“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon, instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.”–Dale Carnegie
When is the last time you stopped to smell the roses outside your window?
Heck… I’m going to do this right now. (Working from home has some advantages.)
Make it a great day… and live.
Kirk
Recieved this first quote today by W. Lewis…but thought it could you use some strengthening. But then I remembered another quote I just read 2 days ago from my wife’s book…which I liked even more by Maxwell (not John…but Neal). I’ve paraphrased it a bit …so it’s not exactly a quote anymore…but still. 
The abundant life does not come to those who have had a lot of obstacles removed from their path by others. It develops from within and is rooted in strong mental and moral fiber. – William Mather Lewis (and I would add – …and who tested and strengthened that mental and moral fiber while striving to overcome the obstacles.)
“Our Shining moments often occur during our darkest hours. Indeed it is most often the darkest hours that require, inspire and invite our light to shine…so that we and others might more clearly see the way. ”
Be a light today… someone in your world needs you to shine.
Kirk Weisler
“Life is too short to waste. Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action.” ~ David J. Schwartz
To go in the direction of our dreams requires first that we have them… and then that we crystallize them into a form that we can articulate clearly, describe specifically, and work towards incrementally. I remember the 4 step process described in a book about the great Walt Disney that suggested the pattern for his success… DREAM< BELIEVE< DARE< DO! We must act!
And finally one of my wife’s favorite sayings… “Act the way you want to be and soon you’ll be the way you act.” The word “Act” is not suggesting that we put one on…. as in “They really put on a act” in some insincere way to obtain some desired thing. Rather it is in in the context of making a choice to act a certain way driven by a sincere desire to become a certain thing. The greater the clarity of purpose, the greater the confidence of it’s pursuit. The greater the clarity of what we want to achieve and become… the greater the likelihood of our achieving it becomes. ~ Kirk Out
I remember being with Stephen Covey when he was asked how to rebuild trust after it has been broken. His simple answer has always remained with me. He simply said, “Make a promise and then keep it.”
He went on to explain that it didn’t matter if the promise was big or small…only that it was kept. Then make another promise… and keep that one.
I read a fantastic post on this subject this morning about a manager who waited too long to let someone go… and how trust was at the center of it. If you want to enjoy that story click here. http://michaelhyatt.com/how-to-build-trust.html
“One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon, instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today.” –Dale Carnegie
A friend sent me a link to a wonderful article titled - 15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy- I invite you to read it … and give up!http://www.finerminds.com/happiness/15-things-give-up-happy/
If you can think of a 16th thing… please share it at www.kirkweisler.com/t4d I’d love to hear it.
Make it a great day.
Kirk
I wanted a smile today…. so I dug back into the T4D archives looking for one and found the “Idiot Sightings” from 2004. The sad fact that I can relate to at least 2 of them was enough to make me smile & laugh. I hope it has the same magical effect on you.
IDIOT SIGHTING #1: I work with an individual who plugged his power strip back into itself and for the life of him couldn’t understand why his system would not turn on.
IDIOT SIGHTING #2: I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, “Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?” To which I replied, “If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?” He smiled knowingly and nodded, “That’s why we ask.”
IDIOT SIGHTING #3 At a good-bye luncheon for an old and dear co-worker who was leaving the company due to “downsizing,” our manager commented cheerfully, “This is fun. We should do this more often.” Not a word was spoken. We all just looked at each other with that deer-in-the- headlights stare.
IDIOT SIGHTING #4: When my husband and I arrived at an automobile dealership to pick up our car, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked. “Hey,” I announced to the technician, “It’s open!” To which he replied, “I know - I already got that side.”
Just keep you money…. and make it a great day.
Kirk Out
A friend I have never met by the name of James Ritchie occasionally sends me and few others his musings, observations and reflections on life.
James is about 30 years farther down the road than me…and I feel there is much I can learn from him…if I will.
James writes….
In 1952 W. Clement Stone (a guru of Positive Thinking - I know that most of my ‘audience’ will not recognize W. Clement Stone, but he was a hero to the positive thinking world in my day and before) but anyway on with the story…he had personally earned $100,000,000 from his Insurance Business…measured in today’s money a feat never dreamed possible. But, just 15 years earlier during the Depression, his 1,000 man sales forces had shrunk to nearly nothing and he was
deeply in debt. That’s when he started reading Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”. He devoured the book…gave out copies to his sales crew. Sales exploded!!! and the rest is history.
What was in that book?
The answer goes back to 1908, when author, Napoleon Hill was a 25 year old magazine reporter. During an interview, steel giant Andrew Carnegie tossed the young journalist a massive challenge. Carnegie promised he would introduce Hill to the greatest achievers of his day, provided Hill would then devote the next 20 years, AT NO PAY, to compile their success stories into a book. In Carnegie’s pocket was a stop watch. He told Hill that only a man who makes FAST DECISIONS
can be trusted to carry them out. If Hill hesitated more than 60 seconds the deal was off. Thirty seconds later Hill said YES.
For the next two decades, while supporting himself through work in sales, retail, public relations and education, Hill interviewed over 500 successful men among them F.W. Woolworth, Henry Ford, Theodore Roosevelt and Thomas Edison. His (Napoleon Hill’s) ”LAWS OF SUCCESS” was published in 1928 to worldwide acclaim. Nine years later, 1937- during the Depression, Hill published his blockbuster, “THINK AND GROW RICH”. It was an instant best seller and has been ever since.
LIFE LESSONS:
1) Making DECISIONS: He who hesitates is lost - remember Napoleon had 60 seconds to make a decision that, if he had hesitated, would have changed the course of literary history. How many opportunities do we lose because we can’t DECIDE or are REACTIVE instead of PROACTIVE.
2) READ SUCCESS STORIES - meaning powerful, motivating, uplifting, inspiring books and literature.
3) NETWORK - Try to imagine the impact the 500 successful interviews had on Napoleon Hills’s future life and productivity. It’s like a student being in bed or at the beach during the Meet the Pro’s Clusters held during both the GREAT IDEA EXCHANGE and THE EMPOWER YOUR DREAMS CONFERENCE. Missed opportunities seldom return.
4) WRITE - Share your successes and impressions with yourself and others - keep a great journal.
(I have a copy of this book… read it… so long ago… I think it’s time to pick it up, dust it off and read through it…slowly. :) Thanks Mr. Ritchie
Thinking for a change… and reading to invite, inspire and energize.
Kirk out
Last week was spring break in our neck of the woods. For me it was a week in the garden preparing it, planting it and expanding it. Right now it just looks like a very large area of nothing…. I can hardly wait for it to grow. Planting seeds in anything or anyone and seeing them take root and bare fruit is to experience something miraculous. I hope each of you had wonderful weekend and were renewed and refreshed by your experience.
I would like to kick off the week with something more from Rebecca’s Words of Wisdom and the wall of a Donut shop.
As you ramble on through life, brother, whatever be your goal, keep your eye upon the donut and not upon the hole. -on the wall at “Dippy Donuts” in Omaha, NE;
“Learning to read is a lifetime process and it increasingly has enemies. Its principle enemies at the moment are the mass media and that dreadful thing that our modern society has forced upon us: the need to read quickly. Our major task is not to learn read quickly but to learn to read slowly - slow enough to have some understanding of what we are reading. The more quickly we read, the fewer our thoughts will be, but the more slowly we read, the more our thoughts will come pouring in. It is not the speed at which we read that counts, but the speed at which thoughts come.” Arthur Henry King
Kirk Weisler
My wife Rebecca is always gathering bits of wisdom and adding them to her “Words of Wisdom” notebook. Over the years it’s grown quite extensive…and (in my opinion) should be published. Last night I picked up and found several keepers on the very first page here are just 3 from the categories of “Agency” and “Adversity”
“Take hold of your life and order yourself to be valiant.” ~Boyd K Packer
“Why we do what we do is more important than what we do.” ~E. Jensen
“Pain is God’s megaphone to arouse a deaf world.” ~C.S. Lewis
“Complaining is the seed of a depressed soul.” ~ unattributed
“Our encounters with reality and disappointment are actually vital stages in the development of our maturity and understanding.” ~ Bruce C Haven
“The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem. ~ Theodore Rubin
Have a great weekend… and if you have a few problems….just think “Problems, are no problem.”
Kirk Out
I know there have been far too many times I’ve had analysis paralysis …or wasted time arguing (mostly with myself) about should I do this or that or not at all.
I’ve always loved the following quote from Southwest Airlines previous CEO…
“We have a strategic plan, It’s called ‘doing things “. Herb Kelleher
Nearly every good and great thing in my life is result of “doing things”.
So today…let’s just do the refreshing thing and EMPTY THE CUP!…. AAAAAHHHHHHH
