2012-04 - Expect the Best...

Expect the best from life and you'll generally get it.

Your expectations play a key role in the reality of your life. Your mind is a powerful goal-seeking device. When you point it in the right direction, with positive expectations, it will do whatever is necessary to get you where you want to go. The more consistently you keep your mind on your positive expectations, the faster they will become a reality.

Expect the best of those around you, and you generally will get it. Think for a moment what would happen if you bought something at the store and later found out it was defective. When you return to the store for a refund or a replacement, you have two choices. You could choose to expect a hard time. That is, you could go into the store with the expectation that you're going to have to fight with them to get a refund. And if you approach them with that attitude, you probably will have to exchange some harsh words with the store clerk. Your other choice is to expect the best. Assume that they will be eager to satisfy you. Approach them with that attitude. And when you do that, they probably will be very eager to set you straight and issue a refund.

Learn to expect the best from yourself. In the way you talk to yourself, in the way you plan for the future, in the choices you make. Ask yourself, as often as possible, what you would do if you were truly headed in the direction of your goals. And then just do it.

~ Ralph Marston
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"Our limitations and success will be based, most often, on your own expectations for ourselves. What the mind dwells upon, the body acts upon."

~ Denis Waitley
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2012-03 - A Pot of Petunias...

Just like roses, if you want more blooms to occur on your petunias, you need to snap off the dried up buds. So here I was working with this big pot of petunias which are a beautiful deep purple. As I was standing on one side of the pot I picked all the dead ones I could see, and thought I was through. However as I began to move around the pot I began to see more and more of them. For awhile I thought I would never finish. I began to lift up the stems to discover more underneath. A few days of laziness had got me to this place and I was paying the price.

The thought that came to me is that if we procrastinate, we pay a price or even worse. We may have to do something over and over to keep the beauty of what we want to accomplish.

In other words, change your perception, your view. Heck, stand at a different spot if you have to. There are times that you feel you're going around in circles picking off old dried blooms, but what you are really doing is clearing up old negative garbage and being persistent trying out new ideas.

If you want your life to look and feel great there are times that you may have to do something over and over while you're looking under your old beliefs and picking them off to bring forth new and vibrant ones.

Ideas with right action equal a great life, but if you don't feel you're there yet then go back to the pot of petunias and start over again. You will then find your life enriched with new vibrant blooms.

~ Tony Masiello
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"Until you value yourself, you will not value your time."

~ M Scott Peck
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2012-01 - Time for new beginnings...

This is a time for reflection as well as celebration.

As you look back on the past year and all that has taken place in your life,

Remember each experience for the good that has come of it and for the knowledge you have gained.

Remember the efforts you have made and the goals you have reached.

Remember the love you have shared and the happiness you have brought.

Remember the laughter, the joy, the hard work, and the tears.

And as you reflect on the past year, also be thinking of the new one to come.

Because most importantly, this is a time of new beginnings and the celebration of life.

~ Taylor Addison

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"Every day is a new beginning. Treat it that way. Stay away from what might have been, and look at what can be."

~ Marsha Petrie Sue
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2011-53 - Recipe For A Happy New Year

Take twelve whole months,
Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness, hate, and jealousy,
Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.

Now cut each month into twenty-eight, thirty, or
thirty-one different parts,
but don't make up the whole batch at once.
Prepare it one day at a time out of these ingredients.

Mix well into each day one part of faith,
one part of patience, one part of courage,
and one part of work.

Add to each day one part of hope,
faithfulness, generosity, and kindness.
Blend with one part prayer,
one part meditation, and one good deed.
Season the whole with a dash of good spirits,
a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play,
and a cupful of good humour.

Pour all of this into a vessel of love.
Cook thoroughly over radiant joy,
garnish with a smile,
and serve with quietness, unselfishness,
and cheerfulness.

You're bound to have A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

~ Author Unknown

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"The year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instil in us."

~ Hal Borland


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2011-52 - Giving?

This is a season of giving.

Christians around the world pause to celebrate the birth of Christ, and the spirit of giving which is so gracefully embodied in that first Christmas almost 2,000 years ago.

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

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"Christmas is not as much about opening our presents as opening our hearts."

~ Janice Maeditere

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