Image via Wikipedia A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.
“Mister,” he said, “I want to buy one of your puppies.”
“Well,” said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, “these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.”
Image via Wikipedia An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He had been a fine craftsman building many houses over his career. All the house owners were proud to live in the beautiful houses he built.
The carpenter told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business. He wanted to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. Sure he would miss the paycheck each week, but he had some savings and the children were all grown up. They would chip in so he and his wife could get by.
Image by orvalrochefort via Flickr I am thankful for everything
That you two have done
I am sure it was quite stressful
And at times, not much fun
From the ninja turtle phase
To all the baseball gear
You always found a way
To make sure I never finished in the rear
I know I don’t show it often
But most of your knowledge was caught
And now that I am raising my own kids
I find myself quoting you a lot
I know sometimes it was tough
And we may of said some things we didn’t mean
But even to this day
I wouldn’t change a thing
It shows that the difference between being able to do it and being able to do it really, really well is usually the difference of all those years that they spent doing it.
— TV host Bob Blumer of “Glutton For Punishment“
Image via Wikipedia Eating crayfish is the same as chasing a girl. You look at it and find it appealing and after you approach it, you find it isn’t that easy to eat.
— Singer Rynn Lin
Image by marctonysmith via Flickr In my life nothing goes wrong. When things seem to not meet my expectations, I let go of how I think things should be.
— Motivational author Deepak Chopra
Image via Wikipedia Four young monks who were also intimate friends decided to practice silent meditation. They promised one another to observe seven days of silence.
On the first day everything went well. All the four monks managed not to utter a single word. When the night came, they gathered in a room to continue their meditation.
It was a windy night. Even though the monks had closed the doors and windows, gusts of wind still managed to creep into the room. With each gust, the fire of the oil lamp flickered. The youngest monk became more and more worried that the light might go out. He had to bite his lips to suppress his gasp of anxiety at every gust.
Give thanks. Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Invite someone for dinner who would otherwise be spending the holiday alone. For each family member, press a dried leaf and write a word of thanks with a permanent marker. Donate your extra groceries to a food bank that serves needy families. Interview your neighbhors about what they’re thankful for, create a scroll from their responses and hand out a copy to everyone. Dedicate the day to truly give thanks and embrace each encounter as an opportunity to express kindness.
Image via Wikipedia Recognize that it is natural and normal to fear rejection. The only thing wrong with it is if you allow the fear to dominate you so that it holds you back from fulfilling your potential in your business.