Weekender September 29, 2001
Volume 3, Issue 39
Humility
Quote: Humility is a right estimate of one's self.
C. H. Spurgeon (1834-92) was
England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the
nineteenth century.
Source: In Touch Magazine
Service
Quote: Life's most persistent and urgent question is:
What are you doing for others?
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
(1929-1968) was the leading civil rights activist in the US from the mid-fifties
through 1968, when he was assassinated at the age of 39 by James Earl Ray.
Source: Bits and Pieces
Giving
Quote: When you choose to give to others, your
generosity must be unconditional.
John Gray
is the best-selling relationship author of all time.
Source: Handbook for the Soul
edited by Richard Carlson
Community
Quote: No man is an Island, entire of it self;
every man is a piece of Continent, a part
of the main; if a clod be washed away by
the sea, Europe is the less, as well as
if a promontory were, as well as if a
manor of thy friends or of thine own
were; any man's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in Mankind. And
therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
John Donne
(1572-1631) was an English poet, prose writer, and clergyman, considered the
greatest of the metaphysical poets and one of the greatest writers of love poetry.
Source: Cassell Companion to Quotations
by Nigel Rees
UK
Anger
Quote: The size of a man can be measured by
the size of the thing that makes him
angry.
J. Kenfield Morley
Source: The Forbes Book of Business Quotations: 14,266 Thoughts on the Business of Life
Bonus Reading on Attitude
by Rick Beneteau
I recall as a child being mildly scolded after coming home from Kindergarten and telling my mother all about the new word I had learned - the "F" word. Spray painted across some garage door on the way to school, I guess I thought it sounded like a neat addition to my vocabulary. Not! Now, as an adult, there's a word that doesn't quite have the same phonetic ring, but sticks out as much as the aforementioned expletive whenever I hear it. It's the "IF" word! As human beings, almost all of us have been raised in the genre of past generations replete with all the innocent but self-limiting behavior. And there's no better word to exemplify these stunting characteristics than "IF". "IF" only I had done this. "IF" things were just different now. What the real "F" word is to the vocabulary, "IF" is to the spirit! The mere subconscious mention of this word, and phrases such as "I wish" puts us into that conscience state-of-mind where we believe we are powerless. Powerless to change what we in fact have the power to change. Once we believe it, we act accordingly and then of course, we become powerless. Many of you who have read me in the past know that I don't preach the rhetorical "anything is possible" gospel, because only truly reachable things are. I try to bring a realistic plate to the table. However, I do believe and firmly, that our minds and our spirits are infinitely stronger than most of us believe. Taken in the reverse and to the extreme, we can be our own worst enemies! Why? Again, because we have been immersed in the misguidance of our ancestry. Patterns of learned behavior permeate both our aware and unaware beings and sabotage our very existence. Growth is almost impossible when we believe we can't, or, believe not to believe. A few years ago I was involved in the writing and production of a CD of motivational and inspirational music. Called "On My Way", it walked the listener through many dimensions of personal growth and "good stuff" for career success. One song that was not recorded for the project, was entitled "I Will" and it would be most appropriate for me to share the lyric with you here: I WILL
Sometimes the hardest thing ©1995 Lauric Songs BMI
Please bear in mind that this is a song lyric and as such does not allow for the extended expression of say, an article, however, what is written here is in direct contrast to thinking, or worse, saying and acting out, the "If" word. Or, "I'll try" instead of "I'll do". Not one to heartily subscribe to much of the mental exercise stuff found in books and on the lecture circuit (after all, we are only human and hate exercise of any description), my advice is very simple. Whenever you catch yourself thinking, or saying the "IF" word - STOP IT! Erase that mental blackboard image and rewrite it with an affirmative. Say, for example, "I WILL do this the next time I am in the same position". Make your thinking about that particular situation a valuable and positive lesson leaned. As a matter of fact, the biggest favor you can ever do for yourself is to change every negative thought into a proactive one. After all, we are what we think! Hey, and every time that you hear the real "F" word, think of the "IF" word and the fact that it's been removed from that garage door.
© 1998 InterNiche.net and Rick Beneteau |