A Collection of Motivating and

Inspiring Thoughts and Techniques

From Bits & Pieces . . . August 14, 1997

THERE IS NOTHING so wasteful as doing with great efficiency that which doesn't have to be done at all.

DANIEL WEBSTER (1782-1852)

American orator, lawyer, and statesman

Common sense often isn't common practice.

DR. JENNIFER JAMES

American cultural anthropologist

There is only one success: to be able to spend your life in your own way.

CHRISTOPHER MORLEY (1890-1957)

American writer

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.

ANAIS NIN (1903-1977)

French writer

IT IS REWARDING to find someone you like, but it is essential to like yourself. It is quickening to recognize that someone is a

good and decent human being, but it is indispensable to view yourself as acceptable. It is a delight to discover people who are

worthy of respect and admiration and love, but it is vital to believe yourself deserving of these things. For you cannot live in

someone else. You cannot find yourself in someone else. You cannot be given a life by someone else. Of all the people you will

know in a lifetime, you are the only one you will never leave or lose. To the question of your life, you are the only answer. To

the problems of your life, you are the only solution.

JO COUDERT

American writer

What you are . . . thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON (1803-1882)

American poet and essayist

Some people go through life standing at the complaint counter.

Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.

A small factory had to stop operations when an essential piece of machinery broke down. No one could get the machine

operating. An outside expert was finally called in. The expert looked over the situation for a moment, then took a hammer and

gently tapped the machine at a certain spot. It began running again immediately and continued to run as if nothing had ever been

wrong. When the expert submitted her bill for $1,000, the plant supervisor hit the ceiling and demanded an itemized bill. The bill

the woman submitted was as follows:

For tapping the machine $ 1.00 For knowing where to tap $999.00

On [the great conductor] Arturo Toscanini's eightieth birthday, someone asked his son, Walter, what his father ranked as his

most important achievement. The son replied, "For him there can be no such thing. Whatever he happens to be doing at the

moment is the biggest thing in his life--whether it is conducting a symphony or peeling an orange."

ARDIS WHITMAN

Timeless Wisdom Cake Eaters, Inc.

A major problem these days is how to save for your children's education while you're still paying for your own.

Rust ruins more tools than overuse.

If hard work is the key to success, most people would rather pick the lock.

CLAUDE MCDONALD

If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere.

Technology is another word for "tool." There was a time when nails were high-tech.

TOM CLANCY

American writer

PAST SUCCESS IS YOUR WORST ENEMY

Does your organization have a history of success? If so, you may be lulled into thinking, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." RCA

failed to see the impact of the tiny transistors that replaced bulky vacuum tubes in radio and TV sets. IBM misjudged the

popularity of personal computers and network systems compared to more expensive mainframes. Western Union prospered

with telegrams until telex machines speeded the interchange of information, and fax machines replaced both of them. In times of

rapid technological change, success has a shorter and shorter life span.

DANIEL BURRUS

Techno Trends Card Pack

U.S. Games Systems, Inc.

Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.

Practice makes perfect . . . . So be careful what you practice.

"I'm not returning until you fix it," bandleader Count Basie told a club owner whose piano was always out of tune. A month later

Basie got a call that everything was fine. When he returned, the piano was still out of tune.

"You said you fixed it!" an irate Basie exclaimed.

"I did," came the reply. "I had it painted."

Are you solving the right problem?

ROGER VON OECH

Creative Whack Pack

What is popular is not always right; what is right is not always popular.

Fear will make you hesitate. Hesitation will make your fear come true.

Adults are always asking kids what they want to be when they grow up because they are looking for ideas for themselves.

PAULA POUNDSTONE

American comedian

Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing right things.

PETER DRUCKER

American management consultant and writer

At first, people refuse to believe that a strange, new thing can be done, and then they begin to hope it can be done, then they

see it can be done--then it is done, and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.

FRANCIS HODGSON BURNETT (1849-1924)

English writer

Happiness is essentially a state of going somewhere wholeheartedly.

W.H. SHELTON

Every successful person finds that great success lies just beyond the point when they're convinced their idea is not going to

work.

NAPOLEON HILL

Think and Grow Rich

Opportunity knocks so many times that it has raw knuckles.

BARRY NEIL KAUFMAN

Out-Smarting Your Karma

"When Abraham Lincoln was your age," the father told his son, "he used to walk 10 miles every day to get to school." "Really?"

the kid said. "Well, when he was your age, he was president."

JOE CLARO

Random House Book of Jokes and Anecdotes

Random House

To belittle is to be little.

The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders--people who not only have enormous amounts of energy, but who can

energize those whom they lead.

JACK WELCH

CEO, General Electric

I think that amongst young people today, this being the age of instant gratification, everybody wants it now. Young people

today stop me all the time and in the space that it takes for the light to turn from red to green as you're standing on the corner,

they want me to tell them in 30 seconds what's the key . . . The answer is, there are no shortcuts. You have to do the work, you

have to be dedicated and kill yourself practically to get where you want to go . . . No one's going to give you anything. I found

out that people who are successful are the ones that are truly in love with their art, the ones who persevere and have that grit.

And the people who fall by the wayside are the ones who are in it for the money or want to be famous or what not.

SPIKE LEE

U.S. filmmaker

(From a commencement address at Emerson College, May 1997)

Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm.

Malayan proverb

Tears will get you sympathy. Sweat will get you results.

I used to be lost in the shuffle. Now I just shuffle along with the lost.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.

If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you!

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF HOW TO GET ALONG WITH PEOPLE

1. Keep skid chains on your tongue; always say less than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice. How you say it

counts more than what you say.

2. Make promises sparingly, and keep them faithfully, no matter what it costs.

3. Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and encouraging word to or about somebody. Praise good work, regardless

of who did it. If criticism is needed, criticize helpfully, never spitefully.

4. Be interested in others, their pursuits, their work, their homes and families. Make merry with those who rejoice; with those

who weep, mourn. Let everyone you meet, however humble, feel that you regard him as a person of importance.

5. Be cheerful. Don't burden or depress those around you by dwelling on your minor aches and pains and small

disappointments. Remember, everyone is carrying some kind of a load.

6. Keep an open mind. Discuss but don't argue. It is a mark of a superior mind to be able to disagree without being

disagreeable.

7. Let your virtues, if you have any, speak for themselves. Refuse to talk of another's vices. Discourage gossip. It is a

waste of valuable time and can be extremely destructive.

8. Be careful of another's feelings. Wit and humor at the other person's expense are rarely worth it and may hurt when least

expected.

9. Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you. Remember, the person who carried the message may not be the most

accurate reporter in the world. Simply live so that nobody will believe them. Disordered nerves and bad digestion are a

common cause of backbiting.

10. Don't be too anxious about the credit due you. Do your best, and be patient. Forget about yourself, and let others

"remember." Success is much sweeter that way.

ANN LANDERS

Syndicated columnist

There are no victories at bargain prices.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER (1890-1969)

34th President of the United States

THE PRONOUN TEST

For six months now, I've been visiting the workplaces of America, administering a simple test. I call it the "pronoun test." I ask

frontline workers a few general questions about the company. If the answers I get back describe the company in terms like

"they" and "them," then I know it's one kind of company. If the answers are put in terms like "we" or "us," I know it's a different

kind of company.

ROBERT B. REICH

Former U.S. Secretary of Labor

WHAT THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC CAN TEACH YOU

When it comes to my blood-pumping heart, I know I'm a high-risk patient. My dad died of a heart attack in his fifties. One

brother died of heart failure at 51. My oldest brother had a massive heart attack at 51 and has since had another. Now that I'm

55, my own medical exams have prompted the doctor to shake his head with concern.

For years, although I knew our family history, I chose to believe that I didn't need to pay much attention to the doctor's

preventive (I called it drastic) advice, though at [my wife] Norma's insistence I did occasionally get myself to the Cooper Clinic

in Dallas, which specializes in heart-related matters.

Recently I was in Texas for another exam. After all the tests had been completed, I sat in the doctor's office, listening and

laughing, trying to make light of some of the results. Then I noticed that the doctor had a painting of a ship hanging on the wall.

In a joking way, I pointed to it and said, "That's the Titanic, isn't it?"

The doctor didn't miss a beat. Playing along with my jovial mood, he nodded and said, "It's interesting that you'd bring that up.

Do you know why I have it there?"

"No," I responded.

"Do you know much about the Titanic, Mr. Smalley?"

"No, I don't," I admitted, walking into his trap. "I know it's at the bottom of the ocean; that's about it."

"Well," he explained, "the experienced captain of the Titanic was warned six separate times to slow down, change course, and

take the southern route because icebergs had been sighted. But he ignored all six specific warnings because he was the captain,

and he thought, This ship is unsinkable . . . "

"I had no idea the ship received that many warnings," I said, still not seeing where he was leading me.

". . . then rip--the ship hit the iceberg. It went down quickly and disastrously," he said. Then he leaned across his desk and

looked me straight in the eye. "And how many times have you been warned about your heart?" he demanded.

"Lots of times," I replied weakly as his point struck home.

"And when will you take it seriously and change course?" he asked.

As a result of that conversation, I've made some basic lifestyle changes that have great potential for improving my health and

prolonging my life. Almost anyone can make small adjustments if he or she believes it will make a lasting positive difference.

If you change course when warned, you can avoid disaster--and then celebrate the voyage. It's the strongest principle

anyone can learn from the Titanic.

GARY SMALLEY

Making Love Last Forever

Word Publishing

YOU MAY HAVE A DISABILITY, BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE DISABLED

Born with a rare degenerative eye disease, Erik Weihenmayer became completely blind at age 13. He was told he would never

be able to do the things other people did. He had a disability. Yet, Weihenmayer refused to accept a life with such limitations.

After fighting his blindness for years, Erik learned to embrace his adversity, making it part of him.

First, he joined his high school wrestling team, became cocaptain, and state champion runner-up in his class. Next Weihenmayer

took on the challenge of rock climbing--a difficult hobby for those with perfect eyesight. "Blindness won't keep me from having

fun," Weihenmayer insisted. He took his adversity--his blindness--and turned it into his strength, using his heightened senses to

take on challenges few will conquer.

In 1995, he scaled 20,230-foot Mt. McKinley, North America's highest peak. In 1996, he became the first blind person to

ever scale the 3,000-foot granite monolith--El Capitan in Yosemite. Says Weihenmayer, a teacher at the private Phoenix

Country Day School, "Blindness is just a nuisance." As for climbing, he says, "You just have to find a different way of doing it."

PAUL G. STOLTZ

Adversity Quotient

John Wiley & Sons

The most damaging phrase in the language is: It's always been done that way.

GRACE HOPPER, Ph.D. (1906-1992)

U.S. admiral and computer scientist

HOW TO FIGURE THE COST OF LIVING:

Take your income and add 10 percent.

If you don't say anything, you won't be called upon to repeat it.

CALVIN COOLIDGE (1872-1933)

30th President of the United States

IN ANCIENT TIMES, a king had a huge boulder placed in a roadway, then he hid and watched to see if anyone would remove it.

Some of the kingdom's biggest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many of them loudly blamed the

king for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the big stone out of the way.

Then a peasant farmer came along, carrying a load of vegetables on his back. When he came to the boulder, he laid down his

burden and began trying to move it to the side of the road.

After much struggling and straining, he finally succeeded.

As he was picking up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained

many gold pieces and a note from the king indicating the gold was for the person who removed the stone from the roadway.

The farmer had learned what many others have learned since: Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's

condition.

Half the troubles in life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.

Every hanging head needs a shoulder under it.

When we stop waking up in the morning as though each day was going to be full of adventure, joys, and dangers, and wake up

instead to the alarm clock and the daily grind, and mutter about TGIF, we lose the newborn quality of belief which is so lovely in

a child.

MADELINE L'ENGLE

U.S. author

Know what you love and do what you love. If you don't do what you love, you're just wasting your time.

BILLY JOEL

American composer (in a commencement address at Hofstra University)

We've all heard the phrase the naked truth. It comes from a fable in one of the odes of Horace, about the time Truth and

Falsehood went swimming together. Falsehood stole Truth's clothing, and Truth went naked rather than appear in the garments

of Falsehood.

Scott Oki went to the University of Colorado to receive his undergraduate and graduate degrees: a double major in information

services/computers and accounting, and an MBA. He worked for Hewlett-Packard for about five years, then left the company

to start his own software company in the bay area of San Francisco.

The company failed, but with his typical upbeat attitude, Oki says the failure of that small business taught him more than anything

he had previously learned.

"In the school of hard knocks," says Oki, "you learn what mistakes you'll make in small business--and you will make

many--but you won't make them twice."

In 1982 Oki joined Microsoft, then in its infancy. Soon thereafter he wrote a business plan creating an international division of

Microsoft. Bill Gates, the head of Microsoft, liked it and gave Oki the responsibility of developing the new division. Explosive

growth followed and over the ensuing years Oki, paralleling the success of the company, became wealthy beyond his wildest

expectations. He also began to feel the need for a more balanced life, one that incorporated a sense of community.

Ironically, it was Bill Gates' mother, the late Mary Gates, a philanthropist of national renown, who inspired Oki to turn his

attentions outward, sensing in Oki a remarkable ability to blend entrepreneurism and philanthropy.

"I really think it does take being inspired by someone," says Oki. "In my case it was Mary Gates. She was such a great

woman." Mary Gates pointed Oki in the direction of children's hospitals, and Oki has never wavered in his focus since.

He created the Oki Foundation, now responsible for millions of dollars in help for children in need and subsequently retired at

age 42 to devote full time to its operation. Now 48, Oki spends a good portion of his time running Nanny & Webster, his

for-profit business that funnels 100 percent of its profits into children's charities, and several other entrepreneurial enterprises

intent on incorporating a new objective into their bottom lines-taking the needs of the community into account.

"Nanny & Webster [Oki's baby-blanket business] is the perfect marriage of entrepreneurship and philanthropy," says Oki. "A

local Seattle manufacturer sews the blankets, then we use a sheltered workshop in the area that uses disabled and handicapped

people to do the final assembly and packaging. One hundred percent of the gross profits go to children's charities. Every step of

the way we've tried to maximize the benefit of this product to the community."

Oki says he hopes his various other businesses, which donate a percentage of their profits to charities, will inspire other

businesses to do the same.

Oki's advice for small businesses wanting to get involved is similar to what he has learned about running a business: "Passion is a

mandatory ingredient for doing something. I don't care what the start-up is, if you're going to do something, you should really be

passionate about it, because if you don't believe me, the demands of start-ups won't let you persevere. The second ingredient

comes back to people. You have to hire really great people, then make sure they're indoctrinated into whatever it is your culture

is, whatever your value system is. You have to make sure your people have very congruent sets of values, and that they not only

talk the talk, but walk the talk as well.

"Figure out what it is you're excited about, what gets you passionate, what issues are out there that need solving," Oki says. "It

might be environment, education, or religion. It might be something in the political area. There is so much diversity in the world it

almost doesn't matter what you get involved in.

"But get involved."

Adapted from an interview by TOD JONES in

The Costco Connection

a lifestyle magazine for small business

We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.

MAX DE PREE

Leadership is an Art

Most people don't realize how many people it takes for one person to succeed and the sacrifices that have to be made. Without

the encouragement of my parents and my husband, I would have quit. My husband knew how tired I'd be when I got home

from work, so he made me dinner. I never would have won a gold medal without my family--they're the ones who made the

sacrifices, I'm the one who gets all the glory. I wasn't the only one who won that medal. My family deserved it too.

Although not everyone's going to win a gold medal at the Olympics, everyone can set personal goals. Striving to reach the goals

is an achievement in itself. Satisfaction comes from knowing you've given it your best shot. When you've done everything you

know how to do and don't make it, you can still feel successful. Then you'll never have to look back and say, "If I had only

tried." Who wants to live life remembering and regretting a lot of "What ifs"?

ANGEL MYERS MARTINO Olympic Gold Medalist, Swimming

in A Hero in Every Heart

by H. Jackson Brown, Jr. and Robin Spizman

Thomas Nelson Publishers

If you plant a tree, don't keep pulling it up by the roots to see how it's growing.

Businesspeople can't win these days. If they do something wrong, they're fined; if they do something right, they're

taxed.

The burdens of leadership are great. One of them is to be unpopular when necessary.

While you have the privilege of life on this earth-and it is a privilege, in spite of unceasing problems-you should live. You

should live, whether you are 16 or 65. Naturally, older age requires a person to place sensible limits on his or her physical

capabilities. When you are older, you can't run around like a young kid. Yet the older person has qualities that the child or

adolescent hasn't even begun to develop.

In older age, each day can be thrilling. It's really up to the individual. It's up to you. Still, if you are over 65 and have already

wasted time moping, stop blaming yourself. You're not perfect, no one is, and self-blame will not help you. You must have

self-respect as long as you live. So live creatively every day of your life.

When Pablo Casals reached 95, a young reporter threw him a question, "Mr. Casals, you're 95 and the greatest cellist that ever

lived. Why do you practice six hours a day?"

Mr. Casals answered, "Because I think I'm making progress."

Make that your goal. Make a little progress every day of your life.

DR. MAXWELL MALTZ

It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded.

ANNE MORROW LINDBERGH

If the meek inherit the earth, so be it. We just hope they stay meek after they get it.

In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.

COCO CHANEL

French fashion designer

The owner of a fast-food franchise had trouble with employee turnover. The majority of his employees were teenage students.

In an attempt to solve the problem, he sat down one day and wrote down everything he could think of about them. He noted

the fact that they went to school; that most of them sought teacher approval and parental approval; that they liked money; that

they were working to buy things, but were thinking about college. Most had pride in their school grades, were competitive, and

were working to develop a work ethic. All sought recognition and some were worried about the future.

As he studied this list, the owner focused his attention on certain words: money, work ethic, pride in grades, teacher approval,

parental approval, competitive, recognition, and college.

Then an idea hit him: a bonus plan based on grade-point averages. Any student who works for a whole semester and earns a

2.5 to 3.0 GPA is awarded a 15-cent-per-hour bonus for all hours worked that semester. The ante would be upped to

25-cents-per-hour for students earning better than 3.0.

The cost is marginal, probably less than 5 percent of his payroll costs for the time period. The advantages are many:

Students are encouraged to work for the entire semester.

The bonus attracted better students, who tend to be better workers.

Guidance counselors and teachers do his recruiting for him, recommending his restaurant to students looking for work.

Parents encourage their children to work at his place.

Great PR for the restaurant. He gets free newspaper and television coverage.

MICHAEL MICHALKO

Thinkertoys

Ten Speed Press

During my second year of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I breezed through the questions until I read the last

one: "What is the first name of the janitor who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how could I know her name? I handed in

my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade. "Absolutely," the professor said.

"In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile

and say hello."

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

JOANN C. JONES in Guideposts

Cited in Speechwriter's Newsletter

Negotiations Can Sometimes Go Too Far

Example: A businessman, fishing in the far north, reeled in a silver trout. Silver trout are magic. This one said, "I'll die out of the

water. Tell me your three wishes, throw me back, and I'll grant them for you."

"I want six wishes," said the businessman.

"I don't have that much power," gasped the silver trout, "tell me your three wishes quickly!"

"I'll settle for four wishes. Four is the lowest I'll go."

"Please," gulped the silver trout. "I'm slipping away. I can only do three wishes. Say what you want and I'll grant them."

"All right," said the man, "You win, but you must grant the wishes before I throw you back. Will you agree to that?" But there

was no response. The silver trout lay quietly on the floor of the boat--dead.

The Jokesmith

To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with.

MARK TWAIN

For years, my husband and I advocated separate vacations, but the kids kept finding us.

ERMA BOMBECK

American humorist

SOME TIME AGO, noted research expert Daniel Starch asked a sizable sampling of people what were the most valuable guiding

principles in living. Several hundred rules, principles, and maxims were submitted. Some stood out above all the rest:

1. Do unto others as you would that they should do unto you.

2. Know thyself.

3. Life is what you make it.

4. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

5. Anything that is worth doing at all is worth doing well.

6. The great essentials of happiness are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

7. Knowledge is power.

8. Be calm and self-possessed, know what you are about, be sure you are right, then go ahead and don't be afraid.

Few of us like to be told what to do. Being dictated to is usually resented. Certainly it is not the best way to get the

cooperation of others. Most of us like to feel we're doing something because we want to, not because we have to.

Good leaders learn to suggest, not order. They will not command their people to do this or that except as a last resort. Instead,

they phrase their instructions in terms of suggestions or questions. "You might want to consider this . . . . Do you think that

would work? . . . What do you think of this idea? . . . Maybe if we tried it this way . . . "

Instructions put that way encourage people to think, as well as to cooperate. It invites them to contribute, challenges them to do

good jobs, spurs their enthusiasm, and makes them feel an obligation to do their best.

Trust your hopes, not your fears.

"If I had to name the single characteristic shared by all the truly successful people I've met in my lifetime, I'd have to say it's the

ability to create and nurture a network of contacts."

That's a quote from Harvey Mackay, chairman of Mackay Envelope Corporation, in his book about networking, Dig Your

Well Before You're Thirsty (Currency/Doubleday). In his book, Mackay gets into the differences in the ways that men and

women do their networking and tells a story about his wife, Carol Ann.

In the story, Mackay and his wife are seated in a crowded stadium watching a heated match at the U.S. Open Tennis

Tournament. Twenty thousand spectators are in the stands concentrating on the game. But, as Mackay explains, "Carol Ann

had other priorities. She was carrying on an animated conversation with the women seated next to her . . . Carol Ann was

explaining that while we were in New York City, we had visited our daughter, Mimi, who had recently earned an advertising

degree and moved there to crack the job market.

"What a coincidence! The mystery lady told Carol Ann that she happened to work for an advertising agency. She gave Carol

Ann all sorts of tips about which firms were good places to work and which were sweatshops, who was hiring, who wasn't,

who really calls the shots on the hires, what they were looking for in their applicants-in other words, pure 24-karat gold, the sort

of inside information a job seeker would kill for.

"Did Mimi, this daughter of a tennis-loving family, like to play tennis? Did Bugsy Siegel like to shoot craps? Mimi was captain of

her college tennis team. Bottom line: Not long afterward, Mimi was hired by the advertising agency.

"Hey, it can happen. That's why you keep networking, particularly when you can do two things at one time, which Carol Ann

can do and I can't.

"If I were to generalize a bit, I would say that there are observable differences between the way men and women network.

"Men's networking is less 'friendship based' and more business oriented. We choose our social partners as much for business

reasons as we do for personal reasons, and we have few reservations about inflicting them on our spouses.

"Women tend to be less overt in constructing their networks and they are inclined to rely more on personal compatibility rather

than cold-blooded, neutral facts.

"When a working wife wants to entertain another working woman she'll tend to take her to lunch, sans spouses. The working

man's idea would be to make it a foursome for dinner with all spouses on hand.

"Men tend to use sports as a networking tool. Women don't.

"Women are more apt to share personal information, particularly about their spouses. Men don't.

"When married women with children network, they talk about their children. At length. When married men with children

network, they talk about their children rarely if at all.

"Women can be more subtle, more observant, and often more effective than men in their networking. What man could tell you

what the couple they had to dinner the previous night were wearing, and what it said about them? What woman couldn't?

"Note the differences. Don't confuse them with weaknesses.

"The point is, there's no such thing as a 'best' style. Networking is a lifetime learning process. If you have a spouse or partner

with a different style form yours, good for you. Open up your eyes and ears; you're bound to learn something.

"Vive la difference. Benefit from it."

It's not your age that matters. It's how your matter ages.

WHEN YOU get what you want, it isn't always what you bargained for.

Consider the story of the badly spoiled child who was having one of his frequent tantrums.

Hearing his cries, his mother said to the nanny. "Alice, go out in the yard and give him whatever he wants." The nanny went

outside and conferred with the child, but the volume of his cries only increased.

When the nanny returned, the mother said, "What's going on now? Didn't I tell you to give him whatever he wanted?"

"Yes," replied the nanny. "It was a bee he wanted, and he got it."

If you want to go into politics, make sure that when you run for something, you stand for something.

BEN FRANKLIN was not always the wise and restrained man we now picture him as being. When he was young he was often

brash, rude and tactless. To Franklin's credit, however, he learned the folly of his actions, and set out to change them.

One of Franklin's youthful faults was intolerance of the weaknesses and foibles of others. He was often bluntly critical and

would tell people to their faces what was wrong with them. Naturally, he created many enemies.

Later in life, though, Franklin became so adroit at handling people that he was made Ambassador to France. There he was

greatly admired for his diplomatic talents.

Someone once asked Franklin the secret of his success in getting along with others. "I will speak ill of no man," he answered,

"and speak all the good I know of everybody."

Carlyle put it another way: "A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men."

IN EACH AGE, people of genius undertake the ascent. From below, the world follows them with their eyes. Geniuses go up the

mountain, enter the clouds, disappear, reappear. People watch them, mark them. They walk by the side of precipices. They

daringly pursue their road. Seeing them aloft, see them in the distance; but they are but black specks. On they go. The road is

uneven, its difficulties constant. At each step a wall, at each step a trap. As they rise the cold increases. They must make their

ladder, cut the ice and walk on it, hewing the steps in haste. A storm is raging. Nevertheless they go forward in their madness.

The air becomes difficult to breathe. The abyss yawns below them. Some fall. Others stop and retrace their steps; theirs is a sad

weariness.

The bold ones continue. They are eyed by eagles; the lightning plays about them; the hurricane is furious. No matter, they

persevere.

Victor Hugo

When you're under pressure to make a decision and you're not sure which way you want to go, the best answer is "No."

It's easier to change "No" to "Yes" than it is to change "Yes" to "No."

Make it a point to do something every day that you don't want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your

duty without pain.

MARK TWAIN

IN HIS BOOK ABOUT CREATIVITY, A Whack on the Side of the Head, Roger von Oech tells us about a major oil company's

concern with the lack of creativity among some of its research and development people.

To deal with the problem, top management brought in a team of psychologists to determine the difference between the creative

R & D people and the less-creative ones. The hope was that their findings would stimulate the less-creative people.

The psychologists asked the scientists all kinds of questions. They asked about educational backgrounds, about the environment

in which their favorite colors were. After three months, the psychologists found that the biggest difference between the two

groups was that the creative people thought they were creative and the less-creative people did not. As a consequence, those

who thought they were creative acted like it. They ignored old methods and hatched new ideas. The less-creative people did

things as they had always been done.

Some "I'm not creative" people stifle themselves because they think creativity belongs only to people like Beethoven, Einstein,

and Shakespeare. These are some of the superluminaries of the creative world, but by and large, these people didn't get their

big ideas out of the blue.

On the contrary, most of their big ideas came from paying attention to their small ideas, playing with them, and making them big

ideas.

One of the major factors that differentiates creative people from less-creative people is that creative people pay attention to

their small ideas. They know that a small idea can lead to a big breakthrough, and they believe that they are capable of making it

happen.

In the old days of the American West, ranchers would sometimes take a wild steed that they could not break, tie it to a little

burro, and turn the two loose. The steed would rear up on its hind legs, snorting defiance, and off they would go out on to the

range. Before long the bucking steed would disappear over the desert horizon, dragging the helpless burro behind.

Days would pass, but eventually the odd couple would reappear. The little burro would come first, with the submissive steed in

tow.

What went on out on the range always brought the same result. The steed would buck and kick and pitch and pull, but the

burro, willing or not, would hang on. Finally, the steed would become exhausted, and at that point the burro would take over

and become the leader.

That's the way it is in life. The winners hang on. They are determined, the committed. They know that perseverance can bring

you out on top.

The perseverance of the Colorado River made the Grand Canyon. The perseverance of Thomas Edison gave us the electric

light and other wonders of our age. The perseverance of Abraham Lincoln won him the presidency.

Success depends on staying power. Lack of perseverance is the reason most people fail in business, in politics, and in their

personal lives.

People tend to forget their duties but remember their rights.

INDIRA GANDHI

Prime Minister of India

MANY YEARS AGO, the great entertainer Will Rogers came up with a solution to traffic problems that is more applicable today

than when he announced it. He said: The only way to solve the traffic problems of the country is to pass a law that says only

paid-for cars are allowed to use the highways.

Gregory Peck and a friend once walked into a crowded restaurant and had to stand with others waiting for a table.

"Tell them who you are," urged the friend.

"If you have to tell them who you are, you aren't anybody," replied Peck.

A small boy, visiting Capitol Hill with his father, asked him: "What does the Chaplain of Congress do?"

"He stands up, looks at the Congress, and prays for the country," the father answered.

A YOUNG PREACHER HAD BEEN CALLED to a small rural church and appeared for his first sermon on Sunday morning. To his

dismay he found that one of the parishioners had brought his dog to the service. He spoke politely to the dog's owner and asked

if he would kindly remove the animal. The man obligingly took the dog out, then returned to his seat.

After the service, the church deacons rebuked the new preacher for insulting one of their staunch members. They pointed out

that the dog made no trouble; he had been accompanying his master to church for years. That afternoon the young preacher

called at the home of the dog's owner and apologized.

"Don't worry a bit about it, Reverend," the man replied, "It all worked out. I wouldn't have had my dog hear that sermon for

anything in the world."

SHERWOOD E. WIRT

The Book of Joy

He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.

BEN FRANKLIN

There is a single reason why 99 out of 100 average businesspeople never become leaders. That is their unwillingness to pay the

price of responsibility. By the price of responsibility I mean hard driving, continual work . . . the courage to make decisions, to

stand the gaff . . . the scourging honesty of never fooling yourself about yourself. You travel the road to leadership heavily laden.

While the nine-to-five-o'clock worker takes his ease, you are "toiling upward through the night." Laboriously you extend your

mental frontiers. Any new effort, the psychologists say, wears a new groove in the brain. And the grooves that lead to the

heights are not made between nine and five. They are burned in by midnight oil.

OWEN D. YOUNG

U.S. motivation writer

Success in life comes not from holding a good hand of cards, but in playing a poor hand well.

FOR MANY OF US, personal motivation is unfocused and diffused. When motivation is not tied to a specific goal, it rapidly

disintegrates into inertia. But when motivation becomes focused on a single, well-defined goal, it becomes a powerful force for

success and achievement.

Think of motivation as steam. If released into the open atmosphere, steam evaporates and disappears. If steam is trapped in a

room, it can make you feel uncomfortably sticky and hot. But harness the steam to an engine, and it can pull a thousand-ton

train.

It's the same with motivation. Motivation can escape from you, evaporating into thin air, leaving you feeling unenthusiastic and

lethargic. Or motivation can be trapped inside, causing you to be agitated and filled with frustration. But motivation harnessed to

a goal can get you to accomplish virtually anything you set your thoughts on.

Motive is meaningless until it is combined with action. That's why we call it motivation.

There is one word that blocks action, that poisons motivation, that smothers any chance for success and happiness. That killer

word is can't.

So many individuals faced with a crisis or an opportunity react negatively. The first thing that pops into their minds and out of

their mouths is "I can't."

"We need this report by Thursday," the boss tells us.

"No way," we reply. "It can't be done."

But life need not be lived that way. There is another word, one of the most powerful words in the English language--can.

The gap between what people think they can achieve and what is possible for them is actually very small.

"I can" cuts across all lines of work and all endeavors within a chosen profession, whether your ultimate goal is lifting enough

weight to pass a firefighter's exam, closing a sale, getting a promotion, earning a Ph.D., making a million dollars, or landing a job

in the first place.

"I can" is energizing. Say it to yourself right now: I can. Did you feel a lift, a small surge of well-being? Say it over and over,

again and again, a hundred times a day. You'll soon find your enthusiasm spilling over into everything you do at work and at

home.

There really are no good uses for the word "can't." But think you can, believe you can, and you'll find that you can indeed!

DENIS WAITLEY and RENI L. WITT

adapted from The Joy of Working

Ballantine Books, NYC

Good management is the art of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.

LIVE YOUR LIFE EACH DAY as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but

many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. Climb slowly, steadily, enjoying each passing moment;

and the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax for the journey.

HAROLD V. MELCHERT

A brook would lose its song if God removed the rocks.

It's a fact most people don't know: John F. Kennedy hit his highest level of popularity after he flubbed the Bays of Pigs. It

doesn't seem to make sense, but JFK actually gained a ton of popularity after demonstrating to the world that he had feet of

clay. Psychologists call this maneuver a "strategic-pratfall effect." By botching the invasion, and then being quick to accept

responsibility for it, Kennedy showed the public not only that he was human and susceptible to mistakes, but also that he was

honest and forthright about owning up to them. When Kennedy failed so publicly but didn't pass the buck, people identified with

his problem and felt safe admiring him without having to worry about who he was or what he had achieved.

The Motivational Manager

a Ragan Communications newsletter

A MONARCH OF LONG AGO had twin sons. There was some confusion about which one was born first. As they grew to young

manhood, the king sought a fair way to designate one of them as crown prince. All who knew the young men thought them

equal in intelligence, wit, personal charm, health, and physical strength. Being a keenly observant king, he thought he detected a

trait in one which was not shared by the other.

Calling them to his council chamber one day, he said, "My sons, the day will come when one of you must succeed me as king.

The burdens of sovereignty are very heavy. To find out which of you is better able to bear them cheerfully, I am sending you

together to a far corner of the kingdom. One of my advisors there will place equal burdens on your shoulders. My crown will

one day go to the one who first returns bearing his burden like a king should."

In a spirit of friendly competition, the brothers set out together. Soon they overtook an aged woman struggling under a burden

that seemed far too heavy for her frail body. One of the boys suggested that they stop to help her. The other protested: "We

have a burden of our own to worry about. Let us be on our way."

The objector hurried on while the other stayed behind to give aid to the aged woman. Along the road, from day to day, he

found others who also needed help. A blind man took him miles out of his way, and a lame man slowed him to a cripple's walk.

Eventually he did reach his father's advisor, where he secured his own burden and started home with it safely on his shoulders.

When he arrived at the palace, his brother met him at the gate, and greeted him with dismay. He said, "I don't understand. I told

our father the burden was too heavy to carry. However did you do it?"

The future king replied thoughtfully, "I suppose when I helped others carry their burdens, I found the strength to carry my own."

Sunshine Magazine

The best fame is a writer's fame. It's enough to get a table at a good restaurant, but not enough to get you interrupted when you

eat.

FRAN LEBOWITZ

U.S. writer

Is there something you have been meaning to do but have not done because the job is too big, too complex, too

mind-boggling? If so, consider what Edwin C. Bliss calls the salami technique.

"Whenever a task seems overwhelming, pause for a moment and do a little thinking on paper," Bliss advises in his book, Doing

It Now (Charles Scribner's & Bantam Books). "List chronologically every step that must be taken to complete the job. The

smaller the steps, the better-even little mini-tasks that will take only a minute or two should be listed separately.

"I call this the salami technique, because contemplation of an overwhelming task is like looking at a large uncut salami. It's a

huge, crusty, greasy, unappetizing chunk. You don't feel you can get your teeth into it. But when you cut it into thin slices you

transform it into something quite different. Those thin slices are inviting. They make your mouth water, and after you've sampled

one slice you tend to reach for another. Cutting up your overwhelming task into tiny segments can have the same effect. Now,

instead of looking at a gargantuan project, you're looking at a series of tiny tasks, each of which, considered separately, is

manageable.

"The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu's maxim that a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step doesn't really help us

much until we know precisely in which direction we want to travel. With our list in front of us, we have a concrete idea of what

that first step will be, and also the second, and the third. We have a road map that will guide us to our destination. Since each

step completed leads logically to the next, we quickly establish momentum, and the job is under way."

"There is an entire industry of bad gifts--all those 'executive gifts.' But nothing compares with the paperweight as a bad gift. To

me, there's no better way than a paperweight to express to someone, 'I refuse to put any thought at all into this.' And where are

these people working that the papers are just blowing off their desks anyway? Is their office screwed to the back of a flatbed

truck going down the highway?"

JERRY SEINFELD

U.S. comedian

WE DECEIVE OURSELVES when we fancy that only weakness needs support. Strength needs it more. A straw or a feather

sustains itself long in the air.

ANNE SOPHIE SWETCHINE

To solve the human equation, we need to add love, subtract hate, multiply good, and divide between the truth and error.

JANET T. COLEMAN

reserved.

I was not looking for my dreams to interpret my life, but rather for my life to interpret my dreams.

SUSAN SONTAG, the benefactor

reserved.

I don't think of myself as a poor, deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age

knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.

OPRAH WINFREY

U.S. television talk-show host

Modesty: the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.

OLIVER HERFORD (1863-1935)

English writer

It is better to wear out than to rust out.

RICHARD CUMBERLAND (1631-1718)

English playwright and theologian

In all our contacts it is probably the sense of being really needed and wanted which gives us the greatest satisfaction and creates

the most lasting bond.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT (1884-1962)

U.S. First Lady, author, speaker, and diplomat

Mistakes are a part of life; you can't avoid them. All you can hope is that they won't be too expensive and that you don't make

the same mistake twice.

LEE IACOCCA

American business executive

When Helen Hayes (1900-1993), "the first lady of American theater," was a young actress, George Tyler, her producer, told

her that if she were four inches taller, she could be a great actress.

"I decided to lick my size," said Helen. "A string of teachers pulled and stretched me till I felt I was in a medieval torture

chamber. I gained nary an inch-but my posture became military. I became the tallest five-foot woman in the world."

She said a new attitude accompanied her posture too. "My refusal to be limited enabled me to play Mary of Scotland, one of

the tallest queens in history." Most limitations can be overcome or bypassed-and the mind is the place to start.

What are your limitations? Lack of confidence, perhaps? Or poor memory of names? Think about it. What's holding you back?

What keeps you from being great-a real champion in your field?

Try attacking the limitation. Maybe you can change it. Or if, like Helen Hayes, it's impossible to stretch yourself, maybe you can

stretch your attitude.

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE worked at the customs house in Boston, Massachusetts. When there was a change in administrators

there and he lost his job, he went home dejected and almost desperate. He was worried about his family and, in particular, how

his wife would take the bad news.

Instead of reproaching him when she found out, his wife put a pen and ink on the table before him. She lit the fireplace and put

her arms lovingly around his shoulders. "Now you will be able to write your book," she said. Hawthorne, reassured by his wife's

words and actions, set about writing his novel The Scarlet Letter, which would prove to be the first step in a famous writing

career.

Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure.

GEORGE ELIOT (1819-1880)

British novelist

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

Chinese proverb

It is difficult but not impossible to conduct strictly honest business. What is true is that honesty is incompatible with the amassing

of a large fortune.

MAHATMA GANDHI (1869-1948)

The greatest revelation of our time is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change

the outer aspects of their lives.

WILLIAM JAMES (1842-1910)

U.S. psychologist

Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just stand there.

ARTHUR GODFREY (1903-1983)

U.S. entertainer

IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY GETTING STARTED on a new or unfamiliar project, here are three psychological "tricks" that others

have used to turn procrastination into action.

1. Create your own deadline. The pressure of a deadline helps some people build up the head of steam they need to get

under way.

2. Make your intentions public. You're less likely to drag your feet when you know you've invited others to watch your

progress.

3. Promise yourself a reward. This self-induced "carrot" approach has helped many salespeople to pile into work that they

had been putting off. In considering these three approaches, keep your own inclinations in mind. Do you work best under

pressure? Then establish a deadline and work to meet it. Do you work best when you have the enticement of some future

gratification? Then use the "reward" approach. Do you like competition, do you like to bet on yourself? Then you're best suited

for the "publicity" approach. But whatever you choose, you best get started!

The world only exists in your eyes-your conception of it. You can make it as big or as small as you want to.

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD (1896-1940)

American writer

Aim for the chopping block. If you aim for the wood, you will have nothing. Aim past the wood, aim through the wood; aim

for the chopping block.

ANNIE DILLARD

U.S. author

The line between failure and success is so fine that we scarcely know when we pass it: so fine that we are often on the line and

do not know it.

ELBERT HUBBARD (1856-1915)

American businessman, writer, and painter

The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

American lecturer and writer

Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or to lose.

LYNDON B. JOHNSON (1908-1973)

36th U.S. President

From Bits & Pieces . . . January 30, 1997

MY FATHER was in a nursing home for four years before he died. He had Alzheimer's disease--a progressive degeneration of

the brain. It took a while to figure out what to do when I visited him. He wouldn't greet me. Usually he said nothing--just sat

there with his head hanging.

It was hard to know if he was comprehending anything I said.

On one visit, I pulled out my calendar and started talking about my upcoming schedule. His head remained hanging as I went

over plans, hopes, and dreams.

Then the moment happened that has remained my directive.

He lifted his head and said the only words he had said in weeks: "Then get on with it, son!"

BOB BOYLAN

What's Your Point?

Point Publications

Post-it Note Your Way to Achievement

by Jeffrey Gitomer

People are not afraid of achieving success, they just don't know how. Here's one element that will put you on the path.

You have several goals you want to achieve, but they are not written down. They just pop up in your head every once in a

while, only to be buried in a black hole of procrastination, excuses, and guilt. Take heart--I found a way to beat the system.

Post-it Notes.

Want to achieve your goals? Here's a tested and proven method.

You already have all the tools necessary to achieve success.

� Post-it Notes

� Bathroom mirror

� Bedroom mirror

� Felt tip pen

1. Write down big ones--On 3"x3" yellow Post-it Notes, write down your three prime goals in short words (get funding for

business, buy a new car, and obtain a new client).

2. Write down small ones--Use three more notes and write down your three secondary goals in short words (read

motivational book, organize desk, build new closet).

3. Put them in front of your face--Post them on your bathroom mirror.

4. Put them where you can see them twice a day--You are forced to look at them every morning and evening.

5. Say them aloud each time you look at them--Look AND say doubles the affirmation.

6. Keep looking and talking until you act--You will look at them until you are sick of looking at them--and begin to take

action--begin to accomplish them.

7. Seeing the note there every day makes you think about acting on it every day. Once you start acting, the note

triggers a "What do I have to do today to keep the achievement on target?" The note forces you to act. To achieve your goal.

By posting the goal in the bathroom you are consciously reminded of your goals several times a day. From there your

subconscious gets into the act, gnawing away at your soul until you are driven to take positive action. Achievement actions.

And when you get to the top of the mountain--when you achieve what you've been working for--at last you can say the magic

words. Scream them--I DID IT! (Screaming positive things always feels wonderful.)

7.5 Revisit your success every day. Here comes the best part. After your goal is achieved--take the Post-it Note off the

bathroom mirror and triumphantly post it on your bedroom mirror. Now, every day when you check out "how you look

for the day," you also get to see your success. WOW! Not only does it feel great, but you are able to set the tone for a

successful day first thing in the morning by looking at (goal) success, remembering how good it feels, and thinking about what it

took to do it. Plus--it gets you motivated to keep achieving more.

� The program is simple.

� The program works.

� The results will change your attitude.

� The results will change your life.

� The results will change your outlook about your capability of success achievement.

To Achieve Goals You Must Do the Following:

* Decide which goals you want to achieve.

* Commit yourself to do whatever it takes to achieve your goals.

* Be relentless. Don't quit in the pursuit of your achievement.

* Do a little toward your goal every day. Write down how much (or how little) you must do each day in order to achieve.

* Harness your personal power. Discipline yourself, focus on your commitment.

* Enlist the help of others. You must get the support of others in order to achieve your goals.

* It's easy to get support--all you have to do is give support.

* Don't be vulnerable to the negative influence of other people.

* Work on two of your goals every day, even if only for a short time.

* Visualize yourself doing the steps necessary to achieve your goal.

* Visualize yourself actually achieving your goal.

Don't let other people tell you--"You can't."

Tell them how you will, and ask for their support!

By the time you have your bedroom mirror full of achieved Post-It Note goals, you'll have enough money to go out and buy a

bigger mirror--and the house to put it in.

Post it. Post haste.

You will look at those Post-it Notes until you are sick of looking at them--and then you'll begin to accomplish what's written on

them.

rights reserved.

Develop Your Leadership Skills

by Dawn Hodson

Everyone can improve his or her chances for advancement by developing the skills that effective leaders display. By developing

these skills now, you make it more likely others will think of you when it comes time to promote someone.

What are things that leaders do that set them apart from everyone else?

First, leaders are those willing to be in the spotlight.

That means taking on and successfully completing activities that are highly visible to others in the organization. Ideally, the more

people who see these activities, the better they are. Examples of this might include directing the United Way drive in the

company, planning a company event, or giving a presentation to other employees. Volunteering for these kinds of activities

makes one stand out from everyone else, and they are excellent learning opportunities.

Second, leaders are those who regularly tell others what they are doing and the results they have achieved on

behalf of the organization.

Many people don't like to do this because they consider it "bragging." But talking about our accomplishments is no more

offensive than talking about our new car. Learn how to tell people in 60-second "commercials" what you are doing, the

successes you are having, and how they benefit the organization. This is a difficult skill to master, but one that is essential if

others are to notice your work.

A third thing leaders are very good at is enlisting the support of others to get things done.

Like Tom Sawyer, they don't try to do everything themselves. Instead, they sell others on the benefit of helping out. This ability

to attract, organize, and motivate people is a very powerful skill once developed. For example, if you volunteered to plan a

company event, you could do the job all by yourself, or you could recruit others to help you. The latter approach makes the job

easier, and it lets other people see you in a leadership capacity. Enlisting others also broadens your network of associates

throughout the organization.

A fourth thing leaders do is make others feel good about themselves.

All of us are attracted to people who make us feel smarter, more important, more successful, and better looking. A simple way

to make people feel good is to comment positively and sincerely on what is important to them--whether it is their appearance,

their work, their personality, their families, etc. Being able to praise others is what separates the leaders from the followers, and

it doesn't cost a thing. Keep in mind that praise is only effective when it is sincere, specific, and is about something important to

the other person--not what is important to you.

A fifth thing leaders do is validate others.

They do that by listening respectfully to other points of view, even when they disagree; by focusing on what they have in

common with people rather than where they differ; and by using tact when they must disagree with someone. Doing so enables

them to form relationships with just about anybody.

A sixth thing leaders do is they don't bad-mouth others or the organization, even when it's deserved.

Inveterate complainers often find their complaints come back to haunt them in unexpected and nasty ways. Complaining can

also get to be a bad habit. Instead, leaders are creative problem solvers who use their imagination and negotiation skills to

resolve issues. Where there are problems that have no solution, they either try to live with them or they move on.

In summary, anyone can learn to be a leader if they develop the skills that all good leaders display. By practicing these skills,

you make it more likely you will be thought of when it is time to promote someone, and you will find the job transition to be

much easier because you will have already developed many of the skills needed for the job.

Dawn Hodson owns her own management consulting firm in Ventura, California. She can be reached at

805-644-3268.

The Germ of a Good Idea.

SOMEBODY once said that the closest anyone ever comes to being perfect is when he or she applies for a job.

Therein lies the germ of a good idea.

Suppose you're feeling low. Your confidence has been shaken by some mistake or failure. Your self-esteem has escaped.

You're deflated.

This is the time to write a letter of application for a job you would love to have. Whether the job is actually available or not isn't

important. The important thing is that you write the letter, putting your best foot forward. In the letter, emphasize your strengths

and stay away from your weaknesses.

Write about your three proudest achievements. Tell why they were worthy accomplishments. Were you working in the face of

long odds? If so, say so. What difficulties did you have to overcome? How many people did your accomplishments benefit?

Next, talk about how you have grown in your current job. Compare your skills today against those you had five years ago.

Summarize your salary history. Chances are, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Here's the most important part: Tell why you should be hired. What unique skill, talent, or ideas can you offer to improve your

new employer's business?

This self-appraisal could be just what it takes to regain your self-esteem. And who knows--it might just give you some good

ideas for improving what you're doing where you are.

[Top of Page]

A FAVORITE Norman Vincent Peale Story:

The man I met on the street was glum and disconsolate. And he touched my heart. So, in a kindly fashion, I asked, "How are

you?"

"Well," he said, "I'm going to give it to you straight. I feel rotten!" And he added, "I've about had it. I have hit bottom, and I

mean bottom." He hesitated a moment, then glumly said, "I guess about the only thing I still have is hope."

"Congratulations," I said to him. "Really. Congratulations!"

This startled him. "What do you mean, congratulations?" he asked. "What is there to be congratulated about?"

"Why," I replied, "you told me that you had hit bottom. That is tremendous, because the only direction you can go is up."

Well, this really threw him. And then I added, "Congratulations also, because you say the only thing you have left is hope. You

are very well off, my friend, when you have hope, because hope leads to faith, and faith leads to believing. Believing leads to

self-control, and self-control leads to thinking. And when you believe and think, then truly marvelous things can happen to you."

Well, he went walking up the street a bit more erect, I thought. He had already begun to rise from the bottom.

What a word it is, H-O-P-E! There it is, like a bright and shining star in the sky. When all else fails, you have hope, and hope is

the beginning of a rebuilding.

There IS such a thing as the therapy of words. Confucius was once asked what he would do if he were made emperor of China

back when a monarch was absolute. He said, "I would teach my people some great words, and by the use and application of

these words, they would grow strong."

The great American thinker Ralph Waldo Emerson once said a peculiar thing: "Cut a vital word and it will bleed." It was a

graphic way of saying that a word is alive. Hope is one of those vital words. It bleeds with sympathy, faith, and affirmation.

The Bible gives you two great words: hope and expectation. Your future is great, if you approach it with expectation. Your

situation isn't hopeless.

[Top of Page]

When the Thrill Is Gone--How to Spice Up Your Relationship with Your

Job

Sometimes we have a love-hate relationship with our jobs. This feeling may cause you to think that you need to change jobs

when what you really need to change is your relationship with your job. How can you do that? By working on it. Here are some

suggestions to help you:

What about your job still excites you? Is it giving presentations? Is it solving staff difficulties? Is it training and

teaching? Is it the way you feel when you finish a project, streamline a process? Find at least one thing about your job

that still makes you feel good.

Focus on yourself. Improve what you do. Why continue to do your job the same old way? Be creative and make things

easier for yourself.

Enrich the quality of your life on the job. What about your coworkers? With which ones could you cultivate or

deepen a friendship? Don't know? Take time to find out, and then work on these relationships. They add depth and

positive feelings to your work life.

Don't take criticism personally. Look at it as feedback, another person's perception. See it as another person's

analysis of your work, not something carved in stone about you personally.

Make an analysis of your own. Write down all the areas that cause stress on the job. Some of them you may be able

to change; some of them you may not be able to change. But at least you'll know concretely and exactly what these

stressors are instead of perceiving one big, all-consuming bundle of stress.

Notice where you're disorganized. Make a to-do list, have a place for everything and everything in its place, prioritize

tasks and problems, organize your office and your work flow.

Don't let yourself stagnate. Increase your skills and competencies on the job and off the job. Take a class you have

an interest in; join a group of some kind. As you grow, you may find you like your job much better, or you may find

something else you'd rather do, someplace else you'd rather work. Either way, you'll feel better if you're growing.

There's definitely excitement in that.

Don't be work obsessed. Spend part of your time in activities you enjoy that are not work related. Fun with family and

friends should not be a secondary part of your life. If they are, you're living an unbalanced life. No wonder you feel

dissatisfied.

Find your bliss. The secret of happiness is not in getting the things you like but in liking the things you get. Another side

to this is that you are more likely to get things you like when you close down your self-pity party and change what you

can and build on what you enjoy. Live your life according to what you want. And accept that other people's wants

sometimes conflict with yours. That doesn't make you trapped. That makes you tap your own creativity and live your life

to the fullest.

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Walt Disney's Vision

VISION is a crucial component in the formula for success. It holds the key to the future. The inspirational lives we look to for

guidance remind us of this time and time again. The following incident will illustrate our point.

At Disney studios in Burbank, California, Mike [former Disney executive Mike Vance] could gaze out of his office window,

across Buena Vista Street, to St. Joseph's Hospital where Walt Disney died.

His death was preceded by an amazing incident that reportedly took place the night before in Walt's hospital room.

A journalist, knowing Walt was seriously ill, persisted in getting an interview with Walt and was frustrated on numerous

occasions by the hospital staff. When he finally managed to get into the room, Walt couldn't sit up in bed or talk above a

whisper. Walt instructed the reporter to lie down on the bed, next to him, so he could whisper in the reporter's ear. For the next

30 minutes, Walt and the journalist lay side by side as Walt referred to an imaginary map of Walt Disney World on the ceiling

above the bed.

Walt pointed out where he planned to place various attractions and buildings. He talked about transportation, hotels, restaurants

and many other parts of his vision for a property that wouldn't open to the public for another six years.

. . . A man who lay dying in the hospital whispered in a reporter's ear for 30 minutes, describing his vision for the future and the

role he would play in it for generations to come.

This is the way to live--believing so much in your vision that even when you're dying, you whisper it into another person's ear.

MIKE VANCE and DIANE DEACON

Think out of the Box

Career Press