The Rule of Three

The United States Marine Corps believes strongly in what they call “The Rule of Three.” They've found that implementing this rule saves lives, gets more done faster and more efficiently.

An article on The Corps in INC. magazine says, “The rule dictates that a person should limit his or her attention to three tasks or goals. When applied to strategizing, the rule prescribes boiling a world of infinite possibilities down to three alternative courses of action. Anything more and a marine can become overextended and confused. The marines experimented with a rule of four and found that effectiveness plummeted.”

I've always believed that three is a powerful number. We find it in some very significant places. The most powerful physical structure is a triangle or pyramid. In fact, it's the building block of Buckminster Fuller's geodesic domes and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. For Christians—it's the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And then, of course, we have Mind, Body, Spirit. Three is a powerful number metaphysically—a number of completion.

As we become immersed in the ocean of information, possibilities, directions and the like, it becomes even more important for us to focus on the things that are truly important to us—the things that will make a difference in the quality of our lives.

Three things can easily be remembered. Any more than that and retention suffers. We can all sharpen our focus and get better results by using the Rule of Three in our daily lives.

List the three most important values in your life. What's really important to you? If you make this list, you'll place yourself in the top one percent of all the people on the planet because very few ever do this. Your decisions will become infinitely easier because your values are clear.

What are your three primary missions? These are different than goals. Goals can be measured. They can be completed. A mission is your vision of something that you'll never say is done—at least not in this lifetime.

Make a list of your three most important goals. It's great to have lots of goals but which ones are worthy of your best attention and efforts? Remember, you can have anything you want in your life. You just can't have EVERYTHING you want.

What three things would you like to master? Three things at which you want to become an expert. Maybe it's speaking in public. Perhaps you want to learn another language. Or maybe you want to become a masterful parent. It's your life and you get to decide.

By making good use of the Rule of Three, you'll sharpen your focus, increase your effectiveness and experience greater fulfillment in all that you do.

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world. Someone to love, something to do and something to hope for."

Rejoice!

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live you’re live so that when you die, the world will cry and you will rejoice.

When In Need Of God's Presence

Whatever your circumstances, be sure that God watches over you. Because He loves you, and since God Himself is love, you can be confident that you are never out of His sight, nor His loving concern.

How can you make yourself believe this? First, repeat it to yourself. Repetition is a powerful method of persuading the mind to accept a truth. Epictetus called it the most classical of all studies. It brings about acceptance.

Thank God constantly for watching over you and protecting you. After every journey, thank Him for His protecting care. In every difficult situation, thank Him for seeing you through.

Visualize your loved ones as always being protected by the everlasting arms, and supported by the great hand of God. In this way, you will be sending out protecting and guiding thoughts that God will use for their protection. Help God to protect your loved ones and yourself.

A final technique is to commit to memory many of the following Bible passages that deal with the protective love of God. Every day, repeat them to yourself, meditating upon them with gratitude.

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. (Psalm145:18)

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5,6)

In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. (Psalm 56:11)

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you. (I Peter 5:6,7)

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:9,10)

How To Become A Positive Thinker

The world in which you live is not determined by outward circumstances as much as it is by the thoughts that occupy your mind. You can think and believe your way to misery or to a life of joy, satisfaction, and abundance. You have the power to choose. THE CONCEPT OF POSITIVE THINKING is a philosophy, an expression of faith. It doesn’t ignore life’s problems, but explains a practical approach to deal with, and overcome, them.

Anyone interested in seeking a better, promise-filled way of life, can find it through positive thinking and faith in God. To become a successful positive thinker, here are some ideas to think about:

1. To every disadvantage, there usually is a corresponding advantage. Consider the old truism that behind the darkest clouds the sun is shining. In the toughest situations there is always some value that is inherently good. The positive thinker will look for the good, for the advantage, and will therefore do far better with the difficulty than the negative thinker will. What you deeply think and visualize has a strong tendency to happen. So always think positively, believingly, expectantly, hopefully.

2. It isn’t what is happening but your attitude toward what is happening. Let’s assume a big, hard fact, and here are two men of equal intelligence facing it. One man says. “This is an overwhelming difficulty, more than I can handle.” So he is defeated by the fact. The other man says, “This is a tough situation, but with God’s help, I can handle it.” And he proceeds to do so successfully. It is the attitude toward the fact that is crucial—more so than the fact itself.

3. Develop a positive mental attitude toward the bottom. I have often had to deal with glum and discouraged people who have said, “I’ve hit bottom and there is no hope.” To one such man I replied, “Congratulations. Having hit bottom, you can go no lower; the only direction is up. So start thinking up.” He did, and after a time new ideas came that helped him to move up well above the bottom.

4. Put thoughts of God up against your trouble. A friend of mine, at 84, had her leg amputated. Even so, she does all her housework from a wheelchair. When asked if she ever becomes discouraged, she answered, “Certainly I do.” Then I asked, “What do you do when you get discouraged?” She replied, “What is there to do but get over it? I simply take the attitude that, with the Lord helping me, I can sweep all dark shadows from my mind, as I do the dust in my house.”

Becoming The Right Thing

Are 'You' a gardener? Yes you are...!

A man wanted to make an investment. An idea struck him: "Why don't I plant a small mango sapling and enjoy the benefits when it grows into a big tree?" So he went to the market, bought a small sapling and took it home. To the pride of his family, he planted it in the center of his garden.

He read everything about raising a mango tree. He got up early every morning, for he was determined to supply the sapling with all the necessary nutrients. He watered it, he supplied it with manure, and he took good care of its leaves by removing those that withered. He made sure the sapling received ample care.

Many times he sat and admired the beauty of the growing tree while dreaming about the tasty mangoes that the tree would bear. His mind was always filled with the wish to taste the first fruit of the tree.

Years rolled by... now, he had a big tree… glorious… with its leaves shining and healthy, its bark healthy and hard. It was a big attraction because it decorated his whole garden.

Then one day he noticed a small bud, which in a couple of days bloomed into a beautiful flower. Now he could hardly wait for the fruit so he started to increase his supply of nutrients and care. Then one day the tree let out its first product - a small green fruit. The man was so happy.

He waited for a few more weeks till the fruit grew in size. The day came when he decided to taste the first fruit of the tree. He climbed the tree, plucked the fruit and then came his disappointment. The fruit that he plucked from the tree was not like what he expected. It was hard, big and round. He was baffled. He was sad.

Seeing this, his neighbours came and asked him what happened. He told them that the fruit from his tree was not what he wanted. When the neighbours heard this, they did not know whether to laugh or console him for what he planted years ago was a guava sapling.

This story teaches us one simple thing. We all already know it, from our early years. "If we want to raise mangoes then we have to plant mango saplings. There is no other alternative."

Similarly, how then can we expect to become what we want to become if we are not willing to sow the right seed?

How many times do we think that we can achieve what we want, even after dividing our focus and attention on diverse/multiple things?

How many times are we tempted to think that even after compromising our time on non-essential stuff, we can still manage to reach our goal?

1. If a girl wants to become a physician, she has to read and try to get through biology, otherwise how can she realize her dream?

2. If a boy wants to become a soccer player, he most certainly has to spend his time sweating on the ground (even when his friends are out, partying).

3. If a man wants to become a writer, there is no other way than to read and practice writing. What other way will do?

4. If a woman wants to become a painter, will having chats with her loved ones help? We know what should be done instead; taking up the brush and paint.

5. Does anyone want to change his attitude from negative to positive? He should be willing to sow the seeds of rigorous training of his mind.

This applies to every goal in life, be it big or small, personal or social. How can we expect mangoes if we are not planting mango saplings in the first place?

We can really become all that we want… truly all that we want. These are the words spoken by great people throughout the centuries. If we want to achieve what we want, then we have to seriously invest in the things that will lead us to that particular destination. It is wrong seeds, in the first place, that change the future fruit.

Our thoughts are the first seeds that we sow in any endeavour. The Bible also affirms this in the book of proverbs - "As a man thinks, so he becomes."

The only thing needed to become what we want, is the realization that we harvest what we sow; therefore sowing the right seed and investing our efforts in it would be the sensible thing to do…ONLY THE RIGHT SEED WILL WORK! Let us sow the right seeds into our daily lives.

Following our thoughts, the next key things are our words and actions. They too are seeds.

George Washington said, "Bad seed is a robbery of the worst kind: for your pocket-book not only suffers by it, but your preparations are lost and a season passes away unimproved."

If we plant a bad seed (action/word), we are the ones who are unfortunately the ones to reap it. We lose an opportunity… a season. Hence, let us decide to plant and water the correct seed, of which we want to enjoy the benefits, even when other seeds are enticing or distracting.

We all know what the right seed is for each of our ventures; it is just a matter of sowing them with diligence. It is simple - Let us sow what we want to reap and we are automatically on the right track, whatever the track might be.

By Sam Vijay Kumar

SHMILY

By Laura Jeanne Allen

My grandparents were married for over half a century, and played their own special game from the time they had met each other. The goal of their game was to write the word "shmily" in a surprise place for the other to find. They took turns leaving "shmily" around the house, and as soon as one of them discovered it, it was their turn to hide it once more.

They wrote "shmily" with their fingers through the sugar and flour containers to await whoever would open the container next.

They wrote in the condensation on the windows overlooking the patio where my grandma always fed us warm, homemade pudding with blue food coloring. "Shmily" was written in the steam left on the mirror after a hot shower, where it would re-appear bath after bath. At one point, my grandmother even unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper to leave shmily on the very last sheet.

There was no end to the places "shmily" would pop up. Little notes with "shmily" scribbled hurriedly were found on dashboards and car seats, or taped to steering wheels. The notes were stuffed inside shoes and left under pillows. "Shmily" was written in the dust on the mantel and traced in the ashes of the fireplace. This mysterious word was as much a part of my grandparents' house as the furniture.

It took me a long time before I was able to fully appreciate my grandparents' game. Skepticism had kept me from believing in true love--one that is pure and enduring. However, I never doubted my grandparents' relationship. They had love down pat. It was more than their little games; it was a way of life. Their relationship was based on a devotion and adoring affection which not everyone is blessed enough to experience.

Grandma and Grandpa held hands every chance they could. They stole kisses as they bumped into each other in their tiny kitchen. They finished each other's sentences and shared the daily crossword puzzle and word jumble. My grandma whispered to me about how cute my grandpa was, how handsome an old man he had grown to be. She claimed that she really knew "how to pick 'em."

Before every meal they bowed heads and gave thanks, marveling at their blessings: a wonderful family, good fortune, and each other.

But there was a dark cloud in my grandparents' life: my grandmother had cancer. The disease had first appeared ten years earlier. As always, Grandpa was with her every step of the way. He comforted her in their yellow room, painted that color so she could always be surrounded by sunshine, even when she was too sick to go outside.

Now the cancer was once again attacking her body. With the help of a cane and my grandfather's steady hand, they still took a little walk outside every morning. But my grandmother grew steadily weaker until, finally, she could not leave the house anymore.

For a while, Grandpa would take his morning walk alone, praying to God to watch over his wife. Then one day, what we all dreaded finally happened. Grandma was gone.

"Shmily!" It was scrawled in yellow on the pink ribbons of my grandmother's funeral bouquet. As the crowd thinned and the last mourners turned to leave, my aunts, uncles, cousins, and other family members came forward and gathered around Grandma one last time. Grandpa stepped up to my grandmother's casket and, taking a shaky breath, he began to sing to her. Through his tears and grief, the song came, a deep and throaty lullaby.

S-h-m-i-l-y: See How Much I Love You!

Shaking with my own sorrow, I will never forget that moment, because I knew then that, although I couldn't begin to fathom the depth of their love, I had been privileged to witness its unmatched beauty.

Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for letting me see.

THE LAST SUPPER

Leonardo Da Vinci, a noted Italian artist painted the Last Supper; and the time engaged for it's completion was seven years. The figures representing the twelve Apostles and Christ himself were painted from living persons. The life-model for the painting of the figure of Jesus was chosen first. When it was decided that Da Vinci would paint this great picture, hundreds and hundreds of young men were carefully viewed in an endeavor to find a face and personality exhibiting innocence and beauty, free from the scars and signs of dissipation caused by sin.

Finally, after weeks of laborious search, a young man nineteen years of age, was selected as a model for the portrayal of Christ. For six months DaVinci worked on the production of this leading character of his famous painting.

During the next six years DaVinci continued his labors on this sublime work of art. One by one fitting persons were chosen to represent each of the eleven Apostles; space being left for the painting of the figure representing Judas Iscariot as the final task of this masterpiece. This was the Apostle, you remember, who betrayed his Lord for thirty pieces of silver, worth in our present day currency $16.96.

For weeks Da Vinci searched for a man with a hard, callous face, with a countenance marked by scars of avarice, deceit, hypocrisy, and crime; a face that would delineate a character who would betray his best friend.

After many discouraging experiences in searching for the type of person required to represent Judas, word came to Da Vinci that a man whose appearance fully met his requirements had been found in a dungeon in Rome, sentenced to die for a life of crime and murder.

Da Vinci made the trip to Rome at once, and this man was brought out from his imprisonment in the dungeon and led out into the light of the sun. There DaVinci saw before him a dark, swarthy man; his long shaggy and unkempt hair sprawled over his face, which betrayed a character of viciousness and complete ruin. At last the famous painter had found the person he wanted to represent the character of Judas in his painting.

By special permission from the king, this prisoner was carried to Milan where the picture was being painted. For months he sat before Da Vinci at appointed hours each day as the gifted artist diligently continued his task of transmitting, to his painting, this base character representing the traitor and betrayer of our Savior. As he finished his last stroke, he turned to the guards and said, "I have finished. You may take the prisoner away."

As the guards were leading their prisoner away, he suddenly broke loose from their control and rushed up to Da Vinci, crying as he did so, "O, Da Vinci, look at me! Do you not know who I am?"

Da Vinci, with the trained eyes of a great character student, carefully scrutinized the man upon whose face he had constantly gazed for six months and replied, "No, I have never seen you in my life until you were brought before me out of the dungeon in Rome."

Then, lifting his eyes toward heaven, the prisoner said, "Oh, God, have I fallen so low?" Then turning his face to the painter he cried, "Leonardo DaVinci! Look at me again for I am the same man you painted just seven years ago as the figure of Christ."

This is the true story of the painting of The Last Supper. It teaches so strongly the lesson of the effects of right or wrong thinking on the life of an individual. Here was a young man whose character was so pure, unspoiled by the sins of the world, that he represented a countenance of innocence and beauty fit to be used for the painting of a representation of Christ.

But within seven years, following the thoughts of sin and a life of crime, he was changed into a perfect picture of the most traitorous character ever known in the history of the world.

Roadside Assistance

By Joan Beck, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

The sun was just coming up when I headed out to work last May at 6 a.m. as an administrator for the federal Farm Service Agency in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Not quite dark, but dark enough to need my headlights. I turned onto one of the lonely, rural country roads that dot our county.

Maybe it was because I was listening to the radio, maybe it was because I was already thinking about some projects at work, but I didn’t spot the dark object in the road until it was too late. I ran over it and felt the back left tire pull, and then sag. I steered to the apron of the two-lane road and stopped.
I got out of the car. No mystery here—my left rear was sliced like a loaf of bread. Back 50 yards was a piece of scrap iron I’d run over.

I’ve never changed a tire. I peered up the road. Not a car in either direction. The nearest service station was miles away. I threw up my hands.

Then I remembered—my cell phone! I powered it up before realizing, I don’t know who to call. “Lord,” I need your help,” I prayed.

Wouldn’t you know it, I spotted a car coming from the opposite direction. The driver slowed as he approached. I guess he could see I was in trouble. He stopped his car, got out and immediately saw the trouble. “M’am, would you like me to change that tire for you?” he asked.

The man couldn’t have been more friendly. I was so frightened out there and he put me completely at ease. “There,” he said, after putting on the spare, “You’re all set to go.”

“Good thing for me that you were driving this way,” I told him, as I climbed back into my car.

“Funny you should say that,” he said. “Just like you, I was headed to work, but my job’s in the opposite direction. I made a wrong turn at some point. I don’t know what I was thinking.” Then he looked at me and smiled. “I guess this is the real job the Lord had in mind for me today."

LIFE AND JUGGLING

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name them Work, Family, Health, Friends, Spirit – and you are keeping them all in the air.

You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends, and spirit – are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same.

You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?

1.Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

2.Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

3.Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

4.Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

5.Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

6.Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us together.

7.Don’t be afraid to take risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

8.Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

9.Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.

10.Don’t forget that a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

11.Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless – a treasure that you can always carry easily.

12.Don’t use words or time carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift. That is why we call it “the present.”

Learn To Be Happy

By Eduardo Dominguez

How does our history become sad or happy? How and why do our experiences affect the way we think and feel? Are human beings born to be miserable? NO! We are born to be human and to evolve through experiences. We are born to win!

There is no doubt that we all have a big variety of situations or experiences during our existence that we allow to affect the way we think and therefore the way we feel. There are people, objects and intangibles things that we meet and they become part of our experiences and therefore our history.

We all make choices, every day, every moment. The reason we are happy or unhappy is not our experiences but the way we deal with our experiences; what we think about them, therefore the attitude we take. Everything we do either makes us successful or unsuccessful, moves us forward or backward, every day, every moment.

Being miserable or happy is personal; it is a matter of choice and this choice has to do with the attitude each of us has.

Attitude is everything! Things are the way they are, they cannot be otherwise. The problem starts when we label our experiences with our own beliefs. Our attitude is the outcome of how we feel and how we will respond. Sadly and ironically, many of us build such an attitude that instead of solving the problems we already have, we create even more problems. Ironically again, this is the history of the so-called more intelligent being on the planet.

So, what we can do to be happy? How can move forward instead of backward?

First we have to consider cause and effect…

Our mind stores our experiences as thoughts, thoughts create feelings or emotions, and what we feel is the way we act. Our attitude is a reaction to our thoughts, feelings and actions; it is positive or negative based not on what we think, but how we think, and how we think is related to our level of awareness.

So, the roots of our misery, problems, disillusions, worries and sadness are in our thoughts; how we think about things. When we have negative thoughts, we are creating misery in our lives and if it's something that we don't want for our life, it is time to take control and put our brain to work to form a new attitude by creating new positive thoughts.

You will only be happy, move forward, be the champion you are meant to be when you are honest and take action. Start to motivate your mind with positive thoughts. Start with thoughts of love, optimism, and creativity. Start by appreciating and valuing every second of life, everything you are and have, and become passionate about everything you do.

Stop labeling! Things are the way they are but if you decide to label them, then label your experiences, with your fellow human beings and with your environment, in a positive and optimistic way. Regardless of what happens, paint your life, daily, with a smile in everything you experience. The more you do this, the happier you will become.

Move with the flow. Things are the way they are, they cannot be otherwise. If you row in the direction the river is flowing, its energy assists you. But, if you row against the river's flow, it is only a matter of time before you become exhausted, overwhelmed and defeated.

It is super important to be clear; to understand that happiness is not dependent on the outside world. Nobody can make you happy or unhappy. Be responsible for your life. You and only you have the power to control the way you feel.

When your desire to be happy becomes as strong as the need to breathe, you will be happy. If you want to be happy, make happiness part of your daily thoughts, emotions and actions.

So, be happy, it is not only your choice but also your right! Be happy, regardless; you definitively deserve it. Remember, sixty seconds of sadness is one minute less of happiness!