MM215 - Best Xmas Present Ever?

A common question during the holiday season is, what was the best Christmas present you ever received? That took me some time to think about. But, I have an honest and thoughtful response to that inquiry.

[INTRO]

♫ Trenches by Pop Evil ♫

*Alex*

Welcome to Morning Mindset. A daily dose of practical wit and wisdom with a professional educator & trainer, Amazon best selling author, United States Marine, Television, and Radio host, Paul G. Markel. Each episode will focus on positive and productive ways to strengthen your mindset and help you improve your relationships, career goals, and overall well-being. Please welcome your host; Paul G. Markel.

*Professor Paul*

Ho ho ho! Welcome back to the Morning Mindset podcast, and if you're listening to these in order as they are released chronologically per the calendar. It is almost Christmas as a matter of fact, I believe if my show notes are right that this episode. We'll be releasing right before Christmas weekend Christmas weekend. 2018 and if you're listening to these episodes in the future, well, hello future man, or woman welcome from the past. But and also we will be dark Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
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A little bit of Showbiz Ligety for you guys there we will be dark on those days. So, what was the best Christmas present you ever received or what was the best Christmas present ever people ask this, you know pretty frequently around the holiday season people will say oh, what's the best present you ever got or you know, what have you and of course there is the expected answer your you could think what if you're an adult with children and a spouse then you're supposed to stop and think "Hmm, I should say whatever gift it was that my wife or husband gave me or then you say well, they expect me to say whatever the macaroni picture that my child made in first grade. That was my favorite one ever."
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What have you, these are the expected answers or you could say the birth of our Savior. Jesus Christ is the best present ever and that is, of course, something that is expected of you. But that doesn't really take a whole lot of thought doesn't matter of fact, it takes only the thought of figuring out what other people want to hear and that's the problem that we encounter in our world is often when people ask us questions, Rather than giving them an honest answer we stop and try and think what do they want to hear? What do they want to hear? Do they do they want to hear X, Y, or Z or is that the actual answer?
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Now I thought about this, I gave it some honest thought what was the best Christmas present ever or some of the best presents? You know when you're a child you get toys and so forth, and when you're an adult you get practical things like wool socks and ties and underwear and shirts and stuff like that. Like, you know, I got you something. I knew you needed, and your wife's like I know you need new underwear. So here you go there in multiple colors, but what are some of the best presents I've ever received.
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Well, I'll tell you thinking back to when I was a young child as opposed to an old child when I was young. I received a Playmobil. If you guys know what Playmobil is Knights of the Round Table playset and if memory serves me there were either six or eight nights, and they had all the accouterments it came with they had little horses and swords and Lance's and helmets and Shields and there was like a little round actually wasn't around table. That was a rectangular table, but there was a throne and I'm sure that there's a crown for the king and so, and I law when I was a kid when I was a young child in the 70s. I loved Playmobil stuff and my absolute number one favorite thing. When was the Playmobil Knights of the Round Table or night or whatever it was?
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They called it the knights set, and I would sit on the, you know when I got that Christmas morning, I ripped into that thing and I opened it up. I got all the little figures out and all the little horses and everything and I laid there on the floor of the living room by the Christmas tree and I played with that thing for hours. Why because it inspired my imagination there is no batteries. Nothing lit up. You know that it did they didn't make sounds, there is nothing electronic about them. They didn't make sounds it didn't make lights. There's no app to plug in there was no online upgrade to come up with then when I was older my parents knew that I was and then I got into The Dungeons and Dragons thing and so I would go to the Hobby shop.
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I think it was called Hobby Lobby or, Hobby Kingdom. The Hobby Kingdom or whatever and they had these little LED figurines dwarves and elves and nights and fair maidens and monsters and Orcs and goblins and all that stuff, and of course, when you bought them they were just plain. Gray, you know their unfinished and what I did in on Junior High I got the little testers paint kits and I painted them various colors and all that stuff and my parents knew that I was into that when I was in junior high and they bought me this set.
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It was a Roman legion set and it had all the little legionnaires and chariots and tiny little figures and you could make dioramas and what have, and I remember that because I got that and I thought it was fantastic and I painted each, you know, all the little characters I painted them and and so forth and I would set up scenes and what have you and when I was you know, the thing about Dungeons dragons is the original most kids don't understand this today. They don't realize it because they all have Xboxes and PlayStations or Wii's whatever, but Dungeons & Dragons really required a tremendous amount of thoughtful creativity and imagination because it wasn't all laid out and played out for you.
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I mean you had your little figures and you had your cards and you had so forth, but most of it was in your imagination, and so thinking about the greatest Christmas presents that I ever received. At least when I was a child, the greatest Christmas presents that I ever received were those that caused me or required me or inspired me to use my imagination whether it was the little Playmobil said or a little figurines or what have you, and I guess I had an active imagination or whatever you want to call it when I was a kid, but thinking about that and I would spend hours and hours.
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I mean that I when I was in elementary school, I was in elementary school. I was probably well. I know I was I was 10 years old the year that Star Wars came out and we went to see in the movie theater and it was the greatest thing at my ten-year-old eyes had ever witnessed. It was phenomenal it changed my life, and so I immediately assumed well as soon as they're available. I discovered that there were Star Wars action figures and so of course, you know, 10-year-old me, 11-12-year-old me there. I am and I had the Star Wars action figures and the reason the Star Wars action figures, the same thing, you know and inspired my, and that's what I would say.
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Now you can do whatever you want. I don't care, maybe it was a football. There's a little football, maybe was a Red Ryder BB gun. I don't know. I never got a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. I was surprised although I gave my child one. I was able to give my youngest child. I gave him a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas many many many years ago. At least for me my honest thoughtful response to that inquiry. What's the best Christmas present ever? Well, if you're talking about sitting, you know at the base of a Christmas tree with all the bright lights and shiny tinsel and ornaments and stuff the best Christmas present I ever got or those that inspired my imagination.
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There you go, that is my honest answer to you freaks out there. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday weekend Christmas New Year's whatever it is that you're celebrating, you know, maybe you're celebrating Leif Eriksson day or. What do they do on Seinfeld it a Festivus. I've got over again. Maybe you're celebrating Festivus just year, but regardless, I am your host Paul Markel and I will talk to you again real soon.

[OUTRO]

♫ Trenches by Pop Evil ♫

*Alex*

Thank you for spending time with us today. To get show notes, submit a topic request, for more from your host Paul G. Markel, visit MorningMindsetPodcast.com. That’s MorningMindsetPodcast.com. Please leave a review of this podcast on your favorite podcast player, we appreciate your time & effort, and we look forward to reading your honest feedback.