Make Today Beautiful

Be A Man

God give us men. A time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands:
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;

Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will;
Men who have honor—men who will not lie;

Men who can stand before a demagogue
And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty, and in private thinking.


Not long ago a famous writer met a Yale student home on a vacation. Here is an excerpt of his thoughts on this chance meeting:

"I am sure he did not represent the true Yale spirit, for he was full of criticism and bitterness toward the institution. President Hadley ( then the President of Yale ) came in for his share, and I was given items, facts, data, with times and places, for a "peach of a roast."

Very soon I saw the trouble was not with Yale, the trouble was with the young man. He had mentally dwelt on some trivial slights until he had gotten so out of harmony with the place that he had lost the power to derive any benefit from it.

Yale is not a perfect college, a fact, I suppose, that President Hadley and most Yale men are quite willing to admit; but Yale does supply young men certain advantages, and it depends upon the students whether they will avail themselves of these advantages or not.

If you are a student in college, seize upon the good that is there. You receive good by giving it. You gain by giving—so give sympathy and cheerful loyalty to the company. Be proud of it. Stand by your teachers - they are doing the best they can. If the place is faulty, make it a better place by an example of cheerfully doing your work every day the best you can. Mind your own business.

If the concern where you are employed is all wrong, and the boss is a cranky cuss, it may be well for you to go to your boss and confidentially, quietly and kindly tell him that his policy is absurd and preposterous. Then show him how to reform his ways, and you might offer to take charge of the concern and cleanse it of its secret faults. Do this, or if for any reason you should prefer not, then take your choice of these: Get Out, or Get in Line. You have got to do one or the other—now make your choice. If you work for a man, in heaven's name work for him.

If he pays you wages that supply you your bread and butter, work for him—speak well of him, think well of him, stand by him and stand by the institution that he represents.

I think if I worked for a man, I would work for him. I would not work for him a part of the time, and the rest of the time work against him. I would give an undivided service or none. If put to the pinch, an ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.

If you must vilify, condemn and eternally disparage, why, resign your position, and then when you are outside, damn to your heart's content. But I pray you, as long as you are a part of a company or institution, do not condemn it. Not that you will injure the institution - not that - but when you criticize a company of which you are a part, you disparage yourself.

Creativity

Stephen Girard is said to have been America's very first Millionaire. He began his illustrious career as a deck-hand! He literally built his fortune the good old fashioned way! He worked hard, invested wisely and made a whole lot of money! The bulk of his fortune was made after the Revolutionary war - when the United States was in its infant years!

Men do not succeed by chance. Chance may toss you into a position of power, but if you do not possess capacity, you can never hold the place.

The first six years that Girard was in Philadelphia he made little headway. But he did not lose courage. He knew that the war must end sometime, and that when it did, there would be a great revival of business.

When others were beaten out and ready to give up, and prices were down, he bought. Merchant ships were practically useless, and so were for sale. He bought one brand-new boat and named it "The Water-Witch," for this was the name he had for his first wife - Pollie.

As soon as the war closed and peace was declared, Girard loaded his two ships with grain and cotton and dispatched them to Bordeaux.

They were back in five months, having sold their cargoes, bringing silks, wines and tea. These were at once sold at a profit of nearly a hundred thousand dollars.

Picture of Esti Ginzburg at Listal

People with a good set of flexible skills will be able to adapt. Creativity and flexibility will continue to be greatly valued. People with a certain specific set of vocational skills are going to have a tougher time without some new training."While technology may replace some workers, it also creates opportunities to use new skills.
"Some types of engineers won't be doing the type of engineering they are doing now if someone comes up with a technology that makes what they do obsolete," Hallock said. "But they are likely to do something related."
To succeed, a worker should "be an active learner

Invest Wisely

Experienced men of the world know very well that it is best to pay scot and lot as they go along, and that a man often pays dear for a small frugality. The borrower runs in his own debt. Has a man gained anything who has received a hundred favors and rendered none? Has he gained by borrowing, through indolence or cunning, his neighbor's wares, or horses, or money? There arises on the deed the instant acknowledgment of benefit on the one part, and of debt on the other; that is, of superiority and inferiority. The transaction remains in the memory of himself and his neighbor; and every new transaction alters, according to its nature, their relation to each other. He may soon come to see that he had better have broken his own bones than to have ridden in his neighbor's coach, and that "the highest price he can pay for a thing is to ask for it."


A wise man will extend this lesson to all parts of life, and know that it is the part of prudence to face every claimant, and pay every just demand on your time, your talents, or your heart. Always pay; for, first or last, you must pay your entire debt. Persons and events may stand for a time between you and justice, but it is only postponing the inevitable.

You must pay at last your own debt

Choose How You Will Live

Dwell in thought upon the grandest, and the grandest you shall see; Fix your mind upon the highest, and the highest you shall be!


The universe is a training school for evolving intelligence - a vast gymnasium for the development of moral fibre. We become mentally clever by playing at the game of life. We match our courage against its adversities and acquire fearlessness. We try our optimism against
its disappointments and learn cheerfulness. We pit our patience against its failures and gain persistence. We are torn from the pinnacle of ambition by opponents and learn toleration of others.

We fall from the heights of vanity and pride, and learn to be modest and humble. We encounter pain and sorrow and learn sympathy with suffering. It is only by such experiences that we can grow to rounded measure. It is only in an environment thus adapted to our spiritual
development that we can evolve the latent powers within us.

Such is the universe in which we find ourselves and from it there is no escape. No man can avoid life--not even the foolish one who, when the difficulties before him appear for the moment overwhelming, tries to escape them by suicide. A man cannot die. He can only choose how he will live. He may either helplessly drift through the world suffering from all the ills and evils that make so many unhappy or he may choose the method of conscious evolution that alone makes life truly successful. We may be either the suffering slaves of nature or the happy masters of her laws.

5 Tips for Greater Happiness

Tips for greater happiness:

1. Decide to be Happy. Start by making the choice to be happy. Strive to eliminate negative feelings, thoughts and actions from your life.

2. Kick start your brain to elevate your happy thoughts. Exercise daily - and soon you won't want to miss your exercise time.

3. Eat the right foods. Enjoy a little dark chocolate once a day. Have some blueberries with your morning yogurt. Feed your body - and your brain - with healthy fats like those found in avocados, walnuts, salmon and olive oil.

4. Surround yourself with positive people and thoughts. Turn off that news channel filled with nothing but bad news. Say good-bye to those violent and drama filled TV shows that do little for your happy thoughts. Grab some tapes from Zig Ziglar , and other positive motivational speakers.

5. Find someone who needs help - someone in worse shape than you are and find a way to help them. Help someone without them knowing it was you. Volunteer at a food kitchen or someplace that helps those who so desperately need help.

Check out Zig Ziglar's Strategies for Success

Check out this video -

Summer Fitness Tips

    If you want to enjoy better health and fitness or look like this -

Picture of Kate Upton at Listal


there are just 2 simple habits you may want to adopt.

1. Daily exercise keeps your body's fat burners functioning long after your workout. Work your heart and lungs - walking, running, or riding your bike! Grab a jump rope and see how long you can go! Try a new sport - or two - and enjoy a variety of healthy activities. Turn off the TV after Supper and head out for some family fun instead!

2. Eat more protein early in the day. The early morning protein helps your body burn more calories throughout the day. Give your metabolism a jump-start with a healthy portion of protein to start your day! Drink plenty of water and just say no to those useless calories found in soda and sweets. ( Stick with dark chocolate if you must! ) Try to enjoy more fiber and a little less fat. Drink even more water! 

The weather outside too hot for your liking? Fitness experts find you can burn more calories and get a better overall workout when you exercise in a more comfortable temperature range - like indoors!

Get yourself a few pieces of basic fitness gear and you can sculpt an awesome body shape - without suffering through the Summer heat! Pick up a decent exercise mat and a few hand weights. If you don't already have one - buy a GoFit Weighted Jump Rope
!

If burning more calories in less time And getting a great whole body workout sound good to you - get yourself the Concept2 Model D Indoor Rowing Machine.