Thought 16JUL2009

ON MARRIAGE
What you are as a single person, you will be as a married person, only to a greater degree. Any negative character trait will be intensified in a marriage relationship, because you will feel free to let your guard down - that person has committed himself to you and you no longer have to worry about scarring him off.
Josh McDowell - Secret of Loving - Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994
There is no medicine to cure hatred - Ashanti Proverb from Ghana

Thought 15JUL2009

THE MIND
Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity, and in cold weather becomes frozen: even so does inaction sap the vigor's of the mind.
Leonardo da Vinci
When a king has good counselors, his reign is peaceful - Ashanti Proverb from Ghana

Thought 14JUL2009

ON PLANNING
"In our world today people complain that they don't have any time for themselves. But lack of direction - not lack of time - is the problem. Example: Chances are good you get at least twice as much work done on the day before vacation as you do on a normal working day. Here's why: The night before the day before vacation you list on a sheet of paper or your laptop the things you must get done tomorrow. In short, you've got a game plan and you make a commitment to fulfill that game plan - and that's exactly what you do.

Question: Doesn't it make sense that if one day of planning your activities can accomplish such dramatic results, that if you planned your family time, exercise time, recreation time and personal growth time, that your life would be much better balanced, and you would have more of the benefits of life? Think about that, follow through and good things will happen to you."
From Zig Ziglar Newsletter
Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped - Chinese Proverb

Thought 13JUL2009

THE BRASS POLE
Thanks to our industrial ingenuity and know-how, we live longer, better and more enjoyably these days. Science, electronics and such march on - but still nobody has been able to figure out a better way for a fireman to get downstairs faster than by sliding down the brass pole. It began in 1889.
Extracted from Bits & Pieces, The Economics Press, Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey, USA - From the Library of Puan Hajah Zaihani Abdul Hamid
People should not talk while they are eating or pepper may go down the wrong way - Chinese Proverb

Thought 10JUL2009

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF
Although it's usually unpleasant, many people are forced to learn things the hard way. And before they can truly appreciate success, they have to experience failure. Especially in business. In fact, very few successful people haven't had to face difficult challenges along the way. But a business reversal or personal setback will often bring out the best in people and enable them to find courage and strength they never even knew they possessed. In these uncertain times, there's always a chance you might find yourself in a similar situation. Nevertheless, if you genuinely believe in yourself, you have what it takes to turn things around for the better.
Bill Daniels - Extracted from 'Bits & Pieces', The Economic Press, Inc., Fairfield New Jersey. From the Library of Puan Hajah Zaihani Abdul Hamid
A cup of coffee commits one to forty years of friendship - Kurdish Proverb

Thought 09JUL2009

GREATEST ASSETS
I believe that a business's greatest assets are in the human assets and the improvement of their value is both a matter of material advantage and moral obligation. I believe that employees must be treated as honourable individuals, justly rewarded, encouraged in their progress, fully informed and properly assigned, and that their lives and work must be given meaning and dignity, on and off the job. If I have the supervision of so much as one other person, I will strive to honour these principles in practice.
Clarence Francis - Former CEO of General Foods. Extracted from Bits & Pieces, The Economics Press, Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey, USA. From the Library of Puan Hajah Zaihani Abdul Hamid
Tenga yo salud, y dineros quien los quisiere / Health is better than wealth - Spanish Proverb

Thought 08JUL2009

BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU DO
Successful people are not in a job for something to do ... they are in their work to do something. This requisite is difficult to explain to those poor souls struggling through their work day. But those fortunate people who work for a cause rather than so much an hour know exactly what it means.

Get beyond the job description, title, pay cheque, or "to do" list. See the end result. Become absorbed with your organization's purpose and mission.
extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II, Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994
Ojos que no ven, corazon que no llora / siente. Long absent, soon forgotten - Spanish Proverb

Thought 07JUL2009

NOT MUCH HOPE
A woman attending a state fair stopped by the tent of a fortune teller. Looking into her crystal ball a frown spread across the fortune teller's face as she predicted, "The next fifteen years of your life will be filled with disappointment, unhappiness and poverty."

"Then what?" asked the anxious woman. "You'll grow accustomed to it."
Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994.
A fool dreams of wealth, a wise man, of happiness - Kurdish Proverb

Thought 06JUL2009

LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING
One of my favourite questions to ask applicants I'm interviewing is : "What prompted you to apply here?" Over and over again, I've heard, "I thought you might have something available I would like." Our organization doesn't have positions people automatically like. However, we have committed people who love what they do. I'm baffled by the number of people who spend five-sevenths of their week doing something they don't like so they can spend the other two-sevenths doing what they enjoy.

"Whether we find pleasure in work or whether we find it a bore," said BC Forbes, "depends entirely on our mental attitude." Sister Mary Lauretta adds, " To be successful, the first thing to do is fall in love with your work." In other words, the secret to happiness, success, satisfaction and fulfillment in our work is not doing what one likes, but in liking what one does.

When all else fails, listen to the advice of the seven dwarfs : "Whistle while you work."
extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II, Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994
Il-mara taf tghallik fis-sema u taf twaddbek fl-infern / A woman can raise you to heaven and can dump you in hell - Maltese Proverb

Thought 03JUL2009

ON INTEGRITY
"Chances are good that you would like to have more of the things money will buy and all of the things money won't buy. Money is not the most important thing in life, but it is reasonably close to oxygen. Most of us like what money buys - nice clothes, a nice house, a nice car, nice trips, memberships at country clubs and a host of other things. But we love the things money won't buy. It will buy a house, but not a home; it will buy a companion, but not a friend. Money will buy a bed, but not a good night's sleep, and a good time, but not peace of mind.

Message: Build your life on integrity. You can have more of the things money will buy and all of the things money won't buy. Take that approach to life and I will see you at the top!"
From Zig Ziglar Newsletter
Min ma jbossx, jifsa / He who doesn't fart, lets out silent ones - Maltese Proverb