Words Of Wisdom and Inspiration

Words of Wisdom

                 *** MOTIVATION & LEADERSHIP ***

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear." —Ambrose Redmoon

"It is your decisions not your conditions that truly shape the quality of your life." —Anthony Robbins

"Life is found in the dance between your deepest desire and your greatest fear." —Anthony Robbins
 

"We must find time to stop and thank the people who have made a difference in our lives." —Dan Zadra

"To lead people, walk beside them... As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate. When the best leader's work is done the people say, 'We did it ourselves'." —Lao Tzu

"The consequence of living our lives at warp speed is that we rarely take time to reflect on what we value most deeply or to keep these priorities front and center. Most of us spend more time reacting to immediate crises and responding to expectations from others than we do making considered choices guided by what matters most to us." —Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power Of Full Engagement

"Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct." —Thomas Carlye

"Courage is doing what you are afraid to do. There can be no courage without fear." —P. Hayes

"Entrepreneurship is a state of mind, a can-do attitude, a capacity to focus on a vision and work toward it." —Barry Rogstad

"Many of our fears are tissue paper thin, and a single courageous step would carry us clear through them." —Brendan Francis

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood." —Marie Curie

"If your actions inspire others to do more, to learn more, to dream more or to become more, you are a leader." —John Quincy Adams

"When we accept tough jobs as a challenge to our ability and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen." —Arland Gilbert

"It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan." —Eleanor Roosevelt

"The wise man bridges the gap by laying out the path by means of which he can get from where he is to where he wants to go." —John Pierpont Morgan

"A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner." —English proverb

"The question in life is not whether you get knocked down. You will. The question is, are you ready to get back up... and fight for what you believe in?" —Dan Quayle

"Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." —Albert Einstein

"You will never change your life until you change something you do daily." —Mike Murdock

"Real difficulties can be overcome. It's the imaginary ones that are unconquerable." —Theodore Vail

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear." —Ambrose Redmoon

"Luck favors the well prepared." —anonymous

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." —T.S. Eliot

"If we can only accept what we currently believe, we have already reached our full potential. Be willing to experiment, to take risks. While skepticism can be healthy, too much skepticism can be deadly... deadly to one's spirit, to one's sense of well-being and to one's dreams." —Blair Warren

"People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions and help them throw rocks at their enemies." —Blair Warren

"Your past is not your potential. In any hour you can choose to liberate the future." —Marilyn Ferguson

"The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for."

"How do we keep our inner fire alive? Two things, at minimum, are needed: an ability to appreciate the positives in our life - and a commitment to action. Every day, it's important to ask and answer these questions: 'What's good in my life?' and 'What needs to be done?'" —Nathaniel Branden
 "Clear, written goals have a wonderful effect on your thinking. They motivate you and galvanize you into action. They stimulate your creativity, release your energy, and help you to overcome procrastination as much as any other factor." —Brian Tracy

"Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now." —Alan Lakein

"Confidence is contagious. So is the lack of confidence." —Vince Lombardi

"Optimism may sometimes be delusional, but pessimism is always delusional." —Alan Cohen

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon them and to let them know that you trust them." —Booker T. Washington

"We are continually faced with great opportunities which are brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems." —Margaret Mead

"The price of excellence is discipline; the cost of mediocrity is disappointment." —William Arthur Ward

"If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome." —Anne Bradstreet

"Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Even if you encounter opposition, have conviction and finish what you start. In the end, people will understand." —Kotaku Wamura (Mayor of Japanese village who built a sea wall, against many protests, which recently saved the town when the tsunami hit NE Japan)

"My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition." —Indira Gandhi

"A moment of choice is a moment of truth. It's the testing point of our character and competence." —Stephen Covey

"If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it!" —Jonathan Winters

"If doubt is challenging you and you do not act, doubts will GROW. Challenge the doubts with action and YOU will grow." —John Kanary

"Those who turn good organizations into great organizations are motivated by a deep creative urge and an inner compulsion for sheer unadulterated excellence for its own sake." —Jim Collins

"Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece." —Sherry Rothfield

"We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails." —anonymous

"Life's not about waiting for the storms to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain." —B.J. Gallagher

"When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." —Thomas Jefferson

"Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent than the one derived from fear of punishment." —Mahatma Gandhi

"Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors. Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny." —Gandhi

"A smooth sea never made a skilled mariner." —English proverb

"Great masters merit emulation, not worship." —Alan Cohen

Inspirational Birthday Quotes

An amazing collection of Inspirational Birthday Quotes to wish you a Happy Birthday Day! Share these quotes with your friends and dear ones on their Birthday and make their Birthday bright and beautiful.

Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.
Douglas MacArthur

You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair.
Paul H. Duhn

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
Les Brown

You will give yourself peace of mind if you perform every act of your life as if it were your last.
Marcus Aurelius

May you live all the days of your life.
Jonathan Swift

Facts About Birthdays!!

History of Birthday
It is quite interesting to study the history of Birthday celebrations. Earliest history of birthday can be traced before the rise of Christianity where celebrations began to ward off evil spirits!! If this surprises you, read on for more interesting facts and gradual progress of birthday celebrations in history.

Development of Calendars
Early man did not know how to calculate dates so they were not able to pay attention to the anniversary of important events like birthdays. Gradually, human beings began to understand lunar cycles and they developed calendars accordingly. This made it easy for them to calculate the date of birth and celebrate the occasion.

Birthday History
History of Birthday observance can be traced back before the rise of Christianity. In pagan culture it was believed evil spirits visited people on their birthdays. To protect the person having birthday from the evil effect, people used to surround him and make merry. A lot of noise used to be created in such parties to scare away the evil spirits. In those times there was no tradition of bringing gifts and guests attending the birthday party would bring good wishes for the birthday person. However, if a guest did bring gifts it was considered to be a good sign for the person of honor. Later, flowers became quite popular as a Birthday gift.

The Power Of Positive Words

The power of positive confession is real though intangible. It's real just like an idea is real but cannot be seen, touched, heard or felt. Even Psychology has recognized the power of positive confessions or thoughts.

We humans are the only mammals/animals who can change their cognitive processes and mentality anytime we wish. A lion cannot change the way it thinks or acts or even responds...ever!!

When we spend time visualizing ourselves in our ideal lifestyle, we begin to stir our desire for those kinds of things in our lives. That desire has to be expressed in spoken words to yourself in order to make it seem attainable in your current life.

The more you tell yourself who you want to be, the more desire you'll have to be that person. The more desire you have then, the more you will tell yourself who you are and the bridge between who you are now and who you want to be is your words and your desire.

Time To Accept Responsibility Occupy Yourself

"With credit card shopping available in one hand and my smartphone in the other, I'm living the current American dream..."

Recently, I was asked why I didn't have the latest computer. Why didn't I have a smartphone, and why was I not on any social medias given what computers can do today. My current computer seems to give me all the tools needed to express myself.

During my life in the 80's and 90's, I had the latest (ahead of the curve if you will) of technology. Or so I thought. In reality, I was way behind the real curve. As I didn't spend that time developing me. Upgrading me. I should have been the latest model or version.

We should develop (place your name here) 2.0, 3.0, 4.0S, etc, versions of ourselves instead. Daily.

In the 2010 documentary film by Charles Ferguson entitled: "Inside Job", (the film that helped spark the occupy movement), Ferguson brings us into the worlds of many so-called powerful people, including Chairman and CEO Richard S. Fuld Jr. of Lehman Brothers.

Let Go Of The Past

Endings Are Just Beginnings
How to move beyond breakups, layoffs, and unspoken words.
By Patricia Spadaro

The beginning and the end reach out their hands to each other.
--- Chinese Proverb

How often do you think about a past event with sadness, regret, or anger? Whether it's a bitter breakup, a surprise layoff, or words we regret having said (or not said), constantly wishing we could magically change what has already happened only keeps us stuck and brings us a lot of pain to boot.

While you probably know it's unhealthy to hold on to the past, you may not realize why. Here's one reason that should be at the top of the list: When you choose to live in the past, you're operating with less than 100 percent of your energy in the present.

Holding on to anything for a long time takes energy and attention. Constantly bending your mind backwards in time is no different. Whether you're consciously aware of it or not, refusing to let go and move on divides your attention and saps your energy. It's like trying to water your garden with a hose that has holes in it. Only a trickle of that precious life-giving nutrient can come through. If you're tired, depressed, or unexcited about life, hanging on to old regrets at deep levels could be a hidden factor.

One way to reclaim your energy is to plug the holes and say goodbye to those energy-draining regrets. Rather than facing endings with bitterness, regret, or even hatred, try these four energy-boosting tips and tools for honoring the endings in your life so you can let go and move forward more quickly.

1. Be grateful for the gift wrapped up in the ending.
   Graduation ceremonies are called "commencement" exercises because they mark not just the end of a level of schooling but the beginning of a new era. Life is a schoolroom and our endings can be graduations, too, though at first they may not feel that way.
   
   Endings can be life's way of showing us that we have learned one lesson and are ready for the next, or that we've exhausted the possibilities one situation has to offer and we need a change of scene to bring new opportunities. Every ending holds its own gift. Opening your mind and heart to receiving it, even if the gift is not evident right away, will help you greet the new beginnings waiting for you.
   
   Try This: Use this affirmation to remind yourself to keep facing forward: I am open to discovering the gift, the new beginning, wrapped up in this ending.
   

Doing And Happenings

Only one who is 100 percent in doing can recognize the happening.

The healthiest way to apply this knowledge is to see the whole past as happening and the present as doing. If you see the past as doing, then ego and regret come along. And when you see the present as happening, then laziness and unawareness set in. If you apply the doing for the future, it brings tension and worry. If you apply the happening for the future, it might bring some confidence and also lethargy.

Let the happening be for the past. Let the doing be for the present. And the future is a mix of both.

The wise will see the doing in happening and the happening in doing simultaneously. Are you confused now? (Laughter)

Don't Let Fear Scare You

Fears Are Made To Broken

Is fear holding you back? How do you feel when you are not able to accomplish something because you are afraid?

Have you heard the saying that F-E-A-R is 'False Evidence Appearing Real' or 'Fantasized Evidence Appearing Real'?

Perhaps you were somewhere that you wanted to get up and speak but the palpitations were so bad you couldn't. Maybe you want to be a singer but can't get up in front of an audience. Are you ready to be on America's Next Top Model but fear is holding you back?

Now, I want you to think about when you conquered a fear. Think about that time when you said "I'm going to do this anyway" and you did. Do you remember that feeling of pure freedom, of exhilaration, or joy? I do!

I would like to share with you a little bit I know about "Fear". I am going to fill you in on why I feel the above statement is 100% true.

Shake It Off And Step Up

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow. "Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP! You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. THAT'S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity...THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US! Remember that FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER-- PRAISE and HOPE...all are excellent ways to "SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP" out of the wells in which we find ourselves!

A Simple Gesture!!

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend. They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.
Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. "Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mothers sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more, you saved my life."
-John W. Schlatter (true story)

My Mother

My Mother, Murjanah, was married to my father when she was 16 years. He was 4 times her age and already had 3 wives. She did not want the marriage because she believed she would be widowed early in life but she later had to agree to it out of respect for her parents.

My father died about 5 years after the marriage. The outcome of their union was 3 children: my big sister, my junior brother and me.

After my father died, my mother had to go back to where she was married from. It did not take more than 5 months and another husband was arranged for her. He was twice her age and an herbalist (he practiced herbal medicine for people for almost free and he was not rich).

Again, out of respect for her parents, she agreed to the marriage and it took place in no time. Even though it was an arranged marriage, my mother had a wonderful relationship with my stepfather and I respect my mom for that.

Inspirational Quotes!!!

Daily Inspirational Quote "No matter how lofty your role or your goal, take the time to encourage and answer the questions of others. You meet the same people on the way down as you meet on the way up." Jim Hayhurst, Sr., The Right Mountain Quotes by Famous People: "There are two things a person should never be angry at, what they can help, and what they cannot." Plato "Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been." Mark Twain "If you love what you do, then it is no longer work. The money you earn is secondary when you love your work." Catherine Pulsifer "Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today." Benjamin Franklin "An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching." Gandhi "Let no man pull you low enough to hate him." Martin Luther King "That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well." Abraham Lincoln

"Imagination enhances our lives by supplementing the inadequacies of the real world, or our experience of it, and can also give us the vision to transform present reality into something new and better. " Erik Blumenthal, Peace With Your Partner

"One who knows how to show and to accept kindness will be a friend better than any possession." Sophocles

"There is no better or more loving invitation for a man to gradually open and share himself than a woman who understands him enough to accept him just as he is." John Gray, PH. D.

"My father was my best friend." Whidden Ganong

"Negative people deplete your energy. Surround yourself with love and nourishment and do not allow the creation of negativity in your environment." Deepak Chopra, Creating Affluence

"Successful people with full lives must face the same frustrations, hurdles, and fears as everyone else. The difference is in the way they handle their fear. Rather than feeling defeated or immobilized by their fears and worries, successful people conquer them." Richard Carlson, Ph.D., Don't Worry, Make Money

"Women are the best cheerleaders for our friends. We do for our friends whenever, wherever, and however we can, whether it's to make the hard moments easier or the easy moments joyful." Shelly Rachanow, If Women Ran the World

The Power Of Hugs

A hug is a wonderful thing. It's a marvelous gift to share. It's a grand way to say; "I care." A hug communicates support, security, affection, unity, and belonging. A hug shows compassion. A hug brings delight. A hug charms the senses. A hug touches the soul.

Hugs are healthy. Hugs ease pain, reduce stress, cure depression, induce sleep, rejuvenate the heart, yet have no side effects... a true miracle medicine.

A hug can say, "I love you." A hug can say, "I hate to see you go." A hug can say, "it's good to have you back." A hug can say, "It's great to see you." A hug can say, "I feel your pain." A hug can say, "let me share your burden."

No matter whether you're the sender or receiver, hugs touch the inner being. From friends, to family, to loved ones, to those in need; a hug warms the heart.

A hug is truly amazing. It gives conscience and purpose to sharing of self. It brings generosity to the giver and happiness to the receiver. It brings blessings to those who give and joy to those who receive.

Hugs are one of the reasons God gave us arms. So, stretch out your arms to someone today. Reach out to those you love. It will warm the heart of the giver and give light to the soul of the recipient.

Reach out to your neighbor. It will show that you care. Reach out to one in need. It will show that you are responsible. Reach out to the world. It will show God that you care for His creation.

It's All In The Mind

The mind is not even part of the sense organs but its function cannot be overlooked. The mind makes decisions that the entire body follows. It is the decision seat that guides other sense organs.

The mind has eyes; it can see farther than the natural eyes. The mind has a mouth; it can feed, it grows by what it eats (good or bad). The mind has ears; it listens and it builds by it. The mind has legs and hands; it can either take you far or keep you in one place. It takes you by its hand and walks you to your destiny. The mind has the capability to control the entire senses. The mind has the ability to control your destiny.

A shallow mind sees close while a deep mind sees beyond its standing point. A man's strength is determined by his mind strength. A man with a malnourished mind is a man whose life won't flourish.