When I was 14 the scouts went to a huge district camp in the West Desert of Utah where there were several hundred scouts. All the scouts and leaders were to follow a marked trail to a large camping area about a mile away.
I was excited to get to the camping area ahead of all the scouts in my troop. I was a fast hiker and knew I could get to the camping area quickly.
I wasn’t hiking alone since there were so many scouts from other troops. I knew I would be safe. I ended up hiking with a father and son from another troop.
We kept hiking together for quite a while not seeing the camp. We knew we were in trouble when it started getting dark and no camp was in sight.
Since I was with an adult I didn’t worry too much about being lost. I only had my backpack with my sleeping bag and my food. I ate my dinner then unpacked my sleeping bag.
I climbed into my sleeping bag early because I was cold. The scout and his Dad had a tent only big enough for two so I sleep under the stars.
I remember I had just started dozing off to sleep when someone had found us. It was like a dream. I do remember them asking the man I was with if I was the missing scout. I was asked what my name was and what troop I was with. I am sure the news I had been found was a relief to my scout master. I was told to stay with the scout and his Dad until morning. The camp was only a few hundred yards away from where we were.
That night it ended up raining so I got wet in my sleeping bag. It became a long cold night. I was never more thankful when morning came and we found the rest of the scouts in my troop. I found out that a few scouts changed the signs and rocks that were marking the trail so everyone could find their way to the camping spot better. Their prank could have been more serious. At the next scout court of honor one of the scouts got up to tell about our last scout camp. He titled the camp, “Lonely Leonard Gets Lost.” Everyone had a big laugh. I have told this story several times over the years. I have a good friend to whom I told this story. He had been at that scout camp but he never realized I was the missing scout everyone was looking for until I told him the story. He said that everyone was calling my name. In his troop everyone in unison would count one two three, then call my name “Leon–ard” as loud as they could. There was even a search and rescue helicopter that was helping with the search. My friend said, “I can’t believe I didn’t make the connection until now.” We had a good laugh.
In 1 Thessalonians 5:8 it says “in every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I am thankful for this experience because it made me realize how many people cared about me as a person. It also made me aware of how important it is to stay together as a troop when hiking. When you have a dramatic experience it changes you.
Category Archives: Personal stories
Always be Thankful
“As we express our gratitude,
we must never forget that
the highest appreciation
is not to utter words,
but to live by them.”
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
If you know me very well you know that I say thank you a lot. In my everyday life, I like to say, “Thanks, I appreciate you, or you’re wonderful.” Wherever I am I like to find the good in all people.
Being one of ten children reminds me of the times that after my mom had a baby the women from the church would bring over meals for two to three days. One day some of the women got their day mixed up, so we got two meals in one day. We were all sitting down at the table eating a wonderful dinner when we could see people coming up the driveway with dinner number two. Mom said, “O my goodness kids, we are getting another dinner. Quick, let’s hide everything in Mom and Dads bedroom.” When the second round of dinner came to our house mom was just as thankful as she was when the first dinner came. I think we pulled off the secret very well under the circumstances.
Do we thank the everyday people in our lives? When we are at the grocery store do we thank the bagger in the check out line? Do we thank our kids teachers at school or the person who gave the talk in church on Sunday?
Do you feel appreciated enough? This question reminds me of the person who never heard thanks enough. One day she made a big wonderful meal. Before everyone started eating she said, “I have worked hard on this meal, and before we start eating I would like a standing ovation.” Everyone clapped and cheered before they ate dinner.
Sometimes we need to point people in the right direction. Start saying what you want others to do for you. You will be amazed at what a better place this world is because you are in it. A thankful heart is always close to the riches of the universe.
The Power of a Smile
“Every time you smile at someone,
it is an action of love,
a gift to that person,
a beautiful thing.”
Mother Teresa
Several years ago I worked at a Junior High school. Every day I saw the same teacher. I smiled and said hello. She wouldn’t say anything. After about a month of this I thought, “She is now my project.”
When I saw her I would say “Hi”, and if she didn’t respond I would go out of my way to say,“Hi”, sometimes two or three times that day. Finally she warmed up to me and we would talk to each other. I had made this challenge to see what the power of my smile could do to lift up another person.
When you are happy a smile is the exclamation point. When you are sad and smiling, chances are your mood will change; this really works. Whenever I see someone with a big frown this is a reminder for me to smile. When you smile you are understood in every language.
If you don’t know what to say, smile. A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.
None are so rich or mighty that he can get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. If someone is too tired to give you a smile, give them one of yours.
Dale Carnegie believed in the power of a smile and quoted an ancient Chinese proverb. It goes like this: “A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” Mr. Carnegie goes on to say: “Your smile is a messenger of your good will.” Your smile brightens the lives of all who see it. See what you can do with the power of a smile.
When you smile more you will carry an aura and poise that will draw people to you. People will look forward to being around you, knowing only that they feel great around you, people on the street, at work, your friends etc. We all like and want to be around happy and cheerful people.
Smile at Strangers. You know those times when you cross paths with a stranger or accidentally catch someone’s gaze, and you suddenly look away in awkwardness or pretend you are looking at something else? Well, the challenge is to give them a big smile. A genuine smile, showing teeth and everything.
Deepak Chopra talks about giving each person you encounter a small gift. I do this with a smile. Why not? It doesn’t cost us anything; plus, it’s a lot more fun than feeling awkward and pretending you’re not there.
I also love to see people’s reactions when you smile at them and they aren’t expecting it. Some blush, and others are surprised and smile back, which makes me feel good inside. I like this poem it goes like this. Smiling is infectious,You can catch it like the flu. Someone smiled at me today, And I started smiling too. Change the world one smile at a time.
My Experience with Skip Ross
One of the saddest things I see is someone with a poor self esteem. I can relate. When I was in elementary school I was a slow learner. As a result of the label given me by my peers I became more unsure of myself.
Many students at school knew me, but I didn’t get close to anyone except for one good friend. We would wander the halls before school talking and waiting for the school bell to ring. Sometimes I felt very lonely, being able to talk only to the family’s pet goats. I was thankful for my little piece of heaven on our small farm.
I am thankful for amazing teachers, church leaders, people in the community, and most of all my parents who helped me believe in myself. As a result of them I started changing my self image into a more outgoing one.
The pivotal moment in my life was when my parents were in the Amway business. Part of their Amway training was how to be a better person on the inside and out.
Every week my dad would travel about an hour south from our home in Salt Lake City to pick up his order of products. In part of his order was a cassette tape called ‘The Tape of the Week.” Some times I would go with him. On our way home we would listen to these tapes. This is where I first listened to Zig Ziglar, Rich Devos, Skip Ross and many more wonderful positive speakers.
One day my parents told me that Skip Ross was coming to town. They asked me if I wanted to hear him speak. I was so excited I might as well have been going to hear a rock star perform. He was a very successful motivational speaker, singer and had reached the top in the world of Amway.
While I was listening to Skip Ross live in person I saw a person with self confidence who was funny and could sing. Who could ask for more then that; he was the real deal. I also wanted to become a person that radiated self confidence.
My parents told me he had a youth camp in Rockford, Michigan. I wanted to go so I saved my money. It cost me $800 dollars to go to this camp a huge amount of money. I had a job making $3.15 an hour. It took me a year to save up enough money to go.
This was my first trip on an airplane. I was going to a camp where I didn’t know anyone so I had to stretch outside of my comfort zone. I was excited and nervous at the same time.
Every morning Skip Ross instructed us on how we could reach our full potential. After we were instructed he had many activities planned for us like swimming, horse back riding, and we even helped with the chores like feeding the horses and cleaning the barn. I felt right at home since I did barn chores everyday in Utah.
One day our activity was going to Lake Michigan. I had the privilege of sitting in the front seat with Skip Ross. I looked down and saw that he had a cassette tape of himself singing. I asked him if we could listen to it; he agreed. I thought that was very cool to be sitting next to the person who was singing on the tape as we were driving to the beach.
Going to the Skip Ross Circle A. Ranch in Michigan was a life changing experience. I learned that we can become anything we want to become or achieve anything we want to achieve. I also learned to Love yourself, for if you don’t, how can you expect anybody else to love you?”
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? Would you still be at the same job? Would you go back to school and get your degree? I think we would all be the ideal weight and eat healthy. If we couldn’t fail we would have a high self esteem and we would love ourselves. The greatest love of all is learning to love yourself.
There are many different ways to understand love. We also need to remove and never use the word hate in our vocabulary. This will increase are ability to love ourselves and others unconditionally.
Love and Fear
In our reality there are two opposite emotions- love and fear. The emotion we express, whether it is love or fear, is the one we put into motion. Where our attention goes, our energy flows. We are in control of our own feelings in every situation.
Love and fear cannot occupy the same space; we are either operating from a love state or from a fear state. We cannot serve them both, or be fully present in the experience of both emotions simultaneously.
When I get in a bad mood I like to use trigger words like, “I feel great” or a positive mantra like, “I am in the right place at the right time, and good things our happening to me” How can you be in a bad mood when you are doing this? Find a song that makes you happy. Do any positive action that changes a negative into a positive. In other words, it will turn fear into love.
Acceptance is the requirement to changing negative emotions to positive ones. Changing one to the other is often labelled as judging one as good, and the other as bad. Yet in reality only love is real, and fear is merely appearing real.
False- Evidence- Appearing- Real.
There was a man who worked on refrigerated box cars on trains. One day while he was working on one of the cars he was accidentally locked inside. He knew that by the time people found him the next day he would be frozen to death.
He thought he should write down some of his feelings for family and friends. He was able to write on the floor of the box car. He wrote notes of love to his family, and also things like my fingers are starting to get numb, I am getting very sleepy.
The next day he was found dead, frozen to death. After the investigation it was discovered that the refrigeration unit was broken. The temperature never got below 38 degrees. His fear killed him.
The power of love is just as strong. I have a niece who was diagnosed with spinal meningitis. She was diagnosed with the type that would most likely take her life. If she did survive she would be blind, deaf, or severely handicapped.
The family prayed for her. My parents helped my sister replace fear with love. Whenever my niece would get a fever they would pray for healing, and the fever would go away.
Several years after the trip to the hospital, I have a happy, healthy niece that has no side effects from the spinal meningitis.
Why I Love America
I will tell you why I love America?
Give me a moment and I’ll explain.
Have you seen a Utah sunset
or a Montana rain?
Have you been fishing on a bayou
down Louisiana way?
Have you walked on the Bridge called
Golden Gate
Over San Francisco Bay?
Have you seen an eagle soaring
high above the Virginia pines,
Or heard the New York City traffic
where Time Square shines?
Does the call of Bryce Canyon thrill you
with all the red rocks galore?
Do you look with awesome wonder
at the Massachusetts shore,
Where men were brave in a big new world
first walked on Plymouth’s rock.
Do you also think of the great men
that lead and never mock
Have you seen a drifting snowflake
in the Tetons way up high?
Have you seen the bright sun come blazing
from a blue Nevada sky?
Do you rejoice when you see the Columbia
rush to the sea,
or say a prayer at Gettysburg
knowing freedom isn’t free?
Have you honored the men at
Mount Rushmore?
Have you seen the mighty Mississippi
flow along Missouri’s shore?
Have you seen a Wyoming snow drift
on a cold winter’s day?
Or watch a storm unfold
her thunderous display?
When you say, “Aloha” it makes you warm.
When you see a surf come roaring in
along Maui’s reef
do you stare in disbelief?
From Alaska’s gold to the Everglades
From the Rio Grande to Maine,
My heart rejoices, my spirit soars,
at the greatness of her domain.
I will tell you why I love America?
there are a million reasons why:
My magnificent America,
beneath God’s big blue sky.
By Leonard Fish
Inspired by the poem by John Mitchem America why I Love Her
Be Thankful in All Things
Life teaches us so many lessons. I have been trying to ask myself “what can I learn from this experience?” when I am going through a really difficult time. Even the good times can teach us things about ourselves and others. I am a huge optimist, even when things get tough. I love looking at things with a positive outlook even when many people might ask the question, “why?” I am saying “why not.”
A few days ago I was cleaning the halls with an auto scrubber, when I noticed large amounts of water was being left on the floor. I checked everything I could think of to remedy the problem, nothing I tried seemed to help the situation. One of the teachers saw me on my knees, then made the comment “that is not a good sign if you are on your knees.” I said in true Pollyanna fashion, “It is always a good sign when you are on your knees” meaning we need to thank the Lord in all things.
After further investigation, I discovered that a hose had been clogged causing the machine to loose suction. What started as an interesting curiosity resulted in solving a several month challenge, trying to figure out why the auto scrubber kept losing more, and more suction. When the auto scrubber stopped sucking up water it forced me to figure out the problem, and I was very grateful the mystery was solved.
This reminds me of another story that took place during the great Chinese Dynasty several hundred years ago. There was a boy that would help his father care for their families farm by taking care of the animals and garden. One day he injured his foot. He was no longer able to help his father with the family chores. The wise father said “we need to be thankful no matter what happens to us.
Soon after the son’s accident the Chinese army arrived in the village requiring the first born son in every family to join the army for battle. The injured son was unable to leave and join the army, saving the fathers son from a more serious injury from battle or even death. You never know what mission you have on earth and what circumstances will help build your character or what your destination will be. I do know being thankful in all things will be a blessing for you, and the people you surround yourself with.
The Color of Love
I love the work of Taylor Hartman. He has written the book called The Color Code. I like to refer to his work and use it often to understand people and their personalities.. According to Taylor Hartman there are four color personality types
Reds
Reds want to get things done. They love power and are logic-oriented. They find the quickest way from point A to point B, and then go for it. Reds are competitive and they can be critical of others.
The pros with
Reds- they are often the most productive members of society. They don’t let feelings or emotions get in the way of their tasks. They are great communicators and natural leaders. They are good at setting goals and achieving them.
The cons
with Reds- they can be insensitive and selfish. They can be calculative and manipulative, and they always have to be right.
Blues
Blues are the “do-gooders” of society, as Hartman puts it. They are emotional, genuine, and honest in their daily lives. Blues are perfectionists, and they abide by a strong moral code. They are demanding of themselves and of those around them.
The pros
with Blues- they are fiercely loyal people. They usually have small groups of really close friends, and those friendships last a lifetime. Blues are reliable and dependable and value being appreciated.
The cons with Blues-
The perfectionist in the blues can get in the way of their lives at times. Their high demands are sometimes unrealistic and annoying to other personality types. Blues are constant worriers. They can also be resentful and unforgiving.
Whites
Whites are the peacemakers of society. They shy away from conflict and try to keep everything in their lives on an even keel.
The pros
with Whites- they have great clarity and are peaceful, they are great negotiators and diplomats, always seeing both perspectives in a relationship. They are patient with themselves and with others. They enjoy the simple things in life. Whites are also very accommodating.
The cons
with Whites- they can be indecisive and come across as boring to other personality colors. They take a passive approach to life, and can be easily manipulated. Whites can also be lazy and unwilling to take responsibility for themselves.
Yellows
Yellows are the fun-lovers of society. They see the good in everything, and they always have a positive attitude. They are up for anything socially, and they need to be around people. Yellows want to be the center of attention. They would rather put off work for a fun activity than the other way around.
The pros
with Yellows- they are optimists. They love to volunteer for opportunities, and see life as something to be enjoyed, not fretted over. Yellows are flexible and personable, and connect with others easily.
The cons
with Yellows- they can be seen as obnoxious, rude, and irresponsible people. They are, however, envied by the other personality colors because of their carefree spirits. Yellows are sometimes undisciplined and often speak before thinking about what they are saying. Yellows can only handle stress for a short period of time.
When you understand people, it makes it easier to love them. One of my wife’s great qualities is she loves doing things for others. On the other hand, she worries a lot. I tease her by saying I don’t need to worry because she worries so much that I don’t need to. Cassie is a blue personality type and very lovable.
My daughter Jessie is a red personality type. She gets things done quickly and effectively. Jessie doesn’t have any problem telling people what to do, sometimes with no tact. When I want something to get done quickly, I will ask Jessie.
My brother Wes is lots of fun. When you want to have a great party or adventure you ask Wes to come. His yellow personality is laid back and spontaneous. I love it. On occasion, I have been known to rescue Wes when he locks his keys in his car, or runs out of gas. This is all right, because I know this is what yellows do.
I am a white personality type. I am famous for being passive aggressive. I am very good at saying “sure, I can do that,” when I am really thinking, “Hell no, I will not do that.” I don’t like conflict, so I will tell people what they want to hear. I want peace at all cost.
When you understand a person’s personality you know what to expect. We all know lions will eat people if they are given the opportunity, so why would you be surprised with anything else.
The color code is like a road map to a persons personality. Follow the wrong map and you will get lost fast. Blues are perfectionists and yellows are not, so why would a blue expect a yellow to be perfect. This same advice goes for all red, yellow, blue and white personality people.
If someone likes to laugh and joke around, why would you want them to be serious all the time? We need to be more sensitive to everyone’s needs. Especially the people we love the most, our families.
Happy Birthday Mr. Fish!
A few weeks ago, it was my birthday. It is fun to see the nice things people can do for you. Modern technology has made it very easy to reach out to people. My wife sent me a very nice Facebook message with a picture of me. I thought is was very sweet of her. Many people liked her comments. One of the lunch ladies at my school saw the post, then replied with her own message that read, “Happy Birthday and beware today! When I left to go to work I was surprised with two pieces of cake from my wife on the front seat of my car to take to work with another sweet note. She is so thoughtful. By the time I got to work I went from having a great day to a spectacular one.
When it was time for lunch to start the lunch lady made me a poster that said “Happy Birthday Mr. Fish with balloons. When each grade level was lined up waiting to get their food she said “make sure you say happy birthday to Mr. Fish today.” So out of 730 students at the school I think I heard Happy Birthday 900 times. When the fourth grade students came into the lunchroom they spontaneously started singing “Happy Birthday,” I was touched. It was very fun talking, and interacting with students.
I got to thinking about this experience when I realized how important it is to treat people how you want to be treated. Some of the students I talked to have never talked to me before, and several students wanted to give me a hug. Many years ago I decided to always give students respect even when you don’t feel they are respecting you. This simple act of kindness has paid off many times over. I love the students, and I know they love me.
The Baby Shower
A few weeks ago my wife had a baby shower at our home for our niece. I was outside repairing a fence that had blown down from a bad wind storm we had a week prior. When my wife has these parties I like to go hiking, or bike riding, with a friend. This time was different. I had just finished the repairs on the fence when all the guests were eating a light brunch with a few snack type foods. A few of the people came with their small children. One was fascinated with the dog food, so I put it on the table. It wasn’t five minutes later when one of the ladies reached for the dog food, and was about to eat it when I said “stop! You are about to eat dog food.” She laughed and said “I thought it was a fun snack food” She didn’t notice the dog foot prints painted on the outside of the dog food dish to help reveal the contents of the food inside the bowl.
I got to thinking about all the times we go through life in auto pilot not even noticing the harmful things we put in our bodies. Then wonder why you are 20 pounds heavier. We often go through life with many things on our mind. We don’t stop to notice the simple things of beauty like a sunset, a butterfly, or a rose. When someone holds a door open for us or when someone cleans, and folds our clothes, are we appreciative? How many meals are cooked without thanking the person that cooked it? Many things we do in life are with muscle memory. I think we need to start being more aware of our surroundings. Along with being more thankful for all the people in our lives who make them better because they are connected to us in some way. Let’s start living more in the present by appreciating Earth’s beauty, and the people living there.
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