The Fred Factor

The Fred Factor by Mark Sanborn is a book about how Mark's postman, Fred, showed Mark "How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary." I gleamed many great principles from this book. I trust you will enjoy the quotes below:

Everyone wants to count, to know that what he or she does each day isn't simply a means of making a living, but "a living of making meaning." The unhappiest people of all may well be those who go to jobs they hate because they need the money. Why not go to a job you love because you need the money? you can. Convert your job into one you love, not by doing a different job, but by doing the one you have differently! pp. 29-30

Here's a mystery: If you expect praise and recognition, it will seldom come. I really don't know why, but life has demonstrated repeatedly that if your motive for doing something is to receive thanks or praise, you'll often be disappointed. If, however, you go about doing the right thing, knowing that the doing is its own reward, you'll be fulfilled whether or not you get recognition from others. When reward or recognition comes, it will be icing on an already tasty cake. p. 31

It is possible that you are making significant impressions on others and don't even know it? We need to be conscious not only of the primary effects of the things we do but of the secondary consequences, which are a ripple effect that touches far more people than those in our immediate presence. You just never know who's watching and listening. Our lives, to paraphrase Shakespeare, play out on a stage. p. 69

Uninspired people rarely do inspired work. Passionate people in an organization are different. They do ordinary things extraordinarily. p. 74

John Maxwell says, "You teach what you know, but you reproduce who you are." p. 90

Forget that foolish saying, "Those who can, do; and those who can't teach." Not only is this statement derogatory and insulting to the dedicated professionals in education and training, but with few exceptions it just ain't so. The reality? Those who do best teach best. The man or woman who can demonstrate a lesson with his or her life most powerfully impacts others. When those who know are able to show, those who learn are able to grow. p. 94

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -Aristotle p. 99

At the Day of Judgement we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done - Thomas A Kempis p. 105

Life wasn't a set of difficult rules designed to keep people in their places, but rather a relationship with the Creator who enabled people to be all they were meant to be. p. 106

Whom do we most remember? We remember those who, like Jesus, lived to serve others. We are most impressed and affected not by what people gain but by what they give; not by what they conquer but by what they contribute. p. 107

I've learned that love is, among other things, an action. I can love someone I don't necessarily like. I can do something or act toward that person in a certain way because I know it is the right thing to do even if I don't feel warm and fuzzy doing it. So here's my working definition of love: Love is the commitment to treat a person with dignity and kindness regardless of how you feel about him or her. pp. 108-109

The Bible says that "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). The implication is clear; Giving is good, but giving with the right attitude is better. p. 112

Attitude colors everything you and I do in life.

A positive attitude works out of opportunity, not obligation.

A positive attitude looks for the best, not the worst, in circumstances.

A positive attitude is "can-do," not "must-do."

A positive attitude is hopeful, not pessimistic. pp. 112-113

Here's how the apostle James put it: "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26, NASB). Intention without action is only a dream. In the end it isn't what we want to do or plan to do but what we actually do that makes any difference. p. 113

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