Let Go...

The following is a very meaningful story which is called "Let Go", and written by Dr. Billy Graham.
A little child was playing one day with a very valuable vase. He put his hand into it and could not withdraw it. His father too, tried his best, but all in vain. They were thinking of breaking the vase when the father said, "Now, my son, make one more try. Open your hand and hold your fingers out straight as you see me doing, and then pull."
To their astonishment the little fellow said, "O no, father. I couldn't put my fingers out like that, because if I did I would drop my penny."
Smile, if you will--but thousands of us are like that little boy, so busy holding on to the world's worthless penny that we cannot accept liberation. I beg you to drop the trifle in your heart. Surrender! Let go, and let God have His way in your life.

True Definations of Words

The following words have taken on new meanings over the past few years, and here are some humorous takes on what these words now mean to a lot of people.

Blurred Vision

A businessman was highly critical of his competitors' storefront windows. "Why, they are the dirtiest windows in town," he claimed.
Fellow business people grew tired of the man's continual criticism and nitpicking comments about the windows. One day over coffee, the businessman carried the subject just too far. Before leaving, a fellow store owner suggested the man get his own windows washed.

He followed the advice, and the next day at coffee, he exclaimed, "I can't believe it. As soon as I washed my windows, my competitor must have cleaned his too. You should see them shine."
Confucius once declared, "Don't complain about the snow on your neighbor's roof when your own doorstep is unclean."

The Gossip

A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbor. Within a few days the whole community knew the story.

The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended.

Later the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue.
She was very sorry and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage.

" Go to the marketplace," he said, "and purchase a chicken, and have it killed. Then on your way home, pluck its feathers and drop them one by one along the road."
Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.

The next day the wise man said, "Now go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me."

The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay, the wind had blown the feathers all away. After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.
 
" You see," said the old sage, "it's easy to drop them, but it's impossible to get them back.
So it is with gossip. It doesn't take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong."

Things to do:

Measuring Success!

What follows is some great advice on the importance of defining success. It always amazes me how many people talk in generic terms when it comes to what success means to them. There's an old saying, if you don't know where you're headed, how can you expect to recognize it when you get
there. That holds true when it comes to knowing what success means to you. Get clear, get a picture of what it means to you, what steps you need to take to get to where you want to go. Friend, you are worth the effort it will take to do so.

As I have worked with people over the years I have seen an amazing thing. People often get frustrated because they aren't achieving "success." There are lots of possible reasons for this but one reason I have found that sticks out is that many people allow their definition of "Success" to
be driven by someone or something else.

Instead, we ought to be looking at our own, skills, opportunities, life situations, etc. to determine what it would mean for us to be a success in our own mind rather than someone else's.

Thus, the key to "Success" is all in the head - our head! We develop our own thinking about what it will mean to become a success.

The frustration comes in when we look at what someone else thinks is a success and try to attain it, only to find it elusive.

For one person, being a success may mean to make $100,000 a year. For another it may be $250,000. Another may not be concerned with the yearly income but be more concerned with a net worth.

Still another may not be motivated by money and may consider himself a success by how many street kids he gets pointed in the right direction and into a productive life.

Now the temptation would be for the person working with street kids to think they aren't a "success" because they don't make much money. The temptation for the person making $100,000 may be to think they aren't a "success" until they make $250,000. And the temptation for the person making
$250,000 may very well be to think they aren't a "success" because they aren't helping street kids! And 'round and round' it goes when we are gauging ourselves by another's measure of success.

So my advice is this: Set your own course, and stay on course. Don't measure yourself against any other standard of success. Do what you do best and the rest will take care of itself.

Here is the truth. Being a success is doing your best, not being the best.

When we get to that point, we will experience a lot more joy and a lot less frustration. And that sounds good to me!

Chris Widener

Fun Illustrations

MBA Management Lesson

MBA (Mentally Below Average) Management Lessons

LESSON 1

A junior manager, a senior manager and their boss are on their way to a meeting. On their way through a park, they come across a wonder lamp.

They rub the lamp and a ghost appears. The ghost says, "Normally, one is granted three wishes but as you are three, I will allow one wish each"

So the eager senior manager shouted, "I want the first wish. I want to be in the Bahamas , on a fast boat and have no worries." Pfufffff... And he was gone.

Now the junior manager could not keep quiet and shouted "I want to be In Florida with beautiful girls, plenty of food and cocktails." Pfufffff¡-. And he was also gone.

The boss calmly said, "I want these two idiots back in the office after lunch at 12.35pm."

MORAL OF THE STORY IS: "ALWAYS ALLOW THE BOSS TO SPEAK FIRST"


LESSON 2

Standing in front of a shredder with a piece of paper in his hand, "Listen," said the CEO, "this is a very sensitive and important document, and my secretary has left. Can you make this thing work?"

"Certainly," said the young executive.

He turned the machine on, inserted the paper, and pressed the start button.

"Excellent, excellent!" said the CEO as his paper disappeared inside the shredder machine. "I just need one copy."

MORAL OF THE STORY : "NEVER, NEVER ASSUME THAT YOUR BOSS KNOWS EVERYTHING"


LESSON 3

An American and a Japanese were sitting on the plane on the way to LA When the American turned to the Japanese and asked, "What kind of -ese are you?" The Japanese confused, replied, "Sorry but I don't understand what you mean."

The American repeated, "What kind of -ese are you?"Again, the! Japanese was confused over the question.

The American, now irritated, then yelled, "What kind of -ese are you ... Are you a Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese! Etc......??? "

The Japanese then replied, "Oh, I am Japanese."

A while later the Japanese turned to the American and asked what kind of 'key' was he.

The American, frustrated, yelled, "What do you mean what kind of -kee' am I?!"

The Japanese said, "Are you a Yankee, donkee, or monkee?"

MORAL OF THE STORY : "NEVER INSULT ANYONE"


LESSON 4

There were these 4 guys, a Russian, a German, an American and a French, who found this small genie bottle. When they rubbed the bottle, a genie  appeared. Thankful that the 4 guys had released him out of the bottle, He said, "Next to you all are 4 swimming pools, I will give each of you a  wish. When you run towards the pool and jump, you shout what you want the pool of water to become, and then your wish will come true."

The French wanted to start. He ran towards the pool, jumped and shouted, "WINE". The pool immediately changed into a pool of wine. The Frenchman was so happy swimming and drinking from the pool.

Next is the Russian's turn, he did the same and shouted, "VODKA" and immersed himself into a pool of vodka.

The German was next and he jumped and shouted, "BEER". He was so contented with his beer pool.

The last is the American. He was running towards the pool when suddenly he steps on a banana peel. He slipped towards the pool and shouted, SHIT....,


MORAL OF THE STORY : "THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU SAY SOMETHING, BECAUSE SOMETIMES ACCIDENTS DO HAPPEN"


LESSON 5

The organs of the body were having a meeting, trying to decide who was in charge. Each organ took a turn to speak up:
Brain....... .. I should be in charge because I run all body functions.
Blood....... . I should be in charge because I circulate oxygen for the brain.
Stomach... I should be in charge because I process food to the brain.
Legs........ . I should be in charge because I take the brain where it wants to go.
Eyes........ . I should be in charge because I let the brain see where it's going.
Asshole..... I should be in charge because I get rid of your waste.

All the other parts laughed so hard and this made the asshole very mad.

To prove his point, the asshole immediately slammed tightly closed and Stayed that way for 6 days, refusing to rid the body of any waste whatsoever.

Day 1 - Brain got a terrible headache and cried out for relief
Day 2 - Stomach got bloated and began to ache terribly
Day 3 - Legs got cramps and became unstable
Day 4 - Eyes became watery and vision became blurred
Day 5 ! - Blood became toxic and poisoned the body
Day 6 -The other organs agreed to let the asshole be in charge.

MORAL OF THE STORY: "NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, OR HOW IMPORTANT YOU THINK YOU ARE, YOU WILL FIND THAT IT IS ALWAYS THE ASSHOLE THAT IS IN CHARGE".

Happiness...

Garbage Truck

One day  I hopped in a taxi and we took  off for the airport. We were driving  in the right lane when suddenly a  black car jumped out of a parking  space right in front of us.  

My taxi  driver slammed on his brakes, skidded,  and missed the other car by just  inches! The driver of the other car  whipped his head around and started yelling  at us.  

My taxi  driver just smiled and waved at the  guy. And I mean he was really friendly...  So I asked, "Why did you just  do that? This guy almost ruined your  car and sent us to the hospital!" 

This is  when my taxi driver taught me what  I now call, "The Law of the  Garbage Truck."He explained that many  people are like garbage trucks. They run  around full of garbage, full of frustration,  full of anger, and full of disappointment.  

As their  garbage piles up, they need a place  to dump it and sometimes they'll dump  it on you... Don't take it personally.  Just smile, wave, wish them well, and  move on.

Don't take  their garbage and spread it to other  people at work, at home, or on the  streets. 

The bottom  line is that successful people do not  let garbage trucks take over their day.  Life's too short to wake up in the  morning with regrets, so... Love the people  who treat you right. Pray for the  ones who don't. Life is ten percent  what you make it and ninety percent  how you take it! 

Have  a blessed, garbage-free  day!

What are the hardest languages to learn?

Facing the Enemies Within

What follows is some excellent advice on "enemies" you must overcome if you wish you live up to your fullest potential. Friend, make no mistake, you've got greatness in you. The ideas below can help you unleash it, provided you're willing to consistently apply what you learn.

We are not born with courage, but neither are we born with fear. Maybe some of our fears are brought on by your own

experiences, by what someone has told you, by what you've read in the papers.

Some fears are valid, like walking alone in a bad part of town at two o'clock in the morning. But once you learn to avoid that situation, you won't need to live in fear of it. Fears, even the most basic ones, can totally destroy our ambitions. Fear can destroy fortunes. Fear can destroy relationships. Fear, if left unchecked, can destroy our lives. Fear is one of the many enemies lurking inside us.

Indifference

Let me tell you about five of the other enemies we face from within. The first enemy that you've got to destroy before it

destroys you is indifference. What a tragic disease this is. "Ho-hum, let it slide. I'll just drift along." Here's one problem with drifting: you can't drift your way to the top of the mountain.

Indecision

The second enemy we face is indecision. Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will steal your chances for a better future. Take a sword to this enemy.

Doubt

The third enemy inside is doubt. Sure, there's room for healthy scepticism. You can't believe everything. But you also can't let doubt take over. Many people doubt the past, doubt the future, doubt each other, doubt the government, doubt the possibilities and doubt the opportunities. Worse of all, they doubt themselves. I'm telling you, doubt will destroy your life and your chances of success. It will empty both your bank account and your heart. Doubt is an enemy Go after it. Get rid of it.

Worry

The fourth enemy within is worry. We've all got to worry some. Just don't let it conquer you. Instead, let it alarm you. Worry can be useful. If you step off the curb in New York City and a taxi is coming, you've got to worry. But you can't let worry loose like a mad dog that drives you into a small corner. Here's what you've got to do with your worries: drive them into a small corner. Whatever is out to get you, you've got to get it. Whatever is pushing on you, you've got to push back.

Over-Caution

The fifth interior enemy is over-caution. It is the timid approach to life. Timidity is not a virtue; it's an illness. If you let it go, it'll conquer you. Timid people don't get promoted. They don't advance and grow and become powerful in the marketplace. You've got to avoid over-caution.

Do battle with the enemy. Do battle with your fears. Build your courage to fight what's holding you back, what's keeping you from your goals and dreams. Be courageous in your life and in your pursuit of the things you want and the person you want to become.