A mix collection of inspirational stories gathered from the internet and personal experiences.

Friday, September 27, 2013

WITH FAITH AND VISION

The Catalina Island is twenty-one miles away from the coast of California, and many people have taken the challenge to swim across it. On July 4th 1952, Florence Chadwick stepped into the water off Catalina Island to swim across to the California coast. She started well and on course, but later fatigue set in, and the weather became cold. She persisted, but fifteen hours later, numb and cold, she asked to be taken out of the water.

After she recovered, she was told that she had been pulled out only half a mile away from the coast. She commented that she could have made it, if the fog had not affected her vision and she would have just seen the land. She promised that this would be the only time that she would ever quit.

She went back to her rigorous training. And two months later she swam that same channel. The same thing happened. The fatigue set in, and the fog obscured her view, but this time she swam with faith and vision of the land in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind the fog was land. She succeeded and became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. She even broke the men's record by two hours.

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Quote of the day...

When something bad happens you have three choices. You can let it define you, let it destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.

~Unknown

Quote of the day...

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

~ Benjamin Franklin

Monday, September 23, 2013

Quote of the day...

You can conquer almost any fear if you will make up your mind to do so.  For remember, fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind.

~ Dale Carnegie

Quote of the day...

I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

~ Michael Jordan

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Quote of the day...

Please understand my friend, that where you find yourself tomorrow is a function of the positive decisions and actions you take today.

~ Akin A. Awolaja

Quote of the day...

Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.

~ Carol Burnett

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Quote of the day...

If your position is everywhere, your momentum is Zero.

~ Michael Korda

Quote of the day...

The size of the future you actually experience will largely be determined by one factor:  people you choose to connect with.  When you invite people who are truly committed to growth into every aspect of your life, your own potential for growth becomes truly unlimited.

~ Dan Sullivan

Friday, September 20, 2013

Get Real and Fearless

By Ton Pascal
 
Because we are bombarded daily with conflicting news about the World's social-politicalposition our personal needs and situations become more and more confused and difficult to assert and downright painful to bear. We must Get Real and Fearless when Positive Affirmations, Meditation or Relaxation isn't not enoughto keep us in the right path.

After my article, "Fearless in Difficult Times" was published, I received a load of very interesting emails. Besides the thank you notes and congratulations, I noticed that more often people asked for direct personal guidance as if they were still unsure that meditation and relaxation were not enough to get through this difficult period in our society.

Millions of jobs have been lost not just in the U.S A. but world over. Thousands of corporations closed their doors. General business is doing poorly. This has been going on for almost two years. But the good news we hear now, and thank God for it, is the slump is almost over!!!!!

Then we get this interesting example of economic news from this pool by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, BLS: "Non-farm payroll employment continued to decline in July (-247,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.4 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The average monthly job loss for May through July (-331,000) was about half the average decline for November through April (-645,000). In July, job losses continued in many of the major industry sectors."

Is it declining (the rate) or is unemployment rising? You would need a master's degree in social-political-financial-economics to make sense of it all and I don't have one.

But the government takes a very close look at the unemployment rate to evaluate the economy's growth, or in this case decline. 

Frommy side I don't find it encouraging, the fact that the numbers of unemployed people more than doubled from 4.6% in December 2007 when the recession started, to 9.4% in July 2009, was 9.8% in December of 2010. No degree needed here.

Where do I stand in the middle of all this, you ask, not wanting to look back at your losses trying to keep a positive outlook? How do I stand now in the way of achieving my goals and dreams? Is your next question?

Life is a lesson, I tell you. Of course you don't see me, since I am coming to your help in this article as a friendly ghost.
You blink, go blank, think to yourself,'like when my father said "a spanking is good for you?" no thanks.'

Take this roadblock as a test, I insist.

This is what I often refer to as 'taking up challenges' and transforming them into positive opportunities. My point being that I believe we are spiritual beings going thru this learning process as human beings living a physical temporary life, I tell you.
Where is that passion you used to have for . baseball, painting, writing, sailing, traveling?

You are too old? How about teaching? Volunteering? Take your pick.
You have the answer, don't ask me.

Isn't that great?

Yes it is, I tell you. Outside situations or people are more complex, which you must accept and work as they are. But 'you' you know, and you are readily available. And because this 'you' you can work on.
Did I miss a catch somewhere along these lines, you think to yourself, looking sideways making sure nobody is watching your reactions or actually seeing that you reading a self-help article.

Even if you don't accept entirely my principle, I continue, I hope you do take this sound advice:

· -A) Stop making excuses, telling yourself lies and take a hard look at the role you have in your present situation.
This is the first step to conquer your fears and regain control of your life.

· -B) You must be realistically honest and see things as they really are.

· -C)Accept responsibility for your role in life, no matter what situation you are in.

Skip these three steps and you'll be back to the same roadblock and questions as before.

You are the one and only who can achieve your goals and live the much-deserved life of your dreams.

And you are also the one and only who stands in its way.
Go on, you are on your own now. No one can help you here with this task.

Start digging.

There are all these old beliefs you have to give up and changes you must make to achieve your goals and live the life you dreamed about.
Once you dig up the truth about the role you had in all of the big decisions in your life's journey you very likely will need a chair in case you are not sitting or lying down.

A pattern will emerge and, surprise, surprise, it is YOU who has been keeping yourself down all this time and it might scare the . the daylights out of you. And it is very scary, I assure you.No one likes to look into their inner dark closet and expose their own skeletons and shortcomings.

How do you go about it? And with what are you going to replace all these changes and beliefs?

This is a major housecleaning. Do you think there is a specialized maid service that can help you here?

Your mind might wonder about the thousands of self-help books, TV psychic darlings and personalities. Which one do you go for?
Again as a friendly ghost, I tell you: None of the above!

It is all about you.

You have the power. You control and direct the necessary energy needed.

The short and the long of it: you create your own reality!

Do this simple exercise. Write down the questions about yourself you're most afraid to hear the answers to. Once you have honest and trustingly faced yourself, you will feel that a huge weight has been lifted off your shoulders. Don't fear the vulnerability you just uncovered. Denial is no place to hide. You are now a real spiritual human being and anything is possible.

Here are a few affirmations I suggest you use daily on your fearless road to success:

· I am a good man/woman.
· I deserve love, happiness, health and wealth.
· I am grateful for my life.
· I accept only what is good and positive.
· I am grateful for myself and my situation.
· I am now ready to receive all the love and wealth from the vast supply of the universe.

Every night before you go to sleep, visualize your next day and surround yourself with people you love and people who love you. Create positive situations, deals, and encounters with people who will positively influence your work. Positive affirmations and visualization open your mind to receive positive energy.

Have a great journey!

Ton Pascal

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ton Pascal is a self-thought, spiritual self-help advocate and author.
Because we are bombarded daily with conflicting news about the social-political world's position our personal needs and situation becomes more and more confused and difficult to assert and downright painful to bear.
It is how you connect with the people around you that are important. You can only love someone if you know how to love yourself first. This is the foundation and the building block that anchors your spiritual and material wealth. http://www.dreamyourlifepositively.com/

Thursday, September 19, 2013

Quote of the day...

Everyone's life is under someone's control - it might as well be under your own so that you can direct your destiny.

~ Harry Tucker

Quote of the day...

Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them.

~ W. Clement Stone

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Quote of the day...

The difference between whether you say, 'I wish I would have,' or 'I'm glad I did,' at the end of your life is whether or not you take DECISIVE ACTION during your life.

~ Chris Widener

Quote of the day...

You can't help someone get up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself.

~ H. Norman Schwarzkopf

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Quote of the day...

We can’t be afraid of change. You may feel very secure in the pond that you are in, but if you never venture out of it, you will never know that there is such a thing as an ocean, a sea. Holding onto something that is good for you now, may be the very reason why you don’t have something better.


~ C. JoyBell C

Quote of the day...

If you don't design your own life plan,
chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan.
And guess what they have planned for you?
Not much.

~ Jim Rohn

Monday, September 16, 2013

Quote of the day...

The size of the future you actually experience will largely be determined by one factor: the people you choose to connect with. When you invite people who are truly committed to growth into every aspect of your life, your own potential for growth becomes truly unlimited.

~ Dan Sullivan

Quote of the day...

There is no such thing as can't, only won't.  If you're qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change.  Go forward, go backward.  Whatever it takes!  But you can't blame other people or society in general.  It all comes from your mind.  When we do the impossible we realize we are special people.

~ Jan Ashford

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Quote of the day...

We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers. They see things in the soft haze of a spring day or in the red fire of a long winter's evening. Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nurse them through bad days till they bring them to the sunshine and light, which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.

~ Woodrow T. Wilson

Quote of the day...

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.

~ Napoleon Hill

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Quote of the day...

It is time for us to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever, and the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it.

~ Vince Lombardi

Quote of the day...

The person we believe ourselves to be will always act in a manner consistent with our self-image.

~ Brian Tracy

Friday, September 13, 2013

AN UNUSUAL MORNING

by Beverly Catchings

I got up early this morning at 4:40am to put the finishing touches on my son's reading fair project and to give myself time to set up the project and still get to work by 7:30. I woke the boys up earlier than usual so that they too could be ready. My youngest, who was excited, got up and immediately got dressed. My oldest on the other hand took his time.

When I finished ironing and went to take my bath, I saw him walking out of the house with no shirt on. He proceeds to ask me if I knew what time it was. I asked him to focus on getting himself ready because I was getting ready too. I also asked him to get the table out of the storage room for the display since he was walking out the door; he responded by lifting the trash that he was putting out as if to say, "I can't my hands are full".

Once I got dressed, while preparing to leave the house I realized that he was not ready, nor had he gotten the table out of the storage. At that very moment, though angry and disappointed, I made an active decision not to engage him. I made one comment..."all I ask for Lord is a little help". Then I proceeded to load the car. Got the table out of the storage and instructed the youngest to make sure he had all of his things.

It took me 5 trips to the car to get everything loaded. I then jumped in the car, look both ways, and nothing was coming, and pulled out of the drive. When I looked to my left, I noticed the butt of my neighbor's car in the passenger side window. She'd backed out of her drive at the same time as I and we'd collided. We both got out of the car to assess the damage. There was no physical damage that I could see. I thanked God, and then we bid each other a good day and pulled off.

When I got to my son's school, we unloaded the project. Again, multiple trips were made running back and forth to unload and set up. By now my time had dwindled and I still wanted to make it to work on time. As I was running to the car I noticed where she'd hit me. I had looked at the back bumper for damage and didn't see any, but in actuality she'd hit me on the front passenger door. I didn't have time to check it out. I jumped in my car and asked God to please get me to work on time without getting a ticket. You see by now I only had 8 minutes to get from my son's school to my job. Yes, I was speeding but I made it to work at exactly 7:30. Again, I thanked Jesus.

I almost dropped my head but then I saw a co-worker while walking in the building who'd given me some words of encouragement earlier in the week. His words, scripture read from Romans 12, and a quote by Helen Keller posted on My Daily Insights immediately came to mind. At that moment I decided I would be my usual self; extending my smile and bidding others a good morning.

After all, no one else needed to be affected by my misfortunes; and sympathy from others wouldn't change a thing in this situation. My positive actions were reciprocated in the students and staff as they passed my post. Their smiles automatically made me feel better.

After morning duty, I'd calmed down and relaxed. I gathered myself and proceeded to walk out to assess the damage to my car. Another co-worker walking in the hall asked how I was, I didn't want to lie, so I told him what had happened. He walked out to my car with me for moral support.

At first glance where the red paint from her car cover mine, it looked as if the door was bent. The same towel that I'd used to wipe off the table used for the reading fair was used to wipe off the paint from her car. Underneath the paint was no dent! I began repeatedly thanking Jesus. I even shouted. I look at my co-worker and assured him that I wasn't crazy...just very thankful...and not ashamed to show it.

Looking back, I realized that God had answered my original prayer and extended his hand from Heaven and provided me "a little help".

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Beverly Catchings is a licensed Social Worker who serves as the case manager for a mental health-screening program. She is a single mother of three (2 college students and a 10 year old). As an MDI subscriber she loves our daily words of encouragement. She can be contacted at bevaaad at hotmail.com .

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Quote of the day...

Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure.  The way you think about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it.  You are overcome by the fact because you think you are.

~ Norman Vincent Peale

Quote of the day...

Are you bored with life?  Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.

~ Dale Carnegie

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Quote of the day...

A day will never be anymore than what you make of it.
Practice being a "doer"!

~ Josh S. Hinds

Quote of the day...

Cry. Forgive. Learn. Move on. Let your tears water the seeds of your future happiness.

~ Steve Maraboll

Monday, September 9, 2013

Quote of the day...

Nobody ever wrote down a plan to be broke, fat, lazy, or stupid. Those things are what happen when you don’t have a plan.


~Larry Winget 

Friday, September 6, 2013

LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY DOG

By Suzanne Zoglio

It's graduation time and commencement speakers will soon share words of wisdom with new grads. Some lessons shared will be profound, and others quite simple.

What would I share, if invited? Things I learned in graduate school, principles proven in my consulting career, or tidbits picked up from my own mistakes? No, I think I'd share lessons I've learned from my dog.

Here are a few:

1. Play the hand you're dealt. Some of us are born into the lap of luxury; others are not. Some of us come programmed for joy, and others less so. Some of us are nurtured magnificently, and others are nearly ignored. Rocky was given up before he was two. You might think he'd be sullen, unable to trust, or stuck with a bit of a chip on his canine shoulder. Not so. He's a happy little guy who seems to demonstrate that it's not what you've been given that counts-it's who you become and what you do with what you've got!

2. Be Your Self. When we adopted Rocky, I almost forgot to ask his name. The clerk rolled her eyes and said, "It's Rocky, but I'd change it to Pierre, if I were you." We soon learned that this miniature black poodle was anything but a Pierre. He's athletic, funny, social, and uninhibited. Possibly, he's not even a purebred poodle. The name Rocky suits him well and he sports an all-over curly cut rather than a traditional poodle clipping. No matter what others think you should be like, it's always best, to be your true self.

3. Master the basics. Eat, sleep, exercise, and connect with your pack. Rocky is never too busy to eat, too distracted to sleep, or too tired for a walk. Nor does he ever turn down an opportunity to connect. His wagging-tail greetings, sloppy kisses, and ability to land smack in the middle of the nearest lap are all powerful statements of just how basic the need to connect really is. And yet, in today's 24/7 world, it is often easy to forget that family and friends are actually nourishment, and a major contributor to a sense of well-being.

4. Explore, explore, explore. Ever curious, and smart as whip, Rocky always seems ready to explore new territory. He'll happily learn a new "trick," check out new critters, climb new hills, or try new toys. In life, the choice is yours: play it safe and embrace the status quo, or face the unknown and continue to grow. Rocky would say, "Stretch."

5. Make each day great. Spontaneously, Rocky will tear through the house, barreling at a breakneck speed. Or, he might unexpectedly drop his rubber football at my feet, signaling it's time for a game of fetch. When he comes in from a walk, he sits patiently, "asking" for his treat.
Do what you love, ask for what you want, and seize opportunities as they appear. Don't wait for joy to come to you; instead, seek it out every day.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Suzanne Zoglio is a success coach, author, & national speaker. For over 20 years she has coached executives, presented motivational speeches and facilitated team-building seminars. Dr. Sue has appeared on radio and television in more than 25 states, been published in over 30 business journals, and featured as a life-balance expert in magazines including Time, Family Circle, Prevention, Cosmopolitan, First for Women, Marie-Claire, Fitness, and Diane. She is the author of Create a Life That Tickles Your Soul, Recharge in Minutes, Teams At Work: 7 Keys to Success, and The Participative Leader. Visit www.zoglio.com or contact her via email atswzoglio at verizon.net .

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Quote of the day...

Getting over a painful experience is much like crossing monkey bars. You have to let go at some point in order to move forward.


~C.S. Lewis