|
Two Frogs
A group of frogs were
travelling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the
other frogs gathered around the pit.
When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as
good as dead.
The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with
all of their might.
The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.
Finally, one of the
frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down
and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd
of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die.
He jumped even harder and finally made it out.
When he got out, the
other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?"
The Frog explained to
them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story teaches
two lessons:
- There is power of life and
death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift
them up and help them make it through the day.
- A destructive word to someone
who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you
say. Speak life to those who cross
your path.
The power of words ... it
is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long
way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to
continue in difficult times.
Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
Be Special to others.
|
|
Five Balls of Life
Work, Family, Health, Friends, Spirit
"Imagine life as a game in
which you are juggling five balls in the
air. You name them - Work, Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - and
you're keeping all of these 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? Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It
is because we are different that each of us is special.
Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you
know what is best for you.
Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them
as if they were your life, for without them, life is meaningless.
Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or
for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL
the days of your life.
Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really
over until the moment you stop trying.
Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this
fragile thread that binds us to each together.
Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we
learn how to be brave.
Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find
time. 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.
Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've
been, but also where you are going.
Don't forget, a person's greatest emotional need is to feel
appreciated.
Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can
always carry easily.
Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is
not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.
|
|
A Short Story: Special Occasions
John My brother-in-law opened the bottom
drawer of my sister's bureau and lifted out a tissue wrapped package.
"This," he said, "is not a slip. This is lingerie." He
discarded the tissue and handed me the slip. It was exquisite silk, handmade
and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure
on it was still attached.
"Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years
ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I
guess this is the occasion." He took the slip from me and put it on the
bed with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands
lingered on the soft material for a moment, then he slammed the drawer shut
and turned to me. "Don't ever save anything for a special occasion.
Every day you're alive is a special occasion."
I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when
I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an
unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California
from the Midwestern town where my sister's family lives. I thought about all
the things that she hadn't seen or heard or done. I thought about the things
that she had done without realising that they were special.
I'm still thinking about his words, and they've changed my life.
I'm reading more and dusting less. I'm sitting on the deck and admiring the
view without fussing about the weeds in the garden. I'm spending more time
with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings.
Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savour, not
endure. I'm trying to recognise
these moments now and cherish them. I'm not saving" anything; we use our
good china and crystal for every special event such as losing a pound,
getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom. I wear my good blazer
to the market if I like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell
out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing. I'm not saving my good perfume for
special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses
that function as well as my party going friends.
"Someday" and "one of these days" are losing their grip
on my vocabulary. If it's worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and
hear and do it now. I'm not sure
what my sister would've done had she known that she wouldn't be here for the
tomorrow we all take for granted. I think she would have called family
members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends
to apologise and mend fences or past squabbles. I like to think she would
have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favourite food. I'm guessing I'll never
know.
It's those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that
my hours were limited. Angry
because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with
someday. Angry because I hadn't written certain letters that I intended to
write - one of these days. Angry
and sorry that I didn't tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I
truly love them.
I'm trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would
add laughter and lustre to our lives. And
every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that it is special. Every
day, every minute, every breath truly is... a gift from God.
|
|
"Carpent" Dale Carnegie
Be genuinely interested in other
people.
Be a good listener.
Give honest, sincere appreciation.
Don't criticise, condemn or complain.
Don't expect gratitude.
Don't try to get even with your enemies.
Cooperate with the inevitable.
Count your blessings - not your troubles.
Create happiness for others.
Fill your mind with thoughts of peace, courage, health and hope.
|
|
What I learned from Noah's Ark
1. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.
2. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone
might ask you to do something REALLY big.
3. Don't listen to critics -- do what has to be done.
4. Build on high ground.
5. For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
6. Speed isn't always an advantage. The cheetahs
were on board, but so were the snails.
7. If you can't fight or flee -- float!
8. Take care of your animals as if they were
the last ones on earth.
9. Don't forget that we're all in the same boat.
10. Stay below deck during the storm.
11. Remember that the ark was built by amateurs
and the Titanic was built by professionals.
12. Remember that the woodpeckers INSIDE
are often a bigger threat than the storm outside.
13. Don't miss the boat.
14. No matter how bleak it looks, there's always a
rainbow on the other side.
15. When God shuts the door on this world for the last time,
be sure YOU are on the right side.
|
|
INSTRUCTIONS FOR LIFE
1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
2. Memorize your favorite poem
3. Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have, or sleep all
you want.
4. When you say, "I love you", mean it.
5. When you say, "I'm sorry", look the person in the eye.
6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
7. Believe in love at first sight.
8. Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have
much.
9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to
live life completely.
10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
11. Don't judge people by their relatives.
12. Talk slowly but think quickly.
13. When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask,
"Why do you want to know?"
14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
15. Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.
16. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.
17. Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others;
Responsibility for all your actions.
18. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
19. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct
it.
20. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
21. Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their
conversational skills will be as important as any other.
22. Spend some time alone.
23. Open your arms to change, but do not let go of your values.
24. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
25. Read more books and watch less TV.
26. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back,
you'll get to enjoy it a second time.
27. Trust in God but lock your car.
28. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to
create a tranquil harmonious home.
29. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation.
Don't bring up the past.
30. Read between the lines.
31. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.
32. Be gentle with the earth.
33. Pray. There's immeasurable power in it.
34. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
35. Mind your own business.
36. Don't trust a man/woman who doesn't close his/her eyes when you kiss.
37. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
38. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are
living. That is wealth's greatest satisfaction.
39. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
40. Learn the rules then break some.
41. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other
is greater than your need for each other.
42. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
43. Remember that your character is your destiny.
44. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.
45. Dream BIG dreams and they will become realities
|
|
IF I WERE THE DEVIL
by Paul Harvey
I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;
I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's
effort, instead of God's blessings;
I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the
other way around;
I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;
I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to
leadership;
I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;
I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent
machines to make it convenient;
I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals
are valued more that human beings;
I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was
grounds for a law suit;
I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I
would get sports heroes to advertise them;
I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the
mind of every family member for my agenda;
I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.
I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family
crumbles, so does the nation;
I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and
movie screens, and I would call it art;
I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their
lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;
I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who
call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;
I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and
the Bible is for the naive;
I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is
not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional; I guess I
would leave things pretty much the way they are."
|
|
Visionaries
"640 K is more than enough for anyone,"
-Bill Gates, 1981
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons."
-Popular Mechanics, on the relentless march of science,1949
"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
-Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with
the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that
won't last out the year."
-The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
Commenting on the microchip: "But what ... is it good for?"
-Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Div. of IBM,1968,
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
-Ken Olson, president, CEO & founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered
as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to
us."
- Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would
pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?"
-David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the
radio in the 1920s.
"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better
than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible."
-A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper
proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found
Federal Express Corp.)
"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?"
-H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927.
"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not
Gary Cooper."
-Gary Cooper, not taking the role of Rhett in"Gone With The Wind."
"A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say
America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make."
- Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs.Fields' Cookies.
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out."
-Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible."
-Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.
"Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and
reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to
react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high
schools."
-1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket
work.
>
"You want to have consistent and uniform muscle development across all
of your muscles? It can't be done. It's just a fact of life. You just have to
accept inconsistent muscle development as an unalterable condition of weight
training."
-Response to Arthur Jones, who solved the "unlovable" problem by
Inventing Nautilus.
>
"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil?
You're crazy."
-Drillers Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his oil-drilling project in 1859.
"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
-Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value."
-Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.
>
"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
-Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.
>
"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction."
- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872
"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the
intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon."
-Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon - Extraordinary
to Queen Victoria 1873.
|