During a trip to St Louis, I picked a book called the Little Zen Companion…..from it comes this.

“If you cannot find truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?” - Dogen

“When you are deluded and full of doubt, even a thousand books of scripture are not enough.  When you have realized understanding, even one word is too much.” Fen-Yang

This reminds of a quote that says in effect  “Some are ever learning, but never coming to a knowledge of the truth”  Pursuing knowledge without purpose is most often foolishness.  But the purposeful pursuit of knowledge for the person seeking peace, understanding and most importantly truth ….this is wisdom.  Truth sought, understood and received invites us to consider ourselves, our behavior and our beliefs and to refine them and clarify them, and most importantly to live them more fully.  In short, the acquisition of truth… invites us and inspires us to change.

Zen & Kirk Out

“Everyone wants to be appreciated, so if you appreciate someone, don’t keep it a Secret.”  ~  Mary Kay Ash

Harold Sherman’s Code of Persistence

 I will never give up so long as I know I am right. 

 I will believe that all things will work out for me if I hang on to the end.

 I will be courageous and undismayed in the face of poor odds.

 I will not permit anyone to intimidate or deter me from my goals.

 I will fight to overcome all physical handicaps and setbacks.

 I will try again and again and yet again to accomplish what I desire.

 I will take new faith and resolution from the knowledge that all successful men and women have had to fight defeat and adversity.

I will never surrender to discouragement or despair no matter what seeming obstacles may confront me.

Enjoy!  Be Persistent!!!      

Kirk Out

  The people with whom you work reflect your own attitude. If you are suspicious, unfriendly and condescending, you will find these unlovely traits echoed all about you. But if you are on your best behavior, you will bring out the best in the persons with whom you are going to spend most of your waking hours.   — Beatrice Vincent

I have long maintained that attitudes can be highly contagious… the question we might ask ourselves is this… “If people caught what I had, would that be a good thing?”

Don’t just be contagious…be POSITIVELY CONTAGIOUS!  

Go ahead and get sick with the GOOD STUFF!!  And if someone doesn’t like it… well you can stick it their ear.

  Kirk out and Achoo!

All of us carry excess baggage around from time to time, but the wisest ones among us don’t carry it around for very long.  They get rid of it.   Some of it you have to get rid of without really solving the problem.  Some things that ought to be put in order are not put in order because you can’t control them.  Often, however, the things we carry are petty, even stupid.  If you are still mad after all these years because Aunt Clara didn’t come to your wedding reception, why don’t you grow up?  Forget it. ~ Boyd K. Packer  

So don’t carry for yourself and don’t carry it for others!  ~ Kirk Out

  Nothing lowers the level of conversation more than raising the voice.  — Stanley Horowitz

   Sometimes the rolling of the eyes can be the loudest way to yell.  In fact, I think non-verbal yelling kills more conversations and relationships than verbal yelling by far.  ~Kirk

  Bought a cool little mini-book the other day when I was traveling called “HOW TO BE TOTALLY MISERABLE”  author John Bytheway  I grabbed it because I am thinking about doing another illustrated book on the same subject and thought it would be great research - it was!  Here are a couple quotes from it.  

Fear is that little dark room where negatives are developed. - Michael Pritchard  

Everyone can be discontented if they ignore their blessings and look only at their burdens. ~ Thomas S. Monson

Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others…By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.  - Gordon B. Hinkley

WARNING - what follows could be considered promotional!  

For the cost of sending just 2 people away to training you could have Kirk Weisler come and spend an entire day training your entire staff!  WOW, now that just makes CENT$!  But would he be any good?  Would he have lasting impact? Well just read what people are saying - By reading below or clicking HERE - or - HERE.  

 Kirk, I intrduced myself to you at the Big Ten Rec Sports Conference, but felt    compelled to send you a note of thanks for your wonderful speaking on leadership. I sincerely believe that your words and suggestions for books will make me a better person with my co-workers, but most importantly with my own wife and family.  Your message came at a very unique time for me, and it hit home in many areas.  Again, thank you for what you do. 

John Horn ` Director, Recreational Programs and Facilities ` UW-Madison

Don’t Delay Book Kirk Today…. he has only 20 open training dates remaing for 2009.

 A person could twitter away their life watching entertaining and even possibly educational youtube clips.  Then the next day you have all of the recall of watching an evening of television.  Someone may even ask you … “Hey, what did you watch last night?”  You get a far away look in your eye… mutter something profound like “ummm” for a few seconds as you furrow your brow and then finally admit, “I don’t remember.”

Well I watched a clip 7 months ago that I can’t stop thinking about… called “The Story of Stuff”  or http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html

Then last night as I was looking at a book on Amazon titled - (Scroll down and watch the video interview with the author–it’s fantastic)  The story of what happened after he was mugged and how we got there as a society is so telling.  It’s also intersting tome how these two pieces speak to a singular core issue.  If I said more it would be a spoiler.

Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back  http://www.amazon.com/Life-Inc-World-Became-Corporation/dp/1400066891

I know these are going to be hard to watch at work…but they are worthwhile for home and family viewing.  I know we are gong to watch them as a family and discuss what they imply.  I invite you to do the same.

Kirk Out

The greatest stumbling block to achieving anything of importance in your life is circumstances.

We let circumstances get us off the hook when we should be giving it everything we’ve got. More dreams are shattered and goals lost because of circumstances than any other single factor.      

How often have you caught yourself saying, “I would like to do or have this but I can’t because…?” Whatever follows “because” is the circumstance.    

Successful people use circumstances to catapult them on toward their goal, while the masses use them as road blocks. A circumstance may cause a detour in your life but you should never permit it to stop you.     

George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying, “People are always blaming circumstance for what they are. I do not believe in circumstance. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstance they want and if they can’t find them they make them.” 

Napoleon said, “Circumstances hell, I make them.”   

 The next time you hear someone say they would like to vacation in

Paris , or purchase a particular automobile but they can’t because they have no money. Tell them they don’t need any money, your reward will probably be a blank stare followed with, “What do you mean I don’t need any money?”  

Explain they don’t need the money until they make a decision to go to

Paris or purchase the car. When the decision is made, they will figure out a way to get the amount needed. They always do.

The circumstance they are using is one of the most common: a lack of money. The real cause of their problem is lack of decision. You always attract what you need when you decide it must be done. Try this yourself today. You know the task you have been putting off “because…” Make a decision, forget the circumstance or adopt Shaw’s theory, but get it done!

Bob Proctor

Thank you Bob…

Kirk out

Excellence is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution & the vision to see obstacles as opportunities.  (Think economy as obstacle and move on to next quote)

“Only those who constantly retool themselves stand a chance of staying employed in the years ahead.” ~  Tom Peters
 

While others sit there with slack jawed drool - seek excellence as you retool!  :)   ~ Kirk out