There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New
England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying
a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were
raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak. . . .. Read more…

Whether a man winds up with a nest egg, or a goose egg, depends a lot on the kind of chick he marries.

Trouble in marriage often starts when a man gets so busy earnin’ his salt, that he forgets his sugar. Read more…

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry.
Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is yesterday with its mistakes and cares,
Its faults and blunders, Its aches and pains. Read more…

On the first day, as President Abraham Lincoln entered to give his
inaugural address, just in the middle, one man stood up. He was a rich
aristocrat. He said, “Mr. Lincoln, you should not forget that your
father used to make shoes for my family.” And the whole Senate laughed;
they thought they had made a fool of Abraham Lincoln. Read more…

These ten commandments were always on Mother Teresa classroom wall and helped inspire her life. Read more…

Secondary school students were studying the Seven Wonders of the World . At the end of the lesson, the students were asked to list what they considered to be the Seven Wonders of the World . Though there was some disagreement, the following received the most votes: Read more…

“Everything in life is a process. It is all step-by-step. Success, too, is a process. It is a very valuable realisation to know that the first step in any process will eventually lead to your end goal. It is a very motivating realisation. If you want to reach success, you have to take the first step. And you have to follow the process through to the end.” Read more…

We talk about change, but what are the areas of change we want to see? Or is it the people that we want to change? Read more…

“Resolution is the directing and impelling force in individual progress. Without it no substantial work can be accomplished.”
– Above Life’s Turmoil

The esteemed philosopher Goethe wrote, “Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.” There are so many opportunities that could make our lives better if we’d only make the decision (resolution) to pursue them. Whether it’s fear, doubt or some other insecurity that holds us back, these missed opportunities keep us from living the life of our dreams.

In 711 a North African warrior, whose army was backed up to the Mediterranean Sea, gave the unthinkable order to his men to “burn your boats,” thus taking away his army’s only means of escape. Faced with certain death unless they were victorious, his army routed their opponents even though they were outnumbered five to one. When we are likewise resolved, we too can conquer all the obstacles in our path.

Don’t worry about “how-to-do-it.” One of my early mistakes was trying to figure out how I was going to do something before I’d get committed to do it. Now I think about all of the great inventions of our time, and I wonder if we’d have any of them if the inventor had waited to make his commitment until he knew how he was going to do it. Making the decision (the resolution) to do it is the most important part of any undertaking. As W.H. Murray wrote, “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!”

If you don’t feel like you have enough information to make a decision, then by all means, get the information. But don’t put off getting the information as a means to put off making the decision. And don’t think you have to have ALL the information that’s available — you only need ENOUGH to fully evaluate and decide. “Paralysis by analysis” has killed many a dream.

Any decision is almost always better than no decision as it puts into play some powerful forces. As Goethe also told us, “Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.”

James Allen

“The circumstances which a person encounters with suffering are the result of his own mental in harmony.  The circumstances which a person encounters with blessedness are the result of his own mental harmony.”
As A Man Thinketh

It’s amazing that when we are in dire straits the first place we look is always the last place we should look. And the last place we look is always the first place we should try.

Stop and think about it. If you’re like me, don’t you always look for the cause and the solution outside of yourself?  When you start making changes to try and cure the problem, don’t you always try to change the things outside of yourself?

The problem is our “own mental inharmony.”  The problem is inside, not outside. And that’s the first place we always need to look.

Try this exercise…Identify one type of habitual thinking that you have. For instance, do you habitually think you won’t have enough money to go around…or….are you always thinking that you never have enough time to get all the things done you need to do. After you’ve identified the thinking pattern, take a 3×5 card and write out the OPPOSITE of your habitual thinking. For instance, “I am surrounded by abundance. I always have enough money and enough of everything I need.” Put the card in your purse or pocket. For the next week, be alert to every time you fall into the old, habitual thinking. Take out the card and read it — and, if possible, read it aloud with MEANING. Do it for a week and I promise you’ll be happy with the results.

William James, the great psychologist of the early 20th Century knew the solution is always to go inside: “There is but one cause of human failure.  And that is man’s lack of faith in his true self.”

Vic Jonson