Sunday, December 18, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
Life Is Not Always Short
I am going to die. I hope not today nor tomorrow nor anytime in the foreseeable future, but it is fact that I’m going to die. It gets worse. So are you. You are also going to die. We are all going to die.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this concept of life being short. Like many, I’ve seen too much of this impermanence of life.
I loss 3 very close people to me this year alone and so many more in my short time here on the Earth.
These are just some of my stories of loss. You all have your own. We all do. We know people die. We know that others will die. And we know that we too will die. However, we prefer to pretend otherwise. We’re uncomfortable with death. We don’t like it. We struggle to accept it. Hope and optimism stand as sentinels to keep these thoughts far from our minds.
The reality is that for some, life is indeed far too short. They are with us and then suddenly they are not. There are often no warnings that a smile will be the last, or that we should give just a little extra hug. There is no warning that death might be waiting at the next red light, railway crossing, etc.
These are the kinds of stories that tell us that life is short and that we should use such brevity as motivation to embrace life. However, life is not always short.
When I think of the phrase “life is short”, I am not motivated. I’m reminded of loss, pain, tragedy, and a sense of emotional hollow in which one could hide a universe. The phrase “life is short” seems like a superficial cliché that is used to justify self-indulgent, short-term gratification. Life is not always short. It is also not always long. It is often, however, extremely unpredictable, which is a blessing at times and a tragedy at others. If we could read the script, then we wouldn’t have the joy of living these wonderful lives of ours.
I can think of nothing that I will do because “life is short” that I’m also not going to do in case life is long. Therefore, at least for me, this temporal qualifier seems absolutely pointless—as if we’re meant to pretend to be in the final minutes of some sports activity and must act now or face certain defeat. However, the clock of life is uncertain; it’s unpredictable. We don’t know how much time is left.
We should do something not because life is short (or long) but because we have but one unique life in which to enjoy and strive to accomplish our dreams—or, more importantly, enjoy the path of that endeavor. It’s not the potential brevity of life that should motivate us. We should be motivated simply by life itself. Whether short or long, life is always unique and valuable.
My motivation is that I am, and my drive is for what I can be—for however much time I have.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this concept of life being short. Like many, I’ve seen too much of this impermanence of life.
I loss 3 very close people to me this year alone and so many more in my short time here on the Earth.
These are just some of my stories of loss. You all have your own. We all do. We know people die. We know that others will die. And we know that we too will die. However, we prefer to pretend otherwise. We’re uncomfortable with death. We don’t like it. We struggle to accept it. Hope and optimism stand as sentinels to keep these thoughts far from our minds.
The reality is that for some, life is indeed far too short. They are with us and then suddenly they are not. There are often no warnings that a smile will be the last, or that we should give just a little extra hug. There is no warning that death might be waiting at the next red light, railway crossing, etc.
These are the kinds of stories that tell us that life is short and that we should use such brevity as motivation to embrace life. However, life is not always short.
When I think of the phrase “life is short”, I am not motivated. I’m reminded of loss, pain, tragedy, and a sense of emotional hollow in which one could hide a universe. The phrase “life is short” seems like a superficial cliché that is used to justify self-indulgent, short-term gratification. Life is not always short. It is also not always long. It is often, however, extremely unpredictable, which is a blessing at times and a tragedy at others. If we could read the script, then we wouldn’t have the joy of living these wonderful lives of ours.
I can think of nothing that I will do because “life is short” that I’m also not going to do in case life is long. Therefore, at least for me, this temporal qualifier seems absolutely pointless—as if we’re meant to pretend to be in the final minutes of some sports activity and must act now or face certain defeat. However, the clock of life is uncertain; it’s unpredictable. We don’t know how much time is left.
We should do something not because life is short (or long) but because we have but one unique life in which to enjoy and strive to accomplish our dreams—or, more importantly, enjoy the path of that endeavor. It’s not the potential brevity of life that should motivate us. We should be motivated simply by life itself. Whether short or long, life is always unique and valuable.
My motivation is that I am, and my drive is for what I can be—for however much time I have.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Are You Living by The Four Agreements?
What are the agreements you are living by? One of my favorite books is a little book named “The Four Agreements,” by Don Miguel Ruiz. The book talks about the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. This little book (only 138 pages) offers a powerful code of conduct that can transform our lives. It is not a religion. As with anything you read, you may not agree in total, but if nothing else, it is definitely great food for thought! Agreements #2 (Don’t Take Anything Personally) and #3 (Don’t Make Assumptions) were really eye-opening. They talk about about other people, ourselves, and our relationships with others. The following is an excerpt from the book.
In his book, “The Four Agreements,” Don Miguel Ruiz says…
“There are thousands of agreements you have made with yourself, with other people, with your dream life, with God, with society, with your parents, with your spouse, with your children. But the most important agreements are the ones you made with yourself. In these agreements you tell yourself who you are, what you feel, what you believe, and how to behave. The result is what you call your personality. In these agreements you say, “This is what I am. This is what I believe. I can do certain things, and some things I cannot do. This is reality, that is fantasy; this is possible, that is possible.”
One single agreement is not such a problem, but we have many agreements that make us suffer, that make us fail in life. If you want to live a life of joy and fulfillment, you have to find the courage to break those agreements that are fear-based and claim your personal power. The agreements that come from fear require us to expend a lot of energy, but the agreements that come from love help us to conserve energy and even gain extra energy.
Each of us is born with a certain amount of personal power that we rebuild every day after we rest. Unfortunately, we spend all our personal power first to create all these agreements and then to keep these agreements. Our personal power is dissipated by all the agreements we have created, and the result is that we feel powerless. We have just enough power to survive each day, because most of it is used to keep the agreements that trap us in the dream of the planet. How can we change the entire dream of our life when we have no power to change even the smallest agreement?
If we can see it is our agreements which rule over our life, and we don’t like the dream of our life, we need to change our agreements. When we are finally ready to change our agreements, there are four very powerful agreements that will help us break those agreements that come from fear and deplete our energy.
Each time you break an agreement, all the power you used to create it returns to you. If you adopt these four new agreements, they will create enough personal power for you to change the entire system of your old agreements.
You need a very strong will in order to adopt the Four Agreements — but if you can begin to live your life with these agreements, the transformation in your life will be amazing. You will see the drama of hell disappear right before your very eyes. Instead of living in a dream of hell, you will be creating a new dream — your personal dream of heaven.
The Four Agreements:
1 – Be Impeccable With Your Word – this is the most important agreement and also the most difficult to one to honor. It is so important that with just this first agreement you will be able to transcend to the level of existence I call heaven on earth.
This agreement sounds very simple, but is very, very powerful. Your word is the power that you have to create. Your word is the gift that comes directly from God. Through the word you express your creative power. It is through the word that you manifest everything. Regardless of what language you speak, your intent manifests through the word. What you dream, what you feel, and what you really are, will all be manifested through the word.
The word is not just a sound or a written symbol. The word is a force; it is the power you have to express and communicate, to think, and thereby to create the events in your life. The word is the most powerful tool you have as a human. But like a sword with two edges, your word can create the most beautiful dream, or your word can destroy everything around you. One edge is the misuse of the word, which creates a living hell. The other edge is the impeccability of the word, which will only create beauty, love, and heaven on earth. Depending on how it is used, the word can set you free, or it can enslave you even more than you know.
2 – Don’t Take Anything Personally – Whatever happens around you, don’t take it personally. If I see you on the street and say, “Hey, you are so stupid,” without knowing you, it’s not about you; it’s about me. If you take it personally, then perhaps you believe you are stupid. Maybe you think to yourself, “How does he know? Is he clairvoyant, or can everybody see how stupid I am?”
You take it personally because you agree with whatever was said. As soon as you agree, the poison goes through you, and you are trapped in the dream of hell. What causes you to be trapped is what we call personal importance. Personal importance, or taking things personally, is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about “me.” During the period of our education, or our domestication, we learn to take everything personally. We think we are responsible for everything. Me, me, me, always me!
Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in. When we take something personally, we make the assumption that they know what is in our world, and we try to impose our world on their world.
Even when a situation seems so personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you. What they say, what they do, and the opinions they give are according to the agreements they have in their own minds. Their point of view comes from all the programming they received during domestication.
When you take things personally, then you feel offended, and your reaction is to defend your beliefs and create conflicts. You make something big out of something so little, because you have the need to be right and make everybody else wrong. You also try hard to be right by giving them your own opinions. In the same way, whatever you feel and do is just a projection of your own personal dream, a reflection of your own agreements. What you say, what you do, and the opinions you have are according to the agreements you have made — and these opinions have nothing to do with me.
Others are going to have their own opinion according to their belief system, so nothing they think about me is really about me, but it is about them.
You may even tell me, “Miguel, what you are saying is hurting me.” But it is not what I am saying that is hurting you; it is that you have wounds that I touch by what I have said. You are hurting yourself. There is no way I can take this personally. Not because I don’t believe in you or don’t trust you, but because I know that you see the world with different eyes, with your eyes. You create an entire picture or movie in your mind, and in that picture you are the director, you are the producer, you are the main actor or actress. Everyone else is a secondary actor or actress. It is your movie.
The way you see that movie is according to the agreements you have made with life. Your point of view is something personal to you. It is no one’s truth but yours. Then, if you get mad at me, I know you are dealing with yourself. I am the excuse for you to get mad. And you get mad because you are afraid, because you are dealing with fear. If you are not afraid, there is no way you will get mad at me. If you are not afraid, there is no way you will hate me. If you are not afraid, there is no way you will be jealous or sad.
If you live without fear, if you love, there is no place for any of those emotions. If you don’t feel any of those emotions, it is logical that you will feel good. When you feel good, everything around you is good. When everything around you is great, everything makes you happy. You are loving everything around you, because you are loving yourself. Because you like the way you are. Because you are content with you. Because you are happy with your life. You are happy with the movie that you are producing, happy with your agreements with your life. You are at peace, and you are happy.
If someone is not treating you with love and respect, it is a gift if they walk away from you. If that person doesn’t walk away, you will surely endure many years of suffering with him or her. Walking away may hurt for awhile, but your heart will eventually heal. Then you can choose what you really want. You will find that you don’t need to trust others as much as you need to trust yourself to make the right choices.
3 – Don’t Make Assumptions – We have the tendency to make assumptions about everything. The problem with making assumptions is that we believe they are the truth. We could swear they are real. We make assumptions about what others are doing or thinking — we take it personally — then we blame them and react by sending emotional poison with our word. That is why whenever we make assumptions, we’re asking for problems. We make an assumption, we misunderstand, we take it personally, and we end up creating a whole big drama for nothing. It is always better to ask questions than to make an assumption, because assumptions set us up for suffering.
We make the assumption that everyone sees life the way we do. We assume that others think the way we think, feel the way we feel, judge the way we judge, and abuse the way we abuse. This is the biggest assumption that humans make. And this is why we have a fear of being ourselves around others. Because we think everyone else will judge us, victimize us, abuse us, and blame us as we do ourselves. So even before others have a chance to reject us, we have already rejected ourselves. That is the way the human mind works. We also make assumptions about ourselves, and this creates a lot of inner conflict.
4 – Always Do Your Best – Under any circumstances, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other times it will not be as good. When you wake up refreshed and energized in the morning, your best will be better than when you are tired at night. Your best will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick, or sober as opposed to drunk. Your best will depend on whether you are feeling wonderful and happy, or upset, angry, or jealous.
In your everyday moods your best can change from one moment to another, from one hour to the next, from one day to another. Your best will also change over time. As you build the habit of the four new agreements, your best will become better than it used to be.
Doing your best, you are going to live your life intensely. You are going to be productive, you are going to be good to yourself, because you will be giving yourself to your family, to your community, to everything. But it is the action that is going to make you feel intensely happy. When you always do your best, you take action. Doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward. Most people do exactly the opposite. They only take action when they expect a reward, and they don’t enjoy the action. And that’s the reason why they don’t do their best.
If you do your best always, over and over again, you will become a master of transformation. If you do your best in the search for personal freedom, in the search for self-love, you will discover that’s its just a matter of time before you find what you are looking for.”
In his book, “The Four Agreements,” Don Miguel Ruiz says…
“There are thousands of agreements you have made with yourself, with other people, with your dream life, with God, with society, with your parents, with your spouse, with your children. But the most important agreements are the ones you made with yourself. In these agreements you tell yourself who you are, what you feel, what you believe, and how to behave. The result is what you call your personality. In these agreements you say, “This is what I am. This is what I believe. I can do certain things, and some things I cannot do. This is reality, that is fantasy; this is possible, that is possible.”
One single agreement is not such a problem, but we have many agreements that make us suffer, that make us fail in life. If you want to live a life of joy and fulfillment, you have to find the courage to break those agreements that are fear-based and claim your personal power. The agreements that come from fear require us to expend a lot of energy, but the agreements that come from love help us to conserve energy and even gain extra energy.
Each of us is born with a certain amount of personal power that we rebuild every day after we rest. Unfortunately, we spend all our personal power first to create all these agreements and then to keep these agreements. Our personal power is dissipated by all the agreements we have created, and the result is that we feel powerless. We have just enough power to survive each day, because most of it is used to keep the agreements that trap us in the dream of the planet. How can we change the entire dream of our life when we have no power to change even the smallest agreement?
If we can see it is our agreements which rule over our life, and we don’t like the dream of our life, we need to change our agreements. When we are finally ready to change our agreements, there are four very powerful agreements that will help us break those agreements that come from fear and deplete our energy.
Each time you break an agreement, all the power you used to create it returns to you. If you adopt these four new agreements, they will create enough personal power for you to change the entire system of your old agreements.
You need a very strong will in order to adopt the Four Agreements — but if you can begin to live your life with these agreements, the transformation in your life will be amazing. You will see the drama of hell disappear right before your very eyes. Instead of living in a dream of hell, you will be creating a new dream — your personal dream of heaven.
The Four Agreements:
1 – Be Impeccable With Your Word – this is the most important agreement and also the most difficult to one to honor. It is so important that with just this first agreement you will be able to transcend to the level of existence I call heaven on earth.
This agreement sounds very simple, but is very, very powerful. Your word is the power that you have to create. Your word is the gift that comes directly from God. Through the word you express your creative power. It is through the word that you manifest everything. Regardless of what language you speak, your intent manifests through the word. What you dream, what you feel, and what you really are, will all be manifested through the word.
The word is not just a sound or a written symbol. The word is a force; it is the power you have to express and communicate, to think, and thereby to create the events in your life. The word is the most powerful tool you have as a human. But like a sword with two edges, your word can create the most beautiful dream, or your word can destroy everything around you. One edge is the misuse of the word, which creates a living hell. The other edge is the impeccability of the word, which will only create beauty, love, and heaven on earth. Depending on how it is used, the word can set you free, or it can enslave you even more than you know.
2 – Don’t Take Anything Personally – Whatever happens around you, don’t take it personally. If I see you on the street and say, “Hey, you are so stupid,” without knowing you, it’s not about you; it’s about me. If you take it personally, then perhaps you believe you are stupid. Maybe you think to yourself, “How does he know? Is he clairvoyant, or can everybody see how stupid I am?”
You take it personally because you agree with whatever was said. As soon as you agree, the poison goes through you, and you are trapped in the dream of hell. What causes you to be trapped is what we call personal importance. Personal importance, or taking things personally, is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption that everything is about “me.” During the period of our education, or our domestication, we learn to take everything personally. We think we are responsible for everything. Me, me, me, always me!
Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves. All people live in their own dream, in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in. When we take something personally, we make the assumption that they know what is in our world, and we try to impose our world on their world.
Even when a situation seems so personal, even if others insult you directly, it has nothing to do with you. What they say, what they do, and the opinions they give are according to the agreements they have in their own minds. Their point of view comes from all the programming they received during domestication.
When you take things personally, then you feel offended, and your reaction is to defend your beliefs and create conflicts. You make something big out of something so little, because you have the need to be right and make everybody else wrong. You also try hard to be right by giving them your own opinions. In the same way, whatever you feel and do is just a projection of your own personal dream, a reflection of your own agreements. What you say, what you do, and the opinions you have are according to the agreements you have made — and these opinions have nothing to do with me.
Others are going to have their own opinion according to their belief system, so nothing they think about me is really about me, but it is about them.
You may even tell me, “Miguel, what you are saying is hurting me.” But it is not what I am saying that is hurting you; it is that you have wounds that I touch by what I have said. You are hurting yourself. There is no way I can take this personally. Not because I don’t believe in you or don’t trust you, but because I know that you see the world with different eyes, with your eyes. You create an entire picture or movie in your mind, and in that picture you are the director, you are the producer, you are the main actor or actress. Everyone else is a secondary actor or actress. It is your movie.
The way you see that movie is according to the agreements you have made with life. Your point of view is something personal to you. It is no one’s truth but yours. Then, if you get mad at me, I know you are dealing with yourself. I am the excuse for you to get mad. And you get mad because you are afraid, because you are dealing with fear. If you are not afraid, there is no way you will get mad at me. If you are not afraid, there is no way you will hate me. If you are not afraid, there is no way you will be jealous or sad.
If you live without fear, if you love, there is no place for any of those emotions. If you don’t feel any of those emotions, it is logical that you will feel good. When you feel good, everything around you is good. When everything around you is great, everything makes you happy. You are loving everything around you, because you are loving yourself. Because you like the way you are. Because you are content with you. Because you are happy with your life. You are happy with the movie that you are producing, happy with your agreements with your life. You are at peace, and you are happy.
If someone is not treating you with love and respect, it is a gift if they walk away from you. If that person doesn’t walk away, you will surely endure many years of suffering with him or her. Walking away may hurt for awhile, but your heart will eventually heal. Then you can choose what you really want. You will find that you don’t need to trust others as much as you need to trust yourself to make the right choices.
3 – Don’t Make Assumptions – We have the tendency to make assumptions about everything. The problem with making assumptions is that we believe they are the truth. We could swear they are real. We make assumptions about what others are doing or thinking — we take it personally — then we blame them and react by sending emotional poison with our word. That is why whenever we make assumptions, we’re asking for problems. We make an assumption, we misunderstand, we take it personally, and we end up creating a whole big drama for nothing. It is always better to ask questions than to make an assumption, because assumptions set us up for suffering.
We make the assumption that everyone sees life the way we do. We assume that others think the way we think, feel the way we feel, judge the way we judge, and abuse the way we abuse. This is the biggest assumption that humans make. And this is why we have a fear of being ourselves around others. Because we think everyone else will judge us, victimize us, abuse us, and blame us as we do ourselves. So even before others have a chance to reject us, we have already rejected ourselves. That is the way the human mind works. We also make assumptions about ourselves, and this creates a lot of inner conflict.
4 – Always Do Your Best – Under any circumstances, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next. Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality, and other times it will not be as good. When you wake up refreshed and energized in the morning, your best will be better than when you are tired at night. Your best will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick, or sober as opposed to drunk. Your best will depend on whether you are feeling wonderful and happy, or upset, angry, or jealous.
In your everyday moods your best can change from one moment to another, from one hour to the next, from one day to another. Your best will also change over time. As you build the habit of the four new agreements, your best will become better than it used to be.
Doing your best, you are going to live your life intensely. You are going to be productive, you are going to be good to yourself, because you will be giving yourself to your family, to your community, to everything. But it is the action that is going to make you feel intensely happy. When you always do your best, you take action. Doing your best is taking the action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward. Most people do exactly the opposite. They only take action when they expect a reward, and they don’t enjoy the action. And that’s the reason why they don’t do their best.
If you do your best always, over and over again, you will become a master of transformation. If you do your best in the search for personal freedom, in the search for self-love, you will discover that’s its just a matter of time before you find what you are looking for.”
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Mother Teresa On Life
Life is beauty, admire it.
Life is a dream, realize it.
Life is a challenge, meet it.
Life is a duty, complete it.
Life is a game, play it.
Life is a promise, fulfill it.
Life is sorrow, overcome it.
Life is a song, sing it.
Life is a struggle, accept it.
Life is a tragedy, confront it.
Life is an adventure, dare it.
Life is luck, make it.
Life is too precious, do not destroy it.
Life is life, fight for it.”
― Mother Teresa
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Friday Motivation
"Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict."
~William E. Channing~
"It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes."
~Louis Kossuth~
~Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.~
~Bernice Johnson Reagon~
"Men take only their needs into consideration, never their abilities."
~Napoleon Bonaparte~
"We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible."
~C. Malesherbes~
"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~
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Kennedy, John F.~
"Never be satisfied with what you achieve, because it all pales in comparison with what you are capable of doing in the future."
~Rabbi Nochem Kaplan~
"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them."
~Walt Disney~
~William E. Channing~
"It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes."
~Louis Kossuth~
~Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.~
~Bernice Johnson Reagon~
"Men take only their needs into consideration, never their abilities."
~Napoleon Bonaparte~
"We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible."
~C. Malesherbes~
"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~
"If not us, who? If not now, when?"
~Kennedy, John F.~
"Never be satisfied with what you achieve, because it all pales in comparison with what you are capable of doing in the future."
~Rabbi Nochem Kaplan~
"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them."
~Walt Disney~
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Get Motivated
“A man who finds no satisfaction in himself will seek for it in vain elsewhere.”
Francois De La Rochefoucauld
“The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook.”
“The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.”
Solomon Ibn Gabriol
“Years teach us more than books.”
Berthold Auerbach
“The man of wisdom is never of two minds; the man of benevolence never worries; the man of courage is never afraid. The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can.”
“If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.”
Thomas Edison
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Todays Inspiration
"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can." ~Unknown~
"Fall seven times, stand up eight." ~Unknown~
"If you're going through hell, keep going." ~Winston Churchill~
"A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success." ~Unknown~
"When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up." ~Les Brown~
"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. ~Epictetus~
"Life is tough, but you must be tougher." ~Unknown~
"Fall seven times, stand up eight." ~Unknown~
"If you're going through hell, keep going." ~Winston Churchill~
"A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success." ~Unknown~
"When life knocks you down, try to land on your back. Because if you can look up, you can get up." ~Les Brown~
"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. ~Epictetus~
"Life is tough, but you must be tougher." ~Unknown~
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Food For The Spirit
"I am thankful to all those who said NO to me. It's because of them I did it myself."
- Albert Einstein
"I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet."
- Indian Proverb
"Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have."
- Jim Rohn
"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."
- John Wooden
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
- Henry Ford
"Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life."
- John F. Kennedy
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
- Dr Wayne Dyer
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
- Mark Twain
"Those who are quite satisfied sit still and do nothing; those who are not quite satisfied are the sole benefactors of the world."
- Walter Savage Landor
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
- Nelson Mandela
"Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing."
- Vince Lombardi
"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us."
- Samuel Smiles
"Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome."
- Samuel Johnson
“Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.”
- Les Brown
"Love is like a rose bud, with proper care, it will eventually bloom."
- Motivational quote by unknown source
- Albert Einstein
"I had no shoes and complained, until I met a man who had no feet."
- Indian Proverb
"Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have."
- Jim Rohn
"It's not so important who starts the game but who finishes it."
- John Wooden
"Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."
- Henry Ford
"Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life."
- John F. Kennedy
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
- Dr Wayne Dyer
"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
- Mark Twain
"Those who are quite satisfied sit still and do nothing; those who are not quite satisfied are the sole benefactors of the world."
- Walter Savage Landor
"It always seems impossible until it's done."
- Nelson Mandela
"Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing."
- Vince Lombardi
"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us."
- Samuel Smiles
"Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome."
- Samuel Johnson
“Someone’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.”
- Les Brown
"Love is like a rose bud, with proper care, it will eventually bloom."
- Motivational quote by unknown source
Monday, November 7, 2011
Monday Morning Motivation
""When you look back at your past, look tenderly and gently at all you have been through. Look with the eyes of the soul. See that each experience was necessary to bring you home to your heart.""
Author: Unknown
Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Marilyn Monroe Quotes
"I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best."
— Marilyn Monroe
"I believe that everything happens for a reason. People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they're right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together."
— Marilyn Monroe
"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."
— Marilyn Monroe
"A wise girl kisses but doesn't love, listens but doesn't believe, and leaves before she is left."
— Marilyn Monroe
"I am good, but not an angel. I do sin, but I am not the devil. I am just a small girl in a big world trying to find someone to love."
— Marilyn Monroe
"If you're gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty."
— Marilyn Monroe
"It's better to be unhappy alone than unhappy with someone."
— Marilyn Monroe
"Ever notice how 'What the hell' is always the right answer?"
— Marilyn Monroe
"Who said nights were for sleep?"
— Marilyn Monroe
"Beneath the makeup and behind the smile I am just a girl who wishes for the world."
— Marilyn Monroe
"Success makes so many people hate you. I wish it wasn't that way. It would be wonderful to enjoy success without seeing envy in the eyes of those around you."
— Marilyn Monroe
"Dogs never bite me. Just humans."
— Marilyn Monroe
"Before marriage, a girl has to make love to a man to hold him. After marriage, she has to hold him to make love to him."
— Marilyn Monroe
"I've been on a calendar, but never on time."
— Marilyn Monroe
"Well behaved women rarely make history."
— Marilyn Monroe
"The thing I want more than anything else? I want to have children. I used to feel for every child I had, I would adopt another."
— Marilyn Monroe
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Sayings of The Buddha
If a man who enjoys a lesser happiness beholds a greater one, let him leave aside the lesser to gain the greater.
I reached in experience the nirvana which is unborn, unrivalled, secure from attachment, undecaying and unstained. This condition is indeed reached by me which is deep, difficult to see, difficult to understand, tranquil, excellent, beyond the reach of mere logic, subtle, and to be realized only by the wise.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind.
What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.
Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.
In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
The mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.
As the fletcher whittles and makes straight his arrows, so the master directs his straying thoughts.
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.
Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.
The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.
Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.
Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.
Look within, thou art the Buddha.
Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings -- that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.
A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden.
Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
I reached in experience the nirvana which is unborn, unrivalled, secure from attachment, undecaying and unstained. This condition is indeed reached by me which is deep, difficult to see, difficult to understand, tranquil, excellent, beyond the reach of mere logic, subtle, and to be realized only by the wise.
It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then the victory is yours. It cannot be taken from you, not by angels or by demons, heaven or hell.
There is nothing so disobedient as an undisciplined mind, and there is nothing so obedient as a disciplined mind.
What we are today comes from our thoughts of yesterday, and our present thoughts build our life of tomorrow: Our life is the creation of our mind.
Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.
He who experiences the unity of life sees his own Self in all beings, and all beings in his own Self, and looks on everything with an impartial eye.
In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.
Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.
The mind is the source of happiness and unhappiness.
As the fletcher whittles and makes straight his arrows, so the master directs his straying thoughts.
To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him.
Whatever words we utter should be chosen with care for people will hear them and be influenced by them for good or ill.
The thought manifests as the word. The word manifests as the deed. The deed develops into habit. And the habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care. And let it spring from love, born out of concern for all beings.
Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.
Meditate. Live purely. Be quiet. Do your work with mastery. Like the moon, come out from behind the clouds! Shine.
Look within, thou art the Buddha.
Believe nothing merely because you have been told it. Do not believe what your teacher tells you merely out of respect for the teacher. But whatsoever, after due examination and analysis, you find to be kind, conducive to the good, the benefit, the welfare of all beings -- that doctrine believe and cling to, and take it as your guide.
A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden.
Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.
The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.
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