Top 10 Things That Make Life Worthwhile

Below are some of the things that, over the years, my clients have taught me about making life a wonderful adventure. You will, hopefully, have additions that uniquely enrich your life, and I hope you'll add them to this list and pass them along to others. In the meantime, I share this list with the hope that it will challenge you, and make your day more rewarding!


1. Take time to dream -- it hitches your soul to the stars.


2. Take time to work -- it is the price of success.


3. Take time to think -- it is the source of power.


4. Take time to play -- it is the secret of youth.


5. Take time to read -- it is the foundation of knowledge.


6. Take time to worship -- it is the highway of reverence and washes the dust of earth from your eyes.


7. Take time to laugh -- it helps with life's loads.


8. Take time for health -- it is the true treasure of life.


9. Take time for friends -- they are the source of happiness.


10. Take time to love -- it is the source of joy.



© Copyright 2003 by Philip E. Humbert. All Rights Reserved. This article may be copied and used in your own newsletter or on your website as long as you include the following information: "Written by Dr. Philip E. Humbert, writer, speaker and success coach. Dr. Humbert has over 300 free articles, tools and resources for your success, including a great newsletter! It's all on his website at: http://www.philiphumbert.com/

Life lessons - An Inpirational Story

Ju was physically abused as a child. She lived with a mother who was diagnosed with post depression and a father who was a wife abuser.

Her parent divorced and left six of them with her mother. She left school at 15 and went to work waiting tables to help her mother feed them all.

At 18 she met and fell in love and was married soon after. Then she found out that her husband drank too much, slept around with other women, a wife abuser and took drugs.

She was divorced at age 20 with two children. Her husband took their son away and handed him to his friend. He was sent to jail for an offence with the law.

Her husband's friend did not want to hand the boy over to her and demanded money in exchange. The child had scars on his chest due to burnt from cigarette butts. That was what he got for crying out for food.

She finally managed to get her son back. She left her children in her mother's care while she left to find a job.

At 28 she had an accident. Her dress caught fire and she suffered 2nd degree burns.

With that her self-esteem and self-confidence went down the pit. She was depressed. She attempted suicides several times and was given psychiatric treatments.

After a major surgery and lots of counseling and support from relatives and friends, she started her life all over again even with one partly deformed hand and fingers.

Her anxiety was all the time still present. It was tougher to find a job. She felt like a disabled person.

The one thing that kept her going in spite of her misfortune was her will to be able to feed herself and sent money for her children. She did not want to ask for financial support.

At 38 she was diagnosed with cancer of the cervix. That was a big blow to her. She went through another depression episode.

"Why me?" was the question she repeatedly asked. Of course when she asked that question, she got all the wrong answers. She felt more depressed. She blamed her father, her mother and everyone for what brought her sufferings. Worst, she blamed herself.

She agreed to go for the treatments, chemotherapy and cesium, because she did not want to go through the pains.

This was when she took the time to look within her. She thought that she might not live long enough so she decided to reconnect with her children. It was not easy especially with her son who had gone through his own childhood trauma.

She turned to her family for moral support and she turned to God.

Now eight years later, she is still alive. Waking up and able to breathe for another day is a gift for her.

She has two grandchildren whom she adores and that give her much joy. She takes some jobs every now and then when her health permits and rests when she needs it.

Her question has changed. She now asks what is it she could do to get more out of what is left?

Things happen and happen to us all. Life does not play favorites. Everyone has a story to tell.

It is how we handle it that matters. We do not have to wait until a major catastrophe interrupts us to think of what we should do with our lives.

It is up to us to make or break us. No one can tell our brain and mind what to do. No one can tell us what to think of and what to put inside our head.

We have the power to think what we want to think. To forget past hurts or to linger with them.

We can decide, plan and take action on what we want to have, do or be. At least when the universe intervenes, we know that we have done our best.

Fatimah Musa provides information, tips and quotes written to help people become aware that any future growth starts with their personal growth. You can visit Fatimah at http://www.about-personal-growth.com

Breaking Through Uncertainty - Welcoming Advertisty

We all question our ability at times. Uncertainty plagues us. It is even more intense if the ability we are questioning relates to something we have never tried or not succeeded at in the past.

Set backs are common, but we rarely welcome them. We are inclined to respond negatively to adversity. It may be time to revisit that reflexive response.

I had an experience recently that caused me to reconsider whether a negative response to adversity is always justified when I was confronted with a life-threatening situation.

It was mid-morning on a warm and pleasant Saturday. I was in the midst of my first skydive of the day. It was my 2,123th jump since having taken up the sport fifteen years ago.

After about one minute of freefall and 5,000 above the ground, I parted ways with my fellow jumpers to get far enough away from them to open my parachute safely. I initiated opening around 3,000 feet above the earth.

My parachute opened with some twists in the lines between the parachute and me. This is not that uncommon. What was different this time was that I was not able to clear the twists.

The twists in the lines caused my parachute to take on an asymmetrical shape. Receiving asymmetrical inputs, the canopy did what it is designed to do and initiated a turn -- that's how it's steered. The problem occurred when the turn quickly became a rapid, diving downward spiral that was spinning me a full 360 degrees about once every second. This was a problem.

I looked up to assess my canopy and saw something I don't often see - the horizon clearly visible ABOVE the trailing edge of my canopy. This meant my canopy and I were now on roughly the same horizontal plane. In that I could see the horizon behind it, I was actually above my parachute and it was leading our fast spinning parade rapidly towards mother earth.

My first need was to acknowledge that I was not going to be able to solve this problem. This is not as easy as it seems. Having successfully completed over 2,100 jumps without having to resort to my second parachute, it was hard for me to believe I had really encountered a problem I could not solve. I had a natural inclination to assume I could fix this problem as I had all those in the past.

Sound familiar? It's always easy to lapse into denial when confronted with a problem. Until we acknowledge the problem and our possible inability to solve it - or to use the methods we have used in the past - we don't have a chance of making things better.

Fortunately, the urgency of this situation caused my hard-headed nature to yield much quicker than usual. That decision probably took a second or two.

The next step, having accepted the need to follow a different course than in the past, was to determine the course. Fortunately fifteen years of training and practice before every day of jumping took hold.

I looked straight down at the two handles on either side of my chest - one to release me from my malfunctioning canopy and one for deploying my reserve parachute - and realized I needed to quickly get them in my hands. I could not help but notice when I made eye contact with them, as had been ingrained in me during my First Jump Course way back in 1988, that by now the rapid spins had turned me back to earth and there beyond my toes was once again the horizon. This was bad!

Time was of the essence at this point not only because I was now rapidly progressing toward the horse pasture below me, but also because the centrifugal force I was starting to experience would soon make it impossible to get my hands to those two handles.

With my hands now securely on the handles, I was confronted with a bothersome question, "Now, which one goes first." The wrong order could cause my reserve parachute to deploy into my spinning main parachute which would result in an incurable entanglement.

Fortunately, ingrained training once again took over and I pulled them in the right order. First the handle on the right side which released me from my spinning main parachute followed by the handle on the left side to deploy my reserve parachute.

This brought on a wonderful experience. My malfunctioning black, teal and magenta canopy was replaced with a bright, yellow never before used reserve parachute. What a lovely sight! And all this by 1,700 feet - plenty of time to spare.

Many years ago, I read a book about the challenges and responsibilities of Secret Service agents. One of the sad aspects of that profession is that agents who never have the chance to validate their years of training by responding to a threat sometimes struggle severely in retirement. They are faced with not knowing - with certainty - how they would respond when faced with the paramount challenge their career can deliver. For this reason, agents who have faced such a challenge successfully are admired within the culture of the Service.

That Saturday morning, I had the privilege of facing a similar, life-threatening and I now realize life-defining challenge. I faced what Secret Service agents call "the dragon."

For all of us the greater dragon is not the external threat, whether it be an assassin's bullet, the unforgiving and fast approaching earth or another challenge. The real dragon is the self-doubt we carry within us.

For those few splendid moments after landing safely, I was able to put my foot firmly on the neck of the dragon ... and it felt great.

Keep this in mind the next time you are confronted with adversity. On the far side of the experiences the adversity presents, there could be a valuble gift - a renewed confidence and certainty.

(c) 2004, Jim McCormick. All rights in all media reserved.

About The Author

Jim McCormick is an MBA, former corporate Chief Operating Officer, three time skydiving World Record holder and was a member of an international expedition that skydived to the North Pole. More information is available at http://www.takerisks.com/ and 970.577.8700.
Jim@TakeRisks.com

In the Eyes of a Child

It was way past 10:00 pm when I came home from a grueling day of schoolwork and extracurricular activities. The wind was rustling about overhead as I paced through the door of our humble abode. I moved towards the nearest couch and plumped myself to rest. Defeat and exhaustion filled my frame as I laid back against the soft cushions. But then I remembered our Hematology project which was due the next day. Galvanized, I scrambled off my feet and immediately headed towards the personal computer situated on the other side of the room. Just then, my little brother Michael dashed out of his room and came straight at me. He was holding a pen on his right hand and a piece of paper on the other.

"Ate, can you help me with my assignment? It's about the seven wonders of the world," he blurted out while staring at the paper in his grasp.

My brother's words didn't seem to filter through my mind at first. My attention was so riveted at the computer screen that my brother had to nudge me and pull the tip of my blouse just to get my attention.

"Look, not right now! I'm very busy," I yelled while ticking on the keyboard.

"You're always busy! You're always like that!" he wailed back as he turned on his heels and stomped back to his room.

For a moment, Michael's words fiddled in my mind. I felt a twinge of guilt as his words lingered in my thoughts. But the urgency of my work seemed more important to me than my brother's. I sighed a few times and continued to polish my school work.

The next day, I went home late again. I went straight to my room and quickly changed my clothes. When I was about to turn off the lights, I heard a pounding noise on the door. I went to see who it was. It was Michael.

"I know you are busy but there's something I wanna show you," he began. "I was just wondering if my classmate was right when he said that my assignment was wrong."

Without saying a word, I snatched the paper from him and pored over his written assignment. I really didn't care what he was saying. All I wanted was to get rid of him and finally get to rest. Suddenly, my eyes widened in surprise as soon as I saw what he'd written. There, he wrote in gothic letters:

The Seven Wonders of the World

1. Love
2. Friendship
3. Peace
4. Joy
5. Wisdom
6. Fun
7. Family

I froze dead on my tracks as the words registered in my brain. I could not believe what my brother just scribbled on paper. I was completely transfixed. How could such an innocent little child fathom such things in life, I thought to myself. As I was trying hard to push back my emotions to the farthest recesses of my mind, I didn't notice that tears were already swelling up in my eyes and started flowing down my cheeks.

"Ate why are you crying? Is it really wrong?"

"No, baby brother, it's not. This is the other set of answers most people don't know," I said as I whisked the trickling droplets from my cheeks.

That day, it dawned on me that the most valuable things in life are the ones that we often overlook and take for granted. These things don't take the form of towering buildings, gigantic houses, magnificent cars, material wealth or even high-paying jobs. What my little brother showed me was a gentle reminder that the most wondrous things in the world are immaterial, priceless and can never be developed by human art, skill or effort. As Dean Wilson of London once wrote, "As with most of the important things, we often take them for granted and forget we even have them..."

Copyright(c) 2005 Rachelle Arlin Credo. All rights reserved.

Please visit http://cebu.freemethodistchurch.org/

Dare to Dream

The rewards of life come to those who do, not to those whomerely read, talk or day dream. Action is the key.

Okay I want you to answer this question:

"In December of last year did you achieve all you set outto achieve in January of the same year?"

This is a 'yes or no' answer, so don't spend too longconsidering it.

The answer, of course, is 'no' - unless you are apathological liar!

Next question: "Did you set out to achieve anything lastyear?"

Aha! Now that's a more interesting question I think.

Deciding at the start of a year that you want to achieve acertain result by the end of that year, is an example ofour old friend goal-setting.

High-performance people set goals. Winners set goals.Losers never set goals. Why? Because it takes about 20minutes of concentrated effort to write down your goals,and losers have far more important things to do than this.It interferes with valuable boozing time, for example. Sucha task would take up nearly a whole episode of a soapopera. You could read a trash newspaper from cover to coverin this time.

But there is a more important reason why many people don'twrite goals. It is this. Writing goals commits you toaction, otherwise there is little point in writing them.

Turning your dreams (goals) into reality will not happenautomatically. It will require work and effort.

"Ohmygod!!! WORK, and EFFORT??? Forget it man! I'm notwriting down anything on a piece of paper which will commitme to that!"

This is why people do not set goals (write down theirdreams). They cannot bear to have that piece of paperleering at them in silent accusation as the months tick by.
But what is at stake here? Nothing less than undreamed ofwealth, unlimited happiness, and a totally fulfilled life.Perhaps more importantly, you can meet your fear head onand live like a warrior, not a frightened rabbit.

The older I get the more I wonder what the hell we're allso afraid of. Like you, I travel the world and see or hearabout real problems; murder, torture, death, disease andstarvation. Then I return to this grey, stuffy country towitness intelligent and privileged people wasting theirlives away down the pub or propped in front of the TVscreen for (on average) four hours each night! Unbelievable!

And these people are also timid beyond belief. They arecompletely risk-averse and will run bleating to theauthorities if the tiniest upset ruffles the calm waters oftheir uneventful lives. I am saying all this in the hopethat it will make you shudder. None of it applies to you,of course.
Achieving great wealth and happiness starts with having adream. Today's dreams are surely tomorrow's realities. Soyou blew it last year? You have a chance to redeem yourselfthis year - if you have the guts of course.

Got any fight left in you, or have you thrown in the towellong ago? Are you a shivering, frightened little mouse or ahuman being prepared to fight and win? Are you going tospend the rest of this year bleating and moaning about howyou cannot succeed? Or are you going to do something aboutmaking your own success a reality?

Are you prepared to fight?

(Eshopwindow)

Stories of Inspiration - Episode 1

He's certainly not the star of the team or even a medal favorite, but Eric Shanteau has earned as much respect as any of the U.S. swimmers at the Olympic Games.

Eric Shanteau says the support of teammates has been important as he fights testicular cancer.

Shanteau, 24, of Lilburn, Georgia, was diagnosed with testicular cancer June 19, a week before he left for the U.S. swim trials. But he put off the decision to have surgery until after the Summer Games, his first and last Olympics.

"I can't believe what he is going through," said teammate Dara Torres, "but he still has that drive to be here and to do his best. It is an amazing thing to watch."

It will be even more amazing if Shanteau can medal in the 200-meter breaststroke, which begins with preliminaries Tuesday night (Tuesday morning in the United States). He has the ninth fastest time in the world this year, but he's confident he can surprise people. After all, swimming is the easy part.

Cancer is on his mind constantly, he said. He worries about himself and his father, Rick, who has lung cancer. It reminds him that while reaching the Olympics was his dream, there are other things he should treasure.

Shanteau, an Auburn University graduate, admits that he has some down times because of the disease, but constantly reminds himself: "I have cancer; cancer doesn't have me." Watch how Shanteau says he won't give in to cancer »

And there is the support of his 40 teammates. He broke the news to them at a training camp. They had suspected something was wrong after Shanteau barely celebrated making the team. Aaron Peirsol, who is a club teammate of Shanteau's, wondered why his friend had been keeping to himself and had been showing up late for practice a lot.
Since the announcement, Shanteau has received e-mails, cards and letters from all over the world, but he points to his fellow swimmers as a huge support group.

"I'm very thankful they've taken me under all their wings," he said Wednesday at a news conference before the swimming competition began. "They are all behind me, willing to support me in the fight I am going through." iReport.com: Show your Olympic spirit

He also has the support of his girlfriend, Jeri Moss, who played the key role in discovering the cancer. She was the one who prodded him to go to the doctor one weekend. It was one of those kick in the butt moments that may have prevented a more serious issue.

Testicular cancer is an extremely treatable disease, especially when caught early. More than 95 percent of cases are cured, according to the National Cancer Institute's Web site.

In Shanteau's case, it was discovered extremely early and doctors determined it was slow-moving. He decided to live "week to week" in hopes that the cancer wouldn't quickly spread or grow.

Shanteau's decision to wait is common for people who have constant doctors' care.

"It is not unusual for someone to delay getting treatment for several weeks or several months," Dr. Otis Brawley of the American Cancer Society told CNN in July. "I'm not advocating that everybody wait a period of three or four weeks. If they do it under medical supervision, it can be very safe."

Asked about how he kept his focus after deciding to compete with cancer, Shanteau said it wasn't difficult.

"A lot of times when you get to an event like the Olympic Games, you can put too much pressure on yourself," he said. "I've kind of got an out with cancer."

It is unlikely that when Shanteau boards a plane to head back to the United States that he will have a medal to take with him. He disagrees. He said he believes he will finish in the top three "if I show up and swim the race I am capable of."

And then the man with cancer will turn supporter, cheering on the teammates who look to him for inspiration.

"To know I will be cured and I will beat this is inspiring," he said. "It's not going to get in the way of my life."

(CNN)

You are Brilliant!

The Brilliant You, Unreleased!

You're a remarkable person. But, you knew that already. Still, buried among apathy, unbelief and inhibition, is the brilliant "you" waiting to be released. You already knew that, too. A few disappointments here, several temporary defeats there, and POOF! just like that, you settled for being a risk-conscious, opportunity: self-denied, generality. Nobody makes any progress by standing still. You're not an exception; and you're not alone.

In fact, you have plenty of company. But, why settle for a life that looks like just about everyone else's? Do something magnificent with your God-given gifts and boldly distinguish yourself from the masses. Decide-on this day-to connect with your brilliance, within.

Paramount in your quest for brilliance is the personal development and daily utilization of your talents and abilities. As a matter of fact, it's required. It's not necessary to be perfect. Striving for excellence in everything you do is enough to release your brilliance.

Trust me. You were not born to be "mild." So cut it out! There's an entire universe out there starving for your gifts. How long will you continue to wait to take those last four classes needed for your degree? What career have you just been "wishing it were so" about? If all you can see is yourself remaining 16 units short of your degree, how can you possibly prepare for an exciting future? If you can't believe for a meaningful vocation now, will you have the passion to believe for one later?

Challenge yourself. Commit to do just two things this hour that will untap your brilliance. Revamp your resume; make a phone call to your advisor. Even a modest amount of brilliance unreleased, would relay the message to your brain: "Wow, she's serious!"

Ignite your passion. Inhale, then excel. Stand and deliver! See, then be!

Your life matters. Visualize your brilliance totally unreleased. Then boldly, step into the vision.

Fran Briggs is a "motivational speaker of the inspirational kind." She is a published author of several books including, "Seeds for Success," and the children's inspirational, "Don't Think Like an Elephant!" For resources that maximize human potential, visit Fran at http://www.franbriggs.com and sign up for your free successzine. It's a newsletter loaded with innovative success tools and strategies.

Life is Worthwhile If You...

Life is Worthwhile If You...

1) First, life is worthwhile if you LEARN.

What you don't know WILL hurt you. You have to have learning to exist, let alone succeed. Life is worthwhile if you learn from your own experiences, negative and positive. We learn to do it right by first sometimes doing it wrong. We call that a positive negative. We also learn from other people's experiences, both positive and negative. I've always said it is too bad failures don't give seminars. We don't want to pay them so they don't tour around giving seminars. But the information would be very valuable - how someone who had it all, messed it up. Learning from other people's experiences and mistakes.

We learn by what we see - pay attention. By what we hear - be a good listener. Now I do suggest being a selective listener, don't just let anybody dump into your mental factory. We learn from what we read. Learn from every source. Learn from lectures, learn from songs, learn from sermons, learn from conversations with people who care. Keep learning.

2) Life is worthwhile if you TRY.

You can't just learn; you now have to try something to see if you can do it. Try to make a difference, try to make some progress, try to learn a new skill, try to learn a new sport. Life is worthwhile if you try. It doesn't mean you can do everything but there are a lot of things you can do, if you just try. Try your best. Give it every effort. Why not go all out?

3) Life is worthwhile if you STAY.

You have to stay from spring until harvest. If you have signed up for the day or for the game or for the project - see it through. Sometimes calamity comes and then it is worth wrapping it up. And that's the end, but just don't end in the middle. Maybe on the next project you pass, but on this one, if you signed up, see it through.

4) Life is worthwhile if you CARE.

If you care at all you will get some results, if you care enough you can get incredible results. Care enough to make a difference. Care enough to turn somebody around. Care enough to start a new enterprise. Care enough to change it all. Care enough to be the highest producer. Care enough to set some records. Care enough to win.

Four powerful little words: learn, try, stay and care. What difference can you make in your life today by putting these four words to work?

To Your Success,

Jim Rohn

Reproduced with permission from Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine. Copyright 2005 Jim Rohn International. All rights reserved worldwide. To subscribe to Jim Rohn's Weekly E-zine, go to http://Jim-Rohn.InspiresYOU.com