Have you ever tried to juggle balls? I once had a friend who was a master juggler. He could juggle six or seven balls at a time, sometimes bouncing them, sometimes throwing them in the air. He was amazing. One day he took me out to the park and taught me how to juggle. You toss one ball with the right hand and catch it with the left hand, while you’re also tossing another ball with the left hand and catching with the right. You’re eyes, however, never leave the balls that are in the air. The secret is to get a rhythm going, tossing the balls to the same height every time so that the catching and the tossing all happen in a predictable manner. It’s really quite a beautiful thing once you get the hang of it.
It is literally true that you can succeed best & quickest by helping others to succeed. Napoleon Hill
How would you like to have more clients than you can handle? Wouldn’t that be a great problem to have? Even better, how would it be if all those clients were happy, contented clients instead of angry, frustrated clients? As your mother used to tell you, your reputation is everything: if you and your business have a good reputation, people will flock to your doors, happy to give you their money. So how do you build that reputation, especially when you’re first starting out?
Read the rest of this entry »
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” John Keats
Have you ever heard music so beautiful that it made you cry? Have you ever seen something so beautiful that it actually took your breath away? If that has ever happened to you, my guess is that you can still recall that moment in vivid detail. You can still hear the music in your head, even though the moment has long past.
Beauty is ephemeral: flowers wither and die, rainbows dissolve into the mist, symphonies end.
“Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle that they need to overcome. Since the present moment is Life itself, it is an insane way to live.” Eckhart Tolle
Have you ever done business with someone who was totally enthusiastic about their work? While they are providing their service to you, their eyes sparkle, they have a bounce to their step, and you can sense their utter delight at giving you their best. You don’t come across these individuals very often, but when you do they stand out as exceptional. My optometrist, Mr. Raspberry, is one of these people. When I bring him my mangled glasses to fix (I’m really hard on glasses), his eyes light up and he actually giggles as he’s coaxing them back into usable shape. To Mr. Raspberry, there is nothing routine or mundane about fixing glasses: he treats each pair as if they were the most exciting work he’s ever done. I actually look forward to getting my glasses adjusted, because just being around Mr. Raspberry’s enthusiasm is contagious and I always leave with a smile on my face.
“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. ” Genesis 1:31
Have you ever known someone with lots of money who was really unhappy? You see it all the time, people who have every material thing the mind can dream up, yet their lives feel meaningless and empty, and they still crave something more. Have you ever known someone who seemed to have very little in the way of material possessions, yet seemed completely content … even happy? How can that be?
When I was in the sixth grade, the teacher asked the class, “If you could be anything you wanted to be, what would you be?” I instantly shot my hand in the air (I was obnoxious like that), and shouted out: “A saloon hall girl!” The kid next to me yelled out, “Outlaw!” The teacher rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust. She was aiming for answers like fireman and doctor. She was trying to teach us that we could reach whatever goals we could dream up. Unfortunately for her, she failed to take into account that as children our dreams are as yet uncensored. When we play make-believe as children, our imaginations have not yet been completely imprisoned by the mores and “good” values of the culture we are raised in. As children, the possibilities really are endless.
“…for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” William Shakespeare, Hamlet
Hamlet was a dreary guy to be around. He had it all: he was the Prince of Denmark, which means he had money and power. His life was full of potential. Plus, he had the love of the beautiful Ophelia. Anyone else in his position might have been very grateful to be so fortuitously placed in life. But not Hamlet. Hamlet was chronically depressed and whined and moaned about everything. From the outside looking in, Hamlet’s life seemed pretty cushy; but from his point of view, Denmark was a prison, and “a goodly one,” at that. Like I said, Hamlet was a real drag. Do you know people like that? Just being around them can suck the life out of you; a few minutes in their presence and any good feelings you had begin to grow mold and rot.
Fully accept what already is, and suddenly you have it all. Ralph Marston
One of the biggest hurdles to keeping a consistent attitude of gratitude is our constant desire for something better than what we already have. Rather than focus on how blessed we are to have what we have and to be where we are, we tend to see what isn’t perfect about our situation and dwell on that, instead. With thinking like that, we quickly become dissatisfied with things that just a short time ago delighted us.
I see it quite often in my twenty-something daughter. Last year she relocated to Florida to start over anew. She had become dissatisfied with her life in South Carolina, and being the good mommy I helped her drive the U-Haul down and gave her my couch to sleep on while she worked it all out. For a few weeks, she was absolutely thrilled to be out of her previous situation, and had lots of hope for her future. But soon I began to notice a pattern with her: first, the couch wasn’t good enough. “I’m used to my own house, mother. I can’t sleep on a couch … I need my own room.” I gave her half my closet space: “I can’t fit all my stuff in this tiny closet!” I gave up my sewing desk so she could have a desk to work at: “There’s not enough light, and this desk is too small.” I bought her a truck so she could work, and possibly buy some stuff that would please her: “I can’t drive a truck this color!” Well, you get the picture.
“I hold this to be the highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the solitude of the other.” Rainer Maria Rilke
When you share your home with other people, finding peaceful moments of solitude can sometimes be a challenge. No matter how much we love our famiy and friends, we all need some quiet time to ourselves every now and again.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have the house to myself for the last few days, and suddenly realize that it’s been several months since I’ve had the chance to sit quietly by myself. Until recently, I lived alone and spent entire days in quiet solitude, happily occupying myself with whatever little project struck my fancy. But life has a way of moving on, whether you want it to or not, and I’m learning to adjust to having people around all the time.
I had planned, during these few days alone, to catch up on work that had fallen behind. Instead, I found myself sitting quietly in the yard, feeling the fresh air on my skin and getting lost in the sounds and smells of a warm winter Florida day. I find that if I sit quietly for a little while, I begin to actually hear the sounds that escape me when my brain is full of things I need to remember and places I need to go. When I’m still, I can finally notice the delicate scent of the orange blossoms on my neighbor’s tree, and I have time to watch the kittens playing in the yard. When was the last time you were able to just sit quietly all by yourself for even a few minutes?
