Thou shall not worry, for worry is the most unproductive of all human activities.
Thou shall not be fearful, for most of the things we fear never come to pass.
Thou shall not cross bridges before you come to them, for no one yet has succeeded in accomplishing this.

Thou shall face each problem as it comes. You can only handle one at a time anyway.
Thou shall not take problems to bed with you, for they make very poor bedfellows.
Thou shall not borrow other people’s problems. They can better care for them than you can.
Thou shall not try to relive yesterday for good or ill, it is forever gone.
Concentrate on what is happening in your life and be happy now!

Thou shall be a good listener, for only when you listen do you hear different ideas from your own. It is hard to learn something new when you are talking, and some people do know more than you do.

Thou shall not become “bogged down” by frustration, for 90% of it is rooted in self-pity and will only interfere with positive action.

Thou shall count thy blessings, never overlooking the small ones, for a lot of small blessings add up to a big one.

At least 5 people in this world, love you so much they would die for you.
At least 15 people in this world love you, in some way.
The only reason anyone would ever hate you, is because they want to be just like you.
A smile from you, can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don’t like you.
Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.
You mean the world to someone.
Without you, someone may not be living.
You are special and unique, in your own way.
Someone that you don’t know even exists, loves you.
When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
When you think the world has turned it’s back on you, take a look, you most likely turned your back on the world.

When you think you have no chance at getting what you want, you probably won’t get it, but if you believe in yourself, you probably sooner or later will get it.
Always remember complements you received, forget about the rude remarks.
Always tell someone how you feel about them, you will feel much better when they know.
If you have great friends, take the time to let them know that they are great.

A while back I was reading about an expert on subject of time management. One
day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive
home a point, used an illustration I’m sure those students will never forget.

After I share it with you, you’ll never forget it either. As this man stood in
front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, “Okay, time for a
quiz.” Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a
table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and
carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to
the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?”
Everyone in the class said, “Yes.”
Then he said, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of
gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of
gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he
smiled and asked the group once more, “Is the jar full?”
By this time the class was onto him. “Probably not,” one of them answered.
“Good!” he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of
sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left
between the rocks and the gravel.
Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?” “No!” the class shouted.
Once again he said, “Good!” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to
pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the
class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?”

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full
your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things
into it!”
“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration
teaches us is: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them
in at all.”

The title of this letter is The “Big Rocks” of Life. What are the big rocks in
your life? A project that YOU want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones?
Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring
others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you’ll never get them in
at all.

So, tonight when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this
question: What are the “big rocks” in my life or business? Then, put those in
your jar tomorrow.

Be understanding to your enemies.
Be loyal to your friends.
Be strong enough to face the world each day.
Be weak enough to know you cannot do everything alone.
Be generous to those who need your help.
Be frugal with that you need yourself.
Be wise enough to know that you do not know everything.
Be foolish enough to believe in miracles.
Be willing to share your joys.
Be willing to share the sorrows of others.
Be a leader when you see a path others have missed.
Be a follower when you are shrouded by the mists of uncertainty.
Be first to congratulate an opponent who succeeds.
Be last to criticize a colleague who fails.
Be sure where your next step will fall, so that you will not tumble.
Be sure of your final destination, in case you are going the wrong way.
Be loving to those who love you.
Be loving to those who do not love you; they may change.
Above all, be yourself.

Money doesn’t bring you happiness, but it enables you to look for it in more places.
Your conscience may not keep you from doing wrong, but it sure keeps you from enjoying it.
Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
Misers aren’t much fun to live with, but they make great ancestors.
Be careful what rut you choose. You may be in it the rest of your life.
Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
The real reason you can’t take it with you is that it goes before you do.
A person who can smile when things go wrong has found someone to blame it on.
Money isn’t everything….there’s credit cards, money orders, and travelers checks.
Some people are like blisters. They don’t show up until the work is done.
A true friend is one that lets his grass grow as tall as his neighbor’s.
A baby-sitter is a teenager acting like an adult while the adults are out acting like teenagers.
If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re never lost.
Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
You are Worthy.
Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself to others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

To not set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.
Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor for the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.
Do not give up when you still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
It is a fragile thread that binds us to each other. Do not be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give love;
The fastest way to lose love is too hold it too tightly;
In addition, the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

    Do not dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope; To
    be without hope is to be without purpose.

    Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have
    been, but also where you are going. Life is not a race, but a journey to be
    savored each step of the way.

  Life isn’t about keeping score.
  It’s not about how many friends you have
  Or how accepted you are.
  Not about if you have plans this weekend or if you’re alone.
  It isn’t about who you’re dating, who you used to date, how many people you’ve
  dated, or if you haven’t been with anyone at all.
  It isn’t about who you have kissed.
  It’s not about sex.
  It isn’t about who your family is or how much money they have.
  Or what kind of car you drive.
  Or where you are sent to school.
  It’s not about how beautiful or ugly you are.
  Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on, or what kind of music you
  listen to.
  It’s not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown.
  Or if your skin is too light or too dark.
  Not about what grades you get, how smart you are, how smart everybody else
  thinks you are, or how smart standardized tests say you are.
  It’s not about what clubs you’re in or how good you are at “your” sport.
  It’s not about representing your whole being on a piece of paper and seeing
  who will “accept” the written you.
  LIFE JUST ISN’T.
  But, life is about who you love and who you hurt.
  It’s about who you make happy or unhappy purposefully.
  It’s about keeping or betraying trust.
  It’s about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon.
  It’s about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening.
  About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.
  It’s about what judgments you pass and why. And who your judgments are spread  to.
  It’s about who you’ve ignored with full control and intention.
  It’s about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge.
  It’s about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow, and spreading it.
  But most of all, it’s about using your life to touch or poison other people’s
  hearts in such a way that could have never occurred alone.

Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and those choices are what life’s all about.

  A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared; he sat
  and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body
  through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It
  appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.
  Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and
  snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged
  easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.
  The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any
  moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body,
  which would contract in time.
  Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling
  around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.
  What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the
  restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through
  the tiny opening were nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the
  butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved
  its freedom from the cocoon.

  Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us
  to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would
  not be as strong as what we could have been.
  And we could never fly…

  The following poem is quoted from  “Audrey Hepburn” by Barry Paris, (c)1996 Putnam

  She read it to children for inspiration

    For attractive lips,    speak words of kindness.
    For lovely eyes,    seek out the good in people.
    For a slim figure,    share your food with the hungry.
    For beautiful hair,    let a child run his fingers through it once a day.
    For poise,    walk with the knowledge you’ll never walk alone…
   

People, even more than things,
have to be restored, renewed, revived,
reclaimed and redeemed and redeemed …

    Never throw out anybody.
    Remember, if you ever need a helping hand,
    you’ll find one at the end of your arm.
    As you grow older
    you will discover that you have two hands.
    One for helping yourself,
    the other for helping others.

  A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things
  were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted
  to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem
  was solved a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled
  three pots with water. In the first, she placed carrots, in the second she
  placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and
  boil without saying a word.
  In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out
  and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.
  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her
  daughter, she asked, “Tell me what do you see?”
  “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied. She brought her closer and asked her
  to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her
  to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the
  hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.
  The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked,
  “What does it mean, mother?”
  Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
  adversity-boiling water-but each reacted differently. The carrot went in
  strong, hard and unrelenting. However after being subjected to the boiling
  water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer
  shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the
  boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were
  unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the
  water.