SPECIAL OUTSTANDING! BOOK PRICING
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When I saw these before and after photos of a Miller grandkid’s bedroom and how the child owned the problem, not only did I think EXCELLENT PARENTING — but I was reminded of this meaningful story.
Please ponder, practice, and pass on to others!
The Miller family was out for a drive on a windy Sunday afternoon when we came upon the most amazing scene: In a field off to the side of the road, we saw a man dive from his wheel chair into a sea of newspapers that were blowing around in the Denver wind. Dragging his legs, he was trying to catch the papers, but the wind was strong, and it wasn’t long before the field seemed to be almost completely covered in newspaper. Seeing this, several of the kids, almost in unison, yelled, “Dad, let’s go help that guy!” So we quickly parked, and all of us raced out to help. As we chased down papers, hugging them to our chests, I wondered what had happened.
“Many hands make light work,” the saying goes, and the job was soon done. As we gathered around the gentleman, he rested on one hip, clutched the few papers he had been able to nab, and silently searched for words.
One of the kids asked him, “What happened?” and after climbing back into his wheelchair, with one arm shaking almost to the point of uselessness, he said, “I got home and noticed a whole bundle had disappeared from my pickup. Driving back this direction, I saw the field covered and I couldn’t believe my eyes!”
Without really thinking it through first, I asked, “And you were going to pick them up all by yourself?”
He looked at me as if I didn’t get it and said, “I couldn’t just leave them. It was my mess.”
My mess. My responsibility. What a powerful picture of personal accountability. As we teach in the QBQ! book, personal accountability is not blaming, complaining, whining, and putting things off, but instead asking questions (QBQs) like, “What can I do?” and “How can I contribute?” — then taking action today!
Is this how you live your life?
