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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Perspective of life

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son,

"How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad."

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

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered:

  • "I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

  • We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

  • We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

  • Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

  • We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

  • We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

  • We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

  • We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

     

    The boy's father was speechless.

    Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

    Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

    Lessons to Learn from This Story:

    Appreciate and value every single thing we have!

  • Monday, October 12, 2009

    Look within - Not in Others

    A man feared his wife wasn’t hearing well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called his family doctor to discuss the problem. The doctor told him there is a simple, informal test; which he could perform and give them a better idea about her hearing loss.

    “Here’s what you do,” said the doctor, “stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone, see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response.” That evening, when his wife was in the kitchen, cooking dinner, he was in the drawing room, standing about 40 feet away from her.

    “Honey, what’s for dinner?”, he asked in a normal tone. No response! So he moved closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeated “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Still there was no response. Next, he moved into the dining room where he was placed about 20 feet from his wife and asked the same question. Still further, he didn’t get his awaited response. He now walked upto the kitchen door which was another 10 feet away and asked “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Again no response! So he walks up and whispers behind her “Honey, what’s for dinner?” “Steve, for the fifth time I’ve said, “Chicken” . “Do you have some hearing problem ?”

    Sometimes, the problem may not be with the other person as we always think; it could be within us. Let’s look within ourselves before we find fault with others.

    Thursday, October 8, 2009

    Shed Down Your Burden

    A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management.

    He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?" The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm.

    It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is alright. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.

    It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier.

    What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again. We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are ! able to carry on.

    So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burden you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can. Pick it up again later when you have rested.”

    Rest and relax, enjoy life !

    Life returns whatever you give it

    A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, "it is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.

    "The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a seed today - one very special seed. Want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."


    One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.


    By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however... he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.


    A year finally went by and all the young Executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.


    He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes.


    Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him! When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"


    All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "the CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!" When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story.


    The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. he looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "behold your next chief executive officer! his name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. "How could he be the new CEO?" The others said.


    Then the CEO said, "one year ago, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.


    All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!"


    • If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
    • If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
    • If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
    • If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
    • If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
    • If you plant hard work, you will reap success
    • If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
    • If you plant faith in god , you will reap a harvest


    So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.. "Whatever you give to life, life gives you back"

    Wednesday, October 7, 2009

    Chanakya's Quotes - Worth reading a million times

    **********************************************************************************
    "A person should not be too honest.
    Straight trees are cut first and Honest people are victimised first."

    **********************************************************************************
    "Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous."


    **********************************************************************************
    "The biggest guru-mantra is:
    Never share your secrets with anybody. !
    It will destroy you."


    **********************************************************************************
    "There is some self-interest behind every friendship.
    There is no Friendship without self-interests.
    This is a bitter truth."


    **********************************************************************************
    "Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions -
    Why am I doing it,
    What the results might be and
    Will I be successful.
    Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead."


    **********************************************************************************
    "As soon as the fear approaches near,
    attack and destroy it."


    **********************************************************************************
    "Once you start a working on something,
    don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it.
    People who work sincerely are the happiest."


    **********************************************************************************
    "The fragrance of flowers spreads only in the direction of the wind.
    But the goodness of a person spreads in all direction."


    **********************************************************************************
    "A man is great by deeds, not by birth."
    **********************************************************************************
    "Treat your kid like a darling for the first five years..For the next five years, scold them.
    By the time they turn sixteen, treat them like a friend. Your grown up children are your best friends."


    **********************************************************************************
    "Books are as useful to a stupid person
    as a mirror is useful to a blind person."


    **********************************************************************************
    "Education is the best friend.
    An educated person is respected everywhere.
    Education beats the beauty and the youth."

     

    Mindset

    As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.




    "Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." My friend was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.




    Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? So make an attempt to grow further.... Why shouldn't we try it again?

    Your attempt may fail, but never fail to make an attempt!

    Choose not to accept the false boundaries and limitations created by the past.

    You are a Masterpiece

    A plum once said, just because a banana lover came by, I converted myself into a banana. Unfortunately, his taste changed after a few months and so I became an orange. When he said I was bitter I became an apple, but he went in search of grapes. Yielding to the opinions of so many people, I have changed so many times that I no more know who I am. How I wish I had remained a plum and waited for a plum lover.

    Just because a group of people do not accept you as you are, there is no necessity for you to strip yourself of your originality. You need to think good of yourself, for the world takes you at your own estimate. Never stop down in order to gain recognition. Never let go of your true self to win a relationship. In the long run, you will regret that you traded your greatest glory - your uniqueness, for momentary validation. Even Gandhi was not accepted by many people. The group that does not accept you the way you are, is not your world.

    There is a world for each one of you, where you shall reign as king / queen by just being yourself. Find that world... in fact, that world will find you.

    What water can do, gasoline cannot and what copper can, gold cannot. The fragility of the ant enables it to move and the rigidity of the tree enables it to stay rooted. Everything and everybody has been designed with a proportion of uniqueness to serve a purpose that we can fulfill only by being our unique self. You as you alone can serve your purpose and I as I alone can serve my purpose. You are here to be you... just you.

    There was a time in this world when a Krishna was required and he was sent; a time when a Christ was required and he was sent; a time when a Mahatma was required and he was sent; There came a time when you were required on this planet and hence you were sent. Let us be the best we can be. Don't miss yourself and let the world not miss you.

    In the history of the universe, there has been nobody like you and to the infinite of time to come, there will be no one like you. Existence should have loved you so much that it broke the mould after making you, so that another of your kind will never get repeated. You are original. You are rare. You are unique. You are a wonder. You are a masterpiece... your Master's piece. Celebrate your Uniqueness.

    Real Boss - Real Story ( ABJ Kalam)

    There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project. All of them were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting the job.

    One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him - Sir, I have promised to my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township. So I want to leave the office at 5 30 pm.

    His boss replied "OK, You're permitted to leave the office early today" The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch when he felt he was close to completion. The time was 8.30 PM. Suddenly he remembered of the promise he had given to his children.


    He looked for his boss, He was not there. Having told him in the morning itself, he closed everything and left for home. Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children.
    He reached home. Children were not there. His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines.

    The situation was explosive, any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him "Would you like to have coffee or shall I straight away serve dinner if you are hungry.

    The man replied "If you would like to have coffee, i too will have but what about Children ??" Wife replied "You don't know ?? Your manager came here at 5.15 PM and has taken the children to the exhibition "

    What had really happened was ... The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00 PM. He thought to himself, this person will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children they should enjoy the visit to exhibition.

    So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition. The boss does not have to do it every time.
    But once it is done, loyalty is established. That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss even though the stress was tremendous.

    By the way , can you hazard a guess as to who the boss was..?

    He was none other than Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, Ex-President of India .. . .

    Wednesday, July 8, 2009

    Wishing Good When It Counts

    A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they decided to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

    The first thing the first man prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land and he was able to eat its fruit.

    The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

    After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land.

    On the other side of the island, there was nothing. Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him.

    However, the second man still had nothing.

    Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that his wife and he ! could leave the island.

    In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island.

    The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island.

    He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven booming,

    "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

    "My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered.

    "His prayers were all unanswered, and so he does not deserve anything."

    "You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered.

    If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings." "Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

    "He prayed that all your prayers be answered." For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

    Everything that happens, happens only for the good

    A king in Africa had a close friend with whom he had grown up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that occurred in his life, positive or negative, and remarking, "This is good!"

    One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" to which the king replied, "no, this is not good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

    About a year later, the king was hunting in an area wherein he should have known not to hunt. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came close to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

    As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right", he said, "It was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."

    "No," his friend replied, "this is good!" "What do you mean, 'this is good!' How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

    "If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you, and I would have been eaten!

    Everything that happens, happens only for the good.

    change our vision..!!

    There was a millionaire who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted so many physicians and was getting his treatment done. He did not stop consulting galaxy of medical experts; he consumed heavy loads of drugs and underwent hundreds of injections.

    But the ache persisted with great vigour than before. At last a monk who has supposed to be an expert in treating such patients was called for by the millionaire. The monk understood his problem and said that for sometime he should concentrate only on green colours and not to fall his eyes on any other colours.

    The millionaire got together a group of painters and purchased barrels of green color and directed that every object his eye was likely to fall to be painted in green colour just as the monk had directed.

    When the monk came to visit him after few days, the millionaire's servants ran with buckets of green paints and poured on him since he was in red dress, lest their master not see any other colour and his eye ache would come back.

    Hearing this monk laughed said "If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles, worth just a few rupees, you could have saved these walls and trees and pots and all other articles and also could have saved a large share of his fortune.

    You cannot paint the world green." Let us change our vision and the world will appear accordingly. It is foolish to shape the world, let us shape ourselves first.

    Lets change our vision..!!

    Friday, June 12, 2009

    Management Lesson

    One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops - a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well.

    At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet height,built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.

    Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and basically week? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened - Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down. And the next day, and the next.

    This grated on the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.

    By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!"

    The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, "And why not?"

    With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, "Big John has a bus pass."

    Management Lesson: "Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one."

    All that happens, happens for the good

    A king in Africa had a close friend with whom he had grown up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that occurred in his life, positive or negative, and remarking, "This is good!"

    One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" to which the king replied, "no, this is not good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

    About a year later, the king was hunting in an area wherein he should have known not to hunt. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came close to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone who was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

    As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right", he said, "It was good that my thumb was blown off." And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this."

    "No," his friend replied, "this is good!" "What do you mean, 'this is good!' How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?"

    "If I had not been in jail, I would have been with you, and I would have been eaten!

    Everything that happens, happens only for the good.

    Great story... and a good lesson too

    Priya married Hitesh this day. At the end of the wedding party, Priya's mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook. With Rs.1000 deposit amount.

    Mother:
    'Priya, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage life. When there's something happy and memorable happened in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it's about next to the line. The more memorable the event is, the more money you can put in. I've done the first one for you today. Do the others with Hitesh.When you look back after years, you can know how much happiness you've had.'

    Priya shared this with Hitesh when getting home. They both thought it was a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made.

    This was what they did after certain time:

    - 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage

    - 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Priya - 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali - 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Priya got pregnant - 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Hitesh got promoted ..... and so on...

    However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivial things. They didn't talk much. They regretted that they had married the most nasty people in the world.... no more love...Kind of typical nowadays, huh?

    One day Priya talked to her Mother:

    'Mom, we can't stand it anymore. We agree to divorce. I can't imagine how I decided to marry this guy!!!'

    Mother:
    'Sure, girl, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want if you really can't stand it. But before that, do one thing first.

    Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.'

    Priya thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account.

    While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind. Her eyes were then filled with tears. She left and went home.

    When she was home, she handed the passbook to Hitesh, asked him to spend the money before getting divorce.

    The next day, Hitesh gave the passbook back to Priya. She found a new deposit of Rs.5000. And a line next to the record: 'This is the day I notice how much I've loved you thru out all these years. How much happiness you've brought me.'

    They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe.

    Do you know how much money they had saved when they retired? I did not ask. I believe the money did not matter any more after they had gone thru all the good years in their life.

    "When you fall, in any way,

    Don't see the place where you fell, Instead see the place from where you slipped.

    Life is about correcting mistakes

     

    Thursday, June 11, 2009

    THE FERN AND THE BAMBOO

    ONE DAY I DECIDED TO QUIT…

    I QUIT MY JOB, MY RELATIONSHIP, MY SPIRITUALITY….

    I WANTED TO QUIT MY LIFE.

    I WENT TO THE WOODS TO HAVE ONE LAST TALK WITH GOD..

    “God”, I said. ”Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”

    His answer surprised me.

    “Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

    “Yes”, I replied.

    “When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did NOT quit on the bamboo.

    “In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did NOT quit on the bamboo.

    “In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would NOT quit. The same in year four.

    “Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.

    “But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. “It had spent the five years growing roots.

    Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would NOT quit on the bamboo.. I will NEVER quit on you.

    “Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. “The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.

    “Your time will come”, God said to me.. ”You will rise high”

    “How high should I rise?” I asked.

    “How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.

    “As high as it can?” I questioned

    “Yes.” He said,

    “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”

    I left the forest, realizing that God will NEVER give up on me.

    And He will NEVER give up on you.

    NEVER REGRET A DAY IN YOUR LIFE.

    GOOD DAYS GIVE YOU HAPPINESS; BAD DAYS GIVE YOU EXPERIENCES.

    BOTH ARE ESSENTIAL TO LIFE.

    SO ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF LIFE……………

    Wednesday, April 1, 2009

    Unconditional Love...

    A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Kashmir. He called his parents from Jammu.

    "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."

    "Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."

    "There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."

    Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed They always want to open their hearts to us.

    Inspiring...

    We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge. People make mistakes.

    We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

    Pause and ponder. Think before you act. Be patient . Forgive & forget. Love one and all.

    If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

    Creative....

    A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: 'I am blind, please help.' There were only a few coins in the hat.

    A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

    Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, 'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'

    The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.'

    What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.'

    Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

    Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

    Moral of the Story:

    Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

    Invite others towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

    Keep the faith and drop the fear.

    The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling And even more beautiful, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

    EGO...KILLS U

    There was once a learned scientist..

    After a lot of practice and efforts, he developed a formula and learned the art of reproducing himself. He did it so perfectly that it was impossible to tell the reproduction from the original.

    One day while doing his research, he realized that the Angel of Death was searching for him. In order to remain immortal he reproduced a dozen copies of himself. The reproduction was so meticulous that all of them looked exactly like him. Now when this Angel of Death came down, he was at a loss to know which of the thirteen before him was the original scientist, and confused, he left them all alone and returned back to heaven.

    But, not for long, for being an expert in human nature, the Angel came up with a clever idea. He said to the scientist addressing all thirteen of them, "Sir, you must be a genius to have succeeded in making such perfect reproduction formula of yourself. However, I have discovered a flaw in your work, just one tiny little flaw."

    The scientist immediately jumped out and shouted, Impossible! where is the flaw?" "Right here" said the Angel, as he picked up the scientist from among the reproductions and carried him off.

    The whole purpose of the scientist and his formula of reproduction failed as he could not control his pride and lost his life.

    So while one's Knowledge and Skills takes one to the top of the ladder and makes one successful, however the three letter word "EGO" can pull one down immediately.

    Let go one's Ego.

    Will Power...

    An old man lived alone in Minnesota. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation.

    Dear Son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot.

    If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren't in prison.

    Love, Dad
    ....
    .....
    .......
    ........

    Shortly, the old man received this telegram:

    "For Heaven's sake, Dad, don’t dig up the garden!! That's where I buried the GUNS!" At 4a.m.

    The next morning,

    A dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns.

    Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened, and a asked him what to do next.

    His son's reply was: "Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad. It's the best I could do for you from here."

    - Moral Of the Story

    No matter where you are in the world, if you have decided to do something deep from your heart, you can do it. it is the thought that matters not where you are or where the person is.

    Thursday, March 26, 2009

    Excellence...

    A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?"

    The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

    The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not.

    "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency...