Attitude Is Everything by Jim Rohn

2 things that I got out of this article.

1. It's quite amazing on how the dead continues to shift the thinking of the living, that's what I think they meant by legacy.

2. A positive attitude to life is important, determining the outcome given a scenario. Having said that, it can be difficult to maintain that positive outlook hence discipline of keeping in that state is also an important factor.

Never the less it is never about the parts but it is more of synergy from the sum of parts - to my present understanding, they are "Attitude. Beliefs. Action" Each is an important component and together they form the basis of success.

--

The process of human change begins within us. We all have tremendous potential. We all desire good results from our efforts. Most of us are willing to work hard and to pay the price that success and happiness demand.

Each of us has the ability to put our unique human potential into action and to acquire a desired result. But the one thing that determines the level of our potential, produces the intensity of our activity and predicts the quality of the result we receive, is our attitude.

Attitude determines how much of the future we are allowed to see. It decides the size of our dreams and influences our determination when we are faced with new challenges. No other person on earth has dominion over our attitude. People can affect our attitude by teaching us poor thinking habits or unintentionally misinforming us or providing us with negative sources of influence, but no one can control our attitude unless we voluntarily surrender that control.

No one else “makes us angry.” We make ourselves angry when we surrender control of our attitude. What someone else may have done is irrelevant. We choose, not they. They merely put our attitude to a test. If we select a volatile attitude by becoming hostile, angry, jealous or suspicious, then we have failed the test. If we condemn ourselves by believing that we are unworthy, then again, we have failed the test.

If we care at all about ourselves, then we must accept full responsibility for our own feelings. We must learn to guard against those feelings that have the capacity to lead our attitude down the wrong path and to strengthen those feelings that can lead us confidently into a better future.

If we want to receive the rewards the future holds in trust for us, then we must exercise the most important choice given to us as members of the human race by maintaining total dominion over our attitude. Our attitude is an asset, a treasure of great value, which must be protected accordingly. Beware of the vandals and thieves among us who would injure our positive attitude or seek to steal it away.

Having the right attitude is one of the basics that success requires. The combination of a sound personal philosophy and a positive attitude about ourselves and the world around us gives us an inner strength and a firm resolve that influences all the other areas of our existence.

The Serenity Prayer

One of my favourite prayer of all times

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next

Amen

God's help...

I recall this mass where the Father told us this anecdote

There once was a flood where all people reached safely except for one man.

This man climbed onto his roof top with the water gushing through his home below.

A helicopter saw him, flew over his head and tried hanging down a leader for him to climb, but the man shouted "I'm okay, go and save someone else more in need than me. The lord will save me." So the helicopter flew away.

The water continued to rise and is lapping his feets. This time a rescue boat came to him and again he shouted "Save someone else more in need than me. The lord WILL save me." The boat sped off.

The water is now dangerously deep by his knees as another helicopter came by to rescue him. Unsurprising on cue, the man shouted "Go! The lord will save me" The helicopter left reluctantly.

The rain continued to pour and eventually drowned the man.

The man's soul reached the heaven and saw God. In a confused state, he asked God "God, I have lived the life of a faithful so I'm puzzled why did you not save me?" God replied irritably "For goodness sake, I have sent you two helicopters and a boat but you have ignored them!"

A lot of times, we pray for help from the lord, praying for wisdom, praying for opportunities and some praying for financial needs. Yet, most of us fail to realized the opportunities that God has already presented to us - it can be an opportunity which we may reject thinking that we are not ready for, perhaps a wonderful person whom we find not worthy of and maybe a bulk money from nowhere. Alright, the last example might not be suitable since it touches the boundary of morals.

The main idea is, we fail to realized or grab hold the opportunities that are already made present to us in one way or another from the higher being!

Think hard on the opportunities that you had missed out so far. Pray for the wisdom to recognize the furture opportunities and be present to what we are doing in live.

God's help is always around you but are you ready for god's help?

Year 2011

As I am stepping into my 4th decade in life, I just realized that how much things have changed - most of it due to what technologies have shaped us - instant this, instant that. It just made me wonder, how much thinking am I actually doing?

I think it is time for me to take a step back, to stop following that river of information, less I drown in them. Timeout, reflect and to consider what is important to us, 5 years down the road, 10 years down the road or even longer. And focus my energy on that. It is never too late to dream and take actions, on another hand, time wake for no one.

Focus and move on. *Tick Tock*

Why Weigh, Count and Measure? by Jim Rohn

Three key words to remember: weigh, count and measure. Now why weigh, count and measure? To see what your results are from your activity, your attitude and your philosophy. If you find that the results are not to your liking, there are only three places to look. Your philosophy needs to be fine-tuned, your attitude needs to be strengthened or your disciplines need extra skill. But that’s it. Activity, attitude and philosophy create results.

Now on results I teach that life expects you to make measurable progress in reasonable time. But, you must be reasonable with time. You can’t say to someone every five minutes, How are you doing now? That’s too soon to ask for a count. Guy says, “I haven’t left the building yet, give me a break!”Now you can’t wait five years—that’s too long. Too many things can go wrong waiting too long for a count to see how you’re doing.

Here are some good time frames:

Number one: at the end of the day. You can’t let more than a day go by without looking at some things and making progress. The New Testament says, “If you are angry, try to solve it before the sun goes down.” Don’t carry anger for another day. It may be too heavy to carry. If you try to carry it fora week, it may drop you to your knees. So some things you must get done in a day.

Here’s the next one: a week. We ask for an accounting of the week so we can issue the pay. And whatever you’ve got coming, that’s what you get when the week is over. Now in business there are two things to check in the course of the week: your activity count and your productivity count. Because activity leads to productivity, we need to count both to see how we’re doing.

My mentor taught me that success is a numbers game and very early he started asking me my numbers. He asked, “How many books have you read in the last 90 days?” I said, “Zero.” He said, “Not a good number.” He said, “How many classes have you attended in the last six months to improve your skills?” And I said, “Zero.” He said, “Not a good number.” Then he said, “In the last six years that you’ve been working, how much money have you saved and invested?” I said, “Zero,” and he said, “Not a good number.” Then here’s what he said: “Mr. Rohn, if these numbers don’t change, your life won’t change. But if you’ll start improving these numbers, then perhaps you’ll start to see everything change for you.”

Success and results are a numbers game. John joins this little sales company. He’s supposed to make 10 calls the first week just to get acquainted with the territory. So on Friday we call him in and ask, “How many calls?” He says, “Well.” You say, “John, ‘well’ won’t fit in the little box here. I need a number.” Now he starts with a story. And you say, “John, the reason I made this little box so small is so a story won’t fit. All I need is a number because if you give us the number, we’re so brilliant around here we could guess the story.” It’s the numbers that count—making measurable progress in reasonable time.

Here’s the best accounting. The accounting you make of yourself. Don’t wait for the government to do it. Don’t wait for the company to do it. But you’ve got to add up some of your own numbers and ask, “Am I making the progress I want and will it take me where I want to go now and in the future?”You be the judge!

---

When I reflected on the article, I just realized that on a personal basis, my progress has been limited. It's time to set some goals and have my personal KPIs measured.

Lesson's from today's homily.

Fr Stephen shared this joke with us today in his homily

"Three sons left home, went out on their own and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts that they were able to give to their elderly mother.
The first said: "I built a big house for our mother."
The second said: "I sent her a Mercedes with a driver."
The third said: "I've got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible and you know she can't see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took twenty monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for twenty years but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it."
Soon thereafter, Mom sent out her letters of thanks.
She wrote to the first son: "Milton, the house you built is too big. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house."
She wrote to the second son: "Marvin, I am too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never used the Mercedes... and the driver is SO rude."
She wrote to the third son: "Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes... The chicken was delicious."

I think it is a joke that will keep me laughing till Mother's day next week. More importantly though, is the underlying message of loving others as He has loved us. To consider if have we have shown our unconditional love to others. As in the joke, the greatest love does not equate the most expensive or most luxurious gifts. It can be just as simple as observing what your mom likes to eat. Simple it may be, yet it takes the commitment to make the effort to observe - and that's all it counts.

Life is like Bolero...

Was listening to this tune on my Zen when it just reminded me how life show be.

Slowly a crescendo builds up and ends with a bang.

Something to strive for. =)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-4J5j74VPw

The Importance of Learning in Organizations

Quite a good video on learning organization. Good stuff that you can apply to everyday work.