Opposition

Don't be afraid of opposition.

Remember, a kite rises against -

not with - the wind.

~ Hamilton Mabie ~

An Old Chinese Legend

        This is the story of a wise old man.  He was considered to be an odd sort of fellow because of the way he had of looking at things.  One time one of his horses ran away.  His friends rallied around him to console him.  "That's too bad," they said.  "We are sorry for you."
        "How do you know it is bad?" the old man asked them.
          A few days later, the horse returned.  He had two wild horses with him.  This brought the neighbors on the run.  "Good, good!" they said, rejoicing with him.
         "How do you know it is good?" the old man asked them.
          They could not answer that one either.  So they said no more.
           In training the two wild horses, the man's son was thrown and his leg was broken.  Again the neighbors came to commiserate with him. "Oh that's too bad," they said.  "We sympathize with you in your misfortune."
           "How do you know that this is bad?" the old man said again.
            The very next day a war lord and his army came through the land conscripting all able bodied young men to fight for them.  But not the son of the old man.  He was not able bodied.

MORAL:  There is neither good nor bad but thinking makes it so.  Hidden within each challenge is a blessing in disguise.

Being Cheerful

Everyone, including you, just naturally feels better

when exposed to a cheerful, optimistic, individual

regardless of the nature or length of the contact.

Persistence

Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not.  Nothing is more common than unsuccessful

men with talent.  Genius will not.  Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not.  The world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence, determination and hard work make the difference.

~ Calvin Coolidge ~

Promise Yourself

Promise Yourself:

    To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

    To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

    To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

    To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

    To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best.

    To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

    To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

    To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

    To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

    To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.          

A Second Spring

Autumn is a second spring

when every leaf is a flower.

~ Albert Camus ~

I Will Try

"I can't do it" never yet accomplished anything.

"I will try" has performed wonders.

~ George P. Burnham ~

Attitude

     The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.  It will make or break a company...a church...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 string we have, and that is
our...attitude.

~ Charles Stinwoll ~

Being Appreciated

Everyone appreciates being appreciated.

Catch people red-handed in the act

of doing something right each day -

and praise them for it.

~ Bob Moawad ~

The One You Feed

An old Cherokee told his grandson, 

"My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil.

  It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego.

The other is Good.

It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.

The boy thought about it and asked,

"Grandfather, which wolf wins?"

The old man quietly replied,

"The one you feed."

~ Author Unknown ~

Worthy of Its Children

Each second we live

is a new and unique moment of the universe,

a moment that never was before

and never will be again.

And what do we teach our children in school?

We teach them that two and two make four

and that Paris is the capital of France.

When will we teach them what they are?

We should say to each of them:

Do you know what you are?

You are a marvel.

You are unique.

In all the world there is no other child

exactly like you.

In the millions of years that have passed,

there has never been a child like you.

And look at your body....what a wonder it is!

Your legs, your arms, your cunning fingers

the way they move!

You may become a Shakespeare,

a Michelangelo, a Beethoven.

You have the capacity for anything.

Yes, you are a marvel.

And when you grow up,

can you then harm another

who is like you, a marvel?

You must cherish one another.

You must work

we all must work

to make this world worthy of its children.

~ Pablo Casals ~

Get Involved

You must get involved to have an impact.

No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee.

~ John Holcomb ~

Rebuilding

When we rebuild a house,

we are rebuilding a home.

When we recover from a disaster,

we are rebuilding lives and livelihoods.

~ Sri Mulyani Indrawati ~

September 11th

The attacks of September 11th were intended to break our spirit.

Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified.

We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political,

economic and religious freedom, the rule of law, and

respect for human life.  We are more determined than ever

to live our lives in freedom.

~ Rudy Giuliani ~

Nothing Worse Will Happen

Eat a live frog first thing in the morning

and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.

~ Mark Twain ~

Ability

You are the only person on this earth

who can use your ability.

Being Paid

When you do more than you're paid to do,

you will eventually be paid more for what you do.

Labor

All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance

and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.

~ Martin Luther King, Jr. ~

Prime Purpose in Life

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others.

And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

~ Dalai Lama ~

Natural Disasters

Even with all our technology and 

the inventions that make modern life

so much easier than it once was,

it takes one big natural disaster to

wipe all that away and remind us that,

here on Earth, we're still at the mercy of nature.

~ Neil deGrasse Tyson ~

The Best You

You will make a lousy anybody else,

but you are the best YOU in existence.

Prepare

Prepare!  The time will come

when winter will ask you

 what you were doing all summer.

~ Henry Clay ~

Health

It is health that is real wealth

and not pieces of gold and silver.

~ Mahatma Gandhi ~

Make A Difference

Act as if what you do makes a difference.

It does.

~ William James ~

Leaners

     Do you know about leaners?  You may not know these people by this name, but I am sure that you have seen these individuals.  As you drive by a construction site or a road repair crew you will notice that a few individuals are hard at work while others are “leaning” on their shovels watching those who are working.  Hence the name “leaners”.

    Leaners are not just unique to those jobs that require shovels.  They are prevalent at most work sites, to include offices.  These people are content to do the minimum of work and often complain if given a workload that they consider excessive.  They are the ones you see “leaning” on the water cooler or by the coffee pot.  They lack the motivation to do a decent day’s work.

     As a former supervisor, I found the presence of leaners in an organization exasperating.  To motivate these people seemed impossible…to get them to realize the importance of earning their pay also was difficult. 

    

     Leaners seem to complain about things more than other people.  They complain that upper management does not treat them fairly…they should be promoted, rewarded, and compensated for their efforts.  They complain more because they have more time to engage in the art of complaining and whining.  Those that work hard frequently do not have the time to find fault…they are too busy doing their job.

     While I had problems trying to supervise leaners, as a fellow employee, I found them to be extremely useful.  The more leaners there are in an organization, the easier it is for someone who is conscientious and works hard to look good.  In comparison, average workers look great when being compared to a leaner.  Without leaners, we would all have to work harder to impress the boss.

     Having a positive attitude, high self-esteem, and being goal-oriented go a long way to give an individual an advantage in competing with fellow employees.  However, leaners give all of us some slack to not always have to work at our full potential.  Imagine if everybody had a strong work ethic and consistently gave 100 percent.  It would certainly make it more difficult to stand out and be considered by upper management for advancement.  So while it was difficult supervising leaners, they made it easier for me to advance to being a supervisor.

     I guess I should be grateful that other employees have been content to lean on the job and watch others move up the ladder.  As a supervisor, I found it difficult when employees “Lean on Me”.