Sunday, May 2, 2010

QUOTE: When inspiration lights your vision and courage precedes relentless, unmitigated and continuing action; when you embody this and present this day in and day out, the sheer force of it can eventually change the world. -- EH



Here's a short and inspiring clip on leadership that I think you'll like.

QUOTE: Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant, there is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks. -- Johann Gottfried Von Herder

Saturday, May 1, 2010

The Power of the Mind




If you can unravel this, who knows, maybe you'll be inspired to unscramble a few other of life's mysteries.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at
Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be
in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed
it wouthit a porbelm Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
QUOTE: At my age I do what Mark Twain did. I get my daily paper, look at the obituaries page and if I'm not there I carry on as usual. -- Partick Moore

Inspire Resolve


Goethe said, "He who has a firm will molds the world to himself."

I have seen again and again that the one who stands firm most often accomplishes the task they set out to achieve. One of the reasons I enjoy watching The Dog Whisperer, with Ceasar Millan, is that Ceasar never backs down. Even these big dogs with brains a quarter the size of ours figure out rather quickly that Ceasar will stand firm until he trains these dogs to do what he sets out to do.

I have seen vicious German Sheppard’s back themselves into a corner with nothing but a firm, assertive stance by Ceasar that the dogs recognized quickly as strength. Out of control Bull Mastiff’s usually in attack mode learn fast that they better not mess with Ceasar. He doesn’t use brute force either. Sometimes he will grab a dog and press it down to the ground, but this is the exception, not the rule. Ceasar embodies resolve.

Probably the best example of resolve for me occurred when I was ten or eleven years old and had gotten myself into some trouble at an amusement park. I had ignored a sign that said “DO NOT TOUCH THE GRASS” on a really slow and boring ride that glided past big bears and little raccoons playing banjo’s and singing really awful songs. When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I reached out to touch the grass. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Unfortunately, the grass was fake, which I at the time thought was as lame as the ride.

Well, when the ride was supposed to come to a stop in front of the gate, the ride carrying me and my friend’s father, who weighed over 350 pounds, just kept on going. It eventually stopped about 50 yards away and the attendant unhooking the bar across other’s laps, ignored us. Eventually we managed to wiggle out of the ride and escape over the fence and back to my friend and his mother.

On our way to the next ride, though, we realized that we were being tracked down by two huge guys from security along with a manager and his assistant who soon found my friend’s parents sitting on a park bench. The manager began harassing my friend’s parents, saying that I had vandalized their ride. He told them to get out of the park.

Fortunately for me, Mr. and Mrs. Foort would have nothing of it. In fact, I will never forget the firm resolve Mrs. Foort showed that day when she, a 300 pound women, linked her arm around her husband’s and, with their 650 plus combined pounds set deeply in the bench, she locked her eyes on the manager's and said in a calm, firm and unforgettable tone of total resolve, “And who, prey tell, is going to move us?”

No one did and we remained at the park the rest of the day.

So next time you find something important that you must accomplish, be calm, be assertive and be firm in your words and action. Remember the Foorts. Don’t back down. Stand strong and see what happens. Circumstances you thought were hopeless might prove manageable. Remember, strong-willed people change the world.

10 Great Things to Inspire You


Have you realized yet that there are at least ten great things waiting out there today for you to discover and appreciate? In fact, if you just reflected on it for a moment, you could probably come up with ten right now.

For example, as I write this, it is 72 degrees with a warm breeze blowing, plenty of sunshine and the smell of freshly cut grass wafting though my backyard. I am off today with the cool, tapping sound of the keyboard making music as I write. My dogs are serenely sleeping on their pillows and my day is unencumbered with “have to’s.” I can work on my blog! I can go on a bike ride. I can call a friend. In other words, life is good. There is plenty to be grateful for and as the day goes on, I will be sure and count at least ten great things about being alive and living my life today. Can you?

If you’re having a bit of trouble coming up with ten great things and you need a bit of inspiration, then you may want to visit Neil Pasrichs’s site 1000 Awesome Things. Neil writes with a lift to his prose and he writes about things that will lift your spirit. What are some of his ideas? How about when a baby falls asleep on you, or dancing when you're home alone, or laughing so hard you start crying. If you like those, he's got 997 more.

So when you feel a little down, think of things that lift your spirit, that inspire you to enjoy life more, that help you realize how lucky you are to be alive. I bet you're feeling better already.
(Photo from freephoto.com)