Go the extra mile, its never crowded

By Author Unknown

A small boy worked as an apprentice in a bicycle shop.A man sent a bicycle for repair. After repairing the bicycle,this boy cleaned up the bicycle and it looked like a new one.

Other apprentices laughed at him for doing redundant work. The second day after the owner claimed the bicycle back,this boy was pinched and offered a job.

Moral of the story : 
1.Go the extra mile to be successful.
2. Doing more gains more Doing less loses more.

Live with good habits, and you will be recognized

By Author unknown


A man attended an interview for a job.
Along the corridor, he picked up a piece and threw it into a dustbin.
The interviewer passed by and saw it.
This man got the job.
*Moral of the story: *
Live with good habits, and you will be recognized.

Cultivating Child

By Author Unknown

The owner of a farm asked his child to work everyday at the farm.
His friend said to him :
“ You do not have to make your son work so hard.
The crops would grow just as good.”
Owner of the farm replied:
“ I am not cultivating my crops, but my child.”
*Moral of the story:*
1. A simple way to groom a child is to let him experience some hardships.
2. If not cut, jade would not turn into useful ware.

What is Sacrifice

Chat between a Solider and Software Engineer in Shatabdi Train ......


Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air-conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought, he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do!! He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use.


"Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop. Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car.


"You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting computerized."


"Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and stockily built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school. He probably was a railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass.


"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside."

Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naiveness demanded reasoning not anger. "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it."

For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Life cycle but restrained himself to a single statement.


"It is complex, very complex."


"It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid!," came the reply.


This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone.


"Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing."


He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to drive home the point. "Let me give you an example. Take this train The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country. Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"


The man was awe stuck ; quite like a child at a planetarium. This was something big and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such things." "I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "but now I am the Project Manager."


"Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life is easy now." This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, "Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work. Design and coding!

That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressfu! My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his requirements, the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday."


Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realization. What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth.


"My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire".


The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek. 


"I know sir,..... I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire......." He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time.


"There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive."


"You are a...?"


"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil. They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft assignment. But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my Captain Batra Sahib refused me permission and went ahead himself. "He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded. ..his own personal safety came last, always and every time. "He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me . I know sir....I know, what it is to be in the Line of Fire."


Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom valour and duty was a daily part of life; valour and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.


The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight. "It was nice meeting you sir."


Vivek fumbled with the handshake.


This hand... had climbed mountains, pressed the trigger, and hoisted the tricolour.


Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.


It was the least he felt he could do for the country.


PS: The incident he narrated during the capture of Peak 4875 is a true-life incident during the kargil war. Capt. Batra sacrificed his life while trying to save one of the men he commanded, as victory was within sight. For this and various other acts of bravery, he was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the nation's highest military award.


Live humbly, there are great people around us, let us learn! Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!!!

The magical begging bowl

When you desire something, your joy depends on that something. If it is taken away, you are miserable; if it is given to you, you are happy. But only for the moment! That too has to be understood. Whenever your desire is fulfilled it is only for the moment that you feel joy. It is fleeting, because once you have got it, again the mind starts desiring for more, for something else.

Mind exists in desiring; hence mind can never leave you without desire. If you are without desire, mind dies immediately. That's the whole secret of meditation.

A beggar knocks on the door of an emperor; it is early morning. The emperor was coming out for a morning walk in his beautiful garden; otherwise it would have been difficult for the beggar to have an appointment with him. But there was no mediator to prevent him.

The emperor said, "What do you want?" The beggar said, "Before you ask that, think twice!" The emperor has never seen such a lion of a man; he has fought wars, has won victories, has made it clear that nobody is more powerful than him, but suddenly this beggar says to him, "Think twice of what you are saying, because you may not be able to fulfill it!"

The king said, "Don't be worried, that is my concern; you ask what you want, it will be done!"

The beggar said, "You see my begging bowl? I want it to be filled! It does not matter with what, the only condition is that it should be filled, it should be full. You can still say no, but if you say yes, then you are taking a risk."

The emperor laughed. Just a beggar's bowl... and he is being given a warning? He told his premier to fill the beggar's bowl with diamonds, so that this beggar would know who he was asking.

The beggar again said, "Think twice." And soon it became apparent that the beggar was right, because the moment the diamonds were poured into his begging bowl they simply disappeared!

The word began to spread like wildfire in the capital; thousands of people arrived to watch. When the precious stones were finished the king said, "Bring out all the gold and silver, everything! My whole kingdom, my whole integrity is being challenged." But by the evening everything had disappeared and there were only two beggars left--one used to be the emperor.

The emperor said, "Before I ask your forgiveness for not listening to your warning, please tell me the secret of this begging bowl."

The beggar said, "There is no secret. I have polished it, made it look like a bowl, but it is a human skull. You go on pouring anything into it and it disappears."

The story is tremendously meaningful. Have you ever thought about your own begging bowl? Everything disappears--power, prestige, respectability, riches--everything disappears and your begging bowl goes on opening its mouth for more. And the "more" takes you away from this. The desire, the longing for something else takes you away from this moment.

There are only two kinds of people in the world: the majority are running after shadows; their begging bowls will remain with them till they enter their graves. And a very small minority, one in a million, stops running, drops all desires, asks for nothing--and suddenly he finds everything within himself.

Keep the glass down

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they woul be asked the half empty or half full question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired:  How heavy is this glass of water?

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, âThe absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, l have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.

She continued, The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about  them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed incapable of doing anything.

It's important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!

The Self Confidence Story

The business executive was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him.

I can see that something is troubling you, he said.

After listening to the executive's woes, the old man said,

I believe I can help you

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying,

Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

I can erase my money worries in an instant!

He realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought..With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check.

At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

Iâm so glad I caught him! she cried.

I hope he hasn't been bothering you. He is always escaping from the rest home and telling people he is John D. Rockefeller.

And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he had been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn't the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after

Scale to measure Happiness of an individual

Can I get a scale to measure Happiness of an individual working in business organization.

Happiness@work: Don't  label people lazy. Published in Corporate Dossier ET, May 31, 2013, Prof Srikumar Rao, Author of "Happiness at Work"  

Question: I have been promoted to head a new division and have inherited many workers who are downright lazy. They do not carry their load and overall performance suffers. Good workers get dispirited and slacken

their efforts as a result. Any tips? 

Answer: 
Here are two questions to ask yourself: Why is this happening and who is responsible? Our natural tendency is to blame the workers for having a poor work ethic and punish them in some way - perhaps even fire them.

It reminds me of a cartoon I saw many years ago that depicted an overseer using his whip on galley slaves chained to their oars. The caption said: whippings will continue till morale improves. My friend Ben Zander is conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. In the orchestra world the conductor is emperor - if not God - and the musicians do not stand up to them. 

If a particular instrumentalist is not playing up to par in the conductor's opinion, that player is history.  Ben has a different approach. When  his  first  violinist  made  mistakes  during  a  rehearsal Ben asked himself, "What am I
doing wrong that my first violinist cannot play her best?" When you ask different questions, you get different answers.  And  in one of these new answers  you may find the solution  you are seeking. Don't be in a hurry to label the workers 'lazy'.

They may be or they may not be but you have not been in your new position long enough to tell. Instead try to discern what are the organizational rules and past practices that promote the behavior you decry. 

Road you take...

By Vinod Bidwaik

Two elderly villagers were seating at the corner bench besides road.

One traveler comes and asks, “Does this road goes to Gangapur?”

 Elderly villager replies, “No, this road doesn’t go anywhere?”

“How? Somebody back told me that this road goes to Gangapur.”

“Son, I am here for last 70 years and I never seen this road going anywhere. If you want to go Gangapur, you have to go on this road straight. You, yourself have to walk”

Road are media to reach at the destination. We have to move, we have to walk, and we have to take efforts to reach at the destination. It is upto us how we take the road. By walking, by running or by some other speedy vehicle. There are million roads, therefore you have to keep in mind that road is only road.  

If you thanks that the road which is not towards the destination, you need not stay with it under any circumstances.

There is no affront to oneself or others in dropping it if that is what your heart tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path must be free of fear or ambition.

Look at every Road/path closely and deliberately. Ask the question, “Does this road take me towards my Goal?”

Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself and yourself alone one question. It is this: Does this road have a heart? Does this road have the values? Does this road is sensible to adjust the change if you desire to?

All roads are the same. They lead nowhere.

There are roads going through the brush or into the brush or under the brush.

Does this path have a heart is the only question.

If it does, then the road is good.

If doesn’t, it is of no use.

You’re Never Too Old to Dream

Ida Keeling: Record Breaker

In 2012, 97-year old Ida Keeling set a record for the 100 Meter Sprint at the USA Track and Field Eastern Regional Open Championships. She finished the race at 51.85 seconds, beating the previous record of 59.9 seconds for the 90 and over age category. Keeling took up running at age 67 after several personal tragedies in her life, including the death of her husband and two of her sons.

What goes around comes around

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was those chills which only fear can put in you. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “And think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.”

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard….

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”

There is an old saying “What goes around comes around.”

Live and Work

Father was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better paying job. Except for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best money could buy.

Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.

Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing, fine food and vacation abroad.

However, the family still did not get to see father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact, to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion, he enrolled for another course in the open university.

Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Jubilantly, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough, it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium. Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

As expected, Father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take anymore courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.

Father did not wake up the next day.

The Value of Time

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400.

It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.

What would you do?

Draw out every cent, of course!!!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today.

To realize the value of one year,
ask a student who has failed his final exam.

To realize the value of one month,
ask the parent of a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week,
ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one day,
ask a daily wage laborer who has a large family to feed.

To realize the value of one hour,
ask lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute,
ask a person who has missed the train, the bus, or a plane.

To realize the value of one second,
ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond,
ask the person who has won a silver medal at the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember that time waits for no one.

This Is Good

An old story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, “This is good!”

One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off. Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, “This is good!” To which the king replied, “No, this is NOT good!” and proceeded to send his friend to jail.

About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took him to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to set fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.

As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. “You were right,” he said, “it was good that my thumb was blown off.” And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. “And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this.”

“No,” his friend replied, “This is good!” “What do you mean,’This is good’? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?” “If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you.”

You can...

One day, the young  lion asked his mom: "Mom, where is the happiness?" Mom  replied: "It's on your tail." So the young lion keeps on chasing after his tail. But after a whole day of  trying, he  failed to get the happiness that was on his tail. Then he  told his mom about this, his mom smiled and said: "Son, you  don't really   need to chase after your happiness, as long as you keep going and moving forward, your happiness will  always be with you..Wish everyone of you find your  happiness.

You can't decide the length of life, but  you can control how you want to live it. You can't  control the weather, but you can control your mood. You  can't change your look, but you can smile.You can't  control others, but you can control yourself. You can't  foresee tomorrow, but you can utilize today wisely. You  can't win everything, but you can try your very best to  achieve that. 

Hope everyone can face the daily life  positively and always happy... 

Hiding god from man

There was once a time when all human beings were Gods, but they so abused their divinity that Brahma decided to take it away from them and hide it where it could never be found. Where to hide their divinity was the question. So Brahma called a council of the Gods to help him decide. "Let's bury it deep in the Earth, " offered the Gods. But Brahma answered, "No, that will not do, because humans will dig into the Earth and find it." Then the Gods said, "Let's sink it in the deepest ocean." But Brahma responded, "No, not there, for they will learn to dive into the ocean and will find it." Then the Gods said, "Let's take it to the top of the highest mountain and hide it there." But once again Brahma replied, "No, that will not do either, because they will eventually climb every mountain and once again take up their divinity." Then the Gods gave up and lamented, "We do not know where to hide it, because it  seems that there is no place on Earth or in the sea that human beings will not eventually reach." Brahma thought for a long time and then proffered, "Here is what we will do. We will hide their divinity deep in the center of their own being, for humans will never think to look for it there." All the Gods agreed that this was the perfect hiding place, and the deed was done. And since that time humans have been going up and down the Earth, digging, diving, climbing and exploring--searching for something already within themselves. 

-- An old Hindu legend

Ten Commandments to Follow in Life

Someone has written these beautiful words….

They are like the Ten Commandments to Follow in Life, all the time........ 

1. Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in trouble,  but it is a "steering wheel" that directs the right path throughout. 

2. So why is a car's windshield so large and the rear view mirror so small?  Because our past is not as important as our future. So, look ahead and move on.

3. Friendship is like a book. It takes few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

4. All things in life are temporary. If it’s going well, enjoy it,that won't last long.  If it’s going badly, don't worry, that won't last long either. 

5. Old friends are gold! New friends are diamond! If you get a diamond, don't forget the gold! Because to hold a diamond, you always need a base of gold! 

6. Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, God smiles from  above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!"

7. When God solves your problems, you have faith in His abilities;  when God doesn't solve your problems, He has faith in your abilities. 

8. A blind person asked St. Anthony, "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied, "Yes, losing your vision!" 

9. When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you. 

10. Worrying does not take away tomorrow's troubles, it takes away today's peace . 

Learn from Mistakes

Thomas Edison tried two thousand different materials in search of a filament for the light bulb. When none worked satisfactorily, his assistant complained, “All our work is in vain. We have learned nothing.”

Edison replied very confidently, “Oh, we have come a long way and we have learned a lot. We know that there are two thousand elements which we cannot use to make a good light bulb.”

How Rich Are We?

One day a father and his rich family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “Very good Dad!” “Did you see how poor people can be?” the father asked. “Yeah!” “And what did you learn?”

The son answered, “I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have a whole horizon.” When the little boy was finished, his father was speechless. His son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how ‘poor’ we are!”

Isn’t it true that it all depends on the way you look at things? If you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life — you’ve got everything! You can’t buy any of these things. You may have all the material possessions you can imagine, provisions for the future, etc.; but if you are poor of spirit, you have nothing!

- Author Unknown

Building Your House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. They could get by. 

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go & asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. 

When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, "This is your house... my gift to you."

The carpenter was shocked! 

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. 

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.

But, you cannot go back. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Someone once said, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your attitude, and the choices you make today, help build the "house" you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, Build wisely!