HAGO - Critical Thinking and Action

Financial Freedom

2011-09-13T21:47:00.000-04:00

Financial Freedom is accomplished when your passive income from your assets exceeds the expenses of your liabilities.

     There are multiple ways to achieve income on the way to financial freedom. Many people go to school and get a job. Trading time for money. The carrot always seems to remain out of reach. Security and stability can be found in a job, but it is likely the most difficult way to financial freedom. Running your own business. Whether it is a traditional brick-and-mortar storefront or a work-at-home product or service, having a business of your own, while riskier, can provide much more freedom and possible financial reward. The internet has enabled many to open their own business without the expense of an office. Investments. Have your money work for you. Sooner or later you will find yourself with money to invest. It takes a little money to get started, but before long you have your investments' income as one more stream of income on your way to financial freedom. Royalties or residuals are the best way. Not all of us can write a book, patent a product, or write or perform music or movies, but any of us who can, can invest in that effort and find a path to financial freedom.
     How to choose a path to financial freedom where you already have the skills. Everyone is looking for an easy answer. It can be simple, but in the long run it won't be easy. The reward, financial freedom, will be worth it. In fact, the difficulty, once overcome actually makes the reward all the more worthwhile. What do you need to satisfy you? Are you someone who just wants to have fun? It can be Fun! Once you embrace a few fundamentals, you can function solely for the fun of it. Do you focus on Money? This is one way to measure your progress towards financial freedom. One of the challenges here is that the money often starts off small, for the amount of work you do. However, over time, you find that you have to do less and less work, but get more and more money. Details. Do you really get into all the nitty-gritty pieces of the puzzles and relish when they all come together? You can focus on getting the details right and build a solid path to financial freedom. People. Service to others. We always seem to keep that which doesn't flow through us. When we help others get what they want we work to increase everything. Don't underestimate the power of momentum on your way to financial freedom.
     Network marketing provides many of the benefits of owning your own business. It can be accomplished out of your own home. And, it can also leverage the low cost of the internet. It provides residuals and can be successful no matter which motivation (fun, money, details or people) can help keep your eye on the prize of financial freedom.
     How to succeed in achieving financial freedom? Find a strategy. Get help. Use mentors who are doing what you want to do and tap into this rich resource. Do the work. Action. The best plan is only useful if it is followed and acted upon and not just prepared. Use that slight edge everyday to take one more step on your way to financial freedom.

Just Lead - Everyone Can

2011-06-27T21:12:00.001-04:00

Where can you lead? I believe that leadership is not a single innate ability one has or has not. Leadership is a skill that is developed and honed as a combination of many abilities. First you have to figure out to where or for what you want to be a leader. It is then just a matter of knowing it in your head and moving those thoughts, images and feelings into your heart. Once in your heart, you will be on auto-pilot and nothing will stand in your way.

So, where is it that you want to go, or, what is it that you want to have? What do you want to say about you? I always thought this was the easy part; answering the question of what I want. But, as I've grown older, experienced more, read more, been mentored and actually taken the time to notice, I've found things other than those I had been focusing upon. I had focused on those things that others thought I should do. I was taking the safe road. It was easy to play the odds. When faced with choices, I weighed things based upon what put me into a stronger position. Things like versatility and breadth of experiences measured higher. It was a matter of not being objectionable, rather than being favorable to me. I've found it is more work to move these goals into my heart. Sometimes it's more risky to go with what you really want. But, that is what makes their achievement all the more rewarding.

What do they say about you? What do you say about you? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Most of the time we shouldn't care what other people have to say. We want to be popular and accepted, but when it comes to achieving what we want, we want to consider what the mirror and other people say or think about our strengths and weaknesses. When you've identified those people who have the position of rendering an accurate and qualified analysis for you, which in and of itself may be ranked as one of our strengths or weaknesses, you have to exercise that analysis. Once we use these resources successfully, we can use our strengths with skillful precision, build up habits that help to strengthen our weaknesses, or, in the end, realize we shouldn't be doing this alone anyway, and leverage those in our mastermind group who are strong in those areas.

Moving a single step in the right direction, is one further than someone else has taken. You are then qualified to lead something to and through that step. You then just move one more. And, repeat the process of leading someone else to and through that step. Before you know it, there will be a very long line of steps you have mastered and lead someone to them and through them.
Where can you lead? I believe that leadership is not a single innate ability one has or has not. Leadership is a set of skills that are developed and honed as a combination of many abilities. You don't have to have all of these abilities yourself. In fact it puts you in the best position if you have a mastermind team working with you. First you have to figure out to where or for what you are able to lead. The single goal. It is then just a matter of reinforcing that knowledge in your head and moving those thoughts, images and feelings of that goal into your heart. The more senses you devote to this task, the easier and more installed in your heart it will become. Once in your heart, you will be on auto-pilot and nothing will stand in your way.

MLM Secret - Your WHY - What is a "why", anyway?

2011-04-03T02:03:00.000-04:00

Most everyone who is a successful leader in Multi-level Marketing sights their number one secret as having a "why". This is a very important concept and could be discussed at quite a great length, but I'm only going to touch upon a few characteristics, as I've come to understand them. The important thing is to understand what it is, what it isn't, and what it accomplishes in your business.

Your "why" is about you. It's your "why", isn't it? It's not for anyone else. Your "why" could be involving something you want to share with or give to someone else. But, it is still you providing it to them. Perhaps you have a job. It may pay well and even be fun. But you aspire to having more than it can provide. Or, if you are out of work, and trying to evaluate how to contribute so you can not only be compensated for your efforts, but that you can also achieve fulfillment. Things like more free time, more money, providing a lasting legacy for your family, even having a greater ability for generosity or philanthropy, or simply helping others help others achieve their "why"s are all possible items in your "why". It is the reason. It is your self-realized purpose.

Listing your goals, although these are important, are not your "why". Having to keep them written down on a file card, in your coat pocket, may be a good start, but it cannot stop there. Your "why" cannot be formulated or contrived. It has to begin with thought. It then has to be connected to strong emotion. Ultimately it has to reside in your heart. It has to be part of your deep down being. It has to be an integral part of your self.

It serves as the down-in-your-soul reason for defying gravity. You know, that force that tells you every morning to stay horizontal, in your nice warm, comfy bed. It provides the energy and motivation you need to cheerfully face the new day. "Today I am going to make more inroads on the path to achieving my why", you can self-assert.

It is important that you fully understand this MLM secret. It provides the focus to keep you on track with your philosophical foundation for all of your goals. This is important, not only for your business in particular, but it could also provide focus for your life as a whole. It is fundamental in avoiding distractions, in this world of ours, where appeals are being made, of our thoughts, constantly, but for the objectives of others. It is also crucial to walking through the obstacles and downright heart-ache that life can throw at us all. The best leadership model involves service to others, but you have to be satiated yourself, first, and serve the universe with the abundance that overflows your cup. This can only be accomplished, long term, and with lasting impact, if you have a "why".

Wait a minute, you can do that tomorrow, can't you?

2011-02-15T10:46:00.000-05:00

The mastery of procrastination

Organized planning

I've heard it said many times, if you enjoy what you're doing, you'll never work a day in your life. As many, many, many people take a day and recognize some event, like TGIF, the weekend, or even a holiday, they are possibly giving up a little bit of their plan. I'm not saying that I don't coordinate my activities with others. I do make plans together, so we can accommodate each others schedules and desires. But I live my life like everyday is a special event. I weave all of the positive emotions throughout my day as much as I possibly can. And, the sweetest times are those spent helping others do the same, and, greatest yet, when theirs is much greater than mine. Oh what a lift it is to feel their joy!

But. I have to have a plan.

My Daily To-Do List = ordered list of have-to-do's (just for example):

self-talk,
write lesson plan,
self-talk,
call prospect

.
:
- one habit-making or habit-breaking exercise.
.
:
- eat (ok, those sounds I've been hearing should be quieted, I think)
.
:
- sleep (or am I sleep-walking again? maybe I should have had food earlier than I did, so I'd have more non-adrenalin energy?)
.
:
- breath (yeah, sometimes I actually have to think about this one - it helps me relax, when I take a couple of deep breaths)
.
:
- etc

I try to "Manage yesterday's decisions daily". I'm "all in", so this is a quick process:

on track,
not-so-much

Easy, #1. on track.

But, if I stop too long to evaluate the situation, I need to go back and assess my why.

Distractions - see habit-making / habit-breaking (ok, so this habit-making / habit-breaking list is wa-a-ay too long, already; I'll just have to settle for being perfect, just the way I am, and move on, now)

OK, life happens. You just have to "... pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again ..." Everything happens for a reason. Next.

Multi-tasking - who are we kidding? I can only, really, do just one thing at a time. FOCUS!

If the radio station in MY mind is tuned to the "you suck" channel, _I_ have to recognize this NOW! _I_ have control over the ONLY dial. _I_ can switch it to the "you rock" channel. NOW!!

I have already layed-out the organized plan. There is no time to put anything off until later, or tomorrow. I am counting on me. People are counting on me. The world is counting on US.

My desires are DESIRES. They're not fanciful or unimportant wisps of thought. I already have them fulfilled, in my mind, and I WILL have them in my hand and the hands of those that I love.

in gratitude and service,
Tony Koker

What is holding you back?

2011-02-03T01:25:00.000-05:00

It was just after the Coaches Corner Mastermind call when I got paged for my job. Yeah, it was around 1 am on Sunday morning and I got paged. Some equipment set off a bunch of alarms and they called me to diagnose this issue so they could engage the proper people or vendor to fix it. Luckily I can do this from my setup at home, without having to travel into anywhere. Anyway, it was the state of mind I recognized, only in hindsight of answering the page that was my epiphany.

I had been frustrated, again, another weekend going by, and little by slow was too slow ... maybe I'm still stuck with a fear of lack? Am I afraid I'm not ready? Is there something I didn't do, yet? Is this exceptionally snowy winter giving me another excuse to not succeed? I keep putting together plans and steps, but I end up with 50 tasks. all moving slowly forward, but nothing done. Or, at least, nothing that seems to be working. Maybe I'm not saying my self-talk enough? Maybe I lack the conviction I need to make it work? Analysis paralysis again? Why do I let these simple steps pile into a mess that overwhelms me?

When I answered the page, everything changed. I was in my element. I was performing tasks I'd trained years and years to master. No hesitation. No doubts. I knew right where to go, which system(s) to check, and which things to do. It wasn't that I knew what was wrong in an instant, but the logic I followed was solid and well traveled. I had used this stuff, over and over again, and knew exactly what to expect. I knew what connects to what, what fails or doesn't, but mostly, how to interpret the often cryptic messages and reports. I was in the zone. I knew that I knew that I knew. Even if I didn't know something with exacting detail, I knew to be comfortable in the knowledge that I could figure it out. I knew the missing pieces would present themselves to me. There was no fear, no worry, just confidence and faith.

The weekend is over now, but I am now equipped with a tool. A tool that I already had at my disposal, but which can now be applied to the task I now desire.

MLM lessons

2009-11-15T15:46:00.003-05:00

MLM lessons learned the hard way. First-hand, hard-nosed and stubborn, we let our emotions rule our decision-making, instead of our head. Short-cuts offered for free.

Most of us involved in Network or Multi-Level-Marketing (MLM) got swept up in the emotion-invoking hype of the presentation. We became excited and explored the possibilities of a dream lifestyle. We reacquainted ourselves with our inner child, again. Hopeful and enthusiastic, we followed the instructions of those leading us. The people that invited us to the presentation showed us that they were following in the footsteps of those who had come before them and had been successful. It worked for them, so, if we duplicate the process they used, that promise stokes the fire of the excitement that we too can be successful.

But is hasn't exactly worked out that way. Our dream is still there, but it remains elusive, and somehow out of reach of any reasonable tomorrow.

We think. "What is wrong with me"? They are not really any different than me. Why have I not had the success they have had? Why do they tell me that my dream isn't big enough?

Maybe the problem isn't with me after all?

Is the problem with them? Maybe, they are good at presenting and instructing us on their system, but they don't really understand how it really works? They know the steps. Like any song or rhyme we like, we learn it and are able to act like parrots, repeating it endlessly, over and over again.

But we didn't learn why. Maybe, somewhere in between all of the hype, facts and figures, there was the answer? No one was there to point it out to us.

Whose fault is that? We took ownership when we thought it was something that was wrong with us. Is it just easier to think that there is something wrong with us, that cannot be fixed and is beyond our control, so it is then okay?

If the problem is with them, then we don't have ownership of it either.

The problem is that we need to take ownership. It's not our fault. We are perfect, just the way we are.

We need to ask why, again. We need to find the person who can answer the question. We need to stop accepting that the situation is out of our control, and take action.

We get nothing for nothing. We have to invest whatever resources we have at our disposal.

Two assets we all have, that are priceless. They have a value that is beyond any measure. Our time and our thoughts are our most valuable assets. We need to take back control.

After having struggled for many years in the promise of others' direction and control, I became involved with a group of people who are not only genuinely interested in pursuing this idea of personal control and accountability, but they are actively helping others do the same.

If you are interested in learning more about this group, please don't hesitate to contact me, or, visit my web site, and explore the links.

Your servant,

Tony Koker

"Success in 10 Steps" can be found on our web site: http://tkoker.successin10steps.com??mad=37428

MLM mistakes

2009-11-15T15:45:00.001-05:00

Are mistakes bad? Are mistakes equivalent to failures? Certainly success will not be realized if all we experience is failures. If we are afraid of making mistakes, or having failures, and we don't act, then that too will prevent us from achieving success. Can we do it alone? Or, do we need help? If we share the thoughts, ideas and experiences of others, especially share with those who have achieved some greater level of success than we have, and, they are willing to explain why and show us how, then together we can all improve.

MLM mistakes are especially heart-felt, since we've rekindled our desires and excitement for a better lifestyle. We don't want to make mistakes and ruin our chance.

Maybe, deep down inside, somewhere, we feel we don't really deserve success. Do we inadvertently find important things to do, like organizing that stack of old junk-mail, or email in box, or just one more text message, instead of focusing on the tasks we should be doing, but that somehow scare us?

Are we letting our emotions do the driving, instead of our thoughts? Shouldn't we be thinking things through, at least a little bit, and forming a plan of action, first? Our task would then be clear. We just need to work the next step in our plan.

Do emotions still get in our way? Yes they do. How do we feel? Why do we feel this way? What is causing us to have these emotions? Was it something we just heard on TV? Did someone just cut us off on the road? Are we trying to get too much done, in too short a period of time?

Olympic champions practice for hours and hours every day. Do you think they practice a mistake they've made? Or, do they find a way to slowly, carefully and progressive make corrections and adjust?

We all have only 24 hours in a day. And, in the day we have, only so many moments to make decisions, and takes those steps of action. The more deliberate and focused we are, the more sure-footed we will be.

But, we cannot do it alone. We will imitate a dog, chasing it's tail. We need an outside anchor, friend and mentor. Better yet, a group of differing personalities, openly and honestly sharing with one another.

I am ecstatic that I have found such a group. We bare our soles, without being judged. We strive for self-discovery through mutual brain-storming sessions, seeking those subtle, yet awe-inspiring "AHA!" moments. We experience joy and laughter, tears, goosebumps and chills down our spines.

Please join us, so that together we can be even more.

Your faithful servant,

Tony Koker

Mentoring for Free link can be found on this site: http://http://tkoker.mentoringforfree.com/?mad=37501

Thoughts a second and negative emotions

2009-11-10T09:33:00.004-05:00

How many thoughts a second do you think we have? When we are excited, perhaps we have hundreds of thoughts a second. When we are calm does it slow down to three or four? Do these thoughts contribute to a decision right now? Do we have to choose right now? Can we wait?

Black-and-white, and clear-cut, undeniable choices, or are some not so concrete, and more of a grey-area ilk?

How do we feel about all of that? Is this even separate from the process? Are not our feelings the seasoning that makes our thoughts less than black-and-white?

Are our most memorable thoughts and events those that are associated with the most intense emotions?

What about the more mundane, day-to-day challenge - are we deciding based upon positive feelings, and goal-oriented outcomes? How do we evaluate if this little, single thought, and decision is even pointed in the correct direction?

Did we sit down, previously, and make a to-do list? Did we anticipate all possible thoughts we would have today? Or, are we stuck in analysis paralysis?

If we use our emotions as a guide, can we wade through even the most thought-filled second and accept and reject the correct thoughts?

The positive emotions, if used in this way, can at least leverage our experience and favor better outcomes:

Desire, faith, love, sex, enthusiasm, romance, and hope (also, maybe, prosperity and gratitiude).

The negative emotions:

Fear, jealousy, hatred, revenge, greed, superstition, and anger (also maybe lack).

The negative emotions seem to help us avoid punishments or loss.

The positive emotions seem to reinforce rewards.

The negative emotions, should first be identified, then rejected, or, overpowered with some anchor we've built in our tool-belt, based on one or more positive emotions.

Your faithful servant.

Economic Recovery - Act NOW

2009-09-28T09:38:00.006-04:00

Everyone, the world over, has been effected by the current economic conditions. Most people have scrambled for a good position. It's just like a unpredicted storm has hit. And, although we all have that in common, that's where it ends. Even the position we've established, or are attempting to establish is different. First we do a quick damage assessment. We all wonder why none (or few) of our boarded-up windows survived; even when we thought the storm was over, another wave of fury attacked - and no one is really sure it's over, even now.
Once we finished (maybe just our first of many) damage assessments, we then chose our next stance - do we hunker down for the next wave? Or, what? Are we so battle-weary? Not only are we attacked by news we intentionally hear, watch, or read, the attacks are also insidious - they sneak through commercials wrapped around everything from our coffee cups to our recreation; an unrelenting bombardment of snippets of sound, pictures, words and ideas. They are all trying to rent space in our head - slowly eroding any sense of control, we thought we had.
But, we don't have to abrogate our authority to them. We don't have to willingly submit to the beating; to give up the power, they're actually afraid of. We are not as weak as they'd like us to think we are. We're not perfect, by any means, but we're okay, just the way we are. We have to gain strength, not acquiesce and give it away. We have to build ourselves up, individually, and, as a team.
We have to build our own master-mind alliance; a team of like-minded thinkers and doers. Knowledge of this is just the first step. Knowledge is NOT power, but the action, put into play, through the use of that knowledge - THAT is where the power is!
We cannot hunker down, any longer. We have to stand up. We have to stand together, shoulder to shoulder, hands joined together. We need to silence the lies. We need to turn down the noise level. We have to take action: 30-day Mental-Cleanse link sent upon request.

Pique through freedom illustration and picture-words

2009-08-31T11:30:00.019-04:00

A picture is worth a thousands words. Most of us have heard that before. An interesting take on this concept, however, is that it doesn't necessarily take a thousand words to describe a picture.
Contained within the many wonders in this world of ours are the seasons. We all can relate to the weather, and, ultimately derive it from the current season, for the most part. Living in New England, however, we have become accustomed to frequent, perhaps even non-seasonal weather changes. This year we seemed to suffer from a perpetual cool and rainy spring. Not cold, but not really warm either. A darkness that seems to evoke gloom and hunkering down is present. Sounds, of rain drops in a pitter-pat in puddles, of splashing foot-steps, as people want on their way, of cars seemingly surfing on stream-like waterways, with their wheel-splash glide and then of cascading waves of whoosh and crash of foaming walls of water all permit us to hear the effects of the rain, we also feel and see. A natural cleansing cycle, where dirt and grime are actually washed away. An chance in contrast without equal to observe the brightness inside. The light of our inner self, keeping us on course and cheerful. Casting off the gloom, we can also embrace this as a refreshing change; a chance to enjoy the shower (To join our Master Mind and experience a life-changing process, start your own 30-Day Cleanse. You need it more than you need oxygen. The only cost is your commitment to yourself. You’ll get a download of the unabridged “Think and Grow Rich”. To get started, first download your free copy of Michael Dlouhy’s “Success In Ten Steps” by clicking HERE. I will send you the link to get started with your mental cleanse.).
This picture-painting, with words, is one way we can present the freedom opportunity that network marketing represents to those we meet and interact with; welcoming them to join us in our success journey, ever growing our numbers, and spreading all the positive emotions, leading us to accomplish.

A note to anyone who's considered MLM ...

2009-08-20T15:19:00.001-04:00

I've been doing MLM for about 25 years, but it had never become more than a resource sink, until recently. It's very easy to spend your money on tools, or leads or products, or to spend countless hours (really your MOST VALUABLE ASSET) and go nowhere.
It certainly is NOT get rich quick, even for the super stars, who tend to have bursts, then lulls of growth. It is, certainly, about hard work, and a good (healthy) work ethic.
I think the secret is NOT about companies OR products, but about PEOPLE.
Building a spider-web of real contacts is the key, and, the current explosion in social networking, and how traditional marketers are trying to target it is just one piece of evidence.
Having part of your spider-web contain a mastermind mentoring group, where you can balance your primary personality against others, complimenting your effectiveness is crucial.
Download Michael Dlouhy's (my mentor and very successful MLM'er) FREE ebook, that discusses MLM in general from here http://tkoker.successin10steps.com, and the 10 hours of additional training that is made available for FREE (audio, live phone calls, eBooks, too), I can provide (all free, no strings at all), if you're interested.
This is really free, no spam, no hidden agenda, no companies or products, just heart-felt mentoring.

Specialized Knowledge

2009-08-16T23:18:00.001-04:00

Re-reading Napoleon Hill's "Think and Grow Rich", "Chapter 5 - Specialized Knowledge (personal experiences or observations)" puts a floodlight on an area in my recent personal development, allowing me to see with great clarity and focus a major course correction that was needed in my life. I am a practising Computer Systems Engineer. So, clearly, having a specialized knowledge of technology is required. And, although I have had a reasonably successful journey, somewhere along the way I succumbed to a narrow focus on the knowledge and lost sight of the bigger picture. I had allowed my mind to become distracted and stimulated physically (stimulants, yes, like coffee and alcohol) and through events, rather than the ideas that set me on the path in the first place. I had stopped dreaming. I had stopped focusing on the goal. I stopped to savour the accomplishment, but forgot it was supposed to be just one more piece in the puzzle. I had unwittingly traded a position, part of a building master mind group, and instead had become swallowed up as someone else's staff employee.
With wide open eyes (mindful thoughts, renewed desire, faith and a resurrected auto-suggestion habit-building), I am moving again on a path with even greater goals. I have found that we each have our own abilities, strengths and weaknesses. I'm piecing the puzzle together again, finding additional sources for specialized knowledge for which I lack, staying mindful that together we will be rebuilt. We will accomplish goals we have yet to even conceive. The clouds are evaporating from the sky, the sun is shining bright and our convoy is picking up speed.

With Enthusiasm and Gratitude

Auto-suggestion

2009-08-16T19:30:00.002-04:00

Since I was very young, I recall visualizing thoughts being planted, like seeds thrown over a wall to the other side. To complete the picture, however, I also experienced thoughts being returned, more like a tennis ball, over a net. Unlike tennis, however, the balls sent over the net (to the subconscious), don't come back, for a time, but seem to allow many more to be sent over, before a new creation is returned. It's not clear that these pictures were entirely about the subconscious, but may actually have been influenced by Infinite Intelligence as well. I also discovered that thoughts planted at night and first thing in the morning, somehow, had more significance. Similarly, those planted, at the end of focused activity, like work on Friday, may lie buried, until dug up, with effort, at the resumption of the activity, like work on Monday. Often my weekends were spent, free from cares, dedicated to anything but work; the rest and refreshment we all need, but rather than being balanced throughout, were binged and squandered.
As I evolved, I found myself desiring a better continuity, from the Friday burial, to the Monday rediscovery, and that forced me to become more of a workaholic, focused on the next thing, over-scheduled, overworked, and under-refreshed. Pride heralded "super man!", but the tangle was building, becoming a strangling weight. It then took greater effort to find ways to rest and refresh.
At each different stage, I found myself planting specific thoughts, but, in retrospect, find that I neglected the weeding. My garden became overgrown, and an under-brush of tangled wannabe trees strangled by all manner of undesirable growth.
I ended up in a mode of auto-pilot; doing what had to be done, rationalizing detours of flight as needed breaks.
Then a wake up call. I slid my car, on black (clear roadway) ice, into a telephone pole. Thankfully I was the only one in the car. I awoke to find myself in the hospital, for the next 30 days, and then, for 7 more months, at home, recovering. This forced me to spend time with myself, like I had never found the time to do before. I began a self-guided mental-cleanse then, but the overgrowth was too deep and tangled. I found myself back on the wheel once more.
Another wake up call. Slowly being strangled by an out of control addiction, headed for certain death, I was again shaken awake. This time, with outside help and guidance, I slowly began actually clearing the unwanted growths in my garden. Calling out to the Infinite Intelligence, I was able to focus on those things I am grateful for in my life. This became my first daily auto-suggestion list. This list has also evolved, over time, but remains the foundation of the garden-clearing upon which the tallest, strongest and forever expanding new growth flourishes.

Desiderata

2009-08-16T12:42:00.005-04:00

- written by Max Ehrmann in the 1920s --
Not "Found in Old St. Paul's Church"!

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desiderata