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...
Confidence A good leader inspires men to have confidence in him, a great leader inspires them to have confidence in themselves. (Eleanor Roosevelt, late U.S. president’s wife) You cannot lead far or well if your followers don’t have confidence in you. In fact, you...
Influence There are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along. (Leo Buscaglia, late college professor) Buscaglia describes the waiting people as those “who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life...
Life You can’t pour from an empty cup. Take care of yourself first. (Source unknown) The significant question, however, is “What’s in your cup?” If someone bumps into you while you’re holding a cup of coffee, what spills out? Coffee, of course. When life comes along...
Words When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering (Don Miguel Ruiz, Mexican author) Remember the childhood adage: “Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me”? It wasn’t true, was...
Shortcuts There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going. (Beverly Sills, late opera singer) We’ve all had some misadventures with shortcuts, no doubt. Following a recommended shortcut with your computer sometimes takes you someplace you really don’t want to go. And...
Wants vs. Needs [It’s] so easy for our wants to become needs, but when we live like that, we spend money we don't even have yet. (Mike Lee, minister) The marketing industry has discovered the way to increase sales of just about any product we can imagine. All they...
Friends I think the best friendships are those that can stand the test of time. . . (Steve Pavlina, motivational speaker) Pavlina continues: “. . . where the friendship is based more on who you are than on what you do or what you have.” When we were kids, friendships...
The Future Stop acting as if life is a rehearsal. Live this day as if it were your last. (Wayne Dyer, self-help, author) Dyer continues, “The past is over and gone. The future is not guaranteed.” That’s good advice, but there is a sense in which life is like a...
Significance Success is not the same as significance. (Chris Suitt, blog writer) Winning a checkers game or completing a crossword puzzle might be considered a success by some. Winning a gold medal in the Olympics would get a lot more attention. But isn’t it just as...