We added a Wise Words page to our blog in hopes of contributing encouragement and inspiration during positive happy times as well as emotionally hard times --
Frustration - anxiety - and disappointment can easily creep in and take over our positive outlook with the waiting of the fruition of this investment and especially if one is experiencing a financial crisis or an emotional trauma --
A strong mental attitude is a great tool when faced with either of these - Wise Words are a great aide in strengthening the mental attitude --
Please take a few minutes to read over the quotes and allow them to sink in so you can ponder on them and be encouraged and strengthened by them --
We certainly appreciate and welcome comments on our Wise Words Page and enjoy posting them for others to see -- Thank you in advance for taking just a few minutes and sharing your thoughts on our Wise Words Page
21 Ways to Get a Second Chance
.21 Ways to Get a Second Chance
By Lolly Daskal President and CEO, Lead From Within
Sooner or later, we all need a second chance. Here's how to give yourself room to succeed when things haven't gone well so far.
When we get things wrong--and it happens to us all sometimes--the only difference between failure and success is our attitude.
When we give ourselves a second chance we open up the opportunity to do better next time, to grow beyond our past failures and go beyond what we know we are capable of.
Here are some times to give yourself a second chance--to show you can be better and do better.
1. When decisions become difficult. Remember your values and mission and what you stand for. Give yourself a second chance by leading with your values.
2. When you're angry. If anger gets you in trouble, make a commitment to learning to manage your emotions. Give yourself a second chance by leading with emotional intelligence.
21 Ways to Get a Second Chance
By Lolly Daskal President and CEO, Lead From Within
Sooner or later, we all need a second chance. Here's how to give yourself room to succeed when things haven't gone well so far.
When we get things wrong--and it happens to us all sometimes--the only difference between failure and success is our attitude.
When we give ourselves a second chance we open up the opportunity to do better next time, to grow beyond our past failures and go beyond what we know we are capable of.
Here are some times to give yourself a second chance--to show you can be better and do better.
1. When decisions become difficult. Remember your values and mission and what you stand for. Give yourself a second chance by leading with your values.
2. When you're angry. If anger gets you in trouble, make a commitment to learning to manage your emotions. Give yourself a second chance by leading with emotional intelligence.
3. When you're mired in negativity. So much of what we think of as reality depends on our perceptions and outlook. Give yourself a second chance by leading with positive thoughts.
4. When you want to be respected. If you want respect from others, you must first give it. Respect begets respect. Give yourself a second chance by cultivating respectful leadership.
5. When you realize you don't actually know it all. The only true wisdom is knowing how little we actually know. Make a point of asking questions and listening. Give yourself a second chance by learning from others.
6. When you need to improve. One of the best routes to any second chance is to invest wisely in yourself. Give yourself a second chance by leading with personal development.
7. When you are prone to gossip. Pay attention to your words and make sure that what you say is important, truthful, and kind. Give yourself a second chance by leading with character.
8. When you've been dishonest. The truth may hurt for a little while, but a lie will hurt you forever. Give yourself a second chance by leading with scrupulous honesty.
9. When you lose steam don't think of what you need but of what you can give. It energizes you and helps others as well. Give yourself a second chance by leading with generosity.
10. When you've been slacking. Spend some time unlocking your "why." Give yourself a second chance by leading with your personal mission.
11. When you're bragging. Remember that we grow not through impressing others but through humility. Become known as one who takes genuine joy in the success of others. Give yourself a second chance by leading with modesty.
12. When you're frightened of failure. Everything you have ever wanted is on the other side of fear. Fight your fears or you will be in battle with them forever. Give yourself a second chance by leading with courage.
13. When you're habitually late. The person who honors time shows they respect other people's time. It's the best impression you can make. Give yourself a second chance by leading with punctuality.
14. When you have doubts. Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. When you bump into doubt, take action immediately. Give yourself a second chance by leading with faithfulness.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/21-ways-to-get-a-second-chance.html
Reminiscing, Reflection, and What Really Matters
.Reminiscing, Reflection, and What Really Matters
Into a Cloud
Ryan Kelly | November 13, 2019
MY GREAT-UNCLE, Jerry Kelly, was an American pilot in the Second World War. On Oct. 20, 1944, he was flying a close-support mission over Germany when his P-47 Thunderbolt was hit by anti-aircraft fire. After he radioed that he had smoke in the cockpit, his plane began losing altitude and was last seen disappearing into a cloud. Jerry was 20 years old.
More than 71 years later, a UPS carrier delivered a blue box to my home. The box contained a treasure trove—220 handwritten letters Jerry wrote home from the war. The box was a gift from my dad’s cousin, Phil, who spared no expense in shipping costs and tracked the package every hour to ensure safe delivery. Given my strong interest in Jerry’s life, Phil decided I should be the family guardian of the letters.
I’ve read each letter more than once. I now know Jerry better than most people I deal with every day. People I regularly interact with don’t work out their deepest thoughts and feelings in handwritten letters, and—even if they did—they wouldn’t let me read them.
Jerry’s letters have provided me with many valuable life lessons. Here are seven of those lessons:
1. Saving money brings focus to life. As a pilot, Jerry made a good wage and spent less than he earned. On Oct. 8, 1944, he wrote a letter to his mom expressing the satisfaction he felt from seeing his bank account balance reach $1,200, equal to $17,500 in today’s dollars. Jerry planned to study accounting at the University of Utah upon his return from the war.
Reminiscing, Reflection, and What Really Matters
Into a Cloud
Ryan Kelly | November 13, 2019
MY GREAT-UNCLE, Jerry Kelly, was an American pilot in the Second World War. On Oct. 20, 1944, he was flying a close-support mission over Germany when his P-47 Thunderbolt was hit by anti-aircraft fire. After he radioed that he had smoke in the cockpit, his plane began losing altitude and was last seen disappearing into a cloud. Jerry was 20 years old.
More than 71 years later, a UPS carrier delivered a blue box to my home. The box contained a treasure trove—220 handwritten letters Jerry wrote home from the war. The box was a gift from my dad’s cousin, Phil, who spared no expense in shipping costs and tracked the package every hour to ensure safe delivery. Given my strong interest in Jerry’s life, Phil decided I should be the family guardian of the letters.
I’ve read each letter more than once. I now know Jerry better than most people I deal with every day. People I regularly interact with don’t work out their deepest thoughts and feelings in handwritten letters, and—even if they did—they wouldn’t let me read them.
Jerry’s letters have provided me with many valuable life lessons. Here are seven of those lessons:
1. Saving money brings focus to life. As a pilot, Jerry made a good wage and spent less than he earned. On Oct. 8, 1944, he wrote a letter to his mom expressing the satisfaction he felt from seeing his bank account balance reach $1,200, equal to $17,500 in today’s dollars. Jerry planned to study accounting at the University of Utah upon his return from the war.
Jerry’s best friend, who is still alive today, told me Jerry lived a life of high purpose. Saving money has many advantages. One advantage: It helps us maintain focus on our future. There’s a present-day benefit that comes from knowing we are providing for our future self.
2. Determine what brings you happiness, then invest in those things. Although Jerry was a saver, he wasn’t extreme in his frugality. He occasionally splurged on purchases. He knew himself well enough to know what made him happy and spent money intentionally.
Jerry loved writing letters, watching a good movie, listening to a Glenn Miller song and drinking a chocolate milkshake with a buddy. He spent $6, or $87 in today’s dollars, on a fountain pen.
He wrote almost every letter home with that pen. He purchased a radio to listen to news broadcasts and hear music. And the word “milkshake” is found several times in his letters.
Financial planner Allan Roth has said, “The goal isn’t to be the richest guy in the graveyard.” The goal, rather, is to use money to enjoy life and maximize happiness. Save money to promote future happiness. But if drinking a chocolate milkshake with a friend will bring you happiness today, then buy the milkshake.
3. Triumph is often preceded by struggle. Jerry convinced his dad—but not his mom—to sign a release form allowing him to enlist in the Army Air Corps one month before his 18th birthday. He set his sights on becoming a pilot.
He went through basic training and then began preflight training in early 1943. That summer, he started flying airplanes, but always with an instructor. His primary instructor had a temper and would yell constantly at Jerry, harshly criticizing every little mistake. Jerry worried he would wash out and never achieve his goal. But he pressed on, working and studying harder than ever before.
A breakthrough happened on Sept. 22, 1943, when Jerry soloed an airplane for the first time. He wrote home that night, “Well, I finally did it! I soloed today!!! My heart was really pounding. But as soon as I got in the air, I felt cool and collected and calm and I just did everything I’d been taught and the rest was easy.
Hooray for me. I got compliments from my instructor and everybody. My instructor said I was really on the ball today. You couldn’t dampen my spirits with three buckets of water right now.”
It has been said that courage is having done it before. After his successful solo flight, Jerry turned the corner and continued to improve as a pilot. Later in his service, he even looked back at his struggles in pilot training as one of the happiest times of his life.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
How to See Right Through a Liar
.How to See Right Through a Liar
By Dr. Marcia Sirota
Everybody lies, that’s nothing new. What matters is the type of lie a person is telling. White lies are usually told to spare someone’s feelings, and are often less hurtful than brutal honesty. The type of lie I want to discuss is one that’s told for the purposes of control, manipulation or profit.
Those of us in the West believe that we’re free to make our own decisions and live our own lives, but this isn’t always the case.
Many people and institutions want something from us: our money, power and votes; even control over our bodies, and they’ll resort to lying in order to achieve their goals.
Many liars are successful, but that’s usually because we make it easy for them. As intelligent, experienced adults, it shouldn’t be so easy for others to fool us, but interestingly, in this era of unlimited access to information and instant global communication, we’re still too gullible.
How to See Right Through a Liar
By Dr. Marcia Sirota
Everybody lies, that’s nothing new. What matters is the type of lie a person is telling. White lies are usually told to spare someone’s feelings, and are often less hurtful than brutal honesty. The type of lie I want to discuss is one that’s told for the purposes of control, manipulation or profit.
Those of us in the West believe that we’re free to make our own decisions and live our own lives, but this isn’t always the case.
Many people and institutions want something from us: our money, power and votes; even control over our bodies, and they’ll resort to lying in order to achieve their goals.
Many liars are successful, but that’s usually because we make it easy for them. As intelligent, experienced adults, it shouldn’t be so easy for others to fool us, but interestingly, in this era of unlimited access to information and instant global communication, we’re still too gullible.
Perhaps our infatuation with celebrity is responsible for our being charmed by attractive, charismatic liars. Perhaps our educational system isn’t spending enough time teaching us how to be critical thinkers.
Whatever the reason, our willingness to be deceived enables these individuals to steal our hard-earned money, misinform us about our world, trick us into voting for them and seduce us into their beds.
If we want to be more empowered in our lives, we should stop allowing the liars of the world to take advantage of us. This requires opening our eyes and seeing the truth, so that we can begin to make truly informed choices about what we need.
When people or institutions are communicating with us, we must ascertain whether we’re being told the truth or we’re on the receiving end of uninformed opinion, misinformation, sneaky half-truths or pure fabrication.
Here are four basic tools for seeing through the liars in your personal, professional and political life and making sure that it’s a lot harder for these people to fool you in the future:
1: Be your own fact-checker. Successful liars are especially good at making statements that seem credible at first glance but which don’t hold up to scrutiny. If we want to regain control over our lives, we must closely examine what our institutions, bosses, politicians and potential lovers are telling us.
Politicians frequently make statements that are more opinion than truth, or outrageous, false claims about their opponent.
It’s up to each one of us to listen closely to what’s being said and practice a healthy form of skepticism, rather than accepting their words as facts. We can easily assess the accuracy of their statements by doing a bit of research.
People who want our money will play on our heart-strings or our greed. They scam us with pleas for contributions to dubious charities or entice us with promises of enormous returns on our investments.
Again, some fact-checking will go a long way in protecting ourselves from being taken advantage of.
Everyone has heard the cautionary tale of the bride met online who drained her new husband’s savings, or the story of the charming man who was found, after the wedding, to have two other wives, credit cards in five different names, or a nasty STD. Even so, people continue to be taken in by these emotional con-artists.
We all want love, but we can’t be so desperate that we turn a blind eye to the signs that there’s something not quite right about our romantic partner.
We have to verify that the person we’re getting involved with is who they say they are and that their intentions are honourable. Especially in this era of on-line dating, checking the facts can be a matter of life and death.
To continue reading, please go to the original article here:
https://omtimes.com/2013/06/how-to-see-right-through-a-liar/5/
.A Basic Skill We Should Have Learned as Kids
A Basic Skill We Should Have Learned as Kids
By David Cain of Raptitude
The phrase “Don’t get emotional” implies that we normally aren’t.
Most of our news headlines can be interpreted as emotional responses gone overboard, becoming crime, scandal, corruption, greed, and bad policy.
The fact that these reactions are newsworthy seems to reinforce the idea that emotions are sporadic and exceptional, little whirlwinds that appear around significant events, making the odd day or week wonderful or awful.
But if you pay attention to your emotions as you read these headlines, it becomes obvious that even in our most mundane moments — reading the paper on a Monday morning — we are always feeling some way or another. Even a casual glance at a newspaper will begin to stir up familiar feelings like fear, amazement, disgust, admiration or annoyance. We’re never really in “neutral.”
A Basic Skill We Should Have Learned as Kids
By David Cain of Raptitude
The phrase “Don’t get emotional” implies that we normally aren’t.
Most of our news headlines can be interpreted as emotional responses gone overboard, becoming crime, scandal, corruption, greed, and bad policy.
The fact that these reactions are newsworthy seems to reinforce the idea that emotions are sporadic and exceptional, little whirlwinds that appear around significant events, making the odd day or week wonderful or awful.
But if you pay attention to your emotions as you read these headlines, it becomes obvious that even in our most mundane moments — reading the paper on a Monday morning — we are always feeling some way or another. Even a casual glance at a newspaper will begin to stir up familiar feelings like fear, amazement, disgust, admiration or annoyance. We’re never really in “neutral.”
We’re living through emotional reactions all day long, even to events as tiny as hearing a text message arrive, or noticing a fly in the room.
Our emotions aren’t always overwhelming us, but they are always affecting us, coloring our perceptions and opinions about ourselves and our world.
This is the “fish in water” effect at work — because we are immersed in our emotions’ effects every moment of our lives, we tend to talk about them only when they’re exceptionally strong.
Even when it’s not obvious, though, emotions are the force behind almost everything we do. They’re the only reason our experiences matter at all. If every event triggered the same emotion, it wouldn’t matter to us whether we got out of bed or not, whether we were sick or healthy, or whether we thrived or starved.
All of our values and morals, all of the meaning we perceive in life, stem from our knowledge that there are some very different ways a person can feel.
Wandering In Dark Places Without A Map
What might be surprising is that there aren’t that many basic emotions, and that virtually all of us have experienced every one of them, many times.
Each one has fairly predictable effects on us, and these effects are responsible for a huge proportion of our quality of life: whether we live a life of confidence or worry, whether we’re good with people or bad with people, or whether we believe the world is a good place or a vile place.
Yet we don’t make much of a point of understanding and adjusting for our emotional states. We even overlook the simple fact that we’re always in the middle of one, however subtle.
For example, if you’re aware that fear is prominent in you right now, you can remind yourself that the future is likely going to be easier than it currently seems, regardless of how strongly you might feel your impending doom.
To continue reading, please go to the original article at
Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People
.Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People
By Stephen Covey
Below are just a select few of daily reflections and inspirational thoughts from the book “Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People” for living the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century .
The Seven Habits are not a set of separate or piecemeal psyche-up formulas -- In harmony with the natural laws of growth - they provide an incremental - sequential - highly integrated approach to the development of personal and interpersonal effectiveness -- They move us progressively on a Maturity Continuum from dependence to independence to interdependence -- p48-49
#1 Be Proactive
#2 Begin With The End In Mind
#3Put First Things First
#4Think Win/Win
#5 Seek First To Understand Then To Be Understood
#6 Synergize
#7Sharpen The Saw
Dependence is the paradigm of you -- you take care of me - you come through for me -- you didn't come through - I blame you for the results -- Dependent people need others to get what they want -- p49
Independence is the paradigm of I -- I can do it -- I am responsible -- I am self-reliant -- I can choose -- Independent people can get what they want through their own effort --p49
Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People
By Stephen Covey
Below are just a select few of daily reflections and inspirational thoughts from the book “Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People” for living the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People which was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century .
The Seven Habits are not a set of separate or piecemeal psyche-up formulas -- In harmony with the natural laws of growth - they provide an incremental - sequential - highly integrated approach to the development of personal and interpersonal effectiveness -- They move us progressively on a Maturity Continuum from dependence to independence to interdependence -- p48-49
The book can be purchased at most bookstores, or online at
#1 Be Proactive
#2 Begin With The End In Mind
#3 Put First Things First
#4 Think Win/Win
#5 Seek First To Understand Then To Be Understood
#6 Synergize
#7 Sharpen The Saw
Dependence is the paradigm of you -- you take care of me - you come through for me -- you didn't come through - I blame you for the results -- Dependent people need others to get what they want -- p49
Independence is the paradigm of I -- I can do it -- I am responsible -- I am self-reliant -- I can choose -- Independent people can get what they want through their own effort --p49
Interdependence is the paradigm of we -- We can do it -- We can cooperate -- We can combine our talents and abilities and create something greater together -- Interdependent people combine their own efforts with the efforts of others to achieve their greatest success -- p49
Effective Interdependence can only be built on a foundation of true independence -- p185
If we want to change a situation, we first have to change ourselves -- And to change ourselves effectively - we first have to change our perceptions -- p18
Albert Einstein observed - " The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them" -- p42
The way we see the problem - is the problem -- p40
Effective People are not problem-minded -- they're opportunity-minded -- They feed opportunities and starve problems -- p154
Paradigms are powerful because they create the lens through which we see the world -- The power of a paradigm shift is the essential power of quantum change - whether that shift is an instantaneous or a slow and deliberate process -- p32
We must look at the lens through which we see the world - as well as at the world we see - and understand that the lens itself shapes how we interpret the world -- p17
We simply assume that the way we see things is the way they really are or the way they should be - And our attitudes and behaviors grow out of those assumptions -- p24
Each of us has many - many maps in our head - which can be divided into two main categories: maps of the way things are, or realities -- and maps of the way things should be - or values -- We interpret everything we experience through these mental maps -- p24
Our character - basically - is a composite of our habits -- Because they are consistent - often unconscious patterns - they constantly daily - express our character and produce our effectiveness ........ or ineffectiveness -- p46
You are NOT your habits -- You CAN replace old patterns of self defeating behavior with new patterns - new habits of effectiveness - happiness and trust-based relationships -- p61
Highly Proactive People recognize their "respons-ability -- the ability to choose their response -- They do not blame circumstances - conditions - or conditioning for their behavior -- their behavior is a product of their own conscious choice - based on values - rather than a product of their conditions - based on feeling -- p71
Reactive People focus on circumstances over which they have no control -- the negative energy generated by that focus - combined with neglect in areas they could do something about - causes their Circle of Influence to shrink -- p83
Proactive People focus their efforts on the things they can do something about -- the nature of their energy is positive - enlarging - and magnifying causing their Circle of Influence to increase -- p83
Whatever is at the center of our life will be the source of our security - guidance - wisdom and power -- p109
Recognized as one of Time magazine’s twenty-five most influential Americans, Stephen R. Covey (1932–2012) was an internationally respected leadership authority, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and author. His books have sold more than twenty-five million copies in thirty-eight languages, and The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was named the #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century. After receiving an MBA from Harvard and a doctorate degree from Brigham Young University, he became the cofounder and vice chairman of FranklinCovey, a leading global training firm.
The book can be purchased at most bookstores, or online at
More Wise Words Posts Coming Soon
More Wise Words Posts Coming Soon
More Wise Words Posts Coming Soon