It Takes Courage
Author Unknown

It takes courage
To refrain from gossip
When others delight in it,
To stand up for the absent person
Who is being abused.

It takes courage
To live honestly
Within your means,
And not dishonestly
On the means of others.

It takes courage
To be a REAL man or a TRUE woman,
To hold fast to your ideals
When it causes you
To be looked upon
As strange and peculiar.

It takes courage
To be talked about,
And remain silent,
When a word would justify you
In the eyes of others,
But which you dare not speak
Because it would injure another.

It takes courage
To refuse to do something
That is wrong
Although everyone else
May be doing it
With attitudes as carefree
As a summer song.

It takes courage
To live according
To your own convictions,
To deny yourself
What you cannot afford.
To love your neighbor
As yourself!

Note from Brad:  "This seems eerily familiar to "IF" by Rudyard Kipling.  Actually it seems like the author just changed it around and put it in his/her own words.  Just thought you might want to know --read "IF" you'll see the striking similarity."

So we found Rudyard Kipling's poem "If"...

IF
By Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you 
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 
But make allowance for their doubting too; 
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating, 
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise; 

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; 
If you can meet with triumph and disaster 
And treat those two imposters just the same; 
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken 
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken, 
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss; 
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 
To serve your turn long after they are gone, 
And so hold on when there is nothing in you 
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, 
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch; 
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; 
If all men count with you, but none too much; 
If you can fill the unforgiving minute 
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run - 
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, 
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling

Here's a link to a Web site all about Rudyard Kipling:
www.kipling.org.uk/kip_fra.htm

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Thank You!

To those of you who laughed at me, thank you.
Without you I wouldn't have cried.

To those of you who just couldn't love me, thank you.
Without you I wouldn't have known real love.

To those of you who hurt my feelings, thank you.
Without you I wouldn't have felt them.

To those of you who left me lonely, thank you.
Without you I wouldn't have discovered myself.

But it is to those of you who thought I couldn't do it;
It is you I thank the most,
Because without you I wouldn't have tried.
 
Author Unknown
Submitted by ARareJewelNLA

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WORDS OF WISDOM

Heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences. - Author Unknown

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Al Capp, creator of the famous comic strip Lil Abner, was one day invited to a university to give a lecture to the students. Before he could begin speaking to the large group assembled in the auditorium a very unkempt-looking student at the back shouted a vulgar word at him. The word rang in everyone's ears. There was a shocked silence but Capp, keeping his composure, said, "Now that you've given us your name, what's your question?"

Submitted by Yinghouse

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"Success isn't permanent and failure isn't fatal." -- Mike Ditka - NFL Hall of Famer (from Aliquippa PA)

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"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

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"Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan." -- Tom Landry

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"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." -- Vince Lombardi

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"Build for your team a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another, and of strength to be derived by unity." -- Vince Lombardi

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"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is the moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious." -- Vince Lombardi

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"Leadership is based on a spiritual quality; the power to inspire, the power to inspire others to follow." -- Vince Lombardi 

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"Any man who is afraid of failure will never win!  Any man who is afraid to die, will never really live!" -- General George Patton

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"Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory." -- General George S. Patton

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"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure." -- General Colin Powell

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STRENGTH
written by: G. Scott Compton
Copyright ©2004 G. Scott Compton 

To the strong soul who learns to defy his or her own fears.

Life is a test insistent upon strength
Each person is challenged at analogous lengths
Yet the vie to subsist will exhaust the timorous some
For the Lord's race is imputed to all...to run

This is to avow: you must believe
As you are special...allow no one to deceive
For what you have learned will make you stronger
If only to love and be loved one day longer

Others may look upon the Sun going down
A vanishing hope, the benighted frowns
But you must learn to see the resilience of the night
As a testament to each given day...to your unforgiving might

Thus revere your kin and formative youth
Whilst both bleed one's vigor to nourish this truth:
Strength is innate and must be held deep inside
A rule in life's book by which everyone should abide

So tonight when the Sun has given up and retired
Look upon the day and all that which you have inspired
For everything you wish for will someday come true
Your strength is there....your strength is YOU!

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Frog Story

    A group of frogs were traveling through the woods and two of them fell into a deep pit.  All the other frogs gathered around the pit.  When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might.  The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.  Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up.  He fell down and died.
    The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could.  Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die.  He jumped even harder and finally made it out.
    When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf.  He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
    This story teaches two lessons:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say.

    Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words....it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times.
    Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
    Be special to others.

Author Unknown

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Apply Persistence to Your Possibilities
Written by Mentor2006@aol.com
Copyright 2000

Your success is not a matter of idle chance,
it's a matter of making the right choices.
It's not something you wait for,
but rather something you'll achieve with effort.
Things won't turn up in this world until you turn them up.

Success is neither magical nor mysterious.
The people that truly succeed in the world
are the people who look for the circumstances they want,
and, if they can't find them, make them.
Don't sit on the sidelines, get in the game.
Your access to success has no real limits.

The great opportunity in your life is where you are right now.
Every situation, properly perceived, becomes an opportunity for you.
You have grand opportunities all around you.
Open your eyes, and you will find it.

If you have the desire, you have the power.
Taking action is all that is required.

Written by Mentor2006@aol.com
Copyright 2000

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Another Chance
Helen Steiner Rice

How often we wish for another chance
to make a fresh beginning.
A chance to blot out our mistakes
And change failure into winning.
It does not take a new day
To make a brand new start,
It only takes a deep desire
To try with all our heart.
To live a little better
And to always be forgiving
And to add a little sunshine
To the world in which we're living.
So never give up in despair
And think that you are through,
For there's always a tomorrow
And the hope of starting new.

Helen Steiner Rice

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Why Worry?

There are only two things to worry about:
Either you are well or you are sick.
If you are well, there's nothing to worry about.
But if you are sick,
There are only two things to worry about:
Either you get well, or you die.
If you get well, there's nothing to worry about.
But if you die, there are only two things to worry about:
Either you will go to Heaver or Hell.
If you go to Heaven, there's nothing to worry about.
But if you go to Hell
You'll be so busy shaking hands with friends
You won't have time to worry.

Author Unknown

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Words of Wisdom - Encouragement

Enthusiasm is contagious.
You could start an epidemic!

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You can keep going long after you can't.

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Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be; because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want in life.

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"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."  -- Mark Twain

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Sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

    One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd."
    I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
    As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.
    My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives."
    He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
    I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes. We hung out all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
    Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
    Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
    Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him. Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.
    As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years; your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach, but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story."
    I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home.
    He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
    I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.
    Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life. For better or for worse.
    God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. Look for God in others.

Submitted by Denny

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"There comes a time in one's life when in great and desperate need that someone appears out of the blue to perform an extraordinary act of kindness and then suddenly disappears as quickly as they came. When that day came in my life I was left to wonder if I had met met my guardian angel disguised as a human." Copyright 2003 - Joseph P. Martino.

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On Risking

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk exposing our true self.
To place your ideas, your dreams, before the crowd is to risk loss.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try at all is to risk failure.
But to risk, we must, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The Man, the Woman who risks nothing does nothing -- has nothing -- is nothing.

Author Unknown
Submitted by ARareJewelNLA

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AND, AND, AND...
A Motivational Story
Submitted by TrollPtrol

    Peeking out from the corner of my desk blotter is a note, slowly yellowing and bent from time. It is a card from my mother, containing only four sentences.  In it, she praises my abilities as a writer without qualification.
    Each sentence is full with love, offering specific examples of what my pursuit has meant to her and my father.  The word "but" never appears on the card, however the word "and" is there almost a half dozen times.
    Every time I read it -- which is almost every day --  am reminded to ask myself if I am doing the same thing for my daughters. I've asked myself how many times I've "but-ted" them, and me, out of happiness. I hate to say that it's more often than I'd like to admit.
    Although our eldest daughter usually got all A's on her report card, there was never a semester when at least one teacher would not suggest that she talked too much in class. I always forgot to ask them if she was making improvement in controlling her behavior, if her comments contributed to the discussion in progress or encouraged a quieter child to talk. Instead, I would come home and greet her with, "Congratulations! Your Dad and I are very proud of your accomplishment, but could you try to tone it down in class?"
    The same was true of our younger daughter. Like her sister, she is a lovely, bright, articulate and friendly child. She also treats the floor of her room and the bathroom as a closet, which has provoked me to say on more than one occasion, "Yes, that project is great, but clean up your room!"
    I've noticed that other parents do the same thing. "Our whole family was together for Christmas, but Kyle skipped out early to play his new computer game." "The hockey team won, but Mike should have made that last goal." "Amy's the homecoming queen, but now she wants $200 to buy a new dress and shoes." But, but, but.
    Instead, what I learned from my mother is that if you really want love to flow to your children, start thinking "and, and, and..." instead.  For example: "Our whole family was together for Christmas dinner, and Kyle mastered his new computer game before the night was through." "The hockey team won, and Mike did his best the whole game." "Amy's the homecoming queen, and she's going to look gorgeous!"
    The fact is that "but" feels bad -- "and" feels good. And when it comes to our children, feeling good is definitely the way to go. When they feel good about themselves and what they are doing, they do more of it, building their self-confidence, their judgment and their harmonious connections to others. When everything they say, think or do is qualified or put down in some way, their joy sours and their anger soars.
    This is not to say that children don't need or won't respond to their parents' expectations. They do and they will, regardless of whether those expectations are good or bad. When those expectations are consistently bright and positive and then are taught, modeled and expressed, amazing things happen. "I see you made a mistake. And I know you are intelligent enough to figure out what you did wrong and make a better decision next time." Or, "You've been spending hours on that project, and I'd love to have you explain it to me." Or, "We work hard for our money, and I know you can help figure out a way to pay for what you want."
    It's not enough just to say we love our children. In a time when frustration has grown fierce, we can no longer afford to limit love's expression. If we want to tone down the sound of violence in our society, we're going to have to turn up the volume on noticing, praising, guiding and participating in what is right with our children.
    "No more buts!" is a clarion call for joy. It's also a challenge, the opportunity fresh before us every day to put our attention on what is good and promising about our children, and to believe with all our hearts that they will eventually be able to see the same in us and the people with whom they will ultimately live, work and serve.
    And if I ever forget, I have my mother's note to remind me.

Author Unknown

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Words of Wisdom - Motivation

Motivation is very important, but it is determination that will make you cross the highest mountain and most difficult river."  -- Nelson Mandela, Former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

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You can only go as far as you push.

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Success is getting up one more time.

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Life is what's coming...not what was.

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"Sweat plus sacrifice equals success." -- Charlie Finley

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"Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates." -- Magic Johnson

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"A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are." -- Ara Parashegian

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Inspiration &  Motivation

Thoughts... "You must do the thing which you think you cannot do." -- Eleanor Roosevelt