This week’s gratitude post was purposefully delayed an extra day because of the Aspire To Inspire a Kid Before You Expire story that was posted on Tuesday.  I wanted to give it an extra day to allow for ample viewing time and comments.

Because of that, I pushed back my weekly interview with Lorelle of WordPress.  Since I wanted to give Lorelle sufficient air time, I am posting this now instead of last night.  And so here we are.

I’ve had a rather interesting week, including a fender bender that could have gone wrong but didn’t.  Last week, a lady from Forbes contacted me for my expert opinion on Bill Gates retiring and I didn’t know whether my statement(s) would make it to print but it did.  And then I read a phenomenally powerful manifesto that I think everyone should read.

Without further ado, are the specifics of why I’m feeling so much gratitude this week:

Ever Thought about “Cartoonizing” Yourself?

Have you ever wondered what you’d look like if your picture was drawn up as a cartoon?  If you’re a fan of cartoons and funky art, you’ll be all over befunky, a registration-free site that lets you have fun “cartoonizing” yourself.

Thanks goes to Darren Rouse of Problogger who Twittered about it earlier this week.

I guarantee you’ll have so much fun with it - it’s SUPER EASY.  All you have to do is click on a button, download a photo, crop it and then watch yourself turn into a cartoon.  You can see mine at the left.

Whaddya think?

A Fender Bender That Could Have Gone Wrong

I’m sure all of you have heard of horror stories in dealing with insurance companies in the aftermath of an accident.

The accident happened on Wednesday when I was at yet another Youth Event for deaf kids (I’m volunteering my time this summer to serve as a role model).

When I arrived at the parking lot, it was pretty full but I managed to find myself a spot and went inside the building where the festivities were being held.   Since I was scheduled to give an inspirational talk about how I became a pilot, I was rather preoccupied with setting up the laptop and projector when the director of the center approached me with a look of concern on her face.

“What kind of car do you have?” she said.

My first thought was I had left my headlights on - that’s something I tend to do from time to time.   I have a portable cable jumper in my trunk for such occasions.  After describing my car to her, what she said next made me feel as if I were on pins and needles.

“I think someone hit your car.”

“OMG, I hope not!”

Trying to stem the tide of fear from overtaking me, I walked briskly out to the parking lot hoping to God it wasn’t mine.

But it was - look at the photo to your left.  That’s my car!

When I first saw it, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me because I’ve never had anyone bang my car like that, especially in a parking lot!  I mean, I’ve had a few dents here and there from flying shopping carts and car doors swinging open.

But THIS?!@?

Even though I couldn’t believe what I was looking at, strangely enough, I was not upset (Life 101 Tip:  Control Your Emotions).

Then I saw a yellow piece of paper fluttering in the wind on the driver’s side.  I walked over and found to my surprise a note from a woman whose car hit mine.  She wrote her full name, phone number and a brief but sincere apology.  This lady actually begged me to contact her right away so that her insurance company could take care of this!

Imagine the overwhelming relief I felt when I saw her note.  Of course, I lost no time seeking her out (she worked in the building that was holding the youth event).   She vowed to get this resolved as quickly as possible.  I was flabbergasted.

Not content to rest on my laurels and wait for her insurance company to contact me, I decided to find out just how much financial damage was done.  I went to my Honda dealership and asked them for a body shop recommendation.  Twenty minutes later, I pulled up to the body shop, to be greeted by Kevin Reid, the pleasant manager of American Auto Body.

Right from the start, I knew I would be taking my car to them for repair.  I felt an instant rapport with this man.  He had an air of energy that was honest, refreshing and full of humor (yes, despite the situation).   I later found out that he loved his job because the owner goes over the top in treating all of his employees with honor and respect.  Kevin is allowed to run the place, call the shots and make decisions, just as if he were the owner himself.

There’s a lesson here for all bosses - it pays to treat the people who work for you with dignity and respect.

There’s not a doubt in my mind that the universe brought me to Kevin because I was being given back a person who treated me exactly like how I treat others - with respect, admiration, integrity and dignity.

If I had gotten myself into the habit of railing about how businesses continue to rip off people, do you think I would have been led to them?  You tell me.

Oh wait, there’s more!

Within two days, I heard back from the woman’s insurance company.   Not only did they say this particular body shop was actually on their “preferred list,” but that they would provide me with a rental car at their expense.

Thank you Universe!

Article in Forbes Magazine Online

In last week’s gratitude post, I wrote that because of my new “Crackberry,” I was able to respond quickly to a Forbes magazine reporter’s inquiry on Bill Gates’ retirement.  I didn’t know if I’d get mentioned or not but apparently Hayes Davenport (reporter) liked what I had to say because I was mentioned about 3/4 of the way down the How to Be The Next Bill Gates article.

Thank you Hayes - you just gave me yet another opportunity to get my name out there.

My Church Crowned Me “Coffeehouse Idol”!

Oh Lordy, you’ll get a kick out of this one.   (Photo Credit:  Ron Hoff).

In December 2007, I wrote Unleash Pure, Raw Spiritual Power by Changing a Habit about a magical experience I had at one of my church’s events.  I had shared with you what happened when I changed my attitude one night and ended up belting out a couple of karaoke tunes, startling just about everyone there.  Up to that point, I hardly ever sang along, but that night, I literally screamed to my heart’s content.

Imagine that.

The day after, everyone at the church from the cleaning lady up to the reverend heard about it.

Well, last weekend I was back at the monthly event, hanging out and singing along, having fun.  When it was all over, someone turned on the lights - it was time for announcements.

I had no idea what was coming so I sat there, waiting for it to be over with so I could bolt home.

“Tonight,” Joni, the organizer said, “we have selected this year’s coffeehouse idol and it’s STEPHEN HOPSON!”

Instantly my face turned crimson red.   WHAT?!?!

My first inclination was to dismiss this as some frivolous thing but I stopped myself short.  It meant a lot to the organizer and to some of the people there.  They were trying to coax people to come out of their shells and this was one way of giving them recognition for having the courage to step up to the plate and go for it.

Apparently they wanted to make an example of me.

If a deaf guy who has never heard a sound in his life can get up there and sing a couple of off-key tunes and still have a good time, why couldn’t they?

So I accepted the “award” with good manners and smiled.

The next day, the church’s secretary published the news in the monthly newsletter.

Good heavens, what’s next?

Local Akron Bloggers Meet-Up

Those of us who work from home need to get out and connect.   We can only stay home for so long before we shrivel up inside from lack of human contact.

I’ve made it a top priority to get out as much as possible to connect with people.  So when I heard that the local Akron Bloggers were getting together for coffee yesterday, I jumped at the chance. (Photo credit:  Chris Brown)

(From left to right):  Ron McDaniel, myself, Chris Brown, Norma Rist and Debborah Chaddick Brown exchanged tips, ideas and stories for about an hour or so.  A good time was had by all.

I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to connect with others who are not only a riot to hang out with but are also willing to reach out and help one another.

Powerful Manifesto:  “A Brief Guide to World Domination - How to Live a Remarkable Life in a Conventional World”

Do you remember not too long ago when I gave you a link to an essay on what it means to have 1,000 True Fans?

Well, I got that link from Chris Guillebeau who runs a fantastically interesting blog called “The Art of Nonconformity.”  I’ve been a true fan of Chris for a while.  As a matter of fact, I believe I invited him to be interviewed here at Adversity University.  (Gulp!  I better follow up on that because he is a must-have for the Stephen Hopson Interview series!).  More on that later.

The easy-to-read 29 page manifesto is absolutely inspiring, thought provoking and revolves around two questions:

1. What do you really want to get out of life?
2. What can you offer the world no one else can?

It is a great read - most definitely worth your time.  I read the entire 29 page manifesto in one sitting.

He first starts out by listing what constitutes “unremarkable” people but says there’s nothing wrong with being one (if that’s what people want for themselves).

Chris goes on to support what I believe has been true all along:

You can achieve remarkable things in life and STILL find a way to make a difference in the world by giving back.

In other words, you do not need to make a lot of money and THEN make a difference.  You can do both at the SAME time.

This manifesto is FREE and you can download it immediately (no registration required, no sales pitches, no nothing).

Download it here.

Thanks Chris for spending 35 hours in creating a GREAT manifesto.  You’ve inspired me to write one too.

What will mine be about?  Hmmmmm……

Food for thought:  Did anything in this week’s gratitude post remind you of something you should be grateful for?  It’s all about your attitude - you can choose to focus on the worst parts of your life or you can concentrate on what’s good about it.  It’s your choice.

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