Sounds of Silence

Four monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. 
By nightfall on the first day, a candle began to flicker and then went out.
 
The first monk said, "Oh, no! The candle is out." 
 
The second monk said, "Aren't we not supposed to talk?" 
 
The third monk said, "Why must you two break the silence?" 
 
The fourth monk laughed and said, "Ha! I'm the only one who didn't speak."

Zen Story

You Are A Winner

What you think about the most is what you draw into your reality. If you think positively and optimistically about your life and other people and take action to be where these people congregate, you will find the people you need. The reverse is true, too.

You have to think of yourself as a winner, an "I can do this" person, and you will succeed with enough time, energy, preparation, and action. How you succeed may look different from where you started because you have increased your knowledge and abilities and surrounded yourself with others who have also sought success.

Remember: Success leaves clues - it's up to you to find them and use them well.

Here's to you today. You are on the path you thought about yesterday, the day before, the week early, and years before today. Make your dreams come true. Show yourself and others what is possible!

Perfection

A young priest was in charge of the garden in a famous temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. 

Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived an older priest. One day, when the young priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in attending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves. 

As he worked, the older priest watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.

When he had finished, the young priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the older priest. "Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you."

After hesitating, the young priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down.

Slowly, the old priest walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden.

"There," said the old man, "you can put me back now."

Author Unknown

The Gift Of You

Do you love and believe in yourself every day? It's not a selfish thing to do; it's life-changing! When you let your insecurities take over, and yes, everyone has some, you limit your ability to perform at your highest levels.

You have a responsibility to yourself - what do you need to do - to get back on track? For whatever time you will grace this earth, most people want to live in harmony with others, create great memories, be a person of honor and integrity, and be content with who they are.

Yet, how much time do we think about HOW we think about ourselves? I'm not talking about bragging or boasting; I'm talking about those profound moments when you ask yourself, "Am I on the right track with my life?"

If you answer yes, I am, that is wonderful! If you answer no or not really, and I'm not sure what to do, then maybe it's time for a life plan. You know it's never too late to start. When you desire to improve your situation, you will seek resources to help you.

The time you spend focusing on loving and believing in yourself will improve every aspect of your life. You deserve as much love and belief in yourself as all the people you have helped along the way.

Please let me know if I can help you with your plan.

Are They Problems Or Opportunities?

Have you ever realized that problems are opportunities to grow, learn from, and capitalize on? Think about how many entrepreneurs erupted throughout the Covid experience? They realized that a solution was out there for the problem they identified; they just had to find it and make it happen.

Today, I share an article by Eduardo Dominguez, one of our contributors to the Motivateus.com website. The article starts this way:

Smile and cheer up the spirit; everything is temporary. Problems are the steps we need to acquire better things. Problems are new opportunities to learn what we need to know to avoid making mistakes, to start over, to do the best we can with a new attitude - the right attitude.

Everything is for good. At the end of the tunnel, there is always light. The important thing is that regardless of any barrier we face, we don't stop moving forward while we are in the darkness of that tunnel. To stay in such darkness, to lament, or to wait for somebody to feel pity or sorry for us doesn't solve anything.

Let's read more:Problems ARE Opportunities

What we learn from others, it increases our wisdom far beyond what we can learn by ourselves. Be open-minded. You never know what you can learn to help you navigate through life.

Believe You Can Make It

Do you realize how extraordinary and capable you are? Look at what you have accomplished so far. Maybe you knew you could do it in your mind or never imagined the opportunities presented to you. And you are equipped to make a positive difference in your life and the life of others.

You have to have hope and belief that you can and will make it no matter what. You stand strong in times of heartache and strife. You are gentle and kind to everyone because everyone needs a little more love, no matter what you think. You are a person of integrity and goodness, and we need you here, right now, at this time in history.

Be the one who helps bring out the best in others. Be the one who brings your A game to all you do. And if you have a day that wasn't exactly what you imagined, it's okay; you get to try again tomorrow. You will succeed; I know it!

Take care and be your authentic self!

Steve Jobs' Three Rules of Life ...

  1. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. 

  2. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. 

  3. Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition - they somehow already know what you truly want to become. 

HOW DO YOU REALLY LOOK AT THINGS?

One day a father and his rich family took his son to a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night at the farm of a very poor family.

When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"Very good Dad!"

"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.

"Yeah!"

"And what did you learn?" 

 The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have a creek that has no end.  We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon."

 When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless. His son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!"

 Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? 

 If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life-you've got everything!

You can't buy any of these things, but still you can have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing! Jeff Pappas