Thoughts 31OCT2013

Listen a hundred times; ponder a thousand times; speak once - Kurdish Proverb

---

Ahjar xih u gharef milli zaghzugh u ibleh - Maltese Proverb

Better (marry) an old but wise man than a young but foolish man - Maltese Proverb

---

A person is a person because of other persons - South Sotho Proverb

---

Con el tiempo y la paciencia se adquiere la ciencia - Spanish Proverb

Patience, time and money accommodate all things - Spanish Proverb

Thoughts 30OCT2013

LEADERS' ENERGIZED

The world of the '90s and beyond will not belong to managers or those who make the numbers dance, as we used to say, or those who are conversant with all the business and jargon we use to sound smart. The world will belong to passionate, driven leaders - people who not only have an enormous amount of energy but who can energize those whom they lead.

Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of General Electric - extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II", Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

There's no substitute for experience - Spanish Proverb

Thoughts 29OCT2013

WINNING

Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while ... you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit.

  

Unfortunately, so is losing. Make the most of what we have. Make winning, not losing, a habit - Vince Lombardi

---

We're all a little crazy in one way or another - Spanish Proverb

Thoughts 28OCT2013

ON COURAGE

Courage ... is nothing less than the power of overcome danger, misfortune, fear, injustice, while continuing to affirm inwardly that life with all its sorrows is good; that everything is meaningful even if in a sense beyond our understanding; and that there ids always tomorrow.

Dorothy Thompson (1894-1961) Journalist - cited in "Bits & Pieces"

---

Mischief comes by the pound and goes away by the ounce - Spanish Proverb

Thoughts 25OCT2013

ON EXCELLENCE

Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

Mario Andretti - extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II", Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

Sometimes the remedy is worse than the disease - Spanish Proverb

Thoughts 24OCT2013

EXCELLENCE

Some people may have greatness thrust upon them. Very few have excellence thrust upon them. They achieve it. They do not achieve it unwittingly, by doing what comes naturally and they don't stumble into it in the course of amusing themselves. All excellence involves discipline and tenacity of purpose.

John Gardner - Extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II", Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

Half the truth is often a whole lie - Spanish Proverb

Thoughts 23OCT2013

THEN WHAT?

Henry Ford always bought flowers for his wife from a shop every Friday evening. Once, he asked the old florist, "Gentlemen, you have a good shop. Why not open a branch?" Florist, "Sir, then what?" Henry Ford, "You will then have several branches in Detroit". Florist, "Sir, then what?" Henry Ford, angrily, "Damn it, you will then be able to relax". Florist, "That is what I am doing even now". Ford walked away sheepishly.

Extracted from "Management Thoughts" by Promod Batra, Golden Book Centre Sdn Bhd, reprinted 1995.

To speak is to sow, to listen is to reap - Kurdish Proverb

Thoughts 22OCT2013

DON'T CRY OVER SPILT SOUP

An old Chinese farmer was walking along the road with a stick across his shoulder. Hanging from the stick was a pot filled with soy bean soup. He stumbled and the jar fell off and broke into pieces. The old farmer kept going, unperturbed. A man rushed up and said excitedly, "Don't you know that you jar broke?" "Yes", the old farmer answered. "I know, I heard it fall." "It's broken; the soup is gone - what can I do about it?" he asked.

extracted from "Management Thoughts" by Promod Batra, Golden Book Centre Sdn Bhd, reprinted 1995

---

A thousand friends are too few; one enemy is one too many - Kurdish Proverb

Thoughts 21OCT2013

POINTS TO PONDER

Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, that what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company or a home. The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and that is our attitude - Charles Swindoll (Strengthening Your Grip) - extracted from Reader's Digest, July 1995 - Points to Ponder

---

Live life to the fullest and focus on the positive - Matt Cameron

Thoughts 18OCT2013

ON RELATIONSHIPS

Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get - only what you are expecting to give - which is everything. What you will receive in return varies. But it really has no connection with what you give. You give because you love and cannot help giving. If you are very lucky, you may be loved back. That is delicious but it does not necessarily happen - Katherine Hepburn

---

The love we give away is the only love we keep - Elbert Hubbard

Thoughts 17OCT2013

POINTS TO PONDER

No organization can depend on genius; the supply is always scarce and unreliable. It is the test of an organization to make ordinary human beings perform better than they seem capable of, to bring out whatever strength there is in its members and to use each man's strength to help all the others perform. The purpose of an organization is to enable common men to do uncommon things.

Peter F Drucker - extracted from "April 1996 Edition of 'Reader's Digest'"

---

Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither - C S Lewis

Thoughts 16OCT2013

GOLDEN RULES FOR LIVING

If you open it, close it. If you turn it on, turn it off.

If you unlock it, lock it up. If you break it, admit it.

If you can't fix it, call in someone who can.

If you borrow it, return it. If you value it, take care of it.

If you make a mess, clean it up. If you move it, put it back.

If it belongs to someone else and you want to use it, get permission.

If you don't know how to operate it, leave it alone.

If it's none of your business, don't ask questions.

If it will brighten someone's day, say it.

If it will tarnish someone's reputation, keep it to yourself.

Author Unknown - extracted from "A 3rd Serving of Chicken Soup for The Soul", Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communications, Inc., 1996

---

Failure is success if we learn from it - Malcolm Forbes

Thoughts 11OCT2013

ON LEADERSHIP

If people are coming to work excited ... if they're making mistakes freely and fearlessly ... if they're having fun ... if they're concentrating on doing things, rather than preparing reports and going to meetings - then somewhere you have a leader

Robert Townsend - extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II", Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

Nothing is impossible to a willing heart - John Heywood

Thoughts 10OCT2013

ON LIVING

Ninety percent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves.

Sydney J Harris (1917-1986), Syndicated Columnist - Cited in "Bits & Pieces"

---

Equality is not easy, but superiority is painful : Serere

Thoughts 09OCT2013

ON RELATIONSHIPS

Almost all married people fight, although many are ashamed to admit it. Actually, a marriage in which no quarrelling at all takes place may well be one that is dead or dying from emotional undernourishment. If you care, you probably fight : Flora Davis

---

Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions : Albert Einstein 1879 - 1955

Thoughts 08OCT2013

ON WINNERS

I play even when common sense should tell me that I no longer have a chance. Even when I have been playing at my worst, or when all the breaks have been going against me, I approach each new day, each new hole, as a glorious opportunity to get going again.

Arnold Palmer - Professional Golfer, Cited in "Bits & Pieces"

---

Learning makes some into Mullahs and some into devils : Afgani Proverb

Thoughts 07OCT2013

A FRIEND INDEED

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out. Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don't walk behind me, I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend : Albert Camus

---

PEACE TO THE WORLD

If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person. If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house. If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation. If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world : Chinese Proverb

Thoughts 04OCT2013

MONEY

I've been working since I was young - out on the courts practising, practising. It's a big investment of time. I'm one of the lucky ones - I got a return on my investment ... Money is good, money makes thing happen - it's how you direct it, what you do with the money that's important. When money starts owning you, you're in trouble.

Billy Jean King - extracted from "Bits & Pieces", The Economic Press, Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey, USA.

---

We know the worth of water then the well is dry : Chinese Proverb

Thoughts 03OCT2013

ENSURE QUALITY LIFE

You can't control the length of your life, but you can control its width and depth.

You can't control the contour of your countenance, but you can control its expression.

You can't control the other person's opportunities, but you can seize upon your own and make the best of them.

You can't control the weather, but you can control the atmosphere which surrounds you.

You can't control the distance that you head will be above the ground, but you can control the level of the contents of that head.

You can't control the other person's annoying faults, but you can see to it that you yourself do not develop or habour similar propensities.

A verse from Southern Statesman newsletter - extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II", Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994.

---

Of all the thirty-six alternatives, running away is the best : Chinese Proverb

Thoughts 02OCT2013

THREE THINGS

Three irrevocable things in your life are :

Words ... Time ... and Change

Three undeniable things in your life :

Serenity ... Honesty ... and Hope

Three gems of your life are :

Love ... Self Esteem ... and True Friends

Source Unknown : found framed on the walls of Chiang Mai International Airport, Thailand

---

If you are tough you don't live longer, if you are weak don't die faster : Somali Proverb

Thoughts 01OCT2013

ON MISTAKES

We teach people that mistakes are like skinned knees for little children. They're painful, but they heal quickly and they're learning experiences. My people are covered with the scars of their mistakes. They lived out in the field, the've been shot at; they've been hit in every part of their bodies; and they're real. By the time they get to the top, their noses are pretty well broken. The chances of their getting there with a clean nose is zero.

H Ross Perot - extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II", Glenn Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

Call a child a bad name and he will live up to it : Chinese Proverb

Thoughts 30SEP2013

NO RECALL NEEDED

A Newspaper reporter once asked Sam Rayburn, "Mr Speaker, you see probably a hundred people a day. You tell each one 'Yes' or 'No' or 'Maybe'. You are never seen taking notes on what you told them, but I have never heard of you forgetting anything you have promised them. What is your secret?"

Rayburn careful eyed his questioner and replied, "If you tell the truth the first time", replied, "you don't have to remember".

Extracted from "Speakers Handbook II", Glenn Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

Dance as if no one's watching, sing as if no one's listening, and live everyday as if it were your last : Irish Proverb

Thoughts 20SEP2013

SOMEDAY

How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and the strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these : George Washington Carver

---

The most desirable woman is always the one who belongs to someone else : Mexican Proverb

Thoughts 19SEP2013

ON KATHERINE HEPBURN

Four-time Academy-Award-Winning actress Katherine Hepburn was fired from several of her early stage roles. She was criticized for talking too fast, was considered ornery and difficult to work with and was evaluated as too bony, thin and mannish to be on stage. Accompanied by her unwavering determination, she sought the assistance of a voice and drama coach who nurtured her through a variety of stage roles. Eventually, one of her performances drew great reviews and led to a movie contract.

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

---

It is easy to be brave from a distance : Omaha (Native American)

Thoughts 18SEP2013

THE POWER OF DETERMINATION

What this power is I cannot say, all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it.

Alexander Graham Bell - extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II", Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

Ask questions from your heart and you will be answered from the heart : Omaha (Native American)

Thoughts 17SEP2013

EXPERIENCING HAPPINESS

To experience happiness, we must train ourselves to live in this moment, to savour it for what it is, not running ahead in anticipation of some future date nor lagging behind in the paralysis of the past

Luci Swindoll - extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II, Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

A brave man dies but once, a coward many times : Iowa (Native American)

Thoughts 13SEP2013

CARRY

Carry a Heart that Never Hates ...

Carry a Smile that Never Fades ...

Carry a Touch that Never Hurts ...

Carry a Friendship that Never Fails ...

Source Unknown - got this from Tuan Haji Jasni Jaafar

---

Fortune and love favour the brave : Ovid

Thoughts 12SEP2013

TIME

is too slow for those who wait ...

is too swift for those who fear ...

is too long for those who grieve ...

is too short for those who rejoice ...

but for those who love ...

time is eternity

Source Unknown - got this from Tuan Haji Jasni Jaafar, SCB

---

The weakness of the enemy makes our strength : Cherokee (American Native)

Thoughts 11SEP2013

BELIEVE - A SURVEY

World wide survey was conducted by the UN. The only question asked was : "Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?"

The survey was a huge failure : In Africa they didn't know what 'food' meant, in India they didn't know what 'honest' meant, in Europe they didn't know what 'shortage' meant, in China they didn't know what 'opinion' meant, in the Middle East they didn't know what 'solution' meant, in South America they didn't know what 'please' meant, and; in USA they didn't know what 'the rest of the world' meant!

Source Unknown - got this from Jeff Teo; TMS Class of 1963-1973

---

Beware of the man who does not talk, and the dog that does not bark : Cheyenne (Native American)

Thoughts 10SEP2013

ON CREATIVITY

Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You can't get there by bus, only by hard work, risking, and by not quite knowing what you're doing. What you'll discover will be wonderful : yourself.

Alan Alda, Actor - cited in "More of ... The Best of Bits and Pieces"

---

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all : Dale Carnegie

Thoughts 09SEP2013

ON HAPPINESS

May we never let the things we can't have, or don't have, or shouldn't have, spoil our enjoyment of the things we do have and can have.

As we value our happiness, let us not forget it, for one of the greatest lessons in life is learning, to be happy without the things we cannot or should not have.

Richard L Evans - extracted from "Speakers Sourcebook II, Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

Wake no a sleeping lion : Chinese Proverb

Thoughts 30AUG2013

WISDOM

Three cowboys had been riding the range since early in the morning. One of them was a member of the Navajo Nation. Being busy with herding stray cattle all day, there had been no time for the three of them to eat. Toward the end of the day, two of the cowboys started about how hungry they were and about the huge meals they were going to eat when they reached town. When one of the cowboys asked the Navajo if he was also hungry, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "No". later that evening after they had arrived in town, all three ordered large steak dinners. As the Navajo proceeded to eat everything in sight with great gusto, one of his friends reminded him that less than an hour earlier he had told them that he was not hungry. "Not wise to be hungry then", he replied. "No food".

Author Unknown - extracted from "A 2nd helping of Chicken Soup for the Soul", Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, Health Communication, Inc., 1995

---

When you are rich, you are hated; when you are poor, you are despised : Ashanti of Ghana

Thoughts 29AUG2013

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 : Nigerian Proverb

Thoughts 28AUG2013

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

Thoughts 27AUG2013

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, Bennet 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 Proverb

Thoughts 26AUG2013

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

---

The wind does not break a tree that bends : Sukuma

Thoughts 23AUG2013

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

Thoughts 22AUG2013

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

---

A book holds a house of gold : Chinese Proverb

Thoughts 21AUG2013

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 : B C Forbes - extracted from "Reader's Digest", July 1995 - Points to Ponder

---

When one is in love, a cliff becomes a meadow : Ethiopian Proverbs

Thoughts 20AUG2013

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 Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

When your neighbour is wrong you point a finger, but when you are wrong you hide : Ekonda

Thoughts 19AUG2013

THE OTHER FELLOW

When the other fellow acts that way, he's ugly. When you do it, it's nerves.

When he's set in his ways, he's obstinate. When you are, it's just firmness.

When he doesn't like your friends, he's prejudiced. When you don't like his, you are simply showing good judgement of human nature.

When he tries to be accommodating, he's polishing the apple. When you do it, you're using tact.

When he takes time to do things, he is dead slow. When you take ages, you are deliberate.

When he picks flaws, he's cranky. When you do, you're discriminating.

Anonymous - extracted from "Bits & Pieces", The Economics Press Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey, USA

---

Those who are absent are always wrong : Congolese Proverb

Thoughts 16AUG2013

WHO WON?

I saw a beautiful example of kindness in 1968 during the Special Olympics track and field meet. One participant was Kim Peek, a brain-damaged, severely handicapped boy racing in the 50-yard dash.

Kim was racing against two other athletes with cerebral palsy. They were in wheelchairs; Kim was the lone runner. As the gun sounded, Kim moved quickly ahead of the other two. Twenty yards ahead and 10 yards from the finish line, he turned to see how the others were coming. The girl had turned her wheelchair around and was stuck against the wall. The other boy was pushing his wheelchair backward with his feet. Kim stopped, went back and pushed the little girl across the finish line.
The boy in the wheelchair going backward won the race. The girl took second. Kim lost.
Or did he? The crowd that gave Kim a standing ovation didn't think so.

Dan Clark - extracted from "Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul", Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne & Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc., 1996

---

Smooth seas do not make skillful sailors : Ethiopian Proverb

Thoughts 15AUG2013

LIFE IS A RISK

To learn to walk, we must risk falling over.

To make a dollar, we must risk losing it.

In loving and caring, we risk breaking our hearts.

Getting a job is a risk.

Crossing the road is a risk.

Eating in the restaurant is a risk.

Starting a family is a risk.

Life is a risk.

Winners take more risk than losers.

That is why they win so much.

Necessarily then, winners lose more than losers, but they are playing so often that their wins add up.

We have a choice between living and merely existing.

Extracted from "Being Happy" by Abdrew Matthews

---

He who learns, teaches : Ethiopian Proverb

Thoughts 14AUG2013

INTELLIGENCE

Most people think intelligence is wisdom, but this is not so.

Intelligence does not necessarily include wisdom, yet wisdom contains intelligence.

Intelligence is just an ability to measure advantages and disadvantages, gains and losses.

Greed and deceit are signs of intelligence.

Source Unknown

---

When the heart overflows, it comes out through the mouth : Ethiopian Proverb

Thoughts 13AUG2013

VICTORY OR DEFEAT

It is not the critic who counts, not the man that points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat : Theodore Roosevelt

---

Thought breaks the heart : Cameroon Proverb

Thoughts 12AUG2013

GOLFERS' DILEMMA

"Mary, why don't you play golf with Jane any more?" asked a friend.

"Would you play golf with someone who kicked the ball with her foot when you weren't watching?" Mary asked.

"I guess not," admitted the friend.

"Would you want to play with someone who lied about their score?" Mary continued.

"No, I sure wouldn't", the friend agreed.

"Neither did Jane", replied Mary

Extracted from "Speakers Sourcebook II, Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

Rage is not without reason : Chinese Proverb

Thoughts 07AUG2013

WISE & WHEREFORES

~ Believe in miracles but don't depend on them.

~ When you hear a kind word spoken about a friend, tell him so.

~ Spoil your spouse, not your children.

~ Remember, it's not your job to get people to like you, it's your job to like people.

~ To help your children turn out well, spend twice as much time with them and half as much money.

~ Remember that the only dumb question is the one you wanted to ask but didn't.

H Jackson Brown Jr - Life's Little Instruction Book Volume III

---

One falsehood spoils a thousand truths : Ashanti Proverb from Ghana

Thoughts 06AUG2013

REKINDLE : In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit : Albert Schweitzer

---

It is the calm and silent water that drowns a man : Ashanti Proverb from Ghana

---

EXPLORE - DREAM - DISCOVER : Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover : Mark Twain

---

Money is sharper than a sword : Ashanti Proverb from Ghana

Thoughts 05AUG2013

DO WHAT YOU LOVE : THE MONEY WILL FOLLOW

In Srully Blotnick's Research reflected in Getting Rich You Own Way (Playboy Paperbacks, 1982), 1,500 people were divided into 2 groups are followed for 20 years. Group A made up 83% of the sample. These people are embarking on a career chosen for the reason of making money now in order to do what they wanted later. Group B, the other 17% chose their career based on what they wanted to do now and would worry about the money later.

The data revealed some startling discoveries : At the end of the 20 years, 101 of the 1,500 had become millionaires. Of the millionaires, all but one - 100 out of  101 - were from Group B, the group that had chosen to pursue what they loved!

Extracted from "Heart at Work", Jack Canfield & Jacqueline Miller, McGraw-Hill, 1996

---

No one test the depth of a river with both feet : Ashanti Proverb from Ghana

Thoughts 02AUG2013

THREE DAYS

During World War II General MacArthur called in one of his Army Engineers and asked : "How long will it take to throw a bridge across the river?" "Three days", the engineer told him. "Good", snapped the General. "Have your draftsman make drawings right away". Three days later the General sent for the engineer and asked how the bridge was coming along. "It's all ready", reported the engineer. "You can send your troops across right now if you don't have to wait for the plans. They ain't done yet".

Extracted from "Bits & Pieces", The Economic Press, Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey

---

A joy that's shared is a joy made double : American Proverb

Thoughts 01AUG2013

ON DREAMS

All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind wake in the day to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible : T E Lawrence (1888 - 1935) Explorer and Writer - Cited in Bits & Pieces

---

Dreams are wishes your heart makes : American Proverb

Thoughts 31JUL2013

CRITICISM

Are you crushed when your boss criticizes something you've done? Don't be. The very fact that your boss has taken time to criticize indicates a regard for you and a desire to help. If you accept it in this light, you'll get some good out of it. Unfortunately, most criticism by supervisory management personnel is never expressed. Some executives feel that they are wasting their breath trying to change people who should know better. Other managers don't have the courage or sense of duty to speak up. They silently let people who make mistakes dig their own graves : extracted from "Bits & Pieces", The Economic Press, Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey, USA

---

Each day provides its own gifts : American Proverb

Thoughts 30JUL2013

LONG LIVE

Want to live to be 100? The American Medical Association has looked into the reasons centenarians give for their long lives. It didn't come up with any sure answers - and even found conflicting life-styles among the respondents. The AMA does pass along these traits, though, as ones that most of the men and women seem to have in common : an easy-going disposition, a quick sense of humour and the desire to keep as busy as possible - physically and mentally.

Source Unknown - extracted from "Bits & Pieces", The Economic Press, Inc., Fairfield New Jersey

---

If you don't have a plan for yourself, you'll be a part of someone's else's : American Proverb

Thoughts 29JUL2013

LITTLE THINGS

Most of us miss out on life's big prizes.

The Pulitzer. The Nobel. Oscars. Tonys. Emmys.

But we're all eligible for life's small pleasures.

A pat on the back. A kiss behind the ear.

A four-pound bass. A full moon.

An empty parking space. A crackling fire.

A great meal. A glorious sunset. Hot soup. Cold drinks.

Don't fret about coping life's grand awards.

Enjoy its tiny delights.

There are plenty for all of us.

A message as published in the Wall Street Journal (1982) by United Technologies Corporation, Hartford, Connecticut 06101

---

If you really want something you can figure out how to make it happen : Cher

Thoughts 26JUL2013

MARRIAGE ADVICE FROM 1886

Let your love be stronger than your hate or anger. Learn the wisdom of compromise, for it is better to bend a little than to break. Believe the best than the worst. People have a way of living up or down to your opinion of them. Remember that true friendship is the basis for any lasting relationship. The person you choose to marry is deserving of the courtesies and kindness you bestow on your friends. Please hand this down to your children and your children's children : The more things change the more they are the same.

Jane Wells (1886) : submitted by Carol Abbs; extracted from "Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul", Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Jennifer Read Hawthorne & Marci Shimoff, Health Communications, Inc., 1996

---

Achievement seems to be connected with action. Successful men and women keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit : Conrad Hilton

Thoughts 25JUL2013

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

---

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing : Theodore Roosevelt, Speech in Chicago, 3rd April 1903

Thoughts 24JUL2013

ON EXAMPLE

A Chinese General put it this way :

If the world is to be brought to order, my nation must first be changed. If my nation is to be changed, my home town must be made over. If my home town is to be reordered, my family must first be set right. If my family is to be regenerated, I myself must first be.

A Purnell Bailey - extracted from "Speaker's Sourcebook II", Glen Van Ekeren, Prentice Hall, 1994

---

I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do

Helen Keller

Thoughts 23JUL2013

I WILL

I will think of better ways.

I will develop ways to achieve positive attitude.

I will keep reviewing my goals.

I will accept what I cannot change.

I will learn from my mistakes.

I will start living.

I will smile.

I will relax.

I will be happy.

I will enjoy.

I will be honest to myself.

I will remain humble.

I will put myself in the other person's shoes.

extracted from "Management Thoughts" by Promiod Batra, Golden Books Centre Sdn Bhd, reprinted 1995

---

A love that can last forever takes but a second to come about : Cuban Proverb

Thoughts 22JUL2013

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

Thoughts 19JUL2013

YOU'D BETTER RUN

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or will be killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn't matter whether you are a lion of a gazelle. When the sun comes out you'd better be running.
From Siemens Nixdorf Welcoming New Customer Card (got this many many many moons ago)

---

The best things in life aren't things : Art Buchwald

Thoughts 18JUL2013

Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier : Mother Teresa

---

It is not lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages : Friedrich Nietzsche

---

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive : Dalai Lama

---

Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart : Marcus Aurelius

Thoughts 17JUL2013

Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none : William Shakespeare

---

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that : Martin Luther King Jr

---

Life is a song - sing it. Life is a game - play it. Life is a challenge - meet it. Life is a dream - realize it. Life is a sacrifice - offer it. Life is love - enjoy it : Sai Baba

Thoughts 16JUL2013

Love is blind : Geoffrey Chaucer

---

Love is a hole in the heart : Ben Hecht

---

Love is the magician that pulls man out of his own hat : Ben Hecht

---

In our life there is a single colour, as on an artist's palette, which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the colour of love : Marc Chagall

Thoughts 15JUL2013

We are most alive when we're in love : John Updike

---

We love because it's the only true adventure : Nikki Giovanni

---

Love ceases to be a pleasure when it ceases to be a secret : Aphra Behn

---

Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law : Boethius

Thoughts 12JUL2013

Who loves, raves : Lord Byron

---

Pains of love be sweeter far than all other pleasures are : John Dryden

---

Love is an energy which exists of itself. It is its own value : Thornton Wilder

---

Stand by your man. Give him two arms to cling to and something warm to come to : Tammy Wynette

Thoughts 11JUL2013

With our love, we could save the world : George Harrison

---

We can only learn to love by loving : Iris Murdoch

---

When love is at its best, one loves so much that he cannot forget : Helen Hunt Jackson

---

No one has ever loved anyone the way everyone wants to be loved : Mignon McLaughlin

Thoughts 10JUL2013

There is no limit to the power of loving : John Morton

---

Love is a mutual self-giving which ends in self-recovery : Fulton J Sheen

---

Love is when he gives you a piece of your soul, that you never knew was missing : Torquato Tasso

---

To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic : Alphonse de Lamartine

Thoughts 09JUL2013

The first magic of love is our ignorance that it can ever end : Benjamin Disraeli

---

When you love someone all your saved up wishes start coming out : Elizabeth Bowen

---

Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold : Zelda Fitzgerald

---

He who loves, flies, runs and rejoices; he is free and nothing holds him back : Henri Matisse

Thoughts 08JUL2013

The quarrels of lovers are the renewal of love : Jean Racine

---

To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides : David Viscott

---

What the world really needs is more love and less paper work : Pearl Bailey

---

Love's greatest gift is its ability to make everything it touches sacred : Barbara de Angelis