Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life.. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown.. He could have quit many times but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the United States history..
Here is a sketch of Lincoln’s road to the White House 1816 His family was forced out of their home.. He had to work to support them..
1818 His mother died.. 1831 Failed in business.. 1832 Ran for state legislature lost.. 1832 Also lost his job wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.. 1833 Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt..He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.. 1834 Ran for state legislature again won.. 1835 Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.. 1836 Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.. 1838 Sought to become speaker of the state legislature defeated.. 1840 Sought to become elector defeated.. 1843 Ran for Congress lost.. 1846 Ran for Congress again this time he won went to Washington and did a good job.. 1848 Ran for re-election to Congress lost.. 1849 Sought the job of land officer in his home state rejected.. 1854 Ran for Senate of the United States lost..
1856 Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention get less than 100 votes.. 1858 Ran for U.S. Senate again again he lost.. 1860 Elected president of the United States…__
Chuan and Jing joined a wholesale company together just after graduation.. Both worked very hard.. After several years, the boss promoted Jing to sales executive but Chuan remained a sales rep..
One day Chuan could not take it anymore, tender resignation to the boss and complained the boss did not value hard working staff, but only promoted those who flattered him..
The boss knew that Chuan worked very hard for the years, but in order to help Chuan realize the difference between him and Jing, the boss asked Chuan to do the following.. Go and find out anyone selling water melon in the market?. Chuan returned and said yes.. The boss asked how much per kg?. Chuan went back to the market to ask and returned to inform boss the $12 per kg..
Boss told Chuan, I will ask Jing the same question?. Jing went, returned and said, boss, only one person selling water melon.. $12 per kg, $100 for 10 kg, he has inventory of 340 melons..
On the table 58 melons, every melon weighs about 15 kg, bought from the South two days ago, they are fresh and red, good quality.. Chuan was very impressed and realized the difference between himself and Jing..
He decided not to resign but to learn from Jing.. My dear friends, a more successful person is more observant, think more and understand in depth.. For the same matter, a more successful person sees several years ahead, while you see only tomorrow.. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, how could you win?.
Think! how far have you seen ahead in your life?. How thoughtful in depth are you?.
Here we are, afraid of losing what we have all the time, holding on to it so tight that not a soul can touch it.. We think by hiding it from the world, itās hidden and itās ours. Nothing is. Nothing ever will be.. For, nothing ever was..
If you think there is anything that you have, thatās yours, be it money, a house, a job, or a girlfriend.. itās nothing but an illusion.. Itāll all disappear.. in one blow .
One blow, my man. Here we are, so insecure that we are afraid of re-starting our lives, so we just carry on trying to sort out the current mess.. The thought that we should give it all up and just start all over with nothing might cross our minds some time, sure, but we get scared and we push away anything that scares us..
There is nothing I can ever achieve or gain that I cannot lose, in a matter of seconds.. You have never gained enough to not be able to lose it all, in just a few minutes..
What you think is yours, was never yours and will never be yours.. Whatever you make here, you leave here.. You came naked and youāre going to go back naked..
So what are you afraid of ? Let all be lost.. Let them take away everything.. As long as you have your heart beating strong, as long as you have your nostrils working fine, as long as the blood flows in your veins, you will live, you will breathe and you can get it all back.. again and again.. For, if you can do it once, you can damn well do it again.. Itās just a game we play Life..
There may be days when you get up in the morning and things arenāt the way you had hoped they would be…
Thatās when you have to tell yourself that things will get better.. There are times when people disappoint you and let you down…
But those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself..
There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them..
Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you.. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are..
So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to believe in yourself and all you want your life to be.. Because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you..
One day a farmerās donkey fell down into a well.. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway it just wasnāt worth it to retrieve the donkey.. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him.. They all grabbed a shovel and begin to shovel dirt into the well.. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly..
Then, to everyoneās amazement he quieted down.. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw.. With every shovel of dirt that fell on his back, the donkey was doing some thing amazing.. He would shake it off and take a step up.. As the farmerās neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up..
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and totted off!..
#Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.. The trick is too not to get bogged down by it.. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping.. And by never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!!.
When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood.. I remember well the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box..
I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother used to talk to it.. Then discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person her name was āInformation Pleaseā and there was nothing she did not know..
āInformation Pleaseā could supply any bodyās number and the correct time..
My first personal experience with this genie in the bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor.. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer..
The pain was terrible, but there didnāt seem to be any reason in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.. I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger., finally arriving at the stairway…
The telephone!. Quickly, I ran for the foot stool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing.. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear..
āInformation Please,ā I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear..
Information please.
I hurt my finger I wailed into the phone.. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience..
Isnāt your mother home ? came the question..
No bodyās home but me, I blubbered…
Are you bleeding ?. the voice asked..
No, I replied.. I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts..
Can you open your icebox ? she asked.. I said I could…
Then chip off a little piece of ice and hold it to your finger, said the voice..
After that, I called āInformation Pleaseā for everything.. I asked her for help with my geography and she told me where Philadelphia was.. She helped me with my math.. She told me my pet chipmunk, that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts..
Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary died.. I called āInformation Pleaseā and told her the sad story.. She listened, then said the usual things grown ups say to soothe a child.. But I was un-consoled. I asked her, Why is it that birds should sing so beautiful and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage ?.
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, Paul, always remember that there are other worlds to sing in..
Somehow I felt better..
Another day I was on the telephone. āInformation Please.ā.
āInformation,ā said the now familiar voice..
How do you spell fix ? I asked..
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston. I missed my friend very much. āInformation Pleaseā belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the tall, shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall.. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.. Often, In moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy..
A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle I had about half an hour or so between planes.. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now.. Then, without thinking what I was doing,, I dialed my hometown operator and said,, āInformation, please.ā
Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well..
āInformation.ā
I hadnāt planned this, but I heard myself saying, Could you please tell me how to spell fix.?.
There was a long pause.. Then came the soft spoken answer, I guess your finger must have healed by now..
I laughed, So itās really still you, I said. I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time..
I wonder, she said, if you know how much your calls meant to me.. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls..
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister..
Please do, she said.. Just ask for Sally…
Three months later I was back in Seattle.. A different voice answered, āInformation.ā
I asked for Sally. āAre you a friend?ā she said.
Yes, a very old friend, I answered…
Iām sorry to have to tell you this, she said.. Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago… Before I could hang up she said, Wait a minute.. Did you say your name was Paul
āYes..ā.
Well, Sally left a message for you.. She wrote it down in case you called.. Let me read it to you. The note said, Tell him I still say there are other worlds to sing in.. Heāll know what I mean.
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant…
#Moral: Never underestimate the impression you may make on others….___
One fine sunny day in winter, a grasshopper was basking in the warm sun..
But he was very hungry, as he had not eaten anything since last night..
So, he looked about to find something to soothe his hunger.. Suddenly, he saw few ants carrying grains into their hole..
He went up to the ants and asked humbly, Can you, please, spare few grains for me.. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.. So, I am almost starving to death..
One of the ants asked the grasshopper, What were you doing the whole summer ? Why didn’t you store up the food for the winter season ?. The grasshopper replied, Truly speaking, I spent all the summer singing songs and that’s why I couldn’t store anything..
The ant chucked out a smile and remarked, Then dance the winter away..
The grasshopper pulled a long face and walked away. So we say..
Think what a remarkable, unduplicatable, and miraculous thing it is to be you!. Of all the people who have come and gone on the earth, since the beginning of time, not ONE of them is like YOU!.
No one who has ever lived or is to come has had your combination of abilities, talents, appearance, friends, acquaintances, burdens, sorrows and opportunities…
No, one’s hair grows exactly the way yours does.. No one’s finger prints are like yours. No one has the same combination of secret inside jokes and family expressions that you know.. The few people who laugh at all the same things you do, don’t sneeze the way you do..
No one prays about exactly the same concerns as you do.. No one is loved by the same combination of people that love you NO ONE!. No one before, no one to come..
YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE! Enjoy that uniqueness.. You do not have to pretend in order to seem more like someone else.. You weren’t meant to be like someone else.. You do not have to lie to conceal the parts of you that are not like what you see in anyone else..
You were meant to be different.. Nowhere ever in all of history will the same things be going on in anyone’s mind, soul and spirit as are going on in yours right now..
If you did not exist, there would be a hole in creation, a gap in history, something missing from the plan for humankind.. Treasure your uniqueness.. It is a gift given only to you.. Enjoy it and share it!
No one can reach out to others in the same way that you can.. No one can speak your words.. No one can convey your meanings.. No one can comfort with your kind of comfort.. No one can bring your kind of understanding to another person..
No one can be cheerful and lighthearted and joyous in your way.. No one can smile your smile.. No one else can bring the whole unique impact of you to another human being..
Share your uniqueness.. Let it be free to flow out among your family and friends and people you meet in the rush and clutter of living wherever you are.. That gift of yourself was given you to enjoy and share.. Give yourself away!.
See it! Receive it! Let it tickle you! Let it inform you and nudge you and inspire you!
A rich man had only one son… The son fell into the bad company… He developed many bad habits…
The man was much worried about the habits of his son… He tried his best to mend his habits but he could not succeed… One day he thought of a plan to teach his son a lesson…
He went to market and purchased some fresh apples and a rotten one.. He came back to his home and called his son.. He asked his son to put all the apples along with the rotten one in the almirah….
The son did the same.. After some days father asked his son to bring the apples.. As he opened the door of almirah he was surprised to note that all the apples had become rotten. He felt sad…
At this his father told him to see how one rotten apple had spoiled all the rest.. In the same way one bad companion could spoil all others.. The father’s advice had the desired effect.. The boy gave up bad company and became good again….
