MY PERSONAL HOF

Recently I was reading about the Cooperstown Hall Of Fame and the honor of being chosen by the Baseball writers who vote on nominations and selections and the need for 75% of the electorate to enter the Hall.

It got me to thinking about my life and who if I were so self-absorbed would be in my personal HOF. (I must be… I’m doing it!) Going back over the years all I could come up with were teachers and business mentors, and my good friend Phil, people that accepted my limitations and still fostered my development. I tried to eliminate all family members because this had to be something that was objective and not out of love or appreciation. I was surprised that one can make a determination like that without prejudice.

I found that teachers (But certainly not all) had a strong impact on my young years of development up until my college days. Professors who judged my work and not me made a significant impact on my ability to thrive in the environments that I inhabited. I had self-confidence and found with that came to a drive to succeed and prove them and their confidence in me justified.

It took me to new mentors, people I worked under who showed me different kinds of approaches to life I never considered before. No matter what I knew or how old I was that everyone brings something to the table. You don’t need to speak but you do need to listen. You give advice when asked and when not asked you hold your tongue. The best way to end a conversation is to talk about yourself and what you contribute, prolonging it means asking who you talk to about themselves.

Believing in God does not mean going to church, it means doing his work outside of the church building. We can all talk the talk and fool ourselves and we forget that God is listening and may be the only one who is. Religion is a two-way street; with the only communication between God and me, you need not to get involved.

For some, saying “GOD IS GOOD!” is really only covering your bases without playing the infield.