Category Archives: Autos

Big Ideas Conceptualised In Great Quotes!

Great quotes encapsulate big ideas in few words.  They inspire, motivate, and encourage in a memorable way.  On this blog I like to cover all aspects of building wealth, including interviewing authors, investors, and business owners who have achieved great success. In that spirit, I’ve assembled the top 100 quotes about money.

  1. Too many people spend money they earned..to buy things they don’t want..to impress people that they don’t like. –Will Rogers
  2. A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. –Jonathan Swift
  3. Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants. –Epictetus
  4. Money often costs too much. –Ralph Waldo Emerson
  5. Everyday is a bank account, and time is our currency. No one is rich, no one is poor, we’ve got 24 hours each. –Christopher Rice
  6. It’s how you deal with failure that determines how you achieve success. –David Feherty
  7. Frugality includes all the other virtues. –Cicero
  8. I love money. I love everything about it. I bought some pretty good stuff. Got me a $300 pair of socks. Got a fur sink. An electric dog polisher. A gasoline powered turtleneck sweater. And, of course, I bought some dumb stuff, too. –Steve Martin
  9. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest. –Benjamin Franklin
  10. I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy. –Warren Buffett

Recommended by Forbes

·  Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound ought and six, result misery. –Charles Dickens

·  Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. –Thomas Edison

·  What we really want to do is what we are really meant to do. When we do what we are meant to do, money comes to us, doors open for us, we feel useful, and the work we do feels like play to us. –Julia Cameron

·  I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for ten years. –Warren Buffett

·  A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore. –Yogi Berra

·  Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one. –Benjamin Franklin

·  Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time. –Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

·  Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. –Jim Rohn

·  Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. –Ayn Rand

·  Financial peace isn’t the acquisition of stuff. It’s learning to live on less than you make, so you can give money back and have money to invest. You can’t win until you do this. –Dave Ramsey

·  It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. –Seneca

·  It’s not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It’s the customer who pays the wages. –Henry Ford

·  He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses much more; He who loses faith, loses all. –Eleanor Roosevelt

·  Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. –Franklin D. Roosevelt

·  Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. –Norman Vincent Peale

·  It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy. –George Lorimer

·  You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you. –Maya Angelou

·  Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing. –J. Paul Getty

·  If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability. –Henry Ford

·  If all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion. –George Bernard Shaw

·  How many millionaires do you know who have become wealthy by investing in savings accounts? I rest my case. –Robert G. Allen

·  I made my money the old-fashioned way. I was very nice to a wealthy relative right before he died. –Malcolm Forbes

·  Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. –Steve Jobs

·  The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money. –Anonymous

·  Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. –P.T. Barnum

·  Try to save something while your salary is small; it’s impossible to save after you begin to earn more. –Jack Benny

·  Wealth is the ability to fully experience life. –Henry David Thoreau

·  The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator. –Ben Graham

·  I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. –Thomas Jefferson

·  You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you. –Dave Ramsey

·  Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow. If you want excitement, take $800 and go to Las Vegas. –Paul Samuelson

·  Every time you borrow money, you’re robbing your future self. –Nathan W. Morris

·  Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs. –Zig Ziglar

·  Never spend your money before you have it. –Thomas Jefferson

·  The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing. –Phillip Fisher

·  Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it. –Benjamin Franklin

·  It’s not how much money you make, but how much money you keep, how hard it works for you, and how many generations you keep it for. –Robert Kiyosaki

·  I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work. –Thomas A. Edison

·  If you don’t value your time, neither will others. Stop giving away your time and talents. Value what you know & start charging for it. –Kim Garst

·  Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. –Steve Jobs

·  The habit of saving is itself an education; it fosters every virtue, teaches self-denial, cultivates the sense of order, trains to forethought, and so broadens the mind. –T.T. Munger

·  Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.” –Joe Biden

·  If you live for having it all, what you have is never enough. –Vicki Robin

·  Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. Before you die, give. –William A. Ward

·  We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. –Winston Churchill

·  Wealth after all is a relative thing since he that has little and wants less is richer than he that has much and wants more. –Charles Caleb Colton

·  Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. –Albert Einstein

·  It is time for us to stand and cheer for the doer, the achiever, the one who recognizes the challenge and does something about it. –Vince Lombardi

·  It’s not the situation, but whether we react (negative) or respond (positive) to the situation that’s important. –Zig Ziglar

·  A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him. –David Brinkley

·  Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present. –Roger Babson

·  Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. –John Wayne

·  Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever. –Mahatma Gandhi

·  Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. –Mark Twain

·  It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. –J. K Rowling

·  The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus. –Bruce Lee

·  Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success. –Dale Carnegie

·  The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me. –Ayn Rand

·  Don’t let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning. –Robert Kiyosaki

·  You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life. –Steve Jobs

·  Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed. –Abraham Lincoln

·  Screw it, Let’s do it! –Richard Branson

·  If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it! –Jonathan Winters

·  People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. –Zig Ziglar

·  A real entrepreneur is somebody who has no safety net underneath them. –Henry Kravis

·  As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big. –Donald Trump

·  The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. –Vidal Sassoon

·  Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm. –Winston Churchill

·  Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. –Benjamin Franklin

·  If plan A fails, remember there are 25 more letters. –Chris Guillebeau

·  Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. –Ralph Waldo Emerson

·  A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. –Lao Tzu

·  Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it. –Oprah Winfrey

·  Believe you can and you’re halfway there. –Theodore Roosevelt

·  The Stock Market is designed to transfer money from the Active to the Patient. –Warren Buffett

·  I’m only rich because I know when I’m wrong…I basically have survived by recognizing my mistakes. –George Soros

·  Persist – don’t take no for an answer. If you’re happy to sit at your desk and not take any risk, you’ll be sitting at your desk for the next 20 years. –David Rubenstein

·  If you took our top fifteen decisions out, we’d have a pretty average record. It wasn’t hyperactivity, but a hell of a lot of patience. You stuck to your principles and when opportunities came along, you pounced on them with vigor. –Charlie Munger

·  When buying shares, ask yourself, would you buy the whole company? –Rene Rivkin

·  If you have trouble imagining a 20% loss in the stock market, you shouldn’t be in stocks. –John Bogle

·  My old father used to have a saying:  If you make a bad bargain, hug it all the tighter. –Abraham Lincoln

·  It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan. –Eleanor Roosevelt

·  The four most expensive words in the English language are, ‘This time it’s different.’ –Sir John Templeton

·  I’d like to live as a poor man with lots of money. –Pablo Picasso

·  Fortune sides with him who dares. –Virgil

·  Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is true of fame. –Arthur Schopenhauer

·  If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free. If our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed. –Edmund Burke

·  No wealth can ever make a bad man at peace with himself. –Plato

·  My formula for success is rise early, work late and strike oil. –JP Getty

THE LESSONS FROM THE PRODIGAL SON


• Failure helps you to realise that most people around you just love what you have and not who you are.

• When you loose your position of influence , riches, marriage, job etc, you will realize that failure is an orphan and success is a child of all. You will experience the trinity of loneliness :- i.e *(you,/yourself/alone).*

• When you hit your lowest point in life, most of your friends and relatives will be glad that you’ve dropped from grace to grass and that you’re no longer competing with them. In this life everyone around you is competing with you except your biological parents.

• Some people will pretend to render you help but their help will never be meaningful to change your situation for the better.

• Don’t stand still and look down at your low point. Failure spawns creativity, motivation and tenacity. Arise and shine, put your head up, shake off the dust and take small steps forward in the direction you know you must head. “For a righteous man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: ….”Proverbs 24:16. “ *_My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure_ .”   Abraham Lincoln.*

• Make the decision to confess and repent of your sins.


• The big brother will always be there to remind you of your past, please just remind him of your future. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved”.John 3:17

• Our heavenly father loves you with an everlasting love “… *I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” — Jeremiah 31:3*

• Failure can also help you to discover yourself, and to know who are your true friends (A friend in need is a friend indeed ).

Finally, always be motivated by some of these best and greatest minds to have ever existed Hakainde Hichilema the current president of Zambia, Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Colonel Harland David Sanders , Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Strive Masiyiwa, to mention but a few, at some point they all had their share of failure.

*I PRAY FOR YOU :*
The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace. Amen.

There are a lot of adventures out there, waiting for us to live them!

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” — T.S. Elliot

For those who don’t know – I have a Youtube channel going by the name – jambukizee and other than enjoying visiting different parts of this wonderful continent called Africa on my motorbike, I also provide the following consultational services;

TRAVEL ASSISTANCE:

With a decade of experience travelling through Africa I’m here to assist you in planning your trip to according to your personal preferences and budget. Including advice on how to get the cheapest flights, best accommodations, where to visit for the best experience while avoiding scams and staying safe. Plus information on finding activities such as World Heritage Sites, Street Food, Nightlife, Motorsports, Historical & Cultural Centres and more. Guaranteed to save you hundreds of dollars in expenses and make your time in Africa safer and more enjoyable.

GUIDED MOTORBIKE TOURS IN AND AROUND AFRICA:

Some of the very best that Africa has to offer lies beyond the traditional go to spots. Visit ancient landscape, incredible history and fascinating flora and fauna that few get to see. What is better than to explore out of way places with a few like minded friends. From the Wet Highlands to the Arid Desert there is always something different to see, to learn about and experiences to build stories around. If you would like to go for a ride…we would love to have you along for either part of the ride or the whole ride. It’s a lot of fun!!! If you are a group organiser for your bike club, friends or travel agent we can tailor a tour specifically for you or your clients. Just tell us what you are hoping for and we’ll offer any advice you need along with making any arrangements necessary. It’ll make everything as simple as possible. Just ask! Make sure you bring your camera as we would hate you to miss something.

EAST AFRICA RELOCATION:

Consultation Services are also available to those looking to relocate to THE EAST AFRICA COMMUNITY to retire, invest or work remotely. This includes helping you decide what area of the region is best for you, how to find the best deal on a condo, information on Visa options, and much more. This is guaranteed to make your transition into your new life in AFRICA as cost-efficient and smooth as possible by helping you prevent the mistakes most new expats make.

Interested – email me me on joseph@shopmarkaz.com and ‘let’s build castles in the sky

Subscribe to my channel : https://www.youtube.com/c/Jambukizee

Cheers!

I Believe

I believe in miracles and dreams that will come true.
I believe in tender moments and friendship, through and through.

I believe in stardust and moonbeams all aglow.
I believe there’s surrealness and pure bliss.

I believe in reaching out and touching from the heart
I believe that if we touch a gift we can impart.

I believe that if you cry your tears are not in vain.
And when you’re sad and lonely, others know your pain.

I believe that when we laugh a sparkle starts to shine.
And I just know that spark will spread from more hearts than just mine.

I believe that hidden in the quiet of the night,
there’s magic moths and gypsies a fairy and a sprite.

I believe that if you dance the dances of your heart,
that greater happiness will find a brand new way to start.

I believe the gifts you have are there for you to share.
And when you give them from the heart, the whole world knows you care.

I believe that if you give, even just to one,
that gift will grow in magnitude before the day is done.

I believe that comfort comes from giving part of me.
And if I share with others, there’s more for all to see.

I believe that love is still the greatest gift of all,
and when it’s given from the heart then not one of us will fall.

 

Lifting and Leaning

There are two kinds of people on earth today,
Just two kinds of people, no more, I say.

Not the good and the bad, for ’tis well understood
The good are half bad and the bad are half good.

Not the happy and sad, for the swift-flying years
Brings each man his laughter and each man his tears.

Not the rich and the poor, for to count a man’s wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health.

Not the humble and proud, for in life’s busy span
He who puts on vain airs is not counted a man.

No! The two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean.

Wherever you go you will find the world’s masses
Are ever divided in just two classes.

And, strangely enough, you will find, too, I ween,
There is only one lifter to twenty who lean.

In which class are you? Are you easing the load
Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road?

Or are you a leaner who lets others bear
Your portion of worry and labour and care?

A – Z of Quotes

A—”Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz

B— “Believing in yourself is not for you; it’s for every person who has touched your life in a significant way and for every person your life will touch the same way five minutes from now, or five centuries from now.” Jaye Miller

C—”Change is as inexorable as time, yet nothing meets with more resistance.” Benjamin Disraeli

D—”Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the action stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.” Anais Nin

E—”Enthusiasm releases the drive to carry you over obstacles and adds significance to all you do.” Norman Vincent Peale

F—”Focused will is incredible. If you have a dream and you don’t give up no matter what obstacles come up, then life’s problems will fall away and you will get what you want. It happens. It works.” Yanni

G—”Goals are like a map. They help us determine where we want to end up, and give us personal direction on which to focus our energy.” Catherine Pulsifer

H—”Happiness depends upon ourselves.” Aristotle

I—”Ideas won’t keep; something must be done about them.” Alfred North Whitehead

J—”Joy is not in things; it is in us.”Richard Wagner

K—“Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information on it.” Samuel Johnson

L—”Laughter is a tranquilizer with no side effects.” Arnold Glasow

M—”Motivation is like food for the brain. You cannot get enough in one sitting. It needs continual and regular top ups.” Peter Davies

N—”Nature does nothing uselessly.” Aristotle

O—”Opportunity dances with those who are ready on the dance floor.” H. Jackson Brown Jr.

P—”Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” John Quincy Adams

Q—”Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” Anthony Robbins

R—”Results! Why, man I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work.” Thomas A. Edison

S—”Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo DaVinci

T—”Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” Diogenes Laetius

U—”Use your unique abilities to shake the world.” Wendy Hearn

V—”Victory belongs to the most persevering.” Napoleon Bonaparte

W—”Wisdom is the daughter of experience.” Leonardo da Vinci

X—”X-ray your life, are you where you want to be, if not set your goals, take action.” Catherine Pulsifer

Y—”Youth teaches, age puts what we have learned into practice, teaching us wisdom.” Catherine Pulsifer

Z—”Zone into your comfort zone, and, then zone into where you want to be. Be all that you can be.” Catherine Pulsifer

Playing The Game

Life is a game with a glorious prize,
If we can only play it right.
It is give and take, build and break,
And often it ends in a fight;
But he surely wins who honestly tries
(Regardless of wealth or fame),

He can never despair who plays it fair –
How are you playing the game?

Do you wilt and whine, if you fail to win
In the manner you think your due?
Do you sneer at the man in case that he can
And does, do better than you?
Do you take your rebuffs with a knowing grin?
Do you laugh tho’ you pull up lame?

Does your faith hold true when the whole world’s blue?
How are you playing the game?

Get into the thick of it – wade in, boys!
Whatever your cherished goal;
Brace up your will till your pulses thrill,
And you dare – to your very soul!
Do something more than make a noise;
Let your purpose leap into flame

As you plunge with a cry, “I shall do or die,”
Then you will be playing the game.

Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions

When I look at a patch of dandelions, I see a bunch of weeds that are going to take over my yard.
My kids see flowers for Mom and blowing white fluff you can wish on.

When I look at an old drunk and he smiles at me, I see a smelly, dirty person who probably wants money and I look away.
My kids see someone smiling at them and they smile back.

When I hear music I love, I know I can’t carry a tune and don’t have much rhythm so I sit self-consciously and listen.
My kids feel the beat and move to it. They sing out the words. If they don’t know them, they make up their own.

When I feel wind on my face, I brace myself against it. I feel it messing up my hair and pulling me back when I walk.
My kids close their eyes, spread their arms and fly with it, until they fall to the ground laughing.

When I pray, I say thee and thou and grant me this, give me that.
My kids say, “Hi God! Thanks for my toys and my friends. Please keep the bad dreams away tonight. Sorry, I don’t want to go to Heaven yet. I would miss my Mommy and Daddy.”

When I see a mud puddle I step around it. I see muddy shoes and dirty carpets.
My kids sit in it. They see dams to build, rivers to cross, and worms to play with.

I wonder if we are given kids to teach or to learn from?
Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.

I wish you Big Mud Puddles and Sunny Yellow Dandelions!!

Carry On!!

It’s easy to fight when everything’s right,
And you’re mad with the thrill and the glory;
It’s easy to cheer when victory’s near,
And wallow in fields that are gory.
It’s a different song when everything’s wrong.
When you’re feeling infernally mortal;
When it’s ten against one, and hope there is none,
Buck up, little soldier, and chortle:

Carry on! Carry on!
There isn’t much punch in your blow.
You’re glaring and staring and hitting out blind;
You’re muddy and bloody, but never mind.
Carry on! Carry on!
You haven’t the ghost of a show.
It’s looking like death, but while you’ve a breath,
Carry on, my son! Carry on!

And so in the strife of the battle of life
It’s easy to fight when you’re winning;
It’s easy to slave, and starve and be brave,
When the dawn of success is beginning.
But the man who can meet despair and defeat
With a cheer, there’s a man of God’s choosing;
The man who can fight to Heaven’s own height
Is the man who can fight when he’s losing.

Carry on! Carry on!
Things never were looming so black.
But show that you haven’t a cowardly streak,
And though you’re unlucky you never are weak.
Carry on! Carry on!
Brace up for another attack.
It’s looking like hell, but – you never can tell;
Carry on, old man! Carry on!

There are some who drift out in the deserts of doubt,
And some who in brutishness wallow;
There are others, I know, who in piety go
Because of a Heaven to follow.
But to labor with zest, and to give of your best,
For the sweetness and joy of the giving;
To help folks along with a hand and a song;
Why, there’s the real sunshine of living.

Carry on! Carry on!
Fight the good fight and true;
Believe in you mission, greet life with a cheer;
There’s big work to do, and that’s why you are here.
Carry on! Carry on!
Let the world be the better for you;
And at last when you die, let this be your cry:
Carry on, my soul! Carry on!

Life Steps

One step at a time.

Our entire life is made up of choices,
What we decide,
the action we take,
the attitude we display
All represent the steps of life.

Sometimes we take two steps forward
And one-step back.
Some of us take baby steps
Some of us take giant steps

But the secret is not to let that
one step back turn into a failure.
Learn from backward steps

And keep on stepping forward in this dance
Called Life!

Time Bank

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course!!!! Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today. To realise the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade. To realise the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby. To realise the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realise the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realise the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train. To realise the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident. Treasure every moment that you have! And reassure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. Remember that time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is mystery.
Today is a gift.
That’s why it’s called the present!

DON’T HOPE,…DECIDE!

While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people talk about — the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a mere two feet away from me. Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jet way, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family. First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other’s face, I heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!” His son smiled somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, “Me, too, Dad!” Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and while cupping his son’s face in his hands said, “You’re already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!” They too hugged a most loving, tender hug. While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half) was squirming excitedly in her mother’s arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, “Hi, baby girl!” as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment. After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, “I’ve saved the best for last!” and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. “I love you so much!” They stared at each other’s eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands. For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm’s length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, “Wow! How long have you two been married? “Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well then, how long have you been away?” I asked. The man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile. “Two whole days!” Two days? I was stunned. By the intensity of the greeting, I had assumed he’d been gone for at least several weeks – if not months. I know my expression betrayed me. I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!” The man suddenly stopped smiling. He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, “Don’t hope, friend… decide!” Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!” With that, he and his family turned and strode away together. I was still watching that exceptional man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, “What’cha looking at?” Without hesitating, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, “My future!”

Destiny

During a momentous battle, a Japanese general decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident they would win, but his men were filled with doubt.

On the way to the battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the general took out a coin and said, I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If it is tails we shall lose.

Destiny will now reveal itself.

He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads. The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious.

After the battle. a lieutenant remarked to the general, No one can change destiny.

Quite right, the general replied as he showed the lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.

The carrot, the egg, and the coffee bean

Roasted coffee beans, the world's primary sour...

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling.

It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me, what do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” the young woman replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity – boiling water – but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” the mother asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?” Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavour.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

The Gift Of Love

The story goes that some time ago a man punished his 3-year old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became angry when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” He was embarrassed by his earlier over reaction, but his anger flared again when he found that the box was empty. He yelled at her, “Don’t you know when you give someone a present, there’s supposed to be something inside it?” The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty, I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy.” The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness. An accident took the life of the child only a short time later and it is told that the man kept that gold box by his bed for many years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us as humans, have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, friends, family or God. Nobody’s love for us is less, our expectations are more!

Winners versus Losers !!

NYC Marathon 2008 - the winner! Brasil

The Winner is always a part of the answer; The Loser is always a part of the problem. The Winner always has a program; The Loser always has an excuse. The Winner says, “Let me do it for you;” The Loser says, “That’s not my job.” The Winner sees an answer for every problem; The Loser sees a problem in every answer.The Winner says, “It may be difficult but it’s possible;” The Loser says, “It may be possible but it’s too difficult.”