Self Confidence !

Welcome to 73^rd Monday Musings:

Wish you a Happy New Year’ 2013

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A Business executive was deep in debt and could not see any way out.

Creditors and Suppliers were demanding payments. He sat in the park, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him and asked, "I can see that something is troubling you seriously".

After listening to the executive the old man said, "I believe I can help you".

He asked the...man his name, wrote out a cheque and put it into his hands saying,

"Take this money, meet me here exactly one year from today and you can pay me back at that time".

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hands a cheque for $ 500,000 signed by Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in the world.

"I can erase my worries instantly" he realized.

But instead, the executive decided to put the un-cashed cheque in his safe.

knowing that it might give him the strength to work out to save his business and to use this only in case of dire emergency. With changed thinking he negotiated better deals, restructured his business and worked rigorously with full zeal and enthusiasm and got several big deals.

Within few months, he was out of debt and started making money once again. Exactly one year later he returned to the park with the un-cashed cheque.

As agreed, the old man appeared.

But just as the executive was about to hand him back the cheque and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

"I’m so glad I caught him" she cried.

"I hope he hasn’t been bothering you much. He always escapes from the mental hospital and tells people that he is Warren Buffet", saying this she took the old man away.

The surprised executive just stood there, stunned!!!

All year long he had been dealing thinking that he had half a million dollars behind him.

Moral of the story :

It’s not the money, real or imagined that turns our life around, It is our newly found self-confidence that gives us the power to achieve anything we want...                         

Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.

Make it a great Week & Happy New Year!

Shailesh

Hope !

Welcome to 72^nd Monday Musings:

This is known as real Christmas miracle story, happened in December 1997 in Wisconsin, USA.

A little girl named Sarah had leukemia and was not expected to live to see Christmas. Her brother and grandmother went to the mall to ask Mark Lenonard who was a professional Santa Claus to visit the hospital to give Sarah the gift of hope through encouragement and prayer.

A year later Sarah surprised Santa by showing up at the mall where he worked. Here goes the story.

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A little boy and his grandmother came to see Santa at The Mayfair Mall in Wisconsin.

The child climbed up on Santa’s lap, holding a picture of a little girl.

“Who is this?” – asked Santa, smiling. “Your friend? Your sister?”

“Yes, Santa.” – he replied.

“My sister, Sarah, who is very sick.” – he said sadly.

Santa glanced over at the grandmother who was waiting nearby and saw her dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

“She wanted to come with me to see you, oh, so very much, Santa!” – the child exclaimed.

“She misses you.” – he added softly.

Santa tried to be cheerful and encouraged a smile to the boy’s face, asking him what he wanted Santa to bring him for Christmas. When they finished their visit, the grandmother came over to help the child off his lap,

and started to say something to Santa, but halted.

“What is it?” – Santa asked warmly.

“Well, I know it’s really too much to ask you, Santa, but ..” – the old woman began, shooing her grandson over to one of Santa’s elves to collect the little gift which Santa gave all his young visitors.

“The girl in the photograph… my granddaughter well, you see … she has leukemia and isn’t expected to make it even through the holidays.” – she said through tear-filled eyes.

“Is there anyway, Santa, any possible way that you could come see Sarah? That’s all she’s asked for, for Christmas, is to see Santa.”

Santa blinked and swallowed hard and told the woman to leave information with his elves as to where Sarah was, and he would see what he could do.

He thought with a sinking heart, “This is the least I can do.”

When Santa finished visiting with all the boys and girls that evening, He asked Rick, the assistant location manager how to get to Children’s Hospital.

“Common….I’ll take you there.” – Rick said softly.

Rick drove them to the hospital and came inside with Santa. They found out which room Sarah was in.

Santa quietly peeked into the room through the half-closed door and saw little Sarah on the bed.

The room was full of what appeared to be her family; there was the grandmother and the girl’s brother he had met earlier that day.

A woman whom he guessed was Sarah’s mother stood by the bed, gently pushing Sarah’s thin hair off her forehead. Santa could sense the warmth and closeness of the family, and their love and concern for Sarah.

Taking a deep breath, and forcing a smile on his face, Santa entered the room, bellowing a hearty, “Ho, ho, ho!”

“Santa!” – shrieked little Sarah weakly, as she tried to escape her bed to run to him.

Santa rushed to her side and gave her a warm hug. A child the tender age of his own son — 9 years old — gazed up at him with wonder and excitement.

Her skin was pale and her short tresses bore telltale bald patches from the effects of chemotherapy. But all he saw when he looked at her was a pair of huge, blue eyes.

His heart melted, and he had to force himself to choke back tears.

Though his eyes were riveted upon Sarah’s face, he could hear the gasps and quiet sobbing of the women in the room.

As he and Sarah began talking, the family crept quietly to the bedside one by one, squeezing Santa’s shoulder or his hand gratefully, whispering “Thank you” as they gazed sincerely at him with shining eyes.

Santa and Sarah talked and talked, and she told him excitedly all the toys she wanted for Christmas, assuring him she’d been a very good girl that year.

As their time together dwindled, Santa felt led in his spirit to pray for Sarah, and asked for permission from the girl’s mother.

She nodded in agreement and the entire family circled around Sarah’s bed, holding hands.

Santa looked intensely at Sarah and asked her if she believed in angels, “Oh, yes, Santa… I do!” – she exclaimed.

“Well, I’m going to ask that angels watch over you.” – he said.

Laying one hand on the child’s head, Santa closed his eyes and prayed. He asked that God touch little Sarah, and heal her body from this disease.

He asked that angels minister to her, watch and keep her. And when he finished praying, still with eyes closed, he started singing, softly, “Silent Night, Holy Night…. all is calm, all is bright…”

The family joined in, still holding hands, smiling at Sarah, and crying tears of hope, tears of joy for this moment, as Sarah beamed at them all.

When the song ended, Santa sat on the side of the bed again and held Sarah’s frail, small hands in his own.

“Now, Sarah,” – he said authoritatively, “

you have a job to do, and that is to concentrate on getting well. I want you to have fun playing with your friends this summer, and I expect to see you at my house at Mayfair Mall this time next year!”

He knew it was risky proclaiming that to this little girl who had terminal cancer, but he ‘had’ to. He had to give her the greatest gift he could —

not dolls or games or toys — but the gift of HOPE.

“Yes, Santa!” – Sarah exclaimed, her eyes bright.

He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and left the room.

Sarah’s mother and grandmother slipped out of the room quickly and rushed to Santa’s side to thank him.

“My only child is the same age as Sarah.” – he explained quietly. “This is the least I could do.”

They nodded with understanding and hugged him.

One year later,

Santa was again back on the set in Milwaukee for his six-week, seasonal job which he so loves to do. Several weeks went by and then one day a child came up to sit on his lap.

“Hi, Santa! Remember me?!”  “Of course, I do.” – Santa proclaimed (as he always does), smiling down at her.

After all, the secret to being a ‘good’ Santa is to always make each child feel as if they are the ‘only’ child in the world at that moment.

“You came to see me in the hospital last year!”

Santa’s jaw dropped. Tears immediately sprang in his eyes, and he grabbed this little miracle and held her to his chest.

“Sarah!” – he exclaimed. He scarcely recognized her, for her hair was long and silky and her cheeks were rosy — much different from the little girl he had visited just a year before.

He looked over and saw Sarah’s mother and grandmother in the sidelines smiling and waving and wiping their eyes.

That was the best Christmas ever for Santa Claus.

He had witnessed –and been blessed to be instrumental in bringing about — this miracle of hope.

This precious little child was healed. Cancer-free. Alive and well. He silently looked up to Heaven and humbly whispered, “Thank you, Father. ‘Tis a very, Merry Christmas!”

Moral of the story :

“Life begins at the End of you comfort zone, keep alive your HOPE (Have Only Positive Expectation)”

“The Life at the End of tunnel is your life, It’s the tunnel that’s temporary”,  HOPE itself is described has Hang On Pain Ends.

It was only the power of hope and faith, by which precious little child was healed, Cancer free and alive…

Make it a great Week & Merry Christmas!

Shailesh

A Million Frogs !

Welcome to 71^st Monday Musings:

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A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs.

The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs!

The farmer replied, "There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs --millions of them.

They croak all during the night and are about to drive me crazy!"

So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs.

The restaurant owner said, "Well...where are all the frogs?"

The farmer said, "I was mistaken. 

There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"

Moral of the story :

There are two Moral of the story based on perspective.

1.    Sometimes problems are not as big as it appears to be, First step to solve a problem is, to Begin

2.    Another Perspective, Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs

Have you ever lain in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming--like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Temper control !

Welcome to 70^th Monday Musings:

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Once upon a time there was a little boy who was talented, creative, handsome, and extremely bright, but he a bad temper.

His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

Over the next few weeks as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily, gradually dwindled down.

He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day when he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said "you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one."

You can put a knife in a man and draw it out.

It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.

Make sure you control your temper the next time you are tempted to say something you will regret later.

Moral of the story :

Everyone has two wolves fighting within heart. One is the vengeful, angry, violent one, The other wolf is the loving, compassionate one.

Now which wolf will win the fight in your heart?

The one you will feed…

Remember: Anger is one letter short of Danger, Moreover for every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Philosophy of Life !

Welcome to 69^th Monday Musings:

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     A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took to catch them.  

                                                             

"Not very long." they answered in unison.

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"

The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.

 
"But what do you do with the rest of your time?" 

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.

We have a full life."

The tourist interrupted,

"I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!

You should start by fishing longer every day.

You can then sell the extra fish you catch.

With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat."

"And after that?"

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers.
Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant.

You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City , Los Angeles , or even New York City ! 

From there you can direct your huge new enterprise." 

"How long would that take?"

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting," answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"

"Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen. 

"After that you'll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children,
catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends."

"With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years?" asked the Mexicans.

Moral of the story :

Know where you're going in life, you may already be there! Many times in life, money is not everything.

           

“Live your life before life becomes lifeless”

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

The Power of Determination !

Welcome to 68^th Monday Musings:

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The little country schoolhouse was heated by an old-fashioned, pot-bellied coal stove.

A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.

One morning they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames. They dragged the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building more dead than alive.

He had major burns over the lower half of his body and was taken to a nearby county hospital.

From his bed the dreadfully burned, semi-conscious little boy faintly heard the doctor talking to his mother.

The doctor told his mother that her son would surely die – which was for the best, really – for the terrible fire had devastated the lower half of his body.

But the brave boy didn’t want to die.

He made up his mind that he would survive. Somehow, to the amazement of the physician, he did survive.

When the mortal danger was past, he again heard the doctor and his mother speaking quietly.

The mother was told that since the fire had destroyed so much flesh in the lower part of his body, it would almost be better if he had died, since he was doomed to be a lifetime cripple with no use at all of his lower limbs.

Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple.

He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor ability. His thin legs just dangled there, all but lifeless.

Ultimately he was released from the hospital. Every day his mother would massage his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet his determination that he would walk was as strong as ever.

When he wasn’t in bed, he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny day his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him.

He worked his way to the white picket fence bordering their lot. With great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then, stake by stake, he began dragging himself along the fence, resolved that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence. There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in those legs.

Ultimately through his daily massages, his iron persistence and his resolute determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk haltingly, then to walk by himself – and then – to run.

He began to walk to school, then to run to school, to run for the sheer joy of running. Later in college he made the track team.

Still later in Madison Square Garden this young man who was not expected to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run – this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world’s fastest mile**!

And It is a true Story !

**On June 16, 1934, Glenn Cunningham ran the mile in 4:06.8 minutes, breaking the world’s record. His effort portrays that whatever you want to create in your life is yours for the making. As long as you desire it enough and allow your will to guide you, you can have and be whatever your heart desires. The only one that can put limits on our personal will is ourselves. Develop and encourage your will to create and all the forces of nature within and without will help you bring your desire to pass

                                                                            

Life Summary:

·        8 years old, was horribly burned in a schoolhouse fire. Doctors predicted he would never walk again.

·        22 months later, took his first steps and through sheer determination, learned to run despite the pain.

·        In high school, set records for the mile and later attended Kansas University.

·        While at Kansas, refused all scholarship money, preferring to pay his own way.

·        By sophomore year, ran the 1,500 meter race at the 1932 Olympics, but finished fourth due to a severe cold.

·        By senior year, set a world record for the mile of 4:06.8 and held seven of the top 13 fastest recorded times for the mile.

·        In 1936, voted "Most Popular Athlete" by his fellow athletes.

·        He went on to earn a master’s degree from University of Iowa and later a doctorate from New York University.

·        While in New York, won 21 of 31 races at Madison Square Gardens and set an indoor mile record there in 1938.  His fastest mile time was 4:04.4 at a Dartmouth track meet in 1938.

·        When the 1940 Olympics were cancelled, he retired from his running career and taught at Cornell College in Iowa.

·        During World War II, he served two years in the Navy.

·        Spent the remainder of his life running the Glenn Cunningham Youth Ranch for troubled kids in Kansas, USA.  It is estimated that he and his wife raised around 9,000 kids on their ranch in the years until his death in 1988

Moral of the story :

An invincible determination can accomplish almost anything and in this lies the great distinction between great men and little men.

The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh