.”

FAITH
I feel it is so important to have faith in some higher level being. You must have beliefs and convictions to help get through our day-to-day lives. Isn’t it great that we have freedom of religion to be able to openly pray and meditate for our personal guidance.

FRIENDS
I have always said that you can count yourself lucky if you have more friends than you can count on one hand. I am talking about “Best Man” type of friends. These are the friends that will be there for you no matter what … a friend you can talk to for advice and counseling in strictest confidence … a friend that will help you financially if you find yourself in great need … a friend that will tell you straight even though it may affect your friendship.

I count myself lucky that I had four such friends. Unfortunately, I have lost three of them at early ages and the fourth was in a terrible automobile accident that left him less than 100%. He, too, recently died. My friends were there for me when I needed them and I think I served them well when they needed me.

FAMILY
The last F is for family. I saved it for last because I feel it is so important. When things are at a low level and you are most in need you can always turn to your family unit. We have always told our children that no one loves you like your spouse and your family. You can always count on your kin in a time of need.

As I have mentioned, it pleases my wife and I that our children’s best friends are their brothers and sisters. It makes us happy that our immediate and extended families are so close and caring for each other. Our door is always open to our family group as their doors are always open to us.

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS

My wife is a remarkable person. What she has accomplished at this point in her life makes any of my accomplishments pale in comparison.
Her first husband died the day after Christmas, leaving her with four children, ages two to nine. She was 30! Besides her own grief, she still had to cope with explaining the loss of their father to these four small children. They just couldn’t understand what had happened to their father. When was he coming back?
While vacationing at her brother’s lake cabin in Michigan’s northern woods, she watched a mother raccoon and her babies feeding nightly at the stump outside the kitchen window. The idea came to write her stories through the eyes of animals, believing it would be less painful for children to relate to their loss.
Carole had a dream about writing but could never imagine how she would find the time, especially after marrying me and having two more children … six children under the age of 11.
It was a great idea, but when would she ever find the time?
One Saturday afternoon, I told her that I was going to take the six kids out for about three or four hours and that she should do whatever she wanted.
When I returned home, I found that she had sat down at a typewriter (there were few personal computers in those days) and had written 30 pages of her book, The Waddodles of Hollow Lake. That was 31 years ago.
By sneaking a few minutes here or there – or staying up half the night after everyone had gone to bed – she typed away.
In 1986, we bought a personal computer and after a few quick lessons, Carole learned how to use a simple word processor. Soon, she was proficient in using the computer and had moved up to the most advanced word processors.
That was 1500 type-written pages ago.
She has now had two books published in the series, The Waddodles of Hollow Lake, and has written enough draft material for 5 or 6 books. (http://www.waddodles.com/) [UPDATE: FIVE BOOKS IN THE SERIES HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED AND 3 MORE ARE READY IN DRAFT FORM ... IN ADDITION A 500 RECIPE FAMILY COOKBOOK, MIMI AND ME, HAS BEEN RELEASED]
What started out as a dream has turned into a reality! It just proves the point that if you set your mind to something, you can find a way to get it accomplished, despite difficult odds and situations.
Remember to “follow your dreams” and as Theodore Waddodle, one of the raccoons in Carole’s books says, “Always look forward, never behind.”

CAPITAL GAINS

I think I understand the taxation on Capital Gains and Corporate Dividends. It is double taxation. The Federal Income Tax code taxes a corporation’s profits at the Corporate Tax Rate before any dividends are paid. When the corporation pays dividends to its stockholders, the stockholders dividends are again taxed. This is double taxation.
It is true that the elimination of the dividend tax would benefit the wealthiest taxpayers. However, a recent article in the USA Today newspaper indicates that 52 percent of the households paying taxes now own corporate stocks; so, the elimination of the tax on taxpayers’ dividends would decrease the taxes and increase the disposable income for a majority of the taxpayers. The wealthiest taxpayers will receive a much greater reduction in their income tax than a middle class taxpayer.
What I don’t understand and don’t see mentioned in any news broadcast or newspaper article is what the wealthiest taxpayers would do with the reduction in
income tax they receive from the elimination of the taxation on dividends. What will they do with the increase in disposable income they receive?
It only makes sense that one of two things will happen with the increase in disposable income that taxpayers have realized:
• Taxpayers will spend the additional disposal income to buy goods and services from stores and companies. This rise in demand should increase the sales and profit of companies, hopefully generating additional capital investment and creating jobs.
• If the taxpayers do not spend the additional disposable income on goods and services, they are certainly not going to “hide the money under the mattress.” They will reinvest the increased disposable income in stocks, bonds and/or CD's, creating more investment dollars for corporations producing goods and services
or for banks to loan to individuals.
In both cases, the money supply for goods and services in corporations and banks is going to increase, allowing them to increase capital investments and/or loans, creating more jobs and increasing the company's profits, allowing them to increase dividends.
It has been proven that this type of “trickle-down” economics will stimulate the economy by creating more capital investment, which will increase wages and jobs, thus improving individuals’ disposable and/or investment income.
As Ronald Reagan stated so eloquently, “The government does not create jobs and improve the economy by higher taxation. It is private enterprise, through capital investment, that increases corporate profits and increases jobs and individuals’ disposable income having the greatest impact on the economy.” (See “Economic Growth.”)

Economic Growth

This "drop" was written many years ago but I just had to "dust it off." I certainly was not in favor of the Stimulus Bill that was going to immediately create "shovel ready" jobs. Unfortunately, it is creating jobs in the government sector which are paid for out of our taxes and are not lasting.

I am writing this Drop in the Bucket on June 7, 2004, as we are remembering the passing of one of our greatest presidents, Ronald Reagan.

I was very impressed with a quote that Ronald Reagan made that I have not yet seen on the TV or newspapers as they remember Reagan with wall-to-wall coverage of his legacy. I was so moved by the message that I had it blown up and framed … it hung in our company conference room for many years during the 90’s and now hangs in my private office.

To me, Reagan captured the difference between the government and the private sector in one concise paragraph – it speaks for itself and I will include it here as it was said and printed.

• 
  
  “Economic growth is created by people who produce things. The more that’s produced to meet increasing demand, the more new jobs and services are created in turn. Other than short-term make-work projects, the government does not create jobs; the private sector does. How? By investing in new plants and equipment, and by researching and developing new products. And how does the private sector do all that? By having enough corporate profits to reinvest and enough incentives to make such expenditures desirable.”

I think he got it right … how about you?

Plan, Organize and Control

One of the most interesting jobs I ever had was teaching management principles to front-line supervisors in each of my company’s 13 plants. It required me to have a thorough understanding of management while allowing me to get to know every supervisor in every plant. Over the years, I have passed these principles, along with my thoughts and observations, on to my family.

Management

Management is defined as the setting and accomplishing of objectives through the planning, organizing and control of human and physical resources. Further, control is broken down into delegation and follow-up.

It is important – in fact, imperative – that all three functions (planning, organizing and control) be followed. Frequently, one or more of these functions is overlooked or merely given “lip service.”

A must-read book on these subjects is The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey.

I recommend that all people read this book or listen to the audio book.

Planning

A good plan should have three or four lofty goals that you strive to accomplish. Some possible goals might be:

• Meet financial objectives
• Provide a healthy home
• Provide a good quality of life for all family members

In “Have a Vision,” I shared with you my personal vision or mission and showed you my personal goals … one each in the spiritual, intellectual, physical and emotional areas.

Notice that these goals are general and lofty but contain no specific, measurable objectives. You must write measurable objectives that, when accomplished, will help you to reach your goals.

Organization

Any group must be organized if you are going to meet your objectives and reach your goals. Everyone cannot be allowed to “do their own thing.” There must be a chain of command.

Control

Finally, the organization must function effectively if the plans are going to be accomplished. To do this you must control the organization or unit. This is the important 3rd phase-control, which is broken down into delegation and follow-up.

Delegation

It is better to build a plan from the bottom-up than the top-down. Having everyone involved in the planning will ensure that everyone “buys into” the process.

It should be true that, if the objectives are accomplished, then the strategies and goals should be obtained as long as there are no external factors.

After the first management function – planning – has been developed by the group and delegated to the rest of the organization, how is the final step – control – accomplished?

Follow-up

It is common to see a good plan, organization and/or delegation fail because there was no follow-up. Too often, the approach is to delegate a project to an individual and then walk away from it.
This is a much-overlooked part of management and is the main reason that plans are not accomplished.

The Mayonnaise Jar

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the story about the mayonnaise jar.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large, empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.” The professor then produced two glasses of water from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. Then he stuck a bouquet of flowers in the jar.

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things – your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.”

“The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, your car.”

“The sand is everything else – the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.”

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised their hand and inquired what the water and flowers represented. The professor smiled. “I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem there’s always time to “Smell the Flowers.””

Meditation

In the mid-80s, I had a series of jobs that required me to affect the lives of a great many people – I guess you could have called me a “hatchet man.” I admit it made a big impact on me since I was causing great pain to many families at various stages in their lives … I looked for some solace to help me get through it.

I would consider myself a man of some religious belief. I started attending a daily 7AM service at a local church. I could attend the service and still make it to work on time even though, at some point, it was a 35-minute drive. I went every weekday morning that I was in town.

When I started going to the church, there were probably five or six other businessmen there and we were relegated to the “cry room,” a small, glassed-in room looking out onto the main sanctuary. Shortly thereafter, a new Pastor – an organized, witty, little Irishman in his 70’s - came into the church and the number of attendees grew to the point that we had to move into the main sanctuary.

I watched the daily attendance continue to rise until there were over 100 businessmen attending the daily service.

Before I realized it, I had gone to church every weekday for over 10 years … it made a big difference in my life. I found that these 20 minutes of daily meditation helped me get through the big decisions in my life and helped me deal with the effect I would have on other people’s lives.

During this period, I found myself on the other end of the ladder when I lost my job … I was 51, with two children in college.

I was fortunate to have found that these few minutes of thought, reflection and prayer each day helped me get through this difficult period and I recommend that all people find a few minutes for private meditation each day.

I Met God

It was a dark, rainy night when I met God. It was not the first time I met Him … As I mentioned in the Drop on “Meditation,” I prayed and meditated in a business men’s church group every week day for over 10 years. I still pray and meditate every day, all be it, not always in church but as I am exercising. I feel so cleansed mentally and physically when I am finished with my routine.

My communication with God had been through meditation and prayer but the most significant emotional event of His power and all knowing and caring presence was the night I met him face to face.

I was driving home from a late night meeting at my plant. It was about a 35-40 minute drive from the plant to my home. It was a terrible stormy night with lots of rain, sleet, thunder and lighting. I was traveling on the perimeter Interstate 285 around Atlanta, Georgia in the storm when my car had a tire “blowout.” I quickly worked my way over to the edge of the road and stopped.

I called AAA and was informed that, because of the bad weather, it would be a four-hour wait before they could get to me. Here I was stranded in a storm in my business suit and tie with a flat tire. I didn’t know what to do!

I noticed an exit a few hundred yards ahead so I decided to slowly work my way to and down the exit. I didn’t want to leave my car on the Interstate over night so I figured I could make my way down the exit and be in a better position to think thru my options.

As I sat pondering what I was going to do, a jeep pulled up behind me with a 30ish guy with a beard behind the wheel. He got out in the driving rain and started to walk towards my car. I was scared and hid my wallet under the seat … I didn’t know what he might do so I had my guard up.

I rolled down my window and he asked me what was wrong. I told him I had a flat tire. He said, “Do you have an umbrella?” I told him I did. He replied, “If you will hold the umbrella for me I will change the tire.”

As he was finishing the tire change the rain stopped. I got in the car and retrieved all my cash from my wallet - $80. I figured it was the least I could do for all his efforts.

When he finished I tried several times to give him the money but he just refused. All he said was for me to do a “good deed” for someone else in the future.

I said, “At least tell me your name so I can properly thank you.” He said, "You can call me God.” He jumped in his Jeep and drove down the road.

I am convinced there is a God and he watches over you and helps you in many ways … sometimes in very unexpected ways.

It was not the last time I have talked to God but it was the last time I met him face to face.

Have A Vision

To me, it was always a big help in a new business situation to understand the vision, goals and objectives necessary to accomplish your mission.

These same principles apply in your personal and family life. Family mission statements, or visions, are a way of transferring your highly effective business habits to your home life.

Your family and/or personal vision are the “big picture” of what you want to be. They display your beliefs and values. They are succinct and personal.

I have written a family and personal mission and the goals and objectives to accomplish them.

Writing down our values has led us to talk more about what we want out of our marriage, our family and our lives. I have them prominently displayed in our homes and have had them framed for each of our children.

Goals are lofty ideals that you continue to strive for but may never reach. I continue to reach for my goals every day – sometimes with little or no success – but the next day I pick myself up and start all over again.

Objectives are the specific things that are necessary to accomplish if you are going to reach your goals.


Having a vision has been a roadmap for success in my life. I have included it here for your perusal … I pray that in some small way it may be a positive influence in your life.

BEIGHEY FAMILY MISSION STATEMENT

TO CREATE A NURTURING PLACE OF FAITH, ORDER, TRUTH, LOVE, HAPPINESS AND RELAXATION; AND, TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR EACH PERSON TO BECOME RESPONSIBLY INDEPENDENT AND EFFECTIVELY INTERDEPENDENT IN ORDER TO SERVE WORTHY PURPOSES IN SOCIETY

LARRY BEIGHEY MISSION STATEMENT

WITH INTEGRITY, BE PROACTIVE AND VALUE-DRIVEN IN PHYSICAL, SPIRITUAL, EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL INTERACTIONS IN PERSONAL, FAMILY, BUSINESS AND SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS

GOALS

PHYSICAL
REACH AND MAINTAIN THE PROPER LEVEL OF BODY WEIGHT AND AEROBIC WELL-BEING FOR MY AGE AND HEIGHT

SPIRITUAL
PRACTICE, TEACH AND BELIEVE IN THE HOLY TRINITY – FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST

EMOTIONAL
CONTROL EMOTIONS ... BE PATIENT … REDUCE STRESS

INTELLECTUAL
CONTINUOUSLY EXPAND MY INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE

Cream Always Rises to the Top

Years ago, you could buy milk that was pasteurized or homogenized. Back in those days, milk only came in glass bottles … milk cartons had not been developed yet. Many people would buy the pasteurized milk since it was cheaper then the homogenized milk. Do you remember pasteurized milk? In a glass bottle, you could see a layer of cream above the milk. Before you opened the milk bottle you had to shake it up vigorously to mix the cream with the milk. When you would put it back into storage and let it sit long enough, that cream would always separate back to the top, with the milk underneath it.

Pasteurized milk is very much like human behavior. If you take someone with hidden talent and give them the opportunity, eventually their talent will rise to the top – just like with pasteurized milk.

Carole and I made a decision that we would not move our children once they were past the eighth grade. I had been in a position where I had seen families move around frequently and saw the influence it had on their children’s confidence and education. I turned down several promotions because it would have violated the trust our six children had placed in us to watch out for their well-being and education. Perhaps it hindered my advancement, but in the long run it all worked out.

We had about a five-year window between our first four children being out of high school and before the last two entered high school.

When the window opened, I went to the President of the company and told him I was ready to move if it would advance my career goal of being a Division President before the age of 50. He told me he would “put it in his hip pocket,” and at some point would get back to me. About two years later, we were on our way to Atlanta, Georgia, where we lived until I retired.

One of the obstacles we expected to encounter was the education of our two youngest children. We were sure that we would have to put our children in private school, but thought we would try the public school first. After one year, our daughters did not want to leave their school and go to a private school. Believing that the “cream always rises to the top,” we kept them in public school. We made the right decision.

Our daughter Elizabeth graduated with honors in her high school class. She went on to receive her degree from Penn State and achieved a middle management position with TBS Broadcasting, later to become Time Warner. She is now a stay-at-home mom with her two small children and a full-time Creative Memories Consultant with 17 consultants working under her.

Daughter Anne graduated high school as the “Outstanding Student.” She went on to Penn State and started to work as a summer intern in 1992 for Newt Gingrich before he became the Speaker of the House of Representatives … the rest of her career is told by the Former Speaker in the forward to this book. She is now a Senior Vice-President of Fleishman-Hillard in Washington, D.C. and specializes in the health care field. She has co-authored a book with Newt Gingrich entitled Saving Lives and Saving Money.

Not bad for two products of the public school system.

The moral of the story is that people often do not reach their full potential, but if you give them enough time and instill in them some self-confidence, eventually their talent will come out.

Just like pasteurized milk, an individual’s “cream will always rise to the top.”

Blog Administrative Detail

I have made all the Blog Posts that are from my 1st book, A Drop in the Bucket, in a Blue Font Color. All "Posts" from my upcoming book, More Drops in the Bucket are in a Black Font Color.

In addition, you can tell which are from the 1st book by searching on A Drop in the Bucket in the Label Posts ... All Posts from my upcoming book, More Drops in the Bucket carry its Label Name.

Bottomed Out

Did you ever have days when everything seems to go wrong … Those days when things get worse as the day goes on. I have experienced many of these types of days throughout my personal and business career. Like most people, I would complain about it to everyone and anyone who would listen – but I came to realize that no one really wants to hear about all your problems and worries.

My realization came from a vivid real-life experience that I had during the energy crisis of 1976. I was the Energy Czar for Brockway Glass Company. Brockway had drilled gas wells and had built a gathering system to pipe the gas over to the natural gas supplier. During the crisis, the gas company confiscated our gas and would not deliver it to our plants. Since glass manufacturing is an energy-intensive industry and we could not get enough natural gas, we had to shut the plants down and lay off all the people. We had only enough gas to keep the glass in the furnaces molten; there was not enough energy to manufacture any glass containers.

Every morning at 7 AM, I would have an emergency meeting with the President of the Glass Container Division to review where and how much energy we had so we could determine what our Emergency Operating Plan would be for that day. Since it was my job to procure the energy for the glass factories, I was under intense pressure and had many problems and worries.

Naturally, I would tell my “tale of woe” to anyone who would listen. During one of the worst mornings of the crisis, I was in the men's room when a co-worker walked in. He was a happy-go-lucky eight-to-fiver who liked to tell stories, shoot the breeze and gossip. He asked me, "How you doing?" I started to unload on him about all my woes and worries. Well, he hurriedly washed his hands and bolted out the door ... he couldn't wait to get away from me.

It hit me like a ton of bricks that people really did not care or want to hear about your problems. From that day on, I have tried not to burden people with my worries and problems and found that the best approach when someone asks you, “How are you doing today?" is to simply grit your teeth and reply "I have bottomed out ... I’m on the way back ... I’m doing fine."