Berbagi Kisah dan Hikmah

Three Things for You My Love

2006-01-12T11:31:00.000+07:00

Three Things
These are the three things I'll always have for you when your days aren't goingthe way there're supposed to...

Wishes

I truly wish I could make things easier for you.I wish I knew all the right words to say and all theright things to do.

Hopes

I hope everything will be fine soon.Ana I really hope you understand, deep withinyour heart, that i will always be here whenever you need a helping hand.

And Dreams...

I dream of a time that will come along soon...when the sun will shine so brightly that any cloudsthat have been in your life will disappear, and when your days will be filled with the kindof smiles and warmththat you always bring to everyone else.

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Hang in There and Remember:
Happiness Will Come Your Way and Everything's Going to be Okay
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Cultivating Your Self-Esteem

2005-12-13T09:51:00.000+07:00

Your self-esteem is probably the most important part of your personality. It precedes and predicts your performance in almost everything you do.

It is the energy source or the reactor core of your personality, and how much self-esteem you have determines your levels of vitality, enthusiasm and personal magnetism.

People with high self-esteem are more positive, more likable and more effective in every part of their lives.

Everything that you do or say or think will affect your self-esteem. Your job, therefore, is to keep your self-esteem high and positive on a continuing basis.

Probably the best definition of self-esteem is this: the level to which you respect and value yourself as an important, worthwhile person. People with high self-esteem feel terrific about themselves and their lives. When you feel really good about yourself, you tend to be the very best person you can possibly be.

Your level of self-esteem is really your level of “mental fitness.” It’s a measure of how healthy, hardy, and resilient you are in dealing with the inevitable ups and downs of daily life. Your self-esteem determines how much peace of mind and inner contentment you experience. It is also closely linked to your health and levels of energy.

People with high self-esteem are seldom sick and seem to have an inexhaustible flow of energy and enthusiasm that progressively moves them toward their goals.

How much you like and respect yourself also determines the quality of your relationships with people. The more you like and enjoy yourself, the more you will like and enjoy others, and the more they will like you. In fact, when your self-esteem is hurt in any way, the very first thing that is affected is the way you get along with people.

To perform at your best and to feel terrific about yourself, you should be in a perpetual state of self-esteem building and maintenance. Just as you take responsibility for your level of physical fitness, you need to take complete responsibility for the content and quality of your mind.

I have developed a simple formula that contains all the critical elements of self-esteem building, and you can use it on a regular basis to assure maximum performance.

This formula is comprised of six basic elements. They are: goals, standards, success experiences, comparison with others, recognition, and rewards. Let’s take them one at a time.

How much you like and respect yourself is directly affected by your goals. The very act of setting big, challenging goals for yourself and making written plans of action to achieve them actually raises your self-esteem, which causes you to feel much better about yourself.

Self-esteem is a condition you experience when you are moving step-by-step toward the accomplishment of something that is important to you. For that reason, it’s really important to have clear goals for each part of your life and to continually work toward achieving those goals. Each progressive step causes your self-esteem to go up and makes you feel more positive and effective in everything else you do.

The second element in self-esteem building is having clear standards and values to which you are committed. Men and women with high self-esteem are very clear about what they believe in. The higher your values and ideals are, and the more committed you are to living your life consistent with those values and ideals, the more you will like and respect yourself, and the higher your self-esteem will be.

Lasting self-esteem comes only when your goals and your values are congruent—that is, when they fit into each other like a hand into a glove. Much of the stress that people experience comes from believing one thing and trying to do another. But when your goals and values are in harmony with each other, you feel a wonderful surge of energy and well-being, and that’s when you start to make real progress.

Many people tell me that they are unhappy with their job because they can’t seem to achieve success no matter how hard they try. I always ask them if they are doing what they really care about and believe in. In many cases, people realize that they are not happy with their job because it is the wrong kind of work for them. Once they change jobs and start doing something that they really enjoy, something that is more consistent with their innermost convictions, they start to make real progress and get a lot of satisfaction out of their work.

The third element in self-esteem building involves having success experiences. Once you have set your goals and standards, it is important that you make them measurable so that you can keep score of your small and large successes along the way.

The very act of setting up a goal, breaking it down into smaller parts, and then completing those parts makes you feel like a winner and causes your self-esteem to go up. But remember that you can’t hit a target you can’t see. You can’t feel like a winner unless you clearly lay out the standards by which you are going to measure your success and then achieve those standards.

Let’s say that you set a goal to sell a certain amount or earn a certain amount of income in a given year. If you break that down into monthly and weekly goals, and then you achieve the first of those goals, you will feel great about yourself. Each time you reach another milestone, your self-esteem and ability to perform will increase, and you will feel encouraged and enthusiastic about the next challenge.

The fourth element of self-esteem is comparison with others. Leon Festinger of Harvard University concluded that in determining how well we are doing, we do not compare ourselves with abstract standards, but, rather, we compare ourselves with people we know.

To feel like a winner, you must know for sure that you are doing as well as or better than someone else. The more you know about how well the others in your field are doing, and the more favorably you compare with them, the more you will feel like a winner, and the higher your self-esteem will be.

Successful people continually compare themselves with other successful people. They think about them and read about them and study their performances, and then they work to surpass them one step at a time. Eventually, successful people reach the point where they compete only with themselves and with their past accomplishments. But this comes after they have moved to the top and left many of their competitors behind.

The next element for self-esteem is recognition of your accomplishments by people whom you respect. To feel really great about yourself, you need the recognition of people you look up to and admire, such as your boss, your coworkers, your spouse and people in your social circle. Whenever you are recognized and praised for any accomplishment by someone whose opinion you hold in high regard, your self-esteem goes up, along with your eagerness and enthusiasm to do even better on the job.

The final element of self-esteem involves rewards that are consistent with your accomplishments. You may work in a field where you receive financial bonuses, status symbols—larger offices, bigger cars—or even plaques and trophies for superior achievement. All of those symbols can have an incredible impact on raising your self-esteem and causing you to feel terrific about yourself.

If, however, your existing situation does not offer the tangible or intangible rewards that are necessary for you to build and maintain your self-esteem, you must create rewards for yourself. One of the smartest things you can do is to design a system for giving yourself rewards for both small and large accomplishments as you move progressively toward your goals. For example, people who do telephone prospecting will often treat themselves to a cup of coffee after every 10 calls.

After 25 calls, they will reward themselves with a walk around the building or the block. After 50 calls, they will go out to lunch. Each of those rewards serves as an incentive that motivates them to repeat the performance. The end result is success, enthusiasm, and high self-esteem.

Whether or not your current environment provides the six elements of self-esteem building—goals, standards, success experiences, comparison with others, recognition, and rewards—you need to establish your own structure and take full responsibility for building yourself up on a regular basis.

Of course, it is possible to like yourself in the abstract, to think of yourself as a valuable and worthwhile person, but this tends to be a very shaky form of self-esteem that is easily knocked down by a negative experience or a temporary disappointment.

The only real way for you to absolutely know that you are a valuable and worthwhile person is for you to make the effort, overcome the obstacles and pay the price to bring these elements into your life. When you have that foundation, you will experience a form of mental fitness and unshakable optimism that will sustain you through failure and propel you to success.

Her Words Hurt Me And I Wanted To Quit - Don't Let It Happen To You

2005-12-13T08:51:00.000+07:00

It wasn't long ago I warned you to stay away from distraction. Now you're going to know what I mean...

Standing ovation! Yeah! My head often puffed up like a balloon full of oxygen. It's not a good thing. You see, a standing ovation is the ultimate reward the audience gives us.

It's kind of ironic since I have always had a hard time receiving compliments and accolades. Something in me tends to doubt the person giving me the accolade is genuine. Some of you might know what I'm talking about. Well, this evening was different...

I really believed it. I was on Cloud Nine. (Hopefully I'm using this term right. Carla always gets on my case about using expressions properly. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's nine clouds or cloud nine or nine lives... Heck, this is not my first language.)

Members of the audience filed in to shake my hand. I didn't have a book to sell. But I sold lots of cassette tapes (that tells you how long ago it was...now all I sell are cds.) And I heard some of the nicest comments ever. I mean, my head was exploding with air--oxygen that is.

It was indeed a great day! And it wasn't because my pockets were full of $20 bills. It was because I watched the emotional intensity on some of the faces. I felt in my gut that they were at the right place at the right time to hear the right message.

I then grabbed my stuff along with the feedback forms and headed to my car. Well, I needed a little more oxygen inside my head. And so, I decided to quickly thumb through the feedback forms to read more about how good I was.

Well, one comment popped out of the pile that stuck me like a sharp needle. It punctured a hole in my head and immediately let all the air out. I went from being on Cloud Nine to being in a dark basement of despair.

"You're full of yourself. You don't belong on any platform. Your speech sucked," one woman wrote. Then she went on to explain how I offended her. My friend, the word "sucked" is what did it for me. Who ever said men don't cry must be crazy. I did.

I seriously considered quitting the speaking business. That entire evening and for many days after, one song kept playing in my head. Can you guess what that song was? That's right! "You sucked. You sucked. You sucked."

Now my audience was about 400 people. All of a sudden I felt like it was an audience of one person. I forgot about the other 399. I also forgot about all of the nice words I heard. It felt like no one mattered except that woman. What I didn't know at the time was that 2% of any audience will not like you for whatever reason.

Also, 2% of the people you know will not like you for whatever reason. But what do we do? We continue to go through life focusing on that two percent. And that becomes a major source of distraction that throws us off course.

Has someone ever said something that punctured your self-esteem? Maybe it was your husband or wife or a friend or a family member. Maybe it's some issue you are dealing with at work.

Do you want to give up and walk away? Don't do it. Don't let anyone cause you to abandon your dream or quit. Do it because you want to. Do it because you feel it's time to move on. But certainly don't let anyone chase you away.

And keep this in mind: Sooner or later, you will be vindicated. Just be cool. Show kindness in return for their meanness. And believe that you are worth so much more than their unkind words.

What others think about you is their reality. But what you think about yourself is your reality. Refuse to be defined by what others say or think.

No more tears. Instead, disappear for a quick moment and find the nearest mirror. That's right: mirror, mirror, mirror. See the power house that you are and say to the person in the mirror, "I know you don't believe what you just heard."

Your existence cannot be defined by any word. I know it hurts when losers say mean things about us. Petty gossipers can ruin your day or life if you allow it to happen. Don't let it happen. Today, thousands are thankful I didn't let the phrase "you sucked" make me quit. Hey, if I had, you wouldn't be reading this right now.

Be strong! Stay strong! Don't let them bring you down!

Love What You Have By James Allan

2005-12-13T08:40:00.000+07:00

We live in a disposable society.

We buy things, use them and then throw them away.

Our landfills continue to grow, despite no one wanting garbage in their own backyard.

Meanwhile, debt is also growing. People continue to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need.

People need to come back to reality. They need to focus on growth in their bank accounts, not on growth in the landfills and growth in their debt.

So what’s the solution?

How can people grow their savings, while shrinking their garbage and depleting their debt?

Love is the answer.

We need to learn to appreciate what we already have. We need to love what we have.

If you love what you have, you don’t feel the need for more. If you love what you have, you can easily say no when you’re bombarded with 3000 marketing messages to buy each day (as estimated by Doug Hall at www.doughall.com). If you love what you have, you’re not going to throw something out once it gets a little used.

People who love what they have are happy. They see the beauty in what they’ve got. When they buy new stuff, they are very selective – because it has to be something they can love. People who love what they have perform proper maintenance, and ensure they get the most out of their purchases.

If you’re looking for ways to reduce the money you spend this year, spend some time admiring what you already have. Love your possessions. Maintain them so they last longer.

Disposable items are always more costly in the long run. Loving what you have costs nothing, but can save you lots of money. It can also save you time. You won’t need to run out and get something new just because you have money in your pocket. Why would you want something new? Save time and money by loving what you already own!

Is it any wonder that the average ‘millionaire next door’ has a car that’s eight years old? People that are rich love what they have. They know the value of quality, and they know the value of getting the most out of their purchases.

Do you spend time dreaming of a new car, or loving the car you’ve got? Do you spend time dreaming of new furniture, a new house or new clothes? Or do you spend some quality time loving the furniture, house and clothes you’ve already been blessed with?

What’s going to save you money and make you happier? Loving what you have, or dreaming of what you don’t have?

Save your money, your time and your environment this year: love what you have

Success: A Worthy Destination

2005-12-12T11:46:00.000+07:00

By Earl Nightingale

The stories of people achieving unusual success despite all manner of handicaps never fail to capture our attention. They're inspirational to be sure. But they're much more than that if we study them closely.
The boy whose legs were terribly burned and who was told he'd be lucky to ever walk again becomes a champion track star. The woman blind and deaf from infancy becomes one of the most inspirational figures of the century. And the poor children who rise to fame and fortune have nearly become commonplace.
In this age of unprecedented immigration, we see examples of people who start off in this world with virtually nothing and within a surprisingly short time have become wonderfully successful.
What sets these people apart, people with vast handicaps such as not knowing the language, not knowing the right people, not having any money? What drives the boy with the burned legs who becomes the champion runner or a Helen Keller, blind and deaf who becomes one of the most inspirational figures of our time? The answer, if fully understood, will bring you and me anything and everything we truly want, and it's deceptively simple. Perhaps it's too simple.
The people we've talked about here and the thousands currently doing the same thing all over the world are in possession of something the average person doesn't have. They have goals. They have a burning desire to succeed despite all obstacles and handicaps. They know exactly what they want; they think about it every day of their lives. It gets them up in the morning, and it keeps them giving their very best all day long. It's the last thing they think about before dropping off to sleep at night. They have a vision of exactly what they want to do, and that vision carries them over every obstacle.
This vision, this dream, this goal, invisible to all the world except the person holding it, is responsible for perhaps every great advance and achievement of humankind. It's the underlying motive for just about everything we see about us. Everything worthwhile achieved by men and women is a dream come true, a goal reached. It's been said that what the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
It's the fine building where before there was an empty lot or an old eyesore. It's the bridge spanning the bay. It's landing on the moon. And it's that little convenience store in Midtown Manhattan. It's the lovely home on a tree-shaded street and the young person accepting the diploma. It's a low golf handicap and a position reached in the world of business. It's a certain income attained or amount of money invested. What the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
We become what we think about. And when we're possessed by an exciting goal, we reach it. That's why it's been said, "Be choosy, therefore, of what you set your heart upon. For if you want it strongly enough, you'll get it."
Americans can have anything they want. The trouble is they don't know what they want. Oh, they want little things. They want a new car; they get it. They want a new refrigerator; they get it. They want a new home and they get it. The system never fails for them, but they don't seem to understand that it is a system. Nor that if it'll work for a refrigerator or a new car, it will work for anything else they want very much, just as well.
Goals are the very basis of any success. It is in fact the definition of success. The best definition of success I've ever found goes like this, "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal." Or in some cases the pursuit of a worthy "ideal." It's a beautiful definition of success. It means that anyone who's on course toward the fulfillment of a goal is successful.
Now, success doesn't lie in the achievement of a goal, although that's what the world considers success; it lies in the journey toward the goal. We're successful as long as we're working toward something we want to bring about in our lives. That's when the human being is at his or her best. That's what Cervantes meant when he wrote, "The road is better than the inn." We're at our best when we're climbing, thinking, planning, working. When we're on the road toward something we want to bring about.
With our definition, success being the progressive realization of a worthy goal, we cover all the bases. The young person working to finish school is as successful as any person on earth. The person working toward a particular position with his or her company is just as successful.
If you have a goal that you find worthy of you as a person, a goal that fills you with joy at the thought of it, believe me, you'll reach it. But as you draw near and see that the goal will soon be achieved, begin to think ahead to the next goal you're going to set. It often happens that a writer halfway through a book will hit upon the idea for his next one and begin making notes or ideas for a title even while he's finishing work on the one in progress. That's the way it should be.
It's estimated that about 5% of the population achieves unusual success. For the rest, average seems to be good enough. Most seem to just drift along, taking circumstances as they come, and perhaps hoping from time to time that things will get better.
I like to compare human beings with ships, as Carlyle used to do. It's estimated that about 95 percent can be compared to ships without rudders, subject to every shift of wind and tide. They're helplessly adrift, and while they fondly hope that they will one day drift into some rich and bustling port, for every narrow harbor entrance, there are 1,000 miles of rocky coastline.
The chances of their drifting into port are 1,000 to 1 against them. Our state lottery is a tax on such people. So are the slot machines in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Someone wins from time to time to be sure, but the odds are still there ... stacked steeply against them.
But the 5 percent who have taken the time and exercised the discipline to climb into the driver's seat of their lives, who've decided upon a challenging goal to reach and have fully committed themselves to reaching it, sail straight and far across the deep oceans of life, reaching one port after another and accomplishing more in just a few years than the rest accomplish in a lifetime.
If you should visit a ship in port and ask the captain for his next port of call, he'll tell you in a single sentence. Even though the captain cannot see his port, his destination for fully 99% of the voyage, he knows it's there. And then, barring an unforeseen and highly unlikely catastrophe, he'll reach it. If someone asks you for your next port of call, your goal, could you tell him?
Is your goal clean and concise in your mind? Do you have it written down? It's a good idea. We need reminding, reinforcement. If you can get a picture of your goal and stick it to your bathroom mirror, it's an excellent idea to do so. Thousands of successful people carry their goals written on a card in their wallets or purses.
When you ask people what they're working for, chances are they'll answer in vague generalities. They might say, "Oh, good health or happiness or lots of money." That's not good enough. Good health should be a universal goal. We all want that, and do our best to achieve and maintain it. Happiness is a byproduct of something else. And lots of money is much too vague. It might work, but I think it's better to choose a particular sum of money. The better, the clearer our goal is defined, the more real it becomes to us, and before long, the more attainable. Happiness comes from the direction in which we're moving.
Children are happier on Christmas morning before opening their presents than they are Christmas afternoon. No matter how wonderful their presents may be, it's after Christmas. They'll enjoy their gifts, to be sure, but we often find them querulous and irritable Christmas afternoon. We're happier on our way out to dinner than we are on the way home. We're happier going on vacation than we are coming home from it. And we're happier moving toward our goals than even after they've been accomplished, believe it or not.
Life plays no favorites. Yet of one thing you may be sure, you will become what you think about. If your thinking is circular and chaotic, your life will reflect that chaos. But if your thinking is orderly and clear, if you have a goal that's important for you to reach, then reach it you will.
One goal at a time. That's important. That's where most people unwittingly make their mistake. They don't concentrate on a single goal long enough to reach it before they're off on another track, then another, with the result that they achieve nothing. Nothing but confusion and excuses.
By thinking every morning, every night, and as many times during the day as you can about this exciting single goal you've established for yourself, you actually begin moving toward it and bringing it toward you. When you concentrate your thinking, it's like taking a river that's twisting and turning and meandering all over the countryside and putting it into a straight, smooth channel. Now it has power, direction, economy, speed.
So decide upon your goal. Insist upon it. Demand it! Look at your goal card every morning and night and as many times during the day as you conveniently can. By so doing, you will insinuate your goal into your subconscious mind. You'll see yourself as having already attained your goal, and do that every day without fail, and it will become a habit before you realize it. A habit that will take you from one success to another all the years of your life. For that is the secret of success, the door to everything you will ever have or be.
You are now and you most certainly will become ... what you think about.

Creating Your Mission Statement A Movie and More

2005-12-12T11:26:00.000+07:00

The opening scenes of "Jerry Maguire" are forever imprinted in my minds eye. As the audience, we are shown a brief synopsis of Jerry's life as a high powered Sports Agent who manages the careers of a multitude of big money athletes. He is at a convention of some kind with all of his fellow Sports Agents. We enter a dream sequence. Jerry is jarred awake while dreaming with an epiphany of sorts as he raises this question in an internal dialogue. "Who had I become? A shark in a suit? I hated myself. I hated my place in this world. " Like a man possessed, he rose out of his bed and sat down at the laptop he had set up in his hotel room. Jerry continued to speak inside his head, "One page became twenty five, I became my father's son again." He continued, saying he remembered the wise words of his mentor who said "The key to this business is personal relationships." Feverishly, Jerry crafted his Personal Manifesto. "I had lost the ability to B.S.," he wrote, "It (the Mission Statement) was the me I had always wanted to be." He entitled his declaration "The Things We Think and Do Not Say." He took his work to a 24 hour copy store so that he could distribute his wisdom to the other Sports Agents. The long haired clerk at the store looked into his eyes and said, surferesque, "That's how you become great, man!" Jerry put a copy in each mailbox of his peers and blissfully went to sleep. Temporarily, anyway. We soon learn that for Jerry, proclaiming what he believed through his Mission Statement was indeed a risky business. He called the hotel desk clerk when he once again awoke with a start to see if the copies of his Mission Statement been picked up by his peers. To his horror, it was reported that many copies of his work had been distributed. Jerry soon found his life seriously altered by what he believed. He quickly lost his high powered job and found himself living out his Mission Statement, but it was far from comfortable. Sure, his mentor had said "The key to this business is personal relationships" but did his only client have to be so obnoxious, arrogant, loud and forever adding insult to injury, by continually spouting the now trademark "Show me the money!" phrase over and over and over? We live alongside Jerry for two hours, cheering him through personal financial ruin, romance, marriage, separation, reunion, and finally the rebuilding of his career. But it is a career on HIS terms, in HIS way, following HIS manifesto and HIS alone! Do all Mission statements need to be written at times of such personal awakening a la Jerry Maguire? Not at all! Mission statements can be mulled over, rewritten, revised, reduced and reiterated. They can be written alone, which would be a Personal Mission statement, or they can be written collaboratively with a team work approach. A Mission Statement can be written for a family or Organization. They can be one sentence, they can be pages upon pages upon pages. There is no set formula in a format for Mission Statements, however the basics are the same regardless of structure or length. Well, for Jerry Maguire its one thing, but for me? Why Write a Mission Statement? Why should I take time out from my busy schedule trying to get my venture up and running to write a Mission Statement? The answer to this is simple. Some people may choose to travel to an unknown destination without a roadmap, but most will get to their destination more quickly if a map is carefully drawn out prior to putting the key into ignition putting the foot on the gas. Carefully crafting your Mission Statement could be paramount in mapping out your future. Think for a moment. * Why did you start your endeavor?* What were you hoping to do that had not been done before? * Simply stated, what is the purpose for your project? * How will you do things differently? Jerry Maguire had multiple reasons for striking out as he did, for being a Sports Agent in a different way. What are your reasons? Why is your heart calling out to you to step out and see this project to fruition? Secondly, your Mission Statement can bring focus to your exact priorities. You may believe in your mind what your priorities are but when you actually sit down with a pen to paper or fingers to the keyboard you may be surprised with what you discover. Hit a roadblock in creating your Mission Statement? Maybe you are saying to yourself, I have NO IDEA know what either my purpose or priorities are at this point! Do not be discouraged! I have found that the easiest thing to do at this point is to take a deep breath, relax and brainstorm for ten or fifteen minute. Take out a blank sheet of paper or bring up a blank document on your computer. Ask yourself the questions that were brought up about your purpose for starting this project. What were you personally looking for, yearning for, hoping for? Where are the Passions within you for this particular project? Chances are you would not start something you did not enjoy a lot, because your success would be highly unlikely in that case! So don't even consciously think! Don't worry about making sense: just let the words flow. One word, phrase or sentence at a time. This will help unblock your mind as well as remind you what your project is all about. If you had fallen out of love with your project, this will be a great tool to re-ignite the Passion that you once had for it! Discovering your purpose should then remind you of your priorities. Your Purpose uncovers the why, while the priorities uncover which of your smaller tasks comes first. Look at each task in small, manageable chunks, breaking each one down as far as you need to and date when each task should be completed. Creating my website makes a perfect example! First, I set a date for "completion" (although it will always be a work in progress). Actually, this is the date when I want all components to be functioning efficiently: all the Passion Pages with an active article Ezines for each Passion, Bulletin Boards in place and with dialogue taking place, the Passion Surveys being easily accessible and regularly utilized by the Guests at my Site. So, in addition to prioritizing, I had to map out my plan. A few months prior to completion, I had quite a few of these aspects in place. One of the first tasks I chose to complete was crafting a brief Mission Statement which would be a herald atop all my main pages. I knew the next step would be building the skeleton of the site, deciding what format to use and that sort of thing. This was a big challenge since I am not a technical person. For practice, I built a personal website, with the assistance of a dear friend who knows a lot more about computers than I do! With my 5Passions page, there was a lot of teamwork in its creation, including requesting people from other sites to come visit mine and give me constructive criticism. With my friend and "partner in building my site" I found some free bulletin boards, as well as finding a list host to use for my ezine, both for free. I mapped out a very "do-able" schedule for the creation of my e-zines. So on a rigorous yet not overwhelming schedule, all the pieces were crafted into place. Finally, you want your Mission Statement to be an evolving document that can take your project from here into perpetuity. Once you have written it, it can be revisited and revised as need be. Sections can be added and deleted over time. Most importantly, you want your overall Mission Statement to have that feeling of "YES! This is My (Our)Mission!" It should evoke a sense of Joy, a sense of the good old fashioned marching orders we were given by our childhood coaches. So what's stopping you? Get out your favorite writing tool and start crafting your Mission Statement. Jerry found love and a new life when he wrote his! What are you going to find? I think you will find something near and dear to your heart. Chances are, you will find You!

By Julie Jordan Scott

The Important Things in Life

2005-12-06T09:43:00.000+07:00

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.

You never know who these people may be - a roommate, a neighbor, a professor, a friend, a lover, or even a complete stranger - but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way.

Sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or heart.

Illness, injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a smoothly paved straight flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you experience, help to create who you are and who you become. Even the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are sometimes the most important ones.

If someone loves you, give love back to them in whatever way you can, not only because they love you, but because in a way, they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.

If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart, forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and listen to what they have to say.

Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to. Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, it will be hard for others to believe in you.

You can make anything you wish of your life. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.

And if you love someone tell them, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.

Digging a Hole

2005-12-06T09:36:00.000+07:00

Two brothers once decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of other boys stopped by to watch.

"What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors. "We're going to dig a hole all the way through the earth!", one of the brothers volunteered excitedly.
The other boys began to laugh, telling the brothers that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders and worms and insects and interesting stones. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors. Then he said confidently, "Even if we don't dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!"

Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is what a goal is for - to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen, in other words, to set us to digging!

But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every relationship will endure. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every endeavor will be completed. Not every dream will be realized. But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, "Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!"

It is in the digging that life is lived. And it is the joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters!

How To Get More Work Done In A Day by Zig Ziglar

2005-12-02T14:30:00.000+07:00

How do you achieve employment security in a world where there is no employment security? I start with a question: Do you consider yourself to be honest and at least reasonably intelligent? Okay. As an honest, intelligent person, do you, as a general rule, get about twice as much work done on the day before you go on vacation as you normally get done?

Now I am going to ask you a long question, so stay with me all the way through. If we can figure out why and learn how and repeat it every day without working any longer or any harder, does it make sense that we will be more valuable to ourselves, our company, our family and our community? The answer is "Yes."

I want to make it crystal clear that I am communicating with you about you-I'm not referring to anybody else, but to you about you. You have undoubtedly already confessed that you are honest and intelligent.

Now on the night before the day before vacation, do you get your laptop or a sheet of paper out and plan, "Now tomorrow I've got to do this and this...." We've coined a very clever name for that--we call that goal setting. So, you set your goals. Then you get them organized in the order of their importance.

Let me encourage you to make one slight change there. Get the disagreeable and difficult things out of the way first. Free your mind so you can concentrate on what else you have got to do. You get it organized. You accept responsibility. You make the commitments. You know that some people are about as committed as a Kamikaze pilot on his thirty-ninth mission-they just aren't serious about it.

Now commitment is important whether it is to get your education, make one more call, keep the marriage together or whatever. Commitment is important because when you hit the wall-not IF, but WHEN you hit the wall--if you have made a commitment your first thought is, "How do I solve the problem?" If you haven't made the commitment your first thought is, "How do I get out of this deal?" And we find literally what we are looking for.

When you make that commitment, things happen. It shows that you really care about the other people on the job. It demonstrates that you are dependable. Even though you're leaving town, you're not going to leave an unfinished task for others to do. Your integrity comes through.

Have you ever participated in organized team sports? Did you ever go home one night and say to your parents something like, "Mom, Dad, you won't believe the game plan the coach has worked out. Man alive, it is incredible. We're going to kill those suckers tomorrow. You can count on it." You were optimistic simply because you had a plan of action, and likewise you are optimistic that tomorrow you are going to be able to get all of the things done that need to be done before you can go on that vacation.

Now some of us are born optimistic, and some are born pessimistic. For your information, the 1828 Noah Webster Dictionary does not have the word pessimist in it. It has the word optimist. Now I am a natural born optimist. I really am. I would take my last two dollars and buy a money belt with it. That's the way I'm put together. But the good news is if you are a natural born pessimist, you definitely, emphatically, positively can change. You are a pessimist by choice because you are what you are and where you are because of what's gone into your mind. You can change what you are; you can change where you are, by changing what goes into your mind.

Anyway, on the day before you go on vacation you not only get to work on time, you are a little early and you immediately get started. You don't stand around and say, "Well, I wonder what I ought to do now." You can't wait to get after it. You want to do the right thing so you get started in a big hurry. You are enthusiastic about it. You are highly motivated. You decisively move from one task to another.

Now I am going to camp on this one for just a moment. Have you noticed that as a general rule people who have nothing to do want to do it with you? It's true, isn't it? Now, on this day before vacation, when you finish one task you move with purpose to another one. And people just will not block you for that two-minute gossip session or four-minute or five-minute or six-minute chat.

I am absolutely convinced and have no doubt about it that the listener has more to do with gossiping than the speaker does, because if you don't listen nobody is going to gossip to you. They just won't. When you move with purpose, people will step aside and let you go. I will absolutely guarantee that you will save a minimum of an hour a day in two-, three, five-minute spurts of time.

An hour a day is five hours per week is 250 hours per year. That is six weeks of your life that you've wasted and six weeks of combined time that you have wasted with people who have been gossiping with you. What could you do with six extra weeks every year?

Focus on the issue at hand. Discipline yourself to stay with it until you finish. Sybil Stanton gave me the best definition of discipline I have ever read in her book, The Twenty Five Hour Woman. "Discipline isn't on your back needling you with imperatives. It is at your side encouraging you with incentives."

Treat every day like it's the day before vacation and you will get more work done!

Motivational Speaker: Zig Ziglar

2005-12-02T14:27:00.000+07:00

A talented author and speaker, Zig Ziglar has an appeal that transcends barriers of age, culture and occupation. Since 1970, he has traveled over five million miles across the world delivering powerful life improvement messages, cultivating the energy of change.

He has shared the platform with such distinguished Americans as Presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Generals Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Paul Harvey, Dr. Robert Schuller, plus numerous U.S. congressmen and governors.

A well-known authority on complete and balanced success, Zig Ziglar has been recognized three times in the Congressional Record of the United States - for his work with youth in the drug war, and for his dedication to America and the free enterprise system.

Zig Ziglar's corporation is built upon the same philosophy he expounds to his audiences - hard work, common sense, fairness, commitment and integrity. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Ziglar Training Systems offers public seminars, customized educational programs, workshops and keynote speakers - all focused on personal and professional development. Profoundly affecting the lives of people, Zig Ziglar has a client list that includes thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, Fortune 500 Companies, U.S. Government agencies, churches, schools and non-profit associations.

In addition, Mr. Ziglar offers numerous celebrated books, tapes and videos on personal growth, leadership, sales, faith, family and success, including , Goals Video, How To Be A Winner, How To Stay Motivated, The New Courtship After Marriage, Raising Positive Kids in a Negative World, Sell Your Way To The Top, A View From The TOP, You Are A Natural Champion. Nine titles have been on the best seller lists; his books and tapes have been translated into over thirty-two languages and dialects.

"I believe that persistent effort, supported by a character-based foundation, will enable you to get more of the things money will buy and all of the things money won't buy." - Zig Ziglar

CHILDHOOD FRIENDS

2005-11-30T06:48:00.000+07:00

ou may have heard, it’s the custom for the kings to let warriors stand on the left, the side of the heart, and courage. On the right they put the chancellor, and various secretaries, because the practice of bookkeeping and writing usually belongs to the right hand. In the center, the sufis, because in meditation they become mirrors.
The king can look at their faces
and see his original state.

Give the beautiful ones mirrors,
and let them fall in love with themselves.

That way they polish their souls
and kindle remembering others.

A close childhood friend once came to visit Joseph.
They had shared the secrets that children tell each other when they’re lying on their pillow at night before they go to sleep. These two were completely truthful with each other.

The friend asked, “What was it like when you realized your brothers were jealous and what they planned to do?”

I felt like a lion with a chain around its neck.
Not degraded by the chain, and not complaining, but just waiting for my power to be recognized.”

“How about down in the well, and in prison?
How was it then?”

“Like the moon when it’s getting
smaller, yet knowing the fullness to come.
Like a seed pearl ground in the mortar for medicine, that knows it will now be the light in a human eye.

Like a wheat grain that breaks open in the ground, then grows, then gets harvested, then crushed in the mill for flour, then baked, then crushed again between teeth to become a person’s deepest understanding.
Lost in love, like the songs the planters sing the night after they sow the seed.”

There is no end to any of this.

Back to some thing else the good man
and Joseph talked about.

“Ah my friend, what have you
brought me? You know a traveler should not arrive empty-handed at the door of a friend like me.
That’s going to the grinding stone without your wheat.

God will ask at the resurrection, ‘Did you bring Me A present? Did you forget? Did you think You wouldn’t see me?”

Joseph kept teasing,
“Lets have it. I want my gift!”

The guest began, “You can’t imagine how I’ve looked for something for you. Nothing seemed appropriate.
You don’t take gold down into a goldmine, or a drop of water to the Sea of Oman!
Everything I thought of was like bringing cumin seed to Kirmanshah where cumin comes from.

You have all seeds in your barn. You even have my love

and my soul, so I can’t even bring those.

I’ve brought you a mirror. Look at your yourself, and remember me.”

He took the mirror out from his robe
where he was hiding it.
What is the mirror of being?
Non-being. Always bring a mirror of non-existence as a gift. Any other present is foolish.

Let the poor man look deep into generosity.
Let bread see a hungry man.
Let kindling behold a spark from the flint.

An empty mirror and your worst destructive habits, when they are held up to each other, that’s when the real making begins.
That’s what art and crafting are.
A tailor needs a torn garment to practice his expertise.
The trunks of trees must be cut and cut again so they can be used for fine carpentry.

Your doctor must have a broken leg to doctor.
Your defects are the ways that glory gets manifested.
Whoever sees clearly what’s diseased in himself begins to gallops on they way.

There is nothing worse
than thinking you are well enough.
More than anything, self-complacency
blocks the workmanship.

Put your vileness up to a mirror and weep.
Get that self-satisfaction flowing out of you!
Satan thought, “I am better than Adam,”
and that ‘better than’ is still strongly in us.

Your stream water may look clean,
but there’s unstirred matter on the bottom.
Your sheikh can dig a side channel
that will drain that waste off.

Trust your wound to a teacher’s surgery.
Flies collect on a wound. They cover it, those flies of your self-protecting feelings, our love for what you think is yours.

Let a teacher wave away the flies
and put a plaster on the wound.

Don’t turn your head. Keep looking
at the bandaged place. That’s where
the light enters you.
And don’t believe for a moment
that you’re healing yourself.

-Jalaluddin Rumi-

MY LITTLE MIRACLE by Melinda C

2005-11-28T14:32:00.000+07:00

I had just turned 19 when I was told I could not have children. I was devastated. Ever since I was a small child, I had prayed for a beautiful blonde haired, blue eyed baby girl. I used to pray to God that before He decided to come back for His children, He would allow me to have a baby girl.

I was in a serious relationship at the time that I thought would last forever. He told me that he would love nothing more than to have a child to care for and love. I prayed that the doctors were wrong and that maybe if I prayed hard enough, God would prove them wrong.

Every night I would pray, "God, please let me be a mother. Let me have the honor of caring for one of Your children." Just three months later, I found out I was pregnant. I had a very hard pregnancy. High blood pressure kept the doctors on alert. I found out I had Strep B, which could be fatal to the baby. I was scared. I didn't want to lose her. Every day I prayed that she would be OK.

At only 33 weeks, she attempted to be born. "No," I prayed. "Not this early. Please. Just one more week at least. She needs to gain more weight." I was immediately hospitalized and put on total bed rest. I was given nothing to eat or drink for three days. On the fourth day, the doctors finally said I could eat and drink, that my body was doing what it was supposed to in preventing the birth.

Just a couple of days later, when I had reached 34 weeks, the doctors decided it was safe enough for me to have her. I was induced, and at 4:57 pm on September 18, 1998, I had the most beautiful blonde haired, blue-eyed baby girl. I named her Jessie-Mae Marie. She is now two-years-old and the best thing to ever happen to me. A real gift from God.

No, her father and I are no longer together. He decided being a father was not for him. I am not sad about that. I am sad for him. He is missing out on her growing up and will probably always regret it.

So, if any of you are told there is no chance for you to have children, remember this. God still works miracles. He worked a big one in my life and I will always be grateful for that.

THE JOYS OF MOTHERHOOD

2005-11-28T14:28:00.000+07:00

My husband had gone to Singapore on an office assignment for a year and after a couple of months my daughter, Nichelle (aged 2 years) and I joined him. We were staying as tenants with an elderly lady who was very loving and helpful and treated us like her own family. My daughter loving called her Patti meaning Grandma.

She grew to love my daughter Nichelle very much as she was very talkative and always kept her entertained. Things didn't work out for us there and we returned to India. Nichelle is four now and I have a 6 month old baby girl Samara but we still keep in touch with Patti. Life now has become very hectic since I've resumed office after my maternity leave.

Last week my husband had gone over to my mum's place to pick up Nichelle from her grandma's where she was spending the weekend. I just put Samara to bed and was getting things ready for the week ahead, when the phone rang and I rushed to pick it up. It was Patti from Singapore. She was not too well and informed me that her blood platelet count was falling. She wanted to talk to my husband who is in the pharma line.

On his return home I informed him of her call and he contacted her. She was thrilled to hear Nichelle's voice.

After the conversation, reassurance and goodbyes, my husband disconnected and I said to him, " You always wanted to be a doctor, well here is someone who thinks you are."

"Yes", he said, "this was my unfulfilled dream."
"Maybe one day one of our girls will be doctors" I said.

"A doctor, not me mummy " Nichelle's replied as she was listening to the conversation although busy with her painting.

"Maybe a teacher like Miss Zubeda Ali your class teacher" whom she is very fond of.

"No, not that too, " said Nichelle.

"Or a computer artist ,"chipped in her dad.

"No, you will never guess what I want to be" said Nichelle with a smile on her face.

"What baby," I asked her, "Tell mummy and daddy."

" I just want to be a mother when I grow up, just like you, mummy."

I went up to her and hugged my little girl and she smiled. This was something we least expected to hear.

"Mummy I will cook, clean, give my baby a bath, tell stories, sing songs and do all the things you do for us. "

This week I have been thinking about my little girl's dream to be a mother someday. For the first time I realized the influence I had in the lives of my children and motherhood took on a new meaning for me.

At times I admit, I would get frustrated, and want to give up , just feel like relaxing, with sleepless nights, crying babies, illness, my baby's first days at school, teaching her the difference between right and wrong, household jobs that seem never-ending, rushing to office and making it on time.

At times I felt I could not cope but now everything seems achievable and worthwhile. Yes, I'm thankful to God, my husband and children for the joys of motherhood and also helping me realize more fully the great sacrifices my parents made for me every step of the way, to help me be a better mother today.

To every mother, yours is a vital and important role in shaping the young lives God has entrusted in your care. My 4 year old girl made me realize this.

COMFORT ZONE

2005-11-28T14:25:00.000+07:00

I used to have a comfort zone where I knew I wouldn't fail.
The same four walls and busywork where really more like jail.
I longed so much to do the things I'd never done before,
But stayed inside my comfort zone and paced the same old floor.

I said it didn't matter that I wasn't doing much.
I said I didn't care for things like commission checks and such.
I claimed to be so busy with the things inside my zone,
But deep inside I longed for something special of my own.

I couldn't let my life go by just watching others win.
I held my breath; I stepped outside and let the change begin.
I took a step and with new strength I'd never felt before,
I kissed my comfort zone good-bye and closed and locked the door.

If you're in comfort zone, afraid to venture out,
Remember that all winners were at one time filled with doubt.
A step or two and words of praise can make your dreams come true.
Reach for your future with a smile;
Success is there for you!

AND, AND, AND....

2005-11-25T15:18:00.000+07:00

Peeking out from the corner of my desk blotter is a note, slowly yellowing and bent from time. It is a card from my mother, containing only four sentences. In it, she praises my abilities as a writer without qualification. Each sentence is full with love, offering specific examples of what my pursuit has meant to her and my father. The word "but" never appears on the card, however the word "and" is there almost a half dozen times. Every time I read it -- which is almost every day -- am reminded to ask myself if I am doing the same thing for my daughters. I've asked myself how many times I've "but-ted" them, and me, out of happiness. I hate to say that it's more often than I'd like to admit. Although our eldest daughter usually got all A's on her report card, there was never a semester when at least one teacher would not suggest that she talked too much in class. I always forgot to ask them if she was making improvement in controlling her behavior, if her comments contributed to the discussion in progress or encouraged a quieter child to talk. Instead, I would come home and greet her with, "Congratulations! Your Dad and I are very proud of your accomplishment, but could you try to tone it down in class?" The same was true of our younger daughter. Like her sister, she is a lovely, bright, articulate and friendly child. She also treats the floor of her room and the bathroom as a closet, which has provoked me to say on more than one occasion, "Yes, that project is great, but clean up your room!" I've noticed that other parents do the same thing. "Our whole family was together for Christmas, but Kyle skipped out early to play his new computer game." "The hockey team won, but Mike should have made that last goal." "Amy's the homecoming queen, but now she wants $200 to buy a new dress and shoes." But, but, but. Instead, what I learned from my mother is that if you really want love to flow to your children, start thinking "and, and, and..." instead. For example: "Our whole family was together for Christmas dinner, and Kyle mastered his new computer game before the night was through." "The hockey team won, and Mike did his best the whole game." "Amy's the homecoming queen, and she's going to look gorgeous!" The fact is that "but" feels bad -- "and" feels good. And when it comes to our children, feeling good is definitely the way to go. When they feel good about themselves and what they are doing, they do more of it, building their self-confidence, their judgment and their harmonious connections to others. When everything they say, think or do is qualified or put down in some way, their joy sours and their anger soars. This is not to say that children don't need or won't respond to their parents' expectations. They do and they will, regardless of whether those expectations are good or bad. When those expectations are consistently bright and positive and then are taught, modeled and expressed, amazing things happen. "I see you made a mistake. And I know you are intelligent enough to figure out what you did wrong and make a better decision next time." Or, "You've been spending hours on that project, and I'd love to have you explain it to me." Or, "We work hard for our money, and I know you can help figure out a way to pay for what you want." It's not enough just to say we love our children. In a time when frustration has grown fierce, we can no longer afford to limit love's expression. If we want to tone down the sound of violence in our society, we're going to have to turn up the volume on noticing, praising, guiding and participating in what is right with our children. "No more buts!" is a clarion call for joy. It's also a challenge, the opportunity fresh before us every day to put our attention on what is good and promising about our children, and to believe with all our hearts that they will eventually be able to see the same in us and the people with whom they will ultimately live, work and serve. And if I ever forget, I have my mother's note to remind me.

Run Through the Rain

2005-11-25T14:30:00.000+07:00

She had been shopping with her Mom in Wal-Mart. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful brown haired, freckle-faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the Earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Wal-Mart. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I get lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child come pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. Her voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in. “Mom, let's run through the rain," she said. “What?" Mom asked. “Let’s run through the rain!" She repeated. "No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain." "We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said. "No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm." This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?" "Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!” The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. Time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.” Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If God let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and, yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever takeaway your precious memories. So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day! To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I hope you still take the time to run through the rain.

A New Beginning

2005-11-25T14:18:00.000+07:00

by Aziza Hussain

I walked into the doors of LS Regional High School feeling like a new person. I felt as though hundreds of eyes were fixed on me, yet it was merely my wild imagination. My heart skipped a beat and my face flushed, but these signs of nervousness disappeared as people began to say "hey Aziza" like any other day. My fears of being rejected vanished and I felt the same again - well not the same, for I was different; I was now a muhajabah.
Many of my friends knew I was Muslim because I was constantly asked why I wasn't eating during the month of Ramadan. I would explain to them what Ramadan was, but this was all my friends knew about Islam. I had never bothered to educate them further.
Since the last Ramadan, I had been thinking about Islam and my duties of a Muslim more than usual. I began contemplating hijab and thought to myself, "I'll start hijab when I go to college." Why then? Because it would be a new environment, a new stage of my life, the start of a new beginning; it seemed like a good time to make a big change.
As Ramadan passed, I was constantly fighting a battle with myself. I was still pondering over Islam and my life in general. "Four years is a long time to wait (to start hijab)," I kept telling myself. I became distressed just thinking about how long four years was in reality.
I then decided I would start hijab after freshman year was over, so I had the summer to adjust. I would start sophomore year as a new person. "Sophomore year," I thought to myself, "that's still quite a few months away." I was still frustrated and did not want to wait so long to start hijab.
As April began, I thought to myself, "I am going to do it. I am going to start hijab and nothing is stopping me!"
Alhumdulillah for my open-minded teachers. I asked them if they could give me five minutes to speak to the class about what I was about to do: start hijab. They excitedly agreed with warm, encouraging smiles. In each class, I walked to the front of the room and slowly began to talk. I told them about Islam and how it is very important to me. I explained what the hijab is and why Muslim women are commanded to wear it. My peers sat listening, quietly and attentively, amazed by what I was saying. They sat in awe interested in my beliefs. Many asked questions and begged to see what I looked like with a hijab on. I happily put it on to show them. Their smiles showed they approved of it and liked it; they were happy I was going to wear hijab.
My classmates told their friends, who told their other friends, and soon the whole school knew about me starting hijab. People I didn't even know were constantly approaching me and telling me how much they appreciated what I was doing, how much they admired me, how much they supported me and how they wish they had the will power I did. All this before I even started hijab. That following Friday on April 13, 2001, I became a muhajabah for life.
The decision I made that day is one I will never regret insha'Allah. Since then, despite some of the obstacles that were thrown in my path, I have been the happiest girl alive. Many other Muslim girls have told me how I've inspired them and they wish to be more practicing. These positive comments only motivate me to work harder and become an even better Muslim, for these comments show me I am on the right path and insha'Allah will stay on it. I thank Allah Subhana wa ta'ala for the strength to do this, the guidance He has given me, and this personality, which has helped me have these qualities where people respect me, admire me and look up to me. And I also thank Him for giving me the mentality in which I do not care what others think; I solely care what He thinks.

The Villager and the Happy Man

2005-11-25T14:08:00.000+07:00

In a small village in the valley, there lived a man who was always happy, kind, and well disposed to everyone he met. He always smiled and had a kind and encouraging word to say whenever necessary. Everyone who met him left feeling, better, happier and elated. People knew they could count on him, and regarded him as a great friend.

One of the village dwellers was curious to know what his secret was, how could he be always so kind and helpful? How is it that he held no grudge towards anyone and was always happy?

Once, upon meeting him in the street he asked him: "Most people are selfish and unsatisfied. They do not smile as often as you do; neither are they as helpful or kind as you are. How do you explain it?"

"When you make peace with yourself, then you can be in peace with the rest of the world. If you can recognize the spirit in yourself, you can recognize the spirit in everyone, and then you find it natural to be kind and well disposed to all. If your thoughts are under your control you become strong and firm. The outer mask of the personality is like a robot programmed to do certain tasks. Your habits and thoughts are the programs. Be free from these programming and then the inner good that resides in you will be revealed."

"But a lot of work is necessary. Good habits have to be developed. The ability to concentrate and to control the thoughts has to be strengthened. The work is difficult and endless. There are many walls that need to be to climbed. It is not an easy task." Lamented the villager.

"Do not think about the difficulties, otherwise that what you will see and experience. Just quieten your feelings and thoughts and try to stay in this peace. All the abilities and powers awaken spontaneously. You do not work on them directly. They are by-products of your peace of mind. Just try to be calm and do not let yourself be carried away by your thoughts."

"Is that all?" Asked the villager.

"Try to watch your thoughts and see how they come and go. Stay in the quietness that arises. The moments of peace will be brief at first, but in time they will get longer. This peace is also strength, power, kindness, and love. When you realize that you are one with the Universal Power, you begin to act from a different dimension, not from the selfish, small, limited ego."

"I will try to remember your words," said the villager and continued, "there is another thing that I am curious about. You do not seem to be influenced by the environment. You have a kind word to everyone and are helpful. Yet people do not exploit your goodness, and they treat you well."

"Goodness and being kind do not necessarily point to weakness. When you are good you can also be strong. People sense your strength and do not impose on you. When you are strong and calm inside, you help people because you can and you want to. You then act from strength and not from weakness. Goodness can also go with power and strength, it is not a sign of weakness as some people erroneously think."

"Thank you very much for your advice", said the villager and went away happy and satisfied.

Positive Thinking

2005-11-25T14:06:00.000+07:00

Positive thinking means admitting into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is the expectation of good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds.

Not everyone accepts or believes in positive thinking. Some consider the subject as just nonsense, and others scoff at people who believe and accept it. Among the people who are conversant with this subject, not many know how to use it effectively in order to get results. Yet, it seems that more people are becoming attracted to this subject, as evidenced by the many books, lectures and courses about it. This is a subject that is gaining popularity.

It is quite common to hear people say: "Think positive!", to someone who feels down and worried. Most people do not take these words seriously, as they do not know what it really means, or do not consider it as useful and effective. How many people do you know that ever stop to think what the power of positive thinking means?

An Example
Allan applied for a new job, but as his self-esteem was low, and he considered himself as a failure and unworthy of success, he was sure that he was not going to get the job. He had a negative attitude towards himself, and believed that the other applicants were better and more qualified than him. Allan manifested this attitude because he was not admitted to most of the jobs he applied to, and consequently had negative past experience.

His mind was filled with negative thoughts and fears concerning the job for the whole week before the job interview. He was sure he would be rejected. On the day of the interview he got up late, and to his horror he discovered that the shirt he had planned to wear was dirty, and the other one needed ironing. As it was already too late, he went out with a wrinkled shirt.

During the interview he was tense, displayed a negative attitude, worried about his shirt, and felt hungry because he did not have enough time to eat breakfast. All this distracted his mind and made it difficult for him to focus on the interview. His overall behavior made a bad impression, and consequently he materialized his fear and did not get the job.

Jim applied for the same job too, but approached the matter in a different way. He was sure that he was going to get the job. During the week preceding the interview he often visualized himself making a good impression and getting the job.

In the evening before the interview he prepared the clothes he was going to wear, and went to sleep a little earlier. On day of the interview he woke up earlier than usual, and had ample time to eat breakfast, and then to arrive to the interview before the scheduled time.

He got the job because he made a good impression. Of course he had also the proper qualifications for the job, but so had Allan.

What do we learn from these two stories? Is there any magic employed here? No, it is all natural. When the attitude is positive we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images, and see in our mind's eye what we really want to happen. This brings brightness to the eyes, more energy and happiness. The whole being broadcasts good will, happiness and success. Even the health is affected in a beneficial way. We walk tall and the voice is more powerful. Our body language shows the way you feel inside.

Positive and negative thinking are both contagious. All of us affect, in one way or another, the people we meet. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through thoughts and feelings transference and through body language. People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive persons and shun negative ones? People are more disposed to help us if we are positive. They dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity.

Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment.

Practical Instructions
In order to turn the mind toward the positive, inner work and training are required. Attitude and thoughts do not change overnight.

Read about this subject, think about its benefits and persuade yourself to try it. The power of thoughts is a mighty power that is always shaping our life. This shaping is usually done subconsciously, but it is possible to make the process a conscious one. Even if the idea seems strange give it a try, as you have nothing to lose, but only to gain. Ignore what others might say or think about you, if they discover that you are changing the way you think.

Always visualize only favorable and beneficial situations. Use positive words in your inner dialogues or when talking with others. Smile a little more, as this helps to think positively. Disregard any feelings of laziness or a desire to quit. If you persevere, you will transform the way your mind thinks.

Once a negative thought enters your mind, you have to be aware of it and endeavor to replace it with a constructive one. The negative thought will try again to enter your mind, and then you have to replace it again with a positive one. It is as if there are two pictures in front of you, and you choose to look at one of them and disregard the other. Persistence will eventually teach your mind to think positively and ignore negative thoughts.

In case you feel any inner resistance when replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, do not give up, but keep looking only at the beneficial, good and happy thoughts in your mind.

It does not matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they do.

The Power of Imagination

2005-11-25T10:52:00.000+07:00

Imagination is the ability to form a mental image of something that is not perceived through the senses. It is the ability of the mind to built mental scenes, objects or events that do not exist, are not present or have happened in the past. Memory is actually a manifestation of imagination. Everyone possesses some imagination ability. In some it may be highly developed and in others it may manifest in a weaker form. It manifests in various degrees in various people.

Imagination makes it possible to experience a whole world inside the mind. It gives the ability to look at any situation from a different point of view, and enables one to mentally explore the past and the future.

It manifests in various forms, one of which is daydreaming. Though too much idle daydreaming may make one impractical, some daydreaming, when not being engaged in something that requires attention provides some temporary happiness, calmness and relief from stress.

In your imagination you can travel anywhere in the speed of light without any obstacles. It can make you feel free, though temporarily, and only in the mind, from tasks, difficulties and unpleasant circumstances.

Imagination is not limited only to seeing pictures in the mind. It includes all the five senses and the feelings. One can imagine a sound, taste, smell, a physical sensation or a feeling or emotion. For some people it is easier to see mental pictures, others find it easier to imagine a feeling, and some are more comfortable imagining the sensation of one of the five senses. Training of the imagination gives the ability to combine all the senses.

A developed and strong imagination does not make you a daydreamer and impractical. On the contrary, it strengthens your creative abilities, and is a great tool for recreating and remodeling your world and life.

This is a great power that can change your whole life. It is used extensively in magick, creative visualization and affirmations. It is the creator of circumstances and events. When you know how to work with it, you can makey our hearts' desires come true.

Imagination has a great role and value in each one's life. It is much more than just idle daydreaming. We all use it, whether consciously or unconsciously, in most of our daily affairs. We use our imagination whenever we plan a party, a trip, our work or a meeting. We use it when we describe an event, explain how to arrive to a certain street, write, tell a story or cook a cake.

Imagination is a creative power that is necessary for inventing an instrument, designing a dress or a building, painting a picture or writing a book. The creative power of imagination has an important role in the achievement of success in any field. What we imagine with faith and feelings comes into being. It is the power beyond creative visualization, positive thinking and affirmations.

Visualizing an object or a situation, and repeating often this mental image, attracts the object or situation into our lives. This opens for us new, vast and fascinating opportunities.

This means that we should think only in a positive manner about our desires, otherwise we may create and attract into our lives events, situations and people that we don't really want. This is actually what most of us do, because we don't use the power if imagination correctly.

If you do not recognize the importance of the power of the imagination, and let it run riot, your life may not be as happy and successful as you would have wanted it to be.

Lack of understanding of the power of the imagination is responsible for the suffering, incompetence, difficulties, failures and unhappiness people experience. For some reason, most people are inclined to think in a negative way. They do not expect success. They expect the worst, and when they fail, they believe that fate is against them. This attitude can be changed, and then life will improve accordingly.

Understanding how to use your imagination correctly, and putting this knowledge into practice, for your own and others' benefit, will put you on the golden path to success, satisfaction and happiness.

Smile

2005-11-25T10:40:00.000+07:00

I am a mother of three and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called "Smile,"
The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reaction. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say, hello anyway.....so, I thought, this would be a piece of cake literally.
Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonalds, one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special play time with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch...an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.
As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell... and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling"..his beautiful sky blue eyes: were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance. He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching. The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally deficient and the blue eyed gentle man was his salvation. I held my tears......as I stood there with them.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said,"Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford (to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy something...they just wanted to be warm). Then I really felt it...the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes. That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me...judging my every action. I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue eyed gentleman's cold hand. He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you."
I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "I did not do this for you...God is here working through me to give you hope." I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me honey.... to give me hope." We held hands for a moment and at that time we knew that only because of the Grace were we able to give.
We are not church goers but we are believers. That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love. I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand. I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it....then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?" I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings (part of God) share this need to heal.
In my own way I had touched the people at McDonalds, my husband, son, instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I spent as a college student. I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn... unconditional acceptance..... after all ....we are here to learn!

The Three Little Trees

2005-11-25T10:27:00.000+07:00

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up.

The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: "I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!"
The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on it's way to the ocean. "I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world!"
The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. "I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world."

Years passed. The rain came, the sun shone, and the little trees grew tall. One day three woodcutters climbed the mountain.
The first woodcutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining axe, the first tree fell. "Now I shall be made into a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!" The first tree said.
The second woodcutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining axe, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. "I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!"
The third tree felt her heart sink when the last woodcutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the woodcutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me. "He muttered. With a swoop of his shining axe, the third tree fell.

The first tree rejoiced when the woodcutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feedbox for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, nor with treasure. She was coated with sawdust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals.
The second tree smiled when the woodcutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and sawed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river; instead she was taken to a little lake.
The third tree was confused when the woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. "All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God."

Many many days and night passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feedbox. "I wish I could make a cradle for him," her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and the sturdy wood." This manger is beautiful," she said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world.

One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She knew she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through with the wind and the rain. The tired man awakened. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. Suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the king of heaven and earth.

One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth tremble with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

Moral to this stories: So next time you feel down because you didn't get what you want, just sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you.

A Blue Ribbon to make a Difference

2005-11-25T10:14:00.000+07:00

A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high school by telling them the difference they each made.
She called each student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference."

Afterwards the teacher decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgment ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report back to the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please report back to me and tell me what happened."

Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well, sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon, he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."

That night the boss came home to his 14-year-old son and sat him down. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says 'Who I Am Makes A Difference'" on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you.
My days are really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid and I love you!"

The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "I have been contemplating suicide, Dad, because I didn't think you loved me. Now I know you care."
The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch but made sure to let all his employees know that they made a difference. The junior executive helped several other young people with career planning and never forgot to let them know that they made a difference in his life. The young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson.

I love you, Bryan

2005-11-25T09:01:00.000+07:00

He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side ofthe road. But even in the dim light of day, he could see she neededhelp. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out.
His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with thesmile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for thelast hour or so.
Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe, he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standingout there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was the chill which only fear can put in you.
He said, "I'm here to help you ma'am.
Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name isBryan."
Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She had already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about the money. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past...
He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance that they needed, and Bryan added " ...and think of me".
He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take home.
It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The cash register was like the telephone of an out of work actor-it didn't ring much. Her waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase.
The lady noticed that the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could beso giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, and the waitress went to get changefor her hundred dollar bill, the lady slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back.
She wondered where the lady could be, then she noticed something written on the napkin underwhich was four $100 bills. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote.
It said: "You don't owe me anything, I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day.
That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard.
She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's gonna be all right; I love you, Bryan."

Friendship by Eleanor Roosevelt

2005-11-25T08:23:00.000+07:00

Many people will walk in and out of your life,
But only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head;
To handle others, use your heart
Anger is only one letter short of danger
If someone betrays you once, it is his fault;
If he betrays you twice, it is your fault
Great minds discuss ideas;
Average minds discuss events;
Small minds discuss people.
He who loses money, loses much;
He, who loses a friend, loses much more;
He, who loses faith, loses all
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature,
But beautiful old people are works of art
Learn from the mistakes of others
You can't live long enough to make them all yourself
Yesterday is history
Tomorrow is mystery
Today is a gift.

Pencuri yang Mujur

2005-11-25T08:07:00.000+07:00

Seorang pencuri masuk ke rumah Malik bin Dinar. Ia memeriksa seisi rumah, namun tidak menemukan barang yang dapat dicuri. Malik bin Dinar mengawasi gerak-gerik si pencuri dari kejauhan. Setelah si pencuri yakin bahwa usahanya sia-sia, ia pun segera bergegas keluar.

Belum sempat ia keluar, Malik bin Dinar menyapa, “Kemarilah, kau telah datang kepadaku karena menginginkan sesuatu, namun tidak memperolehnya. Sekarang, jika kau tidak berhasil mendapatkan kebaikan hissi (kebendaan), insyaa Allah kau akan mendapatkan kebaikan maknawi. Salatlah dua rakaat di atas sajadahku ini!”
Pencuri itu kemudian berwudhu dan salat dua rakaat di atas sajadah beliau, sementara Malik bin Dinar berdoa agar si pencuri mau bertobat.

Ketika pencuri itu keluar dari rumah Malik bin Dinar, ia telah berada dialam (kehidupan) yang lain. Tanda-tanda pengabulan tampak pada dirinya. Cahaya ketaatan bersinar di wajahnya.
Keesokan harinya kawan-kawannya sesama pencuri bertemu dengannya di jalan.

"Wahai teman, melihat wajahmu yang berseri-seri, kami yakin bahwa semalam kau mendapatkan hasil curian yang sangat memuaskan,” kata mereka.

“Sama sekali tidak, tidak sedikit pun kuperoleh harta, tapi yang kudapatkan adalah curian cahaya dan ilmu. Aku masuk ke rumah Malik bin Dinar, tetapi tidak menemukan sesuatu yang dapat kucuri. Ketika akan keluar, beliau memanggilku dan menyuruhku salat dua rakaat di sajadahnya, sewaktu aku salat beliau mendoakan aku. Jadi, kebahagiaan ini adalahkebahagiaan ketaatan. Karena itu, setelah hari ini, aku bukanlah teman kalian lagi.

Be Sure You're Working ON Your Business. Not IN It!

2005-11-25T07:00:00.000+07:00

Training Lesson: Adapted from Network Marketing For DummiesBy Zig Ziglar & John P. Hayes, Ph.D.

At several points in this book I say, "You've got to be before you cando, and you've got to do before you can have." You can't rearrange theorder of those words and expect to get positive results. What we areabout to tell you addresses the "do" portion of my philosophy.

Many of the people who start small businesses fall into the "gettingready to get started" trap. They end up working in their businessesinstead of on their businesses. Perhaps you've fallen into this trap.You re-arrange your desk. You clean up your files. You reposition thephone, the computer and the printer. You rearrange the furniture inyour office. You sharpen all your pencils--three times. And then yougo through this routine, with modifications, again, and sometimesagain. And if someone asks what you're doing you say, "I'm gettingready to get started," or words to that effect. Many (maybe most)people go through this stage when they start a business, and it's achallenge that you must resist. If you're still getting ready to getstarted the second week into your business, you're probably nevergoing to get started.

Even experienced business owners occasionally fall into the trap ofworking in their businesses when they need to be working on theirbusinesses. . . . No matter how long you've been in business, andregardless of the achievements you may have enjoyed in the past, youalways have to look out for this trap.Here's a test that can help you determine whether you're working onyour business or in your business. Stop whatever you're doing and askyourself these questions:
* Is what I'm doing now directly related to achieving one of my goals?
* Will what I'm doing now help me build my business?
* Will what I'm doing now result in a sale?
* Will what I'm doing now improve one of my skills?
* Could someone else do what I'm doing better or just as well?
* Am I reinventing the wheel?
* Could I wait and do this during non-business hours?

Be honest when you answer these questions. You can try to justifyrearranging your office by claiming that doing so will improve yourproductivity. But can you justify rearranging your office during yournormal business hours? Not if you answer honestly.. . . Whatever you're doing, if you're doing it during business hoursand it will not lead to the fulfillment of a goal or result inbuilding your business (such as by making a sale), you're most likelyworking "in" your business and not "on" it. Don't get caught in that trap.

A MOUSE AND A FROG

2005-11-25T06:24:00.000+07:00

A mouse and a frog meet every morning on the riverbank.
They sit in a nook of the ground and talk.
Each morning, the second they see each other, they open easily, telling stories and dreams and secrets, empty of any fear or suspicious holding back.
To watch and listen to those two
is to understand how, as it’s written,
sometimes when two beings come together, Christ becomes visible.
The mouse starts laughing out a story he hasn’t thought of in five years, and the telling might take five years!
There’s no blocking the speechflow-river-running- all-carrying momentum that true intimacy is.
Bitterness doesn’t have a chance
with those two.
The God-messenger, Khidr, touches a roasted fish.
It leaps off the grill back into the water.
Friend sits by Friend, and the tablets appear.
They read the mysteries
off each other’s foreheads.
But one day the mouse complains, "There are times when I want sohbet,* and you’re out in the water, jumping around where you can’t hear me.
We meet at this appointed time,
but the text says, "Lovers pray constantly."
Once a day, once a week, five times an hour, is not enough. Fish like we are need the ocean around us!"
Do camel bells say, "Lets meet back here Thursday night?"
Ridiculous. They jingle
together continuously,
talking while the camel walks.
Do you pay regular visit to yourself?
Don’t argue or answer rationally.
Let us die,
And dying, reply.

-Jalaluddin Rumi-

*Sohbet has no English equivalent. It means something
like "mystical conversation on mystical subjects."
On the most ordinary level, we all sometimes hear
ourselves speaking from, say, some habitual pattern of
meanness or acceptable optimism; then at other times
we surprise ourselves by coming out with wisdom beyond
our usual. There’s a modulation between realities.
Human beings are discourse. That flowing moves through
you whether you say anything or not. Everything that
happens is filled with pleasure and warmth because of
the delight of the discourse that’s always going on.

Other Wise words

2005-11-24T14:18:00.000+07:00

Do something positive and valuable in one area of your life, and every other part of your life will benefit from it. The joy you create and experience in one setting will go with you into other situations.

By the same token, any negativity in one part of your life will exert unfavorable influence on other parts of your life. Everything that is a part of you is a part of all of you.

When you work to improve your skill at one task, it brings added confidence to all other tasks that you undertake. When you nurture a true sense of peace in your home life, your life at work becomes more calm and peaceful as well.

No single part of you can be separated from the wholeness of who you are. Each thought, each action, each feeling is connected to all others.

Your health, your career, your family, your faith, your learning, your interests and enjoyments are all intertwined with each other. And as such, you always have countless specific opportunities to nurture and lift up the whole of your life

The Wooden Bowl

2005-11-24T07:39:00.000+07:00

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year grandson. The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered. The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor. When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess. "We must do something about Grandfather," said the son. "I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor". So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner. There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed their dinners together.
Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl. When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone. Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
The four-year-old watched it all in silence. One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor. He asked the child sweetly, "What are you making?" Just as sweetly, the boy responded, "Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when you get old." The four year old smiled and went back to work.
The words so struck the parents that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done. That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table. For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason, neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.

What you get from this stoeris, think about this:

I've learned that, regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life. I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But, if you focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.

I've learned that children's eyes observe more than there ears ever hear and the example we set for them determines their actions.

I've learned that every day, you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch -- holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

I've learned that people will forget what you said ...people will forget what you did......but people will never forget how you made them feel.

I've learned that life is about people and making a positive difference. I've learned that you should take care of yourself and those you love - Today and Everyday!

MOTHERS LOVE

2005-11-24T07:31:00.000+07:00

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his Mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

For cutting the grass: $5.00
For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00
For going to the store for you: $.50
Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25
Taking out the garbage: $1.00
For getting a good report card: $5.00
For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00
Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he'd written on, and this is what she wrote:

For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me: No Charge
For all the nights that I've sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you: No Charge
For all the trying times, and all the tears that you've caused through the years: No Charge
For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead: No Charge
For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose: No Charge
Son, when you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.

When the boy finished reading what his mother had written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked straight at his mother and said, "Mom, I sure do love you." And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: "PAID IN FULL".

THE HOSPITAL WINDOW

2005-11-24T07:26:00.000+07:00

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 color 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 color 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."

Think about this:

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.

Words of Wisdom by Martin Luther King, Jr

2005-11-24T07:07:00.000+07:00

"I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

"If we are to go forward, we must go back and rediscover those precious values - that all reality hinges on moral foundations and that all reality has spiritual control."

"We who in engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive."

"The quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important."

"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived..."

The Wise Woman

2005-11-24T06:40:00.000+07:00

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.
But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone."

Sometimes it's not the wealth you have but what's inside you that others need.

Marbles

2005-11-23T14:25:00.000+07:00

During the waning years of the depression in a small Idaho community, I used to stop by Mr. Miller's roadside stand for farm fresh produce as the season made it available. Food and money were still extremely scarce and bartering was used extensively.
One day Mr. Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas.
I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller and the ragged boy next to me.
"Hello Barry, how are you today?"
"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas ... sure look good."
"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"
"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla' time."
"Good. Anything I can help you with?"
"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."
"Would you like to take some home?"
"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."
"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"
"All I got's my prize marble here."
"Is that right? Let me see it."
"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."
"I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?"
"Not zackley ... but almost."
"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble."
"Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller."
Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, perhaps."
I left the stand smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Colorado but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering.
Several years went by, each more rapid that the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died. They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them.
Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could. Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts ... all very professional looking.
They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.
Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.
"Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size ... they came to pay their debt."
"We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho."
With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

Moral: We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.
Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath.

Today . I wish you a day of ordinary miracles ...
......... A fresh pot of coffee you didn't make yourself
......... An unexpected phone call from an old friend
......... Green stoplights on your way to work
......... The fastest line at the grocery store
......... A good sing-along song on the radio
......... Your keys right where you left them

They say it takes a minute to find a special person,
An hour to appreciate them,
A day to love them,
But an entire life to forget them.

A Perfect Heart

2005-11-23T14:17:00.000+07:00

One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley. A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.
Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said "Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing. The people stared -- how can he say his heart is more beautiful, they thought? The young man looked at the old man's heart, saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."
"Yes," said the old man, "yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom I have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared. Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges --giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks. He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not at the edges. The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his. They embraced and walked away side by side.
How sad it must be to go through life with a whole heart.

Remember...

Work like you don't need the money
Love like you've never been hurt
Dance like nobody is watchin

2005-11-23T04:56:00.000+07:00

Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived; Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left.
Love wanted to persevere until the last possible moment. When the island was almost sinking, Love decided to ask for help. Richness was passing by Love in a grand boat. Love said "Richness, can you take me with you?" Richness answered, "No, I can't. There is a lot of silver in my boat. There is no place here for you."
Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel. "Vanity, please help me!" "I can't help you Love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.
Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness, let me go with you." "Oh....Love, I am so sad that I need to be by myself."
Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy that she did not even hear when Love called her!
Suddenly there was a voice, "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love felt so blessed and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder his name. When they arrived at dry land, the elder went his own way.
Love realizing how much he owed the elder, asked Knowledge, another elder. "Who helped me?" "It was Time," Knowledge answered. "Time?" asked Love. "But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because, only Time is capable of understanding how great Love is."