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This week: Are you paying enough attention to the details?

*Welcome to our 94 new subscribers! You inspire me to keep writing. Please keep forwarding the newsletter along. Thank you for sharing this column with your friends around the world.

IN THE NEWS:

* The 700 Club - Tune in next Wednesday, June 16th for my live, in-studio interview on the daily, Christian news show, "The 700 Club." Check your local listings or visit http://www.cbn.com/700club/ for the time and station in your city. It airs on ABC Family Channel, TBN and more than 100 local stations across the U.S.

* The Life Enrichment Challenge... Check out the June challenge about taking extraordinary care of yourself, at http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/Praise/challenge.
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ARE YOU PAYING ENOUGH ATTENTION TO THE DETAILS?

Hello Friends,

Have you ever done anything so dumb you never even bothered to tell anybody about it? Well, for sake of sharing a life-enriching lesson, I'm going to share a little adventure I had this week that certainly fits the bill. On Monday morning, I packed up and headed to the Baltimore-Washington International airport to fly to Dallas for several public appearances. I accidentally took the wrong exit heading to the airport, but having left in plenty of time, I recovered. I thought that I had overcome the worst of my travel dilemmas, but it was only the beginning. I arrived at the airport and proceeded to check in at the Delta Airlines Kiosk.

After inputting my name, a peculiar headline flashed across the screen of the Kiosk: "We have no record of your reservation." "Hmm. That's odd," I thought, feeling confident that there was an error in the Delta system. "I'll put in my flight number." I pressed the numbers 4-1-9-5 on the touch screen's pretend keyboard. But my confidence wavered as I read the next headline on the screen: "There is no flight 4195 that leaves from Baltimore. Please see an agent." I was sure I had the right flight number and the right airline. What could possibly be the problem?

I pulled out my itinerary to confirm the flight number, which I checked three times before leaving home. That's when I discovered the obvious detail I didn't check. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as four words that I hadn't noticed before, now seemed to jump off the page; Washington Reagan National Airport. I was at the wrong airport! The flight was leaving in less than an hour and there was no way I'd make it. I felt like crying. I also felt like laughing.

"There's a flight leaving in four minutes from this airport, but the next one after that doesn't leave for six hours," the agent said apologetically. "Your best option is to drive to Reagan National and catch the next flight - you'll have to connect through Atlanta, though." So, after driving 50 minutes to the wrong airport, I drove an hour to get to the right airport - the one that was just 20 minutes from home! Good grief. As I drove, I couldn't help, but ponder a question: What lesson am I supposed to learn from this frustrating experience?

Asking, "What's the lesson in this?" can become a way of life that empowers you to make corrections and adjustments that enrich your life. Something as simple and avoidable as showing up at the wrong airport is more than just an aggravating mistake. It can serve as a wake up call, if you will listen. It illustrates one of the principles I talk about in my book, Listen to Your Life. Everything happens for a reason, and if you are open to learning the lesson in your everyday experiences, you will be less frustrated by life's aggravations and enlightened to avoid making the same mistakes repeatedly.

Perhaps what I learned this week will be of benefit to you, too:

--> PAY CLOSER ATTENTION THE DETAILS (EVEN THE DETAILS YOU THINK YOU HAVE "DOWN PAT.") When you are used to doing something (in my case, traveling), it can be easy to take certain details for granted. Even when you think you know, double check before you proceed with your plan. Many grand plans have failed because a small, but critical detail was missed.

--> DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF. Don't get worked up over the things you have the power to fix. Be grateful for the lesson and the opportunity to bounce back from your mistakes.

--> CREATE PLAN B ... FAST! You don't have time to sulk over your problems. Instead, begin immediately focusing on the solution. What's done is done, but problems can get worse if you are slow to adjust to change so that you can reach your goals despite the obstacles you face.

--> LAUGH AT YOURSELF. You're only human, and human beings make silly mistakes. When you do, lighten up a little, laugh a bit and go with the flow.

What details do you need to pay closer attention to? Whether it's paying closer attention to your deadlines or brewing problems in a relationship; getting better organized; or keeping better track of your spending, a few extra moments can save you from mistakes that cost you time, money, energy and aggravation.

Until next time,

Valorie

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