I got up early one morning and rushed right into the day I had so much to accomplish that I didn’t have time to pray.

Problems just tumbled about me, and heavier came each task, “why doesn’t God help me?” I wondered. He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty, but the day toiled on gray and bleak; I wondered why God didn’t show me. He said, “But you didn’t seek.”

I tried to come into God’s presence; I used all my keys at the lock, God gently and lovingly chided,” My child, you didn’t knock,”

I woke up early this morning and paused before entering the day; I had so much to accomplish that I had to take time to pray. (Luke 11:9-10)

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When things go wrong as they sometimes will.
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill.
When funds are low and the debts are high.
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit
It's when things seem worst that you must not QUIT.
- unknown author

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If standard of living is your major objective, quality of life almost never improves, but if quality of life is your number one objective, your standard of living almost always improves.

The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to his or her commitment to excellence, regardless of his or her chosen field of endeavor.
- Zig Ziglar

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(excerpted from the book, The Power of Attitude)
One of the most wonderful things about having a positive attitude is the number of people it touches, many times in ways you'll never know.

Recently, I stopped by a convenience store to get a newspaper and a pack of gum. The young woman at the check-out counter said, "That'll be five dollars please," and as I reached into my wallet, the thought occurred to me that a newspaper and gum didn't quite make it to five dollars.

When I looked up to get a "re-quote," she had a big smile on her face and said, "Gotcha! I got to get my tip in there somehow!" I laughed when I knew I'd been had. She then glanced down at the paper I was buying and said, "I´m sick and tired of all this negative stuff on the front pages. I want to read some good news for a change." She then said, "In fact, I think someone should just publish a Good News newspaper – a paper with wonderful, inspirational stories about people overcoming adversity and doing good things for others. I'd buy one every day!"

She then thanked me for coming in and said, "Maybe we'll get lucky tomorrow; maybe we'll get some good news," and she laughed. She made my day.

The following day after my business appointments, I dropped by the same store again to pick up bottled water, but a different young lady was behind the counter. As I checked out I said, "Good afternoon" and handed her my money for the water. She said nothing – not a word, not a smile… nothing. She just handed me my change and in a negative tone ordered…"Next!"

It hit me right between the eyes: Two people, same age; one made me feel great, and the other, well, made me feel that I had inconvenienced her by showing up.
By the choices we make, by the attitudes we exhibit, we are influencing lives every day in positive or negative ways… our family, our peers, our friends, and even strangers we've never met before and will never meet again.

So when you brush your teeth every morning, look in the mirror and ask yourself this important question, ‘Who do I want to be today? "The Grouch" or "The Good News Girl?"´ Your answer will go a long way toward determining the joy and happiness that you will experience in your life.

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Trouble arrives in measures,
and we stack it up real high,
until we're convinced,
we have no reason to try.

If you feel defeated,
you're absolutely wrong,
for if you follow your dream,
you could never lose for long.

Ignore the minor set-backs
that pile up and trouble you,
or you will build a mountain,
out of the stones hurled at you.

The future holds great promise,
your destiny unknown,
but God is always helping,
and you're never alone.

Soar bravely toward your goal.
Let nothing darken the way.
You can change your tomorrow,
if you seek your dream today.

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It’s not the situation, but whether we react (negative)
or respond (positive) to the situation that’s important.
There’s not a lot you can do about the national economy
but there is a lot you can do about your personal economy.(Zig Ziglar)

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This feeling of “I can’t” begins the development of the fear of failure. If you are discouraged or punished too often as a child, very early in life you will become fearful of trying new things. This fear will then carry over into later childhood, adolescence and adult life. Thereafter, whenever you think of doing something new or different, something that entails risk or uncertainty, your first reaction will be “I can’t!” As soon as you say the words “I can’t” to yourself, you will begin immediately to think of all the reasons why such a thing is not possible for you.

You will think and talk in terms of failure, rather than success. You will think of the uncertainties and all the possible risks of loss that may occur. Before you even try something new, you will talk yourself out of it.

The most powerful words that you can repeat, over and over, to neutralize and overcome the fear of failure, are the words, “I can do it! I can do it!”
The kindest words that a parent can tell his or her child, in addition to the words “I love you,” are the words “You can do anything that you set your mind to.” It is amazing how many people’s lives have been dramatically affected by the influence of a single person, a parent, relative or friend, who simply told them, over and over again, “You can do it.”

--- Taken from book "The Miliion Dollar Habits by Brian Tracy"

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K-I-N-D

When you can’t be anything else, you can still be kind. No matter how you’re feeling, or what you want to communicate to your husband, there is always the option to say things kindly and treat him kindly.

Here’s a simple tool for remembering what marital kindness is all about.

K – Keep a soft heart. If your heart is hardening toward your husband, examine the way you’re choosing to think about his faults and weaknesses.

I – Indulge him every once in a while. Let him have his way.

N – Notice what’s going on in his life. Be attentive and supportive.

D – Decide to be kind, even when you don’t feel like it.

Kindness is like a spa treatment for your marriage, it soothes and calms. It can also improve your friendship with your husband. Learn how to become, or stay best friends with him

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by Dr. Denis Waitley
(This poem was taken from Denis Waitley's Excerpts from The Seeds of Greatness Treasury booklet)

I have a little robot,

That goes around with me.

I tell him what I'm thinking,

I tell him what I see,

I tell my little robot,

All my hopes and fears.

He listens and remembers,

All my joys and tears.

At first my little robot,

Followed my command,

But after years of training,

He's gotten out of hand.

He doesn't care what's right or wrong,

Or what is false or true.

No matter what I try now,

He tells me what to do!

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The basic goal-reaching principle is to understand that you go as far as you can see, and when you get there you will always be able to see farther.

Zig Ziglar

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by Jim Rohn

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

Don't become a victim of yourself. Forget about the thief waiting in the alley; what about the thief in your mind?

It is not what happens that determines the major part of your future. What happens, happens to us all. It is what you do about what happens that counts.

You say, "The country is messed up." That's like cursing the soil and the seed and the sunshine and the rain, which is all you've got. Don't curse all you've got. When you get your own planet, you can rearrange this whole deal. This one you've got to take like it comes.

Walk away from the 97% crowd. Don't use their excuses. Take charge of your own life.

Take advice, but not orders. Only give yourself orders. Abraham Lincoln once said, "Since I will be no one's slave, I will be no one's master."

You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of. You don't have charge of the constellations, but you do have charge of whether you read, develop new skills, and take new classes.

Your paycheck is not your employer's responsibility; it's your responsibility. Your employer has no control over your value, but you do.

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by Jim Rohn

When it comes to meeting and conquering the negativity in your life, here is a key question: what can you do, starting today, that will make a difference? What can you do during economic chaos? What can you do when everything has gone wrong? What can you do when you've run out of money, when you don't feel well and it's all gone sour? What can you do?

Let me give you the broad answer first. You can do the most remarkable things, no matter what happens. People can do incredible things, unbelievable things, despite the most impossible or disastrous circumstances.

Here is why humans can do remarkable things: because they are remarkable. Humans are different than any other creation. When a dog starts with weeds, he winds up with weeds. And the reason is because he's a dog. But that's not true with human beings. Humans can turn weeds into gardens.

Humans can turn nothing into something, pennies into fortune, and disaster into success. And the reason they can do such remarkable things is because they are remarkable. Try reaching down inside of yourself; you'll come up with some more of those remarkable human gifts. They're there, waiting to be discovered and employed.

With those gifts, you can change anything for yourself that you wish to change. And I challenge you to do that because you can change. If you don't like how something is going for you, change it. If something isn't enough, change it. If something doesn't suit you; change it. If something doesn't please you, change it. You don't ever have to be the same after today. If you don't like your present address, change it — you're not a tree!

If there is one thing to get excited about, it's your ability to make yourself do the necessary things, to get a desired result, to turn the negative into success. That's true excitement.

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By: Brian Tracy

Get the Cooperation of Others

Empowering people is the key to building a high-performance team. Once you empower people by learning how to motivate and inspire them, they will want to work with you to help you achieve your goals in everything you do. Your ability to enlist the knowledge, energy and resources of others enables you to become a multiplication sign, to leverage yourself so that you accomplish far more than the average person and in a far shorter period of time.

Determine the Key People to Empower

There are three types of people that you want to and need to empower on a regular basis. They are, first of all, the people closest to you: your family, your friends, your spouse and your children. Second are your work relationships: your staff, your coworkers, your peers, your colleagues and even your boss. Third are all the other people that you interact with in your day-to-day life: your customers, your suppliers, your banker, the people with whom you deal in stores, restaurants, airplanes, hotels and everywhere else. In each case, your ability to get people to help you is what will make you a more powerful and effective person.

Always Be Positive

Empower means "putting power into," and it can also mean "bringing energy and enthusiasm out of." So the first step in empowering people is to refrain from doing anything that disempowers them or reduces their energy and enthusiasm for what they are doing.

There are things you can do every single day to empower people and make them feel good about themselves.

Satisfy the Deepest Needs

The deepest need that each person has is for self-esteem, a sense of being important, valuable and worthwhile. Everything that you do in your interactions with others affects their self-esteem in some way. You already have an excellent frame of reference to determine the things that you can do to boost the self-esteem and therefore the sense of personal power of those around you. Give them what you'd like for yourself.

Continually Express Appreciation

Perhaps the simplest way to make another person feel good about himself or herself is your continuous expressions of appreciation for everything that person does for you, large or small. Say "thank you" on every occasion.

Thank your spouse for everything that he or she does for you. Thank your children for their cooperation and support in everything that they do around the house. Thank your friends for the smallest acts of kindnesses. The more you thank other people for doing things for you, the more things those other people will want to do.

Action Exercises

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, continually look for ways to make people feel more valuable and important. Say things to others that you would like others to say to you.

Second, express appreciation for everything anyone does for you, large or small. Say the words, "thank you" on every occasion.

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