Happiness is a Voyage
By: Author Unknown
We convince ourselves that life will be better once we are
married, have a baby, then another.
Then we get frustrated because our children are not old
enough, and that all will be well when they are older.
Then we are frustrated because they reach adolescence and
we must deal with them. Surely we'll be happier when they
grow out of the teen years.
We tell ourselves our life will be better when our spouse
gets his/her act together, when we have a nicer car, when
we can take a vacation, when we finally retire.
The truth is that there is no better time to be happy than
right now.
If not, then when?
Your life will always be full of challenges. It is better
to admit as much and to decide to be happy in spite of it
all.
For the longest time, it seemed that life was about to
start. Real life.
But there was always some obstacle along the way, an
ordeal to get through, some work to be finished, some time
to be given, a bill to be paid. Then life would start.
I finally came to understand that those obstacles were life.
That point of view helped me see that there isn't any road
to happiness.
Happiness IS the road.
So, enjoy every moment.
Stop waiting for school to end, for a return to school, to
lose ten pounds, to gain ten pounds, for work to begin, to
get married, for Friday evening, for Sunday morning,
waiting for a new car, for your mortgage to be paid off,
for spring, for summer, for fall, for winter, for the first
or the fifteenth of the month, for your song to be played
on the radio, to die, to be reborn… before deciding to be
happy.
Happiness is a voyage, not a destination.
There is no better time to be happy than… NOW!
Live and enjoy the moment.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
What Are You Doing To Make The World A Better Place?"
The Acorn Planter
By: Brian Cavanaugh
In the 1930s, a young traveler was exploring the French
Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of barren land. It was
desolate. It was forbidding. It was ugly. It was the kind
of place you hurry away from.
Then, suddenly, the young traveler stopped dead in his
tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent-
over old man. On his back was a sack of acorns. In his hand
was a four-foot length of iron pipe.
The man was using the iron pipe to punch holes in the
ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put
it in the hole. Later, the old man told the traveler, "I've
planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only one-tenth of them
will grow."
The old man's wife and son had died, and this was how he
chose to spend his final years. "I want to do something
useful," he said.
Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler
returned to the same desolate area. What he saw amazed him;
he could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered
with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long.
Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wildflowers
perfumed the air.
The traveler stood there recalling the desolation that
once was. A beautiful oak forest stood there now - all
because someone cared.
What small thing can you do today to make the world a more
beautiful place?
By: Brian Cavanaugh
In the 1930s, a young traveler was exploring the French
Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of barren land. It was
desolate. It was forbidding. It was ugly. It was the kind
of place you hurry away from.
Then, suddenly, the young traveler stopped dead in his
tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent-
over old man. On his back was a sack of acorns. In his hand
was a four-foot length of iron pipe.
The man was using the iron pipe to punch holes in the
ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put
it in the hole. Later, the old man told the traveler, "I've
planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only one-tenth of them
will grow."
The old man's wife and son had died, and this was how he
chose to spend his final years. "I want to do something
useful," he said.
Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler
returned to the same desolate area. What he saw amazed him;
he could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered
with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long.
Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wildflowers
perfumed the air.
The traveler stood there recalling the desolation that
once was. A beautiful oak forest stood there now - all
because someone cared.
What small thing can you do today to make the world a more
beautiful place?
Thursday, November 19, 2009
"What Have You Done lately To Free Your Genius Within?"
The Grandma Who Could
By: Neil Eskelin
At the age of eighty, a farmer's wife in Cambridge,
Virginia, suffered from painful arthritis. The mother of
ten children and many grandchildren--and great-
grandchildren--loved to do needlework, but her fingers
could no longer manipulate the large needle to embroider.
The elderly woman looked for something else that would
keep her occupied, and found she could hold a small
paintbrush much easier than a needle. So she tried her hand
at painting. She thought her farm and country scenes were
good enough to show at the Cambridge Fair, but she only won
prizes for her jams and canned fruit. There were no blue
ribbons for her art.
Then one day an art collector from New York City was
traveling through the village and noticed several of her
paintings for sale in a local drug store. When he showed
them to his friends in the art circles of Manhattan, they
were more than curious.
Soon, 'Grandma Moses' gained an international reputation.
Her widely-collected works of art were featured on
calendars, greeting cards and in exhibitions in leading
galleries, including the Modern Museum of Art in New York.
Even more amazing, 25% of her 1,500 popular paintings were
done after she was 100 years old!
What masterpieces do you have waiting within you?
By: Neil Eskelin
At the age of eighty, a farmer's wife in Cambridge,
Virginia, suffered from painful arthritis. The mother of
ten children and many grandchildren--and great-
grandchildren--loved to do needlework, but her fingers
could no longer manipulate the large needle to embroider.
The elderly woman looked for something else that would
keep her occupied, and found she could hold a small
paintbrush much easier than a needle. So she tried her hand
at painting. She thought her farm and country scenes were
good enough to show at the Cambridge Fair, but she only won
prizes for her jams and canned fruit. There were no blue
ribbons for her art.
Then one day an art collector from New York City was
traveling through the village and noticed several of her
paintings for sale in a local drug store. When he showed
them to his friends in the art circles of Manhattan, they
were more than curious.
Soon, 'Grandma Moses' gained an international reputation.
Her widely-collected works of art were featured on
calendars, greeting cards and in exhibitions in leading
galleries, including the Modern Museum of Art in New York.
Even more amazing, 25% of her 1,500 popular paintings were
done after she was 100 years old!
What masterpieces do you have waiting within you?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
"What's Your Most Valuable Asset?"
By: Author Unknown
While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man
on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there,"
she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was
gliding down the slide.
"He's a fine looking boy," the man said. "That's my
daughter on the bike in the white dress."
Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter.
"What do you say we go, Melissa?"
Melissa pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please?
Just five more minutes."
The man nodded, and Melissa continued to ride her bike to
her heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood
and called again to his daughter, "Time to go now."
Again Melissa pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five
more minutes."
The man smiled and said, "Okay."
"My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman
responded.
The man smiled and then said, "Her older brother Tommy was
killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his
bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy, and now
I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've
vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks
she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I
get five more minutes to watch her play."
Life is all about making priorities. What are your
priorities?
Give someone you love five more minutes of your time today!
While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man
on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there,"
she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was
gliding down the slide.
"He's a fine looking boy," the man said. "That's my
daughter on the bike in the white dress."
Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter.
"What do you say we go, Melissa?"
Melissa pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please?
Just five more minutes."
The man nodded, and Melissa continued to ride her bike to
her heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood
and called again to his daughter, "Time to go now."
Again Melissa pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five
more minutes."
The man smiled and said, "Okay."
"My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman
responded.
The man smiled and then said, "Her older brother Tommy was
killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his
bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy, and now
I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've
vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks
she has five more minutes to ride her bike. The truth is, I
get five more minutes to watch her play."
Life is all about making priorities. What are your
priorities?
Give someone you love five more minutes of your time today!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"Let Passion Be Your Guide"
Stay Focused on Your Core Genius
by Jack Canfield
Focus on your core genius I believe you have inside of you a core genius... some one thing that you love to do, and do so well, that you hardly feel like doing anything else. It’s effortless for you and a whole lot of fun. And if you could make money doing it, you’d make it your lifetime’s work.
In most cases, your Core Genius is directly tied to your passions and life-purpose.
Successful people believe this, too. That's why they put their core genius first. They focus on it—and delegate everything else to other people on their team.
For me, my core genius lies in the area of teaching, training, coaching and motivating. Another core genius is writing and compiling books. Over my 35 year career, I have written, co-authored, compiled and edited more than 150 books, and I love to do it! I do it well, and people report that they get great value from it.
Compare that to the other people in the world who go through life doing everything, even those tasks they’re bad at or that could be done more cheaply, better, and faster by someone else.
They simply can’t find the time to focus on their core genius because they fail to delegate even the most menial of tasks.
When you delegate the grunt work—the things you hate doing or those tasks that are so painful, you end up putting them off—you get to concentrate on what you love to do. You free up your time so that you can be more productive. And you get to enjoy life more.
So why is delegating routine tasks and unwanted projects so difficult for most people?
Surprisingly, most people are afraid of looking wasteful or being judged as being above everyone else. They are afraid to give up control or reluctant to spend the money to pay for help. Deep down, most people simply don't want to let go.
Others (potentially you) have simply fallen into the habit of doing everything themselves. "It's too time-consuming to explain it to someone," you say. "I can do it more quickly and better myself anyway." But can you?
Delegate Completely!
If you’re a professional earning $75 per hour and you pay a neighborhood kid $10 an hour to cut the grass, you save the effort of doing it yourself on the weekend and gain one extra hour when you could profit by $65. Of course, while one hour does’t seem like much, multiply that by 52 weekends a year and you discover you’Ave gained 52 hours a year at $65 per hour —or an extra $3,380 in potential earnings.
Similarly, if you’re a real estate agent, you need to list houses, gather information for the multiple listings, attend open houses, do showings, put keys in lock boxes, write offers and make appointments. And, if you’re lucky, you eventually get to close a deal.
But let’s say that you’re the best closer in the area.
Why would you want to waste your time writing listings, doing lead generation, placing lock boxes, and making videos of the property when you could have a staff of colleagues and assistants doing all that, thus freeing you up to do more closing? Instead of doing just one deal a week, you could be doing three deals because you had delegated what you’re less good at.
One of the strategies I use and teach is complete delegation. It simply means that you delegate a task once and completely - rather than delegating it each time it needs to be done.
When my niece came to stay with us one year while she attended the local community college, we made a complete delegation - the grocery shopping. We told her she could have unlimited use of our van if she would buy the groceries every week. We provided her with a list of staples that we always want in the house (eggs, butter, milk, ketchup, and so on), and her job was to check every week and replace anything that was running low.
In addition, my wife planned meals and let her know which items she wanted for the main courses (fish, chicken, broccoli, avocados, and so on). The task was delegated once and saved us hundreds of hours that year that could be devoted to writing, exercise, family time, and recreation.
Most entrepreneurs spend less than 30% of their time focusing on their core genius and unique abilities.
In fact, by the time they've launched a business, it often seems entrepreneurs are doing everything but the one thing they went into business for in the first place.
Many salespeople, for example, spend more time on account administration than they do on the phone or in the field making sales, when they could hire a part-time administrator (or share the cost with another salesperson) to do this time-consuming detail work. In most cases, in a fraction of the time it would take them and at a fraction of the cost.
Most female executives spend too much time running their household, when they could easily and inexpensively delegate this task to a cleaning service or part-time mother's helper, freeing them to focus on their career or spend more quality time with their family.
Don't let this be your fate!
Identify your core genius, then delegate completely to free up more time to focus on what you love to do.
I believe that you can trade, barter, pay for and find volunteer help to do almost everything you don't want to do, leaving you to do what you are best at - and which will ultimately make you the most money and bring you the most happiness.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
"Why Some Businesses and Entrepreneurs Can Apparently Make Millions Instantly Overnight-Can You Do It?"
The Moso Bamboo Tree
By: Joel Weldon
The moso is a bamboo plant that grows in China and the far
east. After the moso is planted, no visible growth occurs
for up to five years - event under ideal conditions!
Then, as if by magic, it suddenly begins growing at the
rate of nearly two and one half feet per day, reaching a
full height of ninety feet within six weeks.
But it's not magic. The moso's rapid growth is due to the
miles of roots it develops during those first five years,
five years of getting ready.
How deep do your roots go? Are you ready?
Now you can Spend Years and years learning and failing until You get It Right or you can Do what Smart people Do and Model it By using Other peoples Systems; And check out the great resources that you can model and make tons of money without much effort.
http://axel.myprofileworldwide.com
By: Joel Weldon
The moso is a bamboo plant that grows in China and the far
east. After the moso is planted, no visible growth occurs
for up to five years - event under ideal conditions!
Then, as if by magic, it suddenly begins growing at the
rate of nearly two and one half feet per day, reaching a
full height of ninety feet within six weeks.
But it's not magic. The moso's rapid growth is due to the
miles of roots it develops during those first five years,
five years of getting ready.
How deep do your roots go? Are you ready?
Now you can Spend Years and years learning and failing until You get It Right or you can Do what Smart people Do and Model it By using Other peoples Systems; And check out the great resources that you can model and make tons of money without much effort.http://axel.myprofileworldwide.com
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
What’s Hiding in Your Mind?
What’s Hiding in Your Mind?
Would you consider yourself to be a fearful person? Most people would probably answer no to that question, yet fear is one of the most common hindrances that people struggle with today. The reason for this discrepancy may surprise you: fear can easily disguise itself as seemingly logical beliefs, thoughts and feelings so you may not even realize it’s there.
Rather than using the word fear to describe their feelings, many people might choose words like doubt, concern, worry, anxiety, uncertainty, hesitation, apprehension, procrastination, distrust or unease.
Ultimately they mean the same thing as fear. There is a thought, feeling, belief, or possible outcome that makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened and you will instinctively avoid things that make you feel that way.
Here are some common fears that could be hiding in your mind:
Fear of Failure
If you have ever held back on a goal or avoided taking action that would lead to a positive outcome, you may have been fearful that you might fail. Fear of failure can be subtle because our minds can come up with endless excuses why it’s not a good time to take a risk right now, or how the odds don’t seem to be in our favor, and so on.
Fear of Success
It’s hard to believe that anyone could be afraid of success (isn’t success usually a good thing?) but it’s far more common than you might believe. Most often it’s not the success itself that people fear, but rather all of the responsibilities and uncertainties that come along with success. If you worry that you won’t be able to handle these things, you will resist putting yourself in a position where you would have to face them.
Fear of Rejection
Fear of rejection is usually related to low self-esteem, but may show up in subtle ways. You may lash out at others when a possible rejection is imminent; sabotage relationships so you can be the one who rejects the other person instead of them rejecting you; or you may simply withdraw from social interaction to avoid the possibility of being rejected at all.
Fear of Not Being Good Enough
This is another fear that is connected to self-esteem, and it often affects everything you do in life. You may avoid making changes to improve your life; settle for a dissatisfying job that pays less money than you are capable of earning; or continuously sabotage your goals. If you don’t believe you deserve to have better life circumstances you won’t allow yourself to create them.
Once you have identified one or more of these fears, you can begin diffusing them with mind and body techniques that will calm your emotions, relax your body and get your thoughts flowing in a positive direction again. For most people this will be an ongoing process because our minds become conditioned to respond to fear stimulus and it will seem to happen automatically for some time. However, getting into the habit of addressing the fear in new healthy ways should set a new pattern to minimize the conditioned responses and even eliminate them over time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Alternatively download the new Free ebook – 22 Powerful Tools To Transform Your Fear Into Happiness, Peace and Inspiration. http://b32f23b7s2sfv17e-coig8i-1s.hop.clickbank.net/
– Crammed full of valuable tips, exercises and ideas – it could be the most important ebook you read this year.
Would you consider yourself to be a fearful person? Most people would probably answer no to that question, yet fear is one of the most common hindrances that people struggle with today. The reason for this discrepancy may surprise you: fear can easily disguise itself as seemingly logical beliefs, thoughts and feelings so you may not even realize it’s there.
Rather than using the word fear to describe their feelings, many people might choose words like doubt, concern, worry, anxiety, uncertainty, hesitation, apprehension, procrastination, distrust or unease.
Ultimately they mean the same thing as fear. There is a thought, feeling, belief, or possible outcome that makes you feel uncomfortable or threatened and you will instinctively avoid things that make you feel that way.
Here are some common fears that could be hiding in your mind:
Fear of Failure
If you have ever held back on a goal or avoided taking action that would lead to a positive outcome, you may have been fearful that you might fail. Fear of failure can be subtle because our minds can come up with endless excuses why it’s not a good time to take a risk right now, or how the odds don’t seem to be in our favor, and so on.
Fear of Success
It’s hard to believe that anyone could be afraid of success (isn’t success usually a good thing?) but it’s far more common than you might believe. Most often it’s not the success itself that people fear, but rather all of the responsibilities and uncertainties that come along with success. If you worry that you won’t be able to handle these things, you will resist putting yourself in a position where you would have to face them.
Fear of Rejection
Fear of rejection is usually related to low self-esteem, but may show up in subtle ways. You may lash out at others when a possible rejection is imminent; sabotage relationships so you can be the one who rejects the other person instead of them rejecting you; or you may simply withdraw from social interaction to avoid the possibility of being rejected at all.
Fear of Not Being Good Enough
This is another fear that is connected to self-esteem, and it often affects everything you do in life. You may avoid making changes to improve your life; settle for a dissatisfying job that pays less money than you are capable of earning; or continuously sabotage your goals. If you don’t believe you deserve to have better life circumstances you won’t allow yourself to create them.
Once you have identified one or more of these fears, you can begin diffusing them with mind and body techniques that will calm your emotions, relax your body and get your thoughts flowing in a positive direction again. For most people this will be an ongoing process because our minds become conditioned to respond to fear stimulus and it will seem to happen automatically for some time. However, getting into the habit of addressing the fear in new healthy ways should set a new pattern to minimize the conditioned responses and even eliminate them over time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Alternatively download the new Free ebook – 22 Powerful Tools To Transform Your Fear Into Happiness, Peace and Inspiration. http://b32f23b7s2sfv17e-coig8i-1s.hop.clickbank.net/
– Crammed full of valuable tips, exercises and ideas – it could be the most important ebook you read this year.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
"A Great lessons that Will Make You Envy A Dogs Life"
Things We Can Learn from a Dog
By: Author Unknown
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your
face to be pure ecstasy.
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
Take naps and stretch before rising.
Run, romp and play daily.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by
and nuzzle them gently.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the
guilt thing and pout... Run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.
By: Author Unknown
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your
face to be pure ecstasy.
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.
Let others know when they've invaded your territory.
Take naps and stretch before rising.
Run, romp and play daily.
Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you're not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by
and nuzzle them gently.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
No matter how often you're scolded, don't buy into the
guilt thing and pout... Run right back and make friends.
Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
"What Do You Wish For?"
Think, Believe, Dream and Dare
By: Author Unknown
An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a
wishing well, looked up into his eyes and asked: "I
understand you're a very wise man. I'd like to know the
secret of life."
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied:
"I've thought about that a lot in my lifetime, and the
secret can be summed up in four words.
The first is to Think. Think about the values you wish to
live your life by.
The second is to Believe. Believe in yourself based on the
thinking you've done about the values you're going to live
your life by.
The third is to Dream. Dream about the things that can be,
based on your belief in yourself and the values you're
going to live by.
The last is to Dare. Dare to make your dreams become
reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values."
And with that, Walter E. Disney said to the little boy,
"Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare."
By: Author Unknown
An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a
wishing well, looked up into his eyes and asked: "I
understand you're a very wise man. I'd like to know the
secret of life."
The old man looked down at the youngster and replied:
"I've thought about that a lot in my lifetime, and the
secret can be summed up in four words.
The first is to Think. Think about the values you wish to
live your life by.
The second is to Believe. Believe in yourself based on the
thinking you've done about the values you're going to live
your life by.
The third is to Dream. Dream about the things that can be,
based on your belief in yourself and the values you're
going to live by.
The last is to Dare. Dare to make your dreams become
reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values."
And with that, Walter E. Disney said to the little boy,
"Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare."
Friday, October 9, 2009
"Why Call Centres Cant Recruit The Right Candidates And How To Correct The Problem NOW!"
Best Practices in Call Center Recruitment: Stop Trying to Understand Why Call Center Representatives Are Quitting
The improvement in economic conditions has companies revamping their call center recruitment and hiring strategy. Call center recruitment has become a focus again and, as a result, call center turnover is inevitably increasing. The luxury of having a stable call center workforce during the last few months has begun to evaporate. Once again, call center managers are forced to deal with this perennial and nettlesome headache that just will not go away. And, I predict, most call centers will try to solve this problem (as they always have) by trying to understand why people are quitting.
This is the wrong approach; it will not result in a positive solution! If you try to comprehend why your call center representatives are quitting, you are assuming there is something wrong with your call center and you must correct the problem in order to make yourself more suitable as an employer. In an effort to improve call center recruitment it is far better to focus on why people are staying at your call center rather than why people are leaving your call center. This methodology is founded on the possibility there is nothing significantly wrong with your call center. Think about it! Regardless of how bad you think your call center environment might be, I’ll wager you have several productive call center representatives who have remained on the job for a long time.
If that is the case, I challenge you to try to understand what differentiates those call center representatives from their fellow call center representatives who were prematurely terminated. Armed with this awareness, you can improve your call center recruitment strategy.
Rookie Mistake: Accepting High Churn and Constant Call Center Recruitment
You can begin to emphasize employment processes and procedures that match the characteristics of those performers who are staying with you. Wouldn’t you agree to improve your call center recruitment it is far easier to change who you hire than it is to change your organization?
I think the biggest problem with high turnover in the call center is acceptance. This includes call center managers who say, “It’s just the nature of the working in the call center and we have to learn to live with it.” This simply is not true! A monumental study conducted in the 1930s by Patricia Cane Smith indicated, “There is no such thing as a boring job, rather there are repetitious jobs that some people don’t adapt well to."
And more recent studies have revealed that call center representatives remain on call center jobs because of the call center work relationships they do not wish to break. Now there’s a clue! Anything you can do in your call center to emphasize social bonding, car pools, peer-to-peer recognition group lunches, etc. will increase that social bond which will become difficult to break.
A Case Study in Call Center Recruitment
Now, a true story that illustrates my point: Several years ago, I was a Human Resource manager for the PepsiCo Transportation Division. I learned about employee selection and turnover from a very unusual source, and, like much of my real learning, it came the hard way. The message stuck and was the unintended inspiration for my subsequent doctoral dissertation.
Here’s what happened.
Our division was run by Mr. Butch Jones, a battled-scarred veteran of King-of-the-Mountain battles in one of the toughest businesses in America. Mr. Jones did not like staff managers in general and Human Resource whippersnappers specifically. But I didn’t let that dampen my enthusiasm. I wanted to show him that I was a professional, someone he could rely on.
My opportunity came to prove myself when Mr. Jones’s secretary called me three weeks ahead for an appointment at 2:28 PM. I knew the odd meeting time and long advance notice were among his intimidation techniques, so I was determined not to let them bother me. Grapevine rumors made it apparent that Mr. Jones was unhappy with the call center recruitment and staffing efforts of my department since we took over this responsibility for NTC. Call center recruitment at NTC proved to be a challenge.
One particular call center job paid $1.60 per hour and required continual calculation without the benefit of adding machines in a room without air conditioning. Call center promotion opportunities were non-existent and oppressive supervisors prevailed. More often than not, our employees crossed the street to Minihoma Insurance, which offered similar jobs in an air-conditioned office with adding machines and paid $2.25 an hour. I conducted a professional wage and benefit survey confirming the dismal working conditions and rock bottom pay scale at NTC. I was well prepared to deliver my presentation and escort Mr. Thompson and NTC into the 20th century.
Recruiting the Best and the Brightest at the Call Center
My heart quickened as Mr. Jones looked with interest at my slick graphs and quartile charts. As the presentation progressed, I thought I had gained his confidence. He even asked for my recommendation. I offered my opinion that we needed to raise the call center wage from $1.60 per hour to $2.30 per hour. Furthermore, we needed to assign a private call center work station to each call center representative, install air conditioning and purchase electronic calculators to attract qualified call center representatives. Most importantly, I recommended that we train our call center supervisors in modern management techniques. “That, sir, would enable me to recruit, hire and retain qualified call center representatives for NTC,” I concluded.
I proudly envisioned Mr. Jones rising to applaud my presentation.
It didn’t happen that way. Mr. Jones pulled a yellow pencil stub from behind his ear and made a few calculations on the tattered desk pad in front of him. (Mr. Jones didn’t use one of those newfangled calculators either.) He turned to Arnold McGruder, his trusted right hand in all matters of accounting, finance, public relations and personnel. Arnold wore the green eyeshade and plastic pocket protector of his bookkeeping trade proudly. He was Boss Hogg in the flesh.
“Arnold,” Mr. Jones drawled in a deliberate and cynical country accent, “Mr. Mitchell, who I believe is a college-educated boy, says he can hire and keep the help if we spend what I calculate to be 750,000 bucks a year.”
The words “college-educated boy” slammed into me like a Mack truck. I knew I was in deep kaw kaw. My college education taught me that much. Beads of sweat formed instantly on my upper lip. Mr. Jones paused for a minute to savor my obvious pain. Then he asked Arnold, “Do we have anybody working for National Trailer Convoy (NTC) who has been here for more than five years, who is doing a good job in spite of our supervisors and who is working for minimum wage?” “You betcha, Mr. Jones, There’s Iola Fay Welch, Prissy Stroop, Ella Joe Miller, Mable Grace Apple, Lydia Lou Landry and many more.”
Workplace Wellness Comes at Cost
“Now, Mr. College Boy, don’t you tell me we have to spend $750,000 to hire and keep good help," Jones said. "Your job is to find and hire more folks like Iola Fay and Mable Grace.”
I saw myself as the young warrior who had challenged the chief and lost. My destiny lay in riding alone in the badlands of ignorant managers for the rest of my career. Then, at the bottom of my despair, I came to a stunning conclusion. Mr. Jones was absolutely right! He had hit the nail on the head. Much of his logic was askew, but in terms of hiring practices, he was right. I didn’t endorse his sweatshop management practices, but no matter how bad the working conditions, pay or supervision, there were still, for whatever strange reasons, long-term employees who remained on the job and performed.
The key was to determine what was unique about these people and differentiate them from their short-tenured, unproductive counterparts. As soon as I correctly profiled the successful employee, in terms of NTC’s viewpoint, our turnover began to decline.
I don’t think I ever did gain Mr. Jones’s’ total respect, but once he did say, “Hi, Brooks” when our paths crossed in the executive commode. What more could a college boy ask for?
I continue to treasure the great lesson I learned from Mr. Jones. It is far easier to change the kind of people you hire than it is to change the organization in which they work.
http://axel.myprofileworldwide.com
The improvement in economic conditions has companies revamping their call center recruitment and hiring strategy. Call center recruitment has become a focus again and, as a result, call center turnover is inevitably increasing. The luxury of having a stable call center workforce during the last few months has begun to evaporate. Once again, call center managers are forced to deal with this perennial and nettlesome headache that just will not go away. And, I predict, most call centers will try to solve this problem (as they always have) by trying to understand why people are quitting.
This is the wrong approach; it will not result in a positive solution! If you try to comprehend why your call center representatives are quitting, you are assuming there is something wrong with your call center and you must correct the problem in order to make yourself more suitable as an employer. In an effort to improve call center recruitment it is far better to focus on why people are staying at your call center rather than why people are leaving your call center. This methodology is founded on the possibility there is nothing significantly wrong with your call center. Think about it! Regardless of how bad you think your call center environment might be, I’ll wager you have several productive call center representatives who have remained on the job for a long time.
If that is the case, I challenge you to try to understand what differentiates those call center representatives from their fellow call center representatives who were prematurely terminated. Armed with this awareness, you can improve your call center recruitment strategy.
Rookie Mistake: Accepting High Churn and Constant Call Center Recruitment
You can begin to emphasize employment processes and procedures that match the characteristics of those performers who are staying with you. Wouldn’t you agree to improve your call center recruitment it is far easier to change who you hire than it is to change your organization?
I think the biggest problem with high turnover in the call center is acceptance. This includes call center managers who say, “It’s just the nature of the working in the call center and we have to learn to live with it.” This simply is not true! A monumental study conducted in the 1930s by Patricia Cane Smith indicated, “There is no such thing as a boring job, rather there are repetitious jobs that some people don’t adapt well to."
And more recent studies have revealed that call center representatives remain on call center jobs because of the call center work relationships they do not wish to break. Now there’s a clue! Anything you can do in your call center to emphasize social bonding, car pools, peer-to-peer recognition group lunches, etc. will increase that social bond which will become difficult to break.
A Case Study in Call Center Recruitment
Now, a true story that illustrates my point: Several years ago, I was a Human Resource manager for the PepsiCo Transportation Division. I learned about employee selection and turnover from a very unusual source, and, like much of my real learning, it came the hard way. The message stuck and was the unintended inspiration for my subsequent doctoral dissertation.
Here’s what happened.
Our division was run by Mr. Butch Jones, a battled-scarred veteran of King-of-the-Mountain battles in one of the toughest businesses in America. Mr. Jones did not like staff managers in general and Human Resource whippersnappers specifically. But I didn’t let that dampen my enthusiasm. I wanted to show him that I was a professional, someone he could rely on.
My opportunity came to prove myself when Mr. Jones’s secretary called me three weeks ahead for an appointment at 2:28 PM. I knew the odd meeting time and long advance notice were among his intimidation techniques, so I was determined not to let them bother me. Grapevine rumors made it apparent that Mr. Jones was unhappy with the call center recruitment and staffing efforts of my department since we took over this responsibility for NTC. Call center recruitment at NTC proved to be a challenge.
One particular call center job paid $1.60 per hour and required continual calculation without the benefit of adding machines in a room without air conditioning. Call center promotion opportunities were non-existent and oppressive supervisors prevailed. More often than not, our employees crossed the street to Minihoma Insurance, which offered similar jobs in an air-conditioned office with adding machines and paid $2.25 an hour. I conducted a professional wage and benefit survey confirming the dismal working conditions and rock bottom pay scale at NTC. I was well prepared to deliver my presentation and escort Mr. Thompson and NTC into the 20th century.
Recruiting the Best and the Brightest at the Call Center
My heart quickened as Mr. Jones looked with interest at my slick graphs and quartile charts. As the presentation progressed, I thought I had gained his confidence. He even asked for my recommendation. I offered my opinion that we needed to raise the call center wage from $1.60 per hour to $2.30 per hour. Furthermore, we needed to assign a private call center work station to each call center representative, install air conditioning and purchase electronic calculators to attract qualified call center representatives. Most importantly, I recommended that we train our call center supervisors in modern management techniques. “That, sir, would enable me to recruit, hire and retain qualified call center representatives for NTC,” I concluded.
I proudly envisioned Mr. Jones rising to applaud my presentation.
It didn’t happen that way. Mr. Jones pulled a yellow pencil stub from behind his ear and made a few calculations on the tattered desk pad in front of him. (Mr. Jones didn’t use one of those newfangled calculators either.) He turned to Arnold McGruder, his trusted right hand in all matters of accounting, finance, public relations and personnel. Arnold wore the green eyeshade and plastic pocket protector of his bookkeeping trade proudly. He was Boss Hogg in the flesh.
“Arnold,” Mr. Jones drawled in a deliberate and cynical country accent, “Mr. Mitchell, who I believe is a college-educated boy, says he can hire and keep the help if we spend what I calculate to be 750,000 bucks a year.”
The words “college-educated boy” slammed into me like a Mack truck. I knew I was in deep kaw kaw. My college education taught me that much. Beads of sweat formed instantly on my upper lip. Mr. Jones paused for a minute to savor my obvious pain. Then he asked Arnold, “Do we have anybody working for National Trailer Convoy (NTC) who has been here for more than five years, who is doing a good job in spite of our supervisors and who is working for minimum wage?” “You betcha, Mr. Jones, There’s Iola Fay Welch, Prissy Stroop, Ella Joe Miller, Mable Grace Apple, Lydia Lou Landry and many more.”
Workplace Wellness Comes at Cost
“Now, Mr. College Boy, don’t you tell me we have to spend $750,000 to hire and keep good help," Jones said. "Your job is to find and hire more folks like Iola Fay and Mable Grace.”
I saw myself as the young warrior who had challenged the chief and lost. My destiny lay in riding alone in the badlands of ignorant managers for the rest of my career. Then, at the bottom of my despair, I came to a stunning conclusion. Mr. Jones was absolutely right! He had hit the nail on the head. Much of his logic was askew, but in terms of hiring practices, he was right. I didn’t endorse his sweatshop management practices, but no matter how bad the working conditions, pay or supervision, there were still, for whatever strange reasons, long-term employees who remained on the job and performed.
The key was to determine what was unique about these people and differentiate them from their short-tenured, unproductive counterparts. As soon as I correctly profiled the successful employee, in terms of NTC’s viewpoint, our turnover began to decline.
I don’t think I ever did gain Mr. Jones’s’ total respect, but once he did say, “Hi, Brooks” when our paths crossed in the executive commode. What more could a college boy ask for?
I continue to treasure the great lesson I learned from Mr. Jones. It is far easier to change the kind of people you hire than it is to change the organization in which they work.
http://axel.myprofileworldwide.com
Sunday, September 20, 2009
"Do Have Vision, Focus and Clarity?"
Keep Your Goals in Sight
By: Author Unknown
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a
solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming
for nearly 16 hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English
Channel in both directions. Now at age 34, her goal was to
become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the
California coast.
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like
an ice bath, and the fog was so dense she could hardly see
her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure,
only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid
grip of the sea, she struggled on-hour after hour-while
millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her
trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much
farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not
to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half-
mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she
told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I
could have seen land I might have made it." It was not
fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was
the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the
same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal
clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere
behind that fog was land, and this time she made it!
Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the
Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men's record by two hours!
By: Author Unknown
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a
solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming
for nearly 16 hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English
Channel in both directions. Now at age 34, her goal was to
become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the
California coast.
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like
an ice bath, and the fog was so dense she could hardly see
her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure,
only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid
grip of the sea, she struggled on-hour after hour-while
millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her
trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much
farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not
to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half-
mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she
told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I
could have seen land I might have made it." It was not
fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was
the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the
same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal
clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere
behind that fog was land, and this time she made it!
Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the
Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men's record by two hours!
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Power Of WE!
The Power of “WE”
The leader’s language is revealing. I recently came across this video on leadership. It reminded me of a conversation I had several years ago with a manager I’d been mentoring. The manger came to me with a BIG problem. He was having a difficult time getting his team to buy-in to “his” goals and objectives. After observing him in several one-on-one discussions and during team meetings, I approached him with a suggestion.
When you speak to your people, speak to them in terms of “We”. Let them know that you are in it together!
Jack Hayhow does an excellent job of sharing this concept in this quick two minute video. Check it out…
What challenges, in your leadership style, have you corrected to become a better leader?
The leader’s language is revealing. I recently came across this video on leadership. It reminded me of a conversation I had several years ago with a manager I’d been mentoring. The manger came to me with a BIG problem. He was having a difficult time getting his team to buy-in to “his” goals and objectives. After observing him in several one-on-one discussions and during team meetings, I approached him with a suggestion.
When you speak to your people, speak to them in terms of “We”. Let them know that you are in it together!
Jack Hayhow does an excellent job of sharing this concept in this quick two minute video. Check it out…
What challenges, in your leadership style, have you corrected to become a better leader?
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
"What Do You Consider To be The Seven Wonders Of Your World?"
What are the Seven Wonders of the World?
By: Author Unknown
A group of students was asked to list what they thought
were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there
were some disagreements, the following received the most
votes:
1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. Saint Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noticed that one
quiet student hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked
the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl
replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind
because there were so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe
we can help."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders
of the World' are:
1. to see
2. to hear
3. to touch
4. to taste
5. to feel
6. to laugh
7. and to love."
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we
take for granted are truly wondrous!
By: Author Unknown
A group of students was asked to list what they thought
were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there
were some disagreements, the following received the most
votes:
1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. Saint Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noticed that one
quiet student hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked
the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl
replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind
because there were so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe
we can help."
The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders
of the World' are:
1. to see
2. to hear
3. to touch
4. to taste
5. to feel
6. to laugh
7. and to love."
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.
The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we
take for granted are truly wondrous!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
"Do You Know What's Missing From Your Life?"
You Don't Have To Be Perfect
By: Harold Kushner
The Missing Piece (by Shel Silverstein) tells the story of
a circle that was missing a piece. A large triangular wedge
had been cut out of it. The circle wanted to be whole with
nothing missing, so it went around looking for its missing
piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could
roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the
way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It
found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it
left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching.
Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly.
It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing
missing. It incorporated the missing piece into itself and
began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could
roll very fast, too fast to notice the flowers or talk to
the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed
when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece
by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.
The lesson of the story is that in some strange sense we
are more whole when we are missing something. The man who
has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never
know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his
soul with the dream of something better. He will never know
the experience of having someone who loves him give him
something he has always wanted and never had. There is a
wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his
limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his
unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing
so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has
learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a
tragedy and survive, who can lose someone and still feel
like a complete person.
When we accept that imperfection is part of being human,
and when we can continue rolling through life and
appreciating it, we will have achieved a wholeness that
others can only aspire to. That, I believe, is what God
asks of us - not "Be perfect" and not "Don't ever make a
mistake," but "Be whole." And at the end, if we are brave
enough to love, strong enough to forgive, generous enough
to rejoice in another's happiness, and wise enough to know
there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can
achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will
ever know.
By: Harold Kushner
The Missing Piece (by Shel Silverstein) tells the story of
a circle that was missing a piece. A large triangular wedge
had been cut out of it. The circle wanted to be whole with
nothing missing, so it went around looking for its missing
piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could
roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the
way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It
found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it
left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching.
Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly.
It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing
missing. It incorporated the missing piece into itself and
began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could
roll very fast, too fast to notice the flowers or talk to
the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed
when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece
by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.
The lesson of the story is that in some strange sense we
are more whole when we are missing something. The man who
has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never
know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his
soul with the dream of something better. He will never know
the experience of having someone who loves him give him
something he has always wanted and never had. There is a
wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his
limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his
unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing
so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has
learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a
tragedy and survive, who can lose someone and still feel
like a complete person.
When we accept that imperfection is part of being human,
and when we can continue rolling through life and
appreciating it, we will have achieved a wholeness that
others can only aspire to. That, I believe, is what God
asks of us - not "Be perfect" and not "Don't ever make a
mistake," but "Be whole." And at the end, if we are brave
enough to love, strong enough to forgive, generous enough
to rejoice in another's happiness, and wise enough to know
there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can
achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will
ever know.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
"Have You Ever Enjoyed The Forbidden Fruit?"
Cookies
By: Author Unknown
A small boy at summer camp received a large package of
cookies in the mail from his mother. He ate a few, then
placed the remainder under his bed. The next day, after
lunch, he went to his tent to get a cookie. The box was
gone.
That afternoon a camp counselor, who had been told of the
theft, saw another boy sitting behind a tree eating the
stolen cookies. "That young man," he said to himself, "must
be taught not to steal."
He returned to the group and sought out the boy whose
cookies had been stolen. "Billy," he said, "I know who
stole your cookies. Will you help me teach him a lesson?"
"Well, yes--but aren't you going to punish him?" asked the
puzzled boy.
"No, that would only make him resent and hate you," the
counselor explained. "I want you to call your mother and
ask her to send you another box of cookies."
The boy did as the counselor asked and a few days later
received another box of cookies in the mail.
"Now," said the counselor, "the boy who stole your cookies
is down by the lake. Go down there and share your cookies
with him."
"But," protested the boy, "he's the thief."
"I know. But try it--see what happens."
Half an hour later, the camp counselor saw the two come up
the hill, arm in arm. The boy who had stolen the cookies
was earnestly trying to get the other to accept his
jackknife in payment for the stolen cookies, and the victim
was just as earnestly refusing the gift from his new
friend, saying that a few old cookies weren't that
important anyway.
By: Author Unknown
A small boy at summer camp received a large package of
cookies in the mail from his mother. He ate a few, then
placed the remainder under his bed. The next day, after
lunch, he went to his tent to get a cookie. The box was
gone.
That afternoon a camp counselor, who had been told of the
theft, saw another boy sitting behind a tree eating the
stolen cookies. "That young man," he said to himself, "must
be taught not to steal."
He returned to the group and sought out the boy whose
cookies had been stolen. "Billy," he said, "I know who
stole your cookies. Will you help me teach him a lesson?"
"Well, yes--but aren't you going to punish him?" asked the
puzzled boy.
"No, that would only make him resent and hate you," the
counselor explained. "I want you to call your mother and
ask her to send you another box of cookies."
The boy did as the counselor asked and a few days later
received another box of cookies in the mail.
"Now," said the counselor, "the boy who stole your cookies
is down by the lake. Go down there and share your cookies
with him."
"But," protested the boy, "he's the thief."
"I know. But try it--see what happens."
Half an hour later, the camp counselor saw the two come up
the hill, arm in arm. The boy who had stolen the cookies
was earnestly trying to get the other to accept his
jackknife in payment for the stolen cookies, and the victim
was just as earnestly refusing the gift from his new
friend, saying that a few old cookies weren't that
important anyway.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
"This Is Your Life"
Life's Journey
Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with
others. It is because we are different that each of us is
special.
Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them life
is meaningless.
Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living
in the past nor for the future. By living your life one day
at a time, you live all of the days of your life.
Do not give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. It
is a fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Do not be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking
chances that we learn how to be brave.
Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is
impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to
give love. The fastest way to lose love is too hold it too
tightly. In addition, the best way to keep love is to give
it wings.
Do not dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be
without hope. To be without hope is to be without purpose.
Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only
where you have been, but also where you are going. Life is
not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.
Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with
others. It is because we are different that each of us is
special.
Do not set your goals by what other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.
Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life, for without them life
is meaningless.
Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living
in the past nor for the future. By living your life one day
at a time, you live all of the days of your life.
Do not give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. It
is a fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Do not be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking
chances that we learn how to be brave.
Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is
impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to
give love. The fastest way to lose love is too hold it too
tightly. In addition, the best way to keep love is to give
it wings.
Do not dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be
without hope. To be without hope is to be without purpose.
Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only
where you have been, but also where you are going. Life is
not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
"Are You Living With A Bunch Of Chickens Or Are You Perhaps A Turkey?"
The Eagle
By: Author Unknown
Do you sometimes get the feeling that you could be more
than what you are right now? That somehow, you know you
were made for bigger and better things? Well, chances are,
you're probably right... and don't you let anyone convince
you otherwise.
A man once found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a
barnyard hen. The eagle hatched with the brood of chicks
and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the
barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He
scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and
cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet
in the air. Years passed and the eagle grew very old.
One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the
cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty on powerful
wind currents with scarcely a beat of its strong golden
wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he
asked. "That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his
neighbor. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth -
we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for
that's what he thought he was.
What a terrible waste... to have lived a life not doing
the things you were always capable of doing and not soaring
to the heights you were able to reach. And all because the
people around you were constantly putting you down and
feeding you with negative, uninspiring comments. So rise
above these comments! Life is what you make it. Don't be
afraid to spread your wings and fly. Aspire!
By: Author Unknown
Do you sometimes get the feeling that you could be more
than what you are right now? That somehow, you know you
were made for bigger and better things? Well, chances are,
you're probably right... and don't you let anyone convince
you otherwise.
A man once found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a
barnyard hen. The eagle hatched with the brood of chicks
and grew up with them. All his life, the eagle did what the
barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He
scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and
cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet
in the air. Years passed and the eagle grew very old.
One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the
cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty on powerful
wind currents with scarcely a beat of its strong golden
wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he
asked. "That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his
neighbor. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth -
we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for
that's what he thought he was.
What a terrible waste... to have lived a life not doing
the things you were always capable of doing and not soaring
to the heights you were able to reach. And all because the
people around you were constantly putting you down and
feeding you with negative, uninspiring comments. So rise
above these comments! Life is what you make it. Don't be
afraid to spread your wings and fly. Aspire!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
"What Do You See When You Look Into Your Own Eyes-Your Future?"
The House of 1,000 Mirrors
Japanese Folktale
Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place
known as the House of 1,000 Mirrors. A small, happy little
dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he
arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of
the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears
lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could.
To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1,000
other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as
fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with
1,000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left
the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful
place. I will come back and visit it often."
In this same village, another little dog who was not quite
as happy as the first one decided to visit the house. He
slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he
looked in the door. When he saw the 1,000 unfriendly
looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and
was horrified to see 1,000 little dogs growling back at
him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible
place, and I will never go back there again."
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of
reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?
Japanese Folktale
Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place
known as the House of 1,000 Mirrors. A small, happy little
dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he
arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of
the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears
lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could.
To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1,000
other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as
fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with
1,000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left
the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful
place. I will come back and visit it often."
In this same village, another little dog who was not quite
as happy as the first one decided to visit the house. He
slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he
looked in the door. When he saw the 1,000 unfriendly
looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and
was horrified to see 1,000 little dogs growling back at
him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible
place, and I will never go back there again."
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of
reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
"Are You Ready To Emmersed Yet?"
People Are Like Teabags
By: Author Unknown
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right
away that they were meant to be there. They serve some sort
of purpose, teach you a lesson, or help you figure out who
you are or who you want to become.
You never know who these people may be: a roommate,
neighbor, professor, friend, lover. Even a complete
stranger who, when you lock eyes with them, you know in
that very moment that they will affect your life in some
profound way.
Sometimes things happen to you that at the time may seem
horrible, painful, and unfair. But in reflection you
realize that without overcoming those obstacles, you would
have never realized your potential, strength, will power,
or heart.
Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance
or by means of good or bad luck. Illness, injury, love,
lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all
occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small
tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat
road to nowhere... safe and comfortable, but dull and
utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life, and the
successes and downfalls you experience, create who you are.
Even the bad experiences can be learned from. Those lessons
are the hardest and, probably, the most important ones.
"People are like tea bags - you have to put them in hot
water before you know how strong they are."
By: Author Unknown
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right
away that they were meant to be there. They serve some sort
of purpose, teach you a lesson, or help you figure out who
you are or who you want to become.
You never know who these people may be: a roommate,
neighbor, professor, friend, lover. Even a complete
stranger who, when you lock eyes with them, you know in
that very moment that they will affect your life in some
profound way.
Sometimes things happen to you that at the time may seem
horrible, painful, and unfair. But in reflection you
realize that without overcoming those obstacles, you would
have never realized your potential, strength, will power,
or heart.
Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance
or by means of good or bad luck. Illness, injury, love,
lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all
occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small
tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat
road to nowhere... safe and comfortable, but dull and
utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life, and the
successes and downfalls you experience, create who you are.
Even the bad experiences can be learned from. Those lessons
are the hardest and, probably, the most important ones.
"People are like tea bags - you have to put them in hot
water before you know how strong they are."
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
"Do You Remember The Song -Good Vibrations?"
Title: The Echo Of Life
By: Author Unknown
A man and his son were walking in the forest. Suddenly the
boy trips and feeling a sharp pain he screams, "Ahhhhh."
Surprised, he hears a voice coming from the mountain,
"Ahhhhh!"
Filled with curiosity, he screams: "Who are you?", but the
only answer he receives is: "Who are you?"
This makes him angry, so he screams: "You are a coward!",
and the voice answers: "You are a coward!"
He looks at his father, asking, "Dad, what is going on?"
"Son," the man replies, "pay attention!" Then he screams,
"I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
The father shouts, "You are wonderful!", and the voice
answers: "You are wonderful!"
The boy is surprised, but still can't understand what is
going on.
Then the father explains, "People call this 'ECHO', but
truly it is 'LIFE!' Life always gives you back what you
give out! Life is a mirror of your actions. If you want
more love, give more love! If you want more kindness, give
more kindness! If you want understanding and respect, give
understanding and respect! If you want people to be patient
and respectful to you, give patience and respect! This rule
of nature applies to every aspect of our lives."
Life always gives you back what you give out. Your life is
not a coincidence, but a mirror of your own doings.
By: Author Unknown
A man and his son were walking in the forest. Suddenly the
boy trips and feeling a sharp pain he screams, "Ahhhhh."
Surprised, he hears a voice coming from the mountain,
"Ahhhhh!"
Filled with curiosity, he screams: "Who are you?", but the
only answer he receives is: "Who are you?"
This makes him angry, so he screams: "You are a coward!",
and the voice answers: "You are a coward!"
He looks at his father, asking, "Dad, what is going on?"
"Son," the man replies, "pay attention!" Then he screams,
"I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
The father shouts, "You are wonderful!", and the voice
answers: "You are wonderful!"
The boy is surprised, but still can't understand what is
going on.
Then the father explains, "People call this 'ECHO', but
truly it is 'LIFE!' Life always gives you back what you
give out! Life is a mirror of your actions. If you want
more love, give more love! If you want more kindness, give
more kindness! If you want understanding and respect, give
understanding and respect! If you want people to be patient
and respectful to you, give patience and respect! This rule
of nature applies to every aspect of our lives."
Life always gives you back what you give out. Your life is
not a coincidence, but a mirror of your own doings.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
"Ths Is What We All Really, Really Want -So Why?"
Title: Arm In Arm
By: Author Unknown
A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine
contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled
at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun,
they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a
relish to run the race to the finish and win.
All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the
asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry.
The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and
looked back. Then they all turned around and went back.
Every one of them.
One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and
said, "This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms
and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the
stadium stood and the cheering went on for several minutes.
People who were there are still telling the story. Why?
Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in
this life is more than winning for ourselves. What matters
in this life is helping others win, even if it means
slowing down and changing our course.
By: Author Unknown
A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine
contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled
at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun,
they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with a
relish to run the race to the finish and win.
All, that is, except one little boy who stumbled on the
asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry.
The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and
looked back. Then they all turned around and went back.
Every one of them.
One girl with Down's Syndrome bent down and kissed him and
said, "This will make it better." Then all nine linked arms
and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the
stadium stood and the cheering went on for several minutes.
People who were there are still telling the story. Why?
Because deep down we know this one thing: What matters in
this life is more than winning for ourselves. What matters
in this life is helping others win, even if it means
slowing down and changing our course.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
"What's True Wealth-I Know But Do You?"
The Wise Woman's Stone
By: Author Unknown
A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a
precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another
traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag
to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious
stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so
without hesitation.
The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew
the stone was worth enough to give him security for a
lifetime.
A few days later, he came back to return the stone to the
wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how
valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that
you can give me something even more precious. Give me what
you have within you that enabled you to give me this
stone."
Sometimes it's not the wealth you have, but what's inside
of you that others need.
By: Author Unknown
A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a
precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another
traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag
to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious
stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so
without hesitation.
The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew
the stone was worth enough to give him security for a
lifetime.
A few days later, he came back to return the stone to the
wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how
valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that
you can give me something even more precious. Give me what
you have within you that enabled you to give me this
stone."
Sometimes it's not the wealth you have, but what's inside
of you that others need.
Friday, June 19, 2009
"How Much On Auto-Pilot Is Your Life Being Lived?"
The Touchstone
By: Unknown Author
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story
goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book;
and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a
few coppers.
The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages
there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin
strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the
"Touchstone"!
The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any
common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it
was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles
that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The
real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are
cold.
So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple
supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing
pebbles.
He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw
them down again because they were cold, he might pick up
the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one
that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole
day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he
went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it
into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.
The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months.
One day, however, about midafternoon, he picked up a pebble
and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he
realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong
habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the
one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it's
easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand
and it's just as easy to throw it away.
By: Unknown Author
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story
goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book;
and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a
few coppers.
The book wasn't very interesting, but between its pages
there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin
strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the
"Touchstone"!
The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any
common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it
was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles
that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The
real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are
cold.
So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple
supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing
pebbles.
He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw
them down again because they were cold, he might pick up
the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one
that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole
day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he
went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it
into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.
The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months.
One day, however, about midafternoon, he picked up a pebble
and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he
realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong
habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the
one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.
So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it's
easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand
and it's just as easy to throw it away.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
"Have You Ever Considered That You Are A Storm? Or Even The Burmuda Triangle?"
The Splashes Of Life
By: Author Unknown
A Sioux Indian story...
My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I
was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the
water. He told me to watch the circles created by the
stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone
person.
"You may create lots of splashes in your life, but the
waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace
of all your fellow creatures," he said.
"Remember that you are responsible for what you put in
your circle, and that circle will also touch many other
circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the
good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that
goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or
jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You
are responsible for both."
That was the first time I realized each person creates the
inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We
cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner
conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings
and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or
not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling
out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all
other circles of life.
Remember the eternal wisdom: Whatever you focus on
expands.
By: Author Unknown
A Sioux Indian story...
My grandfather took me to the fish pond on the farm when I
was about seven, and he told me to throw a stone into the
water. He told me to watch the circles created by the
stone. Then he asked me to think of myself as that stone
person.
"You may create lots of splashes in your life, but the
waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace
of all your fellow creatures," he said.
"Remember that you are responsible for what you put in
your circle, and that circle will also touch many other
circles. You will need to live in a way that allows the
good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that
goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or
jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You
are responsible for both."
That was the first time I realized each person creates the
inner peace or discord that flows out into the world. We
cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner
conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings
and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or
not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling
out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all
other circles of life.
Remember the eternal wisdom: Whatever you focus on
expands.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
"Do You Love TREES as Much As I Do?"
The Trouble Tree
By: Author Unknown
The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse
had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire
made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and
now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.
While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On
arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked
toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree,
touching tips of the branches with both hands. When opening
the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His
tanned face was wreathed in smiles, and he hugged his two
small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterward, he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and
my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I
had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't
help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure;
troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the
children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night
when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up
again."
"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I
come out in the morning to pick them up,
there aren't nearly as many as I
remember hanging up the night befor
By: Author Unknown
The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse
had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire
made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and
now his ancient pickup truck refused to start.
While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On
arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked
toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree,
touching tips of the branches with both hands. When opening
the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His
tanned face was wreathed in smiles, and he hugged his two
small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterward, he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and
my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I
had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't
help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure;
troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the
children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night
when I come home. Then in the morning I pick them up
again."
"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I
come out in the morning to pick them up,
there aren't nearly as many as I
remember hanging up the night befor
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Are You Made Of Steel Or Bammboo-And Why Should That be Of Importance to You?"
Bend, But Don't Break
By: Author Unknown
One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the
river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the
peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream, and
listen to the chirps of birds and the rustling of leaves in
the trees.
I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure
from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their
upright or original position after the wind had died down.
When I think about the bamboo tree's ability to bounce
back or return to its original position, the word
'resilience' comes to mind. When used in reference to a
person this word means the ability to readily recover from
shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the
limits of a person's emotions.
Have you ever felt like you are about to snap? Have you
ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully,
you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.
During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions
that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained,
mentally exhausted and you most likely endured unpleasant
physical symptoms.
Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy
moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are
experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that
take you close to your breaking point, bend but don't
break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best
of you.
A measure of hope will take you through the unpleasant
ordeal. With hope for a better tomorrow or a better
situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The
unpleasant ordeal may be easier to deal with if the end
result is worth having.
If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking
point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, bend but
don't break!
By: Author Unknown
One of my fondest memories as a child is going by the
river and sitting idly on the bank. There I would enjoy the
peace and quiet, watch the water rush downstream, and
listen to the chirps of birds and the rustling of leaves in
the trees.
I would also watch the bamboo trees bend under pressure
from the wind and watch them return gracefully to their
upright or original position after the wind had died down.
When I think about the bamboo tree's ability to bounce
back or return to its original position, the word
'resilience' comes to mind. When used in reference to a
person this word means the ability to readily recover from
shock, depression or any other situation that stretches the
limits of a person's emotions.
Have you ever felt like you are about to snap? Have you
ever felt like you are at your breaking point? Thankfully,
you have survived the experience to live to talk about it.
During the experience you probably felt a mix of emotions
that threatened your health. You felt emotionally drained,
mentally exhausted and you most likely endured unpleasant
physical symptoms.
Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, happy
moments and unhappy moments. The next time you are
experiencing one of those bad times or unhappy moments that
take you close to your breaking point, bend but don't
break. Try your best not to let the situation get the best
of you.
A measure of hope will take you through the unpleasant
ordeal. With hope for a better tomorrow or a better
situation, things may not be as bad as they seem to be. The
unpleasant ordeal may be easier to deal with if the end
result is worth having.
If the going gets tough and you are at your breaking
point, show resilience. Like the bamboo tree, bend but
don't break!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
"When You Are Up To Your neck In Hot Water-What do Your Do?"
Carrots, Eggs, & Coffee Beans
By: Author Unknown
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her
life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know
how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was
tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem
was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots
with water. In the first she placed carrots; in the second
she placed eggs; and in the last ground coffee beans. She
let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about
twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the
carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs
out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee
out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you
see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.
The daughter did and noted that they were soft. She then
asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off
the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she
asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she
tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the
point, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced
the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted
differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and
unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling
water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had
protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through
the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they
were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity
knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot,
an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? With pain and adversity, do I
wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg
that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a
breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I
become hardened and stiff?
Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter
and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I
like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot
water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the
water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.
If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst
you get better and change the situation around you. When
the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do
you elevate to another level? How do you handle Adversity?
By: Author Unknown
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her
life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know
how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was
tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem
was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots
with water. In the first she placed carrots; in the second
she placed eggs; and in the last ground coffee beans. She
let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about
twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the
carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs
out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee
out and placed it in a bowl.
Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me, what do you
see?"
"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.
The daughter did and noted that they were soft. She then
asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off
the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she
asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she
tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the
point, mother?"
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced
the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted
differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and
unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling
water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had
protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through
the boiling water, its inside became hardened.
The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they
were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity
knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot,
an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Think of this: Which am I? With pain and adversity, do I
wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg
that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the
heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a
breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I
become hardened and stiff?
Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter
and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I
like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot
water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the
water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.
If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst
you get better and change the situation around you. When
the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do
you elevate to another level? How do you handle Adversity?
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Too Busy Sawing
Author: Stephen Covey
Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job
from a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really
good; so were the work conditions. For that reason the
woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he
was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought
down 18 trees. "Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on
that way!"
Very motivated by the boss' words, the woodcutter tried
harder the next day, but he only could bring down 15 trees.
The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring
down 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing down fewer and
fewer trees.
"I must be losing my strength," the woodcutter thought. He
went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not
understand what was going on. "When was the last time you
sharpened your axe?" the boss asked. "Sharpen? I had no
time to sharpen my axe. I was busy trying to cut down
trees..."
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we
don't take time to sharpen the "axe." In today's world, it
seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy
that ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten
how to stay "sharp"? There's nothing wrong with activity
and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we
neglect the truly important things in life. We all need
time to relax, to think, to meditate, to learn and to grow.
If we don't take time to sharpen the "axe," we will become
dull and lose our effectiveness.
Author: Stephen Covey
Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job
from a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really
good; so were the work conditions. For that reason the
woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he
was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought
down 18 trees. "Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on
that way!"
Very motivated by the boss' words, the woodcutter tried
harder the next day, but he only could bring down 15 trees.
The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring
down 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing down fewer and
fewer trees.
"I must be losing my strength," the woodcutter thought. He
went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not
understand what was going on. "When was the last time you
sharpened your axe?" the boss asked. "Sharpen? I had no
time to sharpen my axe. I was busy trying to cut down
trees..."
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we
don't take time to sharpen the "axe." In today's world, it
seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy
that ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten
how to stay "sharp"? There's nothing wrong with activity
and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we
neglect the truly important things in life. We all need
time to relax, to think, to meditate, to learn and to grow.
If we don't take time to sharpen the "axe," we will become
dull and lose our effectiveness.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
"Have You Planned Well For The Cycles Of Your Life? Or Will You Be Overwhelmed?"
Making Sandcastles
By: Unknown Author
Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.
A little boy is on his knees scooping and packing the sand
with plastic shovels into a bright blue bucket. Then he
upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the
delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.
All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing
the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks
will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.
Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic.
A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers
into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone
on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers.
Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed. And much to
the delight of the man, a profit is made. All his life he
will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future.
Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges.
An empire will be built.
Two builders of two castles. They have much in common.
They shape granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and
make something. They are diligent and determined. And for
both the tide will rise and the end will come. Yet that is
where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end
while the man ignores it.
Watch the boy as the dusk approaches. As the waves near,
the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There
is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would
happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker
crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into
the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes
his father's hand, and goes home.
The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years
collapses on his castle, he is terrified. He hovers over
the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from
the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering, he
snarls at the incoming tide. "It's my castle," he defies.
The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand
belongs...
By: Unknown Author
Hot sun. Salty air. Rhythmic waves.
A little boy is on his knees scooping and packing the sand
with plastic shovels into a bright blue bucket. Then he
upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the
delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.
All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing
the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks
will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.
Big city. Busy streets. Rumbling traffic.
A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers
into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone
on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers.
Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed. And much to
the delight of the man, a profit is made. All his life he
will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future.
Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges.
An empire will be built.
Two builders of two castles. They have much in common.
They shape granules into grandeurs. They see nothing and
make something. They are diligent and determined. And for
both the tide will rise and the end will come. Yet that is
where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end
while the man ignores it.
Watch the boy as the dusk approaches. As the waves near,
the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There
is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would
happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker
crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into
the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes
his father's hand, and goes home.
The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years
collapses on his castle, he is terrified. He hovers over
the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from
the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering, he
snarls at the incoming tide. "It's my castle," he defies.
The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand
belongs...
Saturday, May 23, 2009
"Are You say The Right thing -To The Wrong people?"
By: Author Unknown
An old hill farmer trudges several miles through freezing
snow to his local and very remote chapel for Sunday
service. No-one else is there, aside from the clergyman.
"I'm not sure it's worth proceeding with the service.
Might we do better to go back to our warm homes and a hot
drink?" asks the clergyman, inviting a mutually helpful
reaction from his one audience member.
"Well, I'm just a simple farmer," says the old crofter,
"But when I go to feed my herd, and if only one beast turns
up, I definitely don't leave it hungry." So the clergyman,
feeling somewhat ashamed, delivers his service-all the
sermon, hymns and readings-lasting a good couple of hours.
He finished proudly with the fresh observation that no
matter how small the need, our duty remains. And he thanks
the old farmer for the lesson he has learned.
"Was that okay?" asks the clergyman, as they head to their
homes.
"Well, I'm just a simple farmer," says the old crofter,
"But when I go to feed my herd, and if only one beast turns
up, I sure don't force it to eat what I brought for the
whole herd..."
Know your customers and keep learning about what THEY need.
The Clergyman and the Farmer When you are looking to get people to
Your opinion you are selling and if you
don’t understand the style of the prospect [s]
you will use the wrong language, oversell,
undersell or many other things that will not
make you friends with them.
Learn how to speak the language of your Flock.
An old hill farmer trudges several miles through freezing
snow to his local and very remote chapel for Sunday
service. No-one else is there, aside from the clergyman.
"I'm not sure it's worth proceeding with the service.
Might we do better to go back to our warm homes and a hot
drink?" asks the clergyman, inviting a mutually helpful
reaction from his one audience member.
"Well, I'm just a simple farmer," says the old crofter,
"But when I go to feed my herd, and if only one beast turns
up, I definitely don't leave it hungry." So the clergyman,
feeling somewhat ashamed, delivers his service-all the
sermon, hymns and readings-lasting a good couple of hours.
He finished proudly with the fresh observation that no
matter how small the need, our duty remains. And he thanks
the old farmer for the lesson he has learned.
"Was that okay?" asks the clergyman, as they head to their
homes.
"Well, I'm just a simple farmer," says the old crofter,
"But when I go to feed my herd, and if only one beast turns
up, I sure don't force it to eat what I brought for the
whole herd..."
Know your customers and keep learning about what THEY need.
The Clergyman and the Farmer When you are looking to get people to
Your opinion you are selling and if you
don’t understand the style of the prospect [s]
you will use the wrong language, oversell,
undersell or many other things that will not
make you friends with them.
Learn how to speak the language of your Flock.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
"Exposed -Here Are The Secrets To Reaching Your Most Secret Desire"
Just Keep Planting
By: Adam Khan
When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to
live near an old copper smelter, and the sulfur dioxide
that poured out of the refinery had made a desolate
wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. There
was nothing living there-no animals, no trees, no grass, no
bushes, no birds-nothing but 14,000 acres of black and
barren land that even smelled bad. Paul vowed that someday
he would bring back the life to this land.
Many years later when Paul was in the area, he went to the
smelter office. He asked if they had any plans to bring the
trees back. The answer was no. He asked if they would let
him try to bring the trees back. Again, the answer was no.
They didn't want him on their land. He realized he needed
to be more knowledgeable before anyone would listen to him,
so he went to college to study botany. At the college he
met a professor who was an expert in Utah's ecology.
Unfortunately, this expert told Paul that the wasteland he
wanted to bring back was beyond hope. He was told that his
goal was foolish and that it would take approximately
20,000 years to re-vegetate that six-square-mile piece of
earth.
He tried to go on with his life, but his dream would not
die. One night he got up and took some action; he did what
he could with what he had. This was an important turning
point. As Samuel Johnson wrote, "It is common to overlook
what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote.
In the same manner, present opportunities are neglected and
attainable good is slighted by minds busied in extensive
ranges." Paul stopped busying his mind in extensive ranges
and looked at what opportunities for attainable good were
right in front of him. Under the cover of darkness, he
sneaked out into the wasteland with a backpack full of
seedlings and started planting. For seven hours he planted
seedlings.
He did it again a week later. And every week, he made his
secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and
shrubs and grass. But most of it died. For 15 years he did
this. When a whole valley of his fir seedlings burned to
the ground because of a careless sheep-herder, Paul broke
down and wept. Then he got up and kept planting. Freezing
winds and blistering heat, landslides and floods and fires
destroyed his work time and time again. But he kept
planting.
One night he found a highway crew had come and taken tons
of dirt for a road grade, and all the plants he had
painstakingly planted in that area were gone. But he just
kept planting. Week after week, year after year he kept at
it, against the opinion of the authorities, against the
trespassing laws, against the devastation of road crews,
against the wind and rain and heat...even against plain
common sense. He just kept planting.
Slowly, very slowly, things began to take root. Then
gophers appeared. Then rabbits. Then porcupines. The old
copper smelter eventually gave him permission, and later,
as times were changing and there was political pressure to
clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul
to do what he was already doing. They provided him with
machinery and crews to work with. Progress accelerated.
Today, the place is 14,000 acres of trees and grass and
bushes, rich with elk and eagles, and Paul Rokich has
received almost every environmental award Utah has. He
says, "I thought that if I got this started, when I was
dead and gone people would come and see it. I never thought
I'd live to see it myself!" It took him until his hair
turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he
made to himself as a child.
What was it you wanted to do that you thought was
impossible? Paul's story sure gives a perspective on
things, doesn't it? The way you get something accomplished
in this world is to just keep planting. Just keep working.
Just keep plugging away at it one day at a time for a long
time, no matter who criticizes you, no matter how long it
takes, no matter how many times you fall.
Get back up again. And just keep planting.
By: Adam Khan
When Paul was a boy growing up in Utah, he happened to
live near an old copper smelter, and the sulfur dioxide
that poured out of the refinery had made a desolate
wasteland out of what used to be a beautiful forest. There
was nothing living there-no animals, no trees, no grass, no
bushes, no birds-nothing but 14,000 acres of black and
barren land that even smelled bad. Paul vowed that someday
he would bring back the life to this land.
Many years later when Paul was in the area, he went to the
smelter office. He asked if they had any plans to bring the
trees back. The answer was no. He asked if they would let
him try to bring the trees back. Again, the answer was no.
They didn't want him on their land. He realized he needed
to be more knowledgeable before anyone would listen to him,
so he went to college to study botany. At the college he
met a professor who was an expert in Utah's ecology.
Unfortunately, this expert told Paul that the wasteland he
wanted to bring back was beyond hope. He was told that his
goal was foolish and that it would take approximately
20,000 years to re-vegetate that six-square-mile piece of
earth.
He tried to go on with his life, but his dream would not
die. One night he got up and took some action; he did what
he could with what he had. This was an important turning
point. As Samuel Johnson wrote, "It is common to overlook
what is near by keeping the eye fixed on something remote.
In the same manner, present opportunities are neglected and
attainable good is slighted by minds busied in extensive
ranges." Paul stopped busying his mind in extensive ranges
and looked at what opportunities for attainable good were
right in front of him. Under the cover of darkness, he
sneaked out into the wasteland with a backpack full of
seedlings and started planting. For seven hours he planted
seedlings.
He did it again a week later. And every week, he made his
secret journey into the wasteland and planted trees and
shrubs and grass. But most of it died. For 15 years he did
this. When a whole valley of his fir seedlings burned to
the ground because of a careless sheep-herder, Paul broke
down and wept. Then he got up and kept planting. Freezing
winds and blistering heat, landslides and floods and fires
destroyed his work time and time again. But he kept
planting.
One night he found a highway crew had come and taken tons
of dirt for a road grade, and all the plants he had
painstakingly planted in that area were gone. But he just
kept planting. Week after week, year after year he kept at
it, against the opinion of the authorities, against the
trespassing laws, against the devastation of road crews,
against the wind and rain and heat...even against plain
common sense. He just kept planting.
Slowly, very slowly, things began to take root. Then
gophers appeared. Then rabbits. Then porcupines. The old
copper smelter eventually gave him permission, and later,
as times were changing and there was political pressure to
clean up the environment, the company actually hired Paul
to do what he was already doing. They provided him with
machinery and crews to work with. Progress accelerated.
Today, the place is 14,000 acres of trees and grass and
bushes, rich with elk and eagles, and Paul Rokich has
received almost every environmental award Utah has. He
says, "I thought that if I got this started, when I was
dead and gone people would come and see it. I never thought
I'd live to see it myself!" It took him until his hair
turned white, but he managed to keep that impossible vow he
made to himself as a child.
What was it you wanted to do that you thought was
impossible? Paul's story sure gives a perspective on
things, doesn't it? The way you get something accomplished
in this world is to just keep planting. Just keep working.
Just keep plugging away at it one day at a time for a long
time, no matter who criticizes you, no matter how long it
takes, no matter how many times you fall.
Get back up again. And just keep planting.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
" Did You Create Your Own Recesion?"
Perspectives
By: Author Unknown
One day a father and his rich family took his young son on
a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how
poor people can be. They spent a day and a night in the
farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their
trip the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"Very good, Dad!"
"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.
"Yeah!"
"And what did you learn?"
The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and
they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle
of the garden, they have a creek that has no end. We have
imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our
patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon."
When the little boy was finished, his father was
speechless.
His son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we
are!"
Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at
things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good
humor and a positive attitude toward life, you've got
everything!
You can't buy any of these things. You can have all the
material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the
future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have
nothing!
By: Author Unknown
One day a father and his rich family took his young son on
a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how
poor people can be. They spent a day and a night in the
farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their
trip the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"Very good, Dad!"
"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.
"Yeah!"
"And what did you learn?"
The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and
they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle
of the garden, they have a creek that has no end. We have
imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our
patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon."
When the little boy was finished, his father was
speechless.
His son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we
are!"
Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at
things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good
humor and a positive attitude toward life, you've got
everything!
You can't buy any of these things. You can have all the
material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the
future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have
nothing!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
"What Use Is The Right Answer To The Wrong Question?'
The Right Question
By: Joseph B. Walker
There were a thousand reasons not to stop. I was running
late for a Very Important... well, whatever it was that I
was running late for that day. The freeway was busy -- I
might have caused an accident or something. Surely the
Highway Patrol would be along soon, and it's their job to
help stranded motorists, isn't it? And I had on my navy blue
suit, with a light blue shirt and a silk tie. Not exactly
car-fixing clothes, you know?
Let's see -- that makes 1,004 reasons not to stop. And
here's 1,005: I am the world's worst auto mechanic. Public
enemy No. 1 on the AAA's Ten Most Wanted list. Mr.
WhatsaWrench.
The first time I tried to change my car's oil myself I did
fine -- until I forgot to put the new oil in. The boys down
at the garage had a big laugh over that one. The next time,
I remembered to put in the new oil -- only I put it in the
transmission. That triggered a letter from the Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Chryslers. They suggested I get
a horse.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. God
has given me other talents to use for the benefit of
mankind. But I'm not sure how much it would have helped that
lady whom was stranded by the side of the freeway if I would
have pulled over and belched on cue. So I didn't pull over.
I drove on by, just like hundreds of other drivers on the
freeway that day. And I felt guilty about it. So I turned
off at the next exit and made my way back to see if I could
at least give her a lift or something. But by the time I got
back to her, an Hispanic gentleman had pulled in behind her,
and was tinkering away at her car's engine like he knew what
he was doing.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked.
"No, thank you," the lady replied. "This nice man says he
can fix it." At that moment, a voice from under the hood
shouted: "OK, try it now!" The woman reached for the key and
turned it. The engine started beautifully.
"It was your serpentine belt," the man explained, wiping his
hands on his pants. "It slipped off. It's pretty worn. You
want to take that to a mechanic, get a new one put on."
The woman tried to give the freeway Samaritan some money,
but he declined and waved as she drove off. It wasn't until
we started walking toward our cars that I noticed he had
five more reasons not to stop than I did; his family was
sitting in the station wagon, waiting patiently. "Do you
stop and help people like this often?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Somebody has to," he said. "What's she going
to do if nobody helps?" And for him, that was reason enough.
In his final sermon, given the night before his
assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took as his text
the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. In the story, a
man is attacked by thieves and left by the roadside. Several
travelers happen upon him, but they pass by. Eventually,
someone does stop to help, although it is the one person who
might have had a reason not to. He is a Samaritan and the
victim is a Jew. Those folks didn't get along any better
back then than they do now. According to Dr. King, those who
passed by the injured man were asking themselves the wrong
question: "If I help this man, what will happen to me?"
The Good Samaritan stopped to help because he asked the
right question: "If I don't help this man, what will happen
to him?"
By: Joseph B. Walker
There were a thousand reasons not to stop. I was running
late for a Very Important... well, whatever it was that I
was running late for that day. The freeway was busy -- I
might have caused an accident or something. Surely the
Highway Patrol would be along soon, and it's their job to
help stranded motorists, isn't it? And I had on my navy blue
suit, with a light blue shirt and a silk tie. Not exactly
car-fixing clothes, you know?
Let's see -- that makes 1,004 reasons not to stop. And
here's 1,005: I am the world's worst auto mechanic. Public
enemy No. 1 on the AAA's Ten Most Wanted list. Mr.
WhatsaWrench.
The first time I tried to change my car's oil myself I did
fine -- until I forgot to put the new oil in. The boys down
at the garage had a big laugh over that one. The next time,
I remembered to put in the new oil -- only I put it in the
transmission. That triggered a letter from the Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Chryslers. They suggested I get
a horse.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not feeling sorry for myself. God
has given me other talents to use for the benefit of
mankind. But I'm not sure how much it would have helped that
lady whom was stranded by the side of the freeway if I would
have pulled over and belched on cue. So I didn't pull over.
I drove on by, just like hundreds of other drivers on the
freeway that day. And I felt guilty about it. So I turned
off at the next exit and made my way back to see if I could
at least give her a lift or something. But by the time I got
back to her, an Hispanic gentleman had pulled in behind her,
and was tinkering away at her car's engine like he knew what
he was doing.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" I asked.
"No, thank you," the lady replied. "This nice man says he
can fix it." At that moment, a voice from under the hood
shouted: "OK, try it now!" The woman reached for the key and
turned it. The engine started beautifully.
"It was your serpentine belt," the man explained, wiping his
hands on his pants. "It slipped off. It's pretty worn. You
want to take that to a mechanic, get a new one put on."
The woman tried to give the freeway Samaritan some money,
but he declined and waved as she drove off. It wasn't until
we started walking toward our cars that I noticed he had
five more reasons not to stop than I did; his family was
sitting in the station wagon, waiting patiently. "Do you
stop and help people like this often?" I asked.
He shrugged. "Somebody has to," he said. "What's she going
to do if nobody helps?" And for him, that was reason enough.
In his final sermon, given the night before his
assassination, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. took as his text
the Biblical parable of the Good Samaritan. In the story, a
man is attacked by thieves and left by the roadside. Several
travelers happen upon him, but they pass by. Eventually,
someone does stop to help, although it is the one person who
might have had a reason not to. He is a Samaritan and the
victim is a Jew. Those folks didn't get along any better
back then than they do now. According to Dr. King, those who
passed by the injured man were asking themselves the wrong
question: "If I help this man, what will happen to me?"
The Good Samaritan stopped to help because he asked the
right question: "If I don't help this man, what will happen
to him?"
Thursday, April 23, 2009
"Would You Pass The Test Or Would You?"
The Emperor's Seed
By: Author Unknown
Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing
old and knew it was coming time to choose his successor.
Instead of choosing one of his assistants, or one of his own
children, he decided to do something different.
He called all the young people in the kingdom together one
day. He said, "It has come time for me to step down and to
choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of
you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I
am going to give each one of you a seed today. One seed. It
is a very special seed. I want you to go home, plant the
seed, water it and come back here one year from today with
what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge
the plants that you bring to me, and the one I choose will
be the next emperor of the kingdom!"
There was one boy named Ling who was there that day and he,
like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly
told his mother the whole story. She helped him get a pot
and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered
it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see
if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to
talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to
grow. Ling kept going home and checking his seed, but
nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went
by. Still nothing.
By now others were talking about their plants but Ling
didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months
went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had
killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants,
but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends,
however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom
brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling
told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.
But she encouraged him to go, and to take his pot, and to be
honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach,
but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to
the palace.
When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants
grown by all the other youths. They were beautiful, in all
shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and
many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for
him and just said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted
the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My,
what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said
the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next
emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the
room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him
to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a
failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name.
"My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing
and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet
down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd,
"Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't
believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he
be the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone
here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water
it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled
seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have
brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that
the seed would not grown, you substituted another seed for
the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage
and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore,
he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
By: Author Unknown
Once there was an emperor in the Far East who was growing
old and knew it was coming time to choose his successor.
Instead of choosing one of his assistants, or one of his own
children, he decided to do something different.
He called all the young people in the kingdom together one
day. He said, "It has come time for me to step down and to
choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of
you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. "I
am going to give each one of you a seed today. One seed. It
is a very special seed. I want you to go home, plant the
seed, water it and come back here one year from today with
what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge
the plants that you bring to me, and the one I choose will
be the next emperor of the kingdom!"
There was one boy named Ling who was there that day and he,
like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly
told his mother the whole story. She helped him get a pot
and some planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered
it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see
if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to
talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to
grow. Ling kept going home and checking his seed, but
nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went
by. Still nothing.
By now others were talking about their plants but Ling
didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months
went by, still nothing in Ling's pot. He just knew he had
killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants,
but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends,
however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom
brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling
told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.
But she encouraged him to go, and to take his pot, and to be
honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach,
but he knew his mother was right. He took his empty pot to
the palace.
When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants
grown by all the other youths. They were beautiful, in all
shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and
many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for
him and just said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted
the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. "My,
what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said
the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next
emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the
room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him
to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a
failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name.
"My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing
and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet
down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd,
"Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!" Ling couldn't
believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he
be the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone
here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water
it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled
seeds which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have
brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that
the seed would not grown, you substituted another seed for
the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage
and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore,
he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
Friday, April 17, 2009
"Why Is It That We Often Wind Up Regretting The Past? -A Great Lesson In Faith"
Magic Pebbles
By: John Wayne Schlatter
One night a group of nomads were preparing to retire for the
evening, when suddenly they were surrounded by a great light.
They knew they were in the presence of a celestial being.
With great anticipation, they awaited a heavenly message of
great importance that they knew must be especially for them.
Finally, the voice spoke.
"Gather as many pebbles as you can. Put them in your saddle
bags. Travel a day's journey. Tomorrow night you will be
both glad and sad."
Afterwards, the nomads shared their disappointment and anger
with each other. They had expected the revelation of a great
universal truth that would enable them to create wealth,
health and purpose for the world. But instead they were
given a menial task that made no sense to them at all.
However, the memory of the brilliance of their visitor
caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and deposit them in
their saddle bags while voicing their displeasure.
They traveled a day's journey. That night, while making
camp, they reached into their saddle bags and discovered
that the pebbles they had gathered the night before had
turned into beautiful and brilliant diamonds!
Indeed, they were both glad and sad, just as the voice had
promised.
They were glad they now had beautiful and valuable
diamonds. They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles
when they had the opportunity.
And the moral here is, take what you can every day and be as
hardworking and positive about it all. You never know where
or when you will reap the benefits, or how great those
benefits will be. Don't regret not taking more later down
the road
By: John Wayne Schlatter
One night a group of nomads were preparing to retire for the
evening, when suddenly they were surrounded by a great light.
They knew they were in the presence of a celestial being.
With great anticipation, they awaited a heavenly message of
great importance that they knew must be especially for them.
Finally, the voice spoke.
"Gather as many pebbles as you can. Put them in your saddle
bags. Travel a day's journey. Tomorrow night you will be
both glad and sad."
Afterwards, the nomads shared their disappointment and anger
with each other. They had expected the revelation of a great
universal truth that would enable them to create wealth,
health and purpose for the world. But instead they were
given a menial task that made no sense to them at all.
However, the memory of the brilliance of their visitor
caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and deposit them in
their saddle bags while voicing their displeasure.
They traveled a day's journey. That night, while making
camp, they reached into their saddle bags and discovered
that the pebbles they had gathered the night before had
turned into beautiful and brilliant diamonds!
Indeed, they were both glad and sad, just as the voice had
promised.
They were glad they now had beautiful and valuable
diamonds. They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles
when they had the opportunity.
And the moral here is, take what you can every day and be as
hardworking and positive about it all. You never know where
or when you will reap the benefits, or how great those
benefits will be. Don't regret not taking more later down
the road
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
"Do You See A Silver Lining In Evry Rain Cloud?"
Positive Approach
By: Author Unknown
A little girl walked daily to and from school. Though the
weather that morning was questionable and clouds were
forming, she made her daily trip to school. As the afternoon
progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and
lightning.
The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her
daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school,
and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm
her child.
Following the roar of thunder, lightning, through the sky
and full of concern, the mother quickly got in her car and
drove along the route to her child's school.
As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at
each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and
smile. Another and another were to follow quickly, each with
the little girl stopping, looking up and smiling.
Finally, the mother called over to her child and asked,
"What are you doing?"
The child answered, smiling, "God just keeps taking pictures
of me."
By: Author Unknown
A little girl walked daily to and from school. Though the
weather that morning was questionable and clouds were
forming, she made her daily trip to school. As the afternoon
progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and
lightning.
The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her
daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school,
and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm
her child.
Following the roar of thunder, lightning, through the sky
and full of concern, the mother quickly got in her car and
drove along the route to her child's school.
As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at
each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and
smile. Another and another were to follow quickly, each with
the little girl stopping, looking up and smiling.
Finally, the mother called over to her child and asked,
"What are you doing?"
The child answered, smiling, "God just keeps taking pictures
of me."
Important Lession About Recessions
I am here sharing with you information which has at last become avail able to you _Me I had to pay US$15,0000 to become a life member of XL 5 years ago..Make sure that you watch any and all of the videos here as there is a great opportunity for you To Totally change your life and the way you think about Wealth forever.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
'Where Are You Heading So Fast And What Should You Or Can You Do About It"
These Factoids are exactly Why we need to Change How We Think and React To Things NOW!
Friday, March 27, 2009
"What Pictures Are In Your Mind?"
Cheering Me On
By: Author Unknown
I close my eyes as tight as they can go. The lights go off,
and my imagination switches on. Pictures flash through my
mind like an old film from the fifties. I remember driving
home by myself for the first time. Now, I look into the
future and imagine that I am walking across the stage to
receive my college diploma. The years pass, and I hear my
fiancée say "I do." I look further and listen to the gentle
gurgles coming from my baby's nursery. A smile discreetly
appears as memories past and thoughts of the future travel
through my soul. I journey to memories of my high school
graduation, and a tear suddenly trickles down my cheek. I
look into the bleachers packed with families and friends. I
see my parents wrapped in pride, and I look to their side
for Katie and Kevin's approval. But Katie, my older sister,
is not there.
My eyes abruptly open as I am snapped back into reality. I
remember being called out of Spanish class in tenth grade
and taken to the hospital to see Katie, who had cancer, for
the final time. It was an excruciating task, but I found the
good in Katie's tragic death. Katie's room is exactly the
way she left it on a Friday night in September, 1993, when
she was carried to the ambulance on a stretcher. Her James
Dean poster hangs on one wall; her elementary school track
ribbons and collection of porcelain masks hangs on the
others. Her bed is neatly made and lined with stuffed
animals -- typical of a girl who would visit her sloppier
friends and, without prompting, start vacuuming their rooms.
Katie died just a few weeks into her freshman year. At
eighteen she was 5'5'' tall and had straight shoulder length
blond hair, big blue eyes, and pale clear skin. Her senior
year in high school, Katie was the varsity cheerleader
captain and valedictorian. More importantly, though, she was
my best friend. After all, when she was six years old, she
had declared herself old enough to take care of her little
sister and brand new baby brother, because she thought our
mother was not sharing us enough with her. This caring
attitude continued throughout her life. Katie would always
braid my hair, go shopping with me, and let me go out with
her and her friends when I was lonely and bored. Katie would
always tutor Kevin, who has a learning disability, when he
needed help with his homework. She would continually drill
him on his studies until he got it right. Afterwards, she
would take him to go get ice cream as a reward.
Clearly, Katie was not just our older sister. She was also
our teacher, friend, and second mother. Katie always
surrounded herself with friends. She was constantly opening
her ears, heart, and arms to someone in need. The phone was
constantly ringing and her room was always crowded with
people in it. Now, my house is silent. I realize that
getting caught in a pool of depression only leads to
drowning. I live by looking for the positive in the worst
situations. I now have a relationship with my parents and
brother that means everything to me. I know what is
important in life, and it is not always partying and getting
A's. But most of all, I know that I can handle anything.
Life is not easy, but I overcame one of its toughest
obstacles. I believe, the hardest part of death is the
experiences it steals. Katie will not be clapping for me
when I finally get my college diploma or giving me advice on
my wedding day. My children will only hear stories of the
girlhood of their aunt, both stories of reality and an
imagined future.
I close my eyes as tight as they can go. A diploma is
placed in my hand. "I do" echoes from a distance. Katie says
she loves me and hugs me tight on a September afternoon in
1993. Just before I cross my high school auditorium stage, I
look out at the spectators in the bleachers, and I see
mother and father and Kevin. Katie is sitting right beside
them, cheering me on.
http://www.supermindevolutionsystem.com/store/?10479
By: Author Unknown
I close my eyes as tight as they can go. The lights go off,
and my imagination switches on. Pictures flash through my
mind like an old film from the fifties. I remember driving
home by myself for the first time. Now, I look into the
future and imagine that I am walking across the stage to
receive my college diploma. The years pass, and I hear my
fiancée say "I do." I look further and listen to the gentle
gurgles coming from my baby's nursery. A smile discreetly
appears as memories past and thoughts of the future travel
through my soul. I journey to memories of my high school
graduation, and a tear suddenly trickles down my cheek. I
look into the bleachers packed with families and friends. I
see my parents wrapped in pride, and I look to their side
for Katie and Kevin's approval. But Katie, my older sister,
is not there.
My eyes abruptly open as I am snapped back into reality. I
remember being called out of Spanish class in tenth grade
and taken to the hospital to see Katie, who had cancer, for
the final time. It was an excruciating task, but I found the
good in Katie's tragic death. Katie's room is exactly the
way she left it on a Friday night in September, 1993, when
she was carried to the ambulance on a stretcher. Her James
Dean poster hangs on one wall; her elementary school track
ribbons and collection of porcelain masks hangs on the
others. Her bed is neatly made and lined with stuffed
animals -- typical of a girl who would visit her sloppier
friends and, without prompting, start vacuuming their rooms.
Katie died just a few weeks into her freshman year. At
eighteen she was 5'5'' tall and had straight shoulder length
blond hair, big blue eyes, and pale clear skin. Her senior
year in high school, Katie was the varsity cheerleader
captain and valedictorian. More importantly, though, she was
my best friend. After all, when she was six years old, she
had declared herself old enough to take care of her little
sister and brand new baby brother, because she thought our
mother was not sharing us enough with her. This caring
attitude continued throughout her life. Katie would always
braid my hair, go shopping with me, and let me go out with
her and her friends when I was lonely and bored. Katie would
always tutor Kevin, who has a learning disability, when he
needed help with his homework. She would continually drill
him on his studies until he got it right. Afterwards, she
would take him to go get ice cream as a reward.
Clearly, Katie was not just our older sister. She was also
our teacher, friend, and second mother. Katie always
surrounded herself with friends. She was constantly opening
her ears, heart, and arms to someone in need. The phone was
constantly ringing and her room was always crowded with
people in it. Now, my house is silent. I realize that
getting caught in a pool of depression only leads to
drowning. I live by looking for the positive in the worst
situations. I now have a relationship with my parents and
brother that means everything to me. I know what is
important in life, and it is not always partying and getting
A's. But most of all, I know that I can handle anything.
Life is not easy, but I overcame one of its toughest
obstacles. I believe, the hardest part of death is the
experiences it steals. Katie will not be clapping for me
when I finally get my college diploma or giving me advice on
my wedding day. My children will only hear stories of the
girlhood of their aunt, both stories of reality and an
imagined future.
I close my eyes as tight as they can go. A diploma is
placed in my hand. "I do" echoes from a distance. Katie says
she loves me and hugs me tight on a September afternoon in
1993. Just before I cross my high school auditorium stage, I
look out at the spectators in the bleachers, and I see
mother and father and Kevin. Katie is sitting right beside
them, cheering me on.
http://www.supermindevolutionsystem.com/store/?10479
Friday, March 13, 2009
"Did You Know Everything Happens To You For A Reason And You Should Be Thankful"
This Is Good
By: Author Unknown
An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close
friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of
looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life
(positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!" One
day the king and his friend were out on a hunting
expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for
the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in
preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his
friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This
is good!"
To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and
proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he
should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him
and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked
some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As
they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that
the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they
never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the
king, they sent him on his way. As he returned home, he was
reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt
remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately
to the jail to speak with his friend.
"You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was
blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had
just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to
jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his friend replied, "This is good!"
"What do you mean,'This is good'? How could it be good that
I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."
By: Author Unknown
An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close
friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of
looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life
(positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!" One
day the king and his friend were out on a hunting
expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for
the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in
preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his
friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This
is good!"
To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and
proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he
should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him
and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked
some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As
they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that
the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they
never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the
king, they sent him on his way. As he returned home, he was
reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt
remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately
to the jail to speak with his friend.
"You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was
blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had
just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to
jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."
"No," his friend replied, "This is good!"
"What do you mean,'This is good'? How could it be good that
I sent my friend to jail for a year?"
"If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."
Saturday, March 7, 2009
What can We Learn From The Animals, Nature, The Birds And The Bees And Most Certainly From The Trees About Thriving And Surviving In Any Economy?
What can We Learn From The Animals, Nature, The Birds And The Bees And Most Certainly From The Trees About Thriving And Surviving In Any Economy?
By Axel Henriksen March 8, 2009
Now I just caught myself thinking a whole bunch of corny old platitudes after writing that headline but stopped myself from writing them down just in the nick of time –why did I do that well because Many of you will have the same old mumbo jumbo in your heads any way, the others would just think I have lost it.
Now it isn’t as crazy as it sounds and I am going to demonstrate and prove to you exactly why we should literally take a leaf out of Mother Nature’s book and copy Her SYSTEM!
When I study my garden here is what I see;
1. The birds and the Bees Are as busy as ever collecting and eating their food.
a. They start very early usually at sunrise and with a song [glad to be alive and telling everyone they are]
b. They travel as far and wide as required to find food every day
c. They jostle with others for the same food
d. They stick with a pretty strict routine
e. They do it every single day
f. They never quit and if the do they die
g. They do it even in the face of challenges and many dangers [cats & other predators]
h. They seem to get food from plants and in turn fertilise the plants [now that’s a very clever concern “Win Win”] and they help the plants build their family by carrying the seeds and planting them else where.
i. This is the REAL BIGGY “They never ever Retire!” they never for one second even consider retiring .. “So Why should we?”
2. Strangely they also know that there is a rhythm to life.
a. And they accept this
b. And are prepared for it
c. And They work with it
d. And They anticipate it
e. Winter follows Autumn, Autumn follows Summer and Summer follows Spring and this seems to have occurred since time started, with a few major disasters thrown in And guess what even they seem to follow a pattern that can be tracked.
3. The trees and the plants they also follow these same patterns and.
a. Deliver their vital supplies just on time as the most modern supply systems we have to day do. Now that’s pretty amazing isn’t it?
b. They produce flowers which feed bees, birds, butterflies and many other insects [even humans] these in turn provide a valuable service to the plants.
c. Yes It’s all About SEX there and went and said it every thing on the plant is busy procreating as fast and as furiously as the seasons will allow. And in times of plenty they are even more busy.
d. Trees live on average much longer than any animal, insect or human –What survival skills they have, what amazing things they must have witnessed and what a vital part of our survival they really are! Right here I could write volumes on the usefulness of trees but I think I better just insert a couple of links to others that have already done it much better than I ever could.
4. Herds, Groups, Flocks, Forrest’s, Gaggles, Tribes, Clutches, Communities, countries, Nations Unions, Alliances and any other form of mutual bond and association seems to be pretty vital to each species survival because.
a. There’s safety in numbers
b. There’s a common cause
c. There’s a common goal
d. There’s a common identity
e. There’s a common understanding
f. There’s the possibility of finding a suitable Mate
g. There’s a Structure
h. There’s usually a Leader to follow
i. There’s a Common Learning & Knowledge transference
j. Often there’s a specialty or something very specific to this group or clutch
The Glaring Difference That Cause the Problems can be seen as follows:
In nature everything is always being born, growing, dying and from the death springs new life because that’s what it is designed to do. The resurrection in nature is the new growth that springs from the death of something else ie. When a tree matures and dies it becomes food for a myriad of insects and other organism that rely on it’s death so that they may live. That I find wonderful and uplifting to think that in death you and I can be valuable and create new life. {enter link here to monks that chop up bodies and feed the animals}I decide to leave this out and let you find it for yourself as it can be a little disturbing to most westerners of which I am one.
1. Sadly most humans bury the body in little boxes to do what?
2. Every death in nature creates new life or sustains other living creates and organisms as it should be but with humans that isn’t so-Why?
3. Burning the body and scattering the ashes as least has some usefulness to it, perhaps that’s why so many ancient cultures did it? And many still do-Great
Many of modern mans problems can also be attributed to the fact that they have become Rogues and have either chosen to or have been cast out from the tribe, family, group or even the marriage. This isolation can and does cause many problems.
1. Isolation means that you are no longer part of the pack, the tribe or the inner sanctum which means your learning is limited.
2. You now display anti social behaviour and many become withdrawn
3. The herd has no pity for you any more because you are an outcast
4. You now have to fend for yourself and by yourself which makes many tasks very difficult
5. You in turn don’t want to or feel inclined to help any of the herd if they are in danger in fact you are just as likely to be the cause of that danger or threat.
6. In Nature the outcast seldom lives long as they fall victim to other predators stronger that themselves, some of course manage to align themselves with other outcasts or rogues and cause havoc and mayhem to any and all that cross their path.
7. When you study many of the herds, flocks and other groupings in nature you will see that they have grouped to give benefits to each member greater than the disadvantageous of being together and often they assist each any to collect food, protect each other and lead each other to those items. They seem to instinctively realise that if they don’t their very own survival and that of their offspring is at risk as it would be for their entire species’ So there has to be something vital to our gathering together and taking responsibility for the group we belong to as a whole, something that is within us to help each other for something greater than a drive to have another plastic widget, another pair of jeans or shoes that we really don’t need.
8. There’s actually more than enough food to feed everyone in the world so hunger isn’t a problem “Lack Of Product –No –Sadly it is a product of GREED, the greed of a few Wealthy A Moral Leaders Of The pack Rogues that Should Be Removed from the Herd”
9. These Rogues tend to value things that don’t create any Real Value or Benefit to The Other tribes as such. They sit on the fringes and create panic and fear in the Herd by menacing them “I look forward to the day That The Herd realises that They Are weak And the herd has all of the Power and the strength to tame the Rogues and Lay down the rules of conduct”
10. So in future when you are faced with this problem you will make the Right Decision for You and your immediate off spring and also the herd to which you belong . “Would you want another 4 tons of in-edible gold that actual pollutes the world due the mining practices to obtain it, have you ever taken the time to study the effects that gold mining has on the ecosystems? Do you realise the huge amounts of very toxic poisons that these mining practices produce, heavy metals released into the water ways and leaching into the soils. In some countries the miners wash the trailings in their water ways thereby killing all the fish and other things that rely on that water for their survival, strangely that includes them and they don’t even seem to be a ware of it or simply ignore it for more today on behalf of those that are leaning towards becoming or are supporters of the Rogues.{ give me 4 tonnes of wheat to 4 tonnes of Gold any day} Only You, Yes You can Stop this by voting NO by your actions, by defining who you are and what you stand for and aligning yourself with others of like mind and spreading the message to one other person at a time, teach them the things you know and let them decide which Pride they want to belong to And I Urge you to start Today before it is too late for us to even be able to envision that there will be a Tomorrow.
Buddist Funeral
By Axel Henriksen March 8, 2009
Now I just caught myself thinking a whole bunch of corny old platitudes after writing that headline but stopped myself from writing them down just in the nick of time –why did I do that well because Many of you will have the same old mumbo jumbo in your heads any way, the others would just think I have lost it.
Now it isn’t as crazy as it sounds and I am going to demonstrate and prove to you exactly why we should literally take a leaf out of Mother Nature’s book and copy Her SYSTEM!
When I study my garden here is what I see;
1. The birds and the Bees Are as busy as ever collecting and eating their food.
a. They start very early usually at sunrise and with a song [glad to be alive and telling everyone they are]
b. They travel as far and wide as required to find food every day
c. They jostle with others for the same food
d. They stick with a pretty strict routine
e. They do it every single day
f. They never quit and if the do they die
g. They do it even in the face of challenges and many dangers [cats & other predators]
h. They seem to get food from plants and in turn fertilise the plants [now that’s a very clever concern “Win Win”] and they help the plants build their family by carrying the seeds and planting them else where.
i. This is the REAL BIGGY “They never ever Retire!” they never for one second even consider retiring .. “So Why should we?”
2. Strangely they also know that there is a rhythm to life.
a. And they accept this
b. And are prepared for it
c. And They work with it
d. And They anticipate it
e. Winter follows Autumn, Autumn follows Summer and Summer follows Spring and this seems to have occurred since time started, with a few major disasters thrown in And guess what even they seem to follow a pattern that can be tracked.
3. The trees and the plants they also follow these same patterns and.
a. Deliver their vital supplies just on time as the most modern supply systems we have to day do. Now that’s pretty amazing isn’t it?
b. They produce flowers which feed bees, birds, butterflies and many other insects [even humans] these in turn provide a valuable service to the plants.
c. Yes It’s all About SEX there and went and said it every thing on the plant is busy procreating as fast and as furiously as the seasons will allow. And in times of plenty they are even more busy.
d. Trees live on average much longer than any animal, insect or human –What survival skills they have, what amazing things they must have witnessed and what a vital part of our survival they really are! Right here I could write volumes on the usefulness of trees but I think I better just insert a couple of links to others that have already done it much better than I ever could.
4. Herds, Groups, Flocks, Forrest’s, Gaggles, Tribes, Clutches, Communities, countries, Nations Unions, Alliances and any other form of mutual bond and association seems to be pretty vital to each species survival because.
a. There’s safety in numbers
b. There’s a common cause
c. There’s a common goal
d. There’s a common identity
e. There’s a common understanding
f. There’s the possibility of finding a suitable Mate
g. There’s a Structure
h. There’s usually a Leader to follow
i. There’s a Common Learning & Knowledge transference
j. Often there’s a specialty or something very specific to this group or clutch
The Glaring Difference That Cause the Problems can be seen as follows:
In nature everything is always being born, growing, dying and from the death springs new life because that’s what it is designed to do. The resurrection in nature is the new growth that springs from the death of something else ie. When a tree matures and dies it becomes food for a myriad of insects and other organism that rely on it’s death so that they may live. That I find wonderful and uplifting to think that in death you and I can be valuable and create new life. {enter link here to monks that chop up bodies and feed the animals}I decide to leave this out and let you find it for yourself as it can be a little disturbing to most westerners of which I am one.
1. Sadly most humans bury the body in little boxes to do what?
2. Every death in nature creates new life or sustains other living creates and organisms as it should be but with humans that isn’t so-Why?
3. Burning the body and scattering the ashes as least has some usefulness to it, perhaps that’s why so many ancient cultures did it? And many still do-Great
Many of modern mans problems can also be attributed to the fact that they have become Rogues and have either chosen to or have been cast out from the tribe, family, group or even the marriage. This isolation can and does cause many problems.
1. Isolation means that you are no longer part of the pack, the tribe or the inner sanctum which means your learning is limited.
2. You now display anti social behaviour and many become withdrawn
3. The herd has no pity for you any more because you are an outcast
4. You now have to fend for yourself and by yourself which makes many tasks very difficult
5. You in turn don’t want to or feel inclined to help any of the herd if they are in danger in fact you are just as likely to be the cause of that danger or threat.
6. In Nature the outcast seldom lives long as they fall victim to other predators stronger that themselves, some of course manage to align themselves with other outcasts or rogues and cause havoc and mayhem to any and all that cross their path.
7. When you study many of the herds, flocks and other groupings in nature you will see that they have grouped to give benefits to each member greater than the disadvantageous of being together and often they assist each any to collect food, protect each other and lead each other to those items. They seem to instinctively realise that if they don’t their very own survival and that of their offspring is at risk as it would be for their entire species’ So there has to be something vital to our gathering together and taking responsibility for the group we belong to as a whole, something that is within us to help each other for something greater than a drive to have another plastic widget, another pair of jeans or shoes that we really don’t need.
8. There’s actually more than enough food to feed everyone in the world so hunger isn’t a problem “Lack Of Product –No –Sadly it is a product of GREED, the greed of a few Wealthy A Moral Leaders Of The pack Rogues that Should Be Removed from the Herd”
9. These Rogues tend to value things that don’t create any Real Value or Benefit to The Other tribes as such. They sit on the fringes and create panic and fear in the Herd by menacing them “I look forward to the day That The Herd realises that They Are weak And the herd has all of the Power and the strength to tame the Rogues and Lay down the rules of conduct”
10. So in future when you are faced with this problem you will make the Right Decision for You and your immediate off spring and also the herd to which you belong . “Would you want another 4 tons of in-edible gold that actual pollutes the world due the mining practices to obtain it, have you ever taken the time to study the effects that gold mining has on the ecosystems? Do you realise the huge amounts of very toxic poisons that these mining practices produce, heavy metals released into the water ways and leaching into the soils. In some countries the miners wash the trailings in their water ways thereby killing all the fish and other things that rely on that water for their survival, strangely that includes them and they don’t even seem to be a ware of it or simply ignore it for more today on behalf of those that are leaning towards becoming or are supporters of the Rogues.{ give me 4 tonnes of wheat to 4 tonnes of Gold any day} Only You, Yes You can Stop this by voting NO by your actions, by defining who you are and what you stand for and aligning yourself with others of like mind and spreading the message to one other person at a time, teach them the things you know and let them decide which Pride they want to belong to And I Urge you to start Today before it is too late for us to even be able to envision that there will be a Tomorrow.
Buddist Funeral
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