Sharpen your axe

John, a woodcutter, worked for a Company for five years but never got a raise. The Company hired Bill and within a year he got a promotion. This caused resentment in John and he went to his Boss to talk about it.

The Boss said, "You are still cutting the same number of trees you were cutting five years ago. We are a result-oriented company and would be happy to give you a raise if your productivity goes up."

John went back started hitting harder and putting in longer hours but he still wasn't able to cut more trees. He went back to his Boss and told him his dilemma.

The Boss asked John to go and talk to Bill. "Maybe there is something Bill knows that you and I don't."

John asked Bill how he managed to cut more trees. Bill answered, "After every tree I cut, I take a break for two minutes and sharpen my axe. When was the last time you sharpened your axe?"

This question hit like a bullet and John got his answer.

"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?"
If you want to progress in life, you cannot rest on your past achievements. You must continuously sharpen your axe of knowledge, skills and expertise in whatever field of activity you may be in!

Lead a Fisherman's Life

Silhouette Of Boy Fishing At Sunset
An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long he took to catch them.

The fisherman replied, "Only a little while."

The banker then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fishes?"

The fisherman said, "With this, I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The banker then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, go for walks with my wife, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. As you can
see, I have a full and busy life."

The banker scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat! With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling
your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to a processor, eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, process and the distribution. You would need to leave this small fishing village and move to the capital city. After that, who knows, maybe you could take on the world!"

The fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?"

To which the banker replied, "I'd say about 15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the fisherman.

The banker laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions? Then what…?" asked the fisherman.

The banker said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, go for romantic walks with your wife, and in the evenings you could sip wine, play guitar and sing songs with your friends!"

To which the fisherman mused, "Now isn't that strange? Isn't that what I'm doing now?"

"Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast, you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
- Eddie Cantor

Enjoy the cup of Coffee

Café Espresso
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university Professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the Prof went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said “If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups.”

Now, if Life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it.

So friend, don't let the cups drive you, enjoy the coffee instead.

The Cracked Pot

Meadow Suite I
Count the garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall.
Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll.

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you".

“Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack on my side which causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it somehow. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."


Moral of the Story:
Each of us has our own unique flaws - we are all cracked pots. But it is the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. Tap on the cracks in those around you to make flowers. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. There is a lot of good out there and there is a lot of good in all of us!

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of Oolong tea

Tea leaves steep in a cup of hot water for green tea
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed Oolong tea. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in another bowl.

Then she ladled the Oolong out and placed it in the third bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and Oolong tea," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed a hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the Oolong tea. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. However each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The Oolong tea was unique, however. After they were put into the boiling water , they had changed the water color and taste.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the Oolong tea? The tea actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the tea, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a Oolong tea?

"People are like tea bags.
You have to put them into hot water before you can know how strong they are."

Life is too short for any regrets

Gifts of Time II
A man is on the verge of dying.

His dream came to pay its last respects and bid farewell to the man who had never used it.

As it entered the room the man looked down in shame.
“Why did you not realise me?” the dream asked.

“Because I was afraid,” the man said.

“Afraid of what?” asked the dream.

“I was afraid I would fail.”

“But haven’t you failed by not attempting to use me?”

“Yes I have, but I always thought there would be tomorrow.”

“You fool!” said the dream, “Did it never occur to you that there was only ever today… the moment that you are in right now? Do you think that now that death is here you can put it off until tomorrow?”

“No.” said the man, a tear gently rolling down his cheek.

The dream was softer now, because it knew that there were two types of pain - the pain of discipline, and the pain of regret - and while discipline weighs ounces, regret weighs pounds.

Then the dream leaned forward to gently wipe away the tear and said, “You need only have taken the first step and I would have taken one to meet you, for the only thing that ever separated us was the belief in your mind that you couldn’t have me.”

The Story of Love

Love And Dreams
A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said, “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.”

“Is the man of the house home?” they asked.

“No”, she said. “He’s out.”

“Then we cannot come in”, they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. “Go tell them I am home and invite them in,” he said.

The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a house together,” they replied.

“Why is that?” she wanted to know.

One of the old men explained: “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!” he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!”

His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?”

Their daughter-in-law who was listening from the other corner of the house, jumped in with her own suggestion: “Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!”

“Let us heed our daughter-in-law’s advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”

The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.” Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love, why are you coming in?”

The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!”

Cherish Happiness

Words to Live By, Begin Each Day

The angel asked, "You aren't happy. How can I help you?"

The poet replied, "I have everything. But I lack only one thing. Can you give it to me?"

To which the angel happily said, "Sure. I can give you anything you desired."

The poet stared right into the angel's eyes, "I want happiness."

"All right," the angel nodded. And the angel proceed to take away everything the poet possessed. The angel took away the poet's talent, destroyed his looks, robbed his riches and killed his wife. The angel then left.

A month later, the angel appeared in front of the poet. The poet was lying on the ground, half dead, hungry and struggling for survival. The angel then returned him everything he once
possessed and left again.

Two weeks later, the angel paid a visit to the poet. This time, the poet, together with his wife, thanked the angel profusely. He finally found happiness.

Often, a person need to lose everything before he/she learns how to cherish.

Actually, happiness is right in front of you. Just what is happiness?

When you are hungry, a bowl of hot noodle in front of you is happiness.
When you are tired, a soft bed is happiness.
When you are crying, a gentle tissue is happiness.

The Man By The Window

Step into a Dream

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had traveled to. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band ­ he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said that perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.

There is tremendous happiness in encouraging others and giving them hopes despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

The Power Of Perspective

Sleepy Hollow Farm, Woodstock, VT

One day, a rich father took his young son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night in the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

Very good, Dad!"

"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.

"Yeah!"

"And what did you learn?" the father asked again.

The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, but they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lamps in the garden, while they have the stars.

Our patio reaches to the front yard, yet they have a whole horizon."

When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.

His son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are!"

Moral of the story:
Isn't it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humour and a positive attitude towards life, you've got everything! Because you can't buy any of these things.

You can have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc., but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!

There's a solution to every problem

Pebbles Form Patterns on a Sandy Ocean Tidal Flat at Sunset, Australia
Many years ago in a small village, there was a farmer who owed a large sum of money to a village money lender.

The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter.

He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into the jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. As they were talking, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field, what would you do if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Well, here is what she did ….

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me,” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the other one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

Moral of the story:
In life, we are bound to face problems and obstacles, believe that you can overcome any difficulty which is there to test on your determination to succeed, believe in yourself that you can find the solutions. Be positive and don't give up so easily.

The Power of Words

The Family

A group of frogs were travelling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

The Moral of the Story:
1. An encouraging word to someone who is down can encourage them to achieve their goal.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can have negative effects, so be careful of what you say.

It's more blessed to Give than to receive

One day, a young man, a student in the university, was taking a walk with a professor, who was commonly called the students' friend for his kindness to those who waited on his instructions.

As they walked, they saw a pair of old shoes lying in the path, which was supposed to belong to a poor man who was working in a field close by, and who had nearly finished his day's work . . .

The student turned to the professor and said "Let us play a trick on the man. We will hide his shoes, and hide ourselves behind those bushes, then we'll wait to see the anxiety on his face when he cannot find them ..."

"My young friend," answered the professor, "We should never amuse ourselves at the expense of the poor . . As you are rich, maybe you will give yourself much greater pleasure by helping this poor man. Put a coin in each shoe, and then we will hide ourselves and watch how this affects him."

The student did so and they hid themselves behind the bushes nearby. The poor man soon finished his work, and walked across the field to the path where he had left his coat and shoes. While putting on his coat, he slipped his foot into one of his shoes, however he felt something hard inside. So he stooped down to feel what it was, and he found the coin. Astonishment and wonder were seen upon his countenance.

He gazed upon the coin, turned it around and looked at it again and again. He then looked around to see if there is anyone, but there was no one to be seen. He put the coin into his pocket, and proceeded to put on the other shoe; to his surprise he found another coin inside the shoe.

His feelings overcame him . . . he fell upon his knees, looked up to heaven and uttered aloud a fervent thanksgiving in which he spoke of his wife, sick and helpless, and his children without bread, whom this timely bounty, from some unknown hand, would save from perishing . . .

The student stood there deeply affected, and his eyes filled with tears.

"Now," said the professor, are you not much better pleased than if you had played your intended trick?"

The youth replied, "You have taught me a lesson which I will never forget. .. I feel now the truth of these words, which I never understood before: "It's more blessed to give than to receive."

The Mouse Trap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house - like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbours came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

The Moral of the Story:
The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember - when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage and help one another.

Help Your Neigbours Grow Good Corn

Cornfield at Sunrise

This is a story of a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it wins a blue ribbon.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering in corn competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn"

He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves.

The Moral of the Story:
If we want to grow good corn, we must help our neighbours grow good corn.

This is the same with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbours to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

It is the Small Things that Make A Big Difference

Starfish

There was a man taking a morning walk at the beach. He saw that along with the morning tide came hundreds of starfish and when the tide receded, they were left behind and with the morning sunrays, they would die.

The tide was fresh and the starfish were alive. The man took a few steps, picked one and threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. Right behind him there was another person who couldn't understand what this man was doing.

He caught up with him and asked "What are you doing? There are hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What difference does it make?"

This man did not reply, he took two more steps, picked up another one, threw into the water and said, "It makes a difference to this one."

Moral of the Story:
We all can make a difference to the lives of others - big or small, it doesn't matter.
If everyone makes a small difference, we would end up with a big difference, wouldn't we?

The Professor and the Jar

This is a story that many of us should have read at least once because it is so widely shared in emails. If you have forgotten what it is about, perhaps you should read it one more time here.

A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the Professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The Professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The Professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the space between the grains of sand.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else -the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children, bring them to the beach. Take time to get medical checkups. Spend time with your parents. Take your partner out to dinner.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The Professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple cups of coffee with a friend."

The Shoe Salesman

There was a successful company that manufactured and sold shoes. One day the management had a meeting to consider opening their market in Africa. They sent one of their top salesman to Africa to make a study of the market potential there.

Upon arriving in Africa, he noticed that most of the Africans were bare-footed. He faxed back a message to his office "Bad news, nobody wears shoes here!" And he followed up with the report that there is no market for shoes in Africa.

The management considered that it would be wise to have a second opinion, and so they decided to send another salesman to Africa to assess the market there.

Upon arrival in Africa, the second salesman was so excited that he quickly faxed a message back, "Good news, nobody wears shoes here!" He hurried back and reported to the management, "Gentlemen, we are going to be "rich", there is a big market in Africa, and what we need to do is to educate them on the benefits and importance of wearing shoes."

Moral of the Story:
Life is how we perceive of it. There is a positive side and a negative side to everything and every circumstances. You can either look a cup as "half full" or "half empty". The choice is yours and yours alone. But remember that the choices you make will determine your success or failure.

The Daffodil Principle

The following story makes me think of this quote by Confucius - "A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins with a Single Step."

We often heard "Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today." But how many of us keep putting off doing things which will make us happy or feel fulfilled?

We delay and delay, we habitually procrastinate, we come out with many supporting excuses to wait until the arrival of "one fine day" but we never give one deserving reason to start.

Don't wait anymore, JUST DO IT! Start TODAY, Start NOW, begin one step at a time..... Visualise a beautiful garden with blooming flowers of different colours and colourful butterflies resting on the petals...


Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over."

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead . "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"
My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "Please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, " Daffodil Garden ." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world .

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said.

She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting.....

Until your car or home is paid off

Until you get a new car or home

Until you lose 10 lbs.

Until you get married

Until you have kids

Until the kids go to school

Until you retire

Until summer

Until spring

Until winter

Until fall

Until you die...

Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.

******
There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money.
Love like you've never been hurt, and,
Dance like no one's watching.

Wishing you a beautiful, Daffodil day!

A Beautiful Day

I love to receive nice, interesting & meaningful emails and sms from friends and likewise I love sharing these with friends and family so I will be putting those nice ones in my blog. Here is a nice short story, do share it with your friends. =)


A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help!" There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, 'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'

The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.'
What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.'

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?

Of course both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story:
Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
Don't underestimate the power of words.

"Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets.
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.
Face your past without regret.
Handle your present with confidence.
Prepare for the future without fear.
Keep the faith and drop the fear. "