Boleware Blogspot

Gary stepped outside and knew at once that it was going to be one of those terrible days.   Everything was dark and gloomy, like a thunderstorm was only moments away.   But it was strange – the weather reporter had said the day would be sunny.    Gary continued on to his favorite coffee shop.   Inside the coffee shop, the lights were dim, as if some bulbs had burned out.   He thought, “What kind of lousy restaurant doesn’t change the light bulbs when they go out?”     Gary sat down and looked at the menu, but the dim lighting was making him more and more depressed.   When the waitress came by to take his order, Gary ordered his food, but he stopped her as she started walking back to the kitchen. “Why don’t you guys fix some of these light bulbs? It’s so dark in here.   Do you think your customers like to eat in the dark?” Gary, whose mood had gotten progressively worse since he left the house, spoke angrily and a ...

Many like to sit back and wait for an opportunity to come knocking. Unfortunately, wishing for opportunities doesn’t make them happen. You must look for possibilities in your life and strive to make something happen when you find them. Recognizing opportunities when they show up, and creating your own opportunities, are the best ways to achieve success. If you give yourself the chance, you may find that there’s an opportunity knocking on every door.   Don’t wait for someone else to find opportunities for you. Learn to recognize opportunities and take action promptly.  Be open to answering the call when new opportunities present itself. Like Milton Berle once said:  "If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."

The story of a thinker and a doer One day Jimmy asked Sally if she would like to help him set up a lemonade stand during the upcoming garage sale. Sally was a very creative girl. She had a lot of ideas and she set right to work. “We need a big sign – what should we call ourselves?” she said. “Should we set it up by the street or by the garage?” Sally had a million questions: Homemade lemonade or made from a mix? Regular or pink lemonade? What size should the cups be? Paper or plastic? Would Jimmy mind if they sold the lemonade in pink cups? How much would they charge? She had learned how to make brownies last week; should they sell brownies too? What if some people are on a diet; should they also sell sugar-free lemonade? What if someone just wants water? What if someone likes it sweeter? What if…   What if…   As they talked, it got late. The “what ifs” never seemed to end. They still hadn’t finished going through all the deta...

Mr. Wilson decided to go fishing and he promised his wife he would bring her back some fish. So he walked down to the river under the bright afternoon sun and sat down on a rock with his fishing pole.  But there wasn’t a fish to be seen. Every so often a little bitty fish would zip by where he was sitting, and he would chase it with his net until he would trip on a rock and fall face down into the water.   “Lousy fish!” Mr. Wilson grunted. The day wore on, the sun started to set, and Mr. Wilson still had not caught a single fish. He became frustrated and he was stomping angrily in the water when his next-door neighbor, Mr. Brown and his son Billy, came up to the river’s edge to watch the sunset and catch a few fish.  Mr. Wilson didn’t even speak to them as he stormed off because he was frustrated by his wasted afternoon.   “Gee!” Billy said. “He’s pretty angry, isn’t he?”  “Hungry, I suppose,” Mr. Brown said. “He should’ve waited a bit longer. T...

Three frogs sitting on a log, two decided to jump off, how many were left?  If you said one you were wrong. I will tell you the answer b ut first let me tell you about the f rog in a milk pail.... 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. Another Frog Story ...

Famous magician and escape artist Harry Houdini claimed he could escape any jail cell in less than an hour. One day, a small town in Britain built a new jail cell and they were proud of it.  They invited Houdini to come test it,  and he agreed. He walked into the prison cell full of confidence. After all, he had done this hundreds of times before. Once the jail cell was closed, Houdini took off his coat and went to work. From his belt, he got a flexible but tough piece of steel that he used as a lock pick. He knelt in front of the door and started working on the lock. He quickly discovered that something was unusual about this particular lock. For 30 minutes he worked and got nowhere.  And his confident expression disappeared. At the end of an hour, he was soaked with perspiration.  He tried all the tricks of his trade but nothing worked. After two hours and totally exhausted, Houdini literally collapsed against the door. And the force of his weight was enou...

I have always enjoyed reading the quotes of famous people. Not just because they are a lot of fun to read, but because there is so much truth in them. I also feel they are the shortcuts to learning, and they can be great motivators. I can remember a time when I had them stuck up all around the house and office. The post it notes work great.  Look what others have said about the quotes:  Winston Churchill said, “Every man who didn’t go to college can largely make up for that lack by reading the wise sayings of the great men of the past.” Thomas Jefferson said, "Mankind would lose half its wisdom built up over the centuries if it lost its great sayings. They contain the best parts of the best books." WM. James said, “To neglect the wise saying of great thinkers is to deny ourselves of our truest education.”  Samuel Johnson said, “He is the most useful teacher who condenses the most knowledge into short sentences.”  Many of the famous people of the world hav...