Saturday, June 30, 2007

How to Acquire Wisdom?

“Wisdom is not a product of schooling but of the lifelong attempt to acquire it” - Albert Einstein

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the most bitter.” - Confucius

“The key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions.” - John A. Simone, Sr.

"To acquire knowledge, one must study; but to acquire wisdom, one must observe." - Marilyn vos Savant

“A man only becomes wise when he begins to calculate the approximate depth of his ignorance.” - Gian Carlo Menotti

“The next best thing to being wise oneself is to live in a circle of those who are” - C.S. Lewis

"Understanding is the foundation of wisdom and wisdom is acquired from experiences and lessons understood. A primary way to acquire wisdom is to seek the company of those who have it!."

Each day is a new beginning and another opportunity for learning, growth and increased wisdom for you and me.

Photo by »°WingMan°« taken from this source

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Friday, June 29, 2007

How to choose good friends?

Friends certainly influence you whether you realize it or not. Thus, we all should choose our friends carefully.

"A false friend is worse than a true enemy"

"Don't go for the looks, it can be quite deceiving. Don't go for wealth, even that fades away -- go for someone who makes you smile because only a smile makes a dark day seem bright. Hope you find that person."

"A good friend listens to you, really cares, always shows an interest in you, puts your needs first and is there for you when you need him or her the most even if you've just had a disagreement."

False friends are like our shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us the instant we cross into the shade. - Christian N. Bovee

"My best friend is the one who brings out the best in me." - Henry Ford

"Best friends are like diamonds, precious and rare. False friends are like leaves, found everywhere."

What qualities do you think a good friend should have?

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Thursday, June 28, 2007

The Wisdom to Know the Difference

Pray not for things, but for wisdom and courage.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." - Reinhold Niebuhr

You can't do what is right until you know what is right. But knowing and doing are not necessarily the same thing.

"Understanding is knowing what to do; Wisdom is knowing what to do next; Virtue is actually doing it." - Tristan Gylberd

"If you only do what you know you can do - you never do very much." - Tom Krause

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” - Robert Frost

Well, is it necessary for one to accumulate enough experience personally to have the wisdom to know the difference - to accept things as it is or change it? What do you think?

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Do you really understand?

"Thinking you know when in fact you don't is a fatal mistake, to which we are all prone" - Bertrand Russell

“It is better to understand little than to misunderstand a lot.” - Anatole France

“Everyone hears only what he understands.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Yearn to understand first and to be understood second.” - Beca Lewis

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let us live in complete harmony without any misunderstanding.

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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The secret of moving ahead

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” - Mark Twain

Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.” - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Aim for success and strive for perfection. However, 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.”

“The person who gets ahead is the one who does more than necessary - and keeps doing it

“To know the road ahead, ask those coming back

Photo by Piero Sierra taken from this source

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Monday, June 25, 2007

Little by little and step by step

"If you add a little to a little and do it often enough you can become skilled, learned or rich. A little practice every day makes the champion athlete; a little learning every day makes the scientist; a little saving every day makes the millionaire."

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." - Beverly Sills

"Champions know there are no shortcuts to the top. They climb the mountain one step at a time. They have no use for helicopters!" - Judi Adler

"One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks." - Jack Penn

"The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time." - Joe Girard

Photo by bethanyll22 taken from this source

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Sunday, June 24, 2007

The Power of Concentration

“One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.” - Anthony Robbins

"The ability to focus on one thing single-mindedly and see it through until it’s done takes more character than anything else." - Brian Tracy

“The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything” - Lee Iacocca

“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun's rays do not burn until brought to a focus.” - Alexander Graham Bell

As the gardener prunes the tree to draw the sap into one or two branches, so must we concentrate on one or two to avoid scattering our talents.

The strong by scattering their energies, accomplish nothing. The weak, by concentrating on one thing, build big business.

“It seems essential, in relationships and all tasks, that we concentrate only on what is most significant and important.” - Soren Kierkegaard

An exercise in concentration: Once a week, ask yourself: "Is this thing I'm doing right now helping me reach my chief goal?" If it isn't, change it.

Photo by MiikaS taken from this source

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Saturday, June 23, 2007

Your Body Language - A Key to Success

Do you know that your body language is even more important that your words?

What does your body language say? Does it say you're confident, smart, and enthusiastic - or just the opposite?

Body Language can be A Key to Success in the Workplace.

You can learn to recognize a whole cluster of body language from here.

"Body language is a very powerful tool. We had body language before we had speech, and apparently, 80% of what you understand in a conversation is read through the body, not the words." - Deborah Bull

"Your body language may give you away!"

"A significant amount of communication occurs through body language. Though we can't see our own, everyone else does. If you're saying one thing and thinking another, your body language may well give you away."

It is important for us to work on our body language. We need to pay as much attention to it as the words we use!

Photo by Glenn Loos-Austin taken from this source

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Friday, June 22, 2007

Remember to do something for others

"Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I may not forget you." - William Arthur

"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal." - Albert Pine

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you." - John Wooden

"The smallest good deed is better than the grandest good intention." - Duguet

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." - Leo Buscaglia

Photo by photographia taken from this source

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Thursday, June 21, 2007

The Power of Expectation

"Patients tend to heal in accordance with their expectations."

Research is showing the power of expectations, that they have physical not just psychological effects on your health. - CBS News

A doctor can take a placebo and tell a patient that it is a powerful medicine, and the patient will react as though the actual medicine had been taken. Of course, this does not work all of the time. If it did, no one would need to take any medicine at all. It does, however, work with a significant percentage of success.

"Life is largely a matter of expectation." - Horace

"Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy." - Brian Tracy

"Your expectation opens or closes the doors of your supply. If you expect grand things, and work honestly for them, they will come to you, your supply will correspond with your expectation." - Orison Swett Marden

"We tend to live up to our expectations." - Earl Nightingale

Don't lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do what is necessary to make it a reality.” - Ralph Marston

Photo 1 by Rigor & Samnooshka taken from this source
Photo 2 by stylishjo taken from this source

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Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Do you know your weakest point?

“You can live a lifetime and, at the end of it, know more about other people than you know about yourself” - Beryl Markham

“Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” - Mother Teresa

“A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If a link is broken, the entire chain breaks.”

"Whenever a man falls, it is usually at the point where he thinks he is strong."

"Rudeness, yelling, anger and swearing are a weak man's imitation of strength."

“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”

Photo by Darwin Bell taken from this source

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Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Never lose your temper

"Men are like steel. When they lose their temper, they lose their worth." - Chuck Norris

Never do anything when you are in a temper, for you will do everything wrong.” - Baltasar Gracian

If you lose your temper, your sound sleep will go, and you will have to use a tranquilizer or sleeping pills… Then gradually, more white hair, wrinkles.” - Tenzin Gyatso

“There are only two people who can tell you the truth about yourself - an enemy who has lost his temper and a friend who loves you dearly.” - Antisthenes

"When you're in the right, you can afford to keep your temper. When in the wrong, you can't afford to lose it."

"The worst-tempered people I've ever met were the people who knew they were wrong." - Wilson Mizener

So never lose your temper and beware of those who loses their temper.

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Monday, June 18, 2007

Be consistent in goodness

“For changes to be of any true value, they've got to be lasting and consistent.” - Anthony Robbins

“In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.” - Anthony Robbins

Chance can allow you to accomplish a goal every once in a while, but consistent achievement happens only if you love what you are doing.” - Bart Conner

Repeat anything often enough and it will start to become you.” - Tom Hopkins

Photo by theparadigmshifter taken from this source

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Sunday, June 17, 2007

Happy Father's Day

"We never know the love of our parents for us till we have become parents." - Henry Ward Beecher

"It is a wise father that knows his own child." - William Shakespeare

"Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance." - Ruth E. Renkel

"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." - Charles Wadsworth

The Bible tells us in:

Ephesians 6:1-4 - "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth." And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord."

Proverbs 13:1 - A wise son heeds his father's instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

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Saturday, June 16, 2007

It is never too late if you do something

"If a friend is in trouble, don't annoy him by asking if there is anything you can do. Think up something appropriate and do it."

“Everything comes too late for those who only wait.” - Elbert Hubbard

“The time for action is now. It's never too late to do something.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“Better late than never, but never late is better.”

“So what do we do? Anything. Something. So long as we just don't sit there. If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. If we wait until we've satisfied all the uncertainties, it may be too late.” - Lee Iacocca

Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late” - Benjamin Franklin

“Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace and power in it.” - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Every difficulty postponed becomes greater later. Each victory makes the next one easier."

If you're too old now to learn, you always were. It's seldom too late to become what we might have been. Many are doing it after 60. Thousands over 50 are starting projects that fellows under 40 put off and neglected because they were too old to finish. A son said to his father: "If I start medical school now, I'll be 37 in 1945 when I finish." Father: "And how old will you be in 1945 if you don't start now?"

Have you yet found yourself and a worthy goal? If not, it's later than you think.

If you have a dream, you have everything that matters. If you have no dream, it's later than you think. Better get one.

Photo by shainelee taken from this source

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Friday, June 15, 2007

Learn to ask questions

"You've got to ask! Asking is, in my opinion, the world's most powerful -- and neglected -- secret to success and happiness." - Percy Ross

"Daily ask yourself: How can I do this task quicker, cheaper, better, or more easily?"

"Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why." - Bernard M. Baruch

"Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers." - Robert Half

To solve any problem, here are three questions to ask yourself: First, what could I do? Second, what could I read? And third, who could I ask?” - Jim Rohn

"Some people hold themselves back because they're too timid or proud to ask. Asking never kills. Asking makes you appear stupid a few seconds; wiser for life."

"To ask timidly is to invite refusal. Ask as though you expected to receive."

"Ask and you shall receive, demand and you will get less."

"A wise man is one who asks for more, but is willing to take less."

The Bible tells us in Matthew 7:7-8 (NKJV) - "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."

Photo by Small Goofy Dog taken from this source

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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Persist and Persevere


“Success is almost totally dependent upon drive and persistence. The extra energy required to make another effort or try another approach is the secret of winning.” - Denis Waitley

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."

"Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Thousands with talent are drifters. Genius will not. Unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not. The world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence alone solves all the world's big problems."

"Persistence turns talent into ability - sometimes into greatness."

“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins. Not through strength, but through persistence.”

"Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."

"The only real failure is not to try again."

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Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Pain and Suffering

"Pain is only valuable once you know that you've learned from it."

"When you rejected any advice, help or guidance - then pain may be your sole guidance in life left for you".

Pain makes man think. Thought makes man wise. Wisdom makes life endurable.” - John Patrick

The reward of suffering is experience. Experience is the extract of suffering."

"All experiences are opportunities for us to learn and grow."

“May the pain you have known and the conflict you have experienced give you the strength to walk through life facing each new situation with courage and optimism.”

Photo by michael 7601 taken from this source

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Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Simplicity is the Key

"The aspects of things that are most important to us are hidden because of their simplicity and familiarity." - Ludwig Wittgenstein

Have you ever seen a piece of commercial software where the next version is simpler rather than more complex? According to MSDN blog, Windows Vista is said to have over 50 million lines of code, whereas XP was said to have around 40 million.

"The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials."

“Life is really simple, but men insist on making it complicated.” - Confucius

"Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means."

"It can be difficult to make things simple and it can be simple to make things difficult."

Anyway, remember to keep things simple!

Photo by Starfires taken from this source

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Monday, June 11, 2007

Don't blame others!

“We believe that to err is human. To blame it on someone else is politics.” - Hubert H. Humphrey

"We seldom suspect faults in others that we don't possess ourselves."

The best of men is he who sees his own faults and does not see the faults of others.

“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.” - Albert Ellis

A wise man is one who forgets the faults of others, but always remembers his own.

“It is not only what we do, but also what we do not do, for which we are accountable.” - Moliere

“If you blame others for your failures, do you credit them with your success?”

“All blame is a waste of time. No matter how much fault you find with another, and regardless of how much you blame him, it will not change you. The only thing blame does is to keep the focus off you when you are looking for external reasons to explain your unhappiness or frustration. You may succeed in making another feel guilty about something by blaming him, but you won't succeed in changing whatever it is about you that is making you unhappy.” - Wayne Dyer

“When you blame others, you give up your power to change.” - Dr. Robert Anthony

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Sunday, June 10, 2007

Knowing is not enough!

“It's not what you've got, it's what you use that makes a difference.” - Zig Ziglar

"All know the way; few actually walk it." - Bodhidharma

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” - Leonardo da Vinci

“Learning is finding out what you already know. Doing is demonstrating that you know it.” - Richard Bach

"Wisdom is knowing what to do next, skill is knowing how to do it, and virtue is doing it." - David Starr Jordan

The Bible tell us in James 1:22-25 (NKJV) -
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does."

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Saturday, June 09, 2007

Look for and don't lose your Integrity

"In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. And if they don't have the first, the other two will kill you." - Warren Buffet

"Integrity is not a 90 percent thing, not a 95 percent thing; either you have it or you don't." - Peter Scotese

"The integrity of men is to be measured by their conduct, not by their professions."

"You cannot expect your employees to be honest if you cheat your customers."

“A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity” - Baltasar Gracian

”Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not.” - Oprah Winfrey

”The glue that holds all relationships together - including the relationship between the leader and the led is trust, and trust is based on integrity.” - Brian Tracy

“Winning is nice if you don't lose your integrity in the process.” - Arnold Horshak

"Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Photo by benclark taken from this source

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Friday, June 08, 2007

Always Be Nice

"It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

"Treat everyone with politeness, even those who are rude to you - not because they are nice, but because you are."

"Don't wait for people to be friendly, show them how."

“A true friend is someone who says nice things behind your back.”

"A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart."

"Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up." - Jesse Jackson

"Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out." - Frank A. Clark

Photo by SaZeOd taken from this source

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Thursday, June 07, 2007

Know what counts and what doesn't

"Doing something useful with your life counts."

“It is not living that matters, but living rightly.” - Socrates

“It is not the size of a man but the size of his heart that matters.” - Evander Holyfield

“Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” - Seneca

“Don't count the days - make the days count.”

“Life's like a play; it's not the length but the excellence of the acting that matters” - Seneca

"Life is the movie you see through your own eyes. It makes little difference what's happening out there. It's how you take it that counts." - Denis Waitley

“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.” - Albert Einstein

“The things that count most cannot be counted.”

"Think about what you do that counts - and do more of it."

Photo by Steve Rhodes taken from this source

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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Vision Affects Your Attitude

This post is dedicated to my friend Jennifer at Goodness Graciousness for her remarkable meme titled "Hold the Vision".

The world is in the hands of us all. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools. If we only listen!, I envision in years to come, people of all nations can blend together harmoniously. Then, major problems such as pestilence, war, famine, intolerance will fade away. All people can then look forward to a clear bright future!

“When you have vision, it affects your attitude. Your attitude is optimistic rather than pessimistic.”- Charles R. Swindoll

“A different world cannot be built by indifferent people

"We are not here merely to make a living. We are here to enrich the world." - Woodrow Wilson

Let's encourage one another because anyone of us can make a difference. However, we must not forget that great accomplishment requires persistence. We can learn a great deal about persistence from a video about the growth of Bamboo Tree.

Photo by carf taken from this source

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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Let us always meet each other with a smile

Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.

We smile because we are happy. BUT we also become happy because we smile. Act the part and you'll become the part.

Most smiles are started by other smiles. Smile first.

Smile at each other, smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other -- it doesn't matter who it is -- and that will help you to grow up in greater love for each other." - Mother Teresa

"Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing." - Mother Teresa

“Smile, it is the key that fits the lock of everybody's heart.” - Anthony J. D'Angelo

"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight." - Phyllis Diller

"Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love." - Mother Teresa

"Peace begins with a smile." - Mother Teresa

Smile and says Cheese!

Photo by THEfunkyman taken from this source

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Monday, June 04, 2007

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

“Art is making something out of nothing and selling it.” - Frank Zappa

On the right is a painting of butterfly and flowers, but if you move away from your screen, you may notice a beautiful girl instead.

This is a simple illustration of this saying: "We tend to perceive what we expect to perceive."

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” - Jonathan Swift

For more double meaning pictures check out:

Photo by gandhiji40 taken from this source

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Sunday, June 03, 2007

Thinking Blogger Award

I have been nominated for the Thinking Blogger Award by Philip Stolle, Family Man and by Lillie Ammann. I would like to thank all of them for the honour!

According to the originator of the meme, Ilker Yoldas at The Thinking Blog:

The participation rules are simple:
  1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think
  2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme
  3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog). That was that! Please, remember to tag blogs with real merits, i.e. relative content, and above all - blogs that really get you thinking!
I would like to nominate:
Jenny How a full-time eBayer and part-time blogger. I’m inspired by her having overcome a series of incidents: brain surgery, family member’s funeral, facial paralysis, car accidents, broken pelvis and finally lost her IT consultancy job. Through persistence, she had finally able to make money from the internet full-time selling in eBay.

Ros at Quotes in Can. I find her blog having similar objectives. She shares great quotes and really makes me think. Her blog is her space for her personal reflections on life and people using inspirational quotes as her mirror.

Aziz at Hashout. I'm inspired by him for being so helpful and having a blog with wide variety of topics. I wonder how much time he spend doing it. He has make me think and believe that even with blogspot, we can still do it well.

Sindhu at Looking Through The Window. I love all those photos posted at her blog. Those photos really makes me think like what this quotes says: "A room full of pictures is a room full of thoughts. They make us think."

Ben Gan at Wisdom Wise. His blog contains a lot of Investment tips made simple using story. Ben Gan profound experience in investment really makes me think whether he could be as good as Warren Buffett.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

You can makes the difference

"It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters." - Mother Teresa

“Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.” - Plato

"One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody." - Mother Teresa

"Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned." - Peter Marshall

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." - Mother Teresa

“Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” - William James

Below are some things we can do to make a difference:

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Friday, June 01, 2007

Be the chess player, not the chess piece

“Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her; but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.” - Voltaire

"We are often our own worst enemy."

"It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going." - Brian Tracy "

"You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you." - Brian Tracy

Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece.”

Photo by tim_d taken from this source

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