Maximum Efforts

2008-08-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

State of Mind

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don't!
If you'd like to win, but you think you can't,
It's almost certain you won't.
If you think you'll lose, you're lost;
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will;
It's all in the state of mind!
If you think you're outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise.
You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you 'll ever win the prize.
Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the person who thinks he can!
[Author Unknown]

2008-08-30T18:49:00.000-07:00

Mother Teresa

(1910-1997)

Albanian-born Roman Catholic Missionary

A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.
Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

God is the friend of silence.
See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.
We need silence to be able to touch souls.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that
we belong to each other.I

f you judge people, you have no time
to love them.It is not a matter of thinking a great deal but of loving
a great deal, so do whatever arouses you most to love.

Kind words can be short and easy to speak,
but their echoes are truly endless.

Learn to self-conquest, persevere thus for a time,
and you will perceive very clearly the advantage which y
ou gain from it.

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.
Be the living expression of God's kindness:
kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes,
kindness in your smile.

Loneliness is the most terrible poverty.
Love is a fruit in season at all times,
and within reach of every hand.

The hunger for love is much more difficult
to remove than the hunger for bread.

The most terrible poverty is loneliness
and the feeling of being unloved.

We can do no great things;
only small things with great love.

We ourselves feel that what we are doing
is just a drop in an ocean.
But the ocean would be less
because of that missing drop.

2008-08-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

2008-08-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

Those Who Are
Colleen Smith

To an infant those who are older are security,
or those who are older are our first pain
To a toddler those who are older are givers,
or those who are older are the first taste of life withheld.
To a school age child those who are older are teachers,
or those who are older don't notice I
To a teenager those who are older are listeners,
or those who are older live our life out of there own regrets
To a young adult those who are older are something we strive to be,
or those who are older are something we want to avoid being
To a middle-age person those who are older are reminders of happy memories,
or those who are older are reminders of painful memories
To an old timer those who are older are where wisdom resides,
or those who are older are a burden and know nothing
To a senior, those who are older are a miracle,
or those who are older are waiting to die.

2008-08-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Children Are ...
Meiji Stewart

Amazing, ACKNOWLEDGE THEM.
Believable, TRUST THEM.
Childlike, ALLOW THEM.
Divine, HONOR THEM.
Energetic, NOURISH THEM.
Fallible, EMBRACE THEM.
Gifts, TREASURE THEM.
Here Now, BE WITH THEM.
Innocent, DELIGHT WITH THEM.
Joyful, APPRECIATE THEM.
Kindhearted, LEARN FROM THEM.
Lovable, CHERISH THEM.
Magical, FLY WITH THEM.
Noble, ESTEEM THEM.
Open minded, RESPECT THEM.
Precious, VALUE THEM.
Questioners, ENCOURAGE THEM.
Resourceful, SUPPORT THEM.
Spontaneous, ENJOY THEM.
Talented, BELIEVE IN THEM.
Unique, AFFIRM THEM.
Vulnerable, PROTECT THEM.
Whole, RECOGNIZE THEM.
Xtraspecial, CELEBRATE THEM.
Yearning, NOTICE THEM.
Zany, LAUGH WITH THEM.

2008-08-30T18:15:00.000-07:00

Old Age
Edgar A. Guest

I used to think that growing old was reckoned just in years,
But who can name the very date when weariness appears?
I find no stated time when man, obedient to a law,
Must settle in an easy chair and from the world withdraw.

Old Age is rather curious, or so it seems to me.
I know old men at forty and young men at seventy-three.
I'm done with counting life by years or temples turning gray.

No man is old who wakes with joy to greet another day.
What if the body cannot dance with youth's elastic spring?
There's many a vibrant interest to which the mind can cling.
'Tis in the spirit Age must dwell, or this would never be:
I know old men at forty and young men at seventy-three.

Some men keep all their friendships warm, and welcome friendships new,
They have no time to sit and mourn the things they used to do.
This changing world they greet with joy and never bow to late;
On every fresh adventure they set out with hearts elate

From chilling fear and bitter dread they keep their spirits free
While some seem old at forty they stay young at seventy-three.
So much to do, so much to learn, so much in which to share!
With twinkling eyes and minds alert some brave both time and care.

And this I've learned from other men, that only they are old
Who think with something that has passed the tale of life is told.
For Age is not alone of time, or we should never see
Men old and bent at forty and men young at seventy-three.

2008-08-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

Influence
Joseph Norris

Drop a pebble in the water,
And its ripples reach out far;
And the sunbeams dancing on them
May reflect them to a star.

Give a smile to someone passing,
Thereby making his morning glad;
It may greet you in the evening
When your own heart may be sad.

Do a deed of simple kindness;
Though its end you may not see,
It may reach, like widening ripples,
Down a long eternity.

2008-08-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

Two Days We Should Not Worry
Author Unknown

There are two days in every week, about which we should not worry,
two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.
One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares,
its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.
Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday.
We cannot undo a single act we performed;
we cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone forever.

The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow
with all its possible adversities, its burdens, its large promise
and its poor performance;
Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds,
but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in
Tomorrow, for it is yet to be born.
This leaves only one day, Today.
Any person can fight the battle of just one day.
It is when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities
Yesterday and Tomorrow
that we break down.
It is not the experience of Today
that drives a person mad, it is the remorse or bitterness of something
which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.
Let us, therefore, Live but one day at a time.

2008-08-30T11:59:00.000-07:00

Reputation and Character
William Hersey Davis

The circumstances amid which you life determine your reputation;
the truth you believe determines your character.
Reputation is what you are supposed to be;
character is what you are.
Reputation is the photograph;
character is the face.
Reputation comes over one from without;
character grows up from within.
Reputation is what you have when you come to a new community;
character is what you have when you go away.
Your reputation is learned in an hour;
your character does not come to light for a year.
Reputation is made in a moment;
character is built in a lifetime.
Reputation grows like a mushroom;
character grows like the oak.
A single newspaper report gives you your reputation;
a life of toil gives you your character.
Reputation makes you rich or makes you poor;
character makes you happy or makes you miserable.
Reputation is what men say about you on your tombstone;
character is what angels say about you before the throne of God.

2008-08-30T11:46:00.000-07:00

The Road To Success is Always Under Construction
Author Unknown

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone else get your way.
Life is not no much a matter of position as of disposition.
The best vitamin for making friends, B-1.
If you don't care where you're going any road will get you there.

A pint of example is worth a gallon of advice.
He who throws mud loses ground.
Nobody raises his own reputation by lowering others.

Nothing ruins the truth like stretching it.
A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

Ideas won't work unless you do.
The future is purchased by the present.
One thing you can't recycle is wasted time.
Lost time is never found again.
A hard thing about business is minding your own.
Triumph is just "umph" added to try.

Caution is not cowardly, Carelessness is not courage.
He who forgives ends the quarrel.
Children need more models than critics.
Frogs have it easy, They can eat what bugs them.

The pursuit of happiness is the chase of a lifetime.
If the going gets easy you may be going downhill.

Dieters - People that are thick and tired of it.
Jumping to conclusions can be bad exercise.
The best labor saving device is doing it tomorrow.

A turtle makes progress when it sticks its neck out.
Failure is the path of least persistence.
Hard work is the yeast that raises the dough.
Patience is counting down without blasting off.
Have a backbone not a wishbone.
Some folks won't look up until they are flat on their backs.
If you want your dreams to come true, don't oversleep.
Friend - One who knows all about you and likes you just the same.
Money talks and often just says, "Good-bye".
Birds have bills too and they keep on singing.
Forbidden fruit is responsible for many a bad jam.
God's retirement plan is out of this world.
A good example is the best sermon.

The Ten Commandments are not multiple choice.
Well done! is better than, Well said!
Minds are like parachutes - they function only when open.
Live as you wish your kids would.
Swallowing your pride seldom leads to indigestion.
If you can laugh at it then you can live with it.
People don't fail, they give up.
When looking for faults use a mirror, not a telescope.

Smile, it takes only 13 muscles; A frown takes 64.
Kindness, a language deaf people can hear and blind can see.
Heaviest thing to carry - a grudge.
A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor.
A small leak can sink a great ship.
You can't direct the wind, but you can adjust your sails.
We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
Tact is the ability to see others as they wish to be seen.
A bad conscience has a very good memory.
Hug your kids at home - Belt them in the car.
One thing you can give and still keep - is your word.
A friend walks in when everyone else walks out.
If you must cry over spilled milk then please try to condense it.
Behavior is the mirror in which everyone shows their image.
Make friends before you need them.
It's not the load that breaks you down, it's the way you carry it.
The smallest good deed is better than the grandest intention.
Success is … more attitude than aptitude.
Our favorite attitude should be gratitude.
The greatest of all faults is to imagine you have none.
Too many of us speak twice before we think.
Some people develop eye strain looking for trouble.
Everyone has 20/20 hindsight.
The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.
It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.
Feed your faith and doubt will starve to death.
It is no crime not to be perfect.
If others have sinned you need not mention it.
No man knows less than the man who knows it all.
Patience carries a lot of wait.
One who lacks courage to start has already finished.
A quitter never wins, A winner never quits.
Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
Break a bad habit - Drop it.
Don't learn safety rules simply by accident.
Failing to prepare We prepare to fail.
Past failures are guideposts for future success.
There is no right way to do a wrong thing.
There can be no rainbow without a cloud and a storm.
If your dreams turn to dust…vacuum.

Money is a good servant but is a cruel master.
Seek joy in what you give not in what you get.
Procrastination is the thief of time.
Success comes in cans Failure comes in can'ts.
Anger is one letter short of danger Greatest remedy for anger is delay.

2008-08-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

My Comfort Zone
Author Unknown

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn't fail.
The same four walls and busywork were really more like jail.

I longed so much to do the things I'd never done before,
But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.

I said it didn't matter that I wasn't doing much.
I said I didn't care for things like commission checks and such.

I claimed to be so busy with the things inside the zone,
But deep inside I longed for something special of my own.

I couldn't let my life go by just watching others win.
I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin.
I took a step and with new strength I'd never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone goodbye and closed and locked the door.

If you're in a comfort zone,afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.
A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true.
Reach for your future with a smile;
success is there for you!

2008-08-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

Influence
Joseph Norris

Drop a pebble in the water,
And its ripples reach out far;

And the sunbeams dancing on them
May reflect them to a star.

Give a smile to someone passing,
Thereby making his morning glad;

It may greet you in the evening
When your own heart may be sad.

Do a deed of simple kindness;
Though its end you may not see,

It may reach, like widening ripples,
Down a long eternity.

2008-08-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Moments in Life
Author Unknown

There are moments in life when you miss someone
so much that you just want to pick them
from your dreams and hug them for real!

When the door of happiness closes, another opens;
but often times we look so long at the closed door
that we don't see the one, which has been opened for us.

Don't go for looks; they can deceive.
Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.
Go for someone who makes you smile,
because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.
Find the one that makes your heart smile.

Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go;
be what you want to be, because you have only one life
and one chance to do all the things you want to do.

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet,
enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow
to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past;
you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures
and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you
was smiling. Live your life so at the end,you're the one who is smiling
and everyone around you is crying.

Don't count the years-count the memories...........

2008-06-30T19:21:00.001-07:00

Easing the Path

A man's true wealth hereafter is the good he does in this world to his fellow man.
When he dies, people will say, what property has he left behind him? but the angels
will ask, what good deeds has he sent before him?

Virtues are not just about making our own journeys through life smoother and more
successful. Trying to put yourself into another's place, to share for a moment his or her
feelings, is often the starting point of compassion. There's more to true compassion than just emotion. To help someone is, you have to do something, not just feel something. Compassion
takes the name of action. it means exerting yourself and bestowing some effort for someone else's sake.

Of all the virtues, when exercised properly with whole heart and discerning mind, compassion may bring the greatest degree of fulfilment. It enriches our lives with a sense of nobleness and purpose, make us morally awake, and encourages us about life generally. Most people, thinking back over their lives, remember the times they spent giving and helping and loving as the very best moments. Sincerely helping others brings the real satisfaction. The best way to be comfortable is to make others comfortable; the way to make others comfortable is to appear to love them; the way to appear to love them - is to love them in reality.

Love is the thing that matters most

2008-05-31T13:11:00.000-07:00

Everyone elects to live a life where they finally, eventually, choose love over fear. Love is the whole point of everything. Love is the essence. Love is the ultimate goal, the only real goal. Other goals, such as happiuness, security, success, safety, power and wealth, lose all value and meaning without love. We live for love.

Life works when you love; it falls apart when you don't. Love is attractive. You attract great things when you choose to love. Love is heaven. Love inspires us to live longer and live our life to the maximum. It gives us more space - to do some more and exert an extra mile ahead.

House and Home

2008-03-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

Anyone can build an altar;
It requires God to provide the flame.
Anyone can build a house;
We need the Lord for the creation
of a home.

A house is a agglomeration of brick
and stones, with an assorted collection
of manufactured goods; a home is
the abiding-place of ardent affection,
of fervent hope, of genial trust.

There is many a homeless man who lives
in a richly furnished house. There is many
a fifteen-pound house in the crowded street
which is an illuminated and beautiful home.

The sumptuously furnished house may only
be an exquisitely sculptured tomb; the scantily
furnished house may be the very hearthstone
of the eternal God.
[John Henry Jowett]

Married Life

2008-03-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

Getting married is easy.
Staying married is more difficult.
Staying happily married for a lifetime
should rank among the fine arts.
[Flack]

Money

2008-02-05T07:04:00.000-08:00

You can't win.
If you run after money, you are materialistic.
If you don't get it, you're a loser.
If you get it and keep it, you're a miser.
If you don't try to get it, you lack ambition.
If you get it and spend it, you're a spendthrift.
If you still have it after a lifetime of work, you're
a fool who never got any fun out of life.
[Bits & Pieces]

Your Friend, GOD

2008-01-30T12:12:00.000-08:00

In this vast universe
There is but one supreme truth -
That God is our friend!
By that truth meaning is given
To the remote stars, the numberless centuries,
The long and heroic struggle of mankind...
O my Soul, dare to trust this truth!
Dare to rest in God's kindly arms,
Dare to look confidently into His face,
Then launch thyself into life unafraid!
Knowing thou art within thy Father's house,
That thou art surrounded by His love,
Thou wilt become master of fear,
Lord of Life, conqueror even of death.

The Joy of Work

2008-01-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

Give us, oh, give us, the man who sings at his work!
He will do more in the same time, - he will do it better, -
he will persevere longer. One is scarcely sensible
of fatigue whilst he marches to music. The very stars
are said to make harmony as they resolve in their spheres.
Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, altogether past
calculation in its power of endurance. Efforts, to be
permanently useful, must be uniformly joyous, a spirit
all sunshine, graceful from very gladness, beautiful
because bright. [Thomas Carlyle]

Attitude

2008-01-17T12:43:00.000-08:00

There is a little difference in people,
but the little difference makes a
big difference. The little difference
is attitude. The big difference is
whether it is positive or negative.
[Clement Stone]

It isn't what you have or who you are, or
where you are or what you are doing that
makes you happy or unhappy. It is what
you think about it.
For example, two people may be in the
same place, doing the same thing;
both may have an equal amount of money
and prestige - and yet, one may be miserable
and the other happy. Why? Because of
different mental attitudes.
[Dale Carnegie]

The greatest discovery of my generation
is that human beings can alter their lives
by altering their attitudes of mind.
[William James]

Advice

2008-01-17T10:58:00.000-08:00

The large caliber executive welcomes suggestions.
The small-caliber executive resents them, imagining
that he knows it all and it is presumptuous for
anyone to offer him advice. To win promotion,
be unselfish, receptive, responsive, always rating
first the well being of the company. To become big,
play the game in a big way. [B C Forbes]

Action

2008-01-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

Iron rusts from disuse;
Water loses its purity from
stagnation and in cold
weather becomes frozen;
so inaction saps the vigor
of the mind.

I did something today

2008-01-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

Look at a day when you are supremely
satisfied at the end. It's not a day when
you lounge around doing nothing. It's when
you've had everything to do, and you've
done it. [Margaret Thatcher]

Accomplishment

2008-01-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

If you imagine it, you can possess it.
If you can dream it, you can become it.
If you can envision it, you can attain it.
If you can picture it, you can achieve it.

My Goals

2008-01-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

A little braver when the skies are gray,
A little stronger when the road seems long,
A little more of patience through the day,
And not so quick to magnify a wrong.

A little kinder, both of thought and deed,
A little gentler with the old and the weak,
Swifter to sense another's pressing need
And not so fast the hurtful phrase to speak.

These are my goals - not flung beyond my power,
Not dreams of glory, beautiful but vain,
Not the great heights where buds of genius flower,
But simple splendors which I ought to gain.

These I can do and be from day to day
Along the humble pathway where I plod,
So that at last when I am called away
I need not make apologies to God.
[Edgar A. Guest]

The Dreams Ahead

2008-01-16T10:02:00.000-08:00

What would we do in this world of ours
Were it not for the dreams ahead?
For thorns are mixed with the blooming flowers
No matter which path we tread.

And each of us has his golden goal,
Stretching far into the years;
And ever he climbs with a hopeful soul,
With alternate smiles and tears.

That dreams ahead is what holds him up
Through the storms of a ceaseless fight;
When his lips are pressed to the wormwood's
cup and clouds shut out the light.
To some it's a dream of high estate;
To some it's a dream of wealth;
To some it's a dream of truce with fate
In a constant search for health.

To some it's a dream of home and wife;
To some it's a crown above;
The dreams ahead are what make each life -
The dreams - and faith - and love!
[Edwin Carlile Litsey]