Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014-53 - Shape the Future...

Every disappointment you've ever had is now behind you. The road ahead is yours to define, yours to shape, yours to make into whatever you want it to be.

Stretching out from this moment is an infinite array of possibilities. If you're not satisfied with the way things have been going up to this point, there are plenty of other options available to you. If you're disappointed with your progress, that's very useful because it signals the need for a change.

Right now, as this moment happens, a new you is coming to life. This new you is positive by choice, disciplined, passionate, focused, and capable of achieving anything which can be imagined. The old you has vanished into memory along with the rest of the past. The new you can take you anywhere you want to go.

Right now, the future is yours to shape. Do it with care. Do it with joy. Do it with passion. And it will be great.

~ Author Unknown



The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.

~ Malcolm X

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

2014-52 - Giving...

Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. It is a simple truth, even self-evident, yet magnificently profound and powerful. For life consists of giving. We are, each of us, unique, with our own contributions to make. At the same time, we are part of a greater whole. Giving is what keeps us connected. The more we give of ourselves, the more we strengthen our own unique aliveness. The gifts we give become part of the world around us, where they grow in value with each life they touch.

Anything that we truly and sincerely give, we will never lose.

True giving means giving of one's self. The physical object, if there is one, is merely a token. The essence of the gift is in the giving, in the expression of sincere love and caring. When you give a part of yourself, it is not gone, it is bigger and better than ever.

Giving is the most self-serving thing you can do... and therein, lies the beauty of life.

~ Ralph Marston



It is more blessed to give than to receive.

~ Jesus Christ

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

2014-51 - Being of Service...

Can you be of service? Of course you can.

Being of service is at the heart of what life is all about. Much of life’s richest essence revolves around being of service to others, to yourself, and to the world around you.

The opportunity to be of service is an opportunity that brings out your most valuable and meaningful skills. It gives you the chance to get better and better at authentically being you.

Being of service feels profoundly right. That’s because it is.

Your actions can make life more valuable, meaningful and joyful for everyone with whom you come in contact. And that most certainly includes you.

Use your moments, your resources, your skills and your passions to genuinely be of service. Be of service, and you’ll be living life at its highest and most fulfilling level.

~ Ralph Marston



For many, Christmas is also a time for coming together. But for others, service will come first.

~ Queen Elizabeth II


Tuesday, December 16, 2014

2014-50 - I Will Act Now...

I will act now. I will act now. I will act now.

Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success. I will act now.

I will repeat these words again and again and again. I will walk where failures fear to walk. I will work when failures seek rest. I will act now for now is all I have.

Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now.

Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever.

This is the time. This is the place. I am the person.

~ Og Mandino



Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.

~ Napoleon Bonaparte

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

2014-49 - The Secret...

"How do you become more productive?"

Richard Branson leaned back and thought for a second. The tropical sounds of his private oasis, Necker Island, murmured in the background. Twenty people sat around him at rapt attention, wondering what a billionaire's answer would be to one of the big questions-perhaps the biggest question-of business.

The group had been assembled by marketing impresario Joe Polish to brainstorm growth options for Richard's philanthropic Virgin Unite. It was one of his many new ambitious projects. Virgin Group already had more than 300 companies, more than 50,000 employees, and $25 billion per year in revenue. In other words, Branson had personally built an empire larger than the GDP of some developing countries.

Then he broke the silence: "Work out."

He was serious and elaborated: working out gave him at least four additional hours of productive time every day.

The cool breeze punctuated his answer like an exclamation point.

~ Author Unknown



My workout is my meditation.

~ Kyle MacLachlan


Tuesday, December 2, 2014

2014-48 - Make the Effort...

Don't just hope to get it done. Take the time and make the effort to make it happen.

The things you get done are the things you make a specific time for in your schedule. If it's important enough to be an intention, then it's important enough to get it scheduled.

Don't relegate your valuable intentions to an open-ended to-do list. Put them on your calendar.

There's only so much time in each day, so scheduling your intentions will force you to prioritize them. That will help you make sure the most important things actually get done.

Thoughts and intentions are important because they can define your direction. For your direction to actually matter, though, you must get yourself in motion.

Go beyond wishing, hoping, planning and talking. Take the time, take the action, and get it done.

~ Author Unknown



Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment, full effort is full victory.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

2014-47 - Promise Yourself...

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind;
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet;
To make all your friends feel that there is something in them;
To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true;
To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best;
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own;
To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future;
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile;
To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others;
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear; and too happy to permit the presence of trouble;
To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in great deeds;
To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

 ~ C D Larson - "Your Forces and How to Use Them"



When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.

 ~ Lao Tzu

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

2014-46 - Believe in Yourself...

There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren't the way you had hoped they would be. That's when you have to tell yourself that things will get better.

There are times when people disappoint you and let you down. But those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself.

There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them. Because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.

Keep Believing in Yourself!

Author Unknown



Follow your dreams, believe in yourself and don't give up.

Rachel Corrie

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

2014-45 - The Great Power...

You have great power, yet much of that power can easily be wasted on trivial, meaningless things. Imagine what would happen if you devoted more of your power to the truly important, meaningful things.

In the moments that fill each day, in your thoughts, words and actions, there is great power. When that power is purposeful and well focused, you can do amazing things with it.

Every little action you take changes the world in some way. Over the course of a day, a month or a lifetime, you end up taking a whole lot of actions.

Don't let the great power of your life be drained by what doesn't matter. Make the choice to make intentional and meaningful use of that power.

In the life you live there is great, effective, world-changing power. Find your very own unique and beautiful way to put it to use.

~ Ralph Marston



Power without confidence is nothing.

~ Catherine the Great

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

2014-44 - Black or White...

When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson I learned that day. I was convinced that 'I' was right and 'he' was wrong - and he was just as convinced that 'I' was wrong and 'he' was right.

The teacher brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. "White," he answered.

I couldn't believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, "White."

It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side it was black.

Sometimes we need to look at the problem from the other person's view in order to truly understand their perspective.

~ Author Unknown




You must look within for value, but must look beyond for perspective.

~ Denis Waitley

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

2014-43 - How The Path Was Forged...

One day, a calf needed to cross a virgin forest in order to return to its pasture. Being an irrational animal, it forged out a tortuous path full of bends, up and down hills.

The next day, a dog came by and used the same path to cross the forest. Next it was a sheep's turn, the head of a flock which, upon finding the opening, led its companions through it.

Later, men began using the path: they bent down, deviating obstacles, complaining and cursing – and quite rightly so. But they did nothing to create a different route.

After so much use, in the end, the path became a trail along which poor animals toiled under heavy loads, being forced to go three hours to cover a distance which would normally take thirty minutes.

Many years passed and the trail became the main road of a village, and later the main avenue of a town. Everyone complained about the traffic, because the route it took was the worst possible one.

Meanwhile, the old and wise forest laughed, at seeing how men tend to blindly follow the way already open, without ever asking whether it really is the best choice.

~ Paulo Coelho



Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice.

~ William J Bryan

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

2014-42 - Obstacles? Deal with Them Now...

An old farmer had ploughed around a large rock in one of his fields for years. He had broken several ploughshares and a cultivator on it and had grown rather morbid about the rock.

After breaking another ploughshare one day, and remembering all the trouble the rock had caused him through the years, he finally decided to do something about it.

When he put the crowbar under the rock, he was surprised to discover that it was only about six inches thick and that he could break it up easily with a sledgehammer. As he was carting the pieces away he had to smile, remembering all the trouble that the rock had caused him over the years and how easy it would have been to get rid of it sooner.

~ Brian Cavanaugh



Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.

~ Henry Ford

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

2014-41 - Enjoy The Effort...

Effort can be complicated, inconvenient, tedious, frustrating and unpleasant. Yet it also can be liberating, enriching, empowering, fascinating and downright enjoyable.

Though effort can often feel like a burden, that's mostly because you have decided for it to feel that way. The great thing is, you can always choose to feel however you wish to feel about the effort you're making.

As long as you're making the effort anyway, you might as well embrace it and get the very most from it. There's a reason why you're making the effort, so your best strategy is to treat that effort as an opportunity rather than as a burden.

Instead of resenting or fighting against the necessity of effort, be thankful that you're in a position to make that effort, and by so doing to create new value. Choose to enjoy the effort, and you'll get the greatest possible rewards from whatever you're doing.

~ Author Unknown




Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle."

~ Napoleon Hill

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

2014-40 - Sharpen Your Mind...

Your success is not in your hands.

It's in your mind.

I saw you snicker and that's not some psycho mumbo jumbo. When you make up your mind to be a success, your mind leads your actions. Those actions lead you to success because you become what you think about most.

Remember the gorgeous blonde you saw in the bar and you fell all over yourself trying to pick her up? It didn't work. Because you had in your mind that she was out of your league, but you tried anyway. She thought it was hilarious that you couldn't talk like a grown man, but she wasn't going out of there with someone who wasn't ready for her level of class.

It's a tough life. You didn't get the girl. But you did get the sale two days later.

You didn't go into it wondering if you were going to close it. You knew you were going to.

Your mind led your words and your actions when dealing with your customer and you anticipated what they needed and wanted before they did.

So the question is... why do you continue to doubt yourself? Why do you continue to think you can't, when if all you need to think is you will?

~ Devin C Hughes



The mind is everything. What you think you become.

~ Buddha

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

2014-39 - Stop Stopping Yourself...

Stop stopping yourself. Stop holding yourself back.

Yes, the world throws all sorts of difficult challenges your way. And you can find a way to transcend every one of them.

Yet you must choose to do so. You must make the commitment, deep within yourself, to live with richness and purpose and fulfillment.

Many events, people and situations will challenge you and impede your progress. However, the only limitations that can stop you completely are the limitations you place on yourself.

See that the doubts and limiting beliefs are of no use to you. Choose to simply and effortlessly let them go, just like that.

Your dreams are calling to you right now, calling for you to begin living them in this very moment. Stop holding yourself back, and let yourself be all you know you can be.

~ Ralph Marston



The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.

~ Oprah Winfrey

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

2014-38 - The Perfect Leader...

The encyclopedia defines it as an individual's capacity to motivate others to seek the same objective. The bookstores are full of texts on this theme, and the leaders are normally portrayed in brilliant colors, with enviable qualities and supreme ideals. The leader is to society as the "master" is to spirituality.

This, however, is not absolutely true (in either case). Our big problem, especially in a world that is growing more and more fundamentalist, is not allowing people in prominent positions to commit human mistakes.

We are always in search of the perfect ruler. We are always looking for a pastor to guide and help us find our way. The truth is that the great revolutions and the progress made by humanity were brought about by people just like us – the only difference being that they had the courage to make a key decision at a crucial moment.

~ Paulo Coelho



A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

~ John C Maxwell

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

2014-37 - The two brothers...

Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days work," he said. "Could I help you?" "Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighboor. In fact, it's my younger brother. See that pile of lumber curing by the barn? I want you to build me a fence - an 8-foot fence - so I won't need to see his place anymore."

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."

The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, and nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge - a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! And the neighbour, his younger brother, was coming across, his hand outstretched. "You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done." The two brothers met in the middle, taking each other's hand.

They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days." said the older brother. "I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but I have many more bridges to build."

~ Author Unknown



Everyday we have the choice of building fences or bridges. One leads to isolation and the other to openness.

~ Author Unknown

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

2014-36 - How to change the world...

The ninth week of SEAL training is referred to as Hell Week.

It is on Wednesday of Hell Week that you paddle down to the mud flats and spend the next 15 hours trying to survive the freezing-cold mud, the howling wind and the incessant pressure from the instructors to quit. As the sun began to set that evening, my training class was ordered into the mud. The instructors told us we could leave the mud if only five men would quit - just five men and we could get out of the oppressive cold.

Looking around the mud flat, it was apparent that some students were about to give up. And then, one voice began to echo through the night - one voice raised in song. The song was terribly out of tune, but sung with great enthusiasm. One voice became two, and two became three, and before long everyone in the class was singing. The instructors threatened us with more time in the mud if we kept up the singing - but the singing persisted. And somehow, the mud seemed a little warmer, the wind a little tamer and the dawn not so far away.

If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope. The power of one person can change the world by giving people hope.

So, if you want to change the world, start singing when you're up to your neck in mud.

~ Admiral William H McRaven



Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

~ Desmond Tutu

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

2014-35 - Remind yourself why...

If you're not making much progress, it's time to give yourself a boost. Remind yourself why.

Remind yourself why you chose the path you are on. Remind yourself why you selected the priorities that you now follow.

Perhaps it is time to focus on a new destination. Or perhaps you could simply use a good, clear reminder of what's truly important to you.

It can be all too easy to get caught up and dragged down by the day-to-day business of life. Take time to regularly give yourself the benefit of the big picture.

Take time to treasure the things you treasure. Admire, appreciate and be inspired by all that is beautiful to you.

The best of what can be is yours to create and experience. Remind yourself why, and make it so.

~ Ralph Marston



Putting yourself first means you will never be last!

~ Stephen Richards

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

2014-34 - Happiness is relative...

Two men were jailed in the same cell. They were in the same conditions, but one of them was unhappy, and the other one was happy.

"Why are you so sad?", the happy man asked the unhappy man.

"What should I be happy for? I am unlucky. Recently I was free and was at a resort, and as you know, that is more interesting than here." the unhappy man answered and asked the happy man, "And why are you so satisfied?"

"You see, recently I was in another prison, where the conditions were much worse, and this is just a resort here, compared to what it was. Many people want to get here, but I am the lucky one. So why don’t I have to be happy?" the happy man said.

Everything is relative and has to be learned in comparison. If you want to be happy, just compare your current position not with what is better, but with what would be worse.

~ Author Unknnown



Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life. 

~ Omar Khayyam


Tuesday, August 12, 2014

2014-33 - Add a little joy

Whatever you're doing, add a little joy to it. After all, you're much more effective when you're enjoying the moment you're in.

It takes only the slightest effort to put a gentle smile on your face. And when you do, you instantly change your perspective to a more empowered one.

You don't have to wait or beg or hope for joy to come to you. Simply allow joy to flow from you.

Remember that you're in full control of your own attitude. So choose an attitude that supports you and affirms the positive value of the moment you're in.

Whatever else the moment may contain, add a little joy to it. Choose to feel what feels best to you.

Add a little joy to each day. And add a lot of beauty to the world.

~ Ralph Marston



To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth.

~ Pearl S Buck

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

2014-32 - Virtually no competition

While professional soccer was still struggling to find a firm foothold in the United States in the 1970s, the North American Soccer League marked the brave first attempt to introduce the game to American sports fans. While most teams had only limited success at best, one did manage to break through to genuine mainstream popularity - the New York Cosmos.

This was the brainchild of Steve Ross, a passionate soccer fan who was also a major executive at Warner Communications.

Max Ross told his son Steve, "In life there are those who work all day, those who dream all day, and those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfil those dreams. Go into the third category because there's virtually no competition."

~ Gavin Newsham



Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
~ Albert Einstein

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

2014-31 - Celebrate abundance

Good fortune is measured not merely by what you have. Life's true fortune arises from what you have the opportunity to become, to create, to give and to experience.

Celebrate life's limitless abundance by making a positive, meaningful difference in your world. Feast upon life's delicious richness by allowing genuine, unrestrained joy and thankfulness to flow out from you.

Celebrate life's abundance by doing something new and unique and beautiful and loving with it all. Reach within, feel the miraculous reality of who you truly are, and delight in giving the best of yourself to life.

Let go of the doubts, let go of the fears, let go of the inhibitions and feel how good it feels to be authentically and fully alive. Celebrate the priceless abundance that is your life.

Live the abundance of bringing your positive, meaningful purpose to life in each moment.

~ Author Unknown



Life in abundance comes only through great love.
~ Elbert Hubbard


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

2014-30 - Success is a way of life...

Success is not a secret. Success is a direction, a process, and a way of life.

Success is not merely something that you get. Success is all about the way you choose to live.

You can be successful right now. Simply turn your focus, your awareness, your thoughts and actions in a positive, meaningful direction.

Success is the journey, and not merely the end of the road. Every moment is your opportunity to live the success you seek.

Dream without limits, and act on those dreams. Live without excuses or apologies, and with a persistent, driving desire to make a difference.

Success is a way of life. Choose that way right now, and in every moment of every day.

— Ralph Marston



In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.

~ Bill Cosby

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

2014-29 - Your Choice...

Growing up at my home was at times a big pain because my dad made me always take responsibility for everything in my life. Whenever I said something like "Dad, my girlfriend makes me so mad,", without fail Dad would come back with: "Now come on, Sean, no one can make you mad unless you let them. It's your choice. You choose to be mad."

Or if I said, "My new biology teacher stinks. I am never going to learn a thing," Dad would say, "Why don't you go to your teacher and give him some suggestions? Change teachers. Get a tutor if you have to. If you don't learn biology, Sean, it's your own fault, not your teacher's."

He never let me off the hook. He was always challenging me, making sure that I never blamed someone else for the way I acted. Luckily my mom let me blame other people and things for my problems or I might have turned out psycho.

I often screamed back, "You're wrong, Dad! I didn't choose to be mad. She MADE, MADE, MADE me mad. Just get off my back and leave me alone."

You see, Dad's idea that you are responsible for your life was hard medicine for me to swallow as a teenager. But, without hindsight, I see the wisdom in what he was doing. He wanted me to learn that there are two types of people in this world - the proactive and the reactive - those who take responsibility for their lives and those who blame; those who make it happen and those who get happened to.

~ Sean Covey




The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice.
~ George Eliot

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

2014-28 - Goodness prevails...

In the darkest darkness, love is more magnificent than ever. In the deepest sadness, hope has the strength to create anything.

When the whole world is against you, every positive action can bring miraculous results. When the burden of being is unbearably heavy, the spirit can fly to infinite heights.

If all is lost, there is no end to what can be gained. Completely let go of everything, and you surely do have it all.

The more confusing and noisy and complicated the world becomes, the more power there is in stillness. When the day is filled with harshness, gentle actions grow more powerful and effective.

In a world filled with fear, truth gains new clarity. In a time of severe discontent, the possibilities for real joy grow ever greater.

At the deepest level, goodness always prevails. For truth by its very nature will not be denied.

~ Ralph Marston



Wisdom has its root in goodness, not goodness its root in wisdom.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

2014-27 - Covering the Sun...

A disciple went to Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, "I shall not continue with my studies of sacred texts" he said. "I live in a small house with my brothers and parents, and never have the ideal conditions for concentrating on that which is important."

Nachman pointed to the sun and asked his disciple to place his hand over his face, in order to hide it. The disciple obeyed.

"Your hand is small, yet it can completely cover the power, light and majesty of the great sun. In the same way, the small problems manage to give you the excuse you need in order to hinder your progress along your spiritual journey. Just as your hand has the power to hide the sun, mediocrity has the power to hide your inner light."

"Do not blame others for your own incompetence!"

~ Paulo Coelho



"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."

~ Arthur Conan Doyle

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

2014-25 - The tale of two dogs...

There is a story they tell of two dogs.

Both at separate times walk into the same room. One comes out wagging his tail, while the other comes out growling.

A woman watching this goes into the room to see what could possibly make one dog so happy and the other so mad. To her surprise, she finds the room filled with mirrors.

The happy dog found a thousand happy dogs looking back at him, while the angry dog saw only angry dogs growling back at him.

What you see in the world around you is a reflection of who you are.

~ Author Unknown



Everyone and everything that shows up in our life is a reflection of something that is happening inside of us.

~ Alan Cohen

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

2014-24 - Mother Teresa on Forgiveness...

We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge. People make mistakes.

We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

Pause and ponder. Think before you act. Be patient. Forgive & forget. Love one and all.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

~ Mother Teresa



"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love."

~ Bryant H McGill

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

2014-23 - Value and invest in yourself...

Imagine that a Genie offers you any car in the world. The catch is that it is the only car you will ever own. What would you do?

You would read the manual ten times, change the oil twice as often as required, and you would take fastidious care so that that car remained the car of your dreams forever.

Think about what this tells you about your body.

You get only one mind and one body - the same ones you will have at 20, 40, 60, etc.

Take care of them and maximize their potential. It will be too late to take care of your body and mind (and car) later on. You can maintain them, but it is hard or impossible to undo big mistakes or negligence later on. You do not want to end up with a wreck on your hands.

Your main asset in life is yourself.

Treat yourself as a valuable asset. If you value yourself, and invest in yourself, you will be worth a great deal through out your lifetime, both to yourself and to your community.

~ Warren Buffet



"Just trust yourself, then you will know how to live."

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
 

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

2014-22 - Tirelessly Seeking Love...

To the warriors of light, there is no such thing as impossible love.

They don't allow themselves to be intimidated by silence, or by rejection.

They know that - behind the icy mask people wear - there is a heart of fire.

That is why the warriors risk more than others.

They tirelessly seek love - even if this means hearing, many times over, the word 'no', returning home defeated, feeling rejected in body and soul.

Warriors don't allow themselves to be discouraged. Without love, living has no meaning.

~ Paulo Coelho



"You don't love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not."

~ Jodi Picoult
 

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

2014-21 - The mouse and the books...

In 1967,When I was interned in Dr. Eiras Mental Institution (yes, I was considered to be a lunatic), I began to have panic crises.

One day, I decided to consult the psychiatrist in charge of my case.

"Doctor, I am overcome by fear; it takes from me the joy of living."

"Here in my office there is a mouse that eats my books", said the doctor.

"If I get desperate about this mouse, he will hide from me and I will do nothing else in life but hunt him. Therefore, I put the most important books in a safe place and let him gnaw some others. In this way, he is still a mouse and does not become a monster.

"Be afraid of some things and concentrate all your fear on them - so that you have courage in the rest."

~ Paulo Coelho



"Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough."

~ Emily Dickinson

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

2014-20 - The Treasure Of Today...

The way this day goes, begins with you. The way this day goes, begins right now.

Your attitude can make today a great one. Your actions can make this day an effective and fulfilling time.

It all begins right now, with how you choose to see it. It all begins right where you are, with what you choose to do.

There is enormous power in your hands right now. You have the power to put meaning, fulfillment and value in this day.

Feel the power of your most beautiful purpose, and get yourself going. Make some steady progress, and keep it up.

The treasure of today is here to be unlocked by who you are and what you do. Now, make that treasure yours.

~ Ralph Marston



"Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today."

~ James Dean

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

2014-19 - Why me...?

Legendary Wimbledon player Arthur Ashe was infected with blood he got during a heart surgery in 1983. Letters poured in from all over the world, as he was dying of AIDS. One letter asked, 'Why has GOD chosen you for such a bad disease?'

To this, Arthur Ashe replied, 'The world over -- 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals.'

'When I was holding a cup I never asked GOD 'Why me?' And today in pain I should not be asking GOD 'Why me?'

~ Author Unknown



"At first, I asked, why me? Then I thought, Why not me?"

~ Nick Jonas
 

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

2014-18 - Your dream...

My life has not followed a straight-forward path. I had no special connections or opportunities handed to me. Being an entrepreneur did not come easily. Growing up, nobody around me worked for themselves. Learning to listen deeply, (a major skill of coaching) was not something that came naturally to me. Yet, the most challenging thing I had to overcome was a deep fear that I was just a dreamer in the lowest sense of the word - someone who had beautiful visions, but no long-term follow through.

After college, I bounced from job to job, quit acting, walked away from medicine and left the most lucrative job I could ever hope to have at the time. I constantly asked myself, "Who am I to start a business? Who am I to coach others about how to have a meaningful, fulfilling life?"

As a coach, I know what it feels like to live day in and day out with the constant nagging of an unrealized dream in the background. I know how it feels to be at such a low point that ending my own life felt like a viable option. I know what it feels like to be absolutely paralyzed at the precipice of a life-changing decision for months, years or even decades.

I know how it feels to know the truth and to be too scared to act on it.

That's the reason I love coaching now. I had to learn the hard way. Had it all come naturally, I wouldn't have a clue how to lead others down the path of their Wild & Precious Life.

~ Author Unknown



"All coaching is, is taking a player where he can't take himself."

~ Bill McCartney
 

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

2014-17 - Results will come...

Though each effort does not bring an immediate result, keep going. The results will come.

Every achievement requires many efforts. Those individual efforts combine with each other to bring the desired result.


So keep going. Keep adding one effort on top of the ones before it.


And all the while, learn. Learn what works and what does not, and adjust your efforts to become even more effective.


Keep going, keep learning, keep working and keep getting better. Every day, every effort brings you closer.


Persistence is the way you prove you really want it. Persist, and you will have it.


~ Ralph Marston





"Energy and persistence conquer all things."


~ Benjamin Franklin

 

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

2014-16 - Why prove to a man he is wrong...?

Is that going to make him like you? Why not let him save face?

He didn't ask for your opinion. He didn't want it. Why argue with him?

You can't win an argument, because if you lose, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it. Why? You will feel fine.

But what about him? You have made him feel inferior, you hurt his pride, insult his intelligence, his judgment, and his self-respect, and he'll resent your triumph.

That will make him strike back, but it will never make him want to change his mind.

"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."

~ Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People



"We discover in ourselves what others hide from us and we recognize in others what we hide from ourselves."

~ Vauvenargues