How I wish he were here to blow those candles out! It will be a celebration all the same, as our family recalls Kansas City's favorite butcher and the man we called our beloved father.




Check out one of my favorite Dad moments at John Bichelmeyer - Words of Wisdom and other ways his legacy lives on at our updated website MaryBLucas.com

Happy clicking.......and Happy Birthday Dad.

"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die,"

Hello to each and every one of you! Summertime......and the livin' is easy. Famous song lyrics by the legendary George Gershwin. If George could see my summertime schedule, he might be singing a different tune entirely! So much going on, and so long since we've communicated with you. Let me take a few minutes to share some recent highlights as to what's been happening with "Lunchmeat & Life Lessons." London Calling: I've just returned from a trip across the pond, where I was honored to speak at the CIETT 2012 World Employment Conference. This was an incredible global event, as 28 different countries were represented in the worldwide recruitment industry. I gave two presentations during the conference and audience feedback was so high I nearly floated back home on it rather than boarding an airplane for the return trip. Even better? I think my appearances have opened avenues for even more globetrekking in the future. Cheers to that possibility! Crossroads Hospice: I was asked by the earthly angels of the Crossroads Hospice community to speak to their compassionate organization recently. I was honored that close to 400 attendees listened to me as I shared the Butcher's Wisdom with medical professionals who provide comfort and dignity to those in their final days, who then share his stories with their patients. Incredible, isn't it? That the common sense approach to life my father championed also resonates among those who have so little time left to live it. An enduring legacy I am always grateful to share. Lunchmeat Legion Book Clubs: I am getting more and more emails lately sharing how Lunchmeat is making the book club circles in living rooms and board rooms all over the country. One of my favorites? A spunky group of retiree readers who regularly gather to share books and discuss them. I was charmed and captivated when I received a recent letter from one of those readers who shared a member comment about my book. A retired psychologist was asked to give her perspective on "Lunchmeat and Life Lessons," and she had this to say: "Thank God Mary Lucas didn't write this when I was still in practice or I would have never had another patient!" Imagine that! And proof positive that it's never to late to be learning. Finally, Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there doing their best each day to raise our next generation. You know who you are, and here's to a job well done. There's a special Dad in my own home that I'd like to thank for giving me the two greatest gifts of my life, my sons Chase and Nick. Happy Father's Day, Scott. Well, friends, that's a Lunchmeat Wrap. As we find ourselves immersed in the busyness of June, July and August, I hope you'll take a moment to catch some fireflies, swing in a backyard hammock and treat yourself to some lemonade. The home made kind, because summertime livin' is as tasty as it ever gets. Cheers! Mary Mary B. Lucas Office: 913-671-7974 Cell: 913-269-8222 Email: Mary@MaryBLucas.com Website: www.MaryBLucas.com Tribute Center: www.HeartsWeLeaveBehind.com # # #

 It's never to late to live happily ever after. 

"A Mother is the only person on earth who can divide her love among ten children and yet each child have all her love."

Do you know the Number One reason a person stays with their job? Do you know the Number One reason a person leaves their job? (Here's a hint:  Both questions have the same answer!)

Cue the drum roll, please.  The answer? Their boss.

I shared that fun fact at a recent speaking engagement and a visiting psychologist later stopped me to chat.  She asked me this:  “Do you know the Number One reason a person stays in their marriage?  And do you know the Number One reason people leave their marriage? The answer to both questions is their spouse."

Turns out things are no different at work or at home. Positive relationships with people you spend time with is crucial to your commitment to them.  But it's not just that person's presence that instills this dedication:  It's how they make you feel when you are with them.

I recall a story from noted business author and speaker Tom Peters called "The Million Dollar Mistake" that dramatizes this very point.  Mike worked at a bank and was given 18 months and one million dollars to develop a very important company project.  However, at the end of that schedule, the project failed to successfully deliver the anticipated results.

Mike was called in to a meeting with his boss, and felt certain he was to be terminated.

“I'm sure you intend to fire me,” Mike reluctantly said to his boss. “You gave me a huge assignment that cost the bank a lot of money and I basically blew it. I’ll go pack my things.”

As Mike turned his back and began to retreat from the office, his boss’s words stopped him.

“Are you kidding me?” the boss said.  The boss stood up, hands firmly placed on his desk.

“I just spent a million dollars on your education, " he said. "I’m not going to fire you. I’m going to promote you. I don’t want you taking elsewhere the knowledge and experience you've gained working on this project. I believe in you Mike. Now, get back to work. You have lots to do.”

Can you imagine what shifted in Mike’s mindset after hearing those words from his boss? Just when he thought he had made the biggest mistake of his life, he is given a promotion!  Even though the million dollars was not successfully utilized, his boss saw it from a completely different perspective. Despite what the employee perceived to be his colossal failure, his boss saw otherwise. To him, it was money well spent.

Because of his boss, Mike would now focus on giving his best to his employer. No doubt that million dollars would be returned exponentially in countless ways in the years ahead.

More importantly, Mike would most likely change his perspective on treating those under his responsibility, choosing to see the positive side of negative situations in all of his subsequent business encounters. For Mike, this was a genuine lesson in not only bringing out the best in another, but in how to be a great boss. Mike had learned how to confidently turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones.

When you bring out the best in others, their natural inclination is to do their best for you. They want to learn from you, be with you and buy from you. It works, time and time again. 


Let me hear your stories.  And please remember to connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and of course my website.  Thanks for reading!

My dad was fond of reminding each of his ten children that the world didn't really revolve around us.  He'd sit back, smile, and so lovingly say, "When you’re all wrapped up in yourself, you make a damn small package."

Have you ever noticed how so many people seem to pursue happiness? They work tirelessly to achieve something that seems just barely beyond their grasp, thinking to themselves, "If only I can reach this goal or make this amount of money or lose ten pounds......I will have happiness."

As they task and toil, working themselves past fatigue, people often rationalize that their efforts are the necessary requirements to finally reach the state of happiness. Silly people.

I don’t know about you, but I have yet to see a road sign that points me directly to Happiness.  I've never seen it on a map, nor do I expect to input any certain coordinates into my GPS and hope that the wonders of technology will lead me to this desired destination.  (But I've come close:  Go to Maui and turn left!) 

My question remains, then: How do you find the road leading to happiness? I regret to inform you that there is no road, no path. You just can’t take off to find a place when you are already there.

Yes, you are already there. Open up your eyes and wake up your heart. Happiness has always been inside of you.  You won’t find it outwardly. You can only look inwardly. It’s been there all along. Perhaps it has been dormant for some time, crowded out by life's complexities and stressors.  But it’s there, just begging to get back to work for you and create a more meaningful, productive, abundant life.

Happiness is not a place just beyond the next horizon, or somewhere over the rainbow.  It doesn't exist in the future, it exists now.  It is a state of internal being, and one that you can tap into 24/7. Once you understand that you can exist in the ambiance of such a positive and uplifting feeling, happiness becomes your essence. YOU are happiness.  Look in the mirror. I guarantee that when you listen to your heart and open up your mind, you will realize that happiness has been staring back at you all along.

Your responsibility, however, is to recognize it, live it and share it with others. Here's to finding yours!

Wisdom that Works

Typically when a writer begins to take pen to paper, or, in this case, fingers to keyboard, inspiration is not only delivered to a potential audience, but it is delivered unto ourselves, from a deeper place within that we knew existed, but into which we rarely tapped.

Inspiration is also drawn from those with whom we have shared our story, and it is those connections I have made in my journey since publishing “Lunchmeat & Life Lessons,” that have become the catalyst behind this post and my next book.

While I fully anticipated that my life would most likely take on some interesting changes after publishing “Lunchmeat”, I really did not understand the depth of those changes and how they would dramatically alter the landscape of my life.

The wit and wisdom my father dispensed to me all of my life has helped shape and define who I am, and what a gift that has been. However, those same words… those same philosophies… are now reaching countless individuals who have been the unexpected, yet fully appreciated, beneficiaries of an undying legacy.

I am eternally grateful to those of you who have shared with me ways that you have applied Dad's wisdom as well as sharing your own personal stories of wisdom that works. Wisdom that you may have learned from a beloved relative or mentor, wisdom that inspires you to be the best you can be.

It is through my writing today that I aspire to relay those stories and my personal journey that has subsequently evolved. It is through my writing today that I hope to share stories of more WISDOM THAT WORKS.

Stay tuned as I look forward to sharing this next chapter with all of you!

Mary

It's not just time for a new calendar in my life....it's time for a new compass heading as well. For the past five years, I've been sharing the wit and wisdom I learned from my father, the Butcher, with each of you. In fact, it's during that time that many of us became friends. You've supported me by reading my book, listening to me at keynote speeches, inviting me to book clubs and workplace events, following me on all our social media sites, even sharing emails and phone calls with me as a result of the impact my father's guidance had on your own lives.

But now my journey takes a turn. I'm shifting my direction a bit......getting a new compass heading. And it's all because of your requests for additional insight, for real time examples, for more depth and content.

In 2012, I'm dedicating my writing time to developing a new message series called "Wisdom That Works." I'm taking my father's wit and wisdom - the stories and guidance you're all familiar with -- and translating it to today's real life challenges. You might say I'm trading in Dad's well worn roadmap for a digital GPS, but the destination remains the same: the pursuit of life's happiness and success.

As you might have guessed, I have finally figured out where I am headed with regards to my next book. Thanks to all of you who have shared your thoughts as to how you have applied Dad’s wisdom (and to all of you who show me the way by the way you lead and live your lives each day) my new book is now in the works. Stay tuned because this year I'll be sharing excerpts regularly with you right here on my blog.

Until next time, I wish you an inspired New Year!