Tuesday, March 29, 2011

2011-14 - Your potential…

There is no limit to your potential. For there is no limit to what you can imagine, and whatever you can imagine, you can bring into your life.

Yes, there are very real hurdles to whatever you attempt. And in some way or another, you can get yourself over every one of them.

When you imagine limitations, they become real. Instead, focus your imagination on the positive possibilities, and focus your efforts on making them real.

Think of all the things, once considered to be impossible, that are now commonplace. Always remember that when there is a good enough reason, there is a way.

In every moment, you are making progress in one direction or another. Choose to use those moments, as they come, and focus your efforts to fulfill the great potential that is yours.

Feel the unique potential that is your life. Give your own special beauty to the world.

~ Ralph Marston


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You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'
~ George Bernard Shaw

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Tuesday, March 22, 2011

2011-13 - Common Ground…

Every person has a unique perspective. And yet, the things we all have in common are far more numerous than our differences. Behind every difference of opinion, behind every disagreement, behind each conflict there is common ground. And that common ground can be the starting point for resolving the conflict.
Finding common ground does not mean giving in or forcing the other person to accept your point of view. Instead, it means discovering the areas in which you already share a similar perspective. It is well worth the effort to find things upon which everyone can agree. For that sets the stage for true understanding. Often, every person seeks the same ultimate outcome, and the disagreement is about the details of how to get there. Even when you are unable to agree, it is always possible to understand.
Seek to focus on that understanding, and work to find common ground. It is from that point that everyone involved can begin to create real value for all.
~ Ralph Marston

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“Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.”
~ Joanne Kathleen Rowling
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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

2011-11 - The Acorn Planter...

In the 1930's a young traveller was exploring the French Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of barren land. It was desolate. It was forbidding. It was ugly. It was the kind of place you hurry away from.
Then, suddenly, the young traveller stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent-over old man. On his back was a sack of acorns. In his hand was a four-foot length of iron pipe.
The man was using the iron pope to punch holes in the ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put it in the hole. Later the old man the traveller, "I've planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only a tenth of them will grow." The old man's wife and son had died, and this was how he chose to spend his final years. "I want to do something useful," he said.
Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveller returned to the same desolate area. What he saw amazed him. He could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long. Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wild flowers perfumed the air.
The traveller stood there recalling the desolation that once was; a beautiful oak forest stood there now - all because someone cared.
~ Brian Cavanaugh

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"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 a life around."
~ Leo F Buscaglia
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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

2011-10 - Strength… and Courage…

It takes strength to be firm,
It takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to stand guard,
It takes courage to let down your guard.

It takes strength to conquer,
It takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain,
It takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in,
It takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend's pain,
It takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to hide your own pains,
It takes courage to show them.

It takes strength to endure abuse,
It takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone,
It takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to survive,
It takes courage to live.

~ Author Unknown

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“Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.”
~ Author Unknown
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