Some people are successful in mastering life,
while others permit life to master them.

The split in you is very clear.
There is a part of you that knows what it should do,
and a part that does what it feels like doing.
If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins.

Once you understand these opposing forces warring within you,
you come to a knowledge of the truth,
and you no longer remain a slave.
A clear understanding of this will make you the master of your life.

Are you controlled by your thoughts
or are you controlling your thoughts?
If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.

If you are ruled by your mind you are a king,
if by your body, a slave.

Big Thinking Precedes Big Achivement

High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.
You'll always hit what you aim for in the long run.

So why not aim high?

Have the courage to follow your dreams.
It's the first step towards attaining your destiny.

If you don't have a dream,
how are you going to make it come true?
If you can dream it, you can do it.
The empire of your future resides in your mind.

Life's Overwhelming Complexities

"One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth Mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class yelled, "Yes."

The time management expert replied, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is,
no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!"

"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you do not put the big rocks in first,  you'll never get them in at all. What are the 'big rocks' in your life,
time with your loved ones, your faith, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIGROCKS in first or you will never get them in at all. So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the 'big rocks' in my life? Then, put those in your jar first."

THE TIME TO ACT by Jim Rohn

Engaging in genuine discipline requires that you develop
the ability to take action. You don't need to be hasty if
it isn't required, but you don't want to lose much time
either. Here's the time to act: when the idea is hot and
the emotion is strong.

Let's say you would like to build your library. If that is
a strong desire for you, what you've got to do is get the
first book. Then get the second book. Take action as soon
as possible, before the feeling passes and before the idea
dims. If you don't, here's what happens -

- YOU FALL PREY TO THE LAW OF DIMINISHING INTENT -

We intend to take action when the idea strikes us. We
intend to do something when the emotion is high. But if we
don't translate that intention into action fairly soon,
the urgency starts to diminish. A month from now the
passion is cold. A year from now it can't be found.

So take action. Set up a discipline when the emotions are
high and the idea is strong, clear, and powerful. If
somebody talks about good health and you're motivated by
it, you need to get a book on nutrition. Get the book
before the idea passes, before the emotion gets cold.
Begin the process. Fall on the floor and do some push-ups.
You've got to take action; otherwise the wisdom is wasted.
The emotion soon passes unless you apply it to a
disciplined activity. Discipline enables you to capture the
emotion and the wisdom and translate them into action.
The key is to increase your motivation by quickly setting
up the disciplines. By doing so, you've started a whole
new life process.

Here is the greatest value of discipline: self-worth, also
known as self-esteem. Many people who are teaching self-
esteem these days don't connect it to discipline. But once
we sense the least lack of discipline within ourselves, it
starts to erode our psyche. One of the greatest temptations
is to just ease up a little bit. Instead of doing your
best, you allow yourself to do just a little less than your
best. Sure enough, you've started in the slightest way to
decrease your sense of self-worth.

There is a problem with even a little bit of neglect.
Neglect starts as an infection. If you don't take care of
it, it becomes a disease. And, one neglect leads to
another. Worst of all, when neglect starts, it diminishes our self-worth.

Once this has happened, how can you regain your self-respect? All you have to do is act now! Start with the smallest discipline that corresponds to your own philosophy. Make the commitment: "I will discipline myself
to achieve my goals so that in the years ahead I can
celebrate my successes."

We Have Two Choices

Jerry is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and
always has something positive to say. When someone asks him how he is
doing, he always replies, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

Jerry is a natural motivator. If an employee is having a bad day, Jerry is right
there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Because of this attitude he has several waiters who have followed him around
from restaurant to restaurant.

This really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him,
"What's the deal with you? Nobody can be that positive all of the time! How
do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have
two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to
be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad
happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose
to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose
to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose
the positive side of life."

"Oh come on, it can't be that easy," I protested.

"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk,
every situation is a choice. You choose how you react. You choose how people
affect your day. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line
is that you choose how you live your life."

I thought about what Jerry said for a long time.

Soon thereafter, I left the area to start my own business. We lost touch, but
often thought about Jerry when I made a choice about life instead of reacting
to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed
to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and
was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the
safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The
robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly
and rushed to the local trauma center.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from
the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body. I saw Jerry about six
months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were
any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined, but did ask him what
had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went
through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied.
"Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose
to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going
to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the
expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their
eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big, blonde nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She
asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses
stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled,
'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me
as if I am alive, not dead.' "

Jerry is alive today, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his
amazing attitude. I learned from him that day that we always have the choice
to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Now you have a choice: you can forget this story, or you can choose to let it
make a difference in your attitude and your life.

What is life really about?

You must do what you enjoy in life.  Otherwise, the stress of doing something you don't like day in and day out will make you miserable.  Life is seven steps forward and five steps back.  Education teaches us to learn, and there is something both humbling and empowering about that.

If, after doing all the legwork, you still don't dare try living your dream, then I think you have failed straight away.  Falling flat on your face would never feel good, but remember, you would have learnt a valuable lessons after every failure.  Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing started out selling plastic flowers.  If he hadn't dared to live his dreams, would he be who he is today?

You must have gall and guts to execute any plan for passion.  Life is short, so make the most of it.  Small hearts beget small actions.  Generosity, on the other hand, generates happiness.  Always ask yourself:  If I had only half-an-hour to live, how would I want people to remember me?

Give Before You Get

It's a universal law: You have to give before you get.
You must plant your seeds before you reap the harvest.
The more you sow, the more you will reap.
In giving to others, you will find yourself blessed.

The law works to give you back more than you have sown.
The giver's harvest is always full.
Those that obtain have little.
Those who scatter have much.

Your Mind

A mind is truly a terrible thing to waste. Brains are made to be constantly
interested. Brains aren't like muscles; muscles get tired when they are used
too much. Brains get tired when they aren't used enough. Brains not only get
tired, but over time, they can become smaller and more feeble.

Research is now showing that it is a myth that people lose their mental ability
with age.

What they have found is that people who don't continue to use their mental
abilitie, people who don't continue to learn and grow, lose their mental ability
with age.

Learning and growing is for everyone, young and old alike.

Embrace Change

We live in an age when it seems that almost anything is possible! Imagine receiving an e-mail half-way around the globe that was written only minutes before!

A clerk at a Philadelphia airline counter picked up the telephone and heard the caller ask, "How long does it take to go from Philadelphia to Phoenix?"  She was busy with another customer just then and intended to put  the caller on hold. "Just a minute," she replied.  As she was about the press the "Hold" button, the clerk heard the caller say, "Thank you," and hang up!

Our world changes so quickly we may think that most anything is possible. I heard someone mention that he believes that most of  the changes that will ever take place already have occurred. I don't think so. Our new reality is one of constant change.

Some changes can be very good, such as medical advances and technological break-throughs.
But most change is uncomfortable at first.

Do you resist our quickly-changing world, longing for the past?   Or do you embrace change and adapt with it? With all of its changes, the world can still be a wonderful and exciting place to live. Your attitude toward change is an important part of determining whether you can be happy.

Being Happy

As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can: by
making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been
given.

Happy people learn that happiness, like sweat, is a by-product of
activity. You can only achieve happiness if you are too busy living your
life to notice whether you are happy or not.

The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to
share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you
will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have
brought into other people's lives than you will from
the times that you outdid and defeated them.

The Future is a Big Adventure

Carve out a niche for yourself in your imagined future.
Then think and feel yourself as successful.
To achieve your goal in life, you need to project your end result.
Think of the elation, the satisfaction, the joy you'll feel when you've achieved
your objective.
Carry these ecstatic feelings with you every day and they will bring your desired
goals into view.

Prepare for your future don't live in the past.
Relish the good memories and use any bad ones as lessons in life.
You need to focus on your future not your past.

Sooner or later, those who win are those who think they can.
The cards you're dealt in life are less important than the way you play them.
Everyday you face a new deck and new cards.

Success is waiting for you.

You Do Not Exist For Yourself

The only hurdle between you and what you want to be, is the support
of others.  Your success depends on the support of other people.

Put yourself in another's place, and you'll know why they think and do
certain things.  You can succeed fastest by helping others to succeed.

Always think in terms of what the other person wants.  You'll get everything
in life that you want if you'll help enough people get what they want.
Doing things for others always pays dividends.

You're not an isolated island.
You're a piece of the planet, a piece of the universe.
Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement,
all success, all achievement in real life grows.

Help someone's boat across a river, and you'll find, your own boat has
reached the shore too.

Dreams Do Come True

You are never given a wish
without also being given the power to make it come true.

The achievement of your goal is assured
the moment you commit yourself to it.
If you have the desire, you have the power to attain it.

You can have anything you want in life
if you will sacrifice everything else for it.
Your dreams can come true if you pursue them.

Where there's a will there's always a way.

Opportunity Appears When You Are Ready

You're surrounded by all kinds of opportunity.
Taking advantage of an opportunity is always up to you.
Chance is turned into good fortune by successful people.

Luck is being at the right place at the right time.
When you're mentally prepared,
the right opportunity will present itself.

Talent alone won't make you a success.
Neither will being at the right place at the right time,
unless you're ready.

When the pupil is ready, the teacher appears.

When is Quitting Time?

Newspapers once reported about a young Taiwanese man who wrote 700 love
letters to his girlfriend in a two-year period. A letter almost every day! Seven
hundred letters telling of his undying love for her and encouraging her to
accept his marriage proposal.

Two years of sending letters got results. She announced her engagement...to
the postal worker who delivered all those letters! (I suppose she just became
accustomed to his face.)  Lucky for the mail carrier that her boyfriend didn't
give up too soon!

There may be a time to give up, but there is certainly a time to persist. My
kids, for instance, often wanted to give up music lessons. We encouraged them
not to quit. "Stay with the lessons,"  I told them.  I have spoken with many adults
who have said, "I used to take music lessons when I was a child. I regret the
fact that I quit too soon. I wish I knew how to play the piano today."

I have never talked with an adult who said, "I took music lessons when I was a
child. I regret the fact that I didn't quit sooner!"

Of course, it's not about music lessons...it's about knowing when to stay with
something and knowing when to quit. How many books were never written
because someone quit too soon?  How many relationships died prematurely and
how many dreams never came to fruition because someone gave them up?

Maybe it's not yet quitting time.

Honesty is the best policy

Morality may consist solely in the courage of making a choice.
Wickedness is always easier than virtue,  for it takes a short cut to everything.
But over time you learn, you can't make wrong work.

There are always two choices, two paths to take.
One is easy.  And your only reward is that it's easy.
You cannot do wrong without suffering wrong.

Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results.

You can never lose anything that really belongs to you, and you can't keep that which belongs to someone else.

You always experience the consequences of your own acts.

If your acts are right, you'll get good consequences; if not, you'll suffer for it.

Sooner or later everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.