Learning from Life Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know. (Pema Chodron, Buddhist nun) Some lessons in life seem to be never-ending. We might struggle against them, try to wish them away, or ignore them, but they are aggravatingly persistent....
Success Success is built on the ability to do better than good enough. (Zig Ziglar, late motivational speaker) Have you ever worked on a project until you were just tired of it and wanted to quit? You may have said, “It isn’t what I wanted, but it’s good enough.”...
Thanksgiving As antitoxins prevent the disastrous effects of certain poisons and diseases, thanksgiving destroys the poison of fault-finding and grumbling. (Clinton C. Cox, minister) This is a good reminder for us on this Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. Cox continues,...
Endurance It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. (Confucius, ancient Chinese philosopher) While that axiom would certainly not apply to the 100-meter dash in an Olympic contest, it surely has a broader and helpful application to life in...
Sincerity Those who have virtue always in their mouths, and neglect it in practice, are like a harp, which emits a sound pleasing to others, while itself is insensible of the music. (Diogenes, 4th century B.C. Greek philosopher) Today we night say rather crudely, “Put...
Choosing When the choice is to be right or to be kind, always make the choice that brings peace. (Wayne Dyer, self-help author) Have you ever been in an argument about who won the World Series or who was the vice presidential nominee in a specific year? In such a...
Others Goodness is about character—integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people. (Dennis Prager, talk show host) When we say that someone is a “good person,” what do we mean? How...
Relationships Relationships always take precedence over our rights and rank. (Mike Lee, pastor) We stand strong on the rights of individuals, and many people today are demanding to have what they consider to be their rights, no matter who may be in the way. Some of...
Friends If all my friends were to jump off a bridge, I wouldn't jump with them, I'd be at the bottom to catch them. (Steve Berry, American author) Parents have often heard the lament of their children, “All my friends are doing it; why can’t I?” Berry’s statement...
Comfort Zone Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone. (Danielle Strickland, Canadian speaker & author) What is the proverbial “comfort zone” we hear so much about? Presumably, it’s the places, habits,...
Encouragers We cannot be an encouragement if we live our lives in secret caves, pushing people away from us. (Chuck Swindoll, author) Swindoll continues, “People out of touch don’t encourage others. Encouragement is a face-to-face thing.” In an era of Facebook, smart...
Stardom The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team. (John Wooden, late sports coach) We seem to be in a star-crazed world. Whether it’s sports, theater, music, or dance—everyone wants to be a star. And the general public contributes to the craze by...