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Read a recent BAM Adventures Newsletter below and Click "join" to become apart of the BAM Adventures Movement.
Each week we will send out a short story on a relevant topic related to B.A.M. There is nothing worse that receiving unwanted emails. We always respect your privacy and we do not share contact information with anyone. See a recent newsletter below. BAM (Becoming A Man) Adventures Newsletter A few years ago Drew and I were leading a training session for about a hundred head tellers from a large community bank. When we arrived in the meeting room, most of the participants were at round tables eating a continental breakfast. We knew many of the participants, so I set up the computer, visited with a few people, and then went to the buffet in the back of the room to get coffee. When I pulled the tap on the coffee urn nothing came out. I opened the top of the urn to see if it was empty. There was coffee in the urn but it was below the tap. Being a resourceful individual, I decided to tilt the urn forward until the coffee was above the tap and then fill my cup. When I tilted the urn, I thought that it was separate from the base and that it would swivel forward. Unfortunately, they were one unit, and when I tilted the urn the sterno can under the urn keeping it warm slid out and landed on the table. There are two types of sterno cans. One has just a wick exposed. You can’t actually see the sterno in these. The other type of sterno can has an open hole with the flame dancing out of the can. If you look inside you can see all of the sterno gel burning like a lake of fire. This was the type of sterno can they were using that day. Quickly, I looked around and realized that no one saw what happened. I decided to quietly pick up the sterno can and put it back under the coffee urn. Have you ever picked up a sterno can that has been burning for 45 minutes? It is really, really hot! I lifted it about three inches off of the table and then dropped it. When I did, the sterno can hit the table, did a summersault in the air and landed upright on the floor, exploding like a volcano! I looked around and suddenly the back of the room was on fire. Sterno was burning on the carpet. The polyester skirt on the table was melting up from the floor, and the trash can had sterno burning up the side! After looking around I decided that the first step was to put out the carpet. I stomped it out and by that time the polyester skirt on the table had stopped melting. The trash can was still burning, but I decided I could take care of that later. The first task was to get the sterno can back on the table and under the coffee urn. The only thing I could find was paper napkins. I grabbed some paper napkins and set the sterno can under the coffee urn. When I let go of the napkins, they fell into the sterno and they caught on fire. I grabbed them, threw them in the trash can and then took the trash can outside and put it out. After I stopped laughing I thought to myself, “How did this happen? I just wanted a cup of coffee and I set the back of the room on fire.” There is a powerful truth hidden within that series of crazy self-inflicted events. It is a truth that every young person must learn if they want to become a strong, healthy, and happy adult. I was where I was because of the choices that I made. I could have blamed the facility for using the unsafe sterno can or having coffee urns that were one unit instead of separate units. I could have blamed the serving staff because they did not check the coffee and keep the urn full. But the problem was not the sterno, the urn, or the staff. The truth is that I was where I was because of the decisions that I made. How many times do we find young people who make poor choices and then want to blame others for where they are? As parents and adults who work with youth, we do not empower them by fixing problems for them, making excuses for them, or making decisions for them. We empower them when we help them understand that actions have consequences – good and bad. We empower them when we help them learn how to make choices that propel them forward and help them become the unique person that they were created to be. What is your strategy to help the young men and women in your family learn to take responsibility for their own actions? What is your strategy to help them learn to make good decisions that will propel them forward? John Brantley Share the BAM Newsletter with others and invite them to join the adventure. Click Below to join the BAM Adventures Newsletter.
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