Today is my last day as a salaried employee. Effective 01 May 2010, I will be my own boss.
I am as excited as I am anxious about the future.
It took corrupt colleagues to convince me that there is more to life than just making money, especially at people's expense.
Standing for what you believe in,
Regardless of the odds against you,
and the pressure that tears at your resistance,
... means courage.
Keeping a smile on your face,
When inside you feel like dying,
For the sake of supporting others,
... means strength.
Stopping at nothing,
And doing what's in your heart,
You know is right,
... means determination.
Doing more than is expected,
To make another's life a little more bearable,
Without uttering a single complaint,
... means compassion.
Helping a friend in need,
No matter the time or effort,
To the best of your ability,
... means loyalty.
Giving more than you have,
And expecting nothing,
But nothing in return,
... means selflessness.
Holding your head high,
And being the best you know you can be
When life seems to fall apart at your feet,
Facing each difficulty with the confidence
That time will bring you better tomorrows,
And never giving up,
... means confidence.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Gratitude
For every day that you wake up breathing, give thanks for what you have, rather than wishing for what you don't.
Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are.
Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings, I give thanks that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.
Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible, I give thanks that I can see. Many are blind.
Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, I give thanks that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, faces are long and tempers are short, my children are so loud, I give thanks for my family. There are many who are lonely.
Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced, I give thanks for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.
Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous, I give thanks for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.
Every day be thankful for what you have and who you are.
Even though I clutch my blanket and growl when the alarm rings, I give thanks that I can hear. There are many who are deaf.
Even though I keep my eyes closed against the morning light as long as possible, I give thanks that I can see. Many are blind.
Even though I huddle in my bed and put off rising, I give thanks that I have the strength to rise. There are many who are bedridden.
Even though the first hour of my day is hectic, when socks are lost, faces are long and tempers are short, my children are so loud, I give thanks for my family. There are many who are lonely.
Even though our breakfast table never looks like the pictures in magazines and the menu is at times unbalanced, I give thanks for the food we have. There are many who are hungry.
Even though the routine of my job often is monotonous, I give thanks for the opportunity to work. There are many who have no job.
Quote of the Day
I had an audience with my former boss.
My questions was,"You're now a port tycoon, but the formative years of your kids were during the time that you were busy building up the business, how the heck did you manage to raise such a well-balanced kid like Ruben?"
His short and succint answer was,"Balance using priorities".
I think I can sum it up with this saying.
Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
My questions was,"You're now a port tycoon, but the formative years of your kids were during the time that you were busy building up the business, how the heck did you manage to raise such a well-balanced kid like Ruben?"
His short and succint answer was,"Balance using priorities".
I think I can sum it up with this saying.
Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
It's all about attitude
You can be a Harvard grad, or you can be one of those who never had any formal schooling, but what you can be in life is how you make of it.
For example,
SOLDIER : Sir we are surrounded from all sides by enemies,
MAJOR : Excellent ! we can attack in any direction.
Every one knows about Alexander Graham bell who invented the telephone, but he never made a call to his family. because, his wife and daughter were deaf.
That's life " lived for others " .
The worst in life is "attachment " it hurts when you lose it.
The best thing in life is " loneliness " because it teaches you everything and, when you lose it, you get everything.
Life is not about the people who act true to your face ........
it's about the people who remain true behind your back .
If an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends. If an egg breaks from within, life begins.
Great things always begin from within .
It's better to lose your ego to the one you love than to lose the one you lov... because of ego .
A relationship doesn't shine by just shaking hands at the best of times. but it blossoms by holding firmly in critical situations.
Heated gold becomes ornaments. Betted copper becomes wires. Depleted stone becomes statue.
So, the more pain you get in your life the more valuable you become.
When you trust someone trust him completely without any doubts.
At the end you would get one of the two : either a lesson for your life or a very good person .
For example,
SOLDIER : Sir we are surrounded from all sides by enemies,
MAJOR : Excellent ! we can attack in any direction.
Every one knows about Alexander Graham bell who invented the telephone, but he never made a call to his family. because, his wife and daughter were deaf.
That's life " lived for others " .
The worst in life is "attachment " it hurts when you lose it.
The best thing in life is " loneliness " because it teaches you everything and, when you lose it, you get everything.
Life is not about the people who act true to your face ........
it's about the people who remain true behind your back .
If an egg is broken by an outside force, a life ends. If an egg breaks from within, life begins.
Great things always begin from within .
It's better to lose your ego to the one you love than to lose the one you lov... because of ego .
A relationship doesn't shine by just shaking hands at the best of times. but it blossoms by holding firmly in critical situations.
Heated gold becomes ornaments. Betted copper becomes wires. Depleted stone becomes statue.
So, the more pain you get in your life the more valuable you become.
When you trust someone trust him completely without any doubts.
At the end you would get one of the two : either a lesson for your life or a very good person .
Monday, April 12, 2010
Information please
As a kid, our house had one of those old phones where you had to dial instead of push buttons.
I was amazed that when I dialed 1019, a lady's voice came on and actually told you the time!
I read this story a long time ago, and I think it's high time I ought to share it with you.
Information Please
When I was quiet young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well, the polished old case fastened to the wall and the shiny receiver on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother would talk to it.
Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person and her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time.
My first personal experience with this genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor.
Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement. I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible but there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give me sympathy.
I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway, The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and held it to my ear.
"Information Please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
"Information."
"I hurt my finger" I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.
"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.
"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with a hammer and it hurts.
"Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could.
"Then chip off a piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me that my pet chipmunk, which I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.
Then there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual thing grown ups say to soothe a child. But, I was inconsolable. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Paul, you must remember that there are other worlds to sing in."
Somehow, I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone. "Information Please".
"Information," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?'" I asked.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.
When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and somehow I never thought of trying the tall, new shiny phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.
Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half-an-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then, without thinking about what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."
Miraculously, I heard the small clear voice I knew so well. "Information." I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, 'Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must be healed by now."
I laughed, 'So it's really still you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"
"I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
"Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally."
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information."
I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" she said.
"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said.
Sally had been working part time in the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."
Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute. Are you Paul?" "Yes,"
"Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you." The note said, Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you make on others.
I was amazed that when I dialed 1019, a lady's voice came on and actually told you the time!
I read this story a long time ago, and I think it's high time I ought to share it with you.
Information Please
When I was quiet young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood. I remember well, the polished old case fastened to the wall and the shiny receiver on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother would talk to it.
Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person and her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. "Information Please" could supply anybody's number and the correct time.
My first personal experience with this genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor.
Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement. I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible but there didn't seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give me sympathy.
I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway, The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and held it to my ear.
"Information Please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
"Information."
"I hurt my finger" I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
"Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.
"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.
"No," I replied. "I hit my finger with a hammer and it hurts.
"Can you open your icebox?" she asked. I said I could.
"Then chip off a piece of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me that my pet chipmunk, which I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.
Then there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called "Information Please" and told her the sad story. She listened, then said the usual thing grown ups say to soothe a child. But, I was inconsolable. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, "Paul, you must remember that there are other worlds to sing in."
Somehow, I felt better. Another day I was on the telephone. "Information Please".
"Information," said the now familiar voice. "How do you spell fix?'" I asked.
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest.
When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and somehow I never thought of trying the tall, new shiny phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.
Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle. I had about half-an-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then, without thinking about what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."
Miraculously, I heard the small clear voice I knew so well. "Information." I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, 'Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must be healed by now."
I laughed, 'So it's really still you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"
"I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
"Please do," she said. "Just ask for Sally."
Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different voice answered, "Information."
I asked for Sally. "Are you a friend?" she said.
"Yes, a very old friend," I answered.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," she said.
Sally had been working part time in the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."
Before I could hang up she said, "Wait a minute. Are you Paul?" "Yes,"
"Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you." The note said, Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.
Never underestimate the impression you make on others.
The Important Things in Life
I can't remember where I got this, but all the same, it's important to know what is important.
The Important Things in Life
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.
You never know who these people may be - a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger - but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.
Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.
Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.
If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.
If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.
Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they have to say.
Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.
You can make anything you wish of your life. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.
And if you love someone tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.
The Important Things in Life
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.
You never know who these people may be - a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger - but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.
Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.
Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.
If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.
If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.
Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they have to say.
Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.
You can make anything you wish of your life. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.
And if you love someone tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.
Anyway, anyhow
You will sometimes feel that the world is against, or you will find doubting idiots who think they are the center of the universe, but in any case, you need to find the inner strength to persevere.
Here's a few notes to keep you going.
People are often unreasonable,
illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind,
People may accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful,
you will win some false friends
and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
Here's a few notes to keep you going.
People are often unreasonable,
illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind,
People may accuse you of selfish,
ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful,
you will win some false friends
and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.
50 best quotes from Jim Rohn
Can't believe I didn't post in March. To make up for it, here's something from Jim Rohn.
50 Best Quotes
Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better.
If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree.
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you
design for the present.
If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed
him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure
is a few errors in judgement, repeated every day.
Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.
If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's
plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.
It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters
most is getting off.
You cannot make progress without making decisions.
Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don't
go well.
The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.
The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it.
What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.
The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.
Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.
Either you run the day or the day runs you.
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
Get around people who have something of value to share with you. Their impact
will continue to have a significant effect on your life long they have departed.
You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the
seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have
charge of.
You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction
overnight.
Learn how to separate the majors and the minors. A lot of people don't do well
simply because they major in minor things.
Don't mistake movement for achievement. It's easy to get faked out by being
busy. The question is: Busy doing what?
Learn how to say no. Don't let your mouth overload your back.
Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, "We
don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice people."
Wow! What a clever short cut.
Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works
out.
To become financially independent you must turn part of your income into capital;
turn capital into enterprise; turn enterprise into profit; turn profit into investment;
and turn investment into financial independence.
One of the best places to start to turn your life around is by doing whatever
appears on your mental "I should" list.
We can have more than we've got because we can become more than we are.
Happiness is not an accident. Nor is it something you wish for. Happiness is
something you design.
Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and
imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing
and growing.
You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.
It's easy to carry the past as a burden instead of a school. It's easy to let it
overwhelm you instead of educate you.
I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than
they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.
The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it
takes to achieve them.
Don't set your goals too low. If you don't need much, you won't become much.
Don't join an easy crowd; you won't grow. Go where the expectations and the
demands to perform are high.
One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention.
In America we have the greatest chance for opportunity than anyone else in the
past six and a half thousand years. Never in recorded history have so many
different gifts from all over the world been deposited in one country.
Economic disaster begins with a philosophy of doing less and wanting more.
The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you
become.
That is why I wish to pay fair price for every value. If I have to pay for it
or earn it, that makes something of me. If I get it for free, that makes nothing of
me.
My father taught me to always do more than you get paid for as an investment in
your future.
The worst days of those who enjoy what they do are better than the best days of
those who don't.
Some things you have to do every day. Eating seven apples on Saturday night
instead of one a day just isn't going to get the job done .
We must all wage an intense, lifelong battle against the constant downward pull.
If we relax, the bugs and weeds of negativity will move into the garden and take
away everything of value.
Humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease
Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.
Humans have the remarkable ability to get exactly what they must have. But there
is a difference between a "must" and a "want."
Make rest a necessity, not an objective. Only rest long enough to gather strength.
We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or
disappointment.
The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not
give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have
materialized - never knowing.
50 Best Quotes
Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better.
If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree.
Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you
design for the present.
If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed
him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.
Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure
is a few errors in judgement, repeated every day.
Affirmation without discipline is the beginning of delusion.
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
If you are not willing to risk the unusual, you will have to settle for the ordinary.
If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's
plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.
It doesn't matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters
most is getting off.
You cannot make progress without making decisions.
Maturity is the ability to reap without apology and not complain when things don't
go well.
The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch.
The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it.
What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.
The walls we build around us to keep sadness out also keeps out the joy.
Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.
Either you run the day or the day runs you.
Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.
Get around people who have something of value to share with you. Their impact
will continue to have a significant effect on your life long they have departed.
You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the
seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have
charge of.
You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction
overnight.
Learn how to separate the majors and the minors. A lot of people don't do well
simply because they major in minor things.
Don't mistake movement for achievement. It's easy to get faked out by being
busy. The question is: Busy doing what?
Learn how to say no. Don't let your mouth overload your back.
Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, "We
don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice people."
Wow! What a clever short cut.
Your personal philosophy is the greatest determining factor in how your life works
out.
To become financially independent you must turn part of your income into capital;
turn capital into enterprise; turn enterprise into profit; turn profit into investment;
and turn investment into financial independence.
One of the best places to start to turn your life around is by doing whatever
appears on your mental "I should" list.
We can have more than we've got because we can become more than we are.
Happiness is not an accident. Nor is it something you wish for. Happiness is
something you design.
Your family and your love must be cultivated like a garden. Time, effort, and
imagination must be summoned constantly to keep any relationship flourishing
and growing.
You must either modify your dreams or magnify your skills.
It's easy to carry the past as a burden instead of a school. It's easy to let it
overwhelm you instead of educate you.
I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than
they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change.
The ultimate reason for setting goals is to entice you to become the person it
takes to achieve them.
Don't set your goals too low. If you don't need much, you won't become much.
Don't join an easy crowd; you won't grow. Go where the expectations and the
demands to perform are high.
One of the greatest gifts you can give to anyone is the gift of attention.
In America we have the greatest chance for opportunity than anyone else in the
past six and a half thousand years. Never in recorded history have so many
different gifts from all over the world been deposited in one country.
Economic disaster begins with a philosophy of doing less and wanting more.
The major value in life is not what you get. The major value in life is what you
become.
That is why I wish to pay fair price for every value. If I have to pay for it
or earn it, that makes something of me. If I get it for free, that makes nothing of
me.
My father taught me to always do more than you get paid for as an investment in
your future.
The worst days of those who enjoy what they do are better than the best days of
those who don't.
Some things you have to do every day. Eating seven apples on Saturday night
instead of one a day just isn't going to get the job done .
We must all wage an intense, lifelong battle against the constant downward pull.
If we relax, the bugs and weeds of negativity will move into the garden and take
away everything of value.
Humility is a virtue; timidity is a disease
Learn how to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.
Humans have the remarkable ability to get exactly what they must have. But there
is a difference between a "must" and a "want."
Make rest a necessity, not an objective. Only rest long enough to gather strength.
We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or
disappointment.
The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not
give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have
materialized - never knowing.
A letter to my Dad
I was rummaging through stuff I had brought from my sister's place, stuff that I had accumulated during the 4 years I stayed there.
I came upon a letter from my Dad, which was basically exhorting me to finish my Accountancy degree and to stop fooling around.
I read it with myriad emotions.
1. I remember what I was doing at that time. Not really fooling around, but not exactly focusing on the right stuff either.
2. My Dad is a parent who cares deeply for his children, so his message was one that he felt he need to voice out loud.
3. I didn't appreciate it at that time, but I do now.
I got this (with some editing of my own) from a website, but the message is still the same. My Dad will be 76 this year, and I hope he lives to at least 100 so that I can write this kind of letter to him:
A Letter to my Dad on His one hundredth Birthday
by
Cynthia Groopman
Dearest Dad,
I cannot believe that you would have been one hundred years old if you were living in this world with us. I often wonder how you would look, how you would sound and what you would do to enhance my life.
Although you left this world in 1996 at age 86, you are so much alive in my memories, in my thoughts and in my heart.
I feel your embraces, your caresses, hear your voice from afar, and see your blue eyes as sparkling as the sky.
My mind's eye is so keen and your presence is always by my side.
You have been a dad crowned with splendor, a man of valor one who deeply loved and cared for his family, a man of morals and righteousness, a man of God and inspiration.
You have been a role model for me and I remember your words and use them often quoting you. I even sometimes during the quiet moments hear you whisper into my ear.
You have taught me so much, to grow in the right way, to hold integrity firm in my clutch, to be honest, to be genuine, to be a person of my word and to be self disciplined.
I can feel the elation in the family one hundred years ago when you entered this world, to immigrant parents. Abraham was your name a leader of nations and a father to all, and that you were. You learned early to be responsible to take cows to pasture on the farm in Woodburn NY at age 9 to support the family while you were going to college at night and working by day and after getting your degree and passing civil service tests with high grades, you sent your brothers to dental and pharmacy school.
You supported your mom and dad and cared tenderly for them. You were the leader of the family and all looked to you for advice and counsel.
I remember as a child running up to you when you would enter the apartment hugging your knees since I was a small tot and you would lift me and hug me and give me that special look and smile. Your blond hair was as radiant as the sunshine and your eyes were as blue as the crystal laden sky.
You would always find time to chat and to help with math problems and we had a blackboard in the room and you would give us work to do. Oh, those division problems were difficult but you made learning fun.
You rose from the ranks to Chief engineer of the department of Water Resources of NYC by examination and you led a city through water shortages etc. and again you were the known as Mr. Water Supply.
Everyone loved you and you won honors form the mayor at that time Mayor John Lindsay and your certificate still regally graces the wall in my living room.
You loved classical music and would encourage us to listen on weekends playing records by Beethoven, Bach and Mozart on the portable old recored player, which I still have up in the closet. You loved to make a bulls eye on poached eggs on a Sunday breakfast for us and the aromas still are in my mind's nose.
Your voice was gentle and you never entered the room with a bang and you were kind and caring. You encouraged disabled workers to do their best long before the DAADA act was ever though of.
You wre a man of faith and encouraged me to pray and remember you going to prayer for the Jewish New Year, with your prayer shawl and prayer book and kissing us and wishing us a good healthy year.
You would accompany me to recitals for piano, doctor's appointments as a child and when I lost my vision 22 years ago, you were by my side. We became companions and friends doing everything together. We were inseparable.
You also were the first one to accompany me to the senior center when I applied for my job and how you relieved my anxiety and made it easy. It is nineteen years since i have been working there and I still picture you taking my hand and guiding me into that senior center that became the center of my life.
You were with me when you left this world to enter the journey to God's eternal home. I took your hand and kissed it and felt you whisper to me a fond farewell. It was your hug that morning in August of 1996 that even made me feel so speical. Dad, you were unique, and a man who was 38 years older than I were my friend, my mentor, my inspiration and above all a blessing.
I think of you when I received my award at Yankee Stadium at home plate in Sept 2006 and when I had my Bat Mitzvah in August of 2011. You are part of my life and you have my life shine with gems and richness that money cannot by.
Dad, I just want to say that I love you and love and affection and admiration transcends death and time. You have kindled that special spark of eternal love into my heart and soul and I shall forever cherish and adore you. Thanks for being my Dad and a man of quality and sharing my life with me. You were God's gift and blessing to me. With all of my love and heartfelt gratitude,
Your loving Daughter, Cynthia
I came upon a letter from my Dad, which was basically exhorting me to finish my Accountancy degree and to stop fooling around.
I read it with myriad emotions.
1. I remember what I was doing at that time. Not really fooling around, but not exactly focusing on the right stuff either.
2. My Dad is a parent who cares deeply for his children, so his message was one that he felt he need to voice out loud.
3. I didn't appreciate it at that time, but I do now.
I got this (with some editing of my own) from a website, but the message is still the same. My Dad will be 76 this year, and I hope he lives to at least 100 so that I can write this kind of letter to him:
A Letter to my Dad on His one hundredth Birthday
by
Cynthia Groopman
Dearest Dad,
I cannot believe that you would have been one hundred years old if you were living in this world with us. I often wonder how you would look, how you would sound and what you would do to enhance my life.
Although you left this world in 1996 at age 86, you are so much alive in my memories, in my thoughts and in my heart.
I feel your embraces, your caresses, hear your voice from afar, and see your blue eyes as sparkling as the sky.
My mind's eye is so keen and your presence is always by my side.
You have been a dad crowned with splendor, a man of valor one who deeply loved and cared for his family, a man of morals and righteousness, a man of God and inspiration.
You have been a role model for me and I remember your words and use them often quoting you. I even sometimes during the quiet moments hear you whisper into my ear.
You have taught me so much, to grow in the right way, to hold integrity firm in my clutch, to be honest, to be genuine, to be a person of my word and to be self disciplined.
I can feel the elation in the family one hundred years ago when you entered this world, to immigrant parents. Abraham was your name a leader of nations and a father to all, and that you were. You learned early to be responsible to take cows to pasture on the farm in Woodburn NY at age 9 to support the family while you were going to college at night and working by day and after getting your degree and passing civil service tests with high grades, you sent your brothers to dental and pharmacy school.
You supported your mom and dad and cared tenderly for them. You were the leader of the family and all looked to you for advice and counsel.
I remember as a child running up to you when you would enter the apartment hugging your knees since I was a small tot and you would lift me and hug me and give me that special look and smile. Your blond hair was as radiant as the sunshine and your eyes were as blue as the crystal laden sky.
You would always find time to chat and to help with math problems and we had a blackboard in the room and you would give us work to do. Oh, those division problems were difficult but you made learning fun.
You rose from the ranks to Chief engineer of the department of Water Resources of NYC by examination and you led a city through water shortages etc. and again you were the known as Mr. Water Supply.
Everyone loved you and you won honors form the mayor at that time Mayor John Lindsay and your certificate still regally graces the wall in my living room.
You loved classical music and would encourage us to listen on weekends playing records by Beethoven, Bach and Mozart on the portable old recored player, which I still have up in the closet. You loved to make a bulls eye on poached eggs on a Sunday breakfast for us and the aromas still are in my mind's nose.
Your voice was gentle and you never entered the room with a bang and you were kind and caring. You encouraged disabled workers to do their best long before the DAADA act was ever though of.
You wre a man of faith and encouraged me to pray and remember you going to prayer for the Jewish New Year, with your prayer shawl and prayer book and kissing us and wishing us a good healthy year.
You would accompany me to recitals for piano, doctor's appointments as a child and when I lost my vision 22 years ago, you were by my side. We became companions and friends doing everything together. We were inseparable.
You also were the first one to accompany me to the senior center when I applied for my job and how you relieved my anxiety and made it easy. It is nineteen years since i have been working there and I still picture you taking my hand and guiding me into that senior center that became the center of my life.
You were with me when you left this world to enter the journey to God's eternal home. I took your hand and kissed it and felt you whisper to me a fond farewell. It was your hug that morning in August of 1996 that even made me feel so speical. Dad, you were unique, and a man who was 38 years older than I were my friend, my mentor, my inspiration and above all a blessing.
I think of you when I received my award at Yankee Stadium at home plate in Sept 2006 and when I had my Bat Mitzvah in August of 2011. You are part of my life and you have my life shine with gems and richness that money cannot by.
Dad, I just want to say that I love you and love and affection and admiration transcends death and time. You have kindled that special spark of eternal love into my heart and soul and I shall forever cherish and adore you. Thanks for being my Dad and a man of quality and sharing my life with me. You were God's gift and blessing to me. With all of my love and heartfelt gratitude,
Your loving Daughter, Cynthia
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