Quote of the day:
“Build this day on a foundation of pleasant thoughts. Never fret at any imperfections that you fear may impede your progress. Remind yourself, as often as necessary, that you are a creature of God and have the power to achieve any dream by lifting up your thoughts. You can fly when you decide that you can. Never consider yourself defeated again. Let the vision in your heart be in your life’s blueprint.” --Og Mandino Reflection: Here is one of my favorite inspirational stories. A young African boy crossed over 3,000 kilometers of hostile jungle territory on foot because he had vision and determination. Legson Didimu Kayira was born in the 1940s to a life of total poverty in the Tumbuka tribe, Malawi, yet he dreamed of studying in the United States. When he was 16, he decided to make his way on foot to Egypt and find work on a ship sailing to the U.S. He left home with only a small ax, a blanket, a map of Africa, a map of the world, and two books—a Bible and a copy of The Pilgrim’s Progress. Fifteen months later, Legson arrived in Kampala, Uganda, where he came across a directory of American colleges. He wrote to Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon explaining his situation and asking for a scholarship. The dean was so impressed he granted him both admission and a scholarship, while the student body collected $650 to cover his fare. In December 1960, Legson finally arrived at Skagit Valley College, still carrying nothing but what he’d left home with two years before. Later, Legson became a professor at Cambridge University and authored six novels and the prizewinning autobiography, I Will Try. This young man didn’t let his circumstances, lack of money or anything else stand in his way. It was not easy, and it took time, but he found a way to follow his dreams and was rewarded for it.
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Quote of the day:
“Money is a form of energy that tends to make us more of who we already are, whether it’s greedy or loving.” — Dan Millman Reflection: We often recognize the need to make the world a better place. Fulfilling this obligation is seldom easy or painless, and one thing that often holds us back is our own financial situation. We have only so much money, and it only goes so far. Altruistic intentions come up against day-to-day constraints. Our hearts go out to others, but must we sacrifice on their behalf to our own hurt? If we do, how far will it go? How long will we be able to keep it up? I think you’ll find an interesting, inspiring, and innovative answer in the story below. You don’t need to be Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, or one of the world’s other 1,208 billionaires to make a difference. You just need the motivation and a plan. You might not be able to change the whole world, but you may be in a position to change a small part of the world or even just one family’s world. When Toby Ord, a 31-year-old academic at Oxford University, read that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had pledged to give away most of his wealth in his lifetime, Ord, who was a student at the time, devised a plan of his own: give 1 million to charity in his lifetime. He figured he could do this by giving away everything he earns annually over the average income in the UK. He started his giving while on a student’s low income. Applying the methods the World Health Organization uses to determine how far aid money goes, Ord has given to date 10,000 years of health for people in some of the poorest countries in the world. Ord also challenges others to give 10% of their life earnings the same way. The first year, 64 people joined his Giving What We Can initiative, pledging 14 million between them. This is just one idea of many ways to give. I’m sure you will come up with your own unique way of giving. Please share your ideas in the comments. A quote a day helps you remember what’s important.
Here are this week’s quotes on importance of little things.
Quote of the day:
“Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools.” — Albert Einstein Reflection: There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But it won't matter how many times you say ‘I'm sorry’, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.” The next time you are tempted to lose your temper and say something you shouldn’t, remember this story, and think about the wounds you may never be able to repair. Is it worth it? Quote of the Day:
“First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.” – Martin Niemoller Reflection: Here is an old fable about how our lives are woven together. A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package containing a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning that there was a mousetrap in the house! But the chicken clucked and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it.” Then the mouse turned to look at the cow to hear what she was saying, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose." So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap all alone. That very night the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey was heard throughout the house. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever. As you know you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well and she died. So many people came to attend her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember–when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all connected in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. A quote a day helps you remember what’s important.
Here are this week’s quotes on kindness.
Quote of the day:
"Love is an act of endless forgiveness.” – Author Unknown Reflection: Victor Hugo’s literary classic Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, whose already difficult life is brought down by one lone decision when he steals a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving children. As a consequence, he spends the next 19 years in the notorious Bagne of Toulon prison. Unable to find work after his release because he is an ex-convict, Valjean begs at the home of the Bishop of Digne, who feeds him and gives him a bed for the night. But Valjean, overcome by despair at what seems an impossibly bleak future, yields to temptation, steals some of the Bishop’s silver, and slips away in the night. He doesn’t get far, however, before he is arrested with the silver on his person, and is hauled back to face the Bishop. Knowing what will happen to Valjean if he is convicted a second time, the kind Bishop takes a chance on Valjean. He tells the police, “I gave him the silver.” From that moment on he is a changed man. Les Misérables is a great story packed full of lessons, one being the moving portrayal of the redeeming power of forgiveness. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive granting them a second chance? Quote of the day:
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.”— Christopher Robin Reflection: This is a great quote by Christopher Robin (main character in the Winnie the Pooh series). The following story about a young man with extraordinary athletic skill and ability goes right along with it. At just nineteen years of age, Rafael Nadal already knew he wanted to be a world champion tennis player. The year was 2005, and having won his first Grand Slam title and charged up to No. 2 in the ATP rankings. He seemed poised to scale the heights of greater success. However, after experiencing several weeks of discomfort in his left foot, the doctors discovered he had been born with a rare foot disease. The condition caused one of the bones in his foot to swell and inflict frequent intense pain, with the potential to halt his entire career overnight. This twist of fate tore through Rafa’s youthful aspirations. Unable to walk, much less play tennis, he slipped into a dark spiral of depression. He spent hours lying on the sofa staring into space, or sitting in the bathroom weeping. “I didn’t laugh. I didn’t smile. I didn’t want to talk. I lost all appetite for life,” he said later. At that point, Rafa had to make a pivotal decision: He could give up or go on. He could choose the easier path, but forfeit the potential rewards on the rugged way. He chose to press ahead, to focus on victory, even if he only saw and felt defeat. It was not an easy choice; he continued to suffer injuries and difficulties with his foot problem, but his determination paid off when, three years later, he stood as the world’s number one tennis player. There are times when life deals us a harsh and bitter hand. Our dreams are broken, our hope is gone, and we are lost in despair. But even if all circumstances point to defeat, we can choose to live in victory. We can choose to hold on day-to-day, hour-by-hour, moment-by-moment. We can choose to get up and try again, even if we are afraid of failing. We can choose to love again, even if we have been hurt. We can choose to give, even if we have suffered loss. We can choose to believe that one day we too will emerge from A quote a day helps you remember what’s important.
Here are this week’s quotes on happiness.
Quote of the day:
“My first language was shy. It’s only by having been thrust into the limelight that I have learned to cope with my shyness.” — Al Pacino Reflection: Limiting beliefs can often hold us back from living up to our full potential and must be fought with everything we have in us. Shyness is a result of listening to negative self-chatter and limiting beliefs and must be combated. Here’s an inspiring story of someone who overcame their shyness. The author and dramatist George Bernard Shaw is example of someone who overcame shyness, and he went on to become one of the wittiest, most outspoken public speakers of his time. When asked how he managed to change, he replied, “I did it the same way I learned to skate—by persistently making a fool of myself until I got used to it.” Finally he hit upon a way to conquer his shyness and fear. As a young man, Shaw was so timid he would often walk up and down a street for 20 minutes before he dared to knock on the door of someone with whom he wasn’t well acquainted. “Few men,” he confessed, “have suffered more from shyness and simple cowardice than I have—or have been more ashamed of it!” Determined to turn his weak point into his strongest asset, he joined a debating society. He also attended every meeting in London in which there was to be a public discussion, and forced himself to take part in the debate. With practice, his public speaking improved. Eventually George Bernard Shaw became one of the most confident and brilliant speakers of the early 20th century. Overcoming shyness isn’t just something you should do for yourself; it’s also part of being a contributing member of society. When you have a thought or idea that deserves to be heard, you’re not only hurting yourself by keeping quiet, you’re hurting the people around you. Others need you. They need your intelligence and insight. They need your help to work through problems. If you hide behind shyness, you limit the help you can give to your friends, family members, and colleagues. Fight your limiting beliefs and let your talents shine. |
AuthorThe goal of the blog is to provide interesting, motivational, soul feeding material. All to help remind us that God loves us all and wants a personal relationship with each of us and will take care of us in times of trouble. I aspire to be a force for good by providing you with positive input. I encourage you to share the blog with others. Archives
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