Lessons from the Court

Life lessons can come from unexpected places. I played racquetball for many years, and some of the greatest lessons I learned while playing were not about the game, but about life. I wrote this piece a few years ago, but after a few more years of living, I've made some changes. Here are some of the more important life lessons that that I learned from the court:

1. People play better when they are encouraged. It's true in all of life. People do better when others cheer them on, rather than criticizing, condemning and judging. My influence as a parent, a leader, a supervisor or a friend is most effective when I encourage those around me.

2. When two or more people occupy a small space, they need to get along. It's against the rules of the game to push people around. This principle applies to any small space: homes, schools, places of work, communities and even our planet.

3. The only way to get better is to practice, on the court and off. In every area of life, the only way to improve is to practice. Confidence takes practice. Leadership takes practice. Nurturing a mind or a spirit takes practice. Improving relationships with others takes practice. Simply learning how to be happy takes practice. And remember, there are always people willing to help.

4. Much of success is about paying attention. On the court, those who lose their focus, lose games. In life, people who are too distracted by yesterday's regrets or tomorrow's problems will never experience the fullness and joy of today. 

5. There are always people who will do better than you. Always. But your job is not to be the best. If you simply strive to be YOUR best, you will have succeeded. 

6. When playing doubles, cooperation is essential. No team, no family, no nation will succeed that is plagued with internal squabbling.

7. Failures are lessons. When I lose a game badly, it is not a personal failure. Rather, I thank my opponent for the free lesson and figure out where I need to work. Failures are not endings; they are valuable opportunities to learn. 

8. It isn't over until the last point is scored. Many victories are snatched after one comes back from almost insurmountable odds. So it is with life.

9. Work can be fun, but fun should never become merely work. A racquetball game is still a game and should be enjoyed. In life, there is always joy to be found and shared. 

10. In racquetball, the only way to score is to serve. Likewise, service is key to life. Individuals and institutions that make a difference find ways to serve others. And those people who are happiest and most satisfied with their lives are those who have learned the value of giving their time, energy and resources away. Great lives are built on service. 

-- Steve Goodier

Serenity in Chaos

As an airport skycap checked through a customer at curbside, he accidentally knocked over the man's luggage. He quickly collected the fallen bags and apologized for the mishap. Unappeased, the traveler burst into an angry tirade, raging and swearing at the skycap for his clumsiness.

Throughout the traveler's rant, the baggage handler calmly apologized and smiled. The livid customer continued to berate the man, even as he turned away and headed for his gate. Through it all the baggage handler smiled and remained calm.

The next customer in line witnessed the incident and marveled at the skycap's professionalism and self control. "I have never seen such restraint and humility," he said. "How do you keep your cool when somebody is attacking you so viciously?"

"It's easy," the skycap answered. "He's going to London, but his bags are going to Tokyo."

I won't recommend that we use revenge to relieve stress. But let me tell you about someone who has found a way to go through most of his life unfazed by the turbulence that affects most people.

He is one of the calmest people I've ever known and he describes how he keeps his cool no matter how turbulent a situation becomes. He says, "I look at it this way. A traffic jam has no power to make me angry. It just stops my car. And that's the way I try to look at most of what happens to me." With that philosophy, this guy goes through life with a serenity I can only envy.

My friend likes to say things like, "A rude customer has no power to make me angry; he just fusses." And, "A mistake I made has no power to make me upset; it's just a chance to do better." He shows how we can truly find calmness in the midst of chaos.

Eminent 20th Century American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr wrote a short prayer that has been reprinted countless times. Bill Wilson, co-founder of the support group Alcoholics Anonymous, became familiar with the prayer about 1941. He edited and adapted it, and then circulated it with the title "Serenity Prayer." You are likely familiar with his version:

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."

The prayer has been a great help to many hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people over the years. And the truth of the matter is that there is much which cannot be changed. We can't do anything about this evening's traffic. Another person's reaction is not something we can control.

Furthermore, we may have made any number of mistakes that we probably regret, but they are in the past and that is something we cannot change. Reliving the past does not help us change the future.

There's a certain power in calmness. And those who learn to accept with serenity that which they cannot change will find power to change those things they can.

-- Steve Goodier

Cranky Old Man

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet. 

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Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . . . What do you see?
What are you thinking . . . . when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man . . . . not very wise,
Uncertain of habit . . . . with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food . . . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . . . . 'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . . . the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . . lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . . The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? . . . . Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse . . . . you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am . . . . As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding . . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . . . . with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters . . . . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . . with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . . my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows . . . . that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . . . With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons . . . . have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more . . . . Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing . . . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old age . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles . . . . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . . . . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . . . gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people . . . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man
Look closer . . . . see . . . . . . . . ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you might brush aside without looking at the young soul within. We will all, one day, be there, too!

PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM (originally by Phyllis McCormack; adapted by Dave Griffith)

Turn the Paper Sideways

Sometimes I need to approach a persistent problem with a new way of thinking. The Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez said, "If they give you ruled paper, write the other way." His image reminds me to always be my own person, but it also challenges me to think creatively. Turning the paper sideways is like looking at situations from different angles. 


Henry L. Mencken said it first: "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat and wrong." And how often I am determined to keep pounding on that simple and neat solution until I make it work, or else I finally give up altogether. But success will surprisingly come when I decide to look at the thing from a wholly different perspective. 


Several all night convenience stores in New York City learned something about viewing problems another way. Evidently, some of the stores had a problem with teenagers hanging out in their parking lots late into the night. Not that they didn't like kids; they liked them very much. But customers complained that they were afraid to approach them in the dark and push through them to enter the store. Neighbors complained that couldn't sleep with the noise. And store personnel were worried about the well-being of the young people themselves. Late at night, these neighborhoods were unsafe. 


Managers tried various methods to solve the problem. They asked the kids to find a safer place to congregate. They asked them to move away from the doors so customers didn't have to push through them. They asked them to discard their cigarette butts and trash in outdoor receptacles and not litter the parking lot. Each solution was simple, neat and completely ineffective. It seems that any of them should have worked. But none of them did and many of the store managers eventually gave up in frustration on solving the problem.


Finally, one man came up with an unusual idea. He decided he had been approaching the situation all wrong. Asking the teens to change their behavior didn't work, so he tried something different. He just piped easy-listening music into the parking lot -- slow, soothing instrumentals especially suited for mature listeners. 


No more loitering.


Sometimes we just need to look at things differently. Again and again we butt up against the same old problem. It may involve a child or parent, a friend or lover. It might be a problem with a co-worker. Maybe it's just a complex situation we're working through, or a personal problem with which we can't seem to make any headway. And so far, everything we've tried has failed. Perhaps it's time to turn the paper around and write the other way; to look at the problem a whole new way.


Here's a good question to ask: "How can I come at this thing from a different angle?" Because there is likely something you're not seeing. 


A father and his daughter were stopped by a flight attendant before boarding their plane. The problem? The little girl was clutching a large bouquet of balloons. In sympathetic tones, the attendant told the child that she would not be permitted to travel with all of the balloons. "Only one is allowed per passenger," she said in a voice that concluded there's nothing to be done. After all, rules are rules.


Father and daughter decided they could each carry one. So with tears in her eyes, the little child selected her two favorite balloons for the flight. But before she could discard the rest, another passenger intervened. "Here, I'll take one," he said. He quickly saw a solution to the problem and proceeded to give one balloon to anybody in line who would take one. As she disembarked, every balloon was returned to the happy child.


Here was a man who just looked at the problem a different way. Instead of saying, "There's nothing be done," he turned the paper sideways and the answer was clear.


When you turn your paper sideways, what do you see?


-- Steve Goodier

Singlish and Dyslexia

Ho sey bo ... Ah, as a true blue Singaporean, how can dun know how to speak Singlish, tio bo?? hahaha


Singlish and Dyslexia !!
What do they have in common?

Dr JiaJia and BigBrother


You must have seen, heard or read about him in the newspaper recently ... the 7 year old dyslexic boy who has his own Youtube channel, acts funny and help to teach the use of Singlish through their comedy videos, which never fail to make me laugh out loud


Ai Seh ... He wants to become a MP (Member of Parliament) in the future ... who will vote for him? Kee Chiew, kee chiew :D 


Now, he is going to be a movie star first ... in the movie - Taxi! Taxi! (coming out in January 2013), together with Gurmit Singh and Mark Lee ... Wa Seh, power sia


This is the video that started it all :)


 




The sequel ...


 




And many many more ... If you like them, keep on watching over at Youtube ba !! :D 


This cute little boy is always so positive ... how can not like him :)


Be warned ... can make you laugh until peng san ... wahahaha


Last but not least, if it is within your means, please support this amazing boy to do charity by buying his iconic T-shirt from DAS


Mai Tu Liao hor ... :P

Life

Life

How To Focus

How to Focus in the Age of Distraction

Up Where We Belong

Who knows what tomorrow brings
In a world, few hearts survive
All I know is the way I feel
When its real, I keep it alive


The road is long, there are mountains in our way
But we climb a step every day


Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles cry on a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world we know, up where the clear winds blow


Some hang on to "used to be"
Live their lives, looking behind
All we have is here and now
All our life, out there to find


The road is long, there are mountains in our way,
But we climb them a step every day


Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles cry on a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world we know, up where the clear winds blow


Time goes by
No time to cry
Lifes you and I
Alive, today


Love lift us up where we belong
Where the eagles cry on a mountain high
Love lift us up where we belong
Far from the world we know, up where the clear winds blow

The Beauty Of Our World

"You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough"


"I love my past. I love my present. I'm not ashamed of what I've had, and I'm not sad because I have it no longer."


"Life resembles a novel more often than novels resemble life."


"Life is about falling - Living is about getting back up."


"Life is what happens to you while you're working for your future."


"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing."


"Life without love is like a tree without blossom and fruit."


"Many say I am just one to try. I say I am one less to quit."


"Think of the beauty still left around you and be happy."

Imagination is Everything

Three-year-old Jonathon is gifted. And precocious. I'm told that when his parents took him to a restaurant, he ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. "Jonathon, I'm sorry, we don't serve grilled cheese sandwiches," the server replied.


He asked playfully, "You have a grill, don't you?"


She answered, "Yes."


He continued, "You have cheese, don't you?"


"Yes, we do."


"You have bread, don't you?"


"Yes.


"Well," he said, "I'll have a grilled cheese sandwich."


Three years old. (You may think his parents should have taught him better manners, but please don't let that keep you from seeing the marvel of this small child's imagination.)


The smiling server returned after checking with the chef and told the boy they would be happy to fix him the sandwich. "But I forgot to ask you what you want to drink," she said.


"I'll have a milkshake, please."


"I'm sorry, Jonathon, but we don't serve milkshakes," she answered. But this time she was ready for him. "Now, it is true we have milk. And it is true we have ice cream. But we don't have syrup," she explained.


He laughed. "You have a car, don't you?"


There's always a solution. Whatever other intellectual gifts Jonathon seems to have, the trait that may serve him best is imagination. He has the valuable ability to imagine a solution to whatever problem comes his way. 


Albert Einstein famously said, "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." In other words, what we can see in our imagination today we may experience in life tomorrow. He also said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge." He knew that we humans are limited by how much we can learn, but we are never limited by how much we can imagine. 


I have come to realize that I am held back far more by my lack of imagination than by my circumstances. When I believe nothing can be done, I search for a way OUT of the difficulty when I OUGHT to be searching for solutions. How can I change anything when I'm looking for a way out? When I perceive my situation as impossible, I resign myself to that fate and give up. 


But WHAT IF I were to look at it differently? WHAT IF I approached it in a different way? WHAT IF a creative answer could actually be found? I often settle for less when I should be asking myself powerful questions that begin with the words "what if. . ." 


Some two hundred years ago a class of noisy boys in a German primary school was assigned a task to keep them busy. They were instructed to add up all the numbers from 1 to 100. The children settled down, scribbling busily on their slates -- all but one. This boy looked off into space for a few moments, then wrote something on his slate and turned it in. His was the only right answer. When the amazed teacher asked how he did it, he said he wondered if there might be some shortcut. He went on to say, "I found one: 100 plus one is 101; 99 plus two is 101; 98 plus three is 101, and, if I continued the series all the way to 51 plus 50, I have 101 fifty times, which is 5,050." 


The teacher decided then that this child needed special tutoring. The boy was Karl Friedrich Gauss, and he became a great mathematician of the 19th century.


Gauss solved his problem when he asked himself the question, "What if there is a shortcut?" Two of the most powerful words I know are "what if." 


The solution to my problem, the way through a dilemma or the beginning of that next creative change in my life almost always starts when I decide that I am NOT locked in. "What if" questions release my imagination so I can better see what was hidden. 


Imagination is everything. And what if I were to use the words "what if" more often? I can only imagine what might happen.


-- Steve Goodier

Just Do It

 Believe in yourself and go for it with a positive mental attitude. 

Remember to set your goals high, have a definite plan and burning desire to succeed. 

Trust yourself and Just Do It.

Start Again

Things To Do Today

Optimism

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.

Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

- Helen Keller

Tomorrow Will Be Better

This has always been one of my favourites ... A song to wake me up every morning, when I used to set the alarm clock on my mobile phone


Now, I have not set alarm clock for more than 2 years already ... No need at all, my kids will wake me up ... on time or even earlier ... Hahaha :D

Giving Up

If she did not give up, why would you?

Yes, I did IT!!

Which step have you reached today?

Every Day is Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day ... Every day is Valentine's Day :D

Thank you for being my wife, my best friend, a wonderful mother to our 2 lovely daughters ... 辛苦你了!!
Love you much much ... Muack =)

Rain Drops Keep Falling On My Head

I was riding this morning ... when it started drizzling ... and then, raining
Heng, not very heavily, still can ride ... Shiok!!


One song came to my mind ... :)

Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
And just like the guy whose feet are too big for his bed
Nothin' seems to fit
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'


So I just did me some talkin' to the sun
And I said I didn't like the way he got things done
Sleepin' on the job
Those raindrops are fallin' on my head, they keep fallin'


But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me


It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me


Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me


--------------------------------------------------------


A happy and optimistic song for you to enjoy ...


Now ... got to go clean up and lub the bike :D

Chances Of Success

What are your chances of SUCCESS?


It depends ... :)

PASSION

Don't ever let somebody tell you... ...you can't do something. 
Not even me. All right? - All right. 
You got a dream... ...you gotta protect it. 
People can't do something themselves... ...they wanna tell you you can't do it. 
If you want something, go get it. Period.

Smile

Happy Lunar New Year

Happy Lunar New Year .... HUAT AH !!!

Enjoy some Chinese New Year songs to get into the mood ... Gong Xi Fa Cai 恭喜发财 !!

Quantum Levitation

This could very well be our motor transports in the future :D

Gratitude

Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director, and producer whose notable career spans more than three decades providing breathtaking imagery for feature films, television shows, documentaries and commercials. 


This piece includes his short film on Gratitude and Happiness. Brother David Steindl's spoken words, Gary Malkin's musical compositions and Louie's cinematography make this a stunningly beautiful piece, reminding us of the precious gift of life, and the beauty all around us.

Be An Example

Inspire yourself and others will be inspired.

Motivate yourself and others will be motivated. 

Develop yourself and others will start to develop themselves. 

Be an example first and then the world changes around you. 

- Author Unknown

Kevin Kern Music

Here are some of my favourites ...

Talking It Out

"Anger blows out the lamp of the mind," said Robert Ingersoll.


It may be true. I heard a story about one woman who ran a classified ad in order to sell her brand new car. It had only 3,000 miles. "Like new," the ad boasted. "Mint condition. $75.00."


He laughed to himself, and said, "There goes the newspaper, making another mistake." But he decided to call the number anyway and ask about it.


"Is it really brand new?"


"Yes," she replied.


"Three thousand miles?"


"Yes."


"The price?"


"Seventy-five dollars," she answered.


"Seventy-five dollars! Lady, what's wrong with it?" he asked.


"Nothing is wrong with it. And, amazingly, you're the first to call. I suppose nobody else believes the ad."


He decided to look at it. She let him take a test drive. The car looked exquisite and ran perfectly. He just couldn't believe his luck.


"The car is yours for $75.00. Just drive it away."


He paid her and took the keys. "Please tell me, lady," he persisted. "You could have sold this car for $35,000, at least. What is going on?"


She told her story: "I bought the car for my husband on our fortieth wedding anniversary. Two weeks later he ran off with somebody else. Last week I got a text from him. They are in a resort in Miami Beach, Florida. The text said, 'Need money, sell car, send cash.' I did."


What do you do when you are angry?


Some people "act it out." They break something. Or they say something they later regret. They strike back. Or they sell the car for $75.00.


Other people "wait it out." Waiting it out seemed to be her husband's strategy. Let her cool down - it will blow over. But the avoidance of conflict usually never ends well. It just doesn't go away by itself.


Others "take it out." They kick the dog or scream at the kids. They lash out at the next unlucky person they come across.


Still others "fight it out." Humorist Bob Orben says, "Who can ever forget Winston Churchill's immortal words: 'We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills'? It sounds exactly like our family vacation." With friends and family, fighting it out becomes bickering. On a larger scale, it's called warfare.


Of course, the best idea is to "talk it out." Nothing new here - we have to bring it up before we can get it out. But talking it out isn't shouting it out. I think some people believe that if they just say it loudly enough, they can make it so.


Talking it out is about bringing it up - saying what needs to be said clearly, calmly and kindly. But it is also about listening. I think it's interesting that the word "listen" contains the same letters as the word "silent." I know that I can't listen when I'm talking. I can't listen when I'm figuring out what I want to say next. I have to be still. I have to be silent.


And when I'm silent, something almost magical happens. Walls come down and I can begin to see my way through. When I'm silent I create space for something new to grow between us.


ACT IT OUT and your actions will become a block to good communication.


WAIT IT OUT and you just let it build up inside.


TAKE IT OUT and you cause more hurt and anger.


FIGHT IT OUT and you create winners and losers.


But TALK IT OUT and you can get it out. Be honest. Be clear. But, be reasonable. And then be silent. Let the magic of the moment ferment so that understanding can grow.


Maybe then you can keep the car.


-- Steve Goodier

2012

Happy New Year 2012 !!!

HUAT AH!!

The Ghost Must Be Crazy

鬼也笑 the ghost must be crazy part 1





鬼也笑 the ghost must be crazy part 2





鬼也笑 the ghost must be crazy part 3





鬼也笑 the ghost must be crazy part 4





鬼也笑 the ghost must be crazy part 5





鬼也笑 the ghost must be crazy part 6

It's a great great world

This is a movie about this amusement park in Singapore in the 60s and 70s !!

A New Header

A new header for my blog ... Inspired by the Sunrise this morning at Punggol Waterway!!

Long time never change liao ... Hope you like it as much as I do :D

Happiness

Connected for Life

Do you find yourself pulling away from others, especially if you've experienced a crisis or deep disappointment? Maybe the most difficult thing we can do is to be with people when we don't feel like being around anybody. We need other people and we'll never thrive as human beings in isolation.


One woman likes to say, "Laugh and the world laughs with you. Cry and you cry with your girlfriends." The presumption is that men are not empathetic, and there is probably some truth there.


But I meet with a small group of men that challenge that assertion. We meet for one reason only - to support each other in our life journeys. We ask embarrassing questions like, "How is it with your soul?" And, "How are you REALLY doing?" We try to answer honestly and to share what is good in our lives, but also relate what is not going well. Where possible, we try to admit our failings in a situation as well as what we think we may be doing right. We use each other for a reality check, for support and, of course, for friendship.


It's the only group in my life where I can be totally honest and know that they will accept me anyway. We meet only to listen to each other, support one another and, if need be, to occasionally challenge one another. The point is - we need each other.


A man who lost his wife to cancer found himself wanting to be alone. In time he dropped out of his worshiping community and curtailed all of the activities he and his wife had shared for so many years. He increasingly kept to himself. He quit socializing at work and returned straight home to an empty house. He turned down invitations from friends and co-workers. His leisure time was now spent watching television or working in his shop in the basement.


His contact with people dwindled until friends became alarmed that he might live out his life as a recluse. One came by to visit and to invite him over for supper the next evening. The two old friends sat in comfortable chairs by a warm fireplace. The visitor extended the dinner invitation and encouraged him to come. "You may need to allow others to share your pain."


The man responded that he figured he was better off without being around other people. After all, others only seemed to remind him of all he had lost. "And besides," he said, "it's just too difficult to get out anymore."


They sat in silence for a while, watching the wood burn in the fireplace. Then the visitor did an unusual thing. He took tongs from a rack by the fireplace, reached into the fire, pulled out a flaming ember and laid it down by itself on the hearth. "That's you," he said.


The men sat in silence watching the red-hot ember. It slowly lost its glow. Neither man looked away as the once-hot coal gradually transformed into a crusty, black lump. After some moments, the widower turned to his companion and said, "I get the message, my friend. I'll be over tomorrow evening."


We cannot survive in any healthy way by ourselves. The leaf needs the branch. The branch needs the trunk. The trunk needs the roots. And the roots need the rest of the tree. We are connected. And in that connection we find life and vitality.


-- Steve Goodier

May You Be Blessed

Designed to be a meditative experience for the viewer, the May You Be Blessed presentation is yours to use. It is our gift to you, from our hearts to yours, and we not only encourage you to view the presentaton frequently as a reminder of all the good in your own life, but to pass it along to others, so they, too, might feel blessed.

Get Inspired

Patience and Persistence

The Chinese Bamboo teaches us a lesson on Patience and Persistence

What Is Your Rope Tied To?

You may have heard of the man who decided to repair the roof of his house. The pitch was steep, and to be safe, he tied a rope around his waist and threw the other end of it over the top of the house. He called his son and asked him to tie it to something secure. The boy fastened the safety rope to the bumper of their car parked in the driveway. It seemed like a good idea at the time.


But a little while later, his wife needed to run a few errands with the automobile. Unaware of the line securing her husband, she started the car and proceeded to drive away. The rope immediately tightened and jerked the man over the roof and into thin air. Now before you become alarmed, let me assure you that this never really happened. But I chuckle at the image of the poor guy sailing over the top of his house like Evel Knievel without a motorcycle.


This story, factual or not, points to a great truth. It is a truth about where we place our security; about those things to which we've tied our safety lines. What is your rope tied to?


Think about it. What do you depend on to keep you from disaster? Is your rope tied to a good job? Is it tied to a relationship with somebody you rely on? Is it tied to a company or an organization?


In her wise and sensitive audio LESSONS IN LIVING, writer Susan Taylor tells of discovering how unreliable some of our safety lines really are. She tells of lying in bed in the early hours of the morning when an earthquake struck. As her house shook, she tumbled out of bed and managed to stand underneath an arched door-way in her hall, watching in horror as her whole house tumbled down around her. Where her bed had once stood, she later discovered nothing but a pile of rubble. She lost everything - every button, every dish, her automobile, every stitch of clothing.


Susan huddled, scared and crying, in the darkness. In the pre-dawn morning she cried and called out for help.


As exhaustion set in, she thought that maybe she should be listening for rescuers rather than making so much commotion. So she grew still and listened. In the silence around her, the only sound she heard was the beating of her own heart. It occurred to her then that at least she was still alive and, amazingly enough, unhurt.


She thought about her situation. In the stillness, fear abandoned her and a feeling of indescribable peace and happiness flooded in, the likes of which she had never before known. It was an experience that was to permanently change her life.


In the deepest part of her being, Susan realized a remarkable truth. She realized she had nothing to fear. Amazingly, whether or not she was ever rescued, whether she even made it out alive, she sensed she had nothing to fear.


For the first time in her life she understood that her true security did not depend on those things in which she had placed her trust. It lay deep within. And also for the first time, she knew what it was to be content in all circumstances. She realized that, in an ultimate sense, whether she had plenty or hardly enough, somehow she would be all right. She just knew it.


She later wrote, "Before the quake I had all the trappings of success, but my life was out of balance. I wasn't happy because I was clinging to things in my life and always wanting more. My home, my job, my clothes, a relationship - I thought they were my security. It took an earthquake and losing everything I owned for me to discover that my security had been with me all along . . . There's a power within us that we can depend upon no matter what is happening around us."


She had tied her rope to the wrong things. It took a disaster for her to understand that those things are untrustworthy. So she let go of the rope and discovered peace. She found that her true security was a power within - dependable and sure.


What is your rope tied to? And what would happen if you found the courage to let go of it?


-- Steve Goodier

Angry Birds in Singapore

They have arrived !!! Ca caw .... Say wat, say wat, say wat

Growing Old With You

Happy Birthday, Wifey!!


All I wanna do is to grow old with you .....

Great Teachers

Did you know that ninety percent of the world's ice covers Antarctica? This ice also represents most of the fresh water in the world. Yet Antarctica is the driest place on the planet, with an absolute humidity lower than the Gobi desert.


If you're into biology, you may know this about the Mayfly -- after hatching, it takes up to three years to grow up, and then spends only one day as an adult. During that day it mates, lays eggs and expires. That last day must be absolutely spectacular.


Next time you dust your house, you may be interested to know that most of the dust particles you are removing are actually tiny bits of dead skin. Don't even ask how much dead skin has made its way into your favorite pillow.


Did you know that the Mona Lisa has no eyebrows?


Or that that 80% of your brain is water? Well, mine anyway.


You've heard the expression "having a lark." Those who are interested in language might want to know that group of larks is called an exaltation. A group of owls is called a parliament. A group of ravens is called a murder. (Edgar Allen Poe would have understood that one.) A group of rhinos is called a crash, which also seems to make some sense. But here's the best of all: a group of Unicorns is called a blessing.


As interesting as all of these facts are, I doubt any of them is bound to significantly change your life. The stuff we need to know in order to live happier, healthier and more meaningful lives does not usually come from tidbits of knowledge. More often it comes from people; and especially, people who mean something to us. Let me explain.


For Ross Perot, the kind of knowledge that made the greatest difference in his life was actually gleaned from his mother. The American businessman and one-time presidential candidate made billions of dollars from the technology industry. But his mother, who raised him before the phrase "computer age" was ever coined, taught him how to live. She helped shape him into the man he would eventually become.


Perot remembers the days of America's Great Depression. "Hoboes" regularly knocked on their door asking for a little food. It puzzled young Ross that his house seemed to be singled out on their street. One day he learned why. On the curb in front of their house someone had etched a white mark, indicating to fellow travelers that this house was an "easy mark." This fact disturbed the boy and he asked his mother if she wanted him to erase the signal. She told him to leave it there. It was a lesson in compassion he never forgot.


Some of the most essential life lessons and wisdom young Ross acquired did not come from a book or a classroom. They were lessons that came from those people closest to him. Many concerned themselves with the heart and spirit. They taught him about the world and the best way to live in it.


Our greatest teachers are usually those who did not volunteer for the job. They are parents and friends, spouses and children. Much great wisdom is learned best from the example of those closest to us.


And the remarkable fact is this: you are a great teacher. You teach powerful lessons every day of your life. You teach them simply by the way you live; by the way you respond to the world; and, by the little decisions you make. I wonder -- who's watching and learning?


-- Steve Goodier

The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun

1. Stop hiding who you really are
2. Start being intensely selfish
3. Stop following the rules
4. Start scaring yourself
5. Stop taking it all so damn seriously
6. Start getting rid of the crap
7. Stop being busy
8. Start something

Another Home - The 'Other' National Day Video

Enjoy this Parody!!