A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door to his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house, and there was no sign of the dog.
Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room, the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter. The fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried that she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.
He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know how every day when you come home from work you askme what in the world I do all day?"
"Yes."
"Well, today I didn't do it."
--Unknown (I received from Grandma Hansen)
Friday, August 28, 2009
Natural Team
The flightless fairy penguin of Australia stands less than a foot tall and is clumsy on land, where the fox is its natural enemy. Alone, one penguin wouldn't survive for long. So, after each day in the water, they gather where the surf meets ths shore, waiting until the last penguin joins them. Then, shoulder to shoulder, they march up the beach to their burrows. They support each other, they rely on each other. And everyone, except the fox wins.
The acrobatci, high-energy dolphin must spend most of its time hunting to survive. But when a pod members is sick or injured, others will set aside their own needs to come to its rescue. A pair of dolphins, one on each side, will stay beside it, lifting it to the surface to breathe each breath--sometimes for days at a time--until it recovers the strength to swim for itself.
With every flap of its wings, the lead bird in a flight of Canadian geeese is breaking through a wall of air, creating a swirling vortex that provides a "push" for each follower. Some estimates show that geese in a V-formation can fly as much as 70 percent farther than they could fly alone. It's exhausting work to be the lead goose, but they have an answer to that too: they take turns. When the leader drops back, another takes its place.
--Baudville
The acrobatci, high-energy dolphin must spend most of its time hunting to survive. But when a pod members is sick or injured, others will set aside their own needs to come to its rescue. A pair of dolphins, one on each side, will stay beside it, lifting it to the surface to breathe each breath--sometimes for days at a time--until it recovers the strength to swim for itself.
With every flap of its wings, the lead bird in a flight of Canadian geeese is breaking through a wall of air, creating a swirling vortex that provides a "push" for each follower. Some estimates show that geese in a V-formation can fly as much as 70 percent farther than they could fly alone. It's exhausting work to be the lead goose, but they have an answer to that too: they take turns. When the leader drops back, another takes its place.
--Baudville
Friday, August 21, 2009
Friendly
"Sometimes, busy people need to remind themselves (and us) how busy they are by shaving off the last two seconds of what would otherwise be a pleasant interaction.
At a restaurant yesterday, the maitre d, who is paid to be busy, looked up our name in the reservations book and then said, "over there against the wall," while he pointed. He repreated this approach with at least three other parties.
How much longer to say, "Welcome, we'll be ready for you in just a second. Would you mind waiting over there please?" Amazingly, saying that while smiling takes precisely the same amount of time.
If you're going to interact, spend a few extra beats to be calm and gracious. It's hard to overstate how much better everyone will feel and how much more productive you'll become as a result."
--Seth Godin
At a restaurant yesterday, the maitre d, who is paid to be busy, looked up our name in the reservations book and then said, "over there against the wall," while he pointed. He repreated this approach with at least three other parties.
How much longer to say, "Welcome, we'll be ready for you in just a second. Would you mind waiting over there please?" Amazingly, saying that while smiling takes precisely the same amount of time.
If you're going to interact, spend a few extra beats to be calm and gracious. It's hard to overstate how much better everyone will feel and how much more productive you'll become as a result."
--Seth Godin
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
All That Matters
"Tell the truth. Sing with passion. Work with laughter. Love with heart. 'Cause that's all that matters in the end."
--Kris Kristofferson
--Kris Kristofferson
Execution
"The difference between a crazy idea and a good idea is all in the execution."
--Olivier Blanchard
--Olivier Blanchard
Elixir of Life
"I love discourse. I'm dying to have my mind changed. I want to know, you understand? I like listening to everyone. This to me is the elixir of life."
--Jack Nicholson
--Jack Nicholson
Kindness
"Hire [be] people who will treat the swithboard operator as friendly as they'll treat the managing director."
--Sir Richard Branson
--Sir Richard Branson
Achievement
"The measure of achievement is not winning awards. It's doing something you appreciate, something you believe is worthwhile."
--Julia Child
--Julia Child
Playing
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing."
--George Bernard Shaw
--George Bernard Shaw
Monday, August 10, 2009
Fun
When we are very young, everything is play. We don’t worry about failing because we’re so excited about the trying. We haven’t yet learned that we’re supposed to think of ourselves as being on trial before the world.
Think back to your childhood and the first time you rode a bike. Or jumped off the high dive. My guess is that the giddiness and excitement you felt outweighed any bumping-into-curbs or belly-flopping that you might have done. You didn’t do it perfectly, but you had a blast making the attempt. And because you had so much fun, you did it again, and again, until you improved. But the improving wasn’t the goal. The fun was.
So here is the reason why I’m saying that it’s vital to screw things up once in a while. You must learn that it is not the end of the world. That you can recover, and keep trying, and get better.
You must learn failure-resiliency. You need to know, deep in your bones, that you can always bounce back.
And maybe even have some fun in the process.
--Michelle Russell
Think back to your childhood and the first time you rode a bike. Or jumped off the high dive. My guess is that the giddiness and excitement you felt outweighed any bumping-into-curbs or belly-flopping that you might have done. You didn’t do it perfectly, but you had a blast making the attempt. And because you had so much fun, you did it again, and again, until you improved. But the improving wasn’t the goal. The fun was.
So here is the reason why I’m saying that it’s vital to screw things up once in a while. You must learn that it is not the end of the world. That you can recover, and keep trying, and get better.
You must learn failure-resiliency. You need to know, deep in your bones, that you can always bounce back.
And maybe even have some fun in the process.
--Michelle Russell
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Enjoy
"Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast--you also miss the sense of where you are going and why."
--Eddie Cantor
--Eddie Cantor
Creating Yourself
"The self is made not given. It is a creative and active process of attending to life that must be heard, shaped, seen, said aloud into the world, finally enacted and woven into the lives of each other."
--Barbara Myerhoff
--Barbara Myerhoff
Freedom
"Freedom is not given to us by anyone; we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice...No one can prevent you from being aware of each step you take or each breath in and breath out."
--Thich Nhat Hanh
--Thich Nhat Hanh
Question
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."
--Albert Einstein
--Albert Einstein
True Happiness
"True happiness is an acceptance of life as it is given to us, with its diminshment, mystery, uncontrollability and all."
--Michael Gellert
--Michael Gellert
Sharing Joy
"One of the sanest, surest and most generous joys of life comes from being happy over the good fortune of others."
--Archibald Rutledge
--Archibald Rutledge
Giving Up
"I have, despite all illusionment, never, never allowed myself to feel like giving up. This is my message today: it is not worthy of a human being to give up."
--Alva Myrdal
--Alva Myrdal
Essentials
"So, whatever you want to do, just do it...Making a damn fool of yourself is absolutely essential."
--Gloria Steinem
--Gloria Steinem
Importance
"You have complete control over your thoughts, which control your actions. Keep remembering what's important to you. Keep it at the front of your mind and it will happen in your life."
--Ralph Marston
--Ralph Marston
Growing Pains
"The effort necessary for achievement is often difficult and uncomfortable. It will stretch you and likely demand more of you than you thought you had. And therein lies the true reward of success."
--Ralph Marston
--Ralph Marston
Dream
"...while one is obliged to plan with care the stage of one's journey, one is entitled to dream, and keep dreaming of its destination."
--Shimon Peres
--Shimon Peres
Untapped
"No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born."
--Dale E. Turner
--Dale E. Turner
Self
"Allowing the truth of who you are--your spiritual self--to rule your life means you stop the struggle and learn to move with the flow of your life."
--Oprah Winfrey
--Oprah Winfrey
Kindness
"Trust me, life's too short. Besides, no one ever lost any sleep by being too kind or forgiving."
--Keith Scott, One Tree Hill
--Keith Scott, One Tree Hill
Veggies
"Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."
--Jim Davis, Garfield
--Jim Davis, Garfield
Hot Fudge
"Always serve too much hot fudge on hot fudge sundaes. It makes people overjoyed and puts them in your debt."
--Judith Olney
--Judith Olney
Teaching
"Tell me and I'll forget. Show me and I'll remember. Involve me and I'll understand."
--Confucius
--Confucius
Adventures
"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."
--Alan Cohen
--Alan Cohen
Relationships
"...create relationships that ignite movements...relationships, if nurtured and handled right, seldom end up in the trash can."
--Brains on Fire
--Brains on Fire
Passion
"Passions are those things that carry us away. Experiences that we get lost in. Things we're willing to sacrifice for, and personally invest in. They're irrational, not reasoned...Khalil Gibran wrote, 'Reason is the rudder of our seafaring soul, but it is passion that puts the wind in our souls."
--Justine @ Brains on Fire
--Justine @ Brains on Fire
Giving
"If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way."
--Buddha
--Buddha
Real Wealth
"Someone once said that when something is diminished it enhances the value of what is left. If there is an upside to our current situation, it is that with less economic wealth we might better appreciate the real wealth that is left."
--Mark Sanborn
--Mark Sanborn
Spending
"We have gotten in the habit of spending money we haven't earned, to buy things we don't need, to impress people we don't like. So get rid of that habit."
--Deepak Chopra
--Deepak Chopra
Place
"I've always believed in the idea that each of us has a particular place in the universe where we belong, and that if we find it everything will fall into place and we will flourish."
--Patrick O'Connell
--Patrick O'Connell
Communication
"Effective communication is the cement that binds an organization together. It is the foundation upon which successful teamwork and good customer relations are built."
--Connie Podesta
--Connie Podesta
First Class Performance
"People judge you by every action that you take. They keep mental bookmarks about promises you make and how you fulfilled them. You must always give a first class performance."
--Jeffrey Gitomer
--Jeffrey Gitomer
Mistakes
"To avoide situations in which you might make mistakes may be the biggest mistake of all."
--Peter McWilliams
--Peter McWilliams
Ordinary Favors
"Any ordinary favor we do for someone or any compassionate reaching out may seem to be going nowhere at first, but may be planting a seed we can't see right now. Sometimes we just need to do the best we can and then trust in the unfolding we can't design or ordain."
--Sharon Salzberg
--Sharon Salzberg
Smile
"Let us make one point, that we meet each other with a smile, even when it is difficult to smile. Smile at each other, make time for each other in your family."
--Mother Teresa
--Mother Teresa
Musically Speaking
"Music does bring people together. It allows us to experience the same emotions. People everywhere are the same in heart and spirit. No matter what language we speak, what color we are, the form of our politics or the expression of our love and our faith, music proves we are the same."
--John Denver
--John Denver
Doing
"Ability is what you're capable of, motivation determines what you do, attitude determines how well you do it."
--Lou Holtz
--Lou Holtz
Books
"Reading was a way to make friends or enemies, a way to discover how all these different people exist in the world and to rub shoulders with them."
--Amy Poehler
--Amy Poehler
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