Risks

"To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose one's feelings is to risk rejection.

To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.

To love is to risk not being loved in return.

To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

The person who risks nothing, Does nothing, Has nothing and is nothing. He may avoid sufferings and sorrows, But he cannot learn, Feel, change, grow, or love. Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave. He has forfeited his freedom. Only a person who takes risks is free."

-- Leo Buscalia

“A loving relationship is one in which the loved one is free to be himself

-- to laugh with me, but never at me;

to cry with me, but never because of me;

to love life, to love himself, to love being loved. Such a relationship is based upon freedom and can never grow in a jealous heart.”

A Nice Thought

To laugh often and love much;

To win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children;

To earn the approbation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;To give of one's self;

To leave the world a little better, whether by a Healthy child,

a garden path, or a redeemed Social condition;

To have played and laughed with enthusiasm And sung with exultation;

To know even one life has breathed easier

Because you have lived

- This is to have succeeded.

Beauty of a Woman

The beauty of a woman Is not in the clothes she wears, The figure she carries Or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman Must be seen from her eyes, Because that is the doorway to her heart,The place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman, Is not in a facial mole, But true beauty in a woman Is reflected in her soul.

It is the caring that she lovingly gives,The passion that she shows, The beauty of a woman With passing years - only grows.

Never Check E-mail in the Morning…and Other Surprising Time-savers

You work hard but can’t seem to get everything done. There are just too many responsibilities, interruptions and demands. Rather than working longer, you need to learn to use your time better -- and sometimes that means doing things that seem counterintuitive...
Shorten your workday. If 10 hours isn’t enough, try nine-and-a-half. Losing 30 minutes of work time each day makes you organize your time better. No longer will you tolerate interruptions... make personal phone calls from the office... or chat around the water cooler. Your pace will pick up, your focus will sharpen, and you’ll soon find that you’re getting more done despite the shorter workday.

Bonus: You have freed up two-and-a-half hours for yourself each week. This works just as well outside the workplace. Allot fewer hours for chores and projects, and you’re more likely to buckle down and get them done.

Take a break. Hard workers often feel that they don’t have time to take a break. Recharging your batteries isn’t wasted time -- it keeps you running. Escape from your workday life for at least 30 minutes each day or a few hours each week. Use this escape time to do whatever it is that most effectively transports you away mentally from your daily responsibilities. That might be reading a novel, exercising at the gym or listening to classical music. These escapes keep your mind sharp and your energy level high. If you just can’t find the time, add the escape more formally to your schedule. If your escape is exercise, plan a game of tennis or golf with a friend -- the friend will be counting on you, so it will be tough for you to back out. If your escape is music, buy season tickets to the local symphony -- you’re more likely to attend if you already have purchased the tickets.

Don’t look at E-mail first thing. Instead, use the morning to focus on your most important tasks. Most people’s minds are sharpest in the morning, and completing important responsibilities before lunch creates a sense of relief and accomplishment that can carry you through the afternoon.

Helpful: When you reply to an E-mail, try to fit your entire response in the subject line. Some people waste hours each day crafting long responses when short ones are all that’s needed.
Avoid the urge to multitask. When many things need to get done, it’s tempting to try to do them all at once. But multitasking isn’t the secret to productivity -- it’s a sure way to be inefficient.
According to a study published in Journal of Experimental Psychology, it takes the brain four times longer to recognize and process each item it is working on when multitasking than when it is focused on a single job. Other studies have found that work quality suffers when we try to multitask.

To get many things done, either in the office or at home, do just one thing at a time. If another obligation crops up or an unrelated idea pops into your head, pause from your current task only long enough to jot it down in your planner (not on a scrap of paper, which could get lost).
Be your own boss. Even if you are an employee with a company, think of yourself as an independent entrepreneur working with your company, not as a hired hand working for it. We all are self-employed, in a manner of speaking. We work for the sole proprietorships that are our careers. There’s a productivity advantage to be had by keeping this in mind -- independent contractors know that they must continue to deliver results every day to retain their clients, while employees sometimes allow themselves more slack and act as if their employers owe them something.

Cut people off. Learn to put off interrupters without causing offense. When someone needs you, say, “How much time do you need? If it’s more than a few seconds, let’s schedule it for later so I can give you my full attention.” The time will be more convenient for you, and the person may solve his/her own problem in the meantime.

Greet callers with, “What can I do for you?” rather than “How are you?” -- the latter might be taken as an invitation to chat.

Don’t do chores when big deadlines loom. Faced with a big, important task and several small, easy, but less vital chores, many people start by tackling the chores. Knocking these off provides a sense that progress has been made, and it clears the tables to focus on the big responsibility -- but it’s still a poor strategy.

Always tackle the most important job first, though it might be the most difficult and time consuming. In the corporate world, the most important task usually is the one that will generate or save the most money for the company. If you put off this crucial task, unforeseen complications or new assignments might prevent you from getting the important tasks done at all.

Bottom Line/Personal interviewed Julie Morgenstern, founder of Julie Morgenstern Enterprises, LLC, a time-management and corporate-productivity consultancy, New York City. She is author of Never Check E-Mail in the Morning and Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work (Fireside). www.juliemorgenstern.com

Julie Morgenstern Enterprises reprinted from Bottom Line/Personal, January 1, 2006
URL: http://www.bottomlinesecrets.com/blpnet/article.html?article_id=39810

Nice thoughts

As reported recently in The Wall Street Journal and the subject of a book by Sharon Begley (“Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain” ), new research conducted with the help of the Dalai Lama, the head of Tibetan Buddhism, shows that our thoughts can actually change the physical nature and function of our brains.

In a study conducted with Buddhist monks trained in deep meditation techniques, scientists found that when the meditators focused on thoughts of deep compassion and loving kindness it produced remarkable results. Perhaps not surprisingly while the monks were meditating their brain waves showed a change in gamma waves the brain waves that are associated with our perception and problem solving abilities. But here’s the surprising part, the changes in brain activity persisted even when the monks stopped meditating. In our words, thinking kind thoughts had changed their brains to be smarter and produce happier feelings long-term. Monks with the most hours of meditation showed the most pronounced brain changes.

If Buddhist monks can do it, so can we. Our brains have a “nice” muscle. The more you exercise it, the easier it is to be nice. and the more you will reap the benefits. So even if you are a bit of curmudgeon and don’t always feel like thinking nice thoughts, make an effort to overcome your grumpiness and spend a bit of time each day thinking about what you could have done today to be just a tad nicer. Over time, you’ll find yourself not only getting more smiles from co–workers and compliments at the school board meeting.

You may also be surprised to find that your ideas seem more creative, your answers to tough problems come a bit more easily and even the occasional dark moods we all experience come less frequently.

Nice truly does make you healthy, wealthy and wise…and happier!

Golden Sayings

Sweet childish days, that were as long As twenty days are now.
~William Wordsworth~

We could never have loved the earth so well if we had had no childhood in it.
~George Eliot~

Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.
~John Betjeman, Summoned by Bells ~

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragr ant than ever again.
~Elizabeth Lawrence~

"A candle loses nothing of its light by lighting another candle."