Jan 23, 2009

Quotes about Life

Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us.
Earl Nightingale

The miracle is not to fly in the air, or to walk on the water, but to walk on the earth.
Chinese Proverb

The Best Things in Life are Free.
B.G. DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Ray Henderson

Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
John Lennon

We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Winston Churchill

Live dangerously and you live right.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only spend it once.
Lillian Dickson

A successful life is one that is lived through understanding and pursuing one's own path, not chasing after the dreams of others.
Chin Ning Chu

Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
Mark Twain

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.
Buddha

People know you for what you've done, not for what you plan to do.
Unknown Author

Jan 21, 2009

Desire

An old prospector wandered into a small town where he was accosted by a loud, obnoxious and quite drunken cowboy. The cowboy pointed his six-shooters in the old miner's direction and asked, "Old man, do you know how to dance?"

"Nope," the prospector replied.

"Maybe you'd better learn," said the cowpuncher. Hot lead kicked up dust around the old man's feet and he began to dance.

Soon, however, the guns were empty. Now the old prospector reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun.

"Son," he said, "you ever kissed a mule?"

Looking first at the shotgun, then at the spot where the mule's tail is attached to its body, the young cowboy got the message. "Nope," he answered, "I never kissed a mule. But I always wanted to!"

Desire is another word for wanting to do something. And in real life, desire is not something that can be given by anyone else. If there is something you want to do, it is probably not because somebody is holding a gun to your head. You just want to do it. Your desire comes from the inside.

If you decide you want to improve, if you want a meaningful relationship or more fulfilling work, if you want a rich spiritual life or a healthier body, then the desire must come from your own heart. Nobody can make you want those things. They can support you and even inspire you, but only you can make it happen.

There may be a hundred reasons we think we can't be the people we want to be. But there is really only one. We don't want it badly enough.

It was George Washington Carver, an African American who probably did have a hundred reasons not to change his circumstances, who a century ago said, "Most people search high and wide for the keys to success. If they only knew, the key to their dreams lies within."

And that key is labeled "desire."

-- Steve Goodier

Jan 12, 2009

10 Very Short Ghost Stories

Do you like to read ghost stories?

Do you like to read short stories?

How about short ghost stories?

Check out blogger Old Beng - his 10 very short ghost stories in Chinese ... Really creepy!

Jan 11, 2009

Know Your Personality

Want to know more about your personality from your fingerprints?
Is it accurate for you?

Check out this post by blogger Twilight Zone.
I like his style - bold, sometimes crude and always entertaining.


Cheers :)

Jan 6, 2009

Effective Leaders

A young officer in the Army discovered that he had no change when he tried to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. He flagged down a passing private and asked him, "Do you have change for a dollar?"

The private said cheerfully, "I think so. Let me take a look."

The officer drew himself up stiffly and said, "Soldier, that is no way to address a superior. We'll start all over again. Do you have change for a dollar?"

The private came to attention, saluted smartly, and said, "No, sir!"

Each of us commands some authority. There are or will be those we guide, supervise, rear, mentor or lead. Some of us will be effective and others will feel as if we're running a cemetery: we've got a lot of people under us and nobody's listening.

Much has been written and taught about leadership, but I find that at least four traits are common in all people of authority who effectively elicit cooperation and respect from those who look up to them. Whether you are a parent, whether you find yourself in the workplace, sitting on a volunteer committee or teaching someone a new skill, these traits will help you effectively guide those who would seek to follow.

These good leaders are...

L isteners. They take time to listen to the suggestions and concerns of those they endeavor to lead.

E ncouragers. They don't try to do it all themselves. Neither do they motivate by force or guilt. They encourage others and help bring out their best.

A ssertive. They say what needs to be said without being unkind. They tell the truth as they see it, openly and frankly.

D ecisive. They know what needs to be done and they make timely, even difficult, decisions when necessary. But they can also take charge without running over the people in their lives.

In short, good leaders L-E-A-D!

It's said that the trouble with being a leader today is that you can't be sure whether people are following you or chasing you. But those who will develop these four traits are sure to find that their authority will be valued and respected.

-- Steve Goodier

Jan 3, 2009

Little Things

When I was in college, I shared an American Thanksgiving supper with friends. We spent the day cooking together – turkey, potatoes, green beans, yams and, of course, dinner rolls. I was in charge of the rolls. Looking back, that may have been a mistake.

I love to eat raw dough. Most any kind will do – cookie dough, cake batter, biscuit dough, bread dough – you get the idea. So I rolled out the yeast dough, sliced off a corner and ate it, rolled some more, sliced and ate, rolled, sliced, ate…. I don't know how much of the dough I consumed before the rolls hit the oven, but I remember it as a wonderful afternoon. Until about a half-hour later.

Yeast, it seems, likes a dark, moist, warm environment. In me, it found one and did what yeast does best – it grew. And grew. And grew.

After a while my stomach was distended and I felt like the Pillsbury Dough Boy with a burping disorder.

It was soon time for supper and I felt too full to eat anything. All of that scrumptious food and I couldn't eat.

That day I gained a new respect for the power of yeast; it doesn't take much to make a big difference.

Little things make a big difference. Little things like yeast. Little things like kindness.

Douglas, a fifteen year old boy who lived in Missouri (USA), had been feeling badly for several days. His mother Donna took him to the emergency room where blood tests revealed one of the most frightening things a parent can learn about a child. Her son was diagnosed with leukemia.

Douglas' life changed. He began a routine of blood transfusions, spinal and bone marrow tests and chemotherapy. The physical trauma was one thing, but he also became depressed. And who wouldn't? He lost his former life, his healthy self. All of those exciting dreams and plans a young boy has for his future vanished, and in their place all he could see was somebody with cancer. Somebody who may or may not live long. Somebody whose life would be very different than before.

He had a good hospital and good doctors. But he did not have hope.
And without it, he was in serious jeopardy.

Douglas' aunt called a florist close to the hospital. She wanted the sales clerk to be aware of the flower arrangement's significance. "I want the planter to be especially attractive. It's for my teenage nephew who has leukemia," she told the clerk.

"Oh," said the sales clerk. "Let's add some fresh-cut flowers to brighten it up."

When the floral arrangement arrived, Douglas opened the envelope and read the card from his aunt. Then he saw something unusual.

It was another card. The second card read:


"Douglas--I took your order. I work at (this floral shop).
I had leukemia when I was seven years old.
I'm 22 years old now.
Good luck. My heart goes out to you.

Sincerely,
Laura."

Douglas smiled. He finally felt some real hope. And why not? Here was a person who also had cancer and new she was 22 and working! If she could do it, so could he. Douglas found what he needed. He found the will to live.

Little things make a big difference. Little things like kindness and encouragement and hope. Little things all of us can give.

And it doesn't take much to make a big difference.

-- Steve Goodier