What Leads To Success ?

"The majority of men meet with failure because of their lack of persistence in creating new plans to take the place of those which fail."

"Until you have learned to be tolerant with those who do not always agree with you; until you have cultivated the habit of saying some kind word of those whom you do not admire; until you have formed the habit of looking for the good instead of the bad there is in others, you will be neither successful nor happy."

"You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee."

"I have proved, times too numerous to enumerate, to my own satisfaction at least, that every human brain is both a broadcasting and a receiving station for vibrations of thought frequency.

"If this theory should turn out to be a fact, and methods of reasonable control should be established, imagine the part it would play in the gathering, classifying and organising of knowledge. The possibility, much less the probability, of such a reality, staggers the mind of man!"

"The sixth sense is that portion of the subconscious mind which has been referred to as the creative imagination. It has also been referred to as the 'receiving set' through which ideas, plans and thoughts flash into the mind. The flashes are sometimes called hunches or inspirations

"The sixth sense defies description! It cannot be described to a person who has not mastered the other principles of this philosophy, because such a person has no knowledge and no experience with which the sixth sense may be compared. Understanding the sixth sense comes only by meditation through mind development from within.


 "When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal."

SUCCESS : Go for It!

While watching the Olympics the other night, I came across an incredible sight. It was not a gold medal, or a world record broken, but a show of sheer determination and guts.


The event was swimming and started with only three men on the blocks. For one reason or another, two of them false started, so they were disqualified. That left only one to compete. That would have been difficult enough, not having anyone to race against, even though the time on the clock is what's important.


I watched the man dive off the blocks and knew right away that something was wrong. Now I'm not an expert swimmer but I do know a good dive from a poor one, and this was not exactly medal quality. When he resurfaced, it was evident that the man was not out for gold -- his arms were flailing in an attempt at freestyle. The crowd started to titter. Clearly this man was not a medal contender.


I listened to the crowd begin to laugh at this poor man that was clearly having a hard time. Finally he made his turn to start back. It was pitiful. He made a few desperate strokes and you could tell he was exhausted.


But in those few awkward strokes, the crowd had changed.


No longer were they laughing, but beginning to cheer. Some even began to stand and yell things like, "Come on, you can do it!" and, "Go for it!" He did.


A clear minute past the average swimmer, this young man finally finished his race. The crowd went wild. You would have thought that he had won the gold, and he should have. Even though he recorded one of the slowest times in Olympic history, this man gave more heart than any of the other competitors.


Just a short year ago, he had never even swam, let alone raced. His country had been asked to Sydney as a courtesy.


In a competion where athletes remove their silver medals feeling they have somehow been cheated out of gold, or when they act so arrogantly in front of their rivals, it is nice to watch an underdog.


A man that gave his all -- knowing that he had no chance, but competed because of the spirit of the games.

ATTITUDE : OPTIMISM : Adrift

In 1982 Steven Callahan was crossing the Atlantic alone in his sailboat when it struck something and sank. He was out of the shipping lanes and floating in a life raft, alone. His supplies were few. His chances were small. Yet when three fishermen found him seventy-six days later (the longest anyone has survived a shipwreck on a life raft alone), he was alive -- much skinnier than he was when he started, but alive.


His account of how he survived is fascinating. His ingenuity -- how he managed to catch fish, how he fixed his solar still (evaporates sea water to make fresh) -- is very interesting.

But the thing that caught my eye was how he managed to keep himself going when all hope seemed lost, when there seemed no point in continuing the struggle, when he was suffering greatly, when his life raft was punctured and after more than a week struggling with his weak body to fix it, it was still leaking air and wearing him out to keep pumping it up. He was starved. He was desperately dehydrated. He was thoroughly exhausted. Giving up would have seemed the only sane option.


When people survive these kinds of circumstances, they do something with their minds that gives them the courage to keep going. Many people in similarly desperate circumstances give in or go mad. Something the survivors do with their thoughts helps them find the guts to carry on in spite of overwhelming odds.


"I tell myself I can handle it," wrote Callahan in his narrative. "Compared to what others have been through, I'm fortunate. I tell myself these things over and over, building up fortitude...."


I wrote that down after I read it. It struck me as something important. And I've told myself the same thing when my own goals seemed far off or when my problems seemed too overwhelming. And every time I've said it, I have always come back to my senses.


The truth is, our circumstances are only bad compared to something better. But others have been through much worse. I've read enough history to know you and I are lucky to be where we are, when we are, no matter how bad it seems to us compared to our fantasies. It's a sane thought and worth thinking.


So here, coming to us from the extreme edge of survival, are words that can give us strength. Whatever you're going through, tell yourself you can handle it. Compared to what others have been through, you're fortunate. Tell this to yourself over and over, and it will help you get through the rough spots with a little more fortitude.

That's Not My Job

This's a story about four people: Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody have done.

Time Management Parable

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.


As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said,

"Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.


When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes."


The time management expert replied, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"


By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered.


"Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted.


Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"


One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"


"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."


What are the 'big rocks' in your life, time with your loved ones, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you'll never get them in at all. So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first.

So Wise

An old country doctor was celebrated for his wisdom. "Dr. Sage," a young man asked, "how did you get so wise?"




"Weren't hard," said the doc. "I've got good judgement. Now, good judgment come from experience," he continued. "And experience - well, that comes from having bad judgement."

ATTITUDE : Napoleon's Greatest Speech

"Why are some days great and others terrible? Is it because of chance or luck?" -- Danielle F.

Good days can actually be created.


In my book, "Yes Yes Living In A No No World," I tell about attending an awards banquet of the Chase National Life Insurance Company. The speaker was the famed author of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill.


When Hill was introduced it was obvious his age had caught up with him. We all wondered if the octogenarian would be physically be able to give the speech. (He passed away not long after this event).


Napoleon Hill slowly walked to the podium, placed both of his hands on the sides of it, looked out at the audience and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have given this speech hundreds and hundreds of times in my life. But tonight am going to deliver it the best it has ever been given. This is going to be the best speech of my life!"


Wow! It was like a bolt of lightning. I watched 300 adults move to the edge of their chairs and absorb every word like a sponge.


He set a course of action that did not allow for failure. You can do it too!

Hope

As I ate breakfast one morning, I overheard two oncologists conversing. One complained bitterly, "You know, Bob, I just don't understand it. We used the same drugs, the same dosage, the same schedule and the same entry criteria. Yet I got a 22 percent response rate and you got a 74 percent. That's unheard of for metastatic cancer. How do you do it?"


His colleague replied, "We're both using Etoposide, Platinum, Oncovin and Hydroxyurea. You call yours EPOH. I tell my patients I'm giving them HOPE. As dismal as the statistics are, I emphasize that we have a chance."

18 Holes in His Mind

Major James Nesmeth had a dream of improving his golf game - and he developed a unique method of achieving his goal. Until he devised this method, he was just your average weekend golfer, shooting in mid- to low-nineties. Then, for seven years, he completely quit the game. Never touched a club. Never set foot on a fairway.

Ironically, it was during this seven-year break from the game that Major Nesmeth came up with his amazingly effective technique for improving his game - a technique we can all learn from. In fact, the first time he set foot on a golf course after his hiatus from the game, he shot an astonishing 74! He had cut 20 strokes off his average without having swung a golf club in ven years! Unbelievable. Not only that, but his physical condition had actually deteriorated during those seven years.


What was Major Nesmeth's secret? Visualization. You see, Major Nesmeth had spent those seven years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. During those seven years, he was imprisoned in a cage that was approximately four and one-half feet high and five feet long.
During almost the entire time he was imprisoned, he saw no one, talked to no one and experienced no physical activity. During the first few months he did virtually nothing but hope and pray for his release. Then he realized he had to find some way to occupy his mind or he would lose his sanity and probably his life. That's when he learned to visualize.

In his mind, he selected his favorite golf course and started playing golf. Every day, he played a full 18 holes at the imaginary country club of his dreams. He experienced everything to the last detail. He saw himself dressed in his golfing clothes. He smelled the fragrance of the trees and the freshly trimmed grass. He experienced different weather conditions - windy spring days, overcast winter days, and sunny summer mornings. In his imagination, every detail of the tee, the individual blades of grass, the trees, the singing birds, the scampering squirrels and the lay of the course became totally real.


He felt the grip of the club in his hands. He instructed himself as he practiced smoothing out his down-swing and the follow-through on his shot. Then he watched the ball arc down the exact center of the fairway, bounce a couple of times and roll to the exact spot he had selected, all in his mind.


In the real world, he was in no hurry. He had no place to go. So in his mind he took every step on his way to the ball, just as if he were physically on the course. It took him just as long in imaginary time to play 18 holes as it would have taken in reality. Not a detail was omitted. Not once did he ever miss a shot, never a hook or a slice, never a missed putt.


Seven days a week. Four hours a day. Eighteen holes. Seven years. Twenty strokes off. Shot a 74.

Imaging

Do your believe our imagination has much to do with success?


Arnold Schwarzenegger won the title of Mr. Universe seven times. But he didn't keep his title by only pumping iron. As part of his workout routine, he would frequently go into the corner of the gym and visualize himself winning the title again.


Jack Nicklaus, the great professional golfer, explained his imaging technique. He said "First I 'see' the ball where I want it to finish - nice and white and sitting up high on the bright green grass. Then the scene quickly changes, and I 'see' the ball going there; its path, trajectory and shape, even its behavior on the landing. Then," says Nicklaus, "there's sort of a fade-out, and the next scene shows me making the kind of swing that will turn the previous images into reality."


I recall hearing the story of a prisoner of war who spent his years of solitary confinement playing golf - on the course of his mind. When he was released and returned to California, one of his first desires was to head for the nearest golfing facility. He was totally shocked at how his game had improved. Without question, his imagination had greatly enhanced his physical skills.


Today, practice "seeing" yourself winning.

No post on 21 Mar & late post. Why?

19 March 2011, Sat

As usual, I may not posting any new post in the weekend. If  I did, I will post something to entertain all my beloved readers.



21 March 2011, Mon

Day Time :
Weekday, time to create and send new post. Wake up like always but a bit late, 6.30am. huhuhuh..
And I forgot that I need to rush all the way to Bangi this morning. No time to make breakfast or posting a post for today.

Night Time :
I was so tired spending the whole day training. I seldom posting a new post during night time. So after perform Isyak prayer, I went to sleep.



22 March 2011, Tue 

I will send a new post each day between 5am to 9am. Posting it after 9am consider a bit late and not in my KPI..hehehehe..Anyway, I  switch on the laptop around 7am and planning to send a post. But after a while waiting, the blogger website did not response. Almost half an hour of waiting and still no respond. " The website is not responding" . huhuhuh...Need to go to work now or I will be late. 



23 March 2011, Wed

Sitting in front of the laptop at 7.30am and the website still display " The website is not responding". Mmm..I wondering why?

I guess I need to solve this internet connection problem ASAP or late post occured again huuhuhuhuh...

LIFE : At One

At One means there is only One reality.



"Love alone is capable of uniting living beings in such a way as to complete and fulfill them, for it alone takes them and joins them to what is deepest within themselves"
- Teilhard de Chardin

It is, as Longfellow said, "the thread of all sustaining beauty that runs through all and doth all unite".


After a long, long time...many years of soul searching', study and self-discovery I've finally 'got it' and now understand the difference between the deepest agony and misery of the human condition… and the greatest joy!

I 'know', from my own experience, that the difference is simply between feeling separate, isolated, lonely, lost, and feeling 'at-one', whole, home. I think most people, if not all, live with a kind of homesickness; a sweet nostalgia which they can't quite put their finger on as if they were once in a place that they can't quite remember but desperately, somehow, want to get back to.


The Mystics have said for millennia that in existence there is a fundamental oneness; there isn't and never has been any division or separation at all. Now science is beginning to agree, they call it a "Unified Field" or "Theory of Everything".


I believe that at our deepest level (our core, Being, essence, soul, DNA) we inherently know that we are one with each other and with all things. The trouble is in our mental-minds. We have a deeply rooted idea that we are separate, a deeply engrained belief. This causes a split between what we think and what we intuitively know; a distance between our heads and our hearts.


From day to day we live from our heads, our thoughts… and this causes all our problems, all our misery. We're going against our deepest instincts! It is said that while in the womb (and also as very young children) we are in a natural state of one-ness, love, union, innocence…bliss. Then after a while, gradually as we grow up in the world, we begin to realise that "I am this and you are that", "I am here and you are there", "I am me and you are…you". We start to feel separate, we become 'self-conscious', we become afraid.


In some ancient Eastern languages, the word for 'Separation' and the word for 'Fear' is actually the same. We go on and on accumulating knowledge, identity, conditioning and this sense of 'Me' gets re-enforced over and over again. We develop an "Ego".

Psychologists reckon that this is essential for survival at this stage of our lives. However, although necessary, too much "ego" can eventually become a heavy burden. As adults, we feel isolated, lonely, small, restricted and incomplete.
Trapped in this prison of a mind-made-ME, we long to expand, to grow, to melt, to merge with someone, something…anything. We ache to be back in that place that we once knew. This has all happened because we have forgotten Who We Truly Are. Our light has become hidden under the bushel of fear, a false self, a mask, a defense, and/or an idea.


The cure is Love.


Love is the essence of who we are and it is our way out of this mess. Love and fear are opposites. Fear was the problem, love is the solution. Fear means separation, love means union. Luckily, only love is really real.


I heard a Sufi story once:


A lover went to visit his beloved. He knocked on her door and his beloved called out "Who is there?"


"It is I, Rumi, your lover," he replied.


"Go away," she said, "There is no room in here for two of us!"


He was baffled, but went away and studied, meditated, learned, burned, unlearned and eventually surrendered and let loads of inner ego baggage go.


A few months later he came back to see his beloved. Again he knocked on her door and again she called out "Who's there?"
But this time his reply was different. "It is you," he said.


The door opened and he was welcomed in. He had learned the secret; he had remembered.


The word 'sin' originally means 'to forget' or 'forgetfulness' and so to be forgiven, to be redeemed, to be atoned, we have to remember something. We have to remember the truth that is at the core of who and what we really are, the truth that's in the marrow of our very bones!!


Truth is a word for anything that is indivisible: Love, the Now, God, Dharma, Logos, Tao, Energy, Nature, Life, Reality, Existence. To remember ourselves as a part of the divine plan is to be set free yet deep down, we are already free, love is freedom.


Love heals us, makes us whole again. (Interestingly, the root word for 'heal' and 'whole' is the same.) Our Ego NEVER feels complete, or fulfilled or whole. All our restriction, all our resistance, all our struggle, all our fight is basically against nature, against ourselves, against love. It's a fight we can never win! The part can never 'win' against the whole and eventually, one way or another, we will have to surrender, to yield, to let go.


"Love conquers all things; let us too give in to Love."
-Virgil


Love is the bottom line of every religion and spiritual pathway, to surrender ourselves to a higher, deeper, greater power. The word 'Islam' even translates as 'surrender'.

So it seems that our lives are a journey from knowing, through forgetting, to (hopefully) remembering again. We start out open and free and end up open and free. Somewhere in the middle we pass through a narrow tunnel. This tunnel is our identification with our small-self, "ME", a conditioned-ego, our cocoon.


The Buddhists say, "No self, No problem."


To me, that means no small, false, separate, scared self; no problems.


When they talk about 'dying before you die' I think they really just mean dropping the baggage; getting rid of all our un-natural ways and being natural again, returning to innocence, like a child, living 'in tune' with our own true nature, just as God intended, living love. Living like this you never fear death!


Jesus said that whoever is prepared to lose (their old life, their ego-shell) will gain (a new life, freedom, joy) He also said that the Golden Rule was to "Love your neighbor as your self", because he knew, he'd remembered, at the deepest level your 'neighbor' is yourself.


There is only One Self. Call it Love, call it Life, call it God or Truth or "The Ground of Being". It doesn't really make much difference. We are all truly, madly, deeply One!!!


Remember, re-member, be a member again of the whole of existence, of everything that is, was and ever will be.


In Hinduism, it's called "Lila", which means play. To be yourself is to be happy. To be whole is to be healthy (to be out of tune with yourself or the whole leads to "dis-ease").


We are each a vital part of something real, magic and infinite. We're each like different instruments in a divine cosmic orchestra. You don't need a reason to be happy and there is no reason to be afraid. Live, love, laugh, and learn.


"...and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
- T.S. Eliot


"Namaste", which (I think) means I honor that place in you, where you and I are one.

 

SUCCESS : Double Time !

Les Brown, a noted inspirational speaker, tells the story of one of his friends, a salesman, who was in financial trouble because sales were down. Les asked him, "How many phone calls are you making a day?" His friend answered, "Twenty five."


Les didn't hesitate with his advice. "Double them," he said. "Make fifty. Or seventy-five. Or one hundred."


The salesman answered, "Aw, man. that's too much."
"Too much!" replied Les. "You tell me that you are behind on your bills and then you say it's too much. You know, one way to get back on your feet real quick is to miss two car payments. How can you say anything is too much when you have everything at stake?"


The advice Les Brown gave his friend needs to be heard by people everywhere. It's amazing what we can do when we're "hungry" for success. Most people who say "I've tried," haven't scratched the surface of their potential.


Today, why not make a commitment to achieve your personal best?

WORK : Busy

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter ask for a job in a timber merchant, and he got it. The paid was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.


His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work.


The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees


"Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on that way!"


Very motivated for the boss’ words, the woodcutter try harder the next day, but he only could bring 15 trees. The third day he try even harder, but he only could bring 10 trees.Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.


"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.


"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.


"Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees..."

LIFE : Five Short Chapters on Change

Chapter 1.
I walk down a street and there's a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. It takes forever to get out. It's my fault.


Chapter 2.
I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It still takes a long time to get out. It's not my fault.


Chapter 3.
I walk down the same street. I fall in the hole again. It's becoming a habit. It is my fault. I get out immediately.


Chapter 4.
I walk down the same street and see the deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.


Chapter 5.
I walk down a different street.

The Secret of Jimmy Yen

A jury of distinguished scholars and scientists, including Albert Einstein and Orville Wright thought enough of Jimmy Yen to vote him one of the top ten Modern Revolutionaries of the Twentieth Century. Yet all he did was teach Chinese peasants to read.


What made that so amazing was that for four thousand years reading and writing in China was only done by the Scholars. "Everybody" knew, including the peasants themselves, that peasants were incapable of learning.


That thoroughly ingrained cultural belief was Jimmy Yen's first impossible" barrier. The second barrier was the Chinese language itself, consisting of 40,000 characters, each character signifying a different word! The third barrier was the lack of technology and good roads. How could Jimmy Yen reach the 350 million peasants in China?


Impossible odds, an impossibly huge goal-and yet he had almost attained it when he was forced (by Communism) to leave his country.


Did he give up? No. He learned from defeat and expanded his goal: Teach the rest of the Third World to read. Practical reading programs, like the ones he invented in China, started pumping out literate people like a gushing oil well in the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kenya, Columbia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Ghana, India-people became literate. For the first time in their entire genetic history, they had access to the accumulated knowledge of the human race.


For those of us who take literacy for granted, I'd like you to consider for a moment how narrow your world would be if you'd never learned how to read and there was no access to radios or TVs.


180,000 Chinese peasants were hired by the Allied Forces in WW1 as laborers in the war effort. Most of them had no idea-not a clue-where England, Germany or France was, they didn't know what they were being hired to do, and didn't even know what a war was!


Try to grasp, if you will, the vacancy, the darkness, the lack that existed in those people because they couldn't read. Jimmy Yen was a savior to them.


What was the secret of Jimmy Yen's success? He found a real need, and found in himself a strong desire to answer that need. And he took some action: He tried to do something about it even though it seemed impossible. He worked long hours. And he started with what he had in front of him and gradually took on more and more, a little upon a little.


The English author Thomas Carlyle said, "Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand." And that's what Jimmy Yen did. He started out teaching a few peasants to read, with no desks, no pens, no money, no overhead projectors. He started from where he found himself and did what was clearly at hand.

And that's all you need to do. Start now. Start here. And do what lies clearly at hand.

Just Do It

Author Elbert Hubbard told the story of an incident during the Spanish-American War. It was imperative that the president get a message to the leader of the insurgents. His name was Garcia and he was known to fighting somewhere in the mountains of Cuba, but no mail or telegraph could reach him. Someone said, "There's a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia for you if anybody can."


Rowan took the letter without hesitation. He sealed it in a leather pouch strapped over his heart. He landed in the dark of night off the coast of Cuba and make his way to the mountains, and after much difficulty, found Garcia. He handed him the letter, turned around and headed home. Hubbard tells this story in "A Letter to Garcia." Rowan didn't ask, "Exactly where is he?" or "I doubt if I can do it." There was a job to be done and he did it.

Instead of making a dozen excuses why you can't complete the task, think about Rowan. Deliver the goods!

A Ten-Cent Idea

When young F. W. Woolworth was a store clerk, he tried to convince his boss to have a ten-cent sale to reduce inventory.


The boss agreed, and the idea was a resounding success. This inspired Woolworth to open his own store and price items at a nickel and a dime. He needed capital for such a venture, so he asked his boss to supply the capital for part interest in the store.


His boss turned him down flat. "The idea is too risky," he told Woolworth. "There are not enough items to sell for five and ten cents." Woolworth went ahead without his boss's backing, and he not only was successful in his first store, but eventually he owned a chain of F. W. Woolworth stores across the nation. Later, his former boss was heard to remark, "As far as I can figure out, every word I used to turn Woolworth down cost me about a million dollars."

An Average Person

What does it take to succeed on a big scale?


A tremendous god-given talent? Inherited wealth? A decade of postgraduate education? Connections with the top people in your field?


Fortunately for most of us, what it takes is something very simple and accessible: clear, written goals.


A study of Harvard graduates found that after 20 years, the three percent of them who had written goals achieved more financially than the other 97% combined!


"An average person with average talent, ambition and education, can oustrip the most brilliant genius in our society, if that person has clear, focused goals."

Focus Your Thinking

On a clear, bright sunny day take powerful magnifying glass and a stack of newspapers and go outside for an experiment. Hold the magnifying glass over a pile of crumpled pages. Even though you are magnifying the power of the sun's rays through the glass lens, you will never start a fire - if you keep moving the glass.

But if you hold the magnifying glass still, allowing it to focus the rays in a concentrated beam of sun energy, you harness the power of the sun and multiply it through the lens - starting a fire.

Focusing also works with your power of thought! Try it and ignite your wandering ideas.

Have a nice weekend

Omar Akram & his music

Omar Akbar was Born in Kabul Afghanistan and started studying music at the age of 15 learning the Tabla from Ustad Asef in Kabul. He graduated from Naderia (Omar-e-Shahid) high school and in 1983 due to the political crisis in Afghanistan, he moved to India. His passion and desire for music grew even stronger being in the heartland of music which motivated him to attend one of India's most well known music schools, Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra in New Delhi to learn music professionaly. He started learning light classical music (Ghazals) from ustad Shanti Hiranand for four years & then moving on to learning classical music from Ustad Akhtar Nawaz And Anita Roy for almost two years.



During these memorable years, Omar also became close friends with fellow musicians Ustad Khalil Ghudaz, one of Afghanistan's top Sitar players and Ustad Ulfat Aahang. Additionally, he met many other well-known Indian Artists over there inlcuding Ustad Besmellah khan, Ustad Zaker Hossain , Ustad Amjad Ali khan, and Kishori Amonkar from whom Omar had the privlage of taking some lessons. In 1988 Omar signed a contract with All India Radio and recorded several songs with the station. While these were some of the most memorable and sweet years in Omar's life, he once again had to take a big new step in his life and came to United States in 1992. He stayed in New York for the first few years of his life in the US and then moved to California where he currently resides with this family.


His hard work day and night with music in addition to normal life's activities allowed him to become a successful artist. Omar has always strived to be unique in his own way by studying different cultures closely and learning as much as he can from music styles created and played all around the globe. His dream and focus is to take advantage of every second of this life and leave a postive and constructive memory in the heart of everyone he comes across through his music and singing.

 

My Love



 Dancing with the wind

LOVE

 

“Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.”

"If you love something let it go free. If it doesn't come back, you never had it. If it comes back, love it forever."

"To love someone is nothing, to be loved by someone is something, but to be loved by the one you love is everything."

If you love something, let it go. If it comes back to you, its yours forever. If it doesn't, then it was never meant to be.



Keep Your Goals in Sight

When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.


Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.


On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid grip of the sea, she struggled on - hour after hour - while millions watched on national television.


Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn't much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.


Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, "Look, I'm not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it." It was not fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.


Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men's record by two hours!

Attitude : Trees That Wood

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty."


Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull."


Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me."


After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest.


At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship.


When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down.


When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams.


Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat.


Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it.


The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

4 Temperament Types

Each of the four types of humours corresponded to a different personality type.

Sanguine

The Sanguine temperament personality is fairly extroverted. People of a sanguine temperament tend to enjoy social gatherings, making new friends and tend to be quite loud. They are usually quite creative and often daydream. However, some alone time is crucial for those of this temperament. Sanguine can also mean very sensitive, compassionate and thoughtful. Sanguine personalities generally struggle with following tasks all the way through, are chronically late, and tend to be forgetful and sometimes a little sarcastic. Often, when pursuing a new hobby, interest is lost quickly when it ceases to be engaging or fun. They are very much people persons. They are talkative and not shy. For some people, these are the ones you want to be friends with and usually they become life long friends. Sanguine can be sometimes emotional.


Choleric

A person who is choleric is a do-er. They have a lot of ambition, energy, and passion, and try to instil it in others. They can dominate people of other temperaments, especially phlegmatic types. Many great charismatic military and political figures were cholerics. They like to be leaders and in charge of everything.



Melancholic

A person who is a thoughtful ponderer has a melancholic disposition. Often very considerate and get rather worried when they could not be on time for events, melancholics can be highly creative in activities such as poetry and art - and can become occupied with the tragedy and cruelty in the world. A melancholic is also often a perfectionist. They are often self-reliant and independent; one negative part of being a melancholic is sometimes they can get so involved in what they are doing they forget to think of others.


Phlegmatic

Phlegmatics tend to be self-content and kind. They can be very accepting and affectionate. They may be very receptive and shy and often prefer stability to uncertainty and change. They are very consistent, relaxed, rational, curious, and observant, making them good administrators. However they can also be very passive-aggressive.

Be positive

A Motivational story about  Positive Thinking  

Read this, and let it really sink in... Then, choose how you start your day tomorrow...

Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!" He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant.


The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.


Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.


I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.


"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."


I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.


Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.


I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. “The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live."


"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. Jerry continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.'
I knew I needed to take action." " What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'"


Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Positive thinking the the first step towards a happy life.
Attitude is everything
If everyone applies just these, the whole world will live in happiness.

Thank you for reading...

A Million Dollar Lesson

A Million Dollar Lesson

A cab drive taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Motivational speakers charge thousands of dollars to impart his kind of training to corporate executives and staff. It cost me a $12 taxi ride.


I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on a client. Time was of the esssence and my plan included a quick turnaround trip from and back to the airport. A spotless cab pulled up.


The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortabley seated before he closed the door. As he got in the driver's seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.


Well! I looked around for a " Candid Camera!: Wouldn't you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, "Obviously you take great pride in your work. You must have a story to tell."


"You bet," he replied, " I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my niche in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be.


I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day's work and done it well. I evaluate my personal assets and ...wham! I became a cab driver.


One thing I know for sure, to be in my business I could simply just meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXCEED the customers's expectations! I like both the sound and the return of being " great " better than just getting b on " average".


Did I tip him big time? You bet! Corporate America's loss is the traveling folks's friend!

---Lessons :
Go an Extra Mile when providing any Service to others.
There is no good or bad job. You can make any job good.
Good service always brings good return.

When the impossible become possible.

You almost believe it is real!!!

The flying penguins

The making flying penguins

Watch, observe, learn & smile

Stalking Cat vers2

10 Cutest Cat Moments