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Thursday 22 November 2012
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In life, I have met my share of people, some love to walk with me, some beside me and some far from me, and some even though they have not had much time to share, have left some of the best footprints in my life..... I never knew how to express these people in words, because their love and gratitude has changed a piece of life once and forever......"
A few have loved me for who I am, and a few have scorned me more than I could ever imagine, and I know that life still moves on even after someone once told me " You've come into my life to prove that all men are bad, all the time"...... Even if your trying to do your best and good, people will hate you, just smile at them and move on. I can only wish the best and the best alone to those people who have shared a piece of my life..... It's because of them that I am who I am today.

For now, I just want to share to the world, a few words about such people and their reasons....

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be; your roommate, your neighbor, Teacher, long lost friend, lover or even a complete stranger who, when you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you and at the time they seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would never have realized your potential, strength, will power of heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments or true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of the soul.

Without these small tests, if they be events, illnesses or relationships, life would be like a smooth paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. Safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life and successes and downfalls you experience, they are the ones who create who you are. Even the bad experience can be learned from... Those lessons are the hardest and probably the most important ones.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart... forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and opening your heart and eyes to things you would have never seen or felt without them.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen, let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it.

I wish you all the best and the best alone in all your endeavors as well as struggles in life. Have a fighting spirit and never hesitate to get back into the struggle!

At the end "We all live with the objective of being happy; our lives are all different and yet the same".............
 
CHAO
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What Are Basic Life Principles?

1. Design
Understanding the specific purposes for which God created each person, object, and relationship in my life and living in harmony with them. Thanking God for my design brings Self-Acceptance.

2. Authority

Honoring the responsibilities of parents, church leaders, government, and other authorities and learning how God works through them to provide direction and protection. Honoring my authorities brings Inward Peace.

3. Responsibility

Realizing I am accountable to God for every thought, word, action, and motive. Asking forgiveness of those I offend brings a Clear Conscience.

4. Suffering

Allowing the hurts from offenders to reveal “blind spots” in my own life, and then seeing how I can benefit their lives. Fully forgiving offenders brings Genuine Joy.

5. Ownership

Understanding that everything I have has been entrusted to me by God, and wisely using it for His purposes. Yielding my rights to God brings True Security.

6. Freedom

Enjoying the desire and power to do what is right, rather than claiming the privilege to do what I want. Regaining ground surrendered to sin brings Moral Purity.

7. Success

Discovering God’s purpose for my life by engrafting Scripture in my heart and mind, and using it to “think God’s thoughts” and make wise decisions. Meditating on Scripture brings Life Purpose.
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39 Ways to live, and NOT Merely Exist

39 Ways to Live, and Not Merely Exist

 
 
"The proper function of man is to live - not to exist." -- Jack London

Too often we go through life on autopilot, going through the motions and having each day pass like the one before it.

That's fine, and comfortable, until you have gone through another year without having done anything, without having really lived life.

That's fine, until you have reached old age and look back on life with regrets.

That's fine, until you see your kids go off to college and realize that you missed their childhoods.


It's not fine. If you want to truly live life, to really experience it, to enjoy it to the fullest, instead of barely scraping by and only living a life of existence, then you need to find ways to break free from the mold and drink from life.



What follows is just a list of ideas, obvious ones mostly that you could have thought of yourself, but that I hope are useful reminders. We all need reminders sometimes. If you find this useful, print it out, and start using it. Today.
  1. Love. Perhaps the most important. Fall in love, if you aren't already. If you have, fall in love with your partner all over again. Abandon caution and let your heart be broken. Or love family members, friends, anyone -- it doesn't have to be romantic love. Love all of humanity, one person at a time.
  2. Get outside. Don't let yourself be shut indoors. Go out when it's raining. Walk on the beach. Hike through the woods. Swim in a freezing lake. Bask in the sun. Play sports, or walk barefoot through grass. Pay close attention to nature.
  3. Savor food. Don't just eat your food, but really enjoy it. Feel the texture, the bursts of flavors. Savor every bite. If you limit your intake of sweets, it will make the small treats you give yourself (berries or dark chocolate are my favorites) even more enjoyable. And when you do have them, really, really savor them. Slowly.
  4. Create a morning ritual. Wake early and greet the day. Watch the sun rise. Out loud, tell yourself that you will not waste this day, which is a gift. You will be compassionate to your fellow human beings, and live every moment to its fullest. Stretch or meditate or exercise as part of your ritual. Enjoy some coffee.
  5. Take chances. We often live our lives too cautiously, worried about what might go wrong. Be bold, risk it all. Quit your job and go to business for yourself (plan it out first!), or go up to that girl you've liked for a long time and ask her out. What do you have to lose?
  6. Follow excitement. Try to find the things in life that excite you, and then go after them. Make life one exciting adventure after another (with perhaps some quiet times in between).
  7. Find your passion. Similar to the above tip, this one asks you to find your calling. Make your living by doing the thing you love to do. First, think about what you really love to do. There may be many things. Find out how you can make a living doing it. It may be difficult, but you only live once.
  8. Get out of your cubicle. Do you sit all day in front of computer, shuffling papers and taking phone calls and chatting on the Internet? Don't waste your days like this. Break free from the cubicle environment, and do your work on a laptop, in a coffee shop, or on a boat, or in a log cabin. This may require a change of jobs, or becoming a freelancer. It's worth it.
  9. Turn off the TV. How many hours will we waste away in front of the boob tube? How many hours do we have to live? Do the math, then unplug the TV. Only plug it back in when you have a DVD of a movie you love. Otherwise, keep it off and find other stuff to do. Don't know what to do? Read further.
  10. Pull away from Internet. You're reading something on the Internet right now. And, with the exception of this article, it is just more wasting away of your precious time. You cannot get these minutes back. Unplug the Internet, then get out of your office or house. Right now! And go and do something.
  11. Travel. Sure, you want to travel some day. When you have vacation time, or when you're older. Well, what are you waiting for? Find a way to take a trip, if not this month, then sometime soon. You may need to sell your car or stop your cable bill and stop eating out to do it, but make it happen. You are too young to not see the world. If need be, find a way to make a living by freelancing, then work while you travel. Only work an hour or two a day. Don't check email but once a week. Then use the rest of the time to see the world.
  12. Rediscover what's important. Take an hour and make a list of everything that's important to you. Add to it everything that you want to do in life. Now cut that list down to 4-5 things. Just the most important things in your life. This is your core list. This is what matters. Focus your life on these things. Make time for them.
  13. Eliminate everything else. What's going on in your life that's not on that short list? All that stuff is wasting your time, pulling your attention from what's important. As much as possible, simplify your life by eliminating the stuff that's not on your short list, or minimizing it.
  14. Exercise. Get off the couch and go for a walk. Eventually try running. Or do some push ups and crunches. Or swim or bike or row. Or go for a hike. Whatever you do, get active, and you'll love it. And life will be more alive.
  15. Be positive. Learn to recognize the negative thoughts you have. These are the self-doubts, the criticisms of others, the complaints, the reasons you can't do something. Then stop yourself when you have these thoughts, and replace them with positive thoughts. Solutions. You can do this!
  16. Open your heart. Is your heart a closed bundle of scar tissue? Learn to open it, have it ready to receive love, to give love unconditionally. If you have a problem with this, talk to someone about it. And practice makes perfect.
  17. Kiss in the rain. Seize the moment and be romantic. Raining outside? Grab your lover and give her a passionate kiss. Driving home? Stop the car and pick some wildflowers. Send her a love note. Dress sexy for him.
  18. Face your fears. What are you most afraid of? What is holding you back? Whatever it is, recognize it, and face it. Do what you are most afraid of. Afraid of heights? Go to the tallest building, and look down over the edge. Only by facing our fears can we be free of them.
  19. When you suffer, suffer. Life isn't all about fun and games. Suffering is an inevitable part of life. We lose our jobs. We lose our lovers. We lose our pets. We get physically injured or sick. A loved one becomes sick. A parent dies. Learn to feel the pain intensely, and really grieve. This is a part of life -- really feel the pain. And when you're done, move on, and find joy.
  20. Slow down. Life moves along at such a rapid pace these days. It's not healthy, and it's not conducive to living. Practice doing everything slowly -- everything, from eating to walking to driving to working to reading. Enjoy what you do. Learn to move at a snail's pace.
  21. Touch humanity. Get out of your house and manicured neighborhoods, and find those who live in worse conditions. Meet them, talk to them, understand them. Live among them. Be one of them. Give up your materialistic lifestyle.
  22. Volunteer. Help at homeless soup kitchens. Learn compassion, and learn to help ease the suffering of others. Help the sick, those with disabilities, those who are dying.
  23. Play with children. Children, more than anyone else, know how to live. They experience everything in the moment, fully. When they get hurt, they really cry. When they play, they really have fun. Learn from them, instead of thinking you know so much more than them. Play with them, and learn to be joyful like them.
  24. Talk to old people. There is no one wiser, more experienced, more learned, than those who have lived through life. They can tell you amazing stories. Give you advice on making a marriage last or staying out of debt. Tell you about their regrets, so you can learn from them and avoid the same mistakes. They are the wisdom of our society -- take advantage of their existence while they're still around.
  25. Learn new skills. Constantly improve yourself instead of standing still -- not because you're so imperfect now, but because it is gratifying and satisfying. You should accept yourself as you are, and learn to love who you are, but still try to improve -- if only because the process of improvement is life itself.
  26. Find spirituality. For some, this means finding God or Jesus or Allah or Buddha. For others, this means becoming in tune with the spirits of our ancestors, or with nature. For still others, this just means an inner energy. Whatever spirituality means for you, rediscover it, and its power.
  27. Take mini-retirements. Don't leave the joy of retirement until you are too old to enjoy it. Do it now, while you're young. It makes working that much more worth it. Find ways to take a year off every few years. Save up, sell your home, your possessions, and travel. Live simply, but live, without having to work. Enjoy life, then go back to work and save up enough money to do it again in a couple of years.
  28. Do nothing. Despite the tip above that we should find excitement, there is value in doing nothing as well. Not doing nothing as in reading, or taking a nap, or watching TV, or meditating. Doing nothing as in sitting there, doing nothing. Just learning to be still, in silence, to hear our inner voice, to be in tune with life. Do this daily if possible.
  29. Stop playing video games. They might be fun, but they can take up way too much time. If you spend a lot of time playing online games, or computer solitaire, or Wii or Gameboy or whatever, consider going a week without it. Then find something else to do, outside.
  30. Watch sunsets, daily. One of the most beautiful times of day. Make it a daily ritual to find a good spot to watch the sunset, perhaps having a light dinner while you do so.
  31. Stop reading magazines. They're basically crap. And they waste your time and money. Cancel your subscriptions and walk past them at the news stands. If you have to read something, read a trashy novel or even better, read Dumb Little Man once a day and be done.
  32. Break out from ruts. Do you do things the same way every day? Change it up. Try something new. Take a different route to work. Start your day out differently. Approach work from a new angle. Look at things from new perspectives.
  33. Stop watching the news. It's depressing and useless. If you're a news junky, this may be difficult. I haven't watch TV news or read a newspaper regularly in about two years. It hasn't hurt me a bit. Anything important, my mom tells me about.
  34. Laugh till you cry. Laughing is one of the best ways to live. Tell jokes and laugh your head off. Watch an awesome comedy. Learn to laugh at anything. Roll on the ground laughing. You'll love it.
  35. Lose control. Not only control over yourself, but control over others. It's a bad habit to try to control others -- it will only lead to stress and unhappiness for yourself and those you try to control. Let others live, and live for yourself. And lose control of yourself now and then too.
  36. Cry. Men, especially, tend to hold in our tears, but crying is an amazing release. Cry at sad movies. Cry at a funeral. Cry when you are hurt, or when somebody you love is hurt. It releases these emotions and allows us to cleanse ourselves.
  37. Make an awesome dessert. I like to make warm, soft chocolate cake. But even berries dipped in chocolate, or crepes with ice cream and fruit, or fresh apple pie, or homemade chocolate chip cookies or brownies, are great. This isn't an every day thing, but an occasional treat thing. But it's wonderful.
  38. Try something new, every week. Ask yourself: "What new thing shall I try this week?" Then be sure to do it. You don't have to learn a new language in one week, but seek new experiences. Give it a try. You might decide you want to keep it in your life.
  39. Be in the moment. Instead of thinking about things you need to do, or things that have happened to you, or worrying or planning or regretting, think about what you are doing, right now. What is around you? What smells and sounds and sights and feelings are you experiencing? Learn to do this as much as possible through meditation, but also through bringing your focus back to the present as much as you can in everything you do.


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(MoneyWatch) It happens every day. Your boss, a customer, somebody needs something done yesterday. No, they don't need it done now. That somehow fails to convey the unbelievably critical sense of urgency of what they need done. Nope. Today's not good enough. You actually have to go back in time and get it done before you were asked.
Not to dump this entirely at the feet of management. Panic-stricken employees are forever bursting into their bosses' offices with emergencies, demands and requisitions they can't live without. If they don't get it, life as we know it will cease to exist. The sky will fall, the earth will stop turning and the dead will rise from their graves.
All hail that holiest of all business acronyms: ASAP.


If everyone would just learn how to say one thing, organizations would be more effective, the workplace would be less stressful and businesses would be more successful. Try it. It'll free your soul and blow your mind. Say it along with me: "Tomorrow's another day."
Here are five examples of how learning to say, "Tomorrow's another day" can improve your and your team's performance, not to mention lower your blood pressure:
1. Most people have no idea just how unprofessional and self-destructive it is to allow their own little psychodramas to rear their ugly heads in the workplace. When you get the urge to go postal because you're overworked, underappreciated and you just can't take another day of it, take a chill pill, go out for a nice dinner, have a few drinks and see if things don't look a little bit less dramatic in the morning. It's a lot smarter than self-destructing.
2. Managers with a disruptive style of constant fire drills, never-ending interrupts, overreactions to relatively insignificant events and the ever-popular "strategy du jour" do nothing but destroy productivity and employee morale.
3. When it comes to problem solving, brainstorming, ideating, writing or any activity that requires the right side of your brain to come up with something unique, after you're done beating your head against a wall for seven or eight hours straight give it a rest and stop thinking about it for the evening. Chances are it'll come to you when you least expect it, like in the shower.
4. When you hit a stumbling block in negotiations, it's always a good idea to break for the day and give both parties a chance to mull it over for the evening. More often than not, one or both sides show up with an idea or a new perspective in the morning.
5. The virtues of failure is a popular topic these days. While it's true that the only way to get anywhere in business is by failing -- a lot -- that only works if you learn from your mistakes and then move on. Some people wear failure and regret like an albatross around their neck, completely unaware of how masochistic that sort of behavior is. You only gain wisdom if you learn lessons from failure, forgive yourself -- I mean really forgive yourself -- and then get on with your business. And treat others' failure the same way.
Next time you get stressed out, maxed out, burned out or just stuck, say those three words. If that doesn't help, call me. I'll get you straightened out.
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Becoming More Ethical


How do you feel when you’re deceived by a coworker? Manipulated by a salesperson? Betrayed by a friend?

When you do unethical things, your gains are outweighed by the losses. You’ve pained another person just as you were pained when someone treated you unfairly. In addition, you might get caught, and, in my view, most important, you must live with knowing that your unethical act’s impact spreads through a society like cancer: “He’s unethical, so I can be too.” Each unethical act and its repercussions chip away at the culture of trust needed for every cooperative endeavor, from romance to commerce to creating world peace. A society in which trust cannot be assumed is doomed to failure, in our lifetime and even more likely, in our children’s.

And you probably are unethical, sometimes without really thinking about it. Why am I so confident? Priests molest children. One-third of people cheat on their resumes, 40 percent on taxes, 50 percent on their spouses, 72 percent on college exams. 90 percent of my fired clients want to lie to prospective employers. Most appalling to me, Blue Cross just sued surgery clinics for performing hundreds of unnecessary surgeries on healthy people. If even doctors, those well-off, highly educated helping professionals could put healthy people through the pain and risk of surgery just for money, can we claim that our society is so much better than others we disparage?

Unethical behavior damages not only a society but the lives of individuals within it, both the victims’ and perpetrators’. How meaningful is your life if punctuated by the unethical treatment of others? The life well-led leaves the world better than we found it, not worse. If you unfairly take advantage of others, you’re squandering the greatest gift you’ve ever received: the gift of having been allowed to live.

We must do something to reduce unethical behavior. No less than the preservation of civilized society is at stake.

Will ethics courses help? I doubt it. They focus on gray-area dilemmas. In real life, most ethical violations are clear-cut. You don’t need a course to know it’s wrong to cook the books, make exaggerated claims, let alone perform unnecessary surgery. I suspect that WorldCom’s Bernie Ebbers, Enron’s Ken Lay, and most other corporate thieves took ethics courses.

I have made unethical decisions but work hard to live an ever more ethical life. These thoughts help me:

· I remind myself that those who choose to behave unethically mainly do so for mere material possessions. Studies find that the rich aren’t more content than those of modest means. The additional pleasure that derives from a new Lexus versus an old Toyota, a 3,000 square-foot house in a tony neighborhood versus a 1,200 square-foot cottage in a modest community, a 5-star European vacation versus a Motel-6 one is rarely outweighed by the distasteful things many people do to afford such things. I try to remember that contentment will more likely come from honorable work, someone to love, and being fair and kind to everyone, even those who are unkind.

· The more ethical I am, the more at peace I feel. It’s been said that the softest pillow is a clear conscience.

· If my income were ill-begotten, every time I got in my car, I’d know I didn’t deserve to own it. Every time I walked into my home, I’d know I didn’t deserve to live in it. Every time I bought something, I’d know it’s not rightfully mine. Is that how you want to live?

· I don’t want to do things I’m ashamed to admit to my friends, spouse, or children. Do you?

· On my deathbed, I don’t want to think I contributed to my society’s decline. Do you?

This paragraph, the world’s shortest ethics course, may, more than an ethics course, help you be more ethical. The opportunities for unethical behavior are endless, so be vigilant, aware when an ethical decision lies before you. And no matter what anyone else does, choose to be ethical. In the long run, you will be a more content person and have made the world a better place. That is what is truly important.
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