Thanksgiving

 For all my American friends.....

What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets.  I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving?  ~Erma Bombeck

Possibility

There will always be new friends, new situations and new experiences to bring you joy.  Keep focusing on all the good of today and the wonderful possibilities of tomorrow!

Did you Learn to Let Go?

 In the end these things matter most:
How well did you love?
How fully did you love?
How deeply did you learn to let go?

Buddha

How do you make others feel?

 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.
 

Maya Angelou

Throw Something Back

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.
Maya
Angelou

Roll up Your Sleeves

You can't wring your hands and roll up your sleeves at the same time.  ~Pat Schroeder

Goodbye, Jack

My friends, love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.

All my very best,

Jack Layton

Worrying Gets You Nowhere

Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.  ~Glenn Turner

Keep in the Sunlight

 Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen.  Keep in the sunlight.  ~Benjamin Franklin

Listening is a Creative Force

 

“Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. When we really listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we never get tired of each other. We are constantly being re-created.”

Brenda Ueland

Listening for Success

 

“Most of the successful people I've known are the ones who do more listening than talking.”

Bernard m. Baruch

Being Listened To

 “Deep listening is miraculous for both listener and speaker. When someone receives us with open-hearted, non-judging, intensely interested listening, our spirits expand.”

Sue Patton Thoele

To Listen is to Love

 "The first duty of love is to listen"
Paul Tillich

Soaring

May you always realize your hopes and dreams, and soar happily into your future.  Happy Birthday!

Today will be a Good Day

Stay Hopeful

Be patient. Stay Hopeful.  And Take Action.  It'll Happen.

Hope

So, Don't turn Left!

Just Shake it Off!

When the day just isn't going the way you want, sometimes the best solution is to just shake it off and start over!

Happiness: It's All in the Doing

Heavy Load

So, you think you've got a heavy load, do you?

Let Your Light Shine

Let Your Light Shine!

Reap What you Sow

What seeds have you sown for the future lately?  However small, whatever you start right now will grow into something bigger.  A little daily nurturing, and you'll soon see progress that means something to you.  Don't be afraid to plant the seed!
photo credit:  Dennis Chunga

The More We Share

The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have.
       - Leonard Nimoy

Imperfectionism

 Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.
       - Robert Schuller

Your Right to Be Wrong

Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person.
       - Dr. David M. Burns

Use Your Talent

Use what talent you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.
       - Henry Van Dyke

The Way to Succeed

The way to succeed is to double your error rate.
       - Thomas J. Watson

No One is Perfect

No one is perfect..that’s why pencils have erasers
      - Author Unknown

Peace. Love, and Understanding

May you find peace, love and understanding.

Speechless

What You Don't Say

"Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don't say." 
-unknown

The Best Gift

"A friend is a gift you give yourself."
- Robert Louis Stevenson

The Most Important Ingredient

"Friends are the most important ingredient in this recipe of life."  
 Dior Yamasaki

Becoming Your Best

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."
-Goethe

Friends

"I get by with a little help from my friends."
- John Lennon

The Kaizen Way

I just learned a new word today:  KAIZEN.   It's a Japanese business management term that refers to Gradual, Continuous Change and Improvement.  It is all about breaking tasks down into the smallest, most manageable steps, so that the big jobs are not only easier, but more efficient, productive and enjoyable to accomplish.  The Kaizen Way ultimately leads to bigger business success, but also humanizes the workplace.

What about applying the Kaizen way to our own personal life goals?

• What do you want to change?
• Sometimes change seems so overwhelming, so far from reach, so...... Realize the best change will be
• GRADUAL:
• Break it down into the very smallest of steps.  You'll know the step is small enough if it seems easy... Oh yeah, I can do that!  If you're trying to get motivated to get back to the gymn, a baby step might be to simply take your running shoes out of the closet on "Change Day #1.  Day # 2 might be finding shorts and a t-shirt.  By Day #4, you might actually get to the gymn, but your goal may simply be to do a super short walk on the treadmill.  Get the picture?  If you forced yourself to do a full workout on Day #1, the excuses would come running, right?  However, once you're actually on that treadmill, the momentum might capture you.  
• Another key concept in the Kaizen way, is to make changes: 
• CONTINUAL:
• Every day, make a step forward.  Remember, the steps need only be tiny, but every increment counts.  In the fitness example, that might simply include looking up the information for a class to take, doing a couple of stretches at home while watching tv, acknowledging that a rest day is an important part of your progress, or maybe just doing your laundry so you've got a clean shirt to wear next time.  It doesn't mean you have to work out every day!

I'd love to hear about your Kaizen Way plans and successes

I'm Getting Closer

I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday.  ~Author Unknown

Don't Be Discouraged

 Don't be discouraged.  It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock.  ~Author Unknown

The Limits of Your Stubborness

Stubbornly persist, and you will find that the limits of your stubbornness go well beyond the stubbornness of your limits.  ~Robert Brault,

Stick to It

 Consider the postage stamp:  its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.  ~Josh Billings

Nobody Trips Over Mountains

 Nobody trips over mountains.  It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble.  Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain.  ~Author Unknown

Do the Little Jobs Well

Don't be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs.  Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger.  If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.  ~Dale Carnegie

Try it One More Time

 When the world says, "Give up,"
Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown

Enjoy Your Ride

 “Sit tall in the saddle hold your
head up high, keep your eyes fixed
where the trail meets the sky and live
like you ain't afraid to die, don't be scared
just enjoy your ride”
Chris LeDoux song

Saddle Back Up

“Its not how many times you
get bucked off that counts, its
how many times you saddle
back up.”
RanchandFarmworld.com

Understanding More to Fear Less

Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
- Marie Curie

The Strength may be in Letting Go

Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.
- Hermann Hesse

Say No to No

Never allow a person to tell you No who doesn't have the power to say Yes.
- Eleanor Roosevelt

The Beauty of Your Dreams

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
- Eleanor Roosevelt