Tuesday, July 31, 2018

2018-31 - The Touchstone

When the great library of Alexandria burned, one book was saved. It was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers. Between its pages he found something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”!

The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold. So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles.

When he felt a pebble that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold – Throw it into the sea. Pick up another.

The days stretched into weeks. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away.

~ Author Unknown



Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

~ Thomas Edison

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

2018-30 - How many times...

Steven Spielberg was rejected 3 times by the University of Southern California, after which he dropped out to become a Director.

The founder of pandora.com approached 300 investors before he got his funding.

Richard Branson launched 400 companies before he founded one ‘out of this world’, i.e. Virgin Galactic.

Col Saunders, founder of KFC, was turned down 1009 times when trying to sell his fried chicken recipe.

Sylvester Stallone was rejected 1500 times when he tried selling his script and himself as the film ‘Rocky’.

James Dyson created 5126 failed prototypes of the vacuum cleaner before getting it right.

Thomas Alva Edison created 10000 failed prototypes of the electric bulb, before finally succeeding.

HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU TRY?

~ Author Unknown



Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty, and persistence.
~ Colin Powell

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

2018-29 - Choices...

“What happens if your choice is misguided?” I ask, softly.

Miss Moore takes a pear from the bowl and offers us the grapes to devour. “You must try to correct it.”

“But what if it’s too late? What if you can’t?”

Miss Moore paints the thinnest sliver of shadow along the bottom of the apple, bringing it fully to life.

“Then you must find a way to live with it. The way I define happiness is being the creator of your experience, choosing to take pleasure in what you have, right now, regardless of the circumstances, while being the best you that you can be.”

~ Author Unknown



Choices determine character.
~ Brandon Mull

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

2018-28 - Attitude...

Once, Major Sir Michael Parker, an impresario for royal events with an expertise in pyrotechnics, held an exhibition where the Queen was to be the guest of honour.

When his entire collection of munitions suddenly exploded as the show began, he was totally devastated. He sadly rushed over and said to the Queen, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid everything that could possibly go wrong is going wrong."

"Oh good, what fun!" she replied with a smile.

On hearing this, he put his best foot forward and went on to put on what he claimed as a ‘damned good show, by jove!’

When asked later, why he continued doing what he did that day, he replied, "The leader's Attitude is like a thermostat for the place she works. If her attitude is good, the atmosphere is pleasant, and the environment is easy to work in. But if her attitude is bad, the temperature is insufferable."

~ Author Unknown



A healthy attitude is contagious. Be a carrier.

~ Tom Stoppard

Tuesday, July 3, 2018

2018-27 - Comfort Zone...

Once upon a time a king was once gifted two beautiful falcons. The two falcons belonged to a different climate. The king ordered the head of the bird trainer to provide all the facilities to the falcons. The head trainer took the birds and provided everything to help the birds adapt to their climate.

One day the king wanted to see the falcons fly, and was astonished when one of the falcons flew to great heights and at a very high speeds. The king enquired about the other falcon. The bird trainer stated with regret that the other falcon did not move and just sat on the branch. He had tried everything he could do and still he failed to make this bird move. The king consoled him and told the trainer that he would bring in an old man who knew about falcons.

When he arrived, he was taken to the sanctuary and told that he would be visited the next day to see if there was any change.

The next day, the king was very surprised to see the other falcon fly like the first one to great heights in rapid speed. When the king asked what he had done to make the bird fly in a day. The old man simply replied, 'I just cut down the branch of the tree where the falcon used to sit.'

~ Author Unknown



Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.

~ Shannon L Alder