Hakuna Matata (No worries) !

"Lauren," Hank scolded, "you really have got to stop worrying so much. You’ve made it a full-time job! You worried about James failing high school. You worried that the girls would marry deadbeat husbands who wouldn’t provide for them. You worried about our flights getting cancelled before our vacation. Last month, when you had that cold, you even worried about getting the whooping cough, of all things. You worried about all these things, and none of them happened!"

"See!" Lauren exclaimed. "It worked!"

How many of us are like Lauren? Sure, she was making a joke, she knew worrying didn’t do any good, but in some situations it seemed to be all she could do. She had long ago fallen into the habit of worrying, and she didn’t know how to fall out of it.

Research studies have revealed that we typically worry five times as much about things that will never happen as about things that actually do occur. That’s a lot of wasted worry! If you’re this distracted, you cannot effectively live up to your potential. Worry will drain your energy and stifle your commitment. Every minute you spend worrying is a minute that you’re not committing. Worry is the opposite of faith, so stop worrying, and deepen your faith.

One good way to combat worry is to commit to memory Reinhold Niebuhr’s "Serenity Prayer": "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Once you’ve accepted the things you cannot change, how do you change the things you can? Simply take a rational approach. Let’s say you have a new job and are worried about making a mistake. The worrying mind quickly jumps to a worst-case — and highly unlikely — scenario: If you make a mistake, you’ll get fired. Rationally, you know this is improbable, but how do you prove it to yourself? It’s simple. First, you break down the chain of events that would lead to your firing. Then you assign a probability to each event; a rough estimate will do.

So what are the real odds of your being fired? Even though each individual probability is just a rough estimate, the total probability, which is the product of all these individual probabilities, is a good ballpark estimate:

Probability of being fired because of a mistake = 0.25 x 0.1 x 0.7 x 0.1 x 0.05 = .0000875, or .00875% (less than one chance in ten thousand).

Now, doesn’t that put things in perspective? This kind of rational approach can help you get a handle on your worries. If the chances of your being fired because of a mistake are less than one in ten thousand, there’s really no reason to worry about it.

I remember the words of the wise baboon, Rafiki (is that an oxymoron?) for the Lion King fans, "Hakuna Matata!", meaning "There are no worries!" Well, that works great if you are living in the jungle ... in a movie.

However, for today’s real world, I say, "No worries, take action!" Life’s rewards go to those whose actions rise above their excuses ... and their worries.

So take positive action today and wash away your worries!

- from Lee J. Colan

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More great "Worry" quotes:

Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. - Swedish proverb

Worry is interest paid on trouble before it come due. - Dean William Ralph Inge

Don't Worry. Be Happy. - Bobby McFerin

Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. - Horace

Worry is like a rocking chair, it keeps us busy but gets us nowhere. - Unknown

It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. - Gordon B. Hinckley

See also:
Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy"

Follow Your Dreams

In following your dreams you must have a plan. But sometimes plans change and the way we deal with the change and vision is what really makes us who we are! Here's some suggestions of how to continue following your dreams as plans change:

1. Drop a Habit That Has Kept You From Reaching Your Potential

We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come. – Joseph Campbell

Sometimes the lessons learned along the way teach you that your plan may not be the best for you. The plan is just that, a plan. And usually, when we make a plan, we veer off because circumstances have changed by the time we need to follow through.

2. Act on Your Dreams

Great dreams contain inexhaustible truths, and orient us, like runes, toward our future. One hesitates to try to explain them; one wants to dance them, act them out in living gestures. The more we put ourselves into a great dream, the more we get back. Great dreams are wells that never run dry. – Michael Grosso in Soulmaker

Your personal well will never run dry, if when you veer off, you follow your dream each day that is not necessarily in your plan. Don’t let yourself be limited by the plan. DREAM! If tomorrow you want to be a writer then be a writer! Just because your goal was something else does not mean you cannot still keep that goal while adding a new goal. Clearly, now the goal needs to be tailored with both visions of the plan and the dream.

3. Have the Courage to Live What You Believe

In whatever arena of life one may meet the challenge of courage, whatever may be the sacrifices he faces if he follows his conscience- the loss of his friends, his fortune, his contentment, even the esteem of his fellow men- each man must decide for himself the course he will follow. - John F. Kennedy

Not only should you not limit yourself by your personal plan but you should not limit yourself in your beliefs because of others. Don’t let your decisions or opinions be overtaken by others, although suggestions should be seen as possible opportunities. The opportunities will each have obstacles that present themselves throughout the way and recognizing and dealing appropriately is the goal for the dream!

4. Have the Courage to Overcome

The world is full of suffering. It is also full of the overcoming of it. We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world…. Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through the experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved. – Helen Keller

When your personal plan does not go the way you planned, take it as a learning experience. Just because you are feeling consumed by the impossible and the changes take a second to let it strengthen your dream. Come out a winner!

5. Have the Courage to Endure

Coming out a winner does not necessarily mean winning. Winning is when you endure through the problems, through the bumps, and come out standing tall. The lessons learned throughout are the most important!

Winning means living your goals!

Nothing worthwhile ever happens quickly and easily. You achieve only as you are determined to achieve… and as you keep at it until you have achieved. - Robert H. Lauer

Each vision or goal that you hold is tailored by the way you overcome, how you live in your actions, and what you believe deep inside!

It is only by thinking about great and good things that we come to love them, and it is only by loving them that we come to long for them, and it is only by longing for them that we are impelled to seek after them; and it is only by seeking after them that they become ours. - Henry Van Dyke


- adapted from Shawn Bremner at Happypublishing.com

Never Give Up

Never give up
Never lose hope.

Always have faith,
It allows you to cope.

Trying times will pass,
As they always do.

Just have patience,
Your dreams will come true.

So put on a smile,
You’ll live through your pain,

Know it will pass,
And strength you will gain.

by Charlie Remiggio

How to be Perfectly Miserable

1. Think about yourself.
2. Talk about yourself.
3. Use “I” as often as possible.
4. Mirror yourself continually in the opinion of others.
5. Listen greedily to what people say about you.
6. Expect to be appreciated.
7. Be suspicious.
8. Be jealous and envious.
9. Be sensitive to slights.
10. Never forgive a criticism.
11. Trust no one but yourself.
12. Insist on consideration and respect.
13. Demand agreement with your own views on everything.
14. Sulk if people are not grateful to you for favors shown them.
15. Never forget a service you may have rendered.
16. Be on the lookout for a good time for yourself.
17. Shirk your duties if you can.
18. Do as little as possible for others.
19. Love yourself supremely.
20. Be selfish.

This recipe is guaranteed to be infallible.

- Gospel Herald

Builder or wrecker?

I watched them tear a building down;
A gang of men in a busy town.
With a mighty heave and lusty yell,
They swung a beam and a side wall fell.

I said to the foremen, “Are these men as skilled
As the men you’d hire if you had to build?”
He gave a laugh and said, “No indeed!
Just a common laborer is all I need.
And I can wreck in a day of two
What it took the builder a year to do.”

And I thought to myself as I went my way,
“Just which of these roles have I tried to play?
Am I a builder who works with skill and care
Building others up by the rule and square,
Or am I a wrecker as I walk the town
Content with the labor of tearing down?”

-unknown

It Is All About You

It has been said that the only person who can promote yourself is YOU. There is no one who can make you better other than you. No one will put you into limelight unless you make a concerted effort to do so.

No one will tell your story unless you step forward and narrate it. It is you to make that story and tell it the way you want it told. Think about Oprah Winfrey. She made it happen in her life even in the face vast challenges in her youth. She overcame various kinds of abuse and chose to make a difference not only in her life but also in the lives of men and women worldwide.

Mohammed Ali had to muster the best self-belief, tremendous confidence, and unquenchable desire to win the international boxing bout against Liston. He told the world that he was the greatest. He walked it, he believed it, and acted it.

The only person who can define and determine your destiny is you. You have the responsibility to managing your thoughts. Your positive thinking will spur positive actions and productive habits. Your good habits will shape a fulfilling character in your life. Your life will be fruitful as well.

You must refuse to listen to the voices that preach defeat, impossibility, small dreams, negative attitude, discouragement, and disillusionment. Beware of people who will steal and belittle your dreams. It is your success, dreams, and victory; it not theirs. It cannot be them. The best person to set the goals of your career and life is you. It will never be the duty of your life coach, friends, and parents. It is all about you.

- from Shawn Bremner at Happypublishing.com

You Raise(d) Me Up

In honor of my Mother for Mother's Day, here are the words to a great Josh Groban song that I dedicated to my mom, Janice Marilyn Powell Young, a handfull of years ago on Mother's Day, and again at her funeral last year. Thanks, Mom, for all you did to raise me up.



When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up... To more than I can be.

You raise me up... To more than I can be.

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I have also added "Mothers" quotes in the alphabetical listing of blogs below.

The Wolves Within

One evening a Cherokee elder sat with his grandson to tell him about the battle that goes on within people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. This wolf speaks with anger, envy, jealousy, hatred, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. This wolf speaks with joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, and caring, empathy, respect for self and others, generosity, truth and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson listened to his grandfather's words and asked, "Which wolf wins?"

The wise Cherokee elder looked into his grandson's eyes and replied, "The one you feed".

- Old Cherokee Legend

See also:
The Good Wolf motivational video

7 Ways to Deal With the Negative People in Your Life

Here's a great article by Lori Radun, CEC

Have you ever been faced with trying to stay positive when others around you are negative? Negative people can be a challenge to be around. They will bring you down and drain your energy. A negative person can throw your best laid plans to be positive right out the window. Whether your child or spouse has an occasional negative day or you deal with a family member, friend or co-worker that is chronically negative, there are things you can do to remain positive in the face of negativity.

Let the Negativity Pass
Whatever you do, do not argue with a negative person. Arguing only adds fuel to the fire. A negative person will feed off any negativity that will strengthen his mood or attitude. I have noticed when my children are in a crabby mood, it is best to avoid trying to convince them to analyze and adjust their attitude. As soon as I take the approach of being in opposition with them, they seize the opportunity to prove to me that life stinks. Their negativity intensifies and the situation gets worse before it gets better. Sometimes the best thing to do is remain silent and let the negativity pass.

Negative People Need Love
You know how difficult it can be to give love and positive attention to negative people. Unfortunately, that is often exactly what they need. Deep inside that mean and critical person is a person that is usually afraid he or she is unlovable. It is our challenge to rise above the negative attitude and love the injured person inside. How do you show love when someone is negative? You must listen to what she is trying to tell you. Acknowledge the feelings she has by saying something like, "You sound very angry right now". Even if you don't quite understand the persons feelings, know that your reality is different than someone else's. Ask how you might help the negative person. This shows legitimate interest in her happiness. Offer a hug even if you get rejected. Remember not to take a rejection of your love personally. A negative person often has difficulty receiving love from others.

Focus on the Positive
If you try really hard, there is always something positive to be found in any situation. Pretend you are on a treasure hunt and search for any gold or jewels you can emphasize. Even a negative person has positive qualities. When a person is drowning in negativity, it can be difficult for them to see the positive. So often my clients focus on the negative aspects of themselves. They forget about all the great things they are doing. I admit that sometimes a negative person doesn't want to see the positive. This might require her to shift her outlook. Negativity can become a habit and habits are hard to break. Be patient and gently remind your grumpy friend or family member to look for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Hopefully, in her down time, she will begin to reflect on what you have said.

Ask Negative People to Elaborate
You may hear a negative person say things like: "Women are fickle." "You cant trust doctors." "My husband makes me miserable." These kinds of statements are a type of cognitive distortion referred to as generalizations. To help a person sort through her distorted thinking, ask for more specifics. Questions like "Which women are fickle?" or "What specifically about your husband is making you miserable?" forces a person to evaluate what he or she is really trying to say. A negative person will either give up because it takes too much effort to explain himself, or he or she will get to the bottom of the issue.

Detach and Avoid Trying to Change the Negative Person
Learning to detach emotionally from a negative person can greatly benefit you and the other person. A negative person will fight you if you try to change them. If you want, you can try a little reverse psychology and agree with everything she says. I once read a great article about a mother who was exasperated with her sons negative mood. Everything she tried to soothe him and make him feel better backfired. She finally gave up and started agreeing with everything he said. When her son told her his friends were mean, she agreed with him. When he complained that his teacher didn't know anything, she couldn't agree more. After several minutes of this kind of dialogue with her son, his mood suddenly shifted. He declared that he was tired and he went to bed with a smile on his face.

Stay Away from Negative People
If you have negative people in your life that are critically affecting your mental and physical health, you need to evaluate whether or not you want these people in your life. Some people are so chronically negative that you have no other choice but to remove them from your life. Its possible to do that with friends. You can find another job if your boss or other co-workers are bringing you down. Other people, such as children and spouses, are difficult to remove from your life. In this instance, professional counseling may be the answer. To protect your well being, you need to enforce very strong boundaries with negative people.

Keep Your Own Negative Thoughts and Behaviors in Check
If you do nothing else but focus on managing your own negative thoughts and behavior, you will come a long way towards remaining positive. A negative attitude is contagious, but a positive attitude is infectious as well. Hang out with positive people that encourage you to be your best self. Use positive affirmations to overcome negative self-talk. Express your gratitude for all the positive things in your life. Take the time everyday to watch all the beautiful things going on around you. Read inspirational material and listen to joyful music. Take care of yourself spiritually. Do whatever you have to do to remain positive and happy despite the negativity you face. The world will be a better place because of you and your attitude. And you never know, you just might help a negative person make a change to a better way of living.

Dreams are Whispers From the Soul

Dreams are Whispers From the Soul Movie: There are many different aspects that live inside of us and two of them have respectfully been dubbed the Dreamer and Doubter. When it comes to pursuing your dreams, The Dreamer is often gung ho while the Doubter can provide a laundry list of concerns and issues. This movie can help inspire to follow your dreams.

Sorrow's Gate

There are things that come through the gates of tribulation. There are traits of character, which seem to find no other mode of entrance into life, such as gentleness, tact, sympathy, and strength. Though we may desire a life of tranquility and joy, it still remains true that few of us would choose for our most valued friend one who has never suffered.

The eyes that have not known tears lack genuine tenderness. The heart that has never been torn with anguish and loss has never sounded its own depths, and cannot measure those of another.

Every life grows strong through storm and conflict, if it ever grows at all. And however sweet by nature we may be, we find it incomplete and unsatisfying if it has never known the softening, hallowing touch of grief.

There are dark pages in our lives where we would gladly have changed the story if we could. There are wounds that still ache, and losses that even yet are hard to bear. But however we feel about the sorrow, there are few of us who would be willing to give up all that it has brought and taught us, or to be just where we were before it touched us.

There are profound gains that come only through Sorrow's Gate.
- S.M.

Walt Disney - The Man Who Helped Us Dream

Some of my favorite quotes by Walt Disney are:
"If you can dream it, you can do it."
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

Through his life and work, these became slogans for his success which ultimately left a huge impact on the world. Who hasn't been affected by the world of Disney? Very few in this world.

Yet things were not so easy for Walt. He explained that Mickey Mouse popped out of his mind at a time when his career and finances were "at the lowest ebb and disaster seemed right around the corner."

He taught us that we can benefit through our struggles. He once said, "All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you."

He dreamed, he pursued, he persevered, and he impacted the world for good.


Here are some more great Walt Disney quotes:

A man should never neglect his family for business.

Crowded classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest national resource - the minds of our children.

I always like to look on the optimistic side of life, but I am realistic enough to know that life is a complex matter.

I believe in being an innovator.

I do not like to repeat successes, I like to go on to other things.

I have been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn't know how to get along without it.

I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse.

I would rather entertain and hope that people learned something than educate people and hope they were entertained.

Laughter is America's most important export.

Of all the things I've done, the most vital is coordinating those who work with me and aiming their efforts at a certain goal.

Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards - the things we live by and teach our children - are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.

The more you like yourself, the less you are like anyone else, which makes you unique.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate's loot on Treasure Island.

There's nothing funnier than the human animal.

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.

When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do.

You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.

You reach a point where you don't work for money.

A person should set his goals as early as he can and devote all his energy and talent to getting there. With enough effort, he may achieve it. Or he may find something that is even more rewarding. But in the end, no matter what the outcome, he will know he has been alive.

The main quality of leadership...is courage!

Helen Keller - Positive In Spite of Life

Helen Keller provides enough inspiration through her writings and quotes for anyone who deals with adversity in life - which is everyone on earth.

Although Helen was not born blind and deaf, at 19 months old that she contracted an illness, perhaps either scarlet fever or meningitis, that left her deaf and blind for the rest of her life. Through many years of struggling through her youth, and with the assistance of her teacher, Helen was able to learn how to not only communicate, but to provide the world with much optimism and positive service, despite her challenges.

Here are some of her great quotes:

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.

As selfishness and complaint pervert the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.

Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light.

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

I do not want the peace which passeth understanding, I want the understanding which bringeth peace.

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.

Instead of comparing our lot with that of those who are more fortunate than we are, we should compare it with the lot of the great majority of our fellow men. It then appears that we are among the privileged.

It is for us to pray not for tasks equal to our powers, but for powers equal to our tasks, to go forward with a great desire forever beating at the door of our hearts as we travel toward our distant goal.

It is wonderful how much time good people spend fighting the devil. If they would only expend the same amount of energy loving their fellow men, the devil would die in his own tracks of ennui.

It's wonderful to climb the liquid mountains of the sky. Behind me and before me is God and I have no fears.

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.

Knowledge is love and light and vision.

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.

Life is an exciting business, and most exciting when it is lived for others.

Life is either a great adventure or nothing.

Love is like a beautiful flower which I may not touch, but whose fragrance makes the garden a place of delight just the same.

Many persons have a wrong idea of what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.

My share of the work may be limited, but the fact that it is work makes it precious.

Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.

No one has a right to consume happiness without producing it.

No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.

Once I knew the depth where no hope was and darkness lay on the face of all things. Then love came and set my soul free. Once I fretted and beat myself against the wall that shut me in. My life was without a past or future, and death a consummation devoutly to be wished. But a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hands that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped up with the rapture of living. I do not know the meaning of the darkness, but I have learned the overcoming of it.

One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good.

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.

The highest result of education is tolerance.

The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.

The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.

The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of tiny pushes of each honest worker.

There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.

To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.

Toleration is the greatest gift of the mind; it requires the same effort of the brain that it takes to balance oneself on a bicycle.

Unless we form the habit of going to the Bible in bright moments as well as in trouble, we cannot fully respond to its consolations because we lack equilibrium between light and darkness.

Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each other's welfare, social justice can never be attained.

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.

We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.

We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.

What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.

What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.

When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.

While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done.

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

Walk Your Talk

There is one statement that validates a person's integrity when stated by another: "He really walks the talk." It's a statement of personal alignment - that your actions match your words. As stated in a recent Chrysler ad, "The strongest statements are made without saying a word."

Modeling ethical, values-based behavior creates an infinitely more positive impact than just talking about it. As a leader or a parent, those you try to influence will not always mimic your words, but they will usually walk in your path.

It is a misperception that leaders and parents must continually present ideas, speak up, direct, and be heard. However, excellent leaders learn to listen up - listen for ideas, problems, concerns, needs. They know why God gave them two ears and one mouth and take it to heart.

St. Francis of Assisi said, "Preach the gospel always. If necessary, use words." Do the same in your leadership role - whether at work, at home or in the community. Since one of the laws of leadership is that you are always leading, then lead the way for others, and use words only if necessary.

In short, walk the walk.

-adapted from Lee J. Colan

A Refiner and Purifier of Silver

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment.

Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy, when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Core Commitments: What is Most Important to You

One of the most powerful ways to expand your perspective and re-orient effectively is to reconnect with your core commitments – the values and purpose that mean most to you in life.

Anyone who has watched a triathlon knows that trailing well behind the leaders is an amazing group of physically challenged athletes who compete with the aid of prostheses and modified bikes. These people have chosen to act on their core commitments rather than succumb to a victim mentality. They are quick to let you know that although they may be disadvantaged, they are not disabled.

Many [people] become great leaders because they’ve endured and learned powerful lessons from horrible life experiences. While some people collapse from these situations, leaders find their way and come through them stronger, wiser and more inspiring to others. How? Core commitments are a big part of the answer.

A commitment is a choice. Your core commitments are choices so central to your being that you never release them. Physically challenged athletes have discovered their passion for competing and making the most of opportunities, whatever it takes. Parents have discovered they will sacrifice their lives for their children. [People] who identify and then persistently act on their core commitments tend to stay creative, resilient, engaging, and more successful over time.

The I-Beam
Imagine that someone has securely placed a steel I-beam on the curb, spanning the width of a city street. The beam is but 7 inches off the ground, all traffic has been stopped, and someone offers you $1,000 to walk across the beam to the other corner. Would you do it? Of course.

What if the beam was raised to a height of 10 feet off the ground, and now they offer you $20,000 to walk across it? Some would no doubt consider it.

Finally, the beam is moved to a height of 290 feet, spanning a narrow, 80-foot-wide canyon in southwestern Colorado. Heavy winds blow up and down the canyon all day long. Would you walk across it for the same $20,000? For $50,000? Probably not.

How about if the person offering you the money dangled your young child, or someone dear to you over the edge and threatened to drop them? Would you walk across the I-beam to save them? You bet. Think about the things in your life you would be willing to walk the I-beam for. These are your core commitments.

When you find yourself stuck, disoriented or momentarily knocked on your keister, take time to reflect and then act on your core commitments. They will guide effective choices that leave you fulfilled and encourage those around you.

- excerpts from “Rebooting…Leadership” by Kimbell, Hadden and Catlette

The Surfer

Our experiences in life and in work could be compared with surfing. Here are some lessons on how we can follow the example of the surfer.

The surfer knows to expect good days and bad. Some waves exhilarate him with the ride of a lifetime, while others leave him disoriented and gasping for air under tons of rushing seawater. The surfer's life is full of chills, spills and occasional thrills. And on most days he goes home with sand in his pants.

The surfer doesn't spend 100% of his time riding great waves. Much of his time is spent swimming to get out past the break line, then sitting astride his board looking seaward to spot and choose his next ride. He anticipates about every seventh wave being a bigger, more interesting challenge. If he chose to ride only little waves, he would get too comfortable and achieve the same old results. Instead, he waits, spots the juicy waves and swims fast to catch them.

When the surfer gets disoriented underwater after being dumped by a big wave, he can't immediately tell up from down. He re-orients himself by relaxing during the uncontrollable period of turbulence. Then as it passes, he exhales slowly to watch which way his air bubbles go, and follows them up to a fresh start.

The surfer will never swim or surf alone, especially when he is in rough water - where the big waves are.

The surfer didn't learn to surf by reading about it. He mastered surfing by practicing regularly and loving the practice, on both good days and bad.

- adapted from "Rebooting...Leadership", by Kimbell, Hadden & Catlette

The Wisdom of Yoda

Do or do not... there is no try.

Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is. Life creates it, makes it grow. Its energy surrounds us and binds us. Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter. You must feel the Force around you; here, between you, me, the tree, the rock, everywhere, yes. Even between the land and the ship.

Luke: What's in there?
Yoda: Only what you take with you.

Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is.

Luke: I can’t believe it.
Yoda: That is why you fail.

Remember, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.

May the Force be with you.

Oh. Great warrior. Wars not make one great.

Feel the force!

Happens to every guy sometimes this does.

Named must your fear be before banish it you can.

Always in motion is the future.

Much to learn, you still have.

Yogi Berra Wisdom

A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore.

Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.

Half the lies they tell about me aren't true.

He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious.

I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.

I just want to thank everyone who made this day necessary.

I never said most of the things I said.

I wish I had an answer to that because I'm tired of answering that question.

I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.

If people don't want to come out to the ball park, nobody's gonna stop 'em.

If the world was perfect, it wouldn't be.

If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.

It ain't over till it's over.

It gets late early out there.

It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.

It's like deja-vu, all over again.

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

Slump? I ain't in no slump... I just ain't hitting.

The future ain't what it used to be.

The other teams could make trouble for us if they win.

There are some people who, if they don't already know, you can't tell 'em.

We made too many wrong mistakes.

When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it.

You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six.

You can observe a lot by just watching.

You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours.

You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going, because you might not get there.

Water

Water

liquid life
falling from heaven
moisture nourishing earth

seeping, sinking
quenching thirsty roots
droplets soaking the ground

trickling, dripping
bubbling into a spring
forming a crystal-clear pool

glistening, sparkling
glass-smooth and glossy
swirling past the mossy green

flowing, gliding
into a babbling brook
gurgling over rocks and stones

splashing, sloshing
washing fallen leaves
down the mountain stream

falling, leaping
over broken cliffs
cascades spraying in the air

rolling, winding
wending its way
a mighty river finds the sea

buoying, tossing
fishing and sail boats
floating in the open bay

surging, crashing
the high tide comes in
forceful surf pounding shore

swimming, diving
a marine world thrives
in deep mystery called ocean

sailing, cruising
out over the deep blue
sandwiched in sea and sky

warming, evaporating
humid air rises
billowing into great clouds

blowing, moving
over land once again
a wet storm in the making

sprinkling, raining
showers transition
into a torrential downpour

misting, steaming
shimmering colors
of a promising rainbow

drinking, slurping
enjoying the taste
an icy-cold glass of lemonade

laughing, singing
dancing in the rain
a refreshed reason for living

cleansing, purifying
old life becomes new
the essence of life called water

by Ken R. Young

------

Nothing is softer or more flexible than water, yet nothing can resist it. - Lao Tsu

In the world there is nothing more submissive and weak than water. Yet for attacking that which is hard and strong nothing can surpass it. - Lao Tsu

Even Eagles Need a Push

The Push

The eagle gently coaxed her offspring to the edge of the nest. Her heart quivered with conflicting emotions as she felt their resistance to her persistent nudging.

“Why does the thrill of soaring have to begin with the fear of falling?” she thought. This ageless question was still unanswered for her.

As is the tradition of her species, her nest was located upon the shelf of a sheer rock face. Below there was nothing but air to support the wings of each child. “Is it possible that this time it will not work?” she thought.

Despite her fears, the eagle knew it was time. Her parental mission was all but complete. There remained one final task... the PUSH.

The eagle drew courage from an innate wisdom. Until her children discovered their wings, there was no purpose for their lives. Until they learned how to soar, they would fail to understand the privilege it was to have been born an eagle.

The push was the greatest gift she had to offer. It was her supreme act of love.

And so, one by one, she pushed them...and they flew.

The push. Sometimes we need it. Sometimes we need to give it.

by David McNally

George Bernard Shaw Quotes

Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world.

Give a man health and a course to steer, and he'll never stop to trouble about whether he's happy or not.

I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake.

Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

Independence? That's middle class blasphemy. We are all dependent on one another, every soul of us on earth.

Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.

Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.

Men are wise in proportion, not to their experience, but to their capacity for experience.

Miracles, in the sense of phenomena we cannot explain, surround us on every hand: life itself is the miracle of miracles.

No man who is occupied in doing a very difficult thing, and doing it very well, ever loses his self-respect.

People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them.

People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.

Success does not consist in never making mistakes but in never making the same one a second time.

Take care to get what you like or you will be forced to like what you get.

The only service a friend can really render is to keep up your courage by holding up to you a mirror in which you can see a noble image of yourself.

The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can't find them, make them.

The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.

The test of a man or woman's breeding is how they behave in a quarrel.

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.

We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.

What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.

When I was young, I observed that nine out of ten things I did were failures. So I did ten times more work.

You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"

You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.

Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children.

Letting God Build Your House

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

- from C S Lewis, "Mere Christianity"

A Farmer Wins the Race

"They" told Robert Banister he couldn't run the mile in under 4 minutes.

"They" told Elvis Presley he would never become a singer.

They" told Cliff Young he couldn't finish a 6 and half day extreme race!

I love this story of Cliff Young because it reminds me that "They" don't know a thing when it comes to you, me or Cliff Young striving for something we REALLY want.
Watch this video and ask yourself if you are ALLOWING other people's perceptions to discourage you from going after what you really want.

- from Lee J. Colan

Managing Risk, Making a Difference

Gladys Ingles was a member of a barnstorming troupe called the 13 Black Cats in the 1920's. Ingles was a wing walker. In this film, she shows her fearlessness in a classic barnstorming fashion to save an airplane that has lost one of its main wheels. With a replacement wheel being strapped to her back, off she goes ("Up She Goes," a duet from the era, provides the soundtrack). Watch Ingles transfers herself from the rescue plane to the one missing its main gear tire. She then expertly works herself down to the undercarriage only a few feet from a spinning prop and replaces the missing wheel.

Risky, dangerous?
Absolutely!

Was she prepared and able? Did she make a difference?
Absolutely!

Risk is not meant to be avoided, just managed. So, make your assessment of the actions you need to take (or change) this year along with the potential upside and downside, then step out and make a difference!

Borrowed from Lee J. Colan, Ph.D.

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

Quoted in a speech by Nelson Mandela, from Marianne Williamson's "Return to Love"

On Setting Goals

An excerpt from the article "Ten Ways to a New You" by Steve Edwards

Use a target goal that's qualitative, not quantitative.
Our society loves numbers. Losing X amount of pounds, running X amount of miles, going X number of days without smoking — these are things we dangle in front of ourselves as if they were some Holy Grail. In fact, these things have very little impact, if any, on what we really want, which is to improve our lives. Numbers can be great motivators. They can be nice as signposts on your road to progress. But they can also mislead you and shouldn't be a part of your ultimate goal, because you can't really control them. Shooting for unattainable numbers is one primary way we can sabotage our self-improvement goals.

The adage "It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game" isn't just about sports. Live your life well, and in the end, you'll be content, no matter where the numbers fall.

The Second Set of Ten Commandments

An article by Harvey Mackay printed in the Arizona Republic:

We all know about the original Ten Commandments, but have you ever heard of the Second Ten Commandments? I don't remember who sent them to me - these pearls of wisdom have been often attributed to one Elodie Armstrong - but I sure would like to thank him or her for sharing this wisdom.

Here they are with my spin on them:

1. Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.

A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work. People get so busy worrying about yesterday or tomorrow, they forget about today. And today is what you have to work with.

2. Thou shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.

Every crisis we face is multiplied when we act out of fear. When we fear something, we empower it. If we refuse to concede to our fear, there is nothing to fear.

3. Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.

Tomorrow's problems may not even be problems when tomorrow comes.

4. Thou shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway.

In one of my favorite "Peanuts" comic strips, Linus says to Charlie Brown, "There is no problem so big it cannot be run away from." I chuckle every time I think about it, because it sounds like such a simple solution. Problem-solving is not easy, so don't make it harder than it is.

5. Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.

If I wake up thinking of a problem, I tell myself that it will seem lighter in the morning, and it always is.

6. Thou shall not borrow other people's problems.

They can better care for them than you can. I confess that I have broken this commandment because I wanted to help someone, without being asked, or I thought I was more equipped to handle a situation. But I wouldn't have to deal with the consequences, either.

7. Thou shall not try to relive yesterday. For good or ill, it is forever gone.

Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now. We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get a better job, make more money, get married, have a baby, buy a bigger house and so on. Yet the accomplishment of any of those events may not make any difference at all. The Declaration of Independence says we are endowed "with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." You are responsible for your own happiness.

8. Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear ideas different from your own.

You can win more friends with your ears than with your mouth. Hearing is one of the body's five senses, but listening is an art. Your success could hinge on whether you have mastered the skill of listening. Most people won't listen to what you're saying unless they already feel that you have listened to them. When we feel we are being listened to, it makes us feel as if we are being taken seriously and what we say really matters.

9. Thou shall not become bogged down by frustration, for 90 percent of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.

Seriously, has frustration ever improved a situation? Better to take a break, collect your thoughts, and redirect your attention to a positive first step. Then, go on from there.

10. Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

We all have something to be grateful for, even on the worst days. Hey, you're still on the green side of the grass, aren't you?

Mackay's moral: These may not be chiseled in stone, but try them; they'll make your life less rocky.

Why I Keep This Blog

The famed motivator Zig Ziglar once said "Motivation doesn't last, bathing doesn't either. That's why I recommend it daily!".

I agree.

Two Seas in Palestine

There are two seas in Palestine. 

One is fresh, and fish are in it. Splashes of green adorn its banks. Trees spread their branches over it and stretch out their thirsty roots to sip of its healing waters. Along its shores the children play, as children played when He was there. He loved it. He could look across its silver surface when He spoke His parables. And on a rolling plain not far away He fed five thousand people. The River Jordan makes this sea with sparkling water from the hills. So it laughs in the sunshine. And men build their houses near to it, and birds their nests; and every kind of life is happier because it is there. 

 

The River Jordan flows on south into another sea. Here is no splash of fish, no fluttering leaf, no song of birds, no children's laughter. Travelers choose another route, unless on urgent business. The air hangs heavy above its water, and neither man nor beast nor fowl will drink. 

 

What makes this mighty difference in these neighbor seas? Not the river Jordan. It empties the same good water into both. Not the soil in which they lie not the country about. This is the difference. The Sea of Galilee receives but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop that flows into it another drop flows out. The giving and receiving go on in equal measure. The other sea is shrewder, hoarding its income jealously. It will not be tempted into any generous impulse. Every drop it gets, it keeps. 

The Sea of Galilee gives and lives. This other sea gives nothing. It is named The Dead. There are two kinds of people in the world. There are two seas in Palestine. 

by Gayle D. Erwin

Video: "If you've never failed, you've never lived"

Pancakes

Six year old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.

Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove, (and he didn't know how the stove worked!).

Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.

And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process.

That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend or we can't stand our job or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him.

But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying like Brandon to "make pancakes," for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried.

The Story of Rose

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know.

I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.


(photo by Ken R. Young)

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me
a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.

She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of kids..."

"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.

"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends.

Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.

Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success.

1) You have to laugh and find humor every day.

2) You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

3) There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change.

4) Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose" (see below). She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.

At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

"The Rose" lyrics:

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I say love, it is a flower
And you, its only seed

It's the heart, afraid of breaking
That never learns to dance
It's the dream, afraid of waking
That never takes the chance
It's the one who won't be taken
Who cannot seem to give
And the soul, afraid of dying
That never learns to live

When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose

- Lyrics and music by Amanda Mc Broom

UP

Being "up" is normally considered to be a positive thing. Here's a poem I wrote several years ago on being
"up".

(photo by Ken R. Young)







Up
In a cloud,
I find myself floating
in peaceful weightlessness,
surrounded by velvety rain
and soothing sunshine.
The sinews and the marrow
are in a joyous rest,
basking
in comatose gratification.

Then,
like a piercing lance
through a fragile bubble,
my suspended animation
is violently disrupted
by a wretched, shrill noise.
The heart somersaults,
the eyelids twitter,
and a familiar yet alien sensation
permeates my body.
Mustering a battle force
strong enough to conquer,
I slowly approach
the monster of my misery.

I churn
with the unsure courage
and unwilling strength
of my newfound awareness.
I stretch forth my noble arm.
My objective: to silence the beast.
Wheezing,
I strike out in one fierce, raging blow.
It is done.
The alarm clock has been shut off.
Groan.
It’s time to get
Up.

by Ken R. Young

The Jabberwocky - Oh Frabjous Day!

Is this a positive, uplifting thought? I think so! It's a fun nonsense story, with great new words, about meeting and overcoming the monster!


'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood a while in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One two! One two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

by Lewis Carroll

Ducks Quack, Eagles Soar

No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service is a choice.

Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.

He handed my friend a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wally, your driver.
While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, Harvey read the card.

It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee?
I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.'

Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.'

Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.

Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts..

'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always: In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard on the radio one day that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.''

That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'That was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers.. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'

'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said.

'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal.. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab.
I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

The Race

"Quit! Give up! You're beaten!"
They shout at me, and plead
"There's just too much against you now.
This time you can't succeed."

And as I start to hang my head
In front of failure's face
My downward fall is broken by
The memory of a race.

And hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene
For, just the thought of that short race
Rejuvenates my being.

A children's race, young boys, young men
Now, I remember well,
Excitement, sure! But also fear,
It wasn't hard to tell.

They all lined up so full of hope
Each thought to win that race,
Or, tie for first, if not that,
At least take second place.

And fathers watched from off the side
Each cheering for his son.
And each boy hoped to show his dad,
that he would be the one.

The whistle blew, and off they went
Young hearts and hopes afire
To win, to be the hero there
Was each young boy's desire.

And one boy in particular,
Whose dad was in the crowd,
Was running near the head and thought:
"My dad will be so proud!"

But as they speeded down the field
Across a shallow dip
The little boy who thought to win,
Lost his step and slipped.

Trying hard to catch himself,
His hands flew out to brace
And 'mid the laughter of the crowd
He fell flat on his face.

So, down he fell, and with him hope
- he couldn't win it now -
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished
To disappear somehow.

But, as he fell, his dad stood up,
And showed his anxious face,
Which to the boy so clearly said:
"Get up and win the race."

He quickly rose, no damage done,
- behind a bit, that's all -
And ran with all his mind and might
To make up for his fall.

So, anxious to restore himself
- to catch up and to win -
His mind went faster than his legs;
He slipped and fell again!

He wished, then, he had quit before
With only one disgrace.
"I'm hopeless as a runner now;
I shouldn't try to race.

But, in the laughing crowd he searched
And found his father's face.
That steady look that said again!
"Get up and win the race."

So, up he jumped, to try again
- ten yards behind the last -
"If I'm to gain those yards," he thought
'I've got to move real fast."

Exceeding everything he had
He gained back eight or ten,
But trying so, to catch the lead,
He slipped and fell again!

Defeat! He lay there silently
- a tear dropped from his eye -
"There is no sense in running more;
Three strikes, I'm out, why try?"

The will to rise had disappeared
All hope had fled away
So far behind; so error prone
A loser all the way.

"I've lost, so what's the use," he thought
"I'll live with my disgrace."
But, then he thought about his dad,
Who, soon, he'd have to face.

"Get up!" an echo sounded low,
"Get up, and take your place
You were not meant for failure here,
Get up, and win the race."

With borrowed will, "Get up," it said
"You haven't lost at all.
For winning is no more than this;
To rise each time you fall."

So, up he rose to run once more,
And with a new commit
He resolved that win, or lose,
At least he wouldn't quit.

So far behind the others now
- the most he'd ever been -
Still, he gave it all he had,
And ran as though to win.

Three times he'd fallen stumbling.
Three times he'd rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win
He still ran to the end.

They cheered the winning runner,
As he crossed the line first place,
Head high, and proud, and happy.
No falling, no disgrace.

But, when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer
For finishing the race.

Even though he came in last.
With head bowed head low, unproud,
You would have thought he won the race
To listen to the crowd.

And to his dad, he sadly said,
"I didn't do so well."
"To me, you won!" his father said,
"You rose each time you fell."

And now when things seem dark and hard,
And difficult to face.
The memory of that little boy
Helps me to win my race.

For all of life is like that race
With ups and downs and all,
And all you have to do to win,
Is rise each time you fall.

by Dee Groberg

President George Washington Proclaims A Day of Public Thanksgiving and Prayer

By the PRESIDENT of the United States of America, A PROCLAMATION:

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLIC THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the Service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all Sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed)
G. Washington

Imagine if all our current leaders and the majority of us citizens felt, believed and acted this way...


See some great quotes on thanksgiving at:
http://positivethinkersjournal.blogspot.com/2009/11/thanksgiving-quotes.html