Make something Happen

Some people swim, and some people let the current push them.  In life you meet those who let the current push them when with just a little effort they could swim to a more pleasant place.  Once Kadizzle heard a stump preacher say " Don't ever ask God for anything, take it".  The same preacher said " Do you realize that when you kneel down to pray you are in a perfect position to be kicked in the ass?".  There is some wisdom in all this.  In life you either make something happen or you let it happen.  The huge wheel on my good ship suffered a broken spoke. The wheel is made from stainless steel and the broken wheel needed the aid of a good welder.  Kadizzle went to the welding shop in town and was told it would be weeks before the wheel could be fixed.  Driving down the street the next day Kadizzle saw a pipeline welders truck sitting in front of his home.  Now if you can weld on a pipeline you are probably a pretty good welder.  Kadizzle knocked on the door and the nice young welder said sure he could fix the wheel.  So here we are a few days later and the wheel is fixed. Welding the wheel without leaving burn marks was not easy, but the welder did a great job, and Kadizzle is over joyed.

Now what is the point of this story?  Kadizzle believes so much can be accomplished by simply asking. The other day Kadizzle and Binki wanted to stay in a nice hotel, but we did not want to pay too much to do it.  What is the solution?  Ask to pay less.  After asking and negotiating we got a lower price and they gave us a suite rather than the typical room. The problem is most people are afraid to ask.  Somehow they think it is embarrassing to ask for a better deal.  Turn the table on this thought process.  The guy selling you the car is not embarrassed to ask too much for the car, he is not embarrassed to sell you extra crap you don't need.  So why should you be embarrassed to ask for a discount?

The people who get kicked around are the people that lay down.  Like that preacher said kneel down bend over and you can expect to get kicked. 

There is one moral thing about asking. When you ask the world for something think how you can give the world something.  Back to the boat wheel.  Kadizzle paid the welder well for fixing the wheel, but Kadizzle also invited the welder to go for a nice sail on the boat.  So the welder may in the end come out with more than he expected.  Once someone does you a good deed you should try your best to pay them back.  Many times when a clerk or waitress does something nice for you a simple way to do a good deed is to remark to the manager what a good job the person did.  You can always write a thank you or you can speak well of the business.  On the big lake there used to be two terrible marina managers.  Farther down the lake at Indian Hills the people were as nice as could be.  Kadizzle always made it a point to speak highly of them. The old saying, " What goes around comes around?"  has a lot of truth.  So try to do good deeds.  The pay it forward thing works.  Kadizzle cannot think of how many times a stranger has got him out of a bind. 

Kadizzle and Jasper Little bottom have always invited bicycling and kayaking strangers into our home.  We met some great people and made some good friends.   Once when Kadizzle was gathering up some strays bicycling a fried said I could never do that.  Kadizzle asked the person whey they could not assist a stranger by inviting them home to sleep and shower.  The friend said you might get robbed or murdered.  Now how many people are riding a bike across country just looking for a chance to rob or murder someone?  When you live in that world of fear you miss so much and you have put yourself in jail.  Go forth a prosper. Be nice, and enjoy what time you have.  You never know when the battery will go dead.