I was in Harrisburg, PA last night to speak. I was staying at the Courtyard Marriott. A package had been sent ahead to the Hotel in care of me. When I got there, the front desk said it was in my room. When I got to my room, it wasn’t there. I called down and within 60 seconds a housekeeper knocked on my room door. Within two minutes it had been determined the package had accidentally been put in 317 instead of my room 217. The person apologized greatly, saying she had heard the room wrong on her walkie talkie thing when she was told by the front desk to put the package in my room. I appreciated her apology. The front desk then awarded me a great deal of points on my membership. That’s an example of someone given flexibility to solve a customer service problem on the spot. The whole thing was very positive. Was the package in the wrong room a little nerve racking for me? Yes. But it was a mistake acknowledged, quickly corrected, and made up for. That’s the “On Fire Customer Service” that I love to see!

On Memorial Day morning my family and I went to our local fitness center for exercise. As I walked through I noticed a young lady named Kelsey Reynolds. She is a high school senior at Penn High who is graduating. She has earned a full athletic scholarship to play basketball at prestigious Boston College.
Kelsey was there going through a hard workout on a holiday. I watched as she did drill after drill with the goal of reaching excellence in the game of basketball.
Not everyone is wired that way. Plenty of people got up on Memorial Day with a laid back plan for the day. There is nothing wrong with that approach on a holiday. But in all my years of studying peak performers I have seen that they all have that extra gear of work ethic. They are relentless in their determination to reach their potential. For Kelsey, effort like that helped her earn that full ride to B.C.

Memorial Day is a time when we honor those who died in our nation’s service. As a motivational speaker, I am constantly looking for stories on inspiring people when I watch TV. That’s just how I am wired. Last night, for example, I watched a one hour documentary on the determination of NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Labron James.
Recently I came across a show honoring the memory of former Navy SEAL Michael Monsoor. On September 29, 2006 an insurgent threw a grenade onto a rooftop where Monsoor and several other SEAL and Iraqi soldiers were positioned. Monsoor made the split second decision to fall on the grenade and take the brunt of the explosion. He died 30 minutes later. His teammates survived because of him. Ironically, Monsoor was closest to the exit and could have easily saved himself. Instead, he didn’t even hesitate in making the decision to fall on the grenade. In March of 2008 he received posthumously the Medal of Honor.
Last May, Pennsylvania SADD had me address a large gathering of high school students. I shared the story of Michael Monsoor. You could have heard a pin drop. Every one of the students was in total attention. NBC anchor Brian Williams tells the story of a struggling school system in Erie, Pennsylvania where the board of education has found that teaching students about Medal of Honor recipients has turned the students around.
I agree. The impact of their stories can be life changing. I know when I learned the story of Michael Monsoor I did an internet search to watch the ceremony where the Medal of Honor was presented. It brought me to tears. When I talk about Stoke the Fire Within, people like Michael Monsoor truly stoke the fire within me and many others to make a difference.

I watched Michael J. Fox’s 1 hour Special on ABC TV Thursday night May 7th – “The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.” It was an hour well spent.
The optimism in the midst of his battle with Parkinson’s was real. Fox is very likeable and I found myself listening to his views on optimism.
He travelled all over in the Special studying optimism. Fox went to Wrigley Field, home of the poor Cubs. “If the subject is optimism, what am I doing at Wrigley Field?” he wondered. “After a century of heartbreak and no World Series championships, Cubs fans still believe THIS year will be their year.”
Fox interviewed Lance Armstrong at his home, who said his challenges with cancer made him better. Armstrong also gave a ton of credit to his optimistic mother for helping to create his attitude. Fox went to Bhutan, a country where Gross National Happiness is measured. While there, the symptoms of his Parkinson’s went down.
In the Special,Fox suggested that we not ask for a lighter load, but broader shoulders. He is the real deal when it comes to being positive and finding a silver lining. When I deliver ‘How to Build a Positive Attitude and KEEP the D a r n Thing” I talk about how important it is to make efforts to watch Specials like what Fox did. I came away from it with fresh perspectives. Attitude is like marriage. You have to work at it. For example, this morning I read a story in my local paper on a high school athlete who had 3 major knee surgeries and had lost her father to a heart attack. Her determination to keep fighting and be the best she could be inspired me a great deal. What have you done today to stoke the fire within you?
Charlie Adams