http://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/ Start your day with wonderful thoughts for the day. Good thoughts for the day will help you to get motivated and releave from stress en-gb http://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2008/11/28/20081128094440.aspBe thankful for what you have A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.  He held up a sign which said: `I am blind, please help.`  There were only a few coins in the hat.  A man was walking by.  He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat.  He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.  He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.  Soon the hat began to fill up.  A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.  That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.  The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, `Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?` The man said, `I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.`  What he had written was: `Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.`   Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?  Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective? Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. Invite others towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.  Great men say, `Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness…. In the journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a good conscience.` THANKShttp://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2008/02/27/20080227093012.aspYou Can't Measure Heart Some things cannot be measured, and the heart is one of them. I think of three former NFL football stars. Mike Singletary, according to the experts, was too short and his 40-yard speed was not that great. However, they could not measure his heart and they did not measure his speed for the first five to fifteen yards, and at that distance he was exceptionally fast. As a result, when a running back broke through the line of scrimmage... Singletary was able to stop him in the first couple of yards. That made quite a difference. Emmitt Smith's 40-yard speed was not earth shattering... but again, the experts could not measure his heart nor the burst of speed he was able to generate the instant he touched the ball. As a result, he was able to break through the hole at the line and pick up five to eight yards on a consistent basis and frequently break for much longer runs. Jerry Rice is the other classic example. His 40-yard speed also was not record-breaking, but his commitment to excellence was not measurable. Videotape of Jerry Rice shows him running stride for stride downfield with a defensive back until the pass is thrown to him. At that point, Jerry turns on the afterburners and frequently leaves the defensive back well behind. There's something here for all of us to learn. We can measure I.Q., speed, strength and a host of other things, but the will to win and the commitment to excellence will enable a person of average ability to excel. So, use what you've got, including your heart, and I'll see you at the top! Zig Ziglar offers a newsletter filled with more of his inspiring stories as well as practical ideas to help you in the areas of sales, marketing, customer service, and related topics. You can visit Zig at http://www.zigziglar.comhttp://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2008/02/12/20080212210050.aspWho hinder your growth One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: "Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym".  In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself. The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: "Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!". One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: "There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU."  You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.  Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. "The most important relationship you can have, is the one you have with yourself" The world is like a mirror: it gives back to anyone the reflection of the thoughts in which one has strongly believed. The world and your reality are like mirrors laying in a coffin, which show to any individual the death of his divine capability to imagine and create his happiness and his success.   It's the way you face Life that makes the difference. http://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2008/01/24/20080124194000.aspA Couple's Heartbreak A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. What do you think were the four words? The husband just said "I Love You Darling" The husband's totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he have taken time to keep the bottle away, this will not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her. Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or who to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. We miss out some warmth in human relationship in giving each other support. After all, shouldn't forgiving someone we love be the easiest thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have. Don't multiply pain, anguish and suffering by holding on to forgiveness. If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think. http://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2008/01/23/20080123074130.aspChoose to Enthuse! As I've been speaking around the country over the past year or so, I've often asked my audiences this question: "How many of you have way too much enthusiasm? You're seeing a psychiatrist for enthusiasm management therapy, and have a seatbelt on your bed to keep you from jumping out too fast in the morning and breaking a leg?" I get lots of laughs, but almost no one raises a hand. Then I ask how many people would be happier, more productive, and more successful if they could consistently be more enthusiastic than they are now. Almost every hand in the room goes up (those who don't raise their hands are invited to attend my remedial class on honesty). The good news, I tell them, is that scientists have shown that there is no enthusiasm gene. Enthusiasm is a choice. You decide every morning whether or not you're going to have a good day. You can't decide what happens to you, but you can decide whether you react to it enthusiastically. Choosing enthusiasm is the triple crown of attitude. Your organization wins because enthusiasm is the added "spark" that puts the smile into customer service. Your family, friends and coworkers win because enthusiasm is contagious, and you're helping them to be happier and more productive. And, of course, you win because people with a lot of enthusiasm have a lot of life, and people without enthusiasm don't. They're like the man who passed away but had his life insurance denied, because since he'd never really lived, he couldn't have really died. Energy is the fuel for enthusiasm - it's hard to be enthusiastic when you're physically out of gas. And here again, there's good news: more than we care to admit to ourselves, whether or not we have energy is also a choice. And here's more good news: human energy is the ultimately renewable resource. The more you use it, the more of it you have. Joe Tye is president of Paradox 21 Inc., which provides corporate training and culture change initiatives based on a proprietary curriculum of The Twelve Core Action Values of Personal Leadership Effectiveness. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit http://www.joetye.comhttp://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2007/12/06/20071206040819.aspIf there is a will, there is a way http://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2007/12/05/20071205195712.aspThe Most Valuable Question You May Ever Ask As you begin to take action toward the fulfillment of your goals and dreams, you must realize that not every action will be perfect. Not every action will produce the desired result. Not every action will work. Making mistakes, getting it almost right, and experimenting to see what happens are all part of the process of eventually getting it right. Thomas Edison is reported to have tried over 2,000 different experiments that failed before he finally got the light bulb to work. He once told a reporter that, from his perspective, he had never failed at all. Inventing the light bulb was just a 2,000-step process. If you can adopt that attitude, then you can be free to take an action, notice what result you get, and then adjust your next actions based on the feedback you have received. Ready, Fire, Aim! - Don't be afraid to just jump in and get started moving toward your goals. As long as you pay attention to the feedback you receive, you will make progress. Just getting into the game and firing allows you to correct and refine your aim. The Most Valuable Question You May Ever Learn - In the 1980s, a multimillionaire businessman taught me a question that radically changed the quality of my life. So what is this magical question that can improve the quality of every relationship you are in, every product you produce, every service you deliver, every meeting you conduct, every class you teach and every transaction you enter into? Here it is: "On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the quality of our relationship during the last week?" Here are a number of variations on the same question that have served me well over the years... "On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate... * our service? * my teaching? * our product? * this class/seminar/workshop? * this meeting? * our date/vacation? * our performance? * this meal? * my coaching/managing? * this book/recording/show? * my parenting/babysitting? Any answer less than a 10 always gets this follow-up question: "What would it take to make it a 10?" This is where the really valuable information comes from. Knowing that a person is dissatisfied is not enough. Knowing in detail what will satisfy them gives you the information you need to do whatever it takes to create a winning product, service or relationship. There are two kinds of feedback you might encounter negative and positive. We tend to prefer the positive that is, results, money, praise, promotion, raise, awards, happiness, inner-peace, etc. It feels better. It tells us we are on course and doing the right thing. We tend not to like negative feedback -- lack of results, little or no money, criticism, poor evaluations, complaints, unhappiness, inner conflict, pain, etc. However, there is as much useful data in negative feedback as there is in positive feedback. It tells us that we are off course, headed in the wrong direction, doing the wrong thing. This is priceless information! In fact, it's so valuable that one of the most useful projects you could undertake is to change how you respond to negative feedback. I like to refer to negative feedback as information for "improvement opportunities." Here is a place where I can get better. Ask Yourself for Feedback - In addition to asking others for feedback, you need to ask yourself for feedback, too. More than any other source of feedback, your body will tell you whether or not you are on course or not. When you are relaxed and happy, your body is telling you that you are on track. When you are constantly exhausted, tense, in pain, unhappy and angry, then you are off track. Take time to listen to what your body is saying to you. Take time to listen to your physical sensations and your feelings. They are sending you important messages. Are you listening? Remember, Feedback Is Simply Information you don't have to take it personally. Just welcome it and use it. Source : letstalkmotivationhttp://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2007/11/26/20071126091810.aspWhat are The Symptoms of Success? Just getting back from a tour of Malaysia and Singapore. Beautifully diverse. I met a lot of successful people during the sessions. And it occurred to me that despite their different nationalities, faiths and businesses they all had something in common. They had all overcome big setbacks. As a matter of fact, their success was in direct proportion to the size of the challenges they faced. The big idea: setbacks are symptoms of success. If you are not facing setbacks then you are probably not dreaming big enough. If you are not experiencing setbacks you are probably playing small with your life. Without roadblocks there are no victories. Challenges forge the greatness in you. They let you know what isn't working. They force you to be creative. They are the road to your NLG (Next Level of Greatness). So, the next time you face a setback take a moment to celebrate. I know that roadblocks can be frustrating or depressing or embarrassing. Yet, the best among us find a way to keep on acting in the rainstorm of these emotions (and like rainstorms, emotions eventually pass). Think of the sales rep who makes the next call after a rejection or the athlete who works as hard at physiotherapy as their game when injured, or the student who changes their study habits after a failed exam. They all keep moving towards their mountaintop because they all know that the path to their greatest life is never straight. Here are some tactics for learning and moving on after a setback. Journal - Write about the challenge in your journal. Go through your feelings. Uncover exactly what bothers you most. Journaling helps you acknowledge your feelings and turn them into energy. Exercise - Working out releases endorphins and gives you a sense of well-being. It also focuses you on something else and gives you a small daily win which improves your energy and confidence. Find the Upside - After journaling and exercising you are in a better state of mind to discover the opportunity. What doors have now opened? How can solving the problem improve your game? Watch Your Highlight Reel - Think about the last time you made it through a setback. What worked? How did you feel when you moved on? Visualize your past successes. They'll give you the confidence to move on. They may also provide clues to solving this problem. Strategize - Create a plan. Find out a way to get the client back, to find new love, to get stronger after an illness. Whatever it is, planning will put you back in control. Then include this plan in your schedule because what gets scheduled gets done. _____________ Robin S. Sharma, LL.M. is an internationally-known speaker on sales leadership, peak performance and creativity. The bestselling author of several motivational books including MegaLiving, he is the managing partner of Sharma Leadership International. He can be reached at http://www.robinsharma.com ----------------------- More Motivation... ----------------------- Here's a positive affirmation you may wish to write down and recite to yourself... "Challenges and adversity are but teachers on the path called life. While they may have the ability to side track me, in each is also the opportunity to learn, grow, and ultimately help me become the type of person I need to become in order to live out the goals, dreams and desires I've set for myself. Not always easy, but always worth it -- today I move wholeheartedly in the pursuit of my own definition of success. No matter how I may choose to define it." http://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2007/11/15/20071115003030.aspApple Tree Back ago, there was a huge Apple tree, A little boy loved to play with it. he love to climb the tree, Love to eat apples... Love to take the nap under its shadow Times went on... The boy grew up...And he no longer play around the tree One day the boy came.... the Tree asked him... "Hi.. Come and Play with me..." The Boy replied, "I am not a Kid. I don't play around tree." I play with toys. I need money to buy toys. The Tree said... " I don't have money but you can take all my apples and sell it. You will get the money." The boy picked all the apples of the tree and went. He sold the apples and got money. He brought lots of toys. But he didn't turn back. The tree was again sad. One day the boy came, be became a young man now. The Tree said. "Hi Why are you Sad? Come and Sit under my shadow. I am feeling very lonely without you." The Boy said, "I don't have time. I work for my family. I want to build Home for them. I need money." The Tree said, "I don't have money. You can take my Branches and Trunk and build your home." The Boy Became Happy, he cut all the branches and trunk of the tree and built a home for him Again the tree became alone. The boy didn't turned back. After a long time the boy came back. He was old, looking sad, tired, and lonely. The tree asked him " why are you sad. I wish I can help you, but, I don't have Apples. I don't have branches. Even I don't have shadow. Nothing to offer you." The boy (old man) replied, I am tired of my life. I am alone. i just need you. Can I sit down at your roots. The boy sit down. Both were happy and weeping. Is the boy really cruel and selfish? No... We all are like him. And treating our parent like that. The tree is like our parent, we love to play them when we were kids. We leave them alone and come only when We are in need or in trouble. We don't have time for our parents. No matter what, parents will always give everything to make us happy and solve our problems and in return what they want is Just a company of yours. Please love your parent, don't forget them, Give them Time, Give them your company. They will be happy by seeing you happy. Please don't leave your parent.... Gratitude them. One can get Child as many as he want, But parent he gets only once........http://blogs.bepenfriends.com/thoughtsfortheday/archive/2007/10/29/20071029011330.aspThe Seed A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together. 'It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO,' he said. 'I have decided to choose one of you.' The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. 'I am going to give each one of you a seed today - a very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown with the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.' One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he wanted the seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick at his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed. A few felt sorry for him!   When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back.   'My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,' said the CEO. 'Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!' All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the financial director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, 'The CEO knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!' When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, 'Here is your next Chief Executive! His name is Jim!'   Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new CEO? The others said.   Then the CEO said, 'One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive!'   If you plant honesty, you will reap trust   If you plant goodness, you will reap friends. If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.   If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment   If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.   If you plant hard work, you will reap success.   If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation. So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later