Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Good news or bad news?

Good news or bad news? Well, it depends on how you see things. Hear this story:

Robert De Vincenzo, the great Argentine golfer, once won a tournament and, after receiving the check and smiling for the cameras, he went to the clubhouse and prepared to leave. Some time later, he walked alone to his car in the parking lot and was approached by a young woman.

She congratulated him on his victory and then told him that her child was seriously ill and near death. She did not know how she could pay the doctor’s bills and hospital expenses.

De Vincenzo was touched by her story, and he took out a pen and endorsed his winning cheque for payment to the woman. "Make some good days for the baby," he said as he pressed the check into her hand.

The next week he was having lunch in a country club when a Professional Golf Association official came to his table. "Some of the boys in the parking lot last week told me you met a young woman there after you won that tournament." De Vincenzo nodded. "Well," said the official, "I have news for you. She’s a phony. She has no sick baby. She’s not even married. She fleeced you, my friend."

"You mean there is no baby who is dying?" said De Vincenzo.

"That’s right," said the official.

"That’s the best good news I’ve heard all week.!" De Vincenzo said.

You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.

When you consistently maintain a positive frame of mind, you'll become known as a problem-solver rather than a complainer. People avoid complainers. They seek out problem-solvers.

You can give in to the failure messages and be a bitter deadbeat of excuses. Or you can choose to be happy and positive and excited about life. The difference between can and cannot are only three letters. Three letters that determine your life's direction.

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Sunday, September 14, 2008

The Window

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood.

The next morning, while they were eating breakfast, the young woman saw her neighbor hang the wash outside.

"That laundry is not very clean", she said, "she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap".

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbour would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments. About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband,

"Look! She has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this!"

The husband gave a polite answer "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows."

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others, depends on the purity of the window through which we look. Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking for something in the person we are about to judge.

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