Admiration Learn to admire with the desire to acquire. (Source unknown) What is this rhyming ditty all about? Surely, it’s more than coveting someone else's prized possession. More likely, it’s a challenge to pursue the qualities you discover in another person. You...
Make a Difference [People] are willing to follow if given a chance to make a difference. (Sam Ranier, author) It sometimes seems that some leaders are stuck in a rut, offering the same information and challenges they’ve been offering forever. No one is interested in...
Thinking An open mind makes a wide-open future possible. (Anonymous) Some folks are so closed-minded that they can’t even imagine anything different from what they already know for sure. They’re really missing out on opportunities to learn and enjoy new experiences....
Against the Wind Kites rise highest against the wind—not with it! (Winston Churchill, British WW II prime minister) A lot of us have not had much success flying kites. To the contrary, often without much effort some kids have kites of all sizes and shapes soaring high...
You are Blessed! Forget the day’s troubles, remember the day’s blessings. (Source unknown) That’s another “easier said than done” sentiment. Troubles seem to mount more quickly and higher than blessings sometimes. But remembering an old church hymn might help. “When...
Thoughts Once you replace your negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start getting positive results. (Willie Nelson, Country music star) It seems like such simple advice, but many have found it’s not all that easy. The news about illnesses, civil disruptions,...
Moving Up Don’t complain about the bottom rungs of the ladder; they helped to get you higher. (Warren Wiersbe, writer) Some people are so enamored with their own position in life that they don't remember how they got there. They’ve forgotten the months and years they...
Leave the Safe Harbor A ship in port is safe, but that's not what ships are built for. (John A. Shedd, 19th & 20th century business executive) Safety may be the primary concern when it comes to shipping, but you won’t have much use for the ship if it does not...
Friendship III Life is partly what we make it, and partly what is made by the friends whom we choose. (Tehyi Hsieh, 20th century Chinese author) Most of us don’t live life alone. Even after we’ve flown from the family nest, whether it’s to continue our education, take...
Friendship II I no doubt deserved my enemies, but I don't believe I deserved my friends. (Walt Whitman, 19th century poet and essayist) Among the great blessings of life are those undeserved gifts of grace, benefits we don’t work for or earn. Like the gifts that God...
Friendship I The happiest moments my heart knows are those in which it is pouring forth its affections to a few esteemed characters. (Thomas Jefferson, early U.S. statesman) Jefferson’s comment sees friendship as an opportunity to share—to give something rather than...
Purpose You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. (C. S. Lewis, 20th century British author) Life without purpose, goals, or dreams can be drudgery. It is certainly very unproductive. When you're employed, there always seems to be something to...