Thought 27FEB2009

THE SPEECH
Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - work, family, health, friends and spirit and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends and spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. 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 they would your life, for without them, life is meaningless. Don't let your 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 to each together.

Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave. Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find time. 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, a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated. Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily. Don't use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

Life is not a race, but a journey to be savoured each step of the way.
BY BRYAN DYSON (CEO OF COCA COLA)

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Better no law than laws not enforced - Italian Proverb

Thought 26FEB2009

HANGING OUT TO DRY
The straight-laced theology student raced home and quickly parked in her garage. Her mission was to hang the wet wash to dry in the garage and make it back to class before her break ended. She smiled as she hung up the last of the wash. Made it, she thought, proud of her ability to handle more than one thing at a time. She climbed in her car and headed back to class. As she waited at the red light, she thought about her final exams. But a feeling of being watched caused her to glance to her right. The young man in the vehicle parallel to hers gave her a devilish smile and winked at her repeatedly. Then he pointed to her car and winked three more times.

Her back stiffened and she stared ahead. The light turned green and the young man raced off. Was he trying to pick me up? she thought as she shook her head with disbelief. After many strange looks in her direction, she pulled her car over and checked the tires. Then she spotted the problem. Oh, my goodness, she thought. No wonder he had the wrong idea. She then pulled her dangling wet bra from the antenna.
By Paul Karrer - from Chicken Soup for the College Soul, Copyright 1999 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

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Praise the young and they will flourish - Irish Proverb

Thought 25FEB2009

THOUGHTS ON FRIENDSHIP
If a friend of mine gave a feast, and did not invite me to it, I should not mind a bit. But if a friend of mine had a sorrow and refused to allow me to share it, I should feel it most bitterly. If he shut the doors of the house of mourning against me, I would move back again and again and beg to be admitted, so that I might share in what I was entitled to share. If he thought me unworthy, unfit to weep with him, I should feel it as the most terrible mode for which disgrace could be inflicted on me.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

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Give away all you like, but keep your bills and your temper - Irish Proverb

Thought 24FEB2009

DREAMS
All men and women are born, to live, suffer and die; what distinguishes us one from another is our dreams, whether they be dreams about worldly or unworldly things, and what we do to make them come about... We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die; nor do we choose the time and conditions of our death. But within this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we live.
Joseph Epstein

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Even the longest day has its end - Irish Proverb

Thought 23FEB2009

IMAGINATION
I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. I believe that dreams are more powerful than facts - That hope always triumphs over experience - That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.
Robert Fulghum

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Bricks and mortar make a house, but the laughter of children makes a home - Irish Proverb

Thought 20FEB2009

SHOES
As Gandhi stepped aboard a train one day, one of his shoes slipped off and landed on the track. He was unable to retrieve it as the train was moving. To the amazement of his companions, Gandhi calmly took off his other shoe and threw it back along the track to land close to the first. Asked by a fellow passenger why he did it so, Gandhi smiled.

"The poor man who finds the shoe lying on the track," he replied, "will now have a pair he can use."
Author Unknown- First quoted in The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, Extracted from "Chicken Soup Series, Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications Inc, 1995

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The future belongs to those that believe in the beauty of their dreams – Eleanor Roosevelt

Thought 19FEB2009

ON LAUGHTER
I live by this credo: Have a little laugh at life and look around you for happiness instead of sadness. Laughter has always brought me out of unhappy situations. Even in your darkest moment, you usually can find something to laugh about if you try hard enough.
Red Skelton (1913-1997), Comedian - Cited in BITS & PIECES

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A silent mouth is sweet to hear - Irish Proverb

Thought 18FEB2009

WINNERS vs LOSERS
The Winner is a part of the answer

The Loser is always a part of the problem
The Winner always has a plan

The Loser always has an excuse
The Winner says 'let me do it for you'

The Loser says 'that's not my job'
The Winner sees an answer in every problem

The Loser sees a problem in every answer
The Winner sees a green near every sandtrap

The Loser sees a sandtrap near every green
The Winner says 'It may be difficult but it's possible',

The Loser says 'It may be possible but it's difficult'
extracted from 'Management Thoughts' by Promod Batra, Golden Book Centre Sdn Bhd, reprinted 1995

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Better be quarrelling than lonesome - Irish Proverb

Thought 17FEB2009

WHY WORRY?
There are only two things to worry about:
Either you are well or you are sick.
If you are well, then there is nothing to worry about;
But if you are sick there are only two things to worry about:
Whether you will get well, or whether you will die.
If you get well, there is nothing to worry about;
But if you die, there are only two things to worry about:
Whether you go to heaven or hell.
If you go to heaven there is nothing to worry about;
And if you go to hell you'll be so busy shaking hands with old
friends, you won't have time to worry ...
SO WHY WORRY?
extracted from 'Management Thoughts' by Promod Batra, Golden Book Centre Sdn Bhd, reprinted 1995

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Who begins too much accomplishes little - German Proverb

Thought 16FEB2009

WISDOM FROM EMERSON
Ralph Waldo Emerson's daughter was attending school away from her home community. In a letter to her father, she indicated that she was concerned about a past mistake that continued to haunt her. Emerson wrote the following to his daughter :

"Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; but get rid of them and forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day and you should never encumber its potentialities and invitations with the dread of the past. You should not waste a moment of today on the rottenness of yesterday."

Sounds like great advice for dealing with the small as well as big mistakes that will inevitably enter our lives.
Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II', Glenn Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

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A light heart lives long - Irish Proverb

Thought 13FEB2009

GOOD PEOPLE
"Why do bad things happen to good people?" is the wrong question. For there is no answer.

The right question is, “What happens to good people when bad things happen to them?”

The answer? They always become better people!
Robert Schuller

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A lie travels farther than the truth - Irish Proverb

Thought 12FEB2009

POINTS TO PONDER by Art Turock
There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.

POINTS TO PONDER by Sir John Moores
People have the wrong idea about money. They spend their lives chasing a myth - that the man with lots of it is happy by virtue of his wealth and that people without money are unhappy. In doing so, they create a vision of something they want - realising later that, in fact, they don't want it. The only way to enjoy life is to keep one's needs simple.
Quoted in The Daily Telegraph, London - Both Extracted from Reader's Digest, March 1995 - Points to Ponder.

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A kind word never broke anyone's mouth - Irish Proverb

Thought 11FEB2009

FROM CRUTCHES TO A WORLD-CLASS RUNNER
A number of years ago in Elkhart, Kansas, two brothers had a job at the local school. Early each morning their job was to start a fire in the potbellied stove in the classroom. One cold morning, the brothers cleaned out the stove and loaded it with firewood. Grabbing a can of kerosene, one of them doused the wood and lit the fire. The explosion rocked the old building. The fire killed the older brother and badly burned the legs of the other boy. It was later discovered that the kerosene can had accidentally been filled with gasoline.

The doctor attending the injured boy recommended amputating the young boy's legs. The parents were devastated. They had already lost one son and now their other son was to lose his legs. But they did not lose their faith. They asked the doctor for a postponement of the amputation. The doctor consented. Each day they asked the doctor for a delay, praying that their son's legs would somehow heal and he would become well again. For two months, the parents and the doctor debated on whether to amputate. They used this time to instill in the boy the belief that he would someday walk again. They never amputated the boy's legs, but when the bandages were finally removed, it was discovered that his right leg was almost three inches shorter that the other. The toes on his left foot were almost completely burned off. Yet the boy was fiercely determined. Though in excruciating pain, he forced himself to exercise daily and finally took a few painful steps. Slowly recovering, this young man finally threw away his crutches and began to walk almost normally. Soon he was running.

This determined young man kept running and running and running - and those legs that came so close to being amputated carried him to a world record in the mile run. His name? Glenn Cunningham, who was known as the "World Fastest Human Being", and was named athlete of the century at Madison Square Garden.
The Speaker's Sourcebook - extracted from 'Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul', Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Kimberly Kirberger, Health Communications, Inc., 1997

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Keep five yards from a carriage, ten yards from a horse, and a hundred yards from an elephant; but the distance one should keep from a wicked man cannot be measured - Indian Proverb

Thought 10FEB2009

DON'T QUIT
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will. When the road you're trudging seems all up hill. When the funds are low and the debts are high. And you want to smile, but you have to sigh. When care is pressing you down a bit. Rest, if you must - but don't you quit. Life is queer with its twists and turns. As every one of us sometimes learns. And many a failure turns about. When he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up, though the pace seems slow - You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems to a faint and faltering man. Often the struggler has given up. When he might have captured the victor's cup. And he learned too late, when the night slipped down. How close he was to the golden crown. Success is failure turned inside out. The Silver tint of the clouds of doubt. And you never can tell how close you are. It may be near when it seems afar. So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit. It's when things seems worst that you mustn't quit.
Author Unknown - extracted from a 4th course of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Hanoch McCarty and Meladee McCarty, Health Communications, Inc.,1997.

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Eat and drink with your relatives; do business with strangers - Greek Proverb

Thought 06FEB2009

FOR CONTENTED LIVING
There are eight requisites for contented living :

1) health enough - to make work a pleasure
2) wealth enough - to support your needs
3) strength - to battle with difficulties and overcome them
4) grace enough - to confess your sins and forsake them
5) patience enough - to toil until some good is accomplished
6) charity enough - to see some good in your neighbour
7) faith enough - to make real the things of God
8) hope enough - to remove all anxious fear concerning the future
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Extracted from 'Speakers Sourcebook II', Glenn Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

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Never give advice unless asked - German Proverb

Thought 05FEB2009

BE YOURSELF
You do not have to be your mother unless she is who you want to be. You do not have to be your mother's mother, or your mother's mother's mother, or even your grandmother's mother on your father's side. You may inherit their chins or their hips or their eyes, but you are not destined to become the women who came before you. You are not destined to live their lives. So if you inherit something, inherit their strength, their resilience. Because the only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.
Pam Finger - extracted from 'A 2nd helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul' Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communication, Inc., 1995

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God gives, but man must open his hand - German Proverb

Thought 04FEB2009

THREE IMPONDERABLES ...
1) A bus station is where a bus stops. A Train station is where a train stops. And on my desk I have a work station....
2) If quitters never win and winners never quit, what fool came up with "Quit while you're ahead?"
3) Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?
Source Unknown

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A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing – George Bernard Shaw

Thought 03FEB2009

IS IT WORTH THE WORRY?
Barbara was an aspiring junior executive who had just been assigned a major project that could enhance her career. At night she tossed and turned, worrying about getting the final report completed in time. Her husband, who had also been kept awake, became annoyed with the sleepless night and asked his wife what was worrying her so much. "My entire future rests on successfully completing this report by noon tomorrow," she said, "and there is no way I can have it done."

Her husband got out of bed, went to the phone and called her boss. "Barbara is a fantastic employee who deserves any promotion you might consider her for. However, this one report will not be in to you by noon tomorrow. Good night."

"What do you think you are doing?" Barbara asked her husband as he returned to bed. "You have a report due at noon tomorrow. It is not going to be done so I let your boss know, and now she can worry about it."
Extracted from 'Speaker's Sourcebook II' by Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

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Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication – Leonardo da Vinci

Thought 02FEB2009

WHO MATTERS
There comes a point in your life when you realize who matters, who never did, who won't anymore ... and who always will. So, don't worry about people from your past, there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Source Unknown - Got this from Puan Norazlina Amran. AFFIN Bank Bangsar

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All the great things are simple – Winston Churchill