Rhonda Scharf - Common Sense is NOT Common Practice

How can Ipossibly share my common sense with you and not acknowledge whereit came from. To all of those who influenced me as I was a child,and as I continue as an adult, thank you. Thank you to all theteachers who had an impact on me in schoolteachers make adifference. Thank you to anyone who was ever in a position to giveme advice (even if I didnt take it). I learned (sometimes the hardway).

to warren Munn,the man who hears my common sense daily (even when he doesnt wantto), thank you for listening, thank you for agreeing to see mypoint of view (even when you dont want to), and thank you for yourunconditional support.

Special thanksgo to my mother, Audrey May, and her parents, Stanley and JessieMay, for teaching me to make common sense my practice. To Gordonand Sharon Scharf along with Elisha and hazel Scharf, where would Ibe without you and the common sense you have instilled? My in-laws,Leland and Iona Munn, have had an impact in my life with theircommon sense in a very short period of time as well that willtravel with me for the rest of my time. Parents and grandparentshave always played a major role in my life, and I pray that willcontinue for a very long time.

As a parent Ihope that I can continue to share my common sense in a helpful wayto my children, Christopher and Patrick Finniss along with Victoriaand Leland Munn. I hope that I can influence you with the samepositive energy that my parents influenced me with.

For each of youwho have taken the time to ask questions during my speeches andtraining programs, via email or telephone, I thank you as well. Thelessons we have all experienced is where the knowledge comesfrom.

Thank you oneand all for the lessons I have learned.

Why is one person successful and the other is not?What is the difference between a gold medal and a silver medal atthe Olympics? Why do some people seem to just enjoy life more thanothers?

I get askedthose questions all the time and even get paid to share theanswers. What I often find is that the answers are simple; youalready know them. They arent rocket science or take a degree inquantum physics to get them. No, the best answers to thesequestions come in the form of plain old, every- day common sense.The common sense your grandmother tried to instill in you. Thecommon sense that we see missing every day at work, on the bus, onthe television and in the newspaper (and sometimes in themirror).

if you want tobe successful, if you want to be happy, and you dont want to gothrough life settling for anything other than the gold medalallyou need to do is practice what you already know!

The answer isright in front of you, but first you must get your bad habits outof the way. You are the difference between gold and silver, betweenhappy and trapped, between mediocre and successful. It is you whois sabotaging you. It hurts to admit it, but fortunately it is easyto fix.

As you share myjourney on common sense, be completely honest with yourself and askdo I do that? Be truthful. Learn from the mistake. It is okay tomake mistakes in life, just dont lose the lesson.

The storiesthat youre going to read about in here are taken from myexperiences with people who continue to lose the lesson.Unfortunately, because they follow common practice and not commonsense, they will never be successful, never be happy, and they arenever going to get it! I want you to be one of those in thesuccessful camp. I want you to get it, and you willif you arehonest, if you are willing, and if you practice a little commonsense.

We go to school to study and learn. We go to collegeto be- come qualified in what it is we will do with our entirelives. Our identity is in huge part determined by what you do, whoyou do it with, and how you do it. The truth is, we spend most ofour waking lives at work. We also all know that to be true, but whyis it that people continue to plod through life not realizing theimpact they have on others? They could be so much more successfuland happy with a little awareness, a little compassion andunderstanding, and a whole lot of common sense!

Unfortunately,we live in a visual, material world, and no matter how smart yousound, if you dont present yourself in a professional way, yourenot going to be perceived as professional. While we all know thatcommon sense, it seems, gets thrown out the window these days whenit comes to how we handle our- selves around our office matesfromthe way we dress to the state of our desk. I want you to wake upand look in the mirror and what follows is just some of my randomthoughts along these lines

What has happened to our culture that we dont saythank- you anymore?

I was in a drugstore recently and made a sizeable purchase. At the end of thepurchase, I said, thank-you. I really think that the cashiershould have said thank-you, as Im sureconsidering how much Ispentthat I contributed to the profitability of the store thatweek. Instead, I was the one who said thank-you, but instead ofthe cashier saying youre welcome, her response wasyou guessedituh-huh.

At the bankthis morning, I held the door opened for the gentle- man behind me.He didnt acknowledge my courtesy.

However, thebank was late in opening this morning, so when I had to get a moneyorder, the bank teller waived the fee because I had to wait forthem. She said to me this is a thank-you for your patience thismorning. that was nicecustomer service as it should be. Sadly,this is the exception not the rule.

Please andthank-you were the two of most important words I learned to usewhen I started working as a teenager. it has contributed to mysuccess so far. Thanks, Mom and dad, for teaching me manners.

Thanking theperson who served your coffee is polite, as is thanking the personwho made the coffee in your office, even if they made it so theycould have a cup. Say thank-you to the person who holds theelevator, delivers your mail, and picks up your garbage. Saythank-you to your spouse for just coming home tonight, and thanksto your kids as they come home safe and sound as well. Saythank-you to the person you look at in the mirror, because somedays thats the only thank-you we get.

When you aresaying thank-you, make sure the words reach your eyes and makeeye contact with the person you are thanking. Be sincere becausethat means as much, or more, than the words you use.