AFRAID TO ASK FOR LIFE

Talkative white parrot on a perch - “I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strangely, I am ungrateful to these teachers”

We used to play spin the bottle when I was a kid," says comedy writer Gene Perret. "A girl would spin the bottle, and if the bottle pointed to you when it stopped, the girl could either kiss you or give you a nickel. By the time I was 14, I owned my own home."

Rejection is hard to take. Especially when it comes from someone you know. Or don't know.

Football coach Bum Phillips once said, "There's only two kinds of coaches -- them that's been fired and them that's about to be fired." Now there is an occupation that is familiar with rejection!

Few things hold people back more than the fear of rejection. They don't ask for what they need because the answer may be no. They don't ask their boss for a raise or for more time off. They don't ask for help from people they do not know well. They are afraid to be the first to say, "I love you." They don't ask for a better deal or a lower interest rate. They don't submit that manuscript to be considered for publishing. In short, they don't let their wants and needs be known, for fear of being turned away.

But the wonderful truth is this: If you can accept NO for an answer, you can ask for anything!" When it is okay to be rejected, you can fearlessly ask for whatever you need.

It is also true that you will not receive if you do not ask. So don't be afraid to ask! All they can say is NO! And you may be surprised at the number of people willing to help. They were waiting to be asked.

What do you need to ask for today?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

LEARNING TO WAIT IN LIFE

Fresh rice grains - “Many do with opportunities as children do at the seashore; they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one, till all are gone.”

You might remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. When he first came to the United States from Russia, he was not prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk - you just add water and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice - you just add water and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, "What a country!"

We live in a fast-paced world. We drive fast cars. We eat fast food. We live in the fast lane. We want it now.

One old story tells of a judge who was in a benevolent mood as he questioned the prisoner. "What are you charged with?" he asked. "Doing my Christmas shopping early," replied the defendant."

"That's no offense," said the judge. "How early were you doing this shopping?"

"Before the store opened," countered the prisoner.

Few of us will go to those extremes to satisfy our desire to "get it now," but we know what we want and we wish we could have it yesterday. We don't like to wait.

Though there is certainly a place for decisiveness and action, there is also a place for patience. Have you learned when to wait?

Wait for the sunrise...there will be another day.

Wait for guidance...learn to be still.

Wait for wisdom...it will come with experience.

Wait for growth...it happens in the fullness of time.

Wait and be contented...it is a secret to inner peace.

There is a time to act, but there is also a time to wait. Learn how to tell what time it is, for great things can happen for those who learn to wait. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it well: "Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience."

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN LIFE

Temporary makeshift office workstation - “The proper office of a friend is to side with you when you are wrong. Nearly anybody will side with you when you are right.”

Keep doing the same thing and you will keep getting the same results.

Two men were avid moose hunters. Every year they chartered a plane to take them to the Canadian back country. This year hunting was especially good and in a few days they each bagged a moose. They radioed for their pilot to come pick them up.

When the plane arrived, the pilot took one look at the animals and told the hunters they could not take such a heavy load along.

"But we spent all week hunting for these moose," they protested. "And besides, the pilot we hired last year wasn't worried about the moose's weight."

After much argument, the pilot finally relented and allowed them to load the moose. The heavy plane was only airborne for a few minutes when it lost altitude and crashed into the side of a mountain.

As the men struggled out of the wreckage, one hunter asked, "Where are we?"

His friend answered, "About a mile farther than we got last year."

Keep doing the same thing and you will keep getting the same results. It is true of flying and it is true of living.

What is not working well for you? A habit you are trying to break? A relationship with a parent or spouse or child or friend? What is a source of on-going frustration? Getting around to that project you keep promising to complete? Never having enough money to pay the bills? Running up against the same old walls at work?

The truth is, if you keep doing the same things you will keep getting the same results. So, if you don't like the way things are turning out, something must change. Are you ready to try something different?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

LEAVING YOUR MARK IN LIFE

View at the food court - “When you go into court, you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty”

Did you know...?

That Joan of Arc was only seventeen when she was riding at the head of the army that liberated France from the English?

That John Calvin was twenty-six when he published his "Institutes"?

That John Keats died when he was twenty-six?

That Shelley was thirty when he was drowned, but not before he left English literature his classic "Odes"?

That Sir Isaac Newton had largely discovered the working of the law of gravitation when he was twenty-three?

That Henry Clay, the "great compromiser," was sent to the United States Senate at twenty-nine and was Speaker of the House of Representatives at thirty-four?

That Raphael painted his most important pictures between twenty-five and thirty?

That Mozart only lived thirty-five years?

Of course, most of us will never achieve the prominence of these extraordinary individuals. Nor should we -- we are each cut from a unique pattern. But many people feel as if they should be leaving more of a mark on the world. When I was a young man I wanted to make things happen. After a few years I realized I would have to content myself with watching most things happen. (Now I often find that I have no idea at all what is happening!)

It helps to remember that there is a time for everything -- and everybody. Our time to bear good fruit may be yet to come. In fact, we may do our best work, or find our unique place, later in life.

Colorado aspen trees grow vigorously. After the devastation of a forest fire, frequent occurrences in the Rockies, aspens are sometimes the first trees to return. They re-forest an area quickly, providing shade for slower-growing spruce and pine saplings. These evergreens grow slower, but may live many years longer than the aspens. Each tree grows in its own time.

So does each person. Some people come to fruition quickly, others contribute more significantly in later years.

If you've not yet come into your own, don't worry. Tend to your work and aspirations with care. Don't give up; but rather be patient, for growth can be slow. Remember, storms and disease are devastating, but they can also prune you and make you stronger. With proper nurture, you will in time enjoy a full harvest.

There is a time for everything and everybody. And the time to begin is now.

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes

YES! YOU CAN BE GREAT IN LIFE!

China street view - “I met in the street a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, his cloak was out at the elbows, the water passed through his shoes, - and the stars through his soul.”

A school music teacher received this essay from an eight-year-old student concerning Johann Sebastian Bach: "He was a GREAT composer. He had 20 children and had an old spinster in the attic to practice on."

Now, I don't know the exact number of children he had, as many did not survive. Nor do I know what he kept in the attic. But the question I have is this: do you believe you should be great?

Not all of us can be great at what we do -- music, teaching, research, carpentry, sales, etc., -- but we can all become great individuals. It's about being great at who we are, great as human beings.

Author James Michener learned about the importance of greatness on a stormy night in the South Pacific. His plane was trying desperately to land on the Tontouta airstrip but could not do so. After several attempts in the dark of night, his knuckles were white with fear. When they finally landed safely, Michener went out and walked the length of the airstrip, looking at the dim outlines of the mountains they had so narrowly missed. He wrote this:

"And as I stood there in the darkness I caught a
glimpse of the remaining years of my life and I
swore an oath when peace came, if I survived, I
would live the rest of my years 'as if I were a great
man.' I did not presume to think that I would be a
great man. I have never thought in those terms,
but I could conduct myself as if I were. I would
adhere to my basic principles. I would bear public
testimony to what I believed. I would be a better man.
I would help others. I would truly believe and act as
if all men were my brothers. And I would strive to
make whatever world in which I found myself a
better place. In the darkness a magnificent peace
settled over me, for I saw that I could actually attain
each of those objectives, and I never looked back.

"Two immediate consequences: I started the next
day to draft the book TALES OF THE SOUTH
PACIFIC. And shortly thereafter my entire staff, flying
back to Tontouta, hit one of those shadowy mountains
and all were killed. I'd had cause to be white-knuckled." *

Do you believe you should be great? If greatness is a life that adheres to basic principles, a life of service to others and one dedicated to the betterment of all, then your answer is simple. We can each be great individuals and, in fact, should strive to be. For greatness comes from a dedication to help, not from mere accomplishment, no matter the magnitude.

Do you believe you should be great? What step will you take today?

From Lifesupport.

Lifesigns Life Quotes