Tuesday, August 27, 2013

2013-35 - Busy...

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter ask for a job with a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work.

The first day, the woodcutter brought in 18 trees.

"Congratulations," the boss said. "go on that way!"

Very motivated for the boss' words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring in 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he only could bring in 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing in lesser and lesser trees.

"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.

"Sharpen...? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees..."

~ Stephen Covey - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People




"The key is not to prioritize your schedule, but to schedule your priorities."

~ Stephen Covey

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

2013-34 - Absolutely Convinced...

The way to get yourself to do anything is to first accept that you must do it. Until you stop fighting against yourself, you'll never get much done.

It is common and natural to avoid difficult, challenging effort. Even so, you can always choose to allow yourself to make the effort.

You absolutely have the ability to do the necessary work and reach whatever goal you set for yourself. To fully unleash that ability, you just have to fully and sincerely buy into the goal.

It is essential that you completely convince yourself of the worthiness and desirability of what you intend to do. Once you are absolutely convinced, you'll be absolutely committed.

The most important person to have on your side is you. Once you are truly convinced and committed, you'll be able to get other people convinced and committed.

When it means everything to you, you'll make the commitment to do whatever it takes. And with that total commitment, you'll get it done.

~ Ralph Marston



"There's no abiding success without commitment."

~ Tony Robbins

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

2013-33 - In Each Challenge...

In each challenge is great opportunity. So step forward, meet the challenge, work persistently through it, and make the opportunity yours.

It's difficult, complicated, inconvenient, and demanding. And you are wonderfully able to deal with all that, to create a valuable outcome.

There are plenty of excuses you could make, and yet you know the excuses have no real value. There will be times when you feel like quitting, and yet in every case you know you can overcome the desire to quit with your positive enthusiasm for seeing it through.

You've successfully endured every challenge in your life so far, and you certainly have what it takes to successfully take on even bigger challenges. You are able to make a difference, and the more you make use of that ability, the stronger it grows.

Though many things will go wrong, you know from experience that even in adversity there is much value to be gained. Each obstacle makes the eventual achievement all the more rewarding.

You're good at dealing with challenges, so put that ability to meaningful and rewarding use. Step forward, meet the challenges that lead to your dreams, and bring those dreams to life.

~ Ralph Marston



"We must accept life for what it actually is - a challenge to our quality without which we should never know of what stuff we are made, or grow to our full stature."

~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

2013-32 - The great fire and the little water...

Among the Aztec people of Mexico, it is said that a long time ago there was a great fire in the forests that covered our Earth. People and animals started to run, trying to escape from the fire.

Our brother owl, Tecolotl, was running away also when he noticed a small bird hurrying back and forth between the nearest river and the fire. He headed towards this small bird.

He noticed that it was our brother the Quetzal bird, Quetzaltototl, running to the river, picking up small drops of water in his beak, then returning to the fire to throw that tiny bit of water on the flame.

Owl approached Quetsal bird and yelled at him: "What are you doing brother? Are you stupid? You are not going to achieve anything by doing this. What are you trying to do? You must run for your life!"

Quetzal bird stopped for a moment and looked at owl, and then answered: "I am doing the best I can with what I have."

It is remembered by our Grandparents that a long time ago the forests that covered our Earth were saved from a great fire by a small Quetzal bird, an owl, and many other animals and people who got together to put out the fire.

~ Margaret Wheatley Source: Turning To One Another



"Individual commitment to a group effort - that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work."
~ Vince Lombardi