Richard Hawk’s Blog

Hello Again,

Last week, I traveled to Oakland, CA. On the second leg of my trip I sat in the coveted last seat on the plane (aisle). Next to me was a newlywed couple on their way to Hawaii for a 10-day honeymoon. They were both showing the typical affection young lovers do in public (holding hands, giggling, looking adoringly at each other, etc.) However, the husband, Jeffrey, was a bit agitated because he had to check one of their bags before getting on the plane. He got over it quickly and we settled in to an uneventful flight—until just before we landed when Jeff looked at the baggage tag and realized the destination city written on it wasn’t in Hawaii! 

Jeff quickly summoned a flight attendant and they discussed his problem at length. She told him that “Yes, the airline representative had written the wrong airport on the tag on his luggage. And yes, it will probably not be forwarded to Hawaii.” Jeff was livid! He was totally absorbed in the fact that he might not get a piece of luggage for his 10-day honeymoon in Hawaii.

The couple were young, healthy, in-love, had enough money for the vacation (I got to know a bit about them and both were successful young professionals—the new bride, Julie, was starting her internship as an internal medicine doctor and Jeff was an executive at a large business firm). Yet, Jeff was on the way to letting a “bag” cloud the joy of his wonderful situation.

Normally, I don’t give people advice on-the-fly unless they ask for it (or pay for it). But I couldn’t resist at least letting Jeff know that “it is just a bag.” That’s what I told him a couple times. “Jeff, you’re going on an incredible honeymoon with the woman you love and just married and you are going to let “a bag” put you in a bad mood. He turned and looked at me then exhaled and said “yes, you’re right, it’s just a bag.”

I don’t know if Jeff ever got his luggage but I sure hope that if it was wrongly routed that he didn’t let it mar his honeymoon. I do know the experience helped me realize even more that every day is as important as a honeymoon because it could be the last one I experience here. That’s why I plan to keep in mind that when I don’t get what I expected I’ll consider it “just a bag.”

Last week I finished reading The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle. http://eckharttolle.com/the_power_of_now  I enjoyed it. There were parts that didn’t do much for me and a few explanations didn’t seem to have much science behind them. Overall, though, it was worth the time and attention it took to read about such a vital topic in our fast-past, multi-tasking, hurry up society. It also helped me continue to realize that most of my supposed problems and irritations are “just a bag” 

’till next time

Richard

Is that how you feel? That you are not a creative person? I hear people make that proclamation sometimes during my Spice It Up! seminar when I ask the audience to come up with creative ways to connect themes or object that aren’t normally, if ever, connected. (i.e. using cockroaches to symbolize boring safety meetings or fishing as a metaphor during a blood borne pathogen class.) And most times the folks who tell me they are not creative don’t come up with any creative ideas.

One of the first, and most important steps to coming up with fresh ideas for your safety and health meetings (or any presentation you give) is to believe you can imagine and create. You can. We all can. I wrote earlier that “most times” the folks who tell me they are not creative don’t come up with any creative ideas. Not every time though. When I can convince someone that they can (and have many times in their life) come up with creative solutions and ideas they often surprise themselves and come up with an innovative safety theme. You don’t need to be a special type of person to be creative. You have to let your mind open up and don’t doubt your creative ability.

Practice helps of course. If you’re looking for ways to stir up your creative juices and get better at being innovative here’s a site I recommend:

http://www.creativethink.com/

It’s Roger von Oech’s home page. I also highly recommend his book A Whack On The Side of The Head. It’s fun to read and gives you practical exercises to stimulate your creativity.

I know for sure that even “safety professionals and engineer types” can be creative because I just published a book with 250 creative ideas all contributed by subscribers to my “Safety Stuff” e-zine. (250 Super Bright Safety Meeting and Promotion Ideas)

http://www.makesafetyfun.com/250-bright-ideas-p-12.html

In fact, every week I get new ideas sent to me from all types of industries and people with mostly technical or production-type jobs. So, start believing you ARE creative. That step alone will boost your imagination.

Then, come up with a cool idea and send it to me.

‘till next time.

Richard

www.makeyourmessageclear.com

Hello Again,

Two things I’ve learned through experience:  1) Smiles are a universal happy signal and 2) Every sane person wants to be liked.  These truths were amazingly evident to me last week when I was privileged to speak before over 100 leaders from ExxonMobil. There were people there from every continent and dozens of countries.  I had a wonderful time. Though I’m sure I didn’t pronounce every name accurately, I did feel  welcomed during my talk and had a blast during the night-before reception and dinner the night of my talk.  It was also encouraging to see a microcosmic example of how people from diverse cultures can work and play together.

Here’s what the experience helped me to know more deeply about people and how to connect with any audience—it’s all about

being . . .

real. Don’t try to act in a way that isn’t true to your nature.

interested in other people. By being interested in everyone I met last week I learned so much! I llearned about the food people eat in South America; what TV programs are popular in Japan; energy challenges around the world and what the night life is like in Singapore along with many positive personal stories.

upbeat and fun. There is no barrier between people when they are laughing together.  And if you are happy it is contagious.

helpful.  The best talks are the ones that help other people not just show how smart you are as a speaker or prove a point. Though you have to show you are credible, what every audience wants besides having a good time (fun!) is to discover something they can use to evolve as a person.

passionate.  It’s got to matter to you first before you can stir other peoples’ desire to join you in whatever it is you’re suggesting. You’ve got to care on and off the stage.

How about you? What have you found to be important to every audience (person) you share time with.

‘till next time.

Richard

Director—Richard Hawk Inc.

www.richardhawkinc.com

PS: Here’s a link to a song-video entitled “People Want The Same Everywhere” which I enjoyed thoroughly. http://truelovetoo.blogspot.com/2009/05/people-want-same-everywhere.html

Last week a friend told me he almost ran into a car that swerved into his lane on a local road. The person driving the car was texting! I wonder how prevalent that is. I’ll bet a lot more than we realize.

Hello Again Friends,

Here’s something positive to add to your Friday. While driving in my Mountaineer a couple days ago I listened to an interview with Geri Weis-Corbley who runs a “Good News Network.” Can you believe it, a network designed for Good News! That’s good news. Here’s a link to the site: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/

For many years I have been suggesting to my audiences to cut down on their popular news consumption. Two reasons: one–it’s not designed to inform but just to get and keep your attention and, two–it’s almost all negative! It makes it seem like humans are mostly murderers or regulalry commit all kinds of harmful acts.

Sometimes I’ll pick out a person in the audience and ask them if they think their mug will ever be on the major networks around the country. The person usually says “no.” Or, occasionally “I hope not!” Almost all of us will never have that distinction. Why? Because most humans are basically good. We all have habits and traits that we want to improve (i.e. nobody is perfect). But overall we want to do helpful things. Same goes for your employees. Almost all of them want to do a good, safe job.

So, check yourself and your programs. See how much they are like the “popular news” and mostly broadcast the problems and mistakes. Hopefully they are more like Geri’s Good News Network?—publicizing the “good news” about your employees.

Hope you have a refreshing weekend. I’ll be working on an outline for a talk and smoozing with friends and family.

‘till next time.

Richard

Welcome,

Wow! It’s amazing how much our social networking has evolved during the past few years. Now there’s Facebook, Twitter, and so many other ways to strut your stuff. I just got off the phone with Michael Melnik from Prevention Plus Inc. (One service he provides is a series of short videos for supervisors/managers.) We both agreed that the potential to touch other humans has and is growing fantastically. However, just because your message can be broadcast around the world doesn’t mean it’s any better than when you holler across a bar! Also, now that there is a deluge of broadcasting how do you get your helpful messages to stand out?

I just went to You Tube and searched for “safety” and the top items were either funny or musical. The first serious safety video with a decent amount of hits was about bicycle safety for adults from the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA)

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdrrxIpQpt4 Check it out—it’s good.

My point about this is that you still have to entertain people to some degree to get their attention—now more than ever. So, one of the many things I’ll include in my blog is tips and ideas on what you and I can do to make our message stand out. I’ll let you know what I’m doing. Not just for the publicity but so we can help one another. Isn’t that an important benefit of social networking—helping one another? Of course it is.

The change in the economy is forcing us to redirect our efforts and rely on one another to a greater degree. Reaching out more and interacting on a wider scale will force us to be part of the quantum leaps in communication not just an observer. That’s why I’ve dusted off my blog and plan to post to it regularly. I’m sure with all the wonderful energy and creative people in the field we’ll create a host of worthwhile thoughts and ideas.

I’d love to hear from you. Let’s connect.

‘till next time.

Richard 

Hello all of you fun-loving, knowledge-thirsty professionals! Interesting facts, stories and helpful tips awaits you… so get ready!

In this blog, Richard will be sharing his thoughts, ideas and experiences on a variety of topics that can benefit everyone. For those of you who are not familiar with Richard’s areas of expertise, he has dedicated himself to not only helping others live and work in a safe, stress-free environment but also teaching people how to master the art of business presentation. He has done this through innovative seminars, newsletters, books and songs and is now ready to share even more with you through this blog. So check back with us next week to read Richard’s first post.