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Good Morning Freedom Fighters and Truth Seekers,
As we open this new year, we want to wish all of our readers a
best-of-the-best 2006. There will be many opportunities for each of us
to make a difference in the political process if we are willing to
stand up to the rhetorical gibberish that is coming from the
"politicians" from both parties. We need to seek out those statesmen
and stateswomen whose strength of conviction to principle gives them
the integrity to take the leadership positions and begin speaking out
for what is right because it is the right and necessary thing to do.
For Our Liberal Friends:
"Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes
for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress,
non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice
holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the
religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your
choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or
traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or
secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful,
personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the
onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due
respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose
contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply
that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only
America in the Western Hemisphere. And without regard to the race,
creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual
preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings you are
accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or
withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the
original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually
implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and is
void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of
the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the
usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the
issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and
warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new
wish at the sole discretion of the wisher."
For Our Conservative Friends:
Here's wishing all of You a Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a very
Happy New Year
Hope you will keep this issue around for most of this year. There are
some very powerful snipits of brilliance and wisdom as well as some
good old common sense in the words from the past and present.
The Foundations
"Whatever may be the judgement pronounced on the competency of the
architects of the Constitution, or whatever may be the destiny
of the edifice prepared by them, I feel it a duty to express my
profound and solemn conviction...that there never was an assembly
of men, charged with a great and arduous trust, who were more
pure in their motives, or more exclusively or anxiously devoted
to the object committed to them."
--James Madison
"Still continuing no less attached to union than enamored of
liberty, they observed the danger which immediately threatened
the former and more remotely the latter; and being persuaded
that ample security for both could only be found in a national
government more wisely framed, they as with one voice, convened
the late convention at Philadelphia, to take that important
subject under consideration."
--John Jay, Federalist No. 2
"Jefferson was against any needless official apparel, but if the
judicial gown was to carry, he said: "For Heaven's sake discard
the monstrous wig which makes the English judges look like rats
peeping through bunches of oakum."
--Thomas Jefferson
"[I]t now remains to be my earnest wish and prayer, that the Citizens
of the United States could make a wise and virtuous use of the
blessings placed before them."
--George Washington
"The belief in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the
moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments
which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with
too much solicitude to the different characters and capacities
impressed with it."
--James Madison
"Liberty is to faction what air is
to fire, an aliment without
which it instantly expires.
But it could
not be less folly to
abolish liberty, which is essential to
political life,
because
it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the
annihilation
of
air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to
fire
its
destructive agency."
--James Madison, Federalist No.
10
"The
belief in a God All Powerful wise and good, is so essential to the
moral order
of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce
it cannot
be drawn from too many sources nor adapted with too much solicitude to
the
different characters and capacities impressed with it."
-- James
Madison
"The construction applied...to those parts of the
Constitution
of the United States which delegate Congress a power...ought not to be
construed
as themselves to give unlimited powers, nor a part to be so taken as to
destroy
the whole residue of that instrument."
--Thomas
Jefferson
"There are certain social principles in human
nature, from
which we
may draw the most solid conclusions with respect to the
conduct
of
individuals and of communities. We love our families
more
than
our neighbors; we love our neighbors more than our
countrymen
in
general. The human affections, like solar heat, lose
their
intensity as
they depart from the center.... On these principles,
the attachment
of the
individual will be first and for ever secured
by the State
governments.
They will be a mutual protection and
support."
--Alexander
Hamilton
"Without justice being freely, fully, and
impartially
administered,
neither our persons, nor our rights, nor our property,
can
be protected. And if these, or either of them, are
regulated
by
no certain laws, and are subject to no certain principles,
and are
held by no
certain tenure, and are redressed, when
violated, by no certain
remedies,
society fails of all its value;
and men may as well return to a
state of
savage and barbarous
independence."
--Joseph
Story
INSIGHT
"To those who cite the
First
Amendment as reason for excluding God from more and more of our
institutions
every day, I say: The First Amendment of the Constitution was not
written to
protect the people of this country from religious values; it was
written to
protect religious values from government tyranny."
--Ronald Reagan
"We'd all like to vote for the best man but he's never a
candidate."
--Kin Hummbard
"When they call the roll in the Senate, the
senators
do not know whether to answer 'present' or 'guilty'."
--Theodore
Roosevelt
"Congress is so strange. A man gets up to speak and says
nothing. Nobody
listens -- and then everybody disagrees."
--Boris Marshalov
"We may
not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex -- but
Congress
can."
--Cullen Hightower
"In your country club, your
church, and
business, about fifteen percent of the people are screwballs,
lightweights, and
boobs, and you would not want those people unrepresented in Congress."
--Alan Simpson
"This country has come to feel the same when
Congress
is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer."
--Will
Rogers
"Get all the fools on your side and you can be elected to
anything."
--Frank Dane
"If you will think about what you ought to do
for other
people, your character will take care of itself. Character is a
by-product, and
any man who devotes himself to its cultivation in his own case will
become a
selfish prig."
--Woodrow Wilson
UPRIGHT
"Social
Security in any form is morally irredeemable. We should be debating,
not how to
save Social Security, but how to end it -- how to phase it out so as to
best
protect both the rights of those who have paid into it, and those who
are forced
to pay for it today. This will be a painful task. But it will make
possible a
world in which Americans enjoy far greater freedom to secure their own
futures."
--Alex Epstein
"While Senator [Bill] Frist has 55 Senate
Republicans
he does not have 55 conservatives."
--Paul Weyrich
"What
the
Minutemen proved to the American people was this: The federal
government can do
something about illegal immigration other than to raise a white flag
and
surrender to the invasion on our southern border."
--Rep. J.D.
Hayworth
IChThUS IMPRIMIS
"No man or woman of any
faith or
of no faith can truly love, truly serve, truly persevere, truly dare
mighty
deeds, truly hope for the future or truly honor the past, without a
humble
heart. So it is for humility, then, that, on behalf of the legislative
branch --
both houses, both parties -- I ask for your prayers today. Because the
only way
we can serve well is to serve humbly, as servants both to God and our
nation."
--House Majority Leader Tom DeLay
FAMILY
"[C]ultural
trends minimize parents, especially fathers, as ignorant rubes while
elevating
children as intellectually superior, and surely far cooler.
Underpinning these
trends is the governing assumption that parents are not competent to
raise their
own children. Granted there are plenty of bad parents out there -- many
of them
sitting in corporate board rooms and legislative bodies -- but most
parents have
their children's best interests at heart. They also know that abortion,
more
than a surgical procedure, is an emotional, often life-altering process
that
doesn't end when you cross a state line. Mothers and fathers may be
disagreeable
at times, but a pregnant girl needs her parents more than she needs a
special-interest group or a politician or a lousy boyfriend -- none of
whom love
her as much."
--Kathleen Parker Restore the foundations!
CULTURE
"For now the Coalition of the Evil is
stepping
up the carnage [in Iraq] assisted by this recent innovation of
attacking
rescuers and onlookers. Perhaps the intelligentsia in France, Germany,
and the
other European countries who are so critical of our Iraqi presence will
expatiate on this innovation in their scholarly seminars and their
cafes. Some
of Old Europe's most robust thinking is done in cafes. In Paris in the
early
1940s celebrated intellectuals such as Jean-Paul Sartre discoursed on
the
vulgarity of the English-speaking leaders as the Nazi tourists strolled
by. Old
Europe's history of appeasement goes back a long way and has taught
today's
appeasers nothing."
--R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.
LIBERTY
"Here's my question for you: What are we
to make
of people who preach pessimism and doom to people -- telling them that
they're
poor because others are rich or telling blacks that they'll never make
it
because of societal racism? What are we to make of politicians, media
pundits
and college professors who preach the politics of envy -- telling
people lies
that the rich became rich off the backs of the poor? I grew up poor in
a housing
project in North Philadelphia, and those weren't the lessons prevalent
a
half-century ago. My mother used to preach that 'We have a beer
pocketbook but
champagne tastes.' And my stepfather used to admonish, 'If you want to
make it
in this world, you have to come early and stay late.' Those messages
are far
more beneficial to a poor person than those of victimhood and pity.
Personally,
I like evangelical minister Reverend Ike's response when asked what
should we do
about the poor. He said, 'The best thing you can do for the poor is not
become
one'."
--Walter Williams
THE GIPPER
"To our
mothers we
owe our highest esteem, for it is from their gift of life that the flow
of
events begins that shapes our destiny. A mother's love, nurturing and
beliefs
are among the strongest influences molding the development and
character of our
youngsters. As Henry Ward Beecher wrote, 'What a mother sings to the
cradle goes
all the way down to the coffin'."
--Ronald Reagan
OPINION IN
BRIEF
"Today the Democrats are the party of reactionary
liberalism.
Republicans are the true progressives. ... The Democrats and
Republicans
switched roles while no one was looking. ... Democrats are the Stand
Still
party. They adore the status quo. Conservatives won't settle for the
status quo.
They want this nation to champion justice, humanity, democracy.
Democrats want
America to tip-toe around the globe minding its own business, upsetting
no one,
venerating the Earth, etc. Why did Democrats leap to label Afghanistan
and Iraq
'new Vietnams'? Vietnam was 30-plus years ago! But for Democrats it is
always
1974. Things change -- but Democrats don't."
--David Gelernter
GOVERNMENT
"Republican irony rarely befits
conservative
ends. Richard Nixon went to China and detente followed. George H.W.
Bush raised
taxes and lost an election. George W. Bush pushed a $17 trillion dollar
prescription-drug entitlement that mimicked Lyndon Johnson's expansions
of the
welfare state. Congressional Republicans are playing the irony card
again by
proposing to 'reform' campaign finance by eliminating 527 groups. The
irony is
undeniable. Until the enactment of McCain-Feingold in 2002, Republicans
opposed
restrictions on campaign finance. In part they did so for partisan
reasons; they
expected regulations would favor the Democrats and harm the Republican
Party.
That's not surprising. After all, the Democrats supported 'reform' for
the same
reason. For all the talk about corruption, the politics of
campaign-finance
regulation looked a lot like politics in general. Principles followed
partisan
interests. Sometime in the 1990s this familiar story began to change.
Led by
Sen. Mitch McConnell, congressional Republicans started arguing that
campaign-finance restrictions threatened freedom of speech. And they
believed
it. ... McCain-Feingold changed everything for both parties. About 20
percent of
congressional Republicans ignored party leaders and voted to enact the
law.
Those Republicans largely represented Democrat districts. They were
vulnerable
to electoral defeat and welcomed the incumbent protections offered by
McCain-Feingold. Many Republicans thus learned how campaign-finance
restrictions
could defend the Republican Party majority in Congress. ... The current
effort
to restrict 527s [groups not so restricted by McCain-Feingold incumbent
protection] betrays Republican principles, especially their repeated
commitment
to limited, constitutional government. The Republican Party along with
Democrats
and everyone else are better off if citizens can spend what they like
on
political struggle. That's the American way, and once it was the
Republican way.
It should be so again." --John Samples
EDITORIAL
EXEGESIS
"With a showdown looming over the filibuster of
judicial
nominees, now is the time to point out another abuse of the Senate's
'advise and
consent' power. It's called the 'hold,' whereby an individual Senator
can delay
indefinitely a Presidential nomination, and it is seriously interfering
with the
operation of the executive branch. Call it every Senator's personal
'nuclear
option.' If he doesn't like a nominee or, more likely, doesn't like a
policy of
the agency to which the nominee is headed, all he has to do is inform
his party
leader that he is placing a hold on the nomination. Oh -- and he can do
so
secretly, without releasing his name or a reason. Like the filibuster,
the hold
appears nowhere in the Constitution but has evolved as Senators accrete
more
power to themselves. Senate rules say nothing about holds, which
started out as
a courtesy for Members who couldn't be present at votes. ... Also like
the
filibuster -- which was never intended to block judicial nominees from
getting a
floor vote -- the hold is being abused by a willful minority of
Senators. ...
Once upon a time in America, such policy disputes were settled in
elections or
with votes in Congress. But in today's permanent political combat,
Senators wage
guerrilla warfare against the executive. No wonder so few talented
people want
to work in Washington. Senator Wyden and Republican Charles Grassley
plan to
re-introduce legislation next month to kill holds that are secret.
Better yet
would be to get rid of all Senate holds." --The Wall Street
Journal
DEZINFORMATSIA
The world according to
Maureen:
"Dick Cheney intimidated C.I.A. analysts before the war. And he and
President
Bush let North Korea and Iran race ahead with their nuclear programs,
and let
Osama roam free, while they indulged their ide fixe on Iraq. Their
reward? A
second term. In the Bush 41 era, good manners and judiciousness were
prized. In
Bush 43's Washington, bristling and bullying are the cardinal virtues.
Putting
an ideological filter on reality is a good career move." --Maureen Dowd
This
week's "Propagandum Magnum" Award: "Mr. President, your State
Department has
reported that terrorist attacks around the world are at an all-time
high. If
we're winning the war on terrorism, as you say, how do you explain that
more
people are dying in terrorist attacks on your watch than ever before?"
--ABC's
Terry Moran Could it possibly have anything to do with desperate
terrorists?Reading the Demo cue cards: "Sir, you've talked all
around the
country about the poisonous partisan atmosphere here in Washington. I
wonder why
do you think that is? And do you personally bear any responsibility in
having
contributed to this atmosphere?" --Ed Chen, Los Angeles Times to
President Bush Getting it right and hammering the Demos: "You [Senator
Leahy]
said, 'I have stated over and over again that I would object and fight
against
any filibuster on a judge, whether it is somebody I opposed or
supported, that I
felt the Senate should do its duty.' Then, in September 1999, you spoke
again of
filibusters: 'I think that is unfair to the judiciary, it is unfair to
the
nominees, and, frankly, it demeans the Senate.' ... Why were
filibusters so
terrible back in 1999, but they're legitimate now?" --Chris Wallace to
Senator
Leahy on the filibuster From the "Keen Sense of the Obvious" Files:
High Schools Hope Education Is the Answer" --headline, Press
Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Let's not get carried away
now!
"Did anyone besides me notice that at his Thursday
night
press conference President Bush did not get a single question about
immigration,
legal or otherwise? ... Apparently, the concern many Americans have
regarding
illegal immigration does not extend to the national news media." --Lyn
Nofiziger
"America's founders, informed by their Christian understanding
of the
Fall, provided for a system of checks and balances so that no one
branch of
government would have power over the other. But today a minority in the
Congress
is holding hostage judges named to the court. This is a fundamental
assault on
an independent judiciary and, thus, a violation of the balance of
powers."
--Chuck Colson
"Anyone who was shocked by the most recent
revelations of
sexual misconduct by United Nations staff has never set foot in a
UN-sponsored
refugee camp. Sex crimes are only one especially disturbing symptom of
a culture
of abuse that exists in the United Nations precisely because the United
Nations
and its staff lack accountability." --Peter Dennis
"[F]or all
the
big-hearted Texan backslapping, the Bush-Blair chumminess has always
been
overstated. Dubya and [Blair] agree on the war on terror, and that's
about it.
On everything else -- the UN, Kyoto, the International Criminal Court,
Iran's
nuclear program -- Blair is all but indistinguishable from Jacques
Chirac."
--Mark Steyn
POLITICAL FUTURES
"There seems to be
a great
temptation among the elected to confuse what they wish to be the case
with the
actual facts on the ground outside of Washington. Outside of the war on
terrorism, there are few issues that the base of the Republican Party
deem more
significant than the selection and confirmation of judges. It is far
more
important than tax cutting, far more important than energy policy, far
more
important than curbing trial lawyers -- because the courts ultimately
play
decisive roles in all of these areas, and more. The postponements of
the
confrontation are already having a terrible effect on the Republican
base. It is
time for Senate Republicans to lead, or to stop pretending to."
--Hugh
Hewitt
FOR THE RECORD
"Several sections of the
Constitution expressly grant Congress the authority to tax and spend
money to
establish military forces to defend the nation against its enemies. Not
one says
anything about buying drugs for retired people. ... The president and
many
Republicans in Congress strongly advocate naming to the federal courts
only
judges who will be 'strict constructionists,' meaning they will apply
the
Constitution as it was written and ratified. But do they practice
'strict
construction' themselves when it comes to creating and funding
government
programs? You can search the Constitution looking for a clause that
gives
Congress the discretion to create a Education Department, and you will
have no
more luck finding it than you would finding the clause that mandates a
federal
prescription drug benefit." --Terence Jeffrey
SHORT
CUTS
"Here's our typical evening. Nine o'clock, Mr.
Excitement here
is sound asleep and I'm watching Desperate Housewives with Lynne
Cheney."
--Laura Bush
"George and I are complete opposites. I'm
quiet, he's
talkative. I'm introverted, he's extroverted. I can pronounce
'nuclear'...."
--Laura Bush
"If you put the federal government in
charge of
the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand."
--Milton
Friedman
"Lawyers are like red wine. Everything in
moderation.
Today we have far too many lawyers, and we're suffering from cirrhosis
of the
economy."
--Michael Savage
"Even those who write
editorials
about how we need Mexicans to do work that Americans will not do would
not be
willing to write editorials for a fraction of what they are being paid.
If
Mexican editorial writers were coming across the border illegally and
taking
their jobs, maybe the issue would become clearer."
--Thomas Sowell
"We are at one of those phases in our national affairs
where, if
George W. Bush sauntered outside and commented on the blueness of the
sky, Nancy
Pelosi and Harry Reid would call a press conference and score the
president's
appalling sense of color. As if any idiot couldn't tell the sky was
light
purple!"
--Bill Murchison
"I am sublimely confident
that
normal Americans will not be shocked to learn that a Republican Senate
plans to
confirm the judicial nominees of a Republican president -- despite the
objections of radical elements of a party that is the minority in the
Senate,
the minority in the House, the loser in the last two presidential
races, the
minority in state governorships, and the minority in all but a tiny
number of
very small but densely populated enclaves in this country that need to
tax Rush
Limbaugh, even though he lives in another state, just to keep all their
little
socialist programs afloat."
--Ann Coulter
William Prouty, CLU RHU CBC CEC MBA PhD
CEO and
Founder
Champions For Life Foundation
PO Box 989, Sun
City, CA 92586-0989
Phone 951-301-0605 FAX
951-301-0606
Skype account: williamprouty
wprouty@aol.com
www.gewdc.org
target="_blank"
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href="http://www.cashdoctor.com">www.cashdoctor.com
href="http://www.caltrade.com">www.caltrade.com
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Alice on 01.01.06 @ 07:14 PM CST [ link] [ 4 Comments]
Thursday, December 29th
What Are Your Greatest Fears? # 393
Good Morning Freedom Fighters and Truth Seekers,
This issue deals with a wide variety of challenges. It closes with a bounty of wise words from Jim Rohn, one of my favorites mentors.
FEAR...False Evidence Appearing Real has restricted the growth and development of individuals and organizations for thousands of years. Enemies create fear to immobilize their prey. The Islamic terrorists have used this method to strike fear into the hearts of millions of Americans, Asians and Europeans with the homicide bomber and attacks like that on 9/11.
Look your fears clearly in the face and many will simply vanish. Being safe and cautious is not a bad thing but, in reality, being immobilized by fear is a very cheap victory for the terrorists.
At this time of year, there are often concerns and fears about what the new year will bring. This is a great weekend to build your 2006 development plan for success. A strong plan will beat a weak fear any day of the week.
I just started a new book, Hitting The Highest Notes by Beverly Sallee. It provides an extraordinary symphony of ideas to help you reach your full potentials. Its primary focus is on helping women reach for the stars...and get there. Beverly is part of the leadership team of our I-Commerce business system and has built business networks in 35 countries.
Let us know if we can be of help and support in the development and execution of your 2006 Success Plan.
Words of Wisdom...Food For Thought and ACTION
"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way."
-- Babe Ruth, baseball player
"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated; you can't cross a chasm in two small jumps."
- David Lloyd George, British Statesman
"Do you know more about the things you Fear than the things you desire?"
- Rick Beneteau
"Refuse to let the fear of rejection hold you back. Remember, rejection is never personal."
- Brian Tracy
"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood."
-- Madame Marie Curie
"If you embrace possibility thinking, your dreams will go from molehill to mountain size, and because you believe in possibilities, you put yourself in position to achieve them."
--John C. Maxwell Leadership expert
"Most of this world's useful work is done by people who are pressed for time, or are tired, or don't feel well."
-- Author unknown
"I am always doing things I can't do, that's how I get to do them."
-- Pablo Picasso
"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as necessary to resolve it."
-- Rene Descartes
"Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind."
-- Leonardo da Vinci
"You can surmount the obstacles in your path if you are determined, courageous and hard-working. Never be faint-hearted. Be resolute, but never bitter."
-- Ralph J. Bunche
"You can have big plans, but it's the small choices that have the greatest power. They draw us toward the future we want to create."
-- Robert Cooper
"Optimism is an intellectual choice."
-- Diana Schneider
"Destiny is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice; it's not a thing to be waited for, but a thing to be achieved."
-- William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) U.S. congressman, secretary of state,
presidential nominee
"There is no greater mistake than to be afraid of change, and yet many intelligent people dread it and cling to what is customary and familiar. To be afraid of change is to doubt the presence of God. It is an unintelligent fear of the unknown. If it were not for the blessing of change, people would still be primitive savages living in caves, and you yourself would still be a child mentally and physically, would you not? Welcome every change that comes into any phase of your life; insist that it is going to turn out for the betterand it will."
-- Emmet Fox
"We know most days will be regular days. Our lives will include some highlight days that stay with us forever, like family celebrations or personal triumphs, but almost every day this year will be a regular day, with nothing particularly astounding about it. Yet within these regular days are many opportunities for enjoyment, many of which we dont even think about or really appreciate. Take a moment every day to think about the simple pleasures of your daily life."
-- David Niven
"Chance favors the prepared mind."
Louis Pasteur, 1822-1895, French Microbiologist and Chemist
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for
others and the world remains and is immortal."
Albert Pike, 1809-1891, American Author
"An inventor fails 999 times, and if he succeeds once, hes in. He treats his failures simply as practice shots."
Charles Kettering, Inventor
"Our vision controls the way we think and, therefore, the way we act . . . The vision we have of our jobs determines what we do and the opportunities we see or dont see."
Charles Koch, Koch Industries Chairman and Chief Executive
"Make it a rule of life never to regret and never to look
back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy; you can't
build on it; it's only for wallowing in."
--Katherine Mansfield
"Often war is waged only in order to show valor; thus an
inner dignity is ascribed to war itself, and even some
philosophers have praised it as an ennoblement of humanity,
forgetting the pronouncement of the Greek who said: 'War is
an evil inasmuch as it produces more wicked men than it
takes away."
--Immanuel Kant
"We lift ourselves by our thought. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always everywhere."
-- Orison Swett Marden 1850-1924, Author and Founder of Success Magazine
"Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success."
-- Henry Ford (1863-1947) American industrialist, inventor
Rohn's Roamings
by Jim Rohn
"Start from wherever you are and with whatever you've got."
"How much should you earn? As much as you possibly can. It doesn't matter whether you earn $10,000 a year or $100,000 a year as long as you've done the best you can."
"If you wish to have power and influence over the many, be faithful (disciplined) when there are just a few. If you have a few employees, a few distributors, a few people, that's the time to stay in touch and be totally absorbed - when there is just a few."
"It's not the matter you cover so much as it is the manner in which you cover it."
"The man says, 'If I had a fortune, I'd take good care of it. But I only have a paycheck and I don't know where it all goes.' Wouldn't you love to have him running your company?"
"Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value."
"The best motivation is self-motivation. The guy says, 'I wish someone would come by and turn me on.' What if they don't show up? You've got to have a better plan for your life."
"Here's what is exciting about sharing ideas with others: If you share a new idea with ten people, they get to hear it once and you get to hear it ten times."
"When you know what you want, and you want it bad enough, you will find a way to get it."
"Motivation alone is not enough. If you have an idiot and you motivate him, now you have a motivated idiot."
"Humans have the remarkable ability to get exactly what they must have. But there is a difference between a 'must' and a 'want.'"
"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."
"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 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."
"Your paycheck is not your employer's responsibility; it's your responsibility. Your employer has no control over your value, but you do."
"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."
"Asking is the beginning of receiving. Make sure you don't go to the ocean with a teaspoon. At least take a bucket so the kids won't laugh at you."
"Resolve says, 'I will.' The man says, 'I will climb this mountain. They told me it is too high, too far, too steep, too rocky and too difficult. But it's my mountain. I will climb it. You will soon see me waving from the top or dead on the side from trying.'"
"You must get good at one of two things: sowing in the spring or begging in the fall."
"There is no better opportunity to receive more than to be thankful for what you already have. Thanksgiving opens the windows of opportunity for ideas to flow your way."
"Disgust and resolve are two of the great emotions that lead to change."
William Prouty, CLU RHU CBC CEC MBA PhD
CEO and Founder
Champions For Life Foundation
PO Box 989, Sun City, CA 92586-0989
Phone 951-301-0605 FAX 951-301-0606
Skype account: williamprouty
wprouty@aol.com
http://www.gewdc.org
http://www.maie.org
http://www.cashdoctor.com
http://www.caltrade.com
http://www.benefitstech.com
Alice on 12.29.05 @ 05:48 PM CST [link] [No Comments]
Wednesday, December 28th
Essays on Excellence # 652
Good Morning Freedom Fighters and Truth Seekers,
What a week! I actually slept in a little this morning to recharge the emotional and physical batteries.
Thought you might enjoy a poem that we found at my Mother's which she wrote in 2003.
I wish for you:
The jingle of laughter,
A basket of stars,
A ribbon of moon beams,
A package of dreams,
All this and the tenderness of enduring love
Harriet Prouty, 2003
As my sister and I reflected on her life and its impact on the two of us we realized the we had received all of the things in her poem. She is now at rest and peaceful without pain or anguish. The celebration gathering at my sister's home brought together so many people from so many walks of life that Mother had touched. We had photo albums on tables for people to thumb through. The tears and cheers were plentiful.
As we move toward the close of 2005, we wish for each of you great joy and success in the hours, days, months and years ahead.
The Central Skill
by Brian Tracy
Time management is the central skill of success. Your ability to manage your time, to focus and channel your energies on your highest value tasks, will determine your rewards and your level of accomplishment in life more than any other factor.
Success Leaves Tracks
When I began searching for the secrets of success many years ago, I discovered an interesting principle: success leaves tracks. A wise man who had studied success for more than 50 years concluded that the greatest success principle of all was, "learn from the experts."
Learn From The Experts
If you want to be a big success in any area, find out what other successful people in that area are doing, and do the same things, until you get the same results. When I studied the interviews, speeches, biographies and autobiographies of successful men and women, I found that they all had one quality in common. They were all described as being "extremely well organized." They used their time very, very well. They were highly productive and they got vastly more done in the same period of time than the average person.
Be Both Effective and Efficient
High performing men and women were both effective and efficient. They did the right things, and they did them in the right way. They were constantly looking for ways to improve the quality and quantity of their output. As a result, their contribution to their organizations was vastly higher and therefore much better paid, than the contributions of the average person.
Action Exercises
Develop a study plan today to learn from the experts in your field. This can save you years of hard work.
Decide what is the most important thing to do, and then decide how to do it.
Practice Golden Rule Selling
By Brian Tracy
To improve your sales performance, adopt the Golden Rule mentality. The Golden Rule says to, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." It also says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." The Golden Rule mentality in sales, says simply, "Sell unto others as you would have them sell unto you."
Different Strokes for Different Folks
What does this mean? Aren't there all kinds of different personalities that require different approaches and techniques? Well, yes and no. Practicing the golden rule in selling simply means that you sell to other people the way you would like to be sold to. You sell with the same honesty, integrity, understanding, empathy and thoughtfulness that you would like someone else to use in selling to you.
Seek First to Understand
If you would like a salesperson to take the time to thoroughly understand you and your situation before making a recommendation, you practice the same thing with your customers. If you would like a salesperson to give you honest information and to help you make an intelligent buying decision, you practice the same with your customer. If you would like a salesperson to be thoroughly knowledgeable about the strengths or weaknesses of his or her product or service, and that of his or her competitors, then you do the same with your product or service and your competitors.
Care About Your Customers
Perhaps the most important part of golden rule selling is the emotional component embraced in the word, "caring." Top sales professionals care about their customers. They care about themselves, their companies, their products and services, and they really care about helping their customers to make good buying decisions.
They Don't Care How Much You Know
If you think about the very best salespeople you know, you will recognize that they are caring individuals. If you think about your very best customers, you will recall that these are invariably people you care about, and who care about you. When you think about the people you buy from, you will recall that they seem to care about you more than the average. In every part of your business life, you will find that the significant people all have the denominator of caring as part of their character and their personalities.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, resolve today to sell to your customers with the same honesty, empathy and understanding that you would like them to use in selling to you.
Second, take time to genuinely care about your customers, their individual needs and their unique situations. Make people feel important and they will make you feel important.
The Billionaires Strategy for Success
By Brian Tracy
John Paul Getty became the richest man in the world by practicing a few basic principles of risk-taking and reward throughout his life.
In this newsletter, you learn his key insight to risk reduction and success and how you can apply it to any decision you have to make. You learn a series of additional ideas that can help you to make better decisions and reduce the risks associated with success.
How To Assess A Decision
Whenever John Paul Getty was considering a business decision, he would ask, Whats the worst possible thing that could happen in this situation? Then, when he was clear about the worst possible outcome, he focused all his attention on making sure that it didnt happen. You should apply this technique to every risk situation or investment you ever make.
The Billionaires Strategy for Success
Remember Murphys Law: Whatever can go wrong will go wrong. There are several secondary laws to Murphys Law, such as Whatever can go wrong will go wrong at the worst possible time and Of all the things that can go wrong, the most expensive thing will go wrong at the worst possible time.
Another sublaw is Everything takes longer than your best calculation. In advising businesspeople, I suggest that they take their very best estimate of break-even for any business venture and then triple it to arrive at a more realistic number. Whenever businesspeople follow this advice, they are amazed to find that, in spite of their best initial calculations, it indeed takes about three times longer than they thought it would to start making money.
Always Add A Fudge Factor
Another sublaw is Everything costs more than you can possible anticipate in advance. In minimizing risk in any venture, always add a fudge factor to account for the degree of uncertainty. Whenever I do a business plan, I always add 20 percent to the total of all costs that I can identify, to come up with the probable cost. Anything less than this, whether in business or your personal life, is likely to be an exercise in self-delusion and open you up for some unhappy surprises.
Once you have identified the worst possible things that could go wrong, make a list of everything that you could do to offset these negative factors. Engage in what is called crisis anticipation. Look down the road, into the future, and imagine every possible crisis that could arise as the result of changing external circumstances.
Be Intensely Realistic
Men and women who have achieved a high level of success are intensely realistic. They do not put their trust in luck. They carefully calculate every possible risk, and then think about what they would do should it occur. They always have a backup plan in case things do not go as they wish them to. They have a Plan B and options to that plan that take all kinds of variables into consideration.
Do The Things You Fear
One of the very best ways to develop your ability to take intelligent risks is to consciously and deliberately do the things you fear, one step at a time.
A very good way to overcome the fear of risk taking is to set clear, written, measurable goals for yourself, and then to review those goals regularly.
When you have clear goals and plans, and you continually work on them and evaluate your progress each day, you will see what youre doing right and how you could improve your performance. Youll feel more competent and capable and better about yourself. Youll become more thoughtful and reflective and willing to take on even greater challenges. Youll feel like the master of your fate and the captain of your soul. And your likelihood of success will become greater and greater.
Action Exercises
Now, here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.
First, take any worry situation in your life today and ask, What is the worst possible thing that could happen? Then go to work to make sure it doesnt occur.
Second, look into the future in your life and determine the worst things that could happen. Engage in crisis anticipation regularly and continually be taking steps to guard against them.
Third, work from clear, written goals and detailed plans. Review them regularly. Consider alternatives and always look for ways to increase the likelihood of your success.
William Prouty, CLU RHU CBC CEC MBA PhD
CEO and Founder
Champions For Life Foundation
PO Box 989, Sun City, CA 92586-0989
Phone 951-301-0605 FAX 951-301-0606
Skype account: williamprouty
wprouty@aol.com
http://www.gewdc.org
http://www.maie.org
http://www.cashdoctor.com
http://www.caltrade.com
http://www.benefitstech.com
Alice on 12.28.05 @ 04:24 PM CST [link] [2 Comments]
Tuesday, December 27th
The Blessings of Christmas and Chanukkah 2005
Good Morning Freedom Fighters and Truth Seekers,
We returned from Phoenix last night after the passing of my Mother in the early morning hours of Christmas Eve. She slipped away in a peaceful way to join family and friends who have gone before. We said a special prayer that our two dogs, Snoopy and Peppermint Patty would be there to give her lots of kisses and snuggle up close as they for us for so many years. Ninety two years and 25 days was a full and rich life for this woman who touched so many lives with her beautiful smile and loving attitude.
We will return to Phoenix tomorrow in preparation for the service on Tuesday morning that will be my great joy and honor to lead. While there is a touch of sadness at her passing, there is also great joy and knowing that her physical challenges of the last several years are behind her and she has a whole new "body" with magnificent wings.
"There are many things from which I might have derived good, by which I have not profited, I dare say," returned the nephew: "Christmas among the rest. But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round—apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that—as a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they were really fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!"
-- Charles Dickens, from A Christmas Carol
"Christmas reminds us we are not alone. We are not unrelated atoms, jouncing and ricocheting amid aliens, but are a part of something, which holds and sustains us.
As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December's bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same. Christmas shows us the ties that bind us together, threads of love and caring, woven in the simplest and strongest way within the family."
-- Donald E. Westlake
http://SuccessNet.org/scards/holiday-blessings.htm
Dear God,
There is only God, and there is no place where You are not fully present.
As I affirm this now, I feel the quickening, the stirring of the life-force within me, lifting me up and giving me the guidance and joy that my soul longs for.
There was a birth 2006 years ago that is continually recreating itself in the minds and hearts of Your sons and daughters everywhere on the planet …and beyond!
Let me experience this Christ-birth in the womb of my own soul.
Let me make that long-past happening real for me in this very moment.
Let this Christmas be different from all others! Awaken in me now!
Amen.
We can do no great things...only small things with great love.
-- Mother Teresa
The Christmas Stranger
The spirit of the holiday came to her home just when she needed it most.
By Natalie Walker Whitlock
Excerpted from "A Christmas Filled with Miracles," by Mary Ellen Angelscribe. Used with permission.
December was especially bleak; the weather was cold and dark, reflecting my feelings. I usually welcomed this time of year, savoring every minute of the holiday season, but this year it was different. Financial worries weighed heavy on my spirits, and my husband David worked grueling hours to make ends meet. There was always too much to do and too little time. Too many needs and too little money. Moreover, I had struggled with post-partum depression since the birth of my fourth child a few months before, and it made Christmastime especially tough. It seemed every glad carol and glittering ornament mocked my despair.
Thankfully, my children seemed unfazed by my less-than-jolly attitude. They carefully penned their letters to Santa and made red and green paper decorations for our spindly Christmas tree. I didn't want to spoil the holidays for them, yet I felt entirely justified in feeling sorry for myself.
Day after dreary day blurred together until suddenly it was Sunday, December 24. I was alone with the children, as David worked yet another Christmas Eve at the hospital. An empty sadness filled my heart as I dressed and readied my family for church, attending more out of habit and obligation than desire.
If I had expected some renewal from the service, it wasn't to be, and I couldn't wait for it to be over. Being in the presence of so many happy people was almost more than I could bear.
After herding the kids into the car, I charged homeward, anxious to finish the day's preparations. In my haste, I accidentally passed our usual turn-off. As we detoured down the unfamiliar street, I noticed an old man up ahead. He walked with a pronounced limp, and he struggled to carry a heavy grocery sack. Suddenly, inspiration overcame discretion--and going against caution and my better judgment--I pulled over.
"Hello," I called through the open passenger's side window. "Can we give you a lift somewhere?"
The stranger hesitated before answering, taking a long look at my kid-packed station wagon. "Sure," he said carefully.
After he settled into the backseat, I asked him where he would like to go.
"I don't know," he replied quietly. Before I could reply, my children had invited the shabby stranger to our house for dinner.
"I suppose you could come over until you figure something else out..." I muttered.
As we drove, I introduced myself and my children. Our passenger introduced himself simply as "Richard."
As it turned out, Richard truly was a stranger--just passing through town on his way to nowhere in particular. He lived wherever nightfall found him. All that he owned he carried in an overstuffed shopping bag.
Once home, my children had no trouble warming up to our visitor, but getting Richard to open up was like cracking a vault rusted shut by years of disuse. Yet, they persevered. They gathered around, asking him question after question, prodding and prying until his history and its neglected cache were slowly revealed to us.
We discovered that Richard had served in two wars, worked on the railroad, and hitchhiked across North America. He had lost his sweetheart and young son many years ago in the same accident that left him crippled. Afterward, he bounced around from job to job, and ended up homeless and fighting an addiction to alcohol.
"What if we hadn't given Richard a ride?"
This Christmas found Richard a physically and mentally broken man. Richard's hard life and years on the streets were reflected in his careworn face. His appearance was haggard and dirty. He coughed frequently and smelled faintly of whiskey.
And yet...my children saw none of this. They gathered around him, asking question after question. They listened eagerly and treated him with the familiarity of a long-lost relation. Where I had seen a pitiful stranger, my children saw a kindly old man. They saw in Richard a fellow human being who could love and be loved. They saw a friend.
When dinner was ready, Richard ate like he hadn't had a meal in days. I pretended not to notice when he tucked an extra piece of bread in his coat pocket. Afterward, I invited him to rest in the big recliner; he was sound asleep before the dishes were cleared. While he slept, I undertook the business of finding Richard a place to stay for the night. But who could I reach on Christmas Eve? Who would be available at this hour? As I had feared, the calls to each charity and agency were met with an answering machine or a terse "We're full."
When there seemed nothing else to do--save turn him out on the street--Richard became our guest for the night. Richard accepted the invitation and thanked us with the graciousness of a refined gentleman. He thanked me for the home-cooked meal, the pleasant company, and for the best sleep he'd had in years. Then he said good-bye to each child. It was a tender scene as they parted with their newfound friend.
Later, as I lay in my warm, comfortable bed, I contemplated Richard and his misfortunes. I was humbled as I recalled how that very morning I had been so pessimistic and ungrateful for my own abundant life.
My introspection was interrupted by quiet footsteps as my 6-year-old son appeared at the foot of my bed. "Mom, are you awake?"
"Yes, Jeffrey," I whispered.
"What if we hadn't given Richard a ride?" He asked pensively.
As a single shaft of moonlight parted the darkness of the room, illuminating my son's guileless face, I was filled with emotion. Then a lonely old man would have spent Christmas Eve cold and hungry, I thought, my eyes brimming with tears. And I said, "I guess we might never have known what a wonderful person he is." As I pulled my dear son close, the two of us shared a moment of eloquent silence, and I offered a voiceless prayer, Thank you, God, for sending us Richard.
When Christmas morning came, the kids were almost as excited to see Richard again as they were to open their presents. They begged and they pestered until I agreed to wake him. But, to our dismay and disappointment, Richard was gone. The room was left so neat, it almost looked as if no one had even stayed there. We never saw Richard again.
My family remembers that Christmas fondly. Even though Richard wasn't physically with us, he wasn't forgotten. Because of Richard, our Christmas was full of blessing and thanksgiving. And because of Richard, I found the hope and happiness I was so desperately missing. The spirit and joy of the holidays was never stronger than the year we opened our hearts and our home to a stranger.
"How many observe Christ's birth-day! How few, his
precepts! O! 'tis easier to keep Holidays than Commandments."
-- Benjamin Franklin (Poor Richards Almanack, 1743)
"The most important thing in any relationship is not what you get but
what you give.... In any case, the giving of love is an education
in itself."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt, American First Lady and social activist
(1884-1962)
"We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without
hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the
fingers."
-- Seneca, Roman statesman, dramatist and Stoic philosopher
(4 B.C.?-65 A.D.)
"Unshared joy is an unlighted candle."
-- Spanish proverb
"No one who has ever learned to appreciate beauty will ever be poor."
-- Michael Josephson
"Join the great company of those who make the barren places of life
fruitful with kindness.... Your success and happiness lie in you....
The great enduring realities are love and service. Resolve to keep
happy and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against
difficulties."
-- Helen Keller, American social activist, public speaker and
author (1880-1968)
***
Commentaries by Michael Josephson
"That Means the Baby Is Not Dying"
One of my favorite stories tells of a man I`ll call Al who was
rushing home excited to tell his wife about a $1,000 bonus check
he`d unexpectedly received from work. Before he got to his car, a
desperately sad looking woman with a baby asked him for a few
dollars. She said her child had leukemia and was dying. He reached
into his pocket for some loose bills and accidentally pulled out
his bonus check. He looked at the check for a moment and then at
the woman`s baby. He endorsed it over to her, saying, "Use this
to do what you can for your baby."
When Al told his family what he had done they were not pleased.
His wife said, "I can`t believe you gave some stranger our money."
His teenage son chided him for being naĂŻve. Al was hurt but simply
said, "I just thought she needed it so much more than we did."
A week later, his son came to him with an "I told you so" look
on his face. He showed Al a newspaper article about a woman with
a baby who had been arrested for scamming people in the area.
"This is the lady you gave the money to, isn`t it?" the son
asked disdainfully.
"Yes," the father replied, as he smiled broadly.
"What are you smiling about?" the son demanded. "You were cheated!
She made a fool out of you."
"Don`t you see?" Al replied, "This is wonderful news. It means the
baby is not dying."
Overwhelmed with affection and admiration for her husband, Al`s
wife said, "Your dad will earn other bonuses. Just be thankful we
have each other, our health and a truly good man we can all be
proud of."
Judging Our Own Character
The passing last week of one of the pioneer investigative
journalists, Jack Anderson, reminded me of my one and only
meeting with him many years ago. It was one of my first programs
as an ethicist.
My role was to question a panel of journalists in front of an
audience of radio and television news directors. It was the
pre-Clinton era, the beginning of the new age of no-holds-barred
investigation and discussion of the private conduct of politicians.
The event was prompted by the withdrawal from the presidential
race of Senator Gary Hart because he was caught having an indiscrete,
adulterous affair with a model named Donna Rice.
I asked the panel, "When is it proper for a journalist to report
about the private life of a public official?"
Mr. Anderson replied, "It`s got to be relevant to his job." Then
he added, "But we don`t always follow our own rules." I asked him
to explain, and he said: "Well, a few years ago a woman came into
my office and gave me an airtight affidavit that the mayor of
Tucson had bit her on the thigh. Now, I admit I didn`t think
this was too relevant to his job, but some stories are too good
to pass up."
So the high-minded standard of relevance was subordinated to the
lesser test of good gossip.
His comment revealed the gap that often exists between our "stated
values" -- the values we profess -- and our "operational values" --
the values we practice.
Many of us claim higher values than our conduct reveals. What`s
more, when we assess our own character we are often deluded by our
rhetoric and rosy self-image.
Thus, we tend to judge ourselves by our highest ideals and best
intentions. What we often forget is that others judge us not by
our proclamations or even our most noble deeds, but by our last
worst act.
Holiday Season Lament
"`Tis the season to be jolly." Oh yeah. Well, that`s easier said
than done. I confess, I`ve become a holiday-season neurotic. And
I wonder, is it just me?
I love the music, I love the decorations and I love the giving
spirit of Hanukkah and Christmas. But my life is bursting at the
seams with a daunting and growing list of business tasks and
personal chores, which I`m neglecting as I try to joyfully pursue
my holiday desires and duties by sending cards to and buying gifts
for a small army of family, friends and business associates.
I`ve become as neurotically insecure as Charlie Brown. I feel bad
about feeling like it`s a burden. I worry about finding gifts that
will be truly appreciated. Sure, I know it`s supposed to be the
thought that counts, but I`ve found it really helps if the gift
is something the other person finds desirable. I worry that I`ll
get something the gift-getter thinks is atrocious, useless,
redundant or simply too cheap.
I also worry whether the beneficiaries of my gifts will think I
spent enough time and money so that -- if it really is the thought
that counts -- it will count enough to convince them that they are
valued.
I even worry about the notes I write. I want them to go beyond the
standard clichés. I want each one to be personal, profound, clever
and meaningful as well as sincere and original. But I run out of
things to say, and I forget what I wrote the year before. I worry
that I`ll give the same verbal gift I gave previously.
I expect to be rebuked by listeners for having the wrong attitude,
but that will only make me feel worse. I think I`ll just put my head
under the covers and take a nap.
No One Is Too Poor to Give
When Teresa, a widow with four young children, saw a notice that
members of her church would gather to deliver presents and food
to a needy family she took $10 out of her savings jar and bought
the ingredients to make three dozen cookies. She got to the church
parking lot just in time to join a convoy going to the home that
was to receive the congregation`s help.
The route was familiar, but she was stunned when the cars pulled
up in front of her house. When the pastor saw her he said, "We never
expected you to join us, Teresa. We know it`s been a great struggle
since your husband died, and we all wanted to support you."
Though she was uncomfortable being thought of as the object of
charity, Teresa didn`t want to embarrass anyone so she cheerfully
said, "Well, at least I can share these cookies with our friends."
This parable teaches us that no one is too poor to help others and
that true charity is rooted in love and compassion. Poverty of
spirit is worse than economic distress. Teresa`s story reminds us
that very few of us give as much as we could and should.
My friend Larry Rosen, president of the YMCA of Metropolitan Los
Angeles, introduced me to the concept of "sacrificial giving" --
giving in abundance to a point where one must sacrifice something
that is desired.
You can start out easy. Take whatever amount you were thinking of
giving to charity this year, then double it. If that`s truly too
much, add 50 percent. The idea is to stretch yourself. It will mean
a lot to those you help, but it will mean as much to your own heart.
Cheerfulness Is Contagious
I just turned 63, and I`m not happy about it at all. It does not help
when people tell me you are only as old as you feel because even the
simple acts of getting up, sitting down or bending over to put on my
socks elicit a symphony of grunts and groans.
Why can`t I just follow my own advice about counting my blessings and
being truly grateful for the mountain of things I should be grateful
for? My glass is way more than half full. It`s not only shameful but
useless and boring to pollute my thinking or inflict others with
negativism.
One of my New Year`s resolutions is to stop self-indulgent whining
about getting older. As inspiration for my new attitude I need only
think of my mother and my dear friend Lauren Fair who were the most
cheerful people I`ve ever known. Though each fought valiant but
losing battles with ravaging cancers, they didn`t dwell on illness
or pain. They smiled more than they cried and joked more than they
complained.
It`s tempting to think that some people are just naturally cheerful.
But this is just as false as saying that some people are born to be
negative and grouchy. Attitude is a choice. Cheerfulness is not
simply an instinctive or spontaneous act of a person`s nature but
a conscious and courageous act of kindness. It`s a gift one chooses
to give to others.
Regardless of how I feel inside, I can choose the face I show to
the world -- and when I choose to be positive I`ll begin to feel
positive. And so will others around me. Because cheerfulness is
contagious.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that Character Counts.
The Gift of the Magi in a Coffee Shop
My coffee guy always helps me start my day with a smile. One Christmas Eve, I decided to return his kindness.
By Eileen Mitchell
He greets me every morning from behind the coffee counter. Often, it feels like he and I are the only two human beings alive at the ungodly hour of 6:00 am. In the dead of winter, it’s still dark outside at that time, sometimes rainy and almost always cold. Faced with an hour-long commute from the East Bay to my job in Foster City, I schlep into the coffee shop in a semi-vegetative state. I need that jolt of caffeine to wake me up, especially when I’ve stayed up too late the night before, hooked on a Law & Order marathon or anxious to finish reading, for the third time, "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn".
My coffee guy is always smiling, always cheerful, even though the counter he works behind is just yards away from the front door and subjects him to cold winter winds each time a customer enters the shop. This store is a franchise and he’s not the owner. He’s just a college student at Las Positas and probably earns minimum wage at best. Still, he greets each customer like a long-lost family member. I never need to remind him what my favorite drink is or how I like it prepared. The minute I enter the shop, he smiles and calls out, “The same?” When I nod, he immediately begins preparing my peppermint _mocha, extra hot (nuclear, he calls it), with low-fat milk and just a smidge of whipped cream.
Sometimes I’ll also buy a Chai tea latte for my mom and swing by her house on my way to work. When I do this, my coffee guy gives me the 50 percent senior’s discount on her drink, even though he has no way of knowing if I’m really buying it for a senior or I’m just a double-fisted drinker. Once he chased after me in the store parking lot to let me know I had earned a free coffee with the store’s frequent-buyer card. He apologized because he had forgotten to honor it and wanted to let me know my next coffee was free.
These are all minor gestures, but collectively they add up to great customer service. And that’s why I wanted to thank my coffee guy at Christmas time. “What can I buy somebody whom I know nothing about?” I asked my manager. She shrugged. “He may not even celebrate Christmas,” she reminded me. “A Christmas gift may not be appropriate.”
True. Still, I had to let him know that his kindness frequently sets the tone for my day. Every morning, I return to my car with my extra-hot, low-fat peppermint _mocha in hand, warmed by his attentiveness and touched by his kindness.
“Maybe he has a thing for you,” my manager teased. But I quickly dismissed the notion. My coffee guy can’t be a day over 21. I could easily be his mo...uh, older, older sister. No, this wasn’t about attraction, trying to score points, schmoozing or anything else. He was just a kind person. And I wanted to say thank you.
I finally decided on a gift card to a local book-and-record store. Surely he could find something there to enjoy. I tucked the gift in a safely generic “Happy Holidays” card, and inside I wrote, “Thank you for the cheerful attitude and great customer service you provide year-round.” I signed it the Peppermint _Mocha Latte lady.
Christmas Eve morning I arrived at the shop at my usual ungodly hour, but not in my typical bleary-eyed state. Today I was a tad giddy with anticipation, excited to brighten my coffee guy’s day just as he had so often brightened mine. While he was making my peppermint _mocha, I snuck the card alongside the register where he'd be sure to find it after I left.
As he handed me my drink, he told me to wait a second. Then he reached underneath the counter and handed me a gift-wrapped box of chocolates with a card. “I just want to say thanks,” he stammered with an awkward smile. What? He was thanking me? Then, because I was obviously speechless, he wished me a happy holiday and turned to tend to his growing line of customers.
In the pre-dawn dark of my car, I flicked on the light and opened the envelope. It was a Christmas card. Inside was printed, “A Christmas wish to show you just how nice it is to know you.” He had added, “Thank you for always being so nice. It makes our job easy, especially when everyone else is so grumpy. Merry Christmas.”
I thought of the card I'd left behind, tucked next to his register and couldn't help but smile at the irony.
It was a very _mocha Christmas, indeed.
William Prouty, CLU RHU CBC CEC MBA PhD
CEO and Founder
Champions For Life Foundation
PO Box 989, Sun City, CA 92586-0989
Phone 951-301-0605 FAX 951-301-0606
Skype account: williamprouty
wprouty@aol.com
www.gewdc.org
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Alice on 12.27.05 @ 02:27 AM CST [link] [2 Comments]
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Words of Wisdom...Food For Thought and ACTION 4/26/2006
