SITTING ON YOUR TALENT IN LIFE

Prosperity cat automatic thermos - “There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast”

If you are like me, there are some things you may feel you do pretty
well, and others that you would not admit to having done even at
gunpoint! Please don't expect anything I build with my hands to remain
standing past sundown, or anything I attempt to repair to ever stay
fixed after I leave the room. And if my cars relied solely on me to
keep them going, I would walk most everywhere I go.

On the other hand, I do play guitar adequately and I can make a
memorable enchilada dish. I also enjoy working with people and I seem
to have made it a lifelong project to learn how to become a better
listener.

I never thought of myself as one who has any great talent, but like
each of us, I have certain skills and abilities. Let me tell you a
story, however, I once heard speaker Les Brown relate. It's a story
about a man who had real talent.

This particular man played piano in a bar. He was a good piano player.
People came out just to hear him and his combo play. But one night, a
patron wanted them to sing a particular song. The trio didn't sing
much and declined.

But the customer was persistent. He told the bartender, "I'm tired of
listening to the piano. I want that guy to sing!"

The bartender shouted across the room, "Hey buddy! If you want to get
paid, sing the song. The patrons are asking you to sing!"

So he did. He sang a song. A jazz piano player who had never sung the
song in public did so for the very first time. And nobody had ever
heard Sweet Lorraine sung the way it was sung that night by Nat King
Cole.

He had talent he was sitting on. He may have lived the rest of his
life playing in a jazz trio in no-name bars, but because he had to
sing, he went on to become one of the best-known entertainers in
America.

You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel as if your
"talent" is particularly great, but it may be better than you think!
And with persistence, most skills can be improved. Besides, you may as
well have no ability at all if you sit on whatever talent you possess.

Some people ask, "What ability do I have that is useful?" But the
better question is: "How will I use the ability that I have?"

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

A GOD TOO SMALL IN LIFE

Wooden traditional statue decoration - “Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue”

I enjoy a story about baseball great Joe Garagiola. He once stepped to
the plate when his turn came to bat. Before assuming his stance,
however, fervent Roman Catholic Joe took his bat and made the sign of
the cross in the dirt in front of home plate. Catcher Yogi Berra, also
a devout Catholic, walked over and erased Garagiola's cross. Turning
to the astonished batter, Berra smiled and said, "Let's let God watch
this inning."

If I were God (and thank goodness I'm not), I think I would have
wanted to simply watch the inning.

I likewise appreciate the story about an old Quaker who stood during
the church meeting and told his fellow Friends about a young man who
was not a Quaker and who lived an undisciplined life. This young man
invited a pious Quaker friend to go sailing one day. A sudden storm
came up and the wild young man was drowned. Having made his point, the
old Quaker sat down.

Silence returned to the meeting until the old man once again arose.
This time he said, "Friends, for the honor of the truth, I think I
ought to add that the Quaker also drowned."

And if I were God (and again, thank goodness I'm not), I think I would
have felt sadness for both losses. Neither was a greater tragedy than
the other.

I know that religious piety can be a wondrous and beautiful thing. But
it disturbs me the prominent role religions have historically played
in wars and brutality over the ages. If I imagine a god so small as to
favor those who think like me, worship like me and act like me, then I
know very little of life and less of faith. I can't help but think
this world would be in better shape if the gods most of us believed in
were a little bigger.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

FINDING THE GOOD NEWS IN LIFE

Red carrots for sale - “Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid.”

A few years ago I read of a Ukraine businessman who bought a pager for
each member of his staff as a New Year's gift. As he was returning
from the pager shop, all 50 beepers on the back seat of his automobile
simultaneously burst out screeching. He was so alarmed that he drove
his car into a lamp post, just 100 meters from his office.

After he assessed the damage to the car, the businessman turned his
attention to the message on the 50 pagers. It read: "Congratulations
on a successful purchase!" (Reuters, Jan. 14, 1999)

That got his attention. Unfortunately, it's the bad news – newspaper
headlines and world events – that generally clamor the loudest to get
noticed.

And there is enough bad news all around. I came across an article that
reported a study of a large group of people who were instructed to
evaluate all the information they received for a year and a half. They
were asked to record whether what they were seeing and hearing all day
long was positive or negative. These researchers determined that
ninety percent of the input the group received was negative – bad
news.

That may not come as a surprise to everyone. Over a half-century ago,
Franklin Roosevelt told about an old man who was losing his hearing
and went to the doctor for help. He was advised to quit drinking
alcohol. When his family asked him what he was going to do, he
replied, "Well, I've given it a lot of thought and I've decided I like
what I've been drinkin' so much better than what I've been hearin',
I'm
just gonna keep on gettin' deaf."

But there is still GOOD news aplenty. We can still hear encouraging
words from friends. Any day we can witness numerous acts of generosity
and kindness. And we can still spot signs all around us of love and
hope. Sometimes we may have to look a little more closely, but the
good news is there.

Are you finding it? It's worth the effort.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

BUILDING YOUR "TRUST" FUNDS IN LIFE

Hanging organic flower pots for sale - “Everything is the product of one universal creative effort. There is nothing dead in Nature. Everything is organic and living, and therefore the whole world appears to be a living organism.”

The young parents paid the babysitter and dropped her off at home. As
she turned to leave, she said, "By the way, I promised Amy that if
she went to bed, you'd buy her a pony in the morning." Ouch.... (I
understand that she is unemployed these days….)

It doesn't take long for parents to learn that, if they want their
children to trust them, they will have to keep some promises. So a
good parent will model the importance of keeping trust in the hopes
of teaching their children to be trustworthy.

When people trust us, it is like having money in the bank. In an
actual bank account, we will first make deposits if we expect to
later make withdrawals. When we keep our word, it's like making a
deposit into a trust fund. The more deposits we make, the larger our
balance becomes.

And the opposite is also true. Whenever we break our word and lose
trust, it is like withdrawing money from an account. Except that what
we withdraw is goodwill.

Now imagine that you have a separate trust fund with every person you
know. If you have been making regular deposits into your account with
that individual, when the time comes that you disappoint, you will
still have a large enough balance of goodwill to cover the debt. That
friend, son or mother will realize that your account is still good.
You are a person of good intent. You are reliable and trustworthy.

Scottish writer George MacDonald said, "To be trusted is a greater
compliment than to be loved." Whether or not that is true, I would
rather have a healthy emotional trust fund than a large bank account.
Trust is more valuable than money – and it builds strong
relationships.

Are your trust funds growing?

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

GETTING YOURSELF GROUNDED IN LIFE

Restocking the frozen fries section - “I went into a McDonald's yesterday and said, "I'd like some fries." The girl at the counter said, "Would you like some fries with that?"”

Dante, the Florentine poet of the Middle Ages, knocked at the door of
a Franciscan monastery at Lunigiana. He was asked, "What do you want?"

Dante replied, "Peace." I think that maybe he was speaking for a lot
of us -- especially these days. But how do you find peace?

If you're not ready for a stay in the monastery, I think one way to
find peace is to look within. Get yourself grounded. Let me explain.

One winter morning I drove down the steep mountain roadway leading
from my home. I was traveling slowly, actually just inching forward
down the icy road. But the car had no traction. It was all I could do
to keep it pointed downhill as I slipped and slid on the ice. Then I
lost control and gravity took over. The car began a slow motion spin
as it slid on its own down to the bottom of the hill. When it finally
came to a stop, I was thankfully still on the roadway, but now facing
the wrong direction.

My problem was traction. What had separated me from the ground's
surface was just a thin sheet of ice. If I could have only made
contact with the ground, I'd have remained in control. I needed to be
grounded.

I think life is like that. People who are not grounded lose control of
the direction they are heading. It is easy to slip and slide, hoping
to grasp onto something real. Or just hoping for a safe landing.

Nancy SantoPietro wrote a book called FENG SHUI: HARMONY BY
DESIGN. In it she says, "In your lifetime the most sacred space you
will ever need to create is the space within yourself -- the place
deep within your soul where you go to find peace and serenity…." She's
talking about being grounded.

Finding the peace we need is really a spiritual issue. Get yourself
grounded and you can navigate even the stormiest roads in peace.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

THE BEAUTIFUL YOU IN LIFE

Onions, garlic and potatoes for sale - “A nickel will get you on the subway, but garlic will get you a seat”

We place great emphasis on a narrow idea of physical beauty.

In an American history discussion group, the professor was trying to
explain how, throughout history, the concept of "beauty" changes with
time. "For example," he said, "take the 1921 Miss America. She stood
five-foot-one inch tall, weighed 108 pounds and sported a 30-inch
bust, a 25-inch waist and 32-inch hips. How do you think she'd do in
today's version of the contest?"

The class fell silent for a moment. Then one student piped up, "Not
very well."

"Why is that?" asked the professor.

"For one thing," the student pointed out, "she'd be way too old."

Good point -- she'd be way too old. But beauty is a peculiar thing,
for it means something a little different to each of us. And it isn't
always about appearance. Sometimes beauty is a quality that softly
shines from inner depths. And you may actually radiate more inner
beauty than you realize.

An elderly woman noticed that her granddaughter felt embarrassed by
her freckles. "I love your freckles," she said, kneeling beside the
girl and admiring her face.

"Not me," the child replied.

"Well, when I was a little girl I always wanted freckles," the
grandmother said, tracing her finger across the child's cheek.
"Freckles are beautiful."

The girl looked up. "Really?"

"Of course," said her grandmother. "Why just name one thing that's
prettier than freckles."

The little girl peered into the old woman's smiling face, aglow with
kindness and love. "Wrinkles," she answered softly.

The physical beauty of youth will fade. But the beauty of a spirit,
when nurtured, can grow forever.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

WHAT DO YOU WANT MOST FOR LIFE?

View at the frozen foods section - “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope”

You've heard it said that the best things in life aren't things. This
truth is illustrated well by Andrea Jaeger.

At age 14 Andrea won her first professional tennis tournament. At 15,
she was the youngest player ever to be seeded at Wimbledon, a record
she held for 10 years. She won again and again until, at 18 years old,
she reached the finals of Wimbledon. But at age 19, a shoulder injury
brought her career to an end.

Her body was injured, but not her spirit. Andrea Jaeger no longer
serves up aces on the court, but she is serving society. She has
dedicated her time and money to bringing hope and joy to children who
are suffering from cancer or other life-threatening illnesses. She
runs her own organization full time, year-round, unpaid.

"You get very spoiled on the pro tour," she says. "The courtesy cars,
the five-star hotels, all the people clapping because you hit a good
shot. It's easy to forget what's important in life."

She forgets a lot less lately.

Her life is an example of what can happen when one concentrates on
"what's important in life." It has been said that the main cause for
failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you
want at the moment. And if the best things in life are not things,
then what do you want most? What Andrea wants most in life is to help
other people. And I'll wager she is fulfilled and happy because of her
dedication to a purpose bigger than herself.

What if you traded what you want at the moment for what you want
most -- if you remember what is important in life and try to do that?
The life you build would be no less than incredible.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

A LOVE THAT CHANGES IN LIFE

Front view of Macross Frontier VF-25F messiah model kit - “Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”

Just as the delivery van pulled away from the florist, the manager
came running out. There was a cancellation on one of the orders, and
he needed it back.

"Which one?" asked the driver.

"The one that reads 'Darling, I will love you forever.' "

When we "fall in love," who doesn't feel that it will last forever?
But we change. And as we do, our love changes, too.

Do you remember the touching interchange between Tevye and Golde in
the musical "Fiddler on the Roof"?

"Do you love me?" Tevye asked his wife.

"Do I what?" Golde responded.

"Do you love me?"

"Do I love you? With our daughters getting married and this trouble in
the town, you are upset, you are worn out, go inside, go lie down,
maybe its indigestion. "

"Golde, I'm asking you a question. Do you love me?"

"You're a fool."

"I know, but do you love me?"

"For twenty-five years I've washed your clothes, cooked your meals,
cleaned your house, given you children, milked the cow. After
twenty-five years, why speak of love right now? I'm your wife," she
said.

"But do you love me?"

Now Golde becomes reflective. "For twenty-five years I've lived with
him, fought with him, starved with him. Twenty-five years my bed is
his. If that's not love, what is?"

"Then you love me?"

"I suppose I do."

"It's nice to know."

And it IS nice to know, for twenty five years is a long time. Time
enough for things to change. Time enough to quit.

My wife and I were married when we were young. And I have to say, I
don't love her like I used to. I've changed, and so has she. Enough
years will do that. We've been through ups and downs. We grew older.
And my feelings for her grew older, too.

The relationship feels more secure now. I think it is a better love
than years ago – more enduring. More solid. Like the two of us, our
love grew up.

And maybe she could live the rest of her life without saying, "I love
you." I know how she feels. But she says it anyway.

And it's nice to know.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

FORGIVING QUICKLY IN LIFE

Macross Frontier VF-25F messiah fighter mode model kit - “Marriage is for women the commonest mode of livelihood, and the total amount of undesired sex endured by women is probably greater in marriage than in prostitution.”

Whoever said it first got it right: "Life is too short for drama and
petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive
quickly." What a wise and wonderful way to live – but not as easy as
it seems.

Personally, I'm all for lingering kisses, raucous laughter, and true
love. I can't wait. But the idea of forgiving quickly is a tough one.
It certainly belongs on the list; it's just that it doesn't come
easily. How I enjoy my righteous indignation. Forgiving can be like
drinking bitter medicine; I have to force myself to swallow … and even
that in small doses.

In his audio book “Living Faith” (Random House Audio Books, 1996),
U.S. President Jimmy Carter talks about forgiving quickly. He says
that without the knowledge that he can be forgiven, it would be
impossible for him to face his own shortcomings.

He relates that both he and his wife, Rosalynn, are "strong-willed"
persons who find it difficult to admit being at fault.

One day, after a particularly harsh argument, Carter decided that he
would never let another day end with each of them angry with the
other. So he went out to his wood shop and cut a thin piece of walnut,
a little smaller than a bank check. On it, he carved the words, "Each
evening forever this is good for an apology or forgiveness, as you
desire." That evening, he gave the plaque to Rosalynn. He reports
that, so far, he has been able to honor it each time Rosalyn has
presented it to him.

With his plaque, Carter made it possible for them to forgive quickly.
They created a climate where it became safe to admit mistakes and
where it was expected that those mistakes would be forgiven.

I suspect that if we can forgive quickly, we won't have much problem
with all of the kissing, laughing and loving. And we'll probably do
more of it.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

HARD WON WISDOM IN LIFE

Dude! You forgot your box behind you! - “Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies.”

Theodore Levitt, of the Harvard Business School, said, "Experience
comes from what we have done. Wisdom comes from what we have done
badly." Theodore Levitt sounds like a wise person. I wonder what he's
done badly.

Based on his reasoning, I must be bursting with wisdom. Over the
years, I've racked up an impressive number of things that haven't gone
too well.

But put another way, wisdom is what the school of life gives us with
every poor report card. Wisdom is hard won, and it is often birthed in
the ashes of failure.

One man tells of meeting one of the truly "wise" ones among us on a
flight to Florida. He was preparing his notes for a parent-education
seminar he was to conduct there. Bessie, an older woman sitting next
to him, explained that she was returning home after having spent two
weeks visiting her six children, 18 grandchildren and ten
great-grandchildren .

Then she asked him what he did for a living. The man explained that he
was a psychologist specializing in children. He dreaded telling her
this, as he fully expected her to probe him for free professional
advice during the three-hour flight. But not this wise woman. Instead,
she sat back, picked up a magazine and said, "So doctor, if there's
anything you want to know, just ask me."

Bessie's years of parenting and grand-parenting gave her what no
professional degrees could – it gave her hard won wisdom. Much of what
she knew about children could only be learned through experience,
including experiences of failure.

I really don't worry about the things I've done badly. If I paid
attention to what went wrong and why, then even my most spectacular
failures gave something priceless back – they taught valuable lessons.
Sometimes wisdom can't be gotten any other way.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FOR LIFE?

Neatly arranged fresh vegetables for sale - “Things are as they are. Looking out into it the universe at night, we make no comparisons between right and wrong stars, nor between well and badly arranged constellations.”

"Well, what do you expect?" Has anybody ever asked you that?

Sometimes, my greatest disappointments have come because I expected
something that was simply not realistic.

You may know that Robert Lucas won the 1995 Nobel Memorial Prize in
economics. His ex-wife received half of his $1 million award. Yes, his
EX-wife. As it happened, when they were divorcing in 1988, she had her
lawyer add one tiny clause to the property settlement: "Wife shall
receive 50 percent of any Nobel prize." And her clause had an
expiration date: October 31, 1995. He won the prize on October 10.

One would think that her expectation of him winning a Nobel Prize
might be irrational. How many people do that? It's something like my
winning the Iron Man Marathon by the year 3000. That just won't
happen.

But the difference is that I don't train, and she seemed to be sure
that it was only a matter of time before his outstanding work would be
recognized in such a way. Within seven years, she thought. So it
turned out her expectation was entirely rational. (Ironically, Lucas
was honored for an economic theory he called, "Rational
Expectations. ")

I admittedly know nothing about Lucas' Theory of Rational Expectations
in economics. But I do know something about irrational expectations
among people. And I know that irrational expectations can cause untold
disappointment.

Like the expectation that someone else will make me happy. This is
irrational. Nobody can make me happy. That is my job. If I expect
others to make me happy or to keep me happy, I know I will be
disappointed again and again.

Or the expectation that life should be, for the most part, relatively
easy and problem free. This, too, is irrational. Bad things happen.
Living can be difficult. If I expect things to be easy, if I expect
NOT to have problems, if I expect to avoid pain and heartache, I know
I will be in for serious disappointment. Problems are here to stay.

I don't mean to paint a picture of life as bleak and miserable. It isn't.
In fact, I think it is amazingly wonderful. And all the more wonderful
when I don't expect too much out of it. I expect problems, but I also
expect to find joy. I do not expect others to always please me, but I
do expect to be responsible for my own well-being.

So…what did you expect? I think if you can answer that question well,
you can expect to be much happier.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

INVESTING IN GOLD FOR LIFE

Recently it has become quite hard to find a stable form of financial investment. With the volatile stock markets and the ever so fluctuating oil prices the general outlook can be rather grim for most investors. Just the other day, my cousin, who majors in Economics and Business Studies, came by and I casually brought up the subject of investment. I asked him about the most stable form of investment that he would recommend and without hesitation he told me to buy gold bullion.

He explained to me that gold has always been one of the more stable form of investment compared to other market commodities. I have never consciously thought about bullion let alone gold bullion before this so it was an eye opener for me. I never actually ventured out to invest my money as I put the bulk of it in fixed deposit accounts. True to the idiom "never put all your eggs in one basket", I decided to buy bullion as my first effort in investment.

COOL HEADS AND WARM HEARTS IN LIFE

Jing Jing the dog acting warm and friendly - “The secret of happiness is this: let your interests be as wide as possible, and let your reactions to the things and persons that interest you be as far as possible friendly rather than hostile.”

If you've ever struggled making the right decision, you may appreciate
this story:

A young man seemed to take an unusually long time to place his order
at the flower shop. When the clerk asked how she could help, he
explained that his girlfriend was turning 19 and he couldn't decide
whether to give her a dozen roses or 19 roses -- one for each year of
her life.

The woman put aside her business judgment and advised, "She may be
your 19-year-old girlfriend now, but someday she could be your
50-year-old wife."

The young man bought a dozen roses. He made his decision from both his
head and his heart.

Abraham Lincoln has been considered one of the greatest leaders of all
time. He maintained a cool head, even under personal attack. Though
constantly criticized in public, he rarely answered back. "If I were
to try to read, much less answer, all the attacks made on me, this
shop might as well be closed for any other business," he said. He
showed courage in the face of unjust criticism. He refused to
retaliate and chose instead to quietly do the very best he could.

And Lincoln was also widely known for his compassion. He made
difficult and tough decisions during America's Civil War, but at the
same time showed great leniency. He pardoned more prisoners than any
U. S. president before or since. And when a general asked Lincoln how
the defeated Confederates should be treated, Lincoln replied, "Let 'em
up easy." He was both cool-headed and warm-hearted.

Too many people get it the other way around. They have hot heads and
cold hearts. They react in the heat of anger or passion. They are cold
and unfeeling. And they invariably make poor decisions.

A cool head asks the hard questions. A cool head thinks it through. A
cool head fairly weighs the options and asks, "What is the logical
thing to do?"

A warm heart empathizes. A warm heart considers feelings and
relationships. A warm heart asks, "What is my spirit telling me to
do?"

Some decisions we make with our heads. Others with our hearts. But I
think it takes both to get it right.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

I WANT TO BE READY IN LIFE

Fresh white carrots for sale - “Those who think it permissible to tell white lies soon grow colorblind”

In her book TEACHING A STONE TO TALK (New York: Harper Collins, 1988), Annie Dillard reveals a sad, but poignant story. She tells of a British Arctic expedition that set sail in 1845 to chart the Northwest Passage around the Canadian Arctic to the Pacific Ocean. Neither of the two ships and none of the 138 men aboard returned.

Dillard argues that Captain Sir John Franklin prepared as if they were
embarking on a pleasure cruise rather than an arduous and grueling
journey through one of earth's most hostile environments. He packed a
1,200 volume library, a hand-organ, china place settings for officers
and men, cut-glass wine goblets and sterling silver flatware,
beautifully and intricately designed. Years later, some of these place
settings would be found near a clump of frozen, cannibalized bodies.

The voyage was doomed when the ships sailed into frigid waters and
became trapped in ice. First ice coated the decks, the spars and the
rigging. Then water froze around the rudders, and the ships became
hopelessly locked in the now-frozen sea.

Sailors set out to search for help (possibly delirious from
lead-poisoning from the cans which preserved their food), but soon
succumbed to severe Arctic weather and died of exposure to its harsh
winds and subfreezing temperatures. For the next twenty years, remains
of the expedition were found all over the frozen landscape.

Dillard reports that the crew did not prepare either for the cold or
for the eventuality of the ships becoming ice-locked. On a voyage that
was to last two to three years, they packed only their Navy-issue
uniforms and the captain carried just a 12-day supply of coal for the
auxiliary steam engines. The frozen body of an officer was eventually
found, miles from the vessel, wearing his uniform of fine blue cloth,
edged with silk braid, a blue greatcoat and a silk neckerchief –
clothing which was noble and respectful, but wholly inadequate.

Historians may doubt the wisdom of such an ill-prepared journey. But
more important for us is the question: Are we, too, prepared for the
important voyage we've embarked upon, that journey we call "life"? I
want to be as ready as possible for whatever may lie ahead.

I try to prepare myself for the future in several ways:

* Intimacy: I need some caring people in my life.
* Work & Finance: I like to work hard, pay my way and help others
where possible.
* Spiritual Life: When I am spiritually centered and at peace, I can
handle most things.
* Service to Others: A lake with no outlet becomes a dead sea. It's
true with people, too.
* Mind and Body: Exercising my body as well as my mind helps them both
work better.
* Attitude Adjustments: I really can control my outlook and attitudes.
* Emotions: I can also control my reactions, including anger.
* Relationships: I need to make sure my relationships are healthy.

As long as we are alive, our journey is not over. And in large part,
the success of our voyage will be determined by our regular and
systematic preparation.

I want to be ready.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

SUCKER DAY IN LIFE

Old cucumbers for sale - “A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing”

I've never visited the town of Wetumka in Oklahoma (USA). But I
understand the folks there celebrate a day every year when they laugh
at themselves. They call it Sucker Day and they plan a town festival
on the last Saturday of September to commemorate it.

It all started in 1950 when a man calling himself F. Bam Morrison
arrived in Wetumka and persuaded local residents to put up the money
to bring a circus to town. They did not know F. Bam, but he was a nice
enough fellow and they trusted his word.

Merchants bought plenty of food, beverages, and souvenirs in
preparation for the crowds of people who were bound to attend. And
Morrison sold advance tickets. The townspeople were ecstatic at the
thought of a circus in their very own village. Children could hardly
sleep at night.

On the day the circus parade was to march down the main street,
ecstasy turned into dismay when nothing happened. F. Bam had slipped
quietly away in the night with any money he had left. There would be
no circus. The good folks of Wetumka had been swindled.

It didn't take long for their disappointment to turn into amusement,
however. Someone came up with the idea of holding a four-day
celebration anyway. And why not? They had all the food and goodies.
Calendars were cleared and, besides, everyone's heart was set on
having a good time.

They called their party The Sucker Festival. In a display of
good-natured fun, people celebrated the fact that they'd been conned,
snookered and hornswoggled. And now Sucker Day is an annual event
Wetumka – a good excuse to come together, to laugh and to have some
fun.

We're going to be fooled sometimes. Especially if we easily place our
confidence in people. But I'm not going to give up trusting just to
avoid being had.

I've observed that some of the happiest people I know are far from
being the most wary – in fact, they are quite often open and trusting.
These contented folks share at least two traits.

The first is that they are trustworthy. They are known to be honest
and true to their word.

And the second trait these happy and satisfied people share is that
they easily trust others. Sometimes their trust is misplaced, but they've discovered that the benefits of trusting usually outweigh the risks of disappointment.

I expect I'll get taken in plenty of times yet by friends and
strangers I believed in. But I hope the next time I trusted when I
should have been more cautious, I can learn from the good folks of
Wetumka and laugh at myself.

Because I'd rather let others into my heart than shut them out. I'd
rather be a sucker for a day than unhappy for a lifetime. And I'd
rather believe there is goodness in most people, for that is the only
way to find it.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

DRIVING OUT BAD NAILS FOR LIFE

Macross Frontier VF-25F messiah model kit - “Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself. Being true to anyone else or anything else is not only impossible, but the mark of a fake messiah.

A teacher who was lecturing on habits told his class, "Anything you
repeat twenty times is yours forever." From the back of the classroom
came a whispered voice, "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, Sarah…." Of course, what
the teacher was trying to say is that any behavior, often repeated,
becomes habit.

The Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus once said, "A nail is driven out
by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit." And if I understand him
right, he suggests that saying no to a bad habit is not enough.
Instead, we should try to replace it with a good one. Repeat the new
behavior twenty times … and it is yours.

If any behavior, good or bad, is often repeated, it becomes stronger
and more powerful. "Since habits become power, make them work for you
and not against you," said E. Stanley Jones. In other words, drive out
the undesirable nail, the behavior you'd like to change, with a better
one.

One woman did just that after lamenting to her friend, "I hate being
late. It has been a problem for me all of my life."

"Do you really want to change that habit?" her friend asked. The woman
said that she did and her friend responded, "All right. Every time you're
late for work or anywhere else, then give me $25."

"I'd go broke!" she said. "But I'll do $10."

"It's got to hurt," said the friend.

"Believe me, that will hurt," the woman replied. They agreed that the
money should be deposited in a jar and used for charity.

In the first week, the habitually tardy woman made a concerted effort
to plan ahead and she only paid $10 to her friend. The next week, $20.
The third week, none at all. By week five, she had built a strong
habit of leaving early, and her new behavior replaced the old pattern
of tardiness that had hindered her for so long. She drove out one nail
with another one. And she found freedom.

If you're like me, there is a bad nail you want to remove. Today is a
good day to pick up a better nail and start using it.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes

A LIFE THAT MATTERS

View at the open air vegetables market - “An onion can make people cry but there's never been a vegetable that can make people laugh.”

They said he died.

One morning in 1888, Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite, the man who
had spent his life amassing a fortune from the manufacture and sale of
weapons of destruction, awoke to read his own obituary. Of course, it
was a mistake. Alfred's brother had died, and the reporter
inadvertently wrote Alfred's obituary.

For the first time, Alfred Nobel saw himself as the world saw him –
"the dynamite king," the great industrialist who had made an immense
fortune from explosives. This, as far as the general public was
concerned, was the entire purpose of his life. None of his true
intentions surfaced. Nothing was said about his work to break down the
barriers that separated persons and ideas. He was, quite simply, a
merchant of death, and for that alone would he be remembered.

Alfred read the obituary with horror. He felt that the world must know
the true meaning and purpose of his life. He resolved to do this
through his last will and testament. The final disposition of his
fortune would show the world his life's ideals. And at that time came
into being yearly prizes for chemistry, physics, medicine,
literature – and the famous Nobel Peace Prize.

If you were to read your own obituary today, what would it say? Do
others know what you stand for, what you believe in and what truly
matters to you?

Dr. Philip Humbert asks, "What remarkable, extraordinary and amazing
things will you do with this wild and wonderful miracle, your one and
only life?" I believe that the question should also be asked this way:
"What will you do with this wild and wonderful miracle, your one and
only DAY?" For it's increasingly clear to me that the decisions I make
every day, even little decisions, will decide how my life will
eventually turn out.

Hopefully, I won't wake up to read my own obituary. But I have already
begun to write it – day by day, moment by moment. And if I live a life
that matters today, then my obituary will already be written in the
hearts of those who know me.

From Lifesupport

Lifesigns Life Quotes