Watch this goofy “commercial” and you’ll learn something and save money! For only 15 cents worth of materials you can “manufacture” your own household cleaner that’s as good as what you buy at the grocery.

The Greener All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe

Spray bottle
1 teaspoon liquid soap (not liquid detergent)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon borax
2 cups water

This little story reminds us of one of life’s truths.

A couple moves into a new neighborhood.

The next morning while they are eating breakfast the woman sees her neighbor hanging laundry on a clothesline. “That laundry is not very clean,” she said. “She doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.”



Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the woman would make the same comments.

About a month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: “Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this.”



The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”
 


And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

I was never a big time crook, although I have swiped a few “Sweet and Low’s” and unopened mini bottles of ketchup and mustard in my time. And I was never a perpetrator of cruelty to animals, although I do confess to incinerating a few ants with a magnifying glass years ago.

So how is that I have grown into someone who can’t stand to lie to trying hard to return money if I find it on the street and to literally feeling pain if I kill a fly?

How did I find my moral compass?

Rightly or wrongly, accurately or paranoidly, I experienced the world as judgmental, critical, conditional, dismissive and a number of additional negative ways. I think you get the drift. To get even with that world that I felt powerless towards I developed a cutting sarcastic wit and deep cynicism (I was not going to stand by quietly anytime I saw kindness, generosity and/or graciousness and not try to cut it down).

The greatest gift that it was my good fortune to receive has been a string of mentors who saw the good in me that I didn’t, believed in me when I couldn’t, rooted for me when I wanted to quit, and kicked my butt when I needed it.

I know that all of them wanting nothing more from me in return than my “paying it forward” to others what they had given so freely to me.

I have tried to do that, but I have always wanted to do more and this I hope will be in small measure a chance to do that.

In the last five years, four of my five mentors have died (and I’m even tearing up with gratitude laced with sadness as I write these words). My last and perhaps most profound one is happily still alive, productive, articulate, wise and has just released his memoir: Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership.

Having a mentor like Warren Bennis not only makes you want to do a better job, it makes you want to be a better person. They can transform you from a cynical, sarcastic, chip on your shoulder victim into someone who acts to help the world and wouldn’t hurt a fly.

If you read Warren’s book, you will be much the better for it. If you have that parent or mentor who loved and supported you, it will cause you to contact them (or their family if they have died) to tell them how much you appreciated them. If you didn’t have such a parent or mentor, it will cause you to feel an ache for what you might have become if you had. More importantly it will inspire you to give to the world what you never received and when you do, you will be transformed.

Here is my amazon review:

Read at Your Own Risk, August 21, 2010

This review is from: Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership (J-B Warren Bennis Series) (Hardcover)

“One of the best things about hearing people say such nice things about you is that it gives you something to live up to” – Warren Bennis speaking at a USC event honoring him and after a number of people spoke to talk about his impact on them.

Warren Bennis is not merely respected by the people whose lives he has touched, he is beloved. To so many — including Howard Schultz at Starbucks, David Gergen of CNN, Sid Harmon of Harmon Kardon and Betsy Myers advisor to President Obama — he is not just that mentor or friend that makes you want to be a better person, he is frequently that parent you wish you had. For those who were homesick for a home they never had, and sick from the one they did, Warren’s loving mentoring provided them with a home at last.

What does this have to do with this engaging, heart warming, and uplifting memoir? If you read it, Warren doesn’t tell you how to be the kind of leader, parent and mensch that the best part of you wants to be, he shows you how with a story that is seasoned with humanity and spiced with humility and is so memorable that it will easily serve as a guide and template for you.

I don’t want to give away too much, but one story that makes me smile was about Warren having a conversation with undergraduate friends at Antioch about meeting a German woman in a bar in Germany at the end of WWII and going back to her room to do what you do in such a situation. He explains that going to such a bar, meeting such a woman and going back to her room was not something one such as he should do. He then talks about waking up the next morning and with the sheets pushed to the side realizing she had a prosthetic leg. When he shared this with friends at Antioch they told him that he must publish it as an essay in one of the school’s publications. He did that whereupon he was suddenly launched into “superstar” status for the rest of his years at college.

Why “read at your own risk” as the title for this review?

As you read this book and understand how Warren more than grew up, but evolved into such a beloved person, it may give you an ache to have had him as a mentor or parent if you haven’t had either. And if the lack of either is great, that ache can be profound. On the other hand there will be few other books that you will read that will help you to become the parent or mentor to others that you never had. And if you can do that, the ache will go away and you too might become someone who is beloved by others. And there is no better transformation for you than to give onto others what was never given onto you.

If my lack of objectivity is betrayed by my love and appreciation for him, that’s MY story and I’m sticking with it. It is also why I dedicated my book, Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone to him which in great part is an elaboration of something he has taught me by who he is much more than what he does: “When you deeply listen to people, get where they are coming from AND care about them when you’re there, they’re more likely to do what you’d like them to do.”

Warren Bennis talks about his new book: Still Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership

These are among the most important of life’s lessons. Please take the time to read this every word. Kindness and compassion and just the little touch to make someone else feel appreciated will make you a better person, but may also open up a world of opportunities for you!

This inspiring email was sent to us by a NewSeniors.com subscriber.

Lesson One – The Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?”

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50′s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

“Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say “hello.”

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

Lesson Two – Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960′s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A note was attached. It read: “Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s’ bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.”

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

Lesson Three – Always Remember Those Who Serve

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

“How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked.

“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

“Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

“Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

“I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table.

There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

Lesson Four – The Obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand: every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Lesson Five – Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.” As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?” Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

Now you have two choices.

1. Go on about your business.
2. Send this story to others who might benefit from these lessons.

We hope you will choose No. 2 and remember: “Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt, and dance like you do when nobody’s watching.”

This little story demonstrates how the arrogance of authority can land a person in a very bad situation, but good for a laugh for the rest of us!

A DEA officer stops at a ranch in Texas and talks with an old rancher.

He tells the rancher, “I need to inspect your ranch for illegally grown drugs.”

The rancher says, “Okay, but don’t go in that field over there,” as he points out the location.

The DEA officer verbally explodes saying, “Mister, I have the authority of the Federal Government with me.”

Reaching into his rear pants pocket, he removes his badge and proudly displays it to the rancher.

“See this badge? This badge means I am allowed to go wherever I wish, on any land. No questions asked or answers given. Have I made myself clear? Do you understand?”

The rancher nods politely, apologizes, and goes about his chores.

A short time later, the old rancher hears loud screams and sees the DEA officer running for his life chased by the rancher’s big Santa Gertrudis bull.

With every step the bull is gaining ground on the officer, and it seems likely that he’ll get gored before he reaches safety. The officer is clearly terrified. The rancher throws down his tools, runs to the fence and yells at the top of his lungs, “Your badge. Show him your BADGE!”

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The local residents are the people on the front lines of protecting our precious wetlands and beaches from the recent oil spill. Two old boys from the area know about what grows there and how to use what the land produces to solve all kinds of problems, both natural and man-made.

These men are great examples of what happens when common sense and creativity come together to meet a need. Science will ultimately determine if this idea is practical, but you sure have to admire their grassroots solution for warding off further devastation from the oil infringing on our southern coastline. Take a look at what they came up with, and be sure to send other videos or articles about “Senior Sense” to us at NewSeniors.com – the kind that comes with learning through life’s lessons and having the maturity to recognize a good idea when you see one. It can be about the oil spill or anything else you think will be of interest to those 65+.

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