Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Having and Being a Friend

“A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.”

Charles Kingsley



Well said Mr. Kingsley!

I have friends and a former wife who meet that description so I am blessed!

It also occurs to me that we must water what we want to grow. This argues for some regular maintenance work on our friendships. That phone call for no reason, that greeting card with a personal note and, perhaps most importantly, carving out time to just be together in celebration, in furtherance of our friendship.

Having great friends begins with being one.

Robert

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Go Big or Go Home!

“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.



In these celebrity culture days, when so many people are celebrated and famous for being famous, it’s easy to forget that all of us make a difference, all of us contribute.

A toxic and insidious form of self-talk is when we, in any way, diminish our work and worth in the world.

My recommendation: go big or go home!

Brag a little! Through yourself a party! Give yourself an award!

Have I used enough exclamation points? Got it?

Be extraordinary! It’s a choice you can make.

Robert

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Believe in Yourself

“Acquire the courage to believe in yourself. Many of the things that you have been taught were at one time the radical ideas of individuals who had the courage to believe what their own hearts and minds told them was true, rather than accept the common beliefs of their day.”

Chin Ning Chu



This is another one of those quotes that “says it all” and leaves me mute.

That may be welcome news to some of my readers.

If you want to learn more about Chin-Ning Chu’s powerful philosophy of life you can do so from one my favorite books, “Thick Face, Black Heart.” It’s available on Amazon.com and from other outlets.

So......what does your heart and mind tell you that is true for you?

Be extraordinary!

Robert