The Story of a pencial

(Contributed by Ms. Margaret Tiburtius)

Small things in our life can teach big lessons and as I read this
story by Paulo Coelho in his book “Like the flowing river” I thought
I should share this story with a larger audience.
The title of the story is “The story of a pencil”
“A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point
he asked ‘Are you writing a story about what we have done?
Is this a story about me’ His grand mother stopped writing her
letter and said to the grandson ‘I am writing about you actually
but more important than the words is the pencil I am using. I hope
you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’
Intrigued the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.
‘But it’s like any other pencil I’ve ever seen.’

‘It depends on how you look at things. The pencil has five qualities,
which if you manage to hang on to them, will make you a person
who is always at peace with the world.’

First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never
forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that the
hand of God, and He always guides us according to his will.

Second quality: now and then I have to stop writing and use a
sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little but afterwards,
he is much sharper. So you too must learn to bear pains and sorrows,
because they will make you a better person.’

Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out
mistakes. This means that correcting something we did, is not
necessarily a bad thing, it helps us to keep on the road to justice.

Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not the wooden
exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what
is happening inside you.’

Finally the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In just the
same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave
a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.”

I would like to add up one more quality to the pencil which is very
important in today’s world. A pencil can write in any medium.
When the space programme was launched the Americans were
wondering how to develop a special ink that will write in the
vacuum of space. But the Russians used a pencil. The graphite is
unaffected by vacuum, heat or cold.
So also, if we want to contribute in a positive manner in our lives,
we should be able to adapt ourselves to varying environments.

Attitude is unique to you.

Aptitude Can be Trained but attitude is unique to you. That is why you are different

Choose the hardest because hardest will take you the highest. I believe , I do not know everything– Kiran Bedy. IPS



Don't spend your precious time asking "Why isn't the world a better place?" It will only be time wasted. The question to ask is "How can I make it better?" To that there is an answer. - Leo F. Buscaglia:



Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another. Walter Elliott



" Attitude is the mind's paintbrush, it can colour any situation ".



“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude”- Zig Ziglar

[ ATTITUDE ]

The following story illustrates one man's determination to choose his attitude in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.



Jerry was always in a good mood, and always had something positive to say.



He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant.



The reason the waiters followed Jerry was his attitude.



He was a natural motivator.



If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.



Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I approached Jerry and remarked, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"



Jerry replied, "Each morning, I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood.



Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.



Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept his complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."



"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.



"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices.



When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."



I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.



Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business; he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gun point by three armed robbers. While trying to open the cash box, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.



Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.



I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he said, I declined to see his wounds but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.



"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."



"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.



Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."



"What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes," I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Bullets!" Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."



Jerry lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.



- Anonymous

[POSITIVE MINDSET BRING RESULT]

When you feel the frustration level rising to the point
that it threatens to undermine your positive mindset
to your studies, it is time to take a short break.
Push back the chair, turn off the computer, and get out
of the house. Go to a movie, take a walk, have coffee with
friends. The point is to change your location, the view
around you, and the focus of your attention for a short
period of time.

Giving yourself this short break will do wonders for
your cognitive abilities. Chances are very good
that when you return to your computer and pull
up your study documents, things will make a great
deal more sense.

Remember that you can be whatever you want to be.
All you have to do is take the time to equip yourself
with the knowledge and skills you need to reach your
goals. This may not happen overnight, but if you keep
your chin up, work hard, and assimilate what you need,
your confidence in your ability will grow and you will get
where you want to go.

[LEVEL OF SUCCESS ]

Your level of success and achievement in any
area of life is in direct proportion to your ability
and willingness to direct your thoughts into
effective planning and organized action towards a
specific goal combined with a strong reason WHY
you’re doing it in the first place!

[ MONEY MEDITATION ]

A Simple Money Meditation

Here is A Simple Experiment that May Put $100 (or More) into Your Pocket

I believe in providing you with simple actions you can take that will give you definite, practical results. I'm not going to give you the psychology behind this experiment right now, just the steps:

1.Get a small card--the back of a business card works perfectly--and write on the back of it "$100." No affirmations, no other words, just the figure $100. Or if you live outside the U.S., you can write down an equivalent amount in your own currency.

2. Carry your card around with you and look at it several times a day.

3.The purpose of the card is to give you something tangible to focus your thoughts on. As you look at the card, visualize the amount. In your imagination, see that money in your hands. See it moving into your bank account.

4. After you download the 31 FREE Power Affirmations you will receive from joining my list, listen to all of them at least once each day. You don't have to listen to them all at once. And you can listen to them while you are doing other things. As you listen, keep saying to yourself "$100."

5.Once a day, use your computer or a blank piece of paper, or a notebook and write down any thoughts you have about the $100. Maybe an idea pops into your mind as to how you can earn an extra $100--how you can serve others. Or how you can save $100 (remember: a dollar saved is a dollar earned). I have also found it helpful to write out formulas that equal $100. For example, 5 x $20=$100; 10 x $10 = $100. It increases creative thoughts. I always use multiplication for this.

6.Make certain you notice when the $100 has come to you in the form of new income or new savings.

Celebrate your results. You have just proven to yourself that affirmations and the Law of Attraction works. And you now have a practical means of attracting more money into your life any time you want.

Can you do this with larger amounts? Absolutely. My advice is to gradually increase the amounts as your self-confidence and faith increases. If you apply this idea consistently, it may put thousands of dollars into your pocket over the next few years. More importantly, it will increase your understanding of the Law of Attraction.

[ INSPIRATION ]

ALL SUCCESS STARTS WITH A BEGINNING

Everyone who got where they are, had to begin where they were.
There are opportunities all around you.
To reach your goal or to attain success. you don't need to know all of the answers in advance.
But you do need to have a clear idea of your goal.
Don't procrastinate when faced with difficult problems.
Break those problems into parts and handle one part at a time.
Develop tendencies toward action.
Break your big plan into small steps and take the first step right away.
You can make something happen, right now.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. Take it..

(This piece of Inspiration appeared on iyer mail)