Thought 01JUL2008

ON DREAMS
A dream is an ideal involving a sense of possibilities rather than probabilities, of potential rather than limits. A dream is the wellspring of passion, giving us direction and pointing us to lofty heights. It is an expression of optimism, hope and values lofty enough to capture the imagination and engage the spirit. Dreams grab us and move us. They are capable of lifting us to new heights and overcoming self-imposed limitations.
Robert Kriegel - Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994.
When your neighbour is wrong you point a finger, but when you are wrong you hide - Ekonda

Thought 30JUN2008

POINTS TO PONDER [by B C Forbes]
There is a time to speak and a time to keep quite. There are things to tell and things not to tell. But it is an excellent rule to practice frankness in all dealings and associations with others, whether in business or socially. The frank person treads a firm bridge crossing a river, while the secretive person charily steps from stone to stone.
Forbes - Extracted from Reader's Digest, July 1995 - Points to Ponder
When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow - Ethiopia

Thought 27JUN2008

SERVICE WITH A SMILE
Everything I learned about selling, I learned in one afternoon from my father, Walt, at his furniture store in New Era, Michigan. I was 12 years old. I was sweeping the floor when an elderly woman entered the store. I asked Dad if I could wait on her. "Sure," he replied. "May I help you?" "Yes, young man. I bought a sofa from your store and the leg fell off. I want to know when you're going to fix it." "When did you purchase it, ma'am?" "About 10 years ago." I told my father that she thought we were going to fix her old sofa for free. He said to tell her we'd be there that afternoon. After screwing on the new leg, we left and on the ride back Pop asked, "What's bothering you, son?"
"You know that I want to go to college. If we drive around fixing old sofas for free, we'll go broke!" "You had learn how to do that repair job anyway. Besides, you missed the most important part. You didn't notice the store tag when we flipped the couch over. She bought it from Sears." "You mean we did that job for nothing and she's not even our customer?" Dad looked me in the eye and said, "She is now." Two days later she returned to our store and bought several thousand dollars worth of new furniture from me. When we delivered it, she put a gallon jar filled with change, singles, fives, tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds on the kitchen table. "Take what you need," she said and left the room. I've been selling for 30 years since that day. I have had the highest closing average in every organization I have represented because I treat every customer with respect.
Michael T Burcon - extracted from "A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul", Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Barry Spilchuk; Health Communications Inc, 1996
To one who does not know, a small garden is a forest - Ethiopia

Thought 26JUN2008

BIRTHDAY PRESENT
A boy was trying to figure out what to buy for his girlfriend's birthday. Finally, he asked his mother for some advice.
"If you were going to be 16 years old tomorrow, what would you want?" "Not another thing," his mother said without hesitation.
Extracted from Bits & Pieces, The Economics Press, Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey, USA - From the Library of Puan Hajjah Zaihani Abdul Hamid
Taking water from the same well doesn't make all the wives' gravy taste good - Cote D'Ivorie

Thought 25JUN2008

MAINTAIN YOUR INTEGRITY
A while back, there was a story about Reuben Gonzolas, who was in the final match of his first professional racquetball tournament. He was playing the perennial champion for his first shot at a victory on the pro circuit. At match point in the fifth and final game, Gonzolas made a super "kill shot" into the front corner to win the tournament. The referee called it good, and one of the linesmen confirmed that the shot was a winner.
But after a moment's hesitation, Gonzolas turned and declared that his shot had skipped into the wall, hitting the floor first. As a result, the serve went to his opponent, who went on to win the match. Reuben Gonzolas walked off the court; everyone was stunned. The next issue of a leading racquetball magazine featured Gonzolas on its cover. The lead editorial searched and questioned for an explanation for their first ever occurrence on the professional racquetball circuit. Who could ever imagine it in any sport or endeavor? Here was a player with everything officially in his favour, with victory in his grasp, who disqualified himself at match point and loses. When asked why he did it, Gonzolas replied, "It was the only thing I could do to maintain my integrity."
Source unknown - extracted from "Heart at Work", Jack Canfield & Jacqueline Miller, McGraw-Hill, 1996
To love someone who does not love you, is like shaking a tree to make the dew drops fall - Congo

Thought 24JUN2008

OVERWHELMED or OVERLOADED?
If you feel overwhelmed or overloaded, decide what is the most important thing in life for you to focus on. Write down the things that are most important for you to accomplish and then prioritize them. Tackle the first thing on your list and take action until you have mastered it. When you feel it's appropriate to start letting go of an overwhelming emotion like grief, start focusing on what you can control and begin to consider the empowering meaning to it all.
Source unknown - Got it from a Singapore friend presently residing in Melbourne, Australia
You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla - Congo

Thought 23JUN2008

ON LAUGHTER
If you wish to glimpse inside a human soul and get to know a man, don't bother analyzing his ways of being silent, of talking, of weeping, or seeing how much he is moved by noble ideas; you'll get better results if you just watch him laugh. If he laughs well, he's a good man.
Fyodor Dostoyyevsky - extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II, Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994
Children are the reward of life - Congo

Thought 18JUN2008

SIMPLY SAID
Fresh flowers are such a lovely thing of beauty. Once in a while I pick a bouquet or a single perfect rose to give to a neighbour, friend or relative. Early one morning I gathered a beautiful bouquet of sweet-smelling long-stemmed roses for myself. The roses were definitely a delight for my eyes. While I thought about how pleasing they were for me to enjoy, a calm, gentle voice outside of myself simply said, Give them to your friend. I went straight into the house and arranged the roses in a vase. Then I wrote this note as small as I could ... For my friend. I went across the street to my neighbour's, who is also one of my closest friends and I left the bouquet at the front door.
Later that day my friend called to thank me. She said the flowers were a true blessing. Late the night before she had been arguing with one of her children. Being cruel, as teenagers can sometimes be, her child said to her, "You have no friends." What a surprise when she went to leave for work that morning and found not just the blessings of the bouquet of flowers, but the tiny note which simply said "For my friend."
Roberta Tremblay - extracted from 'A cup of chicken soup for the soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Barry Spilchuk, Health Communications, Inc., 1996
If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow - Chinese Proverb

Thought 17JUN2008

LEADERSHIP: FIVE STEPS TO PRODUCTIVE DELEGATING
As a leader, you just can't do it all. To be really effective, be willing and able to delegate the projects and details that others can learn to do.
1) Clearly define the task. Describe the results, not the process.
2) Give enough authority to accomplish the task. If you're hesitant, assign the job in stages, then observe progress.
3) Monitor the tasks, but don't hover. Give people room to operate and the freedom to use their skills.
4) Give feedback along the way. Ask how things are going, then give people the chance to express themselves. When they feel their opinions count, it is a lot easier to make "course adjustments."
5) Reward and recognize effort as well as results. Your slow starters need as much or more encouragement as your high achievers. Keep them all motivated with judicious praise.
Through skillful delegation, you expand your effectiveness and increase your support base of loyal followers.
Sheila Murray Bethel
The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names - Chinese Proverb

Thought 16JUN2008

DON'T UNDERESTIMATE YOUTH
How quickly we say, "You're too young for that." Before thwarting youthful efforts, we might do well to remember that Macaulay was a historian at eight. Byron wrote verses at ten. Benjamin Franklin was publishing at sixteen. Six-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart showed astounding musical ability while his friends were learning do-re-mi. He actually published violin sonatas in Paris and London before the age of ten. Douglas Jerrold scored a success on stage when he was only fourteen. Rudyard Kipling wrote, "I speak to youth which can accomplish everything, precisely because it accepts no past, obeys no present and fears no future."
Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II' by Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994
Vicious as a tigress can be, she never eats her own cubs - Chinese Proverb

Thought 13JUN2008

IMPORTANT WORDS
The SIX most important words : "I ADMIT I MADE A MISTAKE"
The FIVE most important words : "YOU DID A GOOD JOB"
The FOUR most important words : "WHAT IS YOUR OPINION?"
The THREE most important words : "IF YOU PLEASE"
The TWO most important words : "THANK YOU"
The ONE most important word : "WE"
The LEAST important word : "I"
Extracted from 'Management Thoughts' by Promod Batra, Golden Book Centre Sdn Bhd, reprinted 1995
Even a hare will bite when it is cornered - Chinese Proverb

Thought 12JUN2008

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
The rich industrialist from the North was horrified to find the southern fisherman lying lazily beside his boat, smoking a pipe. "Why aren't you out fishing?" said the industrialist. "Because I have caught enough fish for the day," said the fisherman. "Why don't you catch some more?" "What would I do with them?" "You could earn more money." was the industrialist's reply. "With that you could have a motor fixed to your boat and go into deeper waters and catch more fish. Then you would make enough to buy nylon nets. These would bring you more fish and more money. Soon you would have enough money to own two boats .... maybe even a fleet of boats. Then you would be a rich man like me." "What would I do then?" asked the fisherman. "Then you could really enjoy life." "What do you think I am doing right now?"
Anthony DeMello - Extracted from "Chicken Soup Series, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications Inc, 1995
Dream different dreams while on the same bed - Chinese Proverb

Thought 11JUN2008

ON FAILURE
I'd rather be a failure at something I'm in love with than a success at something I hate. Fortunately, I'm doing well in a business I love. I've always been in love with show business, and I still am. I love it today as much as I did for the 20 years I flopped in it.
George Burns (1896-1996), Entertainer - Cited in BITS & PIECES
The longer the night lasts, the more our dreams will be - Chinese Proverb

Thought 10JUN2008

A FRIEND IN NEED
My six-year-old son, Willie, was thrilled when the tooth fairy left him a dollar.
In the morning, as Willie got ready for school, he tucked the bill in his pocket. Afraid he might lose it, I suggested he leave the money at home. "Mom, I have to take it with me," Willie insisted. "Some of my friends don't have enough money to buy chocolate milk."
Those kids sure have a terrific friend. And Willie has one proud mom.
Mary Joy Long - Excerpted from Woman's World - extracted from 'A cup of chicken soup for the soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen & Barry Spilchuk, Health Communications, Inc., 1996
A book holds a house of gold - Chinese Proverb

Thought 09JUN2008

EXPONENTIAL RATE
It is said that scientific knowledge is growing at an exponential rate. To appreciate what it means, consider the story of a farmer who brought his horse to be shod and asked what it would cost. The blacksmith said he would charge a penny for the first nail, 2 cents for the second, 4 cents for the third and so on. The farmer, innocent of mathematics, agreed. For eight nails in each shoe, or 32 nails altogether, his bill came to $42,949,672.95. An exponential rate of growth is a fearsome thing.
Extracted from 'Bits & Pieces', The Economic Press, Inc., Fairfield New Jersey - From the Library of Puan Hajjah Zaihani Abdul Hamid
The wind does not break a tree that bends - Sukuma

Thought 06JUN2008

EFFICIENT SECRETARY
Arnold Bennett, the British novelist, had a publisher who boasted about the extraordinary efficiency of his secretary. One day while visiting the publisher's office, Bennett asked her: "Your boss claims you're extremely efficient. What's your secret?" "It's not my secret," said the secretary, "It's his."
Each time she did something for him, no matter how insignificant, she explained, he never failed to acknowledge and appreciate it. Because of this, she took infinite pains with her work.
Found at: Aspiring to Greatness
The horse that arrives early gets good drinking water - Zulu

Thought 05JUN2008

THE TEST
There is an ancient tale about a king who wanted to pick the wisest man among his subjects to be his prime minister. When the search finally narrowed down to three men, he decided to put them to the supreme test. Accordingly, he placed them together in a room in his palace. On the room door he had installed a lock that was the last word in mechanical ingenuity. The candidates were informed that whoever was able to open the door first would be appointed to the post honour.
The three men immediately set themselves to the task. Two of them began at once to work out complicated mathematical formulas to discover the proper lock combination. The third man, however, just sat down in his chair, lost in thought. Finally, without bothering to put pen to paper, he got up, walked to the door and turned the handle. The door opened to his touch. It had been unlocked all the time!
Extracted from Bits & Pieces, The Economics Press, Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey, USA (From the Library of Puan Hajah Zaihani Abdul Hamid)
The tears running down your face do not blind you - Togolese

Thought 04JUN2008

GIFT OF FANTASY
When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge.
Reading this makes me wonder how much sooner man could have walked on the moon... had we listened to a child's fantasies. It is truly a pity that so many lose their gift of imagination to the steady hum of the status quo.
Albert Einstein
A big fish is caught with big bait - Sierra Leone

Thought 03JUN2008

HOW SANTA KNEW
Nineteen years ago, I was going through a terrible divorce. Near Christmas, I took my young daughter, Kim, to see Santa at a local department store. I thought I knew what she wanted, so I didn't listen closely. But on Christmas morning, she seemed very disappointed. She wouldn't tell me why.
During the next year, I met and married a wonderful man named Sam. On our first Christmas, there was a huge box under the tree for me. It was a 12-place setting of beautiful dishes - something that I'd needed and wanted but that was too much of a luxury before.
I asked Sam how in the world he'd known how much I wanted new dishes. He explained that he'd never forgotten the little girl who sat on his lap the previous Christmas - and who told him that all she wanted for Christmas was new dishes for her mom.
Fay Porter - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne and Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc; 1997.
If your mouth turns into a knife, it will cut off your lips - Rwanda

Thought 02JUN2008

THE QUESTION
Isn't it amazing how few of us ask ourselves the important question? Several years ago I was invited to hear an important speaker address the student body of a small college in South Carolina. The auditorium was filled with students excited about the opportunity to hear a person of her stature speak. After the governor gave the introduction, the speaker moved to the microphone, looked at the audience from left to right, and began: "I was born to a mother who was deaf and could not speak. I do not know who my father is or was. The first job I ever had was in a cotton field." The audience was spellbound. "Nothing has to remain the way it is if that's not the way a person wants it to be," she continued. "It isn't luck, and it isn't circumstances, and it isn't born a certain way that causes a person's future to become what it becomes." And she softly repeated, "Nothing has to remain the way it is if that's not the way a person wants it to be. "All a person has to do," she added in a firm voice, "to change a situation that brings unhappiness or dissatisfaction is answer the question: 'How do I want this situation to become?' Then the person must commit totally to personal actions that carry them there." Then a beautiful smile shone forth as she said, "My name is Azie Taylor Morton. I stand before you today as Treasurer of the United States of America."
Bob Moore - Extracted from "Chicken Soup Series, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications Inc, 1995
When one is in trouble, one remembers God - Nigeria