The Secret To Succes

A young man asked Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, for the secret to Success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning.

They met and Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their shoulders, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was much stronger and kept him under the water until he started turning blue.

The young man kept struggling and finally managed to get up. The first thing he did was to gasp and take a deep breath.

Socrates asked, “What did you want the most when you were under the water?”

The man replied “Air”. "I wanted Air."

Socrates said: “That’s the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you want air, you will get it. There is no other secret.”

The Little Things Matter #1

Stop And Take A Deep Breath

Ole Blue Boy was napping on the front porch of the farmhouse beside his favorite bone when Little Boo and the other puppies came running around the corner, tripping over each other in their haste, and rolled to a stop right in front of him.

"Whatever are we going to do?" yelped Boo. "The coyotes are coming! Run for your life!" Then they took off toward the barn to warn the other animals.

At that, Rosie, the mamma cat, ran to gather up her kittens. As she passed the pig pen, she yelled out, "Warning, warning! The coyotes are coming!"

In a panic, the pigs ran around & around the pen. They slipped and slid in the mud, grunting as they knocked into each other.

The horses in the field saw all the commotion and yelled, "Hey, pigs, what's up?" "Save yourself! The coyotes are coming!" they cried.

One after another, all the animals at the farm heard the news and quickly made preparations for the evil coyotes.

All except Old Blue. He was wise about the ways of puppies. And he knew full well that coyotes don't call ahead to let you know they're coming.

"Hold up there, Little Boo," called Old Blue amidst the chaos. "How do you know the coyotes are coming?"

"Because Crafty Crow told me," she exclaimed.

Right then and there, Old Blue knew something was up. "Really," he drawled. "And just where did he tell you this?"

"On the deck where we were eating," said Boo.

Old Blue took Little Boo around to the deck. There, having a lively party, were a flock of crows feasting on the dog food.

"What a great trick that was," one crow squawked, "fooling everyone into thinking the coyotes were coming so we could eat all the dog food!"

Poor Little Boo! If only she had stopped to think, she wouldn't have caused such utter chaos at the farm. But that's the way it is with puppies: they go full force with the emotion of the moment, even if it is illogical.

Unfortunately, we often tend to do the same ourselves. How many times have you seen a group of people in utter chaos over something that turns out to be insignificant?

As an example, take the media. They try to do this to us all the time, just for ratings. If something horrific happens somewhere, that night on the local news there's always a segment about, "Can it happen here?"

They try to get everyone riled up and, unfortunately, many people simply let themselves be manipulated. Rather than stopping to find the truth, they find themselves panicking over a situation they really know nothing about.

If you're wise, though, you'll take time to stop, think, and seek the truth. A calm mind is critical when everyone else seems to be losing theirs!

But how do you stay calm and collected, especially in stressful situations?

The first thing to do is to stop and take a deep breath. This action relaxes your muscles, sends some extra oxygen to your brain for clarity in thinking, and gives you a moment to consider your options.

Focus on separating the facts from the hearsay. Once you've clarified the real problem, you can seek an appropriate solution.

Now, isn't that much wiser than simply running to and fro in a panic? Things always turn out better when you take a moment to think before acting

Thinking Thoughts

Thinking Thought:  The expert in anything was once a beginner.

Thinking Thought:  Easy is the enemy of ambition.

Thinking Thought: You are what you settle for.

Thinking Thought: You can’t do anything without ‘doing’ something.

Thinking Thought: You can’t learn from those that agree with you.

Thinking Thought: We often can change things by simply changing our mind.

Thinking Thought: Years teach us more than books.

Thinking Thought: The only way to fail is to quit.

Thinking Thought: Your main competition will always be in the mirror.

Thinking Thought:  No Deposit, No Return.

Thinking Thought: Thoughts become things.

Thinking Thought: Better slow going somewhere than fast going nowhere.

Thinking Thought: We don’t know what we don’t know.

Thinking Thought: Every path has a few puddles.

 Thinking Thought: Every person in the world knows something you don’t.

 Thinking Thought:  Every child is a bundle of potential.

Thinking Thought:  One head cannot hold all wisdom.  

Thinking Thought:  Life is what you make it.

Thinking Thought:  Lost time is never found again.

Thinking Thought:  Someday is not a day of the week.

Thinking Thought:  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Thinking Thought: You can’t listen with your mouth open.

Thinking Thought: The fact that people are doing it is proof that it can be done.

Thinking Thought:  Money buys everything but good sense.  

Remote From Others

The Missionary travelled for many days by train, boat, and car to a far away island. As he explores the dreary but somewhat inspiring landscape, he turned to a local villager and said: "You're very remote here, aren't you?" She responded: "Remote from what?"

One Makes A Difference

A small boy was walking along a beach where thousands of small sea creatures had been washed up. During the low tide they all were stranded and doomed to perish.  

A man watched as the boy picked up individual creatures and took them back into the water. 

"I can see you're being very kind," said the watching man, "But there must be a million of them; it can't possibly make any difference." 

Returning from the water's edge, the boy said, "It will for that one."

Secrets to Emotional Well-Being

 Your emotions help dictate your state of mind. This means that to keep your state of mind intact, it's necessary to have emotional balance. That way, you can make it through even the toughest times.

You can enhance your emotional well-being, so when challenging times come around, you'll be more prepared to handle them!

These strategies can help you manage your emotions effectively:

1. Identify your support system. It's very easy to experience emotional dips. This is especially true when you’re making emotionally charged decisions.

Identify friends or family members who can be the voice of reason. While your emotions are cross-wired, it helps to have an external voice guiding you towards making an appropriate decision.

It's healthy to discuss various topics with members of your support system. It helps them see how you think in different situations.

2. Confront your emotions. Avoid hiding from negative feelings. Facing your emotions is the best way to overcome them. And the more you practice, the easier it will become to stay calm during emotional circumstances.

 If you're heartbroken, it isn’t healthy to try and pretend otherwise. Allow the reactions to come. If you feel like crying or screaming, go ahead. It will help you gain closure and a fuller understanding of your feelings.

 It isn’t necessary to question why you’re feeling a certain way. Identify the source of the emotion and work at confronting it instead. Avoid apologizing for your emotions.

3. Celebrate your strengths. There's no better way to build emotional well-being than by celebrating your strengths. Identify your attributes, talents, and skills that make you feel confident. Remind yourself of how resilient and powerful you are.

 Your strengths aren't to be taken lightly. They form your backbone.

Openly acknowledging your strengths sub-consciously helps you believe in yourself. In turn, you develop a sound emotional state.

4. Provide support to others. This goes hand in hand with relying on your own support team. Exposing yourself to the emotions of others helps you to process them better. You take things for face value. You can be impartial, fair, and just.

 When you support others, you’re required to be truthful and honest. Displaying honesty about someone else’s emotions can help you develop the same honesty about your own.

Helping others work through challenges can make you appreciate all sorts of emotions and build up your own emotional well-being.

5. Keep your surroundings positive. Maintaining a positive environment is very important. It helps you concentrate on positive emotions and aids in the healing process. It’s much easier to effectively manage your emotions when you’re surrounded by positive energy.

 Take part in activities you enjoy. This isn’t an effort to dismiss your emotions. It’s simply a tool for developing a positive mindset.

That positive mindset reinforces your ability to be impartial and fair. It's tempting to be hard on yourself, especially when you're surrounded by negative influences.

Remember that you have your emotions for a reason! They help you empathize with others going through similar situations and give you hope. Use these tips to enhance your emotional well-being. You’ll be glad you did!

Hear People Out

A farmer named George had a tractor accident. In court, the trucking company's  lawyer was questioning George. "Didn't you say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine,'?" asked the lawyer.

George responded, "Well, I'll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite cow, Bessie, into the..."

"I didn't ask for any details", the lawyer interrupted. "Just answer the question, please. Did you, or did you not say, at the scene of the accident, 'I'm fine!'?"

George said, "Well, I had just got Bessie into the trailer behind the tractor and I was driving down the road...."

The lawyer interrupted again and said, "Your Honor, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the Highway Patrolman that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question."

By this time, the Judge was fairly interested in George's answer and said to the lawyer, "I'd like to hear what he has to say about his favorite cow, Bessie".

George thanked the Judge and proceeded. "Well, as I was saying, I had just loaded Bessie, my favorite cow, into the trailer and was driving her down the highway when this huge semi-truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my John Deer Tractor right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting, real bad and didn't want to move. However, I could hear old Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible pain just by her groans.

Shortly after the accident a Highway Patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning, so he went over to her. After he looked at her, and saw her serious condition, he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes. Then the Patrolman came across the road, with gun still in his hand looked at me and said, "How are you feeling?"

"Now tell me sir, what would you say?"

Lesson: Always hear people out to get the full story.

Act In Love

One day a snake entered a workshop and as it crawled around on the work tables it went over a saw blade and hurt itself a little. At that time he turned and bit the saw, and while biting the saw blade he hurt himself badly in the mouth.

Then, not understanding what was happening to him and thinking that the saw was attacking him, he decided to curl around the saw as if wanting to suffocate it with his whole body, and shaking with all his strength. Unfortunately for the snake, this ended up killing him. 

Sometimes we react in anger, thinking about hurting those who hurt us, but we are only hurting ourselves.  In life, sometimes it is better to ignore situations, people and offenses, because sometimes the consequences can be permanent and disastrous.  It is always better to act in love and not hate.

Keep Moving

A large group of frogs were traveling through the woods one day and two of them fell into a deep hole. When the other frogs saw how deep the hole was, they told the two frogs that there was nothing they could do. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the deep hole with all their might.  

The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.  

The other trapped frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, all the other frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.  

When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time. 

Again the lesson is, never give up.  You have to keep moving.  

The Mule In The Well

The story is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. One day the mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' (that's mule talk for crying for help) and after carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. So the farmer called his neighbors together and told them what had happened and asked them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

To begin with, the old mule was hysterical. But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he should shake it off and step up. This he did, blow after blow. He repeated to himself, "shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up." No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought the panic and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up.  

It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped victoriously over the wall of the well.  

What seemed like it would bury him had actually blessed him, all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. If we face our problems, respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to benefit us.  

So when you going through rough times, remember the ole mule. Step up, shake it off and keep moving. 

Never Give Up Said The Frog

A careless frog was hopping around a farmyard when all of a sudden he fell into a pail half-filled with fresh milk 

As he swam about attempting to reach the top of the pail, he found that the sides of the pail were too high and too steep. He stretched his back legs to push off the bottom of the pail but found it too deep. 

But this wasn't your average frog, this frog was determined not to give up, and he continued the struggle. 

He kicked and squirmed and kicked and squirmed, until at last, all his churning about in the milk had turned the milk into a big hunk of butter. The butter was now solid enough for him to climb up on and hop out of the pail.  

The lesson is, Never Give Up.  Keep trying, keep moving and you will get there. 

The Bamboo Tree Story

Once upon a time a man planted a bamboo tree. It was a small seedling and the man cared for it each day.  He watered it and made sure it had the proper sunlight to grow.  After a year's time, the man saw that the plant had not grown at all, but he continued the watering and caring for it. 

After the second year the plant had not grown, but he continued watering and caring for it through the third and the fourth year. Suddenly, as if by magic, in the fifth year it began growing. In fact, it grew two and a half feet a day until in six weeks it was ninety feet tall. 

The bamboo tree's growth is not magic. During its first five years, when it seems nothing is happening, it develops miles of roots beneath the ground. Though no growth is visible, the foundation is being established and strengthened. 

The lesson:  There are times when we feel our lives are standing still and nothing is changing.  In reality, those are the days we are building our own roots and growing strong for the days ahead. 

Pay Attention

All the first-year students at the Vet School were attending their first anatomy class with a real dead cow. They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a sheet.

The professor started the class by telling them, "In Veterinary medicine it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor".

"The first is that you not be disgusted by anything involving the animal's body."

For an example, the professor pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the butt of the cow, withdrew it, and stuck his finger in his mouth.

"Now go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students.

The students started to freaked out, hesitated for several minutes, but eventually took turns sticking a finger in the butt of the dead cow and sucking on it.

When everyone finished, the Professor looked at them and said, "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and then I sucked on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention. Life's tough but it's even tougher when you don’t pay attention.  

The Twenty Dollar Bill Story

 A well known speaker started his talk by holding up a $20 bill.  "Who would like this $20 bill he asked the people in the audience?"

Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you here today, but first, let me do this."

He then crumpled the 20 dollar bill up and asked, "Who wants it now?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "what if I do this?" He dropped it on the floor and started to grind it into the floor with his shoes. He picked it up, now all crumpled up and dirty. 

"Now, who wants it?"  Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped to our knees, crumpled up, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless, but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled up or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who care about you. The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know, but by, Who We Are. 

The $1000.00 Secret

The top salesman for a large corporation got up to speak; he had been top salesman with the company for several years. He had won many awards over his career and was about to retire.

He said, “Tonight I am going to reveal the secret of my success. I wrote it down on a piece of paper and I put it in this envelope. But success must be earned so I can’t just give it away. I'm going to sell the envelope to the highest bidder. You have my word that it contains my true secret to success not only as a salesman, but also in life.”

The bidding started at $5.

Then it quickly jumped to $10.

Then $50, $100, $200.

Finally one of the salesmen bought the envelope for $1000. The excited buyer took the envelope and kept it to himself until he got home that night.

What was written on the piece of paper?

How was he able to make more sales than anybody else for so many years?

What was this high priced secret?

That night at home the auction winner locked himself in his room and opened the envelope, unfolded the piece of paper and read the following seven words:

"The Secret To Success is To ASK."

The Eagle In The Storm

It seems that the eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it comes. The eagle flies to some high spot and waits for the high wind to come. When the storm approaches, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it. The eagle does not escape the storm.  It simply uses the storm to lift it higher.

The lesson: When the storms of life come upon us, and all of us will experience them, we can rise above them by simply setting our minds to sail a little higher.

Two Opposite Opinions

A shoe company sent two salesmen to Africa to determine the market potential for their products. One salesman was sent to the north part of Africa, while the other salesman was sent to the south part of Africa. Both the salesmen completed a survey of the target market and called back to the home office. The salesman sent to the north part of Africa reported “No one here wears any shoes, there is no market for us here!”. The other salesman sent a message “No one here wears any shoes, there is a huge market for us, send inventory fast!”.

When a bird is alive, it eats ants...

when the bird is dead, ants eat the bird.

Things can change quickly.

Ebay Income Possibilities

If you've ever read an article about eBay, you will have seen the kinds of incomes people make - it isn't unusual to hear of people making thousands of dollars per month on eBay.

Next time you're on eBay, take a look at how many PowerSellers there are: you'll find quite a few. Now consider that every single one of one of them must be making at least $1,000 per month, as that's eBay's requirement for becoming a PowerSeller. Silver PowerSellers make at least $3,000 each month, while Gold PowerSellers make more than $10,000, and the Platinum level is $25,000. The top ranking is Titanium PowerSeller, and to qualify you must make at least $150,000 in sales every month!

The fact that these people exist gives you come idea of the income possibilities here. Most of them never set out to even set up a business on eBay - they simply started selling a few things, and then kept going. There are plenty of people whose full-time job is selling things on eBay, and some of them have been doing it for years now. Can you imagine that? Once they've bought the stock, everything else is pretty much pure profit for these people - they don't need to pay for any business premises, staff, or anything else. There are multi-million pound businesses making less in actual profit than eBay PowerSellers do.

Even if you don't want to quit your job and really go for it, you can still use eBay to make a significant second income. You can pack up orders during the week and take them down to the post office for delivery each Saturday. There are few other things you could be doing with your spare time that have anywhere near that kind of earning potential.

What's more, eBay doesn't care who you are, where you live, or what you look like: some PowerSellers are very old, or very young. Some live out in the middle of nowhere where selling on eBay is one of the few alternatives to farming or being very poor. eBay tears down the barriers to earning that the real world constantly puts up. There's no job interview and no commuting involved - if you can post things, you can do it.

Put it this way: if you know where to get something reasonably cheaply that you could sell, then you can sell it on eBay - and since you can always get discounts for bulk at wholesale, that's not exactly difficult. Buy a job lot of something in-demand cheaply, sell it on eBay, and you're making money already, with no set-up costs.

If you want to dip your toe in the water before you commit to actually buying anything, then you can just sell things that you've got lying around in the house. Search through that cupboard of stuff you never use, and you'll probably find you've got a few hundred dollars' worth of stuff lying around in there! This is the power of eBay: there is always someone who wants what you're selling, whatever it might be, and since they've come looking for you, you don't even need to do anything to get them to buy it.

So you want to get started on eBay? Well, that's great! There are only a few little things you need to learn to get started.