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Good
day! The sun's come up once more, and we're all here on this
planet
to give and love and share and feel. . . we hope that your newest
day of your
life is a very positive one, and that you're able to find
something here that's
useful and relevant to you, wherever you are and whatever you're
going through! |
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| One's
philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in
the choices one makes. . . In the long run, we shape our lives
and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And
the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.
Eleanor
Roosevelt
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An
honest reputation is within the reach of all people; they obtain
it by social virtues, and by doing their duty. This kind of
reputation, it is true, is neither brilliant nor startling, but
it is often the most useful for happiness.
Charles
Pinot Duclos
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There is too little idea of
personal responsibility; too much of "the world owes me a
living," forgetting that if the world does owe you a
living, you must be your own collector.
Theodore N. Vail
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To
keep your character intact you cannot stoop to filthy acts.
It makes it easier to stoop the next time.
Katherine Hepburn
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The
Strangest Secret, Part One
Earl
Nightingale
Some
years ago, the late Nobel prize-winning Dr.
Albert Schweitzer was asked by a reporter,
"Doctor, what's wrong with men today?"
The great doctor was silent a moment, and then he
said, "Men simply don't think!"
It's
about this that I want to talk with you. We live
today in a golden age. This is an era that
humanity has looked forward to, dreamed of, and worked
toward for thousands of years. We live in the
richest era that ever existed on the face of the
earth. . . a land of abundant opportunity for
everyone.
However,
if you take 100 individuals who start even at the age
of 25, do you have any idea what will happen to those
men and women by the time they're 65? These 100
people believe they're going to be successful.
They are eager toward life, there is a certain sparkle
in their eye, an erectness to their carriage, and life
seems like a pretty interesting adventure to them.
But
by the time they're 65, only one will be rich, four
will be financially independent, five will still be
working, and 54 will be broke — depending on others
for life's necessities.
Only
five out of 100 make the grade! Why do so many
fail? What has happened to the sparkle that was
there when they were 25? What has become of the
dreams, the hopes, the plans. . . and why is
there such a large disparity between what these people
intended to do and what they actually accomplished?
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The
Definition of Success
First,
we have to define success and here is the best
definition I've ever been able to find:
"Success is the progressive realization of a
worthy ideal."
A
success is the school teacher who is teaching because
that's what he or she wants to do. A success is
the entrepreneur who start his own company because
that was his dream — that's what he wanted to
do. A success is the salesperson who wants to
become the best salesperson in his or her company and
sets forth on the pursuit of that goal.
A
success is anyone who is realizing a worthy
predetermined ideal, because that's what he or she
decided to do. . . deliberately. But only one
out of 20 does that! The rest are
"failures."
Rollo
May, the distinguished psychiatrist, wrote a wonderful
book called Man's Search for Himself, and in
this book he says: "The opposite of courage
in our society is not cowardice. . . it is
conformity." And there you have the reason
for so many failures. Conformity — people
acting like everyone else, without knowing why or
where they are going.
We
learn to read by the time we're seven. We learn
to make a living by the time we're 30. Often by
that time we're not only making a living, we're
supporting a family. And yet by the time we're
65, we haven't learned how to become financially
independent in the richest land that has ever been
known. Why? We conform! Most of us
are acting like the wrong percentage group — the 95
who don't succeed.
Goals
Have
you ever wondered why so many people work so hard and
honestly without ever achieving anything in
particular, and why others don't seem to work hard,
yet seem to get everything? They seem to have
the "magic touch." You've heard people
say, "Everything he touches turns to
gold." Have you ever noticed that a person
who becomes successful tends to continue to become
more successful? And, on the other hand, have
you noticed how someone who's a failure tends to
continue to fail?
The
difference is goals. People with goals succeed
because they know where they're going. It's that
simple. Failures, on the other hand, believe
that their lives are shaped by circumstances. . . by
things that happen to them. . . by exterior forces.
Think
of a ship with the complete voyage mapped out and
planned. The captain and crew know exactly where
the ship is going and how long it will take — it has
a definite goal. And 9,999 times out of 10,000,
it will get there.
Now
let's take another ship — just like the first —
only let's not put a crew on it, or a captain at the
helm. Let's give it no aiming point, no goal,
and no destination. We just start the engines
and let it go. I think you'll agree that if it
gets out of the harbor at all, it will either sink or
wind up on some deserted beach — a derelict.
It can't go anyplace because it has no destination and
no guidance.
It's
the same with a human being. However, the human
race is fixed, not to prevent the strong from winning,
but to prevent the weak from losing. Society
today can be likened to a convoy in time of war.
The entire society is slowed down to protect its
weakest link, just as the naval convoy has to go at
the speed that will permit its slowest vessel to
remain in formation.
That's
why it's so easy to make a living today. It
takes no particular brains or talent to make a living
and support a family today. We have a plateau of
so-called "security." So, to succeed,
all we must do is decide how high above this plateau
we want to aim.
Throughout
history, the great wise men and teachers,
philosophers, and prophets have disagreed with one
another on many different things. It is only on
this one point that they are in complete and unanimous
agreement — the key to success and the key to
failure is this:
We
Become What We Think About
This
is The Strangest Secret! Now, why do I say it's
strange, and why do I call it a secret?
Actually, it isn't a secret at all. It was first
promulgated by some of the earliest wise men, and it
appears again and again throughout the Bible.
But very few people have learned it or understand
it. That's why it's strange, and why for some
equally strange reason it virtually remains a secret.
Marcus
Aurelius, the great Roman Emperor, said:
"A man's life is what his thoughts make of
it."
Disraeli
said this: "Everything comes if a man will
only wait. . . a human being with a settled purpose
must accomplish it, and nothing can resist a will that
will stake even existence for its fulfillment."
William
James said: "We need only in cold blood
act as if the thing in question were real, and it will
become infallibly real by growing into such a
connection with our life that it will become
real. It will become so knit with habit and
emotion that our interests in it will be those which
characterize belief." He continues, ".
. . only you must, then, really wish these things, and
wish them exclusively, and not wish at the same time a
hundred other incompatible things just as
strongly."
My
old friend Dr.
Norman Vincent Peale put it this way:
"If you think in negative terms, you will get
negative results. If you think in positive
terms, you will achieve positive results."
George Bernard Shaw said: "People are
always blaming their circumstances for what they
are. I don't believe in circumstances. The
people who get on in this world are the people who get
up and look for the circumstances they want, and if
they can't find them, make them."
Well,
it's pretty apparent, isn't it? We become what
we think about. A person who is thinking about a
concrete and worthwhile goal is going to reach it,
because that's what he or she's thinking about.
Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't
know where he or she's going, and whose thoughts must
therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety, fear, and
worry will thereby create a life of frustration, fear,
anxiety and worry. And if that person thinks
about nothing. . . that person becomes nothing.
To
be continued. . . .
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Living
Life Fully, the e-zine
exists to try to provide for visitors of the world wide web a
place
of growth, peace, inspiration, and encouragement. Our
articles
are presented as thoughts of the authors--by no means do
we
mean to present them as ways that anyone has to live
life. Take
from them what you will, and disagree with
whatever you disagree
with--just know that they'll be here for you
each week. |
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The
Change We Wish to See
Lucy Lopez
I
am deeply grateful for the wisdom of so many great human beings
who have gone before us, as well as of those who are still with
us. Their wisdom is
like a balm whose healing penetrates all wounds, gently
restoring the wounded to well-being.
What I am especially thankful for, and admire somewhat
inadequately, is their lived and living wisdom, for it is this
wisdom that has given rise to hope.
Ghandi,
Mandela, Galileo, Aung San Suu Kyi, King and Jesus, to name a
few, were (or are) livers of wisdom.
At enormous personal peril, these fellow human beings
lived a wisdom that transcended the mere ego-minds of many,
including those who, through fear, sought to control and oppress
them. Fortunately
for us, they are not the only livers of wisdom, for there are
indeed many other transcendent human beings, many of whose names
are unknown to us, but who also have been the embodiment of
wisdom.
I
have noticed that, accompanying their wisdom has been an
abiding quality of peace, a peace that has remained indissoluble
even in the dimmest and most forsaken moments of their lives; a
peace in which the murmur of hope has risen to a crescendo, it
would seem.
These
human beings have shown us that within the wisdom of their
godliness is found the peace of the divine, the transcendent.
It is a godliness that we too possess, but which we do
not necessarily see. Seeing
is an active thing, experiential, as Albert Low tells us in his
beautiful and profound little book, the Iron Cow of Zen.
When
we can sit in our godliness, seeing it and experiencing it,
experiencing our greater transcendent self, we touch its wisdom
and we embody its peace. Slowly
we break out in a smile, having heard the murmur of hope.
And
what is the nature of this hope?
What is its promise?
What does it answer?
Referring
to his life in prison for over a quarter of a century, Nelson
Mandela says in his epic autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom:
“It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for
the freedom of my own people became the hunger for the freedom
of all people, white and black.
I knew as well as I knew anything that the oppressor must
be liberated just as surely as the oppressed.
A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a
prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice
and narrow-mindedness”. I
hear the wisdom of the transcendent in these words.
After
the overturn of the system of apartheid that “formed the
basis of the harshest, most inhumane, societies the world has
ever known”, and which had been "...replaced by one that
recognized the rights and freedoms of all peoples….”,
Mandela says: “I never lost hope that this great
transformation would occur”.
The world has witnessed the revolution that this hope
kindled.
Like
Mandela's, the lives of the enlightened men and women of
this world have been revolutionary. Their lives have been
revolutionary not simply because their beliefs have been
inconvenient to their contemporaries and those who wielded
authority over them. They
have been revolutionary not just because their beliefs and
actions have been expressed at an immeasurable personal
cost.
They
have been revolutionary because they have stirred something
within each of us. They
have stirred the seed of revolution within each of us.
They have made us aware of this seed that lies
within us, dormant and unnoticed.
When stirred, this seed causes us to seek peace, not just
for some, but for all; a peace that begins with each of us.
As
Ghandi so peacefully and prophetically (truthfully) told us, we
must be the change that we wish to see in the world.
© Lucy Lopez, Author
- Seven Noisy Minutes; Personal Development - Mentoring &
Workshop Facilitation; Your Life is in Your Mind - Get to Know it!
Visit http://www.geocities.com/inspiredpresence/
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Attitude
(an
excerpt)
the
Dalai Lama
It is
therefore important that human intelligence be utilized in a
constructive way. That is the key. If we utilize its
capacity properly, then not only human beings would become less
harmful to each other, and to the planet, but also individual
human beings would be happier in themselves. It is in our
hands. Whether we utilize our intelligence in the right
way or the wrong way is up to us. Nobody can impose their
values on us. How can we learn to use our capacity
constructively? First, we need to recognize our nature and
then, if we have the determination, there is a real possibility
of transforming the human heart.
On this
basis, I will speak on how a human being can find happiness as
an individual, because I believe that the individual is the key
to all the rest. For change to happen in any community,
the initiative must come from the individual. If the
individual can become a good, calm, peaceful person, this
automatically brings a positive atmosphere to the family around
him or her. When parents are warm-hearted, peaceful and
calm people, generally speaking their children will also develop
that attitude and behavior.
The way
our attitude works is such that it is often troubled by outside
factors, so one side of the issue is to eliminate the existence
of trouble around you. The environment, meaning the
surrounding situation, is a very important factor for
establishing a happy frame of mind. However, even more
important is the other side of the issue, which is one's own
mental attitude.
The
surrounding situation may not be so friendly, it may even be
hostile, but if your inner mental attitude is right, then the
situation will not disturb your inner peace. On the other
hand, if your attitude is not right, then even if you are
surrounded by good friends and the best facilities, you cannot
be happy. This is why mental attitude is more important
than external conditions. Despite this, it seems to me
that many people are more concerned about their external
conditions, and neglect the inner attitude of mind. I
suggest that we should pay more attention to our inner
qualities.
There are
a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but
from the little experience I have, I believe that one of the
most important factors is human compassion and affection: a
sense of caring. |
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The
Dalai Lama's Book of Wisdom
The Dalai Lama
Very nice teachings on what it means to be a human being, to
have compassion, to love, to see the rest of the world as
something that we're a part of, not separate from. These
are "simple but profound teachings and advice to all those
who want to bring more love, compassion, and understanding into
their lives." |
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Do
You Want Me to Help You Buy That Car?
Charlie "Tremendous" Jones
How many
of you are under sixteen? How do you like the idea
that you might be driving a Cadillac when you're
sixteen? When my son was your age, he wasn't quite
as excited as you. I said, "Jerry, do you want
to have a car when you're sixteen?"
"Yes."
"Do you want me to help you buy that car?"
"Yes sir, dad."
"Alright, son, we're going to do it, but the free
ride's over. No more allowance. I'm going to
give you a way to make a lot of money. Here is the
deal. I am going to pick out books for you to
read. There will be motivational books, history
books, inspirational books; and every time I give you a
book, you give me a book report. Every time I get a
book report, I'll put money in your car fund.
Another book report; more money in the car fund. In
two years if you read in style, you'll drive in
style. But if you read like a bum, you're going to
drive like a bum."
Overnight he developed a fantastic hunger for
reading. The first book I had him read was Dale
Carnegie's, How to Win Friends and Influence People.
Somebody said, "Why did you have him read a book like
that?" I'll tell you why. The first day
he read that book, he smiled and said, "Dad, there's
a whole chapter in here about smiling." And he
smiled at me--he smiled at me. I couldn't believe
it--he's smiling and he's only 14 years old--smiling
already. Then he took my hand and he shook my hand
and he said "Dad, there's a whole chapter in here on
shaking hands." He shook my hand. I
couldn't believe it--oh my.
Next, I had him read the book of Joshua. Oh, I love
the book of Joshua. It's on discouragement. We
all have a right to be discouraged, but none of us have
the right to act discouraged. So we're going to Sunday
school one day, and I said, "Jerry, how do you like
that book on Joshua?" He said, "Dad,
everybody ought to have to read that book." And
when he said that, he hit my leg. He hit my
leg! First sign of life in 14 years--he hit my leg!
Well, let me tell you this. That may not sound like
much, but many people have read great books, and never
once have they said, "You've got to read this
book." If you don't have a passion and desire
to share what you're reading, you may as well not read
it. But if you're not living your life out, you're a
dead sea. Well, he read 22 books. He didn't
buy a car; he kept the money and used my gas!
He went on to college; he wrote me a Dear Dad post card
every day for four years. And some of those
cards--I'd like to read you a couple--because they were
tough years of my life. You know, no matter how
anybody looks on the platform, we all have our ups and
downs and hurts and what-have-you, but if you're wise,
you'll always keep your hurts to yourself and you grow
through and you never suck your thumb and complain and
tell people about them. And so here come these
cards, and those years I was going through tough times,
and sometimes I would just put my head on the desk and
shed some happy tears. Because I was so grateful to
realize that it was a book he read where he got his seed
thought, to put it on a card and write to me every
day. And the other thing so beautiful about it, he
may not have known the meaning of some of these great
truths, but the thought was in his mind, and you have to
get it in your mind, you have to memorize it before you
can start to realize it.
And here are a couple of cards:
Dad,
the only happy man, successful man, confident man, or
practical man is the one who is simple. See it
big--keep it simple.
Unless his mind can crystallize all the answers into one
powerful punch of personal motivation, you live nothing
but a life of uncertainty and fear. Tremendously
too, Jerry
Dad, it's simple to be able to know that when you're in a
slump, just like that baseball player will break out in
time, so you'll break out of yours. Yeah, time
really cures things. Like you said, you don't lose
any problems. You just get bigger and better
ones--tremendous ones. Tremendously, Jerry
Dad, I just started reading "100 Great
Lives." Thanks for what you said in the front,
the part that every great man never sought to be
great. He just followed the vision he had and did
what he had to do. Love, Jerry
Dad, I just got done typing up little quotes out of the
Bible and Napoleon Hill, so that everywhere I look I see
these quotes. When people ask what they are, I tell them,
"They're my pin-ups."
Dad, I'm more convinced than ever that you can do anything
you want to. You can beat anyone at anything, just
by working hard. Handicaps don't mean anything
because often people who don't have any handicaps, have a
bad attitude and don't want to do anything.
Dad, Nothing new. Just the same old exciting
thought--that we can know God personally and forever in
this amazing life.
Dad, The mind of God is so unbelievable. He throws
nothing at us but paradoxes. He makes us completely
and utterly helpless and depraved, and then He takes our
failure which normally knocks us out, and makes it our
greatest asset.
Dad, when you're behind two papers in the 4th quarter and
you're exhausted from the game, and you have to make up a
set of downs in order to stay in the game, and you get up
to the line and see 5 250-lb tests staring you in the mug,
you're too excited to wait and find out what play the Lord
is going to call next.
Wow! Well, anyway just imagine, if I had it to do
over again, I'd have paid him $1,000 a book report.
How many have grand-children here? Okay here's what
you do. You tell your grandchildren from now on
you'll pay them $100 for every book report, and they get
$5 bucks and the rest goes into the college fund. So
that way, when they're 8 or 9, they'll have $10,000 or
$15,000 to put toward college education and they'll have
the satisfaction of paying for it. Plus they will
have read books that will truly make a difference in their
lives.
Tremendously,
Charlie "Tremendous" Jones
Charlie "Tremendous" Jones shared this at the
Special Teenager Session held during the 2004 Jim Rohn
Weekend Event.
Reproduced with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine. |
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Marie
Curie
You
cannot hope to build a better world without improving the
individuals.
To that end each of us must work for his own improvement,
and at the same time share a general responsibility for all
humanity,
our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can
be most useful. |
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