Michael Jordan on Fear

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot. Why? Because when you think about the consequences, you always think of a negative result.

Some people get frozen by the fear of failure. They get it from peers or from just thinking about the possibility of negative results. They might be afraid of looking bad or being embarrassed. I realized that if I was going to achieve anything in life I had to be aggressive. I had to get out there and go for it. I don't believe you can achieve anything by being passive. I'm not thinking about anything except what I'm trying to accomplish. Any fear is an illusion. You think something is standing in your way but nothing is really there. What is there is an opportunity to do your best and gain some success. If it turns out my best isn't good enough, then at least I'll never be able to look back and say I was too afraid to try. Failure always made me try harder the next time.

That's why my advice has always been to "think positive" and find fuel in any failure. Sometimes failure actually just gets you closer to where you want to be. If I'm trying to fix a car, every time I try something that doesn't work, I'm getting closer to finding the answer. The greatest inventions in the world had hundreds of failures before the answers were found.

I think fear sometimes comes from a lack of focus or concentration. If I had stood at the free-throw line and thought about 10 million people watching me on the other side of the camera lens, I couldn't have made anything. So I mentally tried to put myself in a familiar place. I thought about all those times I shot free throws in practice and went through the same motion, the same technique that I had used thousands of times. You forget about the outcome. You know you are doing the right things. So you relax and perform. After that you can't control anything anyway. It's out of your hands, so don't worry about it.

--Michael Jordan

John Wooden Quotations

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.

Ability is a poor man's wealth.

Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then.

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Be prepared and be honest.

Consider the rights of others before your own feelings, and the feelings of others before your own rights.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.

Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.

I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent.

If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?

If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.

It isn't what you do, but how you do it.

It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.

It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

Material possessions, winning scores, and great reputations are meaningless in the eyes of the Lord, because He knows what we really are and that is all that matters.

Never mistake activity for achievement.

Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.

"Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."

"Never mistake activity for achievement."

"Adversity is the state in which man mostly easily becomes acquainted with himself, being especially free of admirers then."

"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."

"Be prepared and be honest."

"Be quick, but don't hurry."

"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."

"What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player."

"Winning takes talent; to repeat takes character."

"A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment."

"I'd rather have a lot of talent and a little experience than a lot of experience and a little talent."

"If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?"

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

"It isn't what you do, but how you do it."

"Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be."

"Consider the rights of others before your own feelings and the feelings of others before your own rights."

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do."

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability."

"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."

"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."

"Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful."

"The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team."

"Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming."

"Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It's courage that counts."

"I'm Having a Party"

If you have ever gone through a toll booth, you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you'll ever have. It is one of life's frequent non-encounters: You hand over money; you drive off.

I have been through every one of the 17 toll booths on the Oakland - San Francisco Bay Bridge on thousands of occasions and never had an exchange worth remembering with anybody.

Late one morning I headed for lunch in San Francisco. As I drove toward one of the booths, I heard loud music. It sounded like a party or a Michael Jackson concert. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks or outdoor speakers. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm having a party," he said.

"What about the rest of these people?" I looked over at other booths; nothing moving there.

"They're busy."

I had a dozen other questions for him, but somebody in a big hurry to get somewhere started punching his horn behind me and I drove off. But I made a note to myself: Find this guy again. There's something in his eye that says there's magic in his toll booth. Months later I did find him again, still with the loud music, still having a party.

Again I asked, "What are you doing?"

He said, "I remember you from the last time. I'm still dancing. I'm having the same party."

I said, "Look. What about the rest of the people."

He said. "Stop. What do those look like to you?" He pointed down the row of toll booths.

"They look like toll booths."

"Noooo imagination!"

I said, "Okay, I give up. What do they look like to you?"

He said, "Vertical coffins."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can prove it. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions."

I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. I could not help asking the next question:

"Why is it different for you? You're having a good time."

He looked at me. "I knew you were going to ask that," he said. "I'm going to be a dancer someday." He pointed to the administration building. "My bosses are in there, and they're paying for my training."

Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. That man was having a party where you and I would probably not last three days. The boredom! He and I did have lunch later, and he said,

"I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, the Berkeley hills; half the Western world vacations here and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing."

Abraham Lincoln said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

I would tend to agree.

~ Written by Dr. Charles Garfield who is an expert On Peak Performance and Team Management. ~

DO RIGHT RULES

Our Basketball Rules

1.Relentlessly Pursue Excellence
2.Respect Yourself and Others
3.Take Full Responsibility
4.Faithfully Serve Your Neighbor
5.Develop and Demonstrate Loyalty
6.Put the Team Before Yourself
7.Discipline Yourself So No One Else Has To
8.Make Hard Work Your Passion
9.Be a Competitor
10.Learn to Be a Great Communicator
11.Make Winning an Attitude
12.Handle Success Like You Handle Failure

NEVER DOUBT YOURSELF

By Walter Westfall

If I would leave any thought with someone I would say never doubt yourself. No matter what people say, no matter what you may think sometimes, never doubt yourself. If you believe in yourself you will succeed far more than you will fail. He who possesses a quiet kind of faith in his ability to perform a task already has the task half completed.

Believe in yourself despite setbacks, despite the seemingly immovable obstacles, despite the cold and dark, despite the woe and pain, and eventually your faith will come to fruition, and you will find all those troubles behind you.

The simplest thing in the world is to deride ourselves because we made a mistake, to give up and say, "I'm no good", but the more difficult thing is to believe in ourselves and constructively continue our life. The greatest error in life is to downgrade ourselves. The most horrible tragedies in life have occurred from a lack of faith in one's own self, one's own ability, from a belief that one cannot succeed, but that failure is their sole lot in life.

There seems to be a self uncertainty that builds up in the mind every time one makes a mistake or fails to accomplish a task, and with every successive blunder the uncertainty grows stronger until one doubts one's ability to do anything right. Being human we are host to a number of frailties, each one of which disturbs and depresses us, and makes us doubt our worth. We are not a mechanically precise machine, we are a bundle of nerves which often tangle and get jangled, but are capable of amazing performance.

We have more strength than we believe, there is more fight within us than we know, and far more potential than we could ever call forth or even dream of being possible.

What Winning Leaders Do

In Winning, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch says he found that some ways of leading always seem to work in creating a winning company – and that they became his “rules:”

1.Leaders relentlessly upgrade their team, using every encounter as an opportunity to evaluate, coach and build self-confidence. Take every opportunity to inject self-confidence into those who have earned it. Use ample praise, the more specific the better.

2.Leaders make sure people not only see the vision, they live and breathe it. There were times I talked about the company’s direction so much in one day, that I was completely sick of hearing it myself.

3.Leaders get into everyone’s skin, exuding positive energy and optimism. Unhappy tribes have a tough time winning.

4. Leaders establish trust with candor, transparency, and credit. Leaders never score off their own people by stealing an idea and claiming it as their own.

5.Leaders have the courage to make unpopular decisions and gut calls. Don’t run for office. You’re already elected.

6.Leaders probe and push with a curiosity that borders on skepticism, making sure their questions are answered with action. “We’ll look into it,” says Welch, is the all-too-common business head fake.

7.Leaders inspire risk taking and learning by setting an example. There is no edict in the world that will make people take risks or spend their time learning.

8.Leaders celebrate. Celebrating makes people fell like winners.

Drunk Driving Story

From “Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.” It is a true story as well. This is a sad story, reminding of us the effects of drinking and driving.

Jenny was so happy about the house they had found. For once in her life 'twas on the right side of town. She unpacked her things with such great ease as she watched her new curtains blow in the breeze. How wonderful it was to have her own room. School would be starting; she'd have friends over soon. There'd be sleep-overs and parties; she was so happy. It's just the way she wanted her life to be. On the first day of school, everything went great. She made new friends and even got a date! She thought, "I want to be popular and I'm going to be, because I just got a date with the star of the team!" To be known in this school you had to have clout, and dating this guy would sure help her out. There was only one problem stopping her fate. Her parents had said she was too young to date. "Well, I just won't tell them the entire truth.

They won't know the difference; what's there to lose?" Jenny asked to stay with her friends that night. Her parents frowned but said, "All right." Excited, she got ready for the big event. But as she rushed around like she had no sense, she began to feel guilty about all the lies. But what's a pizza, a party and a moonlight ride? Well, the pizza was good, and the party was great, but the moonlight ride would have to wait.

For Dan was half drunk by this time. But he kissed her and said that he was just fine. Then the room filled with smoked and Dan took a puff. Jenny couldn't believe he was smoking that stuff. Now Dan was ready to ride to the point, but only after he'd smoked another joint. They jumped in the car for the moonlight ride, not thinking that he was too drunk to drive. They finally made it to the point, and Dan started trying to make a pass. A pass is not what Jenny wanted at all (and by a pass, I don't mean playing football). "Perhaps my parents were right...maybe I am too young. Boy, how could I ever, ever be so dumb." With all of her might, she pushed Dan away: "Please take me home, I don't want to stay." Dan cranked up the engine and floored the gas. In a matter of seconds, they were going too fast.

As Dan drove on in a fit of wild anger, Jenny knew that her life was in danger. She begged and pleaded for him to slow down, But he just got faster as they neared the town.

"Just let me get home! I'll confess that I lied. I really went out for a moonlight ride." Then all of a sudden, she saw a big flash. "Oh God, please help us! We're going to crash!" She doesn't remember the force of impact, just that everything all of a sudden went black. She felt someone remove her from the twisted rubble and heard, "Call an ambulance! These kids are in trouble!”

Voices she heard...a few words at best. But she knew there were two cars involved in the wreck. Then wondered to herself if Dan was all right, and if the people in the other car were alive. She awoke in the hospital to faces so sad. "You've been in a wreck and it looks pretty bad." These voices echoed inside her head as they gently told her that Dan was dead.

They said, "Jenny, we've done all we can do. But it looks as if we'll lose you too."

"But the people in the other car!?" Jenny cried.

"We're sorry, Jenny, they also died." Jenny prayed, "God, forgive me for what I've done. I only wanted to have just one night of fun.

"Tell those people's family, I've made their lives dim, and wish I could return their families to them. Tell Mom and Dad I'm sorry I lied, and that it's my fault so many have died. Oh, nurse, won't you please tell them that for me?"

The nurse just stood there -- she never agreed. But she took Jenny's hand with tears in her eyes. And a few moments later, Jenny died. A man asked the nurse, "Why didn't you do your best to bid that girl her one last request?"

She looked at the man with eyes so sad. "Because the people in the other car were her mom and dad."

EXCELLING AT WHAT YOU DO

What are the characteristics of people who excel at what they do? The Bible identifies five traits of those who make it to the top:

1.PEOPLE WHO EXCEL WORK WITH ENTHUSIASM. Emerson once said, "Nothing great has ever been accomplished without enthusiasm. Regardless of whether the job is big or small, give it your best." Great performers give their best effort, no matter what the size of the audience. "Whatever your task is, put your whole heart and soul into it, as work done for the Lord, not merely for men.” Colossians 3:23

2.PEOPLE WHO EXCEL SHARPEN THEIR SKILLS. They never stop developing… growing… learning... improving. "If the ax is dull, and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success." Ecclesiastics 10:10 It takes more than desire to excel, it takes skill! Remember - you're never wasting time when you are sharpening your "ax".

3. PEOPLE WHO EXCEL KEEP THEIR WORD. They are reliable. They can be counted on to do what they say they'll do. So they excel because people of integrity are rare in our society. "Everyone talks about how loyal and faithful they are, but just try to find someone who really is!" Proverbs 20:6 Reliability beats talent in the long run.

4. PEOPLE WHO EXCEL MAINTAIN A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. Even under pressure...or change...or unrealistic demands, they don't allow themselves to become negative. Complainers never excel at anything except complaining. "Do all things without grumbling or arguing...and you will shine out like a light in a dark world." Philippians 2:14-15. Remember "If the boss is angry with you, don't quit! A quiet spirit will quiet his bad temper!" Ecclesiastics 10:4

5.PEOPLE WHO EXCEL DO MORE THAN IS EXPECTED. This is a secret that every successful person has discovered. You'll never excel by only doing what is required - the bare minimum. Jesus said, "If anybody forces you to go a mile with him, do more, go two miles with him." Matthew 5:41

Oscar Hammerstein told a story of seeing the top of the head of the Statue of Liberty up close from a helicopter. What impressed him was the incredible detail the artist had sculpted on an area of the statue that the artist never expected anyone to see. The artist had no idea man would someday fly above his statue! When you are tempted to cut corners and you think "No one will ever know." Remember God is looking down and sees everything you do. Give it your best this week!

EVERYTHING COUNTS

But the fact is that until you move out of the comfort zone and get the experience from making the mistakes, it's not possible for you to grow and become the person that you desire. Remember, Everything that you do counts. The biggest mistake that people make is they think that only what they want to count, counts. That when you read a book, when you listen to an audio program, when you go to a course, when you go to bed early and you get up early and you work, it all counts. And it's all going on the plus side of your ledger. But when you watch television, waste time, hang out, fool around and so on, all of that counts as well and it's going on the negative side. A person who has a great life, by the law of accumulation, is a person who's accumulated far more credits on the credit side than debits on the debit side. And here's an important point: If what you are doing is not moving you toward your goals, then it's moving you away from your goals. Nothing is neutral. Everything that you're doing is either moving you toward the things that you want to accomplish in life, the person you want to be, the wealth you want to accumulate, or it's moving you away. Everything counts.

ARETE

Preparing more than others care to or expect, practicing more often than the average person believes is necessary, believing in the quality of every moment, every day and every quest – this is what excellence is all about.

And it comes from striving, maintaining the highest standards, the highest beliefs, looking after the smallest detail and using the basics, and going the extra mile. Excellence means caring – caring enough about making a difference – it means making a special effort to do more than is asked and to expect more of oneself.

101 WAYS TO PRAISE A CHILD

WOW – WAY TO GO – SUPER – YOU’RE SPECIAL OUT-STANDING – EXCELLENT – GREAT – GOOD – NEAT – WELL DONE – REMARKABLE – I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT – I’M PROUD OF YOU – FANTASTIC – SUPER STAR – NICE WORK – LOOKING GOOD – OURE ON TOP OF IT - BEAUTIFUL – NOW YOU’RE FLYING – YOU’RE CATCHING ON – NOW YOU’VE GOT IT – YOU’RE INCREDIBLE - BRAVO - YOU’RE FANTASTIC - HURRAY FOR YOU - YOU’RE ON TARGET - YOU’RE ON YOUR WAY – HOW NICE – HOW SMART – GOOD JOB - THAT’S INCREDIBLE – HOT DOG – DYNAMITE – YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL – YOU’RE UNIQUE – NOTHING CAN STOP YOU NOW – GOOD FOR YOU – I LIKE YOU – YOU’RE A WINNER – REMARKABLE JOB – BEAUTIFUL JOB – SPECTACULAR – YOU’RE SPECTACULAR – YOU’RE-DARLING – YOU’RE PRECIOUS – GREAT DISCOVERY – YOU’VE DISCOVERED THE SECRET – YOU FIGURED IT OUT – FANTASTIC JOB – HIP, HIP HURRAY – BINGO – MAGNIFICIENT – MARVELOUS – TERRIFIC – YOU’RE IMPORTANT – PHENOMENAL – YOU’RE SENSATIONAL- SUPER WORK – CREATIVE JOB – SUPER JOB – FANTASTIC JOB – EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE – YOU’RE A REAL TROOPER – YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE – YOU ARE EXCITING – YOU LEARNED IT RIGHT – WHAT AN IMAGINATION – WHAT A GOOD LISTENER – YOU ARE FUN – YOU’RE GROWING UP – YOU TRIED HARD – YOU CARE – BEAUTIFUL SHARING – OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE – YOU’RE A GOOD FRIEND – I TRUST YOU – YOU’RE IMPORTANT – YOU MEAN A LOT TO ME – YOU MAKE ME HAPPY – YOU BELONG – YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND - YOU MAKE ME LAUGH – YOU BRIGHTEN MY DAY – I RESPECT YOU - YOU’RE A JOY – YOU’RE A TREASURE – YOU’RE WONDERFUL – YOU’RE PERFECT – AWESOME – A+ JOB – YOU’RE A, OK - MY BUDDY – YOU MADE MY DAY – THAT’S THE BEST – A BIG HUG – A BIG KISS – SAY I LOVE YOU!

P.S. Remember, a smile is worth 1000 words!

Universal Translator

By EScott Brostrom, Rock Island, Illinois

On a hot summer Sunday afternoon, my wife and I had been invited to a swimming party at the home of some friends. With our two children in the care of my grandmother, Cherie and I felt as free as the breeze. As I stood on the diving board, I paused to look up into the serene sky.

But then a frantic voice rose above the party din. At the far end of the pool a woman was screaming. “The baby!” I heard her cry. “He’s at the bottom of the pool!”

No one was doing anything to help. People just stood and stared at her. Confused,
I searched the length of the pool and saw what I thought might be a motionless form
beneath the water. I dived in—and a baby was there. I hurriedly swept him off the
bottom and soon laid him on the deck. He’d turned blue…no breath. I began CPR.
Dear God, help me do it right.

At last the little boy coughed. A short breath came, then another. He would live.

An ambulance was called, for safety’s sake. While we waited, I couldn’t help asking
the others, “Why did you ignore the woman when she said the boy was drowning?”

A friend answered, “None of us understood her, Scott.”

“What do you mean? Even at the far end I could hear her yelling about the baby.”

“But she’s Mexican. None of us understood her Spanish.”

“Spanish? I heard her yell in English.”

“We didn’t. All we heard was Spanish.”

“It’s true,” said the woman’s daughter. “Mama can’t speak a word of English.”

“And I don’t understand a word of Spanish,” I said.

Thoughts on Communication

By Vince Lombardi Jr.
From the book, “Winning With Teamwork”

Good leaders have the following qualities:
1. An inspiring vision and the communication skills to transmit the vision to their people.
2. The communication skills to build a consensus; to get people to work together to achieve the vision.
3. The communication skills to engender enthusiasm within their team to achieve the vision.
4. Finally, a willingness to lead.

Three key things about communication:
1. Good ideas don’t sell themselves.
2. Everything you do as a coach is a form of communication. People never take their eyes off of you.
3. It’s not so much what you say, it’s how you say it, that matters.

Communication doesn’t take place until your people:
1. Hear or see what you have to say.
2. Understand it.
3. Believe it.
4. Believe you mean it.
5. Remember it.
6. Internalize it.
7. And begin to use it themselves.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS

Nobody ever said it would be easy, so don’t expect it to be. No one is immune from everyday problems.

Sometimes you have to perform at your best when you are feeling your worst. Block the hurt, the pain, the sickness out of your head for the short time you must perform. Shape up, get it together because EXCUSES DO NOT COUNT! Nobody cares if you are hurt or sick; you either do the job or you don’t – you win or you lose.

There are times when you might rather be elsewhere, but face up to the challenge at hand. No matter what has happened, you must win the mental battle. You must force yourself to remain confident, enthusiastic and positive. You must force yourself to work harder even when you are sick, hurt, sad or troubled. THAT IS MENTAL TOUGHNESS.

MENTAL TOUGHNESS comes to play when the going gets bad. Never let your opponent know your weakness, because they can take advantage of it. The fighter automatically goes for the cut eye, the bloody nose. MENTAL TOUGHNESS is also the ability to keep a goal to look at a year or two ahead and keep going full throttle after that goal, even in the face of adversity.

One of the oldest and most common locker room signs is this, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

BELIEVE IT.

Just My Advice

Experience everything. Ask questions; ask for the truth and the reality that comes with it, through honesty is the only way you will get to know a person and be able to step past the boundaries that we all put up.

Learn from peoples mistakes, but more importantly know when it is ok to make your own, because no one will do everything right. Never hold back, even if you think you are wasting your time, there will always be something to learn from any experience, it just depends on the way you look at things.

Prepare and expect the drama and uncertainty that comes with doing something different. Be ready for it, plan, and think of it as a personal challenge of your skills. If you can diffuse a problem or cope with a situation that might seem out of control to others, then you may have already won a battle.

Keep a positive attitude. Do not wallow in your own frustrations and poor luck. People do not want to be with losers; by always portraying your own self-pity you will push away the people that will really be able to help you.

Do not lead people on if you think you are in a situation that is over your head. Be honest. Stop and get out. In the long run you will be better off.

Be a role model, inspire, push and motivate people. Through other's fortunes you will be repaid in some form or another even if it does not happen immediately, it will. If someone else becomes a better person due to your influence than you have both gained respect and gratitude from the situation.

Above all be a good friend. Friendship is the one thing that you will miss the most if it is taken away or lost. Always become friends first, this applies to every relationship you make. Always try to build that bridge of friendship between people; without it, you are just going through the motions. Never, never burn bridges.

Hope is...

Hope is...

Having Faith
believing
in enough
in the face of a child
the sigh after a kiss
sunrises
sunsets
another season, another reason
morning, afternoon and night
beginning, after an end
"hello" after "goodbye"
"yes" after "no"
"no" because there's something better
plans made and followed
dreams
a handshake
a smile
an up after down
birth
death and its promise
being "born again"
a reach down
a look up
a meeting
a vote
a phone call
email
a clock alarm and wake up
setting the alarm
setting a goal
the sound of your name
first Robin
coming in first
finishing a race in any place
doing your best
trying
quiet
noise
and you...especially, you!

-- Shared by Bob Perks

I Loved You Enough

By Wayne Walters

Some day when my players are old enough to understand the logic that motivates coaches, I will tell them:

I loved you enough to worry where you were going after late practice, and with whom and how much sleep and study time I left you.

I loved you enough to insist that you take personal responsibility for your actions instead of letting you make excuses.

I loved you enough to be silent and let teammates workout the differences between themselves and discover how much we really needed each other.

I loved you enough to tell you what we needed from you to be successful and to be disappointed when you did not deliver.

I loved you enough to pick you up and emotionally carry you when the times were toughest and bring you back to reality when you though that you were a little better than what you were.

I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Players must learn that coaches are human and not perfect.

But, most of all, I loved you enough to do what needed to be done to build your character and the character of your teammates even though I knew you would curse me for it. Those were the most difficult battles of all. I am glad we won them, because in the end those are the most cherished victories.

THE POWER OF A LEADER

True Leaders are not those who strive to be first, but those who are first to strive and who give their all for the success of the team. True Leaders are first to see the need, envision the plan, and empower the team for action. By the strength of the leader’s commitment, the power of the team is unleashed.

Three Rules for Turning Stress Into Success

by Denis Waitley

1. Accept the Unchangeable - Everything that has happened in your life to this minute is unchangeable. It’s history. The greatest waste of energy is in looking back at missed opportunities, lamenting past events, grudge collecting, getting even, harboring ill will, and any vengeful thinking. Success is the only acceptable form of revenge. By forgiving your trespassers, you become free to concentrate on going forward with your life and succeeding in spite of your detractors. You will live a rewarding and fulfilling life. Your enemies, on the other hand, will forever wonder how you went on to become so successful without them and in the shadow of their doubts.

Action Idea: Write down on a sheet of paper things that happened in the past that bother you. Now crumple the paper into a ball and throw it at the person teaching this program at the front of the room. This symbolizes letting go of past misfortunes.

2. Change the Changeable - What you can change is your reaction to what others say and do. And you can control your own thoughts and actions by dwelling on desired results instead of the penalties of failure. The only real control you have in life is that of your immediate thoughts and actions. Since most of what we do is a reflex, subconscious habit, it is wise not to act on emotional impulse. In personal relations, it is better to wait a moment until reason has the opportunity to compete with your emotions.

Action Idea: Write down in your diary one thing you will do tomorrow to help you relax more during and after a stressful day.

3. Avoid the Unacceptable - Go out of your way to get out of the way of potentially dangerous behaviors and environments. When people tailgate you on the freeway, change lanes. If they follow you at night, drive to a well-lighted public place.
When there are loud, obnoxious people next to you at a restaurant or club, change tables or locations. Also, be cautious of personal relationships developed via the Internet. With the massive number of individuals surfing the net, the number of predators increases in like proportion. Always be on the alert for potentially dangerous situations involving your health, personal safety, financial speculation and emotional relationships.

Action Idea: What is one unacceptable behavior you have or allow others to do to you that you will avoid starting tomorrow? Example: The way you drive, being around negative people, walking down dark streets alone late at night, etc.

Don Yaeger's 16 Consistent Characteristics of Winners

1. It's Personal

They hate to lose more than they love to win.

2. Rubbing Elbows

They understand the value of association.

3. Believe

They have faith in a higher power.

4. Contagious Enthusiasm

They are positive thinkers... They are enthusiastic... and that enthusiasm rubs off.

How They Prepare

5. Hope For the Best, But...

They prepare for all possibilities before they step on the field.

6. What Off-Season?

They are always working towards the next game... The goal is what's ahead, and there's always something ahead.

7. Visualize Victory

They see victory before the game begins.

8. Inner Fire

They use adversity as fuel.

How They Work

9. Ice In Their Veins

They are risk-takers and don't fear making a mistake.

10. When All Else Fails

They know how - and when - to adjust their game plan.

11. Ultimate Teammate

They will assume whatever role is necessary for the team to win.

12. Not Just About the Benjamins

They don't play just for the money.

How They Live

13. Do Unto Others

They know character is defined by how they treat those who cannot help them.

14. When No One Is Watching

They are comfortable in the mirror... they live their life with integrity.

15. When Everyone Is Watching

They embrace the idea of being a role model.

16. Records Are Made to Be Broken

They know their legacy isn't what they did on the field. They are well-rounded.

Success

Success can be defined in three simple words: And then some. The top people did what was expected of them, and then some. They were considerate and kind, and then some. They were good friends and helpful neighbors, and then some.

—Darnell Johnson, School Superintendent, Greenwood, South Carolina

On This Day...

On this day...

Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth.
Speak your love.
Speak it again.
Listen.
Apologize if you were wrong.
Try to understand.
Gladden the heart of a child.
Mend a quarrel.
Search out a forgotten friend.
Dismiss suspicion, and replace it with trust.
Keep a promise.
Find the time.
Forego a grudge,
Forgive an enemy.
Examine your demands on others.
Think first of someone else.
Appreciate, be kind, be gentle.
Laugh a little more.
Deserve confidence.
Express your gratitude.
Worship God.

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

- Dylan Thomas

Hope is...

Having Faith
believing
in enough
in the face of a child
the sigh after a kiss
sunrises
sunsets
another season, another reason
morning, afternoon and night
beginning, after an end
"hello" after "goodbye"
"yes" after "no"
"no" because there's something better
plans made and followed
dreams
a handshake
a smile
an up after down
birth
death and its promise
being "born again"
a reach down
a look up
a meeting
a vote
a phone call
email
a clock alarm and wake up
setting the alarm
setting a goal
the sound of your name
first Robin
coming in first
finishing a race in any place
doing your best
trying
quiet
noise
and you...especially, you!

-- Shared by Bob Perks

I THANK MY COMPETITORS

My competitors do more for me than my friends.

My friends are too polite to point out my weaknesses, but my competitors go to great expense to tell of them.

My competitors are efficient and diligent. They make me search for ways to improve my products and services.

My competitors would take my business away from me if they could.

This keeps me alert to hold what I have.

If I had no competitors, I would be lazy, incompetent, and complacent. I need the discipline they enforce upon me.

I thank my competitors. They have been good to me.

God Bless them all!

COMMUNICATION

When your instructions are followed incorrectly, do you blame others? Wait! Quite often, such errors are caused by a justified misinterpretation of your message. Here are three examples of how apparently simple instructions were misconstrued:

1. A merchant ordered 500 turkeys for the Thanksgiving season. A few weeks before the holiday, however, his sales dropped sharply. Afraid that he wouldn’t be able to sell all the turkeys, he phoned the distributor and instructed him to “Cut my order in half!” When his order arrived, guess what it contained? Five hundred turkeys, of course, each cut in half!

2. A new employee at a large company walked up to a paper shredder and stood before it looking confused. “Need some help?” the senior secretary asked. “Yes, how does this thing work?” “It’s simple,” she said as she took the thick report from her colleagues hand and fed it into the shredder. “See?” “I see,” he said, “but how many copies will it make?”

3. Upon approaching an airport for landing, just short of the touchdown, the pilot of a military planed determined that the runway was too short for his landing approach, so he’d better circle around and try again. He yelled to his engineer, Take off power!” The engineer reached up and turned off the engines. The plane continued downward and crashed at the end of the runway!

The pilot wanted the engineer to give him extra power for the takeoff.

SUGGESTION: Give clear instructions and ask clear questions, so you won’t be misinterpreted.

Life’s Contemplations - Goals

Life’s Contemplations

1. What one thing should I eliminate from my life because it holds me back from reaching my full potential?

2. Am I on the path of something absolutely marvelous or something absolutely mediocre?

3. What can I do to make better use of my time?

4. What impossible thing am I believing and planning for?

5. What good have I previously committed myself to that I have quit doing?

6. Of the people I respect most, what is it about them that earns my respect?

7. What gifts, talents, or strengths do I have?

8. What is one thing that I can do for someone who has no opportunity to repay me?

SOMETIMES YOU FIND THAT WHAT YOU LEARN ON THE PATH TO MEETING YOUR GOALS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE GOALS THEMSELVES

It Is Not Easy

Let’s be honest. Ethics is not for wimps. It’s not easy being a good person.

It’s not easy to be honest when it might be costly, to play fair when others cheat or to keep inconvenient promises.

It’s not easy to stand up for our beliefs and still respect differing viewpoints.

It’s not easy to control powerful impulses, to be accountable for our attitudes and actions, to tackle unpleasant tasks or to sacrifice the now for later.

It’s not easy to bear criticism and learn from it without getting angry, to take advice or to admit error.

It’s not easy to really feel genuine remorse and apologize sincerely, or to accept an apology graciously and truly forgive.

It’s not easy to stop feeling like a victim, to resist cynicism and to make the best of every situation.

It’s not easy to be consistently kind, to think of others first, to judge generously, to give the benefit of the doubt.

It’s not easy to be grateful or to give without concern for reward or gratitude.

It’s not easy to fail and still keep trying, to learn from failure, to risk failing again, to start over, to lose with grace or to be glad for the success of another.

It’s not easy to avoid excuses and rationalizations or to resist
temptations.

No, being a person of character is not easy.
That’s why it’s such a lofty goal and an admirable achievement.

— Michael Josephson

Goals, Who Needs Them? You Do

by Gary L. Parker

In his book Getting Things Done, Ed Bliss writes, "Good self-management involves finding ways to put pressure on yourself to perform."

We all need a swift kick once in a while. That's why thoughtful development of personal goals is so important. It's a way to put pressure on yourself to perform. Goals provide a motive for better performance.

Successful businesses create goals as a basis for strategic decisions. Without goals, every decision is a crossroads. It's the same for us. The more clearly we understand our destination, the more likely we'll take the right path.

4 Keys To Goal Setting

1. Be Specific. Develop a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. The stronger the vision, the greater the motivation to put forth 100% of your effort and talent.

2. Write It Down. It's been said a goal not written down is just a wish. Write goals where you'll see them often. You can't do what you can't remember. And you can't remember what you can't find. Write goals in your Planner Pad.

3. Make It Measurable. When we know our destination, we can measure progress. Set definite time targets. A goal is a result that must be achieved within a particular period of time.

4. Calculate The Cost. Everything we want to do has a cost. The cost may not be out of pocket. We pay in other ways. Worthwhile goals require your time and effort. Compare costs to benefits carefully. Are you willing to pay the price?
The more clearly we understand our goals, the more likely it is that we'll be willing to give the performance today, this week, this month to achieve our objectives.

Excuse me, Are you Jesus?'

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. ALL BUT ONE !!! He paused, took a deep breath, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned.

He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.

He was glad he did.

The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, 'Here, please take this $40 for the damage we did. Are you okay?' She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, 'I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly.'

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, 'Mister....' He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, 'Are you Jesus?'

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: 'Are you Jesus?' Do people mistake you for Jesus?

That's our Destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace.

If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would.

You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit.

Excellence Is?

Excellence is…
An inspiration
An attitude
A pursuit
A way of life.

Excellence is…
All of us working together,
Aspiring to the fullness
Of our potential
Always in relentless pursuit
Of a higher standard—
Determined to do
Everything we do
Somehow better
Than it ever
Has been done before.

Excellence is found…
In the caring
In the trying
In the doing.

It is our objective.
We seek it with dedication.

Your State of Mind

If you think you can, YOU CAN.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you think you can’t, but really can –
It’s almost a cinch you won’t

For out in the world you’ll find
Success begins with a person’s will,
It’s all in your STATE OF MIND.

Many a game is lost
Before ever a play is run,
And many a coward falls
Before their work’s begun.

Think big and your deeds will grow,
Think small and you’ll fall behind.
Think you can and you will
It’s all in your STATE OF MIND.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to learn to be sure of yourself
Before you can ever win a prize.

Life’s victories don’t always go
To the stronger or smarter woman or man.
But sooner or later the person who wins
IS THE PERSON
WHO THINKS THEY CAN!

How to Stop Comparing Yourself to Others (and Stop Feeling Lousy About Yourself and Your Life)

by Henrik Edberg

“If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.” Quote by Max Ehrman

One very common and destructive daily habit is to constantly compare your life and yourself to other people and their lives. You compare cars, houses, jobs, shoes, money, relationships, social popularity and so on. And at the end of the day you pummel your self esteem to the ground and you create a lot of negative feelings within. And perhaps also outside of yourself.

So what can you do? How can you get a handle on this habit?

In this article I’ll share what I have done. I’ll start with two habits that I use to replace that destructive habit. Then I’ll move on to a few more general tips that have also helped me.

Compare yourself to yourself.

First, instead of comparing yourself to other people create the habit of comparing yourself to yourself. See how much you have grown, what you have achieved and what progress you have made towards your goals.

This habit has the benefit of creating gratitude, appreciation and kindness towards yourself as you observe how far you have come, the obstacles you have overcome and the good stuff you have done. You feel good about yourself without having to think less of other people.

You can make this habit stick by for instance taking a few minutes each day or just each Sunday (or any day that fits you) to use a journal to write down how you have grown, how much closer you are to your goals now, what you have overcome and learned and so on.

By doing so your thinking will over time shift and your thought patterns will automatically become more focused on comparing you to you rather than to other people.

Be kind.

In my experience, the way you behave and think towards others seems to have a big, big effect on how you behave towards yourself and think about yourself.

Judge and criticize people more and you tend to judge and criticize yourself more (often almost automatically). Be more kind to other people and help them and you tend to be more kind and helpful to yourself.

So focus your mind on helping people and being kind.

Focus on the positive things in yourself and in the people around you. Appreciate what is positive in yourself and others. This way you become more OK with yourself and the people in your world instead of ranking them and yourself and creating differences in your mind.

You are OK and so are they.

Now, a few more tips that can be helpful to move away from that comparison trap:

- Just realize that you can’t win. Just consciously realizing this is helpful. No matter what you do you can pretty much always find someone else in the world that has more than you or are better than you at something. Yes, you may feel good for a while when you get a nicer car than your neighbour. But a week or two later you’ll see someone from the next block with an even finer car than yours.

- Give up both sides of comparing. If you can’t stop doing the negative comparisons then stop doing the comparisons that make you feel good too. Give them both up, at least for a while. If you’re in the habit of comparing to feel better about yourself then it’s hard to just stop at that and to not also start comparing in way that make you feel worse and inferior too. So you may need to step out of that whole comparing habit because the two sides are often connected. Give up the upside to be able to move away from the downside.

And that is basically how I do it, that is how I keep those negative comparisons to a minimum in my life.

Winston Churchill’s Top 6 Fundamentals for a Successful Life

by Henrik Edberg.

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Winston Churchill is probably no stranger to anyone. He was an inspirational British leader during the Second World War.

He was also a writer, historian, poet, artist and the only British Prime Minister to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Here are a few of my favorite fundamentals from Churchill on how to improve your life.

1. Focus on what you are doing right now.

“It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.”

“It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.”

When you start to look too far into the future then any task or project can seem close to impossible. And so you shut down because you become overwhelmed and start surfing the internet aimlessly instead. That is one of the reasons why it is good to plan for the future but then to shift your focus back to today and the present moment.

Then you just focus on taking the first step today. That is all you need to focus on, nothing else. By taking the first step you change your mental state from resistant to “hey, I’m doing this, cool”. You put yourself in state where you become more positive and open, a state where you may not be enthusiastic about taking the next step after this first one but you are at least accepting it. And so you can take the next step. And the next one after that.

The thing is, you can’t see the whole path anyway and it will shift and reveal itself along the way. That’s why the best of plans tend to fall apart at least a bit as you start to put it into action. You discover that your map of reality doesn’t look like reality.

2. Be concerned about action.

“I never worry about action, but only about inaction”

Yes, taking action can lead to failure, rejection or making mistakes. There is always a risk for that. But if you stay in inaction then you are pretty much guaranteed that nothing will change or improve.

How can you improve your action habit though? Three tips:

- Reconnect with the present moment. This will help you snap out of over thinking and just go and do whatever you want to get done. It is one of the best tips I have found so far for taking more action since it puts you in a state where you feel little emotional resistance to the work you’ll do. And it puts you in state where the right actions often just seem to flow out of you in a focused but relaxed way and without much effort. One of the simplest ways to connect with the present moment is just to keep your focus on your breathing for a minute or two. Check out 7 more tips in 8 Ways to Return to the Present Moment.

- Lighten up. One way to dissuade yourself from taking action is to take whatever you are about to do too seriously. That makes it feel too big, too difficult and too scary. If you on the other hand relax a bit and lighten up you often realize that those problems and negative feelings are just something you are creating in your own mind. With a lighter state of mind your tasks seems lighter and becomes easier to get started with.

- Start small. To get from a state where you just feel like sitting on your chair and doing nothing much to one where you take action over and over you can do this: start small. Getting started with your biggest task or most difficult action may seem too much and land you in Procrastinationland. So instead, start with something that doesn’t seem so hard. One of my favorites is simply to take a few minutes to clean my desk. After that the next thing doesn’t seem so difficult to get started with since I’m now in a more of a “take action” kind of mode.

3. Be an optimist.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.”

“I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.”

Focusing on what helps you sure makes a huge difference compared to if you keep focusing on what is wrong in every situation or what makes you more of a victim. It’s like living in two different worlds.

How do you make the shift to a more optimistic attitude? Well, it takes time. But gradually you can change it. Four of my own most favorite tips are:

- Take care of the basic fundamentals. This is for me the most important thing you can do to maintain and strengthen your positive attitude. How you eat, sleep and workout is huge factor. A good lifestyle, how you live your life on normal days determine how you feel, think and how much energy you will have. For example, exercising and keeping my testosterone levels pretty high consistently I do that by focusing on free weight exercises that target many and big muscle groups – is a very simple way to get a lot of positive emotions to flow through my body automatically. A good workout always seems to do the trick.

- Positive influences. Fill your mind and emotional system with positive input from people, music and programs/books. Other people’s thoughts have a big influence and emotions are contagious. Limit your time with negative people. Reduce TV or magazines that may make you feel worse about what you don’t own or your body. Or just create fear and negativity within you (for instance a lot of news shows). Limiting negative influences can make it a lot easier to keep the positive attitude up.

- Set the context for your day. What you do early in the day often sets the context for your day. We have a tendency to want to be consistent with what we have done before. You can use that your advantage in few ways. You can for example do the hardest thing on your to-do list first. When it is done you’ll feel good about yourself and it makes the day feel easier and you’ll have less inner resistance to getting the rest of the tasks of the day done.

- Act as you want to feel. Act as if you are feeling positive. After a few minutes you will actually feel it for real. So smile. Use positive language. And so on. It feels weird at first but it really works.

Just practicing these four things in a consistent way can make a huge difference in your life.

4. Be persistent. Don’t give up.

“Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential”

“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

Since society often tells us to look for quick fixes it’s easy to make the mistake of giving up to soon. After you have failed perhaps 1-5 times. That’s the “normal” thing to do. But what could have happened if someone just kept going after that? And for each failure learned more and more about what works?

I think people often make a mistake of giving up too early. Your mind probably has a reasonable time-frame for success. This might not correspond to a realistic time-frame though.

It’s useful to take a break from advertised perspectives and let more realistic perspectives seep into your mind. Learn from people who have gone where you want to go. Talk to them. Read what they have to say in books or online. This will not give complete plan but a clearer perspective of what is needed to achieve what you want.

Now, that’s not to say that you should never quit. But it can be helpful to keep going on your current path for a while longer.

And that’s not to say that you should do the same thing over and over in exactly the same manner. It’s better to do and get an experience. Take the lessons you can learn from that real life experience. And then adjust how you do things as you try again.

It obviously helps immensely if you find what you really like to do. And what you really, really want. Then you’ll find the inner motivation to keep going, to get what you want and to build on inner strengths like persistence.

5. Don’t lose the enthusiasm.

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.”

It’s very easy to get down on yourself and your results when things don’t go as planned. What was once enthusiasm can quickly become apathy and pessimism.

But how do you do keep up the enthusiasm after things have gone wrong and you just feel like giving up? Well, as I mentioned in the previous fundamental, it certainly helps to have something you really like doing and something you really want.

And the tips found in fundamental # 3 such as keeping your energy up, acting as you would like to feel and keeping away from negative influences work very well here too. A good additional tip is simply to ask better questions in “negative” situations. Instead of asking yourself why this or you suck ask yourself questions that empower you.

Questions like:

What can I learn from this?
What is the hidden opportunity in this situation?

6. Remember, most troubles never happen.

“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened”

One final, quick thought. But a very important one. Most things you fear will happen never happen. They are just monsters in your own mind. And if they happen then they will most often not be as painful or bad as you expected. Worrying is most often just a waste of time.

This is of course easy to say. But if you think back and remind yourself of how little of what you feared throughout your life that has actually happened you can start to release more and more worry from your thoughts.

This makes it a lot easier to start doing more of what you really want in life. And to move through your day to day life with a lighter, happier and more optimistic attitude.

Rescued

Author unknown

A little girl whose parents had died lived with her grandmother and slept in an upstairs bedroom. One night there was a fire in the house and the grandmother perished while trying to rescue the child. The fire spread quickly, and the first floor of the house was soon engulfed in flames.

Neighbors called the fire department, then stood helplessly by, unable to enter the house because flames blocked all the entrances. The little girl appeared at an upstairs window, crying for help, just as word spread among the crowd that firefighters would be delayed a few minutes because they were all at another fire.

Suddenly, a man appeared with a ladder, put it up against the side of the house and disappeared inside. When he reappeared, he had the little girl in his arms. He delivered the child to the waiting arms below, and then disappeared into the night.

An investigation revealed that the child had no living relatives, and weeks later a meeting was held in the town hall to determine who would take the child into their home and bring her up.

A teacher said she would like to raise the child. She pointed out that she could ensure her a good education. A farmer offered her an upbringing on his farm. He pointed out that living on a farm was healthy and satisfying. Others spoke, giving their reasons why it was to the child's advantage to live with them.

Finally, the town's richest resident arose and said, "I can give this child all the advantages that you have mentioned here, plus money and everything that money can buy."

Throughout all this, the child remained silent, her eyes on the floor.

"Does anyone else want to speak?" asked the meeting chairman. A man came forward from the back of the hall. His gait was slow and he seemed in pain. When he got to the front of the room, he stood directly before the little girl and held out his arms. The crowd gasped. His hands and arms were terribly scarred.

The child cried out, "This is the man who rescued me!" With a leap she threw her arms around the man's neck, holding on for dear life, just as she had that fateful night. She buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed for a few moments. Then she looked up and smiled at him.

"This meeting is adjourned," said the chairman.

Little Girl On A Plane

An atheist was seated next to a little girl on an airplane and he turned to her and said, "Do you want to talk? Flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger." The little girl, who had just started to read her book, replied to the total stranger, "What would you want to talk about?" " Oh, I don't know," said the atheist. "How about why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death?" as he smiled smugly. "OK," she said. "Those could be interesting topics but let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat the same stuff -grass. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, but a horse produces clumps. Why do you suppose that is?" The atheist, visibly surprised by the little girl's intelligence, thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea." To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss why there is no God, or no Heaven or Hell, or no life after death, when you don't know crap?" And then she went back to reading her book.

This Moment Is All We Have

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round,
or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the
reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your
head?

Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow."
And in your haste, not see their sorrow?

When you worry and hurry through your day,
it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away....

Life is not a race. So take it slower.
We must hear the music, before the song is over.

"Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present"

Being Great

I don't think it's normal to be great. I think it's special. The human condition is to be average and to survive. And everybody assumes that everybody wants to be as good as they can be all the time, but that's not true. If that was the case, everybody would be doing fantastic out there. So it's special to be as good as you can be. It's special to work to reach your full potential. It's special to go do it every day, day-in and day-out and never give yourself a break."
--Nick Saban

Urgency

By Les Brown

We have to live life with a sense of urgency so not a minute is wasted. Failure, defeat and loss afflict us all. Expect it, and learn to deal with it. And then learn to get back to life without waiting for an invitation. One way to do that is to trust in a power greater than yourself, and to believe good things are going to follow—great things will occur when you get up, dust yourself off, and go at life with renewed determination and courage.

10 Ways to Not Waste Your Life

By: Mark Merrill


Part of being a responsible adult means not wasting things, especially your life. Here are 10 ways to not waste your life. Hope you are challenged by this list!

1. Believe
Belief is the most powerful, positive life-changer in the arsenal. Believe that you are a valued person with something to contribute, and chances are you will.

2. Know where you’re headed
Dr. Seuss said, “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.” Setting and achieving goals is necessary for purposeful change. Both short term, “I’m going to spend the evening with my child so he goes to sleep feeling loved.” and long-term, “By Christmas I’ll be able to tell my AA group and my family I’ve been sober for six-months.”

3. Identify a better reference point for success
Know that our standard for a successful life is found in serving others, being a great parent, loving our spouse. These standards are more conducive to satisfaction and success than “Beautiful, because I’m worth it”, or “He who dies with the most toys wins.”

4. Value relationships above all else
Value relationships above results. Value serving others above being served. Value investing in people above investing in things.

5. Remember where your joy and value comes from
A dependence on anything external for happiness is unnecessary: If we “need” others to make us happy, or if we need achievements to feel worthy, we undermine our reason for being. The simple fact that we are loved and valued by the Creator is sufficient. Your joy comes from knowing who you are and whose you are.

6. Live in the moment
“I’ll feel like I’ve achieved something when _________ happens.” “Just let me get that new ________, and I’ll be good.” This kind of thinking ensures we’ll remain dependent on “more” for satisfaction. Live in the moment. Be grateful for what we have right now. Be content in our present circumstances.

7. Defer short-term thrills in favor of long-term rewards
We often sacrifice long-term joy, satisfaction and contentment for short-term thrills and personal pleasure. Things like sex outside of marriage, pornography, and gambling will never satisfy. What will satisfy is sex in a marital relationship, lasting and loving relationships, living a life of purpose, and hard work.

8. Always continue learning
Life-long learners adopt the ongoing posture of reinvention and redemption. Learners ask questions rather than act as if they know all the answers. It’s difficult to waste your life when you are humble and open to new ideas.

9. Don’t sweat the small stuff
Knowing what we value puts everything else into perspective. If we know what really matters in life, then we’re not as likely to get caught up in, or bothered by, things that don’t have a long-term or eternal impact.

10. Never do anything you wouldn’t be comfortable doing in the presence of your Maker.
If in doubt about this, talk it over with God first.