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| Inspiring content...1 With Ravi's courtesy (from this site), also some inspiring images
That you shouldn't compare yourself to the best others can do but to the best you can do.
Instructions: Each equation below contains the initials of words that will make it correct. Furnish the missing words. For example: 60 = M in an H The answer would be: 60 = Minutes in an Hour Good Luck!!!
1. 26 = L of the A
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied. it is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, the next time your little hut is burning to the ground----it just may be a smoke signal that summons grace of God.
They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How? Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special. Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you. Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless. Don't let life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life. Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us together. Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn to be brave. Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings. Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going. Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated. Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way. Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a gift; that's why we call it The Present.
Think for a moment how silly it is to live in fear of criticism. If you're doing what you know to be right, what possible reason could you have to fear the criticism of others? Are you concerned that the comments and opinions of others will somehow damage your self esteem or self image? Are you afraid of speaking your mind or taking action because you might get your feelings hurt? If you really want to improve your self esteem, stop allowing other people to be responsible for it. Instead, create something of value. Make a positive difference. Pats on the back are nice, but in the end the thing that will truly make you feel good about yourself is to accomplish something worthwhile. Find valuable feedback in the criticism of others. Realize that it can't hurt you, that it actually can help. Go forward with the confidence of knowing that you're truly making a difference, and you will indeed.
Why?Why did you get out of bed this morning? Why are you reading this message? Look at your list of things to do today. Why has each item been added to the list? For what reasons do you work, love, play, strive and pray? You've gotten good at going through the routine, but perhaps you've lost touch with the reasons why you're doing it all in the first place. Stop for a moment and think about why. The reasons are there. Buried under the noisy complications of daily life is the person you truly wish to be and things which you long to achieve. In some way, whatever you're doing at any moment is connected to those reasons. But if you've lost touch with the reasons, the connection may be distorted and your actions may be less effective than they could be. When you remember why, you get where you wish to go with much more speed and effectiveness. Take the time and make the effort to stay in touch with why. Know what drives you, and let it take you wherever you wish to go.
"I'm clumsy." "I'm shy." "I'm not very good with computers." "I don't have much energy." "I'm irresponsible." "I'm lazy." "I'm fat." How easily do such pronouncements roll off your tongue, and how often? The more you repeat them -- to yourself and others -- the more you believe them. Such things become self-fulfilling prophesies. But the whole concept of "I'm this" or "I'm that" is flawed. Every "I'm" is a leftover from the past. You can change. There is no reason in the world to continue to see yourself as lazy, or irresponsible, immature, or anything. They are not who you are, they are simply behaviors that you choose to participate in. You're not locked in to any particular behavior pattern. Who are you? You are whoever and whatever you choose to be. Jump out of your self imposed box. There's a whole, wonderful world that exists beyond your comfortable excuses. Cast off your tired, old assumptions and embrace a universe full of great possibilities. -- Ralph Marston
It is plain old rock, buried away dark and deep. But without an immense and tedious base, the magnificent peak could not exist. The more solid and substantial your footing, the higher you can reach. The highest trees require the strongest root systems. The tallest buildings must have the most massive foundations. There is more to reaching than just the reach itself. Reaching must be done within a solid, grounded context or it ends up accomplishing nothing. Though we often curse gravity for keeping us down, we forget that it also holds us together. Though we often curse the tediousness of discipline and focus, without them we would have no foundation from which to achieve. The time and effort spent in diligent preparation might seem to take away from the time spent in pursuit of the quest. Yet in reality the preparation is what makes the quest possible. The summit is there only because the mountain can support it. Build a strong foundation that is worthy of your aspirations. It is well worth the effort.
A stressed out mind is a burden to carry. With the advance in technology and the increasing demands of the 90's, this comes as no surprise. Every professional today is driven by the need to achieve new frontiers, which literally means 'living and breathing your job 24 hours every day'. Too much to do in a short span of time has become the order of the day. Avoiding such a situation may not always be possible though there do exist ways and means to cope with them. Here are a few tips to soothe the over-worked mind. Meditate. Surround yourself with pleasing audio tones and visually pleasing surroundings. The purpose is to distract and soothe the mind. Conjure up your favourite serene setting, a place of peace, beauty and happiness. Imagine yourself happily relaxing in your ideal setting. Notice details, the breeze and the scent and let yourself be carried away to where you always wanted to be. Plan your work. Too much to accomplish in too little time is a malady of the 90s. Prioritize your schedule to fit in only that you can accomplish within reasonable working hours. Breathe easy. Take a nap if you feel it necessary to help you go through the day. A thirty minute "time out" has infact, been used by President John F.Kennedy, inventor Thomas Edison and famous artist Salvador Dali, as a stress management technique. Express yourself artistically. Painting and drawing are a few suggestions. Music can be especially beneficial in calming people, either through listening or with more active involvement. Laugh more often. Medical studies have shown the value of humour in promoting health and healing. Laughter can be a great method to convert tension into relaxation. What do you say when you talk to yourself? Self-talk determines our attitudes and self-images. You can change both through positive self-talk. In fact, it is said to promote favorable body chemistry since it activates the parasympathetic nervous system and causes relaxation. Conversely, negative self-talk stimulates the sympathetic nervous system and causes the body to feel an increased amount of stress. Have fun. Do things you like! Break -free and enjoy the moment. It gives your feelings and outlet and helps you calm down. Laugh a while. Laughter, they say is the best medicine. Increase your immunity levels with a surge of endorphins. It makes you feel good, which in turn will make you more resistant to stress Delegate responsibility. A common solution to be able to cope with more than your share of work. Feel responsible for yourself. Break tasks into segments. Space out your work, into days or into a number of hours. Too much in too little time will take its toll on your mental well being. Examine work habits. Feel stressed out most of the time? Analyze your work habits, maybe too much time on the job is due to too much time being wasted. Drink water. Consume 8-10 glasses of pure water daily. It's just one of the ways to keep the body happy. Eat sensibly. Good eating habit is another. Get quality sleep. It relaxes the mind and the body. Adequate sleep acts as a recovery mechanism. Schedule time, to reduce stress. Allow enough time to reach a place without the need to rush. Exercise regularly to reduce stress. A vigorous walk, jog, or swim for 20 minutes three times a week works as another stress-buster. Think positive. It's all in the mind. Positive thoughts with an attitude to go with it changes the way you look at situations. Remind yourself of all those happy times when stress begins to catch up with you. Handle stress now.Putting off troubling events will only make you more feel stressed out by the end of the day. Settle matters that are troubling you "as they occur." Procrastination usually leads to increased stress.
Tourists usually experience life at their destination with a sense of urgency. They know their time there is limited and so they want to make as much of the visit as possible. Tourists often appreciate a place even more than the people who live there. If you have four days to see the sights, you can get around to quite a few of them. If you live there and you can see them anytime you want, somehow you rarely find the time. Consider what it would be like to visit your own life as a tourist. What things would you make sure to do? What things would you stop taking for granted? How much more deeply would you appreciate the good things around you? How much more would you take advantage of the possibilities available to you if you knew you had to leave them behind in a few days? Look at your life through the eyes of a tourist and you'll find much that is special indeed.
They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.
Epilogue. . . .
Focus and discipline are contagious. You can catch them from yourself. When you apply them to just one specific area of your life, they start to take hold in other areas as well. Do you ever feel overwhelmed by a lack of focus? Pick one thing, one disciplined effort upon which to direct your focus. Don't further overwhelm yourself by attempting to fix everything at once. Select one area of improvement and make a total, absolute commitment to focus on it. Then follow through, no matter what. That focus, that discipline, that solid commitment will soon spread far beyond the initial objective. For example, you might make the commitment to exercise 30 minutes every day. Stick with it, and you begin to understand firsthand the benefits of staying focused and disciplined, as your daily exercise routine dramatically improves your fitness and sense of well being. When you make the conscious effort to approach one thing with focus and discipline, you naturally start to apply that same approach to other things. Discipline is contagious. Catch it from yourself!
When tomorrow is here, what will you regret not doing today? Five years from today, what will you regret not doing right now? Regret has no cure, but it can easily be prevented. And the time to do that is now. The most stinging form of regret is the regret for opportunities not seized, for actions not taken. Prevent regret in the future by making the most of today. Sure there will be disappointments. Yet when you sincerely and honestly give your very best effort to life you won't have to find yourself wondering "why didn't I?" Live fully in the present with an eye toward the future. Don't waste your time worrying about tomorrow. Rather, live now in such a way that will make tomorrow the best it can possibly be. Accept the relatively minor inconvenience and discomfort of taking disciplined action today, and tomorrow will be wonderfully free of regret.
The trouble with "if only" is that is quickly turns into "only if." When you tell yourself something like "if only I had a new computer, then I could get much more work done" you soon start to believe that "ONLY IF I have a new computer can I get more work done." Sure, it would be great to have a new computer -- or job, or car, or relationship, or whatever, but do you really want to limit yourself in the meantime? There's almost always another way. With an attitude of "if only" you effectively give control of your life over to something outside yourself. That's not such a good idea. Success is not achieved by those who wait for conditions to be perfect. Achievement comes not from what you would do "if only" but rather from what you do with what you have, right here and now. Challenge yourself to replace each and every "if only" with "here's how I will with what I have." Forget about "if only." The time for action, the time to achieve, the time to make a difference, is now.
Indeed life is difficult, but how do we know that? It is only from our absolute certainty that life can be beautiful and fulfilling, that we are able to see it in any one moment as difficult. It is your very real capacity for wealth and abundance which causes you to see yourself as lacking in any area. Your frustration is made possible only by your overriding perspective of joy and fulfillment. Your doubt would have no meaning if you were not able to believe. Within the feeling that things are bad is a powerful and compelling desire to make them better, and a certainty that you can indeed make them better. Discontent is a positive indicator. In it is the fruitful seed of progress and achievement. That you are able to recognize problems as such, means you have already in some ways transcended them. Take heart. You are better than anything which could bring you down. Let the troubles and difficulties move you forward as they are there to do.
Want to make is a great day? Here's a reliable strategy. Do the hard stuff first. Wait a little while for the fun stuff. Much of the value of pleasure is in the anticipation. The longer a pleasure is waited for and anticipated, the more pleasurable is the overall experience. Interestingly, the same can be said of pain. The longer a difficult, painful experience is delayed, the more painful it becomes. Get it over with quickly, and the pain is significantly lessened. So, to increase your pleasure and reduce your pain, do the unpleasant things first. Go ahead and get them out of the way. Sure, they're a little painful but you'll only make them more so by delaying them. The fun things can wait a while, and the more time you spend anticipating them, the more pleasurable they'll be. The "want-tos" will be even better when the "have-tos" are out of the way. So make it a great day. Do the difficult work that will get things accomplished, and enjoy the anticipation of the good things that will come when you're finished.
The world is filled with beauty. But who is it for? It is for you, who can appreciate and enjoy it. Just think how very special you must be that you have such joy available to you. Dreams are for you who can follow them. Success is for you who can achieve it. Desire is for you who can be moved by it. Life is for you, who can live it. The world that surrounds you is there for you to experience, to interact with, to build and shape. The ride is not free. It takes sincere effort on your part. It is, however, filled with the brightest possibilities you can imagine. Just to take one breath after another, to have all this in view and within your reach, is a blessing that has no equal. It's all here for you. Feel for a moment the true depth of what you have in front of you, and you cannot help but make the very best of every beautiful portion.
Some days are more beautiful without the sun shining brightly. Some days, the cold, bitter wind feels good against my face. Some days, the dark clouds impart a sense of hope and comfort. There is beauty not only in the obvious, but also in the subtle -- perhaps even more. It is the pervasiveness of beauty that makes it so sublime. That a dark, cold day can be just as wonderful as a bright, sunny one, is a monumental testament to the beauty of life itself. Excitement comes also in quiet moments. Love is present during lonely times. Satisfaction is found even with hunger and desire. Hope is possible even amidst despair. Drink in the richness of the whole, beautiful world which exists beyond the obvious. And marvel each and every day at the magnificence of life.
The enticement of the moment can be powerful. To overcome it, ask yourself what is in your future that is powerful and compelling enough to get you through the present? The world is full of distractions. What is it that keeps you focused? Life is filled with temptation. How do you maintain your discipline? What desire is bigger for you than the desire to get caught up in the meaningless distractions of the moment. There must be something beyond the moment. The quality of the journey depends on how compelling the destination is for you. Living IN the moment is the only way to get anything done, but living FOR the moment keeps you continually spinning your wheels and getting nowhere. A destination, by its very definition, lies beyond the present. What is your destination? How compelling have you made it? If you're continually distracted and knocked off course, perhaps your dream should be bigger. Make your goals big enough to be compelling and meaningful enough to pull you irresistibly toward them. When you value and respect your own future, it will be bright indeed.
There are so many wonderful things to be done, and so many problems and distractions holding us back. By default, in the absence of any other choice, we tend to focus on the problems. They have a way of asserting themselves even without our participation. Yet the positive possibilities and opportunities can be just as compelling, when we choose to make them so. Everything that's ever been achieved has been undertaken in spite of the obstacles, in spite of the problems, in spite of the numerous distractions. For every difficult problem you face there is a positive possibility that is even stronger. Make it your mission to find those possibilities and realize them. Life is a process of moving forward. With all your glorious capabilities, you were not meant to be held back. Make the choice to move ahead. No matter what your past may have been like, no matter what your present circumstances may be, you have a real and fertile seed of greatness in you. Make the choice each moment, each day, to nurture your possibilities into being.
No circumstance has the power to distract you from the direction you have chosen. Anything that knocks you off track does so because you have allowed it to. Keep in mind that you give power to your circumstances. You imbue them with your life, your purpose and your meaning. They are your reflection, not your essence. The world around you can influence you to the extent that you allow it. There is a part of you that no one, no thing can ever touch without your participation. The direction in which you point and focus that essential core of your being will largely determine the quality of your life. Pain and pleasure may both be quite compelling, yet they are outside of who you really are. Circumstances may be very alluring or terribly frightening, yet you exist beyond those circumstances. Keep that ever in mind, and be true to your greatest possibilities.
Gayatri mantra has been bestowed the greatest importance in Vedic dharma. This mantra has also been termed as Savitri and Ved-Mata, the mother of the Vedas. The literal meaning of the mantra is: O God! You are Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Almighty,You are all Light. You are all Knowledge and Bliss. You are Destroyer of fear, You are Creator of this Universe, You are the Greatest of all. We bow and meditate upon Your light. You guide our intellect in the right direction. The mantra, however, has a great scientific import too, which somehow got lost in the literary tradition. The modern astrophysics and astronomy tell us that our Galaxy called Milky Way or Akash-Ganga contains approximately 100,000 million of stars.Each star is like our sun having its own planet system. We know that the moon moves round the earth and the earth moves round the sun along with the moon. All planets round the sun.Each of the above bodies revolves round at its own axis as well. Our sun along with its family takes one round of the galactic centre in 22.5 crore years. All galaxies including ours are moving away at a terrific velocity of 20,000 miles per second. And now the alternative scientific meaning of the mantra step by step: (A) Om bhur bhuvah swah: Bhur the earth, bhuvah the planets (solar family), swah the Galaxy. We observe that when an ordinary fan with a speed of 900 RPM (rotations Per minute) moves, it makes noise. Then, one can imagine, what great noise would be created when the galaxies move with a speed of 20,000 miles per second.This is what this portion of the mantra explains that the sound produced due to the fast-moving earth, planets and galaxies is Om. The sound was heard during meditation by Rishi Vishvamitra, who mentioned it to other colleagues. All of them, then unanimously decided to call this sound Om the name of God, because this sound is available in all the three periods of time, hence it is set (permanent). Therefore, it was the first ever revolutionary idea to identify formless God with a specific title (form) called upadhi. Until that time, everybody recognized God as formless and nobody was prepared to accept this new idea. In the Gita also, it is said, "Omiti ekaksharam brahma", meaning that the name of the Supreme is Om, which contains only one syllable (8/12). This sound Om heard during samadhi was called by all the seers nada-brahma a very great noise), but not a noise that is normally beyond a specific amplitude and limits of decibels suited to human hearing. Hence the rishis called this sound Udgith musical sound of the above, i.e., heaven.They also noticed that the infinite mass of galaxies moving with a velocity of 20,000 miles/second was generating a kinetic energy = 1/2 MV2 and this was balancing the total energy consumption of the cosmos. Hence they named it Pranavah, which means the body (vapu) or store house of energy (prana). (B) Tat savitur varenyam: Tat that (God), savitur the sun (star), varenyam worthy of bowing or respect. Once the form of a person along with the name is known to us,we may locate the specific person. Hence the two titles (upadhi) provide the solid ground to identify the formless God, Vishvamitra suggested. He told us that we could know (realize) the unknowable formless God through the known factors, viz., sound Om and light of suns (stars). A mathematician can solve an equation x2+y2=4; if x=2; then y can be known and so on. An engineer can measure the width of a river even by standing at the river bank just by drawing a triangle. So was the scientific method suggested by Vishvamitra in the mantra in the next portion as under:- (C) Bhargo devasya dheemahi: Bhargo the light, devasya of the deity, dheemahi we should meditate. The rishi instructs us to meditate upon the available form (light of suns) to discover the formless Creator (God). Also he wants us to do japa of the word Om (this is understood in the Mantra). This is how the sage wants us to proceed, but there is a great problem to realise it, as the human mind is so shaky and restless that without the grace of the Supreme (Brahma) it cannot be controlled. Hence Vishvamitra suggests the way to pray Him as under: (D) Dhiyo yo nah prachodayat: Dhiyo (intellect), yo (who), nah(we all), prachodayat(guide to right Direction). O God! Deploy our intellect on the right path. Full scientific interpretation of the Mantra: The earth (bhur), the planets (bhuvah), and the galaxies(swah) are moving at a very great velocity, the sound produced is Om, (the name of formless God.) That God (tat), who manifests Himself in the form of light of suns (savitur) is worthy of bowing/respect(varenyam). We all, therefore, should meditate (dheemahi) upon the light (bhargo) of that deity (devasya) and also do chanting of Om. May He (yo) guide in right direction (prachodayat) our (nah) intellect dhiyo So we notice that the important points hinted in the mantra are:- 1) The total kinetic energy generated by the movement galaxies acts as an umbrella and balances the total energy consumption of the cosmos.Hence it was named as the Pranavah (body of energy). This is equal to 1/2 mv2 (Mass of galaxies x velocity2). 2) Realising the great importance of the syllable OM, the other later date religions adopted this word with a slight change in accent, viz., amen and Ameen.
3) The God could be realised through the saguna (gross), upasana (method),
It's important to develop your abilities. But there's no sense in developing them unless you also put them to use. Get ready. Prepare. Become competent. And then be sure to make something of it. You must not only ask, "what do I need?" You must also ask, "what will I do with it?" It is easy to get sidetracked into developing more and more capabilities, until they are far beyond what is necessary to get the job done. Excellence comes from preparation, yet the excellence is not in the preparation alone. It is nothing without the performance. Learn and rehearse your lines, then walk on stage to face the audience. Train and practice, then step onto the competitive field of play. Write, revise, and edit, then publish your work for the world to see. Prepare with diligence, and then do the thing you've prepared so well to do.
Get ready. Here it comes! Another day. Another 24 hours in which to move forward, to get things done, to learn, to grow, to live and enjoy. In the next 24 hours someone, somewhere will move forward with a decision that will create great wealth. In the next 24 hours someone, somewhere will fall in love, and it will last a lifetime. In the next 24 hours someone, somewhere could make a discovery that will change the world. Plenty of great things will happen in the next 24 hours. It is a fertile period of time just waiting to be used. What do you have planned for it? Twenty four hours from now, how much farther along will you be? Will you have made the most of this great opportunity? Today is the day to act. If not today, when? It's a fabulous opportunity. No one anywhere in the world has more time than you do in the next 24 hours. It's plenty of time to plant the seeds for magnificent accomplishments. So get started right this minute, and have a great, productive day!
It's a Small world If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family, an unwise investment indeed. So what is the morale of the story???? Don't work too hard... and you know what's the full word of family is? FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER, (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU
Follow the rules, stick to proven and effective procedures, but be reasonable. Expect the best, but be reasonable. People make mistakes, and accidents will happen. You are a living, caring, compassionate, reasoning person, not a machine. Be efficient, but be reasonable. Every situation is different. Solve problems rather than just handling them. Cure the cause and not just the symptom. You have the wonderful ability to reason. Use it! If you pretend not to be able to reason people will see though the charade and it will only hurt you in the end. Great minds can devise elaborate systems which anticipate 95% of the situations they will encounter and handle them with preprogrammed efficiency. For the other 5%, be extra reasonable. Use your mind to determine when to make an exception. Take care to respond with intelligence rather than reacting with detachment. Recognize those exceptions that prove the rule. You can think. You can reason. So do it. Be reasonable, and you'll stand high above the uncaring noise.
We must avoid danger, though not to the extent that we avoid life. At some point, the fear becomes more damaging than the thing that is feared. There is some risk in everything. Life in this world simply cannot be risk free and fully guaranteed. Those who truly succeed are willing to accept the risk of failure. Those who find true love have risked a broken heart. There are risks to every action, and yet the risks of inaction can be far greater. When you hide yourself away from the world, what is it you are saving? What is left to protect? The world can be a dangerous place. Proceed with caution, but by all means do proceed. Take calculated risks. Put yourself on the line. Don't get left behind while waiting for a sure thing. Be a part of life, not afraid of it. The most stinging regrets are for things never attempted. When you participate, when you take action, there is indeed the possibility of failure and disappointment. Yet when you decline to take action, failure is not just a possibility -- it is certain. Let your fear instruct and prepare you. Don't let it stop you. Move confidently ahead and live with all the fullness that life can offer.
With less than 24 hours until the year changes to 2000, it's a very appropriate day to think about time. Time is our workplace. It can be our friend or our enemy, depending on how we choose to spend it. It moves steadily forward no matter what we do. Everyone gets the same amount of it each day. Everyone gets the same amount each year. Yet there is an enormous variation in what we make of the time we have. In a few hours, we'll arrive at a significant milestone in time. Like every other moment, it will come and go, and be different for each person who experiences it. Some will make the most of it. Others will let it pass by. On this last day before 2000, it is sparklingly clear to us that time moves steadily forward. You cannot save it. You cannot trade it or avoid it. You can only use it. That, it turns out, is plenty. Look how very far the world has come in the last 1,000 years, even in the last 10 years. Though we'll get caught up a bit in the momentous number on this New Year's Eve, time will continue to move along. Use each moment sincerely and to the best of your ability, and time will always be your friend. It's been quite an eventful 1,000 years. Here's to those who will make the next even better.
How can you clearly see something when you already think you know everything about it? Your existing knowledge can greatly magnify the importance of new things to be learned, and yet it can also bias and distort what you see. You tend to observe and experience what you expect to experience. And yet your expectations are based on what has already happened, on what you have already learned. That could prevent you from seeing anything new. Often, the best way to truly observe something is by temporarily forgetting what you already know about it. That helps you to see what is really there. Knowledge is powerful and it usually works in your favor. But the power of knowledge can also work against you. Thinking you know it all could prevent you from learning anything new. Don't let yourself be blinded by your own knowledge. Keep your mind open and make every effort to clearly and objectively see what is in front of you.
You know what you must do, and yet you have trouble bringing yourself to take action. Day after day passes, and all the while you feel you could be making progress, but you just cannot seem to take the initiative. Does this sound familiar? You think you know what you must do. The big question, however, is -- why? Why is it important? More to the point, why is it important to you? Do you really know that? Sure, you have a nice long list of sensible reasons. But do you really know why? Every moment, there is something you feel you must do, something so overwhelmingly compelling that you do indeed do it. Every action you take, from getting out of bed to brushing your teeth to climbing a mountain to sitting in front of the television, is undertaken because you are absolutely and irrefutably convinced that it is what you must do at that moment. If you weren't, you wouldn't do it. So when you find yourself frustrated about your inability to take action in spite of your desire, the challenge for you is to make that desire real, to make it absolutely compelling. Explore your desires. Question them. Dig into them. Connect with them. Every person has more than enough motivation to fuel a lifetime of action. Those whom we deem successful are the ones who make the effort to find it and use it.
Don't let your thinking stop you from doing. You can think your way out of doing anything if you're so inclined. You can rationalize just about any kind of irrational behavior. But that's not the way to let your thoughts serve you. Thinking brings us many great things, yet there are times when thinking obscures rather than enlightens. There are worthwhile things we cannot comprehend, which we can nevertheless experience. Attempt to fully rationalize love, beauty or faith and you lessen the experience, diluting the value of each. We crave the power that thinking brings, and yet sometimes we gain more by being overpowered than by doing the overpowering. Thinking is one of the most wonderful and powerful tools we have. But it is not the only thing. Certainly you want to question. Certainly you want to be curious. Certainly you want to define and analyze and understand the world in which you live. Yet you also want to live for the pure living of it. Plan, and also flow. Examine, and also see. Think, and also live.
To be truly free requires that you make the often-difficult effort to think for yourself. Those who do not take the time or effort to sincerely seek the truth, open themselves up for tyranny and abuse. A life of quality requires effort -- your own effort to think, to reason and to act with integrity. There is no way around that. Sincere effort and commitment lead to joy. Lack of effort will surely lead to suffering. It happens over and over again, day after day, in a million different ways. True freedom is not freedom from, it is freedom to -- freedom to achieve, freedom to think and to reason, freedom to make a difference. The next time someone offers you some kind of effortless fulfillment, think about the absurdity of such an offer. The fulfillment is in the effort. The freedom is in the responsibility. Learn from others, but don't allow them to do your thinking for you. That's your job. And your reward.
Make a little bit of a positive difference today, and a little bit tomorrow too. You won't change the world overnight, yet if you persist, with just a little every day, it will soon add up to something big. Take measured steps toward your dreams, toward your goals. Be consistent and be persistent. There is a very real starting point right now, today, for anything you wish to achieve. Nothing is out of reach when you make the commitment to move steadily toward it. Don't wait until your dream is within reach -- do what is necessary to put it within reach. Most of the things you desire will not come to you. You must make the effort to go to them, steadily and persistently. You can spend thirty years wishing for easy, overnight success that never comes, or you can actually go out and work day by day toward that success. By the end of this very day, you can be significantly closer to achieving anything you desire. What it takes is effort. You won't make the entire leap today. Yet string enough days together, one after the other, and you're there.
Your past mistakes are quite capable of inflicting their own punishment. There is no need for you to help them. It is natural to feel guilt and remorse for things in the past which were wrong. Once you've learned from your mistakes, however, the sense of guilt serves no purpose. If you were to bury yourself in guilt and shame for the rest of your life it would not undo what has already been done. Learn from the past and then move on. Avoid making the same mistakes again. Rather than beating yourself up with guilt, use that energy to take positive steps. Feeling guilty or sorry for yourself will simply make you sorry. Is there any use in that? Take a breath of fresh air. The past is behind you. Focus on what you can do, not on what you could have or should have done. Your power is in the present, and it will influence the future. Take wisdom from the past and then look forward. There's where all your opportunities are.
the wonder you would have if it were your first. Focus your efforts while keeping your spirit confidently relaxed. Value, enjoy and appreciate those around you while taking full responsibility for yourself. Stay narrowly focused and broadly interested. Give your actions adequate thought and give your thoughts the power of action. Be satisfied and accepting without becoming complacent. Remain open to new ideas while you find fresh value in the old ones. Let your spirit soar and yet remember how to land. Seek quality guidance and be your own person. Live in the fellowship of others and strengthen your own uniqueness. Discipline yourself and be truly free to create and accomplish. Practice holding two opposing ideas in your mind at once. Work with commitment and relax with abandon. Live each moment with balance. Drink in the broad, powerful, colorful spectrum that is life, and bask in the wonderful diversity of it all.
You are capable of whatever you wish. No matter how far down you may be, no matter what has happened in your past, you are capable of molding the future in the direction of your dreams. The world will bombard you with distractions. Quick and easy, empty pleasures will be waiting to ensnare you. Others will scoff at you. Barriers will drop into your pathway. Yet these are ultimately of no consequence when you truly make up your mind to achieve. The mere fact that you can imagine a better life for yourself is evidence of your ability to achieve that life. You already have your most treasured dreams and desires. They are real and they exist within you. Nurture them, give them the power of your thought, your effort and your commitment. Make them real not only inside of you, but also in the world around you. That is achievement, that is your destiny, and no matter who you are, you can do it.
Do you see the effort needed to achieve success as a struggle or as a pleasure? If you consider it a struggle, you'll fight it every step of the way and will probably not ever reach the goals you've set. Those who consistently achieve their goals are positively committed not only to the end results, but also to the process of attaining them. No one does their best when doing something that is distasteful or unpleasant. And yet, there are certain specific actions necessary for success. Achievers learn to redefine their likes and dislikes. Those who accomplish much have found a way to actually enjoy the effort and discipline necessary to reach their goals. To effectively reach your goals, you must either set those goals in accordance with your likes and dislikes, or you must align your likes and dislikes so that they compel you toward your goals. The choice is yours. The power is yours. You can enjoy whatever you decide to enjoy. Just imagine what astounding things you can accomplish when you truly decide to enjoy the process.
If you can convince yourself to do something it will be done. All of the abilities and resources you need can become available to you in one way or another, given enough focused desire. Accomplishment is largely a matter of directing your will. You must truly convince yourself, without the slightest doubt or hesitancy. Then, and only then, will it happen. The challenge of truly convincing yourself is the primary obstacle which stands between you and whatever you desire. Yet you have everything you need to traverse it. After all, you're skilled at convincing others. You've done it all your life from your first cries which convinced your parents to feed you. And if you can convince someone else to act in your best interest, surely you can convince yourself. So make the effort and really do it. Direct the formidable force that is your will. You know yourself better than anyone else. You know what it will take to get you going. Use that knowledge to your advantage. Convince yourself and it will most certainly happen.
Achievers always remember to look for the possibilities. Possibility thinking is a winning state of mind. Rather than considering what is convenient, consider the possibilities. Instead of arguing about who is to blame, search for what is possible. The more stress and uncertainty in a situation, the more possibilities there are. Like magic, possibilities can turn failure into success. When you keep an eye open for possibilities, you'll discover countless opportunities. What is possible for you today? What is possible in your job? What is possible for your family? Every moment is a choice. Keep yourself fully aware of the possibilities and choose to follow the most positive ones. You are more than your past. You are more than your limitations. You are more than the troubles of the moment. You are full of great possibilities. Open your eyes to them. Look into your possible futures, and select the very best one.
Fill your time with compelling challenges and focused effort. Otherwise, the daily onslaught of distractions can waste it away. There are so many enticing, thrilling, yet ultimately empty choices available to you. Unless you intentionally focus your efforts, these distractions can consume your time, leaving you little or nothing to show for it. Sure, it's great to let yourself be distracted from time to time. There's value in experiencing and following the unexpected and unplanned. Yet the sheer quantity of distractions can easily overwhelm anyone who fails to put effort and intention into staying focused. Challenge is a great way to transcend the empty distractions. Challenge energizes, excites and motivates you. It keeps you busy and it can keep you focused. A difficult problem to be solved, and a substantial reward for solving it, easily puts distractions in their place. Keep yourself challenged. It will strengthen you. It will energize and motivate you. It will keep you positively focused on, and occupied with, the things which truly matter.
There is a route to success that is available to just about everyone. It is persistence. No matter what your level of skill or experience, no matter how knowledgeable you are or aren't, when you continue making the effort for as long as it takes, you'll get where you're determined to go. Persistence does not require any special talent. There's really nothing to stop you from persisting with one possible exception -- discouragement. But what is discouragement? Does it really need to have any power over your actions. Should you allow it to dictate your future? Does it make any sense for your discouragement about the past to prevent you from going forward toward the goals you desire? Discouragement has exactly the amount of power you give it. And guess what? You don't need it. It won't being you anything positive. So go beyond it. Persist in your efforts. Forget about the disappointments. Look resolutely at what's ahead, at all the great things that are possible. Keep going, today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes.
When you woke up this morning, you suddenly had all the makings of an overnight success. The negative thoughts and actions, which held you back for so long, disappeared as you were sleeping. And there's no need for you to reclaim them. This very day you awoke to a new world, a world filled with limitless possibility. As you slept, you cast off the past, and all its disappointments. When the sun rose this morning it illuminated a new person -- you. The failures of your past have turned into a positive determination to make a better future. The problems of the present have been elevated to opportunities. The things which once held you back have suddenly made you stronger. Do you feel the change? Today your life begins anew. You can choose to relapse into the negativity of the past, but why would you want to do so. Look instead at the positive possibilities. This very day is your greatest opportunity yet. Grab it and make it a winner!
Discipline is a matter of choice. You can discipline yourself now, or you can have a much harsher discipline imposed on you later. You can create the consequences, or you can suffer the consequences. Whatever you do, the consequences will come, so doesn't it make sense to put yourself in control of them? Self discipline can often be painful and tedious. That's why so many people, unfortunately, avoid it. Yet in the long run, it is by far the easier and more pleasant choice. Are you building for the future with disciplined effort today? The positive efforts of today will be magnified and compounded tomorrow. Yet if you wait until tomorrow to take action, you lose the powerful leverage that time can give you. Take advantage of the great opportunity to take disciplined effort right now. Work to build your future rather than being burdened by it. Today is the perfect time to start.
A world that is constantly focused on more will never allow you to be happy. You cannot ever really be satisfied with more, because once you have it, you need it again. To ever be happy, you must ignore the shallow fascination with getting more and more, and simply decide to be happy where you are. What would happen if you turned your focus toward getting better instead of getting more? It would change your outlook from one of lack and limitation (I don't have enough) to one of growth and creativity (I desire to make my life even better). Is there never enough money for you? Are you constantly thinking of how to get more? As long as you take that approach there will never be enough. What if, instead of focusing on "I don't have enough money" you focused on "I desire to improve my life"? Can you see the multitude of new possibilities that would open up for you with such thinking? Be happy where you are. Otherwise you'll never be happy at all. Be satisfied with your life, and you'll put yourself in the optimum position to make it even better.
Being smart doesn't mean having all the answers. One of the most intelligent things you can say is "I don't know." It takes confidence and intelligence to admit your ignorance. And when you do, you're well on your way to learning the right answer. Too often, out of pride or insecurity we pretend to know when we don't, and stay silent when we could be learning more. There is no shame in not knowing. Ignorance represents a powerful opportunity -- the opportunity to learn something new. A key component of wisdom is knowing the limits of your knowledge. Know what you know, and also know what you do not know. The really smart people are the ones who know and understand that they don't have all the answers. The really smart people are those who are willing to ask, to learn, to grow. Use the knowledge you have and own up to the knowledge you lack. It's one of the smartest strategies you can follow.
We cannot postpone today. It comes no matter what anyone does. Yet for some reason, we often consider today not to be good enough. We postpone our actions, our achievements, our happiness, our lives simply because the conditions don't seem right at the moment. And still, day after day, the dawn is never postponed. It arrives dependably and right on schedule no matter what. Those who experience success and achievement do not postpone their actions until the conditions are right. They take whatever action is necessary to make the conditions right. Today is here, whether you are ready for it or not. So use it. The situation in which you find yourself is far from perfect. That's all the more reason to go ahead with your life, with your plans, your goals. Before you postpone for later, consider that later never really comes. Now is what you have. Choose to work with it despite all the imperfections and inconveniences. Do your best. Whatever adverse conditions you may have imagined were holding you back will be overcome when you make the most of today.
You already have what you need. Otherwise you wouldn't even be alive. Beyond your needs, which are already fulfilled, are the things you desire. Some of them you may desire very, very much. That's known as passion, and it can drive you to do and become and create magnificent things. But it's not because you need to. It is because you desire to. We belittle our desires by claiming them as needs, but that's not really necessary. If you're alive, your needs are met. Be thankful and grateful for that, and realize that it gives you the opportunity to follow your most passionate, sincere desires. Though we often misinterpret and corrupt our desires, there's nothing wrong with desire itself. At the heart of each true desire is the essence of your own, unique universe of possibilities. Your purest desires urge you toward the greatest person you can become. Find them, nurture them, follow them and live your possibilities.
Imagine success and achievement. Do more than just wishing for it. Really imagine it in clear and specific detail. In your mind, see yourself achieving your goals and your dreams. Hear the sounds that you would hear. Feel the feelings that you would feel. Experience it all in positive and inspiring detail. Next, imagine the process of getting there. Visualize, with clarity and precision, exactly what steps will bring you from where to you are right now to where you desire to be. Whatever you can fully visualize and imagine, from start to finish with all the details filled in, is possible for you. Whatever you truly know in your imagination that you can achieve, and know in your heart that you desire, will happen when you keep yourself committed. Your imagination is powerful. Use it. It can guide you. It can inspire you. It can compel you toward the things you have chosen to achieve. Everything you do, you do first in your mind. So use your imagination to point your mind in positive and exciting directions.
Do you ever avoid taking action because you fear that you'll appear foolish, or because you're afraid that others will criticize you? Certainly it makes sense to avoid foolish actions. Yet no matter how wise and sensible you may be, there will always be someone who criticizes you. If you're imprisoned by the fear of appearing foolish or of being criticized, then you won't ever get very much done. When you attempt to avoid the little, day-to-day humiliations, you end up with the biggest humiliation of all -- a life not fully lived. We often think of selfishness in terms of material things. But selfishness can also be the unwillingness to express your own thoughts, your opinions and passions. Hiding your valuable essence from the world, out of fear of humiliation, is a selfish denial of your own possibilities. Those who risk appearing foolish are the ones who accomplish things. Put thought and wisdom into your actions and go forward with them. Then those people who consider you foolish will themselves be the real fools.
Life is a privilege, life is a joy, even on the worst days. Just the fact that you're alive and able to make decisions, to take action and make a difference, far outweighs, by orders of magnitude, any difficulty or disappointment that might happen to come along. When the world is dark, that's all the more reason for you to be a source of light. The quality of your life does not depend on what you encounter, but rather on the person you become as a result. Today is a great day because you are in it. There is opportunity for growth and fulfillment in every direction. If the people around you are being hateful and petty, you have a real opportunity to make a positive difference. The difficult challenges standing in your path hide real treasures which are waiting to be uncovered. Your heart knows that life can be beautiful when you accept that it is. Wherever you are, whatever confronts you, decide to live that beauty each day. And as you do, even the world around you will change for the better.
Move on past the setbacks. Move on past the disappointments. Perseverance will ultimately prevail over even the most daunting challenges. Strength does not get used up. The more you exercise it, the more it grows. Be strong and you become stronger. Even those who are highly skilled, exceptionally intelligent and endowed with ample resources will fall short of the mark if they lack perseverance. By the same measure, those who begin with nothing in their favor can achieve whatever they set out to do when they make the commitment to keep on going. The troubles of today will soon seem trivial and insignificant if you'll just move on past them. The only other choice is to drain your strength into your disappointments by wallowing in self pity. Which would you choose to do? Find a reason so compelling, so personally meaningful that you won't allow yourself to stop. Stand up, lift your eyes up, step forward and keep going -- today and every day
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