|
|
 ®
Volume 19, # 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April, 2004 |
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](APPLE2.GIF)
|
© |
|
|
®
Volume 19, # 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April, 2004 |
|
© |
Excellence Is an Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aristotle,
Positive Press"Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but rather we have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
Strongest Country . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy Mairs
"The strongest country is the one whose citizens, certain of their skills and worth, believe they can take care of themselves and one another."
Doubts are Traitors . . . . . . . . . . William Shakespeare,
Measure for Measure, Act 1, scene iv"Our doubts are traitors,
And make us lose the good we oft might win,
By fearing to attempt."
Leadership of the Family . . . . . . . . . . Jim Rohn,
Cultivating an Unshakable Character
"One of the most challenging areas of leadership is your family. Leadership of a family demands even higher standards of honesty and integrity, and the stakes are higher too. You can replace disgruntled employees and start over. You can even get a new job for yourself, if it comes to that. But your family can’t be shuffled like a deck of cards. If you haven’t noticed, kids are great moral philosophers, especially as they get into adolescence. They’re determined to discover and expose any kind of hypocrisy, phoniness, or lack of integrity on the part of authority figures, and if we’re parents, that means us. It’s frightening how unforgiving kids can be about this, but it really isn’t a conscious decision on their part; it’s just a necessary phase of growing up.
"They’re testing everything, especially their parents.
"As a person of integrity yourself, you’ll find it easy to teach integrity to your kids, and they in turn will find it easy to accept you as a teacher. This is a great opportunity and also a supreme responsibility, because kids simply must be taught to tell the truth: to mean what they say and to say what they mean."
Great Tensions in Society
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Gaudium et Spes," Vatican Council II"10. The tensions disturbing the world of today are in fact related to a more fundamental tension rooted in the human heart. In man himself many elements are in conflict with each other. On one side, he has experience of his many limitations as a creature. On the other, he knows that there is no limit to his aspirations, and that he is called to a higher kind of life.
"Many things compete for his attention, but he is always compelled to make a choice among them, and to renounce some. What is more, in his weakness and sinfulness he often does what he does not want to do, and fails to do what he would like to do (cf. Rm 7:14ff.). In consequence, he suffers from a conflict within himself, and this in turn gives rise to so many great tensions in society."
Sow/Reap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Rohn
"The miracle of the seed and the soil is not available by affirmation;
it is only available by labor."
Pessimism vs. Optimism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
Pessimism is a contagious disease; optimism is a miraculous medicine."
Ask What You Want . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Canfield & Mark V. Hanson,
The Aladdin Factor, p. 139"Ask for what you want, not for what you don’t want…The reason this is important is that when you tell someone what you don’t want, their mind creates a picture of the words you use.…Psychologists tell us the unconscious mind filters out all negative words.…Now you can see why it is important to ask for what you want instead of what you don’t want."
Profile of a Champion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Zalucki
"One of the greatest misconceptions about becoming successful is the idea that you should ‘feel good’ or ‘motivated’ before you act. Motivation almost always follows action, but seldom precedes it. Champions commit to disciplined actions and pay very little attention to how they feel."
As a Man Thinketh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Allen
"Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul; and that he is the maker of his character, the molder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove, if he will watch, control, and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon himself, upon others, and upon his life and circumstances, linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation, and utilizing his everyday experience, even to the most trivial, everyday occurrence, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is Understanding, Wisdom, Power."
"You are Accepted" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Instrument of Thy Peace, Alan Paton
"Paul Tillich in his great sermon ‘You Are Accepted,’ says that what we have to do is simply to accept the fact that we are accepted. Sometimes it happens that we receive the power to say ‘Yes’ to ourselves, that peace enters into us and makes us whole, that self-hate and self-contempt disappear and that our self is reunited with itself. Then we say that grace has come upon us.
"Tillich writes, ‘he who is able to love himself is able to love others also; he who has learned to overcome self-contempt has overcome his contempt for others.’"
You Have to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bob Burdette
"Remember, you have to work. Whether you handle pick or wheelbarrow or a set of books, digging ditches or editing a newspaper, ringing an auction bell or writing funny things, you must work.
So find out what you want to be and do. Take off your coat and make dust in the world. The busier you are, the less harm you are apt to get into, the sweeter will be your sleep, the brighter your holidays, and the better satisfied the whole world will be with you."
A Very Cautious Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
Who never risked, or tried.
He never hoped, he never failed;
He never laughed or cried.
And when he one day passed away,
His insurance was denied
For since he never really lived
They claim he never died!"
Who Would You Want to Be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anonymous
As George Bernard Shaw’s life was nearing its end, a reporter asked him, "Mr. Shaw," he began, "you have been around some of the most famous people in the world. You are on first-name basis with royalty, world-renowned authors, artists, teachers and dignitaries from every part of this continent." Then he asked, "If you had your life to live over again and could be anybody you’ve ever known, who would you want to be?"
Shaw thought a moment and replied, "Sir, I would choose to be the man George Bernard Shaw could have been but never was."
What’s Really Important? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Source Unknown
A few years ago at the local Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally challenged, assembled at the starting line for the beginning of the 100-yard dash. At the starter’s gun they all started out, though not exactly in a dash, but with the relish to run the race to the finish and win.
"All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the track, he tumbled a few times and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy’s cry; they slowed down and paused confused. Then, as if on a secret cue, they all turned around and went back to the fallen runner, everyone of them. One girl with Down’s Syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, "This will make it better." Then all nine got up, held hands and walked together to the finish line.
"Everyone in the stadium stood, and cheered for ten minutes.
April 4, 2004 - Daylight Saving Time
Turn your clocks forward one hour (USA)
 |
Return to Home Page | Specials, Blessings & Prayers | Apple Seeds Archives | Favorites links | Religious links |
Apple images are from ClickArt Incredible Image Pak 65,000
Broderbund, Inc.
Graphics used with permission from ChurchArt Online. They are not to be copied or downloaded.
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](APPLE1.GIF)
