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Volume 29, #9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . May 2014 |
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![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds-1c.jpg)
![inspiration, motivation, Apple Seeds, [Apple]](AppleSeeds-2c.jpg)
Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!
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Hey, Graduates! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled, p. 131
"We change. The experience of change, of unaccustomed activity, of being on unfamiliar ground, of doing things differently is frightening. It always was and always will be. People handle their fear of change in different ways, but the fear is inescapable if they are in fact to change.
Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the making of action in spite of fear, the moving out against the resistance engendered by fear into the unknown and into the future."
Lead the Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles M. Schwab
"Lead the life that will make you kindly and friendly to everyone about you, and you will be surprised what a happy life you will lead."
Today is the Greatest Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rabbi Zelig Pliskin,
Life Is Now: Creating Moments of Joy, Courage, Kindness, and Serenity, p. 33
"Today is the greatest day of your life, because today is the only day that exists. All your earlier days are part of your mind’s memory bank. All the future days haven’t occurred yet. So today just has to be the greatest day of your life.
The way you experience the day will be different if you decide to view it as the greatest day of your life, right now. Today is the only day that you get to choose what you will think, say, and do today.
So think about it: What are some of the greatest thoughts that you could think on this great day in your life?"
Age for Heroes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vince Lombardi, What It Takes To Be #1, p. 35
"We live in an age fit for heroes. No time has ever offered such perils or prizes. Man can provide a full life for humanity – or he can destroy himself with the problems he has created. The test of this century will be whether man confuses the growth of wealth and power with the growth of spirit and character.…"
On Indecision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jim Rohn
"Indecision is the thief of opportunity."
Age is Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . H.W. Longfellow
"For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress.
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day."
You Define Yourself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Wayne Dyer, Powerquotes, Vol. 8, #24 (powerquotes.net)
"When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself."
Parables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Walter Wink, Preaching the Parables: Cycle B
"Parables are tiny lumps of coal squeezed into diamonds, condensed metaphors that catch the rays of something ultimate and glint it at our lives. Parables are not illustrations; they do not support, elaborate, or simplify a more basic idea. They are not ideas at all, nor can they ever be reduced to theological statements. They are jeweled portals of another world; we cannot see through them like windows, but through their surfaces are refracted lights that would otherwise blind us – or pass unseen."
Positive Thinking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zig Ziglar
"Positive thinking won’t let you do anything but it will let you do everything better than negative thinking will."
Routines Stifle Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kouses & Pozner, The Leadership Challenge, p. 47, 48
"Routines…can be the enemies of change. They can stifle the very adventure that leaders seek to create.…
If organizations and societies are to make progress, then leaders must be able to detect when routines are becoming dysfunctional. They must be able to see when routines are smothering creative planning and blocking necessary advancement."
Power of Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Heinrich Heine
"The arrow belongs not to the archer when it has once left the bow; the word no longer belongs to the speaker when it has once passed the lips."
Becoming a Disciple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Elizabeth-Anne Stewart,
LIVING FAITH, Jan.–March, 2009, Feb. 8"Becoming a disciple doesn’t usually involve leaving one’s occupation; for most of us, the call is to make a difference within the familiar circles of family, friends, work and faith community. However secular our lives may seem, there are always opportunities to reach out to others in love, for the sake of Christ. Without even mentioning God or religion, we can evangelize others by the way we treat them – through warm hospitality, attentive listening, simple acts of kindness. Fascinated, those we encounter may begin to question the source of our love; they, too, may start treating others with greater consideration. In turn, these people may also become more loving. And so the catch grows large and the nets expand…"
Born to Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zig Ziglar
"You were born to win,
But to be the winner
You were born to be
You must plan to win
And prepare to win.
Then, and only then, can you
Legitimately expect to win."
Wisdom Seeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William Arthur Ward
"We can learn much from wise words, littler from wisecracks, and less from wise guys."
Decision or Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nido Qubein
"A decision is made with the brain; a commitment is made with the heart. Therefore, a commitment is much deeper and more binding than a decision."
The Choices We Make . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eleanor Roosevelt
"One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And, the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility."
The 80/20 Rule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vilfredo Pareto
The Pareto Principle (also known as the 80/20 rule) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the production comes from 20% of the producers. The Pareto Principle is named after nineteenth-century Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.
This principle makes an observation that 80% of a company’s sales comes from 20% of its salesforce, or 80% of complaints seem to come from 20% of the customers. Keep in mind this 80/20 Rule and focus your sphere of influence on the most productive resources and ideas.
As In Golf, So In Life . . . . . . . . . . . . The Christophers, Three Minutes A Day, Vol. 27, May 3
The legendary Bobby Jones, possibly the greatest golfer who ever lived, was a scholar and a teacher as well as a player. Although he quit competitive golf at the age of 28 – by which time he had also earned two college degrees and passed the Georgia bar exam – he had won 13 major championships out of the 21 he entered.
Once Jones wrote, "I never did any real amount of winning until I learned to adjust my ambition…In a season’s play I could perform at my best for not over a half-dozen rounds. In any one of those best rounds, I would not strike more than six (fairway) shots…exactly as I intended."
He advised golfers to start every round with these thoughts in mind:
- "I must be prepared for the making of mistakes."
- "I must try always to select the shot to be played and the manner of playing it so as to provide the widest possible margin for error."
- "I must expect to do some scrambling and not be discouraged if the amount of it happens to be more than normal."
As in golf, so in life. Perfection is difficult to come by. Although seldom attained, concentrate on the possibility of it, in whatever work is at hand.
And you ought not become discouraged when you are forced to "scramble" to do well. Leave yourself a margin for error and the errors you make won’t be as upsetting as they might otherwise be.
The next Apple Seeds planting will be in September.
Plant these "seeds" well and water often. Enjoy!
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.