Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.

-- Rabindranath Tagore

LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS

Looking back, I have this to regret, that
too often when I loved, I did not say so.
--David Grayson
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS

Our favourite holding period is forever.
--Warren Buffett
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future,
concentrate the mind on the present moment.
--Buddha



An Excerpt from
The Best Way Out is Always Through
by BJ Gallagher

Mary Kay Ash banged her head on the corporate glass ceiling one too many times. Working for several direct sales companies from the 1930's until the early 1960's, she achieved considerable success. She climbed the corporate ladder to become the sole woman on the board of directors of the World Gift Company - quite an accomplishment for a woman in the 1950's.

But life wasn't rosy at the top. Even though Mary Kay had the title and the track record, she was not taken seriously by her male peers. In board meetings, her opinions and suggestions were ignored, dismissed, or even ridiculed. Male board members minced no words in their judgment - pronouncing her guilty of "thinking like a woman."

Since the sales force was almost entirely female, Mary Kay thought that thinking like a woman was an asset. But her fellow board members disagreed. Finally, in frustration, she retired in 1963, intending to write a book to assist women in the male-dominated business.

Sitting at her kitchen table, she made two lists: one list was all the good things she had seen in the companies where she'd worked, and the other list was all the things she thought could be improved. As she re-read her lists, she realized that what she had in front of her was a marketing plan for her ideal company. In just four weeks, her "book" had become a business plan, and her retirement was over.

Both her accountant and her attorney did their best to discourage her, warning that she would be throwing her money away on this venture. But Mary Kay had heard enough male nay-saying in her corporate years - she ignored her advisors.

Her husband, unlike her accountant and attorney, was very supportive. With his help, Mary Kay developed the cosmetic products, designed packaging, wrote promotional materials and recruited and trained her female sales force.

Then the unthinkable happened; her husband of twenty-one years died of a heart attack. Another woman might have dropped her plans, or at least delayed them, but Mary Kay was a strong Texas woman. She stayed on track with the help of her twenty-year-old son, Richard Rogers and rolled out her new business in September of 1963.

Beginning with a storefront in Dallas and an investment of $5,000, Mary Kay Cosmetics earned close to $200,000 in its first year - quadrupling that amount in its second year. When Mary Kay took her company public in 1968, sales had climbed to more than $10 million.

Mary Kay's unusual corporate motto, "God first, family second, career third," was unconventional, to say the least. But she understood the need for women to have balance in their lives, and she was committed to providing unlimited opportunity for women's financial AND personal success.

Mary Kay authored three books, all of which became best-sellers. Her business model is taught at the Harvard Business School. She received many honors, including the Horatio Alger Award. Fortune magazine has named Mary Kay Cosmetics as one of the Ten Best Companies for Women, as well as one of The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America.

At the time of her death in 2001, Mary Kay Cosmetics had 800,000 independent beauty consultants in 37 countries, with total annual sales of over two billion dollars. Never underestimate the power of a woman with a mission!

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Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves."

-Dale Carnegie


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PERSEVERANCE DEFINED

Persist no matter what.
Endure discomfort.
Request help.
Steadfastly hold on to your beliefs and values.
Envision triumph.
Very consistently keep at it.
Embrace adversity as your teacher.
Refuse to give up.
Enjoy and celebrate every tiny bit of progress!

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"How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young,
compassionate with the aged,
sympathetic with the striving,
and tolerant with the weak...because in your life you will have been all of these."

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"Inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard."

~Unknown

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LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS

Children reflect the light of their parents long before
they acknowledge they have their own light.
--Forrest Carter
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS

Never turn your back on enthusiasm!
--Buddy Ebsen
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION

When a man cares he is unafraid.
When he is fair, he leaves enough for others.
When he is humble, he can grow.
--Lao-Tzu

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LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS

As long as you keep a person down, some part of you has to be down there to
hold him down, so it means you cannot soar as you otherwise might.
--Marian Anderson
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS

Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so?
Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live.
Before they know it, time runs out.--Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION

One day at a time - this is enough. Do not look back and grieve
over the past, for it is gone: and do not be troubled about the
future, for it has not yet come. Live in the present, and make
it so beautiful that it will be worth remembering.
--Ida Scott Taylor

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An excerpt from
The Strangest Secret
by Earl Nightingale

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 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.

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Are You Open?
by Kay Richae

No matter where we are in life or what we have achieved or understood it behooves us to always be open to accepting new things for this is the way of GOD. The Universe is always expanding and we are microcosms of the macrocosm meaning that we have all of GOD’s creation to enlighten us to the truth about ourselves.

If we truly want to be our best selves we must always be open to embracing the new. Now, I am not saying that we should drift whichever way a current trend takes us, but rather we should always be open to new ways of thinking and being.

To state the matter differently; I am not saying that we should be influenced by society, the media, or things outside of ourselves to change but I am saying we should always remain open and receptive to what the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us is sharing to take us to our next level of greatness. And believe me, the guidance from within is being broadcast; it is only a matter of if we are willing to be receptive to it.

When we are not receptive or when we have not attuned to the inner voice of our Counselor, life can seem boring and unexciting. Sometimes we can even feel stuck.

There may be times when we may not be able pinpoint anything that is really ‘wrong’ so to speak, but we just feel unfulfilled. This is because it is our true nature to constantly expand from one level of completeness to another.

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LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS

In every marriage more than a week old, there are grounds for divorce.
The trick is to find, and continue to find, grounds for marriage.
--Robert Anderson
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS

To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure
an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness.
--John Dewey
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION

Ya gots to work with what you gots to work with.
--Stevie Wonder

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into His likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

Anything that is not growing is dead and because of the Eternal nature of our souls (which are constantly growing and expanding whether we like it or not) when we try to house our newly expanded selves in a body temple that is still operating under the mind and heart-sets of who we used to be, the result is often the negative emotions outlined above.

Sometimes fear of losing who we really are can keep us from being willing to say yes to our expansion. The voice of the ego may tell us that if we change how we think and feel we may not remain true to who we really are. We may be afraid of what those close to us will think about our new selves.

In reality, being open and receptive to growth and change is the only way for us to be true to the best version of ourselves and is the way we embrace our true freedom. When we give an inner yes to our best yet to be we allow GOD greater expression in and as our lives because we have attuned ourselves to the guidance of the still, small Voice inside of us that is the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things.

When we live from this place of awareness life is fun, exciting, and fulfilling! We are happy and inspired in our actions and/or inaction for we know that they are right actions with great purpose guided by Spirit.

Life becomes a fun adventure guided from within each of us where we are free and no longer bound by the imaginary shackles of obligation, habit, and expectation of others.

We will no longer feel that we need to conform to our current world but will know that we are free to be transformed by the renewing of our minds toward the unfoldment of our best selves. What a great place to be!!!

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2Corinthians 3:17

Will you say yes to your best self, the self you came here to be for GOD, by being open and receptive to the Eternal broadcast of good?

I invite you to share your thoughts and experiences with me on my blog at ASpeakerforGod.com

I love you and GOD adores you!

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"Give people a fact or an idea and you enlighten their minds; tell them a story and you touch their souls."

~Hasidic Proverb
Kids communicate with no inhibitions.
They speak from the heart.
Strive to communicate person-to-person, heart-to-heart in everything we do.

Stories create intimacy and relationships. And that's the essence of a strong brand.
Have everyone share stories and listen to stories. Especially stories from our customers.
~Tom Asacker

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Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them -- that only creates sorrow. . . Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.

-- Lao-tzu

LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS

Conflict cannot survive without your participation.
--Wayne Dyer
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS

Nothing will work unless you do.
--Maya Angelou
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION

Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.
--Dean Acheson

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You cannot judge what should bring others joy, and others cannot judge what should bring you joy.

-- Alan Cohen
"What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." ~Ralph Waldo EmersoN


"William Henley said, 'I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.' Once you believe this (I mean, really believe it,) nothing will hold you back. Something unexplainable happens when we accept complete responsibility for our behavior and our results. But it's not an easy thing to do."

~Mac Anderson

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LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS

I cannot always control what goes on outside.
But I can always control what goes on inside.
--Wayne Dyer
LEADERSHIP & SUCCESS

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer
is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
--Theodore Roosevelt
INSPIRATION & MOTIVATION

Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.
--Henry David Thoreau

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"We could change the world tomorrow if all the millions of people around the world acted the way they believe."
-Jane Goodall


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"If you must raise your voice, do it to cheer your students on."

~Author Unknown
"It's not easy being a Teacher...
and this Heart takes a beating each day
Sometimes it breaks for a hurting child
and a piece is given away.

But there's strength in the Heart of a Teacher
and a special vision to see
the difference you make in the heart of a child
...can affect eternity!"

~Paula J. Fox

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