The power of touch

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile,a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment,or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn alife around.

- Leo Buscaglia -

Winners and Losers

"The Winner is always part of the answer; The Loser is always part of the problem.¨

"The Winner always has a program; The Loser always has an excuse.¨

"The Winner says, "Let me do it for you"; The Loser says, "That is not my job."¨

"The Winner sees an answer for every problem; The Loser sees a problem for every answer.¨

"The Winner says, "It may be difficult but it is possible"; The Loser says, "It may be possible but it is too difficult."¨

"When a Winner makes a mistake, he says, "I was wrong"; When a Loser makes a mistake, he says, "It wasn't my fault."¨

"A Winner makes commitments; A Loser makes promises.¨

"Winners have dreams; Losers have schemes.¨

"Winners say, "I must do something"; Losers say, "Something must be done."¨

"Winners are a part of the team; Losers are apart from the team.¨

"Winners see the gain; Losers see the pain.¨

"Winners see possibilities; Losers see problems.¨

"Winners believe in win-win; Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose.¨

"Winners see the potential; Losers see the past.¨

"Winners are like a thermostat; Losers are like thermometers.¨

"Winners choose what they say; Losers say what they choose.¨

"Winners use hard arguments but soft words; Losers use soft arguments but hard words.¨

"Winners stand firm on values but compromise on petty things; Losers stand firm on petty things but compromise on values.¨

"Winners follow the philosophy of empathy: "Don't do to others what you would not want them to do to you"; Losers follow the philosophy, "Do it to others before they do it to you."¨

"Winners make it happen; Losers let it happen."

- Author Unknown -

Struggle a little before flying

Lessons from a Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly

One day a small opening appeared

He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours

It struggled to force its body through that little hole

Then it seemed to stop making any progress

It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could

And it could go no farther.

So the man decided to help the butterfly

He took a pair of scissors and snipped off

The remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily, BUT,

It had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings

He continued to watch the butterfly

He expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge

And the body would contract

Neither happened!In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling

Around with a swollen body and shriveled wings.

It was never able to fly.

The man acted with well-intentioned kindness

But he didn't understand the consequences.

The restricting cocoon and the struggle required to get

Through the tiny opening, were nature's way of forcing fluid

From the body of the butterfly once it achieved,

It's freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life.

If nature allowed us to go through life without any

Obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as we could have been

And we could never fly

Have a great day, great life, and struggle a little.

Then fly!

- Author Unknown -

Two Days We Should Not Worry

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry,

Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares,

Its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.

Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.

All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday.

We cannot undo a single act we performed;

We cannot erase a single word we said.Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow

With all its possible adversities, its burdens,its large promise and its poor performance;

Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.

Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise.

Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is yet to be born.

This leaves only one day, Today.

Any person can fight the battle of just one day.

It is when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities

Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break down.

- Author unknown -

Mind matters most

Mind proceeds all phenomena,

Mind matters most,

Everything is mind made.

If within an impure mind,

You speak or act,

Suffering follows you,

As the cartwheel follows,

The foot of the draft animal.

If with a pure mind,

You speak or act,

Then happiness follows you,

As a shadow that never departs.

- First words of Dhammapada -

Involvement

"Tell me and I`ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I`ll understand." - Chinese Proverb -

Mother Teresa's Prayer

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

We can do no great things - only small things with great love.

- Mother Teresa -

Think you can

”If you think you are beaten, you are,

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you like to win, but you think you can’t,

It is almost certain you won’t.”

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost

For out in the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow’s will -

It’s all in the state of mind.

”If you think you’re outclassed, you are,

You’ve got to think high to rise,

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.”

Life’s battles don’t always go,

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late the man who wins

Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!”

Excerpt from Napoleon Hill's book - Think and Grow Rich

Recipe of dream

Take one Dream. Dream it in detail. Put it into your own hands. See its final outcome clearly in your mind. Then mix it with a little effort and add a generous portion of self discipline. Flavour it with the wholesome until the mixture becomes clear, the doubt seperated from the resolution. Then bake at even temperature in a moderate mind with the dream rises and is firm to the touch. Decorate with induviduality. Cut into generous portion and serve with justifiable pride. Approached in this manner Life is a " Piece of Cake ." - Bryce Courtenay -

Forever is only as long as today

Do not take anything as being forever, because forever is only as long as today.

Know that the people who are the richest are not those who have the most, but those who need the least.

That we are at our strongest when life is at its worst, and at our weakest when life no longer offers a challenge.

That it is wiser not to expect, but to hope, for in expecting you ask for disappointment, whereas in hoping, you invite surprise.

That unhappiness doesn't come from not having something you want, but from the lack of something inside that you need.

That there are things to hold and things to let go, and letting go doesn't mean you lose, but that you acquire that which has been waiting around the corner.

Most of all ... remember to use your dreams as a way of knowing yourself better, and as an inspiration to reach for your star.

- Author unknown -

Who's packing your parachute?

Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience!

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your 'chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says,"I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each 'chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what he or she needs to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory - he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.

I am keeping this inspiring story here in this blog as my way of thanking all of your part in packing my parachute. And I hope you would want to forward this message to all those who have helped pack yours!

You are priceless

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 note?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this. He proceeded to crumple up the 20 dollar bill. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who LOVE and ADMIRE YOU. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE. Count your blessings, not your problems. And remember: amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic that sank. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

- Author Unknown -

Freedom

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Seuss -

To have succeeded

To laugh often and much;
to win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
to earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others;
to leave the world a bit better,
whether by a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
to know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded.


- Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Resentment

Resentment is like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die! - Anon -

Change

"Change alone is eternal, perpetual, immortal." - Arthur Schopenhauer -

Change

"Everybody has accepted by now that change is unavoidable. But that still implies that change is like death and taxes it should be postponed as long as possible and no change would be vastly preferable. But in a period of upheaval, such as the one we are living in, change is the norm." - Peter F. Drucker -

Law of the seed

Take a look at an apple tree. There might be five hundred apples on the tree, each with ten seeds. That's a lot of seeds. We might ask, "Why would you need so many seeds to grow just a few more trees ?

"Nature has something to teach us here. It's telling us: "Most seeds never grow. So if you really want to make something happen, you had better try more than once.

This might mean:

You'll contact ten prospects to get one order.

You'll attend twenty interviews to get one job.

You'll interview forty people to find one good employee.

You'll talk to fifty people to sell one house, car, vacuum cleaner, insurance policy, or idea.

And you might meet a hundred acquaintances to find one special friend.

When we understand the "Law of the Seed", we don't get so disappointed. We stop feeling like victims. Laws of Nature are not things to take personally. We just need to understand them - and work with them.

Successful people fail more often. They plant more seeds.

When Things Are beyond Your Control, Here's a recipe for permanent misery:

a) Decide how you think the world SHOULD be.

b) Make rules for how everyone SHOULD behave.

Then, when the world doesn't obey your rules, get angry! That's what miserable people do!

Let's say you expect that:

- Friends SHOULD return favors.

- People SHOULD appreciate you.

- Planes SHOULD arrive on time.

- Everyone SHOULD be honest.

- Your spouse SHOULD remember your birthday.

These expectations may sound reasonable. But often, these things won't happen! So you end up frustrated and disappointed.

There's a better Strategy !! Have fewer demands. Instead, have preferences!

For things that are beyond your control, tell yourself: "I WOULD PREFER "A", BUT IF "B" HAPPENS, IT'S OK TOO!" This is really a game that you play in your head. It is a shift in attitude, and it gives you more peace of mind.

You prefer that people are polite .. But when they are rude, it doesn't ruin your day.

You prefer sunshine ... but rain is ok!

To become happier, we either need to a) Change the world, or b) Change our thinking.

It is easier to change our thinking!

IN A NUTSHELL, it's not what happens to you that determines your happiness. It's how many opportunities you create for winning and how you think about what happens to you that does!

- Author unknown -

Spin a penny

"Whenever you're called on to make up your mind, and you're hampered by not having any, the best way to solve the dilemma, you'll find, is simply by spinning a penny. No -- not so that chance shall decide the affair while you're passively standing there moping; but the moment the penny is up in the air, you suddenly know what you're hoping." - Piet Hein -

Nice people

Nice people are like a mystery, you’ll never know what’s inside their heart but you will always feel their presence and their warmth.