January 2008

January is always a good month for making New Years resolutions and promises that hopefully will help us through each day and we will be better off because of the commitments we have made to ourselves.  Here are some thoughts to start 2007 off on the right foot:

 To be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet

To make all of your friends feel that there is something good in them

To look on the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true

To think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best

 To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others, as you would be about your own success

 To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future

 To give so much time to the improvement of yourself, that you have no time to criticize others

February 2008

 Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself.  Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them.  Every day begin the task anew.

March 2008

“ENTHUSIASM AND WORK”

If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.

April 2008

“OUR ATTITUDES CREATE OUR LIVES”

When you look at the world in a narrow way, how narrow it seems!  When you look at it in a mean way, how mean it is!  When you look at it selfishly, how selfish it is!  But when you look at it in a broad, generous, friendly spirit, what wonderful people you find in it.

May 2008

“HOPE”

It has never been, and never will be, easy work! But the road that is built in hope is more pleasant to the traveler than the road built in despair, even though they both lead to the same destination.

June 2008

“TALENT”

If a person has a talent and cannot use it, they have failed. If they have a talent and only use half of it, they have partly failed. If they have a talent and learn somehow to use the whole of it, they have gloriously succeeded, and won a satisfaction and a triumph few people ever know.

July 2008

“MOTIVATION”

Praise and Recognition are common motivators. If each of us were to confess his most secret desire, the one that inspires all his plans, all his actions, he would say: “I want to be praised. “ Use it on others and see the results derived from it.

August 2008

“HAPPINESS”

Nine requisites for contented living: Health enough to make work a pleasure.  Wealth enough to support your needs.  Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them.  Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them.  Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished.  Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor.  Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others.  Faith enough to make real the things of God.  Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.

September 2008

“Empowerment”

The word empowerment is used all the time, but how many of us truly “Empower” the people around us?  Or do we just expect them to do what we say?  Or when they ask us for help or clarification with something we respond with, “just give it to me, I’ll do it”, rather than turning their question into a learning moment?

Regardless of our position and experience, there are always people that can do things better than we can, so get out of their way and allow them to succeed.  And remember, there are hundreds of ways to do most things and our way isn’t necessarily the best way.

January 2007

“WE LEARN AND RETAIN”

• 10% OF WHAT WE HEAR

• 15% OF WHAT WE SEE

• 20% OF WHAT WE SEE AND HEAR

• 40% OF WHAT WE DISCUSS

• 80% OF WHAT WE EXPERIENCE DIRECTLY

• 90% OF WHAT WE TEACH OTHERS

February 2007

“A New Day”

Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year. He or she is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret and anxiety.

Finish every day and be done with it.  You have done what you could.  Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in.  Forget them as soon as you can, tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely, with a high spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.  The new day is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on yesterdays.

“A Smile”

It’s easy to be pleasant

When life flows like a song.

But the person worthwhile

Is the one with a smile

When everything goes dead wrong

For the test of the heart is trouble

And it always comes with years

And the smile that is worth

The praises of the earth

Is the smile that shines through the tears

“Problems”

 Problems are not problems at all, but results that are dissatisfying.

You can’t solve a problem on the same level that it was created.  You have to rise above it.

The problem, is not that there are problems, the problem is expecting otherwise, and thinking that having a problem is a problem.

May 2007

“A TEAM”

T – Together

E – Everyone

A – Achieves

M – More

June 2007

“BE BRAVE”

BE BRAVE ENOUGH to live creatively.  The creative is the place where no one else has ever been.  You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition.  You can’t get there by bus, only by hard work, risking and by not quite knowing what you’re doing.  What you will be discovering will be wonderful.  YOURSELF.

July 2007

“Courage”

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

August 2007

“Anger”

Anger is the only thing to put off until tomorrow

September 2007

“Opportunity”

If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door

October 2007

“SKILLS / FUNDAMENTALS”

Success is neither magical nor mysterious.  Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.

Don’t wish it were easier; wish you were better.

Don’t wish for less problems; wish for more skills.

Don’t wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom.

Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day, while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.

November 2007

“Everything Changes ”

The only law that does not change is that everything changes, and the hardship I was bearing today was only a breath away from the pleasures I would have tomorrow, and those pleasures would be all the richer because of the memories of this I was enduring.

December 2007

“Choosing How our Day Will Be”

 Your morning thoughts may determine your conduct for the day.  Optimistic thoughts will make your day bright and productive, while pessimistic thinking will make it dull and wasteful.  Face each day cheerfully, smilingly and courageously, and it will naturally follow that your work will be a real pleasure and progress will be a delightful accomplishment.

January 2006

January is always a good month for making New Years resolutions and promises that hopefully will help us through each day and we will be better off because of the commitments we have made to ourselves.  Here are some thoughts to start 2006 off on the right foot:

PROMISE YOURSELF:

• To be strong, so that nothing can disturb your peace of mind 
• To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet
• To make all of your friends feel that there is something good in them
• To look on the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true
• To think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best
• To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others, as you would be about your own success
• To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to greater achievements of the future
• To give so much time to the improvement of yourself, that you have no time to criticize others

February 2006

“TAKE TIME”

The following profound statements may help us understand and realize the importance of time, what we do with it, and the effects it has on us, and those around us:

March 2006

“ACCEPTANCE”

• Accept the reality that you cannot do everything.
• Accept the fact that you are still learning.
• We all have the right to make mistakes.
• Success is truly getting up one more time that you fall down.
• There is no failure in trying.
• We must learn to strive for excellence and not perfection because, certainly, none of us are perfect.
• Also look closely. The grass is not always greener on the other side.
• You have the right to change your mind, to redefine your goals, and to change the course when the barriers appear that cannot be navigated.
• We should not waste valuable time and energy on things that are not working, or on things over which we have no control.
• If you cannot change a thing, sometimes it is beneficial to change the way you look at it.
• As an example, have you ever tried to push forward a long, stretched-out length of rope? It simply will not cooperate. It bunches up. But you can look at this problem a different way and discover that you can get the entire rope to move forward if you walk to the far end of the rope and then pull the rope forward. Look at things differently and try for a new approach.

April 2006

“JUST FOR TODAY”

I will live through the next 12 hours and not try to tackle all of life’s problems at once. I will improve my mind. I will learn something useful. I will learn something that requires effort, thought, and concentration. I will be agreeable. I will look my best, speak in a well-modulated voice, be courteous and considerate. I will not find fault with friend, relative, or colleague. I will not try to change or improve anyone but myself. I will have a problem. I may not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I will save myself from two enemies—Hurry & Indecision. I will do a good turn and keep it a secret. I will do two things I don’t want to do, just for the exercise. I will believe in myself. I will give my best to the world and feel confident that the world will give its best to me.

May 2006

“WINNERS AND WHINERS"

A winner says, “Let’s find out.”
A whiner says, “Nobody knows.”

When a winner makes a mistake, he says, “It was my fault.”
When a whiner makes a mistake, he says, “It wasn't my fault.”

A winner makes a commitment.
A whiner makes a promise.

A winner feels responsible for more than his job.
A whiner says “That's not my department.”

A winner says “ There ought to be a better way to do it.”
A whiner says, “That's the way it has always been done.”

A winner paces himself.
A whiner has only two speeds: hysterical and lethargic.

A winner says, “ I'm good, but not as good as I ought to be.
A whiner says, “ I'm not as bad as a lot of other people.”

June 2006

“PLANTING A SPECIAL GARDEN”

• First, Plant Four Rows of Peas:
Preparedness, Promptness, Perseverance, and Politeness

• Next to Them, Plant Three Rows of Squash:
Squash Gossip, Squash Criticism, and Squash Indifference

• Then Five Rows of Lettuce:
Let Us Be Unselfish, Let Us Be Faithful, Let Us Be Loyal,
Let Us Be Truthful, and Let Us Be Respectful

• And No Garden Is Complete Without Turnips:
Turn Up With Enthusiasm, Turn Up With a Smile,
And Turn Up With Determination

July 2006

“SUCCESS”

• Success isn’t measured by riches or fame or by how much you outdo the rest…
• It’s the measure of joy that you bring to your life that determines if it is a success…
• It’s not being better than anyone else, just better than you have ever been…
• You don’t need the answers to everything first…
• All you need is the will to begin…
• You don’t need to climb higher, run faster, soar swifter than anyone else who has ever flown…
• All you need is the wisdom to seek happiness, and the courage to make it your own…

August 2006

“Feedback”

These techniques will help increase the chance that receivers will accept the feedback you deliver:

• Use an “inanimate” approach – act as a mirror, not a judge. As a mirror, you will help people see themselves objectively and without emotion. If you sit in judgment, chances are good that they will get defensive.
• Focus on visible behavior, not supposed mental states or personality. That means you should base your feedback on what you can see, what people do and the effects of their actions, not on what you believe they feel, think or want.
• Restrict feedback to behavior people can do something about.
• Be specific, not general. Example: “you’re dominating” doesn’t say enough to show how someone’s behavior affects others. Instead, say something such as: You seem to miss other’s points, and they feel that if you don’t accept your viewpoint, you’ll attack them.
• Tell people what they can do to change instead of simply saying what they’ve done poorly. Feedback without suggestions on how to improve merely frustrates people and prompts them to defend their actions.

September 2006

“RISK”

• To laugh is to risk appearing a fool
• To weep is to risk appearing Sentimental
• To reach out for another is to risk involvement
• To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self
• To place your ideas before a crowd is to risk their loss
• To love is to risk not being loved in return
• To live is to risk dying
• To hope is to risk failure
• But risk must be taken
• Because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing
• If you risk nothing and do nothing, you will dull your spirit
• You can avoid pain and suffering but you cannot learn, change, grow, love, and live, without risk

October 2006

“ATTITUDE”

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is, we are in charge of our attitudes.

We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can change, is our attitude.

November 2006

24 Things To Remember and One Thing To Never Forget

Your presence is a present to the world. You’re unique and one of a kind. Your life can be what you want it to be. Take the days just one at a time.

Count your blessings not your troubles. You’ll make it through whatever comes along. Within you are so many answers. Understand, have courage, be strong.

Don’t put limits on yourself. So many dreams are waiting to be realized. Decisions are too important to leave to chance. Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize.

Nothing wastes more energy than worrying. The longer one carries a problem, the heavier it gets. Don’t take things too seriously. Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.

Remember that a little love goes a long way. Remember that a lot… goes forever. Remember that friendship is a wise investment. Life’s treasures are people-together.

Realize that it’s never too late. Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way. Have health and hope and happiness. Take the time to wish on a star.

And don’t ever forget… for even a day… how very special you are.

December 2006

“JUST DO IT”

Opt for the very best. Make Choices. Have it your way. These 10 little words are worth repeating: “If it is to be, it is up to me”.

Accentuate the positive. Be like “the little engine that could” who kept repeating, “ I think I can, I think I can, “ until he did.

Lets put our best foot forward as we continue to work toward our goals.

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I hope you have enjoyed the “thoughts” for 2006. I would like to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a New Year that brings to you good health and prosperity during 2007.

Sincere Regards,

Bud