YOUR STRENGTH LIES WITHIN YOU!

“I never met a man so unknowledgeable. I could not learn something from him.”–Galileo Galilei

Humming bird is the smallest bird but has the distinction to fly backward too. Kangaroos can run fast but cannot go far. Tortoise cannot run but can go far.

Penguins and Kiwis are the birds which cannot fly, but they are also the birds who are blessed with something which is restricted to them only. For instance, Penguins can jump as high as six feet in the air and can also move faster than a submarine, while Kiwis have the distinction to hunt with their sense of smell.

Birds can differentiate between colours, they use this ability to choose their food, whereas animals are colour blind, they have a better sense of smell.

We humans are no different if one falls short in one field; he of course has something other special ability which is limited to him only. We all have that seed within us, which awaits our attention and which has the potential to blossom into a full-fledged plant one day.

Even a weak is capable

A king once wanted to get his only daughter married. Unable to decide on the person, he got the two rooms of his palace filled with the gold bars of equal weight and size. He made an announcement, “Whoever succeeds in getting the most number of gold bars from the two rooms of my palace, would marry my daughter. The only condition is, no one is allowed to enter the palace twice.”

People from many different fields came forward to take part in the offer. Everyone, in his own way, tried to walk out with as many bars with him as he could. Some even tried to tie the bars around their body in order to increase the numbers. 

Some professional weightlifters had also tried and had managed to get a decent number of bars with them. This way, one after another, everyone tried their best to defeat each other at numbers .

The king, after the competition, realised that there was not much difference among the numbers each participant had obtained. Unsatisfied with the score, the king let the offer remain open.

A few days later, a skinny person came to the palace and participated in the competition and later it was known that he managed to come out with all the gold bars, leaving not a single bar in any of the two rooms. Everyone was curious to know about his strength .

The king asked, “How could you do what no one else succeeded in doing?” He replied, “Your majesty, had this competition been of checking one’s physical strength alone, one could have easily won by this time. The competition required one to prove his both physical and mental ability. I just brought all the bars to the exit gate before throwing them out. I stepped out only when I had thrown the last bar I had brought to the exit gate!” Listening this, the king happily made his intentions clear of marrying his daughter with him .

So we see, even a weak person has the skills to take on the heaviest. If slender people can fall with a lesser force, they are also blessed with the ability to get up faster than plump people.

It is said that everyone is gifted with at least one special distinguishing characteristic, but not many in their lifetime succeed in deciphering it. We slide into the rut of life so easily and comfortably that we hardly give space and time for our talent to show up. We start concentrating on routine and trivial issues so much so that we literally make a life out of them, thus failing to concentrate on wider perspective of life. Oliver Wendall Holmes was right when he echoed, “Most people go to their graves, with music still in them.”

TALENT—FINDING YOUR NICHE

A king once wanted to shorten the length of all coming years, so that he could celebrate his daughter’s birthday, every year more frequently. In order to decide which month to delete, he called all the months and asked them to prove their worth or risk facing a burial into the pages of history The bemused months asked for a week’s time to defend themselves.

A week later all the months, in order, lined up in front of king. January, being the first defended himself by saying, “Your majesty I am the beginning, without me people would be deprived of a new year”

The next in line, February said, “Children cry less in my presence as I have the least number of days, besides I give people a chance to come closer and celebrate love on my 14 th day”

March defended himself by saying, “I bring in the season of spring, giving a sense of freshness to the atmosphere”

April squealed, “Only I am traditionally authorised to have a specific day for people to play fool on one another, if I am gone, people would miss the opportunity to make themselves and others laugh”

May put, “Flowers begin to blossom during my presence.”

June said, “People are always eager to choose me as their wedding month, if I am gone, people would fret for having lost the opportunity to get married in my presence.”

July and August echoed in equal voice, “We are the only months to be bundled together with 31 days; deleting one would mean breaking our association and uniqueness”

September reminded the king, “It’s during my presence that most crops get harvested”

October was comfortable to put, “Your daughter loves me most. I am her birthday’s month!”

November eagerly said, “The universal children’s day is celebrated in my presence, if I am removed, many countries would be in dilemma to celebrate their children’s day.”

Finally December defended himself by saying, “If I get deleted, people would be confused of the ending of a year, and would also be deprived of a Christmas each year”

In this way all the months, one after another, defended themselves for a survival. The king, who had been patient with everyone, noticed that they all had a valid point in their favour. Eventually, he announced, “Though you all are different from each other, yet all of you are equally worth in your own right and none can face an execution; you all are safe”

So we see, the months who were ignorant of their own self, discovered and made out their worth when the situation demanded of them. Similarly, we humans, like animals, birds and even trees— which are positively unique among themselves—have something special within us, only waiting to be tapped. This ‘something’ can take us higher, stretch us longer and make us stronger and faster. This ‘something’ is our talent.

By Anchit Barnwal; WINNERS PODIUM—Everyone fits on it.

CHARACTER —AN INVESTMENT TO SUCCESS

To be successful in life is everyone’s natural desire. Achieving Success means getting something desired or planned in the field one chooses and then moving forward to be ahead from others.

Success gives you the following advantages:

• Recognition in the Society
• Respect and Regard
• When a successful person attends a function or a gathering, he is recognised by all without any introductions
• One can earn money and it provides him comforts and conveniences
• Society remembers him for a long time

However, achieving success is not an easy task. One has to work hard, face difficult situations, hardships and should be disciplined.

Amitabh Bachchan, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Dhirubhai Ambani, Steven Spielberg, Ram Gopal Varma, Mani Ratnam, R.D Burman, A.R Rahman, Steffi Graf, Madhuri Dixit, etc are some of the many well‒known personalities who belong to different fields but have one aspect or quality common in all of them and that is Success! Victory!!

All these people are successful in their respective fields and have reached to the highest positions in their lives.

However, one may wonder, what methods did they follow, or what acts did they do to reach to that level??

In fact, when you study the lives of all the above mentioned great personalities, you can notice some common qualities such as ‒

• They all have a goal in their lives, an ambition. Until they achieve their ambition, they do not rest.
• They have a strong personality to face any difficult situation or problem in their path of achieving success.
• They are not overwhelmed with trivial initial results and struggle till the end until they achieve complete success.
• They set a plan and move forward until they achieve their goal.
• They are all workaholics, and follow the principle, ‘Work is Worship’.

All the above‒mentioned achievers of success are Genius! And we all know that some may be born Genius, but most of them are not born Genius, but made.

When we talk of a Genius, we immediately recall Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of the world. Here’s an amazing story behind his genius.

One day some scientists met Einstein and asked his permission to examine his brain after his death. He accepted their request with a small condition.

The condition was that he wanted to place a letter in a sealed cover which was to be opened only after receiving the report prepared on his brain examination!

They accepted his condition.

Later, Einstein passed away. Scientists conducted a thorough examination of his brain and prepared a report, and then they remembered his letter and opened it before all.

There were two sentences written in Einstein’s own handwriting:

First sentence ‒ “You have examined my Brain? My brain has nine billion cells like other human brains.”

Yes, even the scientists’ report said so.

Second sentence ‒”I alone know what the difference between others and me is.”

When they read those two sentences, they were astonished.

Actually, what Einstein intended to say was that he had the same brain what others have, but the only difference was that he had sharpened it with constant use, logical thinking and experimentation.

That is why Intellectuals say that if you want to become a genius, you need 80% perspiration, and 10% inspiration.

Perspiration means‒determination, attention, efforts, sincerity and hard work to reach the goal.

To become a genius, or to achieve success in any sphere of life, such as education, profession, love, marriage, etc, one has to put one’s efforts or hard work along with the desire and determination to fulfil one’s goal. Of course, self‒confidence and belief in oneself are compulsory!

In a recent survey conducted in the United States of America, regarding persons who achieved success, or reached to the top in their respective fields revealed that 85% of them attained success by improvising their personalities and the remaining 15% with their experience and talents in their respective fields.

So, in order to succeed, or achieve success in one’s field, be it 

literature, politics, cinema, journalism or any other field, one must first shape one’s personality and character. Your personality, character and individuality act as a passport leading your journey towards success. Hence, to achieve shape and groom your character, what all do you have to do??

Here is a famous saying by the well‒known scientist, Albert Einstein:

“There are only two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle.

The other is as though everything is a miracle.” You can adopt any one of the two ways.

HOW WILL YOU BE REMEMBERED???

Every day, all day long, we are presented with choices: simple ones, like “Should I hit the snooze button on my alarm one more time?”; more complex ones, like “How ought I to respond when someone I care for fails to live up to my expectations?” And every day, all day long, we make these choices. We do the best we can with the information and experience we have, and we try to make choices that reflect our deepest values and are consistent with the sort of person we would like to be.

Every choice we make goes into creating who we are. With every move we make—every action, every inaction, every thought that flashes through our minds—more sand trickles from the top of life’s hourglass into the bottom. Each grain of sand—every single instant we’re alive—builds up to form an afterimage of who we were, where we came from, what we did, and how we loved. This afterimage is our legacy, our gift to the future, the story of our life to be told after we’ve gon

When your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and beyond talk about you, what will they say? Who is the person they will see when they examine the afterimage you have left behind?

Think of your own recollections of those who have preceded you: family members, friends, co-workers and colleagues, public figures great and small, the well- and the little-known. What remains of them when they are no longer here?

Possessions are disbursed, projects taken over, vital statistics catalogued away until all that’s left of who we were is who we were.

OUR CHARACTER

Our character is our legacy. And our legacy is ultimately a moral legacy. It is the story of the good and bad things we did to and for other people.

Our bequest to tomorrow will not primarily be monetary or physical or even spiritual; that is, it won’t be something beyond this earthly plane. What we will grant to others in our absence is what we have granted to them in our presence: how we have met our obligations to them as family members, lovers, neighbors, colleagues, and fellow human beings.

As we proceed through life, this can be hard to see. The day-today responsibilities of making a living, raising a family, keeping up with the Joneses—not to mention rooting for one’s favorite sports team, downloading the latest Internet software, and keeping tabs on the extramarital dalliances of world leaders—incline us to perceive ourselves as individual, autonomous agents whose legacy is more about what we produced than how we lived. While few people really believe that whoever dies with the most toys wins, many of us do live our lives as if our acquisitions will have a more lasting effect than our offerings.

But when we look back upon things, it becomes obvious how much more enduring is what we give than what we take. And we can see better how our legacy—both individually and as a society—is most clearly forged by the moral choices we have made.

It doesn’t take a wise old person to recognize this; even a child (even a teenager!) can recognize how enduring our moral legacy really is—and how unforgettable are the choices that lead to its creation.

From the book CHOOSING THE RIGHT THING TO DO by DAVID A. SHAPIRO

SOMETIMES YOU WIN AND SOMETIMES YOU LEARN

By Luke Dancy

The title of this article above says a lot in just a few words, think about it for a sec. One of the things I bring up a lot is that by changing your perspective you can change the way you live your life. It's true that sometimes you're going to hit home-runs while other times you will strike out BUT as long as you walk away with the knowledge on how to do better next time then you've already succeeded.

The next time things don't seem to go the way you had hoped ask yourself a few questions...

• What could I have done better?
  
• Where did I go wrong?
  
• Did I ask for the help that I need?
  
• What did I learn?
  

Open up the ole notepad on your computer, or grab a piece of real paper, and start answering these questions. Every experience, good or bad, should be a learning experience so don't sell yourself short but hanging your head and blindly jumping into something else.

Things aren't always supposed to work out the first time around. It sounds cliche but remember nothing that's worth having is easy to get. Listen to your heart and follow your dreams with a clear head that will lead you to big things.

DEALING WITH LIFE'S PROBLEM

How often have you been living life, happy and content, and then suddenly life slaps you in the face with something unexpected? We all have problems, and the truth of the matter is that problems will never go away. They will just change form.

One time you may be struggling with health, the next with money, and still the next with relationships. That is both the curse and blessing of life.

However, you don’t have to suffer because everything isn’t perfect in your life.

Behind the Scenes of Problems

Nothing becomes a problem until you label it so. You’ve probably noticed that different people have different opinions of what problems are, and how much attention should be given to any one thing. This means that problems exist in our heads, and that we create them, define them, and fear them.

The Most Overlooked Secret

The secret to dealing with life’s problems is to realize that they are illusions of our imagination. Sure, they feel very real.

Let’s say you’re driving your car merrily down the highway, until someone cuts you off. You might fly off the handle, or you might not. It will depend on how you perceive the situation. It’s an excellent example of how some people create something to complain about where others are completely fine.

Life will always have “problems” and the way to deal with them is to let them be. You don’t have to try to analyze, fantasize, or figure out your problems. Let them figure themselves out. The more you try, the more you fuel the problem, and the more miserable you become.

52 INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES THAT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

“Don’t let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life.” – Unknown

“Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.” – Winston Churchill

“ Failures are part of life, if you don’t fail, you don’t learn. If you don’t learn, you don’t change. If you don’t change, you don’t grow.” – Unknown

“You can have results or excuses. Not both.” – Unknown

“Someone’s opinion of you doesn’t have to become your reality.” – Les Brown

“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else.” – Les Brown

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua J. Marine

“You are confined only by the walls you build yourself.” –

Andrew Murphy

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.” – Dr Seuss

“One person can make a difference and everybody should try.” – John Kennedy

“Failure doesn’t come from falling down. Failure comes from not getting up.” – Unknown

“Its hard to wait around for something you know might never happen; but its harder to give up when you know its everything you want.” – Unknown

“Good things come to those who wait… greater things come to those who get off their ass and do anything to make it happen.” – Unknown

“To hell with circumstances, I create opportunities.” –

Bruce Lee

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, or worn. It is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace & gratitude.” – Denis Waitley

“Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” – Jack Canfield

“If you don’t build your dreams, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs.”

“Being happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. it means that you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections.” – Unknown

“When you wake up in the morning you have two choices; go back to sleep and dream your dreams or wake up and chase your dreams.” – Unknown

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Christopher Columbus

“Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you.” – Jesus

“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.” – Helen Keller

“Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great.” – Orison Swett Marden

“I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure–which is: Try to please everybody.” – Herberd Bayard Swope

“Welcome every new and difficult problem in life as a new opportunity to wrestle and win — and to gain new experience and new power.” – L H. Murlin

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” – Harriet Tubman

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” – Arthur Ashe

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” – Les Brown

“All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.” – T.E. Lawrence

“Three things you cannot recover in life: the WORD after it’s said, the MOMENT after it’s missed and the TIME after it’s gone. Be Careful!” – Unknown

“There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you.” – David Burns

“A problem is only a problem when viewed as a problem.” – Unknown

“The difference between who you are and who you want to be is what you do.” – Unknown

“In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” –

Unknown

“It doesn’t matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are

going.” – Brian Tracy

“The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.” – Unknown

“You can make excuses all you want. But at the end of the day all you’ll have are poor excuses and another wasted day.” – Unknown

“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.” – William Arthur Ward

“Even the darkest nights will end and the sun will rise.” – Unknown

“ Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.” – Jamie Paolinetti

“The beautiful thing about fear is that when you run to it, it runs away.” – Robin Sharma

“Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Memories are sweet. Cherish them…” – Unknown

“Worrying does not empty tomorrow of its troubles. It empties today of its strength.” – Corrie Ten Boom

“It’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” –Abraham Lincoln

“Our greatest glory lies not in never failing but in rising every time we fail.” – Confucius

“Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind.” – Seneca

“The brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They are there to stop the other people!” – Randy Pausch

“Don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means standing alone.” – Andy Biersack

“Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe the one reason that it will.” – Unknown

“Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy, or stupid. Those things are what happen when you don’t have a plan.” – Larry Winget

“The biggest failure you can have in life is making the mistake of never trying at all.” – Unknown

“ You only live once , but if you do it right, once is all you

need.” – Unknown

BEST MOTIVATIONAL STORIES OF REAL PEOPLE THAT WILL LEAVE YOU INSPIRED!!!

Even the most laidback ones among us can motivate themselves by understanding the heartache, passion, commitment and perseverance that scripted the real-life success stories of people such as Thomas Edison and well, for aspiring writers like me, Stephen King!

Here is a short collection of motivational stories from real life that touched me to keep going when faced with never-ending obstacles. After all, what’s better than knowing that you are not alone?

You may have heard some of these stories before or they may be new to you, but go ahead, read them and get inspired. Share these with someone you think is in urgent need of a push forward. You never know, you may just motivate someone to change their lives and reach for their true destiny.

Motivational Story 1 — Michael Jordan

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” ~ Michael Jordan.

How can I talk about motivation and not mention Michael Jordan? Jordan suffered his first set-back in his sophomore year when he was left out of the varsity basketball team. Reason? He was only 5’9” at that time. His taller classmate Leroy Smith had won the last spot on the team.

He made up his mind that he would never have to face a similar situation ever again and started practicing every day after that, making it a point to take out time for his practice daily without fail. He soon shot up to 6’3”, made the team the next year and never had to look back after that.

From being a part of two gold-medal winning teams at the Olympics to winning NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award five times in his career, Jordan dominated the sports field for more than a decade in the ‘90s.

Motivational Story 2 — Lance Armstrong

Diagnosed with advanced testicular cancer at the age of 25, doctors gave Lance Armstrong less than a 40 percent chance of recovery. Tumors were discovered in his lungs and stomach along with multiple lesions on the brain.

His biking career was over or so everyone thought; but no one counted on the indomitable belief Armstrong had in himself and the lessons which his mother, Linda Walling had taught him.

One of the first things that he did was to acknowledge the disease that had captured him in its talons and learn everything he could about it. He devoured books, resources and found help in support groups with people going through similar difficulties.

Lance sought strength in three things his mother had instilled in him

“ Make every obstacle an opportunity ” , “ Always work hard and good things will happen ” and “Don’t believe it when other people say you can’t ”.

His first comeback after beating cancer was not a success and he finished fourteenth in the race. He even thought about retirement but constant support from his fiancée, mother and buddy Chris Carmichael soon had him training for his next race in the Appalachians.

He returned from his training a transformed man and never let the constant difficulties plough him down again.

True, the doping scandals have destroyed Lance’s reputation as a professional biker. But one cannot but admire his sheer will power and dedication through which he turned the odds in his favor at a time when everyone thought his life was over.

Motivational Story 3 — J.K. Rowling

From living as a single mother on state benefits to a multi-millionaire today , J.K. Rowling has come a long way from her early days of struggle and is a true epitome of the ‘rags to riches’ story.

Many a times, Rowling has attributed her considerable achievements to her ability to focus all her attention on the things that mattered to her the most.

The success of Harry Potter series is a tribute to her story-telling abilities and a reminder that everyone has a hidden talent within him or her. You just have to reach out for it and allow it to bloom.

FEAR OF DEATH

One day a young man asked his Master, “I fear death. How can I get rid of this fear?”

“Tell me,” the old man answered, “When you borrow a few coins, are you afraid to give them later back?”

“Of course not,” the student answered with surprise, “but what does this have to do with my fear?”

The teacher picked up a small piece of soil from the ground and continued, “You have received your body in debt with required return. And every bite of bread eaten by you, every sip of water drank by you increases that debt. You are made from dust on which you walk and the ground is your main creditor, constantly reminding you of this debt. It is pulling you down towards it. In the end, the ground will swallow you whole, without any remains.”

The old man threw the soil into the air, after attaining its fall, he finished, “No matter how high you rise, how long you are in the flight, you will still need to fall down. That is given. And to cope with the fear of this fall is very easy – stop thinking about yourself as the master of your body. Face the thought that you are just a tenant. And because you don’t know the length of your rent, remember that it can end at any second. We are all debtors, and our debts will certainly be recovered, no matter if we are afraid of it or not. So is there a point of being afraid?”

INSPIRATION ON DESTINY!

Someone asked a wise man:

– It is said that everyone’s destiny is determined.

The wise man nodded:

– Yes. For those who believe in it. If they think so, they believe that the circumstances of life are inevitable, consciously submitting to them and to those who created them. But there are people who do not believe in predestination, preferring to be the predestination of others.

The one who asked grunted sceptically:

– And how would then God know everything beforehand if there was no predestination? – And triumphantly looked at the wise man.

He simply raised his hands:

– I don’t know about God… He did not instruct me to answer on his behalf. But if I were him, I would be extremely bored knowing everything beforehand; it would be the same as you would be playing giveaway with yourself. I would most likely come up with a game, that would entertain me endlessly, and I would never know what the next move will be...

STRENGTH FOR GOALS

One man decided to reach for his dream. But he didn’t have enough strength to do it. So he turned to his mother:
– Mother, help me!
– Darling, I would be glad to help you, but I don’t have it. And everything I have, I already gave to you…
He asked a wise man:
– Master, tell me, where can I get strength?

– It is said that, it is on the Everest. But I couldn’t find anything there, except the snowy winds. And when I came back, the time was irretrievably lost…

He asked the hermit:
– Holy Father, where to find the strength for realization of my dream?
– In your prayers, my son. And if your dream is false, you will understand it and find peace in your prayers…
The person asked everyone, but the only result of his searches was confusion.
– Why are you so confused? – asked an old man passing by.
– I have a dream, good man. But I don’t know where to find strength for its realization. I asked everyone, but there was no one who could help me.
– No one? – a light flashed in the old man’s eyes, – And did you ask yourself?

TRUE VALUE OF LOVE

Many years ago all feeling and emotions have gathered to spend their vacation on a coastal island. Each of them was having a good time, but one day there was announced a warning of a storm and everyone had to leave the island.

This caused a panic, all rushed to their boats and only Love did not wish to be in a hurry. There was so much to do, so Love was the last, who realized that it was time to leave. However, no free boats were left and Love looked around with hope.

As Prosperity was passing by in its classy boat, Love asked: „Please, take me in your boat“. But Prosperity replied: „My boat is full of gold and other precious possessions, there is no place for you“.

Then Vanity came by in a lovely boat. Love asked: „Vanity, could you take me in your boat? Please, help me.” Vanity said: „No, your feet are muddy, and I don‘t want my boat get dirty.”

A bit later Sorrow was passing by and Love called for help. But Sorrow answered: „I am so sad, I want to be by myself“.

Then Happiness came by, Love asked for help, but Happiness was too happy, it hardly concerned about anyone.

Suddenly somebody called out: „Love, I will take you with me“. Love did not recognize its saviour, just gratefully jumped on to the boat.

When everyone had reached safe place, Love get off the boat and met Knowledge. Love asked: „Knowledge, do you know who helped me when everyone else turned away?”

Knowledge smiled: „That was Time, because only Time knows Love‘s true value and what Love is capable of. Only Love can bring peace and happiness.”

The message of this story is that when we are prosperous, we underrate Love. When we feel important, we do not appreciate love. And even in happiness and sorrow we overlook love. Only with time we realize the true value of love. Why wait and not cherish Love every day of your life?

ACT OF KINDNESS AND LOVE

By Joseph J. Mazzella

When I decided to major in English in college I thought it would be fun because I loved to read so much. It turned out to be a lot more difficult, though, than I thought it would be. The differences in the language over hundreds of years made many passages hard to comprehend.

Trying to understand Shakespeare gave me headaches and Chaucer was even worse. Reading Byron, Keats, Shelly, Emerson, and Thoreau was easier but still took a lot of effort. There were times, however, when I read passages that illuminated my mind, opened a door into my heart, and shared their wisdom with my soul.

One of these was by William Wordsworth. It went: “The best portion of a man's life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” The first time I read that I could feel it speaking to the deepest part of myself. I vowed then and there to build up the best portion of my own life. I vowed then and there to fill my days with acts of kindness and love. I didn't always succeed, of course. But over the years I slowly but surely began to love more and more. Over the years I did more and more to be kind, to help others, and to live the way I knew God wanted me to live.

What would happen if everyone followed Wordsworth's wisdom and lived from the best portion of themselves? What would happen if everyone of us filled our lives with acts of kindness and love? Would we cease to hate? Would we put an end to war? Would we make sure that no child on this Earth was hungry, lonely, or neglected? Would we all start to work together to make this world the beautiful, loving place that God meant for it to be?

Let's find out. Let's all fill our days with acts of kindness. Let's all fill our lives with acts of love. Let's all be our best selves for each other, for this world, and for God.

HOW MANY FRIENDS A PERSON NEEDS?...

A student came to a teacher and asked him, “Master, how many friends a person should have – one or a lot?”

“Everything is very simple,” the teacher answered, “pick me that red apple from the highest branch.”

The student looked up and answered, “But it’s too high, Teacher! I can’t reach it.”

“Ask a friend, maybe he will help you,” Master answered.

The student called another student and stood on his shoulders.

“I still can’t reach it, Teacher,” said the disappointed student.

“Don’t you have more friends?” the teacher smiled.

The student asked more friends who started standing up on each other’s shoulders and backs grunting, trying to build a live pyramid. But the apple was too high, the pyramid crumbled and the student wasn’t able to pick the longed apple.

Then the teacher called him back.

“So, did you understand how many friends a person needs?”

“I did, Teacher,” the student said, rubbing the injured sides, “o lot – so together we could solve any problem.”

“Yes,” the Master answered, shaking his head in disappointment, “of course you need a lot of friends. So that among all of these athletes there would be at least one smart person who would figure out to bring a ladder!”

NEVER GIVE UP!

There was an old mule. One day accidentally he fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer has evaluated the situation and thought to himself, that neither the well nor the old mule was worth the efforts to save them. Thus he decided to haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well.

So the farmer called his neighbours and together they started to shovel dirt into the well. The old mule was terrified and hysterical in the beginning. But soon one hopeful idea came to his mind – every time when a shovel of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up!

He repeated these words to himself again and again: „Shake it off and step up“. This way he could struggle the panic and encourage himself. After some time, the mule had stepped over the well‘s wall. Although terribly tired, he was the winner, he saved his own life. He decided to face his adversity positively and not to give up, and thus he won.

What seemed to bury him, actually saved him, owing to his confidence and restless efforts.

STORY ABOUT THE MEANING OF LIFE!

A grey bearded old man and a young man were observing the blooming of a lotus, sitting on a shore of a silent pond, when a young man interrupted the silence.

“Master, why the meaning of life is hidden from us? We meditate trying to understand the logic of things happening around us, we see separate parts and we are aware of their interrelations. But all of our efforts appear to be vain when a new component appears, destroying all of the previous logical constructions.”

“The meaning of life,” the teacher reluctantly turned his eyes from the flower, “can only be understood by someone whose mind isn’t clouded with earthly troubles, wishes and passions. Only new-borns are close to that state. The essence of a new-born reminds a lotus, soaring on the unshakable stillness of the pond. The surface of their soul isn’t touched by the wind of aspirations, the rain of attachments, the snow of grievance, and the ice of loss. Their moistness isn’t dried by fears, malodorous bubbles of fear don’t take to the surface the slime from the bottom, their shores are empty, and the forest by the shore doesn’t defile the child’s clean water with fallen leaves, branches and needles.

And later the World appears, with all of its meaningless worldliness. On the shores of the pond an impenetrable thicket of teachers grows up, mentors, friends, enemies, lovers, children, relatives. Constantly, the surface of the water becomes inseparable from the thick garbage on the shore. 

Every word, every moral, every kiss, every punch or kindness, every our influence disturbs the untouched soul of a child, making him to grow up and go further and further from the understanding of the meaning of life.”

“But we can’t get rid of all of this,” the student shouted out heatedly. “We are people! Our life consists of the course of these actions, this coil, the boiling of these passions and wishes! Or are you asking people to become ferns?!!”

“You’ve understood everything right, my boy,” a light smile touched the lips of the old man. “You want to search for the meaning of life? Search for it. But to do that, you will need to refuse every carnal wish, attachment and feeling, become the grass, the fern, go live in the temple, become a hermit, rip all of the ties that join you with worldly troubles and passions, and then, possibly, you will be able to go back to the beginning. But what all of this is for? Is the search worth it? 

Ask yourself this question and if the answer will be negative, remain the person between the people.”

The teacher turned his eyes towards the lotus again and finished, “And about the meaning of life you will always be able to talk with friends, while sitting in the shade of your home terrace, listening to the cheerful laughter of children, and drinking green aroma tea, that your loving wife brings you.

HOW TO MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE!

Once a student came to a wise sage and asked:
— What else do people lack to make the world better?
— They lack things that they do not ask about, — he answered. And, seeing the perplexity of a person who asked the question, explained:
— What people ask God for? Happiness, wealth, love, even talent – for the sake of success and fame. But did you hear that someone asked to make him smarter or kinder?
The student thought and shook his head.
— That‘s it! — The sage said regretfully. — Everyone consider himself sufficiently intelligent and kind, willing himself entirely different. And so the world does not become any smarter and kinder.
Leaving, the student repeated himself: “Good mind – that‘s what people do not think to ask for that the world would become better.”
But the thought to start from himself did not occur to him.

STORY ON WISHES COMING TRUE

A Young king, who has just begun to rule, had a dream about an angel that said him:

— I will fulfil one of your wish.

In the morning the king has called his three advisers:

— An angel promised me to fulfil one my wish. I wish that people of our kingdom would live happily. Tell me, which kingdom do they need?

— The kingdom of wishes! — One of advisers said immediately.

The second and third advisers wanted to say something, too, but did not have time: young king closed eyes and called an angel in his mind.

— I wish that the desires of all citizens would be fulfilled. Let my kingdom be the Kingdom of wishes…

From that moment strange events started to happen in the whole kingdom. Many people became rich, some huts turned into palaces, someone get wings and started to fly; the others became young.

People became sure that their wishes are being fulfilled immediately and everyone started to wish more than the other one. But soon they discovered that there was a lack of wishes and began to envy those who still had wishes.

Therefore they greedily stole wishes from the neighbours, friends, children …

Many people were overcome by the anger and they wished something bad to others. Palaces were collapsing and new palaces were built on their places immediately; someone became a beggar and started to send calamities to others. Someone moaned in pain and then gloated sending more painful sufferings to other people. Peace and harmony disappeared in the Kingdom of wishes. People feuded, sent the arrows of spite and ill will to each other. One man excelled the others in his craftiness: he wished a dangerous disease for himself and tried to infect it other people hugging, kissing them, and shaking their hands. The first adviser immediately dethroned the young king and proclaimed himself as a king. But soon he was dethroned by another man, that man was dethroned by someone else and a scramble of thousand ruthless wishes began around the throne.

The young king run away from the town and met an old man on the edge of the kingdom.

The old man was ploughing the land and singing a song.

— You have no wishes? — The king asked the old man with surprise.

— Surely, I have them… — the old man said.

— Why don’t you fulfil them immediately like other people do?

— Because I do not want to lose happiness like all citizen of your kingdom did.

— But you are poor, and may become rich; you are old, and you may become young!

— I am the richest man, — the old man answered. — I plough the land, sow and so build up a pearl path from my Heart to my God … and I’m younger than you, because my soul is like a baby’s.

The king said with regret:

– If you were my advisor, I would not have made a mistake.

– I was your adviser, who you did not listen to, – said the old man with no sense of reproach and continued to plough the land

SENSE OF TIME—AN INSPIRATION

Once, an old man and a young man were sitting on the shore of a wild and stormy river.

“Master,” the student asked, “why does the time flow straight, but always ripples, either slowing down to a complete stop, or racing like a cow with a thistle under her tail?”

The teacher looked at the seething water and answered:

“You see there are a few large stones in the river and a lot a small pebbles. Imagine that the river is your life. If you will only rejoice over big occasions: about your wedding that will happen next month, that after one year you will have a son, that after five years you will be able to start your business, then you will cross your life in a few jumps, like jumping from one stone to another. If you will move in small paces over the pebbles, taking joy in small things: a sunny day, the beauty of autumn forest, a good conversation, later looking back at your life you won’t see ten big stones, on which you jumped, but lots of your own traces, every of which you will be able to remember with a happy smile. And you will see that the road that you have crossed is much longer.”

“But teacher, when I love, do the work that I like, talk with a friends – the time flies fast, but the same time drags so long when I’m hurting, when I’m afraid and alone.”

“You see,” the old man answered wistfully, “this is what it should be. When we are unhappy, we don’t live but exist. During it, the time lies still in our wallets, and only for our happiness we pay the ringing coin of time, that we still have left.”

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

O ne day a man was walking along the seashore. He noticed that during the night many seashells and starfish had washed up on the shore. Thoroughly enjoying the morning sun and cool sea air, the man strolled for miles along the sand.

Far off in the distance, he saw a small figure dancing. The man was joyous that someone was celebrating life in such a grand and uninhibited manner. As he drew closer, however, it became apparent that the figure was not dancing, but repeatedly performing some act.

Approaching the small figure, the man noticed that it was a child. The girl was methodically picking up starfish from the shore and tossing them back into the surf. The man paused for a moment, puzzled, then asked, "Why are you throwing those starfish back into the ocean?"

"If I leave these starfish on the beach," she replied, "the sun will dry them, and they will die. I am throwing them back into the ocean because I want them to live."

The man was thoughtful for a moment, impressed with the child's thoughtfulness. Then he motioned up and down the miles and miles of beach and said, "There must be millions of starfish along here! How can you possibly expect to make a difference?"

The young girl pondered the man's words for a moment, then she slowly leaned over, reached down, and carefully picked up another starfish from the sand. With a gentle effort, she lobbed the starfish back out into the surf.
She turned to the man and smiled. "You may be right," she said, "but I made a difference for that one!"

IT'S ALL IN THE STATE OF YOUR MIND

It's all in the state of mind by Jack Bottinger

I’ve never talked about this before. Doing so now is a result of my sister Lorraine reminding of these events that happened over 50 years ago.

While running high school track during my sophomore year in the spring of 1955, I pulled up with a pulled hip muscle. The coach said to take it easy, but before long, I could not stand on the right leg. The pain was unbearable.

Down to the ground I went, and the EMTs were called, and a trip to the hospital was in order. The x-ray showed a fracture of the pelvic bone caused by (of all things) the musculature being so tight or strong that the muscles splintered a part of the hip bone.

The prescribed treatment by our family doctor was to lie on my back with a board between the mattress and box spring for a month. No cast or brace was needed; just lie flat and do not move.

When I inquired as to when I would be able to run again, the doctor said I may not be able to run again. With my muscular and skeletal configuration as it was in the hip, running track again could be out of the question.

Needless to say, I was stunned by the doctor's statement, but decided that was not going to happen.

Fast-forward to the fall six months later. It was September, and I had worked my way to the starting halfback position for the high school football team and was ready to run the first play in the first game of the season. My number was called, and 65 yards later, standing in the end zone, I felt that I could put that never-running-again theory to rest. I was fortunate to score 12 TDs and average over 100 yards a game--all in a seven-game schedule!

Again, fast-forward to age 70, almost three years ago. Standing on our SUV bumper attempting to throw a piece of luggage up onto the luggage rack, I slipped and fell and broke my hip once again. Another ride to the hospital, three screws in the hip, and a long recovery regimen.

While in the hospital after surgery, my son-in-law Kyle Horga challenged me to be well enough in six months to walk in the Myrtle Beach Half Marathon, a distance of 13.1 miles, which at that time seemed as far away as the moon to me.

However, five months later I walked the half marathon in Myrtle Beach and have walked two additional walks since and plan to do two more this year.

When you reach my age, you will reach the concrete conclusion that human achievement is based solely on the proper state of your mind.

by Jack Bottinger

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE OVER—ERMA BOMBECK; TERMINAL CANCER PATIENT. AN INSPIRATION!

I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the "GOOD" living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment realizing that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later, now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love you's" ... more "I'm sorry's" ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute ... look at it and really see it ... live it .. and never give it back

-------------By Erma Bombeck -- written after discovery of her terminal cancer

THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS—MUST READ!

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for 40 days, and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.

Rather than finding a saintly man, though, our hero, on entering the main room of the castle, saw a hive of activity: tradesmen came and went, people were conversing in the corners, a small orchestra was playing soft music, and there was a table covered with platters of the most delicious food in that part of the world.

The wise man conversed with everyone, and the boy had to wait for two hours before it was his turn to be given the man's attention.

The wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.

"Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something," said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. "As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill."

The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.

"Well," asked the wise man, "Did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?"

The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

"Then go back and observe the marvels of my world," said the wise man. "You cannot trust a man if you don't know his house."

Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.

"But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?" asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.

"Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you," said the wisest of wise men.

"The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."

---- By Paul Coelho in "The Alchemist"

WHAT LEGACY WOULD YOU LEAVE?

All You will leave behind for the world to remember is Your Legacy.

So ask yourself...

Will you have earned the respect of your peers and the admiration of your critics?

Will you have acted humbly at the peak of success and graceful in the face of defeat?

Will you have kept your childlike wonder and reveled in the beauty of the world and the small miracles that each day brought?

Will you be remembered for how often you laughed and brought smiles to the hearts of others?

Will small children and the elderly have been overjoyed to be around you?

Will others have trusted you with their inner most secrets?

Will you have forgiven and offered heartfelt apology?

Will you have looked for the very best, and done your utmost to build worth, in others?

Will you have fed a hungry child or clothed a naked man or given hope to a stranger in dire need?

Will you have left this world a better place by the life you have lived?

Ask yourself... what Legacy will You Leave?

START LIVING OR DIE!

Stirling Silliphant (an American student of Lee's) related an inspiring story that perfectly embodies Lee's attitude toward progressive resistance in cardiocascular training, as well as his refusal to let a person -in this case, Silliphant- underestimated his own physical limitations.

“Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We’d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a half minutes per mile]. So this morning he said to me “We’re going to go five.” I said, “Bruce, I can’t go five. I’m a helluva lot older than you are, and I can’t do five.” He said, “When we get to three, we’ll shift gears and it’s only two more and you’ll do it.” I said “Okay, hell, I’ll go for it.” So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I’m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I’m tired, my heart’s pounding, I can’t go any more and so I say to him, “Bruce if I run any more,” —and we’re still running-“if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.” He said, “Then die.” It made me so mad that I went the full five miles. Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, “Why did you say that?” He said, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being. There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

-From The Art of Expressing the Human Body By Bruce Lee, John Little

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5 GREAT WAYS TO LIVING A POSITIVE, SUCCESSFUL LIFE—BRIAN TRACY

Take Courses in Your Field

Attend seminars given by experts in your field. Take additional courses and learn everything you possibly can. Learn from the experts. Ask them questions, write them letters, read their books, read their articles and listen to people with proven track records in the area in which you want to be successful.

Get Around the Right People

Associate only with positive, success-oriented people. Get around winners. As we say, fly with the eagles. You can't fly with the eagles if you keep scratching with the turkeys. Get away from the go-nowhere types and above all, get away from negative people.

Get away from negative coworkers.

If you've got a negative boss, seriously consider changing jobs. Associating on a regular basis with negative people is enough in itself to condemn you to a life of underachievement, frustration and failure. Associate only with positive people. Get around winners.

Visualize Your Goals

The last thing before you sleep and the first thing in the morning, think about and visualize your goals as realities. See your goal as though it already existed. Your subconscious mind is only activated by affirmations and pictures that are received in the present tense. See your goal vividly just before you go to sleep. See yourself performing at your best. See the situations that you're facing working out exactly the way you want them to.

Feed Yourself Mental Pictures

See yourself living the kind of life that you want to live. See yourself with the kind of relationships, the kind of health, the kind of car, the kind of home you really want. Visualize just before you fall asleep at night. The first thing you do when you get up in the morning is to feed yourself mental pictures. Those are the two times of the day when your subconscious mind is most receptive to new programming, when you fall asleep and when you wake up.

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Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do, all day long, to keep your mind and emotions focused on your goals and financial success:

First, listen to audio programs in your car and when you travel around. Continue feeding your mind with a stream of high-quality, educational, motivational material that moves you toward your goal.

Second, resolve to associate with positive, optimistic people most of the time. Get around winners and get away from negative people who criticize, condemn and complain. This can change your life as much as any other factor.