Endurance
IN THE 'TEST KITCHEN' OF LIFE
A young woman was complaining to her father about how difficult her life had become. He said nothing, but took her to the kitchen and sat three pans of water to boiling. To the first pan, he added carrots; to the second, eggs; and to the third, ground coffee. After all three had cooked, he put their contents into separate bowls and asked his daughter to cut into the eggs and carrots and smell the coffee. "What does all this mean?" she asked impatiently.
"Each food," he said, "teaches us something about facing adversity, as represented by the boiling water." The carrot went in hard but came out soft and weak. The eggs went in fragile but came out hardened. The coffee, however, changed the water to something better.
"Which will you be like as you face life?" he asked. Will you give up, become hard - or transform adversity into triumph? As the "chef" of your own life, what will you bring to the table?
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee .
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.'
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things....your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents.. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand..'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.'
The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.' |
If you find a path with no obstacles it probably doesn't lead anywhere.
"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.; How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done.; Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that!" - Rocky Balboa
Channel anxiety into creative force for achievement so that, when
we are frustrated, we become more productive.
Every day in
Africa a gazelle wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than
the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning
a lion wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle
or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you
are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you’d better
be running!
--
Cited in Media Management Newsletter
In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.
You can not discover new oceans unless you have the courage
to leave the shore.
You measure the success of a person not by how well he performs
when the wind is at his back, but how he performs when the wind
is in his face.
You're handed life on a silver platter, but it's
yours to tarnish or serve from.
Luck, it's the uphill trip that gets you to the top; it's the
ability to recognize an opportunity and take it; it's taking a
risk that others turn down; it's seeing a result that others don't
see; its knowing that out of adversity comes something constructive.
The challenge of change is to change rather than challenge
the change.
There are two kinds old people-those that tell all the reasons
why things can't be done and those who go out and do it.
Which are you?
You fail many
times, but you’re not a failure until
you begin to blame somebody else.
Is there anyone you know who hardly ever fails, but also rarely
succeeds? Instead, they seek comfortable situations where there
is no risk or danger of defeat.
It is your ability to fail and continue trying which determines
your succeed in any challenge of life.
Michelangelo said, "If you knew how hard I worked you would
not consider me a genius."
In these challenging times of crises, complexity and competition,
we need to remember that most great people have suffered through
adversity before they have fulfilled their potential.
--
Art Mortell
Persistence: Nothing in the world can take the place of
persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful
men with
talent. Genius will not; Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; The world is full of education derelicts. Persistence
and determination alone are omnipotent.
-- Calvin Coolidge
We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised
as insoluble problems.
No failure is ever final, neither is any success.
When you think
you’ve exhausted all possibilities, remember
this -- you haven’t.
Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach
of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are
beyond the need of God's grace.
Life is like an onion; you peel off one layer at a time and sometimes
you weep.
Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to
make them all yourself.
Following the path of least resistance is what makes rivers and
men crooked.
In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always
been times like these.
ANYWAY
People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered,
LOVE THEM ANYWAY
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives,
DO GOOD ANYWAY
If you are successful,
You win false friends and true enemies,
SUCCEED ANYWAY
The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow,
DO GOOD ANYWAY.
Honestly and frankness make you vulnerable,
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY
What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight.
BUILD ANYWAY.
People really need help
But may attack you if you help them,
HELP THEM ANYWAY.
Give the world the best you have
And you’ll get kicked in the teeth,
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY. |
Problems are guidelines, Not stop signs.
Every Adversity Hides A Possibility.
How do you move a mountain? You move a mountain one truckload
at a time. You chisel away one chip at a time.
Always use the word
impossible with the greatest caution.
Courage does
not always roar, sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of
the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”
Without stress there is no progress.
Shake it off
One day a farmer's 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 wasn't
worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over
and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then,
to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer
finally looked down the well and was astonished with what he saw. With every
shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He
would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's 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 trotted off! Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds
of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a
step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest
wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up! |
A purge makes the guts clean and strong.
It is not easy to keep on, keeping on.
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MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES
Success | Excellence | Endurance | Leadership
Teamwork | Attitude | Humility | Faith
Creativity | Sales | Humor |
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