“We have to choose love.  We have to choose to be patient, kind, humble and giving.”
~ Victoria Osteen ~

“For example, my wife is Filipina.  Although she speaks fluent English, her original, native language is Tagalog. Generally, this isn’t a problem for us. But sometimes, there can be a bit of a communication gap.

I remember one day we were working on our budget and a program got ‘stuck’ on the computer and it wouldn’t close. I was trying everything – two or three times. As I tried each maneuver, I would tell her what I was trying. We were both getting frustrated.

To my surprise, she kept asking me over and over to try something I had already tried several times – and I told her I had already told her I had told her! In retrospect, it seems almost comical. But at the time, both of us were frustrated. I reacted from my gut, lost my temper, and huffed out of the room to cool down. I didn’t catch the gap.

Becoming aware of the gap is a fundamental step in loving.”

“Today, I interviewed a woman who is terminally ill.

“So,” I tried to delicately ask, “What is it like to wake up every morning and know that you are dying?”

“Well,” she responded, “What is it like to wake up every morning and pretend that you are not?”

~ Suzie ~
From http://makesmethink.com/

“Are you courageous enough to contemplate, for even just a few moments, your last day on earth? How will you be remembered? What will you have accomplished? What will you leave behind? What is your love? Your calling? Will you leave rejoicing with the knowledge that you have heard and responded to your calling with joy and love? Or, will you leave with regret and fear?”

“You are loved and cherished. You have nothing to fear. There is nothing you can do wrong.”
~ Eben Alexander, MD ~

“The most powerful relationships we have in our lives are with those people who lead us and with those whom we lead – in which leadership is a central element of the relationship. Parent-child, friend-friend, girlfriend-boyfriend, spouse-spouse, teacher-student, coach-player, boss-employee, – it is relationships like these that have the most influence in our lives and where the lessons of love and life are cultivated.

The creative energy of love is not weak and sentimental. On the contrary, as Reverend King tells us, it is a force – a unifying force that is the supreme principle of life. Leaders who use the creative energy force of love have made a giant step towards a more profound and sublime power on their journey.”

“Happiness and success in life do not depend on our circumstances, but on ourselves.”
“Rest is not idleness.”

~ Sir John Lubbock ~
(1895)

“Taking time out to re-center and re-focus is a crucial part of effective leadership. As I mentioned before, I contemplate my guiding principles and values every morning and every night on a continual and routine basis. If I get stressed or busy, I take time-outs to reconnect to purpose, mission, and vision and guiding principles and values. Only then am I ready to focus on the goals and objectives that manifest them into reality.”