Contact Address...

For further discussion, consultancy, coaching, counseling, training/workshop, outbound/outing/experiencial learning, facilitating, event & training organizing, etc., please do not hesitate to contact:

PT. CHOICE MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

Arthaloka Building, 11th Floor, Suite 1106
Jl. Jend. Sudirman 2Jakarta 10220
Telephone: (021) 251-1460, 251-1461, 251-1462
Facsimile: (021) 251-1459
Mobile: 0816-1815907
Email:choice@choice-mc.com, choice@indo.net.id

Lina's Profile in Brief

Jakarta, Barat, Indonesia
After taking a secretarial science degree in Tarakanita Academy, Jakarta, Lina started her working life as a secretary to Managing Director in pipe manufacturing firm in Jakarta. She spent eleven years as Executive Secretary and PA in various multinational and joint venture companies before working in human resource and training for the Joint Venture Insurance and banking firms for twelve years. Her latest position was as Human Resource and Training Manager as well as Administration Manager at Joint Venture Japanese and Singapore banks in Jakarta for 8.5 years before she decided to concentrate in management consulting business. Since year 2005, Lina has set up and established PT. Choice Management Consultants – a company which focuses in HR Consultancy, Executive Search & Outsourcing, and Learning & Development services. Lina is an acknowledged facilitator in the area of services, personality development, communication, secretarial, and administrative skills since year 1999.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Article 14 - MY GREATEST STRUGGLE

MY GREATEST STRUGGLE
by Chris Widener

I confess: I am ambitious. I am ambitious in every area of my life. I am ambitious physically, emotionally, relationally, spiritually, and financially. I am ambitious in my career. I am ambitious with both the for-profit and not-for-profit organizations I run.

But ambition isn't the problem. Something else is. It is something that runs counter to ambition. It is something I need more of in my life, which is strange, because, while ambition is good, this is good too - and they are seemingly opposites.

I need them both, yet I have huge doses of ambition and I am lacking in this other trait. It is something I want more of in my life because I believe my life will be richer for it. It will fill my life with more joy and happiness. It will make my life more full.

What is it? I'm not telling! Just joking. With a lead in like that, I couldn't resist!

It is contentment.

As I get older, I realize that most of what I pursue with such tenacity is good, but it usually comes much slower than I want it to.

This leaves me with two options: Be disappointed or. Be content. Enjoy where I am for all it has to offer, even while I work to be somewhere else.

You see, my life is pretty good. No, it is great. I make a lot of money. I have a beautiful and supportive wife. I have four astoundingly incredible kids. I live in a beautiful town. I run my own schedule. I travel to wonderful places. I run in circles I never thought I would. My friends are loyal. I have terrific business partners and lots of people who believe in me. I contribute a lot to society in many ways. My family and I are all healthy. Who could ask for anything more? Well, me. And I do.

That is a lot to ask for, isn't it? But I am ambitious, right?

Now I am learning contentment. And I imagine that it would do you some good to learn a little contentment too, wouldn't it?

So here are some thought on how to live with a little more contentment:

Take time.
Simply take time off from your ambitions. Take time to spend in leisurely pursuits. Take time to just enjoy your family and friends. In other words, stop working long enough to enjoy your life.

Appreciate.
Appreciate what you have, even if it isn't all that you want. I frequently remind myself that there are children who will wake up today, by no fault of their own, in a country with no hope of ever going anywhere. Their hope is to live through the day, and perhaps get two bowls of rice. This reminds me that I have A LOT to be appreciative of even if I never take a step further in life.

Give money, things, and time away.
Give to the less fortunate. The happiness on their faces and the warmth of their hearts will bring you a great deal of satisfaction and contentment.

Remind yourself of the treadmill trap.
John D. Rockefeller was once asked how much was enough. His answer? "Just a little bit more." Ambition can be a trap if not carefully guarded against the extremes.

Don't take yourself so seriously.
I hate to tell you this but if you died... shhh... the world would keep right on spinning. Tony Campolo says the futility of life is that when you die, your friends get together, say a prayer, throw dirt in your face and then go back to the church to eat macaroni salad and talk about sports. So, unless you are the President of a major super power, with your finger on the button, remember, your life isn't so serious that you can't take it easy and enjoy it a little bit more.

Do I have contentment down? Nope. But I am working on it. I am striving to be all that I can be and make as big of a difference in this world as long as I am here.

But I am working on enjoying the ride a bit more. I hope you will too.


You are Made for Success!
Chris Widener

No comments:

Today's Inspiration Quotes

TEAMWORK
"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean" -- Ryunosuke Satoro
"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." -- Henry Ford
"The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side." -- Margaret Carty
"When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality." -- Joe Paterno

STRESS MANAGEMENT
"In the Midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you." -- Deepak Chopra
"If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment." -- Marcus Aurelius
"I am more and more convinced that our happiness or our unhappiness depends far more on the way we meet the events of life than on the nature of those events themselves." -- Karl Wilhelm Von Humboldt
"Stress comes from within; it is your reaction to circumstances, not the circumstances themselves." -- Brian Tracy

SELF-LIMITING BELIEFS
"Self pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in the world." -- Helen Keller
"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." -- Wayne Dyer
"There is no reason to ever quit... unless of course you had no plans to ever succeed... that is called ‘Delusional Success’" -- Doug Firebaugh
"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional." -- Roger Crawford

STRATEGIC PLANNING

"It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it." - Lena Horne
"The trouble with many plans is that they are based on the way things are now. To be successful, your personal plan must focus on what you want, not what you have." -- Nido Qubein
"Where will you be in five years? Develop a plan, and then activate that plan to put yourself where you want to be in five years. Be sure to update your five-year plan at least annually in order to stay ahead of the game." -- Tom Hopkins
"When schemes are laid in advance, it is surprising how often the circumstances will fit in with them." -- Sir William Osler

STEWARDSHIP
"If you wish to have power and influence over the many, be faithful (disciplined) when there is just a few. If you have a few employees, a few distributors, a few people, that’s the time to stay in touch and be totally absorbed – when there is just a few." -- Jim Rohn
"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." -- Helen Keller
"Waste neither time nor money, but make the best use of both. Without industry and frugality, nothing will do, and with them everything." -- Benjamin Franklin
"If I knew I was going to live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself." -- Mickey Mantle

SERVICE / CUSTOMER SERVICE

"When you make them mad, it's twelve-to-one they'll leave or be leery. It takes 12 positive impressions to overcome one negative one. What do you do to recover from an angry customer?" -- Jeffrey Gitomer
"Whatever your job title, you are in the business of customer satisfaction. Who is your customer?" -- Brian Tracy
"If you make a sale, you can make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer, you can make a fortune." -- Jim Rohn
"The only certain means is to render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be." -- Og Mandino

SOWING AND REAPING / LAW OF RECIPROCITY
"Every behavior you participate in will have a consequence." -- Brian Tracy
"Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results." -- James Allen
"An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run." -- Syndey J. Harris
"Life is a process of accumulation. We either accumulate the debt or the value, the regret or the equity." -- Jim Rohn

SLIGHT EDGE
"Good work done little by little becomes great work. Your house of success will be built brick by brick." -- Max Steingart
"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." -- Thomas Edison
"The fact that you are willing to say, ‘I do not understand, and it is fine,’ is the greatest understanding you could exhibit." -- Wayne Dye
"The principle of competing is against yourself. It's about self-improvement, about being better than you were the day before." -- Steve Young

SERVICE/CUSTOMER SERVICE
"When you make them mad, it's twelve-to-one they'll leave or be leery. It takes 12 positive impressions to overcome one negative one. What do you do to recover from an angry customer?" -- Jeffrey Gitomer
"Whatever your job title, you are in the business of customer satisfaction. Who is your customer?" -- Brian Tracy
"If you make a sale, you can make a living. If you make an investment of time and good service in a customer, you can make a fortune." -- Jim Rohn
"The only certain means is to render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be." -- Og Mandino

SKILLS
"If one is master of one thing and understands one thing well, one has at the same time, insight into and understanding of many things." -- Vincent Van Gogh
"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks." -- Phillips Brooks
"Give yourself an even greater challenge than the one you are trying to master and you will develop the powers necessary to overcome the original difficulty." -- William J. Bennett
"Try to learn something about everything and everything about something." -- Thomas H. Huxley

SELF-TALK
"We become what we think about." -- Denis Waitley
"Doubt is most often the source of our powerlessness. To doubt is to be faithless, to be without hope or belief. When we doubt, our self-talk sound like this: 'I don't think I can. I don't think I will.' …To doubt is to have faith in the worst possible outcome. It is to believe in the perverseness of the universe, that even if I do well, something I don't know about will get in the way, sabotage me, or get me in the end." -- Blaine Lee
"To build your confidence, repeat over and over, ‘I feel happy! I feel healthy! I feel terrific!’" -- Brian Tracy
"If your sunshine wants far outstrip your cold morning desire, have a talk with yourself. Then have a lot more talks with yourself. Convince number one that you can succeed--and you will succeed. If you don't believe in you, why should anyone else?" -- Tom Hopkins

SELF-LIMITING BELIEFS
"Self pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in the world." -- Helen Keller
"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself." -- Wayne Dyer
"There is no reason to ever quit... unless of course you had no plans to ever succeed... that is called ‘Delusional Success’" -- Doug Firebaugh
"Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional." -- Roger Crawford

SELF-TALK
"We become what we think about." -- Denis Waitley
"Doubt is most often the source of our powerlessness. To doubt is to be faithless, to be without hope or belief. When we doubt, our self-talk sound like this: 'I don't think I can. I don't think I will.' …To doubt is to have faith in the worst possible outcome. It is to believe in the perverseness of the universe, that even if I do well, something I don't know about will get in the way, sabotage me, or get me in the end." -- Blaine Lee
"To build your confidence, repeat over and over, ‘I feel happy! I feel healthy! I feel terrific!’" -- Brian Tracy
"If your sunshine wants far outstrip your cold morning desire, have a talk with yourself. Then have a lot more talks with yourself. Convince number one that you can succeed--and you will succeed. If you don't believe in you, why should anyone else?" -- Tom Hopkins

SELF-ESTEEM
"If you have real internal value, you don't need a loud, expensive imitation." -- Denis Waitley
"Total, unconditional acceptance of yourself is the first step in building a positive self-image." -- Nido Qubein
"The most influential person who will talk to you all day is you, so you should be very careful about what you say to you!" -- Zig Ziglar
"Don't worry about impressing others, impress yourself. Who are you trying to please, anyway?" -- Mark McKeon

SELF-CONCEPT / SELF-CONFIDENCE
"Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are." -- Malcolm Forbes
"Seek respect mainly from thyself, for it comes first from within. "-- Steven H. Coogler
"What you see is what you get, and who you feel like is who you really are." -- Denis Waitley"
Would you know others? Read yourself—and learn!" -- Friedrich von Schiller

RESOLVE
"People do not lack strength; they lack will." -- Victor Hugo
"To think we are able is almost to be so; to determine upon attainment is frequently attainment itself; earnest resolution has often seemed to have about it almost a savor of omnipotence." -- Samuel Smiles
"Success and failure comes in pairs. Either you have a pair of aces called ‘Resolve and Undenied’... or a pair of jokers called ‘Wishing and Won't-ing’... your hand to play." -- Doug Firebaugh
"Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind." -- Leonardo da Vinci

REPUTATION
"Be beautiful if you can, wise if you want to... But be respected -- that is essential." -- Anna Gould
"You can't build a reputation on what you're going to do." -- Henry Ford"Accuracy builds credibility." -- Jim Rohn
"Live your life in every way to earn and keep the respect of the people you respect." -- Brian Tracy

RELATIONSHIPS
"Misfortune reveals those who are not really friends." -- Denis Waitley
"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these." -- Susan B. Anthony
"You can have everything in life you want if you'll just help enough other people to get what they want!" -- Zig Ziglar
"Friends are made by many acts...and lost by only one." -- Harvey Mackay

REFLECTION
"We should learn, by reflection on the misfortunes of others, that there is nothing singular in those which befall ourselves." -- Thomas Fitzosborne
"At the end of each day, you should play back the tapes of your performance. The results should either applaud you or prod you." -- Jim Rohn
"All of us are watchers -- of television, of time clocks, of traffic on the freeway -- but few are observers. Everyone is looking, not many are seeing." -- Peter M. Leschak
"Evaluation of the past is the first step toward vision for the future." -- Chris Widener

REFERABILITY
"Call people back immediately. One of the biggest challenges most salespeople have is that they don't want to pick up messages and call people back. Return calls now. It's the only way you can build up a solid clientele." -- Tom Hopkins
"Does he or she know you, like you, and trust you? Does he want to see you succeed? Does she want to help you find new business? If so, then you have yourself a 'Personal Walking Ambassador.'" -- Bob Burg
"Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them." -- W. Edwards Deming
"Customers talk to other customers and prospects. They will talk about the way you treat them -- good or bad. How are they talking about you?" -- Jeffrey Gitomer

RECOGNITION

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread." -- Mother Theresa
"Appreciate people. Nothing gives more joy than appreciation." -- Ruth Smeltzer
"We can secure other people's approval, if we do it right and try hard; but our own is worth a hundred of it." -- Mark Twain
"When someone does something well, applaud! You will make two people happy." -- Samuel Goldwyn

PURPOSE

"Your purpose explains what you are doing with your life. Your vision explains how you are living your purpose. Your goals enable you to realize your vision." -- Bob Proctor
"A life without purpose is a languid, drifting thing; every day we ought to review our purpose, saying to ourselves: This day let me make a sound beginning, for what we have hitherto done is naught!" -- Thomas A. Kempis
"Purpose is the engine that powers our lives." -- Denis Waitley
"I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable; to be compassionate. It is, after all, to matter: to count, to stand for something, to have made some difference that you lived at all." -- Leo C. Rosten

PREPARATION
"The foundation of confidence in virtually every field is preparation." -- Brian Tracy
"You cannot speak that which you do not know. You cannot share that which you do not feel. You cannot translate that which you do not have. And you cannot give that which you do not possess. To give it and to share it, and for it to be effective, you first need to have it. Good communication starts with good preparation." -- Jim Rohn
"One of life’s most painful moments comes when we must admit that we didn’t do our homework, that we are not prepared." -- Merlin Olsen
"It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared." -- Whitney Young, Jr.

PRESENTATION

"If you want to know what the audience is thinking, ask them." -- Tony Jeary
"Structure your selling process so that each state either answers a question or solves a problem of the customer." -- Brian Tracy
"Be brief on the logic and reason portion of your presentation. There are probably about a thousand facts about an automobile, but you don't need them all to make a decision. About a half dozen will do." -- Jim Rohn "They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." -- Carl. W. Buechner

PRIORITIES

"The easiest thing to do in the world is to neglect the important and give in to the urgent." -- Denis Waitley
"Keep in mind that you are always saying ‘no’ to something. If it isn't to the apparent, urgent things in your life, it is probably to the most fundamental, highly important things. Even when the urgent is good, the good can keep you from your best; keep you from your unique contribution, if you let it." -- Stephen Covey
"To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right." -- Confucius
"It's good to have money and the things money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven't lost the things money can't buy." -- George Horace Lormier

POWER
"If the average person realized the power he wields over his life and destiny, he would live in a perpetual state of wonder and thanksgiving." -- Earl Nightingale
"Power tires only those who do not have it." -- Giulio Andreotti
"Power is so characteristically calm, that calmness in itself has the aspect of strength." -- Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
"The power of one is above all things the power to believe in yourself. Often well beyond any latent ability previously demonstrated. The mind is the athlete, The body is simply the means it uses." -- Bryce Courtenay

POSITIVE vs. NEGATIVE
"Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be." -- Charles "Tremendous" Jones
"Instead of always harping on a man's faults, tell him of his virtues. Try to pull him out of his rut of bad habits. Hold up to him his better self, his real self that can dare and do and win out." -- Eleanor Porter
"Keep your face in the sunshine and you can never see the shadow." -- Helen Keller
"Like taking a morning shower, make the planting of positive thoughts a daily practice." -- Neil Eskelin

POTENTIAL/POSSIBILITIES
"Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential." -- Sir Winston Churchill
"No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see the possibilities - always see them, for they’re always there." -- Norman Vincent Peale
"You are infinitely lovable, infinitely desirable, because the One who most desires and loves you is also infinite." -- Deepak Chopra
"The only limitation in your life is the limitation of your own thinking." -- James A. Ray

PLANNING
"Millions long for immortality who do not know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday afternoon." -- Susan Ertz
"God has such a sense of humor... we have the opportunity to do whatever we want with our lives... and He lets us!" -- Doug Firebaugh
"The absent are never without fault. Nor the present without excuse." -- Benjamin Franklin
"Most of the time, stuff doesn’t just happen to us—we make it happen by what we do and the way we are." --Tony Jeary

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
"There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." -- Denis Waitley
"Errant assumptions lie at the root of every failure. What are yours? What if they are wrong?" -- Brian Tracy
"It is not what happens that determines the major part of your future. What happens, happens to us all. It is what you do about what happens that counts." -- Jim Rohn
"A man can get discouraged many times but he is not a failure until he begins to blame somebody else and stops trying." -- John Burroughs

NEW YEAR
"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the year leaves." -- Bill Vaughn
"Another fresh New Year is here…Another year to live!To banish worry, doubt, and fear,To love and laugh and give!This bright New Year is given meTo live each day with zest…To daily grow and try to beMy highest and my best!I have the opportunity Once more to right some wrongs,To pray for peace, to plant a tree,And sing more joyful songs!"-- William Arthur Ward
"For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice." -- T.S. Eliot
"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." -- Edith Lovejoy Pierce

CHRISTMAS
"The true sprit of Christmas is love." -- Linda Willis
"It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you… yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand." -- Mother Teresa
"Remember, if Christ isn't found in your heart, you won't find it under the tree." -- Charlotte Carpenter
"Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most." -- Ruth Carter

PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY
"Life is a do-it-for-others, do-it-to-myself project." -- Denis Waitley
"My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." -- Oprah Winfrey
"Initial response illustrates a great deal about someone's personal philosophy." -- Jim Rohn
"A character is a completely fashioned will." -- Novalis

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
"Personal development is your springboard to personal excellence. Ongoing, continuous, non-stop personal development literally assures you that there is no limit to what you can accomplish." -- Brian Tracy
"Make education a continuing, never-ending process." -- Nido Qubein
"No one limits your growth but you. If you want to earn more, learn more. That means you'll work harder for a while; that means you'll work longer for a while. But you'll be paid for your extra effort with enhanced earnings down the road." -- Tom Hopkins
"You don’t get in life what you want. You get what you are!" -- Les Brown

PATIENCE
"Patience is a bitter plant that produces sweet fruit." -- Charles Swindoll
"Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast." -- William Shakespeare
"The twin killers of success are impatience and greed." -- Jim Rohn
"Unreasonable haste is the direct road to error." -- Jean Baptiste Moliere

PERSEVERANCE/PERSISTENCE
"Failure is only postponed success as long as courage "coaches" ambition. The habit of persistence is the habit of victory." -- Herbert Kaufman
"The life that conquers is the life that moves with a steady resolution and persistence toward a predetermined goal. Those who succeed are those who have thoroughly learned the immense importance of plan in life, and the tragic brevity of time." -- W.J. Davison
"Toughness gives you the resilience to keep pressing on, even if your determination and optimism are lagging." -- Denis Waitley
"It takes time to build a corporate work of art. It takes time to build a life. And it takes time to develop and grow. So give yourself, your enterprise, and your family the time they deserve and the time they require." -- Jim Rohn

PASSION
"People think I'm disciplined. It is not discipline. It is devotion. There is a great difference." -- Luciano Pavarotti
"Chase your passion, not your pension!" -- Denis Waitley
"All thoughts, all passions, all delights, whatever stirs this mortal frame, all are but ministers of love, and feed his sacred flame." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge
"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins." -- Benjamin Franklin

OPPORTUNITIES
"Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat." -- Napoleon Hill
"There's no way you can look into the game of life and determine whether or not you'll get that big break tomorrow or whether it will take another week, month, year or even longer. But it will come!" -- Zig Ziglar
"The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes." -- Benjamin Disraeli
"Out of clutter, find Simplicity. From discord, find Harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies Opportunity." -- Albert Einstein

MOTIVATION/INSPIRATION

"Spiritual values transcend the material artifacts that we can touch and see. They take us into the realm of beauty, inspiration and love." -- Nido Qubein
"Motivation is always in direct proportion to the level of expectation." -- Denis Waitley"
Inspiration comes of working every day." -- Charles Baudelaire
"The greatest composer does not sit down to work because he is inspired, but becomes inspired because he is working." -- Ernest Newman

MODELING BEHAVIOR

"If you envy successful people, you create a negative force field of attraction that repels you from ever doing the things that you need to do to be successful. If you admire successful people, you create a positive force field of attraction that draws you toward becoming more and more like the kinds of people that you want to be like." -- Brian Tracy
"Imitate until you emulate; match and surpass those who launched you. It's the highest form of thankfulness." -- Mark Victor Hansen
"Children have more need of models than of critics." -- Carolyn Coats
"Stop the mindless wishing that things would be different. Rather than wasting time and emotional and spiritual energy in explaining why we don't have what we want, we can start to pursue other ways to get it." -- Greg Anderson

MIRACLES
"The only way to live is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle, which is exactly what it is - a miracle and unrepeatable." -- Margaret Storm Jameson
"The next time it begins to rain... lie down on your belly, nestle your chin into the grass, and get a frog's-eye view of how raindrops fall... The sight of hundreds of blades of grass bowing down and popping back up like piano keys strikes me as one of the merriest sights in the world." -- Malcolm Margolin
"The world is full of poetry. The air is living with its spirit; and the waves dance to the music of its melodies, and sparkle in its brightness." -- Percival
"Ingenuity, plus courage, plus work, equals miracles." -- Bob Richards

Quotes of The Week


All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832, German Poet/Dramatist/Novelist
The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen. – Lee Iacocca, American Industrialist and Automobile Executive
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless. – Mother Teresa, 1910-1997, Albanian-born Humanitarian and Missionary

A weed is but an unloved flower. – Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1850-1919, American Poet and Journalist
We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible. – Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970, Hall of Fame American Football Coach
What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence. – Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English Author and Critic

Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832, German Poet/Dramatist/Novelist
It's amazing what ordinary people can do if they set out without preconceived notions. - Charles F. Kettering, 1876-1958, American Engineer and Inventor
What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. - Helen Keller, 1880-1968, American Blind/Deaf Author and Lecturer

Never forget that the most powerful force on earth is love. – Nelson Rockefeller, 1908-1979, American Politician/Philanthropist/Businessman
The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own. – Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881, British Statesman and Literary Figure
Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability. – John Wooden, American Basketball Player and Coach

The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different. – Peter F. Drucker, 1909-2005, Austrian-born Management Consultant and Author
It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. – Benjamin E. Mays, 1895-1984, American Educator and Clergyman
There is no victory at bargain basement prices. – Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890-1969, 34th President of the United States


You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories. – Stanislaw J. Lec, 1909-1966, Polish Writer
We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. – George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish Playwright and Nobel Prize Winner
Even a mistake may turn out to be the one thing necessary to a worthwhile achievement. – Henry Ford, 1863-1947, American Industrialist and Founder of Ford Motor Company

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind. – Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English Author and Critic
Praise out of season, or tactlessly bestowed, can freeze the heart as much as blame. – Pearl S. Buck, 1892-1973, American Writer
You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing. – Arthur Ashe, 1943-1993, American Tennis Player
Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud. – Hermann Hesse, 1877-1962, German Writer
Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of happiness. – George Santayana, 1863-1952, Spanish-born American PhilosopherVitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over. – F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1896-1940, American Author

The time is always right to do what is right. – Martin Luther King, Jr., 1929-1968, American Civil Rights Leader
You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality. – Walt Disney, 1901-1966, American Film Producer/Director/Animator
Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one. – Eleanor Roosevelt, 1884-1962, American Humanitarian and Former First Lady of the United States
When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain. – Mark Twain, 1835-1910, American Writer and Humorist
One may sometimes tell a lie, but the grimace that accompanies it tells the truth. – Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844-1900, German Philosopher
Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. – Helen Keller, 1880-1968, American Blind/Deaf Author and Lecturer

Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. – Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, 26th President of the United States
Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm. – Earl Nightingale, 1921-1989, American Motivational Author and Radio Broadcaster
Keep your fears to yourself, but share your inspiration with others. – Robert Louis Stevenson, 1850-1894, Scottish Novelist/Poet/Travel Writer

Make it a point to do something every day that you don't want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain. – Mark Twain, 1835-1910, American Writer and Humorist
Experience is one thing you can't get for nothing. – Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish Dramatist/Novelist/Poet
It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one. – George Washington, 1732-1799, 1st President of the United States

Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later. – Og Mandino, 1923-1996, American Motivational Author and Speaker
It is better to understand little than to misunderstand a lot. – Anatole France, 1844-1924, French Author
Did you ever see an unhappy horse? Did you ever see a bird that had the blues? One reason why birds and horses are not unhappy is because they are not trying to impress other birds and horses. – Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, American Author and Achievement Expert

Out of difficulties grow miracles. – Jean de La Bruyère, 1645-1696, French Writer
Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. – Mother Teresa, 1910-1997, Albanian-born Humanitarian and Missionary
One worthwhile task carried to a successful conclusion is worth half-a-hundred half-finished tasks. – Malcolm S. Forbes, 1917-1990, American Publisher

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, American Poet and Essayist
Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings. – Samuel Johnson, 1709-1784, English Author and Critic
You've got to say, "I think that if I keep working at this and want it badly enough I can have it." It's called perseverance. – Lee Iacocca, American Industrialist and Automobile Executive

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. – Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-born American Physicist
No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change. – Barbara De Angelis, American Author and Expert on Relationships and Personal Growth
It is better to know nothing than to know what ain't so. – Josh Billings, 1818-1885, American Humorist and Lecturer

A man paints with his brains and not with his hands. – Michelangelo, 1475-1564, Italian Renaissance Sculptor and Painter
Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless. – Thomas Edison, 1847-1931, American Inventor and Entrepreneur
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. – Carl Jung, 1875-1961, Swiss Psych

We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945, 32nd President of the United States
If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? – John Wooden, American Basketball Player and Coach
Painting is just another way of keeping a diary. – Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973, Spanish Artist and Painteriatrist

It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters. – Mother Teresa, 1910-1997, Albanian-born Humanitarian and Missionary
Swing hard, in case they throw the ball where you're swinging. – Duke Snider, American Baseball Player
It is a miserable state of mind to have few things to desire, and many things to fear. – Francis Bacon, 1561-1626, British Philosopher/Essayist/Statesman

True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost. – Charles Caleb Colton, 1780-1832, British Author and Clergyman
Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is. – Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970, American Football Coach
Success is dependent upon the glands -- sweat glands. – Zig Ziglar, American Sales Trainer and Motivational Author/Speaker

We must use time as a tool, not as a crutch. – John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, 35th President of the United States
Opportunity rarely knocks on your door. Knock rather on opportunity's door if you ardently wish to enter. – B. C. Forbes, 1880-1954, Scottish-born Financial Journalist and Author
A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time. – Mark Twain, 1835-1910, American Writer and Humorist

Find the person who will love you because of your differences and not in spite of them and you have found a lover for life. – Leo Buscaglia, 1924-1998, American Author and Expert on Love and Human Relationships
It takes as much courage to have tried and failed as it does to have tried and succeeded. – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, 1906-2001, American Aviator and Author
There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly. – R. Buckminster Fuller, 1895-1983, American Architect and Engineer

The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. - Mark Twain, 1835-1910, American Writer and Humorist
It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem. – Malcolm S. Forbes, 1917-1990, American Publisher
Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes. – Jawaharlal Nehru, 1889-1964, Indian Prime Minister

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. – Albert Camus, 1913-1960, French Author and Philosopher
Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. – George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish Playwright and Literary Critic
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. – Chinese Proverb

When you choose your friends, don't be short-changed by choosing personality over character. – W. Somerset Maugham, 1874-1965, British Novelist and Playwright
Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon or star. – Confucius, 551-479 B.C., Chinese Thinker and Social Philosopher
If you want to make good use of your time, you've got to know what's most important and then give it all you've got. – Lee Iacocca, American Industrialist and Automobile Executive

What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love! – Victor Hugo, 1802-1885, French Poet/Dramatist/Novelist
When we have done our best, we should wait the result in peace. – John Lubbock, 1834-1913, English Archaeologist/Naturalist/Politician
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, German-born American Physicist

Nine tenths of education is encouragement. – Anatole France, 1844-1924, French Author
The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love. – Hubert H. Humphrey, 1911-1978, American Politician and Vice President
It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them. – Mark Twain, 1835-1910, American Writer and Humorist

If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you'll die a lot of times. – Dean Smith, American Basketball Coach
Take a chance! All life is a chance. The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. – Dale Carnegie, 1888-1955, American Author/Lecturer/Course Developer
Knowledge rests not upon truth alone, but upon error also. – Carl Jung, 1875-1961, Swiss Psychiatrist

Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones. – Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882, American Poet and Essayist
The person interested in success has to learn to view failure as a healthy, inevitable part of the process of getting to the top. – Joyce Brothers, American Psychologist/Columnist/Author
Positive anything is better than negative nothing. – Elbert Hubbard, 1856-1915, American Philosopher and Writer

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something. – Wilson Mizner, 1876-1933, American Playwright and Entrepreneur
The hardest tumble a man can make is to fall over his own bluff. – Ambrose Bierce, 1842-1914, American Author/Editor/Journalist
The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team. – John Wooden, American Basketball Coach and Player

A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something. – Wilson Mizner, 1876-1933, American Playwright and Entrepreneur
The hardest tumble a man can make is to fall over his own bluff. – Ambrose Bierce, 1842-1914, American Author/Editor/Journalist
The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team. – John Wooden, American Basketball Coach and Player

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. - George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish Playwright and Nobel Prize Winner
Find the person who will love you because of your differences and not in spite of them and you have found a lover for life. - Leo Buscaglia, 1924-1998, American Author and Expert on Love and Human Relationships
Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers. - Voltaire, 1694-1778, French Writer and Philosopher

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future. – George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish Dramatist and Literary Critic
I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars. – Og Mandino, 1923-1996, American Motivational Author and Speaker
We don't receive wisdom; we must discover it for ourselves after a journey that no one can take for us or spare us. – Marcel Proust, 1871-1922, French Novelist

Being right half the time beats being half-right all the time. – Malcolm S. Forbes, 1917-1990, American Publisher
I don't wait for moods. You accomplish nothing if you do that. Your mind must know it has got to get down to work. – Pearl S. Buck, 1892-1973, American Novelist and Pulitzer Prize Winner
Great minds must be ready not only to take opportunities, but to make them. – Charles Caleb Colton, 1780-1832, British Author and Clergyman

The ability to change your life comes from the power of love in your heart. Love connects you to other people's emotions. It's the ultimate source of emotional fuel, so plug into it! – Peggy McColl, Canadian Author and Goal Achievement Expert
It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882-1945, 32nd President of the United States
There is nothing like a dream to create the future. – Victor Hugo, 1802-1885, French Poet/Dramatist/Novelist

Gray skies are just clouds passing over. – Duke Ellington, 1899-1974, American Jazz Composer/Pianist/Bandleader
Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. – Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919, 26th President of the United States
To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. – Thomas Edison, 1847-1931, American Inventor and Entrepreneur

The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. – Vince Lombardi, 1913-1970, Hall of Fame American Football Coach
Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction. – Anne Frank, 1929-1945, German-born Diarist
The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. – Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887, American Preacher/Orator/Writer

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains! – John Muir, 1838-1914, Scottish-born Environmentalist and Naturalist
We never know the worth of water till the well is dry. – Thomas Fuller, 1608-1661, British Clergyman and Author
I never did a day's work in my life. It was all fun. – Thomas Edison, 1847-1931, American Inventor and Entrepreneur

No man ever listened himself out of a job. – Calvin Coolidge, 1872-1933, 30th President of the United States
No one has ever drowned in sweat. – Lou Holtz, American College Football Coach and Motivational Speaker
No man is rich enough to buy back his past. – Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish Dramatist/Novelist/Poet

Many believe that self-help and self-improvement is about rags to riches, failure to success, and so forth, when indeed it is the beginning of a journey into self-discovery. Inside every human being is an eternal truth and a life purpose. Using our mind power is simply starting the engine on that journey of self-discovery and highest self-actualization. – Eldon Taylor, author of "Choices and Illusions
When you make a world tolerable for yourself, you make a world tolerable for others. – Anais Nin, 1903-1977, French-born Author and Diarist
Happiness is a direction, not a place. – Sydney J. Harris, 1917-1986, American Journalist

Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. – Vincent Van Gogh, 1853-1890, Dutch Painter
Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. – Frank Lloyd Wright, 1867-1959, American Architect
The value of an idea lies in the using of it. – Thomas Edison, 1847-1931, American Inventor and Entrepreneur