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Close Encounters of the Rude Kind

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rude Does anything bring out rude behavior more than the holiday shopping season? People cutting you off in traffic, stealing your parking spot, talking on their cell phone while being checked out, leaving their garbage in stores, and even being physically aggressive on Black Friday!

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Oprah recently did a show on rude behavior where she highlighted these statistics:

  • Eighty percent of Americans think rudeness is a serious national problem.
  • Yet ninety-nine percent say that they themselves are not rude.

So we can only conclude from these results that all of the rudeness must stem from one percent of all the people! Evidently, most of us think that almost everyone else is rude, but we’re not.

Test yourself

To see how you stack up, she provides a quiz. Here are a few of the questions:

Are you chronically late? 

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georgeI would have to say n…yes. I want to say “no”, but there may be some people who would disagree with me! Too often I think I can squeeze in one more call or answer one more e-mail before heading off to that next appointment.

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marylynnOprah answered the same way. I know I need to work on this … I tend to be five minutes late to meetings.

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Have you ever interrupted a face-to-face conversation to take a non-urgent cell phone call?

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george
I can’t ever recall a time when I’ve done this. Hey, that means I got one right!

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marylynn
I’m good at ignoring the phone when I’m talking to someone face-to-face.

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Have you gone through a supermarket 10-item express lane with more than 10 items?

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georgeWell, that depends on how you define the word “item”. If I have multiples of a single item that does only count as one, doesn’t it?

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marylynn
I’m guilty by association because I go to the store with you, George.

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george
Oh thanks, Mary-Lynn, for blaming it all on me! That’s rude!

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These questions made us think – things that we don’t necessarily think are rude may be perceived as rude by others.

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georgeI get annoyed with oblivious shoppers. When it’s December 24th and I’m starting to shop for Christmas, it’s just rude for people to wander around like they don’t have anything to do. They get in the way of us serious shoppers!

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marylynnFor me, it’s rude drivers – they don’t use their turn signal. They don’t get over when I’m trying to merge even though there’s plenty of room. Drivers who don’t pay attention are inconsiderate!

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What rude behavior is a pet peeve for you?

3 rules of civil behavior

During her show, Oprah talked with Dr. P.M. Forni, author of Choosing Civility: The 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct.

He says our society is structured to encourage rudeness. We’re stressed, fatigued, and in environments with a lot of people we don’t know. For example, we may be one of hundreds of people in a store or traffic jam. His book points out three rules to behave more civilly:

Pay Attention
Without attention, no meaningful interaction is possible. When we relate to the world as if we were on automatic pilot, we can hardly be at our best in our encounters with our fellow human beings.

Acknowledge Others
Acknowledge others' existence, their importance to you, their feelings, and the things they do for you. A simple "Good morning" as you walk past a co-worker in the hallway is a perfect example.

Think The Best
When we approach others assuming that they are good, honest, and sensitive, we often encourage them to be just that. Yet from the results of this study, it appears that we assume the worst in others while thinking the best of ourselves. Sometimes it is dissatisfaction with ourselves that makes us judge others unfairly.

Finally, Dr. Forni also says being polite is a healthier way to live. Going through life behaving rudely can make you physically sick. 

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We really appreciate that you took the time to read our post today. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the U.S. We’re going to put a different spin on it and talk about thanksgetting. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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Got Milk? Young Mom Finds Her Mission

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By Bigg Success Staff
05-06-08

Inspirational Stories

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Jill Youse had a supply problem – she had too much! She had been freezing extra breast milk for her new baby girl, but she knew she didn’t need it all. So she searched the internet for a place to donate her reserve milk.

She only found one organization in South Africa that provided breast milk to orphans. So she contacted them, but they told her that they couldn’t make it work logistically.

But Jill Youse is a very determined person. She found a way to make it work, and in doing so, launched the International Breast Milk Project (IBMP).

Now two years later, she has been featured on Oprah and ABC News, in Women’s Health and Time , by Daryn Kagan in her book What’s Possible, and on well-known web sites such as Freakonomics, Gimundo, and now Bigg Success!

According to UNICEF, babies in the developing world are six times more likely to survive their first two months if they are fed breast milk. The IBMP says that approximately four million infants worldwide die before they reach four weeks in age.

Breast milk helps boost their immune system better than any other alternative. Delaying breast milk feeding just one day can double the infant’s chances of dying before one month.

The IBMP was the first organization in the world to provide breast milk from the United States to orphans in Africa. Today, approximately one-fourth of the milk donated goes to Africa. The rest goes to critically ill infants in the United States.

This IBMP makes money from the milk that stays in the United States to support other initiatives – such as funding rain water harvesting tanks and a water purification system for a children’s home in Kenya and a healthcare center in Tanzania.

Jill’s organization has received the Charities Review Council Seal for meeting all sixteen of its Accountability Standards. According to the IBMP’s web site, 99 percent of all monies received go to programming, with less than one percent for management and fundraising expenses. Now that’s efficiency!

The IBMP’s next shipment is scheduled for this month – over 55,000 ounces of mothers’ milk will be delivered to Africa. That’s the result of thousands of woman donating their excess breast milk. In the process, they become philanthropists who are making a bigg difference.

You can help out the IBMP by donating milk, money or mind power! They are growing rapidly and need any resources you’re willing to offer. Check out their web site for more details!

Jill started with a small problem and turned it into an opportunity to solve a large one, ounce by ounce. She’s a mom on a mission! 

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Teacher Turns $3,000 into a $700 Million Business

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What Causes Your Clutter?

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By Bigg Success Staff
03-19-08

Test yourself

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According to Julie Morgenstern, you have to understand the root cause of your clutter to get rid of it. Julie is a speaker, productivity consultant, professional organizer, time management expert, and author of the best selling book Organizing from the Inside Out.

She says that popular opinion holds that clutter is caused by undesirable traits like laziness. She’s found that isn’t the case. Her research shows that there are three levels of clutter:

Level 1 – Technical errors
The most basic level of clutter means simple mistakes are being made, so they are relatively easy to fix. Errors here include not having a place for everything, having a place that’s not easily accessed, and too much “stuff” relative to the space you have.

Level 2 – External realities
At this level, things start moving outside your control. You may have too much to do with too little time to do it. You may be going through a transition of some sort. Your partner may be the issue. Or you simply just don’t have enough space.

Level 3 – Psychological obstacles
The third level means deeper issues are lurking beneath the surface. You may:

  • have a need for abundance
  • love the thrill of hunting for something you need
  • not have clear goals
  • have a sentimental attachment to your stuff
  • be a perfectionist

Now you can learn what’s causing your clutter. Oprah’s great people, along with Julie, offer a fantastic quiz to determine what causes your clutter. It will take you less than two minutes to answer the 15 questions.

When you’re done, you’ll see what level you’re at as well as get some solutions to begin getting rid of your clutter.

We have to go now – it turns out we need therapy!

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Hear today's lesson and laugh on The Bigg Success Show. 

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The King Of Television

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By Bigg Success Staff
12-20-07

Success Stories

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The King of Television

Your life has almost certainly been touched by Roger King.

Oprah. Wheel of Fortune. Jeopardy. Dr. Phil. Rachael Ray. These are all shows that Roger King helped popularize through his innovative company, King World Productions.

Roger King passed away recently, leaving a legacy of entrepreneurship and salesmanship. He, and his brother Michael, turned a fledgling family business into a dominant force in television.

Cynthia Littleton, a friend of the family and writer for Variety, has two posts you should check out for all the details of this magnificent man. Here are the links:

Roger King: Michael remembers

Roger King: A sui generis TV titan

Here are lessons you can learn from Roger King:

  • Change creates opportunity

    • Roger King saw his opportunity when the federal government changed the rules on television programming. That change opened the door for Roger to work with local affiliates of the major networks.

    When you see change occurring, ask yourself where the opportunity is. You may create your own dynasty!

  • Relationships matter

    • Roger delivered what he promised. The general managers of local television stations knew he was with them for the long haul. So when he presented something out-of-the-ordinary, they went along because they trusted him.

    The biggest asset you’ll ever have, other than yourself, is your relationships with people. Work daily to develop and maintain them.

  • Perseverance wins

    • Roger and Michael were one step away from going bust after their main distributor severed ties with them. King World was still a small company. Nobody had heard of them.

    Roger began calling Merv Griffin, the creator of Wheel of Fortune, to take the show to the evening air waves. He didn’t give up, and Merv eventually gave in. The rest is history.

    When you run into a wall, get over it, under it, around it, or through it. Don’t get discouraged – that’s a key trait of the most successful people.

  • You can change the world

    • Oprah gives Roger credit for taking her nationwide. But it wasn’t easy – especially in the south. As an example, Roger loved telling a story about one station manager who said that he could put a potato in a chair and pull better ratings.

    We know who got the last laugh! As the years passed, stations like these came pleading for Oprah’s show. Roger sold them the rights – but at a premium!

    One person can change the world. More importantly, YOU can change the world.

Hear today's lesson and laugh on The Bigg Success Show.