Listening Power

The art of good conversation centers very much on your ability to ask questions and to listen attentively to the answers. You can lace the conversation with your insights, ideas, and opinions, but you perfect the art and skill of conversation by perfecting the art and skill of asking good, well-worded questions that direct the conversation and give other people an opportunity to express themselves.

Ask Open Ended Questions :

Ask open-ended questions that cannot be answered with a simple "yes" or "no." Open-ended questions encourage the speaker to expand on his thoughts and comments. And one question will lead to another. You can ask open-ended questions almost endlessly, drawing out of the other person everything that he or she has to say on a particular subject.

Be Content to Listen :

In order to be an excellent conversationalist, you must resist the urge to dominate the discussion. The very best conversationalists seem to be low-key, easy-going, cheerful, and genuinely interested in the other person. They seem to be quite content to listen when other people are talking and they make their own contributions to the dialogue rather short and to the point.

Share the Opportunity to Talk :

In fact, good conversation has an easy ebb and flow, like the tide coming in and going out. Whether it is between two people or among several, the conversation should shift back and forth, with each person getting an opportunity to talk. Conversation in this sense is like a ball that is tossed from person to person, with no one holding on to it for very long.

If you feel that you have been talking for too long, you should stop and ask a question of someone in the group. You will be tossing the conversational ball and giving that individual an opportunity to converse.

Learn to Listen Well :

Listening is the most important of all skills for successful conversation. Many people are very poor listeners. Since everyone enjoys talking, it takes a real effort to practice the fundamentals of excellent listening and to make them a habit.

Action Exercises :

Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

1. First, make a habit of asking good, open-ended questions of others in every conversation and in response to problems or difficulties. This shows interest and increases your understanding.

2. Second, take a deep breath, relax and let the other person talk more. Practice over and over until you become an excellent listener.

The Power of Words

A group of frogs were travelling 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.

Right Now !!!

Are you holding back on your dreams and goals until the time is right? Are you waiting until you have more time, money, energy, or courage? What will you do if the conditions are never quite "right" to take action? You probably believe that conditions will somehow be better or more favorable at a later time, and it will therefore be easier to achieve the goals you have in mind. The problem with this belief is that it is rarely accurate.

There will always be obstacles to deal with, unfavorable conditions to work through, and fear lurking in the shadows of your subconscious mind. You can wait years and still never feel that the time is right to move forward. The only time to move forward is right now. Maybe you really don't have the time or money or energy to do EVERYTHING you want to do, but can you do SOME of it? Can you spare a few minutes a day to work on something so vitally important to you? Can you find alternate routes to your goal that don't require a lot of capital? Can you brainstorm ways around the obstacles that block your path? You Can!

Do yourself a favor: pretend that circumstances will never be better than they are right now. Pretend that things will only get worse if you don't take some form of action. The size of the action is unimportant; just do something. Take one step toward what you want. Amazing things happen when you do this. First, you realize that things aren't quite as impossible as they seemed. Second, the actions you do take begin opening doors to allow more opportunities to appear. Finally, obstacles start to dissolve and melt into the pavement - all because you decided they weren't big enough to hold you back any longer. Whatever you are yearning for today, do it now. Do it now, and you'll thank yourself later.

The Key to Leadership

The Foremost of the Values :

Winston Churchill once said, "Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it all others depend." The systematic development of the deep down quality of unflinching courage is one of the fundamental requirements for leadership in any field. Fear, or the lack of courage is more responsible for failure in management, and in life, than any other factor. It is always fear that causes people to hold back, to sell themselves short, to settle for far less than they are capable of!

Eliminate Fear and Doubt :

I firmly believe that you can do, have or be far more than you now know if only you could eliminate the fear, doubts and misgivings that consciously and unconsciously interfere with your realizing your full potential.

Unlearn Your Fears :

If there is anything positive about fear, it is that all fears are learned, that no one is born with fears, and that having been learned, they can be unlearned. If you want to understand the role of fear in shaping the course of your life, just ask yourself, if you had a magic wand that would absolutely guarantee you success in any one thing you attempted, what goal would you set for yourself.

The Great Question :

"What one great thing would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail?" If you had no fears at all with regard to money or the criticism of others, what would you do differently? Most people can think of all kinds of changes they would, or could, make in their lives if they had no fears to hold them back.

The Origins of Fear :

The development of courage begins with understanding the psychological origins of fear. The newborn child has only two fears; the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. All other fears that we experience as adults are learned as we are growing up, primarily as the result of well-meaning but destructive criticism from our parents.

How Fears Develop :

When the curious child gets into things and makes a mess, the parent scolds and punishes the child, eventually building up a pattern of fear connected with trying or getting into anything new or different. As adults, we experience this as the fear of failure, the fear of risking, of making a mistake, of losing.

Action Exercises :

Here are two steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

1. First, imagine that you had no fears at all. What would you set as a goal for yourself if you were guaranteed of success?

2. Second, decide exactly what you want and then act as if it were impossible to fail. You may be surprised at how successful you are.

By: Brian Tracy

Make a Life into Precious Pearls

An oyster on the ocean floor opened wide its shell to let the water pass over it. As the water flushed through, its gills picked out food, sending it to its stomach.

Suddenly a large fish nearby stirred up a cloud of sand and silt with a flip of its tail. Sand! Oh, how the oyster disliked sand. It was so rough and made life so unpleasant and uncomfortable and was such a bother whenever any got inside its shell. Quickly the oyster slammed its shell shut, but it was too late. One hard gritty grain of sand had gotten in and lodged itself between his inner flesh and his shell.

My, how that piece of sand bothered the oyster! But almost immediately, its special glands for coating the in-side of his shell began working to coat the irritating grain of sand with a lovely smooth and shiny covering. Year after year the oyster added a few more layers of the coating onto the tiny grain of sand until at last, it had produced a beautiful lustrous pearl of great value.

Sometimes the problems we have are a bit like that grain of sand. They bother us and we wonder why we have the irritation and inconvenience they can be. But they can be blessings in disguise and make us achieve way beyond our own expectations. So take the rough pieces of sand in life and turns them into precious pearls.

Life

A young monk arrives at the monastery. He is assigned to helping the other monks in copying the old canons and laws of the church by hand. He notices, however, that all of the monks are copying from copies, not from the original manuscript. So, the new monk goes to the head abbot to question this, pointing out that if someone made even a small error in the first copy, it would never be picked up! In fact, that error would be continued in all of the subsequent copies. The head monk, says, "We have been copying from the copies for centuries, but you make a good point, my son."

He goes down into the dark caves underneath the monastery where the original manuscripts are held as archives in a locked vault that hasn't been opened for hundreds of years. Hours go by and nobody sees the old abbot.

So, the young monk gets worried and goes down to look for him. He sees him banging his head against the wall and wailing. "We missed the R ! We missed the R ! We missed the R !"

His forehead is all bruised and he is crying uncontrollably. The young monk asks the old abbot, "What's wrong, father?" With A choking voice, the old abbot replies, "The word was... CELEBRATE !!!

Life's joys and success are in its little details. Don’t miss out the 'R' factor in anything you do

True Love

Once a lady when having a conversation with her lover, asked:

Lady : Why do you like me..? Why do you love me?
Man : I can t tell the reason.. but I really like you..

Lady : You can t even tell me the reason... how can you say you like me? How can you say you love me?
Man : I really don t know the reason, but I can prove that I loveU.

Lady : Proof? No! I want you to tell me the reason. My friend's boyfriend can tell her why he loves her but not you!
Man : Ok..ok!!! Erm... because you are beautiful,

because your voice is sweet,

because you are caring,

because you are loving,

because you are thoughtful,

because of your smile,

because of your every movements.

The lady felt very satisfied with the man s answer.

Unfortunately, a few days later, the Lady met with an accident and went in comma.

The Guy then placed a letter by her side, and here is the content:


Darling,

Because of your sweet voice that I love you...

Now can you talk? No! Therefore I cannot love you.

Because of your care and concern that I like you..

Now that you cannot show them, therefore I cannot love you.

Because of your smile,

because of your every movements that I love you..

Now can you smile? Now can you move?

No, therefore I cannot love you...

If love needs a reason, like now,

There is no reason for me to love you anymore.

Does love need a reason? NO!

Therefore, I still love you...

Love me for a Reason...Let the Reason Be Love

Inspirational Poem - To Walk Alone

To Walk Alone

Alone I walk
Just to talk to myself
To sit, absently thinking
About what lay before me
Run off, hide
Sun is brightly glowing
But did I have fun
as I walked alone all day long
_________________
I fall and I pick myself up.
I lose hope yet I dream.
I am lost and I find myself again.
I cry and I laugh through my tears.
I despair yet I believe.

Doing Better Than Good!

Doing Better Than Good!
By Zig Ziglar

People frequently ask me, “How can I know when I am doing better than good?” I thought about that question and came up with 15 ways to measure yourself. Take a look and see what you think:

You are doing better than good when you clearly understand that failure is an event, not a person; that yesterday ended last night, and today is your brand new day.

You are doing better than good when you have made friends with your past, are focused on the present, and optimistic about your future.

You are doing better than good when you know that success (a win) doesn't make you, and failure (a loss) doesn't break you.

You are doing better than good when you are filled with faith, hope and love; and live without anger, greed, guilt, envy or thoughts of revenge.

You are doing better than good when you are mature enough to delay gratification and shift your focus from your rights to your responsibilities.

You are doing better than good when you know that failure to stand for what is morally right is the prelude to being the victim of what is criminally wrong.

You are doing better than good when you are secure in who you are, so you are at peace with God and in fellowship with man.

You are doing better than good when you have made friends of your adversaries, and have gained the love and respect of those who know you best.

You are doing better than good when you understand that others can give you pleasure, but genuine happiness comes when you do things for others.

You are doing better than good when you are pleasant to the grouch, courteous to the rude, and generous to the needy.

You are doing better than good when you love the unlovable, give hope to the hopeless, friendship to the friendless, and encouragement to the discouraged.

You are doing better than good when you can look back in forgiveness, forward in hope, down in compassion, and up with gratitude.

You are doing better than good when you know that "he who would be the greatest among you must become the servant of all."

You are doing better than good when you recognize, confess, develop and use your God-given physical, mental and spiritual abilities to the glory of God and for the benefit of mankind.

You are doing better than good when you stand in front of the Creator of the universe and He says to you, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Think over each one of these 15 ideas and see how you can incorporate them into your life so that you truly are better than good!

Principles of Life

* Winning isn't everything. But wanting to win is.

* You would achieve more, if you don't mind who gets the credit.

* When everything else is lost, the future stillremains.

* Don't fight too much. Or the enemy would know your art of war.

* The only job you start at the top is when you dig a grave.

* If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything.

* If you do little things well, you'll do big ones better.

* Only thing that comes to you without effort is old age.

* You won't get a second chance to make the first impression.

* Only those who do nothing do not make mistakes.

* Never take a problem to your boss unless you have a solution.

* If you are not failing you're not taking enough risks.

* Don't try to get rid of bad temper by losing it.

* If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

* Those who don't make mistakes usually don't make anything

* There are two kinds of failures. Those who think and never do,
and those who do and never think.

* Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win.

* All progress has resulted from unpopular decisions.

* Change your thoughts and you change your world.

* Understanding proves intelligence, not the speed of the learning.

* There are two kinds of fools in this world. Those who give advise
and those who don't take it.

* The best way to kill an idea is to take it to a meeting.

* Management is doing things right. Leadership is doing the right things.

* Friendship founded on business is always better than business founded on friendship.

Un-learning the Ways of Un-love

When you are absolutely happy in your aloneness, when the other is not a need, it is then that you are capable of love. If the other is your need, you can only exploit, manipulate, dominate but cannot love.

Because you depend on the other, possessiveness arises -- out of fear. "Who knows? The other is with me today; tomorrow he/she may not be with me. Who knows about the next moment?" [...] Out of that fear of the future, you become very possessive. You create bondage around the person you think you love.

But love cannot create a prison. If love creates a prison, then what is left for hatred to do? Love brings freedom -- love gives freedom. It is non-possessiveness. But that is possible only if you have known a totally different quality of love, one not of need but of sharing.

Love is sharing of overflowing joy. You are too full of joy, you cannot contain it, you have to share it. Then there is poetry, then there is something tremendously beautiful which is not of this world, something that comes from the beyond.

Often I say, learn the art of love. What I really mean is: learn the art of removing all that hinders love. It is a negative process. It is like digging a well -- you go on removing layers of earth, stones, rocks and then suddenly there is water. The water was always there as an undercurrent. When you remove all barriers, the water is available. So with love. Love is the undercurrent of your being. It is flowing, but there are many rocks, much earth to be removed. That's what I mean when I say: learn the art of love. It is really not learning love but un-learning the ways of un-love.

~ Swami Chaitanaya Keerti

A Million Dollar Lesson

A Million Dollar Lesson
by : Petey Parker

A cab driver taught me a million dollar lesson in customer satisfaction and expectation. Motivational speakers charge thousands of dollars to impart his kind of training to corporate executives and staff. It cost me a $12 taxi ride.

I had flown into Dallas for the sole purpose of calling on a client. Time was of the essence and my plan included a quick turnaround trip from and back to the airport. A spotless cab pulled up.

The driver rushed to open the passenger door for me and made sure I was comfortably seated before he closed the door. As he got in the driver's seat, he mentioned that the neatly folded Wall Street Journal next to me for my use. He then showed me several tapes and asked me what type of music I would enjoy.

Well! I looked around for a "Candid Camera!" Wouldn't you? I could not believe the service I was receiving! I took the opportunity to say, "Obviously you take great pride in your work. You must have a story to tell."

"You bet," he replied, "I used to be in Corporate America. But I got tired of thinking my best would never be good enough. I decided to find my niche in life where I could feel proud of being the best I could be.

I knew I would never be a rocket scientist, but I love driving cars, being of service and feeling like I have done a full day's work and done it well. I evaluate my personal assets and... wham! I became a cab driver.

One thing I know for sure, to be good in my business I could simply just meet the expectations of my passengers. But, to be GREAT in my business, I have to EXCEED the customer's expectations! I like both the sound and the return of being 'great' better than just getting by on 'average'"

Did I tip him big time? You bet! Corporate America's loss is the traveling folk's friend!
-----
Lessons:

Go an Extra Mile when providing any Service to others.
The is no good or bad job. You can make any job good.
Good service always brings good return.

Money with Meaning: Living Your Life “On Purpose”

Living Your Life “On Purpose”
By T. Harv Eker

Money with Meaning: Living Your Life “On Purpose”

Why are you here? Why are you on the planet right now? Many people believe we each come into this life with a purpose, a reason for living. Considering that every element in nature has a specific purpose for existing, and we are an integral part of nature, it stands to reason that we have a purpose too.

Eastern philosophies submit that each of us has a job to do, a duty in life, and that the only way to find peace and fulfillment is to carry out your duty or "dharma" as it's called. The philosophy states that to truly be happy you must learn to live in service, to live based on what you can give rather than only on what you can get; to live based "on purpose" rather than only "on outcome".

The brilliant futurist, Buckminster Fuller said, "The purpose of our lives is to add value to the people of this generation and those that follow." In short, to leave this world a better place than it was when you arrived. It could be in terms of adding convenience, education, entertainment, enlightenment, health, beauty, joy, humour, technology, or any other way you personally can serve other people or the planet.

Although many people believe they have a purpose, they often have a difficult time discovering their own reason for living. Because purpose holds such a spiritual sense, people tend to believe their purpose will somehow be handed down from the heavens. They wait and wait for some "burning bush" to tell them what to do. It's true, a few "tuned-in" people do receive some type of message; some unmistakable calling. But the answer for most of us is that we actually have to "choose" our purpose. We are the ones who decide how we are best suited to serve.

Our choice, however, is not random. We each have unique abilities, inherent talents and strengths. We each have different interests and activities that bring us joy. We each have different experiences and issues from which we've learned, and we all have a different way in which we can best serve others. It is through these factors you "choose" your purpose.

Can your purpose change? Yes. More likely, however, is that your overall purpose remains the same, while the vehicle you use to provide your service may change on an ongoing basis. If your purpose is to teach, for example, you may teach your own children, teach in a school, become an author or a speaker or even be a consultant. Regardless of your vehicle, your dharma is to "teach".

It takes courage to choose a purpose and even more courage to live your life based on it! Once you have purpose, you will have two essential elements for a truly happy life - money and meaning! In this way, you will become ‘rich’ in every sense of the word.

EXERCISE:

List your unique abilities, talents, strengths, interests and joys. From here choose an overall purpose for your life. Clarify it by writing it down. Then choose an initial vehicle with which you can serve people that is in alignment with your purpose. Begin today to live your life based on purpose.

Declarations:

I am here for a reason.

I have important work to do.

I live my life on purpose.

There Is A Lot To Give, Besides Money.

A Mothers Love

By unknown Author

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his Mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

For cutting the grass: $5.00
For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00
For going to the store for you: $.50
Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25
Taking out the garbage: $1.00
For getting a good report card: $5.00
For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00
Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing through her mind. She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he'd written on, and this is what she wrote:

For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me:
No Charge

For all the nights that I've sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you:
No Charge

For all the trying times, and all the tears that you've caused through the years:
No Charge

For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead:
No Charge

For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose:
No Charge

Son, when you add it up, the cost of my love is:
No Charge.

When the boy finished reading what his mother had written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked straight at his mother and said, "Mom, I sure do love you." And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: "PAID IN FULL".

Lessons:
- You will never how much your parents worth till you become a parent
- Be a giver not an asker, especially with your parents. there is a lot to give, besides money.

Law of the Seed

Take a look at an apple tree. There might be five hundred apples on the tree, and each apple may have almost ten seeds. That's a lot of seeds! We might ask, "Why would you need so many seeds to grow just a few more apple trees?"

Nature has something to teach us here. It's telling us: "Not all seeds grow. In life, most seeds never grow. So if you really want to make something happen, you had better try more than once."

This might mean:
You'll attend twenty interviews to get one job. You'll interview forty people to find one good employee. You'll talk to fifty people to sell one house, one car, one vacuum cleaner, one insurance policy, or a business idea. And you might meet a hundred acquaintances just to find one special friend .

When we understand the "Law of the Seed", we don't get so disappointed. We stop feeling like victims. We learn how to deal with things that happen to us .

Laws of nature are not things to take personally. We just need to understand them - and work with them.

Journey To Success !!!

There was a farmer who grew superior quality and award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won honour and prizes.

Once a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learnt something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours'. "How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir, "said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn."

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves. So it is in the other dimensions! Those who choose to be at harmony must help their neighbours and colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well. Success does not happen in isolation. It is very often a participative and collective process. Make someone else a part of your journey to success.

Put Off Procrastinating

Do you have the tendency to procrastinate? If you do, you are a person who has mastered the art of keeping up with yesterday.

Take a good, hard, honest, daily look at yourself to determine if you have slipped into the habit of putting things off until tomorrow.

Write it on your heart:

Success is the product of today,

today's responsibilities fulfilled,

today's opportunities seized,

today's jobs attended to,

today's goals accomplished.

Tomorrow never really comes. Every morning when the sun rises, it's today! That's when life is accomplished.

Do you ever promise yourself that tomorrow will be better? It can be, too, simply by making today the best day possible. To make tomorrow a great day, start today!

Some people get ready and then do something. Many just keep getting ready!

Promise yourself your work will be done today, the unpleasant task will be cleared up today. Today you owe it to yourself, your family and your organization to break loose from the bonds of procrastination and leap into the exciting world of today's accomplishments, present achievements, and immediate rewards.

Have an inspired day!