Start Fresh

Start Fresh

Those of us in the Christian faith celebrate Easter today.  Easter Sunday has been one of my favorite days of the year for as long as I can remember.  When I was little it was cool because I always got new clothes and shoes to wear to church, people gave me lots of candy, and Sunday lunch at my grandmother’s house was always kicked up a notch.  Russell Stover’s jellybeans were the icing on the cake.

Over the years, of course, I have learned the true meaning of Easter.  Every year I’m touched by the story and by the spirit…as I’m reminded of the ultimate sacrifice that was paid for me…and for all Christ followers.  The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ to those of us in the Christian faith, reminds us that no matter what or where ever we are in our lives or careers…there is hope.  Today is also about finding new meaning in the midst of the mess of our everyday lives.  God loves us, and a larger plan for us exists…even in the midst of our everyday monotony. 

If you don’t celebrate Easter, pardon the reflective thoughts on what it means to me.  Thanks for reading anyway.  Though Easter is my inspiration for this post, I’ll share a OneMoreStep thought that could apply to everyone, regardless of their faith or religious beliefs.

OneMoreStep thought for this week: 

If you’re in a rut…bored with the same old routine, same old job, same old people, and the same old-same old - Start fresh.  Embrace a new way of thinking.  Take a new approach. Believe in yourself…Start Fresh.

Like everyone, I have a few favorite places – my parents’ swimming pool back home in KY…Key West, FL…Epcot…and Central Christian Church in Henderson, NV.  Today Senior Pastor, Jud Wilhite, delivered a sermon entitled, All Things New.  The key takeaway was that God wants to make all things new in us and through us.  The same old, same old…and the everyday monotony can all of a sudden feel new and different, if we simply change the way we think.

If you have lost touch with family or friends…if you’ve fallen behind in your faith…if you’re bored of your current job…if you’re bored of your current relationship with a significant other…if you’re bored, in general…if your dreams and aspirations seem unattainable… there’s no better time than Easter to START FRESH, with a new way of thinking and a whole new approach:

·      The family members or friends with whom you’ve lost contact…start fresh. Go OneMoreStep…make the first move to reconnect.

·      As life gets monotonous, and if you’re feeling lost among the mess of it all…start fresh. Go OneMoreStep and try out a new church next Sunday

·      If your job has become a grind, lacks meaning and/or a sense of fulfillment…start fresh.  Go OneMoreStep…embrace a new way of thinking about what you do for a living.  You may find new ways to make a difference or new meaning to your role in the organization.

·      If the relationship with your significant other has become stale and lost ‘that love and feeling’…start fresh.  Go OneMoreStep…take a new approach, and focus on the good stuff; bring the magic back

·      If negative thoughts are creeping into your head, making your dreams, goals, and aspirations seem unattainable…start fresh.  Go OneMoreStep…make a new rule for yourself to only focus on the positives, rather than the negatives…PMA (Positive Mental Attitude).

I read a great book a couple of years ago called The 4:8 Principle, written by life coach Tommy Newberry.  It unpacks a simple yet powerful verse in the New Testament, written by the apostle Paul…Philippians 4:8, which simply encourages us to not only think about, but also to focus on all that is positive.

Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8

So when negative thoughts creep into your mind…and when you find yourself in a bit of a rut…go OneMoreStep.  Start fresh…with a new way of thinking and a new approach.

OneMoreStep…new way of thinking story for the road…

In the year 2000 I spent the summer at Walt Disney World for my 3^rd Walt Disney World College Program Internship.  I worked at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, as a Retail Host.  That’s Disney-ese for… ‘I worked in a gift shop’.  The summer prior I literally had the time of my life, working at Disney’s Animal Kingdom with 25 other college age, summer interns and living at Vista Way, an apartment complex with 3,000 other Disney College Program interns…to say it was fun would be the understatement of the century.  It was awesome.

The first week of my internship at Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort, I remember calling my mom to whine about how “this summer would not be as good as the last one.”  My reasoning…a well thought out array of negativity, ranging from “the people at work are all old and no fun” to “I’ll never learn anything working in a gift shop” to “my roommate is some random guy I met randomly last summer and will probably be weird.”

Mom’s advice…you guessed it.  Change the way you think about it.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  She said, “…now, Taylor…you can find something fun about every single one of those people at work, if you try…and I’m sure you’ll have a good time with this ‘Matt’, if you give it a chance.”

The next day, I took her advice and actively thought about how I could make the best of what I thought was an unfortunate situation. 

With that new approach, I not only sought out and found value in several of the “older”, full-time Cast Members, but I also developed very close relationships with many of them.  I also learned a great deal about how to run an efficient operation.  They were pros.

Once I took the time to engage with my managers, I realized that they were some of the most talented and well respected leaders in all of Walt Disney World Retail, as our shop was the fourth highest revenue producing location on WDW property.  My management team and I developed such a great relationship that they leveraged their network to help me land a Management Internship with Disney’s Contemporary Resort upon graduation.  So immediately following undergrad I found myself in a leadership role at Walt Disney World, at the age of 21.  That never would have happened without the relationships I made with my leaders in the Summer of 2000.

"...it all started with a mouse." - Walt

Once I gave this ‘Matt’ a chance…I bonded and connected with him on a whole new level.  We became the best of friends by the time that summer internship was over, and we would go on to be roommates in Orlando, off and on, for the next 10 years.  We were first roommates 11 years ago.  To this day, not a day goes by…and I’d be willing say that no more than one hour goes by that I don’t email, text, Tweet, Facebook, or talk to Matthew Glenn Olsen. 

Needless to say, I’m glad I took a new approach, and my mom’s advice to start fresh in Week 1 of my Summer–2000 internship.

Start fresh…with a new way of thinking and a new approach this week.

Have a great day.

Taylor