Wireless Woes

I’m not going to lie about it.  I have had the WORST customer service experiences EVER with a certain cell phone company… EVER!  I wish I could say it was a one time deal, but I’ve been with that company for over five years and it’s an every single time!!  The.Worst I tell you!!  It’s been so bad that when one girl actually tried to help me, her manager threatened to fire her because she “had no authority to do that, and she has to be disciplined.”  Again I say The.Worst!!  Which might explain why I always shutter and tear up every time I need to contact said wireless company.  And this month was no different.  When $15 extra dollars were added to my phone bill, the dread of having to deal with their “customer service” ran through my body…again.

This time, however, instead of calling I figured I’d at least spare myself a little agony and online chat with a representative.  Trying to use my positive affirmations and deep breathing techniques, and after the usual introductions and verifications, I finally got to ask what was up with the increase.  I know I hadn’t gone over my minutes, and I have unlimited text and data so I knew for sure that couldn’t have been the reason either.  Finally after a 30-minute chat and review session, the customer service rep says, “The taxes in your state have gone up which is the reason your wireless bill has increased by $15.”  Oh my word, here we go again!  Thanking said rep for her “service,” I logged off, called it a night and vowed to try again in the morning.

Once again psyching myself up to have yet another “opportunity” to chat with said company’s most helpful agents, the typing began.  Still trying to stay positive but having years of bad experiences tainting my efforts, the representative reviewed my bill and 20 minutes later said that the $15 extra dollars were from an international call I had made.  Indignant and confident the mistake was yet again on their end, I  shot back the response of “I have NEVER made ANY international calls…EVER!”  She looked up the area code and asked if I recognized it.  Talk about a face palm to the forehead.  My pride and my righteous attitude took a pretty hard hit as I was struck with the reality of the fact that I indeed HAD made a business call to that area code, dang it all!!

I was faced with a pretty tough decision at this point.  I was already overpaying them for the service I was getting and the thought of giving them an extra $15 was NOT in my plan or my bank account.  I so desperately wanted to save face and try to lie my way out of paying for the charges, but my conscience gave me pause.  As I wrestled with which road to take, the customer service rep typed to make sure we were still connected.  “Yeah, yeah…I’m still here.  Just trying to figure out how what to say to you next,” I mumbled to myself.  Finally, I typed back and fessed up.  I sucked it up and told her how embarrassed I was for being so indignant.  I explained to her my previous interactions with their support – including the one from the night before.  I told her that I in fact actually HAD made a call to that area code but hadn’t realized Canada is international, although when I thought about it had no reason to think that it wouldn’t be.  I apologized and told her that again how embarrassed I was.  

And what happened next was nothing short of a miracle.  The customer service agent typed back and said, “No need to be embarrassed.  It happens all the time.  Most people don’t realize Canada is international, and what I’ll do for you is give you a one time credit and take those charges off of your bill for you.  Would that be okay?”  Seriously?  Would that be okay?  That would be like totally AMAZING!!  I thanked her profusely, apologized one last time, and let her know how much of a blessing she had been to me that day. 

We disconnected and I sat in reflection of what would have happened had I taken the low road.  I would have been ridden with guilt.  I would have set a certain kind of karma in motion that I know for sure I didn’t want coming back to me.  I would have cheated a business out of money that is rightfully theirs – something I, as a business owner, would never want to have happen to me.  And I would have been a big fat liar.  None of those options really appealed to me, and I would have much rather been embarrassed for a few minutes as opposed to haunted for a lifetime.  Was I uncomfortable and did I have any idea how things would turn out?  Yes, I was and no I didn’t.  But after further review of all the facts and knowing the outcome, I sure am glad I was able to prove yet again that honesty truly is the best policy…always.

"Those People" by Seth Godin

Seth Godin writes:

"At a recent seminar, a woman who helps run a community college stood up to ask a question.

'Well, the bad news,' she said, 'is that we have to let everyone in. And the truth is, many of these kids just can't be the leaders you're describing, can't make art. We need people to do manual work, and it's those people.'


"I couldn't believe it. I was speechless, then heartbroken. All I could think of was these young adults, trusting this woman to lead them, teach them, inspire them and push them, and instead being turned into 'those people.'

"You know, the people who will flip burgers or sweep streets or fill out forms all day. The ones who will be brainwashed into going into debt, into buying more than they can afford, to living lives that quietly move from one assigned task or one debt payment to another. If they're lucky.
No, I said to her, trying to control my voice, no these are not those people. Not if you don't want them to be.

"Everyone is capable of being generous, at least once. Everyone is capable of being original, inspiring and connected, at least once. And everyone is capable of leading, yes, even more than once.

"When those that we've chosen to teach and lead write off people because of what they look like or where they live or who their parents are, it's a tragedy. Worse, we often write people off merely because they've been brainwashed into thinking that they have no ability to do more than they've been assigned. Well, if we brainwashed them into setting limits, I know we can teach them to ignore those limits."

My question to you is (oh, and this is Danica writing now), "Who is 'THAT person' in front of you right now who needs to hear Yes today?

What's It To Ya?

Yep, I want you to take this personal...and then tell me what it means to you - personally. 

 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ Marianne Williamson from "A Return to Love"

What Are You Waiting For?

 "I'm not asking in the usual hectoring, pushing sense of asking you to hurry up and get started. I'm genuinely, rhetorically curious. What, exactly, are you insisting will happen before you start shipping your art?
Write it down. Write down what has to happen before you can make and ship your ruckus.
Being clear about what you're waiting for makes it far more likely that your art will happen and far less likely that you're merely stalling." ~Seth Godin

Millie.For.Life!

Ahhh, the beloved treadmill.  I know of very few people who actually "love" using a treadmill.  The mere mention of the word makes people cringe.  It represents effort, time, change (hopefully)...and sweat.  For most people, though, their time on the treadmill is, well, timed.  Twenty minutes three times a week.  Or 45 minutes once a month - if they're lucky.  But for some people, their entire lives revolve around the treadmill - it's the center of their universe.  They don't know how it happened.  One day they just realized that they've been on that same treadmill for years.  They fought getting on it, finally faced their fears and put on one foot then the other, hated it but persevered, finally got comfortable...and then never got off.  To change things up a bit they'd increase the speed every now and then.  When they were feeling really daring they increased the speed AND the incline!!  Whew!  The excitement was exhilarating!  But every once in a while they grew weary, and their pace slowed down so much that they felt like they were actually crawling.  

And so the attachment grew.  They were becoming intimate with the treadmill.  They knew that at 8.2 incline every 37 seconds the belt would shift ever so slightly to the left.  They eagerly anticipated the days when they would meet with the speed of "as fast as it would go" because it meant they would feel alive again.  And on the days when they'd need to crawl, they knew they could trust their treadmill - "Millie" they call her nowadays - to be their friend and constant when no one else could or even tried to understand them.  They had formed a relationship - a partnership - with "Millie."  So much so that the very thought of ever leaving "Millie" was debilitating.  The reason they had ever gotten on "Millie" in the first place has become irrelevant because their identities are now indistinguishable.  I mean, why would they even want to get off?  And could they really?  What would they do if their legs weren't in perpetual motion?  What would being motionless actually feel like?  And seriously...who would ever want to be still??  All the readjusting to life that would have to be done if there were no "Millie" to support them.  Forget it!!  It was too painful to even fathom.  So they and "Millie" would continue on with their dance...to the music only they could hear.

Sound familiar?  Is this you I've just described?  What, or who, is your "Millie"?  Have you ever taken the time to even notice how dependent on "Millie" you've actually become?  Or are you desperate to end your unhealthy relationship with "Millie" and start all over again...only this time doing the one thing your heart and soul have yearned to do from the moment you took your first breath?

No matter what your answers are, the very first step to making any kind of change is awareness.  Take a look around at the people on the treadmills to the north, south, east and west of you.  Are they people you're okay with having their sweat get all over you, or are they folks who no longer have the same appreciation for their "Millie" as you do?  Either way, it's time to make a choice.  You can choose to be with "Millie" for as long as she'll have you, or you can use this moment to take one step toward the life you've always dreamed of living.  If you've been on "Millie" so long that you're not even sure you know how to dream, then stop what you're doing right now, close your eyes for at least 30 seconds and begin to imagine what one day of your life would look like if each and every detail were effortlessly crafted by your hand.  No, don't "do it later."  Don't wait!  Do it now!  "Millie" won't even have to know.  Dream.  Even if it's only for 30 seconds...DREAM!!  

Amazing, right?  You've had it in you all along!!  And now that you've begun to dream again, dream some more.  Dream about how you can move toward giving life to your dreams, how your relationship with your family feels now that "Millie" is no longer occupying all of your time, how joy infuses your day and just waking up each morning is what you look forward to...DREAM!!!  DREAM...and then step!  You already know how to move your feet..."Millie" taught you that.  So take the lessons you learned from your beloved "Millie" and repeat as necessary:  Dream...and then step.  Dream...and then step.  Dream...and then step...

Millie.For.Life!

Holy Crap! (No...literally)

"Insights."  My coach always calls those times when I have personal discoveries and times of awareness about life issues..."insights."  Most of the time when I'm in the throes of my lessons, the words I hear myself use are far more descriptive than..."insights."  


Take the other day, for instance.  It's become quite clear that one of my many life lessons (coupled with the daily practice of faith) had been dealing with the illusion of lack and all the distractions, pitfalls, pains...lack...that can come with that mindset.  I was having an internal "conversation," I'll just call it, about whether or not I could justify spending a few extra dollars on an afternoon with my son - extra dollars that I didn't appear to have if all the bills were going to get paid and the food was going to get bought and yadda, yadda, yadda.  

I was in the midst of my..."insight"...when the toilet decides it was going on strike and threatened to overflow rather than flush.  I had already worked myself up to the point of panic, and now THIS?  Seriously?  "Even my toilet is overflowing and ABUNDANT, and I can't even scrape together an extra $15 to have lunch with my kid?  You have got to be kidding me!!!" ...is the G-rated version of that episode.  So I get the plunger and started working it and... NOTHING.  "The toilet is STILL more wealthy than my bank account!!"  At this point I'm doing my best to maintain any sense of control over the situation, so I breathe and try again - repositioning the plunger in hopes that this time it'll do it's blasted job.  Finally...success!  As I stood there admiring the fact that 1) the toilet now appears as empty as my bank account, and 2) I had at least accomplished one thing that day, a Moses Moments happened and I heard, "God is like a plunger."

Excuse me?  "God is like a plunger?"  I mean, clearly God has a sense of humor - just look around you - but to liken Himself to something that gets s*&t out of a clogged toilet?  Really?  Well, when you think about it...why not?  How many times have we all said or heard, "My life is in the crapper" or "my life is s*&t."?  If all of life truly does come down to everything being either of Love or fear, and God is Love, then what better analogy to present Himself to us than as the lowliest of all repair tools - the plunger?  

When you have faith that the "Plunger" is going to do what it's designed and promised to do, there really is never a time to fear that the toilet will be clogged forever.  Once I got over the shock of calling The Big Guy a toilet tool, I realized that my thoughts of lack had been keeping me from spending time with the people I love and care about most - my children, my family, my friends and yes, even God.  Everyone.  I would spend all of my waking hours at work and when I wasn't working, I was trying to come up with other ways to generate extra income.  And for what?  Distance from my family?  Missing out on my boys' basketball games - or even a quick lunch?  Really?  Is a dollar seriously worth never being able to get those moments back?  And then I had a Scarlet Moment:  "As Plunger as my witness, I will never let the illusion of lack keep me from my children again!!!"

So I cleaned up, got dressed - covering up the plumber's crack, of course - got EXTRA gas and EXTRA pumpkin gelato with my boy, and enjoyed every minute of love I was blessed to share for the rest of the day!  And now any time that pesky distraction of lack creeps up, I remember the lessons I learned from my "insight" that day and shout: 

"God is the Ultimate Plunger!!!"

 

Butter v. Margarine...

Last week I signed up to make Blondies that were going to be used during the intermission of my older son's high school theater production.  While I was at the store shopping for all of the necessary ingredients to create these amazing delicacies, I was torn between using butter or margarine.  I opted for the real deal because, hey...nothing but the finest for MY son.  (That, and I didn't want spend the weekend thinking people might have known that I was the one who made them with - dare I say - margarine?)  (o;

Since I had never used this recipe before I wasn't sure how they were going to turn out, but let me tell you...the ease of creating these sugary masterpieces is borderline dangerous!  So more and more did I sign up to make (and of course had to taste-test) - until I ran out of butter.  It had been a long and tiring day of running around, and I only needed one more stick of butter to make one last batch of Blondies for the show the next day.  I didn't want to have to make one more grocery store run, so I took the easy way out and hit the local dollar store knowing they'd HAVE to have butter.  And they did!  But it wasn't the real butter that I knew would make the perfect baked good, but the butter-like substitute known as margarine.  I went with it anyway out of sheer convenience. 

What's my point, you ask?  I'll let the picture do all the talking.  Now, I didn't take this picture, but it's exactly what my friend and I discovered after about five tries of using "more of this," and "less of that" as we tweaked the recipe to figure out what we were doing wrong.

The Blondies on the left were made with butter and the ones on the right...well, not so much.  The margarine-made desserts came out tasting like a really good cake that would be pretty amazing with some cream cheese frosting on them, but they didn't turn out as they were designed.  We used everything the recipe called for, and we did everything in the right order.  We mixed and baked everything according to the direction, but the finished products were obviously very different.



Moral of the story?  Life is like making Blondies.  You can settle for the lesser ingredients out of convenience and still get a finished product.  Ooorr...you can opt to use REAL butter and get the best tasting, most addicting results out of life that you most certainly deserve to have...the first time around.  

So the next time you're in a situation where you're not sure what to do, ask yourself, "What's my goal here...Blondies or cake?"

Happy Baking!


Danica
www.unpackyourlife.com
www.victoriamills.com/your-life-lift-team