I was never a really good student. One day my college biology professor invited me into his lab after school. I was nervous. He brought me over to his demonstration table and proceeded to pour out, onto the desktop, the contents of three, what appeared to be, empty beakers. To my amazement, the top of the desk burst into flames. “Wow!” I exclaimed, “What was that?” He replied, “A question… I can’t believe it!” He was referring to the fact that I had spent most of the first semester in his class without ever asking a question. My grades showed it. I was getting a “D” and he quickly pointed out to me that it was not because “D” was my first initial.

Have you ever looked at your performance in life or in business and thought to yourself, “I can do better than that!” Look at your place on the scoreboard. Are you proud of your ranking or are you honestly better than that? Perhaps the answer is just a question away. “How can I do better, be better, perform better?” We are surrounded by some of the very best minds available; friends, family, coworkers and people that share our community. All you need to do is put away your fear of hearing the answer and ask for help, ask for guidance and then act on what you hear…

“How did you do that?” I asked in my professor in reference to the pyrotechnics on the desk. His answer, “It’s called FLASHPOINT… and it happens whenever all of the necessary elements come together; what once seemed invisible, bursts into flames. In nature,” he went on, “it is always by accident. In life it is always by design.”Ask, hear and act! I got an “A” in Dr. Wakeman’s tough biology class that year!

How can I do, be, and perform better?

More articles like this can be found in “The Desert Wind,” my Monday morning blog series. (See the sidebar.) If you enjoy these inspirational messages, please click here to subscribe to my blog.

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