Excerpt from:
Goals...The 10 Rules for Achieving Success,
by Gary Ryan Blair
On everyone's short list of things to do during their lifetime are the accomplishment of worthy goals and the fulfillment of one's purpose.
Achieving a goal is like opening a combination lock. You need the correct numbers in the correct right, left, right sequence. There are thousands of possible combinations; and if you are aware of the settings but not the sequence, your efforts will prove futile.
The Ten Rules of Goal Setting is the combination that opens the lock of success. Each rule is one piece of the combination; each seamlessly integrates with the other nine; each one counts!
This book provides the goal setting information you need in a straightforward and systematic manner. You will be hard pressed to find a goal that does not require each of these ten rules.
Not all goals are equal, but all goals contain the same foundational elements. When it comes to setting goals, we often don't know what we don't know. And, what you don't know can - and most likely will - hurt you by limiting or compromising your success. Each rule calls for and requires know-how of multiple disciplines. No one is born with all the talents to achieve a goal - you learn as you go on the fly!
If I could carve ten rules for achieving a goal into the walls of your mind, they would be the ones contained in this book. The ten rules work because they are simple, and they are simple because they work.
Success, of course, is individual. Your definition of "the good life" may be very different from mine. Yet the underlying steps toward that end are the same. That similarity helps you to understand what success really is.
Success is the ability, first, to recognize opportunity; second, to form plans and strategies that leverage opportunity; and, third, to develop the necessary skills needed to execute those strategies. The ten rules, like anything else in life, operate best if they are self-enforced!
Success is beautiful because of how it looks to you, how it works, how it feels and how it represents the fulfillment of goals pursued. Grow accustomed to prosperity and confident in the process of achieving a goal. Embrace these ten rules of goal setting and give witness to a powerful transition in your life.
And finally, my goal for this book is to simply...help you reach yours.
(Gary Ryan Blair)
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Excerpt from: Goals...The 110 Rules for Achieving Success, by Gary Ryan Blair
Excerpt from:
Goals...The 10 Rules for Achieving Success,
by Gary Ryan Blair
On everyone's short list of things to do during their lifetime are the accomplishment of worthy goals and the fulfillment of one's purpose.
Achieving a goal is like opening a combination lock. You need the correct numbers in the correct right, left, right sequence. There are thousands of possible combinations; and if you are aware of the settings but not the sequence, your efforts will prove futile.
The Ten Rules of Goal Setting is the combination that opens the lock of success. Each rule is one piece of the combination; each seamlessly integrates with the other nine; each one counts!
This book provides the goal setting information you need in a straightforward and systematic manner. You will be hard pressed to find a goal that does not require each of these ten rules.
Not all goals are equal, but all goals contain the same foundational elements. When it comes to setting goals, we often don't know what we don't know. And, what you don't know can - and most likely will - hurt you by limiting or compromising your success. Each rule calls for and requires know-how of multiple disciplines. No one is born with all the talents to achieve a goal - you learn as you go on the fly!
If I could carve ten rules for achieving a goal into the walls of your mind, they would be the ones contained in this book. The ten rules work because they are simple, and they are simple because they work.
Success, of course, is individual. Your definition of "the good life" may be very different from mine. Yet the underlying steps toward that end are the same. That similarity helps you to understand what success really is.
Success is the ability, first, to recognize opportunity; second, to form plans and strategies that leverage opportunity; and, third, to develop the necessary skills needed to execute those strategies. The ten rules, like anything else in life, operate best if they are self-enforced!
Success is beautiful because of how it looks to you, how it works, how it feels and how it represents the fulfillment of goals pursued. Grow accustomed to prosperity and confident in the process of achieving a goal. Embrace these ten rules of goal setting and give witness to a powerful transition in your life.
And finally, my goal for this book is to simply...help you reach yours.
(Gary Ryan Blair)
Goals...The 10 Rules for Achieving Success,
by Gary Ryan Blair
On everyone's short list of things to do during their lifetime are the accomplishment of worthy goals and the fulfillment of one's purpose.
Achieving a goal is like opening a combination lock. You need the correct numbers in the correct right, left, right sequence. There are thousands of possible combinations; and if you are aware of the settings but not the sequence, your efforts will prove futile.
The Ten Rules of Goal Setting is the combination that opens the lock of success. Each rule is one piece of the combination; each seamlessly integrates with the other nine; each one counts!
This book provides the goal setting information you need in a straightforward and systematic manner. You will be hard pressed to find a goal that does not require each of these ten rules.
Not all goals are equal, but all goals contain the same foundational elements. When it comes to setting goals, we often don't know what we don't know. And, what you don't know can - and most likely will - hurt you by limiting or compromising your success. Each rule calls for and requires know-how of multiple disciplines. No one is born with all the talents to achieve a goal - you learn as you go on the fly!
If I could carve ten rules for achieving a goal into the walls of your mind, they would be the ones contained in this book. The ten rules work because they are simple, and they are simple because they work.
Success, of course, is individual. Your definition of "the good life" may be very different from mine. Yet the underlying steps toward that end are the same. That similarity helps you to understand what success really is.
Success is the ability, first, to recognize opportunity; second, to form plans and strategies that leverage opportunity; and, third, to develop the necessary skills needed to execute those strategies. The ten rules, like anything else in life, operate best if they are self-enforced!
Success is beautiful because of how it looks to you, how it works, how it feels and how it represents the fulfillment of goals pursued. Grow accustomed to prosperity and confident in the process of achieving a goal. Embrace these ten rules of goal setting and give witness to a powerful transition in your life.
And finally, my goal for this book is to simply...help you reach yours.
(Gary Ryan Blair)
Friday, December 25, 2009
Finding Happiness... by Elayna Fernandez
Finding Happiness... by Elayna Fernandez
When I was about 12, I went to typing school so I could get my first "office" job. We had really old type writers, a strict instructor, and a tough handbook.
The handbook had the most amazing quotes we had to type over and over and over. It had anything from Plato to Abraham Lincoln. Quotes about motivation, character, ethics and positive thinking.
I started sort of a "quote book" to write the favorite quotes I learned, draw and paste pictures I liked.
One of the quotes that made quite an impact on me was:
“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…”– Thoreau
And so I turned my attention to other things. I was very focused on things that I believed in. That was my happiness at the time.
I have known no greater happiness than being a mom. I think the happiest time of my life was expecting my girls. I loved being pregnant! Births are indeed painful the way I decided to do it, but they turned out to be a magical experience. Raising my girls has been indeed the icing on the happiness cake.
Oprah once said "The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give."
I have met the "coolest", nicest, most wonderful moms and they all have one thing in common: they are happy. Yes, they we are often exhausted, but there a big smile on our faces, there is warmth in our hearts and there is pride and joy in our soul.
I have never been happier than I am now. It is so rewarding to stop "chasing" happiness. The butterfly is on my shoulder as long as I am calm, feel peace and enjoy sharing my love - with my children, with all children, with all beings.
Motherhood is a great opportunity to find happiness by giving constant unconditional love. May we all remember Mary's joy this Christmas. In many ways, my children remind me of the Savior. I believe they sure help save my life every day.
Merry Christmas!
When I was about 12, I went to typing school so I could get my first "office" job. We had really old type writers, a strict instructor, and a tough handbook.
The handbook had the most amazing quotes we had to type over and over and over. It had anything from Plato to Abraham Lincoln. Quotes about motivation, character, ethics and positive thinking.
I started sort of a "quote book" to write the favorite quotes I learned, draw and paste pictures I liked.
One of the quotes that made quite an impact on me was:
“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder…”– Thoreau
And so I turned my attention to other things. I was very focused on things that I believed in. That was my happiness at the time.
I have known no greater happiness than being a mom. I think the happiest time of my life was expecting my girls. I loved being pregnant! Births are indeed painful the way I decided to do it, but they turned out to be a magical experience. Raising my girls has been indeed the icing on the happiness cake.
Oprah once said "The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give."
I have met the "coolest", nicest, most wonderful moms and they all have one thing in common: they are happy. Yes, they we are often exhausted, but there a big smile on our faces, there is warmth in our hearts and there is pride and joy in our soul.
I have never been happier than I am now. It is so rewarding to stop "chasing" happiness. The butterfly is on my shoulder as long as I am calm, feel peace and enjoy sharing my love - with my children, with all children, with all beings.
Motherhood is a great opportunity to find happiness by giving constant unconditional love. May we all remember Mary's joy this Christmas. In many ways, my children remind me of the Savior. I believe they sure help save my life every day.
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
An Excerpt from DASH OF HOPE
An Excerpt from Dash of Hope
by Linda Ellis
My poem, The Dash, is based on that little line on a tombstone, between the dates of birth and death. Ultimately, that dash is a symbol which represents every day we've spent alive on earth. Therefore, how you spend your "dash" is all that really matters. Following is an amazing story about someone whose dash truly made a difference.
Recently I heard about a little girl named Hope Stout. After learning more about her life, I couldn't help but feel it was not by coincidence, nor happenstance, that she had been named "Hope." It had to be attributed to fate. The compassion and generosity housed in her young heart made a lasting impression on me and countless others, and her legacy of love continues to bless lives every day. Though I never had the opportunity to meet her, I wish I had. It seems as though she was wise beyond her tender years and very, very special. When I tell people her story, I always say, "if this doesn't inspire you, I don't think there's much that could..."
Hope was a twelve-year old girl who was offered a "wish" in early December 2003 by the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation after being informed that she had a rare type of bone cancer. However, when she found out that more than 150 children in her area were waiting for their wishes to be granted, she unselfishly used her wish to ask that those children have their wishes granted. She also asked that it be done by January 16, 2004.
Unfortunately, however, the organization informed her that her noble request could not be granted as the funds were simply unavailable. They calculated that they would need to raise more than one million dollars in thirty days in order to grant her wish. Disappointed, but not discouraged, she turned her dismay into an enthusiasm that inspired caring individuals to spearhead fundraising to help grant the wishes of the other children, and eventually hers as well. Newspaper columnists and reporters for radio and TV stations shared the story of this caring young girl who had touched the hearts of so many and as word spread, the community was challenged. Committees were formed and schools, corporations and various organizations assisted in raising money to help bring Hope's dream to fruition.
Though she lost her battle in 2004, knowing that her wish was going to come true, Hope lives on. Her heartfelt efforts were not in vain as they continue to help others, not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. At the initial fundraiser and gathering to celebrate her life, "A Celebration of Hope" on January 16, 2004, the announcement was made that they had indeed received donations totaling more than one million dollars on behalf of Hope Stout. Her wish had been granted!
by Linda Ellis
My poem, The Dash, is based on that little line on a tombstone, between the dates of birth and death. Ultimately, that dash is a symbol which represents every day we've spent alive on earth. Therefore, how you spend your "dash" is all that really matters. Following is an amazing story about someone whose dash truly made a difference.
Recently I heard about a little girl named Hope Stout. After learning more about her life, I couldn't help but feel it was not by coincidence, nor happenstance, that she had been named "Hope." It had to be attributed to fate. The compassion and generosity housed in her young heart made a lasting impression on me and countless others, and her legacy of love continues to bless lives every day. Though I never had the opportunity to meet her, I wish I had. It seems as though she was wise beyond her tender years and very, very special. When I tell people her story, I always say, "if this doesn't inspire you, I don't think there's much that could..."
Hope was a twelve-year old girl who was offered a "wish" in early December 2003 by the "Make-A-Wish" Foundation after being informed that she had a rare type of bone cancer. However, when she found out that more than 150 children in her area were waiting for their wishes to be granted, she unselfishly used her wish to ask that those children have their wishes granted. She also asked that it be done by January 16, 2004.
Unfortunately, however, the organization informed her that her noble request could not be granted as the funds were simply unavailable. They calculated that they would need to raise more than one million dollars in thirty days in order to grant her wish. Disappointed, but not discouraged, she turned her dismay into an enthusiasm that inspired caring individuals to spearhead fundraising to help grant the wishes of the other children, and eventually hers as well. Newspaper columnists and reporters for radio and TV stations shared the story of this caring young girl who had touched the hearts of so many and as word spread, the community was challenged. Committees were formed and schools, corporations and various organizations assisted in raising money to help bring Hope's dream to fruition.
Though she lost her battle in 2004, knowing that her wish was going to come true, Hope lives on. Her heartfelt efforts were not in vain as they continue to help others, not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally as well. At the initial fundraiser and gathering to celebrate her life, "A Celebration of Hope" on January 16, 2004, the announcement was made that they had indeed received donations totaling more than one million dollars on behalf of Hope Stout. Her wish had been granted!
thots for u
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
If, out of time, I could pick one moment and keep it shining, always new,
of all the days that I have lived, I'd pick the moment I met you.
--Unknown
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
What is success? It's the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads.
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
When one door closes another one opens. What you believe is the worst moment of
your life could turn out to be the beginning of a new and better life...
--Margie Tsoukias
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
Whatever your problem, it is but a test in love. If you meet that
test through love, your problem will be solved. If you do not meet
that test through love, your problem will continue until you do!
Your problem is your initiation in love.
--Catherine Ponder
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Now is the time to get ready for 2010!
What are your big plans? Write them down
and start mapping out your way...
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
The first great lesson of life to learn is that winter will always come...
the human winters of despair and loneliness, or disappointment, or tragedy...
The major challenge confronting those surrounded by winter is to not let
it affect the arrival of spring and our ability to recognize that arrival.
—Jim Rohn,The Seasons of Life
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
Love is the most precious jewel of all.
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Do not grow weary in doing good for in
due time you will reap a great harvest.
--St. Paul
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
There will come a time when you believe everything
is finished. That will be the beginning.
— Louis L'Amour
If, out of time, I could pick one moment and keep it shining, always new,
of all the days that I have lived, I'd pick the moment I met you.
--Unknown
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
What is success? It's the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads.
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
When one door closes another one opens. What you believe is the worst moment of
your life could turn out to be the beginning of a new and better life...
--Margie Tsoukias
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
Whatever your problem, it is but a test in love. If you meet that
test through love, your problem will be solved. If you do not meet
that test through love, your problem will continue until you do!
Your problem is your initiation in love.
--Catherine Ponder
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Now is the time to get ready for 2010!
What are your big plans? Write them down
and start mapping out your way...
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
The first great lesson of life to learn is that winter will always come...
the human winters of despair and loneliness, or disappointment, or tragedy...
The major challenge confronting those surrounded by winter is to not let
it affect the arrival of spring and our ability to recognize that arrival.
—Jim Rohn,The Seasons of Life
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
Love is the most precious jewel of all.
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Do not grow weary in doing good for in
due time you will reap a great harvest.
--St. Paul
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
There will come a time when you believe everything
is finished. That will be the beginning.
— Louis L'Amour
thots for u
"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."
~Conrad Hilton
"The Finish Strong attitude is grounded in the principle that you never 'get there' in life and that you should always keep moving forward. I love the way that John Naber, the four-time gold medal winning Olympic swimming champion, characterizes his achievement. When asked if winning four Olympic gold medals was the highlight of his life, he replied, 'I hope not. I've still got a lot of living left to do and I hope that my greatest achievement is still in front of me.'"
~Dan Green
An Excerpt from
The Power of Attitude
by Mac Anderson
I grew up in Trenton, a west Tennessee town of five thousand people. I have wonderful memories of those first eighteen years, and many people in Trenton influenced my life in very positive ways. My football coach, Walter Kilzer, taught me the importance of hard work, discipline, and believing in myself. My history teacher, Fred Culp, is still the funniest person I've ever met. He taught me that a sense of humor, and especially laughing at yourself, can be one of life's greatest blessings.
But my father was my hero. He taught me many things, but at the top of the list, he taught me to treat people with love and respect...to live the Golden Rule. I remember one particular instance of him teaching this "life lesson" as if it were yesterday. Dad owned a furniture store, and I used to dust the furniture every Wednesday after school to earn my allowance. One afternoon I observed my Dad talking to all the customers as they came in...the hardware store owner, the banker, a farmer, a doctor. At the end of the day, just as Dad was closing, the garbage collector came in.
I was ready to go home, and I thought that surely Dad wouldn't spend too much time with him. But I was wrong. Dad greeted him at the door with a big hug and talked with him about his wife and son who had been in a car accident the month before. He empathized, he asked questions, he listened, and he listened some more. I kept looking at the clock, and when the man finally left, I asked, "Dad, why did you spend so much time with him? He's just the garbage collector." Dad then looked at me, locked the front door to the store, and said, "Son, let's talk."
He said, "I'm your father and I tell you lots of stuff as all fathers should, but if you remember nothing else I ever tell you, remember this...treat every human being just the way that you would want to be treated." He said, "I know this is not the first time you've heard it, but I want to make sure it's the first time you truly understand it, because if you had understood, you would never have said what you said." We sat there and talked for another hour about the meaning and the power of the Golden Rule. Dad said, "If you live the Golden Rule everything else in life will usually work itself out, but if you don't, your life probably will be very unhappy and without meaning."
I recently heard someone say, "If you teach your child the Golden Rule, you will have left them an estate of incalculable value." Truer words were never spoken.
~Conrad Hilton
"The Finish Strong attitude is grounded in the principle that you never 'get there' in life and that you should always keep moving forward. I love the way that John Naber, the four-time gold medal winning Olympic swimming champion, characterizes his achievement. When asked if winning four Olympic gold medals was the highlight of his life, he replied, 'I hope not. I've still got a lot of living left to do and I hope that my greatest achievement is still in front of me.'"
~Dan Green
An Excerpt from
The Power of Attitude
by Mac Anderson
I grew up in Trenton, a west Tennessee town of five thousand people. I have wonderful memories of those first eighteen years, and many people in Trenton influenced my life in very positive ways. My football coach, Walter Kilzer, taught me the importance of hard work, discipline, and believing in myself. My history teacher, Fred Culp, is still the funniest person I've ever met. He taught me that a sense of humor, and especially laughing at yourself, can be one of life's greatest blessings.
But my father was my hero. He taught me many things, but at the top of the list, he taught me to treat people with love and respect...to live the Golden Rule. I remember one particular instance of him teaching this "life lesson" as if it were yesterday. Dad owned a furniture store, and I used to dust the furniture every Wednesday after school to earn my allowance. One afternoon I observed my Dad talking to all the customers as they came in...the hardware store owner, the banker, a farmer, a doctor. At the end of the day, just as Dad was closing, the garbage collector came in.
I was ready to go home, and I thought that surely Dad wouldn't spend too much time with him. But I was wrong. Dad greeted him at the door with a big hug and talked with him about his wife and son who had been in a car accident the month before. He empathized, he asked questions, he listened, and he listened some more. I kept looking at the clock, and when the man finally left, I asked, "Dad, why did you spend so much time with him? He's just the garbage collector." Dad then looked at me, locked the front door to the store, and said, "Son, let's talk."
He said, "I'm your father and I tell you lots of stuff as all fathers should, but if you remember nothing else I ever tell you, remember this...treat every human being just the way that you would want to be treated." He said, "I know this is not the first time you've heard it, but I want to make sure it's the first time you truly understand it, because if you had understood, you would never have said what you said." We sat there and talked for another hour about the meaning and the power of the Golden Rule. Dad said, "If you live the Golden Rule everything else in life will usually work itself out, but if you don't, your life probably will be very unhappy and without meaning."
I recently heard someone say, "If you teach your child the Golden Rule, you will have left them an estate of incalculable value." Truer words were never spoken.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
mind triggers
"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along."
~Napoleon Hil LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
Love is made visible by the infinte acts of
kindness and service we do for others.
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Gratitude is what defines a successful life.
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
Realize that good is present in your life right now
and more will be added onto you.
~Napoleon Hil LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
Love is made visible by the infinte acts of
kindness and service we do for others.
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Gratitude is what defines a successful life.
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
Realize that good is present in your life right now
and more will be added onto you.
mind triggers
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to
draw from your experience and invest them in the future.
--Jim Rohn
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.
--Jim Rohn
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
You cannot change your destination overnight,
but you can change your direction overnight.
--Jim Rohn
It's all about dreams. If I had to attribute my success in life to any one thing it is this. I believed in my dreams, even when no one else did."
~Oprah Winfrey
Take time to gather up the past so that you will be able to
draw from your experience and invest them in the future.
--Jim Rohn
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.
--Jim Rohn
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
You cannot change your destination overnight,
but you can change your direction overnight.
--Jim Rohn
It's all about dreams. If I had to attribute my success in life to any one thing it is this. I believed in my dreams, even when no one else did."
~Oprah Winfrey
wowwww think abt it-THE LAW OF THE GARBAGE TRUCK
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport..
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!
The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined
your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call,
'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so ... Love the people who treat you right.
Pray for the ones who don't.
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
Have a blessed, garbage-free day!
Have a very nice and wonderful day!!!
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!
The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined
your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call,
'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.
As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,
so ... Love the people who treat you right.
Pray for the ones who don't.
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
Have a blessed, garbage-free day!
Have a very nice and wonderful day!!!
Friday, December 11, 2009
mind triggers
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants
and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering
if something could have materialized - never knowing.
--Jim Rohn
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Maturity is the ability to reap without apology
and not complain when things don't go well.
--Jim Rohn
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance.
Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with
increasing clearness on your path.
Learning is the beginning of wealth.
--Jim Rohn
The same Source that gave you the idea will give you the means to see it through.
-- Alan Cohen
Gratitude feels so good because it is the state of mind closest to your natural state in which you were born to live.
-- Abraham-Hicks
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
The language of friendship is not words but meanings.
--Henry David Thoreau
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
How can they say my life is not a success?
Have I not for more than sixty years got
enough to eat and escaped being eaten?
--Logan P. Smith
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
Things do not change; we change.
--Henry David Thoreau
An excerpt from The Strangest Secretby Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher
George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."
Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.
Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing... he becomes nothing.
How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.
Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make the decision.
We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant.
Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land...and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.
As it's written in the Bible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."
Remember the land doesn't care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison.
The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care what we plant...success...or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal...or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.
You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.
The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants
and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering
if something could have materialized - never knowing.
--Jim Rohn
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
Maturity is the ability to reap without apology
and not complain when things don't go well.
--Jim Rohn
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance.
Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with
increasing clearness on your path.
Learning is the beginning of wealth.
--Jim Rohn
The same Source that gave you the idea will give you the means to see it through.
-- Alan Cohen
Gratitude feels so good because it is the state of mind closest to your natural state in which you were born to live.
-- Abraham-Hicks
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
The language of friendship is not words but meanings.
--Henry David Thoreau
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
How can they say my life is not a success?
Have I not for more than sixty years got
enough to eat and escaped being eaten?
--Logan P. Smith
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
Things do not change; we change.
--Henry David Thoreau
An excerpt from The Strangest Secretby Mac Anderson and BJ Gallagher
George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."
Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.
Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing... he becomes nothing.
How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.
Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make the decision.
We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant.
Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land...and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.
As it's written in the Bible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."
Remember the land doesn't care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison.
The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care what we plant...success...or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal...or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant it must return to us.
You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
something to ponder
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
There are only 3 colors, 10 digits, and 7 notes;
its what we do with them that's important.
--Jim Rohn
"For every unsatisfied customer who complains, there are 26 other unhappy customers who say nothing. And of those 26, 24 won't come back."
~U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs
A STORY TO RECHARGE U!!!!!!!
It's called: 3,900 Saturdays.
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday morning. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles." I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital," he continued; "Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.
Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.
There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.
Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.
It was nice to meet you Tom. I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 year old man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."
"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.
"Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."
There are only 3 colors, 10 digits, and 7 notes;
its what we do with them that's important.
--Jim Rohn
"For every unsatisfied customer who complains, there are 26 other unhappy customers who say nothing. And of those 26, 24 won't come back."
~U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs
A STORY TO RECHARGE U!!!!!!!
It's called: 3,900 Saturdays.
The older I get, the more I enjoy Saturday morning. Perhaps it's the quiet solitude that comes with being the first to rise, or maybe it's the unbounded joy of not having to be at work. Either way, the first few hours of a Saturday morning are most enjoyable.
A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the garage with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it:
I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know the kind; he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about "a thousand marbles." I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say.
"Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you're busy with your job. I'm sure they pay you well but it's a shame you have to be away from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. It's too bad you missed your daughter's dance recital," he continued; "Let me tell you something that has helped me keep my own priorities." And that's when he began to explain his theory of a "thousand marbles."
"You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.
Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900, which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now, stick with me, Tom, I'm getting to the important part.
It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail," he went on, "and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container right here in the shack next to my gear.
Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away. I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life.
There's nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.
Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure that if I make it until next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we can all use is a little more time.
It was nice to meet you Tom. I hope you spend more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here on the band. This is a 75 year old man, K9NZQ, clear and going QRT, good morning!"
You could have heard a pin drop on the band when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to work on the antenna that morning, and then I was going to meet up with a few hams to work on the next club newsletter.
Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. "C'mon honey, I'm taking you and the kids to breakfast."
"What brought this on?" she asked with a smile.
"Oh, nothing special, it's just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. And hey, can we stop at a toy store while we're out? I need to buy some marbles."
a story worth while
Excerpt from: The Heart of a Teacher,
by Paula Fox
He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minnesota. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, he had that happy-to-be-alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.
Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving."Thank you for correcting me, Sister!" I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice teacher's mistake. I looked at Mark and said,"If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!" It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out,"Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it. I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened my drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth. I then returned to the front of the room. As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me. That did it! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were,"Thank you for correcting me, Sister."
At the end of the year, I was asked to teach junior-high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instruction in the"new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in third. One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning, frustrated with themselves and edgy with one another. I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Charlie smiled. Mark said,"Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend." That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling."Really?" I heard whispered."I never knew that meant anything to anyone! I didn't know others liked me so much." No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again.
That group of students moved on. Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip, the weather, my experiences in general. There was a lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a sideways glance and simply said,"Dad?" My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important."The Eklunds called last night," he began."Really?" I said."I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is." Dad responded quietly."Mark was killed in Vietnam," he said."The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend." To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I-494 where Dad told me about Mark.
I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was,"Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me." The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang"The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water. I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to me."Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin."Mark talked about you a lot," he said.
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me."We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket."They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it." Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him."Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said."As you can see, Mark treasured it." Mark's classmates started to gather around us. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said,"I still have my list. I keep it in the top drawer of my desk at home." Chuck's wife said,"Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.""I have mine too," Marilyn said."It's in my diary." Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group."I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash."I think we all saved our lists." That's when I finally sat down and cried. I cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. So please, tell the people you love and care for that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
by Paula Fox
He was in the first third grade class I taught at Saint Mary's School in Morris, Minnesota. All 34 of my students were dear to me, but Mark Eklund was one in a million. Very neat in appearance, he had that happy-to-be-alive attitude that made even his occasional mischievousness delightful.
Mark talked incessantly. I had to remind him again and again that talking without permission was not acceptable. What impressed me so much, though, was his sincere response every time I had to correct him for misbehaving."Thank you for correcting me, Sister!" I didn't know what to make of it at first, but before long I became accustomed to hearing it many times a day.
One morning my patience was growing thin when Mark talked once too often, and then I made a novice teacher's mistake. I looked at Mark and said,"If you say one more word, I am going to tape your mouth shut!" It wasn't ten seconds later when Chuck blurted out,"Mark is talking again." I hadn't asked any of the students to help me watch Mark, but since I had stated the punishment in front of the class, I had to act on it. I remember the scene as if it had occurred this morning. I walked to my desk, very deliberately opened my drawer and took out a roll of masking tape. Without saying a word, I proceeded to Mark's desk, tore off two pieces of tape and made a big X with them over his mouth. I then returned to the front of the room. As I glanced at Mark to see how he was doing, he winked at me. That did it! I started laughing. The class cheered as I walked back to Mark's desk, removed the tape, and shrugged my shoulders. His first words were,"Thank you for correcting me, Sister."
At the end of the year, I was asked to teach junior-high math. The years flew by, and before I knew it Mark was in my classroom again. He was more handsome than ever and just as polite. Since he had to listen carefully to my instruction in the"new math," he did not talk as much in ninth grade as he had in third. One Friday, things just didn't feel right. We had worked hard on a new concept all week, and I sensed that the students were frowning, frustrated with themselves and edgy with one another. I had to stop this crankiness before it got out of hand. So I asked them to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then I told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down. It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed me the papers. Charlie smiled. Mark said,"Thank you for teaching me, Sister. Have a good weekend." That Saturday, I wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and I listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday I gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling."Really?" I heard whispered."I never knew that meant anything to anyone! I didn't know others liked me so much." No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. I never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another again.
That group of students moved on. Several years later, after I returned from vacation, my parents met me at the airport. As we were driving home, Mother asked me the usual questions about the trip, the weather, my experiences in general. There was a lull in the conversation. Mother gave Dad a sideways glance and simply said,"Dad?" My father cleared his throat as he usually did before something important."The Eklunds called last night," he began."Really?" I said."I haven't heard from them in years. I wonder how Mark is." Dad responded quietly."Mark was killed in Vietnam," he said."The funeral is tomorrow, and his parents would like it if you could attend." To this day I can still point to the exact spot on I-494 where Dad told me about Mark.
I had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. Mark looked so handsome, so mature. All I could think at that moment was,"Mark, I would give all the masking tape in the world if only you would talk to me." The church was packed with Mark's friends. Chuck's sister sang"The Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why did it have to rain on the day of the funeral? It was difficult enough at the graveside. The pastor said the usual prayers, and the bugler played taps. One by one those who loved Mark took a last walk by the coffin and sprinkled it with holy water. I was the last one to bless the coffin. As I stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to me."Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. I nodded as I continued to stare at the coffin."Mark talked about you a lot," he said.
After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates headed to Chuck's farmhouse for lunch. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting for me."We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket."They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it." Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. I knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which I had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him."Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said."As you can see, Mark treasured it." Mark's classmates started to gather around us. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said,"I still have my list. I keep it in the top drawer of my desk at home." Chuck's wife said,"Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.""I have mine too," Marilyn said."It's in my diary." Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group."I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said without batting an eyelash."I think we all saved our lists." That's when I finally sat down and cried. I cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.
The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be. So please, tell the people you love and care for that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
If you are not willing to risk the unusual,
you will have to settle for the ordinary.
--Jim Rohn
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
The book you don't read won't help.
--Jim Rohn
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future;
it is something you design for the present.
--Jim Rohn
Nothing you do makes you a good person. What you are makes you a good person.
-- Alan Cohen
If you are not willing to risk the unusual,
you will have to settle for the ordinary.
--Jim Rohn
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS
The book you don't read won't help.
--Jim Rohn
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future;
it is something you design for the present.
--Jim Rohn
Nothing you do makes you a good person. What you are makes you a good person.
-- Alan Cohen
Thursday, November 26, 2009
food for thot
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS | |||
An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. --Mohandas Gandhi | |||
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS | |||
Success is a science; if you have the conditions, you get the result. --Oscar Wilde | |||
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION | |||
Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. --Ralph Waldo Emerson |
the power of self discipline
"No stream or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated and disciplined."
~Harry E. Fosdick
The Introduction from
The Power of Discipline
by Mac Anderson
Why are some people more successful than others? Why do some people make more money, live happier lives and accomplish much more in the same number of years than the great majority?
I started out in life with few advantages. I did not graduate from high school. I worked at menial jobs. I had limited education, limited skills and a limited future.
And then I began asking, "Why are some people more successful than others?" This question changed my life.
Over the years, I have read thousands of books and articles on the subjects of success and achievement. It seems that the reasons for these accomplishments have been discussed and written about for more than two thousand years, in every conceivable way. One quality that most philosophers, teachers and experts agree on is the importance of self-discipline. As Al Tomsik summarized it years ago, "Success is tons of discipline."
Some years ago, I attended a conference in Washington. It was the lunch break and I was eating at a nearby food fair. The area was crowded and I sat down at the last open table by myself, even though it was a table for four.
A few minutes later, an older gentleman and a younger woman who was his assistant came along carrying trays of food, obviously looking for a place to sit.
With plenty of room at my table, I immediately arose and invited the older gentleman to join me. He was hesitant, but I insisted. Finally, thanking me as he sat down, we began to chat over lunch.
It turned out that his name was Kop Kopmeyer. As it happened, I immediately knew who he was. He was a legend in the field of success and achievement. Kop Kopmeyer had written four large books, each of which contained 250 success principles that he had derived from more than fifty years of research and study. I had read all four books from cover to cover, more than once.
After we had chatted for awhile, I asked him the question that many people in this situation would ask, "Of all the one thousand success principles that you have discovered, which do you think is the most important?"
He smiled at me with a twinkle in his eye, as if he had been asked this question many times, and replied, without hesitating, "The most important success principle of all was stated by Thomas Huxley many years ago. He said, 'Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.'"
He went on to say, "There are 999 other success principles that I have found in my reading and experience, but without self-discipline, none of them work."
Self-discipline is the key to personal greatness. It is the magic quality that opens all doors for you, and makes everything else possible. With self-discipline, the average person can rise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline, a person with every blessing of background, education and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity.
In the pages ahead I will describe seven areas of your life where the practice of self-discipline will be key to your success. These areas include goals, character, time management, personal health, money, courage and responsibility. It is my hope that you'll find a few "nuggets" that will help make your dreams come true.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
food for thot
"If people don't have in their hearts the desire to serve and make a difference for others, they will not give great service. Mary Kay Ash, the founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics, often said that the secret of her success was hiring nice people and then allowing them to be as nice as they could be."
food for thot
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS | |||
In love the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two. --Erich Fromm | |||
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS | |||
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. --Winston Churchill | |||
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION | |||
The man who has no imagination has no wings. --Muhammad Ali |
chicken run
Living a Five Star Life
by Betty MahalikI've watched the movie Chicken Run at least a half-dozen times. Just beneath the surface of its simplistic look and story line lie a number of wonderful messages told through the eyes of a bunch of Claymation chickens trying to break out of their chicken-wire world to escape their fate at the chopping block. Their freedom leader, a feisty little hen named Ginger, comments profoundly in one scene: "the fences are all in your mind." She reminds her fellow chickens (and us), that a bigger obstacle than the physical fences they're surrounded by are the mental fences that hold them captive.
It’s been a good reminder for me on those occasions when I’ve been dealing my own mental fences...those created by self-doubt, uncertainty, fear. Can you relate? Where have you fenced yourself in mentally in recent days or weeks? Perhaps your mental fence is procrastination, a deadening habit that keeps you stuck. Maybe yours, like mine, is related to self-doubt, and the on-going internal noise it produces that keeps you immobilized. Perhaps yours is the belief that you don't deserve success, so you sabotage yourself to avoid having to find out how successful you could be. There are a million variations of the theme, but the result is still the same: we stay stuck like the chickens in the movie.
One of the key questions in the Best Year Yet® program is: "How do I limit myself and how can I stop?" Those limitations are never external. They always live inside us. The antidote to being trapped by our mental fences is to create a compelling enough vision that, like Ginger and her flock of chicken friends, we're willing to resort to amazing measures to break out. The formula:
VISION + CONSISTENT ACTION = FREEDOM!
I challenge you to take some bold, even outrageous steps to break free of your mental fences. If it's procrastination, declare a "freedom day" and take action on everything you've been putting off: from cleaning your office to making phone calls or responding to emails you've avoided.
If it's self-doubt, sit down and write out everything you value and why it's important. Then challenge yourself to eliminate anything that doesn't absolutely reflect your values, or add something that is a profound statement of who you are.
FREEDOM IS JUST THE OTHER SIDE OF ACTION.
Recognize that your mental fences can only keep you stuck as long as you're looking at them. They can only contain you as long as you're not taking actions consistent with your vision. Go ahead, take the action you've avoided and leap into a future filled with possibilities. And remember, the fences are all in your mind!
food for thot
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS | |||
There can be no friendship when there is no freedom. Friendship loves the free air, and will not be fenced up in straight and narrow enclosures. --William Penn | |||
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS | |||
I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. --Bill Cosby | |||
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION | |||
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. --Helen Keller |
Thursday, November 19, 2009
food for thot
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS | |||
You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with. --Dr. Wayne Dyer | |||
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS | |||
A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. --David Brinkley | |||
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION | |||
It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. --Henry David Thoreau |
food for thot
"What I've found over the years is that most companies want to do the right thing. They know how they would like to treat their customers and their employees, but they have a difficult time communicating the message in a way that is both inspirational and understood by all."
~Mac Anderson
Customer Love
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
food for thot
*The nest of young eagles hung on every word as the Master Eagle described
his exploits. This was an important day for the eaglets. They were preparing
for their first solo flight from the nest. It was the confidence builder
many of them needed to fulfill their destiny.*
*
"How far can I travel?" asked one of the eaglets.
"How far can you see?" responded the Master Eagle.
"How high can I fly?" quizzed the young eaglet.
"How far can you stretch your wings?" asked the old eagle.
"How long can I fly?" the eaglet persisted.
"How far is the horizon?" the mentor rebounded.
"How much should I dream?" asked the eaglet.
"How much can you dream?" smiled the older, wiser eagle.
"How much can I achieve?" the young eagle continued.
"How much can you believe?" the old eagle challenged.*
*
Frustrated by the banter, the young eagle demanded, "Why don't you answer my
questions?"
"I did."
"Yes. But you answered them with questions."*
* "I answered them the best I could."
"But you're the Master Eagle. You're supposed to know everything. If you
can't answer these questions, who can?"
"You." The old wise eagle reassured.
"Me? How?" the young eagle was confused.
"No one can tell you how high to fly or how much to dream. It's different
for each eagle. Only God and you know how far you'll go. No one on this
earth knows your potential or what's in your heart. You alone will answer
that. The only thing that limits you is the edge of your imagination. "*
* The young eagle puzzled by this asked, "What should I do?"
*
*"Look to the horizon, spread your wings, and fly."*
his exploits. This was an important day for the eaglets. They were preparing
for their first solo flight from the nest. It was the confidence builder
many of them needed to fulfill their destiny.*
*
"How far can I travel?" asked one of the eaglets.
"How far can you see?" responded the Master Eagle.
"How high can I fly?" quizzed the young eaglet.
"How far can you stretch your wings?" asked the old eagle.
"How long can I fly?" the eaglet persisted.
"How far is the horizon?" the mentor rebounded.
"How much should I dream?" asked the eaglet.
"How much can you dream?" smiled the older, wiser eagle.
"How much can I achieve?" the young eagle continued.
"How much can you believe?" the old eagle challenged.*
*
Frustrated by the banter, the young eagle demanded, "Why don't you answer my
questions?"
"I did."
"Yes. But you answered them with questions."*
* "I answered them the best I could."
"But you're the Master Eagle. You're supposed to know everything. If you
can't answer these questions, who can?"
"You." The old wise eagle reassured.
"Me? How?" the young eagle was confused.
"No one can tell you how high to fly or how much to dream. It's different
for each eagle. Only God and you know how far you'll go. No one on this
earth knows your potential or what's in your heart. You alone will answer
that. The only thing that limits you is the edge of your imagination. "*
* The young eagle puzzled by this asked, "What should I do?"
*
*"Look to the horizon, spread your wings, and fly."*
Comes The Dawn By Veronica A. Shoffstall
Comes The Dawn | |||
After a while you learn P And you begin to learn P And you learn P After a while you learn P And you learn
|
Saturday, November 14, 2009
eat that frog
An Excerpt from
Eat That Frog!
by Brian Tracy
The 80/20 Rule is one of the most helpful of all concepts of time and life management. It is also called the "Pareto Principle" after its founder, the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who first wrote about it in 1895. Pareto noticed that people in his society seemed to divide naturally into what he called the "vital few", the top 20 percent in terms of money and influence, and the "trivial many", the bottom 80 percent.
He later discovered that virtually all economic activity was subject to this principle as well. For example, this principle says that 20 percent of your activities will account for 80 percent of your results, 20 percent of your customers will account for 80 percent of your sales, 20 percent of your products or services will account for 80 percent of your profits, 20 percent of your tasks will account for 80 percent of the value of what you do, and so on. This means that if you have a list of ten items to do, two of those items will turn out to be worth five or ten times or more than the other eight items put together.
Number of Tasks versus Importance of Tasks
Here is an interesting discovery. Each of the ten tasks may take the same amount of time to accomplish. But one or two of those tasks will contribute five or ten times the value of any of the others.
Often, one item on a list of ten tasks that you have to do can be worth more than all the other nine items put together. This task is invariably the frog that you should eat first.
Focus on Activities, Not Accomplishments
The most valuable tasks you can do each day are often the hardest and most complex. But the payoff and rewards for completing these tasks efficiently can be tremendous. For this reason, you must adamantly refuse to work on tasks in the bottom 80 percent while you still have tasks in the top 20 percent left to be done.
Before you begin work, always ask yourself, "Is this task in the top 20 percent of my activities or in the bottom 80 percent?"
The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you will be naturally motivated to continue. A part of your mind loves to be busy working on significant tasks that can really make a difference. Your job is to feed this part of your mind continually.
Motivate Yourself
Just thinking about starting and finishing an important task motivates you and helps you to overcome procrastination. Time management is really life management, personal management. It is really taking control of the sequence of events. Time management is having control over what you do next. And you are always free to choose the task that you will do next. Your ability to choose between the important and the unimportant is the key determinant of your success in life and work.
Effective, productive people discipline themselves to start on the most important task that is before them. They force themselves to eat that frog, whatever it is. As a result, they accomplish vastly more than the average person and are much happier as a result. This should be your way of working as well.
something to tickle yr mind
Enjoy!
Excerpt from:
Goals...The 10 Rules for Achieving Success,
by Gary Ryan BlairOn everyone's short list of things to do during their lifetime are the accomplishment of worthy goals and the fulfillment of one's purpose.
Achieving a goal is like opening a combination lock. You need the correct numbers in the correct right, left, right sequence. There are thousands of possible combinations; and if you are aware of the settings but not the sequence, your efforts will prove futile.
The Ten Rules of Goal Setting is the combination that opens the lock of success. Each rule is one piece of the combination; each seamlessly integrates with the other nine; each one counts!
This book provides the goal setting information you need in a straightforward and systematic manner. You will be hard pressed to find a goal that does not require each of these ten rules.
Not all goals are equal, but all goals contain the same foundational elements. When it comes to setting goals, we often don't know what we don't know. And, what you don't know can - and most likely will - hurt you by limiting or compromising your success. Each rule calls for and requires know-how of multiple disciplines. No one is born with all the talents to achieve a goal - you learn as you go on the fly!
If I could carve ten rules for achieving a goal into the walls of your mind, they would be the ones contained in this book. The ten rules work because they are simple, and they are simple because they work.Success, of course, is individual. Your definition of "the good life" may be very different from mine. Yet the underlying steps toward that end are the same. That similarity helps you to understand what success really is.
Success is the ability, first, to recognize opportunity; second, to form plans and strategies that leverage opportunity; and, third, to develop the necessary skills needed to execute those strategies. The ten rules, like anything else in life, operate best if they are self-enforced!
Success is beautiful because of how it looks to you, how it works, how it feels and how it represents the fulfillment of goals pursued. Grow accustomed to prosperity and confident in the process of achieving a goal. Embrace these ten rules of goal setting and give witness to a powerful transition in your life.
And finally, my goal for this book is to simply...help you reach yours.
remmeber this
"Everything that's really worthwhile in life comes to us free - our minds, our souls, our bodies, our hopes, our dreams, our intelligence, our love of family and friends and country. All of these priceless possessions are free."
~Earl Nightingale
~Earl Nightingale
good thots
Excerpt from: Living a Five Star Life,
by Betty Mahalik
In this day and age, we are surrounded by messages that virtually scream, "Your life would be perfect if..." My life would be perfect if I had a different job, a different house, car, nose, spouse, bank account (fill in the blank). Or my life would be perfect if I could be like some celebrity whose life appears so well-ordered and perfect-o. This week I encourage you to stop playing "my life would be perfect if," and start playing "my perfect life." What's the difference? Three things: being in the present, an attitude of gratitude, taking action with what's available now.
When we're caught up in the "my life would be perfect if" trap, we've lost touch with the present. And the moment we detach from the present, we can no longer practice gratitude. Think about it: it's difficult to be grateful for what you don't have...and what you don't have is always somewhere out in future-ville.
Look around you right now. Think of 10 things you're grateful for. Do you have a roof over your head and food to eat? I'm guessing the answer is yes. Do you have at least a few good friends or close relationships? Then appreciate them too, right now. Keep going, and practice being in the present and being grateful for what is here and now at least a couple times a day.
You're also probably sitting there thinking "yes but." Yes, but I want more money, a better relationship, more time to travel, to be thinner, happier or whatever. It's one of the great mysteries I'll never figure out. The minute you stop focusing on what you lack, start focusing on what you've already got, and add the "magic" ingredient of action, you actually begin to attract more of what you want. It's an amazing formula for really living your perfect life!
Let's say you want to lose weight or get in better shape, but you don't have an hour a day to spend exercising at the gym. Therefore, you've pretty well resigned yourself to not losing weight or getting in shape. What if you had five minutes though...just about everyone can find five minutes to exercise, stretch, walk around the block or walk the dog. Would you be willing to be grateful for five minutes and make the best possible use of it? Therein lies the beginning of your perfect life!
A simple formula may help you remember how to apply this principle:
- The present
- + an attitude of gratitude
- + positive action
- = my perfect life.
Try it for a day.
Each time you start dreaming about how perfect your life would be if...come back to this moment, give thanks for what is, and do one thing to perfect what you have and who you are right now. There's a saying that "when the student is ready, the teacher appears." If you're ready to start perfecting your life, your teachers are all around you.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Monday, March 09, 2009
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS | |||
I always try to turn my personal struggles | |||
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS | |||
Cushion the painful effects of hard blows by keeping the | |||
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION | |||
You are to gather up the joys and sorrows, the struggles, the beauty, |
Sunday, March 08, 2009
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Who would live and not love? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first. LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS I go by instinct...I don't worry about experience. LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS The purpose of life is a life of purpose. INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION Growth begins when we start to accept our own weakness. LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS Loyalty is what we seek in friendships. LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS There is no security on this earth. Only opportunity. INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION Strength is the matter of the made-up mind. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS | |||
We must love one another or die. | |||
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS | |||
Although the world is full of suffering, it is also | |||
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION | |||
You can be greater than anything that can happen to you. TRANSCRIPT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE INQUIRY AT LOVE SOFTWARE,INC. |
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS | |||
Help others get ahead. You will always stand taller | |||
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS | |||
If you are lucky enough to have done well, then it | |||
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION | |||
Personal responsibility begins with ME. Why are some people more successful than others? Why do some people make more money, live happier lives and accomplish much more in the same number of years than the great majority? I started out in life with few advantages. I did not graduate from high school. I worked at menial jobs. I had limited education, limited skills and a limited future. And then I began asking, “Why are some people more successful than others?” This question changed my life. Over the years, I have read thousands of books and articles on the subjects of success and achievement. It seems that the reasons for these accomplishments have been discussed and written about for more than two thousand years, in every conceivable way. One quality that most philosophers, teachers and experts agree on is the importance of self-discipline. As Al Tomsik summarized it years ago, “Success is tons of discipline.” Some years ago, I attended a conference in Washington. It was the lunch break and I was eating at a nearby food fair. The area was crowded and I sat down at the last open table by myself, even though it was a table for four. A few minutes later, an older gentleman and a younger woman who was his assistant came along carrying trays of food, obviously looking for a place to sit. With plenty of room at my table, I immediately arose and invited the older gentleman to join me. He was hesitant, but I insisted. Finally, thanking me as he sat down, we began to chat over lunch. It turned out that his name was Kop Kopmeyer. As it happened, I immediately knew who he was. He was a legend in the field of success and achievement. Kop Kopmeyer had written four large books, each of which contained 250 success principles that he had derived from more than fifty years of research and study. I had read all four books from cover to cover, more than once. After we had chatted for awhile, I asked him the question that many people in this situation would ask, “Of all the one thousand success principles that you have discovered, which do you think is the most important?” He smiled at me with a twinkle in his eye, as if he had been asked this question many times, and replied, without hesitating, “The most important success principle of all was stated by Thomas Huxley many years ago. He said, 'Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.'” He went on to say, “There are 999 other success principles that I have found in my reading and experience, but without self-discipline, none of them work.” Self-discipline is the key to personal greatness. It is the magic quality that opens all doors for you, and makes everything else possible. With self-discipline, the average person can rise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline, a person with every blessing of background, education and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity. In the pages ahead I will describe seven areas of your life where the practice of self-discipline will be key to your success. These areas include goals, character, time management, personal health, money, courage and responsibility. It is my hope that you'll find a few “nuggets” that will help make your dreams come true. Today, I'm pleased to offer a special price of $10.00 per book, including a free 3 minute DVD with each book. Our regular price is $15.95, a savings of over 35% Note: This offer expires at 11:59 PM CST on 3/3/09. To learn more on The Power of Discipline just click here. |
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