Another great devotion today from Positive Living Day by Day by Norman Vincent Peale. If you don't have this book I would highly suggest getting it.
He gives strength to the weary and increases power to the weak. Isaiah 40:29
Nobody can live successfully in this world without being strong. You may be pampered and protected when you are a child, but you have to learn to be strong as you mature, because sooner or later, life will throw the book at you. Sometimes it will throw the whole book at you all at once. You have to get adjusted so you won't collapse under the trouble, or give way under difficulty, or fold under the blow of adversity. I sometimes think that the greatest virtue of all is to be strong.
Christianity is a way of life that makes people strong. You can have all the strength you will ever need if you build into yourself the love of God and stay close to Jesus until He becomes part of you.
Our Heavenly Father, we give You thanks for the great power that comes to us from You through Jesus Christ. Amen.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Devotion this morning in Postive Living Day by Day.
Just got up this morning and grabbed the devotional book "Positive Living Day by Day by Norman Vincent Peale" and thought everyone would appreciate what the devotion had to say this morning. It's short so take the time to read it. I think you'll enjoy it and have a better attitude after reading it. Here it is.
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." JEREMIAH 29:12-13
How deeply do we believe? Do we just believe superficially, without depth or commitment? In the book of Jeremiah we read, "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Nobody ever made anything great out of his life who didn't do it with his whole heart.
I remember talking to a celebrity years ago. I knew that she had had a great deal of trouble in her life. I asked, "How come you keep at it with such enthusiasm?"
"Why," she answered, "because I love it. I give my whole self to it." And she did; she threw everything she had into it. If you give yourself with all your heart to your business, to your children, to your marriage, to your future, to your hopes, you are going to come out with something that is lasting and strong.
Hope this helps your day. Great words to live by!
"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." JEREMIAH 29:12-13
How deeply do we believe? Do we just believe superficially, without depth or commitment? In the book of Jeremiah we read, "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Nobody ever made anything great out of his life who didn't do it with his whole heart.
I remember talking to a celebrity years ago. I knew that she had had a great deal of trouble in her life. I asked, "How come you keep at it with such enthusiasm?"
"Why," she answered, "because I love it. I give my whole self to it." And she did; she threw everything she had into it. If you give yourself with all your heart to your business, to your children, to your marriage, to your future, to your hopes, you are going to come out with something that is lasting and strong.
Hope this helps your day. Great words to live by!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
You want what you don't have.
Who were those kids who always had the steelies that were about 3 inches in diameter? You marble players all know who I'm talking about. We would play keepsies and the kid would always come up with a steelie that half the size of a school globe and say, "You want to play?" I would always say, "What are the rules?" (Real smart, have the kid with the biggest, shiniest marble make up the rules) "OK", he says, "I just have to hit your marble once and you have to hit mine a bazillion times." To which I would always reply, "OK". Did I expect to win? NO! But if I could only hit it a bazillion times I could have that bright shiny steelie and be the envy of all my friends! Little did I know I could just go to the auto parts store and pick one up. As a matter of fact I never beat those kids at marbles. But isn't that always the case? You want what you don't have and you'll do stupid things to get it.
Here's another example. BB guns. My mom hated them. She said that I was not allowed to have a BB gun. "Under know uncertain terms can you have a BB gun." So guess what I always wanted. You guessed it, a BB gun. Would I have wanted it if my mother didn't care whether I had one or not? I can't answer that because all I know is, since she didn't want me to have one, I wanted one. One day my neighbor Ronnie got a new BB gun and wanted to sell me his old one. I don't even remember where I got the money but I ended up with his old BB gun and hid it where no mother would ever look, under my bed with the last 7 editions of Club and Penthouse magazines (hey I was a kid, nowadays they have the internet). And some how, I can't remember how, my mother found out about it. I had to give it back to Ronnie and he even got to keep the money (although the joke is most likely on my Dad because I may have paid for it with some of his Ben Franklin 50 cent pieces!) Another thing I didn't have and always wanted.
But even the most trivial things that you don't have you want. We didn't have a basement. If we could go over to someones house and spend time in the basement it was like a whole new world to us. "You have a basement? Let's go over to your house." "You have your room in the basement? Oh my gosh that must be awesome!" I thought that feeling would be gone when you got older. You know, envy, want, need for what you don't have. Guess what, I DOESN'T.
I remember going to the ventriloquist convention back in 1980, I already had a Semok figure but saw Conrad Hartz and John Arvites (sorry if I spelled it wrong) and the work they did and I wanted one from each of them. I got the Hartz. Then I saw Verna Findley's work and wanted one of hers. She quit making them before I finally got a soft puppet but I love Mary Ann Taylor's work! Now there's that Selberg guy, haven't got one of those yet. You see, hasn't changed at all. The only difference is my mom's not telling me I can't have it any more. I guess that's why it says in the 23 Psalms, The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want. We shouldn't want for anything and definitely not envy someone who does have something we don't. But then again, that is our nature.
The sad thing about it is, once you do get what you've desired, that's it. You're desire is over. You've got it and now what, YOU WANT SOMETHING ELSE! Then the process starts all over again. So sad. Here's the thing, I don't think I ever even shot that BB gun and if I would have won that beautiful steelie, what then? And since then I've had a basement, no big deal. So maybe I will close this with some wise words from a very unusual source. Mick Jagger! Who said, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."
Here's another example. BB guns. My mom hated them. She said that I was not allowed to have a BB gun. "Under know uncertain terms can you have a BB gun." So guess what I always wanted. You guessed it, a BB gun. Would I have wanted it if my mother didn't care whether I had one or not? I can't answer that because all I know is, since she didn't want me to have one, I wanted one. One day my neighbor Ronnie got a new BB gun and wanted to sell me his old one. I don't even remember where I got the money but I ended up with his old BB gun and hid it where no mother would ever look, under my bed with the last 7 editions of Club and Penthouse magazines (hey I was a kid, nowadays they have the internet). And some how, I can't remember how, my mother found out about it. I had to give it back to Ronnie and he even got to keep the money (although the joke is most likely on my Dad because I may have paid for it with some of his Ben Franklin 50 cent pieces!) Another thing I didn't have and always wanted.
But even the most trivial things that you don't have you want. We didn't have a basement. If we could go over to someones house and spend time in the basement it was like a whole new world to us. "You have a basement? Let's go over to your house." "You have your room in the basement? Oh my gosh that must be awesome!" I thought that feeling would be gone when you got older. You know, envy, want, need for what you don't have. Guess what, I DOESN'T.
I remember going to the ventriloquist convention back in 1980, I already had a Semok figure but saw Conrad Hartz and John Arvites (sorry if I spelled it wrong) and the work they did and I wanted one from each of them. I got the Hartz. Then I saw Verna Findley's work and wanted one of hers. She quit making them before I finally got a soft puppet but I love Mary Ann Taylor's work! Now there's that Selberg guy, haven't got one of those yet. You see, hasn't changed at all. The only difference is my mom's not telling me I can't have it any more. I guess that's why it says in the 23 Psalms, The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want. We shouldn't want for anything and definitely not envy someone who does have something we don't. But then again, that is our nature.
The sad thing about it is, once you do get what you've desired, that's it. You're desire is over. You've got it and now what, YOU WANT SOMETHING ELSE! Then the process starts all over again. So sad. Here's the thing, I don't think I ever even shot that BB gun and if I would have won that beautiful steelie, what then? And since then I've had a basement, no big deal. So maybe I will close this with some wise words from a very unusual source. Mick Jagger! Who said, "You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Don't dismiss Global Warming
All you nay sayers out there that are dismissing Global Warming and saying that it was all a hoax shame on you. It will only be a matter of time till it comes back in full force! This is just the calm before the storm. I know it's snowing in Florida but I'm sure it's snowed there before. Ever hear of the ice age? Yes, with in a year you will be thanking me for giving you the heads up on global warming. I mean, if the president is putting together a panel to study the effects of global warming it has to be coming back doesn't it? Of course! Our president wouldn't spend money for no reason! He doesn't have a track record of that.
Al Gore was right! We need to watch out. The planet has a fever and you know how you get the chills when you have a fever? Well, the planet has the chills. Yeah, THAT'S IT! The planet has the chills. Maybe we can throw a warm blanket over the planet and give it some asprin and it will all go away. Or how about a big vat of Chicken Soup? Anyway, don't forget your sunscreen this summer, it's going to be a hot one!
Al Gore was right! We need to watch out. The planet has a fever and you know how you get the chills when you have a fever? Well, the planet has the chills. Yeah, THAT'S IT! The planet has the chills. Maybe we can throw a warm blanket over the planet and give it some asprin and it will all go away. Or how about a big vat of Chicken Soup? Anyway, don't forget your sunscreen this summer, it's going to be a hot one!
Friday, January 22, 2010
Negative Words (PITCH)
One thing that can help us or kill us as salespeople (and everyone is a salesperson whether you want to admit it or not) is words. The words that we select when we are presenting ourselves or our product can make or break us. Now it's fairly easy when we are talking to friends and family to not be too concerned about the words we us but it is then when we need to be most cautious of all. Because that's when our guard is down. I'm going to discuss, over the next few blogs, negative words that we use that may not even seem negative to us but may have an impact on our production and every day lives.The first word I'm going to discuss is a pet peeve of mine and is most often used in the words of a person who is in the sales industry. That word is PITCH. I'm sure, even if your not in sales, you have heard a salesperson use this word. "Let me give you my pitch." "After she finished her pitch." "We can discuss your questions in more detail after I am finished with my pitch." The problem with this word is, even in the last 3 statements I wrote, it just sounds negative. How do you feel when you hear this word? If someone is giving you their "PITCH" do you feel good about that person or do you feel their trying to pull something over on you.
Let's think about a pitch from the baseball standpoint. When a pitcher throws a pitch is he looking for the batter to hit it or to miss? AH! So when a salesperson gives a pitch are they looking for you to strike out or to hit a home run? I guess that would depend on what YOUR opinion of a home run would be. If a home run is buying their product (which it usually isn't, they are trying to give you the benefits of buying their product, you are trying to figure how to keep the money in you pocket) then they do want you to hit a home run. If, on the other hand, your home run is listening to his PITCH and getting out of there (a strike out in their eyes) than that's not a good thing for the salesperson.
So, what do we do? How do we get rid of this negative word and replace it with something positive. Very easy! Let's take pitch out of our vocabulary (unless it's a tent or you really are playing baseball) and replace it with the nice positive word of PRESENTATION. "Let me give you my presentation." "After she finished her presentation." "We can discuss your questions in more detail after I am finished with my presentation." How do you feel after you read these statements? Is it as negative as it was when the word was ....... WAIT ..... we're taking that out of our vocabulary. Isn't PRESENTATION a much better word? It sounds like your doing your job, not trying to pull something over on someone. It sounds much more professional and, best of all, let's the customer feel at ease. I will always let have time to listen to someones presentation but will always be apprehensive with a salesperson's (dare I say) pitch.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Cleveland Fight Poem
The last time Cleveland won it all
I really can't remember
The fact that I was only 4
(My birthday's in December)
They beat a team from Baltimore
By scoring 27
The Colts were blanked and Collins ruled
(I'll bet that game was heaven)
Since 19 hundred 64
We've never won the biggie
It's not because our teams have stunk
(I wonder what it could be?)
I do not want to downplay
The soccer team we had
Who won 3 championships
In the 90's which wasn't bad
But We don't follow soccer
Our games are the big 3
That's baseball, football, basketball
(I'm sure you will agree)
We've had many chances
Let's talk first about the Tribe
Who, back in the mid 90's
Gave us a real good vibe.
With names like Thome and Vizquel
And pitchers that excelled
We should have won the series
But in the end we yelled!
"Curse you Jose Mesa,
You should have closed the game."
But now instead of series champs
the outcome was the same.
Turning now to basketball
As you all ready know
Some superstar named Jordan
Could not be blocked by Craig Ehlo.
The shot it rang though out the land
And famous still today
We sunk our heads in agony
While Bulls fans yelled "Hooray!"
And even when a young LeBron
With a pretty good team
Got us to the finals for once
In the end they just lost steam.
The Browns in all their glory
Had great games on the field
"The Fumble, The Drive" and Elway
Made sure their fate was sealed.
Why do we put ourselves through this?
What is a REAL fan?
The person who still will back their team
Since losing first began.
The teams still fight and play their best
So why not do the same?
Unless you are fair weather fans
(and I think that's just lame!)
So cheer all Cleveland Sports fans
One day we'll win it all
Because we fought the good fight
(Words of Apostle Paul)
So keep on fighting Cleveland Cavs
and Browns and Indians too
We'll back you till the day we die
(or till our face turns blue)
I really can't remember
The fact that I was only 4
(My birthday's in December)
They beat a team from Baltimore
By scoring 27
The Colts were blanked and Collins ruled
(I'll bet that game was heaven)
Since 19 hundred 64
We've never won the biggie
It's not because our teams have stunk
(I wonder what it could be?)
I do not want to downplay
The soccer team we had
Who won 3 championships
In the 90's which wasn't bad
But We don't follow soccer
Our games are the big 3
That's baseball, football, basketball
(I'm sure you will agree)
We've had many chances
Let's talk first about the Tribe
Who, back in the mid 90's
Gave us a real good vibe.
With names like Thome and Vizquel
And pitchers that excelled
We should have won the series
But in the end we yelled!
"Curse you Jose Mesa,
You should have closed the game."
But now instead of series champs
the outcome was the same.
Turning now to basketball
As you all ready know
Some superstar named Jordan
Could not be blocked by Craig Ehlo.
The shot it rang though out the land
And famous still today
We sunk our heads in agony
While Bulls fans yelled "Hooray!"
And even when a young LeBron
With a pretty good team
Got us to the finals for once
In the end they just lost steam.
The Browns in all their glory
Had great games on the field
"The Fumble, The Drive" and Elway
Made sure their fate was sealed.
Why do we put ourselves through this?
What is a REAL fan?
The person who still will back their team
Since losing first began.
The teams still fight and play their best
So why not do the same?
Unless you are fair weather fans
(and I think that's just lame!)
So cheer all Cleveland Sports fans
One day we'll win it all
Because we fought the good fight
(Words of Apostle Paul)
So keep on fighting Cleveland Cavs
and Browns and Indians too
We'll back you till the day we die
(or till our face turns blue)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Sports Fan
Why is it that the people that never played sports are some of the biggest sports fans? Is it because they fantasize about being out there on the court of the field playing the big game making the big plays? Are they envious? Are they jealous? Or is it just the fact that they get a warm feeling inside when their team wins (which is a whole 2 times for us Browns fans this year! But hey, the last one was the Steelers! YIPEE!!) Well, being one of those who never played in any organized capacity, I think it's the last thing I said. No, not YIPEE!! The warm feeling. That toasty, warm, fantastic feeling when my team wins. It's great to see excellent plays but when the score is in my favor at the end of the game, I absolutely love it!
I can only imagine what it would be like to be one of the players on the team at the end of the day. Their feeling has to be 10 times greater than what I am feeling because they played a part in that win. It's got to feel kind of like winning a poker tournament. And I have to say, that rush makes it all worth it! I'm not a sore winner so I don't like to win for bragging rights (although we do have quite a few months of not hearing the Steeler fans talk about how they always beat us). It's interesting because Sue always says, "I never remember you liking sports like you do now." And she is right. In some ways I'm disappointed that I didn't get into sports at a younger age. Maybe even played. I might not have been good but I think I would have had a better appreciation of sports today.
Ah but alas, I will be content just watching from my couch or at the game. God bless all the players and coaches and everyone that goes in to a sports organization. Keep up the good work so I can, at least every once in a while, get the warm fuzzies from a win. And, unlike some so called fans, I will be dedicated to Cleveland and OSU to the day I die. Win or lose, I'm with you all the way.
I can only imagine what it would be like to be one of the players on the team at the end of the day. Their feeling has to be 10 times greater than what I am feeling because they played a part in that win. It's got to feel kind of like winning a poker tournament. And I have to say, that rush makes it all worth it! I'm not a sore winner so I don't like to win for bragging rights (although we do have quite a few months of not hearing the Steeler fans talk about how they always beat us). It's interesting because Sue always says, "I never remember you liking sports like you do now." And she is right. In some ways I'm disappointed that I didn't get into sports at a younger age. Maybe even played. I might not have been good but I think I would have had a better appreciation of sports today.
Ah but alas, I will be content just watching from my couch or at the game. God bless all the players and coaches and everyone that goes in to a sports organization. Keep up the good work so I can, at least every once in a while, get the warm fuzzies from a win. And, unlike some so called fans, I will be dedicated to Cleveland and OSU to the day I die. Win or lose, I'm with you all the way.
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