“The obstacle in Our Path”

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.

The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Moral: Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

“Success breeds Success”

There was a farmer who grew superior quality, award-winning corn in his farm. Each year, he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honors and Prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew his corn. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. "How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" The reporter asked. "Why brother"

'' The farmer replied, "Didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen grains from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I have to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors to grow good corns."

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor's corn also improves.

So it is in the other dimensions and areas of life! Those who choose to be in harmony must help their neighbors and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others live well. The value of a life is not measured by how long one lived it is measured by how many lives it touches………….

Lessons to Learn from This Story:

Success does not happen in isolation, it is most often a participatory and collective process. So share the good practices, ideas and new knowledge with your family, friends, team members and neighbors and all.. As they say: "Success breeds Success”.

“Be true to yourself and never cheat God”

There was a student who was very weak in academics. His struggle was particularly with Mathematics. He struggled to reach class tenth but failed to clear the final board examination, Mathematics being the bottleneck.

He was totally shattered for his poor show and decided to give it a best shot in the upcoming supplementary examinations to be held four months from then.

Being extremely god fearing in nature he prayed to god and promised god that he would donate food to twenty five people if he passed the exam.

The next few months he was extremely focused and invested his best efforts in cracking the examination.

The big day had arrived. He had prepared extremely well for the exam. The examination started, credit to his hard work, he was able to answer all the questions at lightning fast time and was left with two hours before he could submit his answer scripts. He was confident of a perfect 100.

With a decent two hours on hand, the student started calculating the cost of the committed donation that he promised to god when he would pass the examination.

His calculations started he calculated the expenses for donation to 25 people. At the end of it he thought that it was quite a significant amount that he should be spending from already a meager pocket money. He convinced himself that it was his hard work that helped him get through the trouble, divine element was very limited.

He kept on borrowing additional sheets for calculations, the number came down from 25..20..18..15..10..5… and then finally to just one, that too he decided that he would donate a very simple and a plain vegetarian meal with no sweets and starters.

By then he had exhausted almost equal number of answer sheets for calculating, meanwhile the time was up and the invigilator started snatching away papers in hurry with force, this student was the last one to have submitted his papers. With a great feel of achievement and content he tucked the bunch of papers in his bag and jumped out with a feel of achievement.

Results were declared and to his astonishment he had failed the exam yet again, he broke into tears and started cursing god for his yet another failure. Back home disgusted he wanted to tear all his calculation sheets to protest against god’s mercilessness and tore open his bag furiously, when he opened his bag he was shocked and just stood speechless. He submitted his calculation papers and brought home his answer sheets.

Lessons to Learn from This Story:

Be true to yourself and never try to cheat God!

Other reads:

The Saint’s wisdom

Don’t quit, keep playing

First be a believer, then be an achiever

Never let others make a slave of you

Team work can work wonders

Gratitude unfolded

Judge Yourself

“Focus on the destination”

Two Spanish friends set out on a mini-truck and headed off to a jungle to indulge in a deer hunt. Parking at a distance they set off into the bushes to a vantage point down in the valley, waiting for their prey.

After a few hours of many failed attempts, they finally managed to shoot down a deer. And then began the long journey back to their truck.

The two friends clasped the deer’s tail and began to drag it towards their truck. A farmer saw them struggling and shouted out some advice: “ That’s not the way to do it! God made handles for you to drag the deer. You see the antlers on the deer? Those horn like things? Hold that – and pull the deer!”

The two friends looked at each other and decided to heed the advice. They went to the other side, grabbed the deer’s antlers and continued to drag it.

Ten minutes later, one of them said, “The farmer was right. It’s much easier this way!”.

“That’s right” said his partner, “only problem is we are moving farther and farther away from our truck”.

Lessons to Learn from This Story:

In our pursuit to make things easier now, we often lose sight of what we are initially set-out to do, diverting us from our destination.

Other reads:

The Saint’s wisdom

Don’t quit, keep playing

First be a believer, then be an achiever

Never let others make a slave of you

Team work can work wonders

Gratitude unfolded

Judge Yourself

“Unique flaws and Appreciation”

A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots
had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the House, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of it's own imperfection and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed
of myself, and I want to apologize to you. I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes
water to leak out all the way back to your house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full
value from your efforts," the pot said.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's
side? That's because I have always known about your flaw. So I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day
while we walk back, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.
Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house?

Lessons to Learn from This Story:

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them. Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life.

Other reads:

The Saint’s wisdom

Don’t quit, keep playing

First be a believer, then be an achiever

Never let others make a slave of you

Team work can work wonders

Gratitude unfolded

Judge Yourself

“The King and the peace contest”

There once was a king who wanted to offer a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. A peace contest was soon conducted in that Kingdom. Many artists tried and submitted their work. The king looked at all the pictures. There were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake, perfectly mirroring the peaceful, towering mountains all around it. Overhead was the blue sky with fluffy, white clouds. It was the favorite of all who saw it. Truly, they thought, it was the perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too, but these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of one mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. At first sight, there was no sight of peace; only anger and destruction was prominent from this picture. But when the king looked closely, he saw beside the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of the angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.

Which picture would you have selected? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?
“Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a beautiful place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all these things and still be calm in your heart. This is the real meaning of peace.”

Lesson learnt from this story: Real peace is in your heart, deep within you!

Other reads:

The Saint’s wisdom

Don’t quit, keep playing

First be a believer, then be an achiever

Never let others make a slave of you

Team work can work wonders

Gratitude unfolded

Judge Yourself

“A cockroach story”

Three women met. Yeah you can guess; exchange of news, views and loads of information! One particular part of their discussions caught my attention. One of the ladies, with a lot interest, was sharing some interesting facts about cockroach. With a lot of amazement she was telling how a cockroach can run three miles in an hour and can change directions 25 times in a second. A cockroach could live a long time, perhaps a week without its head. There was non-stop excitement in her voice as she continued saying, “a cockroach has amazing adaptability. It can survive in any climate, in any house condition, inside any crack, etc. Its antennae, which rivals NASA’s Global Positioning System, helps it to locate other cockroaches with state of the art precision. Cockroaches could be used to place surveillance devices in military installations. In fact a cockroach can survive even an atomic explosion.”

Suddenly, a cockroach flew from nowhere and sat on her. I wondered if this was the cockroach’s response to all the glory that was spoken about it! She started screaming out of fear. With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started doing stationary jumping , with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, “was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.”

I realized even in my case then , it is not the shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that hurts me.

Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, “I should not react in life. I should always respond. ” The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded. Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always intellectual.

“Keep positive thoughts and skip negative thinking”

Once Gautama Buddha and his student Ram went to a small village to preach religious teachings. Since they walked a long distance, they felt thirsty. They went towards a small house and asked the woman inside for some water. The woman came out and started scolding as she thought they were beggars, but Buddha smiled and moved to the next house.

The student got confused with Buddha’s calm behavior and got angry with the lady. Buddha noticed his student’s facial expression and understood him. He called him and told "Ram keep this Gold Coin with you and give it to me when I ask for it". The student accepted and got the coin. Still the student had the confusion in his mind about the incident.

Hours passed, they were done with their work and started their journey towards their place. Ram was still puzzled by the incident and his swamiji's strange behavior. Now Buddha asked his student "Ram! Can you please give me the gold coin?” The student gave the coin and Buddha received it with a smile. Now Buddha appreciated his student for his extra efforts towards the preaching for the day and rewarded the same gold coin to Ram and he received it with a smile.

Before going to bed, Ram came to Buddha’s place and wanted to talk to him. Buddha took him to the garden and listened. "Swamiji! That lady scolded us in the morning but you were so silent; I’m upset. But you seem to not be affected by it! How is this possible? Buddha now had the same smile and replied "Ram, this morning I had given you that gold coin for you to keep for a while. Now tell me to whom did that coin belong at that instance?" Ram replied quickly "it was yours because you told me to keep it just for some time".

Buddha : "That's right, now can you tell me to whom this coin belongs, after I gave it to you the second time?"

Ram: "This coin now belongs to me as you have gifted it to me for my work and I accepted it"

Buddha now held Ram's hand and said "This can be applied to our life also. The lady scolded me but I did not accept anything and so those words do not belong to me !”

The Student got his doubts clarified and then worshipped his guru for his precious words.

The Moral of the story: Keep positive thoughts and skip the negative ones, develop a positive attitude and diminish pessimism.

“Learn and Earn”

Chuan and Jing joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. Both worked very hard.

After several years, the boss promoted Jing to sales executive but Chuan remained a sales rep. One day Chuan could not take it anymore, tender resignation to the boss and complained the boss did not value hard working staff, but only promoted those who flattered him.

The boss knew that Chuan worked very hard for the years, but in order to help Chuan realize the difference between him and Jing, the boss asked Chuan to do the following. Go and find out anyone selling water melon in the market? Chuan returned and said yes. The boss asked how much per kg? Chuan went back to the market to ask and returned to inform boss the $12 per kg.

Boss told Chuan, I will ask Jing the same question? Jing went, returned and said, boss, only one person selling water melon. $12 per kg, $100 for 10 kg, he has inventory of 340 melons. On the table 58 melons, every melon weighs about 15 kg, bought from the South two days ago, they are fresh and red, good quality.

Chuan was very impressed and realized the difference between himself and Jing. He decided not to resign but to learn from Jing.

A more successful person is more observant, think more and understand in depth. For the same matter, a more successful person sees several years ahead, while you see only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, how could you win?

Lessons to Learn from This Story:

Think! how far have you seen ahead in your life? How thoughtful in depth are you…

“Butterfly”

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 further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. 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 God'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.

Moral: Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

“The Mindset”

As my friend was passing by the elephant, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a rope tied to their legs.

It was obvious that the elephant could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not.

My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well”, he said, “When they are young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and at that stage, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

My friend was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bond but because they believe they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were. The powerful and gigantic creature has limited its present abilities by the limitation of its past.

Like the elephant, how many of us go through life holding onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? How many of us refuse to attempt something new and challenges because of our so called MINDSET?

Lessons to Learn from This Story:

Your attempt may fail, but never fail to make an attempt. Choose not to accept the false boundaries and limitations created by past.

“The Fern and Bamboo”

One day I decided to quit...i quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality....i wanted to quit my life. i went to the woods to have one last talk with god.

"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?

"His answer surprised me.

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"

"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.. I gave them light. I gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

"In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. The same in year four.

"Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.

"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo.. I will never quit on you”.

"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful”.

"Your time will come", God said to me.. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned
"Yes."

He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

I left the forest, realizing that God will never give up on me. And He will never give up on you.

Lessons to Learn from This Story:

Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness. Bad days give you experiences, both are essential to life.

“Making a Difference”

A man was walking down a deserted Mexican beach at sunset. As he walked along he began to see another man in the distance.

As he grew nearer he noticed that the local native kept leaning down, picking something up, and throwing it out into the water.

As our friend approached even closer he noticed that the man was picking up starfish that had washed up onto the beach, and one at a time, he was throwing them back into the ocean.

The first man was puzzled. He approached the man and said, "Good Evening Friend, I was wondering what are you doing?" And he replied, "I'm throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it's low tide right now and all these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don't throw them back into the sea, they will die because of lack of oxygen."

"I understand," my friend replied "but there must be thousands of starfish on this beach and you couldn't possibly get to all of them. There are simply too many and don't you realize that this is happening on hundreds of beaches up and down this coast ... can't you see that that you can't possibly make a difference?

The local native smiled, bent down, picked up yet another starfish ... and as he threw it back out into the sea, he replied, "It made a difference to that one!"

Lessons to Learn from This Story:

You may feel like you cannot make a difference in the world today, but you CAN make a difference in one life at a time.

“10 Tips to De-Stress"

Do you feel tense and anxious at work? Do your co-workers and/or boss make you crazy? Is your personal life less than blissful? If so, you've got stress. If you're like most people you've sought refuge from this situation by trying a quick fix or two like calling a friend, walking the dog, or going away for the weekend in an attempt to escape it all. While these strategies may serve as temporary diversions, nothing in your life changes when you return to your routine.

Stress is internal, which explains why it can wreak havoc on your health. It feels awful...it's the sense that you're not in control. The easiest way to mitigate its effect is to take charge of the one and only thing you have the power to control...YOU, and let go of what you can't control. The beauty of these tips is that by taking control of your life, external or outside, things will change in response to your internal changes.

Here are 10 tips to de-stress for your present and future:

1. Heal yourself - Dr. Bruce McEwen, who wrote ‘The End of Stress As We Know It’, suggests that eliminating stress comes right from your grandmother's journal. He says the most effective steps you can take are the simplest: exercise, a healthy diet, regular sleep, moderate to minimal alcohol intake, and no smoking. This, he notes, is the most sophisticated, up to the minute, cutting edge science available!

2. Get organized - Physical clutter reminds us of things that need to be done and that's stressful. Remove your physical clutter and you'll eradicate your mental clutter, plus you'll feel energized. Do organize your work station and keep it clean – avoid clutter.

3. Set boundaries - Boundaries act as a filter to keep you safe from the hurtful behavior of others while allowing in the love, support and nurturing actions we all need. Set your boundaries by: (a) determining what others cannot do to you or in your presence and (b) sharing this information respectfully with anyone who is stepping over one of your boundaries.

4. Take time for yourself - Put together a list of all the things you love to do but haven't regularly made time to do. Put your list in priority order and enter the top five to seven items into your daily calendar. Your list may include things as simple as journaling, reading a great book, taking a bubble bath, yoga, etc. You'll be more successful getting to these activities when you give them a time and place on your calendar.

5. Be positive - William James, the father of modern psychology said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that man can alter his life simply by altering his attitude of mind." In other words, what you say and what you tell yourself impact the present and create your future. Love yourself and use the power of positive words, pleasing thoughts and affirming beliefs to live the life you want to live.

6. Work in a career you love - If you're like most people, you spend the majority of your waking hours at work. You'll know you're in the right profession when: you wake up anxious to go to work, you want to do your best daily, and you know your work is important.

7. Surround yourself with a supportive community -You are who you spend time with. Hang out with people who love and accept you just the way you are, are interested in you (not what you can do for them), lift you up (not wear you down), solve problems quickly, don't gossip or complain, and know how to have fun. Anything is possible with the right support.

8. Learn to say, "No." - We've all been influenced by people in our life who tell us we should do this or we ought to do that. As a result, we may end up living a life that others have decided for us versus living the life we want. So, the next time you think of something you ought to do or someone else suggests you should do, take a breath and ask yourself if it's something you want to do. If not, just say, "no" or "no thank you." When you say no to things you don't care to do, you are saying yes to you and this will free up your time and energy for the things you choose to do. Bottom line - you'll be happier.

9. Zap tolerations - A toleration is something that irritates you and drains your energy because it needs to be done, fixed, removed, or changed. If you're like most people you may be tolerating 100 or more things! Put together a list of all the things that bug you, e.g. a dripping faucet, money concerns, your weight, shopping and running errands, not enough time, computer files out of control, your hair, a room that needs to be painted, etc. When your list is complete, group like items and sees if one solution will eliminate multiple tolerations. For example, if you have piles of clothing in each bedroom, dirty windows and dust bunnies on your floor, hiring a housekeeper will zap all three tolerations. Line up a housekeeper, today. Then, commit to spending a chunk of time each week to zap your other tolerations. If you have a toleration that you don't have the skill or know-how to fix, consider calling an expert or seek out a skilled professional to trade services with.

10. Get your needs met - A "need" is not an option, it is something you must have to function fully. It is differentiated from a "want" in that a want is optional. Unmet needs can drive you to distraction and worse. Determine what you needs have that aren't being met, if any, and then take the appropriate action to get them fulfilled. Example: If you've taken a big hit and are going through a career transition, ask a good friend to call you two or three times a week to check in with you and give you support. Other options include calling your own voice mail and leaving supportive messages or hiring a coach who specializes in career transitions. When you acknowledge and satisfy your needs, you will be free to focus on other areas of your life. If you want to be happier and more successful, focus on the things you have the power to control.

Other reads:

The Saint’s wisdom

Don’t quit, keep playing

First be a believer, then be an achiever

Never let others make a slave of you

Team work can work wonders

Gratitude unfolded

Judge Yourself

“Mrs. Thompson the Teacher”

There is a story many years ago of an elementary teacher. Her name was Mrs. Thompson. And as she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie. She looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his papers.
At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners…he is a joy to be around."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume.
But she stifled the children's' laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.

Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom, used to." After the children, left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching - reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children.

Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."
A year later, she found a note under the door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, second in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.

The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure that she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.

They hugged each other and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you, Mrs. Thompson, for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I too could make a difference."
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."



Warm someone's heart today …by Making them feel Important.

Respecting Others, however small they are, makes you to command their respect.

Treat others as you would expect them to treat you.

“The secret of happiness !! "

A certain shopkeeper sent his son to learn about the secret of happiness from the wisest man in the world. The lad wandered through the desert for 40 days and finally came upon a beautiful castle, high atop a mountain. It was there that the wise man lived.

The wise man listened attentively to the boy's explanation of why he had come, but told him that he didn't have time just then to explain the secret of happiness. He suggested that the boy look around the palace and return in two hours.

"Meanwhile, I want to ask you to do something", said the wise man, handing the boy a teaspoon that held two drops of oil. "As you wander around, carry this spoon with you without allowing the oil to spill".

The boy began climbing and descending the many stairways of the palace, keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. After two hours, he returned to the room where the wise man was.

"Well", asked the wise man, "Did you see the Persian tapestries that are hanging in my dining hall? Did you see the garden that it took the master gardener ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?"

The boy was embarrassed, and confessed that he had observed nothing. His only concern had been not to spill the oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

"Then go back and observe the marvels of my world", said the wise man. "You cannot trust a man if you don't know his house".

Relieved, the boy picked up the spoon and returned to his exploration of the palace, this time observing all of the works of art on the ceilings and the walls. He saw the gardens, the mountains all around him, the beauty of the flowers, and the taste with which everything had been selected. Upon returning to the wise man, he related in detail everything he had seen.

"But where are the drops of oil I entrusted to you?" asked the wise man. Looking down at the spoon he held, the boy saw that the oil was gone.

"Well, there is only one piece of advice I can give you", said the wisest of wise men. "The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon".

“Vanilla ice cream that created mystery"

A complaint was received by the Chief of a Car Service Station:

We have a tradition in our family of having Ice-Cream for dessert after dinner every night, each time the flavor varies. After dinner, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. I recently purchased a new car and since then my trips to the store have been a problem.

Every time I buy vanilla ice-cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other flavor, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this. The chief was understandably skeptical about the letter, but sent an Engineer to check it out anyway.

He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store. It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn't start. The Engineer returned for three more nights. The first night, they got chocolate. The car started. The second night, he got strawberry. The car started. The third night he ordered vanilla. The car failed to start.

Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream. He continued his visits for as long as it took to solve the problem. And towards the end he began to take notes: He jotted down all sorts of data: time of day, type of gas used, time to drive back and forth, etc.

In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavor. Why? The answer was in the layout of the store. Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup. All the other flavors were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to check out the flavor.

Time was now the problem - not the vanilla ice cream! It was happening every night; but the extra time taken to get the other flavors allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. The engineer quickly came up with the answer: "vapor lock". When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapor lock to dissipate.

Moral of the story:

Even crazy looking problems are sometimes real and all problems seem to be simple only when we find the solution with cool thinking.

“True Love”

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.
I saw him looking at his watch, and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.



The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.
I inquired as to her health; he told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?” He smiled as he patted my hand and said, 'She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is'.

I had to hold back tears as he left; I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life'.
True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

“Scattered Paper”

Once upon a time an old man spread rumors that his neighbor was a thief.



As a result, the young man was arrested. Days later the young man was proven innocent. After been released he sued the old man for wrongly accusing him.

In court the old man told the Judge: “They were just comments, didn't harm anyone..”

The judge, before passing sentence on the case, told the old man: “Write all the things you said about him on a piece of paper . Cut them up and on the way home, throw the pieces of paper out. Tomorrow, come back to hear the sentence.”

The next day, the judge told the old man: “Before receiving the sentence, you will have to go out and gather all the pieces of paper that you threw out yesterday.”

The old man said: “I can't do that! The wind spread them and I won't know where to find them.”

The judge then replied: “The same way, simple comments may destroy the honor of a man to such an extent that one is not able to fix it.

If you can't speak well of someone, rather don't say anything.

'Let's all be masters of our mouths, so that we won't be slaves of our words.”

“The Purpose of Life”

Without purpose as the compass to guide you, your goals and action plans may not ultimately fulfill you. You don’t want to get to the top of the ladder only to find out you had it leaning up against the wrong wall.



When Julie Laipply was a child, she was a very big fan of animals. As a result, all she ever heard growing up was “Julie, you should be a vet. You’re going to be a great vet. That’s what you should do.” So when she got to Ohio State University, she took biology, anatomy, and chemistry, and started studying to be a vet.



A Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship allowed her to spend her senior year studying abroad in Manchester, England. Away from the family and faculty pressures back home, she found herself one dreary day sitting at her desk, surrounded by biology books and staring out the window, when it suddenly hit her: You know what? I’m totally miserable. Why am I so miserable? What am I doing? I don’t want to be a vet!



Julie then asked herself, What is a job I would love so much that I’d do it for free but that I could actually get paid for? It’s not being a vet. That’s not the right job. Then she thought back over all the things she’d done in her life and what had made her the most happy.



And then it hit her—it was all of the youth leadership conferences that she had volunteered at, and the communications and leadership courses she had taken as elective courses back at Ohio State. How could I have been so ignorant? Here I am at my fourth year at school and just finally realizing I’m on the wrong path and not doing the right thing. But it’s been here in front of me the whole time. I just never took the time to acknowledge it until now.



Buoyed by her new insight, Julie spent the rest of her year in England taking courses in communications and media performance. When she returned to Ohio State, she was eventually able to convince the administration to let her create her own program in “leadership studies,” and while it took her 2 years longer to finally graduate, she went on to become a senior management consultant in leadership training and development for the Pentagon.



She also won the Miss Virginia USA 2002 contest, which allowed her to spend much of 2002 speaking to kids all across Virginia, and she has also created the Role Models and Mentors for Youth Foundation, which teaches kids how to be better role models for one another. She also founded a drug-prevention organization that promotes the message "Lead your own life with the skill and the will to say no". By the way, Julie was all by age 26 years old and an Award Winning National Speaker, Author and Positive Role Model— a testament to the power that clarity of purpose can create in your life.



Lessons to Learn from This Story:



You don’t have to go for a year abroad to get away from the daily pressures of your life long enough to create the space to discover what you are really here to do. All you need to make sure is not to live someone else’s dreams and stop settling for less than you want. If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.

“Spreading joy"

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room’s only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn’t hear the band - he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day- nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window, the nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."


There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can' t buy.

"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present, it brings good luck to everyone who passes it on.”

“The Pretty Lady And The Big Monk"

Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge damaged. They had to wade across the river.

There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the same damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river.

The big monk offered to help and carry her across the river on his back. The lady accepted.

The little monk was shocked. 'How can big brother carry a lady, when we are not even supposed to stand near the shadow of a female ?' thought the little monk. But he kept quiet.

When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her.

All along the way for several miles, the little monk was very unhappy with the act of the big monk. He was making up all kinds of accusations about big monk in his head.

This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. The big monk had no inclination to explain his situation.

Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk.

'How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite !

The big monk looked surprised and said, 'I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her along?'

This Chinese story teaches us a big lesson!

We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and make us angry.

Why?

Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the 'pretty lady'. We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river, that is after the unpleasant event is over. This will immediately remove all our agonies.

There is no need to be further hurt by the unpleasant event after it is over.

“Perspective of life”

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son,



"How was the trip?" "It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered:
"I saw that we have one dog and they had four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.
Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.
We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.
We buy our food, but they grow theirs.
We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.



Lessons to Learn from This Story:



Appreciate and value every single thing you have!

“Complexity Simplified”

Many years ago in a small Indian village, A farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.


1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.
He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order To save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do? Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.


"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the money-lender dare not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.



Lessons to Learn from This Story:



Appreciate Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't Attempt to think.

“No pointing fingers”

A man asked his father-in-law, "Many people praised you for a successful marriage. Could you please share with me your secret?"



The father-in-law answered in a smile, "Never criticize your wife for her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a better husband than you."

We all look forward to being loved and respected. Many people are afraid of losing face. Generally, when a person makes a mistake, he would look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at.



This is the start of a war. We should always remember that when we point one finger at a person, the other four fingers are pointing at ourselves.






Lessons to Learn from This Story:

If we forgive the others, others will ignore our mistake too.

“Key to Successful Thinking”

This is a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others?. He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about two years old. This incident made him aware that never be afraid of mistakes but learn from it. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor - a sea of milk!. When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, "Robert, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?"



Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, "You know, Robert, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer?" He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk. His mother then said, "You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Let's go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it."



The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes. Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment "doesn't work," we usually learn something valuable from it.



Moral of the story



Every success has a success story behind it. All failures have a lesson learnt. But if lessons are learnt with a remembering experience of the failure, it makes a permanent impression in our heart

“Things aren't always what they seem”

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement.



As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied... "Things aren't always what they seem".



The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.



The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel "how could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him," she accused. "The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die."



"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

“A Third Angel”

A teacher teaching Maths to seven-year-old Arnav asked him, “If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?”


With a few seconds Arnav replied confidently, “Four!” The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three). She was disappointed. “May be the child did not listen properly,” she thought. She repeated, “Arnav, listen carefully. It is very simple. You will be able to do it right if you listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?”

Arnav had seen the disappointment on his teacher’s face. He calculated again on his fingers. But within him he was also searching for the answer that will make his teacher happy. This time hesitatingly he replied, “Four...” The disappointment stayed on teacher’s face. She remembered Arnav loves strawberries. She thought maybe he doesn’t like apples and that is making him lose focus.



This time with exaggerated excitement and twinkling eyes she asked, “If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how many will Arnav have?” Seeing the teacher happy, young Arnav calculated on his fingers again. There was no pressure on him, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed. With a hesitating smile young Arnav enquired, “Three?”

The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself. But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, “Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have?” Promptly Arnav answered, “Four!”

The teacher was aghast. “How Arnav, how?” she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice. In a voice that was low hesitating young Arnav replied, “Because I already have one apple in my bag.”


Lessons to Learn from This Story:



When someone gives me an answer that is different from what we are expecting, not necessarily they are wrong. There may be an angle that we have not understood at all.


A leader talks to the people & also looks out for the apples in their bag!

Rose Parade 2010 (Pasadena)

Wish all of you a very Happy New Year 2010. Here's some videos of the Pasadena Rose Parade for the celebration of New Year and Rose Bowl game.

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4: