The Important Things in Life

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be - a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger - but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.

Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.

If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

Make every day count.

Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again.

Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they have to say.

Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.

You can make anything you wish of your life. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

And if you love someone tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.

Achievement is largely the product of steadily raising one's levels of aspiration and expectation

-- Jack Nicklaus, American Golfer

Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker.
Failure is delay, not defeat.
It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.
Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.
--Denis Waitley, American Author/Speaker/Peak Performance Expert

Weakness or Strength?

Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.

Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.

Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

Great Therapy

Karl Menninger, the [late] psychiatrist, was asked what someone, who feels to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown - should do.


His advice?
"Lock your house, go across the railroad tracks,
find someone in need and do something for him."
It will be your greatest therapy!

Dwelling on the negative simply contributes to its power

- Shirley MacLaine, American Movie Actress



"The world can change in an instant.

So can the way you choose to see it.

Why not choose to see the good in yourself and others."

--Bob Perks, Author and Speaker

Lighten Up

Never take life seriously.
Nobody gets out alive anyway.

"Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough."--

Og Mandino
1923-1996, Author and Speaker

TO TEACH

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around.."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."
His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs.Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to."

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children.

Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honours. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference" Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."

(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing )

Warm someone's heart today. . . pass this along. I love this story so very much, I cry every time I read it. Just try to make a difference in someone's life today? tomorrow? just "do it".

Random acts of kindness, I think they call it!

"Believe in Angels, then return the favour"

Ability

Ability is what you're capable of doing.
Motivation determines what you do.
Attitude determines how well you do it.



A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway
- JEROME CUNNINGS -

Childcare

An effective tool when working with young children is that every time you give a direction have the child respond with "Yes, Mom", "Yes, Dad" or "Yes Sir". You teach them this method by giving your direction, without changing the inflection in your voice, when adding on the "Yes, ___" part. For example, "Sebastian, pick up your toys, say yes, Mom."

This action puts the child in a positive frame of mind, moving the child away from the oppositional part of the brain (limbic system).

SUCCESS

"I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and

an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen."

 - Frank Lloyd Wright

Happiness is found along the way, not at the end of the road

Interaction Tip - Keep Cool

Traveling is one of those times when everything is out of your control!

Things to keep in mind every time you travel; always accept that nothing can change circumstances as they are happening to you, you can’t never change people with whom you interact at that moment of interaction period.

When an occurrence like a delay a lost luggage is not of your liking, it is nonetheless taking place. You will be wasting energy by resisting; the only result of doing this is stress. Instead of avoiding what you don’t like, surrender and face what you feel, accept as part of life the need to process your negative emotions, relax and think!

Each time you work through your fears and negative emotions you will be better prepare for your future. Accepting what it feels to go through circumstances or people we don’t like, it is a good thing, it makes us a better person.

20 Suggestions For Success

20 Suggestions For Success
By H. Jackson Brown


Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.

Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent.

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.

Be forgiving of yourself and others.

Be generous.

Have a grateful heart.

Persistence, persistence, persistence.

Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.

Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.

Commit yourself to constant improvement.

Commit yourself to quality.

Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.

Be loyal.

Be honest.

Be a self-starter.

Be decisive even if it means you'll sometimes be wrong.

Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did.

TAKE GOOD CARE OF THOSE YOU LOVE !!!

Be An Encourager

A SPARK OF ENCOURAGEMENT
CAN REKINDLE WARMTH IN THE HEART!!!
The power in words can build up or tear down-
Create a big smile or produce a sad frown;
So in all your contacts with people each day,
Be sure to encourage in all that you say.
- Fitzhugh -

DREAM

Dream...
and as you dream
remember that only you
can make your dreams come true

Reach...
and as you reach
remember that success takes time, devotion
and sometimes a little dissapointment.

Believe...
and as you believe,
you'll find that reaching gets easier and
setbacks get more manageable.

Life becomes more meaningful.

STRETCH-ERCISE

The Birth of Motion
by Ben Agustin
1657F Waterdam Road
Balic-Balic, Olongapo City

The Stretch-ercise is best performed upon waking up or during relaxation time w/ empty stomach.

Follow desired positions, at the end of comfort zone or onset of pain, hold the position or increase pressure during motion.

Cycle Breath: inhale/exhale one breath per second for 15 seconds (may be increased as desired)

Feel the tingling sensations and body relaxation before proceeding with next position.



Log Posture


Arm or Neck Stretch


Palm or Spine Stretch


Folded Legs Stretch


Leg Raise stretch


Back Arch Stretch


Spine and Body Stretch

'Questions to Ponder'

Want to learn the keys to becoming a great communicator?

Read below today's 'Questions to Ponder' for more information.
____________________________________________


"How well we communicate is determined not by how well we say things but by how well we are understood."

-- Andy Grove, CEO, Intel Corporation


Questions to Ponder

By which measuring stick do I measure my communication
skills, my words or by being understood?

What could I do to be better understood today?

Who is Right or Wrong . . .

By the time a man realizes that maybe
his father was right, he usually has a
son who thinks he's wrong.
-- Charles Wadsworth

"It doesn't matter who my father was;
it matters who I remember he was".
--Anne Sexton, 1928-1974, American Poet and Writer

Do not cut down the tree that gives you shade.
-- Persian Proverb

you’re made

“Once you’re dead, you’re made for life.”
—Jimi Hendrix

Inspirational Thought...

The supreme happiness of life
is the conviction of being loved for yourself,
or, more correctly, being loved in spite of yourself.

-Victor Hugo

Growing up

Growing up is not just a continual accumulation of new learning; you have to discard some of what you learned before.

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried someting new.

Laughter is indeed the best medicine

The old adage has been backed up by a recent study. Findings show that people with a good sense of humor and a propensity to laugh may be less likely to develop heart disease when compared to aggressive, antisocial personalities.

So go ahead, laugh and make others laugh.

Understanding Meditation

When beginning meditation practice, one often wonders how meditation will help and also, what should one expect from this practice? Meditation is a form of quietly 'letting go' of one's everyday reality, and becoming silent, in the embrace of eternity. By assuming a comfortable, yet alert posture, in a quiet, undisturbed location, it is best to first let your mind wander and as questions pop to mind, try answering yourself, silently. This is for me the best way to not only clear one's mind of worries, but find solutions to what is stressful, in our lives. This would seem contrary to many meditation practitioners, but I have been doing meditation practices for years, and find this is the best way for not only myself, but others.

As we begin, sitting quietly, questions that seems so large and intruding before meditation, become distant, as they seem to fade away, in our minds. One will 'hear' in his 'still small voice within', answers that at first seem to be coming from ourselves, but soon you will understand that you could not possibly have discovered these same answers, without meditation and focus. This is the main point of meditation. Quiet contemplation that soon fades away into, self discovery

BJ Pemberton -www.edenseve.net

THE LIGHTER SIDE

The classroom was very noisy so the teacher said: "May all the dumb ones stand up."

No one stood up and the class was quiet like a cemetery. Seconds later one kid stood up.

The teacher asked: "Why did you get up? Are you dumb?"

"No," said the kid, "I felt bad to see you stand all alone, Ma’am."

* * *

The ten-year-old boy was failing math. His parents tried everything to get him to do well in school, but nothing worked.

Finally they enrolled him in a Catholic school. From his first day, the boy spent every night poring over his books.

When his first report card arrived home, he had received an A in mathematics.

"Son," his father asked, "what made the difference? The nuns? The textbooks?"

"I’d never taken math so seriously before," the boy admitted, "but when I walked in and saw that guy nailed to the plus sign, I knew this place meant business!"

So many reasons!

Last night I looked up at the stars and matched each one with a reason why I love you. I was doing great, but then I ran out of stars.

The Power of Personal Charisma

by: Brian Tracy

Become An Irresistible Person

Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines charisma as "a personal magic of leadership arousing special popular loyalty or enthusiasm for a public figure."

Develop Personal Magnetism

Charisma is also that special quality of magnetism that each person has and that each person uses to a certain degree. You have a special charisma to the people who look up to you, who respect and admire you, including the members of your family, your friends and coworkers. Whenever and wherever a person feels a positive emotion toward another, he imbues that person with charisma, or attractiveness.

Project Yourself Positively

In trying to explain charisma, some people speak of an "aura." This aura is a light that is invisible to most people, but not to everyone, and that radiates out from a person and affects the people around that person in a positive or negative way.

The halo around the heads of saints and mystics in many religious paintings was the artist's attempt to depict the light that people reported seeing around the heads of these men and women when they were speaking or praying, or in an intense emotional state.

Control The Impression You Make

You also have an aura around you that most people cannot see but that is there, nevertheless. This aura affects the way people react and respond to you, either positively or negatively. There is a lot that you can do, and a lot of good reasons for you to do it, to control this aura and make it work in your best interests.


Sell Your Way To The Top

If you're in sales, this aura, reflecting your level of charisma, can have a major impact on the way your prospects and customers treat you and deal with you. Top salespeople seem to be far more successful than the average salespeople in getting along with their customers. They're always more welcome, more positively received and more trusted than the others. They sell more, and they sell more easily. They make a better living, and they build better lives.

Salespeople with charisma get far more pleasure out of their work and suffer far less from stress and rejection. The charismatic salesperson is almost invariably a top performer in his field and enjoys all the rewards that go with superior sales.

Influence People Around You

If you're in business, developing greater charisma can help you tremendously in working with your staff, your suppliers, your bankers, your customers and everyone else upon whom you depend for your success. People seem naturally drawn to those who possess charisma.

They want to help them and support them. When you have charisma, people will open doors for you and bring you opportunities that otherwise would not have been available to you.

Enhance Your Personal Relationships

In your personal relationships, the quality of charisma can make your life more joyous, happier. People will naturally want to be around you. Members of your family and your friends will be far happier in your company, and you will have a greater influence on them, causing them to feel better about themselves and to do better at the important things in their lives.

Action Exercises

First, identify the people with whom you seem to have a lot of charisma - the people who know you, like you, respect you the most. How could you increase your charisma with these people?

Second, identify the people who have charisma to you, the people you most like and respect and admire. What is there about them that you could copy or emulate?

If you think charisma, you'll have more of it.

GREAT Lesson

WHAT YOU SEE, IS WHAT YOU GET

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

Visualize what you want.
See it, feel it, believe in it.
Your mind is your mental workshop.
You can build anything you want in it.
The beginning of your success is in your imagination.

Make your mental blueprint
and then begin construction.
See things as you would have them be
instead of as they are.

Use your imagination to perceive your new reality
even when it's not fully materialized.
Remember, you must first clearly see a thing in
your mind before you can do it or have it.

Your imagination will show you
how to turn possibility into reality.
First think, then organize your thoughts into plans.
Then transform your thoughts into reality
by taking some positive action.

See the things you want as already yours.
Think of them as yours,
as belonging to you,
as already in your possession.
Picture yourself as having already achieved your goal.

Dreams and ideas can cross continents and oceans.
They go anywhere you can go.

What you see is what you get.

Rags or Riches? It's Your Choice

Rags or Riches? It's Your Choice

by Mike Duffey (excerpts)

One of my favorite sayings is, "Only the TRUTH will set you free." The truth that phrase is referring to is UNIVERSAL TRUTH, not personal opinion. There are universal truths that apply to every business, just as the law of gravity applies to life. If you step off the top of a 20 story building without a parachute you're gonna' die, no matter how strongly you believe you can fly. The same analogy applies to any business. If you violate universal truths, of business or life, you'll never have LONG TERM success.

One of my mentor's favorite sayings is, "Leaders are Readers." People who are serious about success find time to study their area of interest.

Education is just the first half of the success equation. Most people mistakenly believe "Knowledge is Power." But the truth is, knowledge without ACTION isn't anything. The true statement is APPLIED Knowledge is Power. That requires action. And you can take that to the bank!

Most people fail at network marketing because they make bad choices. And once they make those choices, many put on blinders to the UNIVERSAL TRUTHS that are out there. If you're looking at network marketing for the first time, get a little education before jumping in. If you've made bad choices in the past or are not having the success you desire, don't despair. It's never too late to start making better choices

Attitudes Are More Important Than Facts

~Read these twelve points every day for the next thirty days and see how your life changes.~

1. It is your attitude at the beginning of a task more than anything else that will determine your success or failure.

2. It is your attitude towards life that will determine life's attitude towards you. Despite many people's belief to the contrary, life pays no favorites.

3. You control your attitude. If you are negative it is because you have decided to be negative and not because of other people or circumstances.

4. Act as if you have a good attitude. Remember actions trigger feelings just as feelings trigger actions.

5. Before a person can achieve the kind of results he wants, he must first become that person. He must then think, walk, talk, act and conduct himself in all of his affairs, as would the person he wishes to become.

6. Treat everybody as the most important person in the world.

7. Attitudes are based on assumptions. In order to change attitudes one must first change one's assumptions.

8. Develop the attitude that there are more reasons why you should succeed than reasons why you should fail.

9. When you are faced with a problem, adopt the attitude that you can and will solve it.

10. We become what we think about. Control your thoughts and you will control your life.

11. Radiate the attitude of confidence, of well being, of a person who knows where he is going. You will then find good things happening to you right away.

12. In order to develop a good attitude, take charge first thing in the morning. Do you say, "Good morning, Lord" or "Good Lord, morning?"

secret of getting ahead

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.

Think on this.......

The only thing that separates successful people from the ones who aren't is the willingness to work very very hard.

--Helen Gurley Brown (1922 - )
editor and writer, Cosmopolitan magazine

there's nothing you can't accomplish

The truth of the matter is that there's nothing you can't accomplish if:

(1) You clearly decide what it is that you're absolutely committed to achieving,

(2) You're willing to take massive action,

(3) You notice what's working or not, and

(4) You continue to change your approach until you achieve what you want, using whatever life gives you along the way.

...Anthony Robbins 1960-, American Author,
Speaker, Peak Performance Expert / Consultant