Blest

Blest is the person in deed, who in this life can find
A purpose that can fill the days, and goals to fill the mind

This world is filled with lots of folks, content with where they are
Not knowing the joy success can bring, no will to go that far

Yet in this life there is a need, for some to lead the rest
To rise above the average life, and give it all there best

Would you be one who dares to try, when challenged by the task
To rise to heights you've never seen, or is that too much to ask

This is your day and world to win, great purpose to achieve
Accept the challenge of your goals, and in yourself believe

The Station - Robert J Hastings

Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering - waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.

"When we reach the station, that will be it!" we cry. "When I'm 18." "When I buy a new 450sl Mercedes Benz!" "When I put the last kid through college." "When I have paid off the mortgage!" "When I get a promotion!" "When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!"

Sooner or later we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

"Relish the moment" is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24 "This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad, it is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.

So, stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.

Worldly Wise-Baltasar Gracian

Keep matters in suspense - Being too obvious is neither useful nor tasteful.

Know your best quality - Foster your most outstanding gift and nurture the rest.

Never exaggerate - The prudent show restraint, and would rather fall short than long.

Adapt to those around you - Don't show off every day, or you'll stop surprising people. There must always be some novelty left over.

Associate with those you can learn from - Make your friends your teachers, and blend the usefulness of learning with the pleasure of conversation. What you say will be rewarded with applause; what you hear, with learning.

Don't be tiresome - Good things, if brief: twice good.

Don't talk about yourself - You show a lack of good judgement and become a nuisance to others.

The wise do sooner what fools do later - The wise size up immediately what has to be done, sooner or later, and do it with pleasure, enhancing their reputation.

Never complain - Complaints will always discredit you. It is better to praise others, so as to win still more favors of them.

Do, but also seem - A fine exterior is the best recommendation of inner perfection.

Don't be made of glass - Some people break very easily, revealing how fragile they are.

Don't live in a hurry - Organize things. Show moderation, so that things known won't be badly known. Be quick to act, slow to enjoy.

Follow through on your victories - What is worth doing is worth finishing.

Quit while you are ahead - A fine retreat matters as much as a stylish attack.
What matters isn't being applauded when you arrive, but being missed when you leave.

If You're Unhappy

Once upon a time, there was a non-conforming sparrow
who decided not to fly south for the winter.

However, soon the weather turned so cold he changed
his mind, and reluctantly started to fly south.

In a short time, ice began to form on his wings, and
he fell to earth in a barnyard, almost frozen.

A cow passed by and crapped on the little bird.

The sparrow thought it was the end, but the manure
warmed him and defrosted his wings.

Warm and happy able to breathe, he started to sing.

Just then, a large Tom cat came by and hearing the
chirping, investigated the sounds.

Ol' Tom cleared away the manure, found the chirping
bird and promptly ate him.

THERE ARE THREE MORALS TO THIS STORY
1. Everyone who craps on you is not necessarily your enemy.
2. Everyone who gets you out of the crap is not necessarily your friend.
3. And, if you're warm and happy in a pile of crap...keep your mouth shut!

Winning

"If you don't invest very much, then defeat doesn't hurt very much, and winning is not very exciting." Dick Vermeil

"Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory." General Patton

"There are a thousand reasons for failure, but not a simple excuse." Lou Holtz

"We will fight them on the airfields and on the beaches and in the street we will never surrender. And if the empire lasts for a thousand years, men will yet say this was their finest hour."
Winston Churchill

"When an archer misses the mark, he turns and for the fault within himself. Failure to hit the bull's eye is never the fault of the target. To improve your aim-improve yourself." Gilbert Arland

"The harder you work the luckier you get. Today's preparation determimes tomorrows achievement."

"The only difference between the big shot and a little shot is the little shot who kept shooting. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

"The man who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare."

"Accept the situation at face value and take it head on and do what needs to be done."

"Act as though it were impossible to fail."

"Work will win when wishing won't. There aint no free lunch!"

"The difference between good and great is a little bit of extra effort."

"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
Albert Einstein

"Attitude changes behavior ----------- behavior gets results."

"The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

Give Me a Goal

Give me a goal to try for,
let me fight 'til my breath be spent.
Give me dreams to live and die for,
and I will be content.

Keep others your silk and leisure,
drowsy day in the shade or sun.
I was never one to treasure,
rest, 'til my work is done.

No, for sloth is the worst of sinning,
give me joy and the rest for the fray.
Finding true reward in the winning,
not in the prize of the pay.

And if victory be denied me,
I shall not shrink from another test.
Not care at all if my foes deride me,
knowing I did my best.

Somewhere still there are roads uncharted,
somewhere still is an unfound Grail.
Let me go onward valiant-hearted,
to the end of the last long trail.

Give me a goal to try for,
let me fight 'til my breath is spent.
Give me a dream to live and die for,
and I will be content.

Parable of the Rose

It is not recorded in scripture--Christ never utered it as such--but it is evidenced in every word He spoke, in every deed he performed.

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully, and before it blossomed he examined it. He saw the bud that would soon blossom--and also the thorns. And he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns?" Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and before it was able to bloom, it died.

So it is with many people, within every soul there is a rose--the Godlike qualities planted in us at birth--growing amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects. We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the Savior's greatest characteristics was that he was able to show people the kingdom of heaven within them. He was able to reach past their thorns and show them the rose.

This is the characteristic of love--to look at a person, and knowing his faults, recognize the nobility in his soul, and help him realize that he can overcome his faults, if we show him the rose, he will conquer the thorns, then will he blossom, bringing forth thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold as it is given to him.

Our duty in this world is to help our brothers and sisters by showing them their roses and not their thorns. Only then can we achieve the love the Savior wants us to feel for each other; only then can we become perfect as He wants us to be and blossom in the garden of His Father.

Promise Yourself

Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself, that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear

and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Christian D. Larson

The Man in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for self
and the world makes you king for the day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
and see what THAT man has to say

For it isn't your mother or father or spouse
whose judgement upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
is the one staring back in the glass

Some people might think you're a straight shootin chum
and call you the wonderful guy
But the man in the glass says you're only a bum
if you can't look him straight in the eye

He's the fellow to please, never mind all the rest
for he's with you clear to the end
And you've past your most dangerous test
if the man in the glass is your friend

You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
and get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
if you've cheated the man in the glass

Principles for Personal Growth by Dr Clifford Baird

1. Nothing matters until you make it matter.

2. You will never do anything well until you do it many times poorly.

3. Do not allow people you don't even know to dictate who you will become.

4. The reason people fail is not because of what they don't know. It is because they refuse to put into practice the things they do know.

5. Winners finish what they start.

6. Coping means I will no longer worry about things over which I have no control. But I will focus my life, my behavior and my attitudes on those things over which I have control.

7. You will always find the time to do the things you want to do.

8. Hard work is doing the things you don't enjoy (yet) and doing the things you don't do well (yet) in order to accomplish the things you want the most.

9. Stress is always caused by doing things you know you shouldn't do and/or by not doing things you know you should do.

10. To err is human but to blame the other guy is more human (don't do that).

11. You will never leave where you are until you decide where you want to be.

12. The real measure of your character is what you would do if you knew you would never get caught.

Focus

"Cynics do not contribute, Skeptics do not create, Doubters do not achieve."

"The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave." Thomas Jefferson

"Don't let yesterday use up too much of today."

"What you focus on EXPANDS!"

"Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplised, but what you should have accomplished with your ability."

United

"Our tendency is to mistrust anything

that departs from our own perception of normalcy,

focusing so much attention on the things that divide us

that we lose track of the many things

we hold in common that should unite us."

M Russell Ballard

Greatest Discovery

The greatest discovery you can make

is to be aware that there is an infinite power and wisdom

residing within you, enabling you to overcome all problems,

to rise above all problems, to rise above all hurdles,

and to handle life's tasks. You were born to conquer

and you are equiped with all necessary attributes,

qualities, and potentials to make a master of your own fate.

Succeed

"To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people, and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived........that is to have succeeded."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Service of others

"The true key to happiness in life is to labor for the happiness of others"

Heber J Grant Gospel Standards


"It seems to me that He (The Savior) is saying to each of us that unless we lose ourselves in the service of others, our lives are largely lived to no real purpose. He who lives only unto himself withers and dies, while he who forgets himself in the service of others grows and blossoms in this life and in eternity."

Gordon B Hinkley BYU Speeches of the Year 1977

The Righteous Man

"The righteous man......is humble and does not parade his righteousness to be seen of men but conceals his virtues....He is not so much concerned about what he can get, but more about how much he can give to others." Harold B Lee Stand in Holy Places

Effective Living

"Intrinsic security doesn't come from what other people think of us or how they treat us. It doesn't come from our circumstances or our position. It comes from within. It comes from accurate paradigms and correct principles deep in our mind and heart. It comes from inside-out congruence, from living a life of integrity in which our daily habits reflect our deepest values.

You are not your habits. You can replace old patterns of self-defeating behavior with new patterns, new habits of effectiveness, happiness and trust-based relationships. I encourage you to open the gate of change and growth.

True independance of character empowers us to act rather than be acted upon. It frees us from our dependence on circumtances and other people and is a worthy, liberating goal. But it is not the ultimate goal in effective living."

Stephen R Covey

No Involvement, No Commitment

"Ambition without knowledge is like a boat on dry land" Mark Lee

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined."
Henry David Thoreau

"He who is afraid of a thing gives it power over him" Moorish Proverb

"Don't tell me that worrying doesn't do any good. I know better. In fact, 99% of the things I worry about, never happen." Grandma Picklesw Cartoon Strip

"Shoot for the moon......even if you miss, you'll be among the stars" Les Brown

Availability

"The Lord does not ask about our ability or inability, but only about our availability. And if we prove our dependability, The Lord will take care of our capability."

Neal Maxwell

A Motto to Live By

When the world gets you down, put things in perspective.

Move ahead in a positive way.

Don't allow yourself to become mired in a negative view.

See things for what they really are.

Don't let the little things get in the way.

Do what you can - however you can,

with the resources you have available to you.

Don't sell yourself short, you have the power within you

to change what needs changing.

Face the situation with the resolve to remedi it.

Do what you need to do to put it behind you.

Move ahead in the direction of happiness.

Go for your dreams and reach for you star.

And remember who's in the driver's seat... YOU ARE!!!

Collin McCarty