November 22, 2006

When people talk about you...

"If no one is talking about you, you can't amount to much."

William C. Cranwell

"If no one is talking about you, you must not be doing anything good."

Ruby Harlow (Carol Koss' mom)

November 09, 2006

Do Not Worry About Anything

4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Paul, Phillipians

September 28, 2006

Pain isn't necessarily gain.

I've been running regularly since age 20, almost 40 years, and have never had a problem or injuries. I recommend jogging pleasurably, not running against time or competing with others informally or in marathons, and changing shoes every 4-6 months as the bounce begins to wear out. Make it fun and I think your body will take care of the rest. Pain is not necessarily gain.

Steven Evanson
Carmel, California

Worry about nothing

Worry about nothing. Pray about everything.

Paul

September 11, 2006

We did not get here by ourselves.

If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he did not get there by himself.

Walk with the Wise

He who walks with the wise grows wise...

Proverbs

September 08, 2006

When you are going through hell, keep going.

When you are going through hell, keep going.

Winston Churchill

The world is your teacher

When you grow up on a farm, the world is your playground and nature is your teacher.

Virginia Snead, High School essay

May 24, 2006

Give your best

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift."

--Steve Prefontaine

May 18, 2006

Our companion

"When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death - ourselves." - Eda LeShan (1922~) American Writer

May 15, 2006

Wherever you are,

Be all there.

-C. Swindoll

Four Foundations for Godliness

Simplicity

Silence

Solitude

Surrender

-C. Swindoll

May 14, 2006

Just takes one seed...

One seed of corn can multiply enough in just eight years to feed all of the Earth's inhabitants for one year.

Pastor Chip Roberson

April 09, 2006

Before you let one word leave your lips...

Before we say anything, the words should pass through three gates:

TRUE

NECESSARY

KIND.

Now few of us will remember this wisdom every time we begin to talk, but if we can just not say one thing that causes pain one time, the world is a better place.

March 30, 2006

We are greater than any problem

"The question is not, Do you have a problem? The question is, Does the problem have you?"

Joel Osteen, March 30,2006, New York Times.

March 26, 2006

Never Get Emotional

The First Rule of Business:

NEVER GET EMOTIONAL

Panasonic For Life

March 10, 2006

Power of Prayer

There is no greater power in the Universe than the power of prayer.

February 21, 2006

Ferrari Mind

Far more important to have a Ferrari mind in a Model T body than a Model T mind in a Ferrari body.

We spend far too much time building our body and too little time perfecting our mind.

Easwaran

February 10, 2006

Environmental Pressure

"A child is better off in a good neighborhood and a troubled family than he or she is in a troubled neighborhood and a good family."

The Tipping Point

Power of Positive Thinking

One of the most successful and persuasive money managers, Tom Gau, in answer to whether he was happy, bounced off his chair and said:

"Very. I'm probably the most optimistic person you could ever imagine. You take the most optimistic person you know and take it the hundredth power, that's me. Because you know the power of positive thinking will overcome so many things..."

The Tipping Point

As we sit still on this rock called earth...

As we sit still on this rock called earth, we are in constant movement and never ever even think about it. While we think we are still, we are actually moving:

1,000 MPH around the earth's axix,

which is moving 66,000 MPH around the sun,

which is moving 558,000 MPH around its Milky Way galaxy,

which is moving 666,000 MPH around its local group of galaxies,

which are moving...

February 04, 2006

Make Yourself So Happy

Make yourself so happy that when others look at you they become happy too.

January 26, 2006

Winston Churchill's Wisdom

Winston Churchill had a great response for hate-mailers back in his pre-Internet era. He'd send the correspondent a letter containing only a single line, which stopped them in their tracks every time: 'Dear Madam: You may very well be right.'

January 22, 2006

Focus

"I just focus on what is happening between the white lines," Seattle Seahawks quarterback at 2006 playoff game, in response to a question about whether he thought the team would win the conference title.

December 28, 2005

Time rolls by

Life is like a roll of toilet paper.

The closer you get to the end, the faster it rolls by.


C. Walker

November 11, 2005

God is Peace

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. "

Galatians 5:22-23 (New International Version)

Two different people from two different states from two different walks of life gave this truism to me within two weeks.

August 26, 2005

Peace

When despair for the world grows in
me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's life may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

--a brilliant philosopher and friend.

August 22, 2005

Speak no evil

Dale Carnegie, quoting Benjamin Franklin:

"I will speak ill of no man and seek the good of all men."

Any idiot can criticize, condemn and throw a tantrum. The wise let not one negative thought enter their mind or lips.

July 31, 2005

Warren Buffet

There are two rules for investing:

Rule Number 1: Never lose money.
Rule Number 2: Never forget Rule Number 1.

On diversification:

"A lot of great fortunes in the world have been made by owning a single wonderful business."

Diversification is a protection against ignorance. [It] makes very little sense for those who know what they are doing."

Giving

If you continually give, you will continually receive. Chinese Fortune Cookie 2005.

July 21, 2005

Zig Ziglar

You can have everything in life that you want if
you will just help enough other people get what they want.

July 01, 2005

Be Bold

Be Bold.
Be Joyful.
Be Godly.

Ecclesiastes. (Pastor Chuck Swindoll).

May 29, 2005

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness...

22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 22.

May 15, 2005

Saint Teresa's prayer

Let nothing upset you,
Let nothing frighten you.
Everything is changing;
God alone is changeless.
Patience attains the goal.
Who has God lacks nothing;
God alone fills all his needs.

---Saint Teresa of Avila
Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada, born in Avila, Spain, in 1515 is one of the best loved saints in the Catholic tradition and a spiritual figure of universal appeal. A vivacious, talented girl, she entered a Carmelite convent at the age of 18 and passed more than 20 years there in doubt and division before she was able to dedicate herself completely to God. Now if it took her that long, living in prayer in this type of environment, is it any wonder that we sometimes doubt? We can look to many like Teresa and Thomas Merton who went before to show us that taking that Leap of Faith will accomplish that which we seek.

April 12, 2005

The right thing to do

The right thing to do is always the right thing to do. Pamela Moore

March 04, 2005

Words of Wisdom

  • Some Words of Wisdom that may help on this journey:

    I am not smarter; I just stay with problems longer. Albert Einstein.

    The hallmark of an entrepreneur is the ability - love really - to turn adversity into opportunity.

    Never, Never, Never Quit. Winston Churchill.

    Make others happy and they will make you rich. J. C. Penney.

    The customer is always right. John Oberlin, Andrew Lewis High School, 1970.

    See and seek the good in all men. Benjamin Franklin.

    Fear no one; respect everyone. Chinese fortune cookie, Moses Moore 2003.

    Beneath every hard shell is someone who wants to be hugged. Emily Moore 2003.

    Winners Are

    Too busy to be sad
    Too Positive to be doubtful
    Too Optimistic to be fearful
    Too Determined to be defeated. HVHS Bulletin Board

    Focus on the solution, not the problem. Real Simple.

    Failure to prepare is preparing for failure. Benjamin Franklin.

    Sugar draws more flies than vinegar. Professor Marsh, Virginia Tech 1973.

    The one word that marks success: perseverance. William C. Cranwell 1983.

    All things are possible for him who believes. Jesus

    People form lifelong impressions in the first three minutes of meeting. People make their decision about whether to buy a house in the first 19 seconds.

    Andrew Carnegie promised to pay a million dollars to Charles Schwab if he could teach him how to succeed. Schwab gave him this instruction: Start each day by deciding what the most important thing you can do today. Then do it. Carnegie gladly paid Schwab.

    A faint heart never made out with the landlady. If you do not ask, you will never get it. C. Richard Cranwell’s father.

    That which does not kill you makes you stronger.

    You cannot get anywhere today if you are mired in yesterday’s mud.

    If you must tell someone one thing negative, precede it with two things positive. Sarah-Tyler Moore, Summer 2002.

    You are what you think.

    The masses are quick to form opinions without all the facts and refuse to listen to facts which are contrary to their opinions.

    Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Lao Tzu 2500 BCE.

    Sometimes the best action is nonaction. Lao Tzu 2500 BCE.

    He who does not know, talks. He who knows does not talk. Lao Tzu 2500 BCE.

    The devil is in the details. Charles B. Walker.

    It is not what you say that matters so much; it is how you say what you say.

    Before even beginning to talk to someone with a problem, listen, then listen again, then ask if they have anything else to say, then ask again if they have said everything they wanted to say. Then and only then can you talk. William C. Cranwell’s father on dealing with a manager who was so angry he wanted to quit.

    Non-talking. Non-talking is more effective than talking. Charles B. Walker, 1983.

    Fasting is the true measure of Christian commitment. Christopher Moore, 2003.

    These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. Jesus, John.

    Being broke is a temporary condition; being poor is a state of mind. William C. Cranwell, 1996.

    80-20 Rule. Nothing is absolute. We spend 80% of our effort on that which is only 20% relevant and 20% on that which is worth 80%. Of endeavors, 80% goes fine, 20% will give us problems; 80% of the customers, patients, residents, clients… are satisfied, pay on time, make work enjoyable; 20% are dissatisfied, do not pay, complain… With this knowledge, we can focus our attention on that which is worth 80%, that which deserves our life energies.

    No one ever wished on their deathbed that they had spent more time at the office.

    Hard work never killed anyone, but why take a chance? Ronald Reagan, 1994, who, it was reported, set aside some 660 days of vacation while President of the United States.

    The basic rule of human nature is that powerful people speak slowly and subservient people quickly—because if they don’t speak fast nobody will listen to them. Thoughts on the Business of Life, Forbes, April 21, 2003, Michael Caine.

    Everything will eventually turn out for the best. Resident, a Virginia nursing center.

    When in doubt, err on the side of being greatly humble. Sam Phillips 2003.

    If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Ancient wisdom.

    For every life event, there is a Seinfeld episode. Christopher Moore.

    Happiness is good health and a bad memory.

    Life is Hell. You may as well make the best of it. William C. Cranwell

    What you do or say affects the Universe eternally. The sound waves of a mere snap of two fingers reverberate infinitely through the Universe. Think what a kind or unkind word can do. Movement of a star in a distant galaxy can cause a leaf to fall beside you on this rock called Earth.

    Equanimity.

    The present moment is eternal.

    Impermanence.

    Freedom comes when you learn to let go. Madonna.

    Ebullient, joyously unrestrained.

    Try to do everything with a mind that lets go.
    If you let go a little, you will have a little peace.
    If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.
    It you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom.
    Your struggles with the world will have come to an end. Achaan Chah, Thai forest master.

    Trying to understand the Infinite with this mere brain is like trying to swallow the seven oceans with this mere stomach.

    In just one piece of paper is the whole universe. The universe made the sun, the sun made the planet, the planet made the tree, the tree grew the paper. Within the paper is the farmer who grew the tree, the logger who cut the tree, the person who delivered the tree to the mill and the person who turned the tree into paper at the mill, and the parents and the parents of the parents of the farmer , the logger, trucker, the miller, and the vegetables that each of these persons ate and the teachers of each of the persons and their parents, and the water that sustained each of them and the tree.

    We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results. Herman Melville.

    To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch... to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded! - Emerson

    Renounce and enjoy. Gandhi, when asked the secret of happiness.


    When faced with a decision, remember there are four choices: My way. Your way. Our way. And the right Way (God’s Way). Pastor Rick Elmore, Cave Spring Baptist Church. 1998.

    Live in joy, in love, even among those who hate. Live in joy, in health, even among the afflicted. Live in joy, in peace, even among the troubled. Look within, be still. Free from fear and attachment, know the sweet joy of the way.

    With all his attachments cut, with the heart's pining subdued, calm and serene and happy is he, for he has attained peace of mind. Samyutta Nikaya I, 212

    Four states of being: altruistic joy, compassion, loving kindness, equanimity.

    The earth upon which we sit is moving at 1,000 miles per hour around itself. The rotating earth is moving 67,000 miles per hour around its sun. The sun is moving a half a million miles per hour around its galaxy. Our galaxy is moving is moving toward the Great Attractor at 1,296,000 miles per hour. And no one knows how fast our universe is moving to no one knows what.

    PROVEN, 100 billion neutrinos pass through each and every square centimeter of our body each and every second. Most come from our sun, but others come from distant stars in the universe, even the early universe.

    Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy. The Eagles.

    My lodestar is the prince of peace.