January
2009
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.
I'm not young enough to know everything.
A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.
The purpose of life is not to get rid of the butterflies in your stomach,
but to make them fly in formation.
Judgment comes from experience. Great judgment comes from bad experience.
Education is when you read the fine print. Experience is what you get if
you don't.
A good metaphor can make any bad idea sound good.
Hope is the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn't permanent.
Advice is seldom welcome; and those who want it the most always like it the
least.
If we don't enjoy what we have, why would having more make us happier?
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February
2009
Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we
didn't.
No one ever knows what's next, but they always do it.
We need old friends to help us grow old and new friends to help us stay
young.
One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness - it is usually
returned.
The trouble with the future is that it usually arrives before we're ready
for it.
If you keep on saying things are going to be bad, you have a good chance of
being a prophet.
You can't depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.
A positive attitude will not solve all your problems, but it will annoy
enough people to make it worth the effort.
Some people watch things happen. Some people make things happen. Some
people wonder what happened.
Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been.
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March
2009
When you thought I wasn't looking.
I saw you hang my first painting on the refrigerator, and I
immediately wanted to paint another one.
I saw you feed a stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be
kind to animals.
I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I learned that the
little things can be the special things in life.
I saw you make a meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.
I saw you give of your time and money to help people who had
nothing, and I learned that those who have something should give to those
who don't.
I saw you take care of our house and everyone in it, and I learned
we have to take care of what we are given.
I saw how you handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be responsible when I grow up.
I saw tears come from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.
I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
I learned most of life's lessons that I need to know to be a good
and productive person when I grow up.
I looked at you and wanted to say, "Thanks for all the things I saw
when you thought I wasn't looking."
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April
2009
Some people miss the message because they are too busy checking the
spelling.
Don't expect the unexpected, but when it happens, don't be surprised.
If there is no wind, row.
When all other means of communication fail, try words.
Don't run scared or keep looking wistfully back or you'll get trampled.
If you don't like the news, go out and make some.
"Footprints in the sand of time" were not made by folks who stood still.
You can't turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again.
What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul.
If you're not enjoying the journey, you probably won't enjoy the
destination.
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May
2009
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving
in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space
right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and
missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped
his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and
waved at the guy. And I mean he was really friendly. So I asked, "Why did
you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the
hospital!"
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call 'The Law of the
Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks.
They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and
full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to
dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.
Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and
spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom
line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their
day.
Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!
Have a wonderful, garbage-free day!
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June
2009
Stopping to think keeps your life in motion.
The best way to break a habit is to drop it.
Predicting the future is easy. It's trying to figure out what's going on
now that's hard.
I know I'm progressing because I'm making new mistakes.
The only way to rise above the crowd is to stick your neck out.
Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you'd have
preferred to talk.
Truce is better than friction.
A man begins cutting his wisdom teeth the first time he bites off more than
he can chew.
The more you get, the more you got to take care of.
Only you can be yourself. No one else is qualified for the job.
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July
2009
Morning Motivation
When I woke up this morning lying in bed, I was asking myself what are some
of the secrets of success in my life? I found the answer right there, in my
very room.
The Fan said - Be cool.
The Roof said - Aim high.
The Window said - See the world.
The Clock said - Every minute is precious.
The Mirror said - Reflect before you act.
The Calendar said - Be up-to-date.
The Door said - Push hard for your goals.
Carry a heart that never hates.
Carry a smile that never fades.
Carry a touch that never hurts.
Our lives are books and each day is a page. We can't erase what was already
written, but we can always try to write a better ending.
HAVE A PURPOSEFUL DAY!
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August
2009
To get people to respect what you know, admit to them what it is you don't
know.
Criticism should always leave people with the feeling that they have been
helped.
Nothing is easy to the unwilling.
It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, but we cannot dodge the
consequences of dodging our responsibilities.
You can't hit a target if you don't have it clearly in sight.
The door to opportunity is marked "push."
The only sure weapon against bad ideas is better ideas.
One learns by doing a thing; for though you think you know it, you have no
certainty until you try.
Companies that do not provide the right rewards and opportunities wind up
training their talent for the competition.
Set aside good ideas and give them to others to encourage and inspire.
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September
2009
An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
~Benjamin Franklin
Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue
that counts.
~Winston Churchill
Be courteous to all but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried
before you give them your confidence.
~George Washington
Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend.
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
~Abraham Lincoln
The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment
to excellence regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.
~Vince Lombardi
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
~Eleanor Roosevelt
A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Dwight Eisenhower
A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
~Nelson Mandela
We must become the change we want to see in the world.
~Mahatma Gandhi
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0ctober
2009
Power is nothing unless you can turn it into influence.
Principles last forever; but special rules pass away with the things and
conditions to which they refer.
A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.
Advice is sometimes transmitted more successfully through a joke than grave
teaching.
When the wind is blowing, a man without a goal is like a ship without a
rudder.
Ideas are great arrows, but there has to be a bow.
Those who are lifting the world upward and onward are those who encourage
more than criticize.
No dream comes true until you wake up and go to work on it.
All things at first appear difficult.
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November
2009
To change our world we must first change ourselves.
If you keep shooting the messengers, they will stop coming.
Start by doing what's necessary, then what's possible, and suddenly you are
doing the impossible.
Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work
with excellence.
Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.
A big man is one who makes us feel bigger when we are with him.
The best thing you can give someone is a chance.
When people start off on the right foot, there's a better chance they'll get
in step sooner.
It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference.
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December
2009
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
A businessman was visiting a coastal Mexican village when a small boat with
just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large tuna
fish. The businessman complimented the fisherman on the quality of his fish
and asked how long it took to catch them. The man replied that it took only
a little while. The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer
and catch more fish. The man said he had enough to support his family's
immediate needs. The businessman then asked the man how he spent the rest
of his time. The fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my
children, take a nap with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening
where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy
life."
The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and can help you. Here is my
advice. You should spend more time fishing and, with the money, buy a
bigger boat. With the money from the bigger boat, you could buy several
more boats. Eventually you would have a whole fleet of fishing boats.
Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you could sell directly to the
processor, and open your own cannery. You could control the production,
processing and distribution. Then you could leave this small coastal
fishing village and move to Mexico City, then to Los Angeles, and eventually
to New York City where you could run your expanding business."
The fisherman asked, "But, how long will all this take?"
The businessman replied, "15-20 years."
"But what then?" asked the fisherman.
The businessman laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is
right, you could sell your company stock to the public. You will become
very rich, and you will make millions of dollars!"
"Millions?" replied the man. "Then what?"
The businessman said, "Then you could retire. You could move to a small
coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with
your kids, take naps with your wife, and stroll to the village in the
evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."
So Dr. Mark's question is, "Is there more than everything?"
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